Letting Her Choose

I spotted this skateboard auction on shopgoodwill.com a couple of weeks ago.

The only description was "small skateboard, no brand found." That wasn't true, though. This was a Locker Board. You can plainly see it on the middle sticker.

What's a Locker Board? It's a home project that a young man turned into a business.

"Carson Kropflof San Clemente, CA started Locker Board in October 2016, when he was 11 years old. He had just begun middle school and wanted a skateboard that fit in his backpack and locker... Now, he's designed the only non-folding, sustainable skateboard on the market that can fit inside a backpack, appeared on Shark Tank, and landed Sir Richard Branson as his investor." - from https://www.lockerboard.net

Since it was designed by a kid, I thought Char would think the Locker Board was neat. The auction's final bid was $5.99, so it wasn't much of a risk. She and I watched the videos about Carson on his website when the Locker Board arrived, and Charlotte was pretty excited to own one.

The previous owner had written "Vans Skate Park" in silver paint on the grip tape, so I offered to replace it with a grip tape of Char's choice.

She choose red grip tape. That wouldn't have been my first (or tenth) choice, but it's not my board.  (Must. Be. Supportive.)

Wow. That is red, alright. I figured that we might as well roll with the red theme, and I added red, rubber risers...

... and some Sector Nine red wheels.

To complete the project, we applied the all-important skateboard sticker. This is serious business, and we spent about ten minutes debating where we should put the Sector Nine logo. Charlotte choose where she wanted it to go in the end, and I had to agree that it looked nice there.

Her Locker Board is done, but we'll have to save riding this for a later date. Char needs to figure out how to ride a proper sized skateboard first. 

That's okay. I just like putting projects like this together.

Travels with Maggie

Maggie tore her ACL last spring. She has healed to the point where she can do stairs on her own, but we are hesitant to leave her at a dog kennel when we go on a trip. She might re-injure herself roughhousing with the locals.

So, this year Mags traveled with us to St. Louis for Thanksgiving with the grandparents. We took two cars, and our 95-pound-puppy got a backseat to herself. Although that's not where she wanted to be.

Somebody still thinks they are a lapdog.

Oatmeal Face!

Daphne and Charlotte shared their first facial mask together this week. 

Hey, how come I wasn't offered one? Oh yeah, because I would have refused. 

Now the new insult at our house is "Oatmeal Face." The two traded the insult all night long.

In the morning, Daphne had the last word before she left for jazz band practice.

Nicely played, Mom.

Goldilocks?

I found this magazine from 1981 at a local thrift store. I was curious if I could find anything in it stranger than cigarette ads.

Check out idea #20: "Is Goldilocks after the bears' bread and honey or their chairs and table?"

Who is standing outside that "window"?

 Let's zoom in and wish we hadn't:

Whaaaa? I thought Goldilocks was supposed to be a little girl with blonde hair!

That looks like Uncle Jonah discovering that the liquor store is closed.

Char's First Sleepover: Parent Edition

Char's night at Camp Sacajawea was a success for her, but what about her parents? How did we do?

We wanted to make sure Charlotte had a good meal before we got to the campgrounds, so we stopped at the Great Harvest Bread Co. in Ames. The sky was overcast and the high was in the lower 40s. A bowl of chili and a slab of cornbread made for a perfect fall lunch. The owner stopped by our table with some large, sample slices of cinnamon roll. Dipping the roll into the chili brought back memories of being a teenager. This wouldn't be the only time.

To my surprise, I began to get sick to my stomach as we drove towards the campgrounds near Boone. I knew my stomach wasn't protesting lunch. So, what was going on? What was I nervous about?

For Char, the drop off went fine. Once she found her friends, she barely took time to say goodbye to us. She just waved and turned away, but then one of the girls pushed her towards Daphne, "Charlotte, you gotta give your mom a hug. Sheesssh!" I got a brief hug, too. 

Then a funny thing happened on the way back to our car. I teared up. It wasn't a full-on cry, but I did have to wipe away tears and then blow my nose. I didn't see that reaction coming, and I made sure Char didn't see it, either.

When I left home for my freshman year of college, my dad went golfing before my vehicle was packed. I was carrying a stereo speaker to the van when he said, "Well, you take care of yourself, bud," and he took off on our old moped.

I told Mom I thought that was weird. She put a hand on my shoulder and confided, "I don't think he wanted you to see him cry."

The thought of my Dad crying seemed so out of character for him, but now I completely understand. The fact that he was on a moped, a vehicle for one, makes that memory even more sad.

The drive from Boone to Urbandale took us past many farms and through a couple of small towns. I couldn't help thinking about growing up in Rock Valley. I tried to shake off the memories when we got to Urbandale.

