Tag Archives: visit

Family Fun at Revolver Brewing

After the quick mani-pedi and bounce house event the day before, all of us went out to visit Revolver Brewing for local craft beer and to hang out with our visiting family members.  I was able to fit in a workout thanks to Kelley for watching Avery as I went through my sweat session.

The drive took about an hour and we arrived right at noon, when they opened for tours. It was already hot and cold beer was sought by all as a way to keep cool. Well, that and standing in front of a giant fan. Which obviously makes you look cool!

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See how these beautiful ladies all have their hair flowing in the wind as if they just finished washing their hair with Herbal Essences shampoo? G-Ma and Avery had to take the stage all to themselves to show off the extra flowy hair G-Ma has.

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Avery was not impressed.

I was hesitant about getting my hair messed up, but finally gave in and took a windy picture with my mom and Avery too. The beer helped give me courage.

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Phew, my hair was unscathed!

Paul and Tammy played it smart and posed out of the way of the wind. Turned out to be a great photo!

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Don’t worry, there was more posing. How can you not pose in front of these revolvers?

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Grandma kept it cool with her shades. Guess that’s what happens with a bright future. Kelley was behind the camera for most pictures, but we were able to get a nice “shot” together. See what I did there? Guns, puns….eh? Okay, I’ll stop………..sike, I never stop!

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Speaking of never stopping, Avery had G-Ma dancing to the live music when we moved out to the large patio.

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She eventually tired of dancing on the patio and went to explore further outside where there were rocks, sticks, and a crazy Uncle Paul!

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The brewery had a couple large rock piles for kids to climb, so I decided to walk with Avery over there and test how well her Soft Star Shoes allowed her climb.

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She didn’t have a problem with traction, but lost interest in scaling the mound when she found all she needed at ground level. ALL THE ROCKS!

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That girl can squat!

The sun was in full force at this time, so we brought Avery back inside to cool down and have a banana snack thanks to G-Ma who brought it from home. We also refilled on the beer.

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From there, Avery’s mood was went up and down with high and low points.

High – crazy scrunched nose smiles with G-Ma

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Low – Attempting to sit and read in a loud, crowded area.

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High – Stealing G-Ma’s and Mommy’s phone and taking pictures while rearranging the apps and layout.

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Low – Mommy’s phone died.

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High – Daddy’s phone still has battery life!

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High – Family selfie!!

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High – Sitting on Daddy’s shoulders and hugging his head.

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Notice the empty beer glass. With the heat and just holding I glass, I was drinking it as if it were water. Being the light-weight that I am, this meant I became very woozy.

Begin side thought….It didn’t help that I was already a grump. Whenever we go out, I tend to do that since I really don’t eat food in most restaurants and I was beginning to get hangry. It’s my own fault, I know, and I’m sorry to all who had to be around me. I’m working on my going out skills and will start bringing more food of my own to eat. I’m extremely particular about food and where it comes from, and to me, food is something meant to appreciate and not just used as a means of fuel. I’ll spare you the novel of reasons behind this and just say read Deep Nutrition and you’ll see where I’m coming from.

But still, no reason for me to be a grumpus every time we go out, so hopefully I’m making an improvement starting now! For my wife, for Avery, and all of my friends and family!….End side thought.

Avery’s temper started going downhill, fast, and it was time for the brewery to close up shop anyway. We stopped at a nearby hole-in-wall Mexican restaurant where I refused to eat anything but their homemade salsa and everyone else got some much needed food in their body. Avery was still crazy/cranky inside and once we were done, we took off on the hour long drive home. It was already past nap time, so we were hoping for a little nap on the drive.

Seems like they always fall asleep in the car when you don’t want them to, and then vice versa when you do. Well, that happened this time for the most part. She did give in for a little while as shown with her dormant and spread Soft Star-clad feet.

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Once home, she ran around like a wild child (nothing new), and no nap was had. Meanwhile, I spent the rest of the day recovering from too much beer while cooking and eating. Yeah, this further confirms my desire for sipping on spirits rather than drinking beer. You just can’t drink spirits like water which is easy to do with beer.

Despite my poor attitude, we had a memorable time with the family and I’m glad we got to hang out. But we weren’t through, there was more touring to be done, this time at a distillery. Right up my alley! Stay tuned for the story!

Do you take your kids to local breweries or go alone?

What are your thoughts about eating out? Are you very particular like me, or just go with the flow and eat whatever’s available?

A Mani-Pedi Treat & Bounce House Feat

I know, the moment she reads the title to this post, by wife will shake her head at the fact I just said “mani-pedi”. Honestly, I feel slightly weird every time I say, but I still do. It’s just easier than saying the full words, “manicure and pedicure”. Plus, it is in this online dictionary.

Mani-Pedi’s aside, my aunt Tammy, uncle Paul, and Grandma from Pennsylvania came down to visit my mom and have an early 60th birthday celebration with her. Kelley, Avery, and I didn’t see them every day they were down, but we met up on three on separate occasions. I’ve found that I’m spending too much time blogging and not enough family time which creates way too much stress, so I’m breaking up each outing into three parts; this post is 1 of 3.

Uncle Paul is the only brother out of the four kids my grandparents had on my mom’s (G-Ma’s) side, so he knows a thing or two about what ladies love. That’s why he treated all of the ladies, my mom, Tammy, Kelley, and Grandma, to a lavish mani-pedi treatment while he, Avery, and I went to the same bounce house Avery has been to a few times. Credit to my awesome wife for setting up the hand and foot treatment for everyone!

Before we did anything, we all met at a new restaurant called Mod Market for lunch.

