Apple Orchard 2013

Yesterday was our annual trip to the apple orchard, and this year Lincoln brought a new friend from school, Samuel.  It's funny to watch two Kindergartener boys be silly in the car and run around crazy.  This was also the first year in a while that I didn't need a pack for one of the kids.To say that we ate well with some good, apple-themed courses yesterday would be an understatement.  It started at the orchard where each kid ate two apples off the tree and chased them with a donut.

I've never gotten in the habit of mentioning each Ohio State win (that would get redundant, especially in the Urban Meyer era), but last night's win over Northwestern, where the Buckeyes spun their wheels most of the evening, will be most memorable for me in the way they covered the spread by scoring a crazy touchdown when the clock had run out.  I'll take 'em any way the Buckeyes can get 'em.

The government shutdown, you know, the situation in which we find ourselves because, among many reasons, the Senate wouldn't agree to live under the same Obamacare law that we all are going to have to live under... well, the government shutdown is threatening to affect Jenn and Grandpa Dave's upcoming half-marathon, as it is to be run on the Towpath through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  Grrrrrrrrr.  I'm not enamored with much of Washington these days on either side, but the excuse we have for a leader in the White House can't be gone soon enough.

Clam Bake 2013

It's officially autumn.
One of our busy fall weekends has come to a close.  Last night we went to Chris & Val's annual Clam Bake.  The anticipation began months ago when we got a "save the date" magnet in the mail.  It had a photo of a big bon fire on it, and ever since, our kids have asked when we're going to "go to the big fire."  The anticipation drew to a close yesterday morning when we fed the kids small breakfasts and lunches knowing that there was going to be a bunch of good food and a late night ahead of us.  Between the hay ride, the food, the fireworks, the catching up with friends that we now see once a year, the new photo booth and the staying up past dark, it was a full, fun evening that the kids and we won't soon forget.

Many thanks to Grace ($$$ glasses) for keeping up with our kids and giving Jenn and me some catch-up time with the grown-ups!

We followed up our late evening with catching Aunt Haley over at Kent State.  The score wasn't what we were hoping for, but we love seeing extra of Aunt Haley, Grandma Laura & Grandpa Dave.
On Friday evening, Jenn had some time with the ladies producing more art (I know!  Whooda thought!!!) at Wine and Canvas while I took the kids to the clinic to throw monkey-balls into the woods (I think they're some kind of walnut seed thingies, but the kids call them monkey-balls) and to collect what remained of the buckeyes.
Jenn's been having some more food fun with the kids' meals.

Fever

We've got a sick little girl in the house this Sunday. That means Daddy stayed home with the twins while Mommy and Lincoln went to church. Lydia got about two-thirds of the way through Bug's Life and said, "That's all. Want Toy Story." Funny thing is, she's never seen Toy Story.. So after a while, we all went downstairs so I could start making lunch, and I looked over and saw...Henry stayed busy through the morning, but he didn't get into too much trouble.
The photos are a bit different because I've been trying out the Snapseed app. It's pretty cool, with lots of features, kind of like a customizable Instagram. And it was free, so that was cool, too.

And how about the Cornhusker Shucking the Buckeyes displayed last night?

Finally, on a housekeeping note, I'm no longer going to be tagging the kids' names in posts. Most of the posts are about them anyway, so it was getting to be all cluttered.

Go Browns!

Trick-Or-Treat

I'm going to lead off this post with the Buckeyes, because I haven't had the opportunity to do so this season. I'm ready to put the past behind, and that includes Tressel-ball. So it's been painful to see Tressel-ball played with young, not-so-good talent. Watching them collapse against Nebraska was crushing, and I wasn't looking forward to the Wisconsin game. But it was clear last night that the Buckeyes are improving. And that gives me good thoughts for next year. Further, this Miller guy looks like the real deal... like who we all wanted TP to be. Go Buckeyes!Last evening was Trick-Or-Treat in our neighborhood, and Lincoln had a great time being a Green Crayon walking from house to house. I ran into many clients, some of whom I remembered. About halfway into the walk, Lincoln didn't want to carry his bag any more because it was too heavy. That's right, we've got weeks and months worth of sugar.

Lydia stayed back home with Jenn to pass out the candy.After Lincoln was tired of walking, we went home and he helped to pass out candy. It was around this time that a group of Woodridge high school girls came to the door all dressed as... crayons! And they didn't have a green crayon! They made a big fuss over Lincoln, and he liked seeing their costumes.After all was said and done, Lincoln surveyed his haul. Twelve Reese's cups, and more, and more...
We're still dealing with some nagging sickness. That's been an ongoing bummer, but it's not anything serious, so things ought to pass.

