November 2015

This month started and kept going very quickly, but by the end of the month, we found ourselves at home for 3 straight days without much to do except for decorate for Christmas, hang out and play with some overdue time together. 

On Nov. 1^st, I was off to Minnesota again to complete the computer implementation I’ve been working on.  I was there for a week and it went pretty well.  With all of these projects there are always issues that come up and things that need to be dealt with, but overall, it was a pretty impressive accomplishment to get it done in less than 2 months.  Now, there are still several hurdles to get through, starting with another trip in December to see how they are doing, but as I mentioned, the trip to Minnesota is pretty easy in comparison to other Hurco trips.  As I was leaving, both girls had fevers and Sarah just flat out didn’t feel good.  Randy and Anna were around to watch Sarah since she was sick.  The fevers, daylights savings and my travel really affected the girl’s attitudes and everyone was ready for me to be home and share some of the parenting responsibility! 

We had our most social weekend as parents in a long time.  We had babysitters 3 consecutive days and really enjoyed ourselves.  We went to dinner with the Foulkes and to the Miles housewarming party.  We went to our neighborhood’s progressive dinner.  Finally, we went to a Friends Thanksgiving at the Steffey’s house.  It was good to see so many people over that weekend, especially since things have been so busy for us.  On top of that, it has been great that our girls have no problem with us leaving them with babysitters, which really helps us feel better. 

During the middle of the month, Deb went to  Chicago for some professional training.  She stopped by and visited the Ragos on Friday night and then enjoyed some typical Chicago weather that brought about 6 inches of snow.  Luckily, she didn’t need to leave her hotel so it didn’t really affect her that much.  The girls and I spent the weekend hanging out around the house.  Beth and Matt came over on Saturday morning to allow me to do some work.  Mom went to church with us on Saturday evening and came over for dinner and a movie with the girls. I took the girls over to Mom’s on Sunday to complete a project for work and run a few errands since Deb got home on Sunday evening around 9PM. 

We were in Indy for Thanksgiving this year and we spent the afternoon and evening at my mom’s condo.  We were joined by the Symmes, the Wahmans, the Dodsons, Mark and my mom.  The girls enjoyed running around and playing with everyone, including hide and seek with Uncle Frank.  In our typical fashion we shot free-throws and Debbie made all of her attempts.  We spent Thanksgiving morning catching up our yardwork outside since it was 60 degrees.  With a rainy weekend, we didn’t leave the house much except for church and enjoyed hanging out (including a movie night- with popcorn of course) and starting to decorate the house for Christmas. 

Sarah’s Things of the Month

            We started swim lessons again this month. Sarah already graduated to a swim class by herself so Deb no longer is in the pool with her.  She loves it and really excels at the class.  My traveling has caused Sarah’s “daddy phase” to really get worse this month, but like all things, I’m going to assume it will end at some point. 

Allison’s Things of the Month

            Allison really is doing well with swim lessons also.  She is letting her instructor throw her in to the water at the end of class doing a “cannonball.”  Allison does a pretty good job playing with her sister even though Sarah is 2 years younger than her.  We have been able to leave them alone for a decent amount of time without them arguing too much. 

A few more items from this month:

• Deb was able to attend an open house at where Allison will be going to Kindergarten.  Deb was able to get a lot of questions answered and I think felt pretty good about the experience.
• Deb and I went to the Colts vs. Broncos game which is probably Peyton Manning’s last game at Lucas Oil stadium.  The Colts won a close game and Deb got us great seats from work. 
• We were able to attend the Friends Thanksgiving at the Watkins house.  It was a great time as it always is and we were able to catch up with the normal crew. 
• We went to “thanksgiving” at school for the girls and enjoyed eating lunch with them. 

October 2015

This month has been a busy one for sure, but not the type of one that really fills up this blog.  I’ve been working a lot in the evenings and weekends, along with a week-long trip to Minnesota in the middle of the month.  Needless to say, our family is overdue for just a “normal” week, which probably won’t happen until after Christmas. 

During the middle of October, I was off to Minnesota for my 5^th time since mid-July.  There are plans for trips once per month in November, December and January.  The domestic travel is so much easier to me than the international travel.  I leave on Monday morning and am back by Friday for dinner with the family.  Not ideal for our family, but it works and Deb and the girls have dealt with these trips pretty well. 

Halloween was a lot of fun this year.  Allison was Elsa and Sarah was Anna from Frozen.  Anna made the costumes again this year and they were great.  It was fun to watch Allison walk into school and see 3 other Elsa’s and the other girls were pointing out how great Allison’s costume was in comparison to theirs!  We hosted the neighborhood pizza party in our cul-de-sac and it sure is great to meet more and more people each year.  The weather was much better this year, so the girls really enjoyed trick or treating with their friends, Henry and George.  We didn’t hit up every house, but we did go all around the block for the first time!  Next year should be really great because Sarah will possibly be able to keep up with Allison and we may not even need the wagon, except to carry the beer!  Randy and Anna came on Halloween and enjoyed hanging with some of the neighbors they have met over the years.  Mom, Beth, Matt, Mark, Frank and Jan also came over to see the girls and all brought treats for the girls to enjoy!

