Blessed

 I try to remember how blessed we are on a daily basis.  That said, it's hard to find a better example than seeing the two kids you love the most in this world smiling in a mound of presents, wrapped in the comfort of their warm home and comfy pajamas, celebrating the birth of the God who makes it all possible.  

Gametime

 This is how you enjoy your first NBA game:

Go with a few of your good friends - CHECK

Bamboozle your dad out of a new shirt in the team shop - CHECK

Get $13,000 worth of snacks and soda at the concession stand - CHECK

Watch your team pull out the victory - hmmm, well, 3 out of 4 ain't bad.

With the holidays happening, it has been too long since I've posted.  I figured now is a good time to catch up.  

1) Thanksgiving was great.  It was a much needed break for all of us.  We were also fortunate enough to have a visit from Grandma and Grandpa.  While I wasn't able to capture a photo of them.  I was able to get this as proof they were here and they came with their usual soda contraband...

2a)  We found out that Amelia will be getting her braces off in less than 6 months - which is a shorter time than we thought.

2b)  We got Everett's basketball uniform and it fits him like a small version of basketball players from the early 80's - which is much, much shorter than we thought

3) In an area where there is no update, Olive is still the sweetest dog alive.

Tied Up

I don't want to go into any details.  All I am willing to say is when you are ten years old and your sister is thirteen years old, your ego and your mouth tend to write checks your smaller, weaker body can't cash....the result of which has you ending up in the floor, hog-tied in your own socks, calling for your dad to come help you.....

It's a Wrap

Another soccer season is in the books.  It ended with a win, a goal for Everett, and some action shots from one of the photographer parents....

special thanks to Marc Lancaster of Marc Lancaster Photograpy.

Pics

We spent some time last weekend taking photos of the kiddos.  Luckily, we were able to get a few good ones.....

...me getting bored and taking a picture of Meggan taking a picture....

...Everett showing his sophisticated expressions....

...Amelia giving me "13 year-old in mood"....

....one contemplating life and the other enjoying it....

Still Got Him

 When something captures Ev's attention, he never lets it go...

Bro-Pho

 Everett has started this thing where he stops me mid-stride and says we need to take a "Bro-Pho".  Now, despite hating being in pictures and also being unable to convince him to call them "Bro-tos", how can I say no??

Patiently Waiting

This has been one of those weeks where I wake up dreading all the work I have to accomplish and go to bed stressed about the work I didn't get done.  This has left my biggest fan lonely and bored ... luckily, she doesn't share my same stress level...

Action

 It feels really good to see the kids back outside, running around, playing sport.  Ev is particularly happy to be back on the soccer pitch after taking two years off for COVID....if only they sent us the youth small jersey instead of the adult small....

special thanks to Marc Lancaster Photography for capturing this shot of our boy out there. 

Trip 2

Home again, home again.  After a small pandemic break, we were able to resume our bi-annual guys' trip.  It's one of my favorite trips every time.  I begin looking forward to the next trip the minute the last trip ends.  This year was no different.  It's always fun to reminisce over the last 25 years of memories, take a break from being a responsible adult, and compete as hard as we can at everything from ping pong to basketball...  Oh yeah, and my favorite,  getting an action shot of your friend being launched through space...

Trip 1

Ahhh, 90+ degrees and 90%+ humidity ... oh, Gainesville how I've missed you.  I was lucky enough to go back to my old stomping grounds and watch my beloved Gators play....and win!  Even more importantly, I was able to see friends who live there and family who came to town for the game...

Did I mention we had pretty good seats....

...and also a nice watering hole across from our condo.....

 

On the Road

I will be heading out of town two of the next three weekends.  Keeping in mind I've barely left my neighborhood the past 2 years and I've certainly not been away from my family during that time, I'm a little uneasy about it.  Don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly excited to get to go see some family and friends I haven't seen in years.  I just happen to be one of those fortunate men who genuinely loves being home around their wife and kids.  I miss them terribly when I'm gone....and they miss me too....you know, if they see a bug in the house or need someone to go pick up the pizza. Hey, I take what I can get. 

Trim 2

 Speaking of overdue haircuts, these two little ladies were finally able find their way to the salon....

Trim

After growing out his hair all summer, my man lost the battle and had to get it cleaned up for school.  Luckily, unlike Samson, he's still just as awesome as he was with long hair...

Tough to Swallow

I'm happy to report that after almost two weeks of eating soft foods and being taken care of by the finest furry nurses around (see below), Amelia has recovered from her tonsillectomy.  I will admit it was a much rougher recovery than I anticipated.  I will also admit she tired of eating ice cream waaaaay sooner than I thought she would and waaaayy waaaaayyyyyy sooner than I would have ....

Product Placement

 Gatorade can feel free to contact me through this blog to offer compensation for this product placement with this handsome athlete...

