A Small Thanksgiving
Flick or Treat
With it being Halloween, we had to pick a horror movie, of course. Everyone was down for some cheesy horror fun, so we watched Critters. The movie was surprisingly better than expected, throwing in random sci-fi elements, which of course I loved. After some good food and good laughs, it was time for them to pack it up and call it a night. We had a blast- we'll definitely have to do it again sometime soon!
Trick or Treat Gang
That afternoon the boys came over, the boy got his alien costume on, the wife all set up to hand out candy, and the four of us went to mosey around the neighborhood and enjoy the holiday. I know I often talk about how much I love my small town, but this particular day was one of the best! The cool weather, the spooky time spirit, and the local kids wandering around getting candy all mixed together to create a perfect small-town evening! It genuinely felt like a scene out of a movie: the beautiful town, the kids in cute costumes, and a joyful fall scene. It hardly felt real- and what a perfect evening to share with my favorite people in the world!
Ledge stopped by each house, getting more and more candy, as he laughed and mingled with all the neighborhood kids along the way. The three of us following at a distance, laughing and commenting on the different costumes and decorations. I really was able to show off how great our little life is here.
The whole thing just really made me feel like I'm a middle-aged dad doing stereotypical dad stuff. I mean that in a good way! I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love this town!
The Annual Boo Fest
When he was little this was his very favorite movie. He would often watch it twice in one day, just start it up again immediately after he finished it. As the town gets ready for the fall fest, the man in the yellow hat tells the story of a spooky scarecrow from the town's past called 'No Noggin'. Absolutely harmless but also adorable!
We all gathered in the living room for the special screening, popcorn and drinks ready to go. We accidentally forgot to watch it last year, so Ledge was champing at the bit to see it this year! The whole thing is actually quite delightful and cute- it's even got a few banger songs that were stuck in our heads for the next several days...
After a really fun night, the DVD goes back on the shelf. We will make sure we don't miss it next year!
BSG Con
With our tickets purchased and our hotel room booked, I had some homework: I had to actually watch the show! Over the next month or so I made my way through the mini-series, 4 seasons, and 2 movies. After watching the first few episodes I am relieved to tell you that I totally loved it! What a relief, how much would it suck if I didn't like the show and still had to go to the BSG Convention and pretend like I did?
Finally, October came around and it was time to head off to Chicago for the weekend and nerd out! Jon picked me up and we made the long trip. We scored a pretty good hotel room at the hotel it was being held at, so that made it so much easier for the rest of the weekend. Before we could settle into our hotel, we got to attend a few events with the special guests who were there for the convention. Turns out it was basically every single main cast member of the show! It was awesome to see them in person and hear their great stories about their time on the show and what other projects they have been up to since then.
I know there are a ton of attendees who take this whole show and convention really seriously, but that's not how Jon and I do it. We are super laid back, attend the panels we want to, otherwise we wander around the merch room or wander down to the seven eleven and get a slurpee or something.
That night we walked over to the bar and got some great Chicago style pizza and hung out. I wasn't able to stay up too late that night. All this messing around with my sleep schedule had me a bit loopy and I zonked out pretty quick. By morning we were both up and ready for some more Battlestar Galactica love!
Moonlight Jack Returns!
(In case you somehow forgot the legend of Moonlight Jack, here is a retelling of that old famous tale!)
Special Showing
They had a special event recently that I was able to go to. This one was a short documentary called 'Jeanie's Face Exploded' that was created by someone in the area about Jeanie Jeffries, a woman who played an important part in the old horror movie 'Dawn of the Dead'. She played a small part in the movie, but was an important part of the make-up and effects as well. The documentary was an interview with her along with old photos and behind the scenes looks at the whole process. What was really neat is that Jeanie was at our showing as well as the director. They went up and discussed what went into making this doc and a few extra stories not included in the film. It was really cool to be a part of the premiere of the doc and everything!
Spooky Haunted House
It would be to scary, of course, for Diana, so Ledge and I made plans to go to it just the two of us. It was a bit of a drive, going all the way up to Grand Rapids for this fright fest. I haven't really ever done the 'haunted house' thing before, so this was going to be a first-time experience for both of us!
We got tickets at the door and headed in. There were a couple waiting rooms that were decorated like a crypt, setting the right mood. We must have picked a pretty good night, because it wasn't too busy. Sure, there were a couple hundred people there, but we got to zip right through the first waiting area, so I'm sure it's a lot busier as it gets closer to Halloween. Ledger was getting a kick out of it, pointing out some of the details of the creepy decor. Eventually we made it to the front of the line. I double checked with him to make sure he was really up for it- don't want him getting too spooked, after all.
The whole thing was really cool! It was set up as six different themed areas, we made our way through the 'abandoned farmhouse' and then there was another small waiting area. After about five minutes we entered into a 'spooky psych ward'. Eventually we made our way through each of the six areas, one of them even had special glasses to make the black light effects even cooler! There were a bunch of scary parts and really well-designed traps and pathways. My only problem was that we were put with a group that must have been pretty scared, because they forced us to race through the different areas so we didn't get a chance to take it all in. The coolest area was the black light dayglow 'Alice in twisted Wonderland' theme- it was really rad!
Finally we emerged from the haunted house and into the gift shop. The whole way home Ledge and I laughed and recounted the good scares and awesome costumes we saw. We will definitely be doing the haunted house thing again next year!
