WOW WHAT A YEAR!!

Okay, So I haven't posted in FOREVER!!
I know. It's been a crazy year.

Last August is the last post I think, so let's catch up. We had a great vacation that lasted about a whole 5 seconds it seems. The Fun goes by so fast! Before you knew it School started, learned Katie was pregnant again and off the seasons went; thru the Fair (which I ended up DELETING ALL of my fair photos! errr), Halloween, Thanksgiving, and then to Christmas. We had a great time planing and having Ronny's (Jacob's Dad) 60th Birthday party just before Christmas, and then in an instant he was gone. Ronny, Pops, died of a massive stroke on January 21st. Now 5 months later we are still in shock. Every time I think about him, it takes my breath away just as it did on that day. We all miss him VERY much. But as life goes on...it has. Easter and Spring Break flew in with the wind, Jacob started a new job in Arkansas, and by May we were all celebrating the birth of a new Smith! Drew Micheal to be exact. 8lbs He is Katie and Robert's 4th. He looks just like Robert. Sooo cute and the kids just adore him, as do the rest of us. School just ended last week and we are all hopeful for an awesome summer. I will be posting photos of the past year and keeping up from now on. It's my Summer oath to myself.

Love and miss you all.
Morale`-Walker-Smith Clan.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

The First Day of School!

This year Dylan started 4th grade, and Desiree took her first steps into Big School - Kindergarden. Dakota Grace wasn't left behind, no, she was off to pre-school too!

Dylan is all decked out in his "cool" clothes and the one-strap backpack he was determined to find. He looks just like Robert here, and about the same age that him and Katie met. Isn't that wild?!
Desiree, not short of a pose, even early in the morning.

Boys here she comes. Daddy, get ready! Ha!
Dakota Grace, pleasant with a smile this morning, big apple cheeks and all decked out in her purple poka dots.

Some photos of Desi's first Day.

At her desk, all settled in.

With her Teacher, Mrs. Jackson, who Katie went to school with.

Sitting next to Avery Granberry. Cousin really.

And lives just down the street. So cool that they get to be in the same class.

Everyones first day went well. No homework yet, but hey it is the first day and all.

Dakota Grace turns 3!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KOTA GRACE!
Dakota turned 3 on August 28th. She has made great leaps of change this year. She has finally started to talk up a storm. Cuttest voice ever too. She loves her big bro and sis. Following and doing everything that they do. Though have no fear, her independant self that has made her her is still alive and kicking. If she doesn't want to, she aint gonna! And as stubborn as she might be, I love her for that. Here are some of the photos we got from her two parties. One on her birthday at Chuckie - Cheese, and the other at mom and dad's.

Singing Happy Birthday on Pappy's lap. I made her a pink Octopus. Desiree and Kota playing one of the games. Loves her big sister. Her Second Birthday party!
Here is her blowing out her candles. Yes she blew out her candels all on her own this year.

All the Girly presents! Dolls, pink things, Princess Tent, and Playdough sets, and lets not forget the Bubbles!

A Good Photo of all Three. Desiree looks 13 here!! My gosh how they grow so fast.

Katie & Dylan. Awe.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Doggy Lake!

Finally I have conviced Jacob to take the dogs to the lake!

We normaly take them a few times a year, but this year the beach that we go to has been taken over by rockwall residental developement. Booo!

So, when it was going to be just Jacob, dad and I, I was able to convience him to let us bring them along. THEY LOVE IT!

Luke loves to try to bite at the waves as we drive thru them, and loves to swim, and for this reason we put the jackets on them. They were moving around too much while the boat was moving. It made me nervous.

Zoe just loves to feel the wind in her fur. Ha! She wants nothing to do with getting in. The only water she enjoys playing in is the rain.

I grabbed a few photos as we were out. They were too cute not to share.

And after all they are my children.

WORK, WORK, WORK!!

I have been so busy at work, and everyone keeps asking what it is that I do. Then I go into the explaination of it, and I get a deer in the head lights look. So to help, I have gone and taken a few photos. This is only the inserter side. I do have an entire printing side, that I will have to post later.

The set up. This is our first of two machines.
We are currently loading by stacks. There are several ways to do this, but this has seemed to work out best for us. The pin feed below is where the cutter has cut the 18" width paper into two pages and cut the pinfeed off.
This is where the two cut pages are then turned over and sent to the accumilator.

This accumilator is a double stack, meaning that it has a set of pages on top and then another set on the bottom. Moves faster this way. The computer is set to a specific amount of pages and that is what is "accumilated" into each set before being pushed to the folder.

The folder is shown above (the long stripes above) then the folded letter is pushed thru the rubber rollers and then shot out to the "track" (seen below)

This photo shows the folded page being pushed out, one after another.

The track is lined with pins every 10" or so for each new letter. The machine will sense when it is time to "dump" the letter into the track. It will hold it if there is not a space available yet.

The pages will now move down the track. They pass over a sensor, so that the machine knows it needs to add a "stuffer".

This shows the entire track. We have a 6 space track.

The envelope or stuff piece is pulled out by the grabers (at top) a sucker will pull down the next piece for the arms to grab then swing out over the letter and drop into the track.

The the letter will have a Carrier envelope pulled, opened up and then lifted by these sucker arms to open the envelope.

Then the letter is shoved "shove station" into the carrier envelope.

Then after getting its letter the envelope will travel down to the turnover, but first being "licked" by a wet brush, and closed.

The turn over then turns the envelope over 180 degrees, so it may travel down for its postage.

The letter then moves thru the meter, which is controled by another computer above the meter (black box) with the correct postage.

After being "stamped" the letter is turned upright and collected at the end, shown here. We will then pick the envelopes up flip thru them to make sure they all are stuffed and metered correctly, and then stacked into trays.

We will have anywhere from 5 to 30 pallets of trayed letters a week.

Those letter are sent out for people to then send back their orders for different books. Here are a stack of books that are going out. Lots of orders. I have around 3 to 8 pallets of these go out twice a week.

Fun stuff! Now you know half of what I manage on the floor. I will soon post the printer side later.