Whenever I am offered to hear the good news or the bad news first, I always opt for the latter. Since I consider myself a conservative optimist, I prefer saving the best for last. With that said, let me start with Saturday and then finish with the rest of the weekend.
Saturday was planned to be a quiet morning, with an action packed afternoon for the boys! Nathan and I were planning on meeting up with friends of ours, and catching the train into Cleveland to go to the annual Air Show. So , full of excitement, Nathan and I headed to the train station (a drive I do 5 days a week). As I drove by Hopkins International Airport, I glanced over to my right and pointed out an airplane to Nathan. When I turned back to look at the road - not more than 2 seconds later - I saw that the car in front of me had stopped in the fast lane and was about to do an illegal U-turn in the middle of the road. By this time it was too late and all I could do was swerve. There was not enough time to avoid the collision, so the front left of my car became very well acquainted with the rear right side of the lady's minivan. Thankfully it was a relatively low speed collision and no-one was hurt. Nathan didn't even appear shaken and enjoyed the arrival of the paramedics and the police. So this obviously meant the trip to air show was no longer happening as we spent more than 3 hours on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck, and contacting all the relevant parties. On the bright, I was impressed by the number of people who stopped and offered assistance. But, this is still a Saturday I want to forget as quickly as possible!!!
Moving right along - back in time actually to Friday! August 29th was Liesel's birthday, her third celebrated in the USA. She had a very good day and was spoiled by the family (immediate and extended!) I surprised her with a 5ft long "body" pillow, that is helping her sleep more comfortably, which at 24 weeks pregnant, is very welcome! That evening we had planned on going to a fondue style restaurant - but this is only due to open at the end of September. So our second choice was the Cheesecake Factory. We had a delicious entree each - eating outside on their patio. Afterward we went to Barnes and Noble to allow Nathan some quality time with the Thomas the Train table! Now during this time, the pleasant evening weather changed within minutes to a torrential downpour! But being born in Africa - this did not deter the McCarthy's and we ran through the streets of Crocker Park, becoming totally saturated - as we headed back to our car. We did get many curious gazes from the locals who had wisely sought shelter from the storm!
On Sunday, I headed to Church to do my part in the worship team again. As soon as I got home Nathan was ready for me and we tried to make it to the Air Show for the second time in 2 days :) This time we made it to the train station without incident and embarked on an exciting adventure. Nathan loved riding the train and could soon imitate all of the sounds that are associated with the train! After 40 minutes we had made it to the waterfront and immediately were immersed in the sounds of fighter jets flying by! Once in the gates, there were so many things to see and aircraft to explore. Nathan got to sit in the cockpit of a US Airforce cargo plane, as well as in the Doctor's seat of the Metro Life Flight Helicopter. We also walked through the payload area of a C-5 Galaxy, the largest plane in the US Airforce! The highlight of the day for me was to watch the tactical demonstration of the F-16 Viper! These aircraft are unreal. The purchase of hearing protection beforehand turned out to be a very wise decision! At the end of that demonstration, Nathan was eager to return home, as we had been sitting in the hot sun for a bit - and the crowds and noise seemed a bit overwhelming for him. So we headed back to the trains just before the US Navy Blue Angels were about to perform. I would have loved to seen that, but I guess there is always next year. Overall - I had a great time.
Monday is Labor Day for us in the USA - which gives me a day to unwind after this whirlwind weekend!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Bidding farewell to one of last summer weekends of 2008
I guess it's fitting that tonight I sat and watched part of the Olympic Closing ceremony. In a way, we are also celebrating our summer which is waning faster than we want it to. Local school children are heading into a new school year, and Labor Day - the unofficial end of summer - takes center stage next weekend!
So this weekend was a worthy contender in the Summer Weekend sweepstakes! It started on Friday - when Liesel and a friend took their children to the Cleveland Children's Museum. Nathan and his friends had such fun playing and pretending in the various imagination stretching exhibits!
