OK Vacation - Jump!Zone

Jump!Zone is an indoor playground full of those party inflatables you see at festivals. We spent several hours there with the kids today. Even Aaron didn't let any of the biggest ones slow him down. It was too fun to just sit on the sidelines, so we crawled up there with them and bounced and slid with them. We took a break for pizza and then played some more. It was a great way to burn off some energy without braving the triple digit heat index.

OK Vacation - Whitewater Bay

Today we set out on another cloudy day to try to have some fun in the water. I hadn't been to Whitewater (now Whitewater Bay) since I was a kid. They've added a few new features, but it is mostly how I remembered it. These fun things from my childhood are so much more fun now experiencing them with the kids. We all took a trip around on the lazy river to get wet and get our bearings for the place. The kids wanted some time in the kids' play area that had slides and fountains and structures to climb on.
Then we made our way to the innertube slides. I love this picture for the symmetry of their legs and the look on Alex's face upon splashdown.
Similarly, I love the look on Dad's face and I can hear the noise he's making in this picture when the cold water went up his back.


This is 4 of the 6 Evans boys as we came down the Big Kahuna - the kids loved it, as did Mark and I. After lunch, Melinda challenged Mark and I to go down the, I kid you not, Mega-Wedgie. This is a 64 foot slide nearly straight down. Ever since Melinda's battle with cancer, I resolved to make sure that I would try to be at least as tough as Melinda, so we did it. From the top of the tower, we noticed a storm coming in fast, so we raced down - easy to do on the Mega-Wedgie - and gathered our family into the minivans just as the lightning storm started rolling in. We had 5 good hours there, and that was about enough.

OK Vacation - Splash Pad

Besides my alma mater, Norman, OK has a neat park with a host of water sprays, jets, cannons, and dumping buckets. Perfect for a hot day, though today was a little cloudy (of course). I love this picture because all 5 cousins are in it. Marcus and Marli are getting dumped on in the foreground. Alex is striding forward in the blue shirt and sunglasses in the center. Beyond him and a little to the left, Aaron (in a red shirt) is shielding his face from the spray. Marcus is harder to see, but his dad highlights his position. Look for the tall guy in a camo shirt and a, ahem, short haircut in the upper right of the picture - that's Mark - and to his right is Marcus in blue swim trunks.
Here he is in a close up with Melinda near a gentle spray.

And here's Aaron near a spray that came out so thin that it made a water "bubble" that he liked to hide in and call out to passerbys that he needed rescuing from.

OK Vacation - Midnight Soccer

Mark and Melinda participate in an adult soccer league with friends from church and tonight they had a makeup game scheduled for midnight - not a common occurrence. I went with them and had a great time. It is indoor co-ed soccer which brought a couple of interesting rules to the game. First you can kick balls off of the walls, executing a kid of bounce pass. The walls only go so high, so there is an out of bounds if they do.

Second, goals scored by women count for 2 points. Tonight their team dominated through the efforts of Melinda who scored 4 goals and another teammate who scored 3 for a total of 14 points to the other team's 4.

OK Vacation - Slip-n-Slide

Nana brought a Slip-n-Slide that the kids were able to work over until a thunderstorm moved in. The kids got the hang of it after a few tries, but they all struggled with the concept of flinging themselves onto their bellies, generally preferring their knees.

OK Vacation - Horse Camp

This morning we went to the Horse Camp that the older cousins have been attending all week. They had a scavenger hunt that the kids participated in. The area was a bit muddy, but we were able to explore the stables and silos a bit to see the different animals. One stall had baby ducks and chickens.

This one had a 2 goats (Domino and Hershey), a caged bunny, and a pot-bellied pig (Muddy) that Aaron liked to visit. He tentatively petted them but mostly liked to watch them hop around the stall.

Marli got to go first and showcase some of the riding skills she picked up this week. She did a great job and looked so big on that horse.

Marcus then rode a pony his size that he could handle relatively well. He showed us here how to get your horse to step over objects in the way - a precursor to jumping them (someday). The cousins got awards for the work they did this week and we said goodbye to to all the horses for now.

