What Brubbies Do On A Chilly Afternoon

Saturday's temps must have been an all-time high (we reached 71 degrees!).   All of us got OUT of the house (finally! ~ we had some serious cabin fever!!!) to play outside.   Ramsey and I went to town to get groceries, then came home to burn off energy, running up down the road (to the dead end and back... several times).   Connor had Riggsy outside for a long time too, playing, while picking up branches and such from the yard.    Apparently, we were just too darn active and busy to take any pictures.

Sunday, however, wasn't quite as nice, so we stayed indoors.  
Here's what the boys were doing:

Ramsey insisted on putting his big Star Wars figures on couch so they could all watch Star Wars TV shows together.

 Big Brubby came to hang out with them and have his [um... not-so-healthy] breakfast.

 And later, after playing "chase", encircling the house a gazillion times until running out of breath (and Ramsey getting a ridiculous case of hiccups), they chilled out on the couch, contently playing their games.

We did, however, grill steaks Sunday night.   As I looked out over the still-frozen lake from the balcony between flipping ribeyes, I smiled, happily thinking to myself that summer will be here soon!

Last Game of the Season

Another season of basketball came to a close on February 22nd.   Connor played his last game as a junior high/middle school kid.   During the last game, Connor scored 7 points!

Coming Soon:  TENNIS SEASON!

Star Wars.... the Force Awakens!

As you all know, the older males of this family (er, ME TOO - shouldn't exclude myself!) have an obsession with Star Wars.  In the past few months, the tiniest of the household who carries the XX chromosomes has also become a serious fan.  However, the majority of the fandom/love is for Darth Vader, the most infamous and notorious super-villain ever known!

Here's how the love story began:
Well over a year ago, Connor scrounged through his cluttered closet and found a handful of his old chunky-style Star Wars action figures that he got from Burger King (eons ago); Darth Vader, Darth Mal, and an R2-D2.   Ramsey was introduced to them.  He didn't show a ton of interest just then.  Riggs did though, taking them intermittently as his own chew toys.  Some of them have the battle scars to prove it (sorry R2).

Fast-Forward to December 2015:
For Christmas, Daddy bought Ramsey two 31" Star Wars action figures (a storm trooper and Darth Vader - see previous post).
Then, just after Christmas, and in anticipation for Star Wars VII opening in theaters, Connor and Daddy went back to Connor's cluttered closet and cleaned house, looking for more Star Wars ANYTHING to introduce to Ramsey.
JACKPOT.
Buried deep in a corner in a plastic tub, they found the mother load of Star Wars toys (we thought they had been passed down to Connor's other brother Bridger, but alas, they apparently hadn't made it that far).
One by one, Daddy and Connor handed them to Ramsey, telling Ramsey their names.

He had just inherited a myriad Star Wars toys!  

Stunningly, this was immediate HEAVEN for Mr. Ramsey.

Ramsey now has more toys to add to his Favorites.

Jump ahead to January 2016:
The company Nana works [part time] for had a Christmas party at the movie theater.   We all went to see Star Wars VII.  Ramsey was a good boy and watched 2/3 of it (before his patience wore out and he needed to run - THANK YOU Auntie Sarah and Sadie for watching him for the last bit of the movie!  I didn't want to miss it.).

After we returned home, Ramsey's love for Vader and Star Wars continued to grow.   Eric found some more Star Wars parody songs on You Tube and we watch them daily... and repeatedly! :-) (Man, they're catchy!)  When Ramsey hears Star Wars scores, he snaps his head, gasps, and turns towards the TV.   And, when Darth Vader sings, Ramsey gets so excited; he points, sometimes jumps up and down or falls to his knees, and turns to make sure we can all see who's on TV.     TV Gold!

He has a strange affection for the dangerous Star Wars Sith Lords and "bad guys"!  Here he is giving hugs to Vader (a nightly ritual for all of his 31" Star Wars figures).

It is fun to watch Ramsey and play with him and his toys.  There are times when he is extremely meticulous, setting the characters up in a row, or separating/grouping them by characters (he has multiples or different variations of many of the characters).  

