Brayden - 14

 14 yrs ago this smart Lego and marvel loving little dude arrived. Scary how much alike we are but enjoy watching ya grow up even tho I'm trying to slow that down. Happy birthday buddy. Love ya

Color Your World

The weather today may not say beginning of summer BUT the kids finished a crazy year of school.  

At Norwalk the seventh graders do a color run.  This year it was Brayden's turn.

Bray at State

Brayden's robotics crew competes at State today.  It's all virtual, and unfortunately Nationals and worlds are canceled due to covid.

But this is really cool to see a sign up for him and the rest of his teammates.

Good luck Norwalk robowarriors.

Easter 2021

With mom out or town Dad came down to have Easter Lunch here with the kids and I.  Was a decent day, and I even got to sneak in a little nap.  Kids had a good time too

The Spread.  Had Bourbon Glaze on the ham.

RoboBray

Brayden's RoboWarriors team qualified for State this past weekend at SuperQualifiers.  I haven't been able to go to the contests as they have all been virtual to really see what all these are about but hope to in the next few years.  Brayden has been doing CAD work on the team.  Really cool too see him excited about it and get into it.  I hope that its something that he stays with, think this is a really cool thing that he has the chance to be in.  

The team won an award this past weekend also and placed 2nd in another category.

Way to go Bray!  Proud of you!

      

Congrats Brayden!

 

Brayden made the 2020 1st Semester Honor Roll!

Brayden 13

Happy 13th birthday Brayden!

You made it a bakers dozen!  Lotta good memories even in a pandemic year. Hopefully the next 365 we can get out more and make more!

Love you buddy...

Addy & Bray - Homecoming 2020 - Disney

 

Best and Worst of the Weekend

So I haven’t done a Best and Worst of the weekend in a while again so I figure I’ll do it now since I had a bit of bests and one big worst. 

Weekend started out ok.  Friday night had supper at the new Cozy Café on the corner of SE 14^th and Army Post Road.  It was the 2^nd time there.  The first time it was really good so I was hoping the 2^nd time would be too.  Now going in I was stuffed after Jethro’s earlier in the day so maybe that was it too, but I was disappointed. 

After that it was off to go see the Bourne Legacy with Jeremy Renner.  First off, how bad is it when a movie ticket is more than your supper?

The movie was ok.  This really wasn’t a reboot, but more so of an extension of the original trilogy.  It was cool how they intertwined it with the 3^rd Bourne with Damon and story lines began to inter twine.  But from the other 3 it missed something and I think that was Damon.  Renner was good, but this is Damon’s franchise.  The climax seemed rushed and then the ending abrupt.  One thing I am excited about is the hope that a 5^th movie may include both Damon and Renner!   So that was Friday.

Saturday started out getting up early with Ryleigh and the older kids were up and I thought, hey, it’s PERFECT out lets go to Grey’s lake and walk and/or ride bikes and get some exercise.  I go out to my car and find it was broken into.  My glove compartment and center console were all emptied out and I didn’t realize till Sunday that my work badge and coaching badge was gone, along with about a dollar in change.  Really people need to get a life and not mess with other people’s property.  My neighbors also had theirs broken into also.  Anyone up for a neighborhood watch program? 

So we went to Greys and still went around, Addy biked and Bray walked and ran, Ryleigh sat most of it.  It felt pretty good to start out that way.  Later that morning we headed off to Living History Farms.  I have a a membership to their, the zoo and Science Center and we  hadn’t hit that place yet so we went there.  It’s basically what Iowa would be like about 150 years ago.  I enjoy that kinda stuff.  It would be interesting to see what life was like back then.  The kids were excited from the start seeing live chickens in the first houses yard.  The first house was pretty cool.  If it had AC I think I could have lived there.  The other places I thought were cool were the news paper with the printing press and then also the pharmacist with all the chemicals where the guy can make anything from perfumes, medicines and axel grease.  We only got half way through there and the kids got hungry so we hit the Machine Shed for lunch.  After that when we got home it was NAP TIME!  Brayden woke up last at about 530 and after supper we ended the night with the Lorax.  It was an ok movie in my opinion, the kids probably liked it more, BUT it did have a great message at the end. 

Sunday I slept in a little till 9 then realized my badges where gone and started to contact the DM Police department and also my work.  Brayden and I drove out to work to tell them and the drive there was great.  He and I had a fun conversation about Ninjago.  Just his joy with it and how he talks about it reminds me of how I was with Ninja Turtles and Transformers.  It’s probably my favorite time I’ve had with him in a while.

Bray and I ran a few errands and got home for lunch.  Noticing he still had some energy I took the older kids to the Science Center.  We were there for about 2 hours and thought I wore them out pretty good.  The rest of the day was watching Harry Potter movies, cleaning rooms, laundry and supper from the High Life.  It was a pretty good weekend outside of the car being broke into.

Today I start my last week of work at my current position at Wells.  I’ve got a feeling it will go pretty quick and before I know it I’ll be having cold drinks on Friday at Happy Hour.

