Saturday, June 27, 2020

Crazy (6-Year-Old) Driver

Ramsey has had a yellow motorized Hummer for a few years.  Up until this year, he refused to drive it any more than about two feet (before he freaked out and called it a day). 
While I was sorting through some things in our garage, I decided we should move the Hummer to the new shed.  And, as long as we're doing that, Ramsey should get it out and take it for a spin.
 He was a little shaky at first, going up and down hills (he tried to bail out a number of times!!), but he got the hang of it after a bit.
Unfortunately, we don't really have many flat areas to cruise on.  The best we have is the pavement (not safe) and one of the ditches has less steep grades and has some quasi-flat areas.  We chose the latter!   However, there were a number of times where he had veered into the steeper areas and Momma had to "push" him up (the wheels were spinnin'!).
It's probably a good thing this child isn't a dare devil or we'd have a wreck!   It was certainly funny to watch him scoot around on this mini mobile.
And... um... yes, he is wearing his pajamas!!! Ha!   During these days of COVID-19, anything goes!  No judging!  ;-)

Monday, June 22, 2020

Happy Father's Day!

On Sunday, we thought about (and called) our awesome fathers/grandfathers and celebrated our awesome Dad, Eric.
Eric opened his gifts and card.  He got a "Dad-alorian" t-shirt; a parody of Star Wars' Mandalorian.
And, I had ordered a "thin blue line" wooden art piece that a local military vet made.  The oak flag also has small "shelves" so Eric can display all of his law enforcement challenge coins on it.   It is HEAVY, so mounting it properly will be a challenge.  ;-)     (He tried to hide from the pictures, but I wouldn't allow it!) 
The rest of the day was rather lax.  Since the water was calm (it was a bit chilly and cloudy so the water was peaceful), Ramsey and I went kayaking.  This was Ramsey's first kayak ride.  He was obsessed with hanging over the edge and splashing the water!  Eh, no!
 Supper was honey soy glazed salmon with garlic and Parmesan roasted veggies.
 I picked some our bed of lilies to color-up the kitchen.
 That evening, Ramsey had found a new potential pet while he was playing outside; a small grey bunny rabbit, hopping around the yard.   We think it lives under the new shed.
 Ramsey came inside the house and asked me for some carrots.  He doesn't like carrots, so I knew what he was up to.   He left a small pile of carrots on a block, then left a trail of carrots to where the bunny was hanging out at the time (near the culvert).
 Bless his little heart, he was trying to "make friends" with the bunny.  I watched from afar, his little actions and hand gestures (and "nice talk") to coerce the scared little rabbit out of his hiding place.  He later told Bumpa on the phone, "I tried to feed my baby rabbit.  I had a more difficult chance to catch him because Connor scared him away!"
Snack/picnic time
Eric and Connor had gone out fishing that evening.  There wasn't a lot of action with the fish (Connor caught a Northern), but they spent good quality Dad/Kid time together. 

Sunday, June 21, 2020

Father's Day Q&A with Ramsey 2020

1) What is something Daddy always says to you?
"I 'mack you!"

2) What makes Daddy happy?
"When I go fishing with him."
3) What makes Daddy sad?
"Not fishing with him."

4) How does Daddy make you laugh?
"By teasing me!"

5) What was Daddy like as a little boy?
"He was nice!!"
6) How old is Daddy?
"I don't know.  40-something?  48?"

7) How tall is Daddy?
"Um, maybe like 8' tall?"

8) What is Daddy's favorite thing to do?
"Go fishing."
9) What does Daddy do when you're not around?
"He just sits in his chair and watches news all day."

10) What is Daddy really good at?
"He has good throwing." 
11) What is Daddy not very good at?
"Running."

12) What does Daddy do for a job?
"I think he is retiring from the police department."

13) What is Daddy's favorite food?
"His own fish!"

14) What makes you proud of Daddy?
"I love you and I like you.  You're such a good man!"
15) If Daddy was a movie or cartoon character, who would he be?
"Only someone with the same voice as him - Han Solo!"

16) What do you and Daddy do together?
"I just sit on his lap.  We play Star Wars guys and stuff."
17) How do you know Daddy loves you?
"Cuz he's a family member.  He says nice things to me."

18) What does Daddy like most about Mommy?
"Because you're so pretty!"

19) Where is Daddy's favorite place to go?
"Fishing."

20) How old was Daddy when you were born?
"I don't know.... 42?"         (close - he was 41.5!)

21) If Daddy would become famous, what would he be famous for?
"How cool he is!"

22) How are you and Daddy the same?
"We both have the same skin."

23) How are you and Daddy different?
"He doesn't have as much energy as I do."
24) What is your favorite thing to do with Dad?
"Sit on his lap."

25) What's your favorite thing about Daddy?
"His hair!"

Thursday, June 18, 2020

Learning Baseball

The other night, at prayer/bedtime, Ramsey and I were looking for a new book to read.  On his shelves with "big kid books", we found baseball gear, tucked behind the books.  With that baseball gear were a large baseball glove, two small little kid-sized baseball gloves, two baseballs, and my baseball glove from when I was a child!
 We got it out so we could get Daddy outside and learn to play.  Ramsey wanted to watch us play catch for a while before he learned some basic skills.
This was Day 1 of baseball/T-ball at home.  We'll keep trying, as there are a lot more things to learn!
I had forgotten how much I liked to play!  Hopefully Ramsey will enjoy this a little more in the upcoming months/years.

