What has happened?

I have no excuses. I’m not going to claim an active lifestyle on my lack of blogging.

I guess I’ve cashed in on the nice string of weather. For one thing, days on end of 80 degrees in March have finally come to an end. And that’s only because we are now in April.

Thank goodness.

I was getting tired of always being outside, drawing on the sidewalk, playing baseball or soccer in the backyard, going to the park and not wearing a jacket.

Seriously, what has happened?

Well, to sum it up easily, life happened.

Amy returned from Europe earlier in the month.

We played outside.

I mowed my lawn 3 times in the month of March.

Amy and I bought bicycles and actually tried to use them. I guess exercise is important to good health, who knew? Amy does, but I’m still getting used to it.

We actually used vacation days with the boys in a trip to the QC. As you can see in the picture, we just sit in hotels playing on the iPad and DS.

It was on that trip that I learned a good friend from my Girl Scouts Night on Broadway, died. Brian Nelson (tribute story by another great friend David Burke) was such a great person and talent. It was awesome to stand next to him to get my part. No one can replace that voice in the show and it makes my decision to return last December all the more meaningful, as that was my last time talking to the copy editor of the QC Argus/Dispatch before he passed on March 17.

We saw old friends in new places and entertained along the way.

Then there were trips to get frozen yogurt.

I suppose Call Committee at church took a little time. We are looking for a new pastor for care and discipleship.

We hosted two members of the Ritterchor from Wartburg College. Our guys were communication arts majors. They weren’t even at the house 10 hours, but we still managed to bore them to tears with tales of Castle Singers and KWAR. The group was well received at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. We hope they remember us in Ankeny the next time they drive by.

I did get to meet the new director, Lee Nelson. He’s an incredible talent and Wartburg is lucky to have him.

And now this week, baseball begins. The Iowa Cubs will open the 2012 season to some of the coolest weather we’ve had in weeks. The boys are summer are getting the same luck as last year, great weather in Des Moines when the team was on the road, but when at home, bring the cold, rain and snow.

We did have some family health issues with Grandpa Bob Lehmann attempting to play Superman and ending up in the hospital. Mom and Dad survived a month together in Florida and Kris was able to return with them, hitting every 3rd McDonald’s along the way back to Iowa.

And maybe I play Words With Friends a little bit….

But being a dad is what I love to do. Spending time with the clowns is the best medicine for any day. Amy gets attention, too. You have to keep the boss happy.

Maybe next time we’ll get back to the business at hand, telling you who is pregnant on what TV station and maybe dig up some old hat pictures to keep you entertained.

Until next time, good knight.

Running on fumes

A smiling Noah is a fun Noah.

As we approach the end (hopefully) of YBHA VII, the boys are wearing down.

We all get up a little later in the morning, are a little crankier with each other and just ready to have the boss back in the house. We can manage our time alone, but after a while, we need to have our family all together. They need Mom. But don’t we all?

Thursday was one of those days where all of those factors were in play.

Noah needs to have some one-on-one time. He just hadn’t been getting it this week. I try to spend time with him, but it doesn’t always work out the way he likes and I think he feels cheated. He likes his mommy. Noah melted while leaving his day care and when we got home before supper. And then there’s the boy who DIDN’T have a nap today. But Levi was in good spirits despite his lack of shuteye.

Ice cream solves many problems.

To help break up the routine, we called in a little help. Grandma and Grandpa Freeseman came over for a short time this evening.

Noah wanted to color. I can’t help him color while Levi is around. Levi wants to color as well and that just doesn’t work. Sometimes the two can get along fine with an activity, but for now, they usually end in one hitting the other, a squeal or wrestling each other.

Boys. You gotta love ‘em.

Following the coloring session, we had a little ice cream. That seemed to do the trick for Noah who was most notably happier when he had people paying full attention to him. It may not be a medical fact, but ice cream is known to make many problems go away.

Levi likes to play in the sand.

While Noah colored, Levi and I stayed outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. We played in the sand box.

My 20-month-old is starting to test boundaries. He’s throwing sand or hitting his brother or just saying “no-no” a lot when we ask him to do something.

This has been a big week for the boys at school. It is the final week of being in their current rooms. Come Tuesday, they’ll be moving up and onward to new rooms and new teachers. Levi has struggled a bit this week as he’s become attached to his caretakers. One of them will be moving on, so that will ease the transition.

Noah will go into the kindergarten room this summer. They pretty much go on field trips all summer. A fun summer is in store for him.

A great day for baseball.

One trip they won’t be taking is to Principal Park to see the Iowa Cubs. We would have lost him today if he was at the park. It was the biggest crowd of the season, 10,000 plus were they and they mostly arrived by school bus.

it was a great day to take in a ball game. My co-worker Julie Knutson wanted to take in a day game this year and this date worked. So, when the sun came out and clouds parted, we knew we’d timed it just right. Even if we missed the first part of the game because traffic was snarled.

We also had fun because another co-worker, Dave Feingold, joined us. He loves to be outdoors on a nice day as well. So we all burned a little vacation/comp time and got a little sun.