Soccer Update

With a couple of games in the bag, it's time to recap the soccer season.

First, Jeremy and Corbin are still interested in playing soccer. Hooray. Will see how that interest holds up in the hot weather. Both boys will miss about two weeks worth of soccer due to camp, but I think that will give them a much needed break.

Second, both boys are improving their skills. Jeremy is getting better at throwing the ball in and dribbling it. He needs to work on tighter turns and hanging around in his territory. His coach is impressed with the improvement in his listening skills.

Corbin is becoming a strong defender. He is learning how to take the ball from an opponent and how to block kicks.

I'm hoping that the kids want to play soccer for the next few years. It keeps them busy and it forces Tina and I out of the house.

Posted by Adam

The Strike Through the Eyes of a 10-Year Old

On the way back from soccer practise, Corbin asked when will he be attending karate classes again.

"Not until the strike is over" I responded.

"Oh, Sensei is on strike' Corbin said.

"No, the Community Centres are closed during the strike" I replied.

Well that made Corbin mad. "I'm gonna call the president" Corbin stated.

"The president of what" I asked.

"The President of America" Corbin retorted.

"That is different country" I said.

"Well, then I'm going to call 911" Corbin shot back.

"You mean 311" I asked. "Ya, 311" Corbin confirmed.

"Well they are on strike too. Some people are working there, but not as many as usual" I explained.

"What the? Then I'll go 311. I used the equipment on the school trip. I sat in a chair and used the headset." Corbin fired back.

That sums up Corbin's view of the strike.

Posted by Adam

Wayne Landed On His Feet

The dealership - Jerome Taylor Pontiac GMC - where we just purchased the Montana SV6 from shut down for good. Mr. Taylor was unable to secure mortgage financing and had to close down his 16-year old dealership. Tina and I were kind of bummed because we really didn't want to start a new relationship with another dealer. But it was what it was.

Toady, out of the blue, Wayne Sanford, our go-to guy at Jerome Taylor, called and left a message that he was at the Gus Revenberg, a GM dealership about 10 minutes east of us. Tina called back and he just wanted us to know that he was alive and kicking and that we could still rely on him for top-notch service and assistance.

We felt good that Wayne landed on his feet and that he took the time to let us know. If you are looking to purchase a vehicle, we highly recommend you speak with Wayne Sanford at Gus Revenberg. Let him know that Tina and Adam sent you.

Posted by Adam

A Baseball Glove, A Wheelbarrow and A Sub

Taking advantage of the warm weather, I spent late morning and early afternoon running some errands with Corbin in tow.

At first, he didn't want to come, but like everything with Corbin, you have to tell him upfront what you intend to do. I said "don't you need a new baseball glove". He said "Yes" and reluctantly put on his shoes.

At Canadian Tire I looked at some BBQ accessories. Need to get a new ignition for the BBQ - ours lasted almost nine years. I also purchased a new Honeywell thermostat with touch screen and 7-day programming to place the existing Honeywell thermostat with 5-2 day programming. And Corbin did find a new baseball glove. He also tried out the riding mowers.

Next it was off to Lowes. There, I purchased a new 6 cubic feet steel wheelbarrow, some potting soil and some new plastic pots for the indoor plants. I pushed Corbin around while he sat on the flatbed cart. We had subs at Subway before heading back home.

I spent quality time with my Corbin, who seemed to handle himself with no problems. Arriving home, I realized that there were a few things I forgot to look at. Naturally.

Posted by Adam

Karate Update

Corbin has been in the intermediate class for a couple of months. Fewer kids but more demanding.

Sensei finally gave Corbin his certificate and removed a yellow band from his belt. Woo hoo.

Corbin needs to concentrate on improving and moving up in class rather than tangling with another boy. Mom and I know you can do it Corb.

Jeremy is excited about beginning karate classes. We may sign him up in September.

Posted by Adam

March Break - Second Half

Jeremy attended a two-day day camp at WETRA (where Corbin's goes for horseback riding). Tina and Corbin spent some time together and I was back at work.

