ONLY CHILD (not for long)

Still smiling because he hasn't been asked to change a diaper yet.

As we await the arrival of our second child (first girl) I've been watching and appreciating Kendall closer lately.  Not that I don't appreciate him all the time, but I'm trying to really capture the moments of our family dynamic before it forever changes.  Kendall has always been a sweet, funny, thoughtful and competative kid.

I have some very humorous friends.  I feel blessed that over the years I've been associated with such a great group of people that can make me laugh as well as others.  However, Kendall might be on the path of being the funniest person I've ever known.  Kendall has perfect comedic timing.  He can spot the joke or punchline as it's developing.  When he's on, the jokes and one-liners flow effortlessly.  He still has a few repetative jokes that he throws out a little too often but he's learning how to use them more sparringly and properly.  I'm excited to watch his humor develop, especially with a little girl in the house to entertain!

Kendall has a big heart and wears his emotions on his sleeve.  His feelings get hurt easily when he's frustrated.  He wants to be good at everything.  He's very talented at many things and is very sharp.  Kendall has a great sense of confidence.  Sometimes he runs into something that's new to him or he's not very good at yet.  As parents, Karenand I understand that this is part of children learning and developing.  As a kid, this can be terrifying.  It's hard to watch when his confidence is shaken or to se him struggle.  The best we can do is guide him through the challenge and rebuild that confidence.  He's lucky to have a very patient mother.  Karen takes things a little slower and looks at details.  Dad jumps in and just assumes we can wing it. 

LEGO's for people too lazy to play with real LEGO's

This past year Kendall took more to video games.  I think with the move from living in the country to living right off a highway in a small apartment just might have had a little something to do with that.  Kendall still loves being outside and playing but it just takes a little more time to get him out the door now.  I think he got stuck in a routine where it wasn't as easy to just go out in the yard and play.  We really don't mind Kendall plaing games because he is a happy, athletic, healthy kid.  His favorite right now has been the game 'MINECRAFT.'  I sound like a crochity old man when I say this, but I know next to nothing about the game.  It sounds like it's LEGO's but on a computer.  Kendall has watched countless hours of Youtube videos of people playing Minecraft.  He wasn't just mindlessly watching them play though.  He was learning the game.  He also learned a lot of computer and gamer terminology.  It's kind of funny to hear a 7 year old talk about "lagging" and "pwning."  He's even got his mom playing the game with him.  I'm still holding out for him to play Super Mario Bros. with me again.

THIS make smore sense!

Kendall helped name his soon to be baby sister.  Her name will be Lily Rae Merrill.  At first we were going with a 'K' name to stay in the tradition of Karen Rae & Kendall Rudy.  The three of them would have KRM initials.  At some point I said, "how about Lily?"  Karen and Kendall seemed to like it.  Karen's grandmother, who lives hours away, also came up with the name Lily the same day.  We thought that was a great coincidence seeing as how everybody was busy thinking of 'K' names!  We decided that Kendall might have final say on this so we ran it past him as a possible idea.  He liked it and has referred to his baby sister as Lily from that point on.  We told him it was just an idea but he went ahead and told his teacher, classmates, and anybody else that would listen that her name was Lily.

Karen is already sick of "Lily Pad" & "Lily's Pad" jokes.

Kendall has grown in the last month.  It seemed to literally happen overnight.  He walked past us while in the livingroom and I made him come back and stand in front of me for inspection.  Just like I thought, he had grown!  Karen and I like to make a big deal about him growing and really play it up for him.  He gets a big goofy grin on his face when we do that.  After dinner tonight Kendall and I were taking our weekly spelling test and we had the word 'big.'  I said, "BIG as in 'Kendall wants to be BIG like his Dad!"  Kendall gave me a huge eye roll and said, "yeah right."  Chances are, he's not going to be a big guy, he's too much like his dad.  But it makes us smile because we're happy and sad at the same time every time we have to clear more jeans and t-shirts out of his closet because he's growing.  Pretty soon he won't be our 'baby' anymore.  He's our Big Kid!

Kendall's the one on the left.

You are (your? you're? yer?) Here.

