December passes

December draws down as we slide towards the new year. The early winter months have found us busy with the normal albeit often forgotten beauties of the season. Early in the month Merrick and I found an early Saturday morning to brew a batch of Scotch ale and an IPA. The two of us were able to crank out ten gallons and clean up before noon on a gray drizzly morning. Sophia finished up her second session of gymnastics. She was very proud to pass on her first attempt, she improved greatly and we are going to get her signed up for the next session that will start after the new year. Merrick is staying active as well and has started skating lessons. We did get the family out for an open skate before his first skating lesson. His balance and athleticism is always amazing to watch. He has also developed an excellent knack at waiting in the middle of the ice until one of the college girl instructors come to help him. Getting there is always half the fun, one night as the parking lot was as icy as the rink, Merrick crossed the lot by taking three steps and then sliding like Pete Rose Penguin over and over until he was at the front door of the rink. The next week with three inches of fresh snow and a parking lot filled with inattentive SUV drivers, Merrick decided that an unadulterated section of parking lot need a snow angle. Although we were running late he was not to let the lot go unadorned and dropped down for a full snow angle display for all to see. The outdoor rinks are just now being flooded so we will try to get to some outdoor ice as well. The opening salvo of snow hit us hard dumping nearly 12 inches in the area and leaving wet heavy snow and massive drifts to be cleaned up. The kids however have a very different opinion on the snow and it was perfect for a snowman. We also spent two days making the largest snow cave that I had ever made. It was large enough for all three of us to sit very comfortably inside and have a nice chat while the candle light flickered off snow walls. The cave only lasted a few days until the kids decapitated it and is became an snowy atoll, not unlike the Metrodome. Christmas comes with decorations for the tree and Christmas sings. Sophia even had a speaking part and was asked to introduce the final song of the concert. The Grandmas made a trip over to watch Sophia's sing and we had a nice lasagna dinner and conversation before they had to make the dark drive home. Sophia also was able to go caroling with her girl scout troop. With all of the snow we have been getting a great deal of sledding done. Merrick is an intrepid little sledder on the hill and completely fearless as his three-year body rolls and tumbles across the hard packed snow. He even likes to crash Sophia as she hits the jumps. Sophia hit a particularly large jump only to have Merrick run to get into her way. She took him right in the knees, when she got up from the snow he asked her if it hurt--seemed very reversed from what I expected. As I washed him the other day I wondered to myself about all the bruises on his little body and what a doctor would ask if I had to take him in. After every crash he stands up and hollers back up the hill "That was Awesome!!" We are between the holidays now and are making plans for a little ice fishing and try to sneak in a night hike with some hot coco and woodland sledding as well.

Mini-Milestones

This weekend became a weekend of mini-milestones for the kids. Merrick moved up to a booster chair in both vehicles, making him feel the king of the world. This also allows him to buckle and unbuckle himself as we move in and out the vehicle. For her part Sophia got her initial badges put on her Brownie vest and is now an official member of the Girl Scouts of America. Once I ironed the troop numbers on her vest and allowed it to cool enough for her to put it one, she wore it the rest of the day. Even the dogs hit a milestone, much to their chagrin my prophecies came true and Sophia started to put her doll cloths on the dogs. Tony was voted most likely to be dressed, just because he is slow, docile and easy to catch, while Cleo bits, snaps and growls when Sophia approaches with any textile that was made with a teddy-bear proportions. Tony's first outfit appears to be a street-hood gangster, complete with Sophia flashing her second grade impression of gang signs.

