Cinnamon Christmas

Good morning, Christmas! It looks like Santa stopped by again! Ledger got us up to open gifts but first we have our tradition of cinnamon rolls. They are always so delicious and fill the house with that sweet smell. It has become the smell of Christmas itself! On Christmas Eve, as I was trying to make it home during the blizzard from work, I had been talking to my mom on the phone and mentioned that I was disappointed that I forgot to get cinnamon rolls from the grocery store that week and that we were going to miss out on our traditional Christmas morning meal. Well, she didn't want that, and she proceeded to make us an amazing cinnamon roll concoction to take home after our Christmas with them. What a life saver! We took her baked treat home and popped it in the oven Christmas morning and the day was saved!

Now it's time for presents!

Brinkmas 2022

Let the Christmas fun begin! We all gathered together with my family at my parents house for some of that good ol' Christmas time joy. Soon after we got there we got there we jumped right into game time with the kids. Mema always plans a fun game where the kids win prizes, candy and gift cards. The big kids always grab the gift cards while Ledger and Noah went for the sweets.

In order to save every one the hassle, Mom ordered food for us so that no one would have to slave away and bring food. It was a nice spread and of course Mom got way too much! We gathered up our plates full of food and made our way downstairs for the main event: present time! Mema and Papa over did it on the gifts, as usual. Each of the five kids were absolutely elated with all the gifts they got! After much gift giving and catching up, it was time to pack it up and head home, with our baskets even more full then we arrived. We had better get to bed anyway, with Santa coming tonight, we don't want to miss the big event of Christmas morning!

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Snowed In

It was like something out of a movie. Christmas is only days away and there is a blizzard expected. Unfortunately, I still have to work Friday and Saturday. I drove in on Friday trying my best to stay on the road. It was pretty bad, but I still felt pretty safe driving. Over the course of the next several hours, that would change. A lot. I think we ended up getting over two feet of snow in about 15 hours- and it was windy and bitter cold! When I got out of work around 6pm there was literally no way I was going to be able to make it home, so I ended up having to get a room at the hotel just down the street. And it was hard enough even getting over there! I stopped at the store on the way and picked up a few things to survive. I got to the hotel, unpacked, and tried my best to warm up. With nothing to do, I called Diana and let her know the situation. There was no way I was going to try to make it home in this weather and then trek back out all the way to work in the morning. So I guess I'm stuck here for the night. I got cozy and turned on the tv. There was nothing on, of course, but I channel surfed while I ate my premade sub and Doritos. Sure didn't expect this when I woke up this morning!

I got up early to drive back the two blocks to work, but just as I had everything packed and went to the lobby, I was told that we were actually snowed into the parking lot. There were three or four vehicles that were stuck in the snow of the drive out of the parking lot! So even if I wanted to, I couldn't get out! Well, I guess I'm going to be late for work today... Eventually the plows came and got the vehicles out and we could leave. I spent the day working and when it was time to go home I found out that the main road to get home was closed. Good grief, this is like some sort of movie: the dad is trying hard to get home on Christmas Eve (which it was) and has to fight the weather to finally make it. That was totally me right now! I eventually found a road that was open, even though it was a good half hour out of the way, and finally made it home to my expectant family safe and sound, but boy was it a snow filled odyssey. Thankfully I've got a couple days off now, so I don't have to try and fight that blizzard again! 

Avatar: The Way of Awesome

I have been waiting for this for 13 years! Way back in 2009 the movie Avatar came out and I absolutely loved it! I got to see it several times in the theater in 3D, even once with family and friends in IMAX 3D. Granted, it's not the most original movie ever made, but the world it created and the astonishing 3D effects made this an instant favorite. Soon after the movie became such a huge hit they announced a sequel. Then they announced 4 more sequels. And then we waited. And waited. As time passed, the idea of 4 sequels to the film seemed a bit ludicrous, but my opinion has always been 'if James Cameron says we need 4 sequels, then we need 4 sequels'. That man cannot make a bad movie!

So I have been patiently waiting for a new Avatar movie. I even had the opportunity a few years ago to go to the Pandora land at Disney World, and it was amazing. 13 years of waiting and it's finally here! Now that we finally have a second Avatar movie, I knew I needed to see it in the best format possible, so I roped in Aaron to go to the IMAX 3D showing in Grand Rapids. I got the tickets and made our plans. As usual, my work tried everything it could to screw up my plans, but even though I had just worked a 22 hour shift, I wasn't going to let that ruin my excitement. I met up with Aaron and we were both giddy with excitement to finally revisit the world of Pandora. And wouldn't you know it, The Way of Water did not disappoint! James Cameron, you crazy man, you did it again! I will definitely be going to see it again in theaters! 

