"Crazy, hot fun" the trip report About This Page:

[clio]

I'm all caught up, now. The weather up here has really been weird all summer. Sorry to hear about Coach losing to boys but it could happen to anyone. The ending to Safe Harbor was a complete surprise. Since then, I've read the book and it's still a surprise. Glad everyone had a good weekend.
Liz

[OhToodles!]

Sounds like a great weekend. It was so strange not being hot wasn't it?!

[mfirst]

Originally Posted by chezp

You guys have been having a ball!

We did have a really fun weekend

Originally Posted by Cam22

Great weekend for everyone!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by clio

I'm all caught up, now. The weather up here has really been weird all summer. Sorry to hear about Coach losing to boys but it could happen to anyone. The ending to Safe Harbor was a complete surprise. Since then, I've read the book and it's still a surprise. Glad everyone had a good weekend.
Liz

I just picked up the book today...usually I read books before watching the movie, but I've slacked off on my reading because of grad school.

Originally Posted by OhToodles!

Sounds like a great weekend. It was so strange not being hot wasn't it?!

Um...almost turned the heat on last night because our house is so chilly. I don't think I'll EVER say that about July 29th again. Instead, I had the kiddos wear their fall PJ's and gave them each an extra blanket. It's 53 out this morning and the house is about 60 degrees.

It's been really nice to be able to run the boys ragged outside, rather than having to stay cooped up in the air conditioning. When the ozone alerts happen, Patrick's asthma kicks up something fierce, as you'll see later in the report

[mfirst]

Last Saturday morning, we woke to a lot of so the boys and I played, cleaned up the house and talked with Coach, who was on his way home from Michigan. It stopped raining around 11:30, so I decided after Cullen napped, we'd head to the Celtic Festival in Downtown Dayton. This was a great festival because it is free to get into

The Festival is held at the Riverscape Metropark, and also spills onto a couple of the adjoining side streets. The main entertainment happens at the Riverscape stage, with two other secondary stages providing other entertainment. There are also LOTS of food and shopping vendors so there was plenty to see as we walked around. Ironically, we also chose to attend the same day that the Dayton Dragons had a game, so parking proved to be a bit more difficult, but we were able to find a lot an park for free The lots right across from the Fifth Third Field had "special event" parking for $5.00 because of the festival and the game. I had a good laugh after the sticker shock I'd had trying to park for a Cleveland Indians game a few weeks back ($20.00 at the "cheap" lot)

First stop - outside Fifth Third Field:



The boys kept talking about Pete and it finally dawned on me - they thought the Dayton Dragon's Mascot was Pete's Dragon

For once, I was able to get the boys to pose for a few more silly pictures

Poor Patrick - he didn't realize he'd posed as a female Celtic dancer until after his picture was taken.



Cullen was a bit on the short side, so his picture looks a bit like a deranged leprechaun


After a quick stop at the Blarney Castle, we were off to the children's game tent.


The boys loved the mini golf course - might have a future Arnold Palmer on our hands






After our rounds of golf, they tried their hands at several other carnival type games. We then walked around and decided it was time for a snack. Coach and I decided to split a Harp's so he went and purchased drink tickets - enough for a beer us and a bottle of lemonade for the boys. We didn't think much until he handed me my beer and we turned to walk toward the food vendor when a Dayton Police officer stopped us because I didn't have a bracelet on showing I was 21. Remember, I'd turned 40 on the 18th? This particular officer asked to see me ID and was poised to write me a ticket on the spot for underage consumption because he thought I was 20. Nolan started giggling when the officer said I appeared to be twenty and informed him that I would have been "like 12" when he was born. The stern officer didn't find that funny in the least. After searching, I finally found my driver's license and ...he made me recite a ton of information from it. I guess it's a good thing that I know my Driver's License number by heart.

Finally, he seemed reluctantly convinced that I was indeed 40. He apologized for dumping my new beer, admonished me to get a bracelet if I intended to have any further beverages and told us to have a nice day. Coach was a bit upset because the officer had taken my beer (which cost $5.00) and dumped it before learning my true age. I was in the wrong because I didn't have a bracelet on, but at age 40...

We moved on and I purchased a meat pie for myself and Nolan and a hot soft pretzel for the younger two. Patrick kept searching and searching for something. He finally asked Coach, "So, where's the Turkey Leg stand?"


The splash fountain where we let the boys romp while Coach and I shared his beer.

All in all, it was a really fun time - in spite of the dumped beer and the rude officer. In his defense, I wouldn't want to work security at any type of festival serving mass quantities of alcohol. No wonder he was a bit on the grumpy side.


