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I lost patience one evening, tired of watching nature shows and train documentaries. I told Nick we were watching one of my shows, so I brainstormed something we could both enjoy. I settled on Petticoat Junction, figuring steam trains and three pretty girls, why not? He woke up the next morning, and watched several more episodes. We also watched Counting Cars, and he latched onto the idea of a Yenko Nova. Most of the time he's on YouTube videos of things I don't understand, lots of nature. I try to ask questions and show interest, but most conversations end like this: "What are head crabs, Nick?" "They're similar to face huggers, Dad." I can at least follow the videos about Deloreans and Shelbys.
We're pulling away from a school visit and we wheel into a Penn Station Subs. Nick grabs a train in the back seat to take in, and I tell him he's too old, to leave it behind. He says, "I think the people inside Penn Station Subs would appreciate a train." I relented, he won that one. He doesn't always win, though. He was upset one evening from losing his iPad, and he yells from the tub, sobbing, "Life is so challenging!" So true.
The first day of school arrived in mid-August, third grade at St. Joseph in Sylvania. We attended the evening for parent introductions, sat at his desk (where his mother proceeded to organize its contents), and observed where he sits in a pair next to a girl named Dylan. Well, that was the first week... he's moved twice since then. He made a good first impression on his new teacher, as he was seen escorting a woman down the hall to her classroom. He's performing fine in his academics. We did catch him intentionally missing words on his spelling test several weeks in a row. If the kids get a 100% grade on Monday, the teacher assigns them more advanced words. He solved that right quick, by missing one word every week on Monday. He got caught by misspelling 'dry'. Says he picks an easy one so when he has to re-write it six times, it's done quickly.
Other adventures included the Monroe County Fair, Myles' birthday party with a huge water slide, and he helped me wax Mama's car. Lots of visits to our favorite Mexican restaurant, which he calls "the mummified Bob Evans." It's a remodeled (modified) Bob Evans building.
- Jason
After so much travel and adventure in June, I didn't think we could cram more into a month. Then comes July.
We scrambled to 'move in' to our condo in the first few days, unloading the pod and unboxing enough that we could function. Nick helped me assemble some simple shelves for the garage, which once built, are now filled to the ceiling with toys and Nick's stuff anyway. He's learned to budget, and is saving money for another train. Gonna, "spend some Kennedys," he says. Overall we're settled. Some grass would be nice.
We got into the fields in the early season of blueberry picking, to battle the mosquitos for an evening. We picked four quarts, and Brandi rewarded us with two amazing pies. It's always nice to get outside and enjoy nature, but not necessarily peace and quiet. With Nick, there's never quiet (he'll talk to the bushes if you ignore him.) Fortunately, we had the fields to ourselves on a Friday evening.
This was the hottest month of the summer; we thought it would never warm-up enough to swim. We had probably two straight weeks in the pool, every day. His diving has improved, his strokes are recognizable, and he's just generally happy to live in the water. With the new privacy fence, the pool is very enjoyable. We also got in some bike rides... he's grown into my old Schwinn Predator, being roughly three inches taller than I was at the same age.
I took a Friday off work and we traveled to Sandusky for a day at Kalahari water park. We managed to reserve an awesome cabana with no reservation, a private bungalow away from the crowds, where we could relax... in shifts, as Nick ran non-stop for over 10 hours between slides and wave pools. He talked me into a surfing simulator, which I was worried we'd look like a train wreck. First, Nick held his on just the second try, and stayed on the board for a couple minutes. He's been singing, "I believe I can fly" all month, and this proved it. After watching others fall all over the place, I feared the worst. But apparently my coordination from martial arts hasn't left me, and I had three guys high-five me as I walked off the ride along the line.
Finally we visited the Toledo Zoo with the Poley's, seeing a bird show, and covering about half the exhibits. And we discovered a new Mexican restaurant, which makes up for the one that made us sick the week before.
Pictures here, and a few videos at right.
- Jason
June was a whirlwind. Our last month with Brandi and Nick in Georgia, they returned for two weeks after school finished, and we traveled. Ten nights in hotels, or the cabin, and running out of clean clothes at the end, we made the most of every minute.
We started in Pennsylvania, in Huntingdon with Brandi's family. Andy set us up in the Patrick Lodge, a cabin in the Blue Diamond Forest. We ate wild strawberries from the yard, and built a campfire, miles from town. On Saturday night we stayed up playing Euchre with Andy and Michelle until 2 AM, and the boys ran outside all night... all I remember is them in their boxers literally hanging from the ceiling on the porch.