The weekend was spent at home. Corbin went to karate and we did some shopping.

It was a quiet and somewhat relaxing March Break - and the weather wasn't too bad this year.

Posted by Adam

March Break - First Half

Unlike past March Breaks, we had no travel plans, largely because of the Disney World trip in January.

The first half of March Break saw me doing as little as possible. Yup, I was King of Loafing. I did a few things here and there, but not much.

We did some things as a family, such as, going to the park, going for drive in the 'country', going to play basketball in the school yard and a trip to the Detroit Science Center.

Played some video games with boys - Corbin earned two rental video games.

All in all, not a bad March Break so far.

Posted by Adam

Corbin And Me

It has been a crazy week. I don't know if it is the weather, but the boys needed a break from each other.

So, Tina and Jeremy travelled up to Goderich this weekend to bring Bev back to Windsor for the week. Corbin and I stayed in Windsor.

The weekend went well. I let Corbin overdose in Playstation 2 and movies, while cleaned around the house and did load after load of laundry.

We split a Delissio Pizza. Corbin loved it so, we'll be getting it again instead of delivered pizza - it's much cheaper.

He didn't give me any problems at bed time and slept in on Sunday.

A good weekend in Windsor.

Posted by Adam

Bev Is Back

Gerry brought Bev down for the week. They arrived while Tina and Corbin were at karate.

Jeremy was excited at seeing Nanny and Poppy and gave them big hugs . . . and then went back to watching TV or playing Playstation in the basement.

We had a great dinner in the afternoon. BBQ steak, mashed potatoes and veggies.

Posted by Adam

Passports for the Szymczak Boys

Since I was on vacation today and tomorrow, I decided this was a good time to get our passports. Last week, Corbin, Jeremy and I went to Wal-Mart to get our passports and I had my mom sign as our guarantor.

Today, I took Corbin and Jeremy downtown to get our passports. We left first thing in the morning. I parked in the City Hall employee parking lot (it's free for me) and we walked down to the passport office. Apparently the walk was longer than the boys are used to, since they were asking 'how much further'.

We got to the CIBC building and took the elevator up the 5th floor. It wasn't busy. Passport Canada has a good system where they pre-screen you to make sure you have all the relevant information and then give you a ticket with your number. The boys went to sit down, but sat apart from each other. Seems they weren't liking each other's company.

A few minutes later, our number was called. The friendly gentleman took the applications one by one. He noticed I worked for the City of Windsor and asked in which department did I work in. I said Planning. He said "you must know Jeff Watson". I said, I worked with Jeff for 10 years until his recent retirement. We talked some more and I signed the form and paid the fees and we were off.

Painless and quick.

Posted by Adam

Thanks Babcia

A week sure doesn't seem like a long time - it sure went by quick.

The boys, for the most part, had a good time with Babcia. She would play with them, take them outside in the backyard or the park, and just hang out with them. She helped Tina and I by making supper, doing the laundry and keeping the kitchen clean. It worked out well for everybody.

Jeremy gave her some attitude, something about Babcia being annoying. As if we let him do whatever he wants.

Yesterday we did some shopping at Devonshire Mall. My mom got a bunch of bed sheets and pillow covers for Alex's room - she even bought the sheets Tina and I picked out. We strolled around the mall. Babcia bought Corbin some Chaotic playing cards. Later we out to Boston Pizza for an early supper.

Thanks for helping out Babcia. See you soon.

Posted by Adam

Best Buy and Babcia

Tina was at an all-day conference where Henry Winkler was the main speaker, so after an excellent supper, the rest of us headed to Best Buy to look at flat-panel TVs for my mom, video games for Corbin, movies for Corbin and gadgets for me.

After looking at a bunch TVs, my mom settled on Sharp Aquos 32" Flat-Panel LCD HDTV. We didn't buy just yet - not a good idea to take on the train. I will buy just before we go to Brantford some time in September.

Jeremy picked a Scooby-Doo movie. I think he has all the Scooby-Doo movies available on the shelf at Best Buy, so he is going to have to look for other movies.