Tree Time

Let the decorating begin! Diana and Miranda had an event to go to, so Ledger and I decided to surprise her with putting up all the Christmas decorations and the tree while she was gone. We pulled out all the boxes, turned on some Christmas music, and got to work. Usually Ledge just sits back and lets Diana and I set up the tree and then help with the ornaments, but this year he dug right in and helped put the tree together. His favorite part, as always, is hopping into the empty box tree box. Yes, our son is a cat... We took our time placing the ornaments, trying our best to make sure the tree had equal ornament coverage. This is usually Diana's job because Ledge and I have a tendency to group up the ornaments, making the tree look spotty and lopsided... As we were pulling out the ornaments from the storage box, Ledger noticed that we had tinsel in there. We have it but we've never actually used it. Well, Ledge got really excited and demanded that we wrap the tree in that silver sparkly goodness!

We put the rest of the Christmas decor up around the house and, before we could call it finished, Ledge laid down under the tree to make sure I took the annual traditional photo of him as a Christmas present. Now we are ready for the holiday! Diana was delightfully surprised when she got home, thankful that she didn't have to do it this year.

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Christmas Parade

The love for our little town seems to be growing! Every year Allegan has a bunch of seasonal events as we get closer to Christmas. One of them that we always love to attend is the night parade and the arrival of Santa! I thought it might be something that my little nephew Noah would like, so I invited Jill to come enjoy the fun with us. Well, Mema and Papa couldn't resist, so they came too. Now this is becoming a big family event! It seems its pretty popular with everyone else in the town too, because it was really hard to even find a parking spot.

We eventually all met up next to the Regent Theater (my favorite place in town) and within a few minutes the parade started. Down the road came police cars, fire trucks and a bunch of floats from different businesses and families in town. The high school band marched through, playing some Christmas classics, and then finally the main attraction: Santa himself! Noah was pretty pumped to see him, as well as collecting the candy that had been thrown from the floats.

The parade went down the street and ended up in the pavilion where Santa walked down and sat for everyone who wanted to get pictures. Ledge is unfortunately a little too old for the picture part, but he got a picture with Santa and Noah. Everyone had a great time and it was so fun to be able to share that experience with the whole family!

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Talent Show Host

 The fifth graders at Ledger's school have a special talent show that they put on every year. Ledge didn't enter anything in for his talent, so instead he hosted it! The teachers picked one student from each class that they thought would be a good host, and our little guy was given that honor. He was very excited! It was kind of a big deal, they held it at the auditorium at the high school so they could fit everyone. We got there and Ledge headed backstage to get ready for the big show. The lights went down and out walked our son to lead the night's proceedings! Diana and I were very proud of him. We've always thought he would take an interest in theater and performing, so its awesome to see him following through with what he's good at. He and the other host would come out and banter between each performance, then introduce the next fifth grader. He did a great job and seemed really comfortable up there. I'm sure this won't be the last time we see him perform on that stage!

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Thanksgiving Party

For Thanksgiving this year we went down to South Bend and spent it with Diana's family. Both Barbara and I had to work on Thanksgiving, so the plan was to have a big meal together on Sunday instead. Barbara and James had a get together planned for Saturday night, so they invited us join them and stay with there for the night. Three or four other couples were there as well as a bunch of kids, so Ledger was all set! He was one of the oldest, so that meant that he loved it because he had an audience that looked up to him and they thought he was absolutely hilarious! He pulled out his tablet and even got to show them some of his animations, which they loved, of course. One of the highlights for the kids is playing with James's different instruments in the basement- especially the drum set. All the guys were gathered in the living room watching the football game, so of course I was in the dining room hanging out with the ladies. We just hung out and chatted, with rest of the guys popping in to grab another beer and then mosey back to the living room. Eventually they called it a night and everyone headed home and we got ready for bed.

The next morning we packed up and went over to Mom and David's for the feast. As always, its a great time to spend the day with Diana's family and eat some great food!

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First Stan

First snowfall always means one thing: Ledger will start grilling me wanting to know when we get to go out and make a snowman! We got a little snow recently and Ledge started asking. We had so little and it was too soft to make one, but that didn't stop him. He grabbed the Snowman Kit we have with all the pieces for building one, and headed out. Donning his snow pants, gloves, and hat, he made the most of what little snow we had.

The finished product wasn't as grand as some of them he has made in the past, but this little fella sure is cute!

SpongeBob MusicalPants

Allegan Public High School has a really strong theater program, and this year Ledger was especially interested in going to the fall musical. Why, you might ask? Because the musical they were putting on was Spongebob Squarepants the Musical! We had seen the posters all around town for a couple months leading up to it, and then the week of the show some of the high school kids who were performing in it came to the elementary school for an assembly. They had a drawing to give away tickets to the show as well as a special behind-these-scenes visit before the show. Well, wouldn't you know it, Ledger was one of the 6 lucky winners!

