Baseball and Earplugs

Last Saturday was a busy one for our household. For starters, Sweet Pea's girl scout troop, along with many other troops in the area, was invited to the Metrodome to see a Twins game. Before the game, the scouts got to parade across the field in their tunics and wave to the crowd. Luckily, SP allowed her brother to attend the game with her since he is such a Twins fan.

Unfortunately, Lady Di and I had other, unbreakable plans for that evening. We are fortunate, however, to have a great babysitter who was willing to take the kids and enjoy the game with them. LD went with them to settle them into the Dome and get Number One Son his BIG PRETZEL and SP her bag-o-cotton-candy. Once the snacks were arranged, LD met me at the Target Center for our night out.

We attended our first rock concert in fourteen years. Green Day is one of my favorite bands so LD got tickets for my Father's Day gift. At the arena, I was surprised to see that we weren't the oldest couple there. In fact, Green Day fans are pretty much represented by all age groups. We were also shocked to find out how many parents brought their young children, seven years old and up, to the concert. N1S is a big Green Day fan, but not all of their songs are appropriate for kids. Plus, I'm not sure if his ears could have handled the volume of the music and special effects. There were more times than once that LD and I got the phlegm in our chest pounded loose by the drums and various explosions throughout the concert.

Sitting next to us was a boy that was no older than seven with his father. Half way through the show, the seven year old sat back in his seat bored while his Dad air-guitared the rest of the set. The lead singer Billie Joe even pulled two eleven year old boys on the stage to help with the show. To some of the parents' credit many of the young kids we saw had ear plugs but not all of them. The youngest we saw in attendance, was a pregnant woman's yet unborn child. I wonder how rock music sounds in the womb.

Even with all of the pyrotechnics and light show, we were both continually distracted by people watching. Just to our right were a pair of seventies-friz-haired twins who seemed to think they were the backup dancers for the band. From the first song, they were completely in sync with each other doing a dance that looked like they were trying to row a boat with very tiny quick strokes. About half way through the concert though, their choreography started to fall apart as one of the team started running out of gas.

We sat at the top of the lower section on the opposite side of the arena from the stage. Even though we were at the top of our section, we had steps and a walkway just two rows in front of us. I thought, "these are going to be great seats". At my advanced age I don't need to be 'moshing' in front of the stage. I also felt that my ears were a semi-comfortable distance from the speakers. And the best part was, since we were away from the stage with only two people in front of us, I was going to be able to enjoy the music from my seat and not feel the need to stand throughout the concert. However, when Green Day came out on stage and played that first note, the Mom and her teenage son sitting in front of us immediately stood up and stayed that way until the encore. I thought, "Come on, Mom! There is absolutely no one in front of you! You don't have to stand!".

So I shook my cane at her, put my teeth back in and shouted something about 'whippersnappers' and grumbled myself to my feet. She must not have heard me over the music because she just kept clapping and shaking her booty. I guess she did sit down once during the show to pay the drink vendor for her strawberry margarita in a plastic hurricane glass, while her teenage son held it for her and kept trying to sneak a taste while pretending to only smell it.

The evening ended with a five song encore and our legs and ears were still working. We went home right afterwards to give our babysitter her bag of money and pretty much went straight to bed. We are old after all.

It was difficult to get a good picture of the stage from where we were and LD wouldn't let me post the picture I got of her trying to jimmie the lock on Billie Joe's dressing room back stage.

It was a great show and a memorable night. Thank you again, Lady Di. I'd say we are probably good on concerts for another fourteen years now. Unless, Green Day comes back sooner.

It's A Sunshine Day

So far, I can't complain about our summer. The weather has been close to perfect almost every day. The kids have been having fun with various outside activities. And I have been mowing the lawn. In Minnesota, we complain all winter long about the weather. So when summer finally comes, we don't want to miss a day because we know snow and ice will eventually return and we will be wishing for those past warm summer nights.

But it seems that every summer I reach a point where I am tired of all the nice weather. I know it sounds illogical since we only have three months of warmth to savor each year. In June, we get to experience the outdoors without coats for the first time and everyone is excited to start swimming, fishing and camping.