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This was our first time to see them since they arrived, so there were plenty of pictures. Of course I had to get one with Grandma! She was here when Avery first entered the world!

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Then over to Paul and Tammy for more picture-taking love.

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It’s crazy to think back to when I was just a little boy and they would pick me up from the airport when I flew up to PA during most summers. #TimeFlies

After lunch, the ladies were off to have their hands and feet given the deluxe treatment while Paul, Avery, and I went to see Avery accomplish a feat at the bounce house. In the past visits, I’ve had to mostly just carry her up and around everything and she could hardly bounce. This time, she was able to crawl up and into most of the inflatables and took off on a bouncing frenzy!

I still had to carry her up climbing obstacles and go down the slides with her, but I’m not complaining, I love these things!

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There were more complicated houses that I took her through as well, and once again, I’m pretty sure I had more fun than she did. Probably didn’t help with the way we exited…

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Just a little push here and you can do the rest, right, Avery? Aannnnddd….

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Oops, wrong. I made a quick recovery and busted out in dance urging her to join in.

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Despite the picture, she actually rocked a few dance moves and had Paul quite impressed. But then I had to go and ask her to do high knees which she always does when we say the word, and she busted hard flat on her face. Crying, no, screaming, soon followed and that marked the end of the bounce house. She had a busted lip with a little blood dripping down from her tears (or was that snot?) so I made a quick clean-up at the bathroom before taking us home.

The crying continued the whole ride home, but Paul and I were able to carry on a conversation without having to raise our voices…….too much. The girls were still enjoying their treatment so Paul and I just spent more time sharing stories while simultaneously trying to calm Avery who was, yes, still crying. Then, lo and behold, would you believe something got her to settle down? She wanted nothing to do with Daddy, but Great Uncle Paul worked his magic!

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Yep, as long as he held her, Avery remained a happy camper. She even showed him the trees in our backyard. Or was it the dog? I can’t remember. He tried to set her back down a few times but she wasn’t having it, he must hold her all the time!

Luckily, with three grown boys of his own and a long-time high school math teacher, I’d say he has just a little bit of patience, so he kept her happy until the ladies arrived. It didn’t help that we had passed the normal nap time, or at least I’m using that reason to explain her aversion to Daddy.

After a short chat with everyone, they left to go explore more of the surrounding area and we attempted to get Avery to take some kind of nap. The nap never happened. Maybe if Paul stayed to take a short siesta with her we would’ve had more luck.

Our first outing with the family was quick, but it was great to see them as usual. For our next place, and what you’ll see on my next post, we visited a somewhat nearby craft brewery, Revolver Brewing. It was an hour away, I was a grump (sorry everyone), and I’ll fill you in on the details soon.

Do you have family out of state that you are close to?

Do you get to see them on a regular basis?

Is saying “mani-pedi” acceptable for a guy? For anyone?

Nana and Papa’s Visit and Would You Let Your Wife Cut Your Hair?

Seriously, who needs teeth anyway? Can’t we all survive on pureed foods?

We are in full blown teething mode over here, and Avery is constantly reminding us every second…………not kidding.

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Poor girl, life is hard.

This past weekend Nana and Papa came over to have dinner at our house. They hadn’t seen Avery since Mother’s Day when we brought her to their house for her 6 month photos.

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I’d say she’s changed a little; crawling, “talking”, and sprouting a few teeth.

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After everyone ate, Avery provided the entertainment for the evening. She could crawl anywhere (within reason) around the house, but chose to go under the table just to make it difficult to get her. No worries, though, Papa joined her to see what’s so great about her chosen location.

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Not sure what is was, but the hung out down there for a while. Eventually, she climbed out and her and Papa had a little peek-a-boo time.

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Where is Papa?

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There he is!

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She wasn’t buying it. Teething can really “take a bite” out of your sense of humor, huh?

Avery actually enjoyed most of the day, but for some reason she just wouldn’t show smiles for the camera. We really have to work for those smiles now!

After Papa had his Avery fix, Nana could hardly resist scooping Avery in her arms for kisses. I’m going to guess Avery isn’t quite ready to return kisses though…

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Just a wild guess.

We moved outside to our backyard for a bit and Avery practiced standing in the grass as Kelley held her hands.

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The air was stagnant and even with the sun starting to set, it was hot, so we migrated back inside. We played with Avery a little longer until Nana and Papa had to head home. It was great seeing them, and I know Avery enjoyed their company, despite her expressionless face in the pictures!

The next day, Sunday, in an effort to “cut” costs, I agreed to have Going Mom cut my hair. We bought a new hair cutting kit for just less than the price of one haircut, so after just one cut, we’d be in the green!

I normally try to wait a month before getting my hair cut, so it was getting pretty messy and growing over my ears.

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Here it is from the side: before

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I never fix my hair or do anything with it unless my wife asks me to, which isn’t often thankfully. When I had an office job, just the act of putting something in my hair stressed me out. Yeah, it’s a minor thing, but just what it represented pissed me off.

Anyway, after a few YouTube videos and reading the included instruction manual later, Kelley started her first time attempt to ever cut anyone’s hair. At first, I wasn’t too worried, but as she started laughing and saying “It will get better”, I had an immediate face palm reaction.

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But, in the end, I’m pretty happy with the results. It’s a lot shorter than I usually have it, but definitely makes it easy to wash and there’s no way to style this now!

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It’s taken some getting used to, for both of us, but I’d say it’s growing on me. Ha ha, get it?

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Now I don’t have to wait a month or more before my next hair cut, and hopefully Kelley’s statement, “It will get better” holds true.

So, would you let your spouse/partner cut your hair if they never have before?