Ramsey loves taking his Star Wars guys with him where ever we go; to the store, out to eat, and even to Connor's basketball games!

A new nightly ritual is Ramsey, on Daddy's lap, looking at Connor's Star Wars "encyclopedias" and learning about the characters, planets, vehicles, and animals.  Ramsey can point out maybe 50 (?? a LOT- way more than I can!!) Star Wars characters already.  Eric would probably say more, but I won't get too carried away here.  :-)

They stopped on the Yoda pages here. Ramsey's showing us his Yoda figure.

 And when it's time for Night Night, he grabs Darth Vader and R2-D2 (his other favorite - a good droid, thank goodness!), gives everyone hugs and kisses and wishes them "nigh nigh", then we head downstairs.  There, he finds his Darth Vader plush stuffed doll (am I supposed to use "doll" in the same sentence as "Darth Vader"!?!?) and snuggles in.  We have story time, say our prayers ("May the Force Be With You"... and Also With You) - our real prayers too, and go to sleep.  

Calling For Snow Please!

We've been waiting the entire winter to get the boys outside to play.  Either it's been TOO COLD, too windy, some of us had been under the weather - or, we've been gone.   Finally, this last weekend, it was beautiful outside - PERFECT outdoor winter fun temps!  Yay!

Everyone got bundled up; Eric and Connor dragged the ice house out to the lake and started fishing in the morning.
After lunch, Ramsey and I took Riggs out and attempted to go sledding.  Attempted.  :-)

It had been so nice the latter portion of the week that a lot of the snow melted (hello MUD) and what was left was not the "nice crunchy snow" (the good sledding snow), but was more like the stuff that you just sink into.  Oops.

Nonetheless, we sledded.  We had a dandy time going downhill!   We won't talk about going back up hill.  ha!  

Connor met up with us and grabbed his saucer sled.  Riggs chased him down the hill.

Ramsey loved being outside!  He trucked along, as well as he could, through the thick mushy snow.

We made our way over to see Daddy in the ice house.   Eric and Connor had been catching walleye, but the crappies and bluegill weren't biting.  Hmmm?!?

Of course, Ramsey wanted to get down and run around, but there are far too many dangers inside of an ice house.  So.... we didn't hang out with Dad too long.   

I rarely say this, but I am truly hoping for more snow!  Of course, I always have a caveat; I would also like the weather to stay NICE so we can enjoy the outdoors!   

Alas, we rarely ever get everything we want.  But, I'm sure we'll get one... or the other.  :-) 

The Height of Basketball

And we're half way through another winter basketball season already!   For weeks, Connor's been practicing or playing in games daily.   He's got a handful of away games yet to play, but only ONE home game left!

Playing as a Golden Eagle, the 8th grade boys play other larger schools in the state, plus scrimmage after some of the late games.

 During last night's game (on his BIRTHDAY), Connor made a 3-point shot!  Whoo hooo!

They received their "Atta-Boys" from the coach and celebrated their victories against the opposing team.

No...Way...! Fourteen Candles on the Birthday Cake!?!

Another "whoah" moment.... Connor turns 14 TODAY!    To think that soon he will be driving me around like Miss Daisy, shaving on a regular basis, going on dates with girls, and, come next fall, a high school freshman.    Whoah, is right!

We celebrated Connor's birthday with him (Round 1) on Sunday.  We pigged out on pizza, had cake and ice cream, and opened presents.

Round 2 celebration will be when we take him to Sky Zone (an indoor trampoline park) in Fargo with a buddy for the day!

In my absolutely biased opinion (hehe), Connor is one great young man; so caring and sweet.  We're SO very proud of him and we look forward to seeing him grow into a wonderful adult (but NOT TOO QUICKLY!).    Love you Connor!

Connor's Favorites at 14:
Food: Pizza
Movie: Star Wars (all of them)
Class in School: P.E.
Least Favorite Class: Math
Activities: Sports (basketball and football), gaming, fishing
Video Games: Madden (NFL) and Call of Duty

Stats/Misc Info:
Height: 5'4"
Best Friends: Jared, Avery, Alex, Spencer, and Tayden
and
According to his birthday candles, he has FOUR girlfriends.  ha!