In July, we are into summer full force with outside activities planned for every day off. And every day at work is spent anticipating getting outside when work is over.

Which brings me to mid-July. At this time of the year, I start to grow weary of warm sunny weather. I enjoy the comfort of wearing shorts but am tired of making sure I take full advantage of a clear summer day. It's a 'too much of a good thing' scenario. Because of our short summer season, I feel guilty if I do anything inside. If I am inside the house, I am not enjoying the nice weather enough. But sometimes I just want to watch television. Is that so wrong? This morning I woke up to overcast skies with a threat of rain. I was overjoyed. Now I had an excuse to stay in. I didn't have any nice weather to feel guilty about not enjoying.

Well, the 'rain out' was short lived. A few sprinkles in the morning were chased away by Mr. Happy Sunshine by mid morning and I was forced to go outside once again. Groan! Not another perfect day!

I know where these feelings come from too. My mother. I'm sure your mothers did this to you too and we are conditioning our kids in the same way. When the day is nice, it's instinct to tell the kids, "Don't waste this beautiful day inside. Go outside and play."

Here's a few of our 'sunshine day' activities that we have enjoyed so far this year thanks to our mothers.

Swimming at the beach.

Playing soccer.

Girl Scout camp.

Golf camp.

And here's an update on the pumpkin patch. Still no blooms, but the plants are starting to crawl around their pen. We've certainly had enough sunshine for them.

So enjoy the summer everyone. But if you want to stay in today and watch television, I will understand.

This Old Man

The kids are growing up so fast lately, it seems that just last week they were still sleeping in cribs. This thought really hit home with me recently. With the kids' busy schedules, it is hard to find time to get both kids to their activities on time. Last Spring was one of those times when I was at work and Lady Di needed to get Sweet Pea to her dance lesson. Number One Son had homework and piano to practice and he really didn't want to get dragged to his sister's dance practice anyway. I would be home in less than an hour and N1S is old enough to be on his own a little bit. Many of his friends and classmates have been on their own at home for years, but we have been dragging our feet in this regard. It's not that we didn't trust N1S to be on his own, we just didn't want to let our child be so grown.

By allowing him to be on his own for an extended period of time has signalled the beginning of his independence. His lessening need for his parents assistance. His growing up.

I didn't want to face it. I wanted our kids to stay our little ones forever. When they no longer depend upon us for everything and anything, it tells me that I am growing older too. It won't be too long before we will no longer need babysitters. We'll be able to leave whenever we want, but will we want to? I know when the kids were little they would often drive me crazy by following me around everywhere I went and not allowing me a minute's privacy. Now I find myself seeking them out in the house when I realize that I've been sitting alone in front of the television for twenty minutes. I'm not ready to not be the center of their universe yet.

I know I have to let them go sometime, but I don't have to like it. One sign of N1S's evolution was a conversation we had recently. He had invited a friend to come over on Friday. On the day before, I asked him if he was excited that his friend was coming over to play the next day. He said, "Dad, don't say 'play' anymore. Say, 'coming over to hang out'." So now he's too old to play.

In the other bedroom, his little sister, like many younger siblings, is trying to keep up with her big brother in everything. She has already tried to set up her own playdates with her friends on many occasions. Without telling us anything about it. On one occasion, her friend's parent actually showed up to drop off their kid without calling ahead. Luckily, we were home at the time.

It won't be long before there are many things we, as parents, will be left out of. As the kids grow they need their own lives and privacy. We just have to hope that they know that they can always come to Mom and Dad when they need it. No matter how old they are, they can always be our little ones again.

This year I may let N1S light a few of his own fireworks for the fourth. And I'm sure Sweet Pea will right in line asking when it will be her turn.

Have a safe and sane fourth everyone. Celebrate with a big 4th of July family play date.

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Now that school has come to a close for an unbelievable fifth year for Number One Son and an equally unfathomable second year for Sweet Pea, we are challenged to come up with 'things to do' to fill our summer vacation days.

