April 2018

Nick and I started a new show this month on Netflix, "Fastest Car".  We watch most of an episode each evening, up until the final race of the show, then save it as a cliffhanger for the next evening.  His car passion comes and goes (it's not like his laptop, which never gets old.)  Out of the blue, he drew an engineering-like design for windshield wipers with better coverage.  We played a racing video game at Dave and Busters when we hung out with Dawn and Phil, but he was more into the Jurassic Park games.  I'm just trying to keep him active, like outside shooting baskets and riding his scooter.


I asked Nick to peel himself away from the laptop long enough to dry dished and fold laundry, which I found him a half hour later under the warm laundry pile, asleep on his bed.  Not that he isn't helpful, he awoke one morning and made me breakfast before work... although I'm not as into burnt garlic toast in the morning as he is.

Most of this month was lost on our house, having it ripped apart from bad OSB, so Nick spends a fair amount of time at home alone since we don't drag him over to the house with us every time.  He's capable of a little independence, again with the laptop keeping him distracted.

- Jason

Nick at the Beach

This is just a great set of images of Nick at the beach over the years. Certainly not the only instances, as we've been to Clearwater Beach a couple of times as well, but the poses are coincidental, and fit together perfectly.

March 2018

Nick tested for his purple belt this month, and sparring has begun on Saturdays. He's cautious in selecting an opponent, as it's quite an adjustment to have someone throwing punches and kicks at you for the first time (this, I know.)  I don't stay to watch, but he comes out from class having had quite the workout.


We saw the play Shrek at the Valentine Theater in downtown Toledo, as my friend's daughter was the star, and Nick loves her shows.  The picture here is Nick with Carly afterwards. My coworker Greg brought his boys down for the show as well.  It's not a secret Nick's attraction the shows is a stage full of high school senior girls... one look at his Google search history makes it obvious.  That said, he was also on stage for his own school play, which is the picture of him laying on the ground, hat pulled over his head, taking a siesta.  Brandi and I also had lunch this month downtown at the M Osteria, which was excellent.

This Spring has been his growth spurt... he's now taller than Brandi, and is passing his outgrown shoes down to Grandpa.

We've been somewhat active, like attending Aiden's birthday party at Dave and Busters, even with me travelling so much (NADA in Vegas), and Brandi feeding the contractors on our house.  There's just not many photos this month, so no extra link.

Jason

Spring Training 2018

Nick and I flew to Tampa at the last minute to watch some Spring baseball, catching two games over a weekend.  We stayed in Maderia Beach, and jutted between Lakeland, Clearwater and Dunedin.  While he's not a huge baseball fan, he can follow the game, and got in some activities that interest him: building on the beach at sunset, riding in the Mustang convertible, and of course lots of steamed crab at dinner.  The highlights:

Friday afternoon was Mets @ Tigers in Lakeland, where we ate a helmet full of cheese fries, and the Internet was clearly inaccurate about our seats being in the shade.  French Fries drowning in nacho cheese in a helmet was our snack, and the helmet came in handy for digging on the beach later in the day. Box Score

Friday night we walked along Madiera Beach, from digging in the sand for nearly two hours, then to dinner at SeaBreeze Grill where he had us both covered in butter, and ice cream after dark.

Saturday afternoon we tried a place called BurgerFi, organic hamburgers, which was excellent.  Then to Dunedin for the Tigers @ Blue Jays, which was cloudy but warm, and the small stadium really puts fans close to the field.  We had dinner at Crabby's in Clearwater Beach, at Nick's request, just before the rain moved in at sundown. Box Score

My best takeaway were the cozy confines of Dunedin Stadium, where we were so close to Miguel Cabrera, we could have patted him on the back as he walked by.  Nick was not impressed, more likely to remember our server from Crabby's, Taylor, who made the biggest impression on him. Getting up at 3 AM for the flight home gives him an idea of what his Dad does when traveling for work, but Nick was an easy travel partner for the entire weekend.

Pictures here from the trip.

Jason

February 2018

Nick has some really good writing skills. He wrote a fiction paper for school on running in the woods from people chasing him, which was an impressive read. It's difficult to imagine small details and put them to paper, but he's got a knack for it.  That said, we bought a card and candy for his mother for Valentine's Day, and he signed it, "Happy Ash Wednesday." (After whining that he didn't get anything, I reminded him, "this gift is from you, dummy!" to which he smiled and remembered.") And he signed a birthday card for his friend Aiden, with a monetary gift inside, "Hope you enjoy the free cash."  He's a creative writer, not necessarily smooth.  He also posted a note on the bathroom door in need of privacy, that said he was 29% done with homework and not to be bothered (image here.)

He lost his last baby tooth this month, to which he exclaimed, "This one should be worth at least fifty bucks!" What a view Nick has on life.  We spent some more time building our hockey arena in Minecraft, of which he is very proud.  We'll work on a video of that soon.  The photo here is of Nick building a snow cave along our driveway after one of the heavier snowfalls this month.

Jason