School Awards

A special day here in Ledgertown. He's finally being recognized for all his work at school! Diana and I made a special effort to attend the middle school presentation of the award show to recognize the great work that the students have accomplished this year.

So many students came up to accept awards, many of whom Diana recognized from her work in the elementary school over the past year or two.

We were delighted when our beloved boy was called and walked up to receive his much deserved award for getting 'A' grades all year! We were so proud! What an accomplishment! well done, little buddy, keep up the good work! He seemed pretty delighted too!

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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50th Anniversary

Wow, 50 years! Impressive! Mema and Papa celebrated their 50 year anniversary and had a party. Chad and his family came down, Jill and Tim and all the kids came too. We wanted to do something a little special, so after the delicious dinner, we all headed downstairs so I could show them the slideshow I had put together for them. There were some pictures of their wedding (oh the fashion!) and a bunch of us growing up as well as all three of their kids families.

It was a hit and everyone loved to relive the different memories! I left them a copy so they could watch it again whenever they wanted.

There was a lot of celebrating and reminiscing about all the good times we've had as a family. We've been really blessed to have such a strong example of a loving couple growing up- and still today!

Here's to 50 more!

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Choir Concert

 With the end of the school year fast approaching, Ledger got to put on a show! He is taking the Choir track in Middle School. He enjoys singing, so it was a better option that band or gym classes. Being in choir brings with it the twice-a-year commitment of performing in the choir concerts!

He's got a nice voice and likes to sing, but he's not much of a fan of choir class. Mostly he just gets annoyed that they keep singing the same songs over and over again! Well buddy, you've got to be able to perform them well for the concert! 

This spring performance had an oceanic theme, including a song from Moana! Now we're talking! As usual, he did a great job and was pretty proud of how it went after the show. We were pretty proud too, Ledge- great singing!

Diana's Birthday

Happy Birthday, my dove! As we get older birthdays become less and less of an important day. With it being a weekday, we couldn't really do anything too crazy, so instead of doing some amazing party or anything, we planned ahead and went out for dinner the weekend before.

Of course, I also needed to make sure she had some special gifts to open on her special day. I got her some boring clothes and jewelry, but I had to do a fun gift too. She was very excited to open up a brand new Barbie doll! See? 15 years in and we still find fun little ways to show how we love each other- and stay young! 

Game Time

We aren't much of a boardgame family, as much as I wish we were. Every once in a while I can convince Diana and Ledger to gather around the table and play a game or two, but it's usually just a card game or something that only lasts about 15 minutes. Even though I know this, I still keep trying to entice them to play games with me! I keep finding different games to try, either unusual ones that I have never heard of before but have some strange and fun twist, or I like to get themed games of stuff I love. I got a Stargate SG-1 game, but it looked super complicated, so I knew better than to try and get them to play.

I recently picked up an unusual game based on Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and convinced them both to give it a try with me. It was pretty fun! There were a bunch of trivia questions that were a part of the game, which kind of puts Ledger at a bit of a disadvantage, but we had a good time with it none the less. The next game up is a Gargoyles cartoon themed game. Wish me luck getting them interested...

Bee Sting

Look at this sad boy! While we were hanging out on our deck in the back yard, Diana and I noticed Wiggins wandering around chomping at the air. We looked a little closer and realized he was trying to bit a bee that was hovering around him. Well, it looks like he got it, because then he started scratching at the ground. A second later he yelped! He immediately came scrambling over to us, hoping on three legs. This poor dumb dog got stung by a the bee he was pestering! I picked him up and went inside to examine his arm, and sure enough, it was starting to swell a little bit. He then proceeded to give me this look as he held him little paw up to me as if to say 'make it better!' Sorry buddy, you are going to have to deal with that pain... I held him for the rest of the afternoon, poor little guy.

Goodbye, Cali!

Morning came way too quick! What felt like two minutes after falling asleep, we were back up and getting ready as fast as we could. We packed up our last items, double checked the place to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything, and off we went to LAX for our return trip.

Our layover in Denver was pretty frustrating. We tried to grab some lunch, but the food took too long and by the time we made it back to the plane, there weren't three seats together anymore! Argh! So all three of us had to sit next to random strangers. I was pretty angry about it, but Ledger didn't seem to mind, and he made some friends who he got to chat with the whole way home!

Finally back in Grand Rapids, we got our luggage and went out to the car pick up. And what glorious vision awaited us there? Why, my beautiful wife! Diana picked us up and got to hear our stories all the way back. We dropped off Aaron, said our goodbyes, and returned home exhausted! It was a long trip, but so much fun to spend all that time with friends! It was a strange element having Ledger there, but the guys were so great with him and he did an amazing job of fitting in and being one of 'the guys'. 

