Night Before Christmas

We decided to throw tradition out the window this year! Usually, we have our family gift giving on Christmas morning after eating cinnamon rolls. But with our plans to go to South Bend to be with Diana's family, we are not going to be at home on Christmas morning. So, we had some options: either bring all the gifts with us or wait until we got back. Neither of those sounded very good, so instead we made the decision to have a Christmas night!

This was a little weird for Ledger, opening all his gifts before Christmas- and at night! But for me, this was pretty normal. Growing up we never opened gifts on Christmas day, and usually we would do it in the evening. After a little bit of adjusting our plans, we began our night of prizes! Fortunately, I had been on top of it this year and already had all the gifts wrapped. Normally I do that on Christmas Eve but got lucky this time. We popped some Christmas cookies in the oven, turned on the fireplace channel on the TV, and gathered around for a special evening!

As always, almost all the gifts were for Ledger, but I did manage to get a few goodies for Diana, and she got me some as well. Ledge was quite pleased with the little gifts and toys we got for him, but of course he didn't make it easy on us. He never actually gives us a Christmas list, he just says we can just get him 'whatever'. Ugh. That makes it much more challenging to find things that he will actually like! I think we did pretty good, there were some big winners and a few 'meh' gifts, but overall, he was very pleased. Diana loved her prizes and so did I! Finally, the last gift to open was the biggie: this year we got Ledger a new queen-sized bed! He had been complaining for months that his twin bed was too small, and his feet were hanging off the end, so we fixed that with a huge queen-sized foam mattress and frame. At first, he was a little disappointed because he just saw the box, but once we opened it up and the foam started to expand, he saw how huge and comfy it was going to be and then he was all on board! We had to let it sit overnight to firm up, but he was filled with excitement about getting it set up in his room.

Overall, another successful family Christmas!

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Brinkmas '24

For the past several years we have had Christmas with my family on Christmas day itself, but this year we bumped it up a bit and got together several days earlier. We still had all the usual fun- games, gifts, and fantastic food!

Chad and his family came down early and stayed with Mema and Papa for a week or two. The rest of us arrived late afternoon. Once everyone was there, the festivities began. We start with a little gift game for the kids. My mom always comes up with something different each year. One year it involved a ball of saran wrap and mittens, another year it was a dice game. She always finds something creative and silly! This year there were a bunch of upside-down bowls that the kids had to pick. As always, everyone had a blast with lots of laughs and lots of candy and gift cards by the end!

Now with that out of the way, we all headed downstairs, each taking a bowl or plate filled to the brim with tasty food. Everyone filled up their plates and drinks, found a seat to settle into, and chowed down and chatted. After we each got a second (or third) helping, it was time for the main event: presents! The kids are always thrilled with all the amazing prizes from ol' Mema and Papa, and we get to spoil the nieces and nephews as well.

About an hour or so later, all the boxes have been unwrapped, and all the adults are exhausted while the kids try out their newest toys. There is, of course, the required wadding up of the wrapping paper and throwing it at each other, as well as helping the youngest ones assemble their colorful loot. After another visit or two to the table full of sweets, we clean up, pack away our newest acquisitions, say our thank you's and goodbyes.

Another successful Brinkmas in the books!

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Oh, Christmas Tree

Winter is here, and so are our Christmas decorations! We've been a bit delinquent lately with decorating, waiting until mid-December to finally put them up... Better late than never, huh? I pulled out the dusty old boxes from the garage and basement and we opened them up and went about transforming our humble abode into a lovely winter wonderland!

First, in order to get the house in the right mood, we baked up some Christmas cookies- get that delicious smell wafting through the house. Next, we fire up the soundtrack to the Muppet Christmas Carol, and then we get to work! The tree goes first, then the lights, tinsel, and ornaments. Ledge, as always, has to hop into the Christmas tree box. Something he's been doing since he was 1 year old! It's still cute, but in a 5'10'' way... 

As we sing along with the Muppets, we get the place looking good! With a few well-placed seasonal knick knacks, we finish up the transformation. Now we are ready for Christmas!

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A Super Dog Movie

One of my favorite things to do is hop on YouTube from time to time and catch up on all the latest movie previews. Often times I'll see that a new big movie dropped a trailer, so I check it out and watch five or ten more trailers for movies I've never heard of. Well, I had heard that the first Superman trailer was just released, so I turned on the TV to check it out. I knew that it was going to feature Krypto, Superman's dog, so I figured ol' Wiggins would want to watch it as well! I scooped him up and pressed play. The preview itself was pretty great, lots of great dog stuff. Surprisingly, Wiggins wasn't very interested, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it!

