The Village

It’s been pretty hot here lately.  Somewhere around 90 degrees every day…and 98 degrees in our house!

Yup, our air conditioner took a big ole crap!  Why do these things break when they are needed the most?

And on top of that Ace came down with strep throat.  When he’s feeling good…he is lying around.  When he is feeling bad, he needs to be held.

I can barely stand the heat just sitting here by myself, let alone holding a 100 degree, crying, 25 lb boy!

So, we’ve been staying at Grandma’s house (which has AC) until the parts for our AC unit come in and I have time to install them.  😀

It really does take a village sometimes… 😀

That Crazy Blue Elephant

Well, that crazy blue elephant has returned again this summer…reekin’ havoc upon Ace in his very own backyard.

That Crazy Blue Elephant

That damned thing comes out every time it gets warm and teases him with a small shower of cool water, just big enough for a three foot tall person to run through and cool down on a hot summer day.

And then once he gets close enough to enjoy the small shower… WHASHOOSH!  The elephant explodes with a massive flood of freezing cold water that pours down on him…sending him into shock and he runs for his  life…  😀

He reaches safety just in time to see the monsoon turn once again into a small pleasant shower.

And then he does it again…and again…and again…

But after a while he starts to catch on…

DSCF2497

…and he realize that there is a certain someone ( with a camera ) that is enjoying this a little too much.  This certain someone turns a knob connected to the hose every time the monsoon rains down on him.

He is getting smarter…wiser…more experienced.  It looks like that certain someone will have to step up their game in order to keep fooling this toddler.  😀

Enjoying The Sunshine

So, yeah…it’s been a while.   I lost my password to the site…or something. 😀

No really, we have just been super busy gettin’ ready for summer, and most recently enjoyin’ the summer like weather here in Ohio.

Since it has been a while since you all have seen a pic of Ace, I figured I would upload a few pics of him outside enjoying the sunshine…

Bike Riding Is Fun

Bike Riding Is Fun

Getting So Big!

Getting So Big!

Yet, Still My Little Guy...

Yet, Still My Little Guy...

PS:  Ace is all healed up from his surgery, and back to having more energy than Dad.  😀   I took a before picture of his outie…  If I can get him to hold still for two seconds, I’ll get a pic of his new and improved belly button and post a before and after.  😀 

Stay tuned…I’m going to get my old blogging shoes out of the closet and dust them off.  😀

Sun, Sand, and Dirty Diapers

We live in Ohio…not usually thought of when you think about beaches, but beaches do exist here believe it or not…

One of my favorite things to do in the summer when I was a kid was to go out on the boat at Indian Lake with my my Mom, Dad, and brother.  I remember pulling the boat up to the beach, hopping out, and swimming to shore to play in the sand…and the little waves that washed up onto the sand.

Keep in mind I had never seen the ocean, let alone swam in it or anything with decent sized waves.  Even though these waves were less than a foot tall, I would try my hardest to body surf on them…if only for a few feet.

Most of the activities that we do such as the zoo, COSI, vacationing in Iowa, and going to see a ball game, were all Momma’s ideas.  I’m a homebody.  I am perfectly happy playing with Ace in the back yard on the swingset or in the pool, but a few weekends ago I got the bright idea of taking Ace to the beach…so Momma packed a picnic basket and off we went.

We went to a small lake about 45 minutes from our house and found this small beach after driving around for a while.  We had lunch in the shelter house and then got ready for some swimming…

We could not find our pack of Little Swimmers diapers, so we just brought a pair of underwear and a pair of swimming trunks for Ace.

Ace was amazed as he and I walked out onto the sand towards the water…

Dad And Ace Looking From The Beach

Dad And Ace Looking From The Beach

Once the amazement had been washed away it was time to play in the sand…

Playing In The Sand

Playing In The Sand

And what can be more cuter than baby feet buried in the beach sand?

Baby Feet Buried In The Beach Sand

Baby Feet Buried In The Beach Sand

After he got the hang of the sand he was off to bigger and better things…splashing in the waves…

Ace Playing In The Waves

Ace Playing In The Waves

And when a boat would go by, the waves got bigger…and more fun!

Big Waves

Big Waves

And then he crapped his pants…and crapped them good.  The underwear and swimming trunks were put out of commission for the day and we had to revert to a plain old diaper…

I ran out to the car with bare feet to clean him up and put on a diaper.  Ever tried to change a diaper while dancing on the sun beaten pavement to keep your bare feet from spontaneously combusting?  Not as easy as it sounds… 😀

And then the sand…it was everywhere!!  There was sand in the poop, and poop in the sand.  If nothing else positive came out of this experience, his tush got a good exfoliation treatment as I went through a package of wipes trying to clean the mess.  😀

Once everyone had a clean butt I put on my trunks and we headed out to deeper water…

Heading Out To Deeper Water

Heading Out To Deeper Water

Of course, since Ace had on a regular diaper now,  he weighed about 50 lbs (25 lbs of Ace and 25 lbs of water that had absorbed into his diaper). 😀

It was a fun day that brought back memories for me, and hopefully made some memories for Ace.  Just look at his face…it has HAVING FUN written all over it…as he splashes in the sun.  😀

Having Fun Face

Having Fun Face

BTW: We have some big news to reveal in the very near future…stay tuned.  😀

Dad’s Can Do Anything!

Part of being a Dad, at least for me, is getting to fix things and put things together.  Sometimes it can be fun!  For example, putting together your kids first bike, easy bake oven, or something else that you know they will love.

However, sometimes it can be not so much fun.  For example, crawling through fiberglass insulation in a 120 degree attic to install an attic fan. (I think I sweat about 10 gallons that day.)  😀

A few posts ago I told you about our good deal on the pool.  Well, who gets to put this pool up?  Dad, of course. (Momma helped too. I can’t take all of the credit.)

One of the important things about putting in an above ground pool is having the ground level.  If it is not level the pool will be deeper on one side than the other.  A few inches is no big deal, but much over that and you start to have major problems.

Our back yard already had a big dip in it where the people that lived here before us had a pool and took it with them. We figured our pool would go right there…because it is the most level spot in our back yard…so I thought.

It took us three days to till up the dirt and level it out with garden rakes to our satisfaction.  While not perfect, it is close enough.  Then we put down 18 bags of play sand.  (The dude at Home Depot probably thought we built the biggest sand box EVER!)

Next the pool liner, support frame, pump and hoses, and finally the water…6000 gallons of it. (I’m dreading the water bill next month) 😀

After all of that we were left with a functioning above ground pool filled with water so cold that my nipples almost popped right off my body when I jumped in.  😆

After a few days the water temp is tolerable…about 76 degrees…and my nips are much happier now.

Looks like we have a summer full of fun in the sun ahead of us!  😀

The Intex Pool Put Together

Hostinger