Definitely Spring

Kids in the circle. 

Parents in sandals.

Raheem showed up as Henry and Sam were going in.

No extracurriculars, just outside.

Board Game Day Weekend Trip Round 2

Shane was up before 7 AM again. We shared a bed, so I noticed quickly. He kept squirming around and kicking me.

In case you're wondering, this is what it looks like when he plays Pokemon Go.

Jama, Ed, Nana, Pop, Shane, and I went as a unit to Christ Church. We met Bruce, Reina, and Bryce there!

Brycae and Shane were in the same Sunday School class and revitalized their friendship.

It's hard to believe it's been two years since we went to Christ Church with them. It's also funny to note that it was my second time to hear a sermon with a Lion King theme. Carrie watched online and immediately caught a misquote! I found her message after the service and laughed.

We hung out for a little bit greeting old friends. I still recognize a lot of people.

Jama asked to be in a picture where she got a head's up to smile before we left.

Shane spilled a cup of dirt on the couch where we congregated. He's 0 for 2 with cups so far this trip. I had him sweep up his mess and dump the dirt outside.

Bryce and Shane ran together to the cars when we left. They checked out a storm drain while the adults caught up.

Then we all went to Dairy Queen for a Sunday lunch.

John met up with us! I love spending time with family and friends! I wish the whole crew/family would have been able to gather, but that's a time passed.

Shane wanted to try an Oreo Blizzard of his own today.

Spill #3 happened as we left. John witnessed it and was highly amused. 0 - 3 for the weekend.

John, Shane, and I caravaned off to Springfield Mall. I requested a stop by an AutoZone on the way.

I just replaced the other headlamp a couple weeks ago. The other one decided to die on the way up.

Which meant I was driving around with a rejected sticker (valid for 15 days - old tires) and a car with one headlight. I had all my paperwork, but I didn't want to get pulled over so that bulb needed a quick fix.

We dropped by a different FLGS and I picked up a pair of Pokemon card packs for a reward and car entertainment.

Then we toured the mall. There's no longer a playground by the food court. John and I talked, reminisced, and played a game of Magic with some duel decks I picked up while Shane farted on my phone. The last time we'd played Magic was around 9th grade.

Security wasn't tight around the mall. It was shopping for clothes online.

I would have liked to have visited my teacher friend, Matt G, but he was moving into a new house. That gave us plenty of time to wander around. Shane played a Pokemon demo game in Target.

We stumbled across a store selling nostalgia from when John and I were young.

Shane recognized some of it.

I recognized just about everything.

Even the Pokemon.

We had a lot of fun, but we had to call it quits eventually.  There was a two-hour drive ahead of us and school in the morning. John's had a tough time of it lately, so I was happy to get a chance to see and support him.

At Shane's request, we dropped by the retirement home on our way out to say good-bye to Nana and Pop. They would be hanging around for the week before going to help with baby Aiden. I ended up watching hockey with Pop while Nana went on a Pokemon walk with Shane.

I had to call her to bring him back or we may have never gotten home.

Day of Games

Happy International National Tabletop Day! John was hosting an event at his library. I was happy to help. I packed more games than we could possibly use into my trunk.

I resisted the temptation to throw more in.

Once we were packed up, we headed to Shane's soccer game.

My plan was to let him run around and get tired before subjecting him to a car ride.

Energy was exerted. The field was a muddy mess.

Shane's continued the habit of trying to stay on defense. He's got energy in spades, but is surprisingly hesitant to spend it.

It's not like he sits still and rests on the sideline. He got in trouble for pouring out the coach's water to make a 'lake.'

Jeremiah is the other player who likes to hang back on defense. Maybe they're bonding.

Another game, another wave of high-fives and a snack for the road!

Two hours (and one Hank the Cowdog) later, we were at Tyson Regional Library. Cooley and several of Matt's JMU friends were already there. We used to play DOTA on Warcraft 3 with the guys, but Alex was the only one I'd ever met in person. It was great to reminisce ("Remember when we all made power ranger names?" "Or what about LN and how we became the Lithuanian National Team?")!

Shane inspected the fragiles,...

...but John was smart enough to bring other entertainment options for him.

With Shane on the Switch, I was able to socialize with less distraction.

John and Cooley ran through an Age of Sigmar skirmish. Alex and another guy tried Warhammer The Adventure Card Game. I talked to Nick and he started to pull out Space Hulk for a run through (Can you sense a Games Workshop Vibe?).

Nana and Pop stopped by after visiting Dad's friend, X B, at a track meet. Shane gladly gave up the switch in favor of Pokemon and grandparents.

