Daddy’s View

We went camping last weekend.  Eric loves camping!  The whole family was there: Grandma D, Grandpa D, Aunt Bev, Uncle Mike, Michelle, Michael, Uncle Joe, Aunt Traci, Josh, Jake, Aunt Deborah, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Cindy, Brianna.

We loaded up the car on Friday morning and hit the road around 1:00pm.  It is a 1h 45m drive.  Eric slept the entire drive.  Whew!  Mommy and I were worried that he would not get enough sleep this weekend.  We arrived just before 3:00pm.   We skipped our usual stop at Dairy Queen for lunch, since we did not want to interrupt Eric’s nap.  Instead, we stopped at the gas station just outside the campground and  stocked up on lunch meat and bread for sandwiches.  Grandma and Grandpa were at the camp site when we got there.  Eric was happy to see them.  Several more returned from boating on the lake after a short while as we began setting up our tent.  We had just finished with the tent when it started to rain.  The rain only lasted a short while and did not get anything terribly wet.  We huddled under the canopies until it stopped.

Eric ran around playing with everyone and having a good time.  Uncle Mike had bought a life jacket just for Eric, so he could go out on the lake in the boat.  He tried it on and ran around with it for a little while.

Grandma brought a toy car for Eric.  He loved it!  He played with it all weekend, driving it up and down the picnic table benches, up and down Grandma’s leg, up and down Aunt Deborah’s leg, on the ground, everywhere!

Aunt Bev brought a book for Eric.  He really liked it!  Aunt Bev and I read it several times for him.  Eric sat for Grandma and Aunt Cindy to read books, too.  We brought some of his favorite books with us.

We had a great weekend.  Eric had so much fun!  He loves being around family!

I needed to fix the driver side window on our family car.  I picked up a replacement window mechanism from the auto parts store on Friday evening before the 4th of July.  Saturday morning, I set out to start replacing it.  I had done this last summer, but the part broke.  Fortunately, the auto parts store honored the lifetime warranty, so the replacement only cost me the few hours to get the job done.

I spent the first hour and a half cleaning up the garage.  This was not just to be able to work (I can work in a dirty garage.), but I wanted the garage clean enough for Eric to come outside with me while I was working.  Once the garage floor was clear of oil puddles and swept free of leaves and dirt, I told Mommy that she could send Eric out any time.  It was only a few minutes later – long enough for Mommy to get him dressed – when Eric walked into the garage.  Eric was very interested in what I was doing.  He insisted on getting right up next to me while I disassembled the door.  He really wanted to help.  I let him hold my screwdriver and play with the pliers.  He was very helpful.

On Monday, I returned the defective part and picked up a replacement window motor for my Camaro.  The passenger window stopped going up and down early last summer, and I had not gotten around to fixing it.  No big deal, since it was the passenger side window.  I mostly drive the car to work by myself.  I figured that I was on a roll (pun) with the window repairs, and I had a 3-day weekend to take advantage.  I started Monday morning after breakfast.

Again, I told Mommy to send Eric outside whenever he was ready.  He wanted to play inside for a while, but he eventually came outside.  I had most of the door apart, but I was still removing screws and fasteners to get to the motor inside the door.  Eric was right by my side helping.  He actually turned the screwdriver for me to remove a couple screws.  He was so proud of himself, and so was I!  Such a great helper!

Now, I bored you with the above stories of my auto repair woes so I could show you the below photos that Mommy took…

This year we took Eric to Carmel Fest again.  It is a very large festival held in Carmel every year for the 4th of July.  They have music, food, games, shops, and other booths and activities.  It is held in the City Center where the police and fire station are located next to the city hall.

We walked around and got some food to eat.  The weather was very hot, but we waited until the hottest part of the day was past.  We went around dinner time.  It wouldn’t be Carmel Fest if we didn’t walk through the fire station.  They always have it open for everyone to see the trucks.  This year, Carmel dedicated a new ladder truck.  It is very cool!  Eric walked end to end admiring the whole thing.  Just the wheels were taller than him.  He was very impressed with the size of the truck.  And it had a ladder just like his toy fire trucks.

We continued around the festival and found a booth with a tiger!  Eric gave him a high five and posed for a photo.

Happy Birthday USA!