Warm weather, snow storm and rain - just an average week in Cleveland.

The title says it all! This week had warm, sunny days with temps in the 60's (upper teens Celsius), followed by a day of rain that turned into snow overnight - so we had another fresh blanket of snow greet us on one morning!

With the cooler weather embracing North East Ohio, Liesel and I arranged a babysitter for Friday night, and the two of us headed out for a movie and a meal! We both thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and afterward we made a detour to one of local appliance retailer, to do some research on their dishwashers. The reason for our unusual pit-stop was that the State of Ohio was offering people who bought energy-efficient appliances this weekend, a $100 rebate. Since our dishwasher at home is already a teenager, its top priority is no longer giving something a good clean. So we thought that it is the best time to replace the teenager, with a brand new, energy efficient model! And the extra $100 rebate from Ohio convinced us to go and sign the necessary paperwork on Saturday morning!

Liesel also had her hair cut, while the boys and I took her car through a car wash on Saturday morning. Since the skies were blue and sunny - we spent some time outdoors. I gave Nathan his second lesson in bike riding, and successfully got him free wheeling down our driveway! Now if anyone has got any ideas on how to coax him to put his feet on the pedals, please let me know! For family fun night, Liesel chose Monopoly. Nathan seemed to play his cards just right (with a little help from his mom) and ended up the clear winner at the end!

On Sunday, the rain had returned. We went to church and enjoyed seeing some friends that we had not seen for a while. After lunch, Nathan and I headed downtown, to Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center to watch the Playhouse Disney Live production! It was very well done, and Nathan said he really enjoyed seeing his favorite Disney characters come to life in front of his eyes! He got to see the Little Einsteins, Winnie, Tigger and Derby, Handy Manny, Mickey, Donald, Minnie and Goofy! Not bad for one afternoon :)

Arrivals: Spring 2010 - Expected: March 20 -> DELAYED

This week's blog is being typed by my toes, since I have lost all my fingers to frostbite after going for a bike ride at lunchtime on Saturday!! A few days before, we were led to believe that Spring was indeed on her way, as we got to experience lovely warm days with temps around 65 (18C)! But then the legendary Cleveland weather hit. Even though we were greeted with blue skies and bright sunshine, the temperature was deceptively low! Liesel went for a walk/run around the neighborhood with Joshua, and returned prematurely to bring Josh inside, as it was way to cold (37F/3C)for him outdoors! I experienced the same frigid weather when I went for a bike ride after lunch, and subsequently lost the use of my fingers! (Ok so I didn't get frostbite, but it was VERY uncomfortable and I did not feel my hands for a while!)

Later that afternoon, once feeling returned to my ten digits, I braved the icy air and "summerized" the patio. I set the Grill free from the confines of the garage, as well as his accomplice the umbrella. This is symbolic of my eternal optimism that warm days will return soon (preferably within the next few weeks!)

On Saturday evening, Nathan and I headed to our church's annual Pinewood Derby. Basically, contestants take a standard pinewood car kit (pictured below) and modify it within certain limitations, to make the fastest free wheeling car possible.


A NASA scientist at our church designed a racetrack, complete with laser timing to four decimal places, to determine, without a shadow of the doubt, which the fastest car is! It was awesome. Nathan and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, especially the fact that we were just observers this year, with no pressures or nerves hovering over us. Seeing the designs of the winning cars is definitely an advantage, and we are keen to enter next years competition!




On Sunday, the weather was much the same as Saturday's. So we put the winter coats on the boys and headed to church. After church, we made a pitstop at the Target store, to buy Nathan and Josh some early birthday gifts from their grandparents. Nathan and I headed straight to the Lego aisle, where he picked up an Offroad Firetruck and Rescue Boat, as well as an Electrical Utility truck. After lunch, Nathan disappeared into his room to assemble his latest Lego models, and we did not see him again until 90% of everything was built. Josh also had his share of the spoils, and was full of smiles once he had his hands on his brand new police car!



and now it's time to sign-off as I fear a cold might have caught up with me during my short bicycle ride yesterday!

We're ba-ack!

