Team Lydick

I was resigned to the fact that we would do grass next year and then... it happened. Someone from Craigslist took all of the landscaping rock out of our backyard and did a great job. After all, 20 ton of rock is an Arizonan's idea of landscaping, but as a transplant I reserve the right to mix it up.

After that it was high gear. Put in the trenches, put in the irrigation, till the ground, mix in the nitrolized wood products, sulfur and phosphorus, roll the soil, lay the sod. It writes out in a few lines, but plays out as a series of very long, tiring days. It requires the whole Lydick family - a little thing we like to call Team Lydick around here.

It all starts with power tools. What boy doesn't love the rumble of big power tools?

Tree removal is a family affair. What would Treebeard think?

Show me a trench and I'll show you a boy who can't, can't, can't stay out of it. I love these boys.

Contrary to popular opinion there was no manure in it. Oh and elephants do have the largest poops, like anybody really needs to know that. It's no wonder wg3 dumped about a pound of fertilizer out of his little shoes.

By the sweat of my brow, till it, roll it.

Yes, it's dark. The truck rolled in around 7:20 pm. It was start then or wait until 5am the next morning. I started. The good people in these four photos are blessings unlooked for. My neighbor does landscapes for a living. He's been walking me through the mine field. Thank God for his advice. Little did I know that when he saw the delivery and realized I was doing it alone that he would recruit his whole family to help. Jim, Angela, Sophia, and Ben. Good folks everyone. In the bottom right is Louis. Louis is my home teacher. He was planning on 5 am, but when nh told him the grass was here he came right over. I feel so lucky to have such good, kind people to help us. The lawn looks great and I am watering it like I don't live in Arizona hoping it will take root. We've done what we can, now grow grass grow.

The Team Lydick member behind the camera did more than anyone. She kept going, preparing, doing, de-rocking, digging her poor wrist into oblivion while I was at work. Why should I be so lucky to have such a wife? We did it for the boys. We hope they will enjoy it for many years to come.

Too much Star Wars

Someone has to lose

The things a sister does

Allergies

I think we over medicate dg5 for his allergies. The only way to get it exactly right is to wait until it's too late. What do we do? Medicate what seems like every night. nh and I bicker about it because I don't like it, but in the end what the heck to I know?

Nh delivered cookies tonight to families she visit teaches. The lady's kids really wanted nh to come in so she and wg3 did. They have cats. Wouldn't you know, wg3 is allergic. He looked awful, though he was fully himself. A bath and benadryl helped. Here he is after he improved.

The Power of Television

wg3 routinely gives thanks during family prayers for the electricity to our television. He used to be indifferent to t.v. It would be on and he would just go off and play. Now, he's glued. We try very hard to limit his intake, but I'd say if it's in his prayers it also coded in his root directory. Maybe we should throw the stupid t.v. away.

Nightmares

Two nights ago nh experienced a nightmare.
"How bad could it be," I said?
"You died of a heart attack."
"Oh. Yeah, that's pretty bad." I started working out again today.

Last night dg5 had a nightmare and came into our room.
"Can I sleep in here?"
"Sure," and I set him up on the floor.
At 3:45am I hear screaming, it's dg5.
"What? What is it?"
"I had a bad dream." Sobs.
"I'm sorry. Come here buddy." After a small reprieve, "What did you dream about?"
Every time I touched him he jumped, I mean he was spooked.
"We were in our car and there was a ghost sound in the back and it was coming up to the front."
"Well I'm sorry you're scared."
"Can I sleep there," pointing betwixt his mother and I.
"No, because if you do you're the only one that will get any sleep."
"I don't want to sleep on the floor anymore." He was still jumping if I touched him.
"Okay, little man. I'll sleep on the floor and you take my spot, okay?"
"Yeah. Sure."
"We're not going to make a habit of this little dude."
"Okay."
"Goodnight dg5, I love you."
"Love you Dad."
Hello floor, I hate you.

