The First Family Breakfast at Frisch's

I set a goal to be up by 6am, but I didn't get up and going until 6:15am. However, I was satisfied with that since I knew that I could still easily accomplish everything that I needed and wanted to before leaving for Sunday breakfast.

This was to be our first official Sunday family breakfast. We agreed last week to meet the first Sunday of each month for breakfast at 9am. For sure, it would be brother Bob’s family, dad, along with my new family. But we also invited Tommy and Shaun too. We asked that Tommy make Charles aware. The idea of course being to stay in touch beyond the holidays and the occasional summer get togethers. As far as we’re concerned, the more the merrier. If you’re a reader and want to join us, please feel free. Again, we’ll meet the first Sunday of the month at 9am at Frisch’s on Rome-Hilliard Rd.
The next one will be Sunday, September 2nd, Labor Day Weekend.

I exercised, walked Ykraps, moved the sprinkler, drank coffee, checked in with work, and ran four miles all before 8am. It had rained over night but not too much. I was smart enough to place a clothes basket over top of my pump protecting it from moderate moisture. There was a chance of rain all morning but given our history, I wasn’t willing to bet to on it.

Mindy was already showered and dressed by the time I returned from my run. In fact, she was getting Bella dressed. Jacob was still sleeping, but it doesn’t take him too long to get out of bed and dressed. I got in the shower. We were all ready to go by 8:20am. We had some time to kill. We assembled our swimming bag in case we decided to head to Bob’s afterwards. He left a VM yesterday inviting us to do just that. I moved the sprinkler one last time before departing.

We arrived at Frisch’s just before 9am. Dad was already there in the lot. We parked right next to him. Jacob’s taken quite a liking to Dad and was eager to get out of the vehicle to give him a hug. Bella, of course, followed suit. It wasn’t too long before Bob’s family arrived. I already knew that Tommy & Heather wouldn’t be joining us. I talked with heather earlier and she indicated that Tommy was still sleeping after a couple very busy days. Just the same, I made sure that she knew that they were invited.

We all got the buffet. There were eleven of us in total but only ten eating. Evan was partaking in a few nibbles of Bob’s. Bambi was our waitress. She’s grown up to look more human than I ever thought possible. She even speaks fluent English. J We hung at Frisch’s well past filling our bellies. We laughed & joked for quite a while, then, after settling the bill, we retreated to the lot where we made plans to head over to Bob’s. It rained pretty hard while we were eating and the sky looked threatening again. It really wasn’t optimal swimming weather but the kids didn’t seem to mind. We could stay no later than 1230pm since the kids would be joining their father for lunch with his family today.

We hung out Bob’s till 1230pm as planned. It rained two or three times in the hour we were there. We left for home and phoned Jimaken on the way. He was on his way to our house to get the kids. Good timing! When we got home Mindy told me that I should bring in the pump since it was threatening rain, and according to the radar, a pretty significant storm. The pump had been running since Friday at 6pm. I relented and went out to retrieve the pump. Just as I was under the honeysuckle bushes gathering it up the rains came, and heavily it did pour. I rushed into the house and into the garage being mindful of the last time this happened. I was more careful not to drop the pump.

Jim arrived to fetch the kids at the same time. He left with them in the downpour. After they departed Mindy asked if we could take Glenn’s art to Michael’s Crafts for framing. I agreed. We also thought we might visit a few model homes to get some painting/decorating ideas. We headed to Michael’s first. It’s located just north of the Hilliard Giant Eagle. The young lady working the framing shop was very helpful. We were surprised, no- shocked is a better word, with the estimate. She said it would be about $550. She said we just missed the half price sale. We asked if they would still honor the price since the sale ended yesterday. She said no. We asked how often they do the sale. She said once a month. Well, hell, thin about it. Wouldn’t it be wise to honor the price rather than risk us going elsewhere? Still, she wouldn’t budge, although she was pleasant. We moved on.

With that kind of estimate, we decided to explore framing it ourselves. From my way of thinking, I don’t want the frame and mounting to be the focus. Rather, the art itself should be the focal point. We found beautiful 24X36” frames for around $60 complete with mounting and glass. All we have to find now is a plain black mat.

We left Michael’s and headed a few store fronts further north to Kirkland’s Home. Mindy was excited to see one so close to home. It’s right by the brand new, yet to open, Target. We browsed their offerings for about 30 minutes. It’s much like a Pier 1 store, only with a narrower offering. Mindy bought a lead crystal vase on sale.

After Kirkland’s we drove towards home. I wasn’t in the mindset to drive to find model homes. Instead, I would research where we can find the biggest cluster of such homes and go another time. My guess is Dublin/Powell/New Albany, and possibly Grove City would net the best results. As we headed home we remembered the three new TK homes models strangely placed along Wilson Rd just south of the Thornton’s. We stopped in just to browse. The houses are neat but most models are. They cater to folks like me that like openness and no clutter. Missing are the little nick-knacks a typical family clutter. I mentioned as much to Mindy. We enjoyed the visit but saw little that offered any good ideas. We both agreed that they were catering to starter homes, albeit nice ones.
We headed home.

At home I was determined to get a nap. The kids arrived minutes after we got home. They never stay at Jimaken’s family get togethers for too long. Mindy said 90 minutes tops. Before I knew it was early evening. After my quick nap I watched Tiger Wood bully the rest of the pack at the Firestone Championship from Canton, Ohio. He was on today! As that wrapped up I got the grill fired up for our filet mignon and shrimp dinner. Mindy made fresh garden salads, too. While the grill heated, I took Ykraps on his evening walk. I returned to get grillin’.

We ate around 6pm. The steaks turned out perfectly according to Mindy. They were just pink enough inside. As usual, Bella had only a hot dog. She doesn’t care for steak and such. She could live on fruit. I’d guess to a great extent that it’s in her genes. For dessert we had keylime pie. Very good! We finished dinner around 630pm and began clean-up. Jacob and I were both looking forward to watching the Hall of Fame game – the first preseason game of the year. It was slated to begin at 8pm. He asked if I would agree to play with him in the basement until it started. I agreed.

Down the basement, Jacob wanted to play football. I didn’t. That’s a rough game to play on the concrete floor and he always ends up hurt. I encouraged him to choose basketball instead. He ultimately did. We began playing basketball like we always have, but he was in a pissy mood and ended up fouling and playing very rough. In the end, he got hurt and quit. I wasn’t too discouraged. I didn’t really want to play anyhow.

It wasn’t long before Mindy encouraged the kids to go back to the basement to pick-up their toys which she helped organize as recent as yesterday. They did their usual complaining. In the end, however, she got them to clean it up. I laid down on the family room floor and napped. Soon Mindy ushered the kids upstairs for bath time. She asked if I would do the honors. I begged out. This, as I saw it, was the first I had relaxed all weekend.

The kids were out of the tub and in their jammies before 8pm. I was excited to tune into the football game at 8pm. We watched the fifty greatest catches of all times leading up to kick-off. Finally, it was 8pm. Are you ready for some Football!!!!!!!! Apparently NOT!
We searched the TV high and low for the game. We couldn’t find it anywhere or on any channel. I was certain this was an oversight of sorts. I retreated to my PC to search Yahoo for the programming information. Yahoo Sports solved the puzzle. Sadly, the game was only being shown on the NFL network which Time Warner is not carrying on their basic cable programming package. I was disappointed, and so was Jacob. Damn!