We will have to do it again some time! 

Last Night

Sadly, our California trip is coming to an end. We had a ton of fun and spend the last night just chilling out and enjoying our last hours together. One of Ledger's favorite parts of the trip has been playing a drawing game with everyone. He was able to convince us all to play one last round together. It is a super fun game and we had a really fun time each of the times we played!

Finally, it was time to call it a night. We had an early morning ahead of us, and a long day of travel. We packed it in and headed to bed for the last time in Adam's awesome house. 

Hangout and Brewery

When we got back from Downtown, Ledger and I were exhausted. That worked out just fine because Adam, Aaron, and Cousin Aaron all wanted to do some micro brew beer tasting. So they went to go do that and Ledge and I stayed back at the house. It was nice to just sit down and enjoy a little peace and quiet after our long and adventurous week! He played on his tablet and did some animating while I caught a quick nap on the couch.

A couple hours later, both of us refreshed, got picked up by the boys to join them for one last bar stop for dinner. It was a pretty cool place with some good food, so all of us were quite happy!

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Downtown Hollywood

Adam had a few other work things to do, so Aaron, Ledger, and I decided to do the most touristy thing possible: we went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame! The Uber dropped us off and we walked down Hollywood Boulevard, taking in the sights. We checked out the different stars on the sidewalk and the Dolby Theater. We went up through the outdoor mall and got to see the Hollywood sign!

After a quick stop in for a chili dog at one of the restaurants, we made our way past the Mann's Chinese Theater where they were having a world premier! We didn't see anyone famous, but they were setting it up a red carpet for the premier of the movie Monkey Man. We got to see a bunch of street performers dressed up like different movie characters that you can take a picture with (we didn't). All the really touristy stuff like the wax museum was just too darn expensive. So after wandering around and taking in the sights, we headed back to the house.

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Out Like A Lamb

For breakfast, we got to see Lamb Chop! One of the strange events that Adam was excited for us to attend while we were in LA was a special appearance from the puppet Lamb Chop and Shari Lewis' daughter. It was just as weird as you might expect...

Adam is a member of a really unusual group: the Los Angeles Breakfast Club. It's a weekly breakfast get together where they have special guests come and chat with them for the morning. They get all kinds of different guests, from historians to minor celebrities. It's a pretty goofy group who has a bunch of funny nonsense traditions and songs that they all do together for some reason.

Adam, Aaron, Ledger and I sat and enjoyed the breakfast as we watched, baffled by the weird songs, motions, and recited passages of nonsense that the club members seem to have memorized. We were very confused as Adam laughed along with us as this unique scene unfolded. Finally, after all the traditions were acted out, Mallory Lewis, daughter of the famous puppeteer Shari Lewis, shared a talk and performance with us. It was odd, self aggrandizing, and interesting. Not entirely sure what the point was of the whole thing, but it was really fun!

After she was done, everyone mingled and chatted. Ledger wandered around and talked with a bunch of different random people, as is his way. As he was on the other side of the room rubbing elbows with other members, Adam was sharing with Aaron and I that Ledger was, unbeknownst to him, chatting with some legends and luminaries of the animation world! Ledge was showing off his drawings to people who had created famous cartoon shows and movies! I'm sure they were very impressed!

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Post Universal Bar

After our long day at Universal Studios, we stopped by a cool bar restaurant to fill our bellies before we went home. The place was pretty cool, it was like an open air bar and had some good food! I got a burger and Ledger went fancy and got lobster mac & cheese. He wasn't so sure about the lobster part and kinda picked around the chunks. Don't worry, I picked them out for him (and ate them).

Adam and Aaron were pleased with the beer selections and we had a good time recapping the day and talking about our favorite parts. My favorite was the Waterworld Stunt Show, Aaron and Adam loved the backlot tour. Ledger's favorite was the minion ride and Simpsons land.

We shut the place down (they closed at 10pm, so it wasn't too hard...) and finally made our way home. What a fun day!
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Universal Studios

Did you know that Disneyland can sell out? We sure didn't. We had high hopes of going to Disneyland but when we went to buy tickets two days in advance, we found out that they were sold out! Dang! So instead we went to Universal Studios. No one was too disappointed, but it was different than we had planned. Adam was able to get all his work done the day before, so he was pumped to join us for the day!

We got there at the start of the day and had a lot of fun going to all the different lands and going on the backlot tour.