Makin' Pancakes
We went downstairs and got the griddle (we don't use it very often...), mixed up the batter, and let him try making a fresh batch of hot cakes. I gave him some tips to know when to flip them, and off he went. He made all the rest of the mix and they turned out great! We ate really good that night, thanks to our newest chef!
I guess he's ready for a more challenging menu next time...
Date Night
We were both interested in seeing Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and it was playing in town, so we went to my beloved Regent Theater! We loaded up on snacks and settled in for our lovely date night. The movie wasn't that great, but the company made it worthwhile!
Power Washin'
It took a few sessions (it goes a lot slower than I expected), but I finally got it looking really good- almost looks like a new deck!
It's A Jeep Thing
We wandered around the lot for a while, checking out every car that looked decent. We probably drove about 10 of them! Finally, we spotted this 2018 Jeep with really low miles. Took it for a drive, and we were hooked!
Look at us- a two car family again!
First Day Breakfast
So, we changed it up a little bit: instead of going out for breakfast, I went and picked some up! We were still able to sit and enjoy the morning together, our first real moment of having the house to ourselves since school got out in June... It was a nice bit of peace and quiet. It didn't last long thought- Diana had to get ready for work and I needed to get some sleep!
Looks like some of these traditions are going to keep changing as life changes. Sometimes it difficult to accept, but I think we'll be ok with this little one!
First Day
We didn't do so good with getting ready for the schedule change. At the end of every summer, Diana and I always say that we are going to have him go to bed a little earlier each day so he will be ready for the early mornings at school, and once again, we totally failed... He was up until 11:00 the night before. Oh well, change is coming whether he's ready or not!
He thought it would be funny to wear his 'Is it Christmas yet?' shirt for the first day. Definitely has his father's sense of humor...
Usually, he's a bit extervous on his first day (it's a word he made up years ago: nervous and excited all at the same time. Very clever!), but he was totally chill this morning. Last year he wasn't sure what to expect, being his first year in Middle School, but this year it's old news since he's a big bad seventh grader now.
Got him ready, did our obligatory first day pictures, and then it's off to start a new year! Good luck, Ledger!
7th Grade Handprint
We keep the board downstairs, tucked away in the basement, only to be taken out the day before school starts. We put some paint on a plate, stick his hand in it, and make a new print each year. This is his ninth print. It's pretty cool to see his hand getting bigger and bigger each year. He's definitely getting more mature because he only puts the paint on the board now instead of all over himself!
The best part of the board is that we measure how tall he is on the back of it. It's really cool to see how much taller he gets each year. Usually its just a couple inches, but there have been some years where it's pretty dramatic how much taller he's gotten! Pretty soon he will be taller than his mother- he's already taller than his grandma!
7th Grade Intro
As usual, we had huge problems with getting his locker open. Last year was the first time he ever had a locker with a combination, so he really struggled with figuring it out, opting to just keep his backpack with him all day for the first week or two of school just so he wouldn't have to try to open it! Over the course of the year he got really good at it and it was no longer a problem at all, until now. This year he knew how to do the combination thing, but the little nob that he needs to turn to get the door open was stripped bare and for the life of us, we couldn't get it to turn! Argh! Well, we'll get that figured out later, but first we need to walk around to his classes and meet his new teachers.
Ledge was actually looking forward to it. He doesn't hate school at all, and was kind of getting bored the past couple weeks, ready to go back and see all his friends. Some of them were there tonight and he got to talk with them and start planning the fun they would have this year. After meeting some of his teachers and talking with friends, I think he's ready for 7th grade to start.
Hot Dog!
What is the Hot Dog game, you may be asking yourself? Well, its a really dumb card game that was released based on the Dog Man property. It really simple and made for little kids, but I've got to tell you, we always have a blast when we pull those cards out! Some day I may be able to convince them to play a game that's not made for six year olds, but until then, we will be having a grand ol' time playing the Hot Dog game!
Work Fair
Turns out it was kind of like the Allegan County Fair, except everything was free! We had a bit of fun wandering around and checking out the games and activities. It was way too hot to spend too much time out in the baking sun, so we found the big barn with all the food in it as soon as we could! Hamburgers, hot dogs, and brats were the order of the day- it was a picnic after all. We filled up and wandered the rest of the grounds, checking it out and saying hi to all the coworkers i recognized.
When the heat got to be too much for us, we made our way back to the air conditioned car and headed home.
Bus (Didn't) Stop
She was driving over to her dad's place, driving safely, when the bus blasted through the stop sign without so much as a pause, causing Diana to hit it right in the side of the bus. Fortunately, she only had slight bruising on her knees and shoulder, but our vehicle didn't fare so well. It didn't take long for the bus's insurance company to get a hold of us. Knowing full well that they were at fault, they didn't even try to deny it. While that's great and all, it doesn't change the fact that our vehicle was totaled.
I immediately went down to be with her. She was pretty shaken and doesn't feel like driving again for a while (can't blame her there!). We spend the night with her mom and David. In the morning the boy and I went to get our things out of the vehicle where it was parked and say goodbye to it. It was a good vehicle and it really makes me mad that we are losing it. Now we have to go though the hassle of finding another one and dealing with all that nonsense. Argh.
My Birthday
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