Mindy tuned into some of his favorite programming to ease the pain. I was set to watch the Family Guy if I couldn’t watch football. Mindy, right fully so, wouldn’t agree to such viewing in front of the kids. I headed up to bed to view it. I was tired anyhow. Turns out Fox was hosting a Family Guy marathon. There were four episodes on in a row. I saw the final three, or up until 10pm. Mindy joined me after putting the kids to bed for the final two episodes. She asked that I tuck in the kids before watching the rest. I did. I fell asleep soon after the fourth episode ended. Weekend history.

Swangin'

I woke around 6am and managed to push myself out of bed to go outside and move the sprinkler that had been running on the front lawn all night long. I returned to bed where I slept another couple hours until 8am. I had a somewhat troubling dream just before I rose where my BM’er was towed for parking in a poorly marked no parking zone. The guy on the phone told me it would be $250. Plus, by the sounds of it, they managed to damage the car slightly, too. And if that wasn’t enough, as I walked home Bella came running up. I realized then that I had almost forgotten her in my haste to find my BM’er. I was relieved to have her back in the fold, dreading the wrath I would’ve received should I have returned home without her. Because of this, I woke stressed.

Happy that it was just a dream, I got busy with my Saturday morning. I made a pot of coffee and got started with my exercises. It was 8:20am by the time that Ykraps and I made our way out for a walk. It was noticeably less steamy that Friday, although the air still warm. I returned home to enjoy a couple cups of coffee before setting out on a run. While sipping some coffee I set up my laptop and logged into work.

I set out on my run by 9:30am. The house was alive when I left. Everyone was up. Mindy had the kids working on cleaning the playroom. Mindy asked if I wanted breakfast. I didn’t. I wore my MP3 player during the run. I was quickly reminded that I really need to soak/wash the arm band upon my return. It reeks heavily of stale sweat! I ran along Hague and Trabue against very light traffic.

Mindy was showering when I returned from my run. I got to soaking my MP3 player arm band and then dug into work. I worked for the next couple of hours interacting with the Saturday team. Mindy and Bella left for a shopping spree around 11:00am. We still planned on heading to the Anderson’s together later in the afternoon. I confirmed that before she left. Jacob chose to stay home with me. While I made a sandwich, Jacob went to play with the neighbor. I asked him to return shortly. Around 12:30 Mindy phoned to ask if Jacob & I simply wanted to meet her & Bella at the Anderson’s since she was already up off Sawmill Rd. I agreed having just completed my shower.

Jacob and I readied to leave fifteen minutes later. I moved the sprinkler just before leaving. Mindy wanted to get some filets and pork chops from the Anderson’s. I wanted to look at their playset gear along with their miscellaneous hardware. We got up to Sawmill fairly quickly. Mindy & Bella were still eating lunch. We told them to meet us their. They had the Carhart NASCAR car on display at the Anderson’s. It was cool checking out the interior. Jacob won a Carhart ballcap with a scratch-off given to him by the fellow in charge.

Inside, we made our way to the toys and the hardware section. Jacob tried his best to get me to buy him a toy. I abstained. I ushered him to the hat area to redeem his scratch-off. Just as we found the playset gear we saw Mindy & Bella coming our way. We looked over all the options together. In the end, Mindy bought both a disc & tire swing. We planned to hang/mount both in trees at the rear of our lot. We next made our way to hardware where we met Bill, the hardware guy. He helped us pick adequate rope for the disc/tree swing. We bought 50’ of their beefy ½ inch poly rope. We also picked up an important u-ring to extend the rope length that comes with the tire swing. From there we made our way to the butcher counter. Mindy took the number but asked that I wait and get the meat. That troubled me a little only because I wanted to peruse outdoor hardware for a watering wand, but Mindy didn’t bend. I think that she had unshared ulterior motives. Under strict orders, I waited at the meat counter and ultimately picked six 8oz filets, eight 6oz pork chops, and four shrimp skewers. I joined Mindy and the kids hovering up the way in the yardscape area. And while they didn’t have the telescoping watering wand I wanted, they did the handy 12” wands with a variable watering head. Mindy agreed to but the purple one. J We checked out soon after.

Jacob and I took the cart to the car while Mindy took Bella to the potty. Mindy parked right next to us. After loading our haul into the Trooper Jacob asked that I take him to Chipotles. I agreed. We waited for Mindy and Bella. Mindy said she had a surprise for me in the car. It was a copy of Tony Dungy’s book, Quiet Strength. For those that may not know, Tony Dungy is the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and former Vikings Defensive coordinator. I have always admired him on many fronts. I will very likely enjoy his book.

We parted ways and agreed to meet back at home. Jacob and I stopped at Chipotles just as he had asked. I got him his favorite chicken burrito bowl and got myself a bag of chips and salsa. We agreed to share a large lemonade. Despite our stop, we arrived home even before Mindy and Bella. Not sure what slowed them. In any case, we unloaded our stuff and Jacob went in and ate his burrito bowl. While I repositioned the sprinkler on the side yard, Mindy & Bella pulled up.

After a few minutes Mindy got the kids back in the basement to finish cleaning organizing the playroom. They love to play down there but hate to clean-up their mess. Bella is an especially messy kid. She can make a mess in no time flat but never wants to clean up. It’s a pattern repeated numerous times at our home. In the meantime, I got busy prepping both swings for the trees. I had to augment each, but the tire swing more significantly. I removed the short 6 or 7’ foot rope attached to the disc swing and used it to extend the tire swing. I’d use the new 50’ of rope on the disc swing since it would hang from about 25’ up. It took about thirty minutes to get both tree ready. While the family remained down stairs I grabbed my tools and headed out back to get the project underway.

I hung the tire swing first having already picked the perfect spot on a young walnut tree with an almost perfectly horizontal branch hovering about 11’ above the ground. The tire swing came with a greased ball & socket bracket to allow for spinning without twisting the rope. In truth, that‘s what makes it so costly. That went well. Soon it was hung and looked good save for the honeysuckle bushes needing trimmed form its path. Next, I got started on the high hanging disc swing. This, I was excited about doing. I knew it would make for a thrilling ride through the numerous nearby trees.

The trick was going to be getting the rope over the high hanging branch – about 25’- in just he right spot. I didn’t dare climb out on the limb. That was too dangerous. I figured instead that I would have a go at tossing it over with a weight attached. But the rope I bought was a half inch thick and would very likely prove difficult to toss, even weighted.

Not to be deterred, I grabbed a roll of twisted pull sting from the garage along with an old baseball. I drilled a 3/16th inch hole through the baseball then threaded the pull string through. I now had a decent device for tossing over the big Ash tree branch. I tied the loose end of the pull string to the new ½” swing rope. I stepped back about ten feet, took aim, then tossed the baseball skyward. The ball soared just over the desired branch. And as luck would have it, it came down just inside of a “y” in the large branch that I was trying to avoid but worried would be impossible. It made for perfect placement. I was stoked that it worked so well and on the very first try.

