Raw Sunday

Photos: An evening with the Jump's (1. Porter, 2. Lee, 3. Ella & Courtney, 4. Bob & M.A., 5. Jeremy)

I woke a couple times in the early hours (somewhere near 530a) only to realize it was a weekend day. Nothing feels better than waking up early but then realizing you can go back asleep for as long as you want. Sleeping as long as I wanted ended up being 810a – still late for me. I brushed my teeth and headed down stairs with my running clothes rolled up around my arm. Frankie looked completely out of it when I glanced in her pen. She made no advance to be let out. I prepped coffee then played on the internet. Since it was Sunday, I didn’t plan to do calisthenics. While pouring my coffee I noticed what appeared to be vomit in Frankie’s pen. On closer inspection, it looked like the remnants of a plastic toy of some sort that she chewed up, swallowed, and threw up. And speaking of Frankie, I still had to clean up the mess she made in the family room. In the daylight I could see that it was a greeting card, a pack of chewing gum, and a gift bag. Holy smoke! After picking up all the tiny bits of paper, I opened her pen. She joined me somewhat reluctantly, obviously still tired. It’s no coincidence that she spent a solid two hours playing with Woody late Saturday afternoon. After taking Frankie outside, I spent another 30 minutes on the PC downloading the 97 photos I took Saturday. Still tired, but not wanting the day to get away from me, I dressed and left for a run. It was close to 930a. Outside, it was chilly & drizzly, about 47 degrees. I ran the usual Sunday run - 3 miles. I really expected Mindy to be up when I returned but that wasn’t the case. She was still sleeping. I knew she hadn’t been feeling well so I left her sleep. I’m guessing that Mindy finally got up around 1030a. I showed her the photos from yesterday’s doings. We had nothing planned until Jacob’s 215p soccer game. It was shaping up to be one of those do nothing type days (cloudy, gray, blustery & cool). I’m guessing it was near noon when I went for the sofa and a nap. During the next hour Mindy made all sorts of noise including popping a few party balloons. Scared the begeezies out of me. I didn’t comment, instead, I kept trying to get more sleep. Finally though, around 1245p I got up to get in the shower. After my shower Mindy suggested that she not attend the soccer game and instead go directly to the grocery. I knew she wasn’t feeling well and agreed to do the soccer game while she shopped. Meanwhile, the weather wasn’t improving, and as a matter of fact, if anything, it appeared to be getting worse. I thought that soccer should be canceled, but Mindy said only if there’s lightning. I asked Mindy to throw down a wicking shirt for me to take to Jacob. History says he wouldn’t be dressed appropriately for the weather. I left for the soccer game at 150p leaving myself 25 minutes to get there. That proved plenty of time. I arrived 5 minutes early. Bella came running over right away complaining about being cold. At the time, I was willing to brave the elements and sit on the sidelines. There had to be a 20 mph wind and it was still drizzling intermittently, too. After Jacob ran over to get his wicking shirt, Bella and I decided to watch his game from the comfort of the Trooper. We could see almost as good as those on the sidelines only we we'd be warm. Bella was bored to tears and consequently started playing with all the buttons and compartments in my car. On one hand, it was driving me bonkers, but on the other, I understood. I mean, she’s 8! Had I been alone, I definitely would’ve snuck in a nap. The 50 minutes went fairly fast. Kenny & Lillian walked over just to say hello. They were there for Makayla’s game. I think it started shortly after ours. From our view, we knew Jacob’s team won, but weren’t exactly sure of the score. We later learned directly from Jacob that they won 5-1. Before heading home, I walked over to Jimaken’s car to get the kids overnight bags. We took the back way home (by Mindy’s old place). I think it’s at least five minutes faster and one heck of a lot less congested. Mindy was already home from the grocery. The kids were excited to see their momma. Bella was also excited to have access to her huge birthday haul. The kids played for the next hour or so until dinner was ready. I watched football while trying to steal another nap. I didn’t feel that good. By the way, the Vikings had a bye week. I was guaranteed they wouldn’t lose.  Mindy picked up a couple rotisserie chickens and Bob Evans mashed potatoes from the grocery store for dinner. And to give it a flair of freshness, she steamed some fresh green beans. Dinner was ready by 5pm. It was delicious. I was careful not to over eat and fought off the urge for more of everything. I did have a small 2nd helping of chicken, although my first helping was only like a kids’ portion. Clean-up took some time. Lots of pots and pans. Mindy decided to boil down what was left of the rotisserie chickens so we could have chicken & noodles another day. We had dinner cleaned up and put away by 6pm.The kids went their separate ways. Bella headed to Makayla’s to play while Jacob sought out Evan. Unfortunately, Evan wasn’t permitted out. Jacob was bored. And when Jacob’s bored, Jacob often gets himself in trouble. When Bella came home Jacob tried his hardest to get under her skin. It worked. Mindy sent Jacob off to the shower around 730-8p. Meanwhile, I stayed tuned into football catching the day’s final scores and highlights as well as the SNF pregame. SNF would feature the Bears vs. NY Giants. Bella asked for popcorn. Mindy obliged. We shared that while watching the first half of the game. The kids were sent to bed and tucked in before halftime. In fact, Mindy headed to bed just before halftime, too. I stayed up to watch more. It was an exciting game. The Bears were getting the snot knocked out of them. That helped the Vikings’ cause. I might’ve watched until mid-way third quarter. It was just after 1030p. Too tired, I headed up to bed.