Nick got some good time in with his Pappy, fishing in Tyrone, and partying into the night at our hotel with a portable popcorn burner and the hotel pool. We walked Daddy Bobby's property before we left, to see the barn, pick from the garden, and count beer bottles! We ate at Paesano's nearly every night, and one evening Brandi worked for an hour when the crowd was too much.
The next stop was Chicago, where I had the Tufte Seminar on Monday, so we spent the weekend ahead of time at the Hilton Chicago. Nick got to swim, and the hotel was packed from an Indian wedding, which made people-watching all the more fun. The weekend was full of incredible food, from an amazing meal at Tasori, to killer blood-orange margaritas at Ceasar's in Wrigleyville. Nick rode the elevated train for the first time from Harrison to Belmont, on our way to see Blue Man Group which was a fantastic show. We walked five miles on the first day, came away with so-so macaroons and tired feet. The rest period was a horse-drawn carraige ride led by Durango. On the last day, which I worked, Brandi and Nick went to the Field Museum to see Sue, the largest T-Rex skeleton.
We returned to Detroit to catch the Tigers/Reds game with Bo and Robin. Nick was in his usual form, hitting on Robin, and generally being too fresh with his hands. Brandi got a little action, too, as a young guy tried to pick her up in the concession line. Nick cried when the cotton candy ran out early, but he was even more upset with the 4-2 loss. I will remember the 'pee emergency' which should be the last time he tries to hold it for hours.
When July begins, they'll be back in Michigan for at least the summer. We'll see!
So many pictures this month. Enjoy!
- Jason
As the school year comes to a close, Nick leaves second grade with straight 'A's and the recognition of the school for his grades never dropping below 90%. He did get summoned to the principal's office once near the end. I don't know what for, because when I asked him what happened, he said, "I told him Ms. Anderson is driving me nuts."
He still has a line for everything. I asked Nick to take care of his mother, and he mumbled as he walked away, "That's a tall order." I told him, "You don't have a serious bone in your body," to which he replies, "I got a serious bone for you.. right here! (and points to his crotch.) "I may not be the best looking guy but at least I don't have boogers." Can't argue with that.
We went for a nature walk at a park in Atlanta, with miles of paths. Nick was a trooper, making it roughly 4 miles (venting a little at the section of the path where 'whining' was allowed!) We expected a little more, but the shade was pretty good, and Brandi and I enjoyed it. The large barn was a showcase along the walk. We wrapped up our walk just in time to see the movie 'Home'. Nothing great, but a good show.
While the iPad never gets old, he's now into Gary's Mod, a PC-based game. He and Thatcher spend hours building stuff, I have no idea what they're doing.
Some other pictures are from my trip to Cincinnati at the end of the month. Brandi and Nick had just finished school the day before, and didn't make it. I spent Memorial Day weekend watching Noah play baseball, and thoroughly enjoyed it. And some of us got downtown to Taste of Cincinnati in the evening, where we tested all sorts of interesting foods and microbrews.
The other few pictures are from the Medieval Festival which Brandi and Nick attended in Atlanta.
All the pics are here.
- Jason
With the arrival of spring comes baseball. We played it, we watched it... I watched it more than Nick, but he was indeed following along much closer at the ballpark this time. First we organized a game with the boys (and Maddie) one afternoon at the cul-de-sac in the neighborhood, and played a solid three innings. Everyone got a hit and scored a run. From drawing bases in the blacktop with a stone to picking teams through captains, we did it the old fashioned way (and the boys looked at me like I was an alien as I organized us.)
We went to the Braves v Reds game on Friday night, as the boys remembered that was fireworks night. We had great seats, upper deck, front row along the rail, directly across from the fireworks over left field. It was a perfect evening, with good food (when he eats too much and doesn't want to talk about it he says, "I'm trying to keep my eyes off my stomach,") and a Braves win. In the absence of an iPad, Nick followed the game, asking about stats and scores, calling out those things he noticed on the field (such as Nick Markakis.) He recognized a player named Jimmie Johnson, and says, "Wow, that guy races cars, too!" Really, most of the game was me with one hand on Nick, and Brandi with one hand on Thatcher, to make sure neither one toppled over the railing onto the deck below. And now he's got a bit of a southern drawl in his delivery, too. At one point I run him down to the restroom and he's moving slow. I ask if he's alright, and he says yes... then mumbles, "You can't fight nature." I suppose not.
He's concluded he likes barbecue ribs.
The photo of him under the cupboards was visiting an apartment for rent and Nick says, "There's good counter space."
And the month did start with Easter, and a return to Michigan for the week. He had a short hunt at the house, and another hunt at the hotel. He was very good about not running all the smaller children over and getting everyone involved. But he took cleanup duty upon himself, and made sure every egg was collected when the event was over.
Photos here from April.
- Jason