Greetings Minocqued Upians!  That's right, after much delay I am back to update the blog.  A lot has happened since the last post.  1. The family has moved to Minocqua.  2. We moved (and sort-of sold our house.  3.  We conceived a baby.  4.  We settled into the culture/community of Minocqua.  5.  We finally told everyone about the baby.  6.  We've had friends visit.  7.  We found out the baby is a girl.  8.  We've come to terms that the baby is a girl.  9.  The RNC is in full effect.  10.  I updated my blog!

1. The Family has moved to Minocqua.

I think I've mentioned this in a previous post that mentioned the Oregon Trail (i don't even read my blog).  The family has moved to Minocqua!  We've been soooo in love being together again full time!  I can't believe how greatful I am every day that we all wake up together in the same place.  I love this family so much!

Karen has settled into the routine of working from home.  She misses getting all fancy-dressed for work and her morning stops at Dun Bros. Coffee but likes sleeping in later and wearing a HOT shorts/slippers combo every day!  She does wear glasses and a headset, so that's pretty professional of here.

Kendall settled into school and sports.  He missed his friends back in Blackduck.  His best buddies were Aiden, Logan, Carter, Bryce and Brody.  He still mentions them once in a while and thinks it will be great when they all have facebook!  Kendall had a great welome into his class here in Minocqua!  The kids were excited to meet him and he has made many new friends.  Kendall (and dad) have been busy with baseball and soccer this summer.  Kendall is also quickly becomming a master archer since getting his first bow and arrow set!

It's like The Hunger Games!

2.  We moved (and sort-of sold our house).

We lucked out and have a signed Purchase Agreement on our house!  The people are renting the house for the next 2 years until we close.  It works out well for everybody involved and the realtors involved did a fantastic job!  I think Karen & I expected a lot more stress in trying to sell/show the house but things just fell into place and worked out!

I can't really say if it was sad or sweet to move everything out of the house we called home for 6 years.  We loved the yard (especially all the wildlife in the summer, ducks, geese, deer, rabbits).  We loved the trail for hiking/4-wheeling.  We loved that over the last year we became better friends with neighbors (and our neighborhood bar POUR WILLIES).  We have special memories of Kendall's first steps, birthdays, Christmas and Vikings Football Parties!  However, it was a relief to move forward and start the next chapter.

Kendall Merrill & Mya Gustafson measured themselves on the kitchen wall every June 1st.

Nearly everything we owned fit into that truck!

3.  We conceived a baby.

So as it turns out, Karen & I were VERY happy to be together again under the same roof.  If you need more info on how this happens, I'll explain.  When a mommy and a daddy want to have a baby, they take off their clothes and "hug" for a half an hour.  If the they "hug" for a half hour then they have a baby.  If they "hug" for an hour they have twins.  If they "hug" for more than an hour then it's a miracle and daddy deserves a high five!

You're welcome Ladies.

4.  We settled into the culture/community of Minocqua.

We all ran in the 'Only Fools Run at Midnight' 5k.  Karen helped me coach (as an administrative assistant) and Kendall played Little League Baseball.  We all helped with 'Taste of the North'.  We've been busy with Youth Soccer (they call is Futball in other parts of the world).  We even have made some friends and figured out where we like to eat!

You're welcome Ladies.

5.  We finally told everyone about the baby.

YAY BABY!  Kendall has been asking for years for a baby brother or sister.  I have been envious of families with more than one child.  Karen has the ability to be pregnant.  We all win.  I discovered that Karen was pregnant by accident.  I have no idea how to use her i-pad but one day I happened to pick it up and see a page about "Your Pregnancy."  I still had no idea but jokingly asked Karen if she was pregnant.  she said, "yes."  It was the most anti-climactic/exciting moment in my life.  Through past disappointments I believed that Kendall would be our only child.  I thought that maybe that was God's way to balance out the universe.  We had the perfect child and maybe it was selfish of us to want another.  I really thought that Kendall would be an only child and doubted if I could love another kid as much as I love him.  Things changed and I am thrilled.  Kendall decided that we could tell evryone about the baby after we found out the sex.  Karen was the first to post on facebook (something that didn't exist when Kendall was born).  My plan was to never comment on it on the pregnancy and just surprise everyone when the baby was born.  We couldn't keep it in.

The teddy bear should say, "My Daddy had sex with my Mom and all I got was this crappy bear....and a sibling."