Sarah’s Things of the Month

            Sarah has started waking up even earlier with the daylight savings time change.  She can be up as early as 5:15AM.  This can be a real drag on us, but we try to remember that Allison went through these phases and it usually passes after a few months.   Just makes is hard to get ready for work with a tired toddler hanging around you!  We do need to remember that she is only 2 and a half, since we typically talk to her and treat her like she and Allison are the same age.  Sarah had her first real injury and had to make a trip into Deb’s clinic.  Allison tried to pull her up on the bed and it hurt Sarah’s elbow.  She was a great patient and wore her splint for a few days until her elbow felt better.

Allison’s Things of the Month

            Allison really enjoys playing “school,” “family,” and “doctor visit.”  Her imagination is pretty good where she will really have an entire conversation or game going on by herself.  And if Sarah is invited, Sarah needs to make sure she plays by the rules Allison has established for the game! 

A few more items from this month:

• We went out to dinner with the Andersons early in the month to a new BBQ place.   The bourbon selection was unbelievable, so Jeremy and I enjoyed a few drinks. 
• We had to replace our water heater this month, which means the only appliance we haven’t had to change so far is our water softener and the fridge in our basement. 
• For the 8^th year in a row, we walked in the “Light the Night” fundraiser for LLS.  We do this in memory of my dad and once again we had great weather and company. 
• Deb and I went on a date night to Harry & Izzy’s steakhouse.  We enjoyed running into Mo and Mike Obenchain and Brent and Tracie Fisher
• I had a guy’s night with Naab and Norris at Sahm’s.  I enjoyed some beers with them and catching up on what has been going on over the last few months. 
• Deb and I went to a fundraiser at Woodland Bowl.  After warming up a game, I bowled a 204 during the 2^nd game!
• I went to a Colts game with Ferrand and the Steffey’s.  It was great to catch up with these guys, but man, the game sure wasn’t worth it!
• We started getting quotes to remodel our mudroom, laundry room and hallway area toward the back entrance to our house.  We are wanting some cubbies for our coats and shoes, along with some new flooring in our laundry room and a new door coming in from the garage. 
• We took the girls to the zoo and of course enjoyed a ride on the carousel. 

September 2015

September 2015

Well, this month has gone by like every month does for us now-a-days, really fast!  As I’ve said before, we find ourselves on the go as much as we used to be before kids, but now have 2 girls to bring along with us. 

Our month started off with Labor Day weekend where we spent a majority of our time at my mom’s condo hanging out with family.  The girls played well with their cousins and enjoyed time with everyone.  The weekend had several activities, including playing in the lake and painting nails for the girls.  I was able to hang out a few late nights after taking an Uber over, which just reaffirmed the nickname “Uncle Uber.”  On Monday, Allison and I went to Frozen on Ice and she was so excited to go.  We weren’t quite ready to bring Sarah, so she and Mom had their own fun while we were gone. 

Barbs & Ralph were scheduled to come visit for 4 days in mid-September, but that was cut short because the baseball team that Ralph works for won their championship.  After they made the last out, Barbs & Ralph drove all night to get here by 8AM to hang out with the girls.  We appreciated their desire to spend as much time as they could with the girls and the sacrifice it took to drive all night.  The girls enjoyed hanging out with them & their dog. 

At the end of the month, we made our way over to Ohio to visit Laura and her family.  Although the kids had their frustrating moments all weekend, it was a fun visit and the kids got along for the most part.  It was the first time that Allison had a “sleepover” where she slept the first night in a bed with Grace and the second night with Claire.  We went to the soccer fields to watch the Vandervaart kids play soccer.  We had fun between games playing freeze tag and soccer with the kids.  Between the bounce house, the hot-tub and everything we had to do, it was a good weekend of just hanging out. 

            I made two trips to Minnesota this month and that trend will continue for a while longer.  After we acquired the 2 companies in July, it became a necessity to get them up and running on our software which is something I’ve done before, just not this urgently.  I will likely make one trip per month in October, November and December and then hopefully everything will settle down. 

Sarah’s Things of the Month

            Sarah has started playing soccer at school and seems to enjoy it.  She continues to get more vocal and at times, bossy when it comes to her attitude.  She will frequently fly off the handle about something that isn’t really important, and maybe it is what most 2 year-olds do, but we don’t recall Allison acting like this. 

