Mini Clay Art

Ledger got a couple of crafting packs for Christmas this year. One of them was a kit for making cute little things out of clay. We were looking around for something to do one night and figured we could bust this thing out and give it a try! The kit itself had 8 or 10 little lumps of colored clay, a few tools, and instructions on how to make them last.

We set up shop at the kitchen table, and each grabbed a color or two. The kit itself was designed for making little trinkets for a bracelet, so we had to keep things very small. That was the best part of the project: how intricate could we make our creations while keeping them as small as possible! As expected, Diana was really good at it. She's got the steady hand and patience to really focus on the details. Ledge and I did our best at making silly creatures and make each other laugh with how strange they were. After they were done, we brushed them with the included gel and baked them in the oven. At the end of the night we had some great looking little figures and had a really fun time together!

(see the finished figures here)

Icy Fun

The snow has been coming down pretty good this week, covering the landscape in beautiful white. Unfortunately, the extreme cold comes with it! The past day or two it's started to warm up a little, which means there are a bunch of icicles coming off the house. After pointing it out to Ledger, he decided he wanted to check it out! He went outside, without a coat as only teen boys are foolish enough to do, and broke off a few of them and crashed them on the deck, throwing them up in the air for maximum impact. I tried my best to stop him from licking them, but again, he's a teenage boy, so all my attempts were in vain. 

We've been huddled inside trying to stay warm so long that it was great to see him brave the outdoors and play around for a while! I'm sure it'll be a long winter, but at least we can enjoy it.

Taller

We don't know exactly when it happened. Maybe we weren't paying close enough attention to it. Nonetheless, we realized it today: our son is taller than his mother! What?!? How did this happen? He's not old enough! Diana is far from short- he's not supposed to be taller than her, is he?

Well, it turns out that against or strong objections, Ledger continues to grow up. Our adorable little guy is no longer little (he's still adorable though!). He has shot up over the past few months, and his voice keeps getting deeper and deeper. Before we know it, he will be a full-grown man! Diana and I are going to have to do some real soul searching to make peace with this idea, that our little boy is growing up to be a great man. The old adage is true: the days are long, but the years are short!

Library Battle

When Ledger was little, the local library was a godsend! A public place with special events for kids where they could learn and play- exactly what we needed! Since then he goes less often, but they still have great activities. Most, as you would expect, are geared toward little kids, but our local library also does a bunch of events for the older kids. They have a 'teen room' filled with the latest tech, things like professional level computer drawing pads, VR headsets, and 3D printers that they can come and use. Ledge loves to go there from time to time and play in the teen room. They've also got some fun special events as well. One of the coolest events they have is a 'Nerf Night', the kids are invited after the library is closed, to come in with Nerf guns and go nuts! Ledge invited his friend Emmerson to join him and the two of them had a blast. He said they played a bunch of games including 'capture the flag' all around the library, shooting off their nerf darts at each other. At the end they even had cookies and juice. What an awesome event- I wish they had done cool stuff like this when I was a kid! 

Happy Anniversary

You know what's really shocking? Somehow, I've been writing this blog for 20 years! What?!? That's right, I've been doing this since 2005! I remember, lo those many years ago, thinking that I'd give this blogging thing a try, but like most fads, I'd get sick of it and move on to the next thing. Well, I guess I was wrong. It's become an online journal for me, keeping track of all the different things I've been up to and collecting my thoughts and experiences for posterity. 

It started off as just a lark, something fun to write silly thoughts and opinions on, but as time went on, it became a place for me to compile all the different events in my life and try to appreciate what I was going through. And I have gone through a lot! Reflecting on what life was like for me back in 2005 vs. my life now is pretty shocking. Back then I was starting my 4th year of teaching, my second year in Indiana. No prospects of much of a social life and no dating prospects in years. Now, all these years later, I've been happily married for 16 years, I've got a 13 year old son, an adorable dog, and I live in Michigan as a supervisor at a factory. What?!? Who could have seen all that coming?!? Certainly not me!

I feel like I've become everything I wanted back then, with a few curveballs as well. I'm much happier and more fulfilled in all areas of my life and genuinely enjoy this life I've build. And amazingly, I'm still writing on this silly blog! Though there have been times where I write a lot, and times I haven't written at all, I will continue to keep poking things with a stick for years to come. 

Here's to 20 more!

Cabin Time!

Once a year I get my own little retreat. A night with the boys up north at the cabin! It's been an annual tradition so long that none of us can actually remember when it started. It's been more than 20 years, we know that, but as with most things at the cabin, the rest of it is a bit hazy...

The Friday after Christmas we met at our usual location: Aaron's driveway. We were definitely pumped for the trip and pumped to see each other! Some of us hadn't seen each other since the last time we went last year. We may not spend as much time together as we used to, but the moment we are together it's like no time has passed at all. We filled up the vehicle and we were off! Chatting and laughing the whole way up, we stopped, as is our custom, in Big Rapids for lunch, and then eventually found our way, after a little jog in the road, to the good ol' cabin!

