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!

Moving Jon

 It's been a long time in the making, so when it was finally moving day for my friend Jon and his family, of course I had to help them with the move! Jon's family lived only a mile or two from my parents but with his family continuing to grow (baby number three was just born!), the house was no longer big enough for everyone. They decided to build a new place in Caledonia. With the build finally complete, they were ready to move in. It took a lot of packing, and several trips with the trailer, but they finally got it all moved. The day I helped was super hot and rainy, which meant a ton of sticky sweating. But to help out a friend it was worth it, even if he didn't provide pizza...

End 3rd Grade

 Wow, we did it! We successfully completed a full school year of distance learning! I never thought we would be a 'homeschool' family, but circumstances outside of our control forced us in to it. It went pretty well, there were some big ups and downs along the way. The parts that Ledger really loved was the fact that he got to stay home with his family, he got to sleep in, and school didn't take seven hours a day like it would if he were in normal class. The parts that he hated were basically anything related to actual learning... No, it wasn't actually that bad, there were some parts that he did like. Some of the assignments could be interpreted into more creative and fun alternatives- he was able to draw or animate a few projects, and he loved making Power Point presentations on his computer! The thing he hated the most? Multiplication! He struggled so much with it during the year, he tried to learn the multiplication chart but it always ended in anger and frustration. We had a teacher that he would communicate with on different assignments who he really loved! Coincidentally, her specialty is math- what luck! So even though he was doing the distance learning program, he would go in once a week and get some math tutoring with her- which he absolutely loved! By the time the end of the year came, Ledger was actually a bit disappointed that he wouldn't be spending any more time with his new favorite teacher. She was awesome to him and really showed him a lot of love; we are very grateful to all that you did for or boy, Mrs Eckwielen!

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Bike Troubles

 Ledger's bike is a junker. We bought it for $30 from someone who was getting rid of it, so it's not like we expected great things from it. The bike was fine if a little banged up, but the big problem was that the bike chain was too loose. It would fall off all the time; it was so bad that when Diana and I would go for walks with him riding along on his bike, I would bring my work gloves because I knew at least once during the walk I would need to put that greasy chain back on. I took it upon myself to fix it. I took the chain off and got the weird tool you need to take out a link. I took the link out and now it was too small! I tried everything to make it fit but all it did was make a mess and make me angry! Finally I gave up and he and I headed over to Meijer and got him a new one. It was for the best, really, because he was growing too big for that old one anyway. He was quite delighted to have a shiny new bike- one where the chain will stay on!

Return to the Flea

 It's Memorial Day weekend- summer is here! Every year Sandy Pines has a flea market on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. I haven't been able to go for years due to working Saturdays, but I took this one off so we could go and enjoy the day with my parents at Sandy Pines!

It was always a favorite of mine growing up to go to the flea markets at Sandy. There used to be so many different booths, each one packed full of different strange junk they were trying to sell. It's not as good any more, with most of the booths filled with whatever pyramid scheme sell-at-home racket that's popular at the minute (LuLaRoe anyone?). Its a lot more rare to actually find a booth that's selling something that I would actually want to look through. At least there were still a few places selling different toys and such, so that kept Ledger's interest. My mom, as always, loaded up at the booth selling plants. She picks up a bunch of different potted plants and hanging baskets to decorate around their lot, so the first flea market of the summer is a big deal for her. It was fun to relive the flea market experience, but I don't think I'll need to go to them anymore.

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Braces

 Last time Ledger was at the dentist they suggested that we think about getting him braces. I was a little surprised, he only just turned 9. That seems really young for braces. Growing up I remember classmates started getting braces in 6th or 7th grade, he's only in 3rd! The dentist said that what they've found is that the younger they get them the easier it is to move the teeth around in the mouth- so he would have them younger, but then get them off quicker! Diana and I talked about it and took a look at the cost. I was really surprised with how inexpensive braces are! I remember when I was younger that adults would always complain that braces costed 'an arm and a leg'! For all the work they have to do on them and the maintenance and visits required, the price actually seemed pretty good. Alright, I guess our 9 year old is getting braces!

