Cars and trucks and things that go

Driving through downtown Kirkland last week, I saw some signage indicating an upcoming car show. After our roaring success with one the boys and I stumbled across last year, I knew we had to try to be there. Friend B even volunteered to come along - it was slightly stress-reducing to have another set of adult eyes on the rambunctious boys. There was a wonderful variety of cars there from the 1920s up through the present (I was chuckling at one late 1970s wood paneled station wagon, which apparently now qualifies as a 'classic'?), in all different colors and varieties. The boys were of course comparing every car they saw to the Pixar ones, and were particularly pleased to see three different police cars, two of which were close in appearance and livery to Sarge. The third police car was a modern interceptor placed next to a 1930s period City of Kirkland police car with a poster board indicating the many differences in the size/population of the city, police force, capabilities of the vehicles, etc.

But by far the boys' favorite was the bright. red. fire truck. Up until this point I'd been reminding them that these cars were for "decoration" and that they should "look with their eyes" despite them lingering closer and closer (with some wary owners I think keeping a polishing cloth at the ready). But the fire truck specifically had a piece of paper on it indicating that it was fine for touching, climbing, and playing on. The boys were completely thrilled. When I was finally able to pry them away to see more of the actual vehicles, O kept asking if any of these cars also had "pieces of paper" (e.g. could he climb on/in them). We had to make a return trip before heading out, but what a great morning activity for the boys!

Bird is the Word

For once the title of this post isn't intended as some kind of pseudo-clever word play. Bird is the Word is Z's favorite song, and he both sings and requests it with some frequency. I made the mistake of hunting on YouTube and rediscovered the extended joke it made for on a Family Guy episode.

When the bird alone won't suffice, I often catch both boys singing Uncle B and my hit song from grandma and John's wedding. And yes, a video of the premiere performance has surfaced:

Family Portrait

Last month just before heading to Michigan, we had our long-awaited family portraits. It was a twice (perhaps three times?) rain-delayed affair that Meh had purchased excellently cute outfits for, hence the sweaters for a shoot taking place in June. And even on the day of, it was sprinkling as I headed home from work -- but somehow the sky cleared and we were able to have some fun at a clearly photo-friendly (kudos to Meh for picking it) local park featuring historic buildings and a number of rusting tractors that I think could give you tetanus just by looking at them. Still, the boys managed to stay clean enough and patient enough for these amazing pictures - huge thanks to Keri! We met her in a parent/baby group with Zachary, and since Z helped start up her portfolio, her business has simply continued taking off since (celebrity babies and all!). We'll give Z just a tiny slice of credit, but such fabulous and memorable results from Keri; more pictures here.

How dry I am

Meh's excellent anniversary present to me was to replace our aging (we couldn't remember, but it's wholly possible it came with the house) clothes dryer -- even grandma was excited to hear the news, having experienced its raw awesome non-drying power when she and J watched the boys a few months ago, and probably spent the entire week trying to dry the same load. The new dryer was delivered and installed yesterday, a space-age top-loading device from what is apparently the major appliance manufacturer of New Zealand. It's already run through two loads and (gasp) successfully dried clothing. Crazy, I know. I'm also a fan of the lint collector, a little scoop that you just pick up and shake in the garbage like a dustbuster - no scraping or pulling out debris. It's a fun device with a host of interesting sounds (not loud, but sounding like a little Cessna motor is spinning up) and a wonderful gift - it even fits the bill for the traditional ten year gift of something made of aluminum. (Again, where do they come up with these things?!) Thank you Meh!

Regional Airport

While our trip to Michigan wrapped up more than a week ago, Z's obsession with planes and airport vehicles has continued. It's pretty obvious what his birthday cake is going to be, and he frequently talks about how "we can definitely go to the airport another time" and how we'll similarly revisit the Museum of Flight. But why wait? He's taken the most unlikely of building blocks, his collection of Lincoln Logs, and turned them into a full-fledged airport on his own. Check out the luggage carts, the baggage loader, the plane tower, the terminal (I helped him with it just a bit), and of course the fabulous airplane!

The Ten Year Pitch

This morning, O and I got to have some daddy/son time while Meh was at work and Z was working with L. I let him choose where we went, and he recommended one of our favorite beach parks. An excellent idea, but I didn't anticipate O wanting to go all the way down to the beach -- and then into the water, "just like at grandma and John's house!" I rolled up his pants (yes, he wasn't even wearing shorts) as best I could, but that didn't do much when he decided the next step was to sit down in the lake. Ah well. On the plus side, a father and son came up to the lake with a remote controlled tug boat, and we had great fun watching them. Then they kicked it up a notch by attaching a barge behind the tug and putting a toy bulldozer in the barge. O's mind was sufficiently blown, and it was super amusing seeing Meh's disbelief when he later described the scene -- it took my pictures to prove his story true.

