Jester Visit!

Jodi's Mom and her husband Bob were here for about a week, and the highlight on our end was a big family day and dinner on Sunday. The weather was great, all the grandkids were there, and dinner was terrific (thanks to Bob, mostly!). Connor and the other kids got to "play ball" with Grandpa Jester, and it was as great as a real day at the ball park. Except that Connor, as an only child (for now at least... oh, did we not mention that yet???) has trouble sharing pretty much anything.

But don't worry, I surely won't let that last! I mean, as any good Liberal knows, nothing is "truly" ours... oh, he'll be sharing with the best of them in no time once the Indoctrination starts. Don't you worry.

Blogger Update!

First, apologies for my blog slack-ability of late. The thing is, it's not without reason. First, while I was away at my beloved annual Cosmopolitan Alumni Canoe trip, Jodi (through no fault of her own, she swears--just ask her!!) managed to blow up the desktop computer upstairs. And I mean blow up as in even with above-the-great-unwashed-masses' average computer skills, I couldn't get this thing to boot. In the end I had to use a recovery CD which wipes the hard drive and re-installs to factory original settings. In laymans terms, you LOSE YOUR FILES. And programs. But I digress. Rest assured with my normal calm and laid back demeanor I got over it quickly and her beating was not severe. So there was that. Also, and this issue dates back a few weeks, the digital camera we purchased in March (March!?!) has also crashed and / or flaked out on me. Although in the case of the camera I was the one who bought another Casio after the last Casio broke (at least we had two years or so of use on that one). So with a computer problem and a camera problem--both of which needing attention, and both of which are necessary to the upkeep of the actual blog itself--I had my reasons.

Well the desktop computer is repaired, although I'm now using our new laptop more than anything for both video and photo maintenance. Also, the camera has been sent to Casio for a free repair, and in the meantime I have been using the video camera's still camera option for photos. Not as great, but it works for what I need. And I find that now I sort of have the hang of Vista, and with the right software, the flexibility of the laptop is actually really appealing. There are drawbacks as well, but like I said, overall...

So what have we been up to, the "Ada" Basts??? Here we go...

Last Summer.

I ran across this photo on my video camera today, and it's of C-man and me at my buddy Zawacki's pool last summer. I liked it, even though it's almost a close-up of... well, me.

UG Sprinkling.

The last of the stone paver patios are now in, the retaining wall is done, and the planting bed and yard ares are defined. What does that all mean? Well it's time to install the UG sprinkling of course! It went really well and they were in and out in like four hours.

Father's Day Weekend.

Saturday we had the Dekkers out, for a bit of work and play. That means Jeff had some work to do finishing the A/V setup, and the rest of it was beach time. Plus Connor got to see one of his top five BFFs, and arguably one of his many future GFs. Actually, I already feel a bit sorry for Anne, what with how she'll likely get her heart broken by the little man. I mean, Connor doesn't mean to be a heart breaker, but hey, he's gotta live his life...

We got Skiles for dinner, but it lost something with the travel time and re-heat. Oh well. I stand by my bold statement(s) as to its excellence. It's certainly in the top two or three pizzas in west Michigan.

At any rate, we were going to have Jerry & Wendy out Sunday, but when the weather turned ugly we decided to go there instead. Of course that's when it cleared up, but no matter as we had a great afternoon together. Oh, and we did do gifts in Holland still. I got some leisure pants and some tee shirts, which is arguably the kind of stuff I was hoping for!

Almost Forgot!

I did get some not-so-great photos with the iPhone (thanks again Dad!!), we all got a kick out of VT's dog being like three or four times the size of C-man.

Mac's Party.

Saturday was a party at Mac's, and he's just one helluva gracious host! (OK, I mean Carrie, but still. Mac was there.) Again precious few photos, as the camera was acting up on me and the video camera of course had a dead batt'ry. Still, I realize most of my audience only wants to see the little man anyway.

The Sefcik Weekend.

Seffy and Julie were in town for the weekend, which was just so-so at best, but I guess they have to go somewhere.

Just kidding of course, as Seffy and I have been hanging out since before this blog even started! Come to think of it, we were in each other's weddings even, and we had a great visit.

I have precious few photos, so really what I'm putting up is from Saturday morning, which followed a Friday night Hope happy hour downtown. Good turnout for that, and lots of drama!

One photo is Seffy with his two boys, and the other is me with my little boy. Yes, the boys are different but they all count on us as their primary care givers!

Van Halen (Redux).

It was pretty much as fun as the last show (which was really the first show), and the best part was being so close to home and this time getting to sit (stand) with my brother. He's one of the bigger VH fans of all time, and that's really understated. Okma and some of his buddies came along for the ride, and some of my high school buddies were around as well. Not too many photos though.