Summer of '09

So my blogging has gone from daily to weekly to monthly. I guess that's what happens when you get interrupted by life right? Since we last met, a lot has happened.



First, our fence blew down. Al and I went to Lowe's, bought all of the necessary repair materials, and he and the boys got ready for a little DIY work. The first step was to dig up what was left of the poles. Our neighbor suggested that Al simply dig holes next to the existing posts, but Al was worried they would be off center so he decided to reset the poles in their original location. Unfortunately he didn't realize that the original hole had 4 ft of existing concrete as the base. It only took them 2 weeks of working every day after Al got home, in 100 degree heat no less, to empty the holes.

Finally, it was time to put the new posts in. I don't know firsthand, but it seems like that was the easiest part. They got the posts set in one afternoon, and then we headed off to the mountains.



We went to the mountains with Bob and Lucy and stayed in a condo in Fraser, Colorado about 5 miles from Winter Park. The boys left with Bob and Lucy on Wednesday and Al and I followed the next day. It was my first time visiting Colorado, and it was also the first time Al and I had taken such a long drive alone. We actually had to talk to each other. Anyway, everyone had a fabulous time. We started out in Denver at the Coors brewery, and thanks to their free samples, I got the privilege of driving up the 10,000 ft mountain. Oh did I mention I'm deathly afraid of heights?

The next day everyone went to Winter Park Resort to enjoy the ski lift, alpine slide, and mini golf. I wasn't feeling well so I went out to the resort later in the afternoon. I ended up getting a very bad case of altitude sickness, but thankfully I had my CPAP to go home and put back on while I napped.

On Saturday everyone enjoyed the tennis and racquetball courts at the condo, and after I started feeling better we went to a city nearby called Grand Lake and walked along the boardwalk. We went to the rodeo that night and the boys really enjoyed it. It was Al and the boys' first rodeo, and I think they were most excited by the bull riding.

On Sunday Our cousins Bill and Cheri, and Cheri's husband came up to the condo for a visit. Both Bill and Cheri live in Denver. We had a great visit, went to lunch, and had great conversation. Bill even teased Christian by asking him if he wanted to drive his Mercedes to the restaurant.

On Monday we went home, and Al and I saw a bear on the drive down the mountain. The boys stayed for two more days with Bob and Lucy and enjoyed a boat ride, horseback riding, white water rafting, and a soak in a hot springs pool

I'm sure that you'll never guess what I've been doing with the rest of my time...besides writing grants that is. OK, you're right...I've been enjoying my grandson as much as possible. He is getting so big so fast. He's crawling all over the house and pulling up. He also has 6 teeth and he's trying to say Grandma. The only three things he really says are "gaga" which I believe is Grandma, "gug" which must be dog because he says it every time he sees Riley, and "baba" for everything else. Oh and that boy does know EXACTLY what he wants. He has this new thing that he does which is squeeze his eyes shut and turn his head when he doesn't want you to feed him (I don't have a picture but it sort of looks like he does in the picture above) and he likes to yell when he's mad.

I had to take this picture because he was sitting in Al's lap and he kept looking up at the picture of Christian and waving. I thought it was so cute and couldn't help notice the resemblance. In the shot, Logan is 10 months and standing by Christian's 12 month picture.

This was funny. Logan was lying on Christian and Christian was trying to take a nap. He ws hoping Logan would go to sleep too but Logan kept whining. When I went to pick him up, he had had a blowout and had poop all up his back. It totally grossed Christian out and he was convinced that he had poop all over him too.




Logan is so curious and he loves to get into anything that he shouldn't. You can see how he reacts above when his momma (or anyone else) tells him no. I love him so much and sometimes it is hard to tell him no, but he has to learn to start obeying (even at this age). I can't stand it when people don't start teaching their kids to obey at an early age and then wonder why they are so rowdy at 5 or 6.




These are some pictures Alyssa took of a visit that Andy's mom and brothers made to Manhattan. The guy in the red is Chris (he's the middle son) and the one in blue is Wes, Andy's oldest brother. I really like the picture of the three brothers and Logan. Don't they all look alike? I do hope Logan is blessed to get at least a little of the Owen's height.

