a special guest or two

all summer we would get special visits from alanna and tavish, but it was quite infrequent.  well, all that was about to change- we got a surprise visit from the two of them!  it is always nice to see alanna, and ledger was super excited to be able to play with his cousin!  one of ledger's favorite toys are the laundry baskets, he loves to drag them into the kitchen and hop in them and mess around.  ledger showed off this fun new game to his cousin tavish.  the boys had a great time playing, and as it turned out, the visit was going to be a little longer than just for the day- we now have a house full with seven!

morning glory

diana's mom and david had made plans to go and enjoy a weekend in frankenmuth with a couple friends, visiting all the christmasy stuff there, getting ready for the holiday season ahead.  they spent weeks looking forward to it, and diana and i spent those same weeks looking forward to having a fun weekend together with ledger!  they headed out friday morning, and when i got home from work diana and i had a really fun night playing around the house with ledger.  saturday morning i got up with ledger and had some quality father-son time!  as a special treat for diana, i let her sleep as long as she wanted.  when she got up we even had a big breakfast: pancakes!  we don't usually get to have a big breakfast, so this was quite a treat.  we had a really fun morning, being silly together in the kitchen while ledger played along.  ah, truly a wonderful family morning!

drip, drip, drip

we have had a leaky tub faucet for a few months now.  i called a plumber friend a month ago to take a look at it and he did a little temporary fix on it, but unfortunately it didn't last.  well, now its time to pull out the big guns and take care of it myself!  after digging out a hole in the drywall and messing around with a lot of pipes, i got a replacement for the hot water handle for the tub.  it helped but didnt quite fix it.  after a lot of trial and error, i figured out that one of the seals had been cracked.  unfortunately, the cracked part was stuck and for the life of me i couldnt get it to budge!  after a second trip to the home improvement store (you know, i dont think i've ever done a job where i only needed to go once...), i rigged up a solution to the crack and behold- it worked!  i was rather pleased with myself, i must admit.  finally, that dripping is done!

chad's surprise visit

my  brother recently finished his most recent round of training in the military, so he would be sent back out soon.  taking advantage of the opportunity, he decided to surprise us and drive up for the weekend!  as soon as diana and i found out he was in town, we made plans to visit.  we were only able to stop up in grand rapids for an afternoon, but we were so glad we did!  it had been almost a year since the last time chad got to see ledger, so he was pretty amazed at how big our little guy is getting!  the two of them were able to spend some time together and play.  by late afternoon chad had to be on his way back to the base, but it was such a special treat to see him, even if it was for only a few hours!
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out to lunch

just for fun, diana and i headed out to the local restaurant, the 19th hole, for a bit to eat with out little guy.  he is getting so big!  he behaved himself very well, chatting it up with the waitress whenever she would come by- he's a ladykiller!  to pass the time while our food was getting ready, diana pulled out some of his flashcards.  he had a blast going through them and making the noises of each of the animals he saw.  when he came across one he didnt recognize he would ask 'daddy?'  and i would let him know what is was called, then he tried saying the animal for himself- usually to hilariously incorrect results!  he's got a ways to go yet, but he's getting better at talking everyday!

halloween party: adults only

after sugaring up the kids, i brought ledger home where diana's mom graciously offered to watch him for the night so we could stay out.  by the time i got back, the party was in full swing!  barbara and james stopped by to join us, and the festivities soon got underway.  veronica had planned out a couple fun games for us to play too- didnt want the kids to have all the fun!  by the end of the night we had wandered outside to the fire pit, where most of the talk turned nostalgic.  most of the people there had gone to high school together, so there was a lot of references to people and places i had never heard of, but is was still a ton of fun to just be a part of the hilarity!  we ended the night at an all night diner with about 10 of us.  it was a really fun party and i look forward to hanging out with these friends again!
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halloween game: donuts

another funny game for the kids to play at the halloween party was a donut game.  a donut was hung from the rafters for each of the kids, right at mouth level, and they had to try and eat it without using their hands!  it was really fun to laugh at the kids while they tried to chow down.  ledger seemed to pick it up right away- he never once tried to just grab it with his hands, he was all about the challenge of the game!  unfortunately one of the other kids accidentally bumped his donut to the ground, so rob got him another one and let him give it another go!  having never really had much sugar, he was shocked and amazed at this whole 'donut' thing...  when he finally got it off the string, he had both hands full of donut and was just chowing down!
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halloween party: ring game