Wisconsin Dells

So the vacation is done and my pto days are almost over.  I'm spending my last day off home with Ryleigh.  She goes back to daycare tomorrow after a 2 week hiatus.

As for the vacation.  It was definitely fun to get a way and it was just about the right amount of time.  The trip started out Tuesday mid day with the kids and lunchables in the van.  Surprise stops in Marshalltown to see grandma and Conrad to see Grandpa were kind of impromptu.  After that it was on to Dyersville and the Field of Dreams.  

When we got there it wasn't as it was in the movies, in a few months though it will be.  The corn was about 6 inches high.  But still it was the Field of Dreams.  The kids ran the bases and there were a couple softballs there they were playing with.  The trip there ended with a trip, Brayden, skinned up a knee and had some blood and blood wrenching screams and with that the trip to the Field of Dreams was done and it was on to Dubuque.  When Brayden gets older I'm going to have to take him there for a catch.  

In Dubuque we ate at the Dubuque Mining Co.  Burgers were really good. After that headed down toward the Mississippi River and the river walk.  The kids loved it, they walked all over there.  Ryleigh especially since she was all tied up in her car seat a lot and really doesn't have a DS or leapster to play with.  It's a great view on the river and where we were looking across we saw Illinois and Wisconsin.  Breakfast at the hotel was pretty good and prompted Addy to compliment the chef on their scrambled eggs. Next was a drive to Wisconsin.

We couldn't check in to the hotel/water park till 4 so instead of driving straight to the Dells we hit Madison.  Little did I remember it was the day after the huge recall election and when I pulled up right by the capital the CNN Express was there and I swear news cameras on every corner.  For lunch we stopped at The Old Fashioned.  Great cheese curds, really good and maybe some of the best I've had.  After lunch in Madison I had to check out Camp Randall Stadium.  It took a little bit to get there with construction.  It was a cool looking stadium on the outside and I'm sure looks great on the inside.  I wanna get to a game there.  Also happened to just walk by Barry Alvarez when I was leaving, and I was in full on black and gold!  After that it was on to the Dells.

Upon arriving the kids wanted to hit the water park.  When driving up to the Wilderness Hotel all you saw were green tubes and brown buildings.  Checked in and within 2 minutes of being in the hotel room the kids where in swim suits.  The park was broken up into like 3 major parks.  2 of them had indoor/outdoor parts and one completely outdoor.  The biggest one also had a water dome with a wave pool.  I wont get into every day there because it was pretty much the same.  The kids loved the water parks.  The wave pool was fun and they jumped the waves and rode the waves.  Most of the big slides they were too small to go down so we went down with them in the double tubes.  Ryleigh was too small for a lot of them, but she did enjoy the lazy river.  It was 3 or so days of water parks, slides, big waves and a few drinks.  

The Tanger Outlet mall there was a really cool wilderness type set up.  Had my first Dunkin Donuts experience.  Brayden got a picture with the Belmont Cow.  Addy is showing she is growing up and closer to a teenager than I want.  And Ryleigh just had fun a bunch as long as she was out of the car seat.    

Overall the trip was pretty good.  The 3 water parks were pretty much the same.  The room was nice.  The one thing I didn't care for was that the prices were jacked up and if I would have looked more closely around I could have saved some cash, and next time I will but it was a good trip, but glad to be back home and have Hayden back home as of today too.  

Best and Worst of the Weekend

The weekend was ok, and as always it went to fast.  The weekend had a few things going on for the 2 old kids.  Ryleigh was just along for the ride mostly, but her time will come.  Friday Addyson had a rehearsal for her dance recital so she was gone doing that while Bray and Ry and I were home watching Ninjago.

 

Saturday came and in the morning Bray had his end of the year preschool program.  It was the 4^th straight one I’ve been too (and I calculated it will be 7 straight).  Bray got up there and sang a few songs and then got his certificate.  Afterwards he wanted pancakes for lunch so that’s what he got.

 

Saturday night Addy had her recital.  She was doing cheernastics at Superstars and really likes it.  Her group did a routine and she was lifted up on someone’s shoulders and did the splits and did some perfect summersaults.  She was really cute too up there in her outfit.  Was really proud of her.  She  wants to do baton now.  Hmmm we’ll see how that goes.

 

Sunday was my last day coaching Addy’s soccer team.  She’s decided not to play in the fall so I won’t be coaching.  When I told the team that there were a few upset faces.  One girl who was sad hugged and held on to me.  Really the kids have been great and they will be really good if they continue to move on and play other sports, and a couple of them really have a great  future ahead in soccer.  We had a good day, it was gorgeous out and Addy got in there and played hard.  When she has her head in the game she can do some things there.  After the game ended we went to Baskin Robins and had an end of season treat of Daiquiri Ice, just me and her.

 

The rest of the day was grilling, dishes and relaxing and Money Ball. 

 

Also this past week and this weekend I’ve committed myself to work out more.  My ankle is feeling better and running on it isn’t as bad.  I did miss dam to dam this year and may for the next few years due to preschool end of year programs.  But the hurt from working out felt good!  I’m going to try to go every other day to the Y and then the other days do free weights at home.  Been going good so far.

