Baby Rock

Our busy summer was slowly winding down.  We had a few more stops on our summer tour but everything was planned out and it was smooth sailing.  Our roller coaster life was going along when suddenly the roller coaster took a quick turn and our stomachs dropped and life we got some news that would change our lives forever.

Our trip to Ludington, MI ended with the news that Hope’s birth mom was pregnant again and we were asked if we would like to adopt a third child.  We were in late August and the baby was due either in September or October, we had a big decision in front of us.  I had always said that when you go from two to three kids you go from a man on man to a zone defense but as someone else said happy wife happy life.  We also were concerned about money and our age.  After a few weeks of going back and forth we decided to adopt.

We had also debated with everything else going on if we should have our annual Halloween bonfire or not and at first we thought it would be best not to have it this year but then changed our minds.  We raced around decorated as much as we could and had our bonfire.  The next day Mom received the phone call that at 2 A.M. a baby boy was born but, there was a problem.  The paramedics arrived at the house and rushed her to the hospital but the baby started to head out in the ambulance, the baby was breech folded and heading out butt first.  The paramedics were unsure how to get the baby out and thought he was tangled in the umbilical cord so they decided to cut the cord but, he still wouldn’t come out.

When they arrived at the hospital the doctors quickly turned the baby that was hung up on her pelvic bone and got him out.  The problem was the cord was wrapped around his neck three times.  They were unsure how long he was without oxygen it could have been anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 minute.  He was placed on a cooling blanket to prevent brain swelling.  Mommy and Auntie Jea Jea went the next morning to talk to the doctors.  The doctors thought everything was going to be okay but they could not promise anything and we still had to wait and see.

After being on the cooling for so long they began to slowly warm him up.

  He was on a special bed that slowly warmed him up.  As he warmed up things were looking better and better but they still wanted to do an MRI and an EEG.  When we first saw him he was attached to so many cables I could not even count them and his legs were spread out, they called it a frog position and said it was normal for breech babies and his legs with a little help would go back to normal.   He was on an IV that fed him sugar water and electrolytes, his veins eventually gave way as they often do with infants and finally had to put one in his head.  It was not easy seeing him that way.  Aunt Gigi, Grandma Vicki and Mommy made sure they spent a lot of time at the hospital with the little guy.  As the days went by he got better and better and more and more wires came off him.  Both the EEG and MRI came back normal.

Eventually they moved him from the special bed and more wires and the head IV disappeared.  The doctors informed us he was now just a normal baby and the only thing we were waiting on were his platelet levels to go up so he could be circumcised and the blood would clot.  Just as everything else the levels raised quickly and he was circumcised and he was heading home.

Baby Rock is now a part of our family.  Jame is doing great being a big brother again and very good at helping out with his new baby brother.  Hope who told us she did not want another sibling now can hardly contain herself around the baby and is very attentive to his needs and tries to help out every way she can.  Not only has our family grown but so has the love.

Gackle

I was feeling like Clark Griswold again and it had nothing to do with Christmas lights this time.  We were loading up the family truckster and driving 12 hours to Gackle North Dakota to visit Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Rick.  We were driving from Indiana to Illinois threw to Wisconsin then Minnesota and finally to North Dakota why because were the Griswold’s, no sorry because were the Steele’s.

It may come as a surprise but we were on a bit of a tight schedule between soccer commitments and Little Man starting back in preschool.  In fact we decided it was okay for him to miss the first day of school to make the trip.  We loaded up the family truckster the night before and in the morning hours we loaded the kids in while they slept.  Auntie Jea Jea stopped by with homemade cookies and snacks for our long trip from her and Mimi. 

With everyone tucked into their seats I headed out, the cookies tasted good with the coffee I was drinking.  The car was quiet but I wanted to get as many miles in before the kids woke up.  As luck would have it we found ourselves near the Dells right around breakfast time.  I told Mommy with it being Labor Day weekend Paul Bunyan’s might be busy but we could try.

For many years, my family headed to Spider Lake in Mercer Wisconsin, on the drive up we would pass through Minocqua Wisconsin and stop at Paul Bunyan’s.  As a kid I loved the lumber jack atmosphere, eating off the tin plates and drinking out of the tin cups.  Not to mention I had a good appetite as a child and the all you could eat was great.  I was very excited to share a childhood memory with the kids.

We pulled off the expressway and into the parking lot; I was surprised as the parking lot was not full at all.  With the car stopped the kids stretched and woke up wondering where they were.  We hit Paul Bunyan’s at the right time; we entered and were quickly seated.  I loved looking at the amazement on Little Man’s face as he pointed at all the tools on the wall. 

Hope quickly grabbed the tin plate and smiled.  I’m sure the kids must have seen the big smiles on both Mommy’s and my faces as well.  I started to take some pictures with my phone and Little Man decided to help.  The waitress brought over some Babe the Blue Ox horns and we took some more pictures. 