diana, ledger, and i were invited by a couple friends to join them for a halloween party.  we were very excited about it- diana got together with a few of the other girls once or twice leading up to it so they could plan it all out using some great pintrest ideas they had been collecting.  most of the gang have kids themselves, so the party was broken up into two parts: 5:00-8:00 was the kids party, and 9:00-night was the adult party!  diana went over to rob and veronica's place earlier in the day to help set everything up in the garage and get it all ready, i headed over around 5 with ledger to enjoy the festivities.  there were a bunch of kids there, so ledger was thrilled!  the games that they had set up were a ton of fun for the kids to play- and for the parents to watch!  one of the little games set up was a ring toss, which ledger totally loved.  he had just so much fun with those kids- our own little social butterfly!

halloween commando

with halloween here, we wanted to dress ledger up for the costumed fun!  a few weeks ago diana got him a really cute lion costume, it was a full body costume with an adorable lion head.  the only problem was that every time we tried to get him in it he would throw a fit and start crying!  hmm, thats not going to work very well...  so we changed our plans a little bit and rummaged through his closet to find anything we could use for a costume.  the best we could do was camo and an military vest.  i guess our little guy is a commando this year by default!
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ledger's artwork

ledger loves to play with his toys, just like any other kid, but there's one thing that he does a little bit differently.  he really loves to try and make things balance on top of each other.  why?  i have no idea, but he takes such joy in it!  he will take one of his little toy figures and set it on top of something and walk around it to get a good look at it from all perspectives, and then he will call one one of us over to check it out.  he is so proud of himself when he gets them to balance on the strangest things!  to the left you will notice one of his most impressive feats of balance, the sheep on the baby gate.  what a masterpiece!  its almost as if, to him, they are some sort of art installation that is a form of his expression.  please, check out some more of his 'balance gallery' here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

self made halloween costume

so, we've got a holloween party coming up for ledger and we are trying to find a good costume for him.  a month or two ago diana found a really great lion costume for him, but every time we try to get him in it he screams bloody murder and throws a fit for a half hour!  perhaps sensing our frustration, ledger decided to find a costume for himself!  so, apparently our son is going dressed as a paper sack for halloween...
when diana and i saw him walking around with this on, i'm pretty sure we were howling with laughter for the next three hours!  i still cant look at this picture without giggling!

silly hair

it was ledger's most favorite time: bath time!  he loves getting in that water and playing around.  we try to let him stay in there until he gets bored, but the problem is that he never does!  one time, i think, we were in there for over a half hour- baby prune hands are probably the cutest thing ever!  whenever i get to give him a bath, i always like to mess around with his hair when he's done.  well, this time i made sure to get some great pictures of the wild styles we came up with!
check them out here.

farm counting

ledger has been learning so much so quickly lately!  he's able to say and understand so many words now that every day when i come home he's got a new one or three to tell me.  i always like to go through his flashcards with him or his books and ask him what different stuff on the page is.  he's got just about all the animals figured out- both their names and their noises!  i thought i would put him to the test though, and see if he has learned how to count.  i lined up a bunch of his farm animal toys and counted them out for him, 'one, two, three...' and then asked him to do the same.  much to my delight, he pointed out each one and counted out a number: 'two, three, two, three, two, three...'  i was duly impressed!  granted, its not quite right, but he certainly understands the whole counting concept!  before we know it, he's going to be talking in complete sentences and holding conversations with us- oh, i cant wait!

all smiles

ledger and i were just hanging out in the living room the other day.  i realized that i didnt have many pictures of him on my phone, which is really strange, because i usually take so many pictures! admittedly i had a bunch of pictures, but i didnt have any that were good shots of what ledger looks like right now.  most of them were him being active, running around or just taken from farther away.  so, we had ourselves a little impromptu photo shoot!
here are the adorable results!