Ledger was pretty nervous about the whole thing, asking what it was going to be like. Never having had braces, I wasn't much help in calming his fears. Fortunately Diana had braces growing up so she could talk him through it, letting him know what to expect. Though it didn't erase the nervousness, it did make him feel more comfortable with it. We brought him him to get them put on and it was quite effortless. The nurses got him all ready then the specialist came in and within about 15 minutes they were on! He had a hard time talking at first, worried that these things were going to cut his cheeks or lips. By the time we got to the car and he had looked at himself in the mirror, he decided that he liked them and thought it made him look like a big kid!

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First Taco

Before we left to go to the dentist to get his braces I forgot to have him eat an extra big meal. Knowing that his mouth might hurt for a bit, I realized that we should make sure he has an extra full tummy, so we stopped and picked up something to eat at Taco Bell. While we were there he decided that he wanted to try a taco for the first time. Yes, somehow our child has gone 9 years without ever eating a taco! He's a bit of a vegetarian, so I guess it's not that much of a surprise that he's avoided tacos. Well, he was very delighted by it and decided that he wasn't very happy about it having meat, but was willing to overlook it just this once. He really liked the taco, but I don't think he will be in a hurry to have more.

A Slow Life

With all the hustle and bustle of the outside world, we tend to ignore it around here. Diana and I made a decision early in our marriage that we wanted to prioritize time instead of stuff. Neither one of us are obsessed with having the latest and greatest, we are quite content to get by with what we've got. I have intentionally been working a job that allows me the maximum amount of time off (4 days a week), and Diana is home everyday as well. We could put our focus on making more and having more, but we really just like to hang out and spend time with each other and our boy. It's a laid back life, and that's exactly the way we love it! What gadget could replace the simple joy of cuddling with my son and watching cartoons in the middle of the day? This is what life is really about! 

Birthday On Deck

Another birthday during quarantine, this time it's Diana who is a year older. As always with us adults, we didn't have much fuss over it. Most of her birthday was spent enjoying the newly completed deck, so we kind of acted like that was a birthday gift for her. Don't worry, there were other gifts as well- and even a lil biddy cake! She assured us that it was more than enough for her to feel pretty special on her birthday.

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South Bend Spring Break

 It's always a good time to spend a couple days with grandma and grandpa! With spring break finally here, we have the chance to go down for a visit to South Bend. Ledge always loves spending as much time as possible with his dear grandma and grandpa, and so do we! They have the same pace of life as we do: slow! We hardly ever have anything planned when we go down there, other than we can always count on some great meals together!

Barbara and James planned to have us over for a meal with Diana's dad and friend as well, so we got to get the dogs together for some loud barky fun!

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New Room

Ledger has had his room set up with his bed up high and a desk underneath it since we first moved into this house. He loves the set up, when we were at the last place he always wanted to have a desk, so this has been a dream come true for him- and he has spent so much time at that desk working hard on his animations and drawing! Unfortunately he is getting to big to fit comfortably on that bed. It's surprisingly close to the ceiling, but he has been climbing in there valiantly even though it's becoming more and more of a tight fit.

Its finally time for an update. We knew Ledger's favorite part of his room is his desk, so we needed to make sure we got him a new one otherwise he would be very unhappy with the changes! We took down the bed/desk thing and set up a new bed and put together a new desk for him, much to his delight. Now he get's the fun opportunity to redecorate everything. He has really loved it so far!

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Final Deck

 Back at it again! Papa stopped by, bright and early, to keep plugging away at that deck so we can finally get it done. We've gotten pretty far by now and were able to get it done on this, his third visit. Lots of measuring and cutting, but thankfully Papa is one of those 'measure twice, cut once' guy. I needed to go get a few more boards since his last visit, but now we were all set with enough wood to finish it off. After a lot of work and a lot of screws, we finally got all the way to the end of the frame- finally done! We've still got to build a step into the house, but the surface itself is finally completed. It was a lot of work, more than I was expecting, but it looks so good! We are going to have a wonderful summer enjoying this new outdoor space! Thanks Papa!

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Vaccine!

A vaccine! Though its impressive how quickly they were able to tackle this virus, it still feels like we've been waiting for one forever. Diana and I called to make an appointment as soon as we were able. We have really changed a lot in our life because of this thing, so the idea of building some immunity and doing our part to lessen its effects was an easy choice. You see, the thing is, we both have brains in our heads, so the obvious choice was to do our part. I don't usually get political on here, and I'm still not going to because getting a vaccine isn't political. Obviously you get one for the betterment of society, doing our part to help ourselves and others. It has nothing to do with political affiliation, no matter what anyone says. So if you haven't yet, go get one.

