June 2016

Hello readers!  This is a quick mid-June entry so I could lay down some brags and show off some fun pictures.  Pretty early in July Forrest and I are going to be headed up North, so I don't know how much I will be able to blog then.  But when we get back we should have some awesome father/son pictures for everyone.

This is my "I am so blessed" picture.  Love that lady, and love those kiddos!

Some more of Letty Bean, who has been particularly photogenic this month.  Maybe in anticipation of her 6 month celebration?!

This kid, she knows how to take a picture.  Special "Thank You" to Forrest for letting us borrow one of his many coveted numbers.

In other fun, Mandi and I got to have a day to ourselves, in which we went to Monticello for an 80th Birthday Party for my Grandma Rosemary.  I didn't get a picture with her, which I feel pretty dumb about.  Hopefully next year.  We went to Champaign after for an early dinner and to just sort of wander around sans kids.  While in downtown Champaign I saw someone I recognized... flabbergasted I had to ask for a selfie.

The LEGENDARY Lovie Smith, former head coach of the NFC Championship Chicago Bears, and along with Tony Dungee the first African-American Head Coaches to make it to the Super Bowl.  Lovie, I wish you were still with the bears.  Thanks for a selfie.  I think he was cool with it because we are both in the bald brotherhood.

Afterward we went to a wedding reception for my friends Maren and Mustache Jimmy.  It was a great party, and a classy affair all around.  One of the best Saturdays I have had in a while :D

Northwoods - June 2016

What a wonderful time to be alive :)  This month the family packed up and headed North to our very own lake house for the first time.  It was tons of fun to have a place where we could stretch out and be ourselves.  We have always appreciated the second-to-none hospitality of Grandma and Grandpa Grogg -and we continued to enjoy it during this trip as we took advantage of pancake breakfasts and her beach- but being able to live as we would at home is very nice.  It also made sure that Grandma enjoyed some peace and quiet in the evenings :)

Without further ado, pictures!

So of course for those of you who don't know... its a bit of a haul.  I want to give my boy a shout out here.  He was a road warrior!  He did so well on the trip, and behaved the whole time.  Charlotte however... had a rough time.  She's good for about 30 minutes.  Unfortunately we had about 7 hours more than that before stops.  Still, we made it.

We arrived in the wee hours of the morning.  Both kiddos slept in the car.  Mommy and Daddy not so much.  The next morning they were bright eyed and ready to face the day.  Thankfully this wonderful view helped to perk me right up!

We wasted no time getting to the beach.   This is over at Bond Lake, where Grandma Grogg has her place.  She treated us to all we could eat pancakes (or in Forrest's case, chocolate-chip pancakes) and bacon.  After the refuel, we were good to go.  The weather was perfect.  Forrest had a blast playing in the lake, and going so, SO deep.

After a day in the sun we all enjoyed relaxing up at the cabin.  There might have been a few cupcakes eaten.  And by a few, I mean around a dozen.

Day 2 started off with an amazing sunrise over our lake.  We quickly headed back to Grandma's to help her with some travel preparations... and eat more pancakes.

On day 2 even Bean got in on the lake fun.  It was a scorcher!  Thankfully we had the lake to cool off.

There were some highlights not pictured here including an awesome trip to Hayward - it is amazing how much different that town is when you're not fighting the mid-July-rainy-day crowd.  There was also some rainy day relaxing in our own cabin too.  No complaints though, it can't be sunny and 75 with a slight breeze every day.

Thats it for this trip.  The next will be a Father/Son adventure that I am very excited about.  More updates to come.

May 2016

May is rushing past!  Life with a 4 month old tends to make life go by at a faster pace.  Charlotte and Forrest continue to do so well.  Forrest is almost done with his first year at the Peoria Montessori school.  His wonderful teachers, Mrs. Shimmin and Mrs. Toro have been amazing.  Forrest has grown so much in the past 9 months.  

At the end of April, Grandma Grogg had her 80th Birthday Party.  It was a dress up affair in Morton IL. Forrest had a ton of fun playing with his cousin Ava.  Those two are fast friends.  It has been funny to watch the dynamic change.  When Forrest was an infant and then toddler, Ava wouldn't leave him for a second. She always wanted to mother him, hold him, or corral him.  Now it seems she has moved on, but it is Forrest always dogging at her heels.

Charlotte got to meet her Great Great uncle Don.  She was less than Thrilled, which I suppose isn't surprising.  Stranger danger and all that. Still, this picture is precious to me.  Don has such a special place in my heart.  He is, for me, the eternal symbol of summer - as that was always when he was around.  If something needed fixed up North -Don could do it.  If you wanted to learn how to ski -Don could help.  Don wears an ever present smile, has an amazing faith, and is full of love.

