Not a radio fan

In the car this morning, Colleen and I were listening to the radio and a Janis Joplin song came on, Piece of my Heart. I automatically cranked up the volume but Colleen protested, saying "Is that lady injured or something? This song is awful."

So I turned to another station. Forget You by Cee-lo was on, right at the part where he cries "Why?! Wwwwwhy?!"

Colleen says, "Turn off the music. It's too depressing."

Next time I'll bring the Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat CD she received as a Christmas gift from her godmother, Jennifer. That she loves! I think this photo conveys the awesomeness of Joseph.

A birthday for Robert

We had friends over to celebrate Robert's birthday today, and although it was the first rainy day in six weeks, we grilled anyway.

Cate had already come up with the idea of doing pizzas on the grill, and although I had never attempted such a thing, we went for it. The Taste section in Thursday's Star Tribune wrote about making pizza on the grill, too, so it seems we weren't the only ones thinking about it.

Cate and my mom assembled this massive list of possible toppings: Pepperoni, chicken, homemade Italian sausage, Neil's fresh basil, tomatoes, mushrooms, black olives, peach chutney, anchovies, roasted garlic, hummus. Then, all of these grilled vegetables: red peppers, poblano peppers, scallions, red onion, leeks and pineapple. Also, fresh and shredded mozzarella, and tomato sauce.

Process was a little slow, but basically every pizza came out great. It was a cold, wet day outside and we went four kids pizzas at a time, then two individual grown-up pizzas at once. Neil was in charge of rolling out dough and I was in charge of grilling. Guests were in charge of selecting their own toppings and for the most part, I assembled them and cooked them. We had the grill on fairly low, cooked the crust for 4-5 minutes, flipped and put the toppings on, then cooked until the cheese melted.

It was nearly two hours in front of the grill, all told. And I saw some great combinations of toppings go by. Elizabeth had black olives, red peppers, pineapple and red onions. I saw something with sausage, chicken, basil, tomatoes, a veggie or two and just a sprinkling of cheese. A handful without tomato sauce. Just cool stuff. We would definitely do this again. (Ryan's photos included here.)

And when the group got big and involved some newcomers, we went with name tags. Ryan's girlfriend and her daughter were there, as well as friends of ours that hadn't been exposed to the whole group yet. People were named, and most of them labeled. To wit:

Robert: Birthday boy
Cate: Patrick's wife, Birthday boy's mom
Elizabeth: Robert's awesome sister
Colleen: (Not sure, though she is certainly awesome as well.)
Mom: Nonna, mother of the brood
Neil: Neil
Alicia: Alicia
Amelia: Mom Alicia, Dad Neil
Ryan: I don't know, but I later saw it stuck on his forehead.
Jennifer: Colleen's godmother
Kyle: Belongs to Jennifer (I hear Jennifer wrote this)
Cate: Just the first and last name
Max: Just the first and last name
Carrie: Friend of Patrick (the world-traveling soprano -- my label, not theirs)
Charley: Journalist (I didn't write this personally but when I refer to Carrie and Charley around the house it's as "our soprano and journalist friends")
Lindsey: Lindsey
Jazmine: Jaz, Jazzy

Robert received cool stuff, a couple of things which I'll spotlight: Finally, his own poncho, which Cate crocheted for him; a kite from the Jensens (he has been dying to fly a kite for a long time); bases for the backyard from Ryan; a crocheted creation from Neil and Alicia; a crystal mining set from Nonna and Da.

And no pony, no moon bounce, no Chuck-E Cheese, great 7-year-old birthday. Thanks, all, for coming and sharing an otherwise dreary day with us!

That Elizabeth trip with Dad

Cate mentions that Elizabeth was off on a special trip with me this weekend. I'm not so sure how 'special' it was, though.

The last time I took Elizabeth with me on a basketball trip, we had a great time in Gettysburg, Pa. But that was a trip planned ahead of time, in part around her. This time, not so much. I went to kiss her good-bye Friday night on my way out the door and she asked, "Ooh, can I come?"

Robert had gone to a game with me in St. Paul earlier in the week, so I think she was feeling a little left out.