Settling in, getting the fire started, freezing for the first hour or two. All part of the joy of being there! We decided to do something different for dinner this year, opting to skip out of Sporties, we drove north of town until we found a restaurant that was open. Now here's the thing with trying someplace new: it's not always a success... Was the food good? no. But was the atmosphere good? Also no. But at least the service was good? Also no. I don't think we will be going there again, if I'm being honest...

Returning to the cabin, it was now time for the main event: game time! We gathered around the table, put on an Aaron original mix of music, and got busy playing dumb games and making each other belly laugh for the rest of the night! Eventually we got to the chatting part of the night, except Jon, he called it quits pretty early. Sleep came a callin' and finally we all tucked in for the night.

The morning, as always, it mostly about waiting for everyone to wake up so we can make a run to the gas station and use the bathroom or get coffee. With everyone up, we cleaned up and gathered our things. Another successful cabin trip is in the books!

(more pics: 1, 2) 

South Bend Christmas

A bit unusual to be down in South Bend on Christmas morning, but it's been an unusual season. We did Christmas with my family and our Christmas a bit early this year because we wanted to make sure we had as much time as possible with Diana's family. David's daughter Alanna and her son Tavish were visiting for the week from Boston, so we wanted to make the most of it. We drove down the afternoon before Christmas to see everyone. Staying in Mom and David's place along with Alanna and Tavish made for a really packed house, but that's part of the fun!

Ledger and Tavish get along really well together and were both pumped to see each other! They have been best buddies ever since they were toddlers, and this visit was no exception. Minute one, and they are already laughing, smiling, and talking a mile a minute! We took it a bit easy that first night, getting everyone settled in and catching up. By Christmas afternoon Barbara, James, and Dad all stopped over for the gift giving festivities. We, as always, had a great time giving and receiving gifts, filling our tummies with delicious food, and then chatting the afternoon away. After all the guests left, everyone found a little cozy spot to take a short nap. When we woke up, it was time for ice cream and pie- perfect! We were able to stay another day and a half, which was a lot of relaxing fun!

(more pics)

Night Before Christmas

We decided to throw tradition out the window this year! Usually, we have our family gift giving on Christmas morning after eating cinnamon rolls. But with our plans to go to South Bend to be with Diana's family, we are not going to be at home on Christmas morning. So, we had some options: either bring all the gifts with us or wait until we got back. Neither of those sounded very good, so instead we made the decision to have a Christmas night!

This was a little weird for Ledger, opening all his gifts before Christmas- and at night! But for me, this was pretty normal. Growing up we never opened gifts on Christmas day, and usually we would do it in the evening. After a little bit of adjusting our plans, we began our night of prizes! Fortunately, I had been on top of it this year and already had all the gifts wrapped. Normally I do that on Christmas Eve but got lucky this time. We popped some Christmas cookies in the oven, turned on the fireplace channel on the TV, and gathered around for a special evening!

As always, almost all the gifts were for Ledger, but I did manage to get a few goodies for Diana, and she got me some as well. Ledge was quite pleased with the little gifts and toys we got for him, but of course he didn't make it easy on us. He never actually gives us a Christmas list, he just says we can just get him 'whatever'. Ugh. That makes it much more challenging to find things that he will actually like! I think we did pretty good, there were some big winners and a few 'meh' gifts, but overall, he was very pleased. Diana loved her prizes and so did I! Finally, the last gift to open was the biggie: this year we got Ledger a new queen-sized bed! He had been complaining for months that his twin bed was too small, and his feet were hanging off the end, so we fixed that with a huge queen-sized foam mattress and frame. At first, he was a little disappointed because he just saw the box, but once we opened it up and the foam started to expand, he saw how huge and comfy it was going to be and then he was all on board! We had to let it sit overnight to firm up, but he was filled with excitement about getting it set up in his room.

Overall, another successful family Christmas!

(more pics: 1, 2)

Brinkmas '24

For the past several years we have had Christmas with my family on Christmas day itself, but this year we bumped it up a bit and got together several days earlier. We still had all the usual fun- games, gifts, and fantastic food!

Chad and his family came down early and stayed with Mema and Papa for a week or two. The rest of us arrived late afternoon. Once everyone was there, the festivities began. We start with a little gift game for the kids. My mom always comes up with something different each year. One year it involved a ball of saran wrap and mittens, another year it was a dice game. She always finds something creative and silly! This year there were a bunch of upside-down bowls that the kids had to pick. As always, everyone had a blast with lots of laughs and lots of candy and gift cards by the end!