 

The work weekends for me Monday at 420 and then the invasion(vacation) to Wisconsin begins Tuesday. 

 

No 6 pack this week but next week I’ll have a vaca recap and a 6 pack will be back and then its inching ever so close to FOOTBALL!

Memorial Day Weekend

This was the first weekend in a while there was no girl scouts, no soccer….nothing, just had to live life.  The weekend started with me taking Addy to a water park for a birthday party.  Tip for anyone going to an indoor water park…its humid!  I shouldn’t have worn jeans.  It was steamy.  Addy had a good time though.  I sat by the pool, at the bar with a couple $6 drinks.  It was a good night.  Saturday the old kids and I hit the zoo while the little one was out cold for her AM nap.  After lunch Bray took a nap and so did Ry in the afternoon.  Then did some grilling of supper and some laundry. Also had Hayden get her first summer time cut.  No more clumps of hair all around. 

Sunday was also really fricken HOT.  So the morning was just hanging out at home.   Watched a little bit of the Indy 500 pre race stuff, then after lunch figured the old kids needed to get out so too them to the Science Center.  Last time there with them we did the Egypt exhibit, this time they were getting ready for the Mars exhibit, opens in about a week so we’ll have to get back there for that.  We just hit the animals, too many snakes there, the discovery zone and the kids played a lot.  Addy and I got the little water power generator going pretty good.  Bray got to run around and explore too.  We watched a little film in the planetarium about the moon landings.  Then hit the play area.  Addy found a friend she knew there and played a bit with her there.

I love that we have this option in Iowa and have a the science center, but I think they need to build on and be bigger, add more stuff.  If you can get through in about an hour and the exhibits change but nothing else does, add on.  It will become stale.  It should be something that takes 2-3 hours or more.  That being said I’m excited to go back for the Mars exhibit.  (I’ll rant on the zoo..again later)

After the science center the kids wanted a snack and asked them what they wanted, they both responded “HIGH LIFE” (I love my kids!)  So we went to the High Life Lounge and had some tots and some drinks, grainbelt for me and shirley temples for the kids.  They had a blast, just sitting at the bar eating and then playing with the buck hunter game.  We went home and had some supper and Bray and I watched the 600…Addy did girl stuff with her mom.

Monday it was just me and 3 kids pretty much and it, and it was a pretty good day.  We hit the zoo early in the am and were there for about an hour and a half (please Zoo add on and get bigger – good job adding a Rhino in 2013 but build on and compete with Omaha, and get more monkeys!), the kids had fun again and usually do all the time there.  Saw the Tiger and Snow leopard up close.  The lions also a bit too; one was laying on a rock close to the fence and they are awesome creatures up close.  We left the zoo at the right time, there was a LOOOONG line forming as we left.  We then headed downtown and hit the Sculpture Park and I let Ryleigh go out and run.  She loved it, she ran after her older siblings.  I got a great shot of her and Addy walking up to the letter sculpture. 

After about 30 mins or so there we went east to the Capital to check out the cannons and memorials.  The kids asked a lot of questions about the memorials which is good, Addy especially was starting to realize the meaning of Memorial Day.  There are a bunch of memorials up by the capital and cannons and cool statues around the capital that everyone should see.  And you get a great view looking downtown Des Moines and to the ball park on the river.  Des Moines isn’t really that bad of a place.

We then headed home for mac & cheese with hotdogs for lunch and Ryleigh went down.  When Ry woke up all 3 kids were then out on the deck playing and it was perfect.  It was great weather, I brought out Bray’s cube and had the ipod playing some good ole country music, and some nice cold beverages too.  We grilled burgers, brats and dogs and the kids wanted to eat outside so I complied.  It was awesome, perfect.  A trip to DQ and then shower time and it was bed time just in time for the Hatfield’s & McCoy’s on History Channel. 

Overall Monday topped the weekend of GREAT!  Hoping not to insult others BUT my kids are the best 3 kids in the world!

Best and Worst of the Weekend - Avengers

Haven't done one of these in a while so I figured I'd throw one of these out here.

Friday was a fun, stressful day.  I took a half day from work to go see the year's first major box office hit, The Avengers.  It was AWESOME!  I'm thinking that I will try to hit it up again before movie #3 on my list for the Summer of 2012 comes out.  After that I went to the High Life/El Bait Shop for a couple beers before going home.  Picking up the kids it all changed.  

Brayden had a rough weekend last weekend, week all this week and then Friday from the note sent home from school it all just seemed to blow up.  When I could I took him out for a drive for daddy-Bray time.  We had a nice long drive, talked a bit and then went to a park to just chill.  After that we needed some supper and went to one of his favorite places...the High Life for some cheeseburger baskets.  We then hit the new ped bridge across the river and looked on to Sec Taylor Stadium and the I-Cubs game.  830 came and it was time to go home.  He crashed pretty quick.  Friday night then I spent relaxing.

