Whirlwind

Its that time of year when I never have enough time... Nothing can be done about it. Its just the way it is. Yesterday morning started with a visit to the Orthodontist with my daughter. She's 8 and will get to know that Dr. very well over the coming years. He will get to know us as well. I had braces as a kid and hated it. My son has so far avoided it, but my daughter did not. She starts with a palate expander and placeholder retainer on the bottom. She also gets braces on the top, but won't get the wire until a tooth is moved forward. Then a bite block to move that tooth even further up. 14 months later her tops will be done and then we move to the bottom. For her there is plenty of time. For me not so much as we just made appointments for the next 6 months. I'm not sure I can write all those down on my calendar.

So obviously my daughter was sad about this. We went to everybody's favorite place for Pizza. Pizza-Hut. That helped, but took forever seeing as we were the only ones in the restaurant. A power nap later we were again off to the Columbus Blue Jackets Pre-Draft party at Nationwide Arena. Hey it was free. That also meant EVERYBODY was there too. lines were crazy for autographs. Poppy wanted to get her favorite players autograph RJ Umberger. Sadly the line for him was hours long and he was only there for 45 minutes. We decided to take a tour of the locker room and hope the line would be shorter for Jared Boll or Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year 2009) winner Steve Mason. While waiting in the line in the bowels of the arena I spied Steve Mason sneaking in and pointed him out to my son who at the top of his lungs shouted "STEVE MASON YOU'RE SO AWESOME". Of course everybody looked and he got a smile on his face as he was whisked away by security. A few minutes later around a corner a door opened and we were face to face with RJ Umberger. Poppy looked him in the eye and quietly waved to him and said "Hi RJ. He smiled and waved back saying hi to her.

The moment was better than any autograph ever could be. Both kids did things their way and thats what makes them special. After the tour of the locker room they were ready to roll so we went to BD Mongolian Barbecue for dinner. I'd never had it and it was good, but i was stiff full from lunch. We ate and headed home where we watched the Blue Jackets trade down and then back up to make their pick. Before I knew it it was 11. The time just keeps ticking, but it's summer in Ohio.

Today was similar. A gas pump going so slow I could count to 10 between 10ths of a gallon. Of course my on board computer told me I could go all of 14 miles so I had to wait it out. The pool is still closed. Thats been more than 2 weeks of warm weather. In an attempt to do something to cool off we decided to go and scout the other teams in our 3 on 3 ice hockey league and watched their game. Cooling down in the Ohio summer.

I followed that up with a visit to the Powell Festival for the greatest stuff on earth: Fair food. French Fries, Funnel Cakes, Elephant Ears. All there all right before my eyes. Blazing sun be damned. I was eating it all. Fried Shrimp and Fish Sandwiches and lemon-aid. Best of all the drinks were Pepsi products. This is what Pepto Bismol is for. For a moment there I believe time did stand still.

Tonight after getting the kids to help with some tree trimming we picked fresh wild black raspberries in the backyard. Blackberries are still a few weeks away. Summer in Ohio.
Sunday is still to come. I love summer.