Like I said Logan loves to get into anything he's not supposed to, but he especially loves remote controls. What is it with the Y chromosome and remotes? We give hime the old ones with no batteries to play with at Grandma's house. However, he has figured out that ONE very special remote makes my bed go up and down like an amusement park ride.



As you can see, we are all enjoying every minute that we get with Logan, and sometimes Alyssa even comes to visit. More often than not we meet her halfway between our homes and exchange that very valuable package so she can get a little break. However, last week she was here for 4 days, and I loved hanging out at the house as a family again. Logan has the right idea in the picture above. I think he was saying "I'm number one around here and you better not forget it."

Independence Day Weekend

It was Logan's first Independence day and we thought we would be brave and take him to the Omaha Royals baseball game and firework show. Al and I took the boys to the game last year and it was great, and Alyssa really wanted to see some good fireworks this year since she didn't get to see any last year. However, I worried about some of the obstacles we would face by taking a baby.

The first problem was the weather. What do you do in July heat with a 9 month old for 6 hours? Second, the crowds. We had to make sure we streamlined what we took in because seating is tight and it is crowded in Rosenblatt Stadium. Third, the parking. Al, the boys, and I took the school bus shuttle from Oakview Mall last year and that was super easy, but I did not want Logan riding on the bus without a car seat so we needed to drive. That meant fighting the traffic, finding parking, and paying out the WAZOO for it. Normally it is $20 per car.

So we planned ahead, got tickets under the cover to combat some of the heat and sun issues, strategically packed Logan's bag, and left very early (4 p.m. for a 6:30 p.m. game). After only about 30 minutes of confused right left, and illegal turns, we lucked upon a spot that was free of charge, relatively close, and that would be easy to exit from. Yay.

The weather was very iffy for the night. It had rained a little in the afternoon, and the forecast was for rain that evening. Thankfully, in trying to avoid the sun, we had also set ourselves up for protection against rain, so we weren't really worried about getting rained on in the stadium. However, walking to and from the car would be a different story. Al was prepared and this is how he protected himself and Logan.

I can't tell you how excited Logan was to be riding his Grandpa's belly. As soon as Alyssa hooked him in, he started kicking his feet and waving his arms and laughing. Then, to make matters even cuter, as soon as Al started walking he started bouncing up and down with Al's stomach. It was too cute. Also, it wasn't raining when we walked in and the weather was cool and breezy. It was perfect.

When we got to the gate a police officer said "No umbrellas!" So we unhooked Logan and waited outside the gate while Al took the umbrellas back to the car. Alyssa and I sat at some picnic tables and took pictures of Logan while we waited.

After Al got back we went in to the stadium. The boys, along with their friend Kevin, had already gone in and sat down. We got seated and waited for about 45 minutes for the game to start. Alyssa had never been to Rosenblatt and she enjoyed her first (legal) beer and brat with her Dad.

Early in the game a couple got engaged on the big screen. It was pretty exciting.

Logan was so good and he took turns sitting in everyone's lap.

There were some sprinkles after the 8th inning and then the game went into extra innings. At the beginning of the 11th inning the bottom fell out and it poured rain. At first they covered the field and called a delay, but finally they rescheduled the game. They did announce that the fireworks would still go off, so many people stayed and waited it out. We felt sorry for the people who weren't under cover, but we just sat in our seats and watched it rain. All the while we remained dry and cool.

Logan kept himself occupied playing with the metal number plates on the back of the seat.

Finally, at 10:30 the rain had let up to just a slight drizzle, and the fireworks began.

Logan loved the fireworks. He did jump a couple of times when there was a really loud boom, but then he would laugh. We had ear plugs in his ears, so he was probably better off than the rest of us. The fireworks were amazing, and since some people had left early, the boys and Alyssa were able to move up a couple of rows for a better view. Al and I stayed put, but we had more elbow room since the kids moved. During the next to last song Logan started getting sleepy. He rubbed his eyes once and then wham, he was sound asleep. The ear plugs must have worked pretty well because he slept through the finale.

So, even though I was a little skeptical about taking a 9 month old to a baseball game, we had a really great time. I think we really lucked out because everything that could have gone wrong went right. We had great parking, good seats, and a very tolerant baby. I just don't know how he'll do next year as a 21 month old toddler. Maybe we'll just park and watch the fireworks from the car.