Wednesday, July 25, 2007
What’s new?
First off, for those who have been following the news on Steve, a fraternity brother of mine has set up a web page to accept donations. Funds will be used to purchase a large spray of flowers and to help cover the costs of the funeral. If you’d like to donate please go to:
http://www.kdgadvertising.com/forstevedelorge/
The funeral is today (Wednesday). We’ll miss you Steve.
Our very generous neighbor, Lizz, volunteered to take some professional photographs of our family at a local park. We met with her Saturday morning for about an hour and she had the final pictures for us within an hour of getting back. They’re incredible. Click the link below if you’d like to view a slideshow (there is audio also).
My Dad and his long-time girlfriend, Mary, came to visit over the weekend. My Dad takes a “drive-by” approach to visits. In and out quickly, before they wear out their welcome. Our response, of course, was to pack in as much “stuff” as we could within the short visit.
After a nice lunch, Nora and Anna headed off to a birthday party while the rest of us went to Union Station. After a walk-through of the historic train station, Pierce took Dad and Mary on a guided tour of its children’s museum, Science City. Nora and Anna joined at Science City about an hour after we got there. The most popular exhibit during this visit was the dinosaur excavation. Pierce and Anna dug around in fake, rubber dirt for over 30 minutes exposing hidden “fossils”. The displayed featured Pierce dumping fake dirt on his own head and Anna dumping fake dirt down the back of Pierce’s shirt.
We had dinner at Union Station’s excellent steak and seafood restaurant, Pierponts. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I ate like a pig. With the exception of Pierce, who inhaled a monster-size serving of chicken tenders and French fries, we all ordered gargantuan desserts. Mmmmmm.
When we got home, Pierce, Dad and I shot baskets. It was a blast. I think Pierce made more hoops than either me or Dad. It was a muggy night, so we were all pretty soaked by the time we finished. My Dad’s not a bad shot.
Sunday we all slept in (except Pierce and Anna of course). Dad and May brought our family a gift, a lawn bowling set which Pierce set up in the family and he and Anna played while in their pajamas. After a few cups of coffee we headed off to Cracker Barrel for a late breakfast. Nora has been lobbying to try the place for awhile and this was a good opportunity to experiment on our loved ones. The food was pretty good and the service pleasant, so I expect we’ll go back again. Just like the prior evening, I think we all stuffed ourselves.
After some more visiting, Dad and Mary headed back to Omaha around 2:00. Nora and I finished off the evening by going to see the new Harry Potter movie (which I recommend). Pierce and Anna broke in a new babysitter, Natalie, from across the street. As far as we know, the evening went as smooth as silk and both kids are asking for Natalie to come over again.
Tuesday was supposed to be Pierce and Anna’s last t-ball practice/game. The number of players showing up has been diminishing the last few weeks, so last night they had to combine all 4 teams to have enough players to play out a game (I also think they’re short on coaches). Pierce snagged 4 hits this go round, his best showing so far. Anna still seems to be pointing in the wrong direction most of the time, but did manage to snag a grounder too. Anna’s batting is greatly improved and she didn’t event attempt to hit left-handed this time. I think she’s going to be a force to be reckoned with next year.
Despite assurances to the contrary, Pierce and Anna did not receive trophies or medals for their league participation. Instead they received ribbons. Fortunately, both Pierce and Anna were very excited (Pierce wisely did not point out to Anna that in past years he’s received trophies for t-ball). We ended the evening with a celebratory trip to Dairy Queen for some post-play ice cream. Through the drive to DQ, and on the way home, Anna proudly declared, holding her ribbon high, that she’d won. Their last official practice is Thursday (tomorrow). It will be interesting to see how many players show.
-Eric (Dad)
http://www.kdgadvertising.com/forstevedelorge/
The funeral is today (Wednesday). We’ll miss you Steve.
Our very generous neighbor, Lizz, volunteered to take some professional photographs of our family at a local park. We met with her Saturday morning for about an hour and she had the final pictures for us within an hour of getting back. They’re incredible. Click the link below if you’d like to view a slideshow (there is audio also).
My Dad and his long-time girlfriend, Mary, came to visit over the weekend. My Dad takes a “drive-by” approach to visits. In and out quickly, before they wear out their welcome. Our response, of course, was to pack in as much “stuff” as we could within the short visit.
