Summer fun

... and Eli is excited to see you again.

So much has happened since I have updated.

Eli is doing really well, it is amazing to watch him grow and learn so fast.

He continues his love of books, he still regularly climbs in his chair and reads several. Of coarse he is not reading the words, but he knows the stories in most of them well enough to know what he is reading and recognizes the pictures.
His speech continues to improve, it seems like he is learning new words all the time. He is able to communicate most things to us, especially "no"... he is really good at no.
He can open the screen door with out issue, and isn't far from being able to open any door around the house. His goal is generally to go outside and play.



I have started to scan Eli's art projects, they still also hang on the fridge, but I wanted to have them digitally also. Some are from daycare, some are from when he is feeling creative around the house. He loves to color, and not just on paper.

The top of the TV, and the window next to it, have amazing creations on them. He will ask for crayons by name, though he doesn't know all of his colors... he knows the color blue.... the rest are pretty much hit and miss.





We took Eli to see the DeWalt Race car at Home Depot recently.

He was neutral on the car, but the Semi it came on is a different story.

Did I mention our obsession with Thomas the Tank Engine...


Obsessed might be putting it lightly.

We went with Grandma Frank to see Thomas at Huckleberry Railroad near Flint. This seemed like a great idea, and for the most part it went really well. We had to wake him up from a nap to get there on time, and it was super hot that day.


Before our train ride Eli got to play with lots of Thomas toys and see lots of new stuff. By the time we got to the train it was about peak heat, and Eli was super warm. By the end of the train ride he was cooled down and a happy boy again.
He not only got to see Thomas in person...


He also got blue ice cream...

The staff took lots of pictures, they thought Eli covered in blue ice cream was so cute they want to add it to their flier. Look for our son, covered in blue, in an upcoming Genesee County Parks promo.


Not long ago we sold the Barnes house in Lansing. Considering the housing market we are happy with he being sold in just under 6 months. With that moved on, now we can start on the updates to our new house. It needs windows really bad, you should not be able to stick your fingers outside using a window that does not open. We have lots we are looking to do, kitchen updates, more paint... we have projects to last us a long time. Maybe even, dare I say, a wood shop!
I will post pics of our progress as we get there.

More soon...

Pat

"I got a rock" Eli said confidently as he held up two rocks. Hunting rocks next to the barn continues to be a favorite thing.


Eli will ask for apples by name and can eat it with out much help. He has eaten a half of one while shopping at Meijer after requesting it and pointing excitedly.


Playing in the foot stool is fun!


Eli talking on his banana phone.


Playing in Dad's car.


So much has happened since I wrote on here last....

We finished the deck on the house! The deck needed work, lots of work. We completed the railings, to a total of about 150ft. We added about 10x13 on to the south end, this made it so the laundry room door opened on to something. It was kind of like the building crew left for the day and never came back. We finished it over several weekends in a row.


...a grand total of 1071sq ft.

We added low voltage lighting...


There is a light on just about every post, a total of 36 fixtures. It was a lot of work, but it sure looks cool at night.


We have lots planted in the garden. We got off to a late start, but better late then never. While most corn will be knee high this weekend, ours might be 6" or so... we will have a very late August-ish harvest.


We spent last weekend at Boyne at the Edward Jones Summer Regional. It's so nice that Sara works for a company that really values family and wants to include them in social events.
Boyne was beautiful, I wasn't sure what to expect from an off season ski resort, I was really impressed. Eli had tons of room to roam and play, he even had fun at the daycare they had.




They had an inflatable obstacle coarse for the kids and Eli loved it. If the pictures had sounds you would hear squeals of delight. I can definitely see us renting one of those for upcoming birthday parties.


Eli playing on the daycare toys.


Eli discovered his shadow and chased it for a bit, it was pretty cute.


Eli also discovered sidewalk chalk. He played with that for some time, all the sidewalk is now his canvas.


We went into a toy store, and all he wanted was a balloon. He was really confused, and quickly frustrated, when it kept trying to fly away.


Eli's obsessions with Thomas the Tank Engine and Cars are as strong as ever. He could watch both of them all day and be totally happy. Eli can now get on every piece of furniture in the house with out help. He can open the screen doors, and can almost open the big sliding door and the front door. Its funny how we want him to learn so much, yet some things he could not know how to do and that would be fine.