Easter Hunt

 Even though I wasn't able to be there, Diana and I still wanted Ledger to have a good old fashioned egg hunt! Usually we go to Mema and Papa's for Easter and they do an egg hunt in the back yard with Ledger's cousins, but this year Diana was kind of on her own with this one. I picked up some plastic eggs and candy and the Saturday night, after the boy went to bed, we filled up the eggs and hid them around the living room and kitchen.

Diana said he had a lot of fun going around and trying to find all the hidden eggs. She let him have some of the candy, but put the rest in a container for him to grab one or two with each meal until they are all gone (though, more accurately, until he forgets...).

That evening when he took his bath he brought a few of the plastic eggs in with him and had a blast playing in the water with them!

Start the Decking

Papa rolled up with a truck full of power tools- that means its time to work on the deck! We had been talking about it for a month or so, and the day finally came for us to get it started. With the deck being so huge (20'x24') we knew it wasn't going to get done in one day, but we are ready to start and see how far we get. Papa started setting up the tools while I hauled a bunch of the boards to the backyard. We quickly fell into our old roles, growing up Papa would take the lead, measuring and cutting, and I would do the menial tasks like moving, lifting, and screwing in. There was a lot of up and down, back and fourth. I was glad I had some knee pads on- it made a big difference! By mid afternoon it was getting pretty hot and we were getting pretty tired. Maybe we didn't get very far, but we put quality first so that slowed us down a bit. In the long run, I'd much rather have it built well than built quickly.

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A Sus Birthday

Unfortunately Ledger had to deal with another birthday during the pandemic. What we originally thought would only be a couple weeks has turned into 13 months... so far. Since he couldn't have a big party with friends we wanted to try and at least make it a little special. We invited over some family- his favorite auntie Barbara, uncle James, and his grandpa Allen! We got a whole party pack of Among Us stuff, so we knew we at least had the decorations covered!

Everyone arrived and showered the newly 9 year old boy with hugs, praises, and gifts. We spent some time just hanging out in the living room chatting while Ledger showed off his latest comic drawings, much to Grandpa Allen's delight. We gathered around the table and had a great meal and lots of laughs. Ledger was really pleased by the decorations and especially the cake! Our little guy is getting pretty big!

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Deck Wood

 Last fall we had the frame work built for the new deck in the back yard. I hired a friend from work to come over and frame it all out, doing the hard part. Papa and I decided that we would save a few bucks and do the decking ourselves. I went to Menards and ordered a whole bundle of decking boards and had the delivered. Ledge and I watched as they unloaded them, which was really cool to see. I had never seen something like this: the truck dropped it trailer and then unhooked from it. When it unhooked we saw that the cab actually had a forklift attached to the back of it! The driver backed up to the side of the trailer and pulled the pallet off and backed into the driveway and dropped it off- never once leaving the cab! Pretty neat! And now we are ready for the last step in getting a new deck!
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A Dozen Years

 It's been 12 years since I first married this gorgeous woman, and I haven't regretted it for even a second! I've always heard that marriage is so difficult. I 'm wondering when the hard part starts? We have been so incredibly lucky in that the more time we spend together the more time we want to spend together! Somehow she hasn't grown tired of me, and I am just continually amazed that she would want to spend any time with me let along every single day! The jokes, the laughs, the looks, and the support I get from her every day is more than enough to fill my tank and keep me going. Maybe it's the 13th year that's the hard one? I don't figure though. We've been through so much together and grown so much with each other that I don't honestly think I could imagine a single day without her- and fortunately I don't have to! 

Here's to several dozen more great years together!

First Tire Change

 I recently had a flat tire. Fortunately I wasn't driving when it went out, I just came back to the car sitting in the parking lot at work and found it with a flat. At the end of the day I changed it out with the spare and drove home carefully. I went to the local tire shop in town with the flat and they actually had a gently used one that they could put on my wheel for really cheap- perfect! When I got back home I needed to change out the spare tire for the newer one. Ah, a perfect opportunity to show the boy how to change a tire! He came out and I showed him how to do it. He loosened the lug nuts, raised the car (which was his favorite part), and we removed the spare. I pulled out the replacement and we got it fitted back on. The whole thing was pretty new to him, but other than the fact that he got his hands dirty, he kinda liked it! He was very proud of himself for changing the tire- and I was proud of him too!