meal and a movie

the other day james and barbara stopped by for the evening.  the came with a bunch of groceries and we made dinner together!  ledger was up for a few hours with us, getting the chance to spend some time with his auntie and james.  as always, he was a blast!  he really seemed to hit it off with james, playing with him and talking his ear off.  after dinner ledger went to bed and the four of us got a chance to hang out, watch a scary movie, and just have a great time.  i'm pretty sure diana's favorite part was the ample desserts that barbara brought as well!

by the book

one of the changes around the house that we have made was moving out the love seat and armchairs from the dinning room corner.  it worked perfectly, david took the love seat in to his office at work, and we were able to bring our love seat in to the house as well as a couple of book shelves.  we were a little worried about how ledger would act with the shelves of books, but we made sure to leave him the bottom shelf so he could keep all his books there.  its been going really well, he doesnt even seem to notice the adult books and leaves them completely alone, choosing instead to play with and pull out all of his books!  that should keep him busy for a while!

life is a zoo

diana and barbara planned a wonderful day for ledger: a visit to the south bend zoo!  they invited james, barbara's friend, and his neices to join them, and mom went along too.  diana said that ledger has so much fun seeing the different animals.  he loves animals so much that i'm sure he absolutely loved the chance to see them in real life!  his favorite toys are the animals in his farm set, always carrying them around with him making their noises- 'moo!'  'neh!'  'baa!', and any time there are animals on tv he always stops whatever he's doing to watch them!  diana said that he was loving every minute of their trip, and for some reason he thought everything was a turtle.  strange...
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brinkend weekend 2

after the boat ride we started getting dinner ready.  mom put the beans and stuff on the stove while papa, tim, jackson, and i gathered around the grill to prepare the brats and dogs for our feast.  when all was ready, we all piled in to the dinning room and dug in.  it was so wonderful to have my family with us at our place, getting a chance to see where we are and get to enjoy the house and lake.  i think we are going to need to do this again real soon!

brink boat

soon after they settled in, the kids wanted to go out on the boat!  they got in their bathing suits and we headed out.  as soon as the boat pulled out, a muskrat jumped out from behind the boat, freaking out all the girls!  well, there's no way jaidey is going in the water now...  we went around the lake, checking out the sites, and when we were in the middle of the lake papa asked if the kids were going to get in.  after the muskrat incident it took a little bribery to make that happen- he offered the kids a dollar if they hopped in.  almost before the words came out of his mouth, aves was mid-air making the plunge!  she quickly scurried back on the boat- the water was freezing!  jackson was willing to overlook that issue and he jumped in too.  aves took one last dive before they called it quits, making sure that papa was actually going to pay out!  when we got back to the dock the kids ran up to the deck and hopped in the hot tub to warm back up.
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brinkend weekend

my family hasnt had a chance yet to visit us since the change, so we made plans to fix that!  diana and i have been making a lot of changes around the house, moving out some furniture, bringing some of our stuff in and getting the place looking its best.  with all the changes going on, we wanted to show if off a bit to my family.  we found a weekend that worked for everyone to visit: mema, papa, tim, jill, and the kids!  diana and i were, of course, busy all morning getting the place ready to show off.  they arrived in the afternoon and we had a great time showing off the place, giving them the grand tour of our place, letting papa see first hand all the work i had done over the summer on the deck and everything.  they were duly impressed and pleased that we were so happy where we are.
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making mema a card

its mema's birthday soon, so we had better make her something special!  in preparation of my mom's birthday, i sat down at the dinning room table with ledger, a couple pieces of paper, and a bunch of crayons!  he has been really loving coloring lately, so i just let him loose!  i wrote a little birthday greeting at the top and then let ledger do his thing on the rest of the paper.  he did, of course, create a masterpiece!  after he gave it his final seal of approval, we sent it on its way.  since we werent going to be able to see mema on her birthday, at least she would have ledger's special artwork to put on her fridge.  i called her on her birthday and she was very pleased with her amazing ledger brink original!