Allison’s Things of the Month

            Allison went on a field trip with her classmates to a farm and really enjoyed it.  She picked apples and really liked taking the bus.  Allison also had a follow-up appointment to see how she is doing with her new glasses, which it sounds like she is doing very well.    

A few more items from this month:

• Deb had a girl’s night with some of our friends and went to have sushi. 
• Deb and I met out Tom and Tracy at a new brewery nearby called The Blind Owl.  We had a good time catching up with them. 
• Deb had a girl’s night with some of our Purdue friends at Cooper’s Hawk winery. 
• I was able to head out to see Geddes & Depp on a Sunday evening to watch some football. 
• Deb went to a jewelry party at a neighbor’s house and really enjoyed meeting some neighbors. 
• Deb and I went to Colts game on a Monday Night.  It was probably the first game we had both been to since 2011.
• Mom and Chelsea stopped by on a few evenings to hang out with the girls and enjoy dinner with us. 
• We had dinner with our neighbors the Sniadecki's on Labor Day.  Lots of water play and good food.

August 2015

August 2015

This month marked the 25^th year in a row (yeah, my family LOVES traditions) that we have enjoyed a weekend up near St. Joseph, MI.  These weekends have always been a highlight of the summer and it is great to see another generation getting excited about this trip.  As the girls get older, the trip becomes much more enjoyable as they are able to play with their cousins and we are able to do more fun things with them.  We arrived on Thursday and after we unpacked the car, we went to town for a walk on the beach.  After our carousel ride, we found a great place for dinner and enjoyed some ice cream.  After that, we rented a 2 person bike with a bench for kids and drove it around town for a half hour.  It was quite the work-out for Deb and I, but the girls loved it and enjoyed waving at everyone.  Another benefit this year was Deb was able to get the “Kids Suite” room which for about $25 more a night, allowed us an extra room to put the girls.  This allowed for whoever put the kids to bed to have a place to sit and also allowed for people to come up and sit with them if they had put the girls to bed.  We spend the first day at a quiet beach in St. Joseph called “Lion Beach” and we enjoyed the playground and the water.  We spent the next 2 days at our normal beach and Allison climbed the dune all by herself, both days.  Sarah enjoyed being carried up the Dune, which wasn’t fun for Beth, Deb or myself. 

The next weekend we decided to go the state fair and enjoy all of the festivities that goes along with that.  We arrived relatively early and walked around a little bit.  We then found ourselves checking out all of the animals which the girls enjoyed.   After that, we took the tractor around the state fair, which was a nice way to cool off an also get around to different parts of the fair.  The girls had fun in the family area and enjoyed pretending to be farmers.  We also were able to go on a few rides this year.  Allison and I went on the Ferris wheel, the girls and I went down a big slide, everyone went on a Dumbo ride and then Allison rode a ride all by herself!  I thought for sure she was crying, but she enjoyed it.  We ended the trip with lunch and ice cream and then everyone went home for a nap! 

The following weekend, I took off on Friday with Jeremy and Ben W. to visit Brad in Chicago.  We enjoyed some great burgers on Friday night and of course, some beers.  On Saturday, we went for a run by the lake and then hit up a Cubs game.  We ran into a few more guys at the game and it was really good to hang out with Daran.  We proceeded to stay out all day and made our way back to Brad’s part of town by the evening.  The bar next to his place was a good place to hang out outside and hang out with everyone.  We definitely stayed out too long and probably should have crashed earlier.  I’m glad we were able to make this trip happen since Brad is moving to San Francisco in a few months.  I’m sure we will see him soon, but it was fun to hang out for an entire weekend.  While I was gone, Deb’s parents came to visit and enjoyed a weekend with Deb and the girls.  They went to the pool and had fun seeing how much the girls enjoyed it.  They took the girls around to pick up some things along with started working on their Halloween costumes.    

Sarah’s Things of the Month

            Sarah apparently is the most well behaved kid ever at the dentist.  I wasn’t there, but she just sat there and opened her mouth real easily for the dentist.  I find that a little hilarious considering how difficult she can be for us! 

 

Allison’s Things of the Month

            Allison got some new glasses this month.  They are “progressive” bifocal lenses and she is adapting pretty well to them.  Hopefully, they help her see better and it will help improve her vision.  Allison also went to Henry’s birthday party (neighborhood buddy).

A few more items from this month:

• We attended another Smokefest party at Brandon and Diane’s house.  It was another buffet of smoked foods that left you wishing you had a bigger stomach!
• I made another trip to Minnesota early in the month.  It could be a routine thing over the next few months.
• We had some random visits by Beth, Matt and Chelsea this month to visit with the girls.
• We took the girls over to my Mom’s for a few hours on a Saturday morning to catch up on yard-work.
• Deb went to breakfast with Julie Gebhart and they enjoyed catching up.
• I joined a fantasy football league at work.  It was good to do the draft with those guys outside of the work environment and have some beers.