The New Biker Boys

Well it used to only be motorcycles and tricycles, but now, Luke and Ben have bonded over two shared wheels. They have started biking together, and Luke LOVES it. He asks for a bike ride nearly every day when Ben comes home from work. He has his own seat and helmet and sits back like he owns the road. They ride to the park to play, to the hobby store for trains and planes, and on occassion, to Dunkin' Donuts for a sweet treat on Saturday mornings. I'm starting to think if it has wheels, Luke is going to want to ride in and eventually drive it.

A Visit with Mr. Kleen

We were lucky to have one of our Navy friends from Italy, Eric Kleen, come visit us here in TN at the end of July. He is making his preparations for an upcoming assignment overseas again, but this one will be as a reservist working with the Army. We were thankful he had time for a visit before starting his new training and deploying later this year. He knew Luke since he was a little baby and always warned us about the “NEEEDS” of two-year olds, so we were happy he could see Luke in all his 2-year old glory. I can’t say we were the kindest of hosts because we invited to come on a weekend when we had agreed to run and walk in a 5K for charity, and we signed him us to run, too. So he arrives Friday night and we feed him well enough, but then wake him up at 5:45 on Saturday morning to go run in the summer humidity of a Tennessee July. He may never come see us again…..but since both he and Ben won their respective age groups at the race, I think it turned out to be worth the early morning effort. Luke and I had a good time doing the fun walk with a stroller, and he naturally loved to hold Ben and Eric’s ribbons. We rounded out the visit with a trip to the Knox County RC plane flying field, where the boys had fun flying one of Ben’s trainer planes until an errant gust carried over the woods toward the lake, never to be seen again. Two seasoned RC pilots lost one of their planes shortly thereafter, so all round it was not a good day to be flying. The weather was beautiful despite the wind, and we finished up with a nice lakeside picnic and a wade into the lake for Ben and Luke. Luke can’t resist the water, so getting wet was inevitable. We wish you well, Eric, and thank you again for visiting. We promise we won’t make you run next time.

Family Fun, Florida Style

We just returned from a nice trip to Florida, combining a family vacation to visit Ben’s grandmother and attending a friend’s wedding in St. Augustine. My parents and sister met us in FL, and we had a great time swimming and playing with Luke at the beach. My parents and sister, Michele, all had a much needed break from work life back in NC, relaxing and reminiscing about our visits to Flagler Beach as when Michele and I were children. Now we take Luke and watch his test the salt waves just like we did when were little.

Coincidentally, Ben also beached at Flagler when we was little, visiting his aunt Sue and her family in the summer. We missed Sue this trip since she was traveling out west, but she generously opened her home to us. Grandma Colgrove is just across the street, so it was great getting up to go over for breakfast and then coming back to watch Luke swim at Sue’s pool. Ben’s grandmother is wonderful with Luke and always makes you so glad you we able to visit. She’s a model of healthy and graceful aging. Her bright spirit and joy make her a delight.

The garden wedding in St. Augustine was amazing. Such a beautiful location, good weather, and the most fun reception I’ve ever attended. My friend Amy was a gorgeous and gracious bride, and Ben and I were proud to be there to witness her vows and finally meet her husband Carl. We wish them all the best and know they have a wonderful life ahead.

Luke is a little water rat, so most of the time he was in either the pool or at the beach. He dried out long enough for everyone to go for a final family dinner on our last night. I guess he thinks he’s a big guy now from the way he ‘reads’ the paper. Wonder where he’s seen that pose before?

Independence Day

Happy Independence Day to all our friends and family, especially all those still serving in the military at home and overseas. We miss our friends from Italy and remember the Festa Americana held on the 4th for the servicepersons and families in Naples. We celebrated here in TN this year by going to the local parade in the morning and meeting more of our neighbors at afternoon-into-the-night block party, complete with swimming, slip-n-sides, BBQ, and a major fireworks display. The firepower reminded us of Italy and how our Italian neighbors shot off impressive fireworks all the time and for not necessarily for any particular reason. Luke was up very late taking it all in, taking serious the party-til-you-drop attitude.

We live on the far west side of Knoxville in a township called Farragut. Their hometown parade was very impressive, with helicopter fly-overs, tons of classic cars, military personnel and vehicles, lots of children's characters, and gobs of candy and freebies. We left after an hour and a half and more floats were in the pipeline. We needed to go before Luke got too much sun or went into a sugar coma; he seemed to attract friendly paradegoers with lolipops. All in all, it was a nice day and we were thankful to celebrate it on American soil this year.