The Culprit
So back in June The van leaked gas when it was getting filled. I got in there and discovered this top hose was leaky and replaced it with this bottom hose from pick and pull.
I think we were good for a while but we refill the van so seldom and drive it so little it’s hard to say. I know I still had a little leak and decided it must be the cracked up air hose leaking next to the main gas hose. I didn’t care much about the air hose so just stuck a cork in it.
However the van still starts leaking when you fill it and so Sunday Heath filled it and I got under and watched what happened and saw the cork was fine but the big hose was squirting gas up out of the top of it.
After work yesterday I checked in on Pumpkin and Jendra and they were doing good so I changed and climbed under the van. The hose is really simple to take on and off, you just need to loosen 2 hose clamps but the end on the tank is really hard to get to and the hose is pretty stiff and hard to maneuver. Early on though I saw the tear and knew I needed to take it out.
I considered trying to cover up the hole but I learned last time that does not work.
The van is low on gas so I decided to go to pick and pull when I have more time for a new hose but in the mean time I needed to get some gas in it.
I got a 5 gallon tank of gas and a little fish vacuum thing and fed the hose past the normal filling thing and right into the top of the tank.
At the top of the tank is a valve or filter or something that prevents people from siphoning gas so I just pushed the hose up against it good and then started filling. 
The gas had to go in really really slow or else it would hit the valve/filter thing and start spilling out. So I put the gas tank on my shoulder and listened to the radio and slowly poured into the hose and it would run down and go into the gas tank. I got the hang of it and lost very little gas but it took a long time.
When we got the van they said it got about 8 miles per gallon so I figure I am all set for about 40 miles plus whatever little gas was in it before we got started.
Then I cleaned up and changed clothes. I had to watch my hands a bunch before they didn’t smell like gas anymore. Pumpkin was being a little fussy and so Jendra Pumpkin and I took a walk. I put Pumpkin in the front pack, then put a jacket on over both us, leaving her head out to catch some sun. We walked about a mile then headed home and somehow Pumpkin was tired but did not fall asleep.
Once home we started making dinner. Jendra cut veggies and Pumpkin and I got turkey burger browned and then mixed it with sauce and we boiled noodles and warmed peas and made a chunky sauce with tons of stuff in it. 
Heath had been at softball tryouts from after work till 7 and then called us just after 7. We were about done with dinner and started on dessert. I decided to try and make a chocolate peanut butter banana bread that I had seen the recipe for a while back and just kept e-mailing to myself every so often till last night when I finialy made it with Jendra’s help.
Here is the recipe for you bakers out there.
Yields 1 loaf
For Bread:
- 1/2 C Crunchy Peanut Butter
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 C Sugar
- 2 C AP flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2-3 Bananas, mashed
- 1 C Chopped Chocolate or Chips, dark as you like it
For Topping:
- 2 tbs Light Brown Sugar
- 2 tbs AP Flour
- 2 tbs Crunchy Peanut Butter
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 C Chopped Chocolate or Chips, dark as you like it
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease bread pan or use silicone bread pan as I do. Place pan on a baking sheet.
- In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix peanut butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix.
- In a separate bowl, whisk flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to peanut butter mixture and mix just until incorporated.
- Add mashed bananas and chocolate. Mix just until incorporated.
- Pour bread mixture into prepared pan and set aside.
- Put all topping ingredients except chocolate in a small bowl. Mix with a fork until crumbly. Add chocolate and finish mixing.
- Sprinkle crumbs over unbaked bread mixture.
- Bake in 325°F oven for about 1 hr, 20 min., until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool on a rack and enjoy!
Store bread at room temperature in an airtight container. Freezes well.
We did this except I didn’t measure any of the peanut butter and instead of some of the chocolate chips Jendra cut up Hershey kisses from a xmas or two ago and instead of sugar and brown sugar I used splenda like sweetener.
Heath got home and fed Pumpkin then we ate. It was a late dinner for us and we were hungry. I thought it was going to be a ton of dinner but we ate most of it. After dinner I played with Pumpkin on the floor a bit and we digested our food and watched House.
Then the bread finished baking and Heath and Jendra put it into bowls with large scoops of ice cream on the side.
It was really good and went great hot with ice cream. Somehow I managed to eat the huge piece and all the ice cream Heath gave me. After dessert I played some more with Pumpkin. She was tired but didn’t want to fall asleep and just wanted to scratch her head. We played and I tried swaddling her up in blankets with her arms and legs wrapped inside but she would quickly squirm her way out. 
She still prefers to be on her back but loves to roll and once laid down will roll to her tummy then wish she was back on her back and try to roll again.
We played and watched more tv till I started to get tired. I got a call yesterday morning from the station at 4:30 and had trouble getting back to sleep. It was too early to go to bed so I did the dishes and got some chicken marinating for tonight’s dinner and cleaned up some tools from working on the van and got stuff ready for work today and messed with laundry. Then it was late enough to go to bed so I did and was out pretty quick.