Little Man was very excited when the food came and he got to eat on the metal plate.  Hopey shared one of our other loves at Paul Bunyan’s the warm sugar doughnuts.  As we finished up breakfast we couldn’t help but notice how crowded the restaurant had become, we had made it just in time.  On the way out the gift shop was packed as well but we still had to buy a Paul Bunyan book and two dozen doughnuts.  As we headed out the kids could hardly wait to have Mommy read them the tail of Paul Bunyan and his Ox Babe.

The kids did good keeping themselves entertained as we made it through Wisconsin and into Minnesota.  We aimed the family truckster at Minneapolis and the Mall of America where we would break for the night from the road.  I had been to the Mall of America a few years earlier on work and thought it might be a fun place to stop and it was roughly halfway to Gackle.  We arrived at the mall and the kids and us were more than ready to get out of the car.  We hit the mall and naturally gravitated towards the amusement park in the middle of the mall.  We walked around and looked, some of the rides were out of service and those that were working had a long line to ride them.  I never thought the mall would be such a destination on Labor Day weekend.  Then when we saw the cost of a pass for the rides and given the hour we decided it was not worth it. 

Little Man was not happy about our decision not to ride but we promised him he could get something at the Lego store instead, that made it all better.  He loved playing at the Lego store with the different areas they had to build with the Legos, even Hopey had fun with the Lego’s.  We then went and found a place to eat where Little Man showed off his newly discovered drawing skills. 

This summer Little Man has really taken to drawing pictures and writing so much that we are a bit concerned he may be bored in preschool.  Octonauts is one of his favorite shows and they show you what the real sea creature is like after the cartoon so he knows way too much about sea life and tells us about it all the time.  The Spider Crab seems to be his favorite; we have pictures all over the house of the spider crab.

After we ate we headed all over the mall looking for the build a bear workshop so Hope could get a toy as well.  We walked all over the mall looking for it only to finally discover it right where we originally walked inside the Rainforest Café.  Hope picked out a sea turtle to build.  They took the sea turtle and did the whole thing and of course she had to pick out some pink shoes for the turtle.  The Sea Turtle had a bit of trouble holding on to his shoes since Hope liked taking them off.  The Sea Turtle did get to sleep with Hope that night without her shoes of course.

After the mall we headed back to the hotel checked in Mommy stayed with the kids. I made trips to the family truckster to get our luggage in.  We have learned that traveling with kids is not light.  I had even gone out before the trip and bought the kids luggage with light up wheels to help make things easier when we travel.  The kids love the suitcases and they look very cute walking down the hallway of the hotel pulling their little luggage.  After getting settled we got our swimsuits on and headed down to the pool.

We had a great time at the pool.  Hope loves the water and Little Man is starting to get over his issue of getting his hair wet.

  There were other kids at the pool and Little Man has no problem introducing himself to them and playing with other kids.  The kids played and played at the pool; I certainly got a bit tired but not Mommy, she loves the water just as much if not more than the kids.  When we made it back to the room the kids changed into their pajamas and quickly fell asleep.  I have to admit I was surprised how quickly they fell asleep but it was nice to see them sleeping so well after a long day.

Up the next morning and down to the pool again breakfast was being served.  Little Man wore his swimsuit so he could go swimming after we had breakfast.  He quickly ate and jumped into the pool while we finished breakfast.  I think he would still be in the pool if we let him.  We loaded up the car and headed towards Fargo next.  Somewhere between Minneapolis and Fargo Little Man informed us he had to go and he had to go NOW!  We pulled off at a gas station in the middle of nowhere and Little Man really did have to go. 

Just across the street from the gas station was a large Buffalo, a teepee, a cabin and some strange telescope thing or something.  I’m still not quite sure what exactly what or why it was there but the kids did have fun playing there and I got some great photos of them.  Little man decided to collect rocks and place them on the ground, he said he was building a fire; he even got a stick and started acting like he was starting a fire outside the teepee.  It was a nice surprise stop and the kids got to stretch their legs and burn off some energy.  As we pulled back onto the expressway I couldn’t help but laugh at what the next person to stop by would think about Little Man’s rock display.  It looked like some kind of ritual setting.

Next stop was in beautiful downtown Fargo; I was surprised that nobody we met there talked like they did in the movie Fargo.  We stopped at the Fargo visitors center (yes they actually have one.) and we got our picture taken with the now famous wood chipper from the movie.  They had hats for us to wear and a foot sticking out of the chipper.  The kids were a bit confused why we were taking a picture but they played along.  I had read that for many years the town shied away from the movie but in the last few years they have embraced the movie.  The kids were able to do some coloring while we were at the visitor’s center so it wasn’t a completely boring stop for them.  I did feel like Clark Griswold looking at the wood chipper from Fargo “or perhaps you don't want to see the second largest ball of twine on the face of the earth, which is only four short hours away?”