First on the list was to empty the kids' backpacks. The end of the year brought home all kinds of relics and artifacts from the first days of school last fall. For SP we got to see the progress she made in her writing and spelling. And about forty different works of 'art' which were all rolled and folded and origami-ed together into one bale. We 'oooh'd and aaaah'd' for each one before secretly putting them in the special summer file in the garage.

Number One Son had a few old homework pages and map he made and that was about all. His accordion style folder limped it's way to end of the school year with it's bottom falling completely out on the last day.

They each had daily planners to write down assignments and notes. In the margins of the pages were little trivia questions and games to write in. N1S's planner had assignments written for each day and that was it. No extra nothing.

SP's planner had assignments, every trivia question answered, spelling lists, stars, hearts, animal drawings and anything else she could squeeze into any available white spot on the page.

So with the backpacks retired for three months, what do we do now? Well, one thing we are doing is saying 'No' to playing video games a lot more.

To combat the video games, Number One Son is going to basketball camp this week. It's nice that he is able to reconnect with some friends from school and have something aerobic to do for an hour and a half every morning. Later this summer, he will attend a golf camp and an acting camp for a week each. N1S doesn't have too many friends his age in the neighborhood so we enroll him in these short camps spread throughout the summer.

Here's a shot of his shooting form. It looks a bit awkward because it is impossible for me to get an action shot of someone shooting a basket. I tried a dozen times to take his picture but I could never get the ball in the shot.

So I settled for this shot of him drinking water. As you can see I got most of the bottle in the picture. The angle of the picture also makes him look like he's in high school.

Sweet Pea could fill her summer with a different neighborhood play date every three days without duplication, but if her brother has camps to attend, so will she. This week she attended her Girl Scout day camp from 8:30am to 4:00pm everyday. Each fun filled day ranged in temperature from 85 to 95 degrees with about 200% humidity. That's a long day for a seven year old. It's also a long day for a thirty-something year old. Lady Di volunteered to conduct a class each day which consisted of keeping the attention of three groups of 12 or so seven year olds for fifty minutes. If it were me, I would have conducted fifty minute water balloon fights until lunchtime and then teach the benefits of lying still on a mat for afternoon naps.

SP was part of the pink shirt group with red scarves in their hair. I don't think the scarf stayed in her hair long though.
SP also has a basketball camp coming up in July and then both kids participate in golf camp in August to round out the summer.
Some may think we over-schedule the kids but I don't think three one-week long camps takes up too much of their summer fun. We have a few trips planned to the beach and we will probably visit each set of grandparents at least once this summer. Plus, family fun can be enjoyed at home with outside picnic suppers, running through a sprinkler or taking family bike rides to the Dairy Queen. The trick is to fill in the gaps between camps with simple family moments wherever you happen to find yourself.

And right now I find myself lying very still on the couch with the kids in bed recharging for another day. This is my kind of summer camp.

Sand, Surf and Spock

We were planning on a low key Father's Day, so we decided to make Father's Day Eve our day of excitement.

On Saturday, we started out the day by sleeping in. Pretty exciting start, huh?

We then made our first trip of the summer to the beach. There is a state park close by with a man-made lake and beach area. The water was a little cool but not too bad once you got used to it. A couple hours of swimming followed by a picnic lunch thanks to Lady Di pretty much wiped me out. I also got my first sun of the summer and got a little pink on the shoulders.

Later that afternoon, we visited our neighbor boy's high school grad party. They had a real slushy machine which was very exciting for the kids who mixed the blue with red to get purple brain freezes.

We ended the day by taking in a movie. Lady Di and Sweet Pea voted to see Night at the Smithsonian. Number One Son and I chose Star Trek. So, for the first time ever, we split the family down the middle and saw different movies. Boy, did N1S and I ever pick the right movie! I have been a Star Trek fan since junior high. But not one of those nerdy fans. No, I was one of the cool fans. You know, one of the cool fans that has seen all of the TV shows and movies up to this point. One who knows each actor's real name and can quote the Vulcan motto. One who had a Spock birthday cake for his 25th birthday. That's not nerdy, right? At least I did one thing a Trekker would never do. I left the movie right in the middle to refill N1S's root beer. I sprinted it in under ten seconds but I still did it.

