Summer 2012

What an eventful summer it has been in the Fletcher house. It's hard to pick up where the summer started around our house, but I'll pick up just after Kole's birthday.  Obviously there was plenty of time for swimming and wearing the kids out like dogs. For us - without a big fancy cement pond in our back yard - that meant trips to Grand Prairie's nearby Splash Park. It's actually better for the kids, since there's really no standing water anywhere but a series of spouts and sprayers.

We also went to nearby Joe Pool Lake's Lynn Creek Park, which has a swimming area, picnic area and even a regular park area. Grand Prairie residents get in absolutely free. So we had a few trips there and had a great time. They both use flotation devices, Kole isn't swimming by himself just yet, but he doesn't have much practice in the water either. Both, however, are experts at devouring pimento cheese sandwiches.

Also while at this park on a recent visit, we happened to come the day a man's body was found. He was a Mansfield man who was training for a triathlon, a father of a 1 and 4 year old, and drowned. It was very tragic, but I had only heard on the news the night before that the man was "missing" but didn't really follow the story closely. The next day I played hookie from work and we all went to the park to play and a lady from Channel 5, the NBC affiliate, wanted to talk to us about the body being found. I, frankly, didn't have much to say not knowing the guy, but made some generic comments about what a tragedy it was and can't imagine what the family must be going through, since I too have a 1 and 4 year old. A couple of my comments ended up on the news, as did several shots of the kids playing.

Here's the link to the whole story that aired on Channel 5.
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Body-of-Grand-Prairie-Swimmer-Recovered-167032545.html
Another venture during the summer was a trip to the Aquarium at Grapevine Mills Mall.

Eventually, just after the July 4 holiday, Kathy and I took a trip on our own. My sister and nieces came in from Midland to stay at our house and watch the kids while Kat and I took to New York City. It was Kat's first time there, my fourth, but I've never had much touristy time. All my previous trips were working trips where I didn't see much in the city and only went between the hotel and Yankee Stadium. The two of us in July had the chance to see the Ground Zero Memorial and the Statue of Liberty, two of the big ones on our list.

We spent some quality time on subways and walking through busy Manhattan streets and had an airline ordeal getting back, but we got four solid days of alone time recharging our batteries. It was one of those busy vacations that seemed rushed from one site to the next, but we still had time to chill in Central Park for a few hours on the last day. We ate like royalty at some of the best restaurants in NYC. We had a great time.
Back at home, it was back to the business of watching the kids grow up and live together, battle together, love together, brush teeth together ...

... and no doubt bond together. Kole devotes most of his life to trailing his sister to take from her whichever toy she chooses to play with, for the simple fact that it is, or once was, his toy. We know it's part of childhood and siblinghood, but it doesn't help. Karissa spends much of her day crying over having a toy taken, or simply having her alone time hoarded, under the umbrella of sharing. Karissa then, likewise, finds quick interest in anything Kole is doing, and we teeter on that principle of Playing vs. Sharing. As much as an outright bully Kole can be to his sister, he is unquestionably her biggest protector. When we leave and we're about in public, he will rush to grab her hand and walk with her. If we're in a rush to get out the door at home for something, Kole will absolutely panic if Karissa is not in our cue heading for the door, racing around the house to make sure he walks her to her car door. Karissa still does not have much of a vocabulary, but understands a lot, and definitely knows what she wants, affirmed or negated with an enthusiastic "Yes" or "No". She spends most of her days just being cute as a peach.

Eventually, just last weekend, we took what was technically the first family vacation, the first of hopefully many to come. I guess we could have loaded up a station wagon, driven cross-country and played Slug Bug, I Spy and all sorts of highway games. But at ages 1 and 4, and in control of our own destiny, we set our sights a little more ... modestly. My friend Rob is the chef at the DFW Marriott South on the south side of the airport, maybe 15 minutes from the house. The kids got to pack a suitcase and go somewhere with a pool. It was, officially, a vacation. It was a chance to stay around home and do things like go to LegoLand at Grapevine Mills mall. On the way we actually stopped at Founder's Plaza on the north end of DFW Airport and watched the airplanes land and take off.

We had a couple of different outings at the pool at the hotel, we watched movies ("Garfield", "Monsters Inc.) and even had the ultimate away-from-home vacation experience of eating pizza off the floor!

This all went fairly well. We straddled Kole and Karissa as close as possible to the pizza box - bought from the Big Apple, a nearby place with real New York-style pizza. We had napkins but no plates, so we wanted them to use the box as a plate. After Kole's first bite, he promptly scooched his but cheeks back a couple of nudges and placed the pizza right on the floor. Now, I'm about 1/10th the germaphobe as my wife, but even I almost fainted. As a frequent traveler, I know that there may be no more germ-infested place on the planet than a hotel carpet. Even more so than a bathing spot for homeless under a bridge. That piece discarded, the rest of the dining experience was grand.

Start to finish, the summer was not nearly as hot as it was a year ago. We spent more time together. Karissa is a year older and doing, understanding and experiencing more. It was a great way to spend the summer together.