Life in the Burbs

Yesterday afternoon, the boys grew tired of playing in the family room and eventually migrated to the dining room. They were busy playing with their cars on the windowsill, so I decided to grab my laptop and steal a quick glance at my e-mail. As usual, I took a little longer than I intended because I wanted to see the result of the UVa vs. Wake Forest basketball game (not good, by the way). In the corner of the room I could hear a faint clicking noise. As I looked over the table, Sam said, “Hi Daddy!” and this is what he and Nate were doing …

One of them (Sam, I assume) managed to take it off the table, unplug it, open it, and yes, turn it on. Amazing. By the time I was able to grab the camera, they were getting antsy and asking for me to put on a video. So, I gave them their snack cups and put on a children’s music video. Even when I think they are doing something else, these two little sets of eyes are always watching.

At least, that is what Sam was saying for about 2 weeks. I know it snowed when I lived in Ohio, but I don’t remember if I liked it or not. I know it didn’t snow when I lived in Arkansas, and if it did … even half an inch … the whole town shut down. It definitely snowed in Wyoming, and I remember not really liking my first winter there. Still, I learned how to ski and got pretty accustomed to the snow and cold weather after that. Why am I saying this? Well, it seems that at least one of our boys hates the snow. In Wyoming, he screamed if we even set him down. When we returned to Illinois, there was a lot of snow on the ground, and he didn’t even want to walk to the car. Who is this child? Sam of course. Well, I looked out the window into the backyard this morning when I woke up, and it seems Sam may finally be getting his wish after nearly 3 weeks. Almost all of the snow is gone, and the rain that is supposed to fall today will surely wipe out what’s left. This is surprising to me because I thought for sure the snow here would stay until March or at least late February. Perhaps the weather here is more like Virginia than I thought: cold rain, some snow, and that wet, cold air that goes right to your bones. Needless to say, cabin fever is starting to settle in.

Today Sam and Nate got to attend a birthday party for their two friends, Jordan and Gayle Kinley. These friends are the children of Jenene and Ken, and Jenene is a first-year faculty member at UIS. Her office is next to mine. Jordan turned 5 this week, and Gayle Kinley is the same age as the boys. The theme of the party was Superhero Training Camp, and the boys had to undergo some harsh and rigorous training in order to earn their superhero capes (which they wouldn’t wear).

Some of the training requirements included an obstacle course, in which the children had to rescue stuffed animals from a burning building (cardboard box decorated as a burning building) and put them safely in the shelter, finding hidden ballooons, and my favorite, “pin the Spiderman sticker on the villain.” We also got to refuel on delicious hotdogs and chili. The boys especially liked eating superhero birthday cake.

I know it’s risky to put top secret information on the Web, but here are some pictures taken from this stealth training.

I also could have named this post, “Things I never noticed before I had children.” If you’ve never heard of the Joshua Tree Principle, you can read a little about it. It’s interesting but not groundbreaking stuff.

The first observation was something I put on my Facebook status yesterday. Yes, I updated my status, not something I do all that often. Anyway, I got annoyed yesterday because I was plagued with a recurring issue in my life: trying to find the boys’ sippy cups. This shouldn’t be that hard, since the boys basically spend all their time in two rooms in the entire house. And the rooms aren’t that big. But when it comes to finding their sippy cups, I am pretty sure I spend half of my time wandering around those two rooms looking behind, under, next to and top every single item in the room. Why in the world would two little cups be so hard to find? Well, it’s because sippy cups are the exact same color as every one of the boys’ toys. They blend in perfectly. I swear, there have been instances where I am looking directly at a  sippy cup and can’t see it. There are deer and elk in Wyoming who wish they blended in with their environment this well. I know the whole point of these colors is marketing. I don’t know too many parents who will buy their children earth tone sippy cups. But on a practical level, it’s a little annoying that every company that makes anything for children uses the same colors. Toys, tableware, cups, books, DVD cases … you name it. Put them all together and you get a brilliant mosaic of red, blue, yellow, green, purple and orange, and good luck trying to distinguish individual objects from within the mire. It’s like Where’s Waldo, but this time Waldo is a blue cup with a yellow lid.

