7th Grade Handprint

The tradition continues! Every year since Ledger first started Preschool, we have gone to the craft store, picked out a new pain color, and put his hand print on the board. This year he picked out teal.

We keep the board downstairs, tucked away in the basement, only to be taken out the day before school starts. We put some paint on a plate, stick his hand in it, and make a new print each year. This is his ninth print. It's pretty cool to see his hand getting bigger and bigger each year. He's definitely getting more mature because he only puts the paint on the board now instead of all over himself!

The best part of the board is that we measure how tall he is on the back of it. It's really cool to see how much taller he gets each year. Usually its just a couple inches, but there have been some years where it's pretty dramatic how much taller he's gotten! Pretty soon he will be taller than his mother- he's already taller than his grandma!

(more pics)

7th Grade Intro

Unfortunately for Ledger, the summer is almost over. With only a few days of freedom left, the impending return to school was almost upon him. We went to the middle school open house to see what classes he was going to be in for this, his 7th grade year.

As usual, we had huge problems with getting his locker open. Last year was the first time he ever had a locker with a combination, so he really struggled with figuring it out, opting to just keep his backpack with him all day for the first week or two of school just so he wouldn't have to try to open it! Over the course of the year he got really good at it and it was no longer a problem at all, until now. This year he knew how to do the combination thing, but the little nob that he needs to turn to get the door open was stripped bare and for the life of us, we couldn't get it to turn! Argh! Well, we'll get that figured out later, but first we need to walk around to his classes and meet his new teachers. 

Ledge was actually looking forward to it. He doesn't hate school at all, and was kind of getting bored the past couple weeks, ready to go back and see all his friends. Some of them were there tonight and he got to talk with them and start planning the fun they would have this year. After meeting some of his teachers and talking with friends, I think he's ready for 7th grade to start.

Hot Dog!

The wife and kid are not much into playing card or  board games. Every once in a while I can convince them to play something, but not very often. We've tried Life, Skip-Bo, even a special Bill & Ted board game! It usually ends pretty quickly and one or both of them are pretty bored. There are really only two exceptions: Diana really loves Yahtzee, and all of us love the Hot Dog game!

What is the Hot Dog game, you may be asking yourself? Well, its a really dumb card game that was released based on the Dog Man property. It really simple and made for little kids, but I've got to tell you, we always have a blast when we pull those cards out! Some day I may be able to convince them to play a game that's not made for six year olds, but until then, we will be having a grand ol' time playing the Hot Dog game! 

Work Fair

Where I work they have a special summer picnic event where they invite all the employees, current and retired, to attend and enjoy the day together. They have all kinds of games and activities. It's geared more toward kids, so I was excited to bring Ledger. With it being my first year working there, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect.

Turns out it was kind of like the Allegan County Fair, except everything was free! We had a bit of fun wandering around and checking out the games and activities. It was way too hot to spend too much time out in the baking sun, so we found the big barn with all the food in it as soon as we could! Hamburgers, hot dogs, and brats were the order of the day- it was a picnic after all. We filled up and wandered the rest of the grounds, checking it out and saying hi to all the coworkers i recognized.

When the heat got to be too much for us, we made our way back to the air conditioned car and headed home.

Bus (Didn't) Stop

 Diana went down for a couple days to visit her family in South Bend. I still had to work, so I stayed home with the dog. All was going well until a city bus decided to run a stop sign. Now she no longer has a car.

She was driving over to her dad's place, driving safely, when the bus blasted through the stop sign without so much as a pause, causing Diana to hit it right in the side of the bus. Fortunately, she only had slight bruising on her knees and shoulder, but our vehicle didn't fare so well. It didn't take long for the bus's insurance company to get a hold of us. Knowing full well that they were at fault, they didn't even try to deny it. While that's great and all, it doesn't change the fact that our vehicle was totaled. 

I immediately went down to be with her. She was pretty shaken and doesn't feel like driving again for a while (can't blame her there!). We spend the night with her mom and David. In the morning the boy and I went to get our things out of the vehicle where it was parked and say goodbye to it. It was a good vehicle and it really makes me mad that we are losing it. Now we have to go though the hassle of finding another one and dealing with all that nonsense. Argh.

My Birthday

I never really expect anything special on my birthday. It just so happened that Deadpool & Wolverine came out on my birthday, so we went with Aaron and Lara to see that. I figured that was enough excitement for my birthday, nothing else needed. My wife, though, had a little something special for me- she had gotten me my own Marcel the Shell with Shoes On! What an awesome gift! I really loved the movie when I saw it in the theater. It was adorable and moving. So I was absolutely delighted to now have a Marcel of my own! Oh, wife, you spoil me! I found a great spot among my movie collection to have him hang out, and now he watches movies with me whenever I'm downstairs. Love it!

Double Date

It's been way too long since I saw good ol' Aaron. I figured, with a new Marvel movie coming out, it was time to correct that. He's come over to Allegan and we've gone to see movies at the Regent many times over the years, but this was the first time that he's brought a date!

