First, we have also upgraded to WordPress 3.0 Thelonious and switched to the default WordPress 3.0 “twenty ten” theme. We customized it a little bit with a new header (non-rotating) and cleaned out a lot of old plugins and junk. You’ll probably notice the site loads and operates a lot faster now.

Second, we opted to keep Menalto’s Gallery for our photos. This choice was easy after considering our options. The main thing that kept us with Gallery2 is the fact that Gallery 3 is close to release and we won’t have to reupload all of our images to some new gallery system. That saves us from trying to add captions to over 5 years worth of photos on here (2,200+ photos).

Because we kept Gallery2, I went ahead and upgraded to the latest 2.3.1 so that we’ll be ready to upgrade to Gallery 3.0 in the near future. I even showed Tammy how I upgrade the software on this site. First time she’s shown a little interest in that, pretty cool!

Third, I removed the WPG2 plugin that allowed integration from WordPress to Gallery2. This plugin was a HUGE pain in the neck and forced us to stay with the same theme for all these years. You’ll notice if you visit our Buehler Family Photo Gallery that it no longer has the same theme as the main site, I’m keeping it this way so that we can change our main page theme to fit the times. If it is nearing Christmas, we can switch to a Christmas style and get all festive-like for you.

Fourth, all of the old posts were updated to show bigger thumbnails. Since we were forced to update all posts that had images, due to the removal of the WPG2 plugin, we went ahead and made the thumbnails on the posts much bigger. We are now uploading images to posts directly using WordPress’ built in upload/embedding features. This will make switching themes a SNAP. I also removed a lot of old news, outdated information, and irrelevant stuff from here.

Fifth, Tammy is now working on the blog again! She is going through all of our photos from last year to now and preparing them for upload and viewing. Once she is done updating the Photo Gallery, she’ll begin working on adding posts with all of the things we’ve done since the last family update! Many of you have requested new blog updates and now, they are a-commin’!

Sixth, I’ve done a lot of work on this site and during these updates, I accidentally fired off a few misfires from our email notification system. I’m sorry about that. This system is buggy with WordPress 3.0. I emailed the developer to try and join their beta release program to fix it. But from now on, you should see quite a few emails from us with updates over the last year.

Seventh, this all started because I needed a “break” from all the work I’ve been doing. I’ve spent the last two months coding my own website template for Customer Hosting Reviews and then working with a developer to upgrade the site to use the new theme with all of the new features I wanted (quite expensive). I’ve also been working with two content writers to add all new content to the site, the content isn’t perfect, but it works for what I needed. Also, managed to get a Google Streetview type site up that was inspired by Uncle Chuck’s vpike called House Street Views. I have several domains I want to launch with this that goes into niche topics that need street view maps.

And finally, #8 of this long blog update, it hasn’t been posted on here yet but I think we’ve told everyone already, Tammy is pregnant! We’re expecting our new baby sometime around Thanksgiving and we can’t wait! We have yet to buy any baby items, we need a crib, crib set, stroller, car seat, baby clothes, a take home clothing set, and of course, we won’t qualify for any assistance, so we’ll need to stock up on formula, baby diapers, etc. We’ll also need to cover $5,000 that our insurance won’t pay. Nonetheless, this is why I’ve been busting my ass working so hard to try and earn more money to help cover all of this. Top this off with yet another health insurance premium increase letter, it’s all piling up. But I’m keeping up a positive attitude, working hard, and feel great with all that I have accomplished.

Thanks for reading. We love reading blog comments on here, so if you read our new blog updates coming soon, please be sure to comment. We’d sure appreciate it!

I haven’t worked this hard on anything, ever. Having spent 15 hours of my day working on a new website, maintaining healthy friendships, and keeping up with all of the affiliate managers begging me to “pick me! Ohh pick me! MEE!! – Donkey, Shrek”, I have to say, it has been rough.

When I moved to Utah, things were great. Things were awesome in fact. All I had to do was answer a few emails a day and the sales from my previous websites kept us afloat. Then around November last year, for whatever reason, the market I was in just collapsed.

I figure the sales collapse was due to the fact that:
1) The economy started going down the tubes
2) Gas prices
3) The products I was selling were not a “gotta have it!” necessity.

The only thing that has kept us floating from Nov – May has been my business to business software line of products. Businesses have not cut back spending, in fact, to my eyes, they have increased spending during this period. Even the FBI has purchased from me!

Needless to say, it was some scary times. In January after realizing our financial problems weren’t self correcting as it previously has, I knew changes had to be made.

Soooo, from January forward I have been relearning the new internet marketing techniques, the new things affiliates can sell, and the new procedures. At least 10 hours a day was spent doing research on forums, blogs, and other various websites.

Around May, I hired out some new (expensive) PHP (programming)/MySQL (database) development to focus on just two of my many ideas. This was a very risky move because we didn’t have any capital available. Helloooooooooo debt! Just charge it! Tammy wasn’t too impressed with me but supported the move….

After 100+ new domains being purchased and new projects delivered, I have been working nonstop to get these new ideas launched. Even Tammy has donated many hours to my projects. Thanks hun! As with anything, the hard work has already started to pay off and we’re doing better now than ever before.

In the end, I’ll be in several highly competitive markets. In case anyone is wondering, I still do not sell anything that I couldn’t show my own mother. In other words, no adult materials, no illegal, everything legit. I’m proud of that.

