Friday, October 31, 2008.
It was an odd Halloween with some ups and downs, but in the end, everything
worked out. Jackson got sick during the afternoon, so he missed trick or
treating on Main Street. The boys also didn't get to swing by my office
and we had to skip going to Claudville this year. Our friends Jeff and Samuel were
nice enough to take Ben with them to Main Street though, which is Ben's favorite
part of Halloween. Jeff was also nice enough to take lots of photos, which
was probably no small feat given how many kids were running around. We
eventually decided that Jackson was car sick from his bus ride and not suffering
from a stomach virus, so we ventured out, joining Jeff
and Sam again, this time going house to house in their neighborhood. Ben was
afraid of all the spooky things running around in the dark, so he stayed inside
the house with Timmesa, Megan and Matthew.
Thursday,
October 30th, 2008. Things didn't improve on the home front this week.
Amy got a call from the school nurse Wednesday. Jackson had pink eye.
Amy felt miserable yesterday, so it was a lucky break that Jackson's
pediatrician was too swamped to see him, choosing rather to call the prescription into
the drug store, saving Amy and the boys a trip to King and hours spent in a
waiting room full of other sick people. Ben is better and back in school,
but Jackson stayed home today with a cold and cough. Amy still doesn't feel better and it
didn't help any that I was out of town two days this week, which hasn't given
her much of a chance to rest. Tomorrow is
Halloween, so we're hoping everyone miraculously recovers by morning, because
it's going to be a long, busy day.
We had the carpets cleaned last week. The person that gave Amy the
estimate said that he would take the rug, clean it, then return it the next day.
But the people that actually took the rug were a little more vague and only said
that we would get it back sometime this week. Amy had to call three times
to get them to tell her exactly when it would be back. They told her she
would have it back on Friday. After arguing that she wouldn't be available
on Friday, they finally agreed to bring it back this afternoon. Guess
what, they hadn't touched it. Amy had to call back and complain.
After trying to convince her that they had actually cleaned it, they finally
agreed to come out and clean it at our house. We've got two boys and the
rug sits under the dining room table, so it's not hard to tell whether or not
it's been cleaned. Who takes a rug, then brings it back without touching
it? I doubt they even unrolled it. Amazing.
Last weekend, on the day that Ben developed his case of pink eye, I was on the
Kentucky/Virginia border paddling the Pound River and the Russell Fork of the Big Sandy
River. Friends Bob and Joe picked me up Saturday morning at six, we met
other paddling friends at the Pound River around ten, spent an exciting day
paddling and a beautiful evening camping in Breaks Interstate Park. It was a great group and I had a
fantastic time, both on and off the water. Bob and Joe cracked me up
almost the whole way there and back, which made the drive go quickly. We
had a lot of fun around the campfire that night as well. I've got photos
and a video
here. If
you watch the video, I am the nut sliding down the hill at the beginning.
The boys carved their pumpkins tonight and went to sleep excited about tomorrow.
Ben will be dressed as Indiana Jones, while Jackson will be Ben Roethlisberger.
And finally, to answer our visitor from Chili's question, both boys are
currently taking a break from karate class. Jackson is pretty focused on
other sports, specifically basketball which starts this week. Ben will
probably be the first to resume studying, although I'm not sure when.
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008.
I blame the blurriness of today's photos on the fact that it was too cold last
night to hold the camera steady. Jackson's team wrapped up their 2008 soccer season with a close, defensive
struggle in very cold, windy conditions. They lost 0-1
on a penalty kick, but played well, as did
the opposing team. But oh man was it cold. Deana, who along with Papa, came
to watch the game, left early, taking Ben with her, because it was just too cold for
the little guy. Amy meanwhile was making her own chilly walk, from the
Democratic headquarters to the public library to kick-off early voting here in
town. The walk followed a meeting that included Edie Falco from The Sopranos.
We've never seen the show, so that part wasn't as exciting
for Amy as the simple act of casting a ballot in this year's election in a state
that, according to the polls, will be very close. Ben,
Jackson and Amy all paid the price for being outside though. Amy had to go to the
doctor after waking to a terrible sinus infection.
She sounds and feels absolutely miserable. Ben,
whose cold, along with a case of pink eye, had disappeared over the weekend,
stayed home from school today due
to his cold's re-appearance.
And Jackson now has his own case of the
sniffles.
Friday, October 24th, 2008. Amy and Ben are both still under the weather. Amy had to cancel campaign work at the Democratic
headquarters as well as a movie night with friends, but hopefully it's just a
cold and will be short lived.
