Basement Organizing

 Whenever I go downstairs to do anything, its always to watch a movie. That only makes up one part of our basement though, and the part where we store stuff usually gets neglected and is a mess. It's about time I address that! I headed downstairs this time with the express purpose of cleaning up the storage area. It's mostly a bunch of boxes and other random stuff without a home, so the biggest challenge of organizing it all is just figuring out what boxes to put stuff in! We have a room off to the side for just such a thing, but its currently filled to the brim with my brother's stuff. We've been storing it for the past couple years while he and his family are moving around because of military stuff. He'll be out soon and then come and get it all, but until then I'll make the most of the areas left. As you can see in the picture, the place is a right good mess. Though I'm cleaning up, I still figured out a way to watch a movie while I do it! We have a tiny 13 inch tv with a build in DVD player that I set on the work bench and popped in a movie to help pass the time! Before I knew it, the place was looking much better! Check out the 'after' picture here.

Snowmans!

Every time it snows Ledger always asks if we can make a snowman. It's his favorite winter activity, but so often I have to tell him no. Not because I don't want to go out there and play in the snow and make one with him, but because its too cold and the snow won't pack well enough. Every once in a while though, the temperature is just right, and when he asks I get to say 'Yes!' His eyes get wide and we both scramble to get our snow gear on! We both suited up and ran out to play in the heavy snow that's perfect for packing. We usually both start rolling a snowball around the yard, letting it get bigger and bigger until we meet and the right spot and decide who's snowball is bigger and try to pile them on top of each other. He then rolls a head for the snowman and I work to smooth them out and make sure they don't fall off. A couple years ago Ledger got a 'snowman kit' from his grandma, so we pull that off the shelf in the garage and use the different parts to adorn the completed snowman. Once he's taken care of the finishing touches, we have ourselves this year's embodiment of Stan! (According to Ledger, all snowmans he builds are named Stan). Another successful entrant into our annual snowman building!

Time Capsule

I saw this fun idea online and thought we could give it a try. Today is kind of a special day: February 2. That means the date is 2/2/22. The idea I read was to have your child make a time capsule and open it up in eleven years, on the date 3/3/33! What fun! That would work out to Ledger being 21. As a 21 year old, I bet he would think it was pretty funny to see what he was into way back when he was 10.

I ran the idea past him and he thought it sounded pretty fun. We spent the afternoon picking out different things that he was willing to tuck away for 11 years, and even wrote himself a note, a message to the 21 year old him! He wouldn't let me read it, so it'll be a fun surprise for all of us when we open it. Can't wait!

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Winter Theater

Sure it's the middle of the worst blizzard of the season, but that doesn't mean I don't want to go out and see a movie! There's a movie I've been wanting to see for a few weeks now. I waited too long to see it at the M89 theater but was lucky that it came to the Regent Theater here in town. Monday and Tuesday nights we were too busy, so I told Diana that I was going to see it on Wednesday. As fate would have it, Wednesday morning brought in the biggest blizzard of the season! It was slow going getting home from work as all the roads were getting terrible. Clearly everyone was packing it in for a cold and blustery one. Well, not me! Even the six inches of snow and near whiteout conditions weren't enough to keep me going out to the theater! I pulled in and stomped through the snow and made it into the theater. I bought a ticket and went to the concession stand. Realizing I didn't see any other customers, I asked if I was the only one who showed up for the film. Turns out I was the only one who showed up for the movie! I wasn't going to do that to the employees- make them stick around for 2+ hours just for me! they probably want to get home and crawl under the blankets too. I asked if they could give me an IOU for the ticket and I'd come back and try again tomorrow. I warned them though: even if I'm the only one there tomorrow I'm going to stick around and watch the movie anyway! They were thankful and started shutting the place down. I did go back on Thursday and thankfully there were seven or eight other people who came to see it. I was glad that I got to see the movie in the theater and not be a jerk! 

Kerby Christmas

We had Christmas together, and with my family- now it's time to celebrate the holiday with Diana's family! We made a weekend of it and stayed with Barbara and James. We arrived on Saturday evening and got to hang out with them and let our dogs go crazy! Ledger showed off all his latest animations, which impressed everyone. Once we tucked the boy in for the night, the four of us hung out in the living room. James tried to find a movie that we could watch and when he eventually settled on one we started it and then promptly ignored it while we chatted and laughed the night away.

In the morning we made quick work of getting the place ready for the big gettogether. Mom & David and Dad came over around noon and we decided to order some Chinese food and made our own buffet, grabbing a little bit of everything. It was really delicious- so much tasty goodness! After lunch we all hung out and had a little 'free time'. Most of us just sat together and chatted, Ledger showed off his animations to his grandparents, James serenaded us on the piano (and even showed Ledge a few easy and cute songs).

Finally it was time for the main event: gifts! We exchanged a few gifts and had a delightful and silly evening with some of the gag gifts and good times. 

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New Years Eve

Celebrating New Year's hasn't really been a thing in our family. Sure, I used to back when I was younger, going to parties and whatnot. But it has never really been an important night for Diana and I since we've been married. Because of this, it has never been a thing for our son either. Now that he's 9, we decided to do a little something special to recognize the holiday. Earlier in the week when I was at the grocery store I picked up a bottle of sparkling grape juice for the occasion. We talked with Ledge a little bit earlier in the day about New Year's and how people celebrate. He thought it sounded cool- especially the part where he gets to stay up late! 