(I didn't realize it at the time, but my wife was watching me and laughing at me the whole time- even had time to take a picture! Rude...)

A Song in His Heart

Fa la la! It's time for the annual Christmas concert with the ol' middle school. When first entering sixth grade, Ledger wanted to be in band. After trying out a couple instruments and realizing the amount of practice he would have to commit to, he quickly changed his mind and settled on Choir instead. We have been very happy with that decision ever since. For us it means we don't have to suffer through him practicing an instrument either, and also it means that our house is often filled with singing from a beautiful little boy's voice! Though he may not exactly like all the songs his Choir teacher picks, he is still using his voice and getting very good too! I was never a very good singer, once puberty hit anyway, but Ledge has continued to use and develop his voice- and it shows! Diana and I always look at each other with delight when we hear him singing any old random song from the other room- we just love to hear him!

As usual, we invited Mema and Papa to join us in listening to the middle school choir concert. It was surprisingly good- in fact, the choir teacher herself talked about how this has been one of the best classes she has ever had! The nice thing about that is she challenged them with some of the more interesting Christmas music. So we got to hear quite a few unusual and impressive songs during the show! Though our boy didn't have a solo, Diana swears that there were a few times that she could hear him individually. Afterward, all four of us got to heap praises on him, which he liked of course,

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My portrait

I've recently been doing a few different things online, making some changes. I left Twitter, for obvious reason, and instead made a profile on Bluesky. Along with a new profile, I figured I could use a new profile image. I asked my son, the resident artist, if he could make an image of me in his style. Here is what he came up with- and I love it! Is he way too generous with the hairline? Sure, but I'm willing to pretend its accurate...

A Big Thanksgiving

After having put in our time with my folks, we headed down to spend the rest of the weekend with Diana's family! We stayed with Mom and David, but made our way to Barbara and James' house for the big meal. James is quite the cook, so he whipped up some really great food for everyone. The weekend was filled with visiting family, catching up, and lots of laughs. The biggest challenge of going down there to visit is always convincing Ledge that he has to come home with us when it all over!

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A Small Thanksgiving

With everyone having plans for the Thanksgiving holiday, we weren't able to have a big get together with my side of the family. Well, we still found an evening to spend with my parents- Thanksgiving evening, in fact! The rest of the family wasn't able to come that day and was planning to see them later in the weekend, but our plans were to head down to South Bend for the weekend, so we had to get our time in while we could. My mom, as always, made us an amazing meal and gave us all tummy aches because we ate too much. Even still, it was nice to see them, as always!

Flick or Treat

After our epic trick or treating with the boy, we made our way back home and ordered some pizza from the local place. The boys were in no hurry to leave, so we filled our plates and went downstairs into my movie lair! I got to show it off to Adam. He actually lives in LA where the movies are made, so he appreciated my shrine to all things film. After telling him all about it when we came to visit him last year, he was very pleased to see it for himself in all its glory! (Aaron wasn't all that impressed, he's seen it many times before).

With it being Halloween, we had to pick a horror movie, of course. Everyone was down for some cheesy horror fun, so we watched Critters. The movie was surprisingly better than expected, throwing in random sci-fi elements, which of course I loved. After some good food and good laughs, it was time for them to pack it up and call it a night. We had a blast- we'll definitely have to do it again sometime soon!

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Trick or Treat Gang

It's Halloween! About a month ago my friend Adam said he was going to be in town for Halloween and asked if he could hang out with us for it. Of course! I talked to Aaron and invited him to join us as well, you know, make a whole party out of it.

That afternoon the boys came over, the boy got his alien costume on, the wife all set up to hand out candy, and the four of us went to mosey around the neighborhood and enjoy the holiday. I know I often talk about how much I love my small town, but this particular day was one of the best! The cool weather, the spooky time spirit, and the local kids wandering around getting candy all mixed together to create a perfect small-town evening! It genuinely felt like a scene out of a movie: the beautiful town, the kids in cute costumes, and a joyful fall scene. It hardly felt real- and what a perfect evening to share with my favorite people in the world!