Little did she know it would require about 13 hours in the car and not much in the way of kid-friendly activities. I didn't even book a nice hotel because I thought I was traveling by myself. The game was in Grinnell, Iowa, at 1 in the afternoon, so we didn't really have time to seek out anything interesting to add to the itinerary. We stopped at a gift shop in town, which had absolutely nothing to offer, even to the point where Elizabeth noticed we were the only ones in the store, and said, "We can't even sneak out!"

She also had hot chocolate -- actually three times Saturday, in fact -- and a cinnamon roll at Saints Rest, a coffee shop in town. She helped me maintain my cover (I went to the game unannounced) and watched it with me, and was interested for a while but even a 130-109 game couldn't hold her. She was patient as I talked to players after the game.

Where she broke down was after two hours in the car on the way home, when I was suggesting we would stop anywhere but an Applebee's.

See, we were about 65 miles south of the next Applebee's on the interstate, and the road was not in great shape, so I was hoping we could stop and eat in hopes that the road would get treated and be a little more drivable. But no, not so much. Her response was, "when we go out to dinner, we never get to eat anywhere NICE!"

Real tears. And yes, apparently Applebee's is the definition of nice.

So, Ryan confirmed for me that the next Applebee's north of us (there was no chance I was backtracking 20 miles in that weather) was in Mason City, Iowa. And Elizabeth wanted to wait. So we trudged north at anywhere from 40-55 mph to get there.

Elizabeth ordered steak, but I was impressed: The first thing she ate off the plate wasn't the steak, or the gigantic baked potato (with its -- honest to goodness -- three tablespoons of butter), but the zucchini. And then the broccoli. She rattled off for me all the things she loves about Applebee's: the kitsch (my description) on the walls mostly. But honestly, it's almost the only place she's ever been on a regular basis, going back a decade. I remember taking her to Applebee's with the Jensens when she was a baby. Before she ate, frankly. And it's the place she would go to dinner with Patty most frequently. (Breakfast, IHOP, different story.) So it's sentimental value for her. Much like ... uhh ... yeah, I can't come up with anything for me. We stopped going when we started needing to feed and entertain three kids there.

My car doesn't have a functioning CD player, so we were at the mercy of the radio the whole trip. Elizabeth's popular musical appreciation is somewhat limited, but she's familiar with just about anything the folks at Kids Bop have covered, which apparently includes John Mayer's Waiting for the World to Change. I got a kick out of listening to her sing that.

I'm sure she'll remember it as boring, and I know it was for her. But it was nice to have her riding shotgun. And if I have more than five minutes' warning we can work on the itinerary with her in mind.

After the football

This was the first Saturday not consumed by Division III football since we moved here and it was kind of nice to be somewhat normal for once. Defining normal:

I got out of bed first (a rarity) and made breakfast (slightly less rare, but still pretty infrequent these days). Made sure Robert and Colleen got dressed. Since Mom offered us a trip to the movies (subtle request to get out of the house?!), we were pushing to get the rest of the day in order. I wanted to get the Christmas cards that had been completed in the mail so they could be in people's hands in a few days, and that meant a trip to the post office in St. Louis Park (Edina's is consistently one day slower.)

I asked Cate if she needed anything for her baking today and she did, so I added Byerly's to my to-do list. I got Robert ready to go and Colleen started putting her shoes and coat on, too. I figured, what the heck, and finished getting her ready to go and took her with me, too.

Got home with the orange juice and such and it was pretty close to time to go to the movies. While Cate and Elizabeth got ready I salted and sanded the sidewalks, because they're pretty icy to say the least.

Went to the movie. (Tales of Desperau. Elizabeth liked it because it was very faithful to Kate DiCamillo's book, but ehh, kind of a bland storyline.) We noticed they do a free refill on large soda and popcorn.

The stove is still out from Christmas Day -- one of the burners refused to turn off so we had to have the gas to the unit turned off. They won't be out to look at it until Monday. So Cate was luckily able to borrow a stove (and a kitchen) from friends and get her baking done for tomorrow's Christmas party.

She kept Elizabeth and I brought Robert and Colleen home for the rest of the afternoon. Among some other mundane stuff, we set up the Wii and Robert showed me he remembered a fair amount from when we played with the Wii at the Krugers back in August.