After a nice lunch, Nora and Anna headed off to a birthday party while the rest of us went to Union Station. After a walk-through of the historic train station, Pierce took Dad and Mary on a guided tour of its children’s museum, Science City. Nora and Anna joined at Science City about an hour after we got there. The most popular exhibit during this visit was the dinosaur excavation. Pierce and Anna dug around in fake, rubber dirt for over 30 minutes exposing hidden “fossils”. The displayed featured Pierce dumping fake dirt on his own head and Anna dumping fake dirt down the back of Pierce’s shirt.
We had dinner at Union Station’s excellent steak and seafood restaurant, Pierponts. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I ate like a pig. With the exception of Pierce, who inhaled a monster-size serving of chicken tenders and French fries, we all ordered gargantuan desserts. Mmmmmm.
When we got home, Pierce, Dad and I shot baskets. It was a blast. I think Pierce made more hoops than either me or Dad. It was a muggy night, so we were all pretty soaked by the time we finished. My Dad’s not a bad shot.
Sunday we all slept in (except Pierce and Anna of course). Dad and May brought our family a gift, a lawn bowling set which Pierce set up in the family and he and Anna played while in their pajamas. After a few cups of coffee we headed off to Cracker Barrel for a late breakfast. Nora has been lobbying to try the place for awhile and this was a good opportunity to experiment on our loved ones. The food was pretty good and the service pleasant, so I expect we’ll go back again. Just like the prior evening, I think we all stuffed ourselves.
After some more visiting, Dad and Mary headed back to Omaha around 2:00. Nora and I finished off the evening by going to see the new Harry Potter movie (which I recommend). Pierce and Anna broke in a new babysitter, Natalie, from across the street. As far as we know, the evening went as smooth as silk and both kids are asking for Natalie to come over again.
Tuesday was supposed to be Pierce and Anna’s last t-ball practice/game. The number of players showing up has been diminishing the last few weeks, so last night they had to combine all 4 teams to have enough players to play out a game (I also think they’re short on coaches). Pierce snagged 4 hits this go round, his best showing so far. Anna still seems to be pointing in the wrong direction most of the time, but did manage to snag a grounder too. Anna’s batting is greatly improved and she didn’t event attempt to hit left-handed this time. I think she’s going to be a force to be reckoned with next year.
Despite assurances to the contrary, Pierce and Anna did not receive trophies or medals for their league participation. Instead they received ribbons. Fortunately, both Pierce and Anna were very excited (Pierce wisely did not point out to Anna that in past years he’s received trophies for t-ball). We ended the evening with a celebratory trip to Dairy Queen for some post-play ice cream. Through the drive to DQ, and on the way home, Anna proudly declared, holding her ribbon high, that she’d won. Their last official practice is Thursday (tomorrow). It will be interesting to see how many players show.
-Eric (Dad)
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Steve Passed Away
For the regular readers of this blog, you've been following the progress of my friend Steve, who has been battling pancreatic cancer for the last couple of years.
I got a call from Steve's brother, Doug, this evening (Thursday). Steve went into the hospital on Friday very weak and severely dehydrated. Apparently he had been vomiting for a number of days. The hospital was not able to stabalize him and he passed away on Monday about 5:00 pm.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized but should be completed in time for Saturday's obituaries. Doug believes the funeral will probably be on Monday. I'm going to try and make it, but the scheduling will be very tight, so I'm not sure how it will pan out.
Please remember Steve's family in your thoughts and prayers. After I got Doug's call I went out on the patio and had a beer under the stars. I sat in the same patio chair Steve sat in not a month ago when he came to visit. I can't believe he's really gone. He'd left no doubt that there was only one way this story would end, but in my heart I just knew I'd be talking on the phone with him for years to come.
Pierce and Anna both remember Steve very fondly from his recent visit and were in the car when I got the call from Doug. They knew he was sick and I shared the news with the entire family at the same time. I think Pierce and Anna's responses were very interesting. Pierce's first thought was, "I guess I'm not going to be able to show him my new trainscape now."
Anna, after mulling over the news for a few minutes, said "This is very sad. I think what killed him was a tornado and his cold."
-Eric (Dad)
I got a call from Steve's brother, Doug, this evening (Thursday). Steve went into the hospital on Friday very weak and severely dehydrated. Apparently he had been vomiting for a number of days. The hospital was not able to stabalize him and he passed away on Monday about 5:00 pm.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized but should be completed in time for Saturday's obituaries. Doug believes the funeral will probably be on Monday. I'm going to try and make it, but the scheduling will be very tight, so I'm not sure how it will pan out.
