June 2004
Wednesday
the 30th. Time to break out the baby gate. Benjamin
learned how to climb his first step tonight. And then immediately went up
eleven more. The boys made pizzas for lunch at a friend's house, then
Jackson had another night of swimming lessons.
Tuesday
the 29th. Benjamin went to see Doctor Gale today because we thought he might
have an ear infection to go along with all the new teeth coming in. He
hasn't been sleeping very well at all. He received a clean bill of health
though, perfectly healthy.
We
celebrated Hama's 85th birthday at Sagebrush in Mount Airy. Click
HERE to see last years big celebration and click
HERE to see photographs of Hama from the
Heath/Stanley Photo Album.
Monday
the 28th. Brooke and Landon visited today. After lunch, everyone went
to the
playground.
Sunday
the 27th. Dinner Club was a lot
of fun. Good food and good friends. It was fun to see Landon
cruising and Anita just three weeks shy of her due date. (
MORE PHOTOS )
Saturday
the 26th. Alan, Jimmy, Nicole,
and
Lexi all returned home to Colonial Heights this morning.
The house won't seem the same without Jimmy around. The boys spent the
entire day at home in their pajamas while mom and dad took care of projects
around the house.
Friday the 25th.
We had a fantastic time at the Arts Alive finale last night. Jackson loved
riding his scooter in the parade with lots of friends and family. Jimmy
was picked from the crowd to play the robber in The Bremen Town Musicians sketch
we were watching. And after the children put on a musical melody called
"Up, Up, and Away", our new friend Tareka Smith gave Jackson a van full of
balloons to take home. Today everyone, except myself, drove to Bluefield, West
Virginia to visit Jerry Ann and Charlie Miles.
Thursday
the 24th. Samuel came over this morning to play, then
Caleb came over after lunch to play for awhile.
Then this evening, the Arts Alive Camp had a parade down Main Street, followed
by a show at The Andy Griffith Playhouse. The show included Jackson,
Megan, Matthew, Samuel, Jimmy and Caleb. And after
the show, Jimmy's dad Alan, sister Nicole, and cousin
Lexi all arrived from out of town. (
MORE PHOTOS )
Wednesday the 23rd.
Papa had an
accident today with a knife while working on a truck in Meadows of Dan, VA.
He cut an artery in his arm and had to go by ambulance to the hospital in
Stuart. Luckily he was able to slow the bleeding with his thumb while
riding to meet the ambulance. Then once at the hospital, a surgeon was
able to suture the artery and sew up his arm, so he should be as good as new in
a few days. Before we found out about the accident, Amy, Jackson,
and
Jimmy were at the movies, and Benjamin was spending time
with Timmesa and Sam at their house.
Tuesday
the 22nd. Amy and the boys went to the library this morning and did
some shopping. Then
Caleb came over after Arts Alive camp to play with the
boys. They played computer games, had a water balloon fight, and cranked
up the sprinkler to beat the heat. I took the landscape picture in Fancy
Gap, Virginia while riding my motorcycle home this
evening.
Sunday
the 20th and Monday the 21st. Amy, Jackson, Benjamin,
Jimmy, Emma and
I all went on a camping/fishing trip for Father's Day. We roasted hotdogs
and marshmallows, made s'mores, fished, hiked, told ghost stories, and sang
campfire songs. Papa helped us carry our gear in and then returned with
Caleb for a little while after dinner. The trip was a big success, even for Jimmy and
Benjamin who were spending their first night out in the wilderness. (
more photos )
Saturday the 19th.
Just a regular fun day around the house today. Tonight we took Papa to Kyoto's
for a Father's Day dinner. The picture of Ben and the lemon are in the
order that I took them. He would lick the lemon, make the face, then laugh
and do it again. The boys helped me setup the tent just before
bedtime as a trial run. Tomorrow we go camping out in the woods for real.
Hope the fish are biting...
