In no particular order...
1. Burning the Christmas tree in the backyard. In July. The old saying was proven true, "went up like a Christmas tree." Maybe that's just Andrew's phrase. Anyway I felt bad afterwards that he wasn't around to see it. Missy wasn't around to see it either because she ran scared into the house.
2. Visiting Great Grandma Budde on Halloween. She couldn't have been happier, or tried harder to keep us. Bribes of dinner, drinks and snacks were relentless and considerably appreciated. It was great to see her. Louis continued to speak about the trip days later.
3. Dancing with Missy at Danny and Meghan's wedding. We both had plenty of drinks and even more fun. The live band played amazing music; Missy was really into their cover of Pink. When the DJ started we both tried dancing to music the young kids are playing, like MGMT. Try it, it's not easy, you'll laugh.
4. Catching a 5lb bass while fishing with Mike Seppelt. We fish Bass Lake in Plymouth once every summer. Every summer it ends up being a highlight. It seems the recipe of light beer in cans, a good fishing hole and 3 hours with a good friend is reliable fun.
5. Louis spells his name in chalk. We were chillin' in the basement and Lou was playing with chalk. Suddenly he writes his name: LOUIS. We didn't even know he could write, much less spell his name. So we erased it and he did it again. How does a kid know how to write his name yet refuse pee anywhere but his diaper?
6. Playing craps in the morning. We went to Vegas this fall with friends. Missy and I are conditioned by our children to wake early, so we finished an early breakfast and explored the Bellagio. A friendly game of craps looked inviting, neither of us have ever played on a table in Vegas, and we very quickly were being given a tutorial by a friendly stranger. In a matter of a few minutes he explained the game and recited all of the odds. Maybe craps is more fun when you've been drinking, but since we could remember this it stands out as one of the unique moments we've had together.
7. Swimming lesson progress. How is it that our children start their first swimming lesson scared and fully clutched to one of us; two months later their favorite part of the week is Saturday swimming lessons?
8. Christmas tree setup. Lou and I bought a Christmas tree on a Saturday morning. The next day we decorated the house and tree. The lower half of the tree was decorated in a single horizontal line, right in Lou's line of sight. In some cases he put 6 bulbs on a single branch. The next few days Lou would lay on the couch and stare at the tree. He'd have to get dressed by the tree. I've never seen anyone love a tree like that. I'm feeling the magic of Christmas.
9. Adam Mikkelson choking on hot sauce in the backyard. He opened one of those hot sauces with the warning label and ate it like Ketchup. The next 15 minutes he spent gagging on the heat. My favorate antidote was spoonfuls of ice cream that he let slide off his tongue as they melted. His daughter started crying too because she was so concerned for her Daddy. We shouldn't have laughed at him, but he was too disoriented to laugh along with us.
10. Finishing Crime and Punishment. It took 3 years. Now I can finally say that I've read Dostoevsky. I guess crazy people make good stories whether they're in classic literature or on Real Housewives.
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