They have huge areas dedicated to Harry Potter, The Simpsons, Minions, and Mario. All of them were pretty cool, but you'll never guess which one was Ledger's favorite: The Simpsons! It's hilarious to me because I don't think he's ever actually seen a single episode of the show! I think the cartoon style of everything in that land just appealed to him. We walked through a bunch of different shops while we were there and the one thing he actually decided to buy was a Simpsons plush- of Marge! Whatever you want, buddy!

We got to go on some fun rides and even see some famous people while we were there. A great time was had by all!

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The Grove

Adam was still busy working, so we decided to kill some more time and walked down the street a bit to The Grove. Aaron and I had been here last time we visited all those years ago. Last time we were in LA we went to a taping of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, which is right next to The Grove.

It's basically just a fancy outdoor mall with a outdoor market in front of it. We got some ice cream at the market and walked around, checking everything out. Last time we were here we saw someone famous, but we weren't as lucky this time. We popped into a couple stores, but mostly just enjoyed the good weather and good vibes.

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Oscar Museum

Bucket List day continues! Now, it's my turn... Aaron got to see his beloved car museum, now I get to see the Academy Museum! Home of the Oscars!!! This was the one thing I told Adam I wanted to do while we were in LA, and now we are here!

After we finished at the car museum, we only had to walk across the street and we were at the Oscar museum! As you might expect, I was pretty giddy about it. We walked around the building and found the entrance. We walked into the main floor and there were tons of awesome Oscar statues around and a viewing room where they were showing old clips from classic movies. We wandered in there and found a cozy round couch to chill for a few minutes. Ledger was pretty exhausted, so he kind of camped out in that dark room while Aaron and I checked out the museum shop. There were some pretty cool things in there with Oscar stuff on them. I ended up getting a neon light in the shape of an Oscar statue- perfect for my movie room back home!

It was pretty cool to be in the place that they always reference during the Oscars each year. I was a happy boy!

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Car Museum

It was Bucket List day. Aaron's obsession with cars made going to the LA car museum a must. There was really only one thing that he demanded of the trip: that we go to that museum! Adam needed a day to do some work, so we took the opportunity to go, just Aaron, Ledger, and I.

We Ubered down to the museum and got our ticket. Before we went to see the exhibits, we made our way to the cafe restaurant that they had there. The food was pretty good and the view was great. We sat out on the veranda, enjoying that balmy California weather!

Now that our bellies were full, it was time to see some awesome cars! There were a ton of really cool historical cars, some wild prototypes, impressive one-of-a-kind beauties, but the real reason Aaron wanted to go to this museum was because they had the actual screen used KITT from Knight Rider! We wandered around checking out different cars, but when we finally happened upon it, Aaron got really quiet... He was in awe! I took a bunch of pictures of him with it, and then I let him just quietly take it all in. I continued to wander around a bit, giving him some alone time with KITT. After about a half hour I checked back in with him. He still wasn't ready to move on. No problem, Ledger found a kids area to keep himself busy, and I just let Aaron soak it all in... It was like a religious experience for him and I didn't want to come between him and his commune with the sacred.

Eventually he came back to our world and we checked out the rest of the museum, but for a brief time there, Aaron achieved nirvana.

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Game Time

After a long day of seeing the sights, we spent the evening hanging out at Adam's. Cousin Aaron grilled over at the neighbors and brought over some delicious burgers for all of us to enjoy. We gathered around the table and laughed and ate together. When the food was gone, Adam pulled out a few games to play, much to Ledger's delight! Knowing that Ledge loves to draw, Adam showed us a couple drawing games to play together. We had a blast! Finally, the thing that became the highlight of the whole trip for Ledger, we played a drawing competition game on the Playstation where everyone draws on their phones and we compete of the TV. Ledge loved it so much that he tried to get us to play it every night for the rest of our trip (usually he was successful!) The day was filled with a bunch of fun LA things, but just sitting down, playing and laughing together was the best part!

Little Tokyo

 Adam started telling us about some of the other districts in Los Angeles and when he mentioned 'Little Tokyo', Ledger's ears perked up- 'let's go there!' So we took the short drive, found a parking spot, and wandered into an area filled with Japanese shops and restaurants! Ledger's love of all cute Japanese art and characters sent him into a state of bliss as he wandered doe eyed from shop to shop... We were just there trying to keep up! The favorite that he finally decided on was a cute lil' banana plush that he then proceeded to put in random spots and take dozens of pictures of through out the rest of the day. This was, by far, his favorite part of the trip yet! The rest of us were laughing along with him as we tried to keep up.

