siblings.

I got to hang out with all of my siblings for a fleeting moment this past week.

A little back story about how that miracle occurred...

On the way back to Rochester from the Adirondacks, our car decided to die. 

We were about 20 minutes from Jer & V's house. 

Jeremy had been driving & all the sudden he couldn't accelerate anymore. 

We coasted off the next exit and into the parking lot of a Catholic school.

Well, we almost made the driveway. We had to push a little ways .

(As half a dozen vehicles just cruised by - thanks guys.)

Jeremy's brother came & took them home, while Doug & I waited for AAA to arrive "in 45 minutes". 

Well, 45 minutes came & went. 

AAA called to say that they had no idea when the tow truck could get there. 

Jer came and picked us up 

and we had amazing Mark's pizza at their house while we waited for another call from AAA. 

After awhile, Doug ended up calling AAA to tell them to just pick up the car whenever they could.

He had a meeting the next morning that he had to get back for.

So Ethan picked us up from Victoria & Jeremy's.

Then we borrowed Gram's car to get back to Michigan (at 4 in the morning).

Long story short - transmission's dead.

Our car was scarcely worth more than the cost of the transmission.

Thankfully, Doug was able to find someone to buy our crappy vehicle.

And I drove back to NY to return Gram's car.

It just so happened to be Fair Week, and Robert & Bailey were in NY for a few days. 

So we had one night at the Orleans County Fair to hang out and spend a little time together. 

It's been almost a year since we've all been together &
It makes my heart hurt to think about how long it might be until this happens again.

Ethan drove me back to Michigan (&borrowed my sunglasses) & stayed overnight with us.

So blessed to have such an incredible family.

birthday boy!

Before I brag on Ethan, I have to brag on myself. I'm being so proactive and typing this two days before I leave for Africa & setting it to post on Ethan's birthday. Now we'll see if it actually works...

My baby brother is NINETEEN YEARS OLD TODAY!!!

"ET" - It seems unreal that you're 19 years old, you're in college, you're taller than I am, you're smarter than I am (debatable, I guess...) . . . can't you just go back to being the blond, curly-headed toddler who walks into the kitchen without his diaper on and poops on the floor? (I guess some things really don't change!) Yeah, I just wrote that on the Internet. Happy birthday!

But in all seriousness - I love you so much. You've brought so much joy & laughter to our family (the pig mask, all your Jim Gaffigan-isms, that ridiculous dance that you memorized...). You've grown from an adorable little boy to a handsome, godly young man. You're a wonderful brother & I miss you like crazy. Happy 19th birthday, ET Boom-Boom!

wny weekend

So last weekend...

We drove through the States since we had Zooey with us - we didn't want to deal with any potential issues at the borders. That added 2 delightful hours to our trip. Sigh. We got in at 12:30am Friday night/Saturday morning. 

We had a blast watching Zooey & Elly get to know one another. They were pretty much a constant blur.

I don't think Robert had his shirt on the whole time we were home...

It was hilarious - Zooey would attack Elly, then run & scoot under the table so Elly couldn't get her. Elly would stand and wait for Zooey to emerge, get bored, turn around around to leave... and Zooey would zoom out again and start nipping her.

Funniest. Picture. Ever.

That afternoon, Victoria & Jeremy came over and we picked peaches (not too many were ripe, sadly) and had a picnic at the pond. Mookey and Elly and Zooey were quite entertaining.

That evening, we celebrated Jayne's 12th birthday. Look at her short hair! She had it chopped that morning for Locks of Love.

  

Sunday morning we said our goodbyes - Mom & Dad took Ethan to Grove City College, and Doug & I headed back to Michigan. Wait, can I just re-visit that thought? Ethan is in COLLEGE. When did that happen? ... I must be getting old.

The weekend flew by (since we were really only there on Saturday!), but it was wonderful. I love my family so much.

ethan's graduation!

Congratulations, buddy! We're proud of you & we love you!

yesterday

I wasn't able to update the ole blog yesterday, but the events of yesterday were far too important to leave unblogged.

Because yesterday, this little guy turned 18:

This was the infamous "Whoops-Dad-forgot-the-guard-on-the-razor" incident, resulting in a highly creative mohawk.

Happy birthday, E-Man!
Love you lots!

(See an adorable post from Emily here).

My brother, Ethan.

I'm home for the week with my family.

Earlier this evening, my mom mentioned that I should read through Ethan's journal for his English class. I had previously read some of the ridiculous papers that he's turned in, but they didn't even prepare me for the journal entries. After reading them, it's a wonder to me that he passed his class - say nothing about finishing the class without the teacher physically harming him in exasperation. The journals range from sarcastic to ridiculous to flat out lies (like the one about the time he was kicked in the head by a horse named Black Death when he was 6 years old? Or the one where his friend made him do drugs at age 4?). Poor, poor, poor Mrs. Bieler...

Here are some excerpts:

Week Two: A person you admire.
"This journal entry stumped me. I just couldn't understand what it was saying for the life of me. I mean, I could read and comprehend all the words except the last one. Finally I looked up this word, "admire", and soon realized the source of my confusion. Admiration is when someone looks up to another person and respects them. That was my problem. Ethan Bannister doesn't admire anyone, everyone admires him. That is a very famous quote and it's true..."

Week Five: Describe a place you know well.
"One place that I know extremely well is Albion's town cemetary. A person of my profession, a hitman, often spends time in cemetaries cleaning up the job. When I'm not burying my victims, however, I do get the rare opportunity to take in some of the sights of this resting place..."

Bonus Entry: Peer Pressure.
"... When I was about four, a so-called friend pressured me into doing something terrible. My "friend" offered me drugs and told me I would be cool if I did them. So I did. After I got high, then she, my friend, got me to do something even worse than doing drugs. She got me... to shoot an elephant! ..."

Then... then there was week 3. Mrs. Bieler must have thought that Ethan had mellowed out after his two previous entries. I can just imagine her reading through the entry and feeling her heart warm - the use of detail, the intricacy of the the imagery...

Week Three: A certain scene I witness today made me think of...
"This morning I woke up bright and early as usual. However, rather than enjoying a fresh brewed cup o'joe, I decided to go outside for a stroll. I bundled up to stave off the biting cold. I walked outside and headed for our pond. The sun was peeking up over the horizon, and I heard the soft plops of the ice dripping off of the trees. The air was cold and burned as I breathed in. When I exhaled a dense cloud enveloped my head until I walked away and it dissipated. Just before I reached the pond, I spotted a robin. Its red breast pulsed softly with the beating of its heart. It struck me, as I watched this pretty little bird hopping from branch to branch, just how much it represented. The robin is famous for being the herald of spring, and in the same sense, being the hope of escaping the clutches of an icy world. As these thoughts ran throuh my mind, a hawk swooped down and devoured the robin. What did this scene make me think of? That there is no hope."

Poor, poor, poor Mrs. Bieler.

... At least she can't say that he's not creative...