6.  We've had friends visit.

We've had Karen's sister, Jenny, and her children visit twice and her always smiling husband Ty came with on the second trip.  We had a great time getting the kids together.  I forget how funny Karen and her sister are when they use their "sister voices" when talking to eachother.  They are hillarious!  The kids had a great time.  I think Kendall misses his cousins from both sides of the family and it was great for him to have the familiarity of the Moens coming to visit.  ps. Ty Moen is an outstanding cook!

The newly married Dan & Jenny Foley (Anderson) and Makayla (Kendall's arranged bride) came to visit.  We had a great time eating at the Minocqua Brewing Company & The Bunyan.  We rented a boat for some fishing on Lake Minocqua.  Jenny even drank wine straight from the bottle (she's classy as crap!)

We look forward to having more visitors this fall/winter (this invitation goes out to the Long's, Huggin's, Gus, Addler's, Merrill's, Adams's, Pol and anyone else willing to make the journey.

That fed us all for two weeks.

7.  We found out the baby is a girl.

WE'RE HAVING A GIRL!  AHHHH......WHAT DO I DO WITH A GIRL!  I swear, starting at birth in the nursery at the hospital, if any boys look at my daughter!  I'm going to be Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde with these kids.  Kendall is allowed to watch whatever, do whatever, and say whatever.  This little girl will be protected to no end!  I'm going to put her in little dresses and then wrap her in bubble wrap.  When Kendall was little he would ckimb on the couch and then launch himself off.  This little girl will NOT be doing that!

She's so cute!

8.  We've come to terms that the baby is a girl.

(see above)

9.  The RNC is in full effect.

I try to stay out of politics.  Whenever I have friends getting heated up about politics I try to bring it back down with humor.  After all, there's only so much we can do, why not laugh & love.  The Republican National Convention started this week and it has been interesting how both sides view what's happeneing with our country. 

Here is my statement:

You decided who's who.  : )

10.  I updated my blog!

WOW, how long did that take?  6 months?  I'll keep them shorter and more freaquent from here on out.

And to wrap it up, here Kendall, just because:

You're welcome Ladies.

Bloggin' in the Wind

I feel like I had a great start working on my blog, Minoqcued Up.  If you haven't had time to check it out then, look around, you're here.  Since my last post my family has joined me on this Northern Mis-Adventure.  I went back to Bemidji, MN to load up the family and cart them back to Wisconsin at the end of February.  We left a day early because a sudden snowstorm was headed our way!  We loaded up with clothing, food, animals and headed out in the middle of the night.  We managed to stay ahead of the storm the entire way.  I couldn't help but feel like we were playing a game of Oregon Trail as we had both vehicles fully loaded and created our own caravan headed East.  We even had to forge a river and I died of dysentery.

We made a brief stop in Independence so we could trade supplies to fix our wagon.  We ran into some kin-folk and they sent us off with some moonshine.  Ma likes the moonshine.

So the family traveled through the thick darkness of night headed to a new home.  I had already been here a couple of months but it was a new venture for my wife and son.  Before their arrival I had been "nesting."  I had cleaned the entire apartment from top to bottom.  I rearranged furniture, scrubbed toilets and floors, vaccuumed and shampood floors, performed a seance and burned sage.


We arrived at 1am and by 2am we had moved most of our belongings inside.  We were exhausted but I was too excited to sleep!  I finally had my family back together under one roof.  Kendall was passed out on the couch and Karen was tired.  I had a smile cemented on my face.


The next few days were spent getting adjusted.  Karen & Kendall had arranged to take some time off of work and school.  We had already sent one of our beloved dogs off to live with another family and it was time for our oldest, Izzy, to go.  Karen and Kendall took Izzy to live with Karen's mother in Southern Wisconsin.  Izzy had been with us even before Kendall was born.  We got her the spring that we got engaged.  She was our truly first family puppy.  It was hard to let her go but we knew that we we're pushing it by having one dog in the small apartment.






We had to eat one and make the other one into mittens just to stay alive.  Well, we didn't have to but, you know.

Towards the end of the first week Kendall and I became very ill.  For about 24 hours we were laid up in his bedroom.  I missed a day of work and Kendall missed his first day of school.  With Karen playing nurse (not in an awesome/naughty way) and our friend Julie's homemade soup, we quickly recovered.