Saturday was a beautiful day and started a weekend that just continued to get nicer, with temperatures at nearly 60 degrees in November we headed for the woods. We hiked along the sunset trail in Peninsula State Park in Door county. It was our first time on the trail and we didn't realize that it was reserved for cranky people. We passed three different hiking groups and only one guy responded politely when we greeted him with a hello. It might have something to do with the high volume the kids are able to produce outdoors or all of the sword fighting we were doing with the sticks we found, but still it is just impolite not to return somebodies salutation. These other hikers apparently thought we should have kept the kids indoors so they could complain about how you never see kids playing outside anymore and then blame the most current video game or technological device. The sword fighting was a riot and clearly a product of the kids watching too much Star Wars and Karate Kid, so I know the kids are getting their American allotment of digital entertainment. On the way home we stopped for a mid day meal at PC Junction. An old bar that has a train theme complete with an electric train that runs along the bar to deliver your food. The kids thought it was great fun and particularly liked it when nobody was getting food and the cargo contained singing dogs and bubble machines. I could have done without the soap bubbles on my fries, but we weren't really there for me. Sunday was a solid house cleaning before the Grandparents arrived. Bob and Nancy showed up with all the accouterments of grandparentdom; math flash cards, coloring books, candy and of course quality cheese. We all took a short walk along the bike trail and then spent much of the afternoon skipping rope in the back yard. By days end, which seemed to come early on the first day of the time change, we found ourselves outside with a campfire and the kids and neighbor girl playing ditch under the 5pm stars. All in all a pretty good weekend, as any weekend spent with family generally is.

halloween begins

A generally rainy weekend filled with the domestic duties that the changing seasons can bring. Friday evening was the only part of the weekend that was fit to be outside and we managed to make the most of it. The Heritage Hill, just a block or two away, had the first night of trick or treating. We met some family friends there just before supper time and gave it a go. Merrick managed to return home with only a single jaw-breaker haven eaten his take as it came. Sophia in her gracious way gladly shared with him on Saturday morning. The weather was crisp but sunny and an pretty nice fall evening with the smell of wood smoke in the air. Merrick was a 1920's gangster complete with tommy gun and Sophia went as a Flapper girl, so it was a very thematic outing. We ended the evening with pizza and laughs at a friends house and the kids drifting off to sleep asking about when the next trick or treating was going to be--it will be Thursday, followed by Friday and then finally Sunday night.

Pumpkin Time

It was a gorgeous mid-October weekend with plenty of sunshine and temperatures near the mid to low 70s. We ran our normal routine, including a massive garage sale at an indoor storage unit, where we managed to pick up a nice pair of snow pants for Merrick. On our way to the Sanctuary for a hike we managed to score some very nice pumpkins that were sitting for sale. Put the money in the can type of business and the kids couldn't have been more pleased. Most of the animals in the sanctuary were feeding, which is always good for watching. We were able to watch the two river otters play in the water and wrestle around. Sadly the cougar had died (18 years old) since we were there last and the exhibit now held a fisher. The fisher itself is still a cool animal. We were also able to feed the deer, strange as it was because it was a doe season in most of the state. Sunday was a bit of grocery shopping and then the carving of the pumpkins. Sophia was meticoulus about getting every string portion of gourd from the inside, while Merrick was less interested after he drew his face on the pumpkin for me to cut out and wandered off to play in the leaves. Nap time and Packers games took place before a trip to the bike trail to roller blade and bike for the kids, as well as some munching on rose hips and wild grapes. As most weekends, not a bad way to pass a couple of days.

June in October

The gods of weather have certainly smiled on us this weekend and we tried to get outside for recreation as much as possible. Saturday was mostly domestic and yard work time but we did find time to put the finishing touches on Merrick's Tommy Gun for his halloween costume (1920's gangster, Sophia will be a Flapper). As well as spending what seemed like an inordinate amount of time on Sophia's social studies project. We did managed to sneak over to the Buzadny Fish ladders in Kewanee with some friends. The king salmon and brown trout are coming in from the lake to spawn and we watched their desire and urge filled plights as they jumped up each ladder towards the spawning grounds. Massive fish and plenty of turkey vultures and an eagle soaring above the watery buffet. The fish head to the spawning shed to be milked and their eggs/sperm are then trucked off by the DNR to various fisheries to restock the Lake. The kids were able to touch and hold the fish as well as make t-shirts by painting fish and then pressing the fish to the cloth of their shirts. On Sunday we made our way over to the local Frisbee Golf range and had a nice walk in mid-70 degree temperatures and played about a third of the course before the kids had had enough. The kids seemed to think to object was to race to be the first one to the hole and were in toss and run mode.