I convinced Diana to come along, so we planned it as a double date. I can't remember the last time we've gone on a double date with my friends, so we were quite excited. They stopped by so we could hang out for a bit and chat. Eventually we headed downtown to see the movie. It was hilarious- we were laughing the whole time! I was surprised how much Diana liked it considering she hadn't seen many of the movies being referenced. Aaron and Lara loved it as well!

After the movie we wandered around downtown Allegan for a while, looking for a bar to hang out at. We found one that was open, unfortunately they only had their own brand beer- and it was pretty gross! Oh well. We called it a night and parted ways. Truly a fun night together!

Having the Boys Over

Every once in a while Ledger asks to have friends over. He hasn't very often this summer, so when he asked, we said sure! Emerson and Desmond were both dropped off around noon, that way they could get as much play time as possible! Granted, play time these days is a little different than it was a few years ago. Not as much running around and playing with toys, now they shoot Nerf guns at each other and play video games against each other on their devices. Still, they clearly had a blast, laughing and joking the day away!

Growing up I rarely had friends over, we weren't exactly the 'everyone is welcome' type of household. I would always have to go over to my friend's house. Granted, it was probably for the best, I don't think any of us would want to cross paths with my big brother... With that history, it's quite nice to now have created a house where he gets to have his friends over whenever he wants. Not only do we welcome his friends, but we usually spoil them with food and movies! We went out and got some delicious BK for dinner, and then the four of us took in a show! We went to the Regent and watched Despicable Me 4. The boys had a blast! It's always fun to see Ledge play around with friends.

After the movie we drove all over creation bringing the boys home- I'm shocked at how far away they live considering they all go to the same school! 

Yard Work

Though being outside is far from my favorite thing, it's not too bad when it's still kind of cool out. We had a weekend of lower temperatures, so I figured I should take advantage and do a bit of yard work.

We've lived here for almost five years now and I've never cleaned out the gutters. It was certainly time! I washed the front of the gutters, cleaned them out, and got them looking tip top! Since I had the ladder out, I got on the roof to clear off any branches and stuff as well. Our little dog was pestering me the whole time I was outside working, so I thought maybe he wanted to join me. I scooped him up, went up the ladder, and put him on the roof! He was quite confused by the whole thing, sniffing around and scurrying back and forth. After I got a good laugh, I brought him back down, safe and sound. I went back up and trimmed some of the branches that were hanging over the garage.

All in all, a good day of hard work out in the yard- and the place looks much better!

(more pics)

Zoo: Festival of Lights

It's been a really long time since I've been to the Grand Rapids John Ball Park Zoo, probably since elementary school, to be honest. A couple weeks ago Lissa and her family made plans to come into town to go to the Zoo's festival of lights. They invited us to join them, and figured 'might as well!'. I'm glad we did, because it was really cool!

The Zoo had set up thousands of light displays all through out the park and they were amazing! We got there in the early evening and met up with them at the entrance. It was great to see them and their families again. It had been since our visit to Frankenmuth since we saw most of Lissa's family.

The Zoo itself is set up in one long path through the entire place. You can just start at the front gate and walk the circle and see all the animals and attractions. We started our trek in the final hour of daylight, so the transition of lights in daylight into night was really cool! By the time we were done, it was pitch black out and the decorations were amazing!

(more pics: 1, 2) 

Father's Day

Back to Mom and Papa's place for a family get-together! We don't usually get together for Father's Day, but it had been a little while since we all had Sunday dinner, so Mom invited everyone over for a grill out.

It was good to see everyone and to get some good ol' fashioned summer grillin' out food! We all got to slap Papa on the back and wish him a happy day. Tim and I got a few slaps as well so we didn't feel left out or anything.

Last Day of 6th Grade

He's gotten so big! Our beloved child has now finished his first year in middle school- what?!? How did time pass so quickly?!? I used to teach middle school- how could I have a child old enough to attend?!? Witchcraft, I tells ya! But here he is, on his last day of 6th grade! He's so big! I'm kind of having a hard time dealing with him being so old, can you tell?

Anyway, he was really excited for his last day. He took my advice and wore the shirt that would be the funniest: a Snoopy shirt that said 'Is it Christmas yet?'. It was a lot of parties and goodbyes, which he loved! I don't usually pick him up from school, but with it being his last day I made an exception. When I picked him up I asked him if he wanted to go see Mama at work, and he was totally up for it! So we walked over to West Ward and wandered over to see Diana. She was so excited to see us! We had the opportunity to spent a little time with her as she wrangled the kids and got them to their parents on the last day. Finally we headed home with her and got to enjoy the final day of school and get excited about the first day of summer!

School Awards

A special day here in Ledgertown. He's finally being recognized for all his work at school! Diana and I made a special effort to attend the middle school presentation of the award show to recognize the great work that the students have accomplished this year.