We are looking forward to the rest of the summer, maybe a few more bonfires, a bit more work on the house.... It should be fun...

More soon...

Pat

Its Labor Day weekend already, which pretty much signifies the end of summer... that being said its supposed to get into the high 80's for the next several days. I have so much more I want to do, summer cant be over... school starts Tuesday.

Eli had his 9 month check up not long ago. We have a healthy boy, a bit of a head cold, but that doesn't slow him down one bit. One of the things the Dr did say is that we can give him more of the food we eat, with the known exceptions.... which is good, because Eli is very interested in what we are eating.

Eli loves pizza, mainly he got crust, but it made him happy all the same.


We have been spending lots of time on the front porch, Eli loves being outside. The gate is still serving its purpose, keeping Eli safe, he doesn't always like the confinement.





Eli's favorite game is Peek-a-boo...


Eli loves the park...

They have these spring ride on toys...

and sandboxes!!! Eli insists on us having swings and a sandbox at home. I bet we can make that happen... He really enjoyed the sand, but discovered it is not for eating.

"YOU should be playing in the sandbox with me!"

Edward Jones took us out to the ball game...

.. and Eli loved it. He really loved the loud noises, and the huge baseball field. I think we will make the Lugnuts a much more regular thing next summer.

more soon...

Pat

and just like that the month was gone. Summer is absolutely flying by, its been good, but it seems to be faster then I remember it being. So much has happened, but it is very much a happy blur...

Eli us crawling at warp speed now, and pulling himself up on everything he can.... which is just about everything. He has an odd interest in our VCR, though he has never really seen us use it. Eli is in the process of learning about gravity, a hard lesson indeed. "If I pull myself up on this, walk around for a bit, then let go... I wonder what will happen..." So far this has resulted in a few surprise landings, our hardwood floors are a bit less forgiving then carpet.
We sometimes watch "Paz" on TLC in the mornings. It is Eli's favorite thing on TV, he totally digs the theme song. He will whip around dropping whatever he is doing and look.... he even woke from a dead sleep to look at the TV, but only for a second before he was right back out.


Eli, Paz, and Guitar Hero


Eli was sleeping with his hands tucked behind his head, I thought it was adorable.

Ben came in and helped make the back yard look good. The following are not pictures of that, The are some I took around the yard though. we will put some of the finished back yard up as soon as it is photo worthy.





more soon...

Pat

I went to the movies for the first time in a long time last night. My brother Dan and a bunch of his buddies were going to see Long Way Down, a motorcycle adventure movie... so naturally they all rode to the theater. It was about two guys that ride their BMW R 1200 GS Adventure motorcycles from Scotland to Cape Town, South Africa.
It was more of a documentary then a movie. There was no script, just the guys, their bikes... and a huge support structure. They had a 3rd bike, for the camera man, and 2 support 4x4s.
It was really cool to see so much of Africa in just two hours, and what a cool adventure, its a shame it was only in theaters for one night. From what I understand it is going to be cut up into a miniseries and put on TV eventually, look for it.


Here is a video with some of the footage from the movie.


You Tube has tons on it, definitely worth the time...
Pat

I really love 3 day weekends, I think we should have lots more of them. Eli spend the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Frank and Sara and I had a mini vacation. Sara surprised me with a night a Bed and Breakfast. We took to motorcycle to Coldwater, MI and stayed at the Chicago Pike Inn. Its a beautiful Victorian on the main road, stained glass though out, and fantastic food. The innkeepers also ride, he seemed pretty excited that someone rode in, so much so they insisted we park in their personal garage. It was a neat experience, I look forward to saying in a B and B again sometime.
On our way back we stopped in Marshall, MI for their 4th of July car show. Both sides of main street were lined with cars that could have been in museums. Marshall was a neat town, I guess they call it historic for a reason...
We picked Eli up today in Mt Pleasant, Grandma Frank said he had been really fussy due to his constant teething. We had no idea we would come home to 4 very visible teeth.

There were only 3 when we left just a few days ago, apparently he was busy chewing on stuff... it worked.


