Abigail and I went to my parents’ house in Tionesta, PA last weekend so Abigail could stay several days before school started. Isaac made the middle school soccer team so he has practice 6 days a week. Anyhow, I took pics along the way and thought the mess of them was pretty interesting…
A landmark a few towns from home
It’s so pretty driving there
What a salad I had!
It isn’t any good without a campfire!
Marshmallows were bigger up there!
Too big for the graham crackers!
It was sort of funny…
Oh yes, there were clouds…not sure why I got so many pics of clouds!
Well, I made it back Sunday and my Mom and Abigail made it back on Wednesday. More of a ricochet than a trip but still a pretty good time!
Isaac is trying out for middle school soccer and practices have definitely stepped up a notch from the rec leagues in which we have been playing. The poor boy was exhausted after the first practice. I picked him up and we talked all the way home. I pulled into the driveway and we just crashed on the steps.
We didn’t talk about anything in particular, but I so loved sitting there, relaxing and just talking with Isaac. Middle school is going to be ok…
My baby boy is growing up! It seems like just yesterday he was born and here we are preparing to send the boy off to that wasteland that is middle school. I grew up in BFE so we had k-6 in one school and 7-12 in another. It was somewhat terrifying because of that age span but there were a lot fewer kids and most everyone’s family knew everyone else’s family so trouble was somewhat minimized. Anyhow, Isaac will soon be headed to “real” middle school where there are hundreds of kids…my little baby!
As a sort of “nerve pill” for Emily and me, we decided that we wanted Isaac to be able to reach us at any time. So, we ventured out to the mobile phone store and were thrilled by the technological spectacle that presented itself. Well, actually, we were flabbergasted by the price of phones and mobile plans. Holy cow! Anyhow, we decided that with soccer practice starting soon, Isaac needed to be able to contact us and, more importantly, contact his friends.
Isaac put up quite a sales pitch for a full-blown smart-phone. The sales guy was all too willing to help Isaac make his case. Fortunately, we held our ground and got Isaac a poverty-level phone…you know, one with calling and texting only. I sure hope he can survive. My poor baby!
I know, lots of people made it through middle school without phones. I don’t care. Technology is around us and we embrace it. We are trying to be sensible though and are using this as a way to teach responsibility. Any time I see a way to expand communication, I am for it!
None of us is too worried about middle school. We are building it up so we all have positive expectations of the next school year. A little bit of trepidation crops up now and then in the back of my head, but I know it is going to be alright. Heck, my baby boy is only a phone call away!
So a few days ago, I told you all about the fun we had with crows on our honeymoon. You may recall that my brother and a friend had put a bunch of birdseed into our suitcases as well as in the car. By “in the car” I mean inside the car…literally. There was birdseed in the dashboard, in the heater vents, down in the seats, floorboards, and even more in the dashboard. Well, you get the point. Anytime we drove around and hit a bump, even months later, birdseed would fall through the dash and onto the floor.
The start of the birdseed saga!
Jump ahead to our move to Kentucky for graduate school. We were in marital bliss. I suppose we didn’t see the world around us very clearly as we missed some obvious things…you’ll see in a second. So, we were poor and all that but it was cool being married. Emily seems to remember a rough few years as she attempted to train and civilize me. Once she gave up, things got much better. Anyhow, part-way through school, we moved to an apartment above a funeral home (more on that in another post!).
We noticed some wormy things in the backseat one day while unpacking groceries or something at the funeral home. I didn’t think much of it. I squished them and went on with my business. Days later, we noticed them again…and again and again. It started to get serious pretty quickly.
The car...already doomed!
I got a wild hair and decided to remove the back set of the car to see what was going on. Why oh why didn’t I just remain ignorant?! The entire back seat was infested with meal worms! I don’t just mean there were a few crawling around. Oh no, the foam in the seat was full. The carpet in the floor was infested. It was a regular larval zoo in our car!
