Baseball Games and Seven Year Olds

Bryce has really shown an interest in baseball this summer, so we thought it was only fitting to take him to our local baseball field to see the Lafayette Aviators.  With a little pre-planning, he was scheduled to throw out the first pitch.

Bryce invited his three best friends, Drew, Jackson, and Eamon, while Kari got to bring Marley along.  It was one of the hottest days of the summer, and sitting in the front row behind home plate did not provide much relief from the sun.  

The game, crowd entertainment, and food, however, kept everyone distracted from the sweat dripping in places we really shouldn't mention.  I really can't gush enough how well-run, entertaining, and fun the game was.  The Prospect League is a traveling summer league for collegiate athletes and use wooden bats, which is evidently an unusual thing.

 Drew, Bryce, Eamon, and Jackson

 Marley and Kari

Kari and Marley were some of the kids selected for the on-field contest. 

We felt sorry for the poor marketing intern who drew the short straw for wearing melting in the mascot costume.  Bryce eagerly hammed it up, hopefully making it worthwhile for all involved.

We barely made it to the bottom of the 5th inning before everyone started to fade from the intensity of the sun.  The original plan was to head over to Columbian Park and spend some time at the massive playground.  Instead, we opted to eat an early dinner at the Arni's across the street with its AC at full blast.

And only a short couple of days later, the actual birthday arrived.  Kevin made the traditional number and initial pancakes for the birthday boy.

Chasing Clouds Triathlon

One of our favorite places in town is Prophetstown State Park.  Celebrating its twelfth year in existence, a kids triathlon was created for kids ages 6-12.  After hearing the course, I talked to the kids about it and they were intrigued.  We also got Kari's good friend, Madison, on board for the race too.

 Gathering for their pre-race instructions.  This was incredibly well organized for a first time event.

 The first portion of the tri is the swim.  Actually, the very first part was a trip down the water slide.  Next, everyone swam the lazy river.

 Not knowing how they'd be released down the waterslide, I thought I would likely have some time in between Kari and Bryce's swim portion so that I'd be able to help each of them in the transition tent.  Unfortunately, Bryce came down the slide right after Kari, so the transition was a bit hectic.  Kari didn't need much help, but in the chaos of it all, I wasn't able to get any pictures.  The bike portion was two miles.

 The run portion was 0.8 miles.  Perfect for first time triathletes!

Coming into the finish!

 Finishers!  They're already talking about participating next year.

2015 Witherspoon Reunion

It was another great reunion with the Witherspoon family at Pokagon State Park a few weeks ago. The highlight of the trip was the arrival of Uncle Mark and Meredith, most of whom were meeting her for the first time.  While no one had any doubts, she passed the typical family "test" with flying colors and was welcomed with open arms.  We've been having these reunions for about 8 years now and there are a few traditions that have grown along the way, such as the Penny Auction where all proceeds are donated to the Nature Center, Field Games coordinated by Heather, and Uncle Jay The Science Guy demonstrations.  We had great weather and was a great chance to visit with family.

 Field Games

 Mentos and Dr. Pepper- any carbonated drink will work, we learned!  Diet pop will only make clean up less sticky.

Relaxing and visiting

Paddle boating and a friendly race among the cousins

Trail ride with all (most) of the cousins.  Kari had to put her hair in a high bun and discreetly stand on her tip toes to meet the height requirement.  She made it, though!

And, the auction!  One of the most popular events of the weekend.  There were probably more than 150 items for people to bid on.

Rough housing.  When Bryce and Uncle Mark get together, there's guaranteed rough housing, and Meredith is always game to document the shenanigans!

 Cousin time!

Indiana State Fair

We had a great time at the Indiana State Fair yesterday.  I think Kari and Bryce had been in a previous year with Gran and Beep Beep, but this was a first for Kevin and me, and first time together as a family.  We hit the Dairy Bar for grilled cheeses and milkshakes and then the Midway:

Here we are on The Crazy Mouse roller coaster.  This was a perfect gateway coaster in preparation for heading to one of the major roller coaster parks next summer.  We rode this twice- it was that good- and not your typical county fair midway ride!  We also found my all-time favorite ride, the Tilt-a-Whirl, bringing me back to my childhood Kiddie Kingdom days.  I taught not only the kids, but Kevin too, the strategy in leaning to maximize the spin on this ride.  I think the ride operator purposely sped up the ride at the very end after observing our leaning strategy.  I was actually a bit nauseous after getting off the ride, and that's never happened before!

This NASCAR inspired ride, at first glance, looked pretty tame.  Upon closer observation, the real thrill is in the corners; where the cars whip the riders around at a pretty good pace.  Notice Kari's hair in the video!

Bryce was, of course, super interested in riding the tractor-train.  It's fair-style public transportation that circles around the perimeter of the grounds and you jump on/jump off as needed.  This allowed us to peruse the vast number of exhibits, where we disembarked at Pioneer Village and the farm equipment displays.  Bryce seems to be gravitating towards the big red Case IH brand of tractors; sorry John Deere fans!

 This was the biggest tractor we had ever seen- complete with those army tank style track wheels.  Nicely priced at 500k, too!

Bryce is already talking about when we can go back to the fair!

Aviator Birthday Party and Ice Cream Social

Bryce's birthday celebration continued all the way into last week, culminating with the family birthday party.  This year's theme: airplanes, but not to be overshadowed by the food menu!  We went in a totally different direction and it was a smash hit.  We offered a make your own grilled cheese bar.

Runway, complete with airplanes and "05" runway marker.

The grilled cheese bar featured a variety of breads, cheese, meats and veggies.  We should give credit to the Food Network magazine for this idea.  They featured an open-faced grilled cheese sandwich with lump crab meat and asparagus.  From there, the idea took off.

Our master griddler creating all the custom sandwiches.

We also had 7 layer salad, deviled eggs, watermelon and corn on the cob.  Perfect summertime food!

It was cool enough to comfortably eat outside.

Bryce and his love for chocolate is clearly represented here.  He requested a chocolate cake with chocolate icing.  I couldn't be more proud.

We continued the sugar fest with our annual back to school ice cream social.  We provide the ice cream and neighbors bring the toppings.  It was sugary good fun for everyone and a great way to visit with the neighbors before getting back into the school routine.

8th grade all the way down to two new kindergartners are represented.  Next year, Bryce will finally be able to officially join the crew at the bus stop.

Silly faces!