Friday
the 18th. Amy and the boys went to Main Street this afternoon where
Jimmy shot hoops at C&Ds. They also made stops at The Good Life for ice
cream, Mr. Mike's
train store (Ben loved it), and a store where Jimmy was able to play Yu-Gi-Oh.
And while they were doing all that I logged about 220 miles on
the bike riding to Hickory, NC and back.
Later in the evening Jimmy, Jackson, and I visited Mike and Jennifer Heath in
Stuart, VA.
Thursday
the 17th. When Jackson saw Jimmy's
rock climbing photo he wanted to
know why I hadn't put him in a rock climbing picture. So when he dressed
up in his knight costume, I told him I would try to put him in real knight
scene. He asked that a dragon be in it, so this is what I came up with.
We have have recently read a couple of my favorite books as a boy, Sir Toby
Jingle's Beastly Journey and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
Jimmy faired very well today, even
though his burn has turned into a big blister. Today was the last day of
Arts Alive and he volunteered again. I drove by and saw
him and a new
friend helping out with the water balloon fight. I can't wait to see
Jackson in the Arts Alive parade down Main Street and the final show at the Andy
Griffith Playhouse next
Thursday night. After dinner, Jimmy and Amy went to the Downtown Cinema for
the 7pm show and saw the original Freaky Friday.
Wednesday the 16th. Jackson
had another fun day at Arts Alive camp where Jimmy was
apparently the target for about 20-30 three and four year olds armed with water
balloons. The sun came out this afternoon for the first time this week, so
Amy took the boys to the pool at Homeplace. Papa took Jackson to his eight
o'clock swim class, Mo visited with Amy and Ben, and Jimmy and I went for a late
evening bike ride. Jimmy enjoyed the
ride through the foothills very much, but unfortunately burned his leg on the
pipes while getting
off the bike.
Tuesday
the 15th. Jimmy volunteered again this morning at Arts Alive and
Jackson said "Daddy, I had a MUCH better day than I had the first day!"
I think he really is having a good time and I hear that Jimmy is doing a great
job helping out the teachers. Jimmy borrowed a camera last night and took this
excellent picture of Ben getting a
bath in the sink (the lizard is not real).
This afternoon Amy sent a
photo
of dessert to me at
the office. Boy does she know how to make the clock stop in its
tracks.
Monday the 14th. Jackson has
Arts Alive camp this week. Amy, Ben, and Jimmy planned on dropping
Jackson off this morning, but Jackson wouldn't let them leave. So Jimmy
worked as a volunteer while Amy waited with Benjamin. After supper
everyone went to the
playground, then while Jackson went to
swimming class, Jimmy, Benjamin, and I shot hoops.
Sunday
the 13th. Jackson spent the morning racing scooters and playing games with Grandma Sue's neighbor Amaris Correll.
The boys' cousin Jimmy
came back with us to spend a week or two in Mayberry. We are very
happy to have him with us. Our hope is that a couple more of Jackson and
Benjamin's cousins will get to spend time with them this summer. We got back
late in the evening, but still had just enough time to hit the
playground before calling it a night.
Saturday the 12th. We drove
through the worst electrical storm we have ever seen on our way to Colonial
Heights last night. The lightning was actually blinding. So of
course the playground at Tussing Elementary was under water, but that just made
it more fun. Jackson said "This school has swamps!" And after that we went to
Jimmy's house
for his nine year old birthday party. (more
pics)
Friday
the 11th. Amy is doing a great job of keeping the boys out of the house and
having fun. Yesterday they went to Chuck E Cheese in Winston-Salem and today they went to
the pool at Homeplace. Click
HERE to see a
MOVIE of Amy, Ben, and Jackson in the pool.
I am very jealous that I didn't get to go swimming too, but Eric and I did get
to ride the bikes some at lunch.
Thursday
the 10th. I took this photo on my way to Hickory this morning.
This wayward cow caused quite a lot of chaos
on I-40. (The
Hickory Daily Record ran this pic on the 12th.)
Wednesday
the 9th. Amy took the boys to the Downtown Cinema this morning to see An
Extremely Goofy Movie and then to the Eads' house for a play date.
