South Bend Swim

Ah, now this is the life! We made our way back down to South Bend for an extended weekend. Mom and David are always excited to have us visit, so it didn't take too much to convince them! The weather was so perfect that we spent a lot of time out on the lake. To really shock everyone, I even jumped in and swam! Barbara and James stopped by for one of the days and joined us out on the boat.

The funniest part of the weekend: We took poor old Wiggins out on the boat with us, and when I jumped in, I took him with me! He was not at all prepared for that! Turns out, this dog does NOT like to swim! He was holding on to me for dear life while we were in the water! Thankfully, I put him back on the boat after a couple minutes. After we swam for a while and got back on the boat, he would not go anywhere near me for the rest of the boat ride... Poor fella!

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4th of July

We spent the 4th with Diana's family in South Bend. Everyone was there including Alanna and Tavish! They came for an extended visit from the east coast. Alanna's boyfriend Brad came along as well, he was pumped to visit- he's never been to a lake or gone fishing, so he was really excited to go out on the dock and cast a line. Most mornings he was out there living it up.

With such beautiful weather, we were able to spend a lot of time outside, hoping on the boat and going swimming in the middle of the lake a couple times as well.

With the house being so full, it meant the boys had to sleep in the living room, which lead to them staying up way too late and being so silly! It also meant that they didn't exactly get enough sleep- delirious fun!

David made sure we were well fed, including a meal of delicious burgers and veggies on the grill. Lots of time spent talking, laughing, and playing games at the table. All in all, we had a blast!

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South Bend It

 Mom and David had some guests over for Memorial weekend. David's sister was visiting, and we hadn't seen her since our last visit to Disney, so we packed up and headed down to join in on the fun!

We caught up with Ann and got to hear all about her crazy life and hilarious stories, had some delicious Chinese food together, and went to visit Diana's dad as well. Overall, nothing remarkable, just spending time with loved ones and having a good time.

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South Bend Christmas

A bit unusual to be down in South Bend on Christmas morning, but it's been an unusual season. We did Christmas with my family and our Christmas a bit early this year because we wanted to make sure we had as much time as possible with Diana's family. David's daughter Alanna and her son Tavish were visiting for the week from Boston, so we wanted to make the most of it. We drove down the afternoon before Christmas to see everyone. Staying in Mom and David's place along with Alanna and Tavish made for a really packed house, but that's part of the fun!

Ledger and Tavish get along really well together and were both pumped to see each other! They have been best buddies ever since they were toddlers, and this visit was no exception. Minute one, and they are already laughing, smiling, and talking a mile a minute! We took it a bit easy that first night, getting everyone settled in and catching up. By Christmas afternoon Barbara, James, and Dad all stopped over for the gift giving festivities. We, as always, had a great time giving and receiving gifts, filling our tummies with delicious food, and then chatting the afternoon away. After all the guests left, everyone found a little cozy spot to take a short nap. When we woke up, it was time for ice cream and pie- perfect! We were able to stay another day and a half, which was a lot of relaxing fun!

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A Big Thanksgiving

After having put in our time with my folks, we headed down to spend the rest of the weekend with Diana's family! We stayed with Mom and David, but made our way to Barbara and James' house for the big meal. James is quite the cook, so he whipped up some really great food for everyone. The weekend was filled with visiting family, catching up, and lots of laughs. The biggest challenge of going down there to visit is always convincing Ledge that he has to come home with us when it all over!

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To the Lake

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

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

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Dad Visits

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

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

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

All in all, a very lovely visit!

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Oscar Party

It's my favorite day of the year: Oscars day! I am a little bit obsessed with movies and watch between four and five hundred per year. One of my favorite parts of the movie industry is awards season. And the biggest award of them all is, of course, the Oscars.

I spend the months leading up to it watching all the movies that are nominated for Best Picture so that I can vote along with them. I've been obsessed and watching them for decades; I remember demanding that my parents let me stay up to watch them when I was in Middle School- and the did!

Typically watching the Oscars was a solitary event, I didn't really have any friends or family who was at all interested in them like I was. I've been able to rope in Diana to watch them with me every year since we got married, but she is always more interested in the dresses than the awards... A couple years ago Barbara and James joined us for my first ever Oscar party and it was a blast- finally people to share it with! Last year they were not able to make it, but this year they were all for it. Barbara came even though she was feeling sick so she wore a mask the whole night- now that's real love! I felt seen and supported like never before! I took the night off so I could enjoy it fully, and printed out ballots for everyone. I even made a booklet with summaries for all the different nominated movies so everyone else could be familiar with all the films in the show.