hot tub bubble machine

with lissa's visit coming to an end, miranda and levi wanted to stop by and make the most of it!  the bother though, is that it ends up getting pretty late when they visit- they stopped by after levi got out of work, which is at 10pm!  they came ready though, the brought their swimsuits so that we could hop in the hot tub and hang out.  its always so much fun when friends come over.  i think i've been a little deprived of that experience living in griffith: i don't really have many friends there, so being constantly surrounded by them here has been an awesome change- i love it!  we wandered out to the hot tub by the end of the night and levi did his best to annoy the girls with his constantly fiddling with the controls- more bubbles!  less bubbles!  it was especially funny to watch miranda because when those bubbles are full blast she couldn't help but get blown away by them!  she's a little too short to fight against them as they take here away with the force of their current!  late into the night we finally came to our senses and realized that we actually have things to do tomorrow, so we should probably get some sleep...

south haven afternoon

lissa was in town for a visit and joined us for a meet-up with my parents up in south haven.  we drove up and met them for lunch.  we didnt have any sort of game plan for the day, other than it being a chance to spend some time with mema and papa!  we wondered around for a while downtown, looking for a great place to eat.  we settled on a pizza place a little off the beaten path.  it was a good choice because the food was fantastic.  ledger once again got the chance to show off the new new things he's been learning, impressing his mema and papa!  although the visit was too short, as always, it was wonderful to spend the afternoon with them!
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pumpkin repaint

with all the moving about, it was finally time to get the duplex ready to rent.  we did a bunch of cleaning and packing.  looking around the place, we figured a lot of the walls looked great as is.  diana had done a great job of picking some beautiful colors for each room.  the only exception was the living room- it had still been the dark pumpkin color i had painted eight or nine years ago.  the color wasn't bad, but now that the walls were bare, it was obvious that with all the scrapes and bumps on the wall, it was not looking its best.  so, i stopped at the store and picked up a few cans of white paint to cover it over, start fresh in the living room.  i was able to get it done in a couple coats, touching up some of the detail work elsewhere in the house, stuff like door frames and doors.  by the time i was done, which happened to be about one in the morning, the place was looking pretty good!  yikes, tomorrow at work is going to be rough...

mom's birthweek

it was diana's moms birthday, and we made a big deal out of it!  david insists that no one should celebrate a birthday- they should celebrate a birth week!  so all week long we had special treats like ice cream and pie, the two of them went out a time or two for special date nights, and we also gathered together, the whole family, for a special birthday dinner!  we went to the texas steakhouse with the whole gang: mom, david, alanna, scott, tavish, barbara, diana, ledger, and i.  as always, its hilarious to see ledger and tavish together.  the two of them loved the chance to laugh and play, doing their best to make as big of a mess as possible! after dinner we all headed back to the house and had a chance to play together in the backyard.  a wonderful end to a banner birth week!
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stopping by

diana had a few errands to run, so ledger and i had a couple hours to kill.  what better way to spend a sunny afternoon than with a visit to grandpa!  ledge and i loaded up and drove over to diana's dad's house to see how he was doing and to let ledger play on the slide that grandpa had gotten him over the summer.  he offered us a bit to eat, we got the chance to talk for a bit and play in the living room, then out we went to play on that amazing slide!  it was really great to just spend some time with dad; a chance for ledger to show off all the new things he's learned.  and, of course, to see that stinky little dog as well!
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pioneer times

usually if we got hang out with friends its people diana knows.  i always have a great time too, but it was nice the other day to have a friend of my own to hang out with!  jon was in town and we got the chance to meet up and hang!  he grew up in the area and was visiting his dad for for the weekend and we had the opportunity to get together and spend the day hanging out.  we met up for dinner at one of my new favorite places: salsa!  we caught up and had a blast just chatting it up.  after dinner we wandered around mishawaka randomly for a couple hours, making stops at the used movie store, meijer's, and eventually we ended the night at bdubbs to cap off our night with some chicken wings.  it was so refreshing to be able to unwind with an old friend, talking about life, wives, friends, and coming up with a bunch of hilarious new ideas and jokes!  man, i hope he comes to visit his dad more often...

skeeter!

we've had this strange water craft ever since diana's mom and david moved in to their lake house.  its some sort of hybrid water vehicle: its a bike mounted on two pontoons.  they retrofitted the bike pedals to power the paddles in the back, with a rudder connected to the handle bars of the bike.  weird, huh?  well, the previous owners must not have wanted it because they left in behind.  this summer we put it in the water and for the first time diana gave it a try!  barbara has taken it out a time or two, but diana finally decided it was her time.  turns out, she loved it!  she took a quick loop by the dock and laughed the whole time.  i guess its about time for me to try it too...