The rest was easy. I pulled the new rope over the branch and looped it back through itself with a slip knot. I fed the remaining tail through the disc, added a washer and a knot, and it was done. I left the twenty foot tail dangling from the swing so that it could be used for leverage. I sat on both swings myself making sure that they would hold sufficient weight, although I was certain that they would. I went to fetch Jacob to give both swings a try.

Jacob came out thinking that I was gonna have him helped install the ropes. He was surprised to see both already complete. Confused, he asked what I needed him to do. “Test ride”, I said. He hopped on the disc swing first. The extra knot I added for gripping seemed just the right height. I let him rip. He let out a shriek of excitement as he soared over the gulley and between the trees. It held him fine and tracked nicely through the slim opening. I was pleased. He took another ride only this time slightly higher. H e was very excited. Before going in, I asked that he try the tire swing too. He did.

I carried in my tools and cleaned up the rather small mess I made completing the project. Jacob went in to tell his mother and Bella the good news. They soon joined us to give it a try themselves. Everyone enjoyed the disc swing ride – even Mindy. The kids enjoyed it so much they uttered their love for me like never before. Kinda cute! It wasn’t long before they had all the neighborhood kids over giving it a try. The kids called the grandmother asking her to come over and see their new swings. She agreed. Mindy went to fetch her.

In the meantime, I moved the sprinkler to the back yard. By now, it had been running 24 hours non-stop. I watered the rear flower beds by hand with city water. I had failed to do so earlier in the day. In this kind of heat (90 degrees and sunny) the plants can go little longer than 24 hours without showing signs of stress – a very good example of “what have you done for me lately”. Mindy returned shortly with Gloria. She walked out back to watch the kids soar between the trees on their new disc swing. I could tell it troubled her to watch as at times they reach heights close to ten feet above the ground. We all enjoyed hearing their screams as they swung. When Mindy and Gloria headed back in I was stuck outside playing with seven kids – our two included. They played for over an hour on the swings.

I gave up and went to change gears after the hour. After Mindy gave all the kids something to drink, she left to take her mother home. I poured myself a beer. Wahoo! When Mindy returned we discussed our dinner plans. We had originally planned to grill filets but I was to tired and too impatient to grill this evening. Besides, I wasn’t that hungry either. Mindy was. So, she reheated some tasty leftovers just for herself. She heated up brats and corn on the cob and ate some of the homemade cucumber salad, too. I had some of that, also. It was very good after setting for a couple of days.

Mindy got the kids a much needed bath. And to my surprise she headed to bed very early for a Saturday. I stayed up, at first working on a tough problem. Eventually, because I was achy and sweaty, I got in the hot tub with a cold beer. Afterwards, I tuned into Mad TV. It was funny. I began dosing just after 1130pm and headed up to bed.

Gates of Hell Lizards

Sunset over Raymond Memorial at approximately 730pm on Friday, August 3, 2007

I was up by 5:45am preparing for my Friday. It was another steamy morning in paradise. I completed my morning routine in its usual order. In kind, the start of my day was no different than most others. After my breakfast I spent a solid fifteen minutes watering the thirsty flowers in the backyard. The rain we received a week earlier was nothing more than a faded memory. Accept for the lawn, all the flora was looking stressed.

I showered and dressed for work by 7:50am. Mindy mentioned that she and the kids would be visiting Teri in Westerville today. I left for work in the Trooper just before 8am.

The morning went by speedily. We were very busy. I prepared and left for a run about fifteen minutes earlier than usual. It was already sweltering outside. It was extremely hot & humid. I ran up one heck of a lather. It felt terrific to hit the AC once back in the gym.

I showered and quickly dressed. Ten minutes later I was outside in the Trooper determined to complete two quick errands – both on Parsons ave. My first stop was Harr’s Auto Glass. After calling them, they thought that they might have some clips I could use on the Trooper passenger window. I figured that it was worth the drive to check ‘em out. In addition, I planned to stop in the local Ace Hardware just up the road to see if they had the Gilmour telescoping watering wand I wanted. I found it on their webpage and could’ve ordered it online, but since I would already be down there I figured I simply stop in the store.
Long story short, both stops were fruitless. The clips were not what I needed, and the Ace didn’t have the watering wand I had hoped. The Ace Hardware guy tried hard to be the “helpful hardware man” just like the commercial says, but I found him a little annoying. During our close encounter I realized that it was a guy I went to high school with. I couldn’t remember his name until he wrote in on the back of a business card that he insisted I take for any possible future hardware needs. I never let on that I recognized him, and he didn’t either. In fact, I don’t know if he recognized me. As I pulled away I remembered that he was in my art class. He looked so much older than I.

Before returning to work I made it a point to drive by my old pal, Tom Clark’s house in Miriam Village. I hadn’t seen his place for the three years since he left town. It looked largely the same. The grass looked like it needed cut. Satisfied with my trip, I headed back to work. I arrived around 2:30pm to finish off my day. I was the on-call so I’d be taking work home for the weekend. Because of this, I wasn’t in my usual Friday celebrative mood, although I wasn’t in a bad mood either.

I departed for home around 5:15pm. I stopped at Lowes along my way home to check out
Their miscellaneous hardware to see once again if I could find a clip to possibly retro fit my passenger window. I also checked out their playset hardware and lumber quality. I arrived home around 6pm. After little toil, the first thing that I did was unleash the sprinkler pump on my drying lawn. I wanted to make sure and water heavily over the weekend since we would be home through most of it and the threat of rain almost non-existent.

Mindy had made arrangements for Christopher, her friend Tara’s son, to watch our kids so that we could do Barley’s. His dad dropped him off around 7pm. We sat on deck chatting with Doug, Chris’ father, for about thirty minutes. He entertained us with horror stories about his nosey neighbors calling the cops on just about everything they do. The stories were entertaining.

. The kids were happily playing with the neighbors under Christopher’s watchful eye. We left for Barley’s around 7:40pm. Not too unexpected, the Barley’s crowd was thin. Still there were plenty regulars in attendance. We sat at the bar along with Steve & Mark all the while a few others trickled in. I was reminded that I missed the Zappa on Zappa concert last Friday night. And by the sounds of it, it was an incredible show.

We hung at Barley’s until 10pm. Mindy called Chris’s dad just before we arrived home so that he could come fetch him. Mindy paid Chris handsomely before he left. After checking some headlines we headed to bed. I’ll bet we were in bed by 10:30pm. My body, especially my legs, was very tired.

Hot & Humid II

It’s almost as if I am being prevented from getting out of bed on time by some other force. I still commonly wake at 530am but instead of pulling myself up like in the past, I subconsciously choose an additional fifteen minutes of sleep. Today was no exception. I wasn’t downstairs until the clock struck 5:50am. This would usually serve as a barrier to nothing but because of my summer watering requirements my morning mediations have suffered.

I choked down my One-A-Day and then got started on my morning calisthenics. There was almost no pain in my left lower back after having Mindy walk on it the evening before. I also took an anti-inflammatory that I am certain helped tremendously. I finished my remaining exercises before setting out on a walk with Ykraps. We walked west even though he chose east. I overruled his short sighted decision. :)

Our walk was fruitful, shall I say. He did lots of number one and a double number two. We were back at home pursuing coffee and a dog treat by 6:20am. He had the dog treat.

