"Father of the Year" or "Now You're Obligated to Care for me When I'm Old"

"No greater love hath mortal man than for a friend to die". The second greatest testament of love is to undertake a 3 day, 1,000 mile trek that involves land, sea and air, all for the happiness of a 4 year old who may or may not remember the whole thing 10 years from now.

The whole thing started innocently enough, as adventures of this nature tend to do. Poppa Duncan called with a "once in a lifetime opportunity" to attend a Blue Angels show from aboard a Coast Guard Cutter (Buoy Tender, the USCGS Cypress) just off of Pensacola Beach. Sounded innocent. Sounded fun. Sounded worthwhile...

Given the ABSOLUTE NECESSITY that we attend such an event, it should be assumed that complications would arise. they did.
Complication # 1 - The air show was scheduled to take place on 7/12/08, the day after the launch of the new iPhone
Complication # 2 - iPhone's launch prevented Jeremy from taking any vacation on Friday or the following week

After many hours of considering these obstacles, the ultimate decision we reached was for Jeremy to take Spencer to Fairhope for the show Friday evening leaving Marsha, Aidyn and Preston at home so they would not have to endure the rigors of a 7 hour drive Friday, an air show Saturday and a 7 hour return voyage on Sunday.
we had a plan. I love it when a plan comes together.
too bad this one didn't...

July 11 came and iPhone launched with all the fanfare and excitement we could have expected. Jeremy was able to fulfill his role in the market's "War Room" and get away from the office at 3:00 to start the journey. Swinging home for just enough time to change clothes and toss Spencer into the car, Jeremy and Spencer got away before 4:00 and all was well...

Then disaster #1 occurred at approximately 4:30.
While picking up the cell phone to call his boss and answer a question, Jeremy felt the unmistakable, tell tale sign of a flat tire. The rear, driver's side tire had blown out before the trip even fully left Nashville.

As Spencer sat comfortably in the back seat watching Aladdin, Jeremy and Marsha exchanged phone calls and emails (how did people survive before PDA's and cell phones?) to find a place to replace the tire and wait for AAA to come put on the spare. Eventually, Jeremy & Spencer were able to get back on the road and make a thoroughly unscheduled stop at the "Mall" (term used loosely) in Columbia, TN where a new tire was put on at Sears. While this was taking place, Jeremy and Spencer had supper at the only restaurant in the mall, a "Ryan's" style cafeteria.

It was 7:00 PM by the time the van was ready and only 6.5 hours left to go! Jeremy and Spencer arrived in Fairhope at 1:15 AM Saturday morning after 1 stop in Pelham for gas. Spencer slept for approximately 52 minutes and 37 seconds during this time.

At 6:30 the following morning, DeeDee Duncan awoke Jeremy and Spencer to head to the Pensacola Naval Air Station where they would board the ship and get on their way. By 8:30, everyone was aboard. The ship was huge, and is crewed under normal circumstances by < 60 people. There were over 375 on board on 7/12. After Spencer and Jeremy saw about a dozen sting rays and at least 7 billion jellyfish off the side of the ship, the boat set sail and made its way to its position for the show.
As you will see in the photos below, at the very top of the ship there is an uncovered area for observation. this area is accessible via a single ladder and it was here that the majority of the 375 + people on board set up for the show. As 2:00 neared, the deck became VERY crowded.

It was time for the show. The first plane, an old sea plane right out of an Indiana Jones movie, began to fly around, but we couldn't help noticing that it looked like a storm was blowing in from the west. It did, and that is when disaster # 2 took place.

As the rain began, all the spectators crowded atop the USCGS Cypress pressed together beneath a tent that had been erected on the deck and strapped down for stability. What we thought was going to be a brief summer shower, however, ended up being a minature hurricane. we shall call it, Hurricane Spencer.

Winds almost 60 mph made the rain blow sideways and bent the support rods of the tent. Jeremy and 3 other men found themselves in the role of replacing the support rods and holding the tent up while everyone else surrounded the children in the center of the enclosure. Then there was lightening. Apparently 10 people were struck on shore (all were okay) and the ship's crew rushed up to get everyone into the belly of the boat. As there was a single ladder, this took a while.

We might as well have swam to shore, everyone was soaked to the bone. The group was so wet, Jeremy's PDA was destroyed and outside, the "brief summer shower" stormed for almost 4 hours, cancelling the show.

The Cypress returned to the dock a little before 7:00 PM and all aboard were told that they were welcome to come "try again" the next day.

This presented a dillemma. obviously, the plan was NEVER to attend a show Sunday, then drive to Nashville. However, having already endured so much, it seemed a shame to return to TN without having seen the show. Reluctantly, the decision was made to go BACK to Pensacola the following day, see the show, and accept that Sunday, like the Friday before, would be a late night.

Sunday came, the boat was ready and less than 1/3 the passengers crammed aboard, making the day much more comfortable. The weather held and the show took place. Spencer was enraptured. he saw every plane, commented on every trick and asked if he could be a Blue Angel pilot when he grew up. The day went completely as planned.

Immediately following the end of the show, the Cypress turned about and headed for shore. needless to say, this was the perfect time for disaster # 3. ANOTHER storm. Another 4 hour delay.