These new projects all require input from the public. I call it “user generated content.” So although I am working incredibly hard right now, once I get all the needed data recorded, hired content published, and other odds and ends tied together, these sites will be on autopilot. They will only require an hour a week to maintain and I can move on to the many other ideas I have, or, take a vacation! Haha.

We’re all heading to Las Vegas on Monday. We’re keeping all of our plans in-tact and the kids should have a great time. This will be a well deserved break for me, although, our gambling allowance will be very minimal this time around. We’ll still have a good time. We have a lot of non-gambling things planned including back to school shopping.

Well, as this site was previously titled Scott Buehler’s Ramblings, this type of post is what I do best. By the way, as you may have noticed, I changed the email newsletter from showing the content of each post I make. Now you’ll see the subject of the post and a link to read the entry. Also, at the bottom of the emails sent, there’s an easy unsubscribe link if you choose not to receive these emails. Just remember, there’s no way to resubscribe unless you email me directly.

I also updated the header images with newer ones from our recent outings. What do you think?

All of the images in the header are from what I took with our camera. Hope you enjoy them!

In late April, we noticed a nest being built under the deck of our house. We thought this would be a great opportunity to watch the Robin Family and take pictures. Taking these pictures proved to be quite a challenge, since the nest was under the deck, you really couldn’t get a good look into the nest. Scott would have to climb up on a ladder and try to angle the camera into the nest to get some of the egg and baby pictures.

Mom Sitting

April 30th – Mom is sitting on the nest.

4 Blue Eggs

May 2nd – We find 4 blue eggs in the nest. Hard to see the 4th egg, but it’s there. Because of the deck right above the nest, it was very hard to get pictures inside the nest.

Newborns

May 16th – We had seen Mom leave the nest, and bringing worms back, so we thought the babies hatched. However, Mom didn’t stay away very long, so it took us a couple of days to get this cute picture of the newborn babies!

Feeding

May 16th – Mom is constantly flying back and forth gathering worms for the little ones.

Feathers on the Wings

May 18th – The babies are getting feathers on their wings. Make sure to click on the thumbnail picture to see the bigger picture and see all the detail in the wings and feathers.

Excuse Me

May 18th – Caught! Mamma Bird caught Scott taking pictures in the nest. She is squawking at us to get away so she can feed her babies.

Mom & Dad

May 18th – Usually Mom would fly in with food, and leave, then Dad would fly in with food and leave. Here we were able to catch both parents at the nest at the same time. Dad is on the left feeding, and Mom is on the right. Rare picture indeed.

Big Mouths

May 18th – Their bodies are small, but when it comes to feeding time, their mouths are large!!

Dad Squash

May 19th – Mamma Bird must be at the Robin Social today, as Dad took over sitting on the nest. Dad is quite a bit bigger than Mom, so there wasn’t as much room in the nest, so the babies starting hanging out over the sides, to avoid Dad sitting on them!

Dad Squash 2

May 19th – Here’s the other side of the nest, and here’s another baby that didn’t appreciate Dad sitting in the nest!

Feeding Time

May 20th – Cut of Mom’s head a little here, but you can see all 4 babies are hungry and ready to eat. Mom’s constantly flying in and out of the nest all day long, just trying to keep these little ones fed. As soon as she comes in, all the babies stick their heads up like this!! When she flies away, they all fade back into their nest, and you don’t see them again until mom comes back.

Bigger

May 20th – While Mom’s away gathering food, Scott climbs the ladder and gets this great picture of the babies!

Growing Fast

May 24th – Caught Mom as she was coming in for a feeding, and the babies practically leap out of the nest to get that worm! The babies are getting big fast, and we’re almost taking daily pictures to keep up with them.

MINE!!

May 24th – Apparently, this baby was just a little more hungry than the other 3!! I love this amazing shot!

Hangin

May 24th – Waiting for Mom to come back with more food. A Mom’s work is never done! Where is Dad anyways?

Crowded

May 26th – Nest is getting crowded, and you can see them easily now over the nest.

Free

May 28th – I didn’t know when I took this picture that it was “Leaving the Nest Day.” This little guy made up his mind that he was going to be the first to leave the nest today.

Now What?

May 28th – “Alright I made it down, but I’m kinda stuck here. My wings don’t work so good, and I’m not quite sure where I’m supposed to go!”

Last One

May 28th – “I’m the last one in the nest. I’m not quite ready to go yet, so I’m just gonna sit here and think about it some more!” All the other babies were long gone, and this one just sat there. Scott even tried to scare it gently into jumping, by prodding him with a pvc pipe. The baby thought it was food, and tried to peck it! Still didn’t make him jump though.

Last One Down

May 28th – Yeah! The last one finally made it down out of the nest, but he wasn’t sure what to do either. As I sat outside and just watched him, Mom kept coming by and chirping at him, but he just wouldn’t go. Why is it the last kid just never wants to leave home??!!

Mom & Baby

May 28th – Finally Mom convinced the last baby to come along with her. This picture was taken through the window, that’s why it is a bit fuzzy. It’s definitely been an interesting month watching these babies grow up!!

To see the pictures bigger, just click on the link:  Robin Picture Album, and click on any picture to make it bigger.

Interactive Cedar City Maps

It was pretty interesting to look at my lot size compared to others. Both houses are in the bottom half of this map. You should be able to find Ridge and work your way to our houses from there if you know our addresses.