Before making food, I checked email and read the headlines and the Daily OM. At 6:37am I pulled myself away form the PC to address my two meals. I made tuna fish salad, a lettuce-less vegetable salad, nuts, and fruit for lunch. I made cheesy scrambled eggs for breakfast. ON strict orders, I went to wake Mindy at 7am. She wanted up by then to give herself time to shower and perhaps even enjoy her coffee before the grand kids arrived. Today was the second of Rocky’s two dental appointments. Bella and Jacob were set to have their molars sealed at the same time.

I had food ready for Mindy along with her coffee. I hurried through my breakfast and headed out to water flowers. During my watering, the super glue job from Tuesday fell apart leaving waste to my wonderful telescoping watering wand. I anticipated this happening therefore wasn’t too put out. I finished the watering using my thumb as the variable sprayer. I moved to the front where I happened upon a baby bunny sitting still by one of my petunia beds. He didn’t move as I watered his digs. Lindsey dropped the kids as I watered. I encouraged Rocky to stop over to see the bunny. He was excited to see it.
In fact, he was so excited that after viewing it for a while he went in and got Mindy. Later he returned with Bella.

I headed in to shower and dress. I was ready to go by the usual 7:50am. By the time I pulled away from the home it was 7:55am. I arrived at work shortly after 8am. I worked through the morning hours without incident. Come 1245pm I headed out for my run. By then it was plenty warm. I ran up quite a sweat again today as the temp was again near 90 and the humidity near 50%. I was happy to have another warm run in the bag. I showered in cooler than usual water. It felt great!

The afternoon went by in a flash. Today was the final day for one of our engineers, Joe P, and Mindy and I were planning to meet him & his wife along with several other co-workers at Digger & Finch, a Scottish pub located on Riverside Dr just north of 161. Mindy phoned to confirm directions so she could simply meet me there. She also informed me that she must’ve accidentally killed our two lizards by leaving them out in the sun on the deck while at the dental appointment. When she returned she found them cooked alive inside their steamy terrarium. The kids, as one might expect, we shaken to the core, especially Jacob. Mindy took them to get two more.

I left work around 5pm but made a quick stop at Straders on the way to Digger & Finch in hopes of finding a Gilmour telescoping watering wand to replace my broken one. They didn’t have any. I also looked to see if they had any nice hanging baskets to replace our stressed purple petunias. They didn’t.

Mindy phoned while I was already enjoying my first beer to let me know that she was lost. In reality, she wasn’t yet far enough north. I guided her in. She joined us at the bar around 6pm. After greeting everyone we found ourselves two empty bar stools where we sat and ordered some food. Mindy ordered their fish & chips. I ordered a house burger. Both were very good. Mindy left before me needing to be home by the time Jimaken returned with the kids. I left about ten minutes after her – 7:30pm.

When I arrived home I took care of putting out the trash since Friday morning is trash day. I then retreated inside to relax for a spell. I took a brief nap on the family room floor after tucking in the kids. We went to bed not long after the kids.

A Hot & Steamy Start

August arrives!

My day started at 5:40am when my feet were forced to the floor by a brain that would’ve much preferred to stay in bed and sleep a while longer. I shook the cob webs by the time I began my sit-ups. My back felt slightly better than the morning before. That was very good news!

For whatever reason, I seem unable to muster the inner strength to will myself out of bed each morning by 5:30am this summer. Instead, I’ve allowed this new habit of sleeping in to become too deeply ingrained. I’ll need to correct this.

I proceeded with my morning routine like any other day. I exercised, walked Ykraps, PC’d, and made food. After enjoying my breakfast from the deck I got busy watering flowers. The super glue job I did on the handle of my telescoping watering wand seemed to be holding. If it breaks again I’ll look to replace it.

I finished up around 7:30am. I headed in for a shower after delivering Mindy’s coffee. I was ready for work by 7:50am. I toyed with driving the BM’er but for no good reason I opted instead to drive the Trooper. I was at work by 8:10am. It was another completely clear day. I didn’t see a cloud anywhere. The expected high was 93 degrees. It was gonna be summer for a while yet.

I worked hard and left for a run around 1pm. It was plenty hot, too. Not only was the temperature hovering near 90 degrees, but the humidity was fairly high as well. It was around 50%. It was officially a scorcher and not well suited for heavy exercise. It’s a good thing that I am well trained for such extremes. I managed through the run nicely despite the intense weather. The shower afterwards felt incredibly good. I made it back to my office just in time for a 2pm meeting. That meeting lasted until 3:40pm. We were discussing some changes to our current work processes.

Home wise, Mindy proposed grilling brats and corn on the cob – just like last Wednesday only that was at Alum Creek State Park. We were expecting Shane from Central Ohio Roofing to give us an estimate at 530pm. He never did show. He called around 630pm to reschedule for tomorrow. I walked Ykraps then returned to light the grill. We roasted the corn and brats. They both turned out exceptionally well. The corn was cooked to perfection. After cleaning up dinner I began the tedious task of prepping our three new cell phones for conversion. I charged them all before programming them one by one. I started with the least used spare home cell. It didn’t take. I called customer service as prompted and they kindly walked me through the entire process with each phone. By 8:45pm we had all three operational. Goodbye old phones. I spent a considerable amount of time in between, around, and after uploading photos to my blog. That was an enjoyable venture. I tucked the kids into bed somewhere in there, too. Mindy walked on my back to lend some relief. Finally, after a whole week, my lower back cracked and I felt instant relief. When it cracks that’s usually a good indication that the swelling has subsided. I cracked hers in trade. After the back crackin’ fun we headed to bed.

What in Sam Hell?

I slept about as deeply as one could possibly imagine. Through the night, I woke only once just to eyeball the clock. That was around 1am. I didn’t wake again until 5:35am. Fulfilled, I rolled out of bed and headed downstairs to begin my second day of work.

While still a little stiff, my lower back felt even better than it did the morning before. That was encouraging. I carefully began my sit-ups as it loosened even further. I finished my entire routine and found my outdoors with Ykraps by 6:05am.

The early morning sky was completely clear with what looked like a full moon resting at about 10 o’clock in the SW sky. It was beautiful. Our morning walk is a important to me as it is for Ykraps albeit for different reasons. It gives him an opportunity to clear himself physically, while it affords me the opportunity to clear my mind and contemplate the day ahead. If any sleepiness lingers, it’s usually clear by the time he and I return home. By then I am so ready for a hot cup of coffee.

Confession: I haven’t spent much time in quiet meditation the last couple of weeks with vacation all. I recognize this as a short coming and plan to correct this negligent behavior pronto!

After reading the Daily Om I read the morning’s headlines. I saw that Bill Walsh, the wildly successful former coach of the San Francisco Forty-Niners, passed away. I always respected his demeanor and obvious intelligence. I got cracking on food prep following my leisure activities.

For my lunch I prepared a full complement of entrees – veggie medley, tuna fish salad, nuts, and fruit (the nuts get eaten as a mid-morning snack). For breakfast I prepared a cheese omelet along with some fruit. I left about a 1/3 of the omelet for Mindy. I finished eating and took to watering flowers at 7:10am. I watered the front first and finished in the back by 7:30am. I poured Mindy a cup of coffee and delivered it bedside just before getting in the shower.