We had gotten a bunch of food and had a whole delicious spread to enjoy through out the festivities. I wasn't rooting for any particular film this year, so I was happy with whatever the results were. It was a really fun night. Now, only 12 more months until the next one!

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Lakeside Lunch

I guess Mom and David hadn't had enough family time over Christmas, they invited all of us to join them at Schu's Bar & Grill in St Joe for an amazing lunch together! It had only been a couple weeks since we last got together, but that didn't stop us from having a fun time. It had been a while since we went to St Joe. Last time we met up there it was also with Tavish and Alanna and we went to the children's museum back when the Ledger was only about 5 or 6! This restaurant was just down the street from there and had a great view of Lake Michigan. The restaurant was filled with awesome lake themed decorations, including a canoe hanging from the ceiling. The seafood was really good and we had such a nice time. Thanks, Mom and David!

Keenan Christmas '23

 After a fun evening of decorating gingerbread houses, we were ready the next day for a great meal and some more present giving! Barbara, James, and Dad came by around 1pm. After the boys showed off their fully decorated houses, we gathered up in the living room and got busy with the gift giving.

Barbara always loves to play the role of Christmas elf and hand out the gifts to be opened. Most of the prizes were for Ledger and Tavish, as it should be. The rest of us had exchanged names and each got a gift. I got another good book I wanted, and Ledger got a bunch more toys and clothes! After the gifts were done, we gathered around the table for a delicious Christmas meal together. 

Mom and David offered to keep Ledger or the rest of the week since he was off school, that way he could spend more time with his beloved cousin! We gladly accepted the offer and Diana and I headed home, just the two of us (and pup).
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Gingerbread Houses

On Christmas day, after we opened all our prizes at home and had a nice relaxing half of the day, we packed up and spend the rest of the weekend with Diana's family! Tavish and Alanna were visiting, which always makes the holidays more fun. One of the best traditions they recently started with that side of the family is decorating gingerbread houses! Diana's mom and David get a bunch of gingerbread house kits and make them up for everyone earlier. We then pull out a bunch of different candies and frosting and go to town, each with our own house! The results are always awesome and everyone has a blast decorating together! Barbara and James are going to be so mad they missed out on all the fun!

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Getting New Ears

Papa's hearing has been going downhill a bit lately. When we get together he has been asking us to repeat ourselves more and more. Mom has been suggesting that he get his hearing checked out for a while now. Well, he finally relented and decided that he needs hearing aids. Well, it just so happens that I know a guy who can help... My father-in-law, Diana's stepdad, actually owns and runs a bunch of hearing aid offices! What luck! I contacted David and set up an appointment for my dad.

We went down to his closest office for a fitting. I went along with Papa; it was fun to see David and Papa at the same time! I don't think they've seen each other in 13 years or so! We went in and Papa got his hearing test and try out a pair of hearing aids. He found ones that he liked, with all the extras of course.

It was really great to see David in his element- he's so good at making people feel comfortable with the process and understand what is going on with their hearing. A consummate professional! By the time we left Papa was feeling really good about his new hearing aids, and excited to try them out- I'm sure Mom will be pleased that he can hear her again too! 

Thanksgiving

Lets give some thanks! With all three of us having a few days off for Thanksgiving, we headed down to South Bend to spend some time with family. As an added bonus, Lissa joined us for the weekend.

Diana was pretty pleased, all she wanted for Thanksgiving was a good ol' fashioned traditional meal with turkey and all the fixin's. David and Mom accommodated and we had a delicious meal with the whole family! The whole visit was nice and lazy, which is exactly what we needed!

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A Michigan's Adventure Adventure!

With the summer winding down, Diana's mom and David wanted to get together for one last time. David wanted to do something a bit special, and boy did he! With Alanna and Tavish in town, we were all invited to Michigan's Adventure for a couple days! Yes please! David was splurging on us and paid for two day admissions for all of us as well as hotel rooms so we could stay together for a couple nights. Wow, he really spoils us, huh?

