November 2016

November 2016

November typically comes with colder weather and is the start of the holiday season with Thanksgiving.  Our month included most of that along with a visit from my sister and a trip to West Virginia. 

The month started with a visit from my sister and her family and for the second time, they stayed at our house and it was lots of fun.  Allison grasps onto Claire and Sarah follows Grace around, while Jake just looks for ways to play with the girls.  Grace slept in Sarah’s room (which Sarah loved) and Jake & Claire stayed in Allison’s room.  We had a family wedding in Anderson and it was great.  Beth, Matt, Mom, Pete, Laura, Deb and I all went up and had a good time.  On Saturday, Pete and I raked a big pile of leaves and the kids had a lot of fun jumping off the swings or sliding into the leaves!  Beth and Mom stopped over a few times to play with the kids and even though the Vandervaarts usually stay at Mom’s, it sure was fun to have them for a weekend. 

We went to WV this year for Thanksgiving and it was lots of fun.  The road trips are getting easier each time, except after flying to Florida the girls want to fly everywhere we go!  The Shafers were there when we arrived on Wednesday and Olivia and the girls seemed to get along very well.  On Thanksgiving, Kyle, Randy and I did some yardwork that took more than one guy.  We enjoyed a nice meal and had plenty of leftovers for the remainder of the weekend.  On Friday, we went to the Clay Center and had fun at the play area they have for kids.  Kyle, Randy and I left for about 30 minutes to go to a dive bar across the street for a few beers!  On Saturday, Randy and Anna bought a new TV and Kyle set it up for the Ohio State and Michigan football game.  While we watched the game, the ladies took the girls to nearby park to burn off some energy. 

Sarah’s Thing of the Month

            Sarah enjoyed hosting Debbie for Thanksgiving at her preschool for a lunch with other parents and kids.  Sarah even made a hat for her and Debbie to wear during the meal.   

Allison’s Thing of the Month

            I got to volunteer again in Allison’s class as helped them build them build some chains for Advent so they can count down the day to Christmas.  It was great to help out in the classroom and meet the kids and teacher again.

A few more items from this month:

• We stopped by to visit Uncle Frank on his birthday.  Chelsea had raked several leaves into a pile so the girls could play in them!
• We got new glass block windows put in our basement and they look great. 
• I enjoyed coaching the 4^th grade girls at Christ the King.  We ended the season 5-4 and even won a tournament game. 
• We went to a Friends Thanksgiving dinner at Brandon & Diane’s house.  The usual crew was there and we enjoyed a great meal.  As usual, there was a couple’s ping-pong tournament and I’m happy to say that I didn’t shove Debbie out of the way this time. 
• I had another trip to Minnesota to assist with the auditors.  For those of you counting at home, that is 17 trips in the last 16 months. 
• Along with all of this, we also took care of the yard and got it cleaned up for winter.  It was awesome to have the help of Deb and the girls this year and it made the job more fun and easier. 
• Deb and the girls headed to the Indianapolis Children's Museum for a morning of fun and play. 

October 2016

              Everything has been pretty busy in our lives over the last month, and that is evident in the fact that I’m just now sitting down to do the October blog update and we are nearly halfway through November.  We had plenty of things that we did in October, but the thing we must start off with is our trip to Florida for fall break. 

For fall break this year, we flew down to Florida and went to Sanibel Island.  We left on a Wednesday afternoon and arrived at our condo at 7PM.  Considering it was the girl’s first flight, everything went well.  They loved the airport, the security, the boarding passes, the pretzels and everything else that goes with flying.  Allison just stared out the window the first 20 minutes after taking off and when landing with a huge smile on her face because she thought it was so cool.  We enjoyed some great weather and our condo was awesome.  We went out to eat on Thursday at the Island Cow and on Friday at Gramma Dots.  On Saturday we rented bikes and rode around the island and through the J.N. Ding Darling nature preserve.  Other than that, we stayed at the beach and pool and enjoyed our first vacation with just the 4 of us.  The girls loved to look for sea shells and we saw dolphins 30 yards off the beach on a daily basis.  I’d say our biggest headache was some sand in the girl’s eyes and salt water in their mouth.  We came back with some nice tans and a huge bag of shells and some great memories. 

We enjoyed a visit from the Rago family in early October.  They came on a Saturday and we went to the annual Light the Night fundraiser.  Afterwards, Jeremy came over and the 3 guys drank some bourbon, watched the Cubs and had some cigars.  The next day we had a sitter come over to watch the kids and the adults went to the Colts vs. Bears game.  We had lunch at Towyard and enjoyed some local bears.  Our seats were separated, so Joe and I sat together and probably had a few more beers than the ladies did.   We got home and after drinking on Saturday evening and day drinking at the Colts game, everyone crashed early on Sunday evening.

Randy and Anna came for the last weekend of the month to help celebrate Halloween.  Anna was able to help Deb at Christ the King for the Halloween party she was throwing for Allison’s class.  Anna and Randy also went to the Halloween parade at Sarah’s preschool.  They also helped get everything ready for the neighborhood party which we host in our cul-de-sac each year.  The weather was perfect and trick-or-treating was awesome as the girls were running around getting candy. 