That left me free to talk and try Space Hulk for a little bit. We actually had a pair of guys walk in who had heard about our event online. They joined John and Alex for a game of Welcome Back to the Dungeon. I hopped back and forth and did my best to be social and facilitate before settling down to finish Space Hulk.

I won as Genestealers. Cooley wanted to play a round, so I switched sides and played Marines. I'm glad I played the game if only to spend time with friends and to learn I don't want to buy it.

Nick, Alex, John, Cooley, Shane, and I met up at Noodles and Company after the library closed.

Alex was nice enough to play Love Letter: Batman with Shane after we ate. Shane dealt me in only to knock me out before I knew I was in the game!

Nick and Alex had other plans and said good-bye after dinner. The rest of us went by a friendly local gaming store to poke around.

John took Cooley home and then rendezvoused with Shane and I at Dairy Queen for ice cream. Shane spilled an entire cup of Hi-C in front of his chair. Calvin and Hobbes was a casualty.

Of course, I made Shane clean it up. I had almost thrown away his drink when we left Noodles and Co. Almost! Shane chose to prioritize his Pokemon cards over the drink. See them in his cup holders?

The cup was not in the cup holder, but on the seat.

Oops.

Lesson learned, I hope.

I got on Shane's case some, but not much. He knew he was in trouble. He worked to clean up the mess and take responsibility which is what I wanted to see.

Shane kept saying he didn't want ice cream because he messed up. I told him he'd done his penance, but he insisted. He was stubborn about it, so I switched up my approach. I told Shane he couldn't have a fancy blizzard, but he could have a small cone.

The cone was accepted.

I had an Oreo Blizzard in case anyone's interested. It's the best Blizzard out there.

Shane and I said good-bye to John and met up with Nana and Pop at Jama's apartment to spend the night. Shane was pumped to see them, but still fell asleep.

Which was great, because the adventure would continue in the morning.

Side note: Nana thought he looked filthy and needed to shower before hopping in bed. She also combed his hair for what was probably the first time in his life

Nana and Pop Drive Through

Nana and Pop dropped by! They were driving up north to visit and help family. First stop was Patrick's to help with a new apartment. Second stop was Charlottesville!

I called them when I got home from work. Then I called them again and asked if we could meet up at Shane's school to pick him up.

They smiled when we met up in the parking lot. "House messy?" Nana asked. "That was a quick call-back!"

My family has always been good about reading between lines. 

Shane was outside playing on the blacktop behind the school. He rocketed over when he saw Nana, Pop, and I!

Shane loves his family, but it doesn't hurt that Nana and Pop normally come bearing gifts. They found a stack of Pokemon cards at a thrift store they help at.

Shane started to read through all 100+ of them right away.

We scooted across town to our local thrift stop and then hit up Fuzzy's Taco for dinner. That gave Carrie time to clean up and continue working (She'd been on a string of work calls when I dropped by the house). Carrie was still working when we arrived, but the house was up to her standards for company.

Not that Nana or Pop would have cared. Pop was busy messing with Shane.

The weather was beautiful and we all played outside for a while. Nana gave Shane her phone for Pokemon Go. Which worked well until he got so excited he jumped straight up in the air and dropped it. No harm done, but close call!

Nana and Pop continued on their journey before it got too late. The plan was to see them tomorrow in Northern Virginia.

Team Picture Day

Thursday is soccer day. The coach sent out an email that it was team picture day. SOCA has taken pictures on game days in the past, so they must be trying something new. The kids all chased and tried to tackle the coaches until it was time to line up.

After each kid took a picture, they ran over to do a passing drill with Coach Jeanluc. Kids (Shane) kept straying into the background of the photo shoot, though, so Jeanluc took them over to the baseball diamond for soccer kickball. Jonah's dad and I fanned out and fielded to make it easier on Coach.

Coach Brian called the kids back when the individual shots were done.

Cell phone shots for the win.

Practice started in earnest and I noticed a baseball team filling onto the diamond behind us. I recognized one of the coaches as a wrestling parent!

His son and Shane's friend, Ryan, was running the track for a warm-up. The longer we stay in Cville the smaller it seems. Their team had a spring loaded pitching machine. It looked neat.

But back to soccer.

I took some action shots.

And some not so action shots. The coaches probably should explain a little less sometimes and just get the kids moving.

It's a learning process for the coaches, too. Best to stand back and let them coach. Maybe they'll be PE teachers one day. I used to help with kids all the time when I was younger and the experiences (good and bad) certainly helped shape my outlook/skill-set.

Shane's make-up baseball game was scheduled for 6 PM. Soccer ended at 5:30 PM, so we could have made it. I like activities, but kids need to have agency and downtime.

I asked Shane if he wanted to go to the game after soccer. He said he'd rather go home. So we did.