Please remember Steve's family in your thoughts and prayers. After I got Doug's call I went out on the patio and had a beer under the stars. I sat in the same patio chair Steve sat in not a month ago when he came to visit. I can't believe he's really gone. He'd left no doubt that there was only one way this story would end, but in my heart I just knew I'd be talking on the phone with him for years to come.
Pierce and Anna both remember Steve very fondly from his recent visit and were in the car when I got the call from Doug. They knew he was sick and I shared the news with the entire family at the same time. I think Pierce and Anna's responses were very interesting. Pierce's first thought was, "I guess I'm not going to be able to show him my new trainscape now."
Anna, after mulling over the news for a few minutes, said "This is very sad. I think what killed him was a tornado and his cold."
-Eric (Dad)
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Catching Up
I should be even more embarrassed than I am. I could have sworn it was only a few days since my last posting, and instead its almost two weeks.
Pierce made me very proud the other day –he showed a real depth of maturity not just for his age, but I think for anyone. The background: Pierce and I have been working on a trainscape that slides under his bed. Made of a flat piece of insulating foam, we’ve spray painted it to look like grass and dirt and mounted his train track to it. The trainscape also has trees, buildings, signals, signage and a tunnel. Pierce, Anna and I worked on it together and we’re all pretty proud of it.
Pierce is very eager to show it to anyone one who comes by. The other day one of the neighbor kids came by to play and Pierce brought him upstairs to see it. The kid is about Pierce’s age and is very nice, so he wasn’t going out of his way to be mean. But the trainscape didn’t live up to the expectations Pierce created. His comment on seeing it was, “that’s not so great.”
As you can imagine, I wasn’t too crazy about the comment, but I didn’t say anything. But this is where Pierce really shined. Without getting upset or raising his voice, he replied, “Don’t make fun of it. My Dad made it for me and I helped.” And that was the end of the discussion. I can think of a lot of adults who wouldn’t have handled the situation as well.
We’re getting close to the end of swim lessons for the summer. Pierce is now able to swim across the pool using the crawl. His breaks for breathing tend to run a little long, but he’s made incredible progress. I think Anna will miss the lessons the most. She’s made such incredible progress this summer. Nora and I are going to make a real effort to get the family to the pool often for the remaining summer.
T-ball is also winding down. We have two sessions left. Pierce’s throwing is getting pretty good. When he looks where he’s throwing he’s pretty accurate. Both Pierce and Anna like to bat the most. For whatever reason, Anna always tries to bat left-handed. She doesn’t do anything else left-handed, so we think she’s just a little confused. Both kids are fielding a little better, but are hamstrung by the fact that neither pays attention to what’s going on. I think Nora and I have lost track of the number of times a ball has rolled right past their feet.
Pierce is starting to get more interested in getting his hands on the ball. Last night (Tuesday), he got a little upset that he hadn’t been able to field any of the hits. During a short water-break during practiced he and I talked about watching the ball get hit and running to where he thinks its going to go before he sees the other kids start to run for the ball. The next play he did much better. So we’re making progress.
Anna’s been struggling with bed wetting. We’ve eliminated the drink of water before bedtime, and Nora and I even wake her to go to the bathroom before we go to bed. But we’re still ending up with a lot of wet sheets. Anna’s very apologetic and is trying so hard to avoid having accidents (she never has them during the day). When she has a dry night she’s very proud of herself, and when the bed’s wet she determinedly announces that she’ll do better the next night.
The weather’s starting to turn very hot here. Tuesday we hit 98 with a heat index of 104. So a lot of our outdoor activities are getting curtailed. None of us can get excited about shooting hoops or eating outside in that kind of heat. But our garden loves all the sun. I’m bringing in 2-3 ripe tomatoes every couple of days and the bean and cucumber plans are growing like crazy. I need to pick our lettuce before it withers, so we should have some nice salads this weekend.
-Eric (Dad)
Pierce made me very proud the other day –he showed a real depth of maturity not just for his age, but I think for anyone. The background: Pierce and I have been working on a trainscape that slides under his bed. Made of a flat piece of insulating foam, we’ve spray painted it to look like grass and dirt and mounted his train track to it. The trainscape also has trees, buildings, signals, signage and a tunnel. Pierce, Anna and I worked on it together and we’re all pretty proud of it.
