A New Cousin!

Thursday, Oct 21, 2021: Nathaniel Isaac was born!

I didn't post until now, because Patrick and Shelby have asked for people to hold off on posting pictures.

But that's okay with me, because it's their child and their story. I'd like to post a small something here eventually, so think of this as a placeholder. 

I hope to get out and see the new cousin with Shane before too much happens, but it will all happen on Patrick, Shelby, and Nathaniel's time table. I texted Patrick and he said it'd be easier to do once their all home, so that's the plan for now. Whether the visit will be a drive by or whether they want us to come inside has yet to be decided. Patrick's close enough that it's easy to play by ear. I don't mind driving 40 minutes for a 5 minute visit. We could get Chic-Fil-A or hit up a book store in Waynesboro to add to the trip!

NOVA Run

Bill called to tell me he'd be visiting his parents over the weekend. "Dan's in town, too," he said.

So Shane and I visited Sunday!

I hadn't seen Dan in years. It had been a couple of months since seeing Bill, as well. I wasn't sure if I had the energy for the trip, but I didn't know when a better opportunity would arise so I made the energy.

I'm glad I did. It was a lot of fun!

Shane really enjoyed the Halloween decorations. 

He hopped out of the car ready to rumble. He tried to wrestle Bill for a lawn chair (with the Switch in hand!?).

Dan was the exact same Dan I remember. He walked up in PJ bottoms and flip flops. His hair would've been longer, but Shar made him cut it! They were in town for Greg and Christine's wedding.

And it was so good to have a chance to talk and catch up. I wish I could do it every weekend. Just show up, sit down, and hang out.

Jerry recruited Shane to help him pump up some bike tires.

If Shane had been taller, Jerry was willing to take him on a bike ride down to Lake Royal. Sadly, the bike was too tall for Shane (and Shar!).

We hung outside for a while. When we did go inside, Diane let Shane have some candy and he sat down to zone out on the Switch for a little bit.

That gave me a chance to play Marvel Champions with Bill! 

Bill had wanted to go with me to the library to visit John. However, Ben was napping. Bill wanted to wait for Ben to wake up first, but Ben kept on sleeping!

We'd already gone back outside again before Ben woke up. Jerry gave Shane a frisbee and showed him how to throw it.

Shane adapted faster than I did (I'm used to the heavier weight of frisbee golf discs). Everyone played frisbee until Ben woke up. Then Bill sat down with him while the games continued.

Shane and I left at the same time the Jeffers packed up and headed out for dinner at Dogfish Head. Jill packed up, because she had to drive back to NJ for work in the morning. Bill and Ben stayed behind for one more day before returning home, as well.

Shane and I didn't head straight home, though. We went by John's library.

I'd texted John to see if he was working, but he never specified. So I called the library to check. I heard his voice answer the phone, "Can you hold please?" I said, "Yes," and then hung up, because I knew what I needed to know.

It was a short conversation, sadly. John gave short replies and it was mostly me talking. I let him know about a few things happening in the family, but I sensed it was better not to stay too long.

So Shane and I started the journey home. We stopped at the McDonald's in Madison for dinner and a bathroom break.

It's been forever and a day since I've had McDonald's. I didn't remember it as being so salty! If it isn't convenient, I don't plan on stopping there again. 

We made it home somewhere a little after 8:30 PM if I recall correctly. We left the house at 9 AM for church, so it was a full day! Monday was a school day, but I'm glad we made the trip. It's been hard to keep up with people and there's nothing like spending time in person with people you care about.

Trunk or Treat!

Halloween signs abound. Students don't normally bring severed limbs to class.

Friday was "Trunk or Treat" at Scottsville Elementary. I wanted to arrive early, but apparently we weren't the only ones to get the idea.

First stop, was trunk-or-treating!

There were some fascinating getups!

Shane and I did the loop.

Maybe we'll decorate a car for trunk or treat one year.

Seeing what everyone came up with was part of the fun!

Shane dressed as Deku this year. Deku has green hair. 

Carrie got/assembled linked outfits for the whole family, but there will be more on that later. 

For now, Shane was the only one in costume while I walked him around.

Most of the night's action was in the bus loop.

But then Shane saw the cake walk. Only four kids did the walk and the winner picked a huge pie.

Shane wanted in! Unfortunately, so did everyone else.

Shane tried five times without success. I'd warned him (and had a small discussion) about odds beforehand, but the sting of defeat felt personal to him (I didn't like cakewalks much as a kid, because it seemed cheaper to buy a cake on average....unless you were the Twins. The Twins actually won from time to time!).

Shane would have loved to have stayed longer, but we needed to head home to talk with Ryouma. Originally, Shane had told us Trunk or Treat was on Thursday. Foolishly, we believed him instead of double-checking. When it turned out to be Friday, we didn't want to reschedule last minute on Ryouma, so Shane and I had to sprint home.

We'll know better next year. Shane will move up from Walton, but I bet he'll still want candy!

Cats, cats, cats

We thought Shane's backpack was safe. The cats love to use it as a bed.

So it was a big surprise when Shane put it on and yelled, "CAT PEE!"

We lost the shirt and the backpack.

"This is so unlucky," Shane whined.

"You could look at it that way," I said. "Or you could be thankful it happened on a Friday. We can 'forget' your backpack today and then have the weekend to figure out what to do."

We had a good run of at least a month in between incidents. The litter levels looked a little low, so maybe this was Aria's (annoying) way of letting us know.

