The Cat Wants Freedom

Today's theme was gathering the cat from outside. Spot (Ashton named him) wasn't really sure what to do once he got out there, but he tried really hard several times to get out the door. Allen and Ashton realized that the cat should stay in and they would yell to alert me that the cat was trying to sneak by them when they opened the door. Abby, on the other hand, understood Spot's plight and helped him leave at least twice. When I asked her why she let the cat out, she would just reply: "Kitty Kitty outside!" She said it kind of triumphantly as if she did a great service that needed recognition.

Visiting Aunt Karin

The kids informed me early that they wanted to visit Aunt Karin's house and see Hannah on her birthday. Amber had intended on taking them on Sunday but plans were changed. We were only there for about an hour but the kids loved it. Prizes were buried in the sand box and although Abby wasn't interested, Allen and Ashton had a blast. We ended the visit with some popsicles and spending time on the swing set. It is always fun to visit my sister's house.

Stress

Right when you think that things might be going your way you realize that life gets just a little harder. Between work, school, and family obligations I feel today that I am falling behind a bit. I am taking a break from school for about 4 weeks and I really hope to catch up on some needed business.

I really need to get a new job. I wish I could just get my degree already and get on with life!!! I am really jealous that Amber has begun serious career work and I am spinning wheels a bit. I just feel unsettled.

The kids are excited that I have tomorrow off of work. Hopefully we can have some fun together and I can get my mind off of this stress if for just a short bit.

Blog Time

This is the part of creating a blog I was afraid of. I am being careful not to repeat anything I have written before but I am also feeling like I have to blog about something. I bet many people who create a blog hit this point. Maybe it separates the long term bloggers from the quitters.

Today the kids were going to be watched at home by a family friend. They love to show off the cool new things they have to visitors and this was a great chance to gather all of Allen's latest birthday gifts. He is interested in Pokemon quite a bit and that was the topic of conversation when I left. I apologized to the sitter and she just laughed.

A new band that seems rather cool is the Gogol Bordello. I heard it on an NPR podcast called All Songs Considered. Great show. They often will just air live performances from a club in Washington D.C. called The 9:30 Club. Many big name bands play there.

Allen's Birthday

Today is Allen's birthday! He is six years old. He drew a picture of himself as a missionary walking down the street. He is a great young man.

After resting my leg up this week I was able to go to work today. It is still very tender and it hurts quite a bit if I move wrong.

Amber has once again managed to cover all of the bases. She cooked a full dinner and prepared instructions for me to heat it up after I picked the kids up from day care. She rocks!

Tonight Ashton said a prayer in which she said: "if you are feeling unloved, get a hug and a kiss from your daddy." I felt loved :)

Abby and I played catch and tickle fest again. She was laughing quite a bit before she got cuddled.

My Knee and Harry Potter

Early this morning I was able to get an appointment with the doctor regarding my knee. He was generally irritated that I do not want to go into the surgery that was suggested months ago. It still hurts so I really am reconsidering what I should do.

I finished the last Harry Potter book. Amber finished it first so I only started two days ago. I liked it very much. The ending was satisfying in as much as I did not guess the ending but I was sort of close. I was extremely happy that I was able to read it.

My dad stopped by today. He was investigating the fuel oil tank. Gregg's family just left today so I know my mom was really feeling down. She did not come with him. He was here a brief while and shot the breeze.

Amber has been phenomenal the last few days. She has been bending over backward to help me feel better but also to take care of the house and kids. I love her very much. I have no idea how she has even more to do but still manages to do things exactly her way. I married a very special woman. If you are reading this, Amber, I owe you big time!

A Visit

Gregg, Allyson, and their kids visited today. They only stayed for a bit but it was nice to talk to them. Gregg's family is a responsible bunch and they do care about others. They bought an old PDA of mine for Kasey's birthday tomorrow.

Other than that, it has been an uneventful day. I have been trying to rest my knee up. It has been rather painful since yesterday. I hope it is okay when I get to work tomorrow.

Day with the Grandparents

Today was the big day. My parents went to church with all of their children and grandchildren today. It is always very special for my Mom because we are not sure how much longer she will be with us. We had two meals and spent lots of quality time with them. My Mom wanted to celebrate all of the grandchildren and she said something special about each of them. Then she gave them all a special gift and we had a birthday party for everyone. It was really a great time. I know it wore my parents out but they really value every moment they have with the family.