Up next: Navigating Union Square and a Housing Authority Inspection

[OhToodles!]

Sounds like the festival is a great time. well except for the beer incident. It sounds like he went a little overboard. I guess the bright side is he thought you were 20 years younger!

[dutchdisneyfamily]

The festival sounds fun! The officer sure gave you a back handed compliment, and I agree with you, I wouldn't want his job either. Sounds like a fun family outing.

[chezp]

I like the fact that really the officer complimented you on your age but that is not something I'd want to do as a job.

[lauriep]

Looks like a fun time at the festival. Congratulations on being taken for half your age, but I agree that officer has a tough job. I was carded until well into my 40's, and it just got to be annoying!

[Cam22]

The festival sounds really cool, but the police officer would have me so upset and scared. But it's always nice to look half your age.

By the way, I just realized you were from Dayton. Do you know a little town named Troy? That is where I was born.

[mfirst]

Originally Posted by OhToodles!

Sounds like the festival is a great time. well except for the beer incident. It sounds like he went a little overboard. I guess the bright side is he thought you were 20 years younger!

He did go a bit overboard....I guess they've had issues in past years with underage drinking and a lot of overly intoxicated people.

Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily

The festival sounds fun! The officer sure gave you a back handed compliment, and I agree with you, I wouldn't want his job either. Sounds like a fun family outing.

The festival was a really nice way to spend an afternoon, thanks!

Originally Posted by chezp

I like the fact that really the officer complimented you on your age but that is not something I'd want to do as a job.

I know I look a bit on the young side - mainly because I'm short. I was telling the story at playgroup yesterday and one of my friends (we've known each other for five years now) stopped me and said, "wait, you're 40? I thought you were closer to my age" She's 30

Originally Posted by lauriep

Looks like a fun time at the festival. Congratulations on being taken for half your age, but I agree that officer has a tough job. I was carded until well into my 40's, and it just got to be annoying!

I so rarely indulge that when we go places and I'm carded, I don't know if I should be flattered or horrified. Last fall, we went to BW3's to watch a bit of a football game while my parents babysat...I was carded to even sit in the bar area by a kid who barely looked 19!

Originally Posted by Cam22

The festival sounds really cool, but the police officer would have me so upset and scared. But it's always nice to look half your age.

By the way, I just realized you were from Dayton. Do you know a little town named Troy? That is where I was born.

Ready for something really funny? I live in Troy

[mfirst]

I just discovered that Cam and I not only share a birthday, but she was born in the town I now live in. I now have "It's a Small World" running through my head

Back to the real trip report while I have a few minutes....

We arrived at Matt & Jill's and buzzed into the apartment. I had a bit of graduate work to upload while Mom cuddled the nugget and Jill showered and dressed. Dad? He was still feeding his Candy Crush addiction (he's been stuck on level 65 for about a month now) and waiting impatiently for my mom to relinquish the baby.

Once I uploaded the paper, I started helping Jill get things around because we needed about an hour to travel to Union Square. She thought she'd be okay with "two diapers, a small baggie of wipes and a blanket" for the baby. As she went to braid her hair, I added a few more diapers, an extra outfits and more wipes to the bag. Before we set off, I helped Mom and Dad take the baby's hamper down to the laundry room because they were going to try to get the laundry caught up.

We set out walking the three short blocks to the subway and it was already H.o.t. At 9:40 it was approaching the mid 80's and very humid, but sunny. We got to the stairs and Jill and I stood looking at the stairs, then the stroller, then the stairs. We didn't have time to walk the additional 1/2 mile to get to a station with an elevator, so we had to carry the stroller down the stairs. I grabbed the front, she had the handle and down we started. We got to the landing and I refilled my Metro pass, relieved that it was still good after 10 years. Next hurdle? How to get past the gates. The wheelchair access gate was padlocked shut. After some debate, she decided to release the car seat from the frame, and after I went through the turnstile, she'd hand me the car seat, then she'd lift the stroller to me. I really started to appreciate the ease of getting a baby from place to place in a car. A really nice gentlemen noticed our dilema and instructed his teenage son to help us out

We reattached the car seat to the frame, then carried the stroller down to the platform. We didn't have too long to wait for the #5 express train and were quickly on the crowded train. A woman stood up to let Jill sit down with the stroller in front of her, and I held on to the rail. I swear the announcer for the subway is the same voice for the monorail - even the Spanish portion

We arrived at Union Square and found the elevator to the street level, but Jill didn't want to use it because it had a handicap logo on it. I pointed out that several people were getting on and off the elevator with strollers, but she was determined to carry the stroller up the several flights of stairs. We emerged at Union Square to bright sunlight and wall to wall traffic. I wish I would have taken a picture, because the weather was about to change. We headed over to Beth Isreal Medical Center on Union Square for her doctor's appointment. We arrived at the office at 10:40, and her appointment time was 10:45. We should have known that it was going to be a loooong wait because the waiting room was exceptionally crowded

We played with the baby, changed his diaper, she fed him, I walked with him, changed him again and was glad that I'd grabbed extra diapers and an extra outfit because he spit up EVERYWHERE - even "christened" me Jill was finally called back at....12:50 without a word of apology I'll never complain about our pediatrician running 30 minutes later ever again.

