Ben

I’ll try to condense life lately into several main subjects.

1. Brandi. After several frustrating weeks where she would run right through the electric shock-collar fence we’ve installed for her, Tori made a few phone calls to the fence company, made a few changes, and now Brandi greatly respects her boundaries. Since she can run off all that puppy energy now (not locked in barn or tied on leash), she’s a lot calmer and not quite so jumpy on people. Which makes her a much nicer pet. She still likes the four-wheeler and gets many rides from her people friends.

2. Ice rink. What you see here is the former pigeon coop, turned rink shack, now turned back to pigeon coop, making its way up to Levi&Echo’s house where it currently houses several pigeons. And yes, that means the rink shack is no more which also means our last rink has been taken down. The older kids who used to use it all the time aren’t around much anymore, and the younger kids don’t seem to love it quite like the older kids did. So, time marches on, bringing changes; and while we’ve had a lot of fun with a backyard ice rink, this change is welcome by all.

3. Ben. Ben turned 16 a couple of weeks ago and thus we have another driver in the house. Which is a really good thing because of his involvement in the Tremont robotics club; we all took turns doing a lot of chauffeuring this winter and are glad he’s now reached that milestone of independence. Congratulations, Ben!

4. Family times. Many random times with family here, there, and everywhere,

including a special daughter-in-law-to-be. And wedding plans too, both for A.Joyce&Mike’s wedding and Jesse&Lucy’s wedding. Guest lists and new dresses and all sorts of fun stuff like that. And our basement is a temporary storage pod for furniture for J&L’s new home. And this sweet little granddaughter who is growing like a wildflower and is twice as cute. No, Josh is not puckering up to kiss her; I think he’s protecting his tower from her demolition attempt.

5. Robotics. Ben’s team took first place in both its regional competitions so far, and, in between writing this post, I’m watching Team 2481 matches livestreamed from Milwaukee, WI, at another regional there. The team is already qualified for the coveted World Championship competition in Detroit in April, but wouldn’t it be something if they won yet another regional this season?! Pretty exciting stuff! It’s been a good experience for Ben and will hopefully give him guidance into a career choice as he gets involved in various aspects of roboting.

So there you have another peek at life lately. That’s it for this time.

Stay warm during this spring snowstorm that’s predicted tomorrow!