Next stop Downtown Fargo and the Fargo movie theatre sign.  The Wood Chipper and the Fargo sign is about all you have for Fargo.  We walked around the downtown area a bit and you couldn’t help but wonder what the place would look like in a few months with snow on the ground.  Once again nobody we talked with had the funny accent.  The kids were wondering why we were just walking up and down the street and taking pictures in front of the movie theatre but these days they just know the faster they smile and I get a good picture the faster they can do what they want.  We grabbed a quick sandwich in Fargo and loaded up for the final push to Gackle.

We arrived in Gackle and the Kids were not only happy to get out of the car but also to see Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Rick.  We got a tour of the house and the church; the kids had a great time playing in the church, I think they may lock the church next time they come.  The house was only a few feet from the church and Little Man loved to walk over and start playing in the church.  We had packed a bunch of toys but Grandma couldn’t help herself and had bought toys for the kids to play with while they were there and of course they found their way into the car for the trip home.

The next morning we headed out to one of the farms that had some small horses and they thought the kids would love to see them.  Unfortunately the miniature horses were not broken and you could not ride them but the kids did have fun feeding them.  Little Man being as shy as he is talked the farmer into letting him sit on the big horse that was broken, then it was I want him to walk so the farmer took the horse for a little walk.  The next thing we knew Little Man and the farmer were grabbing the saddle so he could ride the horse with the saddle.  We are now thinking about getting Little Man some riding lessons since he loved it so much.  Hope liked the horses and she would feed them and pet them but she wanted nothing to do with sitting on them. 

It wasn’t long before Little Man’s interest turned from the horse to the ATV’s that the farmer owned.  He had a big smile on his face as he and Grandpa Rick drove it up and down.  We then all took a trip on the ATV’s and the Gator up to the highest point in Gackle.  The trip itself was adventurous as we climbed up and down hills it was nice to be out there with nothing but open rolling land as far as the eye could see.  When we arrived at the highest point it was very beautiful and of course I had to start snapping pictures of the kids. 

The farmer was hoping the cattle he had would be close by but they were not, they had left us some presents and it was fun explaining to Little Man what they were.  We spent some time up there enjoying the view and Grandma Ruth decided to start singing the sound of music luckily Mommy was there to help sing the song.  Nobody in my family has a good singing voice, my Grandma Hope used to offer to pay us a quarter if we sang nice; nobody ever got the quarter.

We headed back down and through the hills and back to the farmhouse.  We got back and started to say our thank you’s and head out when they offered up a toy tractor for Little Man to play with and a toy car for Hope to drive around.  Little Man could hardly wait to play with the tractor and Hope hopped into the car.  They loved it so much they hopped into the back of Grandma and Grandpa’s van with them and wanted to ride there.  We had to do our best convincing that state law requires they ride in their car seats.

The next farm we visited had lots and lots of cattle but it was the horse and the tractor that grabbed Little Man’s attention.  It wasn’t long before he had the farmer convinced that he not only could ride that horse and he was an excellent rider but that he was also very good at driving tractors.  Soon he was in the cab of a giant tractor with the farmer and with hardly a wave to Mommy and Daddy he was driving away.  We watched as the giant tractor started picking up and moving the hay bales.  The tractor returned and I thought Little Man was going to be smiling from ear to ear but he got out of the tractor with a look of determination and he was off to ride the horse next.

He was quickly up on the horse with a smile on his face.  He rode the horse bareback around the yard and did a good job.  I think we may have to look into horse riding lessons because everyone was saying what a natural he is.  We still tried to get Hope to ride the horse but she would only pet the horse but she did not want to ride or even sit on the horse.  I started to hear Little Man asking Grandma Ruth to get on the horse; Grandma Ruth was not having it.  Still Little Man tried and tried until Grandpa Rick said he would get on the horse.  Now up until the day before Grandpa Rick had never touched a horse and now here he was climbing up on a horse bareback. 

We all had a good laugh as he climbed up and thought that would be our laugh for the day.  I remember looking at him and thinking he doesn’t seem straight on that horse.  As he rode off I started clicking the camera and sure enough off he went.  Now that was the laugh of the day.

After that Jame asked Mommy to get on and Mom said she would as long as there was a saddle.  Sure enough the farmer was nice enough to grab the saddle and put it on the horse.  I’m still amazed at how fast they can get saddles on horses.  Mom rode the horse around without a fall.  Next up was me (Dad) and I was worried about getting on but it went easier than I thought it would.  I was worried I was either not going to be able to get up or try too hard to get up and fall off the other side of the horse.  Once I was up riding the horse was nice and once again with me on the horse we tried to get Hope on the horse she wasn’t thrilled with it but I was able to grab her and get her on the saddle and she settled down.  We took a little ride then took some pictures and then she was more than happy to get off the horse.

With Grandpa Rick still sore from the epic fall, we headed next to an Elk ranch.  When we arrived the kids noticed a pond to the side of the house and were fascinated by the pond.  The elk were a bit worked up and chasing one elk and hitting horns.  I quickly started snapping photos of the elk until the farmer decided that he was going to let them into a bigger area so they could run.  I couldn’t believe that he walked right in and told them to cut it out, opened the other gate and out they ran.  We then headed over to his magnificent garden. 

