Father's Day fun

The day started out dry, but as you can see Mr. Halverson, decided to empty the pool one blue cup at a time. There was of course no reason to turn away from this splash down or should I say splash out and he just poured most of it on himself. So needless to say we were in full swimming gear before long. (Say when did someone come up with swimming diapers?) When we were kids you either went without and well that had it's disadvantages or you just LOADED the regular ones and your kids walked around like ducks all day!

We enjoyed Father's Day at Ethan, Bethany and Josh's place in Boone. It was great gathering together with family and extended family (Josh's family was in attendance as well). Ethan was of course the life of the party. Here is a picture with Dad giving Ethan a little of his lunch. It went pretty well until Dad tried to give him some "baked" beans vs. what he was certainly thinking was some "green" beans. Let's just say they came out faster than they went in!

Just to not let you think I am some sort of GRANDPA that forgets everyone else, here are a few pics of the others in attendance. Even though I am sort of that kind of Grandpa, in that I have way too many pics of this angel and well you know the drill. Anyone with grandkids knows what I am talking about, don't you?

My son, Tyler, has been working really hard at the Des Moines Playhouse and well he had no problem in catching a few winks during the afternoon of fun. When did he grow up? Ask me sometime to see a pic of me at this age and he hates to admit it, but he looks like his old man!

And the best of all MOTHER of one and wife of one as well - my daughter Bethany. I guess all of those gym lessons in Jackson have finally paid off!

Fountains and waterfalls?

Yesterday was a fun day in the yard, but I did find out that I am not as young as I used to be. The fountain went in easy in the front yard, with little effort except for a few bags of rock. The waterfall (sort of) in the back yard was not so easy. I guess digging a hole for a 55 gallon tank is not suppose to be easy. I mean when I was 20 I would dig like that all day! I did as a matter of fact one Summer do just that while working for Hersom's construction company. But that is another story.

Stop by anytime and enjoy the sound of a "fake" waterfall.

Here is the small fountain that is now in the front of house, vs. the larger pond that was there last year. By the way we have moved "NEMO" to his home on the southside of the steps, which is where he spent the winter. Yes, you can leave a fish outside all winter, the heater in the pond kept a cosy 65 degrees.

Here is a video clip of the front yard fountain.

Here is the noisy waterfall! I am still working on the attempt to transform my backyard into the woods of Colorado. The white pines are not just touching and the smell is great. I can close my eyes and hear them "sing" and now I can also here the rush of the water down a mountain stream. I know that I will get back to Colorado someday, but in the meantime, this is my only way to get there. By the way, it's a great place to enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning or a glass of red wine in the evening. Of course if you are in the area, please stop by.

Chicago Visit

This past weekend, Cindy and I went to Chicago to visit Jamie and Kyle. They have been married almost a year already. Man that went fast! It was great to see their new place and enjoy the sites and sounds of Chicago. What a wonderful city! The food is great that is for sure!

We went to the Lincoln Park FREE zoo and took a few pics. I really enjoyed the Polar Bears, they really put on a show for me! The pic is my favorite of him looking at me. The video is one that I took while he was making this trip by the window. I would guess that he does this say 6 times / min ALL DAY. Can we all say OCD!

I just love the ability to walk down the street and find shops and places to eat along the way. We did some of this everyday. The city has it's disadvantages, but I just love this advantage! The Italian place only 3 blocks away would make a FAT man out of anyone. The wine, the pasta, the expresso and the desert!