Random statements I’ve heard from my boys recently:

Calfgrit8 to Calfgrit11: “I don’t want to tell you what me and Daddy did while you were gone because it would make you jealous, but it was awesome! We had so much fun!

Calfgrit11 to Calfgrit8: “CG8! Dad just turned on the TV!”

Calfgrit8 to Calfgrit11: “I’m not supposed to tell you what I got you for Christmas, but it’s what you told me you wanted the other day when we were in Target.”

Calfgrit11 to Calfgrit8: “No, I wouldn’t want you to starve to death, even though you’re sometimes very annoying.”

Bullgrit

Calfgrit8’s indoor soccer team has had some pretty interesting situations with their opponents. I’ve mentioned the first couple of games in a previous post. The team of 8 year olds were put in the 10 year old bracket, were beaten pretty hard a couple of times by larger kids, and then put in the 8 year old bracket and immediately won big against kids their own age and size.

Well, to add strangeness to the situation, the last few games in the 8 year old bracket have been against teams whose players weren’t all showing up. Our team has 10 players, (6 on the field at a time), and they’ve never had more than a couple at a time miss a game. But the last three games they’ve played, the other team couldn’t field more than 4 or 5. So our coaches loaned them some of our players to help out. Sadly, not only is almost half the opposing team on the field, our own players, but it’s really only our own players who actually play hard.

Our team has won every game by a very wide margin, (like 12-2), or with a complete shutout, (like 10-0). When the other team manages to get the ball going towards our goal, (going on the offensive), it’s always our own players doing the drive. The other team players rarely cross the half-field line. What the hell? I’m not talking about this is just one team, but every team our kids play is like this. It looks like our team is the only one who gets coached, practices, or even seems care about playing. Yes, the other kids do play and get into the game, but they aren’t aggressive. They almost always hang back in defense, just trying to kick the ball away more than trying to drive the ball offensively.

We parents in the bleachers watching the game end up cheering and rooting as much for the other team as we do our own. We shout encouragement when the other team goal keeper stops a shot. We congratulate the other team when they drive the ball down field toward our goal. (Granted, the ones driving are usually our own kids.) I’ve watched the other teams’ parents several times, and none of them seem to get excited about the game. That’s pathetic and sad. I really don’t know even what to think about this.

Bullgrit

This is the first Halloween in many years that I didn’t even try to “get in the spirit.” I didn’t give any serious thought about dressing up, and the only decorating I did was what I was instructed to do. A couple of weeks ago I hung a big spider web (with a huge spider) across our front porch, but within 24 hours it had blown down. The cotton (or whatever the web is made of) got wrapped around one of the porch columns, and I just let it stay there. I just haven’t felt in the mood for Halloween this year.

But on Halloween afternoon, I started getting in the mood. I left work a bit early to be home and watch the boys get excited. They were talking about what friends they were going to trick or treat with, they planned their neighborhood pattern, and they agreed on what candy they’d trade at the end of the night.

Before it got dark outside we had our first trick or treaters. The youngest children started coming up, and our boys sat out on the porch to watch the sun go down. When the night had arrived, they were excited and anxious and impatient. The got on their costumes, (a mix and match of various masks and robes and capes), and gathered up their friends from around the cul de sac. I put on my coat and went out with them while Wifegrit stayed at our house with her mom to pass out treats to our visitors.

I followed six boys around our neighborhood, with the help of one boy’s mom. They were all very good even though their excitement got the better of them a time or ten. Shouting, running, laughing, bragging, telling me what they got at which house, they were so much fun to watch. The streets were filled with kids all over the place. This year was like what I remember as a kid. Dozens of kids all around, in ones, twos, half dozens, with various moms and dads or both herding little ones or keeping up with the older ones.

It took us about an hour to cover the whole neighborhood, and by the time we made it back around to our house, the crowd had thinned considerably. Some of the boys sat down in our driveway to trade candy. I gave them about 15 minutes and then called my boys in for baths and bed, (it’s a school night). Everyone had fun.

I had wanted to avoid eating any candy that night, but I ended up succumbing to about half a dozen Reese’s Cups and mini Twiks bars. The next morning, the candy called me again, but I held strong. I thought, if I can just get out of the house and at work, I’ll be away from the sweet chocolatey temptations. But when I got to work, and went into the office kitchen to fix some breakfast, I spied this pile of candy on the table:

Oh God! Reese’s Cups! Kit Kats! M&Ms! Crunch! (Butterfingers, bleh.)

Surprisingly, though, I managed to restrain myself from grabbing anything. Then the emails started coming in announcing that extra candy had been put out in other places around the offices. Through the rest of the day I came across more and more candy everywhere. Everywhere! Oh my God! But still, I stood strong and restrained. I managed to not eat a single piece of candy the entire day. By 6:00 when I left work, every candy pile had been picked down to the bare scrubs.

At home, the boys had organized their favorite candies, and Wifegrit had taken and put away anything they didn’t want. Put away in some hiding places that I don’t even want to look for. God help me forget that there is candy somewhere in this house.

Bullgrit

Those of you who have been following this blog over the years know that we take a family vacation to Walt Disney World every September. (Except for one time we traded September for December.) This year’s WDW vacation starts this Saturday when we leave home, and lasts till next Saturday when we come back.

We’ll be driving this year — it’s a 10-12 hour trip. We drove for our first family time at WDW, 5 years ago, but then after that we flew each year. The combination of expensive tickets and ridiculous airport security has made us decide to try driving again. We have a DVD player, various Disney movies, Nintendo DSs, and some travel games to entertain the boys. We’ll have packed snacks and lunches, but we’ll still stop several times to at least get out and stretch. I’d like to stop for meals, but I’d rather get to the resort sooner rather than later, so we’ll eat on the road. We plan to leave first thing after waking up, (probably 6 a.m.), so we should be in WDW by 6 p.m.

I’m partially looking forward to the drive, the experience of the long family road trip. I remember taking long road trips as a kid with my family, and our boys are now old enough that they’ll remember this excursion. But I’m also dreading the drive, the looooooong monotonous sitting in one place for hours. We drove to the Great Wolf Lodge back in March, but that was only 3 hours. This coming drive will be 3-4 times longer. I’m feeling some trepidation.

This year, both boys are tall enough for all the rides, and they’ve both said they want to ride all the rides. In past years, Calfgrit7 was too small to ride some, and even the ones that either boy was tall enough for, they weren’t adventurous enough to try. Was kind of disappointing. But this year may be more fun in that regard. Also this year, we’re going to the water parks. They enjoyed the Great Wolf Lodge slides, so I think the Disney water parks will be a hit. I know I’m really looking forward to the water fun.

Well, this will be the last post for me until after we get back. So now . . .
TO THE MINIVAN!