The kids had a good time exploring the garden and playing on a wheelbarrow with Grandma and Grandpa.  The farmer was nice enough to share some of his harvest with us including the biggest beet I have ever seen and daikon a mild type of radish.  Needless to say we ate well that night.

Speaking of eating, I think we almost exhausted all of Gackle’s Fine dining.  We ate lunch the one day at Tasty-Freeze and I think we overwhelmed them with the huge crowd that we were.  On the day we were there and at that time the Tasty-Freeze is the only place to eat in Gackle.  The kids enjoyed our Gackle fine dining experience giggling and laughing followed by ice cream. 

With all there was to see and do in Gackle we still found time to head to the big city of Jamestown about a 45 minute drive from Gackle.  We headed there twice; the first time was to have dinner on Grandma Ruth’s birthday.  It was nice that we could be there for her birthday and watch the kids help her open her gifts.  Okay, they opened her gifts as she watched but I don’t think she minded.

The second time we headed to the sprawling metropolis of Jamestown was to visit a Wild West town and the world’s largest buffalo statue all 60 tons of it.  I wonder how much the largest ball of string weighs.  The Wild West town had wrapped its season Labor Day weekend so we just missed the stage coach rides and the pony carousel but I think the kids had a better time riding the horses on the farms.  The kids ran over to a little playground that was in stagecoach form with the spring horses out front and Hope had a great time on those.  Funny how she doesn’t like to ride a real horse but a fake horse on a spring is okay. 

We walked down the Wild West town looking into the bar, the post office, and the newspaper but Little Man’s favorite was the jail.  We spent some time pretending to lock each other in the jail.  At one point, I told Little man that there was a big spider in the corner of the cell and as he got to the back of the jail cell, I slammed the door shut, it was such a Brady Bunch moment.

I had just been wondering if Little Man’s love of trains was starting to fade when what did we find at the end of the Wild West Town but a train station and a caboose. 

Little Man jumped right into the caboose and started exploring.  I guess the love of trains is still there, I thought at one point that we may never get him out of the caboose.  I have to admit as well that I also loved exploring the caboose and climbing up to the top level and seeing how they would look out.  I guess my love of trains hasn’t gone away either.  Even though Hope doesn’t share our love of trains she still had fun climbing and playing in the caboose with us.

Hope did find a room with a bunch of old dolls in the Wild West town and she informed us in her own way that they were all hers.  Thankfully the dolls were all locked behind glass.  Hope also loved it when we found an old piano that kind of worked inside the Wild West town’s church.  With a huge smile on her face she played a great song for all of us but it probably was a good thing there wasn’t a cemetery next to the church because she probably would have woken them.

We reached the end of the Wild West town and started to head back to the car it seemed like the kids wanted to do everything again.  One more time inside the caboose, one more time to play on the piano and of course one more time playing sheriff in the town jail.   The kids had a great time at the Wild West town and both of them got a good nap on the 45 minute drive back to Gackle; I think the rest of us wish we could have napped as well.

On our last day in Gackle we headed out to see another farm, this farm has some really big high tech tractors.  Before we got to the tractors they offered us the opportunity to climb to the top of one of the dryers, they don’t look that high but it was a long way to the top.  When we climbed down they opened up the dryer door so little man could see the seed drying inside he immediately grabbed his nose and told us it was stinky.

Next we got to see the semi truck they used, Little Man could hardly wait to climb up in the cab and grab a hold of the wheel.  He had a huge smile but he was a bit confused when they told him to pull on the string hanging above.  The loud truck horn sounded and I think scared him a bit but he laughed and so did the rest of us.  Naturally Hope had to have her turn on the horn as well, she reached up and yanked on the cable, the horn sounded and sounded and sounded and with a big devilish grin on her face she held tightly to the horn cable.  We finally had to get up there and get her hand off the horn. 

Tractors were all over Gackle but this farm had some really nice tractors. 

I had always heard about GPS driven tractors but never actually seen them or ridden in one.  This was going to be a treat for both Little Man and me.  The giant sprayer emerged from the barn and as Little Man pointed out started to unfold its big sprayer arms just like a transformer.  Little Man, Hope and I climbed into the tractor with the farmer.  He drove us around the farm showing us all the computer screens and explaining all that it could do and yes it could drive itself and spray all the crops and not miss a spot or overspray a spot.  Little Man of course found his way into the farmers lap and started driving the tractor.  After we got out of the tractor Grandpa Rick showed Little Man how the sprayer arm was controlled by sonar.  The sonar is pointed at the ground so the sprayer arm is always the exact height above the ground.  Little Man had a great time putting his hand under the sonar and watching the huge arm spring up in the air. 