After her appointment, we headed back to Union Square to walk through the market. First stop? The bread stall I picked up a loaf of fresh sourdough. It's a favorite of mine and I rarely get it because two kiddos can't have dairy and the other doesn't like it. We also picked up some peaches, cherries, apples and fresh bavarian pretzles. Our last stop, we picked up 3 pounds of fresh clams. The stroller was loaded down, it was now really hot - 88 with 80% humidity and it looked like a storm might be rolling in so we decided to head back to her apartment. Matt had texted us that he was getting ready to head to the train back from Columbia, so we should reach the apartment at about the same time. We got to the subway stairs and were ready to lift up the stroller when two gentlemen stopped us and grabbed the front of the stroller to help us down. Again, very awesome! This time, the gate for wheelchairs was open, so Jill was able to take the stroller there. We arrived at the platform just as the #5 express pulled up so we got on.

Sorry no pictures with this update yet - I'm surprised at how few pictures I took that day

I'm off to work a bit more on our projects here at the house. I discovered - the hard way, that I painted the pantry door with the wrong type of paint. Apparantly flat wall paint doesn't adhere to a possible oil paint so I had to scrape the paint off the door - it came off in large sheets and felt like wall paper, the sanded the door down to the original grain and begin the repainting process.
Here's the door after it was sanded, primed and given one coat of the semi gloss, thankfully washable paint

Why thankfully washable? Because the youngest opened the pantry door with hands smeared with strawberry jelly this morning

While I worked on putting a fresh coat of paint on the baseboards in the kitchen, Coach started our other task because emotionally, I just wasn't ready for it. We're redoing the boys room - which wouldn't be a big deal, but it means taking the last remnants of the nursery away. He stripped the wall paper border and wiped the walls down. When I finished the baseboards in the kitchen, I went and spackled their walls.


Why are we doing this now? We're moving Cullen out of a toddler bed and into a twin bed...which led to...should we fix the wallpaper he tore down as a baby, or do we take it down all together. Coach wanted to get rid of the wall paper because Cullen is obsessed with tearing it off walls (even did that at my in-law's house). After we scraped the wall paper off, we decided to repaint. We let the boys have input because it is their room. The verdict?

Nolan - Black walls with a large orange helmet (Cinci Bengals colors)
Patrick - Dark Blue walls with Chief Wahoo (Cleveland Indians)
Cullen - Yellow (highlighter yellow)

The compromise - Coach suggested we look at Ohio State colors because all three boys like the Buckeyes (thanks to his brainwashing ) so we're going to paint the walls gray and he's going to freehand a Block O, and their names in Scarlet paint. The gray color also will look nice against the quilts my m-i-l made for each boys' bed.

Up next: What a long, strange trip back to Brooklyn.

[lauriep]

What a trek into the city! I think it's perfectly ok for strollers to use the handicap elevators in the subway. It's not safe to carry them up and down the stairs or escalators. I use the elevators in my scooter and never questioned when people with strollers use them as well. Trying to remember which subway stops in NYC are accessible and which are not is such a pain! Then, when you find one with an elevator you have to deal with the disgusting fact that they're often used as urinals.

[chezp]

Oh my goodness, I can't believe how far behind they were running behind! I also can't believe the struggle you had with the stroller - you guys must've been exhausted by the time you got there.

[Colexis Mom]

Just getting caught up again! Sounds like you've had some great weekends! Sorry for all the troubles in NYC!

[Cam22]

That was a lot of stroller lifting on a hot day. I can't imagine waiting that long for a doctor's appointment. A positive aspect of living in small town America. Sounds like you all have your hands full with home redo projects.

I can't believe you actually live in Troy. My parents were both teaching in Pleasant Hill (don't know if you know that even smaller town) when I was born at Stouder Memorial Hospital in Troy. A few months ago Luke and I were shopping in Hobby Lobby when I saw these cute boxes made from yard sticks cut up. Then I looked closer and the yard sticks had Troy, Ohio on them. I had to buy one.