Saturday morning came and it was going to be a busy day. There was a lot going on, got fruit from the first Des Moines Farmers market.  Addy had girl scouts.  Then after lunch Addy and I went to the Duck Derby at Jordan Creek Mall while Bray and Ryleigh napped.  We had a good time there though it was hot and there were a lot of people and we didn't have any ducks in the race.  Addy got a few things, meet Miss Teen Iowa and touched a blue tongued lizard.  After that we made a run to Target and got me and the kids a new outfit and some other things.  Mine is a pair of cargo shorts and a Capt America shield tshirt.  After I got home I had the fun job of cleaning out clogged gutters and picking up dog crap and sticks.  I haven't had a chance to get to the lawn mowed due to time constraints.  Saturday night Addy had been bugging me all day to see the Supermoon so after the kids had crashed for a while I woke her up at 930 and her, Hayden and I went and walked down the street and checked out the moon.  It was ok, nothing HUGE and spectacular.  But we had fun no matter what.  Oh and I watched IRON MAN on FX.  


Sunday came early with Ryleigh waking up at 630.  The other kids were also awake too and were (as Brayden puts it) starving hungry.  Made breakfast and they were happy.  Then the wheels kind of started to wobble.  Got my Sunday viewing of Face the Nation and CBS Sunday Morning in.  Sunday afternoon Addy and I had her 5th soccer game.  We had a full team for only the 2nd time and had our best athlete back.  Surprising how much a difference his speed and athletic ability make.  It was pretty hot, and the kids listened to what I was coaching them on Tuesday.  We rolled and a couple of the kids played their best games.  This coaching isn't that bad, actually kind of fun and I find myself getting into it.  Afterwards getting home with the 2 old kids I had them pick up sticks again after another storm, and I depooped the yard and got the yard mowed....finally.  After grilling supper I went out to get Hayden in I walked off the step and hit the mud and rolled my ankle and was down on the ground.  I heard a huge pop and it killed!  Limping I made it up to the chair and its current on ice and I'm watching Celebrity Apprentice.  


Overall it was a pretty good weekend.

Movies in Review

Thursday night I got MoneyBall, the story about the Oakland A’s and how they went about building a team on rag tag players using different ways of analyzing them then just scouts and big names.  I’m normally not a big Brad Pitt fan but he and Jonah Hill did really good here.  It was fun kind of being teleported back in time to the 2002 season and the highlights and stories that were brought back up.  Side story bar of Brad Pitt’s character with his daughter helps the job performance in the big leagues hit home somewhat.

3.5 Stars / 5

Friday night I went with Warrior.  This is about 2 brothers who in different routes get into a HUGE UFC tournament.  One is a teacher who needs to make extra money on the side and the other is an ex-marine.  Both Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton were great in each role.  They have their conflicts to overcome in the ring and out and eventually they square off in the octagon.  Nick Nolte as their father nails it too.  A gruff hard nose dad who trained them in wrestling and is now alone in life until Hardy comes knocking on the door.  Really good all the way throughout the whole movie; definitely recommend it!

4 Stars / 5

I ended up taking Brayden to Alvin and the Chipmunks:Shipwrecked a couple weeks ago.  The 3^rd live action Chipmunk movie.  He liked it, which is all that matters…it was ok.  It probably ends the Chipmunk movie career of Jason Lee.  He’s done his 3.  The first one is really the best of the bunch as it should be in this type of film franchise.  The 2^nd and 3^rd felt forced in the whole story of them both, just like they were reaching on what they could do, and maybe (as it should be) this is more fantasy based and like the cartoon then what it would be like in live action and life.  But as I said, he enjoyed it, and I’m sure the dvd will be rented in the household when it comes out.

1 Star / 5

Some other movie tidbits –

Apparently Red Tails (Which I really want to see!) is George Lucas’s last big movie, he’s retiring, unless Indiana Jones 5 is a go. 

Golden Globes were Sunday and Meryl Streep won Best Actress for Iron Lady.  I think she’s won or has been nominated the last 5 years it seems from Mamma Mia, Devil Wears Prada and Julie and Julia.  I’m sure I’m missing one or 2 there too.

George Clooney won best actor for the Descendents, want to see that one too.

Best and Worst of the Weekend – 120 Minutes of Monster Trucks

The weekend was pretty good, and some ups and downs, more ups though than anything else, which is always a plus.

Friday I got off of work and had a tasty beverage and some buckhunter and picture find before heading home and getting the Brayden to go out for Boys Night out.  After getting him in a cleaned up and ready to go, we headed out to go for supper.  He wanted to go where I went and got Tator Tots New Years Eve.  The Highlife!  I obliged.  On the way there Grandpa called and talked to Bray about where he was going and Bray asked if he was going and was going to watch on TV.  When I parked at the Highlife and got him out, I locked the door, I looked over and he was already at the door.  He got to the bar and helped him up, the bartender came over and Brayden without waiting a second told him, “Can I have a cheeseburger and a sprite?”  The kid at the whole burger, and I told him if he ate his whole burger he could play a video game.  He chose Silver Strike, only bowled a 32 but then it was on to MONSTER TRUCKS!