For those that hit this blog but don't follow my sister, Emily's blog, the Hopwoods are having a baby girl! It's going to be an exciting 2012! Lydia will have a little lady-playmate on the way!

Memorial Day Weekend @ Leesville Lake

Memorial Day Weekend was a Gates Family Reunion. The Hopwoods joined us at Leesville Lake for a whole lot of nothing. Sure we shot, swam, bubbled, hiked, cooked, gamed and relaxed, but it was low-key and no pressure. Here's a photo-sampling of the weekend...

On a separate subject, I was sad to learn of Jim Tressel's resignation. Nobody is bigger than Ohio State football, and I expect the product on the field to remain good. Call me crazy, but I just don't have a problem with a college kid selling a trophy and making a buck. This is certainly not an offense that ought to lead to the firing of a coach. I'm not surprised, but I'm saddened. I'll remember Jim Tressel's tenure as one where he was competitive nearly every game, where he kicked the crap out of Michigan, where he ran a more conservative brand of football than I would have liked but where he won... a ton, and where he eventually was brought down by some kids who broke rules that the NCAA say are important. There are worse offenses he could have committed, and ESPN's holier-than-thou approach to reporting (notably Pat Forde) has been added to the list of reasons I'm not a big ESPN news fan. I'm officially a Luke Fickell fan now. Go Buckeyes!

Catch up

Things are going pretty well here. Jenn and I have been busy with this event and that get-together. Jenn's been feeling okay, though she says that this pregnancy is very different from Lincoln's. She more uncomfortable more of the time, and she's been having trouble sleeping for some time now. Borrowing some clothes from Mary was a huge help as she's able to have extra outfits for work and church. And speaking of work, Jenn's been keeping very busy with work when she's there, and even more busy at home with Lincoln. She actually says that she's more tired after a day with Lincoln than a day at work.

Jenn's last visit with the OB revealed that she's 4cm short. This means that she needs to have another ultrasound next week, and while we're not terribly excited about that, there's a possibility that it may show that she needs to be induced sooner than her due date. We'll keep you posted. We're asking the Lord for a healthy pregnancy and deliver no matter when the day comes... please join us.

Jenn's also been in Cheesecake Mode lately. Most recently it was a cheesecake with cake in the middle of it, surrounded by raspberry jam and peaches. Holy. Cow. There's a few pieces of leftovers, but those will be gone by the end of tomorrow.

Lincoln is doing well. Physically, he's doing great. Socially, he's doing very well, too. The potty training is about 80% there, though he's much better for everyone other than me and Jenn. So we're still working on it. He's been very good going to his Sunday School class and spending his time with Miss Leah on Tuesdays when Grandma & Grandma Gates go to Ladies Class.

He's really been funny lately. The wheels are definitely turning in his mind. You can tell he's very proud of himself when he makes clever connections and answers tougher questions. He's been making very funny facial expressions when he makes these connections, and Jenn and I just laugh.

For instance, he loves paying attention to me when I'm using any sort of tools, such as inflating the tires with the air compressor. Then, completely unrelated, he was playing with Grandma in the basement and he banged his head on the door frame. To calm him down, she applied a cool, damp cloth. Then when Lincoln arrived home, he told Jenn that Grandma held an air compressor to his head (cool compress, get it?!) to help him feel better.

Another funny thing... you'll recall our visit to the museum recently. We were then watching the Buckeyes rout the Canes last Saturday, and as Lincoln was cheering for the Buckeyes (he can spell O-H-I-O!), he said, "Go! Run to the..." He paused, knowing that there was a word for where the man with the ball runs, but not recalling that the term was "end zone" or "touchdown," he said, "Run to the museum!" Ha!

So with the exception of some whiny moments, Lincoln's been a total hoot.

This Saturday evening we're going to a hot air balloon festival. Look for photos from that as I expect we'll have a blast.

Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and more!

To begin with, I need to correct an error from my last blog post. Jenn and I went to the Rosewood Grill for our anniversary. I was confused because it is located in the same building that the old Inn At Turner's Mill was found in, but that restaurant is no longer. Our meal was pretty good. I can't say it was the best we've ever had, but the feel of the place was fun, my ribs were fantastic and the service was very good. The only drawback was Jenn's grouper: it was fried, which isn't the way we enjoy grouper, we came to learn. For the cost, though, we'd go back without hesitation, and just order something other than the grouper.

Secondly, this is my blog post #320. Holy cow! And to think I didn't want to get into blogging!

Moving on...

