Finding Our Fun, Part 1

So, as usual, we're heading rapidly toward mid-July and I'm having a summer bucket list crisis--panicking that all the things I wanted us to accomplish this summer are not going to happen.  After a summer where it seemed like we did a whole lot of nothing other than swimming in our pool, this summer is quickly booking up--to the point I'm not sure where a real vacation might fit in.  Craig has work commitments during the week and most of our weekends are booked up by family events, which is not a bad thing but makes for some tough decisions after a year of missing out on almost everything and wanting to cram it all in this year.  And yet lately it's felt like we're not taking full advantage of the free time we have, and I am craving adventure and vacation more than ever.  Given the preoccupation around here with basketball and screen time (and an obligation to work), it seems to take a gargantuan effort to break out of the mundane, day-to-day routine.  We got a decent start over 4th of July weekend, but we're still definitely a work in progress.

Last week I was working through the end of our fiscal year at work and drooling over the prospect of a five day weekend.  The week after the fiscal year but before books close is usually a good week to take off, particularly when I don't have a desk to clean and organize and file things into.  On Wednesday night, the last night of the fiscal year when I was facing down one more day of work, Jacob had basketball practice and Craig was working, so Carter and I had to take him to practice.  We were thrilled to discover an amazing playground at the school and were excited to take it on.  

Well, after probably five minutes, Jacob yelled over that practice got moved and we had to go to a different school a town over.  We were so bummed to leave this playground behind mostly unexplored, but I told Carter we'd make it a point to come back.  Luckily, the new school did have a playground but it wasn't quite as exciting.  Still, we managed to fill a good chunk of time here.

Carter likes playing tag, which is actually really hard on playground equipment because there are only so many routes to go, and he also likes creating obstacle courses for us to run.  While I'd mostly prefer to just climb and have fun together, that is how he likes to play so I try to go along with it as much as possible.  He was a crazy kid climbing that twisty slide and generally running me around.  So, I felt a little bit of relief when it started storming and we had to run to the car, but then we were stuck sitting there waiting for Jacob for a long time--particularly since coach extended practice another half hour after half the team was late due to the venue change.  Not my favorite hour-plus, but we managed.

The next night, fresh off my last day of work, we were looking at the weather and debating when we should go to the drive-in--and if we did, which one.  We love the one in Perry that has mini-golf, ice cream, and amazing food, but it's a hike.  The one in Avon is closer and has the bonus of close proximity to our favorite gluten-free pizza place, but it's less of an event!  We were interested in both of the movie selections at Perry, but the double feature is just way too late for an hour drive home.  Add in some unsettled weather for both Thursday and Friday evenings, and we were just stumped.  Well, I checked the weather shortly after 5pm as I got ready to make dinner, and suddenly the forecast looked better.  Knowing how much Craig really wanted to go to the drive-in, I relented and we made last-minute plans to order food in Avon and head to the show.  All was well until we got about halfway there and noticed a giant black cloud that clearly made the 15% chance of rain moot.  It started raining moments later and kept raining right until we got our food and drove to the drive-in.  That's when we saw this:

It turned out to be a gorgeous night.  We thought it might be a little cool, but I actually ended up taking off my hoodie part way through Peter Rabbit 2.  The movie was cute and we had a pretty decent night overall--no real arguing for spots or anything like that.  

Even though the rain held off, there was lightning in the distant sky pretty much all night, and as we drove home it got worse.  We hit rain about 15 minutes from home, and boy did it come down.  It was pouring at home, and it's been a long time since I've heard that much thunder that loud.  It was very close to us--according to the weather channel app there were lightning strikes less than a mile north and a mile south.  It was actually pretty nervewracking, and in fact a house on the other side of Rochester did get struck.  I was very happy when it finally wound down.  

On Saturday we had plans to go see the Toronto Blue Jays in Buffalo!  When the current baseball stadium in Buffalo opened in 1988, there was a lot of talk about getting a major league team.  I think Buffalo might have even been in the running in the early 90s when Colorado and Florida (now Miami) came into the league, but it never panned out and Buffalo had to settle for having a really decent minor league stadium that set the stage for a new era of modern stadiums.  As you may recall, I spent a summer working in that very stadium as a Bisons intern in 1999, and it was one of the best summers of my life.  I'd only been back once since, and it was even more exciting to come back and see the stadium all decked out for its current occupant, the Toronto Blue Jays, who can't play in Toronto due to the Canadian government's very strict COVID restrictions.  It stinks for Jays fans and we all miss going to Toronto, but it's cool that Buffalo finally gets its chance as a major league city, no matter how temporary it is.  The Jays played in Buffalo for a bit last year, but there were no fans, so getting spectators this year (especially since capacity restrictions were lifted) has been such a fun thing for the city.  I swear at least a quarter of my Facebook friends from Buffalo and Rochester have gone to a game!

As I said, seeing the stadium all decked out for a new team was simultaneously cool and weird.  I miss the quaint feeling of the Bisons (and my sentimental connection to them), but the Jays were the first major league team I saw (and the one I saw most for many years), so there was some pride in seeing my hometown stadium be called their home.

 

The stadium hasn't changed a ton since I worked there, although the outfield is quite different and the Jays changed it even more by putting the bullpens out there and fancying up the party deck area.  Also notable is that the big building in the picture below is a different color than it used to be (burgundy instead of tan), and all the new buildings from Harborcenter (to the left in the picture below) were never in the outfield view.  Oh, and there are also safety nets running the full length of the baselines, and that was my first experience with that. 

