Macumber Macblog

In May the Kentucky Macumbers were still suffering through the worst allergy season we had ever experienced. James and Kayleigh were hit especially hard. It is not uncommon around here for certain allergenic children to be housebound for 6 weeks or so as it is simply too painful for them to go outside and deal with the stuff in the air. It was a normal allergy season for me personally but I had some bad days. Mine were especially bad whenever I took a motorcycle ride. We used local honey (local bees supposedly help with resistance or something) and tried several drug store potions like Claritin, Allegra, Benadryl all to pretty much no avail.

May also held a few important occasions for celebration. First up was Mother’s Day. On Mother’s Day weekend Glenn and Suzanne came down to visit for the weekend and stayed with the kids on Friday night while Melissa and I drove up to Indy to see Pearl Jam in concert. The concert was a trip. There were thunderstorms in the area so the show started late and while the show was delayed everyone appeared to be tailgating and drinking out in the massive parking areas. As Melissa and I walked in I commented what a rowdy, festival like atmosphere it was. It reminded me of the sex/drugs/rock’n'roll era shows that I used to go see back in my younger days. There were a LOT of drunk people and I guess I had expected the Pearl Jam audience to have aged and matured a bit. Melissa and I had a great time even though the venue was very poorly run and very poorly secured. I had toyed with the idea of bringing James at one point and I am sure glad I didn’t. It was no place for kids. Even having said that …. it was oddly interesting (or nostalgic?) to see this place in the world where people were still OK with letting it all hang out. I had not been to a concert in maybe 15-20 years where people were openly smoking marijuana. I usually can’t even smoke a cigarette in public anymore with all the laws and changing social mores. Not at Pearl Jam. It was like stepping into a time machine. I hadn’t seen so much beer, pot and long hair in many years. And the band was superb. They are incredible live. Vedder has a voice that just works well over a big, loud PA system. McCready played spot-on through the songs and then extrapolated some of the bluesier stuff as instrumentals and long interludes between songs. The weather held on well enough for us all to stay dry and warm. I think Melissa enjoyed it as much as I did.

Because Glenn and Suzanne were home with the kids Melissa and I were able to spend the night at a nice hotel in Indy. We had a great meal before the show and had an excellent breakfast the morning after. Once we got home, Glenn, James and I worked in a round of golf that Saturday and then we all visited, ate and relaxed for Mother’s Day. I gave Melissa a new Flip HD Slide video camera and the children made sure to shower her with love and appreciation for what a great Mommy she is.

Fast-forwarding a couple of weeks, on May 21st James became a teenager and celebrated his 13th birthday. He is acting like a teenager too. Nuff said on that. James did receive some new games and assorted gaming paraphernalia and Melissa made him an awesome turtle cheesecake which was rich beyond description. It was so dense you could only eat it in small helpings – but it was a true work of art. Melissa and I also gave him a nice pull-cart for his golf clubs. We have been walking the course when we play since we both need the exercise and since his matches are all walking matches.

The next day, on May 22nd, Stella turned 4. She was very happy with all of her gifts and made sure she told everyone she spoke with that she was now four. As she imparted this information she would hold up four fingers just in case there was any confusion.

As the school year wound down and the weather turned from warm to hot, everyone’s spirits were lifted at the prospect of summer fun at the swimming pool and not having to rush around in the morning to get everyone off to school. It was a month full of good stuff.

All the May photos are here. We took them with a small point-and-shoot camera that we apparently have not yet mastered. Even though they are blurry, grainy and red-eyed we still like them.

written by mark

Mom, Dad, Justin and Garth came to town and celebrated Easter with us. The KC crew flew in on Saturday evening and Justin drove down late night Saturday after getting off of work. We decorated eggs on Saturday night and there were some interesting designs this year. The egg decorating kit had adhesive foil paper and a few other new tricks in play. On Saturday night we just grilled burgers and brats took it easy around the house.

On Easter Sunday we made a ham, potato casserole, rolls, baked asparagus and baked brussell sprouts for dinner. Justin made crab-stuffed mushrooms and crab-stuffed shrimp for munchies during the day. The egg hunt went pretty smoothly as the weather was perfect and all the kids were fairly well rested. Dad and I caught some of the NCAA tournament on TV in between naps.