Small game gang

After a Saturday that was mostly a bust for both weather and activity, with the exception of baking an apple crisp and chicken soup, the kids, dogs and I headed out to the woods for a little hunting. The weather was great, about mid fifties and sunny with the leaves nearly 30% changed, a virtual painters palette of warm tones in red, orange and yellows. The recent rains had subsided and left an earthy organic smell to the woods. On the way to the county forest we had to first 'rescue" somebodies hunting dog. I figured the dog was lost, no collar and making a bee-line for the busy highway we had just turned off from. She was an older dog and apparently not far from weening her own pups--maybe why she was running away. She quickly came to the truck and did what she could to get into the truck. Not wanting to appear to be kidnapping somebody's dog (who was undoubtedly armed) I made her follow along side the truck for about a mile and a half before we found the women looking for the lost dog. With a wave and thumbs up the kids and I continued on down the road. We needed to take some practice shots with the BB gun before heading into the woods and just because we were on the trail that was apparently no excuse for the constant barrage of questions, singing, screaming and/or humming to stop. As always I knew I was just taking the gun for a walk in the woods and as such had chosen the lightest one I have. With enough idle chit-chat and banter on the trail to fill two church picnics I was more than surprised to look up and see a grouse looking back at me. It wasn't a sporting shot or even a long shot but it did put a bird in the Sophia's game pouch. Merrick it turns out is more than happy to carry the spent shell. Cleo, as I should have guessed, did not like the sound of the 20 gauge and high tailed it down the trail until the sight of the dead bird brought her back for some jumping and a mouthful of feathers. Tony was still just confused as to what he did to have to leave the couch. We did bump into one other hunter. Our return home was also timed pretty well as we came across the 172 bridge at the same time the f-22's were doing their fly over to signal the start of the Packers game, as such they also did a fly over of us as well. Again a pretty good fall day.

Really Diggin' the Weekends

Bright Skies and crisp mornings mark the coming of Autumn, but we were not to be forced inside. We headed south Saturday morning to Neenah, for the annual Quarry Quest. The open up a large active quarry for kids to come and play on and with all of the equipment. The lines are long for the parents, but barely noticed by the kids as each line is accompanied by a large sand pile complete with buckets and shovels. When the parent reach the front of the line the kids are treated with a rides working back hoes, dump trucks, bulldozers and other CAT vehicles that I can little fathom their role in a quarry. It is huge event and is really well thought out, I was very impressed. The kids are all dressed in orange work/construction vests and keeping track of your own kids is a little like finding Waldo. We hung out until lunch time and them headed toward Famous Dave's. We didn't bother ordering anything for Merrick front the meat palace. A brief nap for all and then we were on the bikes and heading down the bike trail to Celebrate De Pere. Good music, great community and beers in the street. We even took a shuttle across the bridge to the SNC campus and partook in their activities. The bridge goes over on of the Fox Rivers Dams and Sophia found great humor in all of the word play that is possible when near a dam. She thought there were some big dam waves and a lot of dam water and we impressed at all of the dam ducks just hanging around. We capped off the night with some movie about a super agent gerbils or guinea pigs and Sunday was mostly a domestic duties day, although the kids did find time to but out Lisa's high heels. Over all still a pretty good weekend.

Just a day in the life

Ok so I a might be raising criminals at the very least mindful antiestablishmentarianists.

Monday I asked Merrick how school was he told me he didn’t like school, I told him well you have to go to school, this is his story verbatim, “I do not have to go to school. I can break the glass with my head and run into the parking lot. Then I will stay on the sidewalk and look both ways when I cross the street. I will be home when you get home. I will just wait for you on the toilet.” His plan seemed well thought out for a three-year old.

Today is picture day for Sophia and she wanted to wear a yellow dress, but Lisa said it is just too cold out for the dress (beautiful dress by the way). Sophia came back down in green Khaki pants and an all black t-shirt. Lisa said she looked as militant as could be. Viva la revolution, I can really put off their teen years for a while.

Fight the Good Fight

I love the change of seasons, but this summer has been quite fun and we are holding on to it with a death grip even as the leaves start to change color and the mornings grow so brisk. We are trying to spend as much time outside as possible if for no other reason than daydream fodder in late February. We sneaked out mid-week for some canoeing and fishing, on a lovely little lake. Lisa slayed the bass and the kids pretty much just worked their way through the snacks. We found a little time to check out the improvements at the Zoo, a couple of new environments and a nice little restaurant. The badger even gave us some nice opportunities to watch him and the new pronghorns were out as we headed over to feed the giraffes. For the second time this summer we also made it to the 17th hole in mini-golf before getting rained out. This time of year however the rain was big cold drops and we had no interest in playing any hole except the very last hole as it was in a cave. I always feel like such a leader when playing golf, as there are so many groups behind me. The days will drift towards October and apple picking, but until then we will hold on and the kids can continue to play "bubble ball" where Sophia blows bubbles and Merrick tries to crush them all with his bat.