Mindy asked if we could go on a date this evening just before I left for the day. We hadn’t had a mid-week date in a while with Jim typically bringing the kids home around 630pm. I agreed that we should do that. I left for work around 7:50am stopping at Thornton’s for gas, where it was priced at $2.51 per gallon.

Work was bustling with activity. I still had plenty of catch up work to do as well as dealing with the day’s inevitably “hot” issues. I didn’t leave for my daily run until 1pm. When I finally got out it was hot & steamy all right. But once again there was a freakish breeze out of the NNE that felt cool despite the almost 90 degree temps. I worked up quite a lather and probably dropped a few pounds. It was a good run.

The afternoon went smoothly and it wasn’t long before the day was behind me. I left for home around 5:20pm. Mindy & I had already talked about our date plans, but we’d yet to decide where. I called her on my way home to discuss. Her choice was El Vaquero on Rome-Hilliard Rd – the very venue of our first formal date. She suggested perusing Sam’s Club directly across the street immediately after. That sounded ideal. She said she’d be waiting for me on the porch when I got home so we could get on the road fast.

I picked Mindy up as planned. We were at the Vaq just before 6pm, and lucky for us, we beat the crowd by about 10 minutes. We sat on the patio in the shade. It was a tad on the warm side but it was by no mean unbearable. We started with their complementary chips and salsa. Mindy ordered a margarita, me just water. I ordered a two combo meal. Mindy ordered some giant fajita thing. As usual, their service was impeccable and fast. We were finished eating by 6:30pm. We paid our bill and left for Sam’s Club directly across the street.

Our main goal at Sam’s was to check out their backyard playsets. We heard that they have an awesome set for a reasonable price compared to other local vendors. The place is huge. We found the displayed playset quickly. It was awesome and had all the requirements we thought we might want in one and then some. Perhaps a bonus was the fact that it was built out of cypress in lieu of treated pine. The wood looks so much neater. However, I noticed that aside from the frame, it was built with non-dimensional lumber. The fact still remains that we have few options in our yard for such a beast. There isn’t a level spot bigger than a postage stamp. The set requires an area 38X24’. We’d look the yard over once at home.

We walked most of store looking at all their other offerings. They had some good deals on some stuff, but you have to be careful when comparing the large quantities. I saw many things that were more expensive than say Target or even Wal-Mart. We left the store after an hour browsing the aisles. It was just after 7:30pm when we headed towards home. Jimaken passed us with the kids just as we were turning onto Wilson from Trabue. Good timing.

At home we greeted the kids. I got busy unloading my lunch dishes and changed into some comfy house clothes. Mindy and I walked out back to once again survey the yard. I poured myself one of Jeremy’s home brewed IPA’s. Our survey ended with Mindy convinced that the playset wouldn’t fit anywhere but back in the trees where my compost pile resides. That IS an option, I guess. We agreed to sleep on it. I presented plan “B” which is me building a play tower minus the swings in a more compact area then placing a hanging swing from the trees. We’ll see.

On our walk back into the house I noticed some serious yard damage. Mindy confessed the kids using the hose to bore holes in the yard. I was pissed over the overt damage, not to mention the waste of water.

Mindy went to the neighbors to fetch the kids, who were playing on their playset. I went to the PC to update my blog. I was prepared to be fully caught up after this evening, at least with entries. Pictures would still be forth coming. After blogging I tucked in the kids then returned downstairs where I uncharacteristically tuned into some TV. I watched a little of the Reds game but then tuned to CNN to watch an interview with Dick Cheney. Fairly interesting. I began falling asleep. Mindy came in and asked that I rub her aching shoulder. I did. Come 1030pm I could take no more. We secured the house and headed to bed.

Work Returns & So Does The Heat

As expected, wake time came too fast. It was 530am before I knew it. I snuck and extra few minutes of sleep before getting up to begin my day. It was 5:50am by the time I made it downstairs and choked down a One-A-Day. I then realized that neither Mindy nor I prepped coffee the night before. I quickly tended to that important task before doing anything else. Feeling progressively better, but still a little sore, I carefully completed my sit-ups. My lower back is aching in the same spot that hampered me for over ten years. I want to be very careful not to find myself back in that predicament. By 6:05am I had completed my exercise routine and was out walking Ykraps. It was a very lovely morning and the forecast called for sunny and 88. In fact, the next several days are expected to be hot and sunny with the temperature rising to near 95 by Thursday. Sounds like the hot weather is back! Because of the four straight days of rain (Wed –Sat), my lawn looks better than it has all growing season – spring included. Ykraps and I were home by 615am. I poured myself some coffee and sat at the PC just like any other work day. I read the daily OM and caught up on a few of the morning’s headlines. I saw that Tom Snyder passed away – the old late, late night talk show host. Just after 6:30am I got busy making the day’s food. By the time I finished packing my lunch and making and eating my breakfast it was already 7:10am. I started my daily watering in the back. In fact, I only watered the rear flowers this AM. I finished by 7:35am and then went inside where I made & delivered Mindy’s morning coffee. I grabbed a fast shower and was ready for work by 7:50am. I made plans to drive the BM’er since the weather was expected to be so summery. It was 7:55am by the time I was heading down the road. It was a little tough getting back in the groove. I spent the better part of the morning filtering through all my emails. But come noon time I was finding my groove and was ready for a run. I couldn’t get away until just after 1pm. Things were hopping. It was a hot & sweaty run, but the breeze blowing out of the northeast made it bearable. I made it back to my office by 2:15pm. I spent a greater piece of my afternoon working through a few tough issues. I called and spoke with Mindy around 4pm. She said she hadn’t done much at all today, and that it was on purpose. She was on the deck reading her Harry Potter book, which she was about to complete. I don’t know how one can read such rubbish! I stopped at Home Depot on my way home to look for possible solutions to my Trooper window clip issue as well as a few other items. I was there until 5:50pm. When I arrived home Bella and Mindy were in the kitchen. Jacob was out playing with friends. I could tell that Mindy was eager to get back to her book. There on the counter were the same dishes from this AM. I walked Ykraps alone and returned to take care of a few chores. Mindy was back on the deck reading. I used the time to edit weekend pictures and to catch up on my blog. The kids and Mindy came inside around 8:30pm. Jimaken stopped by briefly to drop off a couple of gifts he bought the kids while in San Diego over the weekend. He didn’t stay long. Mindy allowed the kids to play on the bridge out front all the while neighbor Mike fished with his kids. Jacob fished too. Mindy used the time to finish her book. Around 9pm everyone came inside for good. Mindy got the kids tucked into bed. I went up and tucked them in too. While Mindy dealt with a few issues around the house I sprawled out on the livingroom floor where I fell fast asleep. Mindy woke me around 10pm and we headed for bed.

Accomplishing Much

I woke Sunday morning fairly close to 730am. And just as predicted, the sky was crystal clear. The morning appeared to have all the makings of a beautiful summer day in July. I exercised through the ongoing pain in my lower back, which still aches from the tubing and skiing. However, it does seem to be diminishing a smidge with each passing day.