Most of the evening it was business as usual, doing our normal evening things, but once it hit bed time for Ledge, we instead told him he doesn't have to go to bed. He absolutely loved that part! At around 11pm we got out a few snacks, some glasses for the juice, and plopped down to watch the ball drop! I guess it has been a while since I watched a New Year's Eve special, because they were super lame! Though to be honest, that was what made it fun- we spent the next hour making fun of the ridiculous hosts and terrible bands as we switched between the different specials on TV. Ledge tried the sparkling grape juice and not surprisingly hated it. He doesn't like any carbonated drinks, and this one was no exception. Finally, by 12:15am we were all too tired to carry on this little charade. Off to bed with all of us- happy new year!

Cabin Substitute

Every year since I was in college, the guys and I have gone up to the cabin for a night of fun. Unfortunately we were not able to go last year because of that whole pandemic thing. We were pumped to be able to go back up this year! We started making plans and getting excited. And then I got word from my cousin (who owns the cabin) that there had been an infestation over the summer and he recommended that we do not go up there until it is dealt with. Oh no! Needless to say, we were absolutely crushed! Now we have to wait another year to go back to the cabin? Heartbreaking. In order to console ourselves, we decided that we should at least still get together. Dusty volunteered his house for us to enjoy an evening together crying about missing the cabin. All the usual suspects got together at Dusty's place: Aaron, Adam, Jon, Dusty, and I. Dusty had prepared a delicious meal and we spent the night laughing and catching up. Some of these guys I hadn't seen all year! It was so fantastic to see everyone again and have lots of laughs together. When Dusty's wife got home she even took a photo for us as we realized that this was an unofficial reunion of the Sidestreet Guys!

Merry Brinkmas

Last year we had to forgo the big family Christmas get together. We were excited that we wouldn't have to skip it again- and this time its in a new locale! With Mema and Papa moving this year, they were excited to have the whole family over to celebrate the holidays. They have a huge new basement, so Christmas was definitely at their place this year.

Soon after we got there we gathered around the dining table and played a couple of Mema's patented Christmas games! It always involves some sort of crazy chaos and lots of candy! The kids always look forward to game time because it also involves a lot of gift cards, and most of the kids are old enough to want gift cards to fast food places and gas stations! Ledger not so much, but he just trades them so he can get what he really wants: more candy.

Soon after the games the food was ready. We carried all the delicious plates down stairs and settled in for a fun evening of great food, lots of laughs, and some great gifts for the kids. Ledger spent most of the night taking pictures of family members with his new tablet and then animating little creatures coming out of their noses and ears...

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Pad Playing

The last day we ever saw our son's eyes... This was the scene for the rest of Christmas break! Our boy really fell in love with his new iPad- and especially the Apple Pencil. He's able to draw such awesome pictures with it! It's pressure sensitive and can do so much, and feels like a real pen drawing on paper! It took him a little bit to get used to, but then he was off and running. He was drawing and animating for hours and hours- and we don't even mind because he keeps getting better and better!

His animations started off pretty simple, usually only one character making small movements, but he soon unlocked all the features of his animation program and started to incorporate photos, music, and voices. His imagination has no limits anymore! Go, my son, animate to your heart's content!

Open Them Prizes!

This is always a special morning for all three of us, but especially for Ledger! Diana and I usually get each other a little something special, but mostly its the Ledger show. I worked hard this year to find him a bunch of gifts, but there was one in particular that we knew he would love the most, no matter how any other things we got for him. We went a bit overboard with getting him a big gift, but I still wanted to have a full stash of gifts under the tree. I'm sure it's because I grew up with two siblings, but if the tree isn't brimming with gifts it feels empty. I know Ledger doesn't mind that I fill up the space under the tree...

We did our usual approach: as each gift is unwrapped we allow time for it to be played with and enjoyed before we move on to the next. All three of us took turns until there was just one lil' old gift left under that tree. Now, the reality is that if we had stopped there Ledger would have been perfectly happy with his Christmas haul. But I wouldn't be. I do take joy in spoiling my boy and giving him gifts that he didn't even know he wanted, and this year the last gift was beyond his dreams!

All right, enough teasing it out, here's what we got him: a brand new 12' iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil! When he opened it he was actually confused- 'Really? This is for me?!?' he exclaimed. Yes buddy, it even had his name etched into it! He opened it up with eyes as wide as saucers as I explained to him that he is now going to be able to make and edit videos, play games, and watch videos on it, but most importantly: he can draw and animate with it! He became even more and more excited as he thought of the thrilling possibilities this opened up! The reason Diana and I were willing to buy him such an extravagant gift is because we saw it as an investment. Ledger is so talented at drawing that we felt he needed it to keep challenging himself and stay ahead of the game. He hopes to because an animator someday, so we want to encourage him to grow in his skill and to give him an the opportunity to get as good possible. He may have fun with the other gifts, but this one is going to pay off for the rest of his life!

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Christmas Breakfast

The big day is finally here: it's Christmas morning! Ledge came bounding into our room ready for the day to begin! Groggy, we got out of bed and came out to the living room. Ledger, for the first time, saw the big bounty of gifts and was thrilled! Before any gifts are opened, however, we have the family tradition of eating cinnamon rolls. We only have them one day a year, so it is quite a special treat. This year I didn't put icing on them and instead let Ledger have the icing packet and put it on himself. He liked that! Part of the reason for this tradition is that not only is it yummy, but it also makes the whole house smell so great. It's become the smell of Christmas for all of us.