I Found This

71%The Movie Quiz

It was fun. Give it a try!

Day at the Lake

This morning Amber, the kids, and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie. I really liked it. Abby was not sold on the film and Amber and I tried to keep her entertained. As it ended up, Amber missed the end of the movie because Abby was all done with about 15 minutes left. Allen was the only one to watch the whole movie as Ashton and I left to use the rest room. When it hits DVD, we will watch it again.

After the movie we went to the Johnson's beach house. We met up with Geoff's family, Gregg's family, Karin's family, and my parents all ate dinner together at the lake. The scenery was very nice and the weather was great. Amber and the kids all rode on the boat. We visited and generally appreciated the fun times.

Tomorrow at church Gregg's twin daughters and Geoff's oldest daughter are getting baptised. It will no doubt be the highlight for my parents. I know they are really looking forward to it.

The Potter Book

I worked late tonight and went straight away after work to pick up the Harry Potter book. Everywhere I went was packed and there really was no avoiding lines. I picked the book up successfully and look forward to reading it.

Incredible Moments

I picked the kids up from day care and everyone was just ready to be home. Allen was being rowdy and Ashton and Abby were egging him on. I looked in the back seat to tell Allen to quit yelling and ended up telling Ashton that she has beautiful blue eyes. When we got home, I whipped dinner up quickly and we st down together to watch some Pokemon (which Allen loves). Abby wanted to be tickled and after a while she just began cuddling with me. A few minutes later, both Abby and I were asleep! She was very cute. After I got Abby in her bed Ashton, Allen, and I got some ice cream. Fun times.

Amber worked a long day and then cleaned the house at 8 p.m. while I mowed the lawn. She is unstoppable. If I had worked a 12 hour day, I would have gone right to bed when I got home. Amber is going to do it again tomorrow and it all starts at 7 a.m.

Oppertunity Knocks

A coworker offered to have Allen do a learn-to-skate for free. This includes skate rentals. I was immediately excited. I would really like to have Allen start playing hockey. It had been such an important part of my life when I was a kid, I would like to be there as a dad at this point. I hope he gets a chance to do it. More importantly, I hope he has the same reaction I did.

Today we finally got the car back since the accident! Three weeks... I guess there was much work for them to do. A seat, the whole door and front corner panel were replaced. It broke many little bits like the headlamp and folded the hood up a little. From the sounds of it the hardest part was getting the air bags installed and all of the sensors calibrated properly.

Allen, Ashton, Abby, and I spent some time outside. I pitched to Allen again while the girls rode bikes and chased the ball with me. It was a little humid but plenty of fun.

Family In Town

Geoff and Steph are in town to visit with their kids. They are tons of fun. It is great to see them and catch up. They are having their tenth wedding anniversary while they are here and perhaps we will go and watch the new Harry Potter movie together.

At the end of the week, Gregg and his family are coming as well. Everyone will be here to have children baptised in Hastings since my parents do not wish to travel.

Finally, Time With the Kids

Today I worked another long shift but I was able to get home before the kids had to get to bed. When I arrived home Allen told me to get outside quick so we could play catch. What he wanted to do was have me throw a ball for him to try and hit with a bat. He had played tee ball during the summer so I figured this would be plenty of thrown balls without many being hit. I was wrong. Allen hit five of the first six throws and two of them were hit pretty far. While he and I played, Ashton rode her bike and Abby would run to the ball and wanted to throw it too. It was a beautiful day.

Long Day

I worked a pretty long day today. I was there from 7am to almost 9pm. Ugh. I am glad I am home. Allen and Amber were at the 4H fair event today. Allen told me that he earned several blue ribbons. I am so tired, that is all I can think of for now...

Another Day of the Week

I worked today and my back hurt just like I expected. I feel good over all, though. I picked the kids up from daycare and it is always an adventure. Abby was all wet, Allen was ready to leave before I got out of the car, and Ashton wanted to keep playing on the swing set.

We got McDonald's (yeah, I know) and ran home. Amber was working today too and had some job firsts I will let her blog about. The new rental car is a tiny Hyundai. It is under 1k miles so it could be worse.

