NOVA Day 1

Road trip stage 1: Prepare.

That means pack, come up with a plan, and replace the Hank the Cowdog Shane has already listened to four times.

We weren't in a hurry. Shane borrowed a Pikachu stuffed reading buddy from the children's librarian and we hung out for a little while.

The goal of the road trip was to check in with friends and family. March is the Jeffers' birthday month. Seven of their clan (including spouses) were born in March. I knew which weekend Bill and Jill were coming to town, so I planned to visit when the gathering reached critical mass.

First stop, John's new library. We got to see a "Hello, Kitty" car on the way in.

John's had a stressful time of it lately, so he was top of my list to visit.

John started a new position as an Info staffer. He specializes in technology. The 3D printer was neat to look at (John said the book model currently printing was a four hour job! Wow!).

John being on staff means Shane gets to go behind the scenes. John's desk is always loaded with fun stuff.

John was still on the clock, so Shane and I tried to make ourselves helpful.

We assisted in setting up a meeting room for some beekeepers.

John showed Shane where the library stored their stuff for kids' programs.

Shane tested out a few of their supplies. We helped more than we made a mess.

Shane and I entertained ourselves until John's lunch break.

Then John brought out the Switch. He booted up Rocket League for Shane to play.

Shane got super intense while John and I talked.

After John's lunch break, Shane and I cleared out. John needed to finish his day. We ran a quick errand by Tyson's Mall for him and then drove over to the Jeffers' house. I don't miss NOVA traffic.

I don't have any pictures, because Shane got to play Angry Birds for much of the time we chatted. Bill and Jill recently announced their expecting their first child, Ben, who is due this summer. The Jeffers clan slowly gathered so that they could go out for a birthday dinner. Dan and Shar and Marcus and his gf, Lauren, all arrived while we visited.

When they left, I decided to visit Igor un-announced. He sent me his address the last time we were in town. I managed to catch him outside! Shane was so busy reading he never got out of the car. Which was great, because Igor showed me his bikes and I didn't have to pull Shane off of any of them.

Igor and Casey had plans for the night, so Shane and I slid over to a Starbucks to charge my phone, caffeinate, and wait for John to meet up after work.

Shane did not want to try a chai tea latte. He's anti-anything more than room temperature. He pouted and swore he wouldn't like it, but that tune changed once it was cooler. We played "I Spy" and listened to someone studying for a college biology test while we waited (or I guess I listened in to the Kelvin cycle).

Dinner was a hot dog at 7-11. Then John, Shane, and I rendezvoused at the Jeffers house for a night of fellowship.

Shane enlisted Bill and Jill to figure out some Transformers toys John gave him. Jill had the most success figuring them out. Bill's kid card was revoked.

I brought the stack of games.

Which didn't really get played. Shane really wanted to play on the Switch.

People joined him! There was a four-player co-op Kirby game going in no time.

I did get to introduce Bill and Jill to Codenames: Duet. I would have loved to have played some party games or something, but we were all busy talking and Shane had to be entertained, as well!

We were having so much fun we left for the airbnb later than I intended. It was good to see so many old friends at once.

There and Back Again

Continental breakfast.

9:30 service at our old church.

Shane got to play on the indoor fields. We were still in the computer system amazingly.

After church, we tried to surprise Jama.

I hadn't told her we were coming to town. Sadly, she wasn't there (which can happen with surprises).

We waited around for a little, but had to move on.

The Jeffers are around the corner, so I decided to drop in there next.

Gerry Tom Sawyer'd Shane into vacuuming.

The most amazing thing was Bill called shortly after we surprised Diane and Gerry. He was in town, too! Plans were hastily made for a pizza party. Bill talked to Igor. I recruited John. Diane called Dan and Shar.

I wasn't 100% sure what to do with Shane until everyone gathered. Then, another kid appeared.

Jackson lives two houses down from the Jeffers and is Shane's age. I actually knew his mom. She'd grown up in the same house when I used to visit the Jeffers.

The boys played outside until Jackson had to go in.

Gerry told us he was taking Oreo to the lake and asked if we wanted to come along.

While at the lake, we came across a baby squirrel.

It had been a windy night, so the little guy must have fallen from his nest. He hopped up to us from the woods.

I heard another baby squirrel squeaking up in a tree. Gerry spotted the nest and I scooped the little guy up in my hat and took him to the base of the tree.

I hope his parents came down to look for him. He tried to follow us out again. The online "What to do?" site I pulled up said to give the parents a couple of hours to pick him up. Otherwise, he was probably an orphan. With the nest and other squeaks I heard, I figured that all of the people and dogs present on the path probably kept the parents hidden.

I thought about this while Shane played on the playground.

We made it back in time for everyone else to start showing up!

It's been too long since we've all been together! Dan and Shar's wedding was the last time....and that had been the first time in years!

It was like old times trading stories and joking around.

I pointed at Dan and told Shane, "This one makes funny noises if you tackle him."