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The Tree is Stocked

Ledger is always so hard to put to bed on the night before Christmas, as I'm sure  all all kids! We made a valiant effort of wearing him out earlier in the day, playing outside and keeping him moving. After much speculation from the boy about what tomorrow might bring, he finally went to bed. Those sugar plum ferries must have been dancing pretty hard because once he was in bed he actually fell asleep pretty quickly! Now the busy work begins... I rounded up all the gifts we got Ledger and brought them down to the basement. Then I had to make quick work of wrapping the mountain of prizes. Diana professes that she doesn't know now to wrap a gift well, and I'm not one to argue with my wife... That means its up to me to get them all wrapped and ready. Two hours later I was finally done! (Don't get me wrong, there aren't enough packages to fill two hours worth of wrapping, I was just watching a movie while I did it) I made a couple trips up to the tree and filled it as full as possible! We got him many (too many) gifts and I know he is going to have a great Christmas morn! There is one gift in particular that we are excited to give him...

Warming Up On the Inside

We recently rediscovered hot chocolate. You know how there's different foods that you totally love but then don't eat it for a long time? Well, Diana and I seemed to have forgotten how yummy hot chocolate is, and Ledger is very pleased that we have rediscovered it this fall! He's been asking for a cup every night lately, and with all the twinkling lights from the Christmas decor and the blustery snow outside, we are all about it! Thank you Swiss Miss!

Brink Night Out

You know what we don't do enough? See my whole family! We stop by and see Mema and Papa from time to time, but we so rarely get together with them and Tim & Jill. It was time to fix that! My mom and Jill made work of scheduling an opportunity for all of us to get together- and without kids!

Avery offered to watch Noah and Ledger for the evening at Mom and Papa's, so we stopped there and dropped off Ledge. Then the four of us met up with Tim and Jill at 5 Lakes Brew Pub, a new place that just moved into the Tanger Outlets in Byron Center. Jill and Tim know the people who run it, so it was a chance to support some of their friends and check it out together. The place was nice and the food was really good. It was so nice to see everyone and have a chance to catch up. It was the first time seeing them since I started my new job, so I got to tell them all about it. We got to hear about all Jill's kids latest news as well as how the house transition has been going for Mom and Papa. A lot going on in our lives, so it was such a great night to relax and reconnect. I think we all realized that we need to do this sort of thing more often! And for the first time, because of the new job, I even go to insist that I pick up the tab.

Oh Christmas Tree

The seasons just keep changing, huh? With Thanksgiving over that means its already time to get ready for Christmas! We don't mind putting up the decorations and tree though, it always makes the house look so much cheerier!

As with all families, we have our own traditions that we've created around the holidays. Putting up our tree is certainly one of them! Here's how we like to do it: a week or two after Thanksgiving we decide it's time to get in the Christmas spirit, so we get our tree out of the garage and the decorations out of the basement. Then we bake some cookies in the oven. This part is very important, not just because it's always a nice treat to have some freshly baked cookies, but because it makes the house smell so good! We turn on some Christmas music to complete the mood; you know, Christmas for all our senses! Once the cookies are being baked, we open up the Christmas tree box and pull out the tree sections. For some reason this is always taken as an invitation for our son to climb in the box. I don't know why, but he does it literally every single year! When he see's that empty Christmas tree box he turns into some sort of cat- he can't resist it! I think he's only got a year or two of that left before he's too big to fit in it...  Next we pull out the step ladder and get to town putting up the decorations and ornaments. By the time we reach the bottom of the decoration box we collapse into the couch. The lights go out and we count down to the tree lights being plugged in. Voila! And just like that, it's Christmas time!

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Lookin' Good

The weather was so nice that we decided to go out and enjoy it a bit. We had an errand to run in South Haven, so we gathered up the boy and drove down there. We stopped and took care of what we needed to, walked around for a bit, then found a place to eat. A wonderful afternoon and evening together. The thing that made this day a different one was Ledger's hair. Usually we wet it and comb it over to the side and when it dries it goes back however it wants. For some reason as we were getting ready I decided to comb his hair straight back. As it dried it actually stayed back. He was a little concerned, thinking it might look bad and he would be embarrassed, but the reality was that it didn't look bad at all, in fact it looked amazing! He had grabbed his new jacket that he hadn't worn yet, and something about the hair and the jacket made him take notice of himself for the first time. For the first time he looked at himself in the reflection and made a startling realization: 'Hey, I look kind of cool!' He was very delighted with this new situation. He had always thought he was just a normal looking kid, average in appearance, but now? Well, now our little beloved child looked COOL! When he realized this, there was a small change in the way he walked, in the way he stood. He was a little taller and a little more confident, it's like he noticed for the first time in his life that he is a good looking boy! We've been telling him that for his whole life, but it was really awesome to see him realize it for himself.

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First Day of Work

We always take a picture of Ledger's first day of school, so it's only fitting that we would also take a picture of my first day of work! There were a lot of changes that we had to prepare for with my getting a new job. I had already gotten a haircut, so that change was already dealt with. I think the hardest change for me was the fact that I can't wear a t shirt and shorts to work anymore! Just like my father before me, I am now a supervisor! And just like my father before me, I have to dress nice because I am a supervisor... We had to do a lot of clothes shopping because my entire wardrobe consisted of only t shirts and shorts! I had to get dress pants and button down shirts and everything. I guess this was how I dressed when I was teaching, but it had been long enough that I kind of forgot what a pain it is to dress up for work! The other big change with this new job was getting used to a normal work week again. I had been spoiled by only working three days a week for the past 5+ years and now I have to work five days a week- in a row! This is going to take some getting used to...