On Saturday, we headed to the store to get Nathan his own double bunk bed set! Both his cousins in the USA and in South Africa have them, and they are so useful. Besides that, Nathan seems to be outgrowing his toddler bed faster than Usain Bolt can cover 200m! That afternoon, Nathan and I had some great moments playing together! By far our highlight that day (confirmed by Nathan at dinner time) was swinging together in the back yard whilst trying to avoid the inevitable soaking of a sprinkler. Having the temperature hovering around the 90F (33C) mark, we found the cool water from the sprinkler refreshing!
Sunday arrived - and we headed to Church. The service today was really upbeat, with good worship and a humorous preacher! Once we got home - Nath needed another round of swing and sprinkler. Then it was time to tidy up and prepare for our friends. Brian and Robin, with their boys Ethan and Isaac, came over for dinner. I made use of my trusty gas grill and supplied us all with hamburgers and hotdogs! Robin brought a delectable chocolate cake with her in honor of Liesel's forthcoming, and my past birthday! It was sooooo good!
After dinner - Brian and I retired to the lounge. This was a perfect time to challenge him to a round of Wii golf! His real-life golf skills were advantageous as he forced me to a draw over the 9 holes! Then Nathan and Ethan took up the challenge and played a couple of games on the Wii!
The evening, as well as the weekend drew to a close with a friendly, impromptu soccer game in the front yard. It was wonderful watching the 3 boys chasing the ball around and trying to gain possession from their father's, who were dripping with perspiration as they realized that they can no longer claim to have youth in their favor :P
So this weekend was a worthy contender in the Summer Weekend sweepstakes! It started on Friday - when Liesel and a friend took their children to the Cleveland Children's Museum. Nathan and his friends had such fun playing and pretending in the various imagination stretching exhibits!
On Saturday, we headed to the store to get Nathan his own double bunk bed set! Both his cousins in the USA and in South Africa have them, and they are so useful. Besides that, Nathan seems to be outgrowing his toddler bed faster than Usain Bolt can cover 200m! That afternoon, Nathan and I had some great moments playing together! By far our highlight that day (confirmed by Nathan at dinner time) was swinging together in the back yard whilst trying to avoid the inevitable soaking of a sprinkler. Having the temperature hovering around the 90F (33C) mark, we found the cool water from the sprinkler refreshing!
Sunday arrived - and we headed to Church. The service today was really upbeat, with good worship and a humorous preacher! Once we got home - Nath needed another round of swing and sprinkler. Then it was time to tidy up and prepare for our friends. Brian and Robin, with their boys Ethan and Isaac, came over for dinner. I made use of my trusty gas grill and supplied us all with hamburgers and hotdogs! Robin brought a delectable chocolate cake with her in honor of Liesel's forthcoming, and my past birthday! It was sooooo good!
After dinner - Brian and I retired to the lounge. This was a perfect time to challenge him to a round of Wii golf! His real-life golf skills were advantageous as he forced me to a draw over the 9 holes! Then Nathan and Ethan took up the challenge and played a couple of games on the Wii!
The evening, as well as the weekend drew to a close with a friendly, impromptu soccer game in the front yard. It was wonderful watching the 3 boys chasing the ball around and trying to gain possession from their father's, who were dripping with perspiration as they realized that they can no longer claim to have youth in their favor :P
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Camp Iwannapropamattress
Last weekend, when we were in Detroit, Nathan was so disappointed when we didn't allow him to sleep in a tent with his cousins. We had our reasons to keep him indoors, namely the lack of warm pj's and the fact that there was no room at the inn for me to be a reassuring presence for Nath. So needless to say, he was not a happy camper that night (pun intended).