Forrest has also taken to his legos with a new vigor.  In this way, at least, he seems to be taking after me.  His favorite thing to build are "houses".  These large, often rambling structures often more closely resemble towers.  But hey, they're his legos he can call it whatever he wants.

I am not home as much as I would like.  I would guess that most working Fathers feel that way.  Even if I only worked 1 hour a week, I'd probably feel that way.  But when I am, I try to make the most of it.  Balancing a 3 year old's need for attention with a 4-month old's requirement of attention can be tough.  I do my best.

That isn't to say that work is all bad.  I have my fun where I can find it.  The furry friend over my left shoulder there was a find at a local physician's office.  I managed to snap that pic to send to Forrest.  Not sure what he thought of that.  And on team-day, I took advantage of the opportunity to remember my Grandfather.  The white "Prairie State Games" shirt was his when he worked on staff there.  The games no longer exist, but the shirt lives on.

The rest of May is looking up.  The weather has improved and continues to improve.  For the first time this year the forecast for the next 7 days is nothing but 70 degrees or higher.  Great walking weather.  Even at work I try to get my steps in when I can.  Even managed to hike it down to Mike's Place in Lacon one day over lunch.

There are some interesting folks in Lacon IL.  Still, it was delicious.  How can you say no to a restaurant that has BEEF in it's phone number? 

Stay healthy :)

Opening 2016!

This year is a big year for the Sawlaws, this is our first year with our lake home.  This has been a dream of mine for a long time.  I have been headed to Northwestern WI for a long time to visit my Grandparents, and last fall Mandi and I took the plunge deciding to purchase what we envision being our retirement home very nearby.  

This past weekend my friends Steven, Mark, Tim and myself packed up the cars, and at a brisk 4:00am we hit the road, electing for the scenic route north.  Take a look!

First stop was in Dickeyville WI, at the Grotto.  This is a very... um... unique shrine to our Lord and Saviour.  It was just a little past dawn when we snapped a selfie with this statue of Jesus.  It was a great start.

Here's another selfie at Kathy's Cafe in Lancaster WI.  I'm on the far left, and moving clockwise we have Mark, Steven and Tim again.  The breakfast was good, the donuts from the adjoining bakery were some of the best the boys had ever had (I didn't partake).

Its a bit tough to see, but our table included a view of the historic Lancaster Courthouse.

Tim is not amused at my RoadWarrior ways.

Arrival!  My caretaker Scott was there to meet us. He ran me through the paces of opening up.  Its going to take a few years to get the hang of it.  I really, really hope Scott doesn't retire.  The guy is second to none.  The lake was gorgeous :D

One of the purposes of the trip up was to get the new sofa and loveseat unpacked.  I think they fill the space nicely.  Thoughts?

There was ample time for R&R as well.  This picture was snapped with the express purpose of making my friend Alissa jealous.  Worked 100%.  New Glarus beer for those who don't know can only be bought in WI.  Its a summer time treat for me, had a little early this year... early in the year I mean. Not early in the day.  It was after 12:00PM when I had this beer.  I think.

The boys and I went to the Long Branch in Minong.  Definitely worth the stop.  The BBQ is solid, beers are cold, and the staff friendly.  During the summer you can grab dessert at the Scoop Next door.

All good things come to a close.  On the way home we stopped at the Dino Depot in the Dells.  I will always think of this place as a Sinclair station.  Sinclair holds a special spot in my heart.  My now departed Grandfather worked there when he was young, and always had Sinclair memorabilia around his office.  The big green Brontosaurus (its a thing again, look it up) makes me smile.  Steven was amazed by the size and power of it all.

Our last stop was Buffalo Phil's.  This Western themed restaurant has gone down a hill a bit in the past few years.  Food was okay, but the scenery was fun.  And you can't beat a place where the food arrives by train.  Steven managed to snap a picture with a hobo.

Overall it was a good trip.  I missed my wife and children dearly, and look forward to heading North with them soon.

Beginning of Spring

Spring has sprung for the Sawlaws.  Easter has come and gone and the weather is finally climbing out of the 50's.  Forrest and Charlotte are getting to enjoy some sun, and Mandi is digging up my lawn. Thats right.  My lawn.  Those of you who know that I hate lawn work might be surprised to hear me take such ownership over the green spaces of our lot.  Well, buying a monstrous John Deere lawn tractor will do that for a man.  Now that I have my rider, cup-holders and all, ready for some cruising I find myself a little more friendly to the idea of lawn care.  That is, if Mandi doesn't turn the thing into one giant flower bed.  

