Ryan Throws up Like You

[Warning! This story includes children throwing up.  The title may not have given that away.  This story is not for the faint at heart or the weak in stomach. Dakota rates it PG.] A sure sign that your vacation may not go as planned is when you wake up the first night to your wife…

Cheap Yet Cherished

I have to admit I was a little bewildered as my uncle handed my aunt a brush wrapped up in a plastic bag.  At a quick glance the brush seemed filled with hair, and there appeared to be a whole lot of wear on the brush itself. I didn’t give it much more thought –…

Hair, the Elephant in the Room

If you’re like me, the idea of hair loss may come to your mind when you think about cancer.  Hair loss is not inevitable, but it’s definitely possible and in many cases quite certain.  I have been somewhat struck by the sensitivity and emotion tied to hair loss.  Even our doctors seem to get a…

Cheesecake Factory – Chicago

Since our little trip to Chicago was for Molly’s birthday (coming up next week), we needed to get a “little” birthday cake.  Since Cheesecake Factory was right across the street from “American Girl” we settled for just a small piece of cake . . . well a few small pieces of cake.  A couple chocolate…

Friday Night Activity

Last week Spencer wanted me to take a stick he had found outside and make a gun for him.  It would have been a bit of a challenge due to the fact that – well – it was a stick.  I promised him that the next weekend we could make some guns.  At that point…

Valentine Boxes

Based on the supply and inspiration of one of the ladies in our church, each of the kids put together a valentine box.  Spencer follows in the footsteps of his father as he puts minimal decoration on his box.  The others put a bit more into their decorations.  Linda and I had a box as…

The Birch Run Zoo

A friend of ours from Wisconsin came and visited us a few weeks ago.  We had heard about a little zoo up in Birch Run, so while she was here, we went up to check it out.  We had a pretty fun time with the kids.  For a fair price, we all were able to…

Buried in the Beach

We were able to go to the beach a couple of times throughout our time up north. It really was a very pleasant beach. The very cold water seemed to coincide with the small amount of people present on the beach. Either way, we went swimming, and after a bit of freezing, you could get…

Bat Catcher Extraordinaire

For the last two weeks we have been on vacation.  You would think that I would have had a little more time to posts during those two weeks, but apparently not.  We started out our two week vacation with a trip up to Michigan’s northern peninsula.  A side note to this “batty”story . . .…