Mudfest

I love going to rock concerts, but there's one every year that I can count on and that I go to if I'm available, and that's Rockfest, put on by 98.9. I went a couple times in high school, but then didn't go for awhile after that, but eight or nine years ago I started going again. It's the biggest one-day music festival in America, which is saying something. They usually have 12 hours of 15 or so bands on two stages with increasing attendance every year. This year they increased the capacity to allow for 55,000 people, and it sold out. It's held on the grounds of the Liberty Memorial (there was a period of a few years when it was at Sandstone, which coincided with when I wasn't going, but then they brought it back to Liberty Memorial). The band line-up this year was not great, at least for my tastes: Korn, 5FDP, Staind, Steel Panther, Black Label Society, etc. But I love being there, so I'll generally go no matter who the bands are.

This year was a bad combination of weather events, as it rained in the morning, so the entire place was a mud pit.  I think my shoes might be ruined (I wore old ones just in case), and my shorts are going to need some heavy duty cleaning.  I had mud on my face and in my hair, but not as bad as most people.  There were impromptu mudslides and mud wrestling matches.  The rain had stopped by the time I arrived, and it was oppressively humid and quite hot, but I fought through it, and by the early evening it had cooled off enough to have a great finish to the day.  It was a super fun time for me, and I'll again plan to go next year.

Somewhere Under The Rainbow

Mom texted us this evening to tell us there was a rainbow outside, so I took Joshua outside to show him.  He didn't see it at first, but when he did, he was really excited.  I then wondered if it took longer for him to find because he hasn't seen many real rainbows in his life, and maybe he was expecting something more like what you see in books with bold colors and a small little arch, so he didn't know what to look for.  But he was delighted with it, and couldn't stop pointing at it and saying "Whoa!" and "Wow" and things like that.  One of the joys of parenting is watching your children discover and be amazed by new things, which he definitely was.  But then he was over it, and took off across the yard to go running, as he tends to do.

Catching Up on Catching

While obviously I love having three children, sometimes I realize there's something I haven't really worked on with one of them.  Recently it occurred to me that while I worked with Joshua at a pretty early age with catching, I haven't really done that much with Clara.  Today I spent some time playing catch with her, using the ball that Joanna and Kirk gave us to help make catching balls easy for the kids.  She did a great job, which made me feel a little better about not having practiced it as much with her as I should have.

Caterpillars

I thought it would be fun for the kids and definitely for me if we got some caterpillars to see their lifecycle and, hopefully, get some butterflies out of the deal. The caterpillars came today. Because I want them to live to become butterflies, I keep them out of the reach of my children, but I hope we can look at them at least daily and talk about any changes.

Loving the Water Table

The weather has been really odd lately. We have had a chance of thunderstorms every day, but it usually doesn't actually rain or, if it does, it just rains for a little bit. Today we decided to go outside after dinner and the kids really wanted to do water. When we started playing, it was a nice day and the kids all had lots of fun. They each really enjoy the water table in their own way. If I had to pick which one loves it most, I am not sure I could. So we had a lot of fun for about an hour and then it started storming so we had to go in. That's fine because it was getting late anyway, but it is weird to have these spotty storms in Kansas. I think we will get a lot of use out of the water table this summer and this year all three of them are the perfect age for it.

Memorial Day Barbecue

I travel a lot for my job, so there are a lot of times where Meghan isn't really getting much of a break from the kids.  We agreed that this afternoon and evening would be a time for me to care for the kids so she could relax, read her Kindle, etc.  This morning I went to Julie and Andrew's to help them rebuild their fence, and they had also invited us over in the evening for a Memorial Day barbecue.  I brought the kids by myself, which allowed Meghan to have a completely quiet house (minus pet noise). Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I had to use my cell phone for pictures.