Vacation

We were lucky enough to spend last week at the beach.  We rode bikes, swam in the pool, saw alligators and stingrays, etc.  I'll check to see if any of us got any pics from the trip or if we were too busy enjoying it to whip out our phones.  That said, Everett and I came home early while the girls went on a second 4-day beach trip with friends.  Don't feel sorry for us.  While there were no bikes, no pools, and no wildlife, we managed to have a great time on our own.  As you can see from this picture, I spent some time catching up on work, Ev spent every waking moment playing video games, and Lucy apparently learned to read and use an IPad...

Growing

As you can see, I wasn't joking about Everett's pledge to avoid haircuts all summer...

Summer Pals

With the kids out of school and me working from home, it would seem as though we'd be sick of each other by now.  However, between Ev getting covid, them going to their grandparents' for a week, and most importantly, them spending countless hours facetiming with friends on virtual playdates... like seriously, an insane amount of hours...no, really, think of a crazy amount of hours... yeah, more hours than that.  I don't feel like I've seen them all that much.  In fact, I decided to take these pictures of them so I could remember their smiling face ... 

My beautiful daughter who just got her first haircut in a long time...

My handsome man who has a stated goal of dodging haircuts for the entire Summer...

Shooting Stars pt. 2

 A few weeks ago I posted this 

http://barberbabble.blogspot.com/2022/05/shooting-stars.html 

While we weren't able to bring home the title, I am happy to say we came in 5th place out of 64 teams.  Our goal going in was to make it out of the first round. Given the fact that Ev was one of the younger kids there, I am hoping we can make another good showing next year.  In the meantime, I want to say how proud I was of Everett.  My man was pretty intimidated when we walked into the gym to see 126 other people warming up and shooting baskets.  After a few pep talks, including the coach telling the boys the best feeling in sports is winning, the 2nd best is when you try your best and come up short, and the worst feeling in sports is when you don't participate because you're too afraid, he was ready to roll.  After our first win, his confidence was so high that he "carried" us to our second round victory....just ask him....he's happy to tell you all about it. 

Break

The kids have spent the past week at their grandparents' house.  While Meggan and I took advantage of the time by going out to dinner, seeing friends, and watching zero minutes of Youtube, Pokemon, or Lego Ninjago, it wasn't the break it used to be.  We realized this time around that our kids are so independent and fun to be around these days that their absence leaves a bigger hole than the freedom can fill.  That said, based on this screenshot I took last night of Ev enjoying a Coke and movie at almost 10pm, the kids (justifiably) still think it's quite a nice break from us...

Time to Report

I don't often do this, but I'd like to brag on my kids.   Okay, I do it all the time.  Hey, it isn't my fault they keep me loaded up with pride!  Both kids got their year-end report cards ....and there was nothing but A's to be found.  That means for the year, Amelia received straight A's on every report card and Ev received 1 B+ in the first trimester (which he moved to an A and then to an A+ in subsequent trimesters) and straight A's everywhere else.  They dealt with COVID scares, several absences, an advisor and a teacher leaving school mid-year, and the reset of social circles that stemmed from the starting/stopping/remote learning, etc. the prior year.  I can't tell you how proud I am of these two kids

Symptom

Turns out, the crazy kid sign on the door was really just Everett's first COVID symptom.  He's been locked away behind that sign since he tested positive.  Luckily for him, COVID amounted to a day of headaches, a slight cold, and playing with his also-quarantined friends (it went around his class) via video calls and video games literally 12+ hours per day.  Luckily for us, we were able to drag him away from his friends a few times to enjoy a socially distanced popsicle outside....

Disclosure

Ev posted this on his door today....

.... Consider yourself warned and enter at your own risk...

Overdue

 I forgot I promised a picture of Amelia heading to her dance....better late than never...plus, she's still just as beautiful as when I promised it...

Shooting Stars

Move over Dell and Steph Curry, Charlotte has another father/son duo looking to take home the crown as the Queen City's sharpest shooters...

What's that?  Dell, Steph, and Seth Curry are all in the top 40 in NBA history in 3-point shooting percentage?  The Currys have combined for roughly 6,000 more NBA 3-pointers than me and Ev? Yada Yada Yada. Well, Ev and I have never missed a single NBA 3-pointer. Not one!  Do we look like we're scared? Also, we're sorta betting NBA superstars who live across the country aren't going to make the trip to sneak into the 10-12 year-old boys division of the Yes I Can Shootout.  So, we have that going for us. 

Dance

 Amelia went to her first middle school dance this weekend.  I don't have any gossip from the inside as they didn't need any chaperones and Everett was unable to sneak in even though I drew a moustache on him to make him look older.  So, you'll have to settle for a pre-dance picture .... on second thought, I wasn't home to take a pre-dance picture, so you'll have to settle for a picture of Olive until I break into Meggan's phone and get one...

Hey, you could do a lot worse than a picture of this sweet girl...

Drawn

 While we're on the topic of drawings, here's Amelia's latest work...

... yeah, she's good. 

Well

With the help of Gatorade, rest, and prayers, I am almost completely back from my bout with COVID.  That said, with well-wishes like this one Ev made for me, I really had little choice but to get well soon...