The good news? We stayed dry and didn't destroy any more electronic equipment.
The bad news? 4 hours added to the departure time from the Florida panhandle.
It was nearly 8:00 PM when Spencer and Jeremy got underway to return to Nashville. Spencer watched one movie then slept...for roughly 37 minutes and 10 seconds. Jeremy and Spencer stopped once in Prattville around 10:30 for gas, a new movie for Spencer and a LARGE Red Bull for daddy. They stopped again at the TN border for a new movie for Spencer, a pit stop and a stretch at around 12:45. They stopped AGAIN just outside Nashville on the side of I-65 where the nice state trooper asked Jeremy if he knew he'd been driving 87 mph. This doesn't qualify as disaster # 4 because the trooper felt sorry for Jeremy after hearing about Jeremy's weekend.
Spencer and Jeremy arrived home at 2:15. Spencer was ready to play. Jeremy was ready for hospitalization.
4 hours later, Jeremy was up and getting ready for work. Spencer was still asleep.
Let this document attest to Jeremy's dedication as a Father and let all those who read it commit to reminding Spencer for the rest of his life that he is now obligated to care for Jeremy in Jeremy's old age.
Amen

Health check

Pediatrician appointments were this morning. Preston weighed in at 27.11 lbs. at 12 months. Aidyn was 21.8. at 2 1/2 years. Spence was 40-something at 4 years, can't remember the number but he was 90th %ile for height and weight. We were shocked at how much Preston weighed. We knew he was heavier than Aidyn but had no idea he outweighed her by 6+ pounds. (At one year Aidyn weighed 14 pounds and Spence was 22, so Preston is huge for our family.) All the kids are doing well. Aidyn's head circumference was up again, so we are hoping we can cancel her endocrinologist appointment in Birmingham bc she is on track with all her benchmarks now. Hooray, we have healthy kids. What a tremendous blessing that everyone is well and on target.

Busy Night

Hooray, my digital camera is working tonight. So here is the long awaited video of Preston walking--this time he is walking to Aidyn. (Never fear we aren't missing anything; our ancient analog camcorder is very reliable and takes good video so we use it to capture the big moments.) Preston is now walking across the house and is staying busy discovering all the places he has never been allowed to go.






And here is our eldest at a diner tonight. He and dad had a flat tire on the interstate on their way to the Gulf, so they ate supper while they waited on a new tire. Now they have a very long night ahead of them as they wasted three hours with the tire and the road trip still has six plus hours to go.








And I saw a mosquito last night--first one of the summer at our house. We have had a lovely summer so far with low humidity and mild temperatures. We have spent many hours outdoors playing baseball, soccer, biking, walking, and swimming. Aidyn is talking well and enjoys her new ability to communicate. She especially likes telling Preston what he can and can not do, and she has tattled on Spence a few times. All three of them play well together and entertain themselves fairly well.

Poppa and Gannie

Here we are in Montgomery for Father's Day, a generational shot of Jeremy's paternal family. Yes, I'm getting all out of order with my posts. That is likely to continue because my digital camera rarely works so I am supplementing with film camera and thus must wait on film to develop so that I can post. And by the time film is developed I'm on some other project and forget to post. Jeremy's grandma is doing well with her cancer battle. The day we visited she enjoyed playing with the kids and was her usual self, up snapping photos of everyone.


















And here we are at the zoo. All the kids liked these birds. They kept hoping to catch them.

Birthdays

The Fourth of July should always fall on a Friday or a Monday.
We've enjoyed a nice, almost peaceful weekend together (almost...there are three house apes here, after all). It is a remarkable difference from this time last year. A year ago, we were trying to correct the nightmare our moving company left for us and get settled in before the baby (whose name we still hadn't chosen) was born on the 13th. We had gotten a fair amount done, but were, by no means, finished when I returned to work on the 5th. Being new at my job, I had not liked missing so many days from work, so I was slightly annoyed and fairly inconvenienced when Marsha called after lunch to inform me that "there's a lot of water..." and maybe I should take her to the hospital. She seemed unsure of what this foretold and I was convinced that it was to be a false alarm...so convinced that I left my computer and all my stuff at my desk and my office door opened.
Upon seeing Marsha and hearing her story, I changed my thinking and the rest is history. A little after 6:00 that evening a little...boy...person...kid...with no name...was born. Here we are a year later and the boy and his sister still don't know his name, thinking that his proper title is "baby", but otherwise, Preston has been a joy and the last year has positively flown. The tiny little bundle that Marsha let me take to the office to show off can walk now and can feed himself (messily), and clap and show off his two new teeth and waylay his sister...it doesn't seem like a year.
Needless to say, we're glad he's here. We've enjoyed getting to know him and we look forward to what he has in store for us for the next year (let's hope this one doesn't pass quite as quickly).

PK update

Preston had a virus last week. He ran a high fever for several days and then broke out all over in spots. Aidyn was sad that Preston was ill and she kept trying to help me care for him. She asked to give him his bottle, so here is a pic of the "big" sister feeding the "little" brother. (He outweighs her a few pounds).

In June Preston started walking, tentatively. He can do 8 steps at a time.

And last night at swim lessons, Jeremy discovered Preston's first tooth. Two little teeth are under the gums. So if he hurries, Preston will get two front teeth for his first birthday, this Saturday.

More cousins in costume

Jack came to play and the boys decided to dress up, a frequent activity at our house.

Alabama Week

Poppa and Deedee took the big kids to Alabama for the week following Spence's birthday. Here are some photos from their visit to see a battleship, submarine and lots of planes. (Since Christmas Spencer has been interested in fighter jets and airplanes of all kinds, mostly bc his Grandpa made several wooden planes for the kids. While in Fort Smith the kids loved running out to see the military planes flying over Mike and Mary's house. And then on Spencer's birthday four fighter jets flew over our house--the only time we have seen them in Tennessee. Knowing all of this Poppa and Deedee came up with a great outing to Mobile.)