Some from our Community Group went to Blossom last Sunday evening, and we had a great time. Jenn and I were concerned about how Lincoln would do with a live event, later in the evening, outside, with a several-minute walk to the restrooms. He was an all-star! So now we know we can go to Blossom for concerts with him!

Today was a bit of a curveball. Jenn had the opportunity to get an extra day of work in at her clinic, so I took a day off at mine to spend with Lincoln! We went to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and we had a very pleasant time.

Lincoln was happy to know that the Stegosaurus didn't bite, and the man behind him in the second photo is Carl Linneaus, the father of modern taxonomy.
Lincoln didn't exactly understand the concept of Foucault's Pendulum, but he liked to see the dominos get knocked over.

The museum is set up with a number of computer-based interactive exhibits. Here, in the rock and gems portion of the displays, the descriptions of igneous and sedimentary rocks were less interesting than the mouse-ball on the modules.
They have a nice "mini zoo" display with some animals that Lincoln hadn't seen in a zoo setting before, such as the Grey Fox and the Great Horned Owl (neither pictured here).

And then there were the Dinosaurs and the Mastadons!
So after all of that, plus lunch at McDonald's, plus dropping off a birthday present at the Post Office for one of Lincoln's two favorite Aunts, Lincoln got a late start on his nap. But how often to Friday Daddy Days roll around?

This is going to be a big weekend. For starters, Lincoln's other of his two favorite Aunts is coming for a visit, and we'll probably get to do some fishing down at Leesville Lake.

On another subject, I wanted to publicly thank Laura, Dave and Haley for the birthday present that they gave me this year. I've been wanting to have a DVD copy of Gary Smalley's Hidden Keys To Loving Relationships series, and they gave me a copy! I'll be putting them to use very quickly, not only by applying his lessons in our own home, but Jenn and I are also sharing them with our small group over the next several months. Planning a series of lessons for our small group has always been a stressful thing for me, but not now... I'm very excited to use the Smalley videos! Thank you, Laura, Dave & Haley!

Another thing we'd like to tell you all about is a tradition that Jenn started two weeks ago. Friday will now be known as Pancake Day at the Gates Home. Jenn has found a number of really good pancake recipes and we will enjoy them for dinner on Friday evenings. Two weeks ago we had Oatmeal Pancakes, and last Friday we had Carrot Cake Pancakes (yum!). Tonight we'll be having Banana & Pineapple Pancakes. Lincoln gets very excited about these dinners! And so do we!

Lincoln's new favorite music to listent to in the car is the Ohio State Marching Band, specifically Buckeye Battle Cry, Les Regiment, Carmen Ohio, Hang On Sloopy & Fight The Team. We've even heard him late at night and early in the morning talking to himself in his bead saying, "O! H! I! O! Go Buckeyes!" And he says it over and over and over again. He's doing pretty good, I'd say! Today at the Post Office, he looked at an Ohio State logo and said, "O, h, i, o," and a lady in front of me asked how old he was. I said, "A little more than 2 years old." She said, "He's pretty good at letter recognition." (Good thing we're not from New Hampshire... it may take a while to make it to the end of that name!)

A few sports thoughts to share:

• Terrell Pryor looked downright awesome last night. Who cares what the competition was, he looked ready to play and his fundamentals looked good. This is going to be a good season!
• The Browns may actually have a decent thing going this year. One can't judge a bunch from the preseason, but they've got a couple of decent quarterbacks, a couple of promising running backs, an O-line that seems good, and some up-and-coming receivers. There D is suspect, but they've got good coaching. Maybe they'll give me something to cheer about on Sundays. The past 10 years' worth of fall-sports weekends have been happy Saturdays and disappointing Sundays. Might that change?
• I've been coming around on my thoughts about the Indians. For a while I was in a funk, refusing to attend a game because I was so opposed to the ownership. (Judging by the seats, I'm not the only one who feels this way.) But I've come to the opinion that I need to provide good summer sports memories for Lincoln, and so I've decided to be a fan again going into next season. They've got some young talent that, if they come around, may actually be competitive next year, too. This is just a short summary of the philosophizing I've been doing about my sports fan-ship. Perhaps if I have the time and the inclination, I could write a book. I have a feeling it would speak for most Cleveland sports fans.

[break for nap time]

Lincoln was actually a very good assistant in the kitchen this evening. He was careful stirring and pouring and he helped me make the pancakes for Pancake Day! Then we wrapped up the meal with a Banana/Raspberry/Pineapple Smoothie for dessert.
The boy likes his Smooties!

And to top off the evening, Jenn put the finishing touches on mini-cheesecakes for a shower that is being thrown by one of her associates. Yes, that's homemade lemon curd......and Chocolate Cheesecake with a Mint Crust.