Ledge stopped by each house, getting more and more candy, as he laughed and mingled with all the neighborhood kids along the way. The three of us following at a distance, laughing and commenting on the different costumes and decorations. I really was able to show off how great our little life is here.

The whole thing just really made me feel like I'm a middle-aged dad doing stereotypical dad stuff. I mean that in a good way! I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love this town!

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The Annual Boo Fest

One of Ledger's favorite traditions for Halloween is rewatching an old classic: Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest!

When he was little this was his very favorite movie. He would often watch it twice in one day, just start it up again immediately after he finished it. As the town gets ready for the fall fest, the man in the yellow hat tells the story of a spooky scarecrow from the town's past called 'No Noggin'. Absolutely harmless but also adorable!

We all gathered in the living room for the special screening, popcorn and drinks ready to go. We accidentally forgot to watch it last year, so Ledge was champing at the bit to see it this year! The whole thing is actually quite delightful and cute- it's even got a few banger songs that were stuck in our heads for the next several days...

After a really fun night, the DVD goes back on the shelf. We will make sure we don't miss it next year!

BSG Con

It's been a few years since they held a Stargate convention, much to my despair, but I happened to notice a few months ago that instead they were holding a special convention for Battlestar Galactica. Now, I had never actually seen the show before, but I knew Jon absolutely loved it and was obsessed. So I had a little talk with him to see if he would be interested in attending the BSG Con in the fall, and he almost exploded with excitement at the very notion!

With our tickets purchased and our hotel room booked, I had some homework: I had to actually watch the show! Over the next month or so I made my way through the mini-series, 4 seasons, and 2 movies. After watching the first few episodes I am relieved to tell you that I totally loved it! What a relief, how much would it suck if I didn't like the show and still had to go to the BSG Convention and pretend like I did?

Finally, October came around and it was time to head off to Chicago for the weekend and nerd out! Jon picked me up and we made the long trip. We scored a pretty good hotel room at the hotel it was being held at, so that made it so much easier for the rest of the weekend. Before we could settle into our hotel, we got to attend a few events with the special guests who were there for the convention. Turns out it was basically every single main cast member of the show! It was awesome to see them in person and hear their great stories about their time on the show and what other projects they have been up to since then.

I know there are a ton of attendees who take this whole show and convention really seriously, but that's not how Jon and I do it. We are super laid back, attend the panels we want to, otherwise we wander around the merch room or wander down to the seven eleven and get a slurpee or something. 

That night we walked over to the bar and got some great Chicago style pizza and hung out. I wasn't able to stay up too late that night. All this messing around with my sleep schedule had me a bit loopy and I zonked out pretty quick. By morning we were both up and ready for some more Battlestar Galactica love!

After two full days emersed in all things BSG, it was time for us to pack up and go. We had a total blast- a chance to leave our family worries behind and just be really nerdy. I loved it!
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Moonlight Jack Returns!

Guess who's back! It's time for some Halloween decorating because Moonlight Jack has paid us a visit! As everyone knows, you are not allowed to start decorating for Halloween until Moonlight Jack shows up. And look- this time he brought his son- Moonlight Junior! Oh, we are very blessed this year to have them both stop by. Who knows what sort of fun and frivolity is ahead for our spooky season!

(In case you somehow forgot the legend of Moonlight Jack, here is a retelling of that old famous tale!)

Special Showing

One of my favorite things about my small town is the local movie theater. It's an old one screen movie house from 1919 that was bought by the town and restored. They show recent movies each week, but every once in a while they have special events. I've attended them before, in fact, I try to attend every single one I can! Not just to see whatever they are showing, but also to support the town and movie culture in the area.

They had a special event recently that I was able to go to. This one was a short documentary called 'Jeanie's Face Exploded' that was created by someone in the area about Jeanie Jeffries, a woman who played an important part in the old horror movie 'Dawn of the Dead'. She played a small part in the movie, but was an important part of the make-up and effects as well. The documentary was an interview with her along with old photos and behind the scenes looks at the whole process. What was really neat is that Jeanie was at our showing as well as the director. They went up and discussed what went into making this doc and a few extra stories not included in the film. It was really cool to be a part of the premiere of the doc and everything!

Spooky Haunted House

Ledger has always loved Halloween. It's his favorite holiday, second only to getting all them gifts on Christmas! He's always loved the cute version of the holiday, pumpkins and cute ghosties and the like. Well, he's getting big enough to take it to the next level, I think. We've talked a bit over the past week or two about if he would be interested in going to a haunted house or something. He was pretty pumped about the idea, so I found one that may be a bit scary, but not too scary.