Since then we've settled into our routines.  I take Kendall to school everyday (and I love it), Karen gets to work from home (she loves it), and we spend a lot of time together playing games, taking Charlie (the dog) for walks, and being together.

Now that spring is here we've got new activities like baseball, soccer, and kayaking.  We even ALL competed in a midnight 5K!  More on that to come in another post. 

But the best part about all of this and all that we went throught to get here is that now we are together.  Now I can go to bed every night looking at the ones I love.  Now I can wake up every morning listening to a little boy in his jammies watching cartoons and clanging his spoon on his bowl of cereal.  And I no longer have to sleep alone, I have someone to stick their freezing feet on me as I drift off to sleep.

I'M A WINNER

I just got done with the 1st Annual South APT HWY 51 North Minocqua, WI Awards Night! 

I may have officially reached my breaking point tonight.  I'm too social (and creative) to live on my own.  Starting December 13th, 2011 I moved away from my family and friends.  I've been in a small apartment in Northern Wisconsin.  I relocated to take on a massive challenge of raising a restaurant from the ashes like the mighty phoenix!  So far, professionally I have been successful.  The store is doing quite well although I feel like I've barely scratched the surface.

Socially, I've met some very nice people here.  Jeff & Julie have been fantastic people!  They've introduced me to people and given me insight into the area.  Others have been either coworkers or people in the community.  Mostly just acquintences really. 

I've been fortunate enough to feel how much people "back home" have apprecited me.  Whether it was missing my volunteer work, my fundraising ability or my friendship.  I really appreciate my friends that are back in Minnesota.  There's so much of a connection to where I've come from.  The people that are there and the people that have moved on.  I really hope that someday I can feel the same way about Minocqua.

I think the Blackduck/Tenstrike/Bemidji area is so special.  Being there you might not notice it, but looking from the outside I can see the community and connections.  I'm so proud that I came from a truly small town.

Thank you to my friends and family back in Northern Minnesota.  You helped me become who I am.  I'll always use you as the measure that I compare every other place I live.  This weekend my family moves to Minocqua.  It's been over 2 months since we've been together full time.  I was already feverishly in love with my wife and my son is my best friend.  It's been difficult to be away from them but, wow, absence does make the heart grow fonder!

So tonight in the absence of my family and friends I held an awards ceremony in my lonesome apartment!  It was called "The Scottie's."  I am proud to say that among the several paper mache people that I've created and placed around the apartment, I was the winner of 7 out of 10 awards tonight!  Being very modest in nature I won't tell you what I won, rather what I did not win.  I did not win 'People's Choice,' 'Most Unique Way to Make Toast Without a Toaster,' and 'Best On Screen Couple.'  I was thrilled to win 'Best Song,' and 'Best Special Effects in a Musical.'

So, I miss my family and friends (and contact with the outside world).  But I have managed to entertain myself.  Oh, and something about appreciating people and where you come from.  (sorry my acceptence speach ran long)  GOODNIGHT!

and now, in no particular order, a list of people back home i wish to send a special thanks to:  Justin 'Gus' Gustafson, Chance 'Horse Meat' Adams, Heather Forseen, Cara 'Carol' Townsend, The Bemidji State Beavers Hockey Team, KAXE, The Hoover Family, My Wife aka. My Bride, Tim Grace & family, The Skyberg Family (i think about you daily), Pour Willies (No Pissy Attitudes), The Baggenstoss Clan, Babe City Rollers, Stacy Swedberg and her 7 children, The Moen Family (Kylie's my favorite, don't tell), Kaleb Lienbach, The Pond, North Twin Lake, Papa Murphy's Take N' Bake of Bemidji, The Gustafson Family, Blackduck Class of 95 - 2000, Kendall Merrill, Cedar Rapids Lodge, Erin Bertrand and the Twins (even the gay one), Video Express, Carmen Kotula, People I attended BSU with (fm90 4-life), The Merrills of Hines and I-Falls, and special thanks to those of you that moved on from the area - spread the Northwoods ALL OVER!  *if i forgot you then that means i'm mean spirited and hateful or i just forgot.  : )  SKOL Vikes!

Partners!