Whompin' On The Preschoolers' Baseball Team

Alex had his first baseball game this year, sort of. Both teams took the field, but during the 1st inning a parent from the other team came up to us and asked us how old the kids on our team were. She was surprised when we said they were mostly 6 & 7 year olds, because they were playing against a team of 3 & 4 year olds. It was dangerous for the younger kids, because we were hitting well, but they couldn't really field the ball and so a few of them were hit by our grounders. No serious injuries thankfully. They say they will have it straightened out by the next game.

Wonka Factory in Blocks

Alex's class read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as their last unit in school this year. He watched the original Gene Wilder movie there also (after a frantic call from his teacher because he told her he wasn't allowed to watch it - we reassured her that the G-rated version was fine, but that we had not allowed him to see the PG-rated Johnny Depp version). He checked out an audiobook version of both this book and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator from the library and has listened to those. We also recently rented the video game for the GameCube and he's been playing that. All of this led to an inspired afternoon building session with wooden blocks of a section of the Chocolate Factory. This section is chiefly responsible for moving blocks of chocolate (the small rectangle blocks) to waiting trucks for delivery.

Firefighter Tigger

As Aaron was getting ready for bed tonight in his Tigger PJs, he undressed his toy dog Ruffles and proceeded to put on the firefighter costume that he was wearing. As you can see, the jacket fit while the pants really didn’t. As you can also see, he was VERY pleased with himself.

Feelin' Special on Father's Day

Today I awoke to breakfast in bed made by Becky and the kids – ham and cheese omelet and toast – garnished by my favorite sections of the paper and a photo framed of me and the boys at the Mudhens Stadium from my birthday weekend. We went to Alex’s final soccer game. They won 4-2 after their best display of teamwork all season, and Alex got a trophy for playing. We had an end-of-season picnic on the grounds of the soccer field. Then I wanted to go out and just play at a park with the kids. We went to Swan Creek Preserve Metropark where they had a “Window on the World” – a building with a large window facing a small pond and bird feeders. We had a special chance tonight to see a special visitor – a groundhog!
We picnicked and played on the playground. We took a cool break when an ice cream truck trolled the parking lot.

Alex tried his bike again, fell hard, and got back on. I told him later that night that watching him getting back on that bike was my favorite moment of Father’s Day.

Metroparks Happy Trails 5K 2007

Last year I ran this race as my first competitive 5K - OK I walked/ran it, alternating between songs on my iPod. I was happy to finish, but it wasn't as fun as I would have liked it, because Becky and the kids were out of town. This year was different. They came and cheered me on as I left and were waiting for me at the finish line. I was nearly wiped out by that point, but seeing them there spurred me to sprint the last few yards to the finish line. I was able to run the entire course and finished in 42:24, my best time yet. It was a beautiful day and the Wildwood Metropark is gorgeous this time of year. I plan to keep coming back for next year's race and beyond.

Big Machines 2007

After the race we went to COSI for Big Machines Week where they bring out heavy equipment for the kids to check out. They climbed all over several display models and had fun pretending to drive them.
Then they each got turns "driving" a bulldozer and a backhoe - actually the machines were stationary, but they got to use the equipment to move some dirt under the supervision of a construction worker.

Then we went inside and found the machine that let Aaron and Alex switch sizes. They switched back after a few minutes - Alex couldn't stand having his little brother look down on him. :)

Theatre Kidz

Tonight we got to see a community kids production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. We won the tickets at a charity auction benefiting Alex's school. It was a good show and featured several kids from the school. Alex was interested in doing the Theatre Kidz production next year. "I am handsome; I am smart. I am a walking work of art."

Monkey Shirts and Mozart

Alex had his 1st day of baseball practice this week. He's playing in a YMCA league, but with kids from his school on his team.
Aaron was entertained by a kitty some girls brought named Mozart. I think he was more pleased about the encounter than the cat, but he was very gentle.

Soccer Season Wrap Up - Spring 2007

Strawberry Pie

Today my family celebrated my 36th anniversary of my arrival on the planet with breakfast, presents, a song composed by Alex and performed by all three of them, and of course....
...strawberry pie! Becky has been making one of these for my birthday for years. This one is decorated with candles in the shape of my age. Here's to the next 36. Pass the Cool Whip.

