The Blue Rockets - Game 5

The other night was another baseball game for Ben. He went 3 for 3 and had a few stops in the field. He played a great game and he had a lot of fun with his friends.

30 Years Later...

It was this weekend...30 years ago...that THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK first premiered. A friend of mine and I were talking about this the other day, and then I saw everyone talking about it online, so I thought I'd write about one of my all-time favorite movies. Growing up I was a "Star Wars kid." I had all the action figures, all the toys, and I saw all the movies. I even subscribed to the monthly fan club newsletter "Bantha Tracks" (does anyone still remember that?) And as a "Star Wars kid" I would say EMPIRE represented the apex of my fascination. Everything about the movie is just perfect. A great opening act with the "snow walkers," a great second act that's dark and mysterious with "Yoda," and a great third act with a great lightsaber battle and the best cliffhanger of all time. EMPIRE was the first movie I can remember being "impacted" by it in the theater as I watched it. I remember sitting there watching Darth Vader utter the most famous line in movie history..."Luke! I am your father!" I remember being truly stunned. I remember my friends and I afterward saying things like "I can't believe it!" and "How can this happen?" We were all in shock.
I had hoped one day to let Ben experience the impact of that line as well, but even before I let him watch the first STAR WARS film he had already read in a book that Darth Vader is Luke's father...so there goes that.
Anyway, it's amazing how the first 3 Star Wars films still hold up after all these years. And in my opinion, it was 30 years ago this weekend that the best Star Wars film of them all was made.

Let's All Say Goodbye!

Tonight is Megan's last night in the crib. Tomorrow we're supposed to get her new furniture set delivered, complete with a new dresser and matching bed. She's pretty excited about getting a "big girl" bed, and we're excited as well...but also a little sad. This is of course the same crib Ben slept in for years. Man...so many memories for both kids in this thing. There's no sense in keeping the crib, but it's just kind of sad to finally say goodbye to it. Why do people get emotional about the strangest of things? Funny how life is sometimes.

The Blue Rockets - Game 4

Tonight was another baseball game. Officially it's Game 4, but only Game 2 for us. The weather has caused several rainouts recently and that's caused some of the games and makeup games to shift to days that don't work for us because of soccer. Anyway, tonight Ben went 3 for 3 and he had a couple of throws in the outfield. I also caught him yawning in the outfield. But that's okay, the girl next to him was digging in the dirt between 1st and 2nd. Ah...the joys of Little League.

The Strikers 2.0

This isn't Ben's soccer uniform - this is MY soccer uniform from when I was a kid. Luckily my mom kept all my old soccer uniforms, and Jenny recently put one of them on Ben. He wore this to soccer practice last night. Pretty fitting since his current team's name is "The Strikers." Each year Ben's team usually picks a different team name, but back when I was a kid every season we were "The Strikers." As you can tell our sponsor was Pizza Inn, who for some reason insisted they be on the front of the jersey and not our team name. I can remember as a kid constantly being teased by opposing teams. "Hey look guys! We're playing Pizza Inn! HA HA!"
Or maybe they were just laughing at my hair. Wow! Look at that mop on my head.

A Great Day For A Bike Ride

Today Megan and Jenny had some Mommy-And-Me time at the mall, so Ben and I went for a long bike ride. We rode down to the comic book shop where Ben got to pick out some new Mickey Mouse comics. Afterward we stopped by 7-Eleven for a Slurpee, and then we played at the "Slurpee Park." We nicknamed the park that because it's right across the street from the 7-Eleven, and we usually visit it with Slurpees in hand. Anyway, it was a beautiful day for a ride. Overall, Ben rode 4 miles roundtrip. It's by far his longest ride ever, so he was pretty proud of himself. He was a little tired at the end, but he rode the whole way on his own. Hard to believe 2 months ago he was just learning to ride with no training wheels.

That Boy Of Mine

Near the end of Kelvyn's birthday party yesterday I witnessed Ben playing with Kelvyn's little sister Karalyn. Karalyn is a very sweet girl, but I hardly ever see her smile around strangers. But yesterday I witnessed my son playing with her in a corner of the yard...and Karalyn was smiling and laughing. It was the only time during the party I saw her smile. Ben has always played well with Megan so I shouldn't be surprised. But still...it's nice to see when it's someone else's child. He has a gentle and calming side that I think smaller children respond to.
Also, during the party I heard a boy ask for some snacks by saying "gimmee this" and "gimmee that." Then at the same table I overheard my son say "may I please have such and such" and "thank you."
Man, I've said it before and I'll say it again. As a parent you think most of the time your kids don't listen to you, and that everything you tell them about being good goes in one ear and out the other. But then when you least expect it you witness your son displaying the best in companionship and manners. It just made my day.

Happy Birthday Kelvyn!

Yesterday Ben and Megan went to a birthday party for Ben's friend Kelvyn. Kelvyn and Ben first met a few years ago when they were at Midland Montessori. Now even though they go to separate schools they still manage to see each other. We all go to the same church, and Kelvyn is on Ben's soccer team this year, so they still manage to stay in touch. Megan enjoyed the party as well and spending time with Kelvyn's little sister Karalyn. Megan hasn't been to too many birthday parties yet, so she really had a good time.

The Strikers - Game 3

Yesterday the kids and I took a break from the garage sale and we went to our 3rd soccer game. It was a beautiful day for soccer, and the game was their best one yet as well. Since I was watching Megan I coached from the sidelines and let Sean direct the kids on the field. I tell you, for 6 year olds the game was pretty exciting. Both teams were pretty evenly matched, and all the parents were into it. In fact, for one quarter we couldn't get the ball out of our own zone and we were playing defense the entire time. And the amazing thing about that is Ben stepped up and played his best game ever. For the past few games Ben has started to get a knack for playing defense, and yesterday he singlehandedly kept us in the game at times. Everyone on the sidelines were taking notice and cheering him on as he kept kicking the ball away from the opposing players. All the parents were laughing at me on the sideline because I was jumping up and down and cheering him on. I won't lie when I say I get very into these games sometimes. As a parent I cheer on Ben and want to see him do well of course. But as the coach I cheer all the kids when I see them play great, make a great kick, or score. At some point during the second quarter when the opposing teams kept trying to score and Ben kept kicking it away I said something out loud like "I'm going to have a heart attack here," and everyone laughed. The trials of being a coach AND a parent I guess.

Garage Sale

Yesterday was the "3rd Annual Frame Family Garage Sale." Twice a year there's a "City Wide" garage sale where anyone who wants to have a garage sale can do so without any kind of permits or anything. So for the past 3 years we've been participating as a way to get rid of stuff we have stored in our basement and around the house. I'll be honest, I don't like going to garage sales...and I especially don't like hosting them. But I will admit, it's pretty cool when you make a total of a few hundred dollars for stuff you're not using and is just sitting around your house gathering dust. But what amazes Jenny and I are the people who haggle and negotiate at these things. The way some of these people will haggle with you over a dollar or two. I mean it's ridiculous. Sometimes I just feel like saying "just take the thing."