Today is Meh and my tenth anniversary! I can't believe it's already been ten years; while in some ways I feel like we've known each other forever, I look back at our wedding photos and sometimes think, oh, that was just yesterday. Even when O, Uncle B, Aunt J, and I were at the sandwich shack right across from our wedding venue a few weeks ago, it really didn't seem that long ago that the two of us were walking down the aisle, then dancing and celebrating with our friends and family all Sunday long. Celebrating our anniversary, I continued the silly tradition of making an overly elaborate book full of attempted (and probably mostly failed) jokes; the format for this year's valiant effort was "pilot" scripts (yes, in traditional format) for send-ups of a variety of TV shows we watch (Mehd Mehn, Game of Tones, True Caffeine Free Blood, etc.), bound up in a silly TV Guide format. It was enjoyed even if I clearly spent too much time on it. Mima watched the boys so we could celebrate with a lovely dinner (complements of John and grandma, celebrating their 10-day anniversary!) at a tasty local restaurant. A very happy anniversary to my soulmate, my best friend, my very pretty and cozy wife of ten years!

Here Comes the Bride

It's been an excellent week in Michigan as we celebrated grandma and John's wedding! The boys had a fabulous time, the weather was cooperative, and of course the ceremony itself was very special and we were so glad to be able to share in the festivities. The time went by very quickly, but it was a great opportunity to catch up with family and friends, visit some old and new favorite locations, and in general get some good quality family time.

No trip can begin without some playtime at the airport, and the boys didn't disappoint with wild running around and playing. As usual, this somehow didn't actually exhaust them, and the entire plane flight (thankfully direct) involved various kinds of entertaining the boys ("Want a present?" was Z's query literally as we sat down on the plane) with food, toys, boys, movies, stickers, and other distractions. We arrived and got to take an (always exciting for the boys) series of elevators, escalators, watch the luggage carousel, and then grab a bus to the rental car facility; the boys continued to be super pleased if a bit zonked from the flight. The rental car facility was making popcorn, so O and Z both accepted and munched on buttery bags of goodness while we marched out to choose our car. The boys selected a nice dark red Kia -- insert irony of them passing by an entire row of Big Three Detroit vehicles and opting for the sole import offered to them.

The next day was fairly quiet, featuring some fun times at the park with grandma and John, and then lunch at a local diner. I picked up Uncle B and Aunt J in the evening, and the rest of the family was incoming over the next 12 hours as well; it was so nice to get to see our small and spread out family (Seattle, SF, DC, NY, MI) all coming together for such a celebration.

Wednesday was our primary opportunity to both spend time with Uncle B and Aunt J and run some errands (for reasons that will become apparent later, Uncle B had to get to Ann Arbor to pick up a guitar). First we all visited my dad's burial site; I prepped the kids (and myself) as best I could, but it was still both sweet and a bit tear-jerking when O talked about "leaving a stone for grandpa to play with". We made a quick stop as well at the house Uncle B and I grew up in; while the main street's shops aren't even remotely recognizable anymore, the neighborhood itself was still looking pretty good, and the house itself is still the same color it was when we left. Onward to a family lunch/dinner at one of Ann Arbor's more famous restaurants! The boys weren't really interested in the tasty looking hot dog (Z) and grilled cheese (O) that we got for them, but when O heard there was ice cream... Needless to say, we couldn't leave without O getting the tiniest little dish of "swirl" (mixing their chocolate and vanilla gelato). Oh, and next to their separate coffee house/ice cream building, we discovered the cutest little play area, complete with (what else but) vehicles. The boys were well entertained for the remainder of our visit.

Before heading home from Ann Arbor, we had to make a stop to visit at least one of the famous fairy doors that Meh had discovered while researching our own acquisitions. And this one certainly didn't disappoint; it was in the hallway right outside of the shop, and for extra fun, behind the door you can see the various things that people have left for the fairies -- including an alarming number of mentos, Vernors ginger ale, and as O and Z were quick to point out, even a tiny Mater toy. Meh chose to leave a tiny book that she'd had forever, it was the perfect home for it to end up with the fairies. It didn't hurt that there was a toy store right across the hall. From one meal to another; we got home in time for a brief rest before heading onward to the out of town guests (e.g. family) dinner. O conked out in the car and proceeded to sleep (thank goodness we'd brought the stroller) through the entire meal. When we got back, I got to work making the wedding challahs, though the second batch had to wait until morning.

The wedding day arrived, and it was time to get the boys into cute outfits and pray that they could keep them stain-free at least through the photos. But honestly, the boys did amazingly well throughout the day. It was a beautiful morning and a fabulous venue; the boys were pleased to see golf carts whizzing by and patiently stood through pictures. My mom and John both looked so happy and I think they really enjoyed the entire day! We met the rabbi, who informed us (and then the gathered guests, and then at the reception mentioned again) that his grandsons are also Z and O. Soon it was time to walk down the aisle -- the boys did a great job sprinkling flowers, even if O eventually decided to just upend his bucket near the chuppah. Both boys ended up somehow under the first row of chairs during the ceremony, but stayed very cute and quiet during a lovely wedding. I had a front row seat -- well, standing position, helping to hold up the chuppah, and it was wonderful and sweet to see and share in the love and joy of the exchanging of vows and rings. At the reception, O was a dancing machine and Z really got into the act as well.