I often deal with things like that with extreme overkill. We had a Chevy Celebrity which, incidentally, was the best car ever made! I loved that car! Emily and I sanded the thing down in the weeks before our wedding so we could get it painted. We wanted to make a flashy exit from the wedding ceremony. Anyhow, back to overkill. A Chevy Celebrity has maybe 30 sq ft of cabin space. An insect bomb for a 2000 sq ft house seemed about right. Makes sense, right? If some is good, more is better!
On two separate occasions, I set off house-sized insect bombs in our little car. The worms remained. It’s a wonder we remained! I am certain that a concentration of insecticide like that was not all that good for us. After losing on the second bomb, I just re-installed the back seat and we looked no more.
How did we finally deal with the issue, you may ask? Well, we traded that car in for a Chevy Prizm, the second best car ever made! It was new and worm-free! I blame those worms on the birdseed. I have no doubt that the seed had meal worms in it. They lived a good life for a couple of years on all of the birdseed in the car. That wedding birdseed was the gift that kept on giving!
It’s hard to believe how time has flown (is it almost July?!) but I have been meaning to write about Isaac’s 5th grade graduation. His school had a special catered presentation at one of the big hotels in Charleston. They had everything fancied up so it would be special for the kids. We knew there would be awards and speeches and typical graduation stuff but we didn’t know what to expect.
After we ate, they started with the awards. There were awards for various things and initially, Isaac didn’t seem to be called for anything. He was not the best singer in the chorus or the best at archery. We didn’t know what to expect but, as parents, we just wanted him to get some award so he could walk up in front of everyone to receive some applause.
Finally they called his name. He marched up sort of shyly and shook hands. We were relieved. Then they called him again…and again…and again. All told, Isaac ended up receiving 9 certificates of various types including the American Citizenship award, the National Young Scholars Award, the DAR Good Citizen award, the President’s Award for Academic Achievement (which included a letter signed by President Obama…very exciting for Isaac!) and the technology student of the year award. I was so worried that he would just receive some award and he blew me out of the water! By the end, his face beamed! He wasn’t arrogant at all. In fact he was a little embarrassed by his repeated trips up to the front. To me, that was all the more indication that he truly deserved every award he received. I could not be more proud!
Jump forward to this weekend. Isaac tested for his blue belt in tae kwon do. The blue belt is the last step before black belt. The testing gets a lot more serious and the number of students testing thins a lot. There were only a few people testing so the the spotlight was really on those folks to perform. Each person did their forms (basically, a routine that shows skills such as balance, focus, etc). Isaac did his cleanly and without problem.
The part of TKD that always worries me is the sparring portion of the instruction and testing. Of course, a large part of TKD is fighting. I mentioned before that it’s a weird feeling that sort of comes over me when I watch my son fight. I want him to be disciplined and focussed and also prepared for things out in the real world. Still, I would much rather he never have to be in any sort of threatening situation.
So, Isaac was paired up for sparring and they started the fight. He quickly landed several punches and kicks. At one point, he knocked his opponent to the ground. It shocked me a little but the boy jumped back up and they continued. Sparring is pretty much full contact. No head shots and no blood are allowed but otherwise, there is quite a bit of freedom. He has gained so much confidence and so many skills in TKD and that was evident as he sparred. I was so proud to see him fight and watch as he just did what he needed to do to fend off the other boy.
A few weekends ago, we went on a little getaway vacation to Coopers Rock State Park in Bruceton Mills, WV. I was mainly excited for the cabin in which we were staying and the hot tub it advertised on the back deck. Never did I imagine how cool the park would be. More about that later.
So, we got to the cabin after navigating the Grand Canyon road back to the place. The cabin itself was nice and did in fact have a hot tub. The kids jumped right in as Emily and I unpacked and prepared for supper. I am not sure why, but the power went out and we were without water or AC. When you are not prepared, both are pretty important. Anyhow, several hours later, it came back on and all was well…even the well. We could shower and do dishes, etc.