Lil’ rocky and Bella got up after I returned from walking Ykraps. I made the two of them some cereal and juice. Minutes later Jacob was up and wanting the same. I addressed his needs as well. I enjoyed a cup of coffee or two before setting out on my daily run. I also removed the boat cover to help facilitate faster drying. I kept my run inside the subdivision. It was a good run but also a sweaty one. It was very, very humid. Mindy was up when I returned and heated the two of us the last of the breakfast casserole. We nibbled on some fresh fruit too. After eating I pulled the boat onto the driveway to allow for extra drainage since the slope of the drive is far greater than the street. Another four or five gallons drained out. My plan was to clean the boat inside and out but it still needed to dry out more. Because of this, I chose to do my lawn chores before tending to the boat.

I did my lawn chores over the next 1.5 hours. It was nice to have access to my tractor once again. By 12:15pm I was done with lawn chores. Mindy was preparing to leave for the pool and asked if I would care to join her. Lil’ rocky didn’t want to go along so she planned on dropping him at home. I declined for wanting instead to stick to my boat cleaning plan. Eventually, Mindy scrapped the pool idea in favor of shopping. All the kids went with her. That left me home alone to finish the boat.

I used the time wisely. I spent the next three hours cleaning the boat inside and out. I vacuumed and washed out the ski hold. I used Clorox spray cleaner to clean the seat cushions as well as the fiberglass bow area. The inside looked great when I finished. Next, was the exterior. I checked the time and it was moving fast. I needed to get crackin’ on the chocolate chip cookie cheesecake, too. So, before lathering up the boat, I put the cookie in the oven and set the timer. I washed the boat quickly. It never takes too long.
I went in and removed the cookie from the oven before drying the boat.

At 3pm I began placing all the necessary gear back into the boat. I collapsed our rafts and removed some of the clutter to help make it roomier (a sorely needed touch). Mindy arrived home soon after. In between tasks, I went in and whipped up the topping for the cheesecake while the cookie continued cooling. I went back out and cleaned up my remaining mess in the drive before hading back in to spread the yummy topping and to take a shower. It was already 4pm. Where’d the day go?

As soon as I finished in the shower we were ready to depart for Gloria’s. Mindy suggested that I return the boat to storage and simply meet her and the kids at her mother’s. Bella, by the way, was already there, Mindy having dropped her off earlier in the afternoon. Sounded good to me. I left with the boat. Mindy headed to her mom’s.

I put the boat in storage with little trouble. I didn’t make it to her mother’s until almost 5pm. The number of Sunday dinner guests was far less than usual due in part to it being a duty day. Mindy’s older brother and Jeff weren’t present either. Still, there were eight of us. We enjoyed a nice relaxing dinner of ham, scalloped potatoes, and pasta salad.

After dinner I plopped down on the sofa and took a brief nap. Mindy said I slept for 30 minutes. I was out cold! Food coma!!! Soon after I woke, we broke out the chocolate chip cheesecake cookie and key lime pie for dessert. After dessert and clean-up we readied for departure. We had to stop at Ashley’s to drop off Olivia’s new car seat. We left around 7:30pm.
We arrived at Kelly’s a few minutes later, Bella and I a handful of minutes ahead of Mindy, who was gabbing with her mother. Ashley brought Olivia out to visit with Bella and I. Kelly was pleasant and reintroduced me to Rocket the cat. According to Kelly he has all sorts of ailments but is still going strong. He must be close to 17 years old. As I recall, I got him as a kitten from a friend at Time Warner for Lindsey when she separated her shoulder when she was about six. When Mindy arrived she got busy installing the car seat in Ashley’s car. It took some doing, but she did it all pretty much by herself. In the meantime, I held Landon and played with Olivia. Jacob and Lil’ Rocky played in Ashley’s car.

A little after 8pm Mindy finally got the best of the new car seat. Lindsey curtly made it known that Landon needs one, too. Buy one - geesh! We headed home and arrived by 830pm. Mindy and I walked the dog together. I was a bit down as another vacation was drawing to a close. For the next hour or so I updated my blog which I had purposely fallen behind on. We went to bed around 1030pm.

Family Gathers

For some reason I never got my camera out of my back pack

at brother Bob's. Kaileigh couldn't attend due to the horse show

shown above. Here are some pics that Shelly sent us the following day.

I woke Saturday morning at none other than my standard 730am. I was pleased to see from my bedroom window that it was sunny and blue. I was eager once again to get downstairs and begin my routine. I felt like I had to execute sharply since we were planning to attend brother Bobby’s family yard party which started at noon.

Before going, I had to make buffalo chicken dip and a pie, and that was after doing my regular routine stuff. I ran along Trabue Rd.& Hague Ave. As I ran by St Margaret’s I remembered that it’s festival time, although the tell tale signs aren’t as prolific as they once were. There are no red, white, and blue banners hanging over the road any longer. It looked like dad was not home as I ran by his place.

I completed my run 9:40am. I was going to water flowers but Mindy had sausage and French toast all but ready. I wisely chose to delay the watering until after breakfast. The food was superb, especially the thick cut French bread French toast. After breakfast and clean-up I took to watering the flowers.

Mindy ran out to pick-up another can of chicken for our buffalo chicken dip recipe. While out, she also picked up two bags of ice & strawberries. I put the finishing touches on the dip when she returned and dumped the final concoction in our small crock pot. Come 1230pm we loaded our cooler with drinks and grabbed our swimming suits and left for brother Bob’s. We arrived just before 1pm. Dad pulled up just as we were unloading. He helped me carry my heavy cooler to the deck.

Present at the gathering were all of Bob’s family, Shawn, Kelly and kids, Tommy and Wally. Ashley, Olivia, & Lil’ Rocky. Charles’ family, Margie, Connie, Courtney, Lindsey, and Uncle Kenny were no shows. Bob already had corn hole and hillbilly golf set up out back. He promptly got to grilling shortly after Tommy arrived. He grilled burgers and hot dogs. After everyone ate the kids got to swimming. Most folks left during the early evening hours. Eventually we took the party inside when a rain storm blew in. Mindy and I stayed until 10pm hanging out with Bob & April. We had a nice time.

We decided to keep Lil’ Rocky with us overnight. He was excited to be spending the night. We set up an air mattress in Bella’s room like we so often do when one of the grand kids stays over. I walked Ykraps who held it at bay for 4 or 5 hours longer than he should’ve. He’s so good! After settling the kids we headed to bed ourselves.

Do You Have the Time To Listen To Me Whine...

Jeremy's IPA Rocks!!!
There’s nothing like waking in your own bed! I must’ve slept until nearly 8am. I was very eager to make a pot of fresh coffee, exercise, and run from home. I completed my usual chores before sitting down to read about my Vikings. After short stint on the internet I called about getting the garage door repaired. I called Budget Doors, which is located just down the road. They said they’d be over within the hour. Wow! That’s good service.

