Houston, We Have Liftoff

Kim and Ryan supplied us with another cardboard construction project. Shane was eager to get to work. I taught him "Righty-tighty; Lefty-loosey."

Frustration quickly mounted. 

We finished enough while Carrie worked to simplify things in the morning. 

Carrie's shirt was perfect for the occasion. 

Shane started off the new year with a space pod! 

He was on cloud nine. Runaway balloons don't fly so high.

Carrie and I may have gotten a little carried away with photo attempts. 

Carrie had a brilliant idea later. "What fort is complete without blankets?" 

Internal temperatures rose to snug and warm levels in the pod. Shane asked to nap in it.

We let him. It's impossible to say no to that level of wild joy! He didn't sleep at all, but I bet he remembers it years later. He ate breakfast in space the next morning. 

A side panel suffered some minor damage from a hyper little boy being a hyper little boy, but the pod is still fully functional. I wish we knew more kids his age to invite over to play in it!

Thanks again for the wonderful present, Ryan and Kim!

UPDATE: That cats approve of space pods and blankets, too.

They're smart enough to wait until Shane goes up for the night.

Goals for 2016

This year, my goals are:

1) To make an impact in our new city,
2) To unpack EVERYTHING.....and get rid of a chunk of it,
3) To have Shane ready for his first year of school,
4) To take more family vacations,
5) To take care of ourselves,
6) and to catch up on my writing (I got behind).

Number 6 is self-explanatory. I've never been this backlogged on my blog.

Number 5 is dreadfully obvious if you've read since November. Carrie's next ortho appointment is next week. She's doing much better, but we all need to get physicals, find a family dentist, and keep healthy! I just got back on schedule with my allergy shots.

Number 4 comes straight from my Reflection 2015. Shane and I went a lot of places....without Carrie. She went to upstate New York, Oregon, and blazed a path down to Charlottesville without us. It'd be nice to travel more as a unit! Shane's old enough he has a chance to remember much more than before.

Number 3 hits after summer. It's an exciting time. I don't see a need to cram or study for kindergarten, but I want to start Shane off on the right foot. I don't want to have him miss out on anything because I forgot to register him for classes or something silly. There are questions to answer before August. What school should he go to? The neighborhood one? Or the one behind where I work so I can drop him off and pick him up easily? What will he need? Will we need to figure out a new form of child care before and after school? Will sports and/or preschool help him learn how to sit still for a moment and get along with others? When am I going to get that boy his next round of swim lessons?

Number 2 needs to happen well before kindergarten. Shane's clothes drawers are over-flowing. Used kid clothes are cheap at the thrift stores Nana likes to frequent. We need to donate or pass on a flood of clothes. Or porch has become our de facto attic and recycling/large trash staging area since we moved in. The only difference from a normal attic is that this one is outside for all of our neighbors to see. I hope they don't mind. It's bound to get cold and I'm not really in a huge hurry.

Finally, Number 1. Always have to look out for it. I want to set roots and make a difference in Cville. The longer we've been here, the more I've realized it is a much smaller town than I'm used to. There's a sort of anonymity in NOVA. People come; People go. You can go into a store, yell "DINOSAUR," and run out with long odds of meeting anyone you know. Not so, around here. The city is big enough at first glance, but small enough for connections to start to appear all over. Anonymity is harder to come by.

I've got a plan to get hooked, though. It starts with teaching. Roots come from people and teaching is a people centered job. Coaching comes next. The wrestling world is a smaller one here and I'm happy to chip in. We've found a church we like, joined a small group, and I want to find a volunteer opportunity after wrestling ends. Carrie's found a horse/nerd buddy in the area, but I haven't stumbled across someone I'd call a buddy yet. Lots of nice people, neighbors, and acquaintances. No one who approaches the level of my NOVA friends, yet (I was pretty spoiled in that regard). I hope to find a family with a kid Shane's age. That may be easier when he's in kindergarten, but I'll keep dragging him around town looking for fun things to do and people to bump into in the meantime.

My goals are general again, because the future is wide open. It'll be interesting to see where He leads me.

Reflection 2015

My goals from the past year are here.

There has been a lot of transition.

In the past year:

• Carrie started a new job and moved to Charlottesville.
• She lived in a rented townhouse.
• I finished my first season coaching wrestling.
• We sold our house.
• Shane and I lived at Nana and Pop's until they moved.
• Carrie and I bought a house in Charlottesville.
• Shane moved to Grandma and Grandpa's.
• He moved to Charlottesville next.
• I slept at Jama's and at Matt's new house (which he and Renee bought in May).
• I finished my last year teaching in Fairfax County and moved to Charlottesville.
• In August, I started a new job.
• In November, I started coaching wrestling again.
• A week later, I became the head middle school coach.
• Oh, and we got a horse.
• Carrie fell off it.
• Come to think of it, the Prius died back in April. 
• That's when we bought the bug.
• A moped may have been purchased somewhere in there, too.
• Shane's been to three day-cares.
• And that's the short list.

We figured out where we were going and got there, though. It was dramatic at times, too. We are not 100% settled to my standard, but we've come a long way.