everyone's invited

one of diana's oldest and dearest friends is sarah, she grew up just down the street from diana and barbara so they spent a lot of time together growing up. now they live in michigan city so they dont get to connect as often as they used to.  recently we found a weekend where sarah, her husband vince, and their two kids could come over and spend the afternoon together.  it was a great time, we had a grill out with the whole gang, miranda and levi were able to spend the day as well!  sarah and vince have a son, sean, who is only a year older than ledger, so the two of them had a blast playing together!  as sean gets older, sarah passes down his old clothes to us, which is fantastic because they keep that kid well dressed!  which means we now keep our kid well dressed- score!  we had a great day of yummy food, a trip out on the lake and a bit of swimming.  it was so much fun- its really nice to be in an place where we can actually host friends and have a party together!
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cross country meet up

i have a couple cousins who live way out in washington state, way up by the canadian border in a little town called linden.  about a dozen or so years a go, back when i lived in salt lake city, i was able to take a great road trip and visit them for a couple days.  i havent had the chance to see them much since then, but diana and i had the chance to meet up with mike recently.  their oldest, cody, is now in college (yikes, i'm old!  but thats ok because they are older...) and he goes to trinity college in chicago.  cody is on the cross country team and had an away meet in michawaka.  his dad, mike, flew out for the weekend to see his son and go to his meet.  my aunt ruth and uncle don (cody's grandparents) decided to come down at cheer him on as well!  they invited my mom to join them, so we got the chance to spend an evening with all of them together!  unfortunately the cross country meet was too early in the day for us to go to that, so we missed out on seeing cody, but we did get to spend some time with the rest of the gang.  we met up for dinner and got to chat for a while.  ledger was in fine form, being such a good boy for us, giving us the chance to talk in peace, and still be adorable and do super cute things to melt his mema's heart!
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labor day fever

we had a great time at sandy pines all weekend, but on sunday ledger was feeling pretty crummy.  we tried to make the most of it, but he was feeling pretty under the weather.  he was running a bit of a fever and all he wanted to do was cuddle- and play with his ears!  when our little guy is tired or not feeling well, he always fiddles with those huge ears of his!  we spent most of the day just holding him tight and making him as comfortable as possible.  monday the fever continued, so we packed him up and took him home, hoping that he would be able to rest and recuperate a bit.  he was a perfect angel on the way home, he was so exhausted and beaten!  it took another day or two after we got back, but eventually he started acting like his ol' energetic self.  though, i'm pretty sure he had worn his ears raw by then!
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labor day potluck

as is the sandy pines tradition, all the friends and families from sandy pines came over to mom and papa's place for a potluck.  it was fun, as always, to see everyone again.  its funny to see just how many children there are now in the group- its like they are taking over or something!  ledger had a blast getting to play with a bunch of other kids and babies his own age.  and of course, the food was fantastic!

ice cream and rc cars!

after dinner we decided to go and treat ourselves to an ice cream cone.  we got there and the line wasnt too bad considering that it usually leads out the door about 100 or 200 feet!  the thing that has always shocked me about this ice cream place is the size of their cones.  we usually order a baby cone size and it ends up being about 5 inches tall off the cone- i couldn't imagine how much ice cream it would be if you ordered a large!  yikes!  as we ate we wondered around the play area on the beach.  we spoiled ledger a little bit by giving him a lick.  he enjoyed it and the walked back to play, would immediately turn around and want other lick!  i think we have an ice cream fan...
after the frozen treat, we went for a little ride around the park on the golf cart.  as we were driving by, we noticed that there was a bunch of people with their cars at the off road r.c. track.  ledger had never seen that before, so we stopped and got a chance to check it out.  i'm not sure who was more impressed by the car stunts- ledger or papa!
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that pesky squirrel!