This Friday, after getting home from work, and checking the local weather radars, I asked Nathan if he wanted to sleep in his tent tonight. Obviously his answer was "YES!" So the two of us ventured outside after supper and pitched the tent that Craig gave him for his birthday. Then all that was left was to move the bedding into the tent. For Nathan, it was easy - just lifted his toddler mattress off his bed and placed it into the tent with a down duvet. My bedding comprised of (at first) 2 comforter. A third comforter was added. And of course, any tent that I occupy, needs the compulsory laptop connected to the Internet :)
We headed into our temporary shelter at around 8:30pm of Friday night - and read 3 books by flashlight. The moon was full - so we took a walk through the garden to admire night sky. Then it was time for Nathan to hit the bed! I entertained myself for a couple of hours watching some table tennis and volleyball that was streamed from NBCOlympics.com before I fell asleep. In the early hours of the morning, I was awoken by the drop in temperature. I wasn't quite expecting such a dramatic change in temperature, but thankfully I had a number of comforters beneath me, which I quickly burrowed under. One comforter was enough to grant me a restful sleep for the remaining hours. At 6am the sky grew lighter and this was enough to tempt Nathan out of his slumber. Luckily - the house was open - so we could make an early morning dash into the lounge :-) Overall - we had fun at Camp Iwannapropamattress!
The adventure didn't end there. That afternoon the family headed to a local mini-golf course for a game of Putt Putt. As you are well aware - this is significantly different from the Wii Golf that we are Pro's at. Let's just say, we are not Pro's in the real thing!
But that said - we all had great fun before going to a restaurant for dinner. At the restaurant, some church friends of ours came in and sat at the table next to us! It was really good chatting and enjoying the food together! After dinner, we walked to a sporting store so I could try on the various Oakley sunglasses (as this is my belated Birthday gift from Liesel and Nathan). I found a good-looking pair, but didn't buy it then. Instead we went to Barnes and Noble so that Nathan could have some one-on-one time with their Thomas the Train table!
Sunday was far more normal than Saturday - and we headed for Church, some shops and then back home for the remainder of the day! And that completes a weekend that will be remembered, especially by Nathan. He has already asked to sleep in the tent on Saturday night and Sunday night........
This Friday, after getting home from work, and checking the local weather radars, I asked Nathan if he wanted to sleep in his tent tonight. Obviously his answer was "YES!" So the two of us ventured outside after supper and pitched the tent that Craig gave him for his birthday. Then all that was left was to move the bedding into the tent. For Nathan, it was easy - just lifted his toddler mattress off his bed and placed it into the tent with a down duvet. My bedding comprised of (at first) 2 comforter. A third comforter was added. And of course, any tent that I occupy, needs the compulsory laptop connected to the Internet :)
We headed into our temporary shelter at around 8:30pm of Friday night - and read 3 books by flashlight. The moon was full - so we took a walk through the garden to admire night sky. Then it was time for Nathan to hit the bed! I entertained myself for a couple of hours watching some table tennis and volleyball that was streamed from NBCOlympics.com before I fell asleep. In the early hours of the morning, I was awoken by the drop in temperature. I wasn't quite expecting such a dramatic change in temperature, but thankfully I had a number of comforters beneath me, which I quickly burrowed under. One comforter was enough to grant me a restful sleep for the remaining hours. At 6am the sky grew lighter and this was enough to tempt Nathan out of his slumber. Luckily - the house was open - so we could make an early morning dash into the lounge :-) Overall - we had fun at Camp Iwannapropamattress!
The adventure didn't end there. That afternoon the family headed to a local mini-golf course for a game of Putt Putt. As you are well aware - this is significantly different from the Wii Golf that we are Pro's at. Let's just say, we are not Pro's in the real thing!
But that said - we all had great fun before going to a restaurant for dinner. At the restaurant, some church friends of ours came in and sat at the table next to us! It was really good chatting and enjoying the food together! After dinner, we walked to a sporting store so I could try on the various Oakley sunglasses (as this is my belated Birthday gift from Liesel and Nathan). I found a good-looking pair, but didn't buy it then. Instead we went to Barnes and Noble so that Nathan could have some one-on-one time with their Thomas the Train table!