Before we left, Grandma Ruth decided to take the kids on a ride in a little Polaris Razor.  I’m not sure where they went or how fast they went but when they returned Little Man had a big smile on his face and all he would say was that Grandma Ruth is a crazy driver.  I asked if he had fun and he laughed and said “YA!”  I think Grandma Ruth had fun as well but eventually it was time to get out of the little Razor and that’s where her fun ended.  I do think she would do it again to see the smiles they had on those little faces.

We wrapped up our time in Gackle, loaded up the family truckster said our goodbye’s to Grandma and Grandpa and started the long trip home.  Once again, we had a time limit so we needed to get back; the Green Ninja Turtles Soccer team needed their coaches and star player.  We drove and tried to get as close to Minneapolis as we could but also wanted to leave time for the kids to swim that night. 

We found a Holiday Inn that night that had a nice pool.  The kids grabbed their luggage and wheeled it into the hotel a sight I didn’t take a picture of but it’s stuck in my head of the two of them wheeling their luggage into the hotel.  We quickly changed in the room and headed for the pool; we were surprised when we found pools and not just a pool.  They had a Jacuzzi, a regular pool and a shallow kid’s pool.  The shallow kid’s pool is where we spent a good portion of the night.  The kids had a blast in that pool floating around in their life vest even though the pool was shallow enough for them to stand in I think both the kids and us felt safer with them in their life vests.  After they swam until they couldn’t swim anymore we headed back up to the room and I ran out to grab something to eat.  I found some hot sandwiches from the convenience store and the kids had a blast eating in the hotel room and jumping on the beds.  Luckily it wasn’t long before they fell asleep with their full bellies, good thing since we needed to get up early and finish the trip before our scheduled soccer practice.  We arrived home with about a half an hour to spare before we had to change and get out the door for practice.

The family truckster and the Steele’s were safely home and back into our busy hectic lives.  Our Gackle, North Dakota trip is in the books and a great memory.  The kids did great the entire trip, although I’m a bit jealous of the fact that they get to watch DVD’s as we drive.  I think about all the road trips I was on as a kid and how much I would have loved to be able to watch a movie.  I’m not sure what the kids will remember from the trip but I know I will always look back on it with fondness.  Why, because were the Griswold’s….No the Steele’s! 

Summer 2014

Well, I am finding it is getting harder and harder to remember everything I need to blog with the kids growing up so fast.  Summer seems to be the hardest and our schedule is just crazy. I know it’s only going to get worse when Hope gets older.    Soccer, t-ball, fairs, festivals and traveling have filled our summer and it’s still not over.

We had our soccer party for the Yellow Minions on a cold and rainy night but the whole night warmed our hearts with all the compliments we got from the parents about how much fun the kids had that season.  Mom did an awesome job of making some Minion cupcakes for the party.  Even Hope had a great time hanging out with all the kids and Little Man was great sharing his soccer friends with his little sister.

With only a short break from soccer, t-ball started.  I was going to take a break from coaching but I was talked into coaching one more time.  Little Man was already getting good at hitting the ball and running; he was having a great time playing in the backyard with Grandpa Jim pitching to him.  He was not too excited about having to hit the ball off the tee.

Little Man also wanted to throw the ball underhand instead of over and it took a bit of convincing for him to do so.  We have found some of the habits of Grampy Rock are now appearing in Little Man.  Grampy Rock would throw the ball underhand. 

When I asked Little Man what number he wanted for soccer he said 11, which was Grampy Rocks number when he was in sports.  The other day while sitting at a fast food restaurant, he began to tap along with a big band song on the radio and then said, “Hey this is a catchy tune.” Not something you would expect from a four year old.  He has also told us of how he had a dream that he was a pitcher and even told us how great a basketball player he is.  Grampy Rock was a pitcher and a great basketball player. He also never wants to wear a shirt which, once again, when Grampy Rock was home or on vacation, he never wore shirts, even in the dead of winter.  We truly think that Grampy Rock is his guardian angel and who better to be watched over by than Jynx’s Dad. He was a great man.

 Little Man was on the red team for t-ball and when it became time to name the team, he was very insistent on Minions but the actual name became the Red Squirrel Minions.  My assistant coach’s son wound up on the Purple team and they became the Purple Minions.  I took this as a huge compliment to how much fun the kids had as soccer Minions.  I was looking forward to a fun t-ball season, finally a sport that I understood.

Unfortunately the t- ball season was not that great; many of the kids on his team did not show up.  One game we had more coaches on the field than players.  Little Man and his friend Noah were the only ones to make it to the game and Noah’s dad was also a coach so that made for three coaches and two players.  We were forced to either play with only two players or merge with another team.  This meant either Little Man was chasing every ball or none at all.  A few times during the season Little Man asked if he could go back to soccer.  I think we are going to call it a bad season and try t-ball again next year.

 

Our Fourth of July was as hectic as ever.  I had to do my usual get up at zero dark thirty and head up to Elgin to direct the parade then as soon as the parade was over race home since we had the chance to march in a parade representing the Dyer Kickers Soccer League.  Luckily I was able to make it back in time to meet everyone to march in the parade.  I don’t think Little Man completely understood what we were doing and Hope was just happy to be with all the kids again.