Shane did get involved in preschool, soccer, and our community group. Wrestling is in progress. He attended a Pee Wee practice before Christmas. I wasn't sure he liked it, but he asked about it again today. 

Travel was more sporadic. We've received more visitors than we've taken trips. Shane and I have both been to SC and NOVA again. The boy and I road tripped down to Roanoke to see Kyle ref hockey, as well. We never made it west as a family. MomMom passed away in Montana. Carrie attended the funeral in St. Louis. The Oregon trip became a Carrie-only, immediate turn-around affair partly as a result. Our only family trips that come to mind were runs to Grandma and Grandpa's and a time-share sales pitch. We got adventures in and I feel connected to old roots, but I hope to get some more family trips in in the future (emphasis on family!). 

Shane's grown tremendously throughout. His baby pictures astound me. Shane read some beginner books for me on the couch earlier. I don't know what mischief he'll be capable of December 2016. 

Carrie and I's growth is harder to see. Carrie spotted a white hair in my beard for the first time (they've been there!). I won't tell you if she has any or from what. It'd be a toss up whether Shane or I caused them. 

Thank you, Lord, for giving and guiding us through an interesting year. I pray 2016 involves lots of settling in and growing roots, but mainly I'm curious to see where you'll take us (after I get some sleep first, of course).

Holiday Trip North

Hello, John. Do you Lego?

I hope so, because you're going to help Shane. Ryan and Kim got him a Lego truck and Port-A-Potty.

Don't worry, I'll play on my phone and take pictures.

Don't forget to feed him.

If you do, we'll try out those new Warhammer rules later.

Fragiles? For Shane? You shouldn't have! They'll keep him happy when I drop by to visit my old wrestling team! Thank you!

I plan to stop by the Korean bakery after practice. Shane and I will pick up some bread to surprise Carrie.

Richmond Run!

What are holidays without family? Of course, Shane and I made some road trips! We kicked off the last week of break with a trip to Richmond to see Kim and Ryan.

I didn't realize they were prepared.

Normally, I'd edit this down to a highlight for the average internet-addled attention span. That takes time, and I'm already behind.

Shane dressed as a super hero trying to bust Ryan: Action!

Shane brings out Ryan's inner child.

Quote of the night: "Oh no, not the blanket!"

It wasn't Shane who said it.

More Family Visits!

I don't remember exactly when these visits happened over break, but I have video!

Katlheen, Stu and crew drove through on their way north. They came in very late (1 AM?) and spent the night. Shane and Cole were pleasantly surprised to see each other come morning! They got to play in the morning before the crew continued north to Maryland.

Good-byes are tough.

We saw them again on their way down (but just for a little).

After Christmas, Patrick dropped by with his girlfriend, Shelby.

Sometimes, I end up regretting what Shane learns from my 'coaching.' Today was not that day. It made for a funny video.

Playing With Our New Toys

Shane got not one, but two sets of Lincoln Logs. One from each set of grandparents. 

He likes to build.

So does Carrie.

Not many of their creations survive long.

Nana also got him a used set of mega blocks. Shane really wanted me to put them together.

And then he really wanted to help.

Not all of his help was helpful, but he had fun!

At a certain point, I ran out of blocks. I improvised and declared it finito. Shane was skeptical. He double-checked the instructions.

There were lots of other new projects to distract him with. Maybe we'll even finish some of them one day!

There were new toys for the adults, as well.

Carrie and I lost the first couple of games to get the hang of it, but we've saved the world since!

Discovery Museum Again

The more trips, the more the membership is worth. This time, Shane discovered air can make funny pictures.

Then there were the usual shenanigans.

It's good to get out of the house at least once a day.

Unless our house had an elevator. We'd never need to leave then.

Christmas Eve 2015

Carrie did this:

So Shane and I did this.

I have a student who works at a store we hoped to run into. Instead, we played lots and lots of Foosball. I have no intention of buying that table (ever).

When went by the international food market on the way home.

Me: "Shane, want to touch the sharp fruit?"

Shane: "What's it called?"

Me; "Durian."

Shane: "What's it taste like?"

Me: "Poop."

We didn't buy any.

Carrie was awake by the time we got home. Shane is dying to open his presents. He doesn't have to wait too much longer!

Pee Wee Wrestling

Shane went to his first wrestling practice.

I met the coaches at my first middle school wrestling tournament. They said "Bring him! You don't have to sign up!"

So I did.

The head coach decided it would be a good day to have some fun. Fun as in a take-down tournament.

Shane's first practice, he knows nothing, and he got his first match right of the bat.

There are some stout 5 year olds out there!

The next matches were similar.

And quick.

It's to be expected. Shane wasn't very happy. "I want to go home!" I made him tough it out. 

He loved when they played duck duck goose at the end.

"No one's picking me!"

"It's your first day, Shane. Sometimes it takes time to meet people."

Thankfully, he got picked soon after. Changed his whole tune. Shane said he wanted to go back again!

When we left, I told Shane wrestling was a tough sport. Everyone loses at first. The wrestlers who get good are the ones who learn each time and stay tough. He hasn't done anything this competitive before, but it seems as good a place as any to start.

I hope he sticks it out.