Its summer, we needs to have more play dates with our friends...

I can't wait to get together with our friends and have the kids be able to interact more. They always seems to enjoy it, and I know the adults to...


Eli has a Tupperware bowl we keep some of his toys in. We brought that bowl out and he immediately tried to grab for it, he knows thats his toy bowl... storage no more...



Click on any of the pictures for lots more...

Hope all is well

Pat

June 7th, 2008


Wedding bells have chimed, and my sister is happily married! All in all there was two ceremony's, one at their house in East Lansing, and one in Fife Lake. The first was very small and is where all the papers were signed.





Eli was a ham as always, he really wanted her bouquet.





It went really well, I think he is just happy she didn't bail on him. (just kidding)



June 28th, 2008


Theresa and Dad





The wedding party.




The kiss...




Sara and Eli, Kathy and Logan playing in the grass.





Eli all dressed up!



It was a really nice day, despite the pop up thunderstorms. Jesse's parents home on Fife Lake is really nice, a nearly perfect setting.
The day was good, the wedding was beautiful... and we wish the bride and groom all the best.

click the pics for tons more, as always.....

Pat

Edward Jones took the family to Grand Traverse Resort for a working retreat. Pretty much this means the financial advisers have meetings in the mornings, we have the afternoon to do what we want, and they buy all the food and drinks. They had several nice dinners and such for us, it was a good time. Eli got to go swimming for the first time!




Judging by the smile, I would say he had a good time.



They gave us a really nice room, 6th floor on the hotel side, with a really nice view.



We had some time to just wander around the city, it was kind of like a car show. There are so many classic cars in TC, this Porsche 911 is a prime example...



At one of the dinners they had a texting competition for the kids. They had to text a specific thing to the regional leader. Naturally this resulted in tons of texts coming from the employees them selfs. Eli was under the age requirement to compete, but if they have it next year he is already in training....




There was only one meal they didn't pay for, so we made the most of it. We took Eli to Hooters for the first time, needless to say, he was a huge hit. We couldn't leave with out getting him a shirt signed by all of the girls and a picture.




Eli's facial expressions get progressively funnier as time goes on. He is hysterical, this is my current favorite expression.




Hope all is well with everyone.
As always, click on the pictures for lots more.


Pat

So I was super lazy about updating the blog, school let out and fell into a whole different mindset. I have taken lots of pictures...


Summer is finally here! This is looking up the street using Andy's 300mm fixed lense. Joe brought it over and I got to play with it, its totally awesome. The flowers in the yard are doing really well... an iris in our yard, same lense.





Eli is so close to crawling, its a matter of coordination not strength. He is constantly up on his hands and tippy toes at the same time, in an almost arch position. He scooches forward a bit, but is really good at going backwards. It will definitely not be long!




With school being out, we have been able to spend a lot more time with Grandma Oberst.



Storm Damage


We had some pretty bad thunderstorms several days in a row. There were tons of trees down, it seems like every street was blocked at some point. Luckily we did not lose power, only internet and tv for a week... we dont watch much tv.. but no internet.. for a week!




Eli has learned to sit up really well. He is getting to the point now that we dont worry about him falling backwards much. He can easily go from sitting up to the crawl position... just not back again.




We had a play date with Bobby Kidd the other day. The boys had a great time and Bob and I got to hang out for and afternoon. I look forward to doing more of that...



The ZOO!

RRRAAARRR!!!


Eli loved the penguins!


Cruising around in his new umbrella stroller.



Eli is now 7 months old, its been so fast. He has changed so much, so quickly and he has learned so much. He has a jumper, and when you say "jump jump!" he jumps like crazy! If you put your hand up and say "gimme 5" he does... Sara has been working on him with that one. Just yesterday we noticed him bobbing to music. We though this was a coincidence, but the music went away, and so did his bobbing, bring it back and he starts up. Its absolutely hysterical!

We had to get new car seats, as it turns out the one we had was only rated to 22lbs. We are on the edge of that currently, and we found these with a good price. With the car seats came a new stroller, the old one accepted the car seat and didn't have and independent seat. luckily for us umbrella strollers are super cheap. kids sure are expensive...