We waited and waited and at times it seemed like the whole town was in front of us at the parade.  Finally it was our turn to start and Little Man got right into it handing out flyers to everyone.  He was very determined and even out ran a few people just so he could deliver the flyer first.  Hope rolled in her stroller in the parade pushed by Auntie Jea Jea, she made it about halfway until the heat and the lack of a nap got to her and she fell asleep.  We quickly placed her into the backseat of the pickup truck towing the sign and she slept the rest of the way.  The parade was great fun and a great memory for all of us.  After walking in the hot parade we took a break and stopped at Dairy Queen for some lunch and some much needed ice cream.

As if we didn’t have enough memories on the fourth we then went home for a bit only to head out again for Auntie Jea Jea’s bowling.  After her bowling we grabbed some sandwiches and met some friends to watch fireworks.  I was just about done and ready to call it, and then the fireworks hit the sky.  I wasn’t in awe or energized by their beauty but rather the looks on Little Man’s and Hope’s little faces.  The look of wonder on them was just simply amazing.  Little Man kept us all laughing with his claims that this was the coolest thing he’s ever seen.  We headed home after enjoying a wonderful fireworks show and both kids fell asleep in the car.

July is a busy month for us with the fourth, Mom’s birthday, Hope’s birthday, Little Man’s birthday and our Anniversary.  Plans for the kid’s birthday party were set into motion as soon as the fourth was over.  This year thanks to Little Man’s love of Disney Junior and Jake and the Neverland Pirates we were doing a pirate and pirate princesses party.  Our next days were filled with preparation for the party.  The party was planned for a week after the kid’s actual birthday.  I was able to be home for part of Hope’s birthday but had to leave that afternoon for work in St. Louis and was unable to be home for Little Man’s birthday.  We had talked about telling him his birthday was later or earlier when I could be home but decided just to tell him the truth. 

The morning of Little Man’s birthday I woke up in my hotel room and headed down the street to one of my favorite breakfast places, Waffle House.  I sat there reflecting on the five wonderful years we have had with Little Man when I realized the significance of where I was.  Five years ago on the night Little Man was born we had driven through the night to be with little Little Man.  After being with him the rest of that night we awoke the next morning and I told Mom that I had never been to a Waffle House in my life so we decided to try it for breakfast before heading to the hospital.  Five years later, there I sat wishing Little Man could be there with me.  I felt awful that night when I called home and Little Man asked, “Don’t you usually get gifts on your birthday?”  I did my best to explain, Mom helped out by giving him a few small gifts until I could get home.

A few days later I returned from my trip and we headed out to Chuck E Cheese with Grandma Rosie and Grandpa Jim to celebrate both their birthdays.  Jame wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese for dinner and before we left we opened gifts.  Hope loves dolls and all the strollers that come with them she also loves purses and shoes she loves everything you would think a girl would love.  Little Man then opened his gifts and I think he was a bit confused when he got a helmet.  We then told him he had one more gift but it was outside.  We had it stored over at Grandma Rosie and Grandpa Jims and they brought it over for the big surprise.  His expression as he saw the bike for the first time was priceless.

  We have been working a bit on riding without the training wheels but it’s a process.

After the big reveal it was off to our fine dining at Chuck E Cheese.  This was Grandma Rosie and Grandpa Jim’s first visit to Chuck E Cheese and to be honest I’m not sure who had more fun the kids or Grandma and Grandpa.  We played at Chuck E Cheese until we wore out Grandma and Grandpa.  Hopefully the kids had good birthdays.

Next up was the birthday party to top all birthday parties.  Pirate and pirate princess was the theme for this party.  My new friend Pintrest sent it over the top.  We tried to keep the menu simple hot dogs but then things got a bit crazy with chicken walk the planks, seaweed salad (just pasta salad) a watermelon pirate ship that no one wanted to take fruit out of since it looked so cute.  Cousin Meghan, Auntie Jea Jea  and Mommy teamed up to make a pirate island cake.

The bounce house was up and the barrel train decorated like pirates.  I built a Captain Hook ring toss game.  I discovered dismantling wood pallets and rebuilding them into tables which lead me to the idea that if I could build a table, why not a pirate ship.  The pirate ship took a bit of work, several pallets and some paint from Auntie Jea Jea.  The pirate ship turned out nice and has been added to the kid’s fun land in the backyard.  I grabbed some black plastic pallets and built another pirate ship and gave it the mast of Captain Hook.  For the party, I put a plank to walk and a slip and slide down the middle of the two boats.  I filled two storage containers with water balloons I tied them until my fingers were sore from tying them. 

I hid the two containers by the ships under a tarp and just before it was time I snuck the containers into the ships without a single kid noticing.  I gathered the kids around and told them about the water balloons and gave them the choice what ship to choose.  I was surprised that more of them chose the black ship over the wood ship but it worked.  The smiles on the kid’s faces as the epic water balloon fight started was nowhere near the smiles I saw on the adults watching the balloons fly.  Water balloons flew back and forth and the smiles grew larger.  I still think about how awesome the water balloon fight was and smile and laugh.