Unfortunately, when bedtime, I had to play the bad guy and told the older two it was time to turn off the Wii. Made sure Colleen was in her pajamas.

And then bedtime. Well, except I'm still up. Can't sleep. Too much stuff running through my head, I think.

I won the bet

Not quite a year and a half ago, Jennifer bet me I wouldn't be living in Minneapolis within five years.

Five years? How could I not take that bet?

No, a steak dinner wouldn't have been enough for me to move for all on its own, but still, why bet with someone who can solely influence the outcome?

About a year ago, a project manager working with us at work told me he thought that it would be possible for me to take my current job and do it from anywhere, once the site was up and operational and moving smoothly. Which was a relief, because these days, jobs with the Twin Cities newspapers are hard to come by. The site took a while to become operational, let alone smooth, but my boss graciously agreed to let me take my family and job here. I now work out of a corporate office in Minnetonka. (Where, by the way, there are no giggling coworkers.)

Jennifer also lost a weight-loss bet to me last fall (a bet I am still winning, in crushing fashion) and has sworn off placing wagers with me. Which is unfortunate; I always welcome free food.

Which brings us to today's photo -- a dinner remembrance in true Another Delco Guy fashion. Enjoy. It's a Stella Artois for me and ... uhm, some sauvignon blanc for Jennifer. Seriously, I don't memorize wine.

We have really great friends

Thanks, Jennifer and Kyle, for taking the time to look in on our kids (and give my parents a break) tonight! Sounds like everyone is having a great time.

August is here, both Eastern and Central time. We'll see how we do in the next 16 hours.

Greetings from Minnesota!

What does a girl do on her first day as a Minnesotan? Listen to Prairie Home Companion of course. While passing through the hall Elizabeth caught a moment of "Guy Noir, Private Eye" on the radio and said "Ooo! What station is this? It's like TV but without the screen." She's listened to Garrison Keillor before but never as a fellow Minnesotan.

The Meeting of the Cousins went very well. All were cranky at the end but it was well past bedtime so we'll overlook that. Baby Amelia was sleeping for the initial meet and greet but Robert soon helped her overcome that. There were lots of kisses and peek-a-boos. Colleen sang her songs, Elizabeth entertained with cartwheels (even Uncle Neil and Uncle Ryan tried their hand (s and feet) at the cartwheel and were as successful as grown men can be), and Robert helped and talked (his personal strengths). Aunt Cate got to hold her lots (thank you) and enjoyed sniffing her head. That's not too weird -- babies smell nice (most times). Pa also attended and worked his great-grandchild magic. Colleen ran right to him and he lifted her onto his lap. He got lots of hugs and she just ate up his undivided attention.

Special mention goes to Jennifer Jensen who stopped by to say welcome (and provided the photo of Colleen and Pa!). We went together to an open house, our first in the Minnesota market. Not the house for us I think but a nice way to get our feet wet -- with a friend. She also took us to the Linden Hills playground. So the kids got some fresh air and Cate got some grown up conversation. Very nice way to spend an afternoon.

Something weird happened

"You know what, Dad? Something weird happened. Cate said she was going to marry me. But I decided I am going to find another wife."

That was Robert's take tonight on this weekend, with Cate Jensen, newly turned 5 ... oh yeah, and her parents and younger brother ... in town.

That's Cate in the middle, Robert on the left and Max on the right. And liberal use of Photoshop's red eye filter.

It wasn't an outstanding weekend if you're a Robert fan. He certainly had his moments -- he did great on our trip to the ballgame on Sunday, for example. But he was bossy, something which I think most kids are when they have the chance, and unbelievably rigid at times.

Robert often needs to be reminded that someone else's parents are there, and they are in charge.

Our family knows the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by heart. It's Colleen's favorite book. She reads it out loud to us because she knows the words by heart and can cue off the pictures. Robert knows the order of the story pretty much without the pictures. Cate is familiar with the book, but not fluent, and couldn't hang with Robert in that context.

So Robert, ahem, corrected her, and forcefully -- leaving Cate in tears.

