Kissie Face

Kaleigh came up with a new game this morning. I was holding her while we waited for the summer school bus to come, and Dawn was close by talking with Donovan. Kaleigh reached out to Dawn's chin with one hand and mine with another, turned our faces so Dawn and I were looking at each other, and then starting pulling our faces together. She wanted her parents to make kissie faces! When we did, she just giggled to no end! It's been a recurring game all day, whenever we're all three close together. Somehow, neither Dawn nor I mind that much...:)

New Friend

We have a new friend. Brendan Shane Snesrud was born on Friday afternoon at 3:02. He's a tiny little thing - 6 pounds 15 ounces, 19 3/4 inches. And yes, he's got more hair than me! Mommy and baby are both doing well, and they get to come home today. Aidan is pretty excited about his baby brother, but Molly's not so sure. She doesn't seem to have an opinion one way or the other.

Follow that ball!

Donovan had his first T-ball session Thursday night. He did pretty well with what they were taught this time. They worked on fielding the ball with their gloves - both thrown to them and rolled to them - and throwing the ball back to the coach. They practiced running the bases, and then each kid got a turn to hit the ball off the tee. They had nine kids, so the teachers took three kids in to hit, and put the other six in the field. The fielders were supposed to get the ball and throw it back to the teacher, while the batter got to run the bases. Whenever the ball was hit, the fielders chased it - all of them! We started calling it "herd the children!" A few of the kids forgot to drop the bat, so they carried it with them around the bases. Donovan was one of those - he had the bat as he rounded first. He saw the ball on the ground in front of him, so he took another hack at it! Now, if only they allowed that in the majors!

Mayo Part Two

Kaleigh and I went to Mayo again on Thursday. Basically, the message is "keep doing what we're doing" because she's doing well! She's now up to 29.6 pounds, and she's 35.5 inches tall. Kaleigh showed off some of her tricks - using her walker with more confidence, climbing up and down from the couch in the exam room, "reading" books, babbling - and the neurologist was ecstatic! We also were able to pick up her new glasses. All in all a successful trip to Rochester!

Mayo Part One

Yesterday I took Kaleigh to Mayo to the eye doctor. Her first eye doctor retired late last year, so we're almost six months overdue for a checkup. They set us up with a new eye doctor finally. So we get there, Dr. King introduces herself to us, and then tells us she's moving in the next month, so when we go back in six months, we'll be getting a third eye doctor. Sheesh!

Kaleigh's eyes have grown, so of course her prescription changed. She's more nearsighted than before. Dr. King said that's not unexpected. Kaleigh's prescription went from -12.00 to -12.75. We ordered new glasses, and we went up a size in the frames to make them more comfortable for her. They also adjusted her current frames so they aren't digging into the right side of her face so much.

On the 19th we go back to the neurologist and dietician at Mayo. We put a rush order on her new glasses, so hopefully we'll get her new glasses when we go back next week.

We Need Rain!

It's been so "hot" (by Great Frozen North standards, anyway...95 or so) and dry that the grass isn't growing and it's turning brown. Granted, that means mowing is reduced, saving gas and time, but this is getting out of hand. Every storm that rolls through skirts five miles north or five miles south of Elysian. In an effort to bring down the rains, I washed both cars this afternoon. I also hosed down the patio, the garage doors, and the flower beds. If we don't get rain out of this, I may have to schedule a double-header baseball game with a car wash between games and fireworks after. We're getting desperate!

Time to Get to Work!

On the 4th of July, they had the annual hot dog eating championships. The winning knucklehead ate 66 dogs with buns in 12 minutes, consuming around 12000 calories in the process. In order to burn off those 12000 calories, this guy would need to choose one of these activities...