Hanging With Auntie

One really nice thing about distance learning is that we aren't tied to a traditional school week. If Ledge gets everything for the week done early, then he gets to have the rest of the week off! We've taken advantage of this a few time, working hard at the beginning of the week so he can do fun things with us later in the week. This works perfectly when Ledger's favorite auntie invites him over for a few days!

He was really excited to spend a few days away with Barbara, and Diana and I were excited for a few days to ourselves as well- its a win/win situation.

The two of them get up to some pretty zany fun: playing games, visiting friends, and even pulling out some costumes and creating fantasy worlds together! He always comes home with the greatest stories and the biggest smile on his face!
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That Nintendo Life

Along with the giant movie collection, I also have a big Nintendo collection! Growing up, my big brother saved up his paper route money and bought an NES. We spent so much time playing it in the basement! I always loved playing but was so bad at everything. Chad was the opposite- any game he picked up he immediately mastered! Most of the time we would play a game he would play for 15 minutes before he died, then it was my turn, and I would last about 30 seconds, then it was back to him! So when I say we played a lot of video games, what I really mean is that he played and I watched a lot of video games! I fondly remember many Sunday afternoons spent watching him play Legend of Zelda, and loving it!

Eventually he sold it (probably around the time he wanted to buy a moped) and I was left gameless. I would go over to Aaron's house and play the Super Nintendo when that came out and always loved my Game Boy. It wasn't until college that the impulse to play video games popped up again. I had a Super Nintendo that I brought to the dorms and we played Mario Cart all the time, but what I was really hankering for was that old NES goodness! My buddy Dusty decided he wanted to get rid of his old system, so I gladly bought it from him. For only 40 bucks I got the system, 4 controllers, and like 50 games! We had a blast playing through them in the dorms.

I've always been a Nintendo fan, only buying their systems, and loving them! I had the Nintendo 64 and the Game Cube as well. I never fell for the Playstation or XBox, I was just never interested. Well, when the Nintendo Wii came out I was obsessed! I actually stood in line for 24 hours so I could get one on it's release day, which I wrote about here. I've got all the Nintendo systems on display now in my movie den, and from time to time I'll talk Ledger into going down and playing some Wii Bowling! His favorite part, not surprisingly, is making and modifying his little Mii character. 

Aaron In the House

Now that I've got my movie den in the basement looking tip top, I had to show it off! It has been a while since my dear ol friend Aaron had stopped by, so I made sure to correct that as soon as possible. One of our favorite comedians, Brian Regan, has a new special on Netflix, so it's the perfect time to have him over and watch it! 

We spent the evening hanging out, catching up, and watching the hilarious stand-up special. Though we don't see each other as much as we would like, we both have so much fun and so many laughs when we do get together! 

Land Before Time Banner

 I don't remember being really in to dinosaurs, but my favorite movies growing up might tell a different story. I absolutely loved 'The Land Before Time'. I was only 9 when it came out, so I was the perfect age for an animated movie about cute kid dinosaurs. I remember when the movie came out there was a Pizza Hut toy tie-in where, for 99 cents, you could get one of four rubber hand puppets of the cast. Growing up it was a bit of a special occasion for us to get Pizza Hut, so it took a lot of convincing to talk my parents into getting pizza, let alone shell out an extra dollar for me to get one of the character puppets. It eventually worked and I got Ducky. I loved that thing so much! I distinctly remember bringing it to school and playing with it at recess, showing it off to my friends. Not satisfied with only one, I kept pestering my parents to go to Pizza Hut again and get another character. Surprisingly it work and I got the Spike puppet as well! I was delighted, to say the least. I played with those things so much that I wore off most of their paint! The promotion ended and I was disappointed that I didn't get all of them.