Last year at Monster Jam there were only 5 trucks and 2 at Free Style blew engines.  This year they had 8 and one was Sun-ava Digger.  A little grave digger off shoot, there was also El Toro Loco, a truck with horns and a brand new Hot Wheels truck.  These things were a lot louder than I remember last year.  Brayden had his ear phones so he was ok; I covered my ears a few times.  But we had a blast.  The best was sitting there with him during the races and we’d each pick who we thought would win, and then El Toro Loco in free style got a little crazy and wiped out and broke a horn.  At one point Bray looked at me and said “Dad – THIS IS AWESOME!”  It was all worth it then.  Saturday Grandpa called too and asked Brayden how it was and they talked about it a bit.

We also had an embarrassing moment in the bathroom but that’s that…can’t go any further.

Saturday not much went on till the afternoon.  The oldest kids and I went to Jordan Creek Mall to play.  Well Brayden played more than Addy.  She wanted to play Angry Birds.  We were there about 30-40 minutes and I guess a fellow tweep was there 5 people down.  After that time the kids did the “I’m hungry dad…I’m Thristy dad” so we walked around a bit and got a snack and walked a bit some more till Lil Miss Social (Addyson) saw a friend from class in a store and HAD to go say hi.  Went in and I saw another tweep there but I didn’t say hi, because Brayden was pulling off all bracelets and ear rings from the racks.  Also on the way Addy was stopped in her tracks window shopping.  She wants a new dress and she stopped dead in her tracks and just looked at the dress.  I’m screwed when she’s a teenager. 

On the way home we stopped and got pizza and a couple movies for Sat night, and then Brayden drilled his head walking into 2 doors too.  Kids wanted to see “How to train a Dragon” and I got “500 Days of Summer” after being told from tweeps it’s was worth seeing.  Both movies cost me $0.47.  Nice deal there at Family Video.  I thought 500 Days was pretty good.  It’s a different flick which I think makes it better than what mostly Hollywood is putting out.  And the New Girl chick is easy on the eyes too.  Minka Kelly at the end is nice too! 

Saturday Night the worst of the weekend came.  Brayden got sick.  There’s nothing like cleaning up puke in the middle of the night.  Changing sheets, doing laundry, cleaning the kid up.  After about an hour I laid with him and a puke bucket the rest of the night, until….Ryleigh woke up and wouldn’t go back to sleep.  So I left Bray and his bucket and went to the hit the recliner with Ryleigh for the next 3-4 hours.  Let me tell you my back felt GREAT Sunday morning. 

Sunday was a lazy day with Bray recovering.  Bray spent most the day in his room playing and napping.  Ryleigh the same way, napping, eating and playing (kids have it easy!).  Addy and I went out in the afternoon for a walk down by Sec Taylor and the river about near dusk.  She took her scooter and I walked by her and we went about 1.5 miles.  We talked about the river and the bridges and the moon and the geese by the river.  It was a fun little time with her.  We stopped by Mullets for a drink afterwards too.  She had a Shirley temple and I a GrainBelt.  Ended the weekend with a little Xbox and a new iphone game, thanks Jen, addicted now.

Over all it was a really pretty good weekend, a dad weekend mostly.   

Best and Worst of the Weekend

Weekends just go by too damn fast.  Friday was a fun night.  Went out to La Hacienda for some Mexican food, and margaritas, then went and got Smurfs at Redbox for my boy and I to watch.  It’s funny how he likes some of these classics I used to watch on Saturday mornings.  If he could only watch the cartoons from back then.  Addy went to a friend’s house to play and I got her home at around 815.  After that I went out to downtown Des Moines and hung out with some tweeps!  #TeamUS rules!  We were just missing one team member! 

Saturday Addyson had a really busy day.  She had girl scouts in the morning and got a girl scouts cookie information.  Thin Mint time of year!  After that she had to get all dolled up for her dance recital in Norwalk.  She does Cheernastics (which is cheerleading, gymnastics and tumbling), and the show was a Christmas theme.  She did really well though!  Really does a great cartwheel and really takes it serious.  The rest of the day was getting ready for her to have a sleepover with a friend. 

In the video she is the first one who runs out and then is on the far right, and ends it as the lil girl in the “X” on the front right.

It was funny when her friend came over and I asked her what she liked better FuddRuckers or Red Robin and she said FuddRuckers because they have the better lettuce, and also said she likes cheeseburgers…and even likes them with cheese!  I was rolling; her friend is funny as she was so serious in her answers.  Something I’m a lil unprepared for with my kids. 

After supper I took Brayden to Jordan Creek and for a boys night out on the town, since he kinda got pushed to the side this weekend with Addyson having so much to do.  We went to Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.  It was an ok movie for a kid, I’d say it’s a red box rental but he needed a night out and I was really happy with how good he was.  He sat with his sprite and popcorn box the whole movie stuck in his seat.  Somehow he didn’t crash on the way home, so maybe he and I will have more nights like that.

Sunday was an “ehh” day with laundry and errands and I’m really not ready for Monday but got Cheernastics for Addy tonight and I’m hauling all the kids there.  Pray for me!