Goodbye Haworth

 Haworth has played a big part in my family's life for a while now. Years ago when Papa's job of 30+ years started downsizing, he found a job as a supervisor at Haworth (the competitor of where he used to work). He wasn't necessarily wild about having to work 2nd shift, but it was a good company and they treated him well. Eventually as Diana and I started feeling like we needed a change, Papa offered to get me a job there as well. Throwing caution to the wind, we decided to do it! I had been teaching for 14 years, but needed a change, and this was the best offer going. Having no clue what I was in for, I took the plunge and started at the bottom as a hilo driver. After a few months I moved up the chain to loading, and a few months after that I moved up again to be a team lead! I went from the lowest position to leading an entire shift and crew of 22 people in the course of a little over a year! Over the next six years I tried moving up further in their operation, but I kept getting denied. I guess I realized that team lead was as far as I was going to get at Haworth. It's a little disappointing to be told no again and again, so I started looking to see if there were any opportunities elsewhere. With the pandemic and everything that has been going on the past year and a half, I figured even if they did promote me, there might not be much future in an office furniture company when no one is working in offices... After going on a couple interviews (thus the haircut), I had actually gotten a job offer! (that's what the call was while we were at Mom and David's). And that job offer was way too good to pass up! That meant that it was time to say goodbye to Haworth. It has been a great place to work and I will miss many of the guys there, but it's time to move on up! I gave Haworth my two week notice but only had to work one of them because I had saved up enough vacation time to slip out early. It's been great, but its time for me to see what the next chapter of my life looks like!

Keenansgiving

Thanksgiving time is back again! Typically we decide what we are doing for Thanksgiving based on my sister. When she goes to see my parents then so do we, on the off years we go and see Diana's family. Well, this just so happens to be an 'off' year, so down we go to South Bend!

We didn't exactly do the normal Thanksgiving feast, and I am ok with that. David is famous for his chowder and offered to make it for us instead of the usual turkey and fixin's. Sounds perfect to me! He makes a super huge vat of the stuff- delicious! He even made it a little fancy by getting bread bowls for us to each it out of- what a treat! We stayed with them for a couple days, so that means that I had chowder for every meal, even breakfast!

While we were around the table eating I happened to get a phone call. A pretty important phone call that would change our lives for the better.

As we started talking about getting ready to go home, David asked Ledger if he would rather stay for a few more days. Well, of course he does! So Diana and I left him there through the rest of the weekend, he got to hang out with his beloved grandparents, and we got a few days peace and quiet- win/win!

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Day Out

Lately, with Diana at her new job, Ledger and I have a little extra time to go out and about! I needed to run a few errands in town, so I took the boy and off we went. We did the stuff we needed to and both of us were hungry, so Ledge got to pick where he wanted to eat. He picked Panera Bread. They have macaroni and cheese, so it's not too unexpected... We had a nice time hanging out and chatting, doing what we do best: making each other laugh! 

After we ate we took care of a few more things and decided to go see a movie- I'm always up for that!
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Doggie

 He's so darn cute, isn't he? We've had this little fella for over a year now and he is such a treat. We definitely got lucky with this guy, he's absolutely adorable and continues to be so well behaved! We don't have to chain him up in the backyard when he goes out, he has never once peed on anything in the house, he's never bitten anyone or chewed on our stuff, he listens to commands, and he's just so darn cuddly!

Make sure you check out some more pictures of him here!

...Gone Tomorrow

... Unfortunately it just couldn't last. I am heartbroken to announce that I did, in fact, go and get my hair cut. I've been dreading it for weeks now, knowing that it was coming.

There has been a lot of uncertainty at work the past year and a half. Shocking I know! There is uncertainty about the future at an office furniture company? While everyone is working from home and no one needs office furniture let alone an office? Surprising, right? That along with the fact that the guy I lead the shift with recently left were enough to finally make me start looking around for a more secure job. I spent about an hour submitting resumes online to a bunch of random places, and wouldn't you know it- I've got two interviews lined up! That's the real reason why I am finally getting a haircut. I certainly wouldn't have done it just for myself. I was much happier with the long hair, but I think if I get a job offer it will soften the blow!

Check out the new look here!

Hair Today...

My hair has gotten kinda long... I have always loved having long hair. It wasn't really something that my mom and dad were not very happy about when I was growing up. My older brother had long hair for a little while when he was in high school, so fortunately got the brunt end of punishment and disappointment from my parents. By the time I wanted to grow my hair out it was already old hat for them. They still didn't like it and complained about it to me all the time, but I still went ahead and grew my hair out. My Junior and part of my Senior year I had longer hair. Eventually my mom bribed me into cutting it, which I always regretted.

When I was in college a few friends and I decided that we were going to grow our hair out together. Two of the guys had curly hair, so they had an awesomely big afro by the end! I kept it long for the next year and a half, only cutting it a little so that I could get a respectable senior picture. It was kind of important because the pictures we submit for our senior picture were photos they would send out to schools across the country as prospective new teachers for them to hire. I cut it a little, but not too much. I figured 'Sure, I need to look respectable, but I am trying to be an Art teacher, after all, they kind of expect a little strangeness, right?'. Well, it worked and I got a job. I oscillated between longer and shorter while I taught in Salt Lake City. Once it was time to get a new job again I had my hair nice and trim. I was applying to be a Bible teacher by then, so I had to look very clean cut and presentable. I kept that Bible teacher job for 12 years and during that time I never tried to grow my hair out. By the time I left that job I figured my time for long hair had passed. Not that I no longer wanted long hair, rather, the unfortunate reality of male pattern baldness was starting to creep in... 