On Saturday morning, we gorged on cheap powdered sugar donuts and Doritos then headed to Coopers Rock (it seems like there should be an apostrophe in there but there isn’t). Little did we know, but there was a celebration of the anniversary of the founding of the park. The place was teeming with things to do as all sorts of groups offered nature talks, projects, and hikes.
The kids built cool birdhouses and painted rocks. We played on the play ground (where I tried my best to dislocate my shoulder). We saw rescued birds of prey from the West Virginia Raptor Rescue Center and even got to touch a red tailed hawk who was very friendly. It turns out, she was essentially raised in captivity so was not bothered by people. The other rescued hawk and owl were not so friendly. Still, they were awesome!
I think the best part of the park though, was walking the trails under the rocks. We explored some and saw great rock formations. The kids and I walked into a cave/tunnel and went all “Dora the Explorer”. Abigail fell in the dirt and got muddy. It was perfect and cool and a great time to be together as a family.
If you ever pass through the northern part of WV, stop in at Coopers Rock. Its views are breathtaking and there is all sorts of fun to be had there. It turns out that the hot tub was very popular, but it paled in comparison (for me at least) to the beauty of our state, just as it is!
Lest you think we are all work and no play when we go to our land in the country, I figured I should report on our war games…er…model rocket launching fun this weekend. We did work some but that bit seems like an old tune now. The kids were pretty much over the non-fun stuff so they explored some in the woods and found a new “hide-out” while I did the rest of what I had to do before play time. I have no idea what sort of cave, bramble or whiskey still they happened upon but they had an awesome time!
Preparing for launch!
Anyhow, we finished up with all of that and we headed to the top of the hay field to prep our launch area. There were a bunch of kids at the next house over so I think our position was as much an advertisement as it was anything else. So we launched a few rockets. It must have been the humidity or something because the nose cones were on so tight that they never discharged the parachutes. And what is a model rocket without a parachute as it heads back to earth? It’s a freakin’ bullet! Run!
Mission Control
Isaac and Abigail decided to invite the neighbor kids over and they brought some cousins so there were at least 6 kids…more targets! Just kidding. We were very careful to keep everyone safe. Everyone got a chance to push the launch button, which I thought would be the thrill. I was wrong. The real fun was racing across the field to recover the rockets! Who knew exercise was so fun!
The rocket!10...9...8...7...
One boy said he had always wanted to launch rockets but his Mom wouldn’t let them (for safety reasons I bet!) I think I found our new role on the hill. We are the people who let you do all the stuff your parents won’t let you do!
Click to play the launch movie
(click here if your computer cannot play the movie above)
By the time we were through, we had a bunch of the parents up there too. We have met so many people and everyone has been so nice. I suspect most everyone confirmed that we are the unstable, crazy ones up on that hill. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing?
So yesterday, I mentioned that we went camping last weekend. The spot where we camped is on the back side of our hay field which lays on a bit of a slope. We drove both vehicles down to the edge of the woods and left them there overnight so we could have easy access to the junk that remained in them.
This was a month ago...before the grass really grew!
Since we knew it was to get hot, we decided to get an early start. I am so glad there are no near-neighbors because I started the chainsaw at 6:30 am. Anyhow, we packed up camp and planned to move the car and van to the end of the hay field where I am erecting my bear-deterring fence for the bees. Emily started up the Subaru and drove right off though the thigh-high grass in the field. The van did not fare so well. The tires spun but the van never moved.
So, I climbed out of the van and hollered at Isaac. He’s 11 (and a year older than I was when I first drove a car). I told him to get in and drive. He looked at me with that, “Yeah right” look but I opened the door and pointed. He climbed in and was terrified. I think that was the proper response. We did a crash-course on driving and then I went behind the van. I planned to nudge it to get it moving while he drove it slowly and steadily across the field. He started off ok, but when it didn’t immediately move, he gunned it. White smoke rolled from under the tires.