Wicked, Puss in Boots, Crazy Life and a Blur of the last 20 days

So I haven’t blogged about things in a while other than football so here we go with other ramblings.

The past 2 weeks have been a blur with kid stuff going on.  It’s so messed up and crazy I’m time lining it.

·         Monday before Thanksgiving – took in Ryleigh & Bray to doctor for cough they’ve had for a bit (since mid Oct) Brayden had ear infection fever over 100 and Ryleigh got RSV swabbed, and x-rayed.  Dr (not our reg one) said Ryleigh had walking pneumonia.  Both giving clarithromycin (I didn’t spell that right) and Bray 2 nebulizer treatments a day and Ryleigh 4.  Ryleigh had double ear infection too.

·         Thursday after that appt – Reg Dr called Shawnna/Ryleigh in and said the Pediatric Radiologist saw something she didn’t like in the x-ray and was concerned.  Said not to Google it (We did – stuff that came up from our Google of stuff they told us was Leukemia Lymphoma, Cancer, and other bad stuff) said to come back after antibiotics.  Brayden then was on day 4 of fever over 100, called after being there 2 hours and got him augmenten.  He since is good.

·         Black Friday – Ryleigh showed first fever in this ordeal at 102. 

·         Sunday – took her in to see dr since Shawnna freaking she wasn’t getting better.  Dr said wheezing gone which was good, but still ear infections.  Taker her off nebulizer since coming back on Tuesday for X-rays, want to see how she is normally breathing.  Got Augmenten for her.

·         Tuesday – went and got her x-rayed again.  Sat in office while radiologist checked it out.  Said lungs look clearer but the Thymus was still showing enlarged on right side (this is what they kind of told but didn’t tell us on first x-ray) asked if we goggled it, said yes – said leukemia is very low on their thoughts of risk but they have no idea and we need more tests.  Will probably need either CT scan or Ultrasound. 

·         Wednesday – Got call our DR requested CT scan.  And needed it Wed.  Shawnna got Ryleigh, and called me said they were doing it, I asked about sedating her, and they said no they weren’t.  15 mins later said they need to go to hospital to do it BC they want to sedate her and what they are using could cause her to go into shock.  This is when I got up and left to go there.  I get there, she hadn’t slept all morning.  Ate at 10 so they couldn’t sedate her (needs 6 hours of no food) so they were now going to try to do it with her awake.  They IV’d her.  Laid her down on the table.  Shot up glowy stuff in her, and she laid still as a bug.  Got scanned like 1000 pics of her, (64 pics a second).   We went into waiting room.  Radiologist came in and said that all looks good.  HUGE RELIEF.  Thymus problem larger on her BC she is petite most likely.

Safe to say probably spent around 16 hours in the doctor’s office in that time with Ryleigh and Brayden.  Fun stuff, any more time I’d a got my own coffee mug and admittance to the employee lounge.  A lot of stress going on and my managers at work worked with me on my pto and getting out of here and I’m thankful for that. 

So when all that stuff with Ryleigh was going on the big kids got the shaft a bit.  Thanksgiving weekend instead of going to see cousins and playing, they got stuck at home, to make the best of it tried to make it as fun as possible.  Addyson went on her annual trip to Wells Fargo Arena for Disney on Ice.

Then that Sunday I took the 2 older kids to go see Puss in Boots, a spin off from the Shrek franchise.  It explored Puss’s past and where he came from and introduced us to Jack & Jill, Humpty Dumpty and the magic beans and the beanstalk.  It was really a decent movie and had some funny lines for the adults too that the younger kids didn’t get.  I will say that it was in no way near as good as the first Shrek, but it was on par with the rest of the sequels.  I’m going to say it was 2.5/5 Stars.

A week prior to that I took Brayden to Wells Fargo Arena for the Iowa vs. Creighton basketball game.  It was Iowa’s first time playing in the Well and first time matching up vs. former Iowa State coach Greg McDermott and former Ames star Doug McDermott.  I was hoping the Hawks could pull this one off but it got out of hand early and how did (Doug) McDermott not get more looks at bigger schools?  Granted he’ll be a stud at the MVC but he could be playing in the Big Ten, and just think how good UNI would be if they had him.  Well Creighton got up early and never looked back.  Iowa left them open on 3’s and got killed for it and it was just a runaway.  Brayden was ready to leave after the first 8 minutes, and frankly I was too since he was being antsy and the game was out of hand then but we stayed until the last 4 minutes. 

The following Tuesday we took in Wicked at the Des Moines Civic Center.  The show about the behind story of the witches of Oz.  Going in I was thinking it was all Pre Dorothy and most of it was, but then the little farm girl was there.  How everything was tied together in OZ and munchinland and the characters was pretty cool too.  A lot better than some prequels I’ve seen (looking at you George Lucas – Darth Vader really built C3P0?)  The interaction between the two witches was really good too.  Glenda the good witch was made into kind of a ditzy pompous spoiled Valley girl and Elfie the Wicked Witch was made to look bad by the Wizard and Teacher when she was out to do good.  It reminded me of like the media trying to turn and spin stories on people to make them look bad.  Overall I thought it was a good show.  The actress who played the wicked witch was GREAT.  It’s definitely worth a ticket to go see!  Going to rank it right behind Cabaret in the shows that I’ve seen (seen 3, Cabaret, Wicked and Lion King).  Before the show got some AMAZING food at Dos Rios, could eat that guacamole every day!  Then drinks at the Royal Mile.