Next, I called the dining canopy distributor to order two new replacement poles. To my surprise, the grand total to have them shipped to the house was a whopping $8. That’s awesome. And to think I was ready to drive off and leave the canopy at the camp site. In fact, the biggest reason for not was not wanting to risk souring my reputation with the park officials by leaving trash behind. This pleased me. Mindy and the kids remained in bed. Some time around 9am Mindy finally appeared. She was happy to get some coffee. I shared the news about the garage door and canopy poles. Soon the door guy was there. It took him less than 20 minutes to replace both springs and tune it up. $170 later we were good to go. The door now operates quieter than ever, too. As much as I hate it when things break, I was thrilled to have the repair behind me. I could move on to the next thing! J

I left for a run soon after he departed. Our plan for the day called for having the grand kids over – Olivia and Lil’ Rocky. We made arrangements with Ashley who said she’d bring them over after Olivia’s doctor’s appointment. In the meantime, Mindy went to fetch Rocky’s B-Day presents and all the fixins for a small party. Bella went with her. I carried the rest of the camp gear to the basement.

Ash & the kids showed up while Mindy was away. I was in the middle of doing some cosmetic repairs to the boat and removing all the toys from the ski hatch so that it could have half a chance of drying out before storing it away. I peeled myself away from the task at hand and went in to spend time with the kids. Ashley left after I got settled, which even though I had forgotten, was the plan all along. She’d return around 730pm.

I enjoyed my time with the grand kids. Mindy returned home around 330pm with lots of stuff for Rocky. He was more than excited to have his B-Day party. Around 430 or so we celebrated his B-day. He opened gifts first. Next, we sang happy birthday and then ate cupcakes. The party wrapped up after a half hour or so. Ashley arrived early to pick-up the kids.

During the early evening hours Mindy made contact with Jeremy & Courtney, and her friend Erin. Both were planning to join us for dinner. We planned to cook burgers on the grill. It rained really hard during the early evening hours. This was the third day of rain in row. That has got to be a summer 2007 first! Erin arrived first. But Courtney and Jeremy weren’t far behind. Soon we were enjoying on another’s company. The burgers turned out fabulous. Jeremy brought some of his famous home brew. But this wasn’t just ordinary home brew. This was his IPA. I was taken back by how delicious it was. Really!!! It rivaled even Barley’s. Great Job Jeremy!!! Erin announced that they made an offer on a house in Canton. They’ve had an awfully tough time trying to sell their Galloway home.

Our guests departed before 10pm. And we didn’t stay up too long after they left – just long enough to clean-up the mess.

Drenched on Departing Day

What the hell is this? It's rain, and hard rain at that. It must’ve started somewhere just after midnight. Luckily there wasn’t any thunder or lightning – at least then. I kept hoping and thinking that it would eventually stop. Just the thought of tearing down camp in a down pour made me shudder. To my dismay it didn’t stop. If anything, it just rained harder and harder. And to make matters worse, thunder and lightning eventually accompanied it. It wasn’t long before we heard cries coming from the kids tent. Mindy did her very best to console them but after a few short minutes the cries continued. They wanted to come in our tent.

Somewhere through the early hours I heard a loud metal clang. I figured a raccoon knocked over a pan. Only problem was, we didn’t have any pans out. Later, when I went out in the driving rain to pee, I spotted the culprit. Our screenhouse/dining canopy collapsed onto the picnic table. I was certain that our new appliances (microwave, coffee maker) were damaged. It continued raining well past 9am. And ultimately Mindy brought the terrified kids into our tent. Oh boy!

I felt trapped. There I was stuck in a tent surrounded by huge puddles and our once dusty campsite nothing but a mudhole. How would we pack up in a down pour? When would I run? What about the boat? Did any of our appliances survive the rain and collapse? I was frustrated and so were Mindy and the kids. But sometimes you just have to suck it up. I got up and surveyed the damage as the rain continued falling. Our canopy collapsed after two of the poles buckled. Water poured from the coffee maker and microwave. Eventually Mindy joined me and we began planning our exit. I would go for a run and return with Mindy’s van, which was parked at the camp office lot. In the meantime, Mindy would begin the arduous task of breaking down camp from the inside out.

The run actually worked wonders on my mood. By the time I returned with the van it had stopped raining. That did nothing for our gear but made packing it a lot easier. We laid a big blanket inside Mindy’s van where we placed all of the rain and mud soaked tents. I loaded most of the hard gear in my Trooper. It was still fairly clean. The bottom of our tent was the muddiest. It went in a large hefty trash bag. Two hours later we were packed and ready to depart. We drove both vehicles to the camp dock and then walked back so that we could drive the boat to the dock from the cove. It was full of water up to the ski storage hatch. I had the pump running while we drove the vehicles to the dock. It had all but drained by the time we returned.

We didn’t fool around. Instead, we drove straight to the dock to load the boat for towing. As we readied it for the trailer the trim stopped working preventing me from raising the motor. I was scared it would drag the ramp and ruin the lower unit. We carefully pulled up and out until it was obvious that damage would occur if I went any further. As a last resort, Mindy tried one more time. Miraculously this time it worked and we were able to raise the motor to the trailering position. Woosh!
We were both stressed from a trying morning. We had no coffee and only a few small donuts for food. Mindy wanted to stop at Starbucks on our way home. I happily agreed. We stopped at the Powell Rd/ Rt 23 Starbucks. Yummy!

We made it home between 1 & 2 pm. Immediately, we began the painstaking process of unloading our gear and cleaning it up before stowing it away. Mindy took the inside stuff like laundry and coolers. I took care of the tents and crates. I set all three tents up in the back yard along with all the camping chairs and dining canopy (what was left of it). I washed all the mud away with the hose and allowed them all to dry in the happy sunshine. While toiling with the tents I took a whack at fixing the zipper on the old Winnebago tent that’s been broke for over ten years. I was able to fix it after all this time by pinching the zipper head closer together with a pair of needle nose pliers. While the tents dried I helped out inside by carrying the dry gear to the cellar.

Mindy went and fetched us a couple pizzas at Minelli’s. They went down easy. They were delicious! After dinner Mindy got the kids ready for bed with a real bath. And just as we expected, they went down easy. I went back outside to begin tearing down the tents. I was able to get all of them down folded and stowed. Honestly, they got packed way cleaner than they were before hand. And after allowing the microwave to dry out we verified that it worked flawlessly, and so did the new coffee maker. It seemed the only true casualties of our trip were the two canopy poles and Bella’s CD player. I found the 800 number for the dining canopy and part number for the poles. I planned to call the following morning. We'd have to get Bella a new CD player, too.

We enjoyed a beer or two before calling it a night and heading off to bed. What a day!

Hell Must've Froze Over

Just five short months 'til Xmas!

The sky was mostly clear as when we woke. Too, the temperature was a bit warmer than Tuesday morning. Oddly, the weather was coming from the Northeast. Once again I made a pot of coffee before setting out on a run. Mindy and the kids played while I ran.

While Mindy & Bella left for the restroom, Dad arrived to join us for some boating. It was about noon. He had made arrangements to take mom to her doctor’s appointment at 230 so he said he’d have to leave sometime between 130 & 200pm. We wasted little time getting out on the lake. Mindy suggested once again that I ski first to take full advantage of my dad’s presence. Good idea!