Small world--the family two rows down to the left is from Rochester and I went to college with both of the parents!

But the stadium still felt oddly like home in spots--like when we were standing at a concession stand and it occurred to me that stand most likely used to be the guest services booth when I was an intern.  That view was just a little too familiar!  There were funny things like that, but at the same time, it's been over 20 years and I guess it would be weird if things weren't different.  It did feel really neat to see major leaguers and know this was a more important game than we're used to seeing in that stadium.

I will admit I got a little emotional being back at a sporting event for the first time in so long.  I mean, even before I was a sports nut I'm not sure I spent more than a year away from games.  We almost always went to a Sabres game or Bisons game at some point, so not having been at anything in over 15 months felt pretty crazy.  It was still a little nervewracking out in the concourse or sitting near the same people unmasked for two hours, but we trusted the outside air and relatively low infection rate, especially since it was warm day.  Oh, and did I mention I forgot to put on sunscreen because I got distracted in the van on the way in as we drove by a recently collapsed building and a part of Buffalo that's seen a lot of changes?  Somehow I managed to keep the sunburn to a minimum but I was panicked most of the game, especially at the end when I could feel the burn.  I put on aloe the second we got in the van, and I think it helped.  My arms, legs, chest and forehead had some, but it mostly faded within a couple days.

Despite the lifting of most restrictions, there were still some reminders of COVID life, like the upper deck full of mostly cut-outs.

Despite being a little bored, Carter was up for a selfie with me...and notice how Jacob's baseball obsession around Carter's age paid off with a perfect hand-me-down shirt to wear for the occasion.  He also had a Team Canada Little League World Series hat that was once Jacob's!

The Jays had an awesome game and won 6-3.  The older boys decked themselves out in Jays attire over the course of the game (I couldn't find the Buffalo Blue Jays shirt I wanted that day but it's coming soon), and overall it was a good day.

Yes, Craig is blinking, but I don't often get pics of the three guys together and the fact Jacob is rapidly gaining ground on Craig is crazy.  Pretty sure he'll have outgrown his school uniform pants (again) by fall.

Since we snacked pretty well at the game, we finished off the night with a trip to my childhood favorite ice cream spot, De Dee's Dairy.  The ice cream is huge and we all really enjoyed our frozen dinner.  Carter nearly needed a bath after his (still working on the best licking technique when it's melting), but it was so good!  We turned in for the night at my parents' since we had a family 4th of July party the next day.

We had to run to Walmart that morning to pick up a gift I ordered for someone, and then grabbed a small lunch since we knew we'd snack at the picnic by mid-afternoon.  Carter had really wanted to go to a playground the prior night but we just couldn't make it happen, so we opted to stop at one on the way.  It had a good court for Jacob and a playground Carter has liked in the past.  

He climbed up that pole!

I'm not sure if these bars were supposed to be like men's gymnastics parallel bars, but Carter was entertained by them. 

The picnic was a lot of fun.  It was great to see family, particularly all of my cousins' littles--one cousin has a 3-year-old daughter (and a boy due any day!), another has two-year-old and two-month-old daughters, and another has a 10-month-old son.  That was my first time meeting the two-month-old, and it was so great seeing all of them.  The hostess (my cousin's wife) set up an activity for the kids to use squirt guns and paint to make artwork, and even Carter got into that!  He has a couple of them framed in his room now!  The kids mostly kept themselves occupied with cornhole, and I was able to catch up with aunts, uncles, cousins, and my parents.  It was a hot day but there was lots of shade...and some family-favorite whiskey slush!

Back at home I had a couple more days off, but they were relatively uneventful.  Carter had soccer Monday.  We spent some time in the pool both days since it was really hot, but despite my hope to do something more fun as a family, that was about as good as it got.  And we actually got chased from the pool on Tuesday because a thunderstorm passed through suddenly.  But like last year I'm keeping myself happy with my flowers.  

 

My hydrangea is blooming!  It's so pretty and this pic barely does the colors justice--pinks and purpley-blues.

A new flower this time--a different kind of bachelor's button than what usually grows in our yard, in a hanging basket with my beloved zinnias.

This zinnia is basically perfection.

Almost all of my zinnias are smaller this year than the nearly fist-sized ones I had last year, but the colors are wonderful and they're coming fast and furious now in five different spots.  My garden is also coming along.  The romaine has been wonderful for my salads, but it's starting to bolt so those days might be limited.  I harvested one cucumber (with a bunch more coming), a zucchini is close, and my snap peas and beans are almost there--in fact I ate a snap pea today!  My tomatoes are going crazy again in plant growth but the tomatoes haven't ripened yet.  I did have one unfortunate loss this week.  Apparently the deer finally discovered my pumpkin patch.  They did a pretty solid job on it one night, and despite grabbing some Irish Spring and stringing fishing line to spook them, they came back and ate more the following night--even trying to eat one of the soap pieces (but it appears they spit out the piece and the bite they took).  I ended up using more fishing line to tent off the top.  There are two or three plants that could recover--two still have buds and one wasn't quite at that stage let but still has a couple leaves, so it's possible.  I threw about six more seeds in the ground, but more than likely they won't mature in time.  I'd rather still have something to watch grow, though, so it's worth a shot.  Stupid deer.  But I guess we've been lucky all these years.

So, despite my disappointment with the second half of the long weekend, I guess the first part was pretty good.  But by Tuesday I took matters into my own hands!  Stay tuned...