Also, in my defense, I can say that I have never attended a Star Trek convention and have never worn an expensive, authentic character costume.

Although, after seeing the latest movie I may have to rethink my position on costumes this Halloween. It also may be difficult to convince Lady Di to dress as the hot alien chick with green skin to go with my Captain Kirk outfit.

Overall, it was one of my best Father's Days yet. Even though it happened one day early.

On Sunday morning, Sweet Pea surprised me with breakfast in bed. Grapenuts, toast and orange juice. She helped me finish the toast while we watched Little House on the Prairie together.

I am very fortunate to be a dad with such a great family. Everyday seems like Father's Day to me. Even if I don't go to a Star Trek movie every day.

Happy Father's Day to all fathers. I hope you made great memories today and everyday. And as Sarek would say, "Get old, and thrive." (I'm paraphrasing, ST nerds will understand)

Invasion of the Barbies

When the kids were younger, Lady Di used to hit all of the summer garage sales in the area. They still are the best places to get baby and toddler clothes. But ever since the kids outgrew those yard sale bargains, we haven't returned to anyone's house to buy their junk.

Until last week that is.

Lady Di was invited by our neighbor to check out a few sales. It had been years so LD said OK.

Here is what she came home with.

Needless to say, LD is now banned from yard sales for awhile. It seems one household was divesting itself of a collection of Barbie clothes, dolls and accessories. It was an entire totefull.

This is a plastic bag full of just shoes, boots,flippers and apparently one cooking pot. Any guesses as to how long Sweet Pea will be able to keep at least one pair of matching shoes together?

Here is one of Sweet Pea's ideas for a snappy outfit for Ken. It fits, but I'm not sure those clothes actually belong to him. Although, it could be from his Miami Vice collection. From the next picture it's easy to tell which outfits are Sweet Pea's favorites. She had a lot of fun with the mermaid tails.

How many mermaid tails did this house really need?

It took about a day and a half to sort through all of the stuff and we had to build a Barbie wing onto the back of the garage to store it all. But at least we are now prepared for any Barbie emergency that might arise. No fashion crisis or wardrobe malfunctions are in our immediate future.

All except for Ken's outfit.

To your mark, splash!

This spring we signed the kids up for the local swim club. They have been practicing and working hard for a few weeks now. Last week, they participated in their first swim meet.

Once again, we were unprepared for the size and scope of one of our kids' events. One hour before the meet, the bleachers were full. We were lucky to squeeze into one space together. Lady Di had to sit on my lap the whole time, but I didn't mind. Add that to the 90% humidity in the room and I pretty much lost 5 pounds sitting for four hours.

We also dropped the ball by forgetting the camera. Although, we wouldn't have been able to free our arms enough to aim it toward the pool anyway.

Each kid was in three races and they finished them all. Number One Son's best race was the 50 meter backstroke where he finished fifth in his heat. Not too bad for his first meet ever. He had one minor mishap in his 50 meter freestyle race. When he dove off of the starter platform at the beginning of the race, his goggles slipped off. But he grabbed his goggles in one hand and swam the race holding them to the end. We were proud of him for adapting and not giving up.

Sweet Pea's best race was the 25 meter freestyle in which she won her heat. Her mishap happened during that race when the clock didn't work to record her time. Although, I'm sure it probably was a record setting effort. After the meet the kids each got a green swimming ribbon for participating. SP then asked if she got something else for her burn.

"What do you mean for your burn?", I asked.

She answered, "Do I get something for winning my burn?"

"Do you mean, for winning your heat?", I prodded.

"Oh yeah, my heat.", she corrected.

Well, she didn't get another ribbon or trophy for her burn, but she did get a bag of Reece's Pieces at the concession stand.

The kids have another meet later this week. Lady Di and I have both signed up to volunteer. LD is in the concession stand and I will be one of the timers. My number one goal, besides remembering when to press the button on my stopwatch, is to not fall into the pool. And I will also bring a camera.