I was still very sore in my shoulders and lower back from the day prior but tried skiing nonetheless. I tried to slalom. After about five tries and moving Mindy to the front of the boat, I was able to get up. It felt great to slalom after all these years. I crossed the wake as courageously as I could. I tuckered after about five minutes and did the water drop. Mindy skied next. She did good, too.

After Mindy, Jacob got up the courage to try again. This time on the second attempt he got up and actually skied for about 6 seconds. We were proud and so was he. He tried one more time but couldn’t regain his mojo. He was just excited to have pulled it off once. After skiing we made our way to the south swim area close to the beach. We hung there while the kids swam for the better part of an hour. We left the swim cove around 130pm to make sure that Dad was back to his vehicle by 145pm. Mindy told Dad to bring mom back up after the appointment if they cared to. We headed back out to the lake for more boating and swimming.

We called it a day after spending the remainder of our afternoon in the north boat swim cove. There we swam, fished, and sunned.

About the time we got back to camp dad called to let us know that he and mom would in fact be returning together to the lake and would join us for dinner. Had hell froze over? Wow! Jacob and I headed off to find the men’s shower house. I hadn’t showered since Monday morning at home, and as you might expect I felt extremely grungy.

Jacob and I returned from our showers feeling refreshed. And it wasn’t too long before mom & dad showed up. By then we had dinner preparations underway. I had the grill lit for the brats and corn soaking in a large plastic bag. We decided to microwave the corn versus using up our precious firewood. The brats turned out exceptionally well on the grill, but the corn was nasty. It had no taste. I likened it to feed corn. But like good sports, we ate most of it anyhow. The kids got a kick out of throwing the naked cobs in the nearby brush to attract raccoons later.

After dinner we lit the fire where we all sat around talking. Mindy once again made the kids smores. I enjoyed few cold brews – raspberry, pumpkin, and Pale. I closed the evening by opening a bottle of champagne. Mom toyed with the idea of staying at camp but ultimately decided to leave with dad. We told her she could stay at our house. When they departed that was the plan. We went to bed around 11pm.

Ski & tube part one

Ready - Set - Tube!!!!

Tuesday morning was cloudy and cool. Any worry we had of being too hot was certainly cast aside. Everyone of us were chilled to the bone. It must’ve dipped well into the 50’s. Eventually I found warmth by placing my face under the sleeping bag. I got up around 730am – big surprise. I made a pot of coffee and had a few donuts before setting out on a run. I also walked to the boat just to make sure everything was still intact. It was.

The sky began to burn off during my run. I ran for about 30 minutes. After some additional coffee and a little Frisbee throwing with Jacoby I left for Paul’s Marine on Rt 23. At Paul’s I browsed all the new boats then bought the tail light kit I needed for my boat trailer. I returned to the camp grounds where I stopped off at the camp dock to install the light kit. That took about an hour soup to nuts.

I made my way back to camp where Mindy announced that Teri and Masimo were coming up. She went to shower while I entertained the kids. Teri showed about five minutes or so before Mindy returned. Soon all of us set out for a day on the lake. Tommy called to let us know that he was coming up too. He’d meet us at the dock. Masimo, Bella, Mindy, and Teri all tubed. Mindy did some more skiing. Jacoby would have none of it. Tommy met us around 2pm and immediately offered to pull me around on the tube. I hadn’t tubed in probably ten years. I got a good burn on to be sure. I rode that thing hard! I showed them all how to manage the tube a little. I was ore when I finished. We drove to the swimming cove when I was done. There we hung for a couple of hours. Tommy had to head in to work at 5pm.

He agreed to pull me on skis before departing. I skied on two until my arms tired. I tried to slalom about 5 or 6 times but to no avail. My arms were spent! We dropped Tommy at the dock and then returned to the lake for more fun on the water. We boated again until almost 6pm. Teri and Masimo left soon after we returned. Bella and I left to get more gas and ice on Rt 23 after starting the grill. We took the two empty 5 gallon containers. We got our gas and ice and returned around 7pm. When I retuned we prepped our fire for later and then began grilling our burgers. Our burgers wee delicious. Mindy had all sorts of fruit and veggies prepared to complement. I drank a few beers as we sat around the fire. Mindy made the kids smores. I had one too – my first ever. We went to bed around 11pm.

Let the camping begin

Happy 4th Lil' Rocky

Let the camping begin

I was up around 730am to begin our busy day and our family camp trip. I quickly knocked out my exercises, a walk with Ykraps, and my morning run. But even before setting out on my run I got the sprinkler running as part of my ongoing effort to keep the lawn lush. I was back home to get things underway before 9am. Before doing anything else, I spent a good 20 minutes thoroughly manually watering the flower beds, pots, and baskets.

With the watering complete, I got busy loading Mindy’s van with the coolers and bedding. We had both vehicles packed high and tight. I took a quick shower before setting out on our four day adventure in the woods. To accommodate the gear and the kids, Jacob rode with me and Bella with her mother. We had talked of departing around 10am but didn’t leave the house until nearly 11am. But that was fine. We were in good shape and had no real deadline. It wasn’t as sunny as I thought it would be. The sun continued ducking in and out of clouds all morning.

We stopped at the Hilliard Cemetery Rd Kroger to ice up the coolers. We had five of them! I bought four 22lb bags as well as a bottle of raspberry vodka. I noticed that one of my trailer’s taillights was hanging form the trailer frame covering the license plate. I told Mindy that I was going to stop at Paul’s Marine on our way up to buy the new light fixture.

Meanwhile, we were all getting really hungry. In our haste to get on the road we skipped breakfast. We agreed to make a pit stop at Wendy’s before getting back on the freeway. We arrived at Paul’s Marine only to discover that they were closed on Monday’s. Mindy seemed to remember that being the case from a trip I made up last year (good memory).

We went on to Alum Creek and arrived just after noon. The young woman at the park office let us know that we might not be able to set up camp for sometime yet. She said check-in wasn’t supposed to be until 1pm. She let us head in just the same. Our site – G29 was still occupied but we could tell that they were loading up. We parked in a nearby site and took a walk giving them plenty of time to clear the site. By the time we returned from our walk the site was clear and we began setting up.

Mindy and I worked well together setting up camp. It wasn’t too long before we had our three tents and screen house all set up along with all the other miscellaneous gear. We began preparing for an afternoon on the boat around 230pm. And just as we were ready to head over to the camp dock Bob Imber arrived. We all drove to the dock. Bob took his own vehicle to make his departure that much easier as he couldn’t stay too long.

Bob & Mindy tubed and skied. The kids got a big kick watching Bob tube. He did really well and took quite a pounding. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite as impressive on the skis. J And not to be shown up, Mindy got a rectal cleansing during an impressive water skiing tumble. She laid there floating in agony for several minutes all the while we looked hopelessly on unable to provide tangible help. She eventually recovered and then Jacob tried skiing. He had no luck, but we applauded his effort, anyhow. We cruised back to the dock to drop Bob around 5pm. He wanted to be home in time to greet Mary Ann. We wished him well on his coming trip to Ocracoke.

We boated & played well past 6pm when we finally called it a day and returned to our cove & camp. We could easily see our boat from our site. That made it really convenient. We prepared our dinner – chili dogs - and put the kids to bed in their own tent around 9pm. We went to bed ourselves just after 10pm.