Well, wouldn't you know it, when the movie came out on home video a year later, Pizza Hut did their puppet promotion again- and this time added two new characters! My pestering started back up again, much to my parents' chagrin. They decided to humor me and get pizza again. The two of them went to go pick it up and when they got home I excitedly asked them 'Did they have any of the different characters?' Reluctantly my mom pulled out of a bag the Cera puppet. I was so excited! She was far from my favorite character from the movie, but that didn't matter because I had a new one! As I was excitedly checking out this new puppet, my mom said 'Oh, and they had this...' and she pulls out of the bag a Littlefoot puppet as well! What?!? I was thrilled! I was jumping around with excitement at this point, one new character in each hand. Papa watching, laughing. 'And this...' Mom says as she pulls out the Petrie puppet. Unable to process this glorious bounty, I scream with excitement. 'We figured we'd finish the set...' My mom declares as she pulls out the final, and largest, Sharptooth puppet. I honestly fall to the ground unable to process what is happening! I am unable to form words because I am so excited, squirming with joy on the dining room floor. I have done it- I've collected all 6. Probably my life's greatest achievement at that point. Life does not get better than this for a 9 year old!

I've treasured those puppets my whole life, and along with it the movie they came from. So to say The Land Before Time has a special place in my heart is an understatement.

As the years went on I continued to display my Land Before Time character puppets in my room. Eventually some straight-to-video sequels came out, but by the time they did I was 14, way too old and cool to rent them from the video store and watch them. I continued to keep an eye on the series as the sequels kept rolling out. I never watched them but made a solemn promise to myself: some day I would watch each and every sequel released. Fast forward to a year ago- all the sequels are now streaming on one of the services we have! Guess who's going to finally fulfill that blood oath? That's right, I took a deep dive into all 13 sequels and loved every terrible minute of them! This renewed passion for the series had me looking one day on Facebook Marketplace for anything Land Before Time related. There were a few fun items, but the thing that really caught my eye was a 12 foot banner for the theatrical release of the first movie! As soon as I saw it I knew it must be mine. Even though we couldn't really afford it, Diana gave the go-ahead, and I bought it! It took a little time before we had the right place to display it, but now that I've got those great new movie shelves, the perfect place to display it was obvious: right above all my movies! Now, every time I'm down in my movie den, I gaze upon it and remember how passionate I was about the series and how much joy it has brought me over the years. Is it ridiculous for 42 year old man to love an animated series this much? Yes, and that's what's so wonderful about it.

Gone Sledding

Ledger's friend Zeke from across the way stopped by and asked if he wanted to go sledding. Well, that was an easy answer: of course! I offered to go along, so we both suited up in our warmest winter clothes, grabbed the sled Ledger had gotten for Christmas a year or two ago, and walked out our backyard through the woods. There is an old folks home on the other side of the woods and they have a couple hills by their parking lot, just big enough to sled and just small enough to not be scary for an 8 year old. Zeke, his two sisters, and Ledger had a blast going down the snowy hill time and time again, doing tricks and laughing all the way. Our little pup even joined us, chasing them down, waggling his tail the whole time. After about an hour our dog looked like he might freeze to death, so we packed it up and warmed back up at home with a hot chocolate, telling Mama about all the fun he had! 

Visiting Josh

 I work with a guy named Josh. He and I get along smashingly- we both find each other hysterical and seeing each other makes our work day go so much faster. We had always been meaning to hang out outside of work but couldn't find the right time. With Diana out of town for a few days, I decided to give him a call and head over to his place. He and his wife have a boy who's only a year older than Ledger and also loves Among Us, so Ledge was just as excited to visit them and meet their son. We got there and the boys instantly hit it off and started playing Among Us right away!

Josh showed off his cooking skills by making us all some home made pizza, and it was delicious! After we ate the boys kept playing their game. Figuring we aught to do the same, Josh and Amber pulled out one of their games: a role playing card game based on the Alien film series. Having no idea how to play, they started off gently, explaining everything as we went along. It still made no sense by the end, but apparently I won, so that wasn't too bad! As the evening was getting late, we packed up and headed home. It was really fun time and we will have to do it again when Diana is actually able to join us! 

Snuggin'

We do love a good snug! With Ledger doing distance learning through school, we don't really have a set time that we need to be up and out the door. That means that there are a lot of sleepy mornings where we start the day at a slow pace. Often times our mornings start with something we call Snuggin Time. Ledger crawls into bed with Diana and I, along with Wiggins, and spend the next half hour or so just playing on our devices or chatting and laughing. I'm pretty sure this is the best time of the day, and all four of us agree! 

