The Lindenbergs

Nora flew out of town last weekend to visit a friend in Florida, so Pierce and Anna got concentrated Dad attention for several days. Both kids did awesome. While they certainly missed Nora, we had a blast together. In our short weekend we squeezed in a lot of activity. We had Pierce’s basketball practice Saturday morning, a visit to a police station, and a walk through a classic car show. The car show was being held in the parking lot next to the fire station and it was such a hit we had to go to it twice. Once before we visit with the firefighters, and then after our visit concluded.

Sunday morning was spent with yard work. Pierce and Anna either kept me company or kept themselves entertained while I mowed, weeded, edged, landscaped and mulched. We had perfect fall weather, so we spent a lot of time outside. After lunch we went to Diana Rose (the petting zoo) for almost 4 hours (much longer than I anticipated). They’ve built on to the park considerably since I was last there and there was a lot to do and see. We took a nature path through the forest and part of it had washed away. Pierce and Anna were fascinated by the concept that a sidewalk can collapse. Probably half our time there was spent on their elaborate playground. Both kids are turning into monkeys.

We finished up our evening at Ruby Tuesday’s with the edict that neither kid could order spaghetti or mac and cheese. Pierce shocked me by ordering, and eating, a cheeseburger. Anna went the chicken strip and French fry route. They must have worked up quite an appetite because when the food arrived all conversation stopped. All you could hear was the muffled sound of chewing.

Our last stop on Sunday was to Home Depot to pickup as much mulch as Nora’s SUV could handle. Pierce and Anna were hilarious –they were my foremen as I selected and loaded the flatbed cart with bags of mulch. The most common directive? Dad, this one has a tear!

Nora made it home Monday evening right before bedtime. We hung a welcome home sign that Pierce and Anna helped decorate and met her at the door with a big “Surprise!” (well Pierce and I did, Anna was too “busy”). Pierce was excited to let Nora know that we had washed her car while she was away. Anna earned a special place in my heart that night. While Nora read her the last story of the evening, Anna laid her head in my lap and murmured, “I love you Dad”.

-Eric (Dad)

Halloween is quickly approaching and what I thought each child would want to dress up as was totally wrong! I thought Anna would pick Cinderella or another Princess, but she chose Scooby Doo. Pierce has never really been interested in trucks and he last talked of being a Rocket for Halloween (Eric was going to make the costume). Then he saw a Monster Truck costume in a Birthday Express catalog and right then, that's what he wanted to be!

I am looking forward to next month. I loved Halloween before I had two Halloween babies, but now October is even more fun!

I wish anyone reading this the best and Happy Halloween!!

--Nora

This weekend I spent a little time making a proof of concept video. I was trying to integrate Anna into a "driving" movie. I recycled scenes from an old Herbie movie with some video that I shot of Anna in a patio chair. You can view the end result by pointing your browser to:

www.editedmemories.com/Videos/Anna Driving Herbie.wmv

I'm pretty pleased with the results (Anna and Pierce both liked it). With some cooperation from Pierce and Anna I should be able to put together something pretty good.

Let me know what you think -post a reply.

-Eric (Dad)

After baths one night, Pierce, Anna and I sat on the back steps and watched an immense spider build a web. The spider was about the size of my thumb and was building a web that ran from our roof to the top of our patio set umbrella to the tops of the patio chairs. We got a flashlight and Pierce and Anna gave the spider a "spotlight" to work by. Both kids were very excited.

Over protests, after about 30 minutes, we went inside and got them in bed with the promise that they'd be able to see the finished web in the morning. That night a thunderstorm rolled through and obliterated the web. The next morning neither Pierce nor Anna seemed to care.

Flash forward about a week and another web appears in our backyard. Anna's response? She grabs a stick and knocks it down.

-Eric (Dad)

A couple of weekends ago we took Pierce and Anna to the zoo. We had beautiful weather and we purchased unlimited transit passes –so we could jump on a tram, boat or train whenever one was near and the urge hit. While Nora and I liked the animals, Pierce and Anna’s focus was primarily on the train. They didn’t cry when it was time to go home, but the tears sure flowed when it was time to get off the train.

-Eric (Dad)

We went to Barnum and Bailey’s Circus last Sunday. It was a first for our family and many years since Nora and I had been (I think my last visit was when I was close to Pierce’s age). I can’t believe we waited so long to go –we had a great time.

We arrived early and had a chance to tour the pens where the circus animals are kept. They had a pre-show act where families could go down to the floor of the arena to watch. We got souvenirs (toys) for Pierce and Anna before entering the arena so they weren’t interested in the pre-show, they wanted to sit in their seats and bask in the pleasure of their new acquisitions.

There was a death-defying act that involved a clown and an “artist” walking, running, jumping and hanging from rotating cylinders that reached a height of four stories. The entire act took place almost directly in front of us and I’ve never been so terrified for a clown in my life. Definitely the highlight of the show and I hope to never see such a thing again. Pierce and Anna loved it.

-Eric (Dad)