Preschool Pals

I took some family photos for an old friend last weekend. One of their kids was in Adler's preschool class this year. I knew they got along fine but didn't think they were particularly good friends. On this day, however, they sure seemed like pretty good buddies. They even jointly insisted, with no parental input or anything, that they get a few photos taken of just the two of them together. And they sure seemed to have fun with it.

T-Ball

Adler had his first ever t-ball practice and game over the weekend. We haven't had the best track record with organized sports so I wasn't too sure how it would go. One of his best friends from school is on his team though, and her dad is the coach, which I think helped the situation a lot. He said it was really fun and seems excited to go again.  

His catching skills aren't too good but about what you'd expect for a four year old. His ground ball skills need some serious help. His throwing was a mixed bag with some throws being really quite good while others were almost comically bad. He hit it pretty well though and batted cleanup for his little team where he finished off the the one inning game with a home run (thanks in part to numerous fielding errors by the opposing team).

"Tennis"

Kari and I have talked about going to play tennis for years but never actually made it. This year she got us a little closer with a Christmas gift of new racquets actually made in this millennium. But that was the middle of winter and they sat unused in the basement for months while it looked like our streak of not playing tennis would remain unbroken. Until recently this summer that is, when the boys decided they wanted to play. Kari has taken them many times and last weekend they let me tag along too. 

Neither one of us actually knows how to play and our lack of skill and knowledge about the game is probably destroying any chance the kids have of ever being any good. But it's a pretty fun family activity.

QOTD by Adler

Me: Adler, what do you want to be when you get older?
Adler: A plain daddy
Me: Are their different kinds of daddys?
Adler: No, I just want to be a plain one!
Me: If you could be something else also, what would you be?
Adler: A cash truck!

John

Landon and John are like two peas in a pod.  John is in LTs class and they are inseparable.  Luckily John belongs to the same summer pool that we do.  We had dinner with his family the other night at the pool and I was able to snap this picture of the two.

Helping at Manual

 I am on the Friends of Manual (my high school) board.  This year I co-chaired our biggest fundraiser, a breakfast with over 200 people.  The night before the breakfast we needed to set up the tables and get things ready for the big event.  I arranged for my parents to watch the boys, but Landon insisted on coming and helping.  He was a huge help and I was so proud of him for volunteering his time.  Giving back to others is something that has always been important in my family's life and I am encouraged to see Landon carrying on the tradition.  

He carefully put all the tablecloths on the tables and then artfully arranged the donation envelopes. I think the other adults helping were very impressed and I was incredibly proud of this little guy!  

Landon and Zack

Zack wanted a sleepover for his birthday party, with just one kid, Landon.  They played some mindcraft games, ate pizza, played monopoly, ate donuts and slept.  Sounds like a fun time to me!  Shawn sent me this picture of them, apparently they also played laser football (not sure what that is, but it looks like they're enjoying themselves).

Chronicles of a fun summer (so far)

I have been sending Brian pictures of all the fun we are having this summer and he suggested I put them on the blog (good idea, little time).  Rather than writing individual blogs for each event, I thought I would highlight some of the fun we have had so far this summer.  The boys are at great ages for nearly every activity and we have been busy.

 My dad and I took Adler hiking at Lair of the Bear one morning.  Unfortunately, due to the flooding last fall, our normal route is closed.  Instead we went up the path towards the castle, which was fun for Adler to see.

 We investigated rocks.

 Ate.

 Threw rocks into the river.

 And walked a long way in the heat. Afterwards we stopped at Glacier ice cream (best I have found in Denver so far!).

 We made our annual trek to Lakeside.  Not much changes from year to year except for the size of my boys. Landon is definitely outgrowing the kiddie area.

 We've had several picnics in the park (with playground time of course!)  Eating lunch outside, in the shade, on a hot day is one of my favorite things to do with these guys.

 Landon and I have been to Sunflower farms two times now, but Adler had never been. We met up with several of his friends from our old 'hood and spent a day at the farm.  He embraced the zipline as his older brother did the first time Landon went.

 And played for a long time in the magical treehouse.  

 Adler's class had a picnic on the last day of school.  This is his teacher and a few of his friends.

 Grandma and Papa generously gave us their Rockies tickets a few nights ago so that we could take the boys to a game.  Luckily our seats were close enough to see well, but under cover because it was raining.  We still managed to have a lot of fun and eat a lot of crappy ball game food!

Swimming, lots of swimming.  Its not the most conducive place for taking pictures, but we have been swimming nearly every day that its warm enough.  This week we swam with one of Landon's best buds from school.  In addition to the pictures, we have gone to White Fence Farm, mini golfing (twice), spent a day at the zoo, went to the art museum, played lots of tennis, gone to jazz in city park and countless other fun activities.   The summer is already going fast and we have so many other fun activities planned!  

only one trip to the hardware store

Yesterday was a pretty special day for me.

Not because we now have a trampoline in our yard, something I always wanted when I was a kid and can now enjoy vicariously through my kids (and not just vicariously either - I get to jump on it too).

And not because we assembled the whole thing in just one day (Mike Mulligan style!) with relatively few issues - we only had to make on trip to the hardware store to replace a locknut we lost in the grass.

What was so special for me was that my boys and I worked together to assemble the whole thing and they were genuinely helpful. They've "helped" with lots of little projects over the years but that help is usually anything but helpful. Today was different. Really I noticed the difference with LT but even Adler did some useful stuff and didn't interfere (see the photo of him digging with his little trucks) when he wasn't working with us. And LT surprised me at every turn with what he was able to do or ideas he had for how to approach things. Spending the day working on this together with him was just a really enjoyable and rewarding experience. He seemed to have fun doing it too, which just made it all the better for me.

I don't always feel like I come by parenthood very naturally and, it's hard to admit but, there are times when it's not particularly enjoyable for me. But neither was the case yesterday - it was one of the best, most pleasant and fulfilling days I can remember having in a long time.

You don't turn seven everyday

But LT did today!

Seven years ago yesterday, just as my lovely wife Kari was going into labor, I decided that I needed to go up on the roof to de-winterize our evaporative cooler for the summer. Great idea, huh? I've learned a thing or two about being a husband and father since then (and still have a lot to learn). It all turned out okay though - I didn't fall off the roof (that time), we made it to the hospital with plenty of time to spare, and LT was born the next morning. And the house was nice and cool when we brought our new baby home from the hospital a few days later.