No rest for the weekends!

Before I continue with my regular weekly round-up, I have an announcement to make. Each Monday for the past 10 weeks or so, I have been playing beach volleyball in the Cleveland Intermediate 4's Co-Ed volleyball league. The four of us played 21 sets of volleyball in 7 matches. Of those 21 sets - we only lost 1, which positioned us as the top seeds for the playoff's! This past Monday had us in the semi-finals and final, and I am pleased to announce, that we only lost one more set in the semi's but then went on to win the finals in straight sets! So we are officially the Cleveland Intermediate 4's Co-Ed volleyball champions! That was the best way to start off the week!

Nathan's highlight for the week came on Wednesday evening when we took him to our local Costco (USA's equivalent to Makro). This was the evening when Costco were saluting our local heroes and had the US Coast Guard with one of their boats, the Avon Police K-9 Unit, with canine officer Lennox, and two fire trucks from the Avon Fire department! Nathan and I got up close and personal with The US Coast Guard boat and Nathan loved getting behind the wheel. Then we were introduced to Lennox the police dog, and his handler. It was not long afterwards when the two fire trucks pulled up with lights flashing! A rescue truck and Avon's brand new ladder truck were there for us to climb on, and explore to our heart's content. It's times like these that I am so thankful to have a 3 year old son like Nathan, as it would be rather odd if I were alone and jumping in and out of the fire trucks!!



Since we had a lot of fun during the week, it made sense that the weekend would have a different overtone. On Saturday morning, I polished my guitar and replaced it's 14 month old strings (who knew that you should change you strings every 3 - 4 months).... My next task was to mow the lawn, both front and back which took up another 75 minutes of my morning! With sweat dripping from my brow - I made my way inside for a quick bite of lunch! Before the food had barely made its short trip down the oesophagus, I headed to the guest bedroom to put the finishing touches on the paint job that I had started months back! Unfortunately, I ran out of paint, but I had plenty of water - so Liesel's SUV was begging for a wash. I find there is no better way to bond with your son than by handing him the hosepipe while you wash the car. That will teach you be to patient, tolerant, and most of all how to survive hypothermia! Thankfully the temperature outside was approximately 27C (80F) - so I definitely do not recommend this bonding activity in the winter!

I slept deeply that night - so much so that my alarm plucked me out of my dream world at 6:45 am to remind me to get ready for church. I was playing this week, and it just so happened that our pianist took ill and couldn't make it. This thrust most of the musical responsibility onto my shoulders, but with God in total control, we pulled off a good set! The rest of the day was laid back with Nathan even taking an well deserved nap this afternoon! On Friday evening, we went for a walk around the neighborhood again, and he came along with his new bicycle. We didn't make it all the way, but it was a great sight seeing my son propelling himself along the sidewalk! o him, that was an intense workout - and it showed as he fell asleep in record time that night!