Tiger Cub Acheivement 3G - Go See A Sport

Alex needed to learn the rules of a sport and then attend a game. Baseball was an easy choice with the Mudhens here in town. We talked about the rules a few weeks ago and Alex watched this game with a renewed interest.
The game ran long because the Norfolk Tides tied up the game with a home run in the 9th inning. Aaron had had enough, but Alex and I had a plan.
We flipped our hats upside down and backwards and used our rally caps and boom whackers (pictured) to cheer the team on to scoring the winning run in the 11th inning to take us ahead 3-2.

The night was topped off with fireworks and I realized that this was the first time I had the chance to use the fireworks setting on my camera which does long exposures. This shot was the neatest. In a few weeks we get to come back and camp on the field for Cub Scouts.

Restarting Swim Lessons

Aaron started formal swim lessons for the first time today. This was his first time in the water like this without one of us in there with him. He finally overcame his resistance to putting his face in the water and blowing bubbles. He still doesn't like the back float practice, but he at least tried it.
Alex continues to bloom in the water. He's got the backstroke down, but he'll be working on his forward crawl stroke this time. He's got no fear of the deep end and he's looking forward to joining the swim team for his age here at the gym.

Best Soccer Game Yet

Alex's soccer team won again today 4-2, but that's not why this was the best game. For the first time, they really played like a team. They passed the ball to one another, including a pass near the goal that resulted in a score. One of the kids did a backwards kick that the coach uses on them whenever he scrimmages against them. The coach's daughter scored the last goal on a one of those passing plays and there was much rejoicing.

Building Biplanes

This First Saturday of June, we went to Home Depot's Kids' Workshop and built biplanes. The last couple of months we've built relatively easy projects, but this made up for it.
Again we divided and conquered. Aaron built his with Becky while I tried to keep my recently sliced finger out of Alex's way.


Pretty impressive. Now we just have to decide how to paint them. :)

Primary Picnic 2007

Today Alex's class celebrated their last day of school at a local park where they picnicked and played games. Alex (front row, left of center, white shirt - red numbers) is thrilled to be a second grader now - the "elder statesmen" of the Primary class. Way to go Alex!

Center for Lessons Learned

Almost 7 years ago, I tried to remove the metal ring at the top of a glass olive oil bottle to prepare it for recycling. To do this I held the bottle in my left and and a paring knife in my right hand. I stuck the tip of the knife under the edge of the ring and pushed, attempting to break the aluminum ring free from the bottle. I accomplished this much easier than I expected, and the momentum of the knife plunged it into the side of my thumb on my left hand, causing a 1 inch wound that required 6 stitches to close.

The Army has a special department called the Center for Army Lessons Learned where they literally compile valuable lessons from the field and apply them to future missions. If I were following their example, you'd think that I would have resolved not to cut something with a sharp knife that is otherwise aimed at my other hand. You'd think that, but you'd be wrong.



Today I wanted to water the strip of grass between our driveway and the neighbors' yard, so I tried to cut a nozzle from a cardboard package in exactly the same way - and exactly the same thing happened. Almost. This time it was my index finger lacerated by the sharpest blade on my Leatherman multi-tool. Becky was picking Alex up from school, Aaron was upstairs napping, and I couldn't drive. The sides of the fingers are where the blood vessels run and this bled vigorously. I was in the garage and I made it to the kitchen sink in about 10 seconds. I got lightheaded from the pain and the sight of the rate of bleeding. After rinsing the wound, I wrapped a wad of paper towels around it and squeezed it tight. After about 8 minutes, I lifted the compress and the blood started pouring out again. I knew where this had to end up so I called my doctor's office and they could get me in. I called Becky and she hustled home and took me to get these 3 stitches.

When I did this seven years ago, I felt stupid for stabbing myself. I wasn't thinking. I'm extremely careful with sharp items at work, to avoid cutting a coworker, or sticking myself with a contaminated tool. My dad taught me how to use a knife. I'll be teaching the same thing to my children someday. I feel about 10 times worse today. I should have filed this under Lessons Learned. Hopefully I won't have to learn it again in 7 years.