The night of the show we grabbed dinner and went to the high school about an hour before the show and got to see all the cool stuff they had planned for us. They took him up on stage to check out the sets, backstage with the performers to see them practice the choreography, and into the music room as they cast rehearsed. In each of the three areas they talked through the process with the kids and had them participate a little as well. Ledger absolutely loved it! I've rarely seen him so attentive and interested! What a fun little opportunity for younger kids to see the fun of being a theater kid in high school. I think it worked too, because Ledge kept telling me how he wants to do that when he gets to high school!

After the behind-the-scenes look, it was time to find our seats, sit back, and enjoy the show! It was a pretty fun performance which Ledger absolutely loved. I think he may have caught the acting bug...

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Dudes and Donuts

Every year Ledger's school invites dads to come for breakfast with their kids. It's called 'Dudes & Donuts', and I have been able to go with Ledger every year. At my job now I have to be there by 7am every day, so I made sure I let work know I would be in late so that I could go. We got there pretty early and grabbed the kind of donut we wanted, as well as a drink, and sat down at the table in the gym. We chatted for a bit and Ledger had a few friends come and sit with us. I got to meet some of the other dads as we all rolled our eyes at the boys being silly. Pretty soon it was time for school to start, so I headed off to work, thankful for a fun breakfast with my boy!

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Safety Boy

Ledger is a big fifth grader now. That means that he is eligible to be on the safety committee. He's always said that he wanted to safety patrol and now he has the chance! There are a few special fifth grade students selected each year to help guide the younger kids around the parking lot and sidewalks at the end of the day as everyone leaves. Ledger was really excited to apply for it and was selected to be one of the few, the proud, the safety patrol!

Every few weeks he gets out of class a couple minutes early, straps on his safety sash, and stands out at his post on the corner of the sidewalk by the parking lot. He is the last line of defense for those kids walking home against the chaotic onslaught of cars pulling out of the parking lot. He takes his role very seriously, after all, there are cute little first grader's lives on the line! 

Thank you for your service to our country, son.

Trick Or Treatle

The big day is finally here, and boy is he excited! Ledger has been eagerly anticipating the chance to wear his awesome turtle costume out in public ever since he got it, and now its time. Finally, it's Halloween night! Diana stayed home this time and handed out candy while Ledger and I took to the streets. We headed out around the neighborhood with the plan to hit up as many houses as we possibly could. Unfortunately the turtle costume had other ideas... The turtle blow up costume looks really amazing, but it leaves a lot to be desired as far as mobility... We started walking and immediately we realized that Ledger couldn't actually walk in the costume. He could slowly waddle, but he couldn't walk! The legs were too short for him, so he had to take baby steps the whole night! He was fine with it, but I'll admit that it tried my patience a few times. Going from house to house took forever! He had a positive attitude, so we made due. We walked around the block, stopping at each house with it's lights on. Everyone we walked passed smiled and let Ledge know how much they loved his costume. 

We got to go to a haunted house, wandered the downtown streets, and filled his bag with tons of candy! It was a little cold and a little wet, but we had a fantastic time.

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Turtle On Parade

Halloween just so happened to fall on Monday this year, much to my delight, because that meant that I got to go to the school Halloween parade! Every year Ledger's elementary school invites the kids to bring in their Halloween costumes (in a bag, not worn). Then, in the afternoon they invite all the parents to come watch as they all parade through the halls and show off their cool costumes! Ledger was pumped, of course, because we had planned a head and he got a really awesome inflatable turtle costume! He was so proud! We got there and helped him get into it when disaster struck- the batteries died! Oh no! The whole thing deflated, along with his excitement. Fortunately, we had enough time and we live close enough that I was able to quickly drive home and fill my pockets with batteries and get back in time to change them out. I grabbed a bunch extra, and it's a good thing because another student in his class had the same problem!

With the costume fully blown up, he was able to strut around the school proud of his fantastically cute turtle costume! The whole thing was so incredibly cute and funny as the whole school, Kindergarten through 5th grade, showed off the creativity and joy of their fun costumes! I will miss this when he goes to middle school, that's for sure.

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A-Maze-ing Corn!

There's this place that we drive by on our way to visit Diana's parents that always catches our eye called Harvest Moon Acres. In the fall they have all kinds of fun stuff including a corn maze! Neither Diana, Ledger, or I, have ever been to a corn maze, so we figured it was time to check it out. Diana invited a whole crew to come and check it out with us: Lissa, Miranda, and Barbara!