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Lunch and A Walk

After a little rest, reorganization, and a wardrobe change, we headed out to get lunch and see the city! Not knowing the place at all, it was up to Adam to pick a place to eat. He decided on Phillippe's, a place that claims they invented the French dip sandwich. It was pretty cool- and packed! We snaked through the line and got ourselves one of their famous sandwiches, found a table on the second floor and dug right in! It was, as you might expect, really delicious. Everyone was pleased with Adam's lunch choice!

After filling our bellies, we decided to go for a walk around that part of town. we found ourselves walking though an awesome Mexican market and square. It was packed with fun little shops selling trinkets and the square was blasting with live Mexican music and dancing! What a treat! We got to tour the oldest house in LA, and then crossed the street to walk around Union Station. I've seen that building in tons of shows and movies! Ledger was having a great time taking it all in- so so were we!
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Hangin' at the House

We got home from church and just took some time to chill. We hadn't seen the house yet much, so Aaron and I wandered around a bit as Adam gave us a more in depth tour, checking out the beautiful view of the area from the backyard. Ledger unpacked his computer and latched on to Cadeau as his new best friend! He somehow convinced her to download Roblox on her phone so they could play together. Ledge also took the opportunity to show off some of his latest animations! Adam was aware of Ledger's animation skills, having hired him to make backgrounds for one of his shows on Yippee a year or so ago.

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Church and Park

It just so happens that the weekend we arrive is actually Easter weekend! We flew in late Saturday night and had the opportunity to join Adam at his L.A. church for Easter Sunday. We got up early and got ready, which was not an easy feat considering how exhausted we were the night before and then all 4 of us had to share the bathrooms! Amazingly, we were up and ready on time. We drove downtown to his church, which was the firs time Ledger got to see this California city in the daylight. He thought it was pretty cool to see the different buildings and palm trees!

The church itself was quite a bit different than the typical Midwest church. Adam's church is in a gymnasium, donuts and coffee was in the back, and everyone was free to come and go as they pleased! That helped a lot, considering we got there a few minutes late... No one even noticed because the whole congregation was just coming and going, chatting and singing, all while the worship band did their thing.

After a lovely service, we made our way down a block or two and found ourselves in a little shopping area and park! We wandered around a bit and got a great sense of town. We even stopped in the ol' Barnes & Noble so Aaron could pick up a book for our return trip.

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Cali Reunion

Looks like we made it! Adam had just gotten home from a long week of filming, ready to receive his special guests! Adam welcomed us in and introduced us to his roommate and cousin Aaron (we knew him from our last visit), his girlfriend, and Adam's delightful coworker Cadeau!

We got a quick tour of his amazing house, shown our accommodations, and quickly got busy catching up. It didn't take long (about 20 minutes) for Ledger to pass out asleep in his bed, leaving the rest of us to have a grand ol' time enjoying Adam's libation concoctions and have a few laughs. 

Finally the night caught up with us and the reality that we had an early morning ahead sunk in. Maybe we should follow Ledge's lead and hit the hay! Not to worry, there will be plenty more opportunities to hang out in the week to come. Can't wait!

California Adventure

After getting some lunch, we picked up our third California traveler: Aaron! Or as Ledger likes to call him: Mr. Log! (it's a long story, don't worry about it...) We drove to the Grand Rapids airport and said our goodbyes to Diana. She dropped us off and headed back home for an adventure of her own later in the week.

After getting our tickets and bags all figured out, we stopped at the airport restaurant and hung out until it was time to go. It didn't take long, and we were aboard the plane, ready to head west to see Adam! After a layover in Denver, we made it safe and sound back on the ground in sunny Las Angeles. Except it was actually raining. And night time. Aaron and I were pretty exhausted, but Ledger was well past that point. We arrived at around 11pm, which for us was actually 2am! Ledge could hardly think straight, he was so tired! We picked up our bags and went looking for our Uber to pick us up and bring us to Adam's house. It was about a 45 minute drive to the house, giving us a chance to see the city at night in the rain. it was really cool!

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The Boy Turns 12

Crazy to realize that our little guy has turned 12 already! He's only one year away from being a teenager- yikes! We've got something special planned for him this year. Earlier this week we finally told the him what our Spring Break/Birthday plans are. He was shocked and excited: He and I are going to California for a week!

Even though he is going to have a week long special birthday event, we still wanted to make sure that his birthday was celebrated. We got him a little birthday cake and a gift for him to open. He loved it, and after singing and opening his gift, it was time to pack up and head to the airport!

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Anniversary 15

Amazing! Some how 15 years have passed together. It doesn't feel like that long at all, but then I think about all the changes that have happened in our life since then and I'm a little shocked its only been 15 years...