Tuesday
the 8th. I was home from the office this morning and tagged along with Amy
and the kids for a walk to the library. On the way we saw and spoke to
lots of nice people who were either enjoying the morning from their porch or
working in their yards. One very nice lady, who was heading out for a walk
to the drug store, came off her porch to see the
boys. I would have guessed that she was in her late 70s, so we were amazed
to find out that she is 95 years old. She told us about her swimming, walking, and exercise regimen
(she learned how to swim for the first time at 79!). And told us how important it is to eat healthy and to not smoke (She said that
smoking takes 13 years off your life). She has lived on Spring Street for 63 years and thinks we live in a very nice neighborhood
(never had a bit of trouble.) Amy and I agree with her.
We
also saw a group of police officers in front of the Police Department on our
walk to the library and Jackson yelled "Good Morning Police Officers!".
Officer Ronald crossed the street to shake Jackson's hand and to give him a
badge making him an honorary officer. Our friends, the Eads, were at the
library when we got there and we all had fun reading stories with the kids.
After the library, Matthew walked home with Jackson to eat pizza and play.
Monday the 7th. Benjamin had a
follow-up one year doctor's visit today and got a whole bunch of shots that made
him cry. Tonight Jackson went to the first night of his four year old
swimming lessons. He is lucky enough to have Miss Allison again for an
instructor. She taught Jackson's two year old swimming class and he liked
her very much..
Sunday
the 6th. The boys had a play date with the Eads at home, while I rode my
bike in the
Elk's Lodge poker run fundraiser for
Brenner Children's Hospital. While playing in his Spiderman costume,
Jackson fell into the coffee table and busted his bottom lip. He was fine
by the time I got home, but his little lip is still swelled up.
Saturday
the 5th. We followed a 4-wheeler ride this morning with a walk to the Good
Life for ice cream. And we followed that up with some Elmo
sprinkler fun. I don't know who had more fun, Benjamin,
Megan, or Jackson. Ben Ben was thrilled to be
walking in the yard with water spraying him in the face. Later in the
evening Jackson and I went to the Mount Airy Old Time and Bluegrass Fiddler's
Convention.
Friday
the 4th. A few weeks ago Jackson said "Daddy, why is every day office
day, office day, office day?" We talked about it and decided it would be a
good idea for me to take a day off to spend with the family having fun. So
we made plans to spend the morning picking cherries at
Levering
Orchard, lunch having a picnic, and the afternoon swimming. Well,
the rain washed all those plans out, but when life gives you lemons, you make
lemonade. We packed a lunch and headed to Winston-Salem and
Sci-Works,
then topped the evening off with a movie night at the house (Herbie Goes
Bananas). ( more photos
)
Thursday the 3rd. Jackson met
his friend, Brock, at the playground this
morning for a play date. Then after dinner the family went to see
Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo at the Downtown Cinema, which was a hoot.
I remember watching the Love Bug movies when I was a kid. Jackson loved it and cheered out loud for Herbie when he won the race. We
took the picture of Ben at the piano this evening and because we have one just
like it of Jackson, I put them side by side.
Wednesday
the 2nd. Not to waste a gorgeous day like today indoors, the boys
started bright and early with a walk to daddy's office, followed by a stop at
the neighborhood school's playground on the way home. They then went for a
picnic lunch at
Horne Creek Farm in Pinnacle, NC. Megan,
Matthew, and Samuel were there as well and joined the boys in grinding corn,
petting the animals, touring the farm house,
and exploring the farm. Later in the
evening the boys went to the new playground to
see Katie Brintle and to
get just a little more play in before bedtime. Big Day! Everyone,
mom and dad included, was asleep by 8:30.
Tuesday
the 1st. Today was picture perfect in Mount Airy, just beautiful weather.
Amy and the boys spent the morning at the library and the
playground. Last night Anita and Steve stopped by to see the boys.
Their baby boy, James Allen, will be here in July, so Steven was able to
practice some with Benjamin.