Movie Shelves

 So, there's been some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that the local video store has gone out of business. The good news is that I got some of their stuff! I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw a post by the video store saying that they were giving away their shelves and anyone who came by and disassembled them was welcome to have them for free. I didn't even get done reading the post and I was already in the truck on my way! I grabbed my screwdriver and was on the road! I was the first person who came to get their shelves so they told me I could have as many as I wanted. Well, I wanted all of them! I didn't end up going that crazy, but I did end up taking two full aisles of shelving. I had been combing Marketplace for the past 6 months looking for shelves to put my collection in and had some success, but it ends up creating a hodge podge of different shelves and kind of looks junky. Now I can have uniform shelves and really make my movie area in the basement look amazing!

Ledger came along with me as I took apart a full row of shelves, helping me carry the different parts out to the truck. We got everything in the truck bed and filled it up. I thanked them and told them I might be back for more. They laughed. True to my word, the next day I came back and took apart a second row of shelving! Hey, free is free, right?

I made quick work of cutting them to fit and reassembling them in the basement. It took a bit to organize and reshelf my collection, but the whole thing looks 10 times better than it did before! Now it's a collection and display to be proud of!
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Kerby Christmas

 Seriously? Another Christmas? This is starting to get ridiculous! Barbara and James must have been feeling left out, because they decided they wanted to come visit and give Ledger gifts as well. Ledge was all in on this idea- his favorite auntie and more prizes? Count him in!

We were excited to have them come visit, but made sure to be very careful- Barbara works in the COVID ward in the hospital in South Bend, so it was especially important to be safe. They arrived and we had a nice afternoon of chatting, but Barbara is never content with just chatting, so we pulled out one of our board games and played a good old fashioned game of Life! It may have been a bit complicated for Ledger, this was his first time playing, after all. But he did well and ended up really liking it!

Of course, they didn't leave without giving him a few gifts as well. I tell you what, it has been so nice to have guests again and be able to socialize in person. There have been a bunch of Christmases, but we have really loved each and every visit!

Keenan Christmas

We already had a special Christmas with my parents, but now its time for a visit from Diana's side! Knowing that a big get together wouldn't be the best idea during the pandemic, Mom and David offered to come up just the two of them and bring gifts for the boy. Knowing what was in store, we were excited for them to come and Ledger to open his prizes!

Since Ledger is the only grandkid on that side of the family, and the only one of David's that lives close, they have a tendency to spoil him rotten- not that he minds... Christmas this year was no exception- they got him his own brand new computer! They went above and beyond by getting him a new powerful laptop so that he can make and edit his own videos! He's been using the camcorder we have and making silly videos, but always gets annoyed because he can't edit them or make his own gaming videos. Whenever he made videos he would always ask if we can do this or that, or if he can post them on Youtube, and I would always tell him no, we need a computer for that. Well, now he has a computer! He was absolutely beside himself with excitement! At first he thought it was fake, a toy computer to play with. David assured him that this is the real deal. He was so pumped that he had a big boy thing like this fancy computer! He's really excited to make his videos and get to learning the editing app. Thanks to his grandpa and grandma, he is now the most technologically advanced person in the household!

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Opening Prizes!

 Finally its time for the main event! With the cinnamon rolls eaten, we sit down in the living room and take in the site: a beautiful tree with tons of gifts under it- almost exclusively for Ledger!

We like to take our time with opening gifts, usually we do them one at a time and then take time to enjoy the gift before we move on. Sometimes that means opening up the box and putting something together so he can play with it for a little while. He gets caught up in playing with his newest toy- until he realizes there are a bunch more to open! 

Diana always yells at me because I always get him too many gifts. I guess it's because I grew up the youngest of three. When we were growing up the gifts filled up the spot under the tree, sometimes even overflowing out onto the floor. If we got him a normal amount of gifts the pile under the tree would look too empty for me! Sure, there's usually a lot of filler, the kind of stuff you get at the dollar store or Five Below, but it makes it full, which is the point, right?

Ledger's obsession this year is the game Among Us. He's been wanting to play it for months but we told him he couldn't. For Christmas we downloaded the game on his padpad and let him play! Along with that came a stuffed character from the game and a bunch of Among Us toys too. As you can see, he was very pleased!

