Since Ohio

Long time no write, I know. I’ve been working on getting pictures from our vacation ready, so you’ll probably get a two or three part Shoptaw Family Vacation series pretty soon. We spent 10 days in Ohio and had a good time. But more on that later. What has been going on since we got back?

Sarah has really picked up her walking. She can pretty much go anywhere on her own two feet now, if she wants to. Problem is, she can be pretty stubborn on that score as well. She also will walk fine across a room, but if she gets close to something to hold on to (a table, etc.), she’ll immediately grab for that and walk around holding it as far as she can. Still, we’ve noticed a big jump in her mobility since Ohio.

Benjamin is starting to become a Star Wars nut. I started getting him the little Galactic Heroes toys a little while back and he started to get hooked. He was very excited when I found an old framed picture of Yoda and put it up in his room.

I wasn’t going to take him to the Clone Wars animated movie that is coming out this summer (August 15, just over a month away!) because I figured it’d be a little too much for him, not the least because he’s not much for loud noises. But he saw the trailer on TV a few days ago while I was at work and that’s all he wanted to talk about when I got home. He really wants to go to the movie, so I’ll probably go first, see it, then take him so if it becomes too much, it won’t be that hard to leave. It’s really hard to believe that he’s just a little bit older than I was when I saw the first Star Wars movie!

The church softball season wrapped up while I was gone, tallying yet another loss. However, the industrial season (and our Off-Road Tire team) is coming up soon. I’ve heard talk about a practice this week, though nothing set in stone. We’ll probably have games starting around the middle of August.

Poker-wise, we played a pickup game on the Saturday after the Fourth. We originally were going to have an elaborate head-to-head tournament, but we couldn’t round up enough people to play. The six of us had a good time anyway, though.

The only hand I really remember came midway through the tournament. I looked down at K-J and raised the bet. Bobby was the only other one in and called. The flop came K-Q-J. With my two pair, I went all in, not necessarily wanting a call. However, I got one. I don’t quite remember what Bobby had, but I think it was A-Q. I remember saying I didn’t want to see an ace or a 10, because either he’d beat my two pair or he’d get the straight.

The ace came up on the turn. That had me sunk, there was no doubt. Then the ten came out on the river. At first, I thought it was just a case of overkill. However, I then realized that the board had straightened up, which meant the pot got split between the two of us.

After that reprieve, I wound up holding my own, then took a big pot from Bobby later on. I outlasted him, then Jon and wound up head-to-head with Ken. Even with the big chip lead I had, I was a little concerned, but soon I had won. And, since I won, it means that I have the money to play in the regular PPT event this weekend.

We had a good Fourth of July. Our church group got together on the third for food and fireworks. Benjamin kept saying that this year, he was going to watch the fireworks. In past years, it’s not taken him long before he’s crying and inside. This year was going to be different, though.

We sat up our chairs outside and got ready. He had his own chair next to mine. When the first set was fired off, I looked at him and said, “Wasn’t that neat?”

“Uh huh,” he said, but immediately jumped up into my lap. Another firework and he was ready to go inside. He did seem to enjoy watching some of the fireworks from inside where the noise was muffled. He told his friend Kylie, “I’m not scared.” I said, “You aren’t now that you are inside!”

Sarah enjoyed them more than her brother, but when they started going faster she got disconcerted. Didn’t cry, but started crawling up Meron like she was trying to get away. Needless to say, we didn’t see the end of the display, leaving somewhere in the middle.

On the actual Fourth, we went out to my parents for the evening. Benjamin played some outside and the grandparents got to enjoy the grandkids, which was pretty much what they wanted anyway.

That’s about all that’s happening here now. More on that vacation soon!