Pierce is very eager to show it to anyone one who comes by. The other day one of the neighbor kids came by to play and Pierce brought him upstairs to see it. The kid is about Pierce’s age and is very nice, so he wasn’t going out of his way to be mean. But the trainscape didn’t live up to the expectations Pierce created. His comment on seeing it was, “that’s not so great.”
As you can imagine, I wasn’t too crazy about the comment, but I didn’t say anything. But this is where Pierce really shined. Without getting upset or raising his voice, he replied, “Don’t make fun of it. My Dad made it for me and I helped.” And that was the end of the discussion. I can think of a lot of adults who wouldn’t have handled the situation as well.
We’re getting close to the end of swim lessons for the summer. Pierce is now able to swim across the pool using the crawl. His breaks for breathing tend to run a little long, but he’s made incredible progress. I think Anna will miss the lessons the most. She’s made such incredible progress this summer. Nora and I are going to make a real effort to get the family to the pool often for the remaining summer.
T-ball is also winding down. We have two sessions left. Pierce’s throwing is getting pretty good. When he looks where he’s throwing he’s pretty accurate. Both Pierce and Anna like to bat the most. For whatever reason, Anna always tries to bat left-handed. She doesn’t do anything else left-handed, so we think she’s just a little confused. Both kids are fielding a little better, but are hamstrung by the fact that neither pays attention to what’s going on. I think Nora and I have lost track of the number of times a ball has rolled right past their feet.
Pierce is starting to get more interested in getting his hands on the ball. Last night (Tuesday), he got a little upset that he hadn’t been able to field any of the hits. During a short water-break during practiced he and I talked about watching the ball get hit and running to where he thinks its going to go before he sees the other kids start to run for the ball. The next play he did much better. So we’re making progress.
Anna’s been struggling with bed wetting. We’ve eliminated the drink of water before bedtime, and Nora and I even wake her to go to the bathroom before we go to bed. But we’re still ending up with a lot of wet sheets. Anna’s very apologetic and is trying so hard to avoid having accidents (she never has them during the day). When she has a dry night she’s very proud of herself, and when the bed’s wet she determinedly announces that she’ll do better the next night.
The weather’s starting to turn very hot here. Tuesday we hit 98 with a heat index of 104. So a lot of our outdoor activities are getting curtailed. None of us can get excited about shooting hoops or eating outside in that kind of heat. But our garden loves all the sun. I’m bringing in 2-3 ripe tomatoes every couple of days and the bean and cucumber plans are growing like crazy. I need to pick our lettuce before it withers, so we should have some nice salads this weekend.
-Eric (Dad)
Monday, July 09, 2007
Swimming
This weekend was all about water sports. On Saturday we went to the pool for most of the afternoon. Our neighbor, Lizz, joined us. Here in Kansas its HOT (in the 90s everyday), so we spent most of the day in the water. We had a picnic at the pool (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches). Lizz brought delicious watermelon.
Anna is the real surprise this swimming season. Its like a switch has been flipped inside her. In her May swim lessons, she started floating on her back by herself. That's ancient history now. She swimming underwater, staying underwater with her eyes open (and having tea parties), swimming a pretty decent version of the crawl, and swimming on her back. Its amazing how much she's progressed.
On Sunday, we hosted a water balloon fight. Nora and I spent about half an hour filling water balloons. Nora called a bunch of our neighbors (with kids) to come on over. We also hooked up the slip-n-slide, ran the yard sprinklers, and filled the wading pool. Squirt guns made an appearance too. We parents sat in the shade and watched the fun, iced-tea in hand.
Pierce and I also finished our trainscape project. Last week I bought some Styrofoam insulation that we, temporarily, mounted his model train set on. This weekend we took the insulation outside and spray painted it to look like it was covered with grass. We remounted the track, this time permanently, then glued houses, signals, people and livestock to the "ground". We also created and painted a tunnel made from spare insulation. Pierce did most of the layout and gluing, with just a little help from me. The whole setup easily slides under his bed when he's not using it -at least it will when we remount the telephone poles. They're currently too tall to slide under the bed.
-Eric (Dad)
Anna is the real surprise this swimming season. Its like a switch has been flipped inside her. In her May swim lessons, she started floating on her back by herself. That's ancient history now. She swimming underwater, staying underwater with her eyes open (and having tea parties), swimming a pretty decent version of the crawl, and swimming on her back. Its amazing how much she's progressed.