For those of you wondering - behind this drawing were coupons for free back rubs when I get well.  On an unrelated note, I'm not sure why crayon Amelia is so angry in this drawing...

Message

 The video below will explain how my week has been.  

turns out having a great friend set up a Cameo video from one of your favorite former Gator/NBA players is the best medicine...you know, other than vaccines, boosters, Tylenol, cough syrup, and any other actual medicines.  

Notes

This e-mail came from one of Amelia's teachers who is a medical doctor stepping in to teach her science class....

"Hi Amelia's parents,

 

I wanted to take a second to share that Amelia is a joy to have in science class -- she is bright, conscientious, kind, attentive, and inquisitive.  Take a bow, because you're doing a job as parents!"

....I mean, we already knew she was awesome, but it is nice to have it cosigned by someone else. 

Payoff

The kids are really getting to the ages where they can work off the debt they owe me for giving them life... either that or Amelia is just a kind soul who doesn't mind helping her old dad...

Spring

Spring has sprung at our house ... and I don't know that only from my allergies ... I know that because my talented wife is growing all the colors of the rainbow in our yard....

Return

I'm not sure how long it will last, but today definitely felt like a small return to normalcy for us.  It started with 10-year old basketball assessments.  Afterwards, we rushed over to Ev's lacrosse game.  Finally, it ended with some escape room fun and dinner outside with a friend of Amelia's.   To top it off, tomorrow has two more lacrosse games in store for us....and if I know my kids, there will likely be a stop at an ice cream shop.  On a related note, I admit it was great to be out and about today....but, a little part of me was missing the solitude of being at home. 

Round Trip

After two years, we finally went on a trip and stayed in a hotel!  I'll admit, we felt a little like we were leaving the nuclear fallout shelter about 3 months after everyone else.  Mostly everyone we saw, including the family members we visited, have progressed far better than us in a post-COVID (continual-COVID?) world.  That said, we went, we saw, we did, and we made it back home in one piece. 

Ev and Amelia became slingshot sharpshooters with the help of their great uncle, Berman...

We visited the World of Coca Cola and tricked each other into tasting as many of the disgusting samples from around the world as possible .... yeah, I'm talking about you, Beverly (Italian soda)

And we got to check out all the animals the aquarium had to offer.  Although, from the looks of this penguin, maybe they got a chance to check out the humans in masks coming to see the animals breathing free...

...All in all it was a great trip...you know, if you don't count the fact that everything about a hotel is a little dirtier, scratchier, and noisier than I remember.  

Scrapbook

Once Ev is a rich and famous athlete (his words, not mine) we'll be able to look back on this photo to commemorate his first ever lacrosse game.  Because, you know, there are sooo many rich and famous lacrosse players....

Geared Up

 Turns out all that lacrosse gear wasn't just for playing video games.... 

First game is Sunday...

Chapter 5

Chapter 1 - Infant

Chapter 2 - Toddler

Chapter 3 - Kid

Chapter 4 - Human who is more mature than their parents think and less mature than they think

Chapter 5 - Early Teens

Well, we've reached a new chapter in Amelia's life - her teen years.  While I don't like admitting it, she's ready.  She's ready for all the fun, the drama, the first loves, the freedoms, the first heartbreak, the temptations, the consequences, all of it.  She's not only ready for all of it.  She's going to be great at all of it.  She's so damn smart.  I don't even mean book smart...although she has the straight A receipts to confirm that order.  I mean life smart.  Emotionally smart.  She can read the room with the best of adults.  She knows when a friend needs to be cheered up and when a friend just needs a silent hug.  She knows Everett is going to annoy her because it is his God-given right and obligation as a younger sibling to do so.  She knows to knock him down when he's acting too cool and to help him back up when he's feeling too vulnerable.  She knows she's smart enough to form her own strong opinions and she knows her parents are smart enough that it's worth listening to theirs.  

I'm not saying she'll escape her teens unscathed. Her heart is too big to not catch shrapnel along the way.  I'm saying I have full confidence she'll make the right choices, have the right perspectives, and feel comfortable enough to ask the right questions....And if she doesn't, her parents will be there to cheer her up, giver her a hug, knock her down a peg, help her back up, and listen to her opinion. 

  

Fancy

I'm not sure why all groomers feel the need to decorate the dogs when they go in for a bath or haircut.  I'm guessing some owners and possibly even some dogs love it.  I'm not that owner.  Olive isn't that dog.  That said, when I brought Olive home like this, Lucy had never been happier to see her.  After all, who doesn't want their best friend to show up with two new chew toys strapped to their ears??

So Much Fun

You know how you reach a certain age where you really have to make an effort to keep up with your kids when it comes to technology?  I'm certainly at that age.  Don't get me wrong, I can still hold my own when it comes to video games, using the Internet, etc.  The issue comes in how long it takes me to learn all the tricks when I get new technology.  I know this...and Amelia knows this...and thus, she knew when she secretly set the face of my new Apple watch to a rainbow unicorn, it would be staring at me for a few days until I figured out how to change it.   Have I mentioned how very, very, very fun it is to have a 13 year-old around the house.....