Sunday, June 14, 2020

Tree Clean-Up + Play

With so many storms moving through our area the last few weeks (with horrendous winds!), we've had quite a lot of tree clean-up to do.  *groan*
Eric and I dragged branches to the front of the yard to get ready to burn. 
Ramsey and Riggsy helped.  Sort of.  *wink*
But they also had to play, so hill-rolling was top-priority.
And once the fire started, S'mores were in order.  Of course, Ramsey's could not include a warm squishy marshmallow; chocolate and graham crackers only for him!  (So weird.)
When Connor showed up later that evening, he and Ramsey played in the yard and on the play set (what a nice big brubby!).
Riggs had to be put on the enclosed deck (he was eating too much grass - which later causes nasty involuntary actions we'd rather not have to deal with), but the neighbor's grand-dog came over for a visit.  He got lots of hugs and attention.  Ramsey lovingly named him "Random Dog".  ha!

Saturday, June 13, 2020

Slippin' & Slidin'

In times of COVID-19, there are less and less things to do.  We can't go anywhere.  So, we make the best of what we have and what we can do at home.
I remembered that I had a Slip-N-Slide when I was a kid.  But, in my day, the slide was a long yellow piece of plastic.  And, it came with a sprinkler in the shape of a banana that you used to water down the slide.  It ripped easily.  But, it was good for a few hours of fun here and there!
After a LOT of digging around locally, I finally snagged [the LAST] one at Walmart on a grocery trip.    On a hot Saturday afternoon, I hooked it up to the hose.
I had to find a piece of ground that was somewhat level so the water would disperse properly.  And, I found a bit of shade too.
I think Ramsey had just as much fun drinking the water from the sprinkler and splashing around in the mini pool as he did running and sliding!

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Monarch Attractor

Well our orioles decided to take a hiatus, after just a week or so.  And, we've only had one hummingbird.
But, right before [yet another] storm, this gorgeous monarch butterfly decided to visit us.

Monday, June 8, 2020

Protests

Our country is in turmoil as of late (seemingly moreso than usual).   A black man in Minneapolis was killed by a white policeman (a man who should not been in law enforcement - and who will be tried in court for his heinous action).  It was wrong and it was criminal.   One bad cop, however, does not represent an entire nation of good police officers.

This sparked a nationwide band of protesters (from Black Lives Matter, ANTIFA, and other anti-law enforcement and social justice groups) in big cities and even small towns.  With those protesters, many looters and anarchists appeared, burning down buildings (retail stores, police precincts, etc), stealing from and violently trashing stores, desecrating or even tearing down city, state, and national monuments and statues, and injuring/killing innocent people and police officers.  Millions of dollars worth of damage has been done thus far to many cities throughout the United States - and countless lives have been taken or greatly affected. 

And, with all of the chaos, police men and women still clock in to do their best to uphold the law, working to protect citizens and their rights - all the while being shunned by most of the media, ANTIFA, left-wingists, and the Black Lives Matter group.  Morale in many precincts has gone down significantly in the last two weeks.   These protesting groups are [literally] taking over parts of cities and demanding that the police departments be defunded and/or disbanded altogether.  And, many liberal cities are going along with  these demands.

I will not go off on any sort of diatribe here on my thoughts and view (the soap box is large), but I wanted to mark this on our blog/in our book to show that our small town was affected also.  People in our small town have been protesting too, which is part of our First Amendment.  So far, it's been rather peaceful, with only some foul words flinging.
With all of the chaos and protests that had become violent in other cities, the local rumor mills and social media were flooded with stories and ideas of potential issues with a planned protest to be held on June 6th.

However, the local police department met with the protesting group to discuss the planned protest, its location, and how to keep everyone safe.
I'm not going to lie, after seeing all of the horrific things that have been on the news lately, I was scared.  I was scared for Eric and I was scared for our city.  I was scared that things would turn ugly and people would get hurt. 

Eric went to work last Saturday, as that was when the larger planned protest had been scheduled.  He updated social media frequently to keep the Facebook page updated for citizens.  I am happy to say that the protest did remain peaceful.  Eric was gone longer than I thought he would be.  I was beyond relieved when he walked through the front door.

So here is a simple picture....
It's just an image of some food that came to the police department from a few local citizens on Friday afternoon.  But, I tell you what... the food in that picture meant a LOT to the APD (and to me!).  Those boxes and bottles are a representation of the respect and gratitude that some people still have for our local police officers.  The food was sent to the PD for the many officers who were on duty that Saturday during the protest (no one fully knowing how long it would last).   The owner of the local McDonald's restaurant provided breakfast, lunch, and supper for officers on duty that day too.   Those types of outward kindness have an emotional impact on our men and women in blue... and to their families.

So... really just a few key things for this post; #1: to note a historical event that caused a chaotic spiral of events in our nation but moreover #2: to show support for my husband and law enforcement officials, and #3) to demonstrate that this small town still has love and respect for its police officers when so much of the country's support is not shining through. 
God bless America.

Friday, June 5, 2020

New Storage Shed

We'd been in need of a storage shed for quite some time.  This Spring, we finally set the ball into motion.  
The landscaping crew had to build the gravel pad in the hilly area next to the play set.
It was delivered on my birthday, just hours before a big storm came.
We had designed it with the shed-maker's online tool so it would be custom to our exact specifications. 
 Seeing what we had customized was rather fun.
One gentleman named Menno delivered it.  And, before he unloaded it, he even grabbed our chain saw and cut a few wiley branches down that were in the way.
I had figured that getting the shed down the steep grade of the hill would be quite challenging. However, Menno used his motorized equipment and took it down with great ease.  I was impressed!
 So here it is... 12x20' of open area, ready for us to organize and fill up with yard tools, lawn mowers, the snow blower, lake toys, etc.
Just need to pop on the aluminum ramps!