- Ski down Mt Everest 6 times (this doesn't include the climb up Everest, of course)
- Climb Pike's Peak 8 times
- Canoe across Lake Tahoe 9 times
- Jump Rope for 12 hours
- Use a Rowing Machine for 16 hours
- Shovel Heavy Snow for 18 hours
- Punch the Heavy Bag for 18 hours
- Swim across the Mississippi River at its Widest Point 19 times
- Swim in Rough Ocean Surf for 25 hours
- Mow the Lawn for 27 hours
- Climb the Stairs to the Top of the Eiffel Tower 32 times
- Tread Water for 36 hours
- Hike Down the Steepest Trail into the Grand Canyon and Back 56 times
- Ski Cross Country for 76 hours
- Clean the House Throughly 77 times
- Walk the Length of Manhattan Island 134 times
- Run up the Steps at the Philadelphia Art Museum (ala Rocky) 141 times
- Bike across the State of Delaware 232 times
- Take a 10 Minute Walk 291 times
- Climb the Mayan Temple at Chichen Itza with a 42 pound pack 316 times
- Wash Dishes by hand for 380 hours
- Run 470 laps on a track
- Run across the Golden Gate Bridge and Back 512 times
- Run the Length of a Basketball Court 2715 times

Quite the punishment for eating 66 dogs with buns!

"This is all the candy I'm getting today!"

So we went to the Grand Parade yesterday. Of course, one of the highlights for Donovan is the candy that they throw from the various floats. If we heard it once, we must have heard it 40 times..."This is all the candy I'm getting today!" or "This is the last candy I'm going to get!" There were a couple of times that he'd just barely get the words out and then SPRINT after the next Tootsie Roll that flew toward us.

VIPITAs

VIPITA - pronounced "vee-eye-pee-tah" - stands for Very Important Pain In The ... well, you can guess the rest. :) It's a name Dawn and I have come up with for people who believe the rules just don't apply to them. Examples:

* Main Street in Elysian is their own personal parking space. Not the parking lane next to the sidewalk, mind you - VIPITAs park in the actual driving lane to just run in at the store or the post office. No driving around the block or parking more than 20 feet away from the door for VIPITAs!

* At the city beach, there is a sign posted at the gate that clearly states NO PARKING. So yesterday, we spotted not one but two VIPITAs parked there. Also, clearly posted are rules that inform beachgoers that pets, alcohol, and glass containers are all prohibited. Does that stop the VIPITA? NO! We saw a family full of VIPITAs playing with the dog while they drank their beer straight from the bottle.

* We even saw competing VIPITAs Friday afternoon driving to Grandma and Grandpa's for the family reunion. We were on 35 North toward the Cities, in fairly heavy traffic. Most of us were in the left lane. One VIPITA pulled out into the right lane and tried to pass the line, but he came up on a slower car. So his plan? Cut back into the left lane at the last instant. My rear bumber almost got a new decoration...as did the front end of the red truck behind me. If only the story ended there...anyway, we got around more of the right-lane traffic, and the red truck VIPITA pulled into the right lane, moved up even with the first VIPITA, and started back into the left lane. They played chicken for about fifteen seconds, with the red truck VIPITA winning. The first VIPITA took the median and turned around, going back south. I guess there is no professional courtesy between VIPITAs.

The VIPITA - keep an eye out - they walk among us!

What a Weekend

We had a family reunion with Dawn's family this weekend, which of course means I had an opportunity to show off on the grill. Lunch featured chicken fajitas on the grill, complete with a colorful mix of chopped green, red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, corn, and black beans. Supper was a surf-and-turf affair - steak and shrimp on the barbie. The shrimp had marinated in a barbecue-chipotle sauce, and the steak had marinated in my signature steak marinade. Grilled pineapple for dessert topped off the meal.

Donovan discovered water guns at the reunion. Some of his cousins brought them, and he was hooked. When I ran out of charcoal, a quick trip to Target was the perfect chance to get him his own blasters. What fun he had!

Keep the Change

Welcome to the new blog. This is the place where you'll get my two cents' worth about whatever happens to be tanglin' my mind these days. Actually, you'll probably get at least a quarter's worth - keep the change!