The other observation I have made is how grocery stores, or stores in general, market to children. I noticed this the first time with my nephew Zach, and I have seen it replayed with my own children. Unless you are three feet tall, you would never notice that (seemingly) everything on the lower grocery store shelves is marketed for children. Sponge Bob, Spiderman, Lightening McQueen, Dora and Buzz Lightyear adorn such items as Spaghetti-O’s, Mac and Cheese, fruit cups, juice boxes, yogurt, etc. From my perspective, we go to the grocery store to buy food. My kids think they are at Disneyland or Universal Studios. The same is true of Toys R Us. You need a bike helmet for your toddler? Good luck finding one without a cartoon character on it. Now, to be fair, the extent to which toy companies and the TV/film industry are in cahoots is no secret. I mean, I there was a time when I would have sold my soul for a Star Wars figure or ship. So, it’s not like I go to Toys R Us and feel violated because 99% of the toys are based off television shows or movies. I know how the system works. I guess I am just a little bothered that so much effort is put into trying to attract my children’s attention and turn them into little consumers. Even more annoying is how shameless these people are in trying to get to my wallet through my children.

This post is probably more appropriate for my other blog, but I just thought I would write what is on my mind. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this.

When we left Springfield for Wyoming three weeks ago, it was cold but not unbearable. We got some snow in Wyoming, but it never got really cold. As we were driving back, I noticed the thermometer in the car going down, down, down. When we left Casper, it was around 40 degrees. By the time we were halfway across Nebraska it was in the teens. It was 10 in Kearney and 5 in Lincoln. Driving across Iowa was paradise, with a wind chill factor of -19, and it has pretty much been that cold since we got back. We got more snow today, and it’s supposed to get bitterly cold until sometime next week. So, what do two boys do when it’s this miserable outside? Watch Sesame Street in their new rocking chairs from Granny and Granddad, of course.

Over our Christmas break to Wyoming, my dad, my brother-in-law and I took a snowmobiling trip to Burgess Junction, WY. My sister and her husband are friends with the owners of Bear Lodge, where we stayed and ate for two wonderful days in the high country. I have to admit, when my parents told us on Christmas Day that we would be snowmobiling in the Big Horn Mountains, I was a little uneasy about it. Having grown up in Wyoming, I’m still a sucker for vigorous outdoor winter activities. I always tell Gina that “the cold” doesn’t feel cold anymore when you get out and move around. She’s not buying it, but that’s a topic for another time (I love you, Gina!). However, when I think of snowmobiling in Wyoming, I think of Rulon Gardner, and frankly, that scares me a little bit. But this was my Christmas present and I wanted to be open to the possibility of a new adventure. So, with a little nervousness and a bag full of cold weather gear, we embarked on the snowy Wyoming roads for a two-day getaway in the mountains.

We arrived at Bear Lodge in the evening just as it was getting dark. We checked into our room, put our stuff down and headed to the dining room for dinner. It was delicious, and we spent a little while longer just sitting around watching a bowl game. The next morning we awoke to the news that it was -15 degrees F. Yes, you read that right. We decided to wait until the temperature had risen a little bit before venturing off into the wilderness, so we went down to get some breakfast. By 9:30 or so, we were ready to get started. I mean, who wouldn’t? By this time the temp was up to -5 degrees! After getting dressed and filling out the snowmobile rental paperwork, we were off.

I won’t give you every detail (and thankfully there are no really scary stories to share), but I will tell you that I am a new fan of snowmobiling. Now, I’m not about to go out and buy one, but I will definitely go again. It was cold, but driving the sled (this is snowmobiler lingo for a snowmobile) kept me just active enough to stay warm. The scenery was amazing, and it was a lot of fun being able to share this with Joe and my dad. We talked about going again and bringing the wives and kids. We’ll see how that goes. For the record, we stayed on the groomed paths and didn’t do anything risky or daring.  Looking back, I can’t think of a better Christmas present: I was able to share it with others, it represented everything I love about Wyoming, it was a great adventure, and I didn’t have to find a place in the car to put it for the drive back to Illinois!