Pets - they make messes.

And we have an extra cat in the house at the moment doing just that.

Grandma and Grandpa have been out of town for the past month, so we've had Bucket with us. While we don't have to worry about her peeing outside the litter box, she pukes all the time.

She eats too much, too fast, and...*hurk!*

After a month, there's not a safe chair left in the office to sit in (and you have to watch your step, too!).

I normally avoid entering the room, because of my allergies. Otherwise, I might have had Shane cleaning it already. He's supposed to check in on Bucket and spend time with her each day as part of his cat litter chores. However, he likes to avoid any work he's not explicitly told is his problem!

Poor Bucket always acts starved for love when I do check in on her.

Carrie and Shane drove Bucket back to be with Grandma and Grandpa the following week (10/28).

Carrie's been trying to woo Aria. I sometimes get pictures while I'm at school.

I'm still the favorite.

Of Aria, at least. She's happy to impose herself on me.

Some days it feels like I can't sit down without Aria attacking me for love.

Tsuki favors Carrie. Always has and always will. Tsuki's also started to favor the corner of the island. Nobody knows why.

[Note to self: Put a picture here if you ever remember!]

Happy is Shane's cat. "Look she crawled up onto me!" Shane said.

That's true about half the time. Sometimes she'll crawl up, but other times Shane grabs her and drags her somewhere before claiming she "crawled up" (She doesn't always leave after he nabs her, though).

Future Narrator

Shane likes to read....aloud. Doesn't matter if it's a book or a Far Side visual gag. Aloud is Shane's favorite way to read.

And he doesn't care what you're doing when he does it either! I was reading something on my phone at dinner the other day and Shane started to read to me. 

I like Shane reading. What I really wanted to do in that moment was finish what I was reading before he interrupted me, but I didn't want to discourage him either. 

So I said, "Sure" (in a slightly surly tone that slipped right past him) and decided to see how long Shane would read aloud.

He didn't stop. Shane finished one chapter and then started another. And then another.

They were short chapters, but after 9 of them Carrie got frustrated, because Shane wasn't eating his dinner!

Shane gets some words wrong, but what he does right is adding emotion to what he's reading. He likes to add sound effects, makes voices, and inject dramatics.

Maybe Shane will want to be a narrator one day. I used to read aloud to him, but nowadays it's mainly lots of audiobooks (Basically, every other time we're in the car).

But it's reading. I'd prefer if Shane could do it quietly, but reading is reading. Shane doesn't pick up on any cues when I want quiet, but on the flip side of that he doesn't seem to pick up the cues for when I'm not paying attention, either!

School Day Off

Shane got a surprise day off school. Sarah asked Carrie to help trailer Maya down to an appointment at Virginia Tech. Carrie didn't think she'd make it back in time to pick Shane up, so he went with!

Shane's a good traveler. I'm sure Carrie just handed him a device and said, "Have at it." 

I hope he brought some books, too.

Carrie has some other pictures of her running Shane down the trot line at the clinic, so I know he wasn't a total bum (just mostly).

Family logistics. You do what you gotta do. 

More Soccer! (Sat - 10/16)

Shane and the Dukes faced off against Teal again! It was a fun game!

Last time they met, Teal and Yellow had a hard fought match that ended in a tie just before the whistle. There have been multiple games and a new team name since then.

Shane was back in goal and raring to punt! Teal had some good ball handlers (the only name I know is Mia), so Shane saw action on his side of the field.

This 2 minute clip showcases all the glory and the goofiness of Shane playing soccer.

From awesome to oops! And you know the cycle repeated many, many times.

Shane's head is mostly in the game. In this shot, he's too far off one side and leaning against the goal post, but the picture doesn't show you him shifting back and talking the whole time. Shane talks incessantly about the game. He may have a future as an announcer or commentator. Quips like "Don't let them get too close to you while you dribble!" don't help (and make me cringe), but he's usually positive. "Go team!" "Good job!" and "Let's take that goal back!" are all common....as are comments about his team's and the other team's strategies, etc.

Everything seemed to be clicking for Yellow. Here was an awesome drive and score by Ben.

Peter never stood a chance.

Yellow started to dominate and Shane got a little bored at times. However, Teal brought in a new goalie to liven things up. I think Luke was Teal's coach's son. He was supposedly in the right age bracket, but clearly more developed than the other kids. They stuck him in as Teal's goalie to keep the game more even (and he could punt the ball the length of the whole field!).

Shane and I dispensed snacks after our victory.

Some of the Teal kids wandered over and asked to join in. That gave Shane the idea to run off with the box to pass snacks out to anyone and everyone! 

It was a great morning. It had started early with pictures.

I take my own pictures, so I don't see a need to buy any. Still, the league likes you to participate, so we do.

We had to show up an hour early, but that turned into time for Shane to socialize.

He walked off with his friend, Peter. He knew Peter from After-School at Scottsville when he was in 3rd grade. Peter's older and has already gone up to middle school, but Shane may seem him there next year.

The boys hung out and talked for a long while. I hung back a ways to give the kids space to be kids and contented myself with my cell phone and the occasional picture of the team dog (which I didn't realize we even had!).

Some girls on the team came up with baby bunnies while everyone was hanging out before the game!

I let Shane wander off to the field with the other kids while I stayed behind at the gazebo for a bit. However, he ran up to me with a gift for Carrie before he left.