Summer draws down

Summer comes to an end and school starts for the kids and me. We held on to vacation with a death grip and managed to squeeze in one more camping trip at Hartman Creek State Park. The weather was alright, although a good size storm came through on Friday afternoon. When we returned home we learned that the same storm create a deluge of nearly 3 inches of water in little more than an hour and a half, complete with jet skis and canoes in the down town streets. For us the it was just some heavy rain for a twenty minutes of so, enough to soak the campfire wood. The campground had more kids in it than any campground I have ever been in. The site across from us had three little girls and the kids quickly made friends which lead to bike rides and a lot of hopscotch/sidewalk chalk. Showed Sophia how to play solitaire with real cards rather than on a computer screen. As she ran out of the camper to use the restroom in the middle of her game she hollared back "hey dad pause it." The dogs were along for this trip, much to their chagrin, so Lisa and I took turns with the kids at the beach as the dogs were not allowed. The built sand castles, romped with the other kids and collected a multitude of snail shells. We also sneaked out for a little geocaching, but the mosquitoes were pretty thick when bushwhacking was required, and we didn't log a single find-except for a pretty good wild apple tree. The return home also brought the beginning of school for Merrick and then Sophia's first day shortly after. Everyone is adjusting back into the routines of the academic year.

A weekend at "home"

We planned a little Staycation this weekend but still spent some time of the road. Saturday we rebuffed two more distant beaches for a man-made gravel bottomed swimming hole that is only across the river from the house. As it happens this was also the last day the swimming hole was open as it was to close for the winter. It was by far the warmest waters we have swam in all year, having got quite used to the great lakes and the summer norms of mid sixties, the bathwater like water was a nice change. On Sunday we headed down to Appleton and took in a mid day baseball game in which the Timberrattlers hosted a Cedar Rapids team. Not the the kids nor the adults paid much attention to the game except when the benches cleared. Bench clearings are different in baseball than in hockey, it appears in baseball everyone just runs out (including the bull pens with both teams jogging together) to be seen, rather than in hockey where you tend to grab the closest person and hit them. A beautiful day and the kids played in a monster sized sandbox and a large swing set taking a break only to eat some cotton candy and hamburgers. Monday found us on the road again as the kids came to work with me to get some things prepared. We found time on the way home to stop at a park as well as fly the kites that I keep in the truck. It was our first good kite flying of the year and Merrick just kept telling me that "I got the hang of it dad" and then giving Sophia unsolicted albeit good advice. Merrick was master of the spiderman kite, and was even double fisting the line as he pulled in and gave slack to keep the kite aloft. This is such an improvement over the last time he double fisted anything.

Sharks and Ships

A theme week that appears is going to continue. Amidst a flurry of activity around the home front Shark week sneaked its way in like a remora to our busy lives. Not to go unnoticed we donned our appropriate attire and watched some of the new footage to come out this year. We again loaded up the family truckster, which is getting accustomed to racking up the miles this summer, with luggage and technology and headed out early on Friday morning with a bearing set for Ohio. Piled the kids into the truck at about 3 am and we were off. Pretty smooth sailing all the way to Tom and Jane's place and with an ipad, gps, dvd player and two cell phones with internet capability (and likely gps as well) we had more technology than the first space shuttle, so finding Defiance, Ohio should pose no problem. The kids traveled well and we all got a little gitty in the final hours on the road as we spun tails of the elusive "snagglefart." At first Sophia was intrigued by the snagglefart, having never seen one. Merrick immediately hated the snagglefart, in true Grouchy-smurf fashion, "I hate snagglefarts" He warmed up to them later and even thought that he would eat a snagglefart burger if we could find one on a menu. Sophia thought that snagglefart might be a figment of my imagination, particularly when I mentioned that there were only adult snagglefarts and no babies. Saturday found us on Tom and Jane's Sailboat on Lake Erie (Sandusky Bay) there was a little wind but enough to go out and give the kids a taste of sailing. That night we stayed at Castaway Bay, a big indoor water park near the harbor and after waterslides and sailing ships the kids themselves castaway the day for dreams of night. Sunday we were back on the docks and Merrick was right at home, hollering to Tom before boarding "Ahoy Captain!" Sunday was much better for sailing and enough wind to heel the boat with just the head sail, the kids were a little less interested in the boat leaning on it side but Lisa Captained the boat around the bay. Sophia also gave one of her arcade trinket winnings, a pirate flag, to Tom for his boat. Sophia got a little 'fuzzy in the head" from the boat but a little swimming in the pool at he yacht club seemed to be the perfect cure for sea sickness. We got up early again on Monday morning and hit Chicago traffic and our own travel wall--I think we are staying home for a while and give the rubber tramping a rest--although next week is a Tall Ships festival so we will see what happens...