On Sunday, we hosted a water balloon fight. Nora and I spent about half an hour filling water balloons. Nora called a bunch of our neighbors (with kids) to come on over. We also hooked up the slip-n-slide, ran the yard sprinklers, and filled the wading pool. Squirt guns made an appearance too. We parents sat in the shade and watched the fun, iced-tea in hand.
Pierce and I also finished our trainscape project. Last week I bought some Styrofoam insulation that we, temporarily, mounted his model train set on. This weekend we took the insulation outside and spray painted it to look like it was covered with grass. We remounted the track, this time permanently, then glued houses, signals, people and livestock to the "ground". We also created and painted a tunnel made from spare insulation. Pierce did most of the layout and gluing, with just a little help from me. The whole setup easily slides under his bed when he's not using it -at least it will when we remount the telephone poles. They're currently too tall to slide under the bed.
-Eric (Dad)
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Fourth of July
We had a great, jam-packed Independence Day. The day started off with our neighborhood parade. The morning was hot and muggy; walking to the park (with Pierce on his scooter, Anna on her bike, and me walking the dog) where we were to start the parade was VERY sweat-inducing. Nora thought that Anna was done with her bike for a little while, so they stayed at the park while Pierce, Josie and I walked the parade route. The parade was led by a decorated minivan playing patriotic music with Pierce and a number of other kids following close behind. Josie and I followed at a distance.
When the route headed up hill Pierce wasn't able to keep the pace. When I got to him he was crying in frusteration at not being able to keep up with the minivan. We took the opportunity to swing by the house and drop off the dog and the scooter, then headed back to the park. Turns out, Anna had changed her mind and she and Nora had done a short version of the parade. We ended the parade with popsicles, cold water and lolipops at the playground.
After a quick change of clothes we headed off to the pool for a couple of hours. It was perfect weather for swimming and Anna, for the first time, hit the pool without her waterwings. She's been doing fantastic in swim lessons and her instructor recommended we move her up a level for the next session (so she'll be in the same class as Pierce). Of course, we stayed VERY close to her, but she's able to swim on her back and front and tread water.
After lunch we caught a movie, Surf's Up. Pierce and Anna have a couple of Happy Meal toys from the movie and both kids were lobbying hard to go see it. Its shot in a documentary style and features penguins in a surf competition -what more be said. Ultimately, I think I liked it move than anyone. Pierce and Anna just thought it was "ok" and Nora was trying to fight off sleep.
We had a very pleasant dinner with Nora's parents then headed off to a large mall in Olathe for fireworks. The City of Olathe is celebrating its 100th year and had promised a larger than normal fireworks display. They definitely lived up to expectations. There were so many fireworks that ash started to drift down in the parking lot while the show was still running. At one point the sky was almost daylight bright from the show.
Due to traffic, we didn't get home until almost 11:00 pm. We all went to bed about the same time.
-Eric (Dad)
When the route headed up hill Pierce wasn't able to keep the pace. When I got to him he was crying in frusteration at not being able to keep up with the minivan. We took the opportunity to swing by the house and drop off the dog and the scooter, then headed back to the park. Turns out, Anna had changed her mind and she and Nora had done a short version of the parade. We ended the parade with popsicles, cold water and lolipops at the playground.
After a quick change of clothes we headed off to the pool for a couple of hours. It was perfect weather for swimming and Anna, for the first time, hit the pool without her waterwings. She's been doing fantastic in swim lessons and her instructor recommended we move her up a level for the next session (so she'll be in the same class as Pierce). Of course, we stayed VERY close to her, but she's able to swim on her back and front and tread water.
After lunch we caught a movie, Surf's Up. Pierce and Anna have a couple of Happy Meal toys from the movie and both kids were lobbying hard to go see it. Its shot in a documentary style and features penguins in a surf competition -what more be said. Ultimately, I think I liked it move than anyone. Pierce and Anna just thought it was "ok" and Nora was trying to fight off sleep.
We had a very pleasant dinner with Nora's parents then headed off to a large mall in Olathe for fireworks. The City of Olathe is celebrating its 100th year and had promised a larger than normal fireworks display. They definitely lived up to expectations. There were so many fireworks that ash started to drift down in the parking lot while the show was still running. At one point the sky was almost daylight bright from the show.
Due to traffic, we didn't get home until almost 11:00 pm. We all went to bed about the same time.
-Eric (Dad)
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