Then the pandemic hit. My hair was already getting kinda shaggy when the whole thing started, and with the fact that there was no where to get a haircut during that time, I thought I'd just let it grow and see what happened. Diana decided that she kinda liked the long hair, so that was all the excuse I needed- no haircuts for me! It's been almost two years since I had a haircut and I love it! It is a great joy to me that I can have long hair one last time before the MPB monster steals it from me once and for all. I usually wear it down, but I have on occasion, just because I can, put it into a man bun. I honestly don't care if my long hair looks terrible or not because I love it.

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A New Open Dorr

Now that Mema and Papa have had a week or two to settle into their new place, they invited my family over to see it! They moved to a town that's much closer to us, only 20 minutes instead of 45 minutes. That's especially nice for Ledge- he hates car rides because he always gets motion sick, and now they are much closer. We found the place and greeted them excitedly, then immediately got the whole grand tour of the place. It's fantastic! 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, a huge finished basement, and a hot tub in the back! Now this is what retirement is supposed to look like! It's going to take some getting used to for me to think of this place as their house, but it's pretty clear that they have already gotten used to calling this place home.

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Goodbye Childhood

Wow, it finally happened: my parents moved and sold their house. This is the house I spent my whole life in. All those years ago when my mom was pregnant with me, she and my dad decided it was time to upgrade to a bigger house. The one they were in was pretty small, and now they were about to have baby number 3! They bought this house and moved in right around the time I was born- so I literally spent my whole life growing up in this house! 

I have so many fond memories of this place: playing in the backyard pool (before it was torn down), having my bedroom in a closet (had to get away from my brother somehow...), visiting on holidays in college, and raising our boy there for a few months when we moved back to Michigan, and thousands of amazing memories in between!

They had been thinking about moving for a few years now and finally found a house they wanted to move in to. I was able to help a little bit with packing and moving, getting them to their new place. 

They were all moved out and the new owners weren't going to get the keys for a couple days yet, so I took the opportunity to stop back in there one last time. It was really strange to see the whole place empty! I slowly walked through the empty house as the memories flooded through my mind. Granted, my parents had repaired and updated basically every single room in the house since I moved out to go to college, so it didn't really look like the house I grew up in, but that doesn't change the fact that it may look different but it's still the same place. 

They say you can't go home again, and now I literally can't because someone else lives there!

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Front Seat!

Look who's getting bigger! With Ledger continuing to grow, I thought I'd look up what the law is for sitting in the front seat. Turns out he has recently grown tall enough to finally be able to legally sit in the front seat of a vehicle! He had no idea, so when I told him to get in the truck because we were going to Meijer he first opened the back door. I told him 'Not so fast!' and opened the front door for him. He looked at me confused. When I told him he is now big enough for the front, his eyes got really wide and asked 'Really?!?' He did a little dance and jumped in the front seat super excited! I had to make sure to take a few pictures of this momentous day! He is so thrilled because he always gets car sick in the back and now he won't in the front!
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Meme Mystery

 So there I was, minding my own business, scrolling through Reddit, when I came across this meme. Kind of cute, isn't it? A harmless little meme meant to be an encouragement to those who read it. It's lovely. But as soon as I saw it I freaked out! Why? Well, there's something in particular about it that shocked me. It's a bottle of soda and a drawing of a stick. But here's the thing, that's MY drawing of a stick! What?!? You may have noticed that the name of my blog is 'Poke It With A Stick'. Did you also notice in the banner for this blog that there is a drawing of a stick? Well, way back in 2005 when I created this blog I drew that stick on a piece of paper, scanned it in, and did the photoshop thing and made that banner. Somehow someone took the stick I had drawn and turned it into clipart? I honestly have no idea! That is definitely the stick I drew, but how did it find it's way onto this meme? Seriously, how did this happen? It's a mystery I'm sure I'll never solve, but it is kind of strange that my drawing is a part of a meme...

Blowing Leaves

Autumn is upon us! It's my favorite season: its starting to get cold again and I don't mind being outside anymore. Lawn work is one of my least favorite thing in the world, but once the weather turns a bit cooler, then I am totally fine with it- in fact, I rather like putzing around the yard doing work. It's a good thing too, because all those leaves falling makes for a lot of raking! This year we added a tool to our arsenal: a leaf blower! Suddenly Ledger doesn't mind coming out to help anymore...

Halloween Movie Time

 With our silly and imaginative solution to Halloween at home, we decided it was the perfect time to watch the perfect Halloween movie: Nightmare Before Christmas! We watched it for the first time a couple years ago and Ledge absolutely loved it. We had played the soundtrack for him back when he was 4 or 5 and it terrified him half to death! We avoided it for a few years because of that, making sure he was old enough to handle the creepiness. Well, now he adores the movie, just like the rest of us, so it was exactly the right movie to finish off our stay-at-home Halloween! It may not have been what Ledger hoped it would be, but we made the most of it and created some wonderful memories along the way!

Trick or Treat At Home

 Devastating news: Ledger has COVID. Fortunately his case is about as mild as can be: he had a tummy ache and felt a little dizzy so he went to sleep early. When he woke up he was feeling just fine and never complained about feeling yuck again. What makes this so devastating though, is that he was diagnosed on October 28- that means Halloween is canceled for him! NOOOO! His favorite day of the year! The thing he's been anticipating with bated breath for the last three months! He was absolutely crushed. Many tears were shed, understandably. The thought of not being able to go trick or treating was more than our boy could bear.

Fortunately, Diana came up with an alternative: what if Ledger got to trick or treat right here at home? We have a hallway in our house from the living room down to all three bedrooms. Ledger could knock on one of the bedroom doors and she or I would open the door to give him candy. Ledger was interested but not convinced. 