Other stuff going on, Brayden has been just funny in things he says.  He’ll tap me on the shoulder and say “Dad, let’s have conversation” After looking at him like “what’d you just say” I’ll ask him what he wants to talk about.  Also been playing more with his race track kind of getting him ready for future Christmas gifts (its going to be AWESOME).  Addy is continuing on with Cheernastics and has a show later this month.  It’s fun watching her dance and stuff then ask her about it later than she replies with a sigh – “Dad, that’s not how it goes” the ignores my asking and sings along to the radio on the way home.  And then Ryleigh, through all this ordeal mentioned above, she just keeps on smiling and laughing and pulling herself up on all the furniture and when seeing her, how can anyone not smile! 

The tree is up now, a few presents under it, and most Christmas presents are purchased.  Still need a trip to see Santa, and I think that will come at Bass Pro Shops this weekend…or maybe Valley West. I got 2 truckloads of leaves done and could have done one more and got it all cleared out of the lawn but was wiped out and now it’s snowed on them.  Bummer.

A few other things.  Iowa finished its regular season 7-5 with a loss to Nebraska.  I’m not shocked they lost I thought they would that game, but the reaction to the loss is amazing, people are calling for Ferentz’s head.  Iowa is a 7-9 win program.  We have 7 10+ win season in the past 33 years.  Fans need to realize what Iowa is and how lucky we are to have Ferentz as our coach.  Could he have done things differently...yes the losses to Iowa State and Minnesota shouldn’t happen, and if they don’t, Iowa is 9-3 and all are happy.  And then Iowa fans attacking a player for transferring to go home, that is nuts too.  Sit back and look at what you are.

The Bears were on a roll then Cutler’s thumb got in the way and the Bears lost to Oakland.  I don’t think the Bears could have got the division but with Cutler I think we could have done close to what Green Bay did last year and make a nice run in the playoffs.  It sucks. 

So that’s been the last few weeks, I know this is long but haven’t posted in a while. 

Also now I’m going to start again working out and watching what I’m eating better (great time around Christmas cookies huh) but this is where I was “Bad” with little Debbie last year, so hopefully I’ll kick that in the butt this year and be ready for softball next spring more so than I was.  Renting Smurfs and Friends with Benefits tonight. 

Best and Worst of a While

So I haven’t written a Best and Worst for a bit, so this Best and Worst will encompass a few weeks or so.

 

The season’s starting to change and early fall has now turned into late fall.  This year Brayden had football and all 3 kids have been involved in swim.  Add in Cheernastics for Addyson and girl scouts and it has been a VERY HECTIC schedule.  Add in my favorite past time of the season, Hawkeye football, Bears football and well football in general! :)  But in all that found time to take the kids to a apple orchard that had a hay rack ride, and a corn and soybean pit.  The kids loved playing there and it was a nice day out that weekend and got the kids nice and tuckered out. 

 

Between then and Halloween, had Brayden’s 4^th birthday party.  Can’t believe my little boy is 4.  We had it at the Y and got to use the pool.  He invited some friends from preschool and cousins and all of them used me as a jungle gym in the pool and after an hour of that, they were ready for cupcakes and I was ready for a hot tub. 

 

Bray got a lot of neat toys and a big boy bike for his birthday.  We’ve had a pretty good time with the toys and some weekend I need to go in and “clean out” old toys especially with Santa coming in 33 days too.

 

Next up was Halloween, and well Halloween isn’t Halloween without pumpkins.  So we made a venture out to Howell’s pumpkin patch and picked up some pumpkins for all 3 kids.  Ryleigh got a lil one!  We had a good time cleaning them out, ok the kids did, I prefer not to dig in them that much.  Both Bray and Addy liked the goop inside them, and made some good designs.  We went to the Blank Park Zoo for night eyes and the kids got a small load of candy there.  Then on Beggers night in Des Moines, we went around our neighborhood, about 30 houses and they reigned in more loot.  Addy dressed as Super Girl, in pink and sparkles of course.  Brayden was a Hawkeye football player, and Ryleigh went as an 8 month old!  She nailed it.

 

This past weekend I went to Iowa City and saw my first home Iowa game in 2 years with the Hawks taking on Michigan.  I so miss going to games there!  I really miss my season tickets.  I don’t miss waking up at 530 to get over there or the drive home and sitting in traffic an hour before getting on I-80.  That being said had a good time tailgating with McGuires and then catching up with Mike at the bus he came on and then sitting with him and Graff.  The game was amazing too.  The Hawks came out determined and disciplined.  The DLine played the best game of the year.  Coker was a beast too.  And the red, white and blue tiger hawks looked awesome on the helmets too. 