Now with that out of the way, we all headed downstairs, each taking a bowl or plate filled to the brim with tasty food. Everyone filled up their plates and drinks, found a seat to settle into, and chowed down and chatted. After we each got a second (or third) helping, it was time for the main event: presents! The kids are always thrilled with all the amazing prizes from ol' Mema and Papa, and we get to spoil the nieces and nephews as well.

About an hour or so later, all the boxes have been unwrapped, and all the adults are exhausted while the kids try out their newest toys. There is, of course, the required wadding up of the wrapping paper and throwing it at each other, as well as helping the youngest ones assemble their colorful loot. After another visit or two to the table full of sweets, we clean up, pack away our newest acquisitions, say our thank you's and goodbyes.

Another successful Brinkmas in the books!

(more pics)

Oh, Christmas Tree

Winter is here, and so are our Christmas decorations! We've been a bit delinquent lately with decorating, waiting until mid-December to finally put them up... Better late than never, huh? I pulled out the dusty old boxes from the garage and basement and we opened them up and went about transforming our humble abode into a lovely winter wonderland!

First, in order to get the house in the right mood, we baked up some Christmas cookies- get that delicious smell wafting through the house. Next, we fire up the soundtrack to the Muppet Christmas Carol, and then we get to work! The tree goes first, then the lights, tinsel, and ornaments. Ledge, as always, has to hop into the Christmas tree box. Something he's been doing since he was 1 year old! It's still cute, but in a 5'10'' way... 

As we sing along with the Muppets, we get the place looking good! With a few well-placed seasonal knick knacks, we finish up the transformation. Now we are ready for Christmas!

(more pics)

A Super Dog Movie

One of my favorite things to do is hop on YouTube from time to time and catch up on all the latest movie previews. Often times I'll see that a new big movie dropped a trailer, so I check it out and watch five or ten more trailers for movies I've never heard of. Well, I had heard that the first Superman trailer was just released, so I turned on the TV to check it out. I knew that it was going to feature Krypto, Superman's dog, so I figured ol' Wiggins would want to watch it as well! I scooped him up and pressed play. The preview itself was pretty great, lots of great dog stuff. Surprisingly, Wiggins wasn't very interested, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it!

(I didn't realize it at the time, but my wife was watching me and laughing at me the whole time- even had time to take a picture! Rude...)

A Song in His Heart

Fa la la! It's time for the annual Christmas concert with the ol' middle school. When first entering sixth grade, Ledger wanted to be in band. After trying out a couple instruments and realizing the amount of practice he would have to commit to, he quickly changed his mind and settled on Choir instead. We have been very happy with that decision ever since. For us it means we don't have to suffer through him practicing an instrument either, and also it means that our house is often filled with singing from a beautiful little boy's voice! Though he may not exactly like all the songs his Choir teacher picks, he is still using his voice and getting very good too! I was never a very good singer, once puberty hit anyway, but Ledge has continued to use and develop his voice- and it shows! Diana and I always look at each other with delight when we hear him singing any old random song from the other room- we just love to hear him!

As usual, we invited Mema and Papa to join us in listening to the middle school choir concert. It was surprisingly good- in fact, the choir teacher herself talked about how this has been one of the best classes she has ever had! The nice thing about that is she challenged them with some of the more interesting Christmas music. So we got to hear quite a few unusual and impressive songs during the show! Though our boy didn't have a solo, Diana swears that there were a few times that she could hear him individually. Afterward, all four of us got to heap praises on him, which he liked of course,

(more pics)

My portrait

I've recently been doing a few different things online, making some changes. I left Twitter, for obvious reason, and instead made a profile on Bluesky. Along with a new profile, I figured I could use a new profile image. I asked my son, the resident artist, if he could make an image of me in his style. Here is what he came up with- and I love it! Is he way too generous with the hairline? Sure, but I'm willing to pretend its accurate...

A Big Thanksgiving

After having put in our time with my folks, we headed down to spend the rest of the weekend with Diana's family! We stayed with Mom and David, but made our way to Barbara and James' house for the big meal. James is quite the cook, so he whipped up some really great food for everyone. The weekend was filled with visiting family, catching up, and lots of laughs. The biggest challenge of going down there to visit is always convincing Ledge that he has to come home with us when it all over!

(more pics)

A Small Thanksgiving

With everyone having plans for the Thanksgiving holiday, we weren't able to have a big get together with my side of the family. Well, we still found an evening to spend with my parents- Thanksgiving evening, in fact! The rest of the family wasn't able to come that day and was planning to see them later in the weekend, but our plans were to head down to South Bend for the weekend, so we had to get our time in while we could. My mom, as always, made us an amazing meal and gave us all tummy aches because we ate too much. Even still, it was nice to see them, as always!