Corbin picked up Hamster Life for his NintendoDS. It's a game where you take care of a Hamster or two. Don't ask.

I picked up a 250 GB HP Pocket Drive to backup the laptop computer. An added bonus is that it fits into the pocket drive slot on our desktop. That means I could backup our pictures and Tina could scrap book with the laptop and pocket drive when ever we take the laptop with us.

My mother looked at MP3 players and fell in love with the iPod Nano. She wouldn't mind getting one as a Christmas present.

Posted by Adam

Successful Soccer Camp

Tina signed up Corbin for the Royal City Soccer Camp during the week after Civic holiday. It's soccer instruction in the morning, followed by lunch and swimming.

The location of the camp moved from Mic Mac Park to Lanspeary Park, a more central location for Windsor, and one that has a covered over hockey rink that can be used when it rains. The park also has an outdoor swimming pool.

Corbin did well this year. No major problems. His worker was there to assist as required. Corbin did complain a little because he had to do more work because the instructors expected more.

In the end, Corbin admitted he enjoyed the soccer camp.

Posted by Adam

The Trip Back Home

The train was scheduled to leave Brantford at 8:22 PM. So we left the house at 7:50 and arrived at the train station shortly after 8:00. Jeremy brought an umbrella to 'protect' him from the spitting rain that stopped. He was his usual cute self in the station, having a conversation with a gentleman waiting for someone.

We went outside where the clouds gave way to sun. Jeremy asked many questions. Imagine that. The train was a few minutes early. I was the only one getting on in Brantford. I found a row of seats to myself and waved to Jeremy - who had some problem finding me. Hmmmm.

The trip was largely uneventful to just east of Chatham. We had to wait about 10 minutes where the main freight lines cross, but the engineer seemed to make up time as we sped through Lakeshore. We crossed Banwell Road and the train came to a stop. This can't be a good thing.

Seems earlier in the day, a train jumped some tracks. VIA was told that any equipment would be cleared by the time Train 79 entered Windsor. It wasn't the case. We waited for about 15 or so minutes before slowly inching our way past Jefferson.

At 12:22 AM we pulled into Windsor Station. We were told that we are eligible for a 50% travel credit that can be used in the next 6 months. I was glad to be home. Tina had fun watching all the action at the train station.

Posted by Adam

Yard Sale 2008

In an unexpected move, Tina decided to have a yard sale tomorrow. We weren't planning on having one, but Tina has joined the good side and is getting rid of things. We are selling a bunch of toys, furniture, books, kids DVDs and so forth. Jen is bringing some stuff to sell.

Whatever does not get sold will be taken over to Value Village or similar. No holding on to things for the next yard sale. Sell it or dump it.

Posted by Adam

A Taste of Things To Come

Jen's youngest asked if Jeremy could sleepover. We had no problem, so tonight, Tina and I were on our own. What to do?

We drove to the west side and had some wings and beverages at Hurricanes. It was 2 for 1 Wing night so we both got an order of 22 wings and fries. I ordered a Guinness and Tina had a Coke. It was tasty and delicious.

Back home, Tina helped me take measurements of our backyard so that I could enter them into the landscape software I bought. The mosquitoes were out in full force.

Posted by Adam

Fries With That?

Williams left a message that our Waring Pro deep fryer was ready to picked up. We chose this model because it is simple to use. It's not a fancy cool-touch fryer with a charcoal filter. It's a deep fryer. This thing even comes with an on-off toggle switch. When was the last time an appliance came with a toggle switch?

Since Tina had to take Corbin for a session at Regional Children's Centre, I decided that we all should head over to the west side. While Tina and Corbin were are RCC, Jeremy and I would pick up the deep fryer.

I dropped Corbin and Tina and headed over to Williams which was a few blocks away. At Williams, Jeremy first had to to go pee and then get some popcorn and lemonade. While we waited for the purchase to processed, Jeremy chatted it up with one of the employees. He told the lady that he had been at the store before and that he likes the popcorn.