soon after we arrived saturday morning, we headed over to the flea market.  we wandered around and had a great time just checking stuff out.  one of the neighbors had a booth at the flea market and were selling sunflowers, so my mom got a couple to decorate the deck.  we headed back to the trailer and mom set them up on the table outside.  we sat down and had a bite to eat.  after the meal we looked out at the deck and there was a pesky squirrel who seemed to have gained an extra measure of courage (or stupidity), he scampered up to the table and pushed over the vase with the flowers in it- and then ran off!  what a jerk!  mom was beside herself, mad as a hornet about the gumption of that crazy squirrel- diana and i were beside ourselves as well, but mostly because we were laughing so hard!

labor day weekend visit

with the week over, we were finally able to head up to grand rapids to get our little guy and spend some time with the family!  we headed up friday night and picked him up from tim and jills place- it was so nice to see him again after all that time!  oh, how he'd grown in just those five days!  we soon tucked him in to bed and followed quickly after...  in the morning i got up with him and got to spend some time with him playing around the house.  mema and papa were at sandy pines, so it was just he and i finding stuff to play with at the house.  i made him some breakfast and realized that the baby chair was still in the basement, so we made due with what we had: a big boy chair.  he was totally up for it and did a great job sitting still and eating his oatmeal like a big boy!  pretty soon diana got up and we all got ready for the day and headed out to sandy pines to start the weekend!
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a week away

diana headed down to florida.  it wasn't for pleasure though, her grandma who lives down there hasn't been doing very well, so diana, her sister, mom, and aunt all headed down to florida to move grandma in to an assisted living home.  they went down to pack her up and help with the transition into the new place.  with school started back up, that left the question 'what do we do with ledger?'  well, fortunately my mom and sister took up the slack and stepped in to watch him for the week!  what an awesome blessing!  diana was having a really hard time with the fact that she wasn't going to see her baby for five days, but she also knew that she was needed to help grandma.  she might not have another chance to see her, so this was an opportunity that she couldn't turn down.  so, in the morning diana said her teary goodbye to our little man and flew down to florida.  soon after she left i packed ledger up for his week away and we met up with mema and papa in south haven.  ledger was so thrilled to see them again that when he spotted them in the parking lot he ran to them yelling 'mema! mema!'  and i'm pretty sure my mom was just as excited to see him!  we grabbed a bit to eat together, and i said my goodbyes to ledger as well.  oh man, i'm not going to see that little guy for almost a whole week- and to top it off, my wife is gone too!  its going to be a quiet, lonely week for me...

classroom fruit

well, it begins again.  as august comes to an end, so does my summer break!  with the first day of school closing in, i head back to the ol' classroom and get it ready for the new year.  its always fun to come up with different ideas for decorating the classroom.  i know most teachers just put up the same stuff each year, the pre-made posters and wall hangings that they bought at the teacher store, but that's too boring for me.  since i have a little artistic ability, i like to try and make my room personal.  i make most of the stuff that goes on the walls, trying to make it tie in to what i do through out the year.  this year i plan to focus on some of the fruits of the spirit, so what better way to do that than to actually make fruit with the different spiritual qualities written on them?  now that i've got the room ready, my curriculum set, and some great changes in place, all we need now are the students!  and here we go again!

grandpa's playset

sunday afternoon we went over to visit grandpa again.  we had a great time like always, but this time there was something new, something special just for ledger: an outdoor playset!  diana's dad had bought ledger an awesome fisher price outdoor playset and put it in his yard so ledger would always have something fun to play on whenever we come over to visit!  how thoughtful!  ledger immediately ran down to it and started checking it out.  its pretty neat, its got a slide, a swinging door, and cool climbing ropes!  he might be a little too small to fully enjoy it yet, but i'm sure this soon will become his favorite thing to play on.  dad certainly seems to be taking his role as a grandpa very seriously!

chips and salsa's

taking a little break from working around the house, diana and i took our boy and headed in to the city!  we didnt really have any plans, but we just knew we wanted to have a nice afternoon together as a family before i headed back to school.  we found ourselves in michawaka and figured we should stop for a bite to eat.  diana had noticed the mexican restaurant called salsa's the last time we were around, so we thought we would check it out.  the three of us headed in and got ourselves some mexican lunch.  it was really really good!  both of our meals were fantastic and oh so tasty.  ledger had a lot of fun scribbling on his children's menu, sucking on a lemon, and checking out the cool decor.  diana and i were just pleased to be out and about together!  we made a few other stops, just taking out time and enjoying the chance to get together for the day.  with school starting again soon, these lazy days are going to be gone before we know it!