I'm still continually shocked that I won the 'hot wife' lottery and convinced this beauty to shack up with lil ol me. It's been so incredible to see how much she has changed since we first met, and all those changes we have been able to go through together. She's also stuck by my side as I've made so many changes as well. We are both unrecognizable from who we were 15 years ago. All these changes seem like something that could have led us on different paths, directing us away from each other, but the different directions we have taken individually have actually followed exactly the alternate path of the other, it's like we are synchronized dancers in this ballroom of life- and we didn't even plan out our choreography ahead of time!

Excited to see where the next 15 years take us. No matter where, we will be dancing together!

Three Dimensions

I kind of splurged on myself... Ever since the first Avatar movie came out, I've loved seeing movies in 3D. I loved the 3D boom the years following that movie's release. The wife and I would go see tons of movies in the theater and always opt for the 3D option. As they started making 3D TVs, I was always jealous and wished I could afford one. Alas, I was just a poor school teacher and couldn't afford the $2000-3000 dollar TVs or 3D players. Oh well, that just meant that I would have to make sure I saw everything I could in the theater. I distinctly remember having a talk with my wife about how I really had to go see Pacific Rim on a Thursday night, neglecting her and my young son, because it was the last day it was going to be in the theaters and I would never get another chance to see it in 3D!

Well, all of that has changed! I recently found an amazing deal on a 65 inch 3D TV, 3D player, and surround sound system! The wife and I talked it over and the price was so low that we decided the upgrade was worth it. So now I am the proud owner of a whole 3D entertainment set up in my movie cave of a basement! I'm so pumped I can hardly believe it!

First thing I did once it was all set up? Watch Avatar, of course! In 3D! Now I have the chance to see those movies in 3D again! Over the past week or two I've been visiting all the different used movie stores and buying up literally any 3D movies they've got. They don't make them anymore, so there are only a limited number of releases I can get. That totally doesn't matter because I am so pumped to watch 3D movies at home! And yes, I did find a 3D copy of Pacific Rim, so I plan to see it again like I never thought I would.

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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Hospital Visit

Papa's not feeling so good. The doctors found something on his lung and he had to go in for surgery. Due to his past health issues, he had to have the surgery in Ann Arbor, so that meant the extended family took a little trip. The surgery was on a Friday, so I got home from work, took a little nap, and drove down there to spend time with him. I got there late afternoon and got to spend time with Mom, Chad, Miyuki, their son, and my lovely aunt Marline! A bunch of other family members were there before he went in to surgery but had to leave before I got there.

Soon after I arrived, Papa was wheeled into his recovery room. He was pretty out of it, understandably, but he got to be surrounded by loved ones after a successful surgery. After a bit of visiting, we let him get some rest and made our way to the hotel for the night. All of us met up in Mom's room and had a nice sandwich dinner together.

In the morning we went back to the hospital and saw Papa, this time he was a little less loopy from the drugs. We had a good laugh because he didn't even remember that we saw him the day before! We spend some good time with him and found out the mass was benign- what a relief!

When it was finally time to go I had the absolute pleasure of bringing aunt Marline home! We got to spend the two hour trip together chatting and catching up. She is so wonderful- I love her so much! The trip back was filled with so much laughter, and her favorite part was when I asked her if she wanted some special sweets. She said 'of course!' so I surprised her with a little visit to Sweetwater's Donuts! We each got one to eat and she even got a dozen more to give to the rest of her family.

By the time I dropped her off, we both decided that we need to go on road trips together more often!

Restaurant Night

Sunday nights are Ledger's favorite night of the week. Seems strange that he would love that one so much, right? It means its the end of the weekend and he's got to go to bed on time again with school starting in the morning. So why does he love it so much? Well, because it's restaurant food night!

For many years now, Sunday night has been the one night a week that we get restaurant food. It goes back to when I worked the weekend shift at Haworth. I would come home Sunday evening from work, exhausted from three 12+ hour shifts in three days, and I was not at all interested in trying to think about what we should have for dinner. Diana, having just come off of three 12+ hour shifts of being a single parent while I was at work, doesn't want to think about preparing food either! Our solution? We would always get restaurant food that night. It became such a habit that we got to expect it every week. Ledge would ask if we could get restaurant food though out the week and we could always say 'we'll have some on Sunday'.

Even though I don't work the weekends any more, its become such a tradition at this point that it would almost feel weird not to get restaurant food on Sunday night! Ledge's favorites at the moment are Pizza Hut and Wendy's (the two most expensive, of course...).

Jeopardy!

For some reason my son got really in to quiz games. I'm not sure what brought this on, but suddenly he wanted to ask us trivia questions and wanted us to make up questions for him to answer. He really wanted to play Jeopardy, which is weird because he's never really seen the show. He didn't actually want to watch the show, just recreate it at home for all three of us to play. Ok buddy, lets do it!