Sunday was far more normal than Saturday - and we headed for Church, some shops and then back home for the remainder of the day! And that completes a weekend that will be remembered, especially by Nathan. He has already asked to sleep in the tent on Saturday night and Sunday night........
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Another year flies by!
A fellow ex-pat South African in the USA, Monique, reminded me about the weekend birthday rule and I quote:"If it falls on a Fri, Sat or Sunday you are entitled to a birthday WeekEnd!"
So I did just that! I took the day off work on Friday, and took that opportunity to sleep in a bit. At 10am - we had our car packed with clothes for the weekend, and we headed up to Detroit for a family reunion. Of course, every time we head to Michigan, we make an obligatory stop at Ikea. This is Liesel's favorite furniture store and always has an incredible selection and variety.
After a couple of hours we made our way to Liesel's uncle and aunt's house and settled in for the weekend. Another of Liesel's uncle and aunts, whom she had not seen for 8 years were flying in from the East Coast at the end of their summer vacation, would be spending a couple of days with the family in Detroit. This uncle and aunt were the only family of Liesel's that neither I, nor Nathan had met yet. This family had also kept in touch, and checked up on me constantly when Liesel and Nathan had to suddenly go to South Africa last year to help look after her mom. For that I am deeply grateful!
On Friday afternoon, after chatting to my mom and sister, Jacqui presented me with a giant chocolate chip birthday cookie!
Later that evening, Liesel and I settled down to watch the Olympic Opening Ceremony - which seemed a fitting finale to my birthday :)
On Saturday morning, Andreas took me to his health club where we played a number of games of squash. I believe the last time time I played squash was in 2005, so it felt good to be able to hold my own after that sabbatical! Afterward we relaxed in the gym's hot tub before jumping into the pool, having a shower and heading back to their home. That afternoon Liesel's other uncle, aunt and cousins arrived. It was a honor to meet them after hearing so much about them. They also were very happy to finally meet myself and Nathan. We spent the rest of the day getting to know one another and catching up.
On Sunday we all rose and readied ourselves for Church at 9am. It was enjoyable - although I missed our Church back home in Ohio. When we got back to the Lippert's place - the men had a job to accomplish. Andreas had a couple of trees that had been killed by a wood boring beetle that needed to be taken down as they posed a hazard to their house. So armed with only an electric chainsaw and a piece of rope - the men set out to solve the problem. With the rope placed strategically each time, and tension being applied at exactly the right time, both trees fell exactly where we intended them to. It was very satisfying and our reward was an incredible lunch that appeased our increased appetites. It consisted of deliciously barbecued fillets of steak and sausage! For dessert - we had some chocolate brownies - heavenly! Then it was home time - and thus endeth the birthday weekend!
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Back with Original Content
I am happy to announce that another action-packed weekend has been successfully navigated by the McCarthy's! It all started on Friday afternoon - when I left work early as Liesel was due to have her second ultrasound. We planned on taking Nathan with us to show him what his sibling looked like at this stage. Nathan was pretty excited when the baby "high fived" him and waved at him. To him, the concept of becoming a big brother seems to be slowly sinking in. Praise God that the baby is looking healthy and everything is proceeding according to plan.
After we got home from the "baby doctor" I put on a sprinkler to try and alleviate the lawn's thirst. It has been weeks now since we last had a decent shower - and the grass is slowly turning brown. But what is nourishment for the grass, is entertainment for Nathan. He was soon soaking wet from running through the sprinkler. In fact - he went inside and put on his raincoat - hood and all - so that he could spend more time outside with the sprinkler!
Liesel is still in her "nesting" phase and that meant another trip to Home Depot for Nathan and myself on Saturday to get some more supplies to fix up the few places that need some TLC before the baby arrives. The rest of the day I was kept busy with those DIY chores - before I headed off to our church's semi-annual Songwriter's Showcase. This is where fellow worship team members perform their own compositions in a relaxed, cafe-like environment! The talent that my fellow musicians have truly amazes me each time! The funniest performance of the night belonged to Mike McCormack who sang "Worship Team Rock Star". In the song, he mentions most of the worship team members by name, including the line "wanna learn to talk with Grant McCarthy's accent". It brought the house down! Below is the video of Mike performing!
