Mass Air

It's a bit hard to wrangle two boys at this stage. Ben is excited to go faster and higher and Joey is studying the art of standing on those feet. There's a pretty big gap in their ability and agility at this stage which requires some creativity when we play outside. During the first snow fall of this season, we took the boys to the local park to slide down the hill. I believe it took us 45 minutes just to get out the door yet it took Ben five minutes to decided that he had enough. I can't blame him though, we had acquired about 5 inches of snow that day and as Traci and him leveled at the bottom of the hill from their first ride, he was engulfed with snow. On the other hand, Joey also received a face full of snow on his first sledding trip although he gave no reaction perhaps from being shocked.

A week ago we received another snowfall. We waited till mom came home from work to begin our snow adventures and by then Joey wanted nothing but sleep. I can't blame him though, it's a hard life when you are having fun all day. So instead we made a small ramp in our backyard and Ben got to jump multiple times while Traci and I got a workout. Traci would pull Ben and I would replenish the landing with fresh snow and then switch roles. We were having too much fun that I forgot to take pictures until the very end and by then, Ben was more excited to make snow angels.

I feel fortunate to be able to live in a region where we see all four seasons. Kids view snow as adventures and adults become dull at the thought of winter. Why is it? Personally, I've enjoyed this winter. I know having kids makes this weather more worthwhile.

Adventures Await

We sold our Jeep Patriot this past June and as the year progressed we decided that our most reliable car shouldn't be a vehicle with over 300,000 miles, especially with kids. So this past October we decided that the time had come to say goodbye to my Jeep and find its replacement. We decided to find another Jeep Cherokee not because we are stuck in a rut but because Jeep's 4.0l engine has a reputation of being a long lasting engine. However, the last engine was built 10 years ago and the last Cherokee was built 15 years ago. This created a problem since they are surprisingly going up in price especially those with low miles.

A couple of months ago we mentioned to Ben our plan on selling the Jeep since we had purchased its replacement and he wasn't excited about the idea. Actually, he has brought it up on several occasions that he would prefer to not sell the Jeep. This alone, makes it even harder to sell the Jeep for myself. It's my first car and despite my love/hate relationship, I can't argue how reliable and dependable the car has been. I have abused the car more than it was intended to take and yet it keeps going. The interesting thought is that as I write this down, I'm only talking myself out of selling it. Plus, the reality is that my amazing wife will never push me to sell it.

This year we have acquired more snow than I have ever seen and I'm having a great time. We debated a Honda over a Jeep because of fuel economy but with this weather, I believe we made the right decision. A Honda would be nice at the gas pump and reliable, but a Jeep exclaims that it's dependable and that the adventures await. It will get me wherever I need to be and if I get stuck, then I shouldn't have been there in the first place, as my father in law would say.

Big Brother

I often wonder if my blog comes across as the boastful ramblings of a stay at home dad. It does appear that my life is great, we travel, my family smiles with every picture taken, we are never bored and each weekend holds a new adventure. But reality is different and photos are able to freeze a moment in time. Our living room is a constant mess of scatter toys and we are embarrassed of our tiny neglected bathroom that desperately needs a remodel. It's easy to compare ourselves to the Jones yet it's far more productive to focus on where we stood just 5 years ago.

Raising Ben these past two years have been undoubtedly the best years of my life. Despite that I often lack sleep and Ben occasionally throws his fits of rage, a huge percentage of my time with him are memorable. It comes down to figuring out if the cup is half empty or half full and as far as I can see, the cup is over flowing with good times. The scattered little moments of joy, laughter, cheer and humor throughout the days are a constant reminder that God has given me more than I deserve. I will admit that I was skeptical of being a dad before Ben was born but I now ask myself, "How did I ever live without him?" Then again, in a few months I will be asking myself the same question when my second kid is arrives.

I have been told before to not think about the future and the mournful days that lay ahead. Take for instance, the quiet emptiness that Ben will leave behind when he moves out. Or as Kenny Chesney puts it, "Next thing you know your better half of fifty years is there in bed and you're praying God takes you instead." But it's thoughts like these that place a different perspective on life. Yes my life is pretty good, yet simply listening to my elders reveal that, all good times must one day come to an end. Not to say that I dwell on these thoughts but instead it helps me realize that what I have before me is exceptional, rare and truly special.

Last month we acquired a good accumulation of snow. Ben was excited to play outside in the snow with his Tonka's and even insisted on pulling his dump truck. Although he sometimes wants his space, he constantly reminded me to walk right beside him down the sidewalk as he described the blanket of snow. It's little moments like these that remind me that in 4 months the best years of my life will begin. The climatic years of my life are just around the corner. Perhaps I will begin to write less on my blog in the efforts to not miss a beat of my kids growing up. Perhaps I will memorize the whole Car's movie in a few months. Who's to say? All I know is that the popcorn is popping, I've got my slippers on and my 3D glasses are handy because life is about to get epic.

7 Months Later

Yesterday we awoke to a thin blanket of snow. It was nice to see everything covered with white puffy snow since the past two winters have been relatively dry. Ben woke up early around 5 am, perhaps in the anticipation that we would celebrate his birthday but we explained we were saving our farthings for his one year birthday. To which he responded "Cupcakes?" Amazing, his first words.

Each morning Ben wakes up and is excited to spend time with us, sometimes he goes back to sleep before Traci heads to work, other times we sit by the window and wave goodbye to Traci as she drives away. We spend several hours a week sitting on that chair; me facing the living room and him resting his head on my shoulder watching out the window as the cars and pedestrian pass by. 8am and 3pm are the best times to watch the activity on our street with children walking to and from school. Ben enjoys paying close attention to any activity outside our window, he leans his body forward, holds as still as he can and watches till the person is out of his view. Yesterday we sat by window as Traci headed to work. Once again his head leaning on my shoulder yet as Traci drove down the drive way, he pushed himself up with an effort to get closer to her. His legs kicked and his arms extended towards mom as he knew who was in that car, perhaps he wanted one last hug or kiss before she went off to work. I leaned him towards the window as he began to whimper, his head like a magnet following the car as it drove off. He bumped his head on the cold hard glass yet that was the least of his concerns because most importantly, when will mom be back? Lunch time, Ben. I miss her too.

Sledding

Last Christmas I received an envelope from Traci with 12 envelopes inside. Each envelope has a different month written on it and I can only open it until the beginning of each month.

The instructions for the month of January was to go sledding. Yay!!! We picked the last weekend of the month to make the journey to Andies Prairie near Tolgate. We had so much fun that we forgot to take more pictures. The snow wasn't too hard and there weren't many people up there. Although we were exhausted and had acquired a few brand-new bruises, we got to enjoy a beautiful sunset on our drive back.