We gave it a try anyway. Ledger knocked on his bedroom door, 'trick or treat!', Diana opened the door and Ledger saw that she was wearing a costume as well! That's what sold the whole thing- Diana and I wore different costumes when he would come to our doors! Now Ledge was all in, and laughing the whole time! He went to the next door and I opened up with a silly costume and gave him some candy. Having a minute or two, Diana had changed her outfit when he returned to her door for candy! It took a bit of imagination, but he was so happy that he didn't miss out on Halloween all together. It's silly times like these that he will remember fondly for the rest of his life!

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Doggy Steps

That pup of ours is so small that he can't even jump on to the bed. Granted, he's got bad hips so he should really be trying, but the bed is too tall for him to make it on. We've been lifting him up every time, but that gets really old and kinda hard to do when laying on the bed, so it was time to find a different solution. I had an idea... We have a bunch of left over wood from when we did the deck, so I rooted around and slapped together this creation. I didn't want the steps to be too tall and the whole thing needed to be pretty thin so it wasn't in the way of either one of us getting out of bed. I got to work in the garage and made it. I brought it in and he was not at all interested in it at first. I was able to coax him up a time or two with treats at each step, but he was pretty skeptical about it right from the start. With enough treats though, you can make a dog (especially our food motivated pup) do just about anything! He's getting used to it at this point and we just have to pat the bed and he's willing to hop up his lil doggy steps to get some cuddling! Mission accomplished!  

Secret Costume

 After much deliberation, he finally picked his costume. Ledger has been waffling back and fourth about his Halloween costume for the better part of two months. In years past he had his costume choice figured out in November, but this year he couldn't make up his mind. We spent a lot of time searching through costume websites trying to pick just the right one. He finally decided that he wanted to be a spy. We found a costume pack with a trench coat, hat, sunglasses, and fake moustache- perfect! When it arrived he tried it on and was very pleased. Finally he's ready for his favorite day of the year!

Carve-O-Lantern

Ledger was a little more daring this year, opting to do some of the carving himself. We got the pumpkins in from the car, after our visit to Gene the Pumpkin Man, and wiped them down. Ledge grabbed his pen and I grabbed the carving knife. His favorite part is deciding what face to put on each of the two pumpkins. After he's made the difficult decision of their expressions, we cut off the top and scrape out all the guts! This part is always very messy, which he and I like but mama really hates! After they've been emptied, Ledge makes quick work of cutting around the lines. I helped out by cleaning up some of the line work and making sure we get maximum light from the candle, shaving it a bit on the inside. Then they are ready to show to the world! Ledger picked the perfect spot on the porch to show them off- now we are officially ready for Halloween!

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Gene's Pumpkins

With Moonlight Jack showing up, that means its time to go get some pumpkins! Every year for the past 5 years we have been getting our pumpkins from good ol' Gene the Pumpkin Man! It's a small pumpkin farm about a half hour south of us that's run by an old guy who absolutely loves pumpkins. Gene's got everything on the farm painted orange and even has some touristy things for us to enjoy while we are there. Ledger loves going there and so do we. It's become an important family tradition for us- we go one day a week or two before Halloween and we get two full size pumpkins for Ledger and a few small lil gourds for decorating inside the house. Ledge loves pulling the orange pumpkin cart as we hunt for the perfect ones!

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Moonlight Jack Returns!

Ledger has been getting a little annoyed lately. Everyone else seems to be putting up their Halloween decorations but us. Argh! He's getting a little impatient, but as we all know, you can't put up your Halloween decorations up until you get a visit from Moonlight Jack! He hadn't stopped by our place yet, but recently one afternoon our boy came home from school to find exactly what he had been waiting for: Moonlight Jack finally showed up!

Now that the spirit of Halloween is here, we can pull out our box of spooky stuff from the basement and get our house in the mood for the season. Moonlight Jack's arrival marks the start of my favorite time of year: Autumn! It finally starts to get chilly outside, the leaves change color, and it's time to get cozy. I love it all!

(He's starting to ask if Moonlight Jack is even real... This doesn't bode well for Christmas...)

That's the Ticket

I'm a bit of a movie fan. I love watching movies at home, but nothing compares to the transcendent experience of seeing a film in the theater! I've been obsessed with going to the movie theater my whole life. Growing up in a family that didn't really care for movies much, it usually fell on me to pester and pester until they would take me to see a movie (sorry Mom and Dad...). Usually I would be able to talk them into seeing something, but they eventually got sick of it and started letting me go see movies by myself. I remember the first movie I got to see by myself was Ducktales: The Movie, which means I was only 10 years old and they left me at the theater by myself! Crazy! Whenever I would see a movie I made sure to save my ticket stub for it. I've been stuffing them away for the past 30+ years! I happened upon one of those old stashes of stubs recently and was looking through them. Most of the really old ones were blank because the ink had worn off them over the years. The oldest one in the bunch that I could still make out was for Home Alone 2 from 1992 (which I remember seeing with Adam and his mom at the theater in Holland). I saw a great idea recently of what to do with them- put them in the clear case of the DVD. So I collected up all the old stubs I've got and went through my collection and put them with the DVD I have. Now I have a new goal: to own every DVD that I have a movie stub for!