Flash Floods and Fires

The forecast was terrible, and included flash flooding, torrential rains and even a tornado warning. We were driven by the need to use a graciously loaned pop up camper and we wouldn't be deterred. With camper in tow we headed south on Thursday night to Harrington Beach State park. A park that Lisa and I spent a lot of time in while living in the area more than a decade ago. The clouds and rain made it as dark as night as we drove down even though it was only about 5 in the evening. There were only a few sites that were allowed on first-come first serve basis and we wanted one of them. As it turned out we were able to get site 231, a very desirable site and before the weekend was over we had about 5 different groups stop by and ask when we where leaving because they wanted our site. All the a side when we pulled in on Thursday evening there was an stream running through the middle of the site that was at least mid calf deep (on me not Merrick). The camper went up like a dream and it was because of the camper that we even went with such a forecast, figuring we could always just hang out inside drink coffee and play games. The kids loved it and I don't think Lisa will ever camp any other way. We headed into town to a restaurant we used to visit often, Nieslet's Country Inn. By the time we returned the 'stream' was gone. The rest of the weekend weather was pretty nice, sunny during the day and only raining at night--still it was no place for a tent and we were happy to wake up high ad dry. We fished a bit at the quarry in the state park, Lisa being the only one to catch any fish. We were using slip bobbers and Merrick's cast resulted in all of his line unspooling into the depths of the quarry. Apparently his spiderman bait caster didn't have the line tied to the arbor and the sinker/slip bobber combination just lead to a complete unspooling. Sophia quickly lost interest in fishing and really just wanted to hang out at the table in the camper and color and draw. Standard evenings of campfires and smores made a little nicer by being freshly showered. I did have to talk to the ranger, or rather the ranger had to talk to me, because Merrick was peeing on a tree next to the road. Apparently this is not an acceptable practice in a state park. The ranger suggested I walk him up to the bathrooms. I suggested that I would have him pee near the back of our campground because I wasn't going to walk a three year old up to the bathrooms every 15 minutes. Although we agreed to disagree, no citations were given. Had some nice hikes and the kids even got to ride a trolley around the park on last day there. Harrington is very good for geocacheing and we had a couple of good treasure hunts and one that we never did find anything. Sunday was beautiful and we headed to the beach before going home, found a nice strip of sand that nobody else was using and headed over. The algae had washed into that area and the smell was not at all pleasant, Merrick and his weak stomach start gaging and then into full vomiting of cheetos and chocolate all over the beach and he kept puking until we got him up wind. Obviously we swam up wind the rest of the day. All in all a very nice weekend in the camper, the dogs were fine in the campsite (albeit completely exhausted from the hikes) meaning no kennel fees. No kennel fees, borrowed camper all added up to a pretty cheap weekend in the woods. So long as we don't figure in our new "need" for a tent camper.

