A Boy Becomes a Man

When I think of the stereotypical things a guy does when he grows up, a few activities come to mind. Going to the hardware store. Taking out the trash. Watching football while drinking beer. (check, check and check)

However, two things stand out to me. Probably the big reason they stand out to me is that I haven't done them. Until now.

#1. Mow the yard. Yes, growing up I would mow my parents yard. I would put on my best early 90's mix tape (Informer by Snow, anyone?) and take two hours to mow the yard. I even spent a summer during college mowing yards to bring in some extra money. However, what I am talking about is mowing MY yard. Nothing to me says homeowner like mowing your own yard. This little piece of planet earth is yours to take care of. And while our piece is infinitely smaller than most peoples'. It is ours. I have to mow it.

Now, I have a mower. I have had a mower since we moved in. It was left with the house when we moved in. Actually there were two. However, I had my doubts that it would work. So I never tried it. Plus, our neighbor was mowing our yard because his grandkids use it as a playground so what motivation did I have? However, finally, a few Saturdays ago. I wheeled out the mower we didn't recycle (yes, apparently you can recycle mowers), gassed it up and pulled the handle. First try, it started right up.

So I promptly mowed the yard which took about 20 minutes. However, I felt like a homeowner. Since then I have mowed it one other time. And while the whole process doesn't take very long, I savor it. I'm sure that will fade by mow #5 but for now, I love it.

#2. Grilling. My dad is a huge griller. He grills all the time. And he is really good at it. So you would think that his first born (and only) son would be an accomplished griller by now as well. But you would be wrong. I have only grilled once by myself. I was out in Michigan when Missy and I were dating. I was the only male in the house and the womenfolk wanted some chicken grilled. So guess who had to do it. I spent the whole time worrying about burning it and blowing my cover as an expert griller (I was still in the "try to impress Missy" stage). So I had the grill on low heat at the first sign of blackness on the chicken skin, I pulled the meat. We went inside where Missy's sister Mel now famously said, "Um, I can't cut my chicken." No one could. The jig was up. So we all put our chicken in the microwave and I got the "thanks for trying, faker" smile from everyone.

Since then and especially since buying our house, I have wanted to grill. I have done research. I have read reviews. I have spoken to friends who grill. I have spoken to the Dalai Lama of grilling, my father. But I couldn't pull the trigger. Finally, my in-laws all chipped in for my birthday and gave me money towards a grill (THANK YOU DOMSTEN, GRETZINGER FAMILIES!!!!!!!). So after more research and countless scouting missions to Home Depot, I finally got a grill. A Weber. A small Weber.

We tried it out last week for the first time. Something simple. Burgers. And man, were they good. Since then I have been hooked. I have only done it twice since that first time but I can't wait to try it again. So far, no fireballs. No food poisoning. Both good signs.

At 31, now married for almost 5 years, father of one, I can now say that I have stepped into manhood. I have mowed my own lawn and grilled my own burger.

Just a note on the pics. NO, I am not grilling in the street. There is an alley behind our house which is where I do my grilling (with my trusty companion, Blue Moon beer). The alternative would be to do it on the front porch. But since it is brand new and made of wood (the porch, not the grill), I have chosen to stay out back. If you are ever in the area and want a tasty burger, stop on by. We can play Rock Band too!

Laughter is contagious

So my sister "Aunt Jenna" is watching Riley this summer. They are having a wonderful time together. One day a few weeks ago she set up this video camera while Riley was eating - or attempting to eat. What transpired next makes me laugh every time I see it.

If you are having a bad day, I encourage you to watch this minute and a half video. It will make you feel better. I promise.

A few other pics

Also from 4th of July - some action shots of my grandparents (GG and Pop Pop to Riley) battling on Wii bowling. My grandmother won at the end by racking up 4 strikes in a row.

Also, one of my new favorite shots of Riley and I on the dock. This picture is very special to me because I have a very similar one of my and my grandfather from about 28 years ago.

Rock Band

Well the summer is just flying by as usual. Typically, the time between Memorial Day and 4th of July is about a week and a half. The calendar says it is separated by 5 or 6 weeks but that is not possible. I am trying to make excuses for yet another gap in posting on the blog. Any sympathy out there?

OK, so as most of you know, I got a Nintendo Wii for my birthday a few months ago. I have been diligently working on my golf swing, tennis stroke and 7-10 split. Now, I have another thing to work on. My guitar riffs.

I first played Rock Band at our friends house on Super Bowl Sunday. We were supposed to just play during halftime of the "Big Game". However, we had such a blast that it spilled into most of the second half. Since then, and with the addition of the the Wii, I have been counting down the days until Rock Band came out on Wii - June 28th. On June 29th, I had a package waiting for me on our front porch from Amazaon. The full Rock Band set with game, guitar, microphone and drum set - all the essentials to rule the world as a rock legend, or at least a rock legend with a plastic guitar and colored buttons.

So the way you play is you put on a pretty famous song (Roxanne by the Police, Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi for example) and you play along by pressing the colored buttons with the correlating colored tiles on the screen. As those tiles hit a certain point, you "strum" the little flipper on the guitar and out comes the music. If you do it right, it feels like you are playing a song. If not, the sickening sound of silence.

It sounds sort of complex and it can be. But it is also a blast. I took it down to our place in MD over 4th of July and our family had a ton of fun playing. Here are some highlights. Enjoy.

I'm not sure but I think that is how U2 got its start.

A couple of things to note here:

#1. Tyler was the first person I ever saw sing a song AND play guitar while playing Rock Band. And I think this was the first night he had played.

#2. My uncle Doug playing Rock Band while wearing a "Rock" T-shirt we got him for Christmas. A personal highlight of my weekend.

As a follow up, the band in the video - my cousin Tyler on vocal, Chad on guitar and my sister on the drums - has since gone double platinum covering Blitzkrieg Bop. They are opening for Coldplay this summer.