We are headed up to Grand Traverse Resort for the weekend with Edward Jones! They have a summer regional, and invite the family along for the fun. Last year was at the Double JJ Ranch, The rodeo was a good time, but the resort should be really nice.

More soon....

Pat

We took the SET Program to Highfields Breakthrough this past Wednesday. We went with the goal of generating teamwork, problem solving, and bringing the class together. It worked, at least the bringing them together. If I had taken last years class I would have significantly less gray hair, and it would have been a lot more fun for all involved. It was really remarkable to watch them go from a group that doesnt know each other and is very standoffish to a group that works pretty good together. We had a really good facilitator, he has theatrical experience, so that sure didn't hurt. I will be taking my program every year, its definitely a great use of time.


So about the time we were at Highfields, the cold weather came around. It seemed like we went from 85 deg and really high humidity, to a high of 60 in no time. I really enjoy Fall, its by far my favorite season. I believe we are entering "Indian Summer", its suposed to be over 80 by Wednesday, and back in the high 60s before next weekend. This is how all of my coats get left all over.


This weekend has been a "home improvement whirlwind weekend". The tile is all in and turned out good. we grouted yesterday, and I spend part of the day today changing out the outlets and covers to white. They had been a mixture of colors, it really pulls it together. This morning I put in the new faucet. The old one had become unreasonable difficult to turn on, and was quite the joy to get out. The new one went in pretty easy, so easy I though I had to have missed something. It kinda has that commercial feel to it. Sara thinks it will be good for Eli's bath time, and it does have two settings, the softer of which should work out nice. I got a soap dispenser to go in one of the two empty holes left by the old faucet, it matches pretty nicely to the finish.
It seems like this house is never done, and I guess there will always be something with every house that needs to or can be done. Maybe its windows and siding next, oh yeah, it is....

back to the grind.... more soon.

Pat

Caribbean Fest is held on the main campus of LCC every year. This is my 9th year working on the crew for this event. Its a good time, lots of music, food and entertainment all day. I spend a most of today with the crew setting up tons on stuff for tomorrows festivities. Music starts tomorrow around 1pm. Music will range from steel drums to salsa. Come down and enjoy the day, the weather is supposed to be really nice, and the music goes till midnight.
See you there.
Pat

As I previously mentioned we are moving across the hall to the former guest bedroom. The primary reason is so when our new one becomes mobile, he will not as easily be into the attic. However, this is a good excuse to start all over on making our room, well, our room. We are starting with a pretty much blank slate, a fresh coat of paint is already on, and we will probably be moving over tomorrow.
I just finished reading a HGTV online Feng Shui guide, specifically talking about bedrooms. I have heard lots about this growing trend, energy bouncing all over, the importance of symmetry, and so on. I don't know how much weight I put on the "your energy will fly out the window" idea, but the rooms seem to be laid out nice and have a good feel to them, so why not. I will put up pictures as soon as they exist.


We worked on the dresser/ changing table today, its somewhere nearing half done. The crib/ bed is completely done, stain and all. Everything fits together, it looks good, I am really happy with it. I will have the dresser done tomorrow, as I need to be out by Monday at 8:00 am. The actual finishing of the dresser might happen here at home. Before the bed makes its way home we should get the room painted. So much to do, so little time.


The weather here has been for the most part hot and very dry. We really haven't had much rain in a while. The weather forecast regularly predicts a chance of rain, they are bound to be right eventually. If I was that inaccurate in my job I probably wouldn't have one. Weather people shouldn't be allowed in a casino, for their financial futures sake.
We are finally getting the rain we could have used all summer, all over the next day or so. we are to get up to 2" of rain, normally I wouldn't believe we are going to get any at all, but its actually raining now.

One out of 30 isn't bad... right?

More soon, happy weekend!

Pat

Yesterday Sara and Tracy went to Ohio to look at a car. Sara has had the bigger car itch for a while now. This has seemed to grow with her belly, maybe its because she is closer to the steering wheel, but she felt a larger car was a must before the baby arrives. We both tend to ride with lots of stuff in our cars, golf clubs and such, and it seems babys have just as much, if not more, then we do. The Mercedes Benz ML320 has a remarkably high safety rating, tons of room, and rides really nice. She got a really good price, actually saving money every month, and most importantly she is happy with it. The Prius was nice, but the only way it was nicer then this was the gas mileage.