After getting back in the van, we headed over to Malden Park to kill some time on the playground. Jeremy tried every piece of equipment, reminding me that he is older and bigger and "can do it". We had fun and headed back to pick up Tina and Corbin.

Next, we headed over to the Columbia outlet store where Tina and Corbin looked for a new raincoat for Corbin to take to Camp Winston. Seems he has a habit of growing just before going to camp. Fortunately, Tina got a deal on the raincoat - it was under $20. An awesome deal.

We headed home along Riverside Drive to make some french fries.

Posted by Adam

Wild Weather

Well that was interesting. The torrential downpour included hail, lots of it. Some hail was an inch in diameter.

Corbin and Jeremy stood by the front window in awe of the power of the storm. Then I told them there is hail. Jeremy had no idea what I was talking about. I opened the door and grabbed a ball of ice and gave it to Jeremy. He was in awe. About 15 or 20 minutes later, the storm was over. The sun was out and it was warm.

I went to outside to survey the damage and the lawn was littered with hail. I decided to get the hose and wash all the gunk of our driveway. Part way through, the boys put on their bathing suits and decided that they would have me spray them with the hose. I obliged.

They were soaking wet. But they had fun. And my driveway was clean.

Posted by Adam

Shopping Anyone?

Tina and I decided that it was time to do some shopping. After a quick breakfast and showers, we headed out just past 10:00 am.

Our first stop was Shoppers Drug Mart. It was 20x points day and the place was packed. I had to look for a parking space. That has never happened. Inside the store we stocked up and proceeded to the cashier. Naturally, we ended up in the line with two people checking each price - eventually they paid and the line moved quickly.

We dropped off the stuff at home and headed out to Canadian Tire on Walker Road. There we looked in the patio furniture section and bought two Zero Gravity lounge chairs. We also picked up a tee ball stand and a bat for Jeremy and some other things. We headed across the street where Tina exchanged a pillow she bought.

After a slow lunch at Boston Pizza, we headed to a different Canadian Tire to look for a replacement gun for my pressure washer. For some reason there is a 'shortage' of replacement guns. I really don't want to buy a new pressure washer. But it may come to that.

Our final stop was Williams Food Equipment to look for a deep fryer and a griddle. We found both, but only the griddle (a Cuisinart model with a reversible grill/griddle) was in stock. Tina purchased that and put in an order for the deep fryer (not a fancy 'cool touch' model but a tried and true model that is easy to use and clean). Should be getting a call soon about it.

The boys were happy that we were heading back home. A quick stop at Tim Horton's for a coffee for Tina. Given that we were out for 5 hours, the boys did well.

Posted by Adam

Victoria Day Weekend

The only plans we had this weekend was to go shopping in Detroit on Saturday. And we did that.

Took about 40 minutes to get through the tunnel and about 5 minutes to get to Fairlane Green at I-94 and Oakwood. After buying some clothes and household goods at Target and checking out Best Buy we headed down Ford Road towards Haggerty to check out where the IKEA is and what is around in the area.

We were also looking for a place to eat - plenty of Applebee's, McDonalds and Burger Kings. Eventually we found a Ruby Tuesdays at Canton Centre and Michigan Ave and enjoyed an excellent early supper. Tina had a steak, Jeremy had mac and cheese, Corbin had mini-burger and I had a rib and shrimp combo. The ribs were excellent - juicy and falling off the bone. Everyone enjoyed their meal and we headed back to Canada.

I filled the van up with some gas at the Ambassador Bridge. It was about a 10 minute wait at Canadian customs. We declared our purchase and were sent on our merry way home.

The rest of weekend was kind of a bust because of the uncertain weather. No gymnastics for Jeremy on Sunday because he was coughing and feeling under the weather. Tina and the boys went through the toys and boxed some up for Babcia's place and some for the garbage. I didn't do much on Sunday.

Monday, the weather was a wee bit better. Tina took the boys to Lacasse Park in Tecumseh and I cut the grass (which needs to replaced) and did some chores outside.

Not a bad weekend. Relaxing.

Posted by Adam