WARNING:  Some parts of this post are taken from a snippit of a previous facebook post by myself.

Marriage is much like the movie 'Lethal Weapon', being married means having a partner that always has to have your back, even if they kind of hate you right now. With Riggs and Murtaugh, it was because they were thrown together by the job; in married life, it's because you tricked somebody into thinking you were a responsible human being long enough for them to sign up with you.



Two Cops.  Glover carries a weapon...Gibson is one.  He's the only L.A. cop registered as a...LETHAL WEAPON!



I told my wife this while saying "aint that right....partner." and then made a pistol with my fingers, pointed at her and winked.

Karen said, "I'm getting too old for this S###! and then calmly walked away as a huge explosion happened behind her.

BOOM!

I've decided to write a television pilot based on a cross between a buddy cop movie and marriage.  Either the two cops are married to eachother and work together or two cops who's cases are intertwined with the daily lives of a married couple.  Either way, I'll be lazy on the title and simply call it, "PARTNERS."  Pretty sure NBC will pick it up, if not then I'll add something about Vampires and sell it to the WB.

I love 80's action movies and buddy cop flicks!  It goes back to my father letting me stay up late to watch movies like "Die Hard," "Lethal Weapon," and anything with Govorner Schwarzenegger.  I especially liked the ones with the goofy/weak sidekick and how they somehow managed to get past their differences and work together.  They did whatever it took to get the job done, even if it meant breaking the rules! 

The two cops were always mismatched and forced to work together.  Despite their differences, they exploited the best in each of them and thought outside the box.  Sometimes it led to hillarious consequences! 

My wife and I are just like the detectives in the movies.  We are different in our own ways, but we have the same job/goal.  To make the marriage work despite our differences!  Karen is a bit of an introvert, and I, an extrovert!  SUPRISE!  Karen is modest, smart and level headed.  I am not the least bit modest, not very smart (i thrive on charm and hope people overlook the smarts), and sometimes I'm impulsive.  She would be the serious, by-the-book one and I would be the shoot-from-the-hip one.  That's how our marriage works.

Whenever I put my sunglasses on
the music from CSI: Miams plays

I trust my wifes judgement and decisions.  She appreciates my wild nature.  How could she not love my charming spontaneity?  But like the movies, Karen not only goes along for the ride, but she suprises by sometimes throwing the book out the window!  I learn from her and she learns from me.

On their own the two cops couldn't get the job done but together, they can take down the Columbian Drug Lord and save the girl while destroying and entire city block.  Together my wife and I survive our marriage and raise our child while destroying an entire city block.

She's trouble and plays by her own rules.

In conclusion; my wife would be the cool one with the big gun and the tough lines.  I would be the wise-ass with the one-liners.  Together we would be......(wait for it)............PARTNERS!

All we nee is an angry police cheif yelling,"I'm sick and tired of making excuses for you two! You’re an embarrassment to the department! You're off the case and off the force. Your badges, your sunglasses, now."

PARTNERS!

coming this fall to FOX (and then cancelled mid-season and replaced by a crappy reality show)

*to learn more about buddy cop movies please check out "Beverly Hills Cop 1-3"  Lethal Weapon 1-4"  Die Hard 1-4"  "48 Hours"  "Another 48 Hours"  "Rush Hour 1-3"  or your local library.

FACT: "You Oughta Know," "You're So Vain," & "Rocket Man" are all about Dave Coulier

Dave Coulier's comedy routine can be classified as "not very funny."

FACT:  Dave Coulier (pronounced Cool-Yay) is the main obsession of most all female and bi-curious male recording artists of the last 40 years.  As usual, I will most likely not site my sources or fact check.  Let's begin.

In 1959 in St. Clair Shores, Michigan David Alan Coulier was born.  The music industry and pop culture (or should i say "Pop Coulier") would never be the same again.

On April 17, 1972 a then unknown country/folk singer named Elton John unleashed a rock opera straight from the heavens known as, "Rocket Man."  At first glance one might think this has nothing to do with Dave Coulier but then you notice this line.  "I'm not the man they think I am at home, Oh no no no...I'm a Rocket Man."  And then, just 15 years later, Dave Coulier was a featured member of the smash hit tv show FULL HOUSE!!!  A little odd if you ask me (perhaps even a little Space Oddity - that's a David Bowie reference).

pictured: country/folk legand Elton John.

