Archive for the ‘Family’ Category
Sean called to invite me over, “The Vikings are playing the Bears on ESPN tonight. Do you want to come over?” he asked. It sounded like a good idea. Sean had an ulterior motive. I had his iPod Touch. I had upgraded the OS to 3.0.1. Sean wanted it back, and bad. Once Suzanne found out I was coming over, she decided to invite Paul out on a date. They left shortly after I arrived. I heated up the leftover pizza from Old Chicago.
After supper Sean started playing with Tim, it devolved into wrestling, also known as ‘roughhousing’. I tried to break it up but neither boy was interested in taking my advice. It is certainly natural for two brothers to start wrestling or fighting. (At one point Sean and Tim were Indian Leg Wrestling.) I kept my eye on them so no one got hurt and the house stayed in one piece. Interesting that Tim is almost as aggressive as Sean. What surprised me was how quickly Clare threw herself in the mix. She may only be two years old but that doesn’t stop her from joining in the fun.
I got a call from Suzanne, “Sean is requesting your presence at noon. We’re having a pre-celebration at Old Chicago pizza.” I love their Thai Pie so she didn’t have to twist my arm. Sean ordered a meat-lovers pizza with Bavarian Sausage that he shared with me. I shared some of Tim’s pizza as well. It pays to sit between them. It probably was a mistake to fill up on so much pizza.
I love the Craig Brand ™ Funtime Card as much as my nephews love getting it. It means no shopping for me, it is a unique gift that they will always remember and it yields some fun experiences all year long.
Char had her last wedding as First Lutheran’s Wedding Coordinator today. Instead of giving a two-week notice she gave an 18-month notice; it seemed to take that long to find a replacement. She and Ray were invited to the reception. I dropped dad off at the Radisson just before 6 PM. As I was downtown, I thought about stopping to see Victor. Then I remembered Paul told me they were attending church this evening and would be done at 6. I killed some time at the Moorhead Hornbachers before crossing the street and waiting in the St. Joseph’s Gathering Place. Sean was the first to see me. Suzanne jokingly asked if I had attended mass. “Paul and I wanted to go Christmas shopping.” The boys wanted to ride with me. Paul, Suzanne, and Clare went to get McDonalds. Sean and I got the table ready. The ‘Avatar’ character from the happy meal went in the garbage before I could recover it. Paul and I made a quick run to Best Buy. We looked at cameras, and let the gal help us, but I already narrowed down the search to the Canon SD1200IS. Paul wasn’t interesting looking any further. He picked blue, one of only two colors left. We grabbed a SD card before leaving. Paul asked me to get the camera ready for Christmas. I charged the battery (about two hours for a full charge), formatted the card, read the manual, and tested image quality (very nice.)
Dad and I almost missed the Christmas Program at St Josephs. I knew it was today but not the time. Dad knew the time but the entire thing slipped his mind. We arrived just as it started. Mom came directly from work and saved us two spots at the corner of the stage.
Sean called yesterday inviting me to see “A Christmas Story” tonight. I declined but asked if he wanted to see “2012″ today. Paul was taking him ice skating but he thought we could find a time to go see it. I suggested late afternoon would work well for me and give them time to skate.
Saturday (12/5), Marilyn West called she got notification from Qwest that her Internet is on. I told her to call Qwest and ask for her login information. (I thought she would get it in the mail.) She ended talking to a ‘nice man’ in India who helped her sign up.
Monday (12/7) I had her Gmail all set up, but she couldn’t get in today. Two problems: she couldn’t get the password login to be accepted and her Gmail account had been frozen. I asked Google to unfreeze it. Not sure why it was froze in the first place.
Sean called this morning, “Clare has a request. She wants to play outside so dress warm.”
I returned Paul Dobbins’ call. He wants to finish putting the Christmas lights up to the peak of the house. “I’m in the neighborhood. I’ll be right over.” When I pulled up, Paul was setting up the ladder. It was windy but Paul claimed it wasn’t too bad. It was his ass up on the thirty-foot ladder so I didn’t mind. Clare was watching Paul climb up and down the ladder. Clare was making funny faces at me; I was making faces back. Paul told me the timer had failed, which is why the lights didn’t work last time. While putting up the final strand of lights, we broke some lamps on the lower strands and blew the fuse too. Sean came out to help, but was content to run around and cause trouble. Paul replaced the lamps and fuse. The project was done and Paul didn’t fall off the ladder. He did manage to pinch his finger in the ladder while we hung it back on the wall.
Char decided to invite Dorothy and Bob Nelson over for Thanksgiving. I think this is the first time we’ve had company outside the family for Thanksgiving. Sean, Tim and Clare enjoy seeing Bob but soon split up. Tim played video games on my computer. Sean loaded songs onto his iPod, and Clare was underfoot in the kitchen. Paul carved the turkey and Dorothy brought some Norwegian treats. After the turkey dinner: Paul, Sean, Clare, Bob, and myself watched the football game. Sean brought out the football, and roughhousing ensued.
Craig and Bob: Best Friends