On Monday, the boys all went out and played golf (I played poorly) and the weather was also great on Monday. After golf we all went to Buca Di Beppo and sat at the “Pope Table” for a very large meal of family-style Italian food. I was pretty stuffed and then we came home to an apple pie that Melissa had ready in the freezer. I couldn’t eat any pie but the kids did and they were pretty impressed with it.

The rest of the photos for the Easter festivities are here.

written by mark

In March the big news was that James tried-out for, and made it on, the Oldham County Middle School Golf Team. He and I had already played a couple of rounds this year and he was also able to get a block of lessons under his belt before the tryouts began. He was pretty excited to make the team and I am very proud of him.

James also beat me in chess for the first time in March. The night before the state tournament we played a game and I had him down by about four pieces when he pinned me out of the blue. I never saw it coming and it was an elegant counter. Pretty soon he will be beating me in golf too.

Sharon is taking guitar lessons at the Oldham County Arts Center. I bought her a nice Fender practice amp at Mom’s Music. I also got her an 1/8″ to RCA adapter so she can plug her mp3 player into the amp and play along with her music. She has been working on both the piano and the guitar pretty consistently.

Kayleigh is starting golf lessons and Stella is very excited that she will be starting pre-school in a few months.

Here are the photos for March. I have included some pretty photos of Texas wildflowers that my Aunt Ann shot and sent over to us. I love the bluebonnets.

written by mark

I haven’t posted some of the photos or news from February and March. We were still getting snow in February and there are a couple of funny shots of Jackson with snow clots stuck to his fur.

Melissa and I attended a wedding for some friends of ours on Valentine’s Day and we had a nice time. It was the first time we left the kids alone with James as overseer.

Most importantly of all, in February we were starting to see the end of Winter and all of us had cabin fever hoping for Spring to come soon.

The rest of the February photos are here.

written by mark

The girls held a concert in the basement yesterday and Melissa filmed them on the Flip. Here is Kayleigh getting her groove on.

Kayleigh Singing

Sharon Singing

Stella Singing

Sharon applied makeup to Stella and Kayleigh to glam them up a bit. Don’t worry. I would never allow them to leave the house like that. I am not looking to parent the next Jon Benet Ramsey.

They do like to dress up and sing along to their kiddie-pop though. They are Disney Channel kids. I was an MTV kid. They will grow-up to be a lot saner than I did.

written by mark

January felt transitional for me even though it was largely uneventful. We did have several snow days which the kids thoroughly enjoyed and took advantage of. Our neighbor Dick (my good buddy) has an excellent little sledding hill at the back of his lot that runs right up to the creek that lines his property. The kids put in some good work on that sledding hill. However, they did decide not to heed my advice about bailing-out of the sled if they were heading fast toward the creek and couldn’t stop. They assumed the creek was frozen enough to support their weight and I suppose it was the first couple of times they tempted Mother Nature. But at one point our neighbor Ben plus Kayleigh and Stella ended up breaking the ice, getting soaked and coming home as Popsicles. I had a fire going 24×7 for about one week at one point and eventually only stopped long enough to let things cool off (burn off) and vacuum out the ashes. The kids used the fireplace to thaw out from sledding so it worked out. We had a lot of wet boots and clothes too.

My customers released a lot of pent-up demand from the holidays that kept me extra busy at work – which is good but it also made January a blur. Not being able to do much outside (aside from some shoveling) had me dosed with cabin fever. I don’t get the winter blues but I do miss golf and every time I walk past the bikes I get a slight ache in my loins. TMI I know.

Melissa and I are both working through some of the books we received as gifts. I don’t know that she is using the Kindle much now since she has several real books stacked-up.

The kids (and adults) enjoyed getting their Christmas box from Uncle Justin. Stella wasted no time in pasting tattoos all over her body from the kit he sent her. She seems to like putting on makeup quite a bit too. I don’t feel either of these bode well.

All the January photos are here.

written by mark