Head West Young Man

July 2nd we loaded up the truck and started the family vacation out west. We had a lay over and Birthday party for Sophia in Eau Claire and then pushed on to Souix Falls. I original plan was to camp in Yellowstone but after we took a look at the driving distances and the car time that the kids would need to endure we settled on camping in the Big Horn Mountains just outside of Buffalo Wyoming. Still a lot of driving. We got into Souix Falls well after midnight and were back on the road and on our way to Rapid City the next morning. We settled into the hotel and then headed out for a round of Mini golf. Each of us got a legitimate hole in one before we cut the round short due to a massive burst of rain that left us wet and a double rainbow over a neighboring Wal-Mart. We had supper at a microbrewery fashioned from an old fire station in a cool down town setting in Rapid City. The kids had a desert firetruck that required them to do all of the assembly while Lisa and I split a cake roll the size of small child. A little swimming back at the hotel and headed to Mt. Rushmore the next morning. It was very cool to be at Rushmore on the Forth of July. We also had an hour cave tour at Rushmore caves on our way out of Rapid City. Spent a large amount of the day on the road again and were impressed with the apparent poverty and expanse of western SD and WY. Started to see some pronghorn as we headed into the Big Horn Mountains to camp at a newer campground called Tie-Hack. Mule Deer were wandering around the campground as we set up camp and we were greeted with Blue Lupin in full bloom. With the tent up we got back into the truck and drove to Sheridan (Big Horn Equestrian Center) to watch the fireworks against the mountains and managed to get very lost (luckily we had the GPS) when we left and traversed dirt roads I wouldn't have taken at noon let alone at midnight. It was again well after midnight when we crawled into the tent and awoke to drizzle and cool temperatures. I don't think the temperature every climbed above 50. We got a little hike in during the late morning and again saw some mule deer and rabbits. Lisa and Merrick slept in the afternoon and Sophia and I took a small hike again. We all headed down to a reservoir and found areas that still had large amounts of snow. We found elk duds but no elk or moose. We also headed up a pretty steep rock/gravel face only to come back down. Merrick was on my back and Lisa was holding on to Sophia's hand. It was more adventure than we had bargained for and the GPS said it was a 409 feet ascent only to come right back down. We had to go up on all fours so coming down was precarious to say the least. Packed up a lot of wet gear early the next morning and drove to the Bad lands for several hours of climbing and lunch and a hotel with much needed shower. The truck was packed and the kids basically slept in their clothes, as Lisa and I tossed them into the truck at 4 am to start a long drove to Shakopee. The early start allowed us to make several stops including a wonderful lunch layover with Punky and Ken. Actually the kids did some of the driving on this leg of the trip as we hit some of the dirt (minimum maintenance roads) of MN. As Sophia has started reading the Laura Ingells Wilder books we also stopped in Walnut Grove to tour one of many themed museums. Made it to Shokapee in the late afternoon and met up with Mark for some Pizza and beer as the kids played in the pool. The next morning we left for Valleyfair for what Lisa and I expected to be a three to four hour gig, eight hours later with the kids begging for more we left. Strangely both kids puked but not on the rides. Sophia puked the night before and Merrick during lunch while sitting on the tail gate. Lisa asked him why he puked and he just shrugged and said, "I don't know maybe I am sick." Met Mark again that night at a restaurant for a nice supper followed up with a couple of beers near the pool. With that the vacation was winding down as we tried the next day to hit the mall of america, but that was a short trip as Merrick was fried, a short visit in Eau Claire on the way back home followed by the unpacking and normal domestic chores that always await a vacationers return.