 

Addy has a winter concert with her cheernastics coming up and I was able to see some of her routine at practice last night.  Was cool seeing her so excited and running around.  She’s also learing about the moon at school.  She’s been talking about space and the moon a bunch lately and Friday night I got her a new Solar System book. 

 

Ryleigh has 2 teeth, and is climbing and pulling herself up everywhere.  She’ll be standing and walking by 2012…and that’s just 9-10 mos old.  The other kids didn’t do this!  I think she’s trying to keep up. 

 

Other than that, things have just been busy and hectic. 

 

Had some times since Brayden’s birthday where he’s had some trouble relaying what he wants to us and has had a temper and acting out with screaming.  For some reason I think he’s just frustrated and needs to get that energy out.  With winter coming and indoor months ahead, I need to figure out a way to get that energy burnt. And not just him on his leapster.  The kid is smart, really smart, like testing extremely gifted smart.  I don’t know if he is bored or not but gotta burn the energy. 

 

Addy has a lot of sass lately too.  She’s 6 going on 16.  Why can’t they all just stay young.  She got a new scarf this past weekend shopping with her mother, and she’s wearing it and I’m looking at her and thinking, when did I get a teenager?  Then she smiles and I see her 2 front teeth missing and reminded I have a 6 year old. 

Best and Worst of the Weekend - Put a full dad weekend on the resume`

So that was a blurr and busy weekend.  I’ll start Thursday.  I got off work early because both the older kids had parent teacher conferences.  Missed Addy’s but got to Bray’s.  Addy had a good conference and she is where she needs to be.  We’ve been working on reading and recognizing words.  She’s getting there.

Bray is almost ready to graduate and has more than a year and a half left.  He’ll probably have enough points by semester so I hope he doesn’t get too bored next spring.  He’s testing also as extremely gifted.  Smart kid.

 

After swim on Thursday night, since Addy didn’t have school, she got shipped off to grandmas till Saturday.  Friday night we got La Hacienda and a couple movies.  Bray picked out Rio, loves that movie and all the music.  At Redbox he did ask when Cars 3 comes out.  I rented The Conspirator.  Really good flick!

 

Saturday morning came and Bray had football in the am.  Got him there at 830 for pictures and then he didn’t want to participate.  I tried to nudge him a bit to play but he just didn’t want anything to do with it and I wasn’t going to push him. 

 

Grandma brought Addy down and was going to watch practice but then just headed to the house.  The next 4 hours was spent getting ready for Brayden’s 4^thbirthday party at the Y.  We had the rock climbing wall and pool for a couple hours and I was the only adult that got in the pool.  It was a free for all on me.  I had 4 4-5 year olds wrassling me.  My oldest daughter was too and then my older nephew was trying to go Dan Gable on me.  After an hour the kids were spent, and so was I.

 

Then we got to the cupcakes.  The kids I think had more fun with the frosting all over their lips and faces then eating them.  Bray then wanted to open presents.  Got some really cool things.  Grandma got him a leapster (that he’s been bugging me about) and some hot wheels stuff and a wii game and some other things.  We got him a bike and he was really excited about that.  Was a good day.  Played with them all night on Saturday night.

 

Also Saturday night I finally got to sit down and watch the Hawks.  Overall they played well I thought.  Liked the way Coker was running north and south and getting to the second and third levels.  Vandenburg had some nice tosses to Davis and McNutt.  Need to get them really involved in the next few weeks before we play the Michigan schools and Nebraska.  I like Persa and Ebert for the ‘Cats and Fitzgerald, if he could get some more talent in there would be really really dangerous…even still they are dangerous.

 

Sunday came and Bray got german pancakes for breakfast and a visit from grandpa and grandpa’s truck.  We went out and raked and loaded leaves and branches for 3 hours to take to a buddy’s house to drop so he can burn them.  Got a really big load and when the leaves were stacking up I put the kids in the bed and they had a blast scrunching down all the leaves.  Went and dropped them off then headed for home.  About half way home when we were talking about going to McDonalds with grandpa, Brayden puked.  Something didn’t sit well with him, either too much sugar, not enough sleep and all of the above just got him.  Got him home and cleaned up and he was looking like he had absolutely no energy.  He crashed for about a 4 hour nap.  While he napped, Addy even napped.  She was worn out from the weekend too.  I then feed Ryleigh…and got spit up on, and before that pooped on. 

 

After that we crashed in the recliner together, she’s a pretty good “warming cat” as my dad puts it.  I got about a 30 min nap in too before Addy woke up and time to get more stuff done.  Dishes, and supper out and going (steaks were phenomenal) All done in time to do some laundry while watching the Bears. 

 

The Bears made huge strides since Monday.  The pass protection was better and Hester, what can you say but “DON’T KICK IT TO HESTER” if you’re an opponent.  Was a good night! 

 

Was a really good weekend, but a rough start as Ryleigh is home sick today.

 

Next weekend is Iowa-Indiana, Bears-Bucs from London and more leaves await; plus Phineas & Ferb for Bray (another birthday present).  Wouldn’t change this though.