We headed up there nice and early on a Wednesday to meet them up there. We got going on time but everyone else was running a little late, so we decided to stop and get some breakfast. It was a bit of a fiasco, but we got back on the road and made it up to the park right around the time they opened. About 15 minutes later everyone else showed up and we made our way into the park.

Mom and David had rented out a cabana in the waterpark area, so we headed over there to check in first. Along the way we walked past a bunch of different rides and the boys got more and more excited with each step! After we got them settled in, we went back out and finally got a chance to go on the rides! We started with the corkscrew roller coaster and hit each and every ride along the way. David had sprung for the 'fast pass', so we were next in line on almost every single ride we went on! I think the longest wait we had was about 3 minutes. He spoiled us so much! The boys were amazingly brave, riding every single one in the park- better than both of their moms... We went back to check in on Mom and David and got some food to eat, then we went right back out into the park to finish the rest of the rides.

By the end of the day were were all exhausted and shell-shocked by the wooden coasters, so it was time to check in at the hotel. We settled in and ordered some pizza. After that, everyone was ready to call it a night and went to sleep. 

The second day was the water park! Diana wasn't feeling very well and Mom & David had planned a day together in town, so it was just Alanna, the boys, and myself. We had a great time getting wet and doing the water slides! At the end of the day we went back to the hotel and I had to leave to go to work the next day, but the rest of them were able to stay one more night. They took advantage of the pool in the hotel that night and went to to the sand dunes the next day- which they all loved!

Everyone had so much fun- what an amazing way to finish out the summer as a family! Thank you again, David for spoiling us so much and getting a chance to have such a great time together!

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Grandparents Summer

Now that summer is here, the first thing on Ledger's list of things to do: go visit Grandpa and Grandma! Wouldn't you know it, its the first thing on their list too! We made plans with them for Ledge to spend few days with them. It's about an hour and a half 

to get to their place, so Grandpa offered to meet us half way. We handed him off and Diana and I got to have a few days with just the two of us! Granted, I still had to work, but it was nice to have our evenings to ourselves for a couple days. We went out to eat together, went for late night walks, and just generally enjoyed each other's company for a while. We love being parents, especially to such a loving little boy, but it's still nice to have some time with just us adults!

While Ledger was gone a package showed up at the house. Not sure what it was, I brought it with when we went to go pick him up. We met up half way for a quick dinner at Burger King and we found out what the package was: Ledger had talked Grandpa into getting him a stuffed animal from one of the games he plays! That kid, he can sweet talk his grandparents into anything!

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Miranda's Open House

A few months ago Miranda bought a house. She had been looking for a while and finally found one she liked that was in her price range and an area she wanted to live. We've been over there once or twice, but she decided that she wanted to have an official 'open house' and invite everyone over to show off the new place. She's been working hard over the last couple months repairing and updating it to get ready.

David and Mom were invited to see her place as well, so we met up with them for lunch together and then went to see Miranda. Her family was there and we got to celebrate her beautiful house together!

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Cousin Dinner

Its been a while since we got to see Mom and David, and even longer since we've seen Alanna and Tavish! With those two visiting, we made sure to meet up with them. Ledger is in school right now, so he can't go and stay with them overnight. Instead we settled for a meet up in Benton Harbor for dinner.

We got to catch up with them and the boys were silly and loud, of course! For the first time it looks like Ledger is actually bigger than his two years older cousin- by a fraction of an inch! This brought Ledger no small amount of delight, and Tavish an equal amount of annoyance...

Florida Without Me

Mom and David went back down to Florida this year right after Christmas. Just down the street from where they went last year, they invited us down again this year to come and visit them for a week. Unfortunately, I was unable to get that much time off, but Diana and Ledger took them up on the offer. Instead of me, Lissa was able to join them!

They had an amazing time down there and kept me updated on all the fun and frivolity they were up to. I was stuck at home working, but I made the most of it by watching movies to fill the time while they were gone. I watched 30!

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Keenan Christmas

Unfortunately I wasn't able to join Diana and Ledger for her family's Christmas. I had to work, of course, so the two of them went down for a couple days to spend time with the family during Christmas break. Everyone had a great time and Ledger was excited to get a bunch more gifts, and honestly who wouldn't? Dad, Barbara, and James came as well to celebrate.
I wish I could have been there, but I'm sure I'll make it next year!

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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