After all the gifts were open, about 3-4 hours after we started, it was time to let him play and let us take a nap! We didn't get too much sleeping time before he snuck in and snuggled with us and raved about his awesome gifts. Another successful Christmas!

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Christmas Breakfast

 He got up early for a non school day, but not as early as I would have thought. Around 7am he popped into our room, jumped on the bed, and said 'Santa came- there are so many presents!' Diana I and got up and were led into the living room to see a lit Christmas tree overflowing with prizes for our little boy! How did those get there?

Before any gifts are allowed to be opened, we all have breakfast together. This is the one time of the year we make cinnamon rolls. The past couple years when we've made rolls from the can it usually ends poorly because we leave them in too long and they get gooey and crunchy. This year we opted for the premade rolls from the bakery, that way we couldn't mess them up! We popped them into the oven for a couple minutes to warm up, then we chowed down- no crunch this time!

Now with that out of the way, its time for the main event!

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Treat for Santa

 It's Christmas Eve and our little boy is totally excited for the big day tomorrow! The anticipation was almost too much for Ledger, so we tried to help the time pass with hot chocolate and marshmallows. It helped, but he just couldn't take his mind off of the coming onslaught of gifts and toys!

As is our tradition, we set out a treat for Santa. I have a sad feeling that this will probably be the last time we do this little tradition...

After spending the evening trying to wear him out so that he would actually fall asleep, we put him to bed. Surprisingly, he was passed out within about 15 minutes! Then the work really begins- Diana and I gather up all the stuff we got for him over the last month or so, trying to remember all the hiding spots we used, and bring everything to the basement. Diana will freely admit that she isn't any good at gift wrapping, so that job falls on me. I popped in a Christmas movie and got to work wrapping, cutting, and taping all the boxes and items. I had to take a few trip upstairs in order to get them all up there! Finally with the last gift wrapped (and the Christmas movie over), we place them all under the tree and tuck ourselves into bed, knowing that we are in for a long fun day!

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Brinkmas

 It was a pretty strange Christmas this year. The holiday is usually about spending time with family and getting together, unfortunately with this whole pandemic thing going on, that has a way of keeping us apart! We decided as a family that we would not do a big group get together, instead Mema and Papa would come and visit us at our place.

A couple days before Christmas we welcomed my parents over to celebrate the holiday and do a little bit of gift giving! Neither Mema nor Diana wanted to spend the day preparing a meal, so instead we opted for a meal from Vitale's. Everyone likes Italian food, right? We decided to eat first before opening any presents, much to Ledger's chagrin! He really struggled with having the patience to wait, but he got through it, miraculously! When it was finally time, he tore them open so quickly it was a blur! He got some fun gifts that he was excited to tear into immediately and play with- certainly a happy boy! It was really great to be able to spend a bit of time with my parents and just to see each other- something we haven't been able to do much of over these past months.

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A New Robot

Ledger has had a long history of making robots. He's been doing it since he was 4! He loves to find things around the house and put them together and make different characters. His deepest wish is for them to actually come alive and play, but unfortunately we aren't quite that technologically advanced yet... His latest creation is named T.M.A.R.I.T.W., which of course stands for The Most Awesome Robot In The World. He spent the day hanging out with TMARITW and creating funny situations for a robot, chatting with him the whole time. I know this sort of innocent boundless imagination isn't going to last, but it brings such a smile to my face! 

Parents Meet Wiggins

 Ever since we got Wiggins my parents have been saying that they need to stop by and meet him. My dad has always loved having a dog around, so he was eager to meet our little four legged friend. When they first pulled up we let Wiggins run out to greet them. There was a bark or two, but he quickly accepted them and gladly accepted the petting from my dad! They came in and settled in the living room and the dog immediately hopped on Papa's lap, much to his delight! My mom isn't as much of an animal person, but she soon melted at that adorably furry face. We had a chance to chat and catch up, with extra hugs for Ledger!

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Chillin'

 A lot of our days look like this. A lot of hanging out and just chilling. Fortunately the distance learning program through school has been pretty simple for Ledger, he's usually done by 1pm. That gives us a lot of free time, and that often means hanging out on the couch reading or watching TV. A popular favorite lately has been the game Guess Who, which we all love! I have fond memories of playing Guess Who with my sister growing up. There's so much talk about the hustle and bustle of life, but in our little sanctuary it moves at a snail's pace, just the way we like it!