Flick or Treat

After our epic trick or treating with the boy, we made our way back home and ordered some pizza from the local place. The boys were in no hurry to leave, so we filled our plates and went downstairs into my movie lair! I got to show it off to Adam. He actually lives in LA where the movies are made, so he appreciated my shrine to all things film. After telling him all about it when we came to visit him last year, he was very pleased to see it for himself in all its glory! (Aaron wasn't all that impressed, he's seen it many times before).

With it being Halloween, we had to pick a horror movie, of course. Everyone was down for some cheesy horror fun, so we watched Critters. The movie was surprisingly better than expected, throwing in random sci-fi elements, which of course I loved. After some good food and good laughs, it was time for them to pack it up and call it a night. We had a blast- we'll definitely have to do it again sometime soon!

(more pics)

Trick or Treat Gang

It's Halloween! About a month ago my friend Adam said he was going to be in town for Halloween and asked if he could hang out with us for it. Of course! I talked to Aaron and invited him to join us as well, you know, make a whole party out of it.

That afternoon the boys came over, the boy got his alien costume on, the wife all set up to hand out candy, and the four of us went to mosey around the neighborhood and enjoy the holiday. I know I often talk about how much I love my small town, but this particular day was one of the best! The cool weather, the spooky time spirit, and the local kids wandering around getting candy all mixed together to create a perfect small-town evening! It genuinely felt like a scene out of a movie: the beautiful town, the kids in cute costumes, and a joyful fall scene. It hardly felt real- and what a perfect evening to share with my favorite people in the world!

Ledge stopped by each house, getting more and more candy, as he laughed and mingled with all the neighborhood kids along the way. The three of us following at a distance, laughing and commenting on the different costumes and decorations. I really was able to show off how great our little life is here.

The whole thing just really made me feel like I'm a middle-aged dad doing stereotypical dad stuff. I mean that in a good way! I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love this town!

(more pics)

The Annual Boo Fest

One of Ledger's favorite traditions for Halloween is rewatching an old classic: Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest!

When he was little this was his very favorite movie. He would often watch it twice in one day, just start it up again immediately after he finished it. As the town gets ready for the fall fest, the man in the yellow hat tells the story of a spooky scarecrow from the town's past called 'No Noggin'. Absolutely harmless but also adorable!

We all gathered in the living room for the special screening, popcorn and drinks ready to go. We accidentally forgot to watch it last year, so Ledge was champing at the bit to see it this year! The whole thing is actually quite delightful and cute- it's even got a few banger songs that were stuck in our heads for the next several days...

After a really fun night, the DVD goes back on the shelf. We will make sure we don't miss it next year!

BSG Con

It's been a few years since they held a Stargate convention, much to my despair, but I happened to notice a few months ago that instead they were holding a special convention for Battlestar Galactica. Now, I had never actually seen the show before, but I knew Jon absolutely loved it and was obsessed. So I had a little talk with him to see if he would be interested in attending the BSG Con in the fall, and he almost exploded with excitement at the very notion!

With our tickets purchased and our hotel room booked, I had some homework: I had to actually watch the show! Over the next month or so I made my way through the mini-series, 4 seasons, and 2 movies. After watching the first few episodes I am relieved to tell you that I totally loved it! What a relief, how much would it suck if I didn't like the show and still had to go to the BSG Convention and pretend like I did?

Finally, October came around and it was time to head off to Chicago for the weekend and nerd out! Jon picked me up and we made the long trip. We scored a pretty good hotel room at the hotel it was being held at, so that made it so much easier for the rest of the weekend. Before we could settle into our hotel, we got to attend a few events with the special guests who were there for the convention. Turns out it was basically every single main cast member of the show! It was awesome to see them in person and hear their great stories about their time on the show and what other projects they have been up to since then.

I know there are a ton of attendees who take this whole show and convention really seriously, but that's not how Jon and I do it. We are super laid back, attend the panels we want to, otherwise we wander around the merch room or wander down to the seven eleven and get a slurpee or something. 

That night we walked over to the bar and got some great Chicago style pizza and hung out. I wasn't able to stay up too late that night. All this messing around with my sleep schedule had me a bit loopy and I zonked out pretty quick. By morning we were both up and ready for some more Battlestar Galactica love!

After two full days emersed in all things BSG, it was time for us to pack up and go. We had a total blast- a chance to leave our family worries behind and just be really nerdy. I loved it!
(more pics: 1, 2)

Moonlight Jack Returns!

Guess who's back! It's time for some Halloween decorating because Moonlight Jack has paid us a visit! As everyone knows, you are not allowed to start decorating for Halloween until Moonlight Jack shows up. And look- this time he brought his son- Moonlight Junior! Oh, we are very blessed this year to have them both stop by. Who knows what sort of fun and frivolity is ahead for our spooky season!

(In case you somehow forgot the legend of Moonlight Jack, here is a retelling of that old famous tale!)