He still has the white boards up on his wall from when we first moved in, so we took advantage and grabbed markers and made our own game. As you can see, he didn't go with the traditional spelling, instead spelling it 'Jeapurdee'. Makes perfect sense, right? We each created three categories and took turns asking and answering them. We didn't do much planning, so the questions were just from the top of our heads. We had so much fun doing the first round that we played another. I love game time with the family!

Stan Is Back!

The snow came down really hard earlier this week, but now the temperatures are rising. You know what that means: the perfect snow for making a snowman! Each year Ledger and I make a snowman together and play out in the snow. Ledge spent all morning lounging around watching TV and playing on his tablet when I peeked around the corner and started singing the Frozen song 'Do You Want To Build A Snowman?' He gave me a sly look and said 'Of course!' So we bundled up and grabbed the snowman building kit from the garage.

We headed out there, with the dog in toe, and had ourselves a little snowball fight. The snow was absolutely perfect for packing! We let the dog back in because he was shaking so much from the cold, but then we got to work building our annual Stan the Snowman. It was a bit of a challenge to even get the three big snowballs stacked up because the snow was so heavy! Finally we got him looking good, shaping him just right. When we were satisfied with how he looked, we walked into the backyard to find some branches in the woods that would work for his arms. The facial features were put on next, his hat, and finally the red scarf. Ta da! Stan is reborn again for another winter! After standing back and appreciating our craftsmanship, Diana called us in for hot chocolate and marshmallows. Ah, now this is what winter is all about!

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Snow Day

Now that I'm working night shift, I have the responsibility of getting the boy up and ready for school. I get home about the time he needs to get up. It works really well and lets Diana sleep in a little bit until she needs to get up for work. This winter though, we have had a few snow days so that means I don't have to wake him up at all and I can climb into bed early!

This particular morning I got the alert that school was cancelled which puts Ledger in a good mood because he doesn't have to go, and it puts Diana in a good mood because she doesn't have to go to work! This will probably be the last snow day of the year, so I figured we aught to take advantage of it. I quietly slipped into our bedroom and gently woke up Diana. Informed her that she had the day off and asked her if she would, instead, like to go out for breakfast. She was up now, excited for the free day, so she said yes. I woke up the boy and told him that we were going to go for breakfast and he was just as delighted! We all got ready and went to Village Inn restaurant. We got there and sat down, delighted by the unusual start to our day. We got our food and laughed and talked when suddenly Ledger piped up and said 'Oh no, I forgot my backpack!' Diana and I were stunned and then started laughing- Ledge didn't realize that school was cancelled and thought he had to go to class after breakfast! When we finally broke the news he was shocked and so happy!

Afterward we headed back home and had ourselves a delightfully lazy day together. Who doesn't love a good snow day, right?

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!

Cabin Trip 2023

Pure joy fills my heart as we finally get to the event I have been waiting months for: It's cabin time, baby! Every year I get to gather together with my favorite friends and head up to that most beloved of towns: beautiful and lovely Balwin! We met up Friday afternoon at Aaron's house, as has become the tradition. After taking a few minutes to catch up, we pile into one vehicle and begin our trek up north.

Man, it's been too long since I spent time with these guys! The unfortunate reality is that we all have such busy lives that, for some of us, this is the only time each year that we get to see each other.

We stopped at Ruby Tuesday's in Big Rapids, filled our bellies, and finally arrived to see a beautiful newly (partially) redecorated cabin! Apparently there have been some issues with little varmints getting in and making themselves at home, so my cousin (who owns the place) has put in the effort to strip it and rebuild much of the inside. We walked in and felt pretty fancy with all the upgrades! With it being so warm outside, building the fire wasn't as urgent as usual. We took our time and settled in. 

After our standard visit to Sporty's bar and grill, we came back and got up to no good, as is our way. We forgot to bring up some of our favorite games, so we made due with what we had. It was an uproarious night, as always, but eventually we all tucked in for the night.

Like I said, this is one of my favorite events of the year, a time to play and chat with some of the guys I've known the longest of anyone on Earth. And Jon. We always have a rowdy time as well as heartfelt conversations. It's the best of both, really. We've been doing this for over twenty years now, and I hope we never stop!

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Oh Deer.

