Funky Soccer

Asher had his second soccer “game” today. I missed the first one, but it sounded like he had a lot of fun. This time, not so much. I took this little movie with my phone on the field.

The Day Of Grease

I had no plans for actual labor this Labor Day, but it kinda worked out otherwise.

Amy went to work, while the boys and I had a plan to take a bike ride before Asher’s nap. Before we could ride, I had to fix the flat on my bike (lousy patch job on the last flat). Last time I had a flat on the rear tire, I just left it on the bike instead of messing with the chain. This time, I planned on actually replacing the tube, so I got a little greasy with the chain. Easy repair though.

Next step was to hook up Asher’s tag-along bike to my bike for the ride. He hadn’t ridden it much, and I wanted it to be in good shape for the ride. I’ll spare the details but it took a half a dozen tries at various configurations before I finally removed my rear rack and used old inner tube to shim the tag-along clamp. More grease and I’m kinda frustrated now, since it took longer than I expected.

Ready to go? Not quite yet. Truman’s bike is at his cousin’s house. Load up the other bikes, and go get Tru’s bike. Kinda late now…need some food. We head to McDonald’s for take out on the way to the park where we’re planning to ride.

Wait! WHAT’S THAT NOISE? Sounds like something is seriously messed up somewhere in the front of the car. Lotsa thumping, especiallly when I apply the brakes. Not good. We pull over into the nearest parking lot to investigate. I remember that while I was working on the bikes, I briefly saw Asher squatting near the front passenger side tire. I gently ask him if he did anything with the tire. “No”, he replies. I’m sure he’s the culprit. We’re stopped now, so I question further, assuring him that he isn’t in trouble. Our driveway is gravel…I suspect there might be rocks in the brake shoe. Asher finally gives it up and we do a quick walkaround the car. He shows me where he put two rocks into the wheel. I investigate further and sure enough, there’s a large rock wedged between the wheel and the brake. I can move it around with my fingers, but it’s not coming out easily. Looks like more greasy hands on the horizon.

I head to the back of the car, empty out the kids bikes, figure out where the jack and tire iron are (they’ve apparently never been used before this) and get to work jacking up the car and removing the wheel. I get four of five bolts off and the rock drops to the ground. I walk it back to Asher and hand it to him, saying gently but firmly, “Never do that again.” He gets it.

Put the tire back on, replace the jack and stuff where I found ’em, load the bikes back in, and finally head to McDonalds. A quick bite, and no further complications.

We had a real nice ride around Champoeg Park. The bike odometer says we went 7.4 miles, which was pretty good for Truman. He only had to push his bike up one hill, though I did put my hand on his back up a couple of others. Asher was a champ on the tag-along and loved every minute of it. He also got lots of admiring smiles as we passed people. Must’ve been his attire. The shorts and cowboy boots are a trademark.

Asher had a looong nap when we got home, too. It was a good day to end the summer. Truman starts second grade tomorrow and Asher starts preschool next week. Onward.

Asher’s 3rd Family Day

Today was Asher’s 3rd ‘Family Day.’ That’s the anniversary of the day Amy and I met Asher (and he, us). We intended to have a nice little party, but Ashy had a fever for the last few days and we had to cancel. He woke up without a fever this morning, though, so by tomorrow he should no longer be contagious. Nice.

Anyway, it rained a lot here today. We had a little bit of cabin fever. One remedy was to go for a drive. Asher got cowboy boots to match his brother’s. They’re a real cowboy team now!

Don’t Kill Your Brother

Asher’s got a problem: he’s 3.

Tonight he was rolling around in bed, talking 3-year old smack. Truman comes downstairs (they share a room) and tells me that “Asher told me, “I’m gonna kill you.”” So I go upstairs and talk to Ashy about that. Kid is hard, though. He don’t crack. No admission whatsoever. Except when I finally say, “Ok, Ashy, what do you need to do?”, expecting an answer like, “I need to go to sleep, dad.” What’s he come back with? “Not kill Truman.”

Yeah, kid. Don’t kill your brother. And go to sleep now.

When mom’s away…

Amy went to the beach for a little retreat, so the boys and I are destroying holding down the fort. This evening, after gorging ourselves on pizza, Tru decided to show off his mad burping skillz. Asher eventually gets in on the act too…

A family photowalk

Amy had to teach this morning, so I had to figure out how to avoid the “housebound boy” syndrome (multiplied by three). Fortunately we all woke up late, then took our time savoring my lovingly handcrafted waffles made from scratch (without referring to a recipe, I might add). Then we leashed up Frodo, put Asher in the stroller and took a photowalk.

Our little adventure is chronicled in this Flickr set, but the pics below give you an idea of one of the highlights. We tied a string around my little camera and lowered it into a storm drain, just to see what was down there. Now we know!

Here's what we're gonna do...

Here's what we're gonna do...

What's in a stormdrain

What's in a stormdrain

Kiwis and skating!

It’s Fall in the Pacific Northwest. Must be time for kiwis!

We live in wine country–vineyards everywhere around here. But kiwis grow on vines, too. There aren’t many kiwi growers nearby, but Amy’s folks led us up to where their friend Paul grow kiwis. What a beautiful place! And the kiwis are awesome!

Paul grows a couple of kinds of kiwis–baby kiwis and regular kiwis. The baby ones are about the size of a large grape, but taste just like a regular kiwi. More kiwi picking pics here.

Earlier in the morning, Tru went skating with Matt. I just took pictures.