Last Saturday, we not only had the opportunity to watch our nephew Jimmy play soccer, but also to meet our nephew Jesse's girlfriend Savannah. Both were a pleasure. Jimmy has changed an unbelievable amount since we last saw him over the Summer. His voice is deeper and he's stretched out taller and leaner. It was the main topic of conversation all weekend.
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008. It's been a really busy week, so I'm
just now getting around to posting photos from the weekend. We went to
Colonial Heights for our niece Nicole's birthday party and stayed with Amy's
brother Alan and sister-in-law Charla. It was a great weekend and we
started missing everyone before we even made it home, especially Jackson who
cried himself to sleep Sunday night.
On Monday night Jackson's soccer team won the first game of their tournament
after two rounds of penalty kicks, following a 1-1 score at the end of
regulation and a scoreless overtime
period. It was a really fun game to watch because all the players on both
teams were cheering and rooting for their fellow players during the penalty kicks
and they all had great kicks. Jackson's team now advances to the
semi-finals on Saturday.
Amy's had a week full of errands while I have primarily been out of town, then
today, both she and Ben came down with some major cold symptoms. Jackson's
contacts have continued to go well and so far appear to be a great change for
him.
Thursday, October 16th, 2008. Today's photos are from last
Saturday's Autumn Leaves Festival. Each year that we have
attended the festival, the boys have each made a candle. We now have quiet a
collection of them on the mantel in their playroom. I think that finally
covers all the photos from the weekend.
This morning, things started off perfect. Everyone woke up on time, Amy
went to the gym, we had
cake for breakfast, except for Jackson who only eats oatmeal.
Jackson's first contact went in on his very first try, with no help
from an adult. Then things hit a bump. It took forty-five minutes to
get the second contact in, which made
him late for school and me late for work. I was very impressed though that
he stuck with it and didn't become discouraged. Part of the deal with him
getting contacts was that he would have to be mature enough and responsible
enough to put them in without Amy or I forcing him to do it. My fear was
that as soon as it became really difficult, he would stop trying. But this
morning, he came through like a trooper. I think that is a testament to
how helpful they are to him and to how much he, at this point, doesn't want to
wear glasses, because I personally would have been ready to throw the contacts out the
window after that many failed attempts. I'd also like to say that Amy and
I both miss the glasses, but how could we not after seven years, starting
here, when he looked
like this.
When I picked Ben up from pre-school today, he showed me his schoolwork. He held up one page and said "That's what I had to do for getting my name on the board" I asked him what he did to get his name on the board. In a non-interested cavalier tone, he said "Bad things." What bad things. "Lots of bad things." Who did you do bad things with, or was it just you? "Oh, it was just me." Apparently Ben doesn't really sweat getting into trouble the way Jackson did.
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008.
Today's photos are once again from Sunday. I really like today's un-cropped,
un-edited photo of Jackson from Sunday and the photo of Hama walking through the
field beside her grandmother's house that she once played in as a child.
Amy had a busy Wednesday that included, between taking Ben to pre-school and
picking him up, volunteer work at our town's Democratic headquarters and volunteer work at our elementary school where she tutors
reading. This afternoon included a visit with Jackson's third grade
teacher which went very well. It was a hot, pretty day that allowed
Jackson to shoot some basketball in the driveway and me to finally cut our
grass. And fresh out of the oven, Amy just pulled out the best cake made
from apples from the tree in today's other photo.
Tuesday,
October 14th, 2008. Today I'm posting photos from our
Pumpkin Patch gallery, which we started back when
Jackson picked out
this pumpkin at Millennium Charter Academy in 2001. This year, the
boys picked out their pumpkins from the same farm we visited in 2004. That
year, Jackson was the one struggling to carry his own pumpkin, this time it was
Ben. When we arrived at the farm, we found
this friendly little
fellow among the pumpkins. As most of you already know, Ben is
truly afraid of dogs, even his own. When the Basset Hound ran toward Ben,
Ben started running, screaming and crying in the other direction, zig zagging
along the row of pumpkins. The Basset Hound tried to match Ben's
quick turns, but somewhere along the way, his big ears and big paws got tangled
up with Ben's little legs and the two crashed in spectacular fashion. Ben
ended up on top of the poor dog with his arms wrapped completely around it.