For our date, we went to see A Star is Born at Flix. It was a 2:30 show, and I didn't think we'd get a "Can I come home now?" call from Charlotte that early in the day. Daphne kept checking her phone for messages, though.

A Star is Born is very well made, but watching a guy spiral out of control wasn't something I was in the mood to watch, especially since I had been remembering my dad. I kept thinking, I don't want to see this again. I left for the bathroom just to take a break from the film. I was relieved to leave the warm Flix theater for the cold air in the parking lot when the movie was over.

Despite the cold and the dark, Daphne wanted to go on a walk when we got home. "I just don't know what else to do," she explained. We walked, talked, and wondered how things were going for Charlotte. 

Our dinner was meat, cheese, and chips at the table. We watched YouTube videos on my laptop while we ate. I said, "Char would be so jealous," and Daphne laughed in agreement. 

Daphne later struggled to find something to watch on Netflix, "The choices can be overwhelming." I walked from the garage to the basement and back again more than a few times, but eventually we found ways to settle down. Being a twosome at home felt strange, but we made it work. Having Charlotte is the best thing we have ever done, but parenting her is not the only thing we do.

We will all be more confident in our survival skills when Charlotte has another sleepover. The night will be easier, but not a thing I will be looking forward to.

I am also confident that when Char leaves for college, I will be crying like a rain shower.

Char's First Sleepover: With a Little Help From Her Friends

It seemed like a good idea back in September.

Charlotte and Daphne attended an informational meeting at Char's school about the Girl Scouts, and later Charlotte joined as a Brownie. I believe the tipping point was the idea that the girls would be having a sleepover at Camp Sacajawea in November.

Charlotte was excited about the sleepover, and we were excited about having a date night without hiring a babysitter. But attitudes changed as the date grew closer.

The idea that she was going to spend a night at an unknown camp without any family around weighed heavily upon her.

We have white board sign that greets Char in the hallway, and she asked me last week, "Ummm, Dad, why did Mom write on the sign, 'Three more days until the campout'?"

"Because your camp out is in three days. It's on Saturday." It's the only answer I could think of.

"Ummm, about that. I'm not sure if I want to go anymore."

"Oh, c'mon. You're going to have a blast! You already have two friends that are also going." I tried to fill my voice with enthusiasm, but Char appeared unconvinced.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if they are going now. I think we are all staying home." This wasn't true, and we both knew it.

"Mom already confirmed with the other moms that their girls are going. So are you." I raised my hands in the air, "It's gonna be... So! Much! Fun!" Char frowned at me and walked away.

The sleepover was the last thing Charlotte talked about on Friday night, and it was the first thing she spoke of on Saturday morning.

We got to Camp Sacajawea at 1:00 p.m. You can tell that Charlotte was still unsure at the camp's check-in desk.

She didn't even make a face at me when she caught me taking her picture.

Just as she was getting her Blue Bird wrist band, we heard a voice call out, "Charlotte! You're finally here!" Two girls from Char's troop ran over, and the three girls laughed and hugged.

They led us to the main hall where we would be leaving her gear.

One of the girls had a digital camera, and the three posed for a selfie. Since they are all wearing name tags, I'll just zoom in on our kid.

Whew! With a little help from her friends, we knew that Charlotte was going to be fine.

Our phones didn't ring that night, and when we picked Charlotte up the next morning, she was happy, a little hungry, and definitely safe.

But what about Daphne and I? That's a story for a different post.

Cognizant

As yesterday's post proves, Charlotte has become cognizant of this blog. That is going to make it more difficult for me to create posts. How? Charlotte is now trying to control the content. 

For example, Daphne and Char made and decorated sugar cookies on Sunday.

I thought that this would be a fun event to record, but I couldn't get a nice picture for the blog. Char now knows that I post pics here, so she made a weird face every time I held up the camera.

The same thing happened when Aunt Phaedra stopped by in the evening. Char set up a "bake sale" for Phaedra in the kitchen. 

The whole thing was so cute, but I couldn't get a decent picture. Charlotte kept trying make a "funny" face. I thought a tip jar seeded with change was funny enough.

I won't have any fun if this blog becomes the equivalent of a duck-face selfie.

Best Sleeping Buddies

Disclaimer: I didn't take this picture, and Charlotte isn't sleeping. Char spotted Bo snoozing on the couch, and she posed for Daphne's camera. Charlotte had Daph text me the picture, so I could post it here on the blog. The title for this blog post was also Char's idea.

This is blog post #900, and in her own way, Charlotte wrote it.