My Favorite G Anecdote This Year

One night, I taught G to tie his shoes. I picked up one of his sneakers, put it on my lap and showed him how to tie the laces. He caught right on. He practiced for a few minutes, then settled down on the floor, put his shoe on (the correct foot) and tied the laces in a neat bow. He was beyond thrilled. You know, one of those "newly found independence" moments. He jumped up, breathless, and said, "Momma! Momma! Can you teach me to tie the other one now?"

I'll still be laughing fondly over this moment 20 years from now.

Probably The Coolest Summer Playdate Ever

One of G's best playdates this summer was a kayak trip with buddy K. Friend Mike graciously offered us the use of his cabin and kayaks on the Ausable River in Frederic. On one of summer's best weather days, we found a two-track that dead-ended on the river, tied an orange tee shirt to a tree to mark the spot and left our pick-up vehicle. It was just three miles down the road from Mike's cottage. Not so far by road, but considerably longer by river. We learned hands-on that each road mile equals about an hour on the river. A bit long for the boys but pretty relaxing for Val and I.

Both boys enjoyed paddling the kayaks and we all enjoyed Val's run-in with a river otter. That and our collective time traveling downstream backwards. No spills though. Just lots of laughs and a niggling bit of worry that we would end up in Grayling.

After kayaking for nearly three hours, we returned to Mike's cottage, had our picnic lunch and let the boys do a little noodle fishing. Perfect, perfect up-north playdate. It's why we live here.

And Speaking of Alpenfest

As I said, G attended and/or participated in nearly every event at this year's Alpenfest. Kids' Day, evening concerts, the bike parade, that famous chicken dinner night, the grand finale parade, and I can't remember what else. Overall, we split most of our time between the carnival rides and Alpine Chocolat Haus (for ice cream).

For this Kids' Day, Val graciously offered to pick G up from his daycare and take him with K and J downtown. (And she took all of the pictures I have for this memory.) I joined them just in time to get G in the bike parade alongside Patrick and Eleza.

Racing at the County Fair

Our second trip to the fairgrounds, for the County Fair Motocross, has been planned for years. Ever since G's friend Clayton raced at the fair in 2006, G has planned to follow in his footsteps. Dad made it happen.

Uncle Bobby joined us to help trackside during the race and, in the stands, friends and family cheered him. Jordan and his Mom were there. As were Mark, Barb and Darcie. And a few of Darcie's friends and colleagues. It was this cheering section that sparked the night's funniest moment. At one point, as G passed in front of the grandstands, everyone yelled "Go G!". He instantly rubbernecked, trying to see his cheering fans. Without letting up on the throttle. Eyes on the crowd, bike careening toward more jumps. Mom trackside, suddenly yelling at him to pay attention. No crash resulted, but we will always have a good laugh over the moment.

He raced in two classes, a total of four motos, and took third place in both classes. And he had a fabulous time.

Playdate Heaven at the County Fair

Unlike Alpenfest--where we spent every single day in attendance--G managed to keep his fair visits down to three. The first was Kids' Day with D and K. The second was the Motocross night. And the third was another evening of rides and treats with Lydia, Aiden and Asher.

For this first day, Lisa graciously picked G up from his daycare and took him and D to meet Val and K at the fair. I joined them after work. When I arrived, D was practicing for the rock star days sure to be in his future. And K soon joined him on the guitar.














Then there were the rides and funhouses. In another year or two we will be on a first name basis with all of the ride operators.




We also enjoyed the animals, ice cream and the sweetest group good-bye hug I've ever seen...

Annual Caseville Weekend

Hoping for hot weather, we bumped our Caseville weekend up a bit this year. It worked. We had beautiful beach weather every minute. We were also joined by Denise and the kids--huge bonus for G as he adores Tyler and Camryn. Let's see...there were mock dirtbike races in the sand (as early as sunrise since these kids didn't want to miss a minute together), swimming of course, go carts, putt putt golf, one of those old-fashioned three-tiered slides you fly down on a piece of canvas bag (lot of laughs at G's expense here) , some vintage dirtbike riding along Sand Road and ice cream.


Up at sunrise and playing putt putt golf until ten o'clock at night.

Camryn on the same slide that Gunnar came down...with a look of abject terror on his face. LOL

Teamwork on the mock motocross track. Even Dad and Uncle Brad got in on this action.

Dad and G off for their vintage ride. And Denise (front), Cam (left) and G and I (back) racing around the go cart track.

Denise, watching Ty prepare to pass. He passed everyone.

We did not choose (G did not choose) to leave early Sunday morning and race at MPX. Since Tyler would not be racing, G opted to stay right up until the minute Tyler and Camryn had to leave too. The rest of us relaxed on the beach. All. Weekend. Long. Really, really nice.

CCC Mio Hunt Creek 2008

Hours on the heels of our UP mini-vacation, we loaded dirtbikes and headed to the CCC Mio Hunt Creek ride. And to echo tales of years past, it was wet but we had a great time. LOL

We camped with Bob Rugg (a summer dirtbiking staple) and Kenny, Phil, et al. New friend Tom (with Bryce) joined us Saturday afternoon and G and Bryce were inseparable for the remainder of the weekend. G also spent hours with Chance and other boys riding their bicycles around camp. Big enough to go off bike riding and visiting, but still too little to get so far out of Mom's sight. More than once I was sneaking around campers and through the tall grass, catching a glimpse of him to make sure all was ok. Such an in-between stage we're in now.

Although not billed as a kids' ride, this event was very, very kid-friendly. Great trails for them, with hidden surprises and extra prize drawing opportunities. They may have ridden in rain and even hail, but not one complained. They were too busy having fun. (Up until Dad sprained his ankle on the last trail ride of the weekend. Leaving him only one month to heal before his next race.)

Mini-vacation to the UP

G and I accompanied Paul on a working trip to St. Ignace and Sault Saint Marie in August. We started the getaway Wednesday afternoon in Mackinaw City, meeting friends Dan and Lynn for a tour of Fort Michilimackinaw. First time for all of us.

After dinner out together, we crossed the bridge and made for camp in St. Ignace. We unloaded G's bicycle and he was off to make friends before we even had camp set up. Thursday morning Paul left to make sales calls while G and I moved camp and packed for a picnic lunch in the Soo. Paul returned and we headed to the Locks. After we enjoyed the Locks as a family, Paul left G and I to putt putt golf while he worked.

He worked a bit more Friday while G and I played on the beach.