Day 73

Does it sound like a broken record when I say it is another beautiful day here? Yesterday Leah and I were lucky enough to spend a few hours with our niece and nephew. Jace was really happy to see us as always. I got a big hug, but all he wanted to do was see Casey the dog. Jace LOVES Casey, but the feeling isn't mutual. She is terrified of him because he runs after her calling her name. Reese had a pretty bad cold and it was so sad hearing her stuffed up self trying to breath. Seeing Lisa was interesting. In a way, I kind of feel sorry for her having to deal with these kids alone the majority of the time. But on the other hand, you reap what you sow. I don't even know if she realizes that or not. I felt kind of uncomfortable around her. This was the first time I have seen her and I have rarely spoken to her. I obviously was nice, but I literally had nothing to say to her other than talk about the kids. I didn't want to bring up Matt or the divorce because I was afraid of what she may say and that it may set me off, so we stayed neutral. First we went to the dog park, which had a ton of grass for Casey to run around. Jace and I threw a racquet ball for her to fetch. Nothing cuter than Jace saying "Ready, Case, 1, 2, 3, go get it girl!" After the dog park we went over to the adjacent kids park where we essentially fed ducks challah for 15 minutes before going to lunch at a deli. Jace had his usual "Chicky and Fries." I buried three solid mini-sandwiches, one corned beef, one chopped liver, and one turkey pastrami. Leah thought the Mushroom Barley soup was subpar. Really it was a nice afternoon with the kids. The baby was adorable and good as always. Jace was funny. I made sure when I was alone with both of the kids to talk about their daddy as much as I could. Even though the baby can't understand what I am saying, I wanted it to seep in to her subconscious.

I watched a little of the Michigan/Nebraska game last night and came away unimpressed. Kansas beat Nebraska 40-17 and we are average at best. So how does the great powerhouse program that is Michigan lose 32-28? Lloyd Carr is a terrible coach. This is danger time for UM football. This is a program that to me, should be challenging for a national title every year. Anything else should be deemed unacceptable to Michigan fans. Since Ohio State brought in Jim Tressel, OSU has owned Michigan. The great QB/RB tandem of Chad Henne and Michael Hart regressed this year. The defense has been subpar now for a few years. Time for Lloyd to put up or shut up. With the run OSU is currently on and Penn State's resurgence this year, he needs to step it up on te recruiting trail.

Leah, Scott, Lauren, and I went to Cold Stone Creamery after dinner last night. I will say this, the ice cream is great, but it is very rich and very expensive. Four small cups cost over $17. That being said, I think it is worth it. My go to is always the Birthday Cake ice cream, but I tried the Mint Chocolate Chip with brownies in it. Mint Chocolate chip from Baskin Robbins is by far my all time favorite ice cream, but Cold Stone's kind of tasted funky. Leah's Peanut Butter cup was "damn good." They had some really strange flavors there. One of the new ones was a blueberry ginger something or other. It looked real nasty. That place is a gold mind. Im sure it costs next to nothing to make their flavors and they charge an arm and a leg. My dad loved Cold Stone. They opened one at Eton Collection a few years ago. The day dad was diagnosed, he and Uncle Keith went there after dinner and there was a real long line. Dad, ever the jokester even in times of sadness, said to Uncle Keith, "I bet if I tell everyone I have cancer, we can cut to the front of the line." Classic Bobby D right there.

Special Props out to the Lauren Goto on her 20th b-day...

Song of the Day: "Redemption Song" by Bob Marley