It would be to scary, of course, for Diana, so Ledge and I made plans to go to it just the two of us. It was a bit of a drive, going all the way up to Grand Rapids for this fright fest. I haven't really ever done the 'haunted house' thing before, so this was going to be a first-time experience for both of us!

We got tickets at the door and headed in. There were a couple waiting rooms that were decorated like a crypt, setting the right mood. We must have picked a pretty good night, because it wasn't too busy. Sure, there were a couple hundred people there, but we got to zip right through the first waiting area, so I'm sure it's a lot busier as it gets closer to Halloween. Ledger was getting a kick out of it, pointing out some of the details of the creepy decor. Eventually we made it to the front of the line. I double checked with him to make sure he was really up for it- don't want him getting too spooked, after all.

The whole thing was really cool! It was set up as six different themed areas, we made our way through the 'abandoned farmhouse' and then there was another small waiting area. After about five minutes we entered into a 'spooky psych ward'. Eventually we made our way through each of the six areas, one of them even had special glasses to make the black light effects even cooler! There were a bunch of scary parts and really well-designed traps and pathways. My only problem was that we were put with a group that must have been pretty scared, because they forced us to race through the different areas so we didn't get a chance to take it all in.  The coolest area was the black light dayglow 'Alice in twisted Wonderland' theme- it was really rad!

Finally we emerged from the haunted house and into the gift shop. The whole way home Ledge and I laughed and recounted the good scares and awesome costumes we saw. We will definitely be doing the haunted house thing again next year!

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Makin' Pancakes

As our boy gets bigger and bigger, he is starting to take on more responsibilities. One of them is making his own food. We decided to challenge him to make dinner for all of us. Pancake time!

We went downstairs and got the griddle (we don't use it very often...), mixed up the batter, and let him try making a fresh batch of hot cakes. I gave him some tips to know when to flip them, and off he went. He made all the rest of the mix and they turned out great! We ate really good that night, thanks to our newest chef! 

I guess he's ready for a more challenging menu next time...

Date Night

 It's been a while since Diana and I had a night out together, just the two of us. The boy is just getting old enough that we can leave him alone for a little while. We've been leaving him along here and there, but usually during the daytime. We decided it was time to push it a little further: we went to go see a movie in the evening, leaving the boy alone as it gets dark! He felt like he was brave enough to handle it, so we headed out with confidence.

We were both interested in seeing Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and it was playing in town, so we went to my beloved Regent Theater! We loaded up on snacks and settled in for our lovely date night. The movie wasn't that great, but the company made it worthwhile!

Power Washin'

Earlier in the summer I had asked Papa if I could borrow his power washer. The deck in the back yard has been getting dirty over the past couple years, so I figured it could you a little freshening up. Ledger came out to help me wash it down. It was quite satisfying to see the deck wood change from dirty grey to beautiful deep wooded brown again! Ledge got a kick out of it for a little while, but his interest waned pretty quickly.

It took a few sessions (it goes a lot slower than I expected), but I finally got it looking really good- almost looks like a new deck!

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It's A Jeep Thing

It's taken a while, but we finally got another car. When Diana had the car accident a while ago, we were so heartbroken about losing such a great vehicle. Now, with all the insurance stuff figured out, we finally went looking for a new one. After checking Marketplace for a couple weeks, we gave up and went to a used car dealer.

We wandered around the lot for a while, checking out every car that looked decent. We probably drove about 10 of them! Finally, we spotted this 2018 Jeep with really low miles. Took it for a drive, and we were hooked!

Look at us- a two car family again!

First Day Breakfast

Every year Diana and I have created a tradition of going out for breakfast after we drop off our son for his first day of school. Unfortunately, we weren't able to do it the same way this year. Diana now works at the school part time, so she needed to get ready for work right after we dropped Ledger off.

So, we changed it up a little bit: instead of going out for breakfast, I went and picked some up! We were still able to sit and enjoy the morning together, our first real moment of having the house to ourselves since school got out in June... It was a nice bit of peace and quiet. It didn't last long thought- Diana had to get ready for work and I needed to get some sleep!

Looks like some of these traditions are going to keep changing as life changes. Sometimes it difficult to accept, but I think we'll be ok with this little one!