Olivia's Four!

Livi's 4th Birthday!

I slept late, not waking until 8am. And with my late awakening came the benefits of more than 8 hours of sleep. I felt great! Downstairs I started a pot of Starbucks coffee then took to both computers – work and home. Because it was Sunday, I didn’t plan to do any sit-ups and push-ups. Instead, for the first hour I sipped coffee and worked from my laptop. It was a very busy morning work-wise. Mindy got up shortly after 9am. While enjoying her own coffee, she wrapped Olivia’s birthday gifts. Meanwhile, Frankie continued to slumber in her pen showing no real interest in joining those of us in the free world. I finally decided to coax her out around 930a and took her out back for a walk. She eventually took care of business. It was a lovely autumn morning and a lovely walk about the yard. I prepared for a run as soon as I was back inside, but made sure to stretch beforehand. I ran the usual three mile Sunday route that keeps me in the subdivision. I didn’t feel like worrying about traffic on Trabue or Hague. The weather was ideal – about 48 and sunny. My stomach was growling when I got back home. To curb my hunger I enjoyed a big bowl of Wheaties. At the same time, Mindy was busy making a ‘meatball’ meatloaf, her mother’s recipe. After finishing my breakfast I headed out back to rake the tree debris from underneath the tree house in preparation for playground mulch. After raking away the large debris, I could see what Kenny meant when he suggested we bust away the rough concrete edges around the tree house support posts. I used my spud bar to chip away the largest chunks. About that same time, Kenny stopped out back with Woody after spotting Frankie out there with me. He helped me shovel away the rocks and small branches, and then we used the dirt I have piled up from composted leaves to put around the tree house posts covering all the exposed concrete. Looked good once done. After putting away my yard tools I thought about cutting the lawn but ultimately decided not. Mindy was out on the deck painting her toe nails. Asked me to keep Frankie back. I took Frankie on a walk out front basically taking the old Sparky route. She enjoyed herself immensely. Mindy left around 1230p to pick-up Bella from Jimaken’s place. Given the option, Bella wanted to join us for Olivia’s birthday party. While Mindy was gone I watered the flowers out back as well as the sod out front. I topped off the hot tub too. It was down about 4 inches. I failed to mention it earlier, but Mindy called and invited my dad to join us for dinner around 530p. With all of my planned Sunday chores now done, I headed in for a much deserved shower. Before heading upstairs, I took a few minutes to water all the houseplants. After my shower, I thought about wearing my Brett Favre jersey but in the end decided not. Mindy, I already knew, was wearing hers. Mindy & Bella were home before 130p. Olivia’s party was set to begin at 2p. Bella had Mindy make her sandwich. I thought about making one too, but remembered that Ashley was making a bunch of food. I decided to wait and eat something there. I caught part of the Browns game while everyone readied to depart. They were behind but the game still close as we departed. Bella decided to wear her Favre jersey too. We arrived at Ashley’s place around 220p. We hadn’t seen Courtney in a full year, but her van (formerly Mindy’s) was parked out front. We assumed that Kelly would be there as well, but she wasn’t, at least not initially. Olivia greeted us outside and was as animated as ever. Very excited to see us and the gifts we carried in. Ashley introduced us to all of her guests, mostly Stephen’s sisters and kids. Over the next 15 minutes or so others arrived, including Shelly, who was dropping off Kaileigh. Kelly soon showed up with Landon (no Lindsey and no Rocky). Apparently, Rocky was at a schoolmates birthday party at the Church of Nazarene. Ashley did a good job planning/organizing the entire party, including making lots of food (chili, chicken and noodles, meatballs, veggies and chips). She had games lined up for all the little kids, too. I was a little overwhelmed with all the smokers but chose not to focus on the few negative aspects. I was happy to be there amongst my daughters and grandkids. After games we headed inside to watch Olivia open her presents. She was hilarious. One of the cuter moments came when Stephen and Ashley insisted she open and read the cards before rifling through the gifts. Unprompted, Olivia started adlibbing - acting as if she was actually reading the cards but was actually making up her own words and birthday well wishes. Too cute! After gifts we gathered around the dining room table to sing happy birthday and have some b-day cake. No cake for me, thank you. It was about 345p. We organized ourselves to depart a few minutes later. We thanked Ashley & Stephen for their hospitality and departed for home. I was much looking forward to arriving home in time for the Vikings kick-off slated for 415p on FOX. We arrived home at 406p – plenty of time. I walked Frankie out back for a few minutes. She took care of business in a hurry. Good girl! The Eagles game, which was a 1pm kick-off, carried over a little long. By the time FOX joined the Vikings game the Cowboys were already preparing to punt after a quick 3 and out. Cool! The Cowboys drew first blood after a botched Favre/Peterson hand-off resulted in a fumble recovered by Dallas. Not to worry. The Vikings tied it up a short time later at 7-7. Dad called around 440p and asked if he could arrive early. Sure. Said he was interested in watching the Viking game with us. Come on over! He arrived 10 minutes later. Dinner was served just before halftime. I sat at the opposite end of the table from my usual spot so I could see the game. The meatloaf and mashed potatoes were exceptionally good. Jacob was the lone naysayer not wanting anything to do with it. Jacob, by the way, arrived home from soccer with Kenny & Chrissy, who agreed to bring him home while we were at Olivia’s b-day party. Just before halftime, Dallas scored again making it 14-7. Rats! I managed dinner clean-up during halftime and was all but done when the second half kicked off. Still standing at the sink I heard a roar and then commotion coming from the TV. I rushed by Mindy and my dad to catch a glimpse, completely oblivious to what just occurred. Turns out something very, very good. Harvin ran the 2nd half kickoff back for a TD tying the game at 14-14. Wahoo! Somewhere thereafter the Vikings ended up punching it in for another TD taking a 21-14 lead. But that didn’t hold up for long. Now in the 4ht quarter, the Cowboys tied it up with about 8 minutes to go. Crap! I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I was bubbling inside. With a few minutes remaining the Vikings picked off Romo and ended up kicking what turned out to be the game winning field goal. The final minutes ticked away with a ridiculous multi-lateral play on Dallas’ behalf. Vikings win - SKOL! I felt a huge sense of relief after the game. It wasn’t the prettiest of victories but a victory just the same. Stats are for losers! I walked outside where Kenny and the boys were playing football. After a few minutes with them I headed in their house to tease Chrissy. She’s a big Cowboy fan. I said hello to their company then volunteered to walk Woody. He went potty right away. As a reward I took him back home with me to play with Frankie. Mindy & I watched an interview with Brett Favre after the game. The sideline reporter asked questions directed towards the sexting scandal he’s involved in, but he responded with football related answers only. Quite comical really. Jacob came in at dark. At 745p I walked Woody back home and picked up Bella, who was still there playing with Makayla. Both kids expressed how much they like the new showerhead spray pattern. It has a mode that’s somewhere in between the ultra hard jet and the slightly too soft spray of our old head. Come 830p, we tuned into SNF, the Colts vs. Redskins. The kids were tucked into bed at kickoff. Mindy and I watched football together until 930p, or when she headed to bed. I stayed up and even popped some popcorn. Bella smelt it and joined me downstairs for some. She headed back to bed on her own. I watched football until I started dosing off sometime just before 1030p.