We also had a treasure hunt for the kids where a map led them from one location to the next.  They went from the back deck to the beginning of the trail to the front porch to the swing set then to the wood pirate ship then next to the garage and finally back to the back deck where we had placed a treasure chest filled with toys and candy for the kids.  The kids had a great time following the maps to find the treasure.  Little Man and Bayle we’re really into it and studying the maps.

Of course we had to have a piñata.  Little Man had picked out a treasure chest piñata but when we got to the counter there was a big rip in it so we had to settle for a pirate skull.  The only problem is the skull was a pull string piñata that I hate.  I still let the kids hit the piñata but it holds up almost too well.  The good thing is that every kid got a swing at it including Hopey. Little Man got two turns at hitting the piñata and I love the smile he gets.  As usual eventually the blindfolds came off and all out hitting occurred until the piñata broke open.    

The Pirate birthday cake was a big hit.  The kids stood behind the cake placed on top of the now empty treasure chest.  Everyone sang Happy Birthday and Little Man stood there almost bursting with excitement, he was so excited that when the song finished he blew out his candle and Hopey’s as well.  We quickly lit Hopey’s so she could blow it out.  All in all it was a great party and I don’t think we will top it but if we can maintain the same level it will be awesome.

With the birthdays behind us we had our 20^th anniversary together.  It still seems like last year we were married but according to the calendar it’s been that long.    The best quote for our marriage is from the 1989 movie Parenthood the Grandmother says “    20 years is quite a milestone but the best has only begun.

July, our busiest month was done and we moved into August.  National Night out was our next adventure.  We thought there was going to be fire trucks and naturally Little Man was more than excited to go.  When we arrived, we quickly noticed that there were no fire trucks but they had plenty of police cars and an ambulance.  Little Man was quickly interested in the swat team’s helmets, guns and tools.  He asked the guy all kinds of questions and tried on and held everything they would let him.  He was completely interested in the SWAT team until he saw the police dog and his attention went right to the dog and so did Hopey’s.  Daug! Daug! Is now what we here when she spots one and bi bi is what we here when she sees a baby.  The kids laughed and played with the dog then we got some food and enjoyed the rest of the festivities.  Then the police helicopter came flying in and all of Little Man’s attention went right to the helicopter.

The poor helicopter pilot had no idea what he was in store for when he landed at the park.  I had to do my best to hold him back as he was dragging me towards the helicopter.  Halfway to the helicopter another police officer started to talk to him and all Little Man wanted to know was how does the helicopter fly?  The officer started to explain how the roaders go around, “No”, said Little Man “I want to know how does it go forward and backwards.”  “I don’t really know” the police officer told him “but there is a pilot over there who can explain”.  Off we went heading right for the pilot and the question of how does it go forward and backwards was only the first question followed by a hundred others.  Little Man would ask a question and then look a bit more at the helicopter and come back with more questions.  At one point, I couldn’t help but laugh as Little Man tugged on the pilots pant leg and as he turned he said “Boy you have a lot of questions.”  Who knows maybe Little Man will be a helicopter pilot.

Last year was our first trip to the Indiana State Fair and we decided to go again and squeeze in a visit to see some relatives near Indianapolis.  We arrived in Indianapolis and the kids were very excited to be at the fair.  The threat of bad weather and it being a week day made the crowd was not as big as last year.  The kids of course wanted to head right for the rides but we needed to stop for lunch and what a better place than the State Fair, why not when you can get just about everything deep fried.  I went to get a burger and almost ended up with a burger on a doughnut; I thought about it but decided not to.  The kids ate better with the threat of no rides until they ate more. 

What better to compliment a deep fried fair lunch than some carnival rides.  Hopey was smiling and pointing wanting to go on every ride.  Unfortunately Hope is at that height where she cannot even get on all the kiddy rides.  Little Man however is at the height where he can go on a few of the adult rides.  Lucky for him Dad loves rides just as much.  We were able to convince some of the ride operators to allow Hope on some of the rides including the boats that just go around in a circle.  I’m not really sure why there’s a height restriction on that ride.  Little Man had no problem tackling the adult rides with a big smile on his face.  I have to admit I was a bit nervous for him on the flying kites with the kites so large and him so small, I held onto his hand just to be sure he was okay.  Just as with every ride we went on he got off and immediately wanted to ride again.  We did a pretty good job of riding every ride the kids were allowed on.  Hopey got a bit tired at one point and spent some time almost but not quite sleeping in the stroller.  Little Man had fun in two of the fun houses one for kids and the other an adult fun house that I think he was hiding and trying to scare people.