Let It Grow

When the pandemic hit there were a lot of things that changed. One of the biggest changes was that everything closed down for a long time. This included hair cut places. I figured since I couldn't go get a hair cut anyway, I figured I'd just let mine grow out. Well, its been a year and a half and I still haven't been to the barber yet... I've always loved having long hair. I used to have long hair in high school and college, but once I entered the professional world I haven't been able to have long hair. My current job does not have any sort of professional expectation- I work in a warehouse! I figured that this will probably be the last time in my life I'd be able to grow my hair out again, so I took advantage. It's getting pretty long now! Diana likes it, so I'm thinking I'll keep it going as long as I can. Might as well, because if I don't grow it out now I don't think I will ever be able to do it again. It's pretty thin already and it's only going to get worse...

Sandy Pines Summer's End

Another summer draws to a close. Ledger is back in school already, but there's still one last visit to Sandy Pines for Labor Day weekend. Mema and Papa didn't move out to Sandy Pines this summer, opting instead to come and stay for the weekends but then go home during the week. This meant that Labor Day weekend involved a lot less packing at the end of it than usual. We had a great time having a bite to eat with them and going for a nice long cart ride. We even brought Wiggins with us to enjoy the day. 

Firepit Redux

When we first bought our house there was a firepit way off in the corner of the backyard. Diana was pumped about that and very excited to use it. We have used it exactly once since we moved in two years ago... Part of the reason we haven't is because of how overgrown and full it is. I set myself to correcting this. I wanted to make it usable again, and now that we have a wheelbarrow I can clear it out a bit. I started by removing all the rocks that make up the firepit ring. As I removed them I was surprised to find that there were actually bricks underneath them making the perimeter of the circle. I grabbed the shovel and dug out all the old ash and junk that had accumulated for years. I was actually pretty impressed with how good the whole thing looked when cleared away! The next part I called in the reinforcements for: Diana came out to restack the rocks that had been removed. I knew she would be better at it than me, so I let her have at it. Now that everything has been cleaned up, it's looking good and ready to use!

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Hand Print Board 4th

 If school is starting, that means it's time for another handprint for the board! Every year we start the school year with Ledger putting a paint handprint on the six foot board we have. We've been doing this since he was first going into preschool, putting one new hand print each year. Looking down the board, you can see his hand growing a little bit more each year. This is the sixth print on the board so far- only eight more to go! His color pick this year is purple. After the print is done he did the usual: paint his face and body! I figure if I'm going to make him do this every year, at least he should be able to have fun with it! Once he's covered himself with war paint, its definitely bath time. He washed it all off and got himself ready for bed. The tub is purple, he is exhausted after his first day, and all is right with the world.

First Day Breakfast

One of little traditions that Diana and I do on the first day of school is celebrate our independence by going out for breakfast together! It's been a long time (too long) since we had a day together with the boy at school, so as you can see, we are thrilled! We've gone to a few different places for breakfast in the past, but this time we decided to go to Bunker Hill restaurant over in Dorr. The whole affair was calm and quiet- something we haven't had much of in a while. Ledger might not look forward to the first day of school, but we sure do! I don't think I can stress enough just how pumped we were that Ledger is back in school this year. Distance learning from home was pretty challenging. Not so much the school work itself, but the lack of structure and just being in the same space nonstop for a whole year. Going off to school is very good for our sanity- and his as well!

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First Day of 4th Grade

It's finally here: Ledger's first day of school! Not the 'at home' school, but real live school school! As we were getting him ready I asked him how he was feeling and he used the word he made up a few years ago: extervous. It's the perfect word for that feeling when you are excited but also nervous (he thought that one up all by himself! He's a linguistic genius, I tell ya!).

He got up nice and early, which was tough because he didn't sleep well the night before. He had enough time to watch a few cartoons and then get ready. We, of course, took the time to get some first day pictures! Diana and I got ready too and the three of us walked down the street together to bring him to his first day. There were so many kids and a lot of nervous energy when we arrived! We said our goodbyes and final encouragements, and he went and found the line for his class.

Good luck buddy, you are going to do great!

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Classroom Open House

The reality of going back to school this year is starting to set in for Ledger. We went to the school open house so he could visit his classroom and meet his teacher. It's been a while since he was at his school- more than 16 months! He was a little nervous, but excited that this year he gets to be in the big kid part of the school! His teacher was very nice and helped calm his nerves about coming back. He wandered around the desks and got excited when he saw the names of the other kids in his class, friends he hadn't seen since 2nd grade! I wouldn't go so far as to say that he's now looking forward to school starting, but he's definitely less concerned than he was before.

Shipshewana

 Over in the Amish part of Northern Indiana there is a huge flea market called Shipshewana. I remember going when I was about 10 and thinking it was pretty cool. It was just row after row of stuff being sold. It was a pretty big deal to go there for us, and I remember Papa gave me a twenty dollar bill when we arrived and said I could spend it however I wanted! Wow! That certainly made it a lot more exciting to me! Back then they had so many different booths there, I remember I even found a booth selling comic books. I'm sure that's where most if not all of my twenty bucks went!

The other day someone at work was talking about how they went to Shipshewana recently. This got me thinking- maybe we should go! Diana was up for it and I was talking with my parents about it and they asked if they could tag along too. Sure, the more the merrier! The drive is kind of cool as well because the closer you get to the flea market the more you see horse drawn buggies and homes without electricity. The flea market itself was a bit different than I remembered, it has gotten a lot more corporate. There were very few booths of actual handmade stuff or interesting items, most of them were just cheap stuff from China that were the same as the table two booths down. Though we didn't find much to get it was still fun to go and wander all those rows and spend time with Mema and Papa!

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Visiting Auntie

As the summer is winding down, we wanted to make one last trip down to South Bend and see the family. Mom and David are out of town for his business, so we stayed with Barbara and James. Ledge is always pleased to see the two of them, he loves his auntie so much, and I know the feeling is mutual!

