Boy Takes Park by Storm

As we have mentioned before, we really like the
park near our house, and we take every opportunity to bring our little man to the park and let him loose.

Well, before the recent bout of rain settled over the upper mid-west, we finally made the effort to take the boy to the water park part of our park.

Now, it always seemed to me that every time we passed it on our way to the play area, we would see lots of kids and lots of parents, but most notable was the fact that the dads were in the water and the moms were in groups gabbing. As you can see, Coley wasn't the only big boy in the splash park.

Also worth mentioning, that water is pretty cold and most of the downward facing jets come out pretty hard, painfully hard in my opinion.

Anyway, every time that I set him down, he made a B-line to his Mom. So, after a few minutes of water-made excitement, we headed over to the play area.


Our little man was much more at home there. He didn't hesitate to visit all his favorite things. The low bridge...

the high bridge...

the rock climbing wall...

the slide...

and then he spotted his favorite thing, the swing...

No, fooling, this kid really likes that swing. As you can see, he is in the big-kid swing and holds on tight and used tongue-focus to manage his momentum. When he was younger, he would ride the swing foreverrrr, but now that he has to hold on, he only rides as long as his arms can hold him, which, I am proud to say, is fairly long, a couple of other kids riding long, but not quite as long as he expected when he realized that throwing your head back to watch the trees above was fun, and just a wee bit more G-force than being fully upright, which quickly becomes quickly prone. That didn't happen on this visit. On this visit, he never let go.

Of all the pictures so far at the park, one of my favorite has to be this last one. I think, once again, Melanie captured the essence of our Coley. This was taken through the view hole in a big blue tunnel connecting the lower and upper parts of the play ground equipment. Cole thinks it is a gas to see us through the windows. I hope you like it as much as I do.

The Boys Take a Bike Ride or Cole Takes a 3-hour Nap Punctuated by Art Appreciation

So, to give the Momma a rest on a warm Sunday
afternoon, me and the boy decided to head out on a little bike trip. We have been wanting to do this ever since our first excursion on Father's Day, but so much has gone on that we never got the chance.

Cole put on his helmet (getting better at keeping it on), and sat back to enjoy our little jaunt to the near-by lake trail (there's always a nearby lake, they are everywhere).

Anyway, we headed out, picked up the trail, checked one map, and Cole was out cold.

So, instead of riding to the lakes to play at the beach, we rode past them, and continued on down to the city. It was a nice day and a nice, quiet ride.

Cole was asleep for this little retreat in the heart of the city.

But he woke up once we reached the sculpture garden down by the Walker Art Museum. After some fruit snacks on the garden wall and a bit of time to orientate himself, he was off to explore.

This thing . . .
And, this thing. . .

Cheap Labor

So, we haven't had to mow the lawn in a long time because the places that we live, other folks have been taking care of that sort of weekly chore.

But, when we moved into the new house, we had

to start mowing the lawn. We have this great old push mower with a rotary blade that makes a raspy sort of metalic noise like a bunch of scissors repeatedly cutting over and over.

The grass spills out the back and doesn't fling rocks and sticks at you like the power mowers do. I really enjoyed those things growing up.

Well, as luck would have it, we found someone to take care of the lawn mowing for us. Cole.

He was facinated by the mechanism from the outset, and it was only a couple of mowings later that he felt secure enough to stop walking along side me and start doing the pushing himself.

At first, he let his old man help him push, but later, I could only use a finger to help push. We stopped after half the lawn. He considered it done. Even with the missed patchs.

After a quick inspection of his handwork, it

was back to Mom (who was watching from

the stoop) and a well-deserved bottle of lemonade.

We're thinking of having more, just to build a small contingent of low-cost works to do our yard chores.

Grandmas Look the Other Way

I'm serious. Grandmothers need not read nor view the following entry. I've warned you, so if you look at the pictures, don't, I mean, don't tell me how dangerous it is. Seriously, I know, but...

boy, is there some stuff that your kid

does that you are so amazed by it as a

father that you don't actually notice that

it could kill him. My kid climbed a ladder.

In the pictures it might look like I helped, but, no. The kid climbed up behind me when I was trimming the tree in the front yard, and then he sort of shoved me aside as he realized the potential height that he could reach. He really likes the view from six feet up.

Anyway, it was a one time deal for him, much to his chagrin, but the parent in me kicked in eventually.

The New Pad

Okay, so most of you know that we recently moved from our first place to our, more permanent, second place. We now live in a bungalow instead of a townhouse. It has been so long since we lived in a house-house that we sort of forgot what it was like. It is so nice not hearing your neighbors through the walls. After what amounts to a 12 year hiatus, it is good to be back in an actual house-house.

This picture is of the front of the house, which doesn't show the second story addition. The people who built the home had five kids and did it all with just the two original bedrooms. They're a good size, but not that good.

Anywho, the house is across the street from a great park. It has a community house, a water park, a couple of play areas, a couple of walking paths, a couple of playing fields, a couple of BBQ shelters-plenty to keep a family busy without leaving the neighborhood. They also have concerts in the summer and sledding in the winter, so there's lots to look forward to beyond all the fun places to go and see up here.

Cole has been enjoying the park since we moved in. We like it a great deal, too. One visit to the park equals an extra-long weekend nap. Mom and Dad can get lots done while the little man is down for 3-4 hours. It's better than a pill.

We've tried to meet new people but we never seem to see the same parent/child combo in the park more than once. Lots of parents drive in, so we don't even know if they are from around our neighborhood.

So a small contingent of the clan came north to help with the move. Once again, we are indebted to them for their time and effort, so thanks boys and Pop; you were a great help.

Cole spent most of the move hanging out with Grandpa and Uncle Dan. He, of course, had to inspect the truck before it was loaded, just to make sure it was ready for the move.

The rest of the time, he helped supervise the move with Grandpa.

In the end, the move was a success. The majority of it was done over the two days everyone was up, and the rest was brought over in a number of trips over the first couple days in July. We were completely moved by the fourth and we have been continuously unpacking since.