All was going well with our Christmas celebrations in Indiana. Diana and I planned to head home and leave Ledger with his grandparents for a couple extra days. On our way home we were excitedly talking about how we get to have a couple carefree days with just the two of us. Unfortunately, a deer had other plans for us... We had made it almost the entire way home, we were about 10 minutes south of Allegan when it came out of someone's backyard and straight into the front fender of our new car! We hit that thing pretty good, I tell you what. I immediately pulled off the road to check the damage. Unfortunately I couldn't because the driver door wouldn't open! So Diana got out so I could shimmy out through the passenger side door. I got a look at the damage, and it was vast. the biggest problem was the wheel well had broken and made it undrivable. We called the police and they arrived quite quickly. We explained the situation and they got a tow truck on the scene. It took about 15-20 minutes for them to arrive and take the vehicle away. The cops asked if we had anyone who could come and pick us up. It was the day after Christmas and everyone was still doing holiday things, so we told them no. So guess what? We got to have a ride in the back of a police car! A first time experience for  both of us. We grabbed our stuff, and to make it even more awkward, we also had to grab our dog! The three of us piled into the plastic backseat of the police car and took a quick ride home. We laughed about what the neighbors might think, seeing us pour out of a police car!

Now comes the headache of trying to get it fixed...

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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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Family Christmas

 Let the gift giving begin! All three of us took our spots in the living room, fired up the TV so we could have the 'fireplace' roaring, and now we are ready for the Christmas morning fun!

Ledger sat on the big footstool so he could be closer to the tree and grab all the gifts. There were a lot of gifts this year, and even a few that weren't for him, which is a bit unusual. We struggled again this year to find gifts because, as usual, Ledger didn't tell us what he actually wanted, we just had to guess. Even after last year's mild disappointment in his haul, he had promised that he would tell us what he wanted this year. He didn't. That left me with a lot of guess work! As the morning went on, he and Diana took turns opening the prizes picked out for them. Each unwrapping was met with delight and excitement!

A couple hours later, when all the gifts were opened, Ledger was absolutely tickled pink at the huge pile of loot he got. No disappointment this year- he absolutely loved his gifts! Diana was pretty pleased with hers as well. I got a lovely book, so I was pleased too. Ledge gathered his gifts up for his annual gift drawing as Diana and I began the clean up process. With all the fun and excitement concluded, Ledger spend the rest of the morning playing with his new toys while Diana and I snuck back into bed for a little nap. Another successful Christmas in the books!
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How We Cinnamon Roll

The morning has finally arrived: it's Christmas! We all slept in a bit, but finally gathered in the living room for the big event. We started, of course, with making cinnamon rolls- a Christmas tradition. And what also seems like a tradition, I burned them... Hey, give me a break, we only make them one day a year so I don't really get much practice.

As the smell of the cinnamon rolls began to fill the house, Ledger got to open one gift before we ate. It was a bit of a joke gift: a Cat-apult. A little catapult that shoots little cat figures! As we sat down to eat, he flung a few felines across the table, resulting in some good laughs from all of us! A great way to start the gift giving bonanza! 

Brinkmas '23

Time for some family Christmas fun! This year we got together at Mema and Papa's house on Christmas Eve. Everyone was there this year- including Chad, Miyuki, and their lil baby! When we got there everyone was hanging out in the living room, ready for the good times to start. We gathered around the table for the kids to play a fun game to win a huge pile of different candy, gift cards, and other fun stuff. Soon after, filled our plates with Mema's delicious food, and headed downstairs. 

When our bellies were full, we started opening gifts. As always, Mema and Papa spoil all the kids with too many gifts! Ledger got a few really cool toys- like a Sphero ball, which he was pumped about! Diana and I were spoiled as well, which we didn't really mind that much...

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Shop Local

Christmas is almost here, and of course I've still got a bunch of gifts to get! I've never been very good at being on top of my Christmas shopping... With a few people to still find gifts for, Ledger and I headed out to finish the list. I figured we should take advantage of the cute little shops in town and buy locally. Ledge popped on one of my hats (he looks so cute!) and we headed downtown Allegan. There was a consignment shop that we went into and as I was looking around, Ledge hit it off with the ladies behind the counter. He was schmoozing and making them laugh! By the time we finished our purchase, I'm pretty sure those old ladies were in love!

We hit up a few other places and were able to check off the rest of the list, we figured we deserved a nice pizza lunch. We stopped in at the local Pizza Hut and got a couple personal pan pizzas and joked around, cutting each other up with our silliness. I tell you what, this kid definitely got his sense of humor from his father...

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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! 

Puttin' Up the Tree

It's feeling a lot like Christmas, so now it's time to make it look like Christmas too! We got a Christmas tree when we first moved to Allegan 8 years ago. We were thrilled to have such a lovely tree and decorations. They worked great in the apartment we lived in, but since we moved into our house about 4 years ago, we've been wanting to update the ornaments and some of the seasonal decor. This year we finally did it- we went to the store and got a whole new set of lights and ornaments for our tree! Diana was really drawn to the silver and blue decor, but was a little nervous, afraid it might look too 'cold'. We decided to go for it anyway and loaded up with new tree decorations.