Abby was really tired so she needed extra attention. She and I had some laughs (which pretty much amounts to me letting her climb on me and I would tickle her) and Allen and Ashton wanted to play this on the DS.

Amber took Allen to the grocery store and they bought lots of stuff. While they were gone they brought me a Todd McFarlane 12" collectable figure of Martin Brodeur.

I Am Tired

I have had three days off in a row. In the last two days I dug a new trench to redirect a drain (much harder than it sounds) and patched some concrete on the front step.

The kids and I have been spending lots of time together. Today Abby wasn't feeling 100% and fell asleep in my arms when I was holding her. Allen read everyone a story (he needed very little help) that was over 30 pages long. Ashton was taught how to play Pokemon by Allen. Ashton also showed off some ballet dance moves.

I am completely whipped. I spent three hours digging up the trench for the drain and I have the blisters on my hands to prove it. I can also say with all certainty that my back is going to be very sore tomorrow.

Baby Princess

Today was incredibly hot as advertised. We spent much of it near air conditioning. I had the day off but Amber had to work from 3 - 11.

We turned the rental car in so no more Subaru. :(

Tonight I was in charge of putting the kids to bed. I am no stranger to this because I put the kids to bed many nights in the week. Allen and Ashton wanted to watch Pokemon so I took the chance to get Abby to bed. I sang her some songs and she kept telling me "Baby Princess" over and over in her impatient way. Amber had told me that she will sing a song called "Baby Princess" (those are all of the lyrics) sometimes but I had never heard it.

It was really cute and after I set her down, she stayed in her toddler bed for the first time! I was really happy that I didn't have to wait for her to cry herself to sleep and then pick her off of the floor. Yay!

Hot!!!

Today was really hot weather. I think it is going to be even hotter tomorrow. The kids could not sleep so everyone was up pretty late. Hot weather always means grouchy feelings. As I was writing this, Abby puked in her bed so now I am holding her.

Yet Another Saturday

Today was incredibly beautiful. Very warm and sunny. In my current work, that means a very slow and uneventful day.

I realized how quickly time is passing this Summer. Weeks are flying by. As I get older, time really goes by so fast. I remember being a kid and thinking that days wouldn't end. Now that I am 30, I will look back at a week that passed and wonder where the time went.

I think I am going to start posting little pictures from the day more and more in this blog.

Uneventful Day?

Today Amber and I both worked so the kids stayed at daycare. The daycare is a private home with just our kids by appointment. We met the woman who runs this daycare when she was an employee at a daycare that used to be in Lake Odessa.

The kids spent lots of time outside and were tired out when they got home. Ashton was quick to show me that the dog at the daycare had eaten the ear off of one of her Beanie Babies©. Before I dropped the kids off, Abby did not want to be put down when she saw this dog.

Day Off

Today Amber and I had the day off. It was nice to just take it easy. We spent some time outside (I think I have a bad sunburn now) and the kids had fun in the sandbox together. Allen, Ashton, and I played a couple of games of Clue Jr. and had a good time. As the day went on, neither Amber or I wanted to make dinner so we got a pizza, too. All in all, today was a pretty good Fourth of July.

A Rental

Today I rented a car. Normally this would be uneventful. I ended up with a Suburu Impreza. I have wanted this type of car in the past and this one is a 2007. It's quite a nice little car. I work with a Suburu enthusiast and he and I got to work at the same time today (of course). He told me I should buy one and he will help me trick it out. Ugh.

On a lighter note, Ashton got up late tonight and cuddled with me. She is very sweet.

Baby Houdini

Abby is the Houdini of clothes. If we dress her, she will get out of it. Including diaper. She completely strips down and runs around saying "potty" even if she just went. It's become popular with the kids and I am starting to suspect they may be conspiring against the adults...

Migraine?

Ordinarily, I don't get headaches. I think that I could count on one hand the number of headaches I have had my whole life. Today, I got a migraine. My vision blurred and I felt very odd. For a bit I was kind of scared something was seriously wrong with me. I was hot and then cold and all the while my vision was getting more and more blurred. After about 45 minutes the pain had set in. It wasn't incredibly painful, but it was uncomfortable.