gatecon guests

the three of us headed out on time and got to the con with plenty of time to spare.  when we first got there we wandered around a bit in the merchandise room, but quickly headed over to the main hall to check out this year's special guests!  they had a really great line up for us: three of the original members of the stargate sg-1 cast!  each one came up on stage and shared some fun stories about the show and talked a bit about what they are up to these days.  jon and i had a great time hearing all about their time on the show and the anecdotes they shared.  jeffry lee, who is not so much of a fan, didn't seem to bored...  by the end of the day i was very pleased with the great time we had listening to the guests and getting some good loot at the merch tables!  before i knew it we were on our way home.  another great gatecon in the books!
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gatecon '13

its that time once again, that time i most look forward to all summer: gatecon!  every year for the past four years i have attended the stargate convention in chicago.  its a weekend gathering of all the local stargate nerds where actors from the show come and regale us with funny stories, answer questions, and just chat about stargate and life in general.  as a huge stargate fan, this is heaven!  the last couple years i've roped jon into coming along with me.  it wasnt too tough, considering he loves the show too!  well, this year he did a little sweet talking, and convinced jeffry lee to tag along as well!
the two of them came into town nice and early, which gave us a chance to hang out together for a while.  we got ourselves some chinese food and had a blast just catching up.  the next day i had to work, so the two of them went out and wandered around town till i got out.  we picked up a few pizzas and watched ourselves a dumb movie.  it always seems like the worse the movie is, the more fun the three of us have watching it!

the lil' gardener

almost every day diana's mom goes out to water the potted plants if they need it.  ledger always watches her from the confines of the house, peering out the window while she makes the rounds.  well, grandma found a cute little watering can for ledger, so he got to go out with her and help out!  grandma filled up her can and put a little bit in his as well.  ledger watched her pour it out onto the plants, so he tried to do the same.  he's not all that graceful, so most of the water ended up on his shoes!  well, he wasn't about to give up, so we put a little more water in there and i guided him on how to pour the water onto the flowers instead of himself.  he tried it a few more times, never quite getting it, but certainly getting better!  maybe a few more trips out there with grandma and he'll have the hang of it!
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dip in the lake

that afternoon everybody headed out on the boat for a good swim- even ledger!  he wasn't so sure about it at first, mostly due to the life vest he had to wear.  the whole way out to the middle of the lake he kept picking at it and whining about having to wear it!  once mama got in the water though, all was forgotten and he was ready to play!  he did a bit of splashing around, but he mostly just chilled out and enjoyed being wet.  everybody had a great time out there in the water, even had a few people jumping off the boat- cannonball!
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his first girlfriend

the other day alanna came over with the rest of her boyfriend's family for an afternoon of swimming at the lake.  brittany came along and brought her daughter bella.  now, ledger has only had limited interaction with other children his own age, so when bella showed up- oh boy!  ledger was obsessed!  at first he was just baffled by another person his size, but then he wanted to investigate a little bit more- he walked up to bella and tried to give her a hug, but it was about the most awkward think you can imagine!  then he kept touching her and playing with her hair, not entirely sure if she was real!  as the afternoon wore on he grew more used to her, but continually offered her his toys, staring at her, and even at one point trying to kiss her!  she wanted nothing to do with it though, pushing him away more than once.  girls sure are strange, huh son?  i would tell you that it gets better, but that seems just about par for the course...
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at the park

barbara came to visit with dear ol' sal.  it was a beautiful day, so we headed over to the local park for a little fun with baby and pup!  diana had brought ledger here a few times before, but this was the first time i was able to tag along, and it was a blast!  we pulled up and got ledger out and he went bustling over to the fun equipment to play around.  there were a few other little kids playing there as well, so ledger even got to have a little play time with some new friends!  after exploring some of the wooden equipment and a few times down the baby slide, we put him in the baby swing (sal too), and he was in heaven!  its really funny to watch ledge on the swing, just give him a little push and his eyes glaze over...  he doesn't really seem to be enjoying himself on the swing, he gets quiet and doesn't really move around much, but he is having the time of his life!  when you try to take him out of it and put him back on the ground, he would just throw a fit- put him back in the swing and he's a silent statue...  strange, huh?  after a while he was finally willing to leave the swing, so we got to play a bit more on the equipment and poke around in the sand and rocks.  he has so much fun at the park it almost makes it worth being outside for an extended period of time... almost.
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surprise visit