Having no idea what to expect, I was pretty impressed with the whole place! It's a lot more than just a corn maze, we got there and wandered around. Once we went in we saw that they have a whole field of fun stuff to do: they had burlap sack slides, water games, a petting zoo, a zipline, a shooting gallery, and a bunch more.

We started the corn maze, but some of the ladies called it quits pretty quickly, so Ledger, Barbara, and I journeyed on just the three of us. We walked the whole path (about a half hour), and found all the hidden treasures.

What a fun time- we will definitely be back next year!

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Carve O Lantern

After a nice afternoon over at Gene's, we spent the evening carving out the two perfectly plump pumpkins we picked! Each year Ledger has tried to pass off the gross work of emptying out the pumpkin guts, and this year was no different... He cut off the tops and then passed them over to me to clean out. That kid does not want to get dirty! This year we didn't bother to do anything with the seeds. We tried that a couple years ago and then didn't actually like them. 

After cleaning them out, Ledger grabbed a white board marker (that way he could erase it if he doesn't like his design) and drew on the funny faces. I helped a bit with the detail work, but most of the face carving was him this year! 

When they were done, we dug through the junk drawers and amazingly found the old battery powered candles left over from the four pack last year. We set them out on the front porch and admired them- now our Halloween decorating is complete!
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The Pumpkin Man

It can't be Halloween season without our annual visit to see Gene the Pumpkin Man! We hopped in the car and made our way down to his orange colored farm to pick out a few pumpkins to finish our decorating for the season.

We were a little late this year, so the pickings were a bit slim. That didn't slow us down, Ledger found a couple good looking pumpkins anyway. Diana picked out a few choice little gourds to decorate in the house. After wandering around for a little while and talking with Gene for a bit, we were fully stocked and satisfied. We headed home, ready to do some carving!

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Barbie Girl

Diana's new hobby is taking over the house! Or at least the third bedroom. We have a guest bedroom that has played many rolls in our years of living here: first it was just a regular guest room, housing friends and family when they come to visit. During the pandemic, it became a classroom as Ledger spent his third grade year doing the distance learning thing. The room's newest iteration is serving as Diana's Barbie room! She has been getting back into Barbies lately and has acquired a huge Barbie house. She is currently using her talent with crafts to redesign the different rooms of the playset, repapering the walls and floors, and fashioning her own furniture. He has been putting in a lot of work and really making it look impressive! She takes pictures of the Barbies in the rooms and trying to make everything look as realistic as possible. Her results are pretty impressive! Now, every time I want to watch a movie she gladly shoos me away so she can sneak back in the Barbie room and continue her renovations!

Turtle Turtle

Last year we kind of dragged our feet too long before Ledger picked a Halloween costume and found that most of the good ones were already sold out. We didn't want to make the same mistake this year! As soon as October 1 hit, he and I were scrolling through all the different costumes. He came across a blow up turtle costume that he absolutely loved. It wasn't too expensive, so I bought it right away. It's only the first week of October, but it arrived and he tried it on. It looks absolutely hilarious! As you can see, he totally loved it. We were all in hysterics as he waddled around the house wearing it! Unfortunately he still has to wait a few weeks before he gets to waddle through the neighborhood showing it off- he can't wait!

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Lawncare Boy

Even though its the end of September, coming home from a week away means that the lawn is getting pretty long. When I went out to take care of it, I asked the boy if he would like to give it a try. The last time he helped with the lawn was back when we had a push mower. He's been eyeing that sit-down mower for the last season or two and has been waiting for his turn. He's getting bigger and I figured he could probably handle it.

I pulled it out of the garage and showed him all the controls he would need, and he hopped on ready to give it a shot. We started off really really slowly because he was a little unsure of himself at first. After a few feet I put down the blades and let him take it. He kept the speed slow, and with tense arms, he made his way back and forth. He would have been smiling if he wasn't concentrating so hard! He said he liked it but did not want to go any faster! He was scooted up pretty far in the seat, so I took the opportunity to put Wiggins up there with him- and what a cute picture it made!

After a lap or two he said he was done but wants to try again next time. Little by little we'll get him comfortable on that thing- then he's responsible for mowing the lawn every week! Finally I will be rid of that task, something I've been waiting for ever since my dad passed it down to me!

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Heading Home

We all had such a great time in New England seeing David's family and history, but eventually we had to come home. We had packed up our stuff from the rental house before we went to Alanna's, so it was an easy prep for the airport. Mom and David took us to the local airport and we were on our way. We were surprisingly well rested for all the stuff we got to do. So often we return from a vacation more exhausted then when we left, but this time it was actually relaxing! 

A good time was had by all!

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