But thats okay, I give her a pass as long as she plants some habenero plants for me :D

But on to the fun stuff, the kids!

Forrest and I continue to get to know each other better everyday.  He understands now that I mean business, and generally have less tolerance for push back.  Mandi, to her great credit is kind, gentle, and a woman of routine.  Dad?  Well, he doesn't know those routines as well.  And when Forrest protests my breaking from routine, I don't generally apologize.

That said, I am also learning to trust my son. He has a marvelous mind.  He amazes me everyday. I don't know many 3.5 year olds who can spell dozens of words, legibly write the alphabet, count to 200, and draw pictures of their families.  Montessori education people, its legit.  I should know better than to question the Boy Genius, but I lapse in judgement from time to time. Most recently I was picking the Kid Wonder up from School.  I asked him to put on his outdoor shoes.  There was a brief pause, as both of us struggled to pick out his shoes from the crowd.  After a few seconds he grabs these:

Now, I have never seen these shoes in my life.  And they sort of stand out.  "Are you SURE those are yours?" I ask.  "I am sure!" comes the reply.  I am not convinced.  So as we are walking out, I ask again.  A helpful classmate of Forrest's overhears and assures me that they are his shoes.  Still I am curious.  Walking out the building I check one last time.  "Forrest, are you totally sure those are your shoes?"  "I am sure daddy" comes the reply.  This time another child offers his assurances that he saw Forrest wear these in.  Okay, well, so be it.  

And what happened?  Sure enough, they were his shoes.  The little man was right, and I felt pretty stupid being that Dad who kept asking what must have been, from his perspective, a silly question.  

Charlotte also continues to grow.  We had some fun with selfies and managed to capture what is my Dad's favorite picture of her so far:

Cute, right?  And you might think that is the favorite pic.  But wait for it, because seconds later I caught this gem:

Oh Bean.  She was done with that game.  As always for more pictures of the children head over to Mandi's Blog.  She does a much better job than I do chronicling the adventures in parenting.

Another fun weekend in the interim was had when Grandma and Grandpa Sawlaw came to visit.  The Illinois Sheriff's Association (of which I am a proud member) had one of their annual Sheriff's conventions in Peoria.  Grandpa and I managed to make our hasty escape from some of the meetings for some fun at the gambling boat!

That kind of fun with your Grandfather is priceless.  Love that man :D

And lastly, I continue to work on my grilling game.  I generally try to restrict my food brags to texts to my friends and my father, but this particular one was blog worthy.

Delicious delicious meat!

Hope to have more of that this summer.  Paired with an Chilean Cabernet.  

In the next few weeks there is more to be done.  Opening up the Cabin for the first time should be a blast!  Check back in midway through the month for more updates.  Thanks for reading!

March is Here!

Hello everyone!  It has been a month since my last update, and what a month it has been.  First and foremost, the children are doing well.  Forrest continues to adjust to his little sister, and little Letty Bean has started to show us some of her personality.  She loves to smile, and make eye contact.  Its a fun time

I always hear from other parents that the children grow so fast. How very true. In the blink of an eye, Letty Bean is 2 months old. She smiles at me now, and love to sleep resting on my chest.  I know this won't last, and I am trying to enjoy it.  Tough what for all the sleep deprivation.  But I know she will only be this small once.

Work has continued to go well.  I am enjoying my position with UnityPoint.  There will be some transition forthcoming, but nothing drastic.  Just some regularly scheduled hours instead of being a total toss up.  

In other big news, Titan Games continues to grow!  We have added our THIRD store (inside of three years wooooot!).  We are proud to welcome Dan Crawford and the Peoria community into the fold.  Titan Games Core!

Our location is nice, but not ideal.  We continue to make the best of it, and hope to explore bigger and better options here in the near future.  

I have managed to begin gaming a little more.  Of course in my last post I talked about Armada.  Forrest and I had a boys road trip to Mahomet with Wes to meet Michael and his brother in law.  Had a good time.  Proud to say I am now 6-0 of my last 6 games.  Forrest had fun doing numbers and letters, and helping me pick which ship to activate.  Have also started RP again, with some good old fashioned D&D!

We have a healthy group of 3 players, soon to be 4 we hope.  Its been a ton of fun, Taiguk, Zeyla, and Caleb will have their first full quest on Monday in what will be their third session.  Should be fun!  Zombie-Goblins!  Gomblins!  Yeah... they are all gonna die.  :D  D:  And of course, what would a gaming session be without some awesome baked goods?

I hope my kids love to game some day.  That would be a good time.

Stay Healthy!