“Dad, the speedometer showed 60!” I have no doubt about it. Isaac drove the car 60 mph in the hay field but didn’t move an inch! We re-visited our driving lesson and on try #2, he successfully drove the van right across the hay field and up to the dirt road. The boy was so excited and could not have been prouder of himself. Although his friends did not believe him when he got back to school on Tuesday, he will probably always remember the first time he got to drive a car. Sometimes a little (controlled) danger can be a good thing!
Holy cow it’s been awhile since I have posted. It seems like time is flying! I certainly need to remedy that. So, last weekend, the hottest weekend of the year (so far), we went camping on the bee farm. I had to set more fence posts in the ground and I have been itching to stay up and see the stars and listen to the crickets. You know, they say you can find the temperature by counting cricket chirps for 15 seconds and adding 37. I don’t think I could count fast enough to make a good measurement so I am sure that it works. It was hot!
Anyhow, I dug more fence posts and cut a bunch of trees and brush. The kids mostly read their kindles but they also went on a rock hunt. I told them I would pay them if they would find sufficient rocks to make a proper fire pit. I wanted to hear crickets and by golly, I wanted to smell like smoke before I laid down for the night. The kids were great. They actually dug some rocks out of the ground. I suppose they saw it as an easy way to make things happen fast…find huge rocks and dig them up…make Dad carry them to make for an instant fire pit. Well, they did a great job though my back may never forgive me after carrying some of their finds.
All of this is to say, we got pretty hot and sweaty outside working all day. Luckily, I bought that tank I mentioned in the last post. We had 35 gallons of water to set the concrete posts, cook and bathe. Of course, bathing was a relative thing, but we made the best of it taking a cold water bath at our campsite.
Oh, I don’t want to forget…on the way walking the path between the tent and the car (which housed the water tank), I happened upon a copperhead. He wasn’t wearing pants thankfully or there would have been two of us in a code brown status. I grabbed a shovel and went after him but he was headed for the woods too.
We finally got cleaned up and went to bed. Rather, we went to clumpy ground…it could hardly be called a bed (gee whiz have I become soft in my old age). I never did get a chance to really look at the stars. Still, camping on our land was absolutely wonderful! We ate mountain pies and roasted marshmallows. We giggled in the tent and woke up groggy. It was a marvelous weekend, stiff backs and necks aside.
There is lots more fun to report including driving the van 60 mph across our hay field…but you will have to wait until next time to read about that!
We bought a piece of property a few months ago. There are lots of reasons we bought the place including it’s beauty, it’s size, etc. One of the big reasons, however, was to have a place to move the bees. You may recall that I had a bit of trouble last summer during the harvest. It was after that event that I decided that we needed a place out somewhere where the bees could be away from people. “The event” was probably a once in a lifetime thing (I hope) but I can’t take the chance.
Aren’t these daisies pretty? They are everywhere in the hay field…
Our new place is outside of Charleston in the country so, of course, there is a potential for bears to be around. If you remember your Winnie the Pooh, bears tend to like honey. A determined bear cannot really be stopped, but a good electric fence will dissuade all but the most determined bears from messing with the bee hives. So, the beginning of our bee farm has to be a good electric fence.
We found a nice sunny spot on the property away from where we plan to do most of our other messing around. Emily, the kids and I laid out what is to become our first bee yard at the new place. We set 4 corner posts in concrete. Being thrifty as I am, we decided to hand dig the fence post holes. When I put our fence in for the dog, I ran into all sorts of roots and rocks but the digging at the bee yard was easy…apart from the fact that we had to dig 3 foot deep holes. It was warm and humid so we took turns digging. Abigail and Isaac both wanted to help so I was happy to oblige…and they earned their supper for sure! Really, the kids were great and a big help. Let’s hope they will help with the bees too!
So, we will let the posts set up this week and add the rest of the supports, posts, wire, etc next weekend if all goes well. After digging the holes, we are committed so the bee farm is officially underway! Who knew a few fence posts would make me so excited!?!
Stay tuned tomorrow for a funny story about our posts!