Part of our plans included stopping by and seeing Diana's dad. He had gotten a new dog and I hadn't even met her yet! We stayed a bit and played with the pup, then went downtown to get some breakfast. A pretty run of the mill visit, but that's ok- it's not about doing stuff, its about spend time with loved ones!

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Mr Fix It

Ledger has always fancied himself an inventor and fix-it guy. He loves to build stuff and take things apart to try and figure out how something works. As we were cleaning up the basement I came across an old printer that we were planning to throw out. Ledger noticed it and asked if he could tinker with it and take it apart. Sure! I brought it up to the table and gave him a few tools to use. He spent the afternoon taking it apart, studying the different parts, circuit boards, and wires. He didn't know what any of it did (and neither did I), but he was intensely interested in it and just thought it looked so cool! Some of the parts he decided he wanted to keep just because they looked neat. Eventually he moved on to other things, but for that afternoon he was intensely interested in playing the role of Mr. Fix It!

Summer School Camp

Our plan is for Ledger to go back to school this year, in person learning again in the classroom for his 4th grade year. Distance learning went fairly well, but we think he needs to be back with his classmates in a structured learning environment. He's pumped about it, but a little nervous about it too. In order to help him make that transition, our town is offering 'summer camp' weeks at school this summer. That's not the main reason they are offering them, but that's what we are using them for! For five days they invited all the elementary school kids to come each morning and do fun activities and crafts. Perfect! Ledge went all week and one of the days we even invited a friend over afterwards to spend the afternoon at our place. The boys had a great time, and we even went to the movie theater! It was good for Ledger to have a little extra social time as he gets ready to go back to the classroom and start the school year right.   

Old School Gaming

 Diana has a new obsession: Animal Crossing! Miranda has been playing it for months now and trying to get Diana or Lissa to play as well. It finally worked and I got her the game for my Nintendo Switch. She has been playing so much- and loving it! She's never been a video game kind of person, but this one is basically cute animals crossed with Sims crossed with Barbies- a decorator's dream come true! Diana has been investing a lot of time in making her island look good, and now she wants to show it off to Miranda. Looks like the only way to do that is to get a subscription to Nintendo's online service. It's pretty cheap, so we took the plunge. Now she can take her character and visit Miranda's island, and Miranda can see all the work Diana's done on her own island. They are like kids playing video games while they talk on the phone 'Oh, M, check out my garden next to the house, cute huh?'

One bonus of getting the Nintendo online service is that we also have access to all the free games they offer. There are a ton of original NES games available. We scrolled through all the options and I found a bunch that I used to love back in the day! Figured this would be the perfect time to introduce Ledger to some of the classics. I showed him one of my old faves: Excite Bike! He thought it was pretty cool too, and really simple! Yeah buddy, that's all games used to be able to do, and we loved it. We spent the rest of the afternoon scrolling through and checking out some of those old games and I had a blast reliving my old gaming days!

Driveway Fireworks

The 4th of July is here and that means its time for fireworks! Last year we had our own fireworks display and had so much fun doing it that we decided to do it again this year. A couple days before the 4th Ledger and I went to one of the many fireworks stands that always pop up in empty parking lots this time of year. I had brought $40 and told him he could get whatever fireworks he wanted with that amount. He was delighted and went about gathering up his arsenal. The challenge, of course, was trying to keep track of how much each one was and how much money he had left to spend- a nice little math lesson! When we arrived home Ledge got to show off his explosive booty to his mom! He was kind of annoyed that he had to wait until the 4th, but the anticipation just made it that much sweeter.

When dusk hit, we pulled out a few outdoor chairs (and our deck end table) and Ledger set up shop with all the fireworks. One by one he picked out which one we would shoot off next. There were a bunch of different ones- some smoke bombs, some roman candles, some zippers- everything a young heart could desire! By the time it was too dark to see we were on our last couple fireworks. Ledger was absolutely delighted with the variety and fun time we had! At the end of the night we brought in our chairs and table; tomorrow we'll worry about the mess.

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Back to the Theater

 We waited this thing out long enough that movie theaters are opening again! With all this pandemic craziness, the thing that has been the hardest for me personally has been the theaters closing!

In fact, that's how I knew at the beginning that the whole pandemic thing was happening. I would always have Mondays off of work, so I would usually plan on going to see a movie (lets be honest, I usually planned on going to see a couple movies...). That particular March morning was no different. I went to the theater and got tickets for two movies, along with snacks and drink. Walked into my first movie and had a lovely time (the movie was good, it was The Way Back). Came out to use the bathroom and hang out for a few minutes until the second one started, and the employees told me I had to leave. What? They said they were shutting down and weren't going to be showing any more movies for the rest of the day. (Little did they know they wouldn't be showing any more movies for the rest of the year!)

I was pretty confused and asked 'But I have a ticket for the next show?' They refunded me the money and shoed me out the door! What? I definitely knew something weird was up then! I got home and within a day or two my work cancelled the rest of the week as well!

About 14 months later the local theater started showing movies again- and I was first in line! This year they reinstated the free kids summer movies and I figured it was safe for Ledge to go back to the theater too (with a mask, of course). We made a special day of it and invited his friend Skyler to come with us to see Sonic the Hedgehog. It felt like perfect symmetry- Sonic the Hedgehog was the last movie Ledger saw in the theater, and now it's also his first one back! We had a great time watching it again, it was the first time for Skyler, and the boys played around for the rest of the day together. A wonderful day all around!