Jeremy mentioned he thought it wouldn't be long till the hood ornament and rims were gone. There is only and emblem on the hood and grille, and the wheels survived the first night here. Then again, I was parked in back.

Summer is very quickly drawing to a close, school is back sooner then anyone would like, and I still have so much I want to do. We are starting on the nursery this week. I think we will start with a good coat of paint, and start to figure layout from there. Look for pictures in the coming days.

We have under 100 days on the count down till the baby is here. Its amazing how fast this has gone for me, Sara is just the opposite. so much to do, so little time.

More soon.

Pat

Today was the Hepfer family reunion, it was held at Lake Lansing Park North. This was the first I have ever been to that was not held at the Hepfer property on the lake. The property was sold a few months ago, so a new location was a must. The park was nice, but there wasn't nearly as much to do as before, attendance was down, or at least it seemed like it. It was nice to see family that are generally only around at this time of year.

Summer sure has flown by, wont be long and school will be back in and its "back to the grind".

I am really looking forward to starting the nursery. I would like to have a good start on it before I am back to working both jobs.

The crib should be done soon, next comes the dresser. The current goal is to have the crib done by the end of this coming week. wish me luck.


Pat

Our mini vacation started with a visit to Gram and Duane for dinner. We were able to catch up with them and Sara's parents were able to make it, so it was like two visits in one. After dinner Duane took me down to his trout pond. This pond is easily twice the size of our entire lot, and the fish in it are huge. He has German Brown and Golden Trout that he pointed out, the larger of the fish were nearing 2 feet long. When he tossed a bit of feed into the water the fish were literally jumping out of the water after it. They were remarkable, I don't think I have seen a pond so well stocked. His smallest fish, the Golden Trout, seemed to be 15+ inches. If we ever have land, we need a pond like that.

After dinner we made our way to Mackinac City for a much needed mini vacation. As we arrived in town, well after dark, we found it remarkable difficult to find a room. Last 4th of July we got a room, just showed up, not a problem. Little did we know this weekend was the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Mackinac Bridge. After going all over town and coming up empty handed and getting sleepy fast we moved onto St Ignace and found a reasonably priced room right away. Apparently its mayfly season up there, as just outside the hotel lobby there were thousands of them. There was a person outside shooing them away from the door, it looked like it was her job for the night.
The next day we watched the official parade, kicked off by a fighter jet flyover, and led by the Budweiser Clydesdales. They had a team of 8 horses, all dressed, and the wagon that was immaculately detailed. The two drivers rode proudly with the Dalmatian just behind them. It was a remarkable site to see such a polished display, I can see why they are so popular. Not far behind was Governor Granholm all smiles and waves, even amidst heckles from a guy a bit down the way. The promo said there would be convertibles in this parade, and there were indeed. Most of the first half I have no pictures of because of my open mouth staring. There were the Shriners in their little go carts, The Wheelmen on some remarkable old bicycles, and yes, more convertibles.
After the parade we wandered a bit, ended up on a dead end street that led us to a beautiful view of the bridge. The land we were on is probably owned by the county, but the surrounding land is by private citizens, they have a view like this everyday and I am jealous. We went to Bridge View Park to see the Iron workers demo and check out the festivities. We watched them toss red hot rivets and set a beam. It was cool, but the sun had gotten the best of us, we retreated to AC. We spent the rest of the day in Mackinac City, walking a few shops, and taking it pretty easy. After dinner we decided to head for home. It would be nice to sleep in our own bed, and not have to chase after another room.
We picked up a little fleece just before we left, it was so cool we couldn't pass it up. This is going to be one well dressed kid, that's for sure.





We completed a registry at Target for the baby. We both really like the Classic Pooh stuff, and Target has some great stuff. From there we picked up lunch and went to see Bob and Amy Donley. They seem to be doing really good with their new one at home. It's nice to be able to spend time with them, especially when the baby is so new. I know we will be there all to soon, and to hear it first hand, just about as it happens, is really helpful.
Overall we had a really nice weekend. I am really glad Sara suggested we go, I think we need this one in a while.

Pat