I looked at Amy and said that only our little Ben could get wiped out by a Basset Hound. It was a little sad, and a
little funny at the same time, to see Ben laying completely on top of the thing
he was trying so desperately to get away from. The dog was really sweet
and Amy didn't mind sitting with it long enough for Ben to finish selecting his
jack-o-lantern.
Monday, October 13th, 2008. We had a great Sunday, spent primarily
in Virginia with the boys' great-grandmother. The day started with lunch at Hama's house, followed by picking apples and walnuts in her yard. Hama
then rode with us up the mountain, along the parkway, then back to Claudville
by way of Cana. We made stops to pick apples off a tree planted by one of
our great, great, greats in Bellspur, play football and pick up chestnuts at Hama's parent's
house overlooking Kibler Valley, pick out pumpkins at Painter's farm beside the parkway, drink
sodas at the Orchard Gap Deli, pick out more produce and candy at one produce
stand, then more at another. Hama was, as usual, wonderful company and it was
just a beautiful, relaxing day. Jackson played football at almost every
stop we made. He's really enjoying wearing contacts instead of his glasses
and has trimmed the time it takes to put them in from thirty minutes to seven.
With his friends Matthew, Samuel and Timmesa on hand to watch, Jackson played
the last soccer game of the regular season tonight, loosing 1-2 giving his team a
record of 1-4-2. I think he is having more fun playing soccer this year than any other
and continues to play his position well. His tournament starts next
Monday. Ben also finished his season tonight and came home with another
shiny medal for his trophy shelf.
Saturday,
October 11th, 2008. I'm very, very proud of my three racers. Amy
ran in this morning's 5K On The Greenway. Jackson finished 5th in the 1/2
mile Fun Run. And Ben ran in the five and under Fun Run. They all ran
fast and did very well. Ben probably surprised me the most, he doesn't
usually run that fast. Jackson has been running a mile each day during
recess and had a very nice pace during his race. Amy always amazes me when
she runs. I've got a 16MB video that includes clips, not only of Team
Heath, but also of many of our other running friends.
We ate lunch on a very crowded Main Street at the Autumn Leaves Festival. The boys went to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua during the afternoon with their aunt Deana, while Amy and I took a very nice nap on the couch. Then tonight, after supper, we closed the day out at the playground and on the basketball court. What a nice day. In other really big news, today was Jackson's second day with contacts. He's very happy about it and so far has shown great resolve in spending the time it takes to put them in. He's been taking his glasses off on his way into school this year, then putting them back on as he gets off the school bus. His prescription is strong enough that his pediatric opthalmologist says he needs to wear something all day, whether it be contacts or glasses. So hopefully contacts will be the answer and will be a positive change for him.
Thursday, October 9th, 2008. I spent my
weekend in beautiful Breaks, Virginia on the Kentucky border paddling the
Russell Fork of the Big Sandy River. Many, many photos and a trip report
here. We
had great weather, a relaxing campsite, action packed days on the river and just
tons of fun. This is a trip that I missed last year and I've looked
forward to it for a long time.
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008. Two of today's
photos are from our high school's soccer game last Thursday night. The
other photo was from Main Street during Mayberry Days. I met Amy and
Ben at Barney's for lunch and found that not only was James Best, the actor
that played Roscoe P Coltrain on The Dukes of Hazzard and that starred in one
really good Andy Griffith Show episode, in town, but so was the General Lee.
A Roscoe look alike ate at the table behind us.
While
I was out of town over the weekend, Amy took the boys to Ben's soccer game, a
friends house to play, the movies to see Igor, my grandmother's house to pick
radishes and peppers from the garden and to the playground for a clean-up
project with the Junior Women's Club. They also went on what Jackson
called "a REAL hike" that involved scaling a mountain, climbing under a fence,
twice, a picnic and the loss of two light sabers. I feel like I'm leaving
some stuff out, but they just did too much for me to remember it all. Both
boys had soccer games on Monday. Deana came to watch them and took
these great photos of Ben, as well as
these of Jackson.
Jackson's team played really good during the first half, but fell apart a little
in the second half, loosing 0-2. They've lost the last couple of games and
now have a record of 1-3-2. I still think they can win their last game
though and could possibly do well in the tournament. If they don't though,
Jackson has really enjoyed playing this year and has once again played with a
really good group of kids.
Today, after volunteering as a tutor at the elementary school, Amy picked up Ben, drove to Claudville to get my grandmother, returned to town to take Hama to the dentist, picked up Jackson, then drove back to Claudville to take Hama back home. As usual, the boys really enjoyed their time with their great-grandmother.