Sarah’s Thing of the Month

            Sarah seems to be enjoying her preschool more and more and is no longer “Allison’s little sister.”  She still has more moments than we wish where we have to deal with 30 minute tantrums, but they are becoming less frequent. 

Allison’s Thing of the Month

            Deb volunteered for the first field trip in Allison’s class.  She went along with them to an apple orchard and it sounded like everything went well.  I volunteered in Allison’s class for an hour to help with learning centers.  Allison really seems to like her school and that makes things a lot easier for us when she is doing well.  We also had our parent / teacher conference at school and Allison was doing very well in most aspects and the biggest thing she needs to work on is conflict resolution with her classmates.

A few more items from this month:

• As mentioned last month, I was still coaching this month the 4^th grade girls and the time commitment behind that was much more than I expected.  I still enjoyed it, but it took up more time than I expected.
• We had our annual Light the Night walk to support LLS.  Thank you to everyone that donated. 
• Deb took part in a “Metal Walk” at Eagle Creek to support individuals who have joint replacements.  She took the girls and they “won” the Stroller division.
• I did make one trip this month to Minnesota for work and helped with the physical inventory count.  It went so well, that I was able to come home 2 days early.  I had some time to waste, so I went to the Mall of America and got the girls some Legos and some Paw Patrol items. 

September 2016

We have had our first month completed of Allison in kindergarten and Sarah at preschool and I’ll tell you what, we really underestimated how good it was to have them both in the same location.  Having your “drop-offs” and “pick-ups” go from 2 to 4 is taking some adjustment for us, and by “us” I mean Deb because she takes care of most of it and keeps us in line! 

Let’s talk a little bit about Christ the King school and everything where we have found ourselves involved.  First, Deb has volunteered to be the room mom and that mostly centers on planning parties and interacting with the teacher to see what she needs.  Debbie also has volunteered twice in September to be a playground volunteer (which they ask each family to do it twice per year, so she has me covered!).  She and the girls also went to a “Moms of Young Kids” group that met for a cookout during a Colts game.  Nevertheless, she is meeting many parents and having to tell me “who is who” every time we are at mass or school.  My activities started with volunteering to help out with the KG through 3^rd graders at a basketball clinic which had about 8 sessions.  After that, I was asked to coach some of the older girl’s teams and got matched up with another parent to coach the 4^th grade girls.  It has been quite the time commitment, but it has been fun to meet other parents in the school and also some of the older siblings of the kids in Allison’s class.  I always remembered going to church as a kid and knowing everyone that was there, but I had no idea how fast we would quickly get to know that many families one month into Allison being there.  At the end of September, Allison’s class also celebrated “Grandparent’s Day” and she was really excited to have Randy, Anna and Kathy in attendance.  They all went to mass together and then did different activities around the school. 

Randy & Anna came to visit for “Grandparents Day” and stayed for the weekend to catch up with everyone.  Anna came loaded with Halloween costumes, WVU dresses and bedding for the girls.  We also put her to work on fixing Allison’s jumpers for school since they are supposed to go almost down to her knee and she seems to be growing.  Randy and Anna also took Sarah out to lunch after they completed their morning with Allison.  We also switched the girl’s beds around and put some plants in around the house.  Anna helped Deb on her ideas for the kindergarten Halloween party. 

One busy Saturday had several things going on in the middle of September.  I met up with Anderson, Watkins and Foulke and we did the Warrior Dash.  It was lots of fun and it would have been much more enjoyable if it hadn’t rain horribly the night before.  It is supposed to be muddy, but it was a sloppy mess and we were in one of the first waves of runners.  After that, we took an Uber downtown with the Sniadecki’s to Canvitational to enjoy beer from all over the country (but the beer had to be in cans).  We went to dinner on Mass Ave. and then met up with the Steffeys, Bassetts, and Lawton at Flatwater for a nightcap (or 3).  Needless to say, Sarah was up at 6 the next morning and what I wouldn’t have given for her to know how to use a remote and just take care of herself. 

Sarah’s Thing of the Month

            Sarah is back playing soccer again at her preschool with Soccer Shots.  She really likes and seems to enjoy it.  She doesn’t appear as coordinated as Allison, but with my genes, neither one of them had a chance at being coordinated. 

Allison’s Thing of the Month

            Allison finished up her basketball clinics and it really seemed to help her make some new friends.  Allison also got her eyes checked as part of her normal appointment and they are continuing to improve.  Of course each “improvement” costs a new set of lenses…but as long as her sight gets better, that is the good news. 

A few more items from this month:

• We went to Joe Wahman’s wedding over Labor Day weekend.  It was a great ceremony and a good time was enjoyed be everyone that was able to make it. 
• I went to Chicago for a tradeshow for work and was able to get a few chances to hang out with Pete.  He was there for the same show and we shared some late night drinks while we were both there without kids!
• I went for a week to Minnesota as I’m still working on helping out on the finance side with some of the turnover and things that have gone on over the last year.  I don’t know when that “one week a month” average will slow down, but I hope it will at some point soon. 
• We participated on our neighborhood’s progressive dinner where we bounced around to 3 homes and everyone takes advantage of the close walk home!
• I had lunch with Brian Geddes and it was great to catch up with him.
• I went out for beers at BW3’s with Naab, Gareth and Norris.  It is always good to catch up with those guys.