After we rode our hearts out we headed over to see the farm animals.  I think it’s always good for the kids to see the farm animals.  We walked through the pigs, horses, sheep and cow barns.  In the cow barn the kids were able to feed and pet some calves.  Hopey was a bit tentative around the calves but Little Man got the biggest kick out of holding a bottle that a calf was nursing from.  We then walked over and watched as the farmers milked a few cows.  Mom and I did our best to explain why and how the cow’s milk and how they would use it to feed their baby calves.  I can only hope that a bit of it sank in.

We later walked to the other side of the fair where we found a farm for kids where they got a basket and an apron.  Then followed a path through a farm to gather seeds, eggs and other things made on the farm and then turn them in for play money and then buy snacks with them.  The kids absolutely loved it and we had a great time with it as well.

We ate dinner as well at the fair and finished it off with deep fried red velvet Oreos and some deep fried chocolate chip cookie dough.  We rode a few more rides but the day was drawing to an end and we started heading back to the car.  One more refill on our huge lemonade cup and two funnel cakes one for Mimi and the other for the ride home.  The kids changed into pajamas and we were not even off the fairgrounds when they started falling asleep.  We drove over to the relative’s house to spend the night.

The next morning Little Man woke up wondering where he was, I guess the State Fair really wore him out.   They live on a farm outside of Indianapolis and they had just gotten a new puppy both Jame, Hope and the puppy hit it off.  I only wish I could bottle the energy the three of them have.  Jame had a great time with the puppy and the puppy had a great time tackling Hopey.  I asked Little Man how he liked the puppy.  “Good but he’s a bit arduous”, he responded.  I asked if that was even a word.  “Yes!” he responded “Okay then what does it mean?”  I asked, “Restless and hard to deal with”, he responded.  After a quick Google search I couldn’t believe it he was right.  I had to tell Mom and her response was to ask where he learned such a fancy word and he responded “Fox News” He is constantly telling us about sea life but we know he gets it from one of his favorite shows, Octonauts but this was definitely a new one.  Good luck to his teachers this year.

We had to cut our time in Indianapolis short so we could head back for the first of many meetings for the new soccer season.  This time it’s only Coach Mom and Dad, Coach Tim moved on to coach his own team so it’s all on us this season.  I guess one season under my belt and I’m the old coach who had to help along with Little Man to train the new coaches.  I do feel for the guys for as wonderful as coaching has been I remember how nervous I was that first season.

Next up on our summer was Ludington, MI.  We headed up there to see Grandma Vicki and Grandpa Mike at their cottage.  We had a great time in Ludington; the day we arrived the weather was not that great and Mom had some bad grapes that gave her food poisoning so we just chilled out the first day.  The kids had a great time with Grandma Vicki.  The next morning with Mom still under the weather we loaded up the motor home and we all headed to the beach.  Little Man had done nothing but talk about going to the beach and he was so excited when we finally arrived it was all we could do to get him to wait for the rest of us.  Although the water was a bit too cold for more than anything besides your feet and legs we had a great time on the beach.  I was able to take some long walks down the beach with the kids.  Mom did come out of the motor home for a bit to enjoy the sunshine but she was still suffering from the food poisoning.  That night we took a tour of the town and wound up at a burger and ice cream shop for dinner called House of Flavors.  They make their own ice cream and boy was it good, poor Auntie Jea Jea ordered mint chocolate chip and I think she got some of it.  Turns out mint chocolate chip is Little Man’s favorite ice cream and Hopey is just a sweet-a-holic.  The next day we took a quick tour of the dam and state park before we had to head back for the first soccer practice of the fall season. 

We are no longer the Yellow Minions; we are now the Green Ninja Turtles.  Little man wanted to be the Green Dinosaurs but he didn’t have the votes behind him for that.  The name came down between the Green Machine, The Green Apples and Green Ninja Turtles.  I wanted to be the Green Minion Pigs but I didn’t have the votes either.  The first practice went well but I do miss my Yellow Minions.

I do have to take a moment now and write about last night, our lives are very hectic and the calendar fills up quickly but sometimes in life it’s the unplanned moments that are the best.  With the Jeep at the mechanics, I took the train downtown but Mom and the kids came to pick me up. 

We decided to head over to Rainforest Café for dinner or as Little Man called it the jungle place.  Their eyes lit up when we walked in looking at all the animals and the huge fish tanks.  Hopey was just fascinated by the gorillas and kept pointing at them and if we allowed her she probably would have spent the entire night by them.  I promised the kids if they ate well we could order the volcano dessert and it worked like a charm.  Little Man finished off his pizza with the help of Hopey who decided she wanted it as well.  Little Man is an awesome big brother to his little sister.  The volcano arrived with the sparkler on top and their eyes lit up once again.  I do have to admit the volcano was pretty tasty.  We walked back to the car it was just a fun unplanned night with the kids.

I’m all caught up on our hectic summer but it’s still not over we are leaving soon to travel to Gackle ND where Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Rick have moved.  Little Man went the other day for his preschool orientation and our first Green Ninja Turtles soccer game is coming up.  The kids are at such a fun age I know it won’t but I wish it could last forever.