When we arrived, the kids immediately wanted to go downstairs, and Hannah spotted the Exersaucer, which she seemed to remember from back in the day.  She asked for help getting in it, and although she didn't actually jump (it was sized for Benjamin, not her), she enjoyed playing with the toys.

Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Brent were also invited (Mom and Ron are still in Vegas after their cruise), so we were able to chat before dinner.  The kids enjoyed the kid toys to some extent (Hannah with the tower, Clara reminiscing with the bus, etc.), but the cat toys ended up being the favorite toys of pretty much everyone.  All four cousins were even playing together at one point, which was cute.

For dinner, Andrew grilled us steaks and hot dogs, and we had sweet potato tots, smiley face potato/fries things, and other sides as well.  For dessert we had angel food cake, Super Mario Brothers cupcakes, and Meghan's caramel fudge brownies (I don't know what they're actually called, but they're delicious).  The kids did well at dinner, and it was really nice to celebrate Memorial Day with family.

Picnic at Sar-Ko-Par

 I had hoped to go on a picnic this weekend. I wasn't sure if we would be able to because the weather calls for scattered thunderstorms all weekend and also I am still not feeling the best. But I was feeling a fair amount better today than yesterday and it wasn't supposed to rain until late afternoon, so after church we decided to go ahead and try it. We went to Sar-Ko-Par Park and enjoyed sandwiches, fruit, and chips.

After lunch, the kids had a lot of fun playing at the park.

On our way back to the car, we walked around the lake. Sometimes the most fun they have is just running in wide open spaces.

Jason took Joshua and Clara on a stepping stone path out into the lake's tiny island with a serpent statue.

Then we were done. Clara said "bye" to one of her new friends and we got back into the car. Which ended up being perfect timing because it started pouring on our way home, even though that was somewhat earlier than the rain had been expected to start. We had a fun time and I am glad we did it despite obstacles.

Family Movie Night

As I mentioned yesterday, we had a lot of plans this weekend. But unfortunately, I caught whatever virus Clara had earlier in the week and felt wretched all day. I started out not feeling particularly great and it just got worse from there. Luckily it's just a sore throat and cold, so it's not as horrible as say a stomach flu, but it's been a really long time since I felt this bad so definitely not fun. Plus laying around is not what I had hoped to be doing today.  For dinner, Jason got us some take-out from one of our favorite restaurants and we had movie night. Clara got to pick the movie and she chose Despicable Me 2. Unfortunately Jason hasn't seen Despicable Me. But luckily, she is only two, so to her they are pretty much the same movie so she was totally fine with switching them so now Jason has seen Despicable Me and everyone was happy. All things considered, it was the best way to spend the night. But I hope I am feeling better tomorrow.

2½!

Tomorrow Clara turns 2½, but since we have a lot of weekend plans, I wasn't sure I would have time to get the pictures done so I did them today. I feel like she has changed so much in the past six months and is such a big girl now. I think most of this change has been verbal and cognitive. She talks very well and in sentences now and she has better reasoning skills. This has really helped with her behavior because now you can say, "Clara, if you eat these three more pieces of steak on your plate, you can get down and go play." And she understands what you are saying and chokes them down and goes on her way. If you tell Hannah that, she throws them, which is where Clara was six months ago, so it's a really great change. Clara is a really sweet and nurturing girl. She is always very concerned about her siblings if they are upset and loves taking care of her babies and stuffed animals. She is independent and likes to do things herself when possible. Don't try to put this girl in a stroller. She is so over it. She likes jumping and running and climbing and also babies and coloring. She dislikes messes and sand and dirt and also not getting her way. She is much easier to handle now that she's older, but she still doesn't always handle "no" well. We have started potty-training and it's going pretty well so I plan to get a little more serious about it in the very near future because she's doing well and I think she's ready. I hope I will have two potty-trained kids by the end of the summer, but if I only have one, it wouldn't surprise me if it's her. She's still pretty tiny, and I am quite curious what her height and weight will be next week when we go for her 30-month check. She has graduated from receiving services because there is literally nothing for them to do except say, "Wow, still small" so she is progressing normally in all ways except that. We love her so much and it's so much fun to see her grow up into such a sweet and unique kid.