Merrick's Very Busy Day

Yesterday was Sophia's Birthday, and rest assured she was treated like a queen, but it also turned out to be a very "busy" day for Merrick.
The weather here has been very rainy and although we were planning on going to an amusement park for Sophia's Birthday, we ended up going to the Children's Museum and on our way home we hit the mall. Sophia and Lisa wondered off to do some girl shopping and Merrick and I were going to head to Scheels. We didn't make it far when Merrick had to go to the bathroom. As we are coming out of the bathroom and heading down the long hallway back towards the mall a college-aged girl and her boyfriend are coming toward us. Merrick is wondering like a drunk in the dark as a three-year old will do. The older guy is trying to get out of Merrick's way, but when Merrick looks up and sees him there, Merrick just doubles up both fists and punches the guy in his nuts--yep two fists two testicles. I apologized to the guy, the girl was still covering her mouth in laughter and in true midwestern spirit the guy apologized back to me. Once in Scheels we headed to the bike section and there is a sweet tricycle, low rider style and it fits Merrick really well. Actually he can really motor on the thing. In his napless, birthday sugar induced mindset he takes off down the aisles leaves the bike department and drives over the putting green in the golf department before I can grab hold of him and the bike and get him headed back toward the bike department. Still on the bike he tears around the corner only to find a lady in the aisle--he politely hollers "Passing on your left" and shoots right by her. She was wearing a fancy bike jacket so she to understood the rules of the 'trail." But the best was yet to come after a supper at Sophia's favorite restaurant we loaded up the truck and headed out to the drive in. The kids were playing at the park under the big screen waiting for the sun to set. Merrick walked over the to the "Play at your Own Risk" sign dropped his pants to the ankles and pissed on the sign. Yep, apparently he is an antiestablishmentarianist to the core. I thought Lisa and I were in the clear because we were in the back of the truck--nobody knew who's kid was peeing in front of everyone. Sophia however wanted to make sure we knew what was going on making a bee line to us in all of her pink clothing and looking like a flare coming towards the truck. Merrick realized he was going to be ratted out wanted to get to the truck and start his defense campaign, so he started to pull up his pants on the run. So he starts chasing the pink flare over the grass berm, gravel, grass berm, gravel never really getting his pants up and never really slowing down as they both came right to the truck allowing everyone to know just who was in charge of these kids. The big puddle in the back ground, obviously there was another story there too--but really do you need to know more?

A weak review of the week

The first week of summer vacation is already in the books and we tried to keep the kids busy and edutained. Soccer was still in full swing and only last night concluded for the season. Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Bob made it over to see one of the last games and Grandma kept her streak alive and brought the rain. In fairness we took some rain ourselves to the air show when we went to see them (as well as a jet bus and the blue angles). Gymnastics started for Sophia and Merrick started swimming lessons again. Both sessions are at the same time freeing up some of our weeknight time. Merrick is the only boy in his class and given that it is at the downtown Y it is Merrick and the chicas. He has really taken to the class as well as shopping as it he likes to ride in the cart and look for the 'fancy girls." His little boy eyes really light up if we happen upon a pig-tailed girl. We also managed to get down to the WIAA state baseball tournament to watch Joel play. The weather was great, the stands looked like a family reunion and the game we watched, Joel's team was able to beat DePere and the umpire. Sophia just wanted to talk to grandma, and Merrick liked to hollar "it's outta here' for each foul ball. We headed to the game after a family photo shoot at a local park. Sophia eats up the camera and I am excited to get the pictures back. The photographer was doing a single pose of Merrick and asked him to "give me a big smile" so obligingly Merrick reached out his hand with writhing fingers and said "tickle, tickle." We found an excellent little ice cream shop about 3 or 4 miles from the house along the bike trail so we are able to ride the bikes down. Sophia's bike usually gets strapped to the back of the rickshaw for the return trip and her and Merrick have a cage match all the way one--but at least we are staying active and are outside. There have also been a lot of campfires at night, in part because I have wood that is rotting and needs to be burned and in part because so many of the nights have been just gorgeous. Plenty of smores to go around. We also were able to watch a beer bottle melt in the hot coals so the kids are getting some lessons on rheology and phase changes. We spent some time along the river fishing spawn sacks off the bottom, but there were no bites. Still in the early stages of potty training with Merrick so I pretty much let him pee where we are. He peed once on a tree near the river next to the bike trail and then again on the park sign. The park sign was also near a geocache that we found last year so the kids were able to revisit that treasure as well. As for the public peeing I figure he pees less than a German Shepard (the dog not the occupation) so we should be fine. We have already had two trips to the library again it is along the bike trail so that I get to count that as a double activity. The first day down there a kids program about the "Hungry Caterpillar" was taking place and a becostumed caterpillar was walking around. After Merrick punched him the second time I thought we should leave. Sophia has been enjoying reading chapter books and is staying up late to read them as well as hanging around in the hammock in the afternoons. Tried to go to a drive in but it was filled up--over 300 cars were already there more than 2 hours before the movie started. Saturday was also Sophia's party for her school friends. We went to a local version of chucky-cheeses (but edible pizza) great service, great fun -- pizza, games and ice cream. If every week is this busy I am going to need a vacation at the end of this vacation.