Swagger

It's been over a month since I've posted. Yikes. It't not like there's nothing going on, it's that there's a *ton* going on and devoting the energy to blogging is something I have to summon up.

Anyway...

Jenn's been busy w/ cakes...
The kids started school...
Somebody made the cover...
Jenn and I celebrated 11 years... Jenn and I are taking off to Cincy this weekend for cousin Kelly's wedding. Looking forward to that.



Oh, and we got a miniva... eh hem!... a Swagger Wagon. Even as I say "Swagger Wagon" I kind of cringe, because while Toyota's original Swagger Wagon commercial is what originally loosened me up to the idea of a minivan, they've come out with a new version for the 2015 model, and it is horible. Take a look at the two:

2010:


2015:


This is my blog, so I get to tell you what I think of this update. Here's what I wrote on the YouTube page:

For years I swore I'd never drive a minivan. Then I saw the original Swagger Wagon commercial (SWAGGER WAGON | Toyota) and started to warm to the idea. It portrayed parents and kids that were relatable, and put the Sienna in good light. Three kids later, and it was time to consider a minivan. I'd become convinced of their practicality, and the luxury included in the newer models cannot be denied.

Had I seen this advertisement, this new version of the Swagger Wagon, prior to my recent purchase, I'd've been turned off to Toyota & the Sienna. This commercial is awful, is distasteful, and just embarrassing to watch. The characters are not relatable. If the goal was to feature the actual vehicle then the marketing department failed miserably as the attention is on the caricatures not on the product. Further, the blending of racial stereotypes just feels dirty.

To each his/her own, I guess.

But back to our experience. We love this car. The kids are more spread out (they love it, too), it's the most luxurious car we've driven, and we've only scratched the surface on learning what all this thing can do.

Gymnastics, Cake & a Whole Bunch of Stuff

Jenn was out with friends, I was having Bible study in the kitchen with some friends, and a storm blew through. Henry always wants to get out of bed and go somewhere, so this is where he went... right outside his doorway.

And here it is, mid-August. 2014 is buzzing by. Tomorrow starts a new era at Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic as Dr. Kirt Yant begins. Wow. 24 years Dad was a solo practitioner, then we paired up for 9 years, and now Kirt is set to assume my role as I assume Dad's in the coming months. James 4:14 says...

What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

He was onto something.

Lincoln had another fun trip to Leesville Lake last week.

One of the very cool events of the summer was when Grandpa Doug received tickets to the Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club that he couldn't use. He gave them to me, and I invited Brandon, and after he posted something about it on Facebook, Michael made mention that he'd like to come up from Charlotte and go with us. Well, I had an extra ticket, and it just worked out really, really cool. The Schwab tent was over the top, with hotdogs, fruit, prime rib, all the desserts and Nature Valley granola bars we could eat. It was fun to have the cousins together (it had been a long time!), and the highlight of the day at the course was when Kevin Na gave Lincoln his hat as he came off the 18th Green and then signed it for him. What a cool guy!


Below...
The kids decorated a birthday cake for Grandma Paulette; Lydia stretches before gymnastics class; another year, another Men's Retreat (this time with just my Bible study guys, Manny & Andy, along with three invitees); Lincoln at one of the Cuyahoga Falls wading pools; Grandma & Brandon's birthday party w/ Jenn's latest work of cake art



I'll try to remember to tack this onto the end of posts. They'll always look the same if you scroll through the posts, but at least if you keep up with this on a regular basis, you'll see the progression of my updates.

End of July

Lincoln is learning to swim with the help of private lessons. We've learned a few things about swim lessons. First, we started him too soon. Lesson learned, and will be applied to the little ones. Second, private and frequent lessons help out a ton. Weekly lessons with multiple kids where he gets about 10 total minutes in the pool is just insufficient. He worked by himself with a new teacher today and Jenn said he was treading water and swimming across the pool. He'll be ready for the Animal Kingdom pool in October!

I got an iPhone not too long ago. I've been so hesitant to use it to it's full potential because I'm not crazy about paying much for data plans, but it's both fun socially (I like Foursquare and I just got on Instagram), I can now leave the Stone Age from a texting standpoint, I love the Map My Run app for running, and the thought of using it for a variety of helpful reasons when we're at Disney World was interesting. Only recently have I found out just how little data I use for what I enjoy, and my concern with consuming a bunch of data on it at Disney has been alleviated by learning that there is WiFi just about everywhere we'll be. Some areas of technology make me feel cutting edge, but smart phones and my extreme tardiness to the party make me feel outdated.

Anyway, here's my Instagram stuff...


You can follow me there as "rggates"

Lincoln's pretty good now with his bike.

The kids are becoming much more tolerant of longer walks as we prep them for Disney.

Henry, while playing with Lincoln and Lydia, bumped his head on the latch part of Lincoln's door.

Henry has also been showing a lot more interest in Duplos lately.
Lincoln's imaginative play is rubbing off on both Henry and Lydia, allowing them to play better together. This has been a welcome change for Jenn.

An evening with the Blossom Festival Orchestra and their Salute To America::
The kids have been really helpful around the house:
Lincoln continues to do well at tennis. We're also learning a few things to work on at home to make our court time better, like footwork and catch and some of the simple things.
Auntie Haley came for a visit over the July 4th weekend, and while Lincoln was at tennis, she and Jenn took the little ones to the nature center.
And a neat thing Jenn and I have noticed on our runs on Akron Peninsula Road are the overgrown fields where a farmer has dropped off goats to clear the grass. Most recently, they've been in a field across from where Quick Road ends on AP. So after dinner this evening I took the kids (har!) for a short car ride to see more than 50 mamas and babies.

Family Photos

Betty shoving her face into the flour is only a portion of the excitement in the Gates home as the summer unfolds.

Lincoln has been back in swim lessons, and things are really clicking. We also enrolled him in tennis lessons at Towpath Racquet Club and he's been doing very well. His teacher showed me a surprised expression when I told him Lincoln had never been taught how to toss the ball for serving, saying, "He's really good at that."
I got one of those bigger inflatable pools for the kids in the backyard, and that's been a hit on these hot humid days we've been having.
And recently our friend Courtney went out with us to take some family photos.
Disney training is well underway. Jenn is taking the kids on walks during the day and sometimes when there's time before bed, we'll go for another walk in the evening. Our goal is to have them ready to walk several miles during the day without complaining. If we can have their little legs ready, then moving between Dumbo, Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean & It's A Small World shouldn't be too hard. We're also having little "sleepovers" where they all sleep in the same room. We had to abort the first night because it was a bit too novel with a certain little excited girl keeping the boys from sleeping. The second attempt went a bit better, until the middle of the night. Our original plan was to have Lincoln have a room to himself to fall asleep and have the two little ones share, but we've learned that Lydia is the one who needs to be isolated. Best to learn this stuff here before we get there.

The big event of this week is the coming Independence Day celebration at Blossom with the Cleveland Orchestra. While it hasn't exactly been an annual tradition, we've made it more times than we've missed, and there's no better way to spend the holiday, in my opinion. Joining us this year will be the Ucker family and Auntie Haley. We'll see how the little ones do with fireworks; Lydia continues to remind us how they hurt her ears... 2 years ago.