And speaking of acts, we might as well get to the guitar. Both B and I gave toasts (O came up to interrupt me halfway through: "Excuse me, daddy. I have to talk to you."), and then we'd cowritten (well, B wrote all of the lyrics and the melody; I mostly just contributed chords) a song about the two whose lives have changed the most besides the bride and groom: my mom's dog Gus and John's dog Winston. There was a chorus with a big cue card for everyone to join in on:

Lucky Dog (By Uncle B and Scoot (ASCAP))

Gus is a lucky dog
With yellow fur and a big brown nose
And his favorite thing in the world
Is to lick his paw just above his toes
And his second favorite thing
Is Missy Sue, he thinks she's his mom
And his next favorite things
Are his new best friends Winston and John

[CHORUS] Oh lucky dog, lucky dog, bow wow
Lucky dog, lucky dog, woof woof,
Lucky dog, lucky dog, bow wow,
Lucky dog, lucky dog, lucky dog.

Winston's a lucky dog
A springer spaniel with a great big heart
And he's lucky to be deaf
He can't hear you [pause] when you fart
And when Winston has to make
He just paces around, doesn't bark at the door
You gotta read his mind
Or you’re gonna be cleaning up the floor

[chorus]

Now Winston's got a new mom
And Gus has got a new dad
They're glad for what they have
And they remember [pause] what they had?

[chorus 2x + coda]

It was a wonderful celebration, and the raising of the bride and groom on chairs was only mildly penalized by 5'4" me trying to lift up grandma. Everyone had an amazing time. And then to punctuate the whole thing, we took the boys to their first fireworks in the evening. While it was loud enough that I had to hold my hands over O's ears for him to be happy, everyone had a great time watching them launched over a local lake. Z was so excited he had to compare it declaratively to his other favorite activity: "We're going to the airport on Sundayyyyyy!"

The day after the wedding was a big family cookout. Grandma and I took the boys out on the boat, to much happiness all around even if there was some pushing and shoving for the seemingly identical front chair positions. When we got back, I took the boys out for some wading (and later with O, actual swimming) into the lake itself -- there were many sand toys (and a Cars-themed kickboard) at our neighbors house that they had generously shared with us. In the evening, the extended family decided to head to Ann Arbor for dinner -- of course at a totally different restaurant. Nah, the same one again. This time we managed to get O to eat some of his dinner in between playing with Z and a little girl who kept walking toys out of the play area (to concern from the boys; her parents brought everything back though), though he again scored ice cream for dessert. Then a brief tour of downtown Ann Arbor, where we did spot a second fairy door -- the local theater's entrance for the faerie folk.

This year is the 20th anniversary of my high school graduation; alas, the class presidents haven't organized anything, and a few other alumni who tried to get something together for August ran out of time and resources -- so it'll be the 21st anniversary before we have an event. I spammed the e-mail list and invited everyone to a casual bring-your-own-picnic at a local park on Saturday and had a few interested responses. Alas, only one classmate showed - we did have a nice time catching up (and the boys had a blast at the park full of climbing, sliding, swinging, and spinning), and I guess too many other classmates were either out of town, had other holiday weekend plans, or no longer live in the area. Anyway, it was a fun morning/afternoon, and the boys were particular fans of an entire playground full of equipment that rotated in dizzying circles. Saturday was also John's birthday -- what a week of big events, happy birthday John!

Sunday was a fairly quiet final day with Uncle B, Aunt J, grandma, and John; we found a local mall with both a play area and a ton of toy vehicles, and the boys were plenty happy to climb around in them even without quarters to run them. Then it was off to return the rental car and get to our plane -- we said a final goodbye to Uncle B and Aunt J (whose flight was due to leave just a few minutes after ours, a few gates down -- due to weather they didn't actually get out and home until today, argh!) and were on the first of two planes back. Another sleepless flight for the boys, though we were all pleased to see the second plane had a 2-4-2 configuration, so we had two rows to ourselves. O discovered the glow bracelets and was wearing about twenty by the end of the flight. There was a final hiccup when our car seat didn't make the last leg of the flight (it showed up today - while mildly annoyed and exhausted at the time, I was amused that the tracking e-mails and site were managed by the very appropriately named wheresmysuitcase.com), but we eventually were home at 11 pm. An end to an exhausting but excellent trip -- mazel tov once more to grandma and John! It was so good to see aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, friends, and to meet new members of the family at the same time. The boys are still talking about flying on the airplanes and the next time we'll be able to go to the airport (and I suspect they still will be for some time!), and it was a lovely trip home. Welcome to the family, John! Pictures of the adventure here.