This past Monday was a somber one as we bid farewell to Liesel's parents, and the beautiful scenery and desirable climate of Charleston, and started on our two day trek back North. The trip went well and we arrived back to a sunny Cleveland on Tuesday afternoon. It seemed the beautiful weather we had down south had followed us all the way back. As we drove through the suburbs, we could see that most of the snow pack that, 10 days earlier, had besieged terra firma, had succumbed to the warmer temperatures, leaving only wet soggy puddles behind! It was a welcome sight to see the green grass appear from beneath its white blanket. To add to the snow's demise, Thursday and Friday saw unseasonably high temperatures of around 70 (21C). Of course Liesel took full advantage of the weather and spent as much time as possible outdoors with the boys! It seems Josh has become addicted to the outdoor lifestyle, judging by the fit he had when it was time to head back inside.

Being the first weekend back, we kept it low key. On Saturday morning we headed out to the shops to buy a couple of items. Unfortunately, the typical Cleveland weather pattern for this time of the year returned with highs in lower 40s (5C) and a couple of snowflakes were spotted mingling with the soft rain. Once we returned home, the boys and I headed to the basement to play for a while, while Liesel prepared some food in the kitchen. That afternoon, once the rain had stopped, Nathan and I headed to the garage, where I removed his last remaining training wheel from his bike. Then it was time for a "crash course" in riding a bike without training wheels. I am happy to report that there were no actual crashes during the crash course, and Nathan is slowly starting to get the feel of free wheeling down the driveway with little or no support. I think we need a few more days on the driveway (preferably with warm sunny weather) and then he can graduate to riding on the sidewalks.... That evening, once the boys were put to bed, Liesel and I caught up with some of our favorite programs that we had recorded while we were away.

At 2am on Sunday morning, Daylight Savings Time officially kicked in, resulting in one hour's less sleep for most of us. So with about five and a half hours of sleep, I dragged myself out of bed, and got ready for church as I was playing in the worship team. Church was good, and I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the team today. I even had my mom watching my performance from the comfort of her own home in South Africa! After the two services, I came home and got to speak to most of my family back home in South Africa, had lunch and then took a much needed nap! The rest of the day consisted of keeping Josh entertained while Liesel and Nath went to the library, eating dinner, bathing the boys, and rebuilding parts of Lego City (which was totally destroyed by Nathan and his friends a month ago when they had a 'tornado' party up in his bedroom.....)

Ah, it's good to be back!

Below are a couple of photos that Nathan took on our last day in Charleston..... I think it's a good idea to pay attention to those signs! That is a 12ft (3.5m) long alligator, just a few yards from that sign!

Soaking in sunshine in South Carolina

Wow - what a week! And to think that tomorrow, the vacation ends, as we part ways with family and make the two day drive back home! Too much has happened this past week to document in my blog. If I described everything the McCarthy-Schaefer clan got up to these past seven days, and you decided to print the blog, I fear major forests could be wiped out because of the reams of paper that would be needed! SO I give you the Reader's Digest condensed version....

Highlights of our week included a visit to Patriot's Point, where we could explore the aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown, and a submarine! Nathan got to enjoy the sights of Charleston in a horse-drawn carriage with his grandparents and aunt. We spent a number of hours fishing, crabbing, playing on the beaches, going for walks, playing tennis, and visiting a petting zoo. Great, lasting memories were made with family, and I have shared some of them with you in the slideshow below!

One particular story I have to share with you: On Saturday morning, Liesel was getting ready for the day in the bathroom, when I heard her shriek, "JOSH! NO!" The panic in her voice got my attention and I raced to find out what my youngest son was doing! When I got there, Josh was standing there with my contact lens container in his hand. Liesel then told me, that he had just drank the saline solution, AND lens, for my left eye. Lovely - that was a $300 cocktail that he had just downed like an oyster! I was pretty upset about it, since I left my lens container within his reach. So I took it upon myself to check his forthcoming diapers, which is not something I recommend to those with weak constitutions. To cut a long story short, 3 diapers and about 30 hours later - I actually managed to spot the lens (which is translucent, and about the size of my pinky fingernail) in the diaper! So I have now sterilized the lens by boiling it in water, then pouring more boiling water over it, cleaning it with my lens cleaning solution, then wiping it with an alcoholic swab from the First Aid Kit, then washing it one more time with the lens cleaning solution!

With that beautiful image in your head, I leave with images from the vacation! Enjoy!