Sea Life

One thing that I do not like about summer is that the big kids are out of school. I am sure when I have big kids, I will love that about summer. But for now, it just means that everywhere I want to go is crowded and over-run with children who are a lot larger than my own and who aren't always careful about younger kids.

So I wanted the kids to have a chance to go to Sea Life, our mini-Aquarium downtown, before school let out for the summer. Not only did I think there would be more chance of them having a fun time without the big kids there, but they also have special toddler pricing at times during the week when school is in session. So Halie took them today.

Despite Joshua being a little concerned about this crab, they seemed to have a good time. 

There was a playground at the end, so they were also able to get their energy out.

Just One Small Catch...

Normally when I have a hotel room booked for work, it was one that I booked online. This means it was done with my profile, which includes my status. I'm SPG Platinum with the Starwood properties, which is their top level, so there's basically no chance of having any room mishaps, as they would ensure my room was available, even in a sold-out situation. I flew in to Detroit last night for one of the presentations I do, but due to a recent change in management in the Marketing department that runs these events, they are now booking the rooms for us. I just figured I would show up at the hotel and get them to add the reservation to my account so I'd get the credit for the stay and the points and all that. But when I got there late at night, they told me they were in an oversold situation. The only room they had left was a hospitality suite. That sounded like a nice upgrade to me. But when he sounded apologetic and offered me 7000 Starwood points as compensation, I realized something was wrong. He then told me the catch: the room didn't have a bed. It's a suite meant for hosting small social gatherings. So there's a bathroom, a kitchenette, a living room, and plenty of space. But no bed. But he quickly informed me there would be a roll-away brought in. He asked if I would be okay with it. I realized I didn't have much choice unless I wanted to switch hotels, so I accepted it. Plus, I'm really pretty easy-going when it comes to travel. I'm okay with most things, and it takes a lot to frustrate or aggravate me. I figured it would be nice to have all the space, and I had a LOT of work to do, so I knew I wasn't going to get much of any sleep anyway, and the 7,000 points would be nice to have. So it really wasn't a big deal to me, but I can imagine a lot of customers would have been pretty unhappy. I think he felt extra bad because he knew I was SPG Platinum, but since they didn't know that until I got to the check-in desk, they hadn't reserved a regular room for me knowing I'd be arriving.  It turned out to be fine.  Here I am in my suite with the roll-away bed in the background.

Bubbles

Today we continued to take advantage of the wonderful weather and went outside before dinner to play with bubbles. All three kids really love bubbles, but they aren't always responsible with them. Last year we had a lot left over from Joanna's wedding and I liked them so much, I bought some more. They are a perfect size, it's fine if they get broken or spilled, and the bubble solution is far superior to anything I have tried that is made for kids. Clara can finally hold her own bubbles so that's great and Hannah has recently figured out how to blow bubbles for herself if you hold the stick in front of her. She is very proud, though she also is happy chasing bubbles that others create.

Spring at Deanna Rose

 Today is the first day we went to Deanna Rose this year. I like to go on Mondays because I don't work and it's free and it seems like there has been a lot of rain on Mondays so far. But today was just a bit windy and otherwise perfect, so we went. We fed baby goats first. Hannah was not into it, but the other two liked it as long as there was a fence between them and the goats. The intensity of hungry goats with no fence was too much for such little kids.

 After the goats, we tried a pony ride for Joshua. You have to be three, so this is the first time he has been old enough to do it. He seemed to enjoy it, but not love it. It's a pretty short ride so I doubt we will do it again unless he specifically requests it.

 Next Joshua wanted to ride the tractors. He isn't the tallest guy in the world so he can barely reach the pedals finally. Clara isn't even close, but she sat on a tractor for awhile because she wanted to do it too.