Here are some of the worship team member's names to listen out for:
Corb Felgenhour - Worship Team Leader
Mike Hricko - drums
Kyle Nickel - drums
Mike Flynn - drums
Andy Sorenson - piano
Ron Bosley - guitar
Tammy Bosley - piano
Eddie Deeb - electric guitar
Jim Messenheimer - bass
Jim Hagen - guitar
Other pieces that night included some beautiful piano ballads by Tammy, Elisa and Charlene, specatcular guitar rhythms by Ron, James, Al, Mike and Adam. Adam sang a song inspired by his unborn child of 8 weeks (and in so doing so announced his wife's pregnancy) - which brought tears to many eyes! Finally it was Ian Shire and his band that took the stage with guitar, drums and electric guitar. His songs were melodic masterpieces and the words so meaningful and true! It was an awesome way to bring an amzing evening to a close!
Sunday arrived - and since its my week off we had a leisurely morning and went to the 10:50am Church service. Afterwards it was home for lunch and some more painting. That evening -our friends Ron and Tammy Bosley came over for dinner. Liesel had invited them for my birthday. Don't panic - as you have not missed my birthday yet. It is only next weekend - but since we will be out of town visiting Liesel's family in Detroit - she wanted to have something special for me with some friends. It was a an evening filled with laughter, great food, fellowship and some compulsory Wii gaming!
After we got home from the "baby doctor" I put on a sprinkler to try and alleviate the lawn's thirst. It has been weeks now since we last had a decent shower - and the grass is slowly turning brown. But what is nourishment for the grass, is entertainment for Nathan. He was soon soaking wet from running through the sprinkler. In fact - he went inside and put on his raincoat - hood and all - so that he could spend more time outside with the sprinkler!
Liesel is still in her "nesting" phase and that meant another trip to Home Depot for Nathan and myself on Saturday to get some more supplies to fix up the few places that need some TLC before the baby arrives. The rest of the day I was kept busy with those DIY chores - before I headed off to our church's semi-annual Songwriter's Showcase. This is where fellow worship team members perform their own compositions in a relaxed, cafe-like environment! The talent that my fellow musicians have truly amazes me each time! The funniest performance of the night belonged to Mike McCormack who sang "Worship Team Rock Star". In the song, he mentions most of the worship team members by name, including the line "wanna learn to talk with Grant McCarthy's accent". It brought the house down! Below is the video of Mike performing!
Here are some of the worship team member's names to listen out for:
Corb Felgenhour - Worship Team Leader
Mike Hricko - drums
Kyle Nickel - drums
Mike Flynn - drums
Andy Sorenson - piano
Ron Bosley - guitar
Tammy Bosley - piano
Eddie Deeb - electric guitar
Jim Messenheimer - bass
Jim Hagen - guitar
Other pieces that night included some beautiful piano ballads by Tammy, Elisa and Charlene, specatcular guitar rhythms by Ron, James, Al, Mike and Adam. Adam sang a song inspired by his unborn child of 8 weeks (and in so doing so announced his wife's pregnancy) - which brought tears to many eyes! Finally it was Ian Shire and his band that took the stage with guitar, drums and electric guitar. His songs were melodic masterpieces and the words so meaningful and true! It was an awesome way to bring an amzing evening to a close!
Sunday arrived - and since its my week off we had a leisurely morning and went to the 10:50am Church service. Afterwards it was home for lunch and some more painting. That evening -our friends Ron and Tammy Bosley came over for dinner. Liesel had invited them for my birthday. Don't panic - as you have not missed my birthday yet. It is only next weekend - but since we will be out of town visiting Liesel's family in Detroit - she wanted to have something special for me with some friends. It was a an evening filled with laughter, great food, fellowship and some compulsory Wii gaming!
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