The next evening it was time to try the new look! We turned on some Christmas tunes, out came the tree, and we got busy making it jolly! After we got it all set up and turned on the lights, we were all quite pleased with the final product! We all love our newly designed tree! Now we are ready for the Christmas season!
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Choir Concert

At the start of the school year Ledger had to make an important decision: did he want to do band or choir? After a couple failed attempts at trying an instrument, he settled on choir. When that choice was made, I knew what it meant: we would be going to choir concerts! Tonight was his first public performance in the choir. I, for one, was excited! I thought choir was a good fit for Ledge, he's always singing at home, so it felt like a good outlet for him to use and develop his lovely voice! He, unlike his father, has a good singing voice and can actually keep a beat! Thankfully, he took after his mother on that one...

We invited Mema and Papa to join us for the Christmas concert at the Allegan high school auditorium. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised with the variety and quality of the singing! There were unusual songs, funny songs, a Christmas classic or two, as well as some well sung solos. Ledger sang a few of them, and really got into it! One of the songs they sang was 'My Favorite Things' from The Sound of Music. A month or so ago, when Ledger first came home and told us that they were singing this song, he was really annoyed about it. He thought the song was dumb and lame. As they continued to practice it and work on it, he totally came around, and by the time it was concert day, he absolutely loved the song! It was so fun to see him up on stage getting into it, bopping along with the song and having a grand ol time up there!

After the concert, Mema and Papa got to congratulate him on a job well done. He was proud of his performance, with good reason- he did such a great job!

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Santa Parade

Santa Clause is coming to town! Every year my lovely little town has a Christmas parade, ending with Santa! The high school band plays, and at the end Santa has a seat in the pavilion, they light the town Christmas tree, and Santa visits with each of the children. We've been going to the parade for years, but last year we decided to invite the rest of my family. We all had a great time, so we invited them again this year, and everyone quickly agreed.

When Ledger was little, he loved to go because he got to see Santa and let him know what he wanted for Christmas, but that motivation came to and end a few years ago... We've continued to go each year because it's always great to gather as a town and celebrate, and Ledger loves it because he gets to see a bunch of friends from school and hang out. The parade itself is filled with fire trucks, vehicles decorated from the different local businesses, the high school band, and more. We met up with my parents, Jill & Tim, and Noah. We watched the parade from my favorite place in town: right in front of the Regent Theater!

After waving as the parade went buy (and collecting the thrown candy, of course), we gathered in the downtown park to get a photo op with the jolly man himself!

A fun cold time was had by all!

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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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Skyzoned Out

Diana had Saturday plans to do something with Lissa and Miranda, that meant Ledger and I had an evening to ourselves. What should we do? Ledge has been wanting to go back to Skyzone for a very long time (we haven't been there since the pandemic), so this was the perfect opportunity! When I suggested it he was pretty pumped, so off we went for our first visit in over three years.

When we walked in the place was a lot different than the last time we were there! They had taken out a third of the activities and put in some cool slides. Ledge was pumped! He went down each of them a few times and had fun zooming around. Then we made our way over to the trampolines and other stuff. He bounced around for a while and had fun, but he kept bonking his legs and body on some of the different stuff. He was a bit discouraged because of all the bumps and bruises he was accumulating. He played for a bit longer, going down the slides again, but was soon ready to go home.

On the way home we stopped at Burger King to nurse his wounds and fill our bellies. Overall, it was a fun time, but he wasn't a big fan of all the battle damage he took!

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Halloween Bean

The day is finally upon us! Ledge has had his costume for a couple weeks now, trying it on and wandering around the house a few times since then. But now it finally time to wear it outside and show it off!

He's never been obsessed with getting candy, he is more interested in wearing his costume and showing it off. Well, we thought of a great way for him to do just that! Diana and I had stocked up on candy to give out, so we set up a couple chairs at the end of the driveway (so kids wouldn't have to walk all the way up to the door and have our dog bark at them). Ledger then spend the first hour of the night dancing in the street to welcome the trick-r-treaters over! He was having a blast and so many people were loving it- joining in and laughing at the dancing orange character!

Finally, all of our candy was gone, so we went in for a couple minutes to warm up and change out the batteries in his costume. We bundled back up and headed out around the block to do some good ol fashion door to door trick-r-treating! As expected, it was a bit hard for Ledge to get around because the legs on his costume were so short, he had to slowly shuffle down the street...

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