Tonight they were over at our place playing in the backyard and Cate wasn't getting to ride a particular bike she wanted. Robert hurt her feelings by using a phrase I'm sure he doesn't understand -- that she was having a bad day, or a bad hair day. Well, naturally, Cate was insulted by that, and her mom, in good spirits, said, "I put those ponytails in myself this morning and they're just fine."

I had to take Robert aside, and used a phrase for the first time that I guess I'll probably be using many times in the coming years: "Let me give you some man advice."

In this instance, it was, "Never say anything bad about a girl's hair, or how they look."

He nodded the solemn nod of a kindergartener who doesn't quite understand.

Later that evening I was trying to revisit the subject of the weekend, and the bossiness, when he dropped the marriage line on me. I went on to tell him, "You never know, Robert, she could turn out to be pretty cute."

Robert just stared at me.

New ballpark, new experience

Today was Colleen's first baseball game, and our first ballgame at the Washington Nationals' new ballpark.

It's been a fun weekend -- our friends, the Jensens, are in from out of town and we've been spending the weekend getting reacquainted with the sights and sites of Washington, D.C. It's been a while since we really did the touristy stuff in D.C. as an entire family and we got a fair amount of it in this weekend with them.

Saturday morning we saw the Cherry Blossom Festival parade -- I've lived in Washington for 19 Aprils now and Cate for 18 and this is the first time we've been. We sat on the steps of the National Archives and watched it for as long as possible before the kids expired. This weekend was also my first trip to the National Zoo since 2001. (Inauguration Day, in fact ... don't ask.) The kids had a great time and in particular, Elizabeth and I had a good time walking around and really looking closely at the animals and the supporting materials. She took lots of pictures and we all visited a lot of the park, which has gotten significantly better since I visited in 1989.

But the ballpark was the centerpiece, for me anyway. And I think for Elizabeth as well, who said, "This is so, so SO, awesome!"

Giving a 10-year-old that experience in and of itself is worth it.

Kind of hard to put it into words. For me, it was the first time I got a real charge out of a ballpark since the first time I went to Camden Yards, the week it opened in 1992. Since then, it's seemed like every new park I'd been in or seen was a knock-off.

But Nationals Park, which somehow has yet to get a sponsor's name on it, isn't like Camden Yards or any of the umpteen Sponsor's Name Here Stadiums that have followed it. I'm not an architect and I can't write like one, but even on a cold, wet day it was a breath of fresh air.

I'll leave the architecture criticism to Edward Gunts of The Sun, in Baltimore. They know a little bit about groundbreaking ballparks there, anyway.

Colleen appeared to enjoy the game more than Elizabeth, which belies how the day began. When we were standing on the Metro platform waiting for our train, one rumbled by in the opposite direction and Colleen was none too pleased with how loud it was.

"Dad, can we go home?"

Uhh, no, we're just getting started here. And she was less than thrilled with waiting for the Jensens to join us at the ballpark. But unlike any almost-3-year-old I've ever met, she was content to sit in a ballpark seat and actually watch a ballgame. She was not the reason we left early -- the cold weather and occasional spritz of rain was.

The keen-eyed baseball fan will notice that the scoreboard behind me in the picture above (click to enlarge) not only lists the batting average, but the slugging percentage and on-base percentage of the batter as well. Nice touch. The main scoreboard is gigantic as well.

The kids have their amenities as well. There's a cool play area and moon bounce. Even though the play area is restricted to kids from ages 3-8 ... and only one of our kids currently falls into that range ... Elizabeth, Robert and Colleen all had a good time playing on it.

Colleen has no trouble passing for 3. After the person in charge asked me how old Elizabeth was (I said 8), I told her to act more girly. Worked well enough.

As far as the game, well, I can't say much for Robert's first major league game. (A former major leaguer pitched in his first minor league game for the Camden Riversharks in July 2002.) In Elizabeth's first major league game, Hall of Famer Cal Ripken homered, as did future Hall of Famers Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr. (twice). In Colleen's first game, well, future Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine had the shortest outing of his career, not getting a batter before leaving with an injury. And Chipper Jones homered.

So what if Robert left his hat in the car, Elizabeth forgot her glasses and everyone was about five degrees too cold. It was a great day.