So many students came up to accept awards, many of whom Diana recognized from her work in the elementary school over the past year or two.

We were delighted when our beloved boy was called and walked up to receive his much deserved award for getting 'A' grades all year! We were so proud! What an accomplishment! well done, little buddy, keep up the good work! He seemed pretty delighted too!

To the Lake

David's brother was having a birthday, so David threw a big party! He invited a bunch of family to come by and spend the weekend at the lake. The families of his brother and sister all showed up to celebrate the special day. With Alanna and Tavish in town, we were going to join in on the fun too, of course! Most of the extended family we hadn't seen since our visit last year to Maine, so it was nice to chat and catch up with everyone.

It was a real challenge for me to adjust to being up all day, but after a quick afternoon nap, I was able to enjoy all the outdoor fun with everyone. Ledge and Tav had a blast playing around a going out in the lake for a swim! They were allowed to stay up too late and slept in sleeping bags in the living room- the house was too full for them to get bedrooms!

(more pics)

Dad Visits

Every once in a while Diana's dad builds up the nerve to drive up from South Bend to see us. He's not a big fan of long driving trips, so it doesn't happen very often. Well, he's been seeing someone new for the past month or so and we haven't met her yet, so the two of them decided to brave the roads and drive up to spend a Sunday afternoon with us! 

We had a lovely time meeting his new lady. She is lovely! Ledger loved it because he had a new audience to share his drawings and animations with!

Eventually we all got pretty hungry, so we went out to eat. We were all up for some delicious Mexican food, which meant we went to Malia's in Gobles.

All in all, a very lovely visit!

(more pics) 

50th Anniversary

Wow, 50 years! Impressive! Mema and Papa celebrated their 50 year anniversary and had a party. Chad and his family came down, Jill and Tim and all the kids came too. We wanted to do something a little special, so after the delicious dinner, we all headed downstairs so I could show them the slideshow I had put together for them. There were some pictures of their wedding (oh the fashion!) and a bunch of us growing up as well as all three of their kids families.

It was a hit and everyone loved to relive the different memories! I left them a copy so they could watch it again whenever they wanted.

There was a lot of celebrating and reminiscing about all the good times we've had as a family. We've been really blessed to have such a strong example of a loving couple growing up- and still today!

Here's to 50 more!

(more pics) 

Choir Concert

 With the end of the school year fast approaching, Ledger got to put on a show! He is taking the Choir track in Middle School. He enjoys singing, so it was a better option that band or gym classes. Being in choir brings with it the twice-a-year commitment of performing in the choir concerts!

He's got a nice voice and likes to sing, but he's not much of a fan of choir class. Mostly he just gets annoyed that they keep singing the same songs over and over again! Well buddy, you've got to be able to perform them well for the concert! 

This spring performance had an oceanic theme, including a song from Moana! Now we're talking! As usual, he did a great job and was pretty proud of how it went after the show. We were pretty proud too, Ledge- great singing!

Diana's Birthday

Happy Birthday, my dove! As we get older birthdays become less and less of an important day. With it being a weekday, we couldn't really do anything too crazy, so instead of doing some amazing party or anything, we planned ahead and went out for dinner the weekend before.

Of course, I also needed to make sure she had some special gifts to open on her special day. I got her some boring clothes and jewelry, but I had to do a fun gift too. She was very excited to open up a brand new Barbie doll! See? 15 years in and we still find fun little ways to show how we love each other- and stay young! 

Game Time

We aren't much of a boardgame family, as much as I wish we were. Every once in a while I can convince Diana and Ledger to gather around the table and play a game or two, but it's usually just a card game or something that only lasts about 15 minutes. Even though I know this, I still keep trying to entice them to play games with me! I keep finding different games to try, either unusual ones that I have never heard of before but have some strange and fun twist, or I like to get themed games of stuff I love. I got a Stargate SG-1 game, but it looked super complicated, so I knew better than to try and get them to play.

I recently picked up an unusual game based on Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and convinced them both to give it a try with me. It was pretty fun! There were a bunch of trivia questions that were a part of the game, which kind of puts Ledger at a bit of a disadvantage, but we had a good time with it none the less. The next game up is a Gargoyles cartoon themed game. Wish me luck getting them interested...

Bee Sting

Look at this sad boy! While we were hanging out on our deck in the back yard, Diana and I noticed Wiggins wandering around chomping at the air. We looked a little closer and realized he was trying to bit a bee that was hovering around him. Well, it looks like he got it, because then he started scratching at the ground. A second later he yelped! He immediately came scrambling over to us, hoping on three legs. This poor dumb dog got stung by a the bee he was pestering! I picked him up and went inside to examine his arm, and sure enough, it was starting to swell a little bit. He then proceeded to give me this look as he held him little paw up to me as if to say 'make it better!' Sorry buddy, you are going to have to deal with that pain... I held him for the rest of the afternoon, poor little guy.