Fathers and Sons Camp Out 2009

wg3 very much wanted to go this year. I firmly believe his words were designed to cause me as much pain as possible and it was very difficult to leave him. But he's very energetic and I want him were I can see him because of the water, the fire and the snakes. And so dg5 and I went off together with promises of a camp out in 2010 that would include us all. It was all pretty quiet, which is fine with me. But there was one fishing story.

I am trying to teach dg5 to fish. Last year at a stocked fishing event he won a Sponge Bob pole. It was a crappy pole and after only a few hours it gave up the ghost. In the beginning though the water was churning with fish. We had two problems, too much slack in our line and a slow response time to set the hook. Essentially, we were feeding the fish.

My instructions???? "When the bobber drops yank your pole back over your head to set the hook...and don't hit me." When I think about it the don't hit me part is pretty stupid. I just tried to stay close enough to help, but far enough away to have time to duck.

Four other Fathers and their Sons were there a day early with us and while we were fishing and having no luck another Father close by called over to us, "Hey Lydick, do you want to let your son reel this fish in?" After a quick glance at each other we walked their way and dg5 did exactly as he was instructed, the bobber dropped and he yanked. If I had told him there is no need to yank after the hook is set the fish would not have exited the water in a wide arc over everyone's head and landed in the forest. It didn't matter to him, it was just as exciting as anything else.

What is it about boys and fire?

Dg5 cut his finger pulling up Switch Grass and sulked for a little while by the campfire. The smores brough him out of the stupor he was in.

Friends and the lake, does it get better when you're a kid?

It was a cold morning. It might even have been as low as 50 degrees F.

Early in the morning

"I love Father and Son Camp Out"

Soccer Drama

Today we played soccer games that teach the kids skills. During the process kids always get hurt. Apparently it was Dg5's turn. He stepped on the ball to stop it, but in the fray his weight shifted to the foot holding the ball and the momentum cause the ball to roll throwing him to the ground. It was a crappy way to fall and it looked like it hurt.

I observed for a few seconds to assess the severity and sure enough he cried hard. I went over and comforted him for a sec and asked him if he got the wind knocked out of him. "Dad, I think I broke my back." "Okay Son, get up....there now why don't you go over and rest and get a drink." Broke his back. Where do kids get this stuff?

Afterwards I took the time to praise his recovery, for shaking off the pain and getting back in the game.

I worry a little about dg5 though. When I called to him and asked if he wanted to get back in it he said yes and came over. I paid him no special attention because he's like his Mom and that makes his anxiety worse. However, as he joined in the 1 v 1 exercise he froze up, crossed his arms across his chest and put on the I'm really anxious look.

I said, "Do you want to go?" He just shook his head "no."

My solution, act like it was no big deal without missing a step. I mean, what's the other option???? Maybe I could talk him into it, but I didn't because then everyone would be looking at us and I think it would be worse.

After one more round he was good to go and stepped in to battle the field champion. It was a fierce contest and he lost it, but he was good after that. The kid heals like Wolverine.

They Said It

"Dad, I'm not as good as Corey."
"Why do you say that dg5?"
"Cause his dad works with him to get more aggressive." - I'm the coach! How much more involved can you be? He's making great progress by the way.

At the Father-Son Campout
"Dad, you know why I wanted to climb to the top of this mountain?"
"No, why pal?"
"Cause you need the exercise."

Because I haven't been able to spend as much one on one with wg3 he said,
"Dad, when are we gonna do somethin' just you and me?"
"What do you want to do?"
"Go up on Mountain Lemmon."
"Okay, how about next Saturday?"
"Just you and me?"
"Yep."
"Okay, just you and me and Mom and Dg5."
"I thought you wanted just you and I?"
"I do and Mom and dg5."

Because wg3 wakes up with me early I try to say a morning prayer with him. Today, he resisted. "Wg3, what are you doing? I just want to say a prayer."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because you're gonna say one of your long ones."
"Okay, I won't."
"Okay, a short one."
"Okay."
Apparently I'm long winded even in prayer.