 After the tractors, we saw some animals, but headed over to the playgrounds pretty quick. All the kids really enjoyed this. Hannah especially liked the rocking toys.

This is a newly upgraded playground across from the main one that is a perfect size for little kids. It isn't the shadiest, but it was okay for spring and very manageable in size so easier to track three kids at the same time. Morgan's Playground is my favorite for super tiny kids, but my kids are a little bigger now so I think this may be our go-to spot when we don't need the shade.

It was a really fun outing. I am sure we will go several more times this season. There are plenty of things I wish were different about Kansas City. Weather and continental location come to mind as my top 2. But Deanna Rose is a really unique and awesome attraction for little kids that is somehow free almost all the time and that is something that is really great about this area, as well as all our parks and playgrounds.

Emotional Juxtaposition

Every Sunday we dress up the girls for church (well, everyone is somewhat dressed up, but we usually put the girls in actual dresses) and I think "I should take a picture of these two cute girls in their dresses."  But then I forget, and it doesn't happen.  Today I thought of it after nap, which isn't ideal because Clara's pigtails and bows often fall apart while she naps (as the one on the left had done in this picture), so I got out the camera.  But Clara seemed still very tired and was crying about everything and was not interested in anyone taking a picture of her.  I took a picture anyway, and I got it at just the right time showing Clara crying while Hannah beams with cheery happiness right next to her.  Still, I think we need an early bedtime tonight.

Almost Perfect

A month or so ago my friend Jason suggested that he, Tony, Nick, and I go to a Royals game.  I had suggested that we expand the idea to make it a full day of events.  But our time ended up being a little more limited than expected, so I had planned for us to go the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and then to the stadium for tailgating and then the game and ending with a trip to the casino if people were up for it.  But as we got started, we decided we really didn't have time to go to the museum, so we ended up just tailgating and going to the game with a nightcap at Harrah's.  The tailgating didn't quite do as planned, as we really didn't have everything we needed, since we didn't do a lot of planning in that area.  So we ended up with no lighter fluid and no plates.  I sent Jason out on a mission to leverage his charm and social skills to borrow/acquire some from neighboring tailgates, and that worked.  So it was fine, but next time we'll have to think it through a little more in advance than while we walk through the grocery store on the way to the stadium.
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I had been hoping the Royals pitcher for the game would be either James Shields, their ace (who unfortunately will probably leave as a free agent after this season) or Yordano Ventura, who is the much-hyped rookie who everyone hopes will be a star for years to come (Side note: I often think about what it'll be like to read some posts years from now.  Like will I read this and think "Yordano Ventura?  Oh, I kinda remember him.  He was good his first year and then fell apart." Or will it be "Wow, that was his first full season.  I remember that now!  And now he's in the Hall of Fame!"  Probably somewhere in between of course, but I still think about that for a lot of different posts.).  But it was Danny Duffy, who is a promising young pitcher for the Royals, and fortunately for us we chose the right game.  Duffy was phenomenal.  He pitched brilliantly and had a perfect game going.  After about the 5th inning, the stadium started to buzz as people really started to notice he had been perfect so far.  In the 6th, the crowd's intensity really picked up.  Alex Gordon made an amazing catch to keep it going, and the place went wild.  By the 7th we were all loudly cheering every single out the Orioles made, wondering if we'd see history (there have only been 23 in the MLB history), but that jerk Adam Jones ruined it all with a single with two outs in the 7th.  Booo!  Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Even with the perfect game (and of course the no-hitter) gone, it was still a thrilling game, and the Royals had a typical offensive game, so it was 1-0 heading into the 9th, and the Orioles loaded the bases before Greg Holland shut the door to get the save and preserve the win for Duffy.  So it was a fun day and a great game, and it was a rare chance for me to spend an extended amount of time with three of my best friends in the world, and that's an opportunity I don't get very often these days.