david has been really swamped at his new job, trying to get on top of the crazy mess left by the last guy.  mom has been helping him with the files and cleaning up the office.  diana kindly offered to help out if needed as well.  david took her up on the offer, so she and mom went to help try and get that place in order.  with the two of them gone, that means its some good old fashioned guy time with just ledger and i!  we had a great time playing around the house, making a mess of dinner, and being generally all around silly!  then i had an idea: how about we make a surprise visit over to grandpa's house!  i asked ledger if he was up for it, 'he ledge, wanna see grandpa?'  'ahmpa!'  he exclaimed.  i figured this meant 'why yes, dear father, i would love to!'  so we piled into the car and headed over.  i didn't want to get there and have him be gone, so i called him to make sure he was around.  we arrived and grandpa, buddy the cat, and poco were overjoyed to see us! (well, maybe not buddy so much...)  we spent an hour over there playing in the yard having a great time.  ledger played with the wheel barrow, the clothes pins on the line, and anything else he could get his hands on!  it was really great to spend a little time with diana's dad, he's always so happy to see his only grandson!
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a big leap

last year mom and david got tavish a leap frog game system to play with when he visits.  tavish loves it and played with it a ton, but when he's not here, then ledger gets a chance to check it out!  i pulled it out for him to play with and he was really excited.  we don't let ledger play with our phones, so this was really exciting for him- his own tech!  i turned it on and showed him a few of the programs it offers, it can read out a book and he can follow along, it can take pictures and video, it has a program to draw with.  all kinds of fun stuff!  after showing him all these fun things he takes it for himself and then proceeds to just push the power button over and over and over again.  on and off, on and off.  hmmm, maybe he's still a bit too young for this thing...

hiding around the house

'where's ledger?  where's ledger?'  our son's favorite game is peek-a-boo, and now he's taken it to the next level: finding spots to hide around the house!  right between the living room and dining room there is a nice cozy little nook that's perfect for hiding.  i was wondering how long it would take him to find it!  in the morning when we get up he loves to play around with his toys and poke around the room, seeing what sort of trouble he can get in to.  when he found this little spot he was so excited- he played in there all by himself with a few toys and melmo for about a half hour!  when he was in there i would loudly ask 'where's ledger?'  and he would peek his little face between the cabinets and railing and just giggle and giggle!  what a goofball!
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punk rawk birthday

i'm way to old for my birthdays to really be special events any more, at this point the only special ones left are when i reach the decade milestones.  diana and i didn't plan anything special for my birthday, which i was definitely ok about, but barbara did invite us out for a concert.  diana's mom was willing to watch ledger for the night, so we took barbara up on the offer!  one of her friends was playing in a punk band in south bend, so we tagged along with her and enjoyed the music and crazy fun of the night.  the music was loud, bad, and angry- just the way punk rawk is supposed to be!  it was a lot of fun and a great way to spend a birthday- thanks sis!
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south haven meet up

anxious to see her grandson again, my mom made plans for us to see each other in south haven.  its the perfect spot to meet, its about 45 minutes from both of us!  diana and i were thrilled at the idea- a chance to see mema and papa, and an opportunity to go out and do something fun!  we met up with them in south haven, and as soon as we pulled in to the parking spot, mom was already grabbing at the back door to see her littlest grandson!  ledger was ecstatic to see them as well, quickly squealing out 'mema!  papa!  mema! papa!'  we got everyone out and walked down to the pier on lake michigan.  ledger had a blast checking out the boats with papa, pointing and waving as they passed.  the weather looked like it might turn to rain, so we walked back in to town to eat, peaking in to different shops along the way.  we ate at clementines, which was amazing, and had a blast showing off all of ledger's new activities and words he had learned since last he saw them.  after lunch we wandered around town a bit more, checking out all the different sights.  then, unfortunately, it was time to go.  we had so much fun, we will definitely be doing this again soon!
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