FACT:  Dave Coulier played the character of "Uncle Joey" on Full House for 8 Seasons.  His catch phrase, "Come on now, CUT IT OUT!"  Also featured hillarious hand guestures as if he was cutting something while he delivered the classic line.

I know what you're thinking, "Come on now, CUT IT OUT!"  Okay, so maybe that's a bit of a stretch but check this out.  In December of 1972 a street performer named Carly Simon released a song called, "You're So Vain."  NINETEEN SEVENTY TWO!!!  AGAIN!!!  Carly Simon has never declared "who" the "you" is in the song!  If you claim that "you" "knew" the "you" that she was singing "to" then Eff "you" for lying!  Carly Simon has stated that the song is a critical profile of a self-absorbed lover.  You know "who" else is a self-absorbed lover?  John Stamos!  He just happened to star alongside one Mr. Sir Dave Coulier on a little program called "Full House" sum 15 years after the release of that song.  Ooooweeeeoooo!

Not to be confused with her car commercial hit song, "You're So Van."

FACT:  Dave Coulier was a onetime lover of American Recording Artist Alanis Morissette.  He has stated that her first hit song "You Oughta Know" was in fact, about him.

On June 1 (ready for it?) 1974 (urgh, just missed it be 2 years) Alanis Morissette was born in Narnia or Canada or something.  Her debut album (the highest selling debut album by any female in the U.S. & Worldwide) "Jagged Little Pill" featured a song called, "You Oughta Know."  The song has been stated by both parties to be about His Lord & Majesty Sir Dave Coulier.  I guess, you oughta already knew that.  (wink)

Aaannnddd THAT is how Dave Coulier (aka Uncle Joey from Full House) shaped all music from 1972 forward!

Where are they now?

I AM MAN! Rrrawwrr!

As I get older I expect to become a more grizzled and rugged man.  I'd like to have swagger like John Wayne or leathery skin like Clint Eastwood.  Believe it or not, I wasn't born Super Manly.  It's been something I've been working on for some time.  I suppose I can brag about being born in the front seat of a GMC Pickup truck (true).  Or being shot in the back with a bow & arrow (true).  Or being hunted down in the woods by a blood thirsty bear (not true).  I've spent time outdoors hunting, hiking, camping, and canoeing (true).

I still have that shirt from this picture...and the bears head on a necklace as a reminder.

I'd like to take a solo kayak trip through the Boundry Waters, hike for days down an untouched trail, or build something out of stone with my bare hands.  Turns out I get bored (and weird) if I spend too much time by myself and I didn't pay any attention during shop class. 

My idea of being a man has changed a lot over the past couple of years.  Instead o being a tough-ass wise cracking anti-hero like Bruce Willis (in any movie featuring Bruce Willis).  I look up to my friends with kids, jobs, and a wife that they adore.  One of my friends just celebrated the birth of his fourth child.  He absolutley loves his wife and they communicate well.  I look up to him.  He doesn't walk with swagger like The Duke (that might not be swagger, it might be sore ass from riding horses).  He doesn't have leathery tough skin like Clint Eastwood (i guess i don't really want a face that looks/feels like a catchers mitt).  He looks and acts like a great dad and husband.  He can even sew and probably can cook.  I'm pretty sure he wears dockers khaki's on the weekend.  I've got other friends that have suffered through divorce, death and financial hardship.  They worked through it, they didn't give up.

I know I get a little sentimental because my wife and son are 6 hours away right now but I'd feel the same either way.  I try my best to spend as much time with my son.  Someday he'll be old enough to believe his dad isn't super cool and fun (he'll be wrong).  I attempt to communicate with my wife.  I sometimes forget that I'm blown away by how funny and sensible she is.  For those of you that don't know, she has a great sense of humor (she has to with my son & I). 

My favorite adventure!

Here's to the dad's that stick by their family!  We're taking a way better adventure than the guys in the action movies.  I now pronounce you manly!

This actually happened to me and Karen.  Good thing the photographer from Mans Life was there.

Also, if you wear khakis on the weekend you look extra manly if the above magazine cover should happen to you! 

ps.  that's going to be our Christmas card next year.