Turns out he's also very good at wrestling!

Shane and I left a little after 6 PM to give ourselves time to get home.....and do one last stop by Jama's!

Jama left me a voicemail earlier. She was sad to have missed us.

We almost missed her again. She wasn't in her room. Despondent, Shane complained he missed her the whole way back to the front desk. However, the front desk lady asked us who were looking for. When she found out it was Jama, she espoused, "You can't go yet! She'll be so sad! I know she's here!" She gave us Ed's room number and said to check there.

Which we did. We found her, too! She gave Shane a bunch of candy to hype him up for the car ride home.

We stayed until 7 PM, but then we had to get on the road.

We got home just before 9 PM and it was straight to bed for Shane. There were still two days of school before Thanksgiving break to go.

Shar's Here

Sharlene moved in late Sunday night. She and Dan will be moving out in two weeks to a new apartment in Maryland.

They're going to love it.

The commute from here is killer on both of them. It sounds like Dan spotted a great location for both of their jobs. The rent is the typical "you pay how much!?" for the area ($1500/month I think).

Carrie and I will be sad to see them go. I won't lie, the rental income was nice. Having a friend roaming around was worth more to me. Dan has lots of fun work stories, and we got to talk about nerdy things and jiu-jitsu.

We're working out whether or not we're going to look for another renter. Carrie did let our pastor know we have an open room if a need should arise for an intern or what have you, but nothing is really happening on that front.

How Appropriate

My wife surprised the groomsmen when we were getting ready. It was very appropriate. I can't help but grin when I think about it. I love my wife!

I think Shar's tale is the most fun lead-in. It went something like this...

Shar: Carrie is coming by with a surprise for everyone.

Dan: Strippers?

Shar: No!

Dan: Booze?

Shar: NO, DAN! This is something [my family] likes!

Dan: Oh! A cookie cake!

Ha! I bust a gut laughing when I heard the progression (and saw the "shut ups!" and punches from Shar that followed when Dan cracked up, too).

Dan got it on the third try! Cookie cakes are something of a tradition in my branch of the family. A birthday staple. I find it fitting that while we all forgot the tradition my wife remembered and acted. She's one of us through and through. Good job, Love!

I think Bill was touched. I know he ate some before the wedding and then he and Jill had some more for breakfast the next morning! 

Shar And Dan

Hopefully, you've heard of Dan by now.

He's the guy living in our basement. I've known him and his family since I was three, and he recently helped install a new air system.

Shane's even puked on him.

Sharlene is Dan's girlfriend. She lives in New York City and got her Masters in Psychology last December. When Dan and his friends were installing the heater, they had me verify that Shar was a real person and not some figment of Dan's imagination (or a creeper/serial-killer online Dan met in a chat room).

One of the reasons we don't see much of Dan is he likes to go up on weekends to visit Shar (the other reason is Dan works a lot and hides in the basement when he plays games online with Shar!).

There are some weekends when Shar comes down and visits Dan here. Carrie and Shar nerd out about some shows/things they're both fans of. Then, Dan and Sharlene go out at night to do the "no-kids and lots of energy" thing.

This weekend was a planned visit, but it started off sooner than expected. Sharlene is interviewing at different schools to try to get into a Doctorate program. The school that she hoped to get into (and had gotten the farthest with) rejected her on Wednesday night. She was upset, so Dan hopped on a train like a good boyfriend, and brought her back the next day. That's how Shar was around for Carrie to help transport her to an interview in our area.

I know my wife always enjoys when Shar visits, so hopefully Dan and Shar will be around some and not out and about all weekend!

A Shane Email

Carrie sent this to me at work today:

"Shane decided to give me another heart attack…. he choked on crackers and I had to do mouth scoops and inverted back blows to get enough of it out for him to be able to cough…. ugh… and i wonder why i'm going grey…  "

Shane has a tendency to shove way more in his mouth than he can chew. 

We call it "Chipmunk Cheeks." 

It sounds cute.

It isn't cute when he chokes or when he decides to spit the food back out after 'nursing' it for half an hour. 

I have not counted how many times Shane has scared Carrie and I by gagging or choking on something, but I can vividly recall at least two times. It's probably no more than a handful, but let me tell you: the adrenaline really flows when your kid gives you a scare like that.

I rushed home after work to help out in case Shane had Carrie at her wit's end. Carrie was sick this morning/last night, and if Shane spent part of the day choking I figured she might have had enough! 

Ironically, I can write this post, because my wife and son are not home yet. Sharlene asked Carrie to drop her off at the Metro for an interview while Dan and I were at work. Sharlene was supposed to be back at the station at 2:15 PM. When I called Carrie after work, Shane was unhappy in his carseat and she'd been driving around for about an hour waiting for Sharlene.

If you're wondering "Who's Sharlene?" I'll address that a little later. I have a lot of posts to catch up on and I may try to bang out several today to keep up with a "one a day" average.