The Amazing Nelson Adventure

The Next Road Trip

2011-07-10T05:44:00.000-07:00

Around The Lake

It's never too early to start thinking about my next trip. I'd really like to do a small trip with Kari, I know she'd enjoy it a great deal. Obviously it's a challenge with 3 young children at home, but with the help of my mom we could make it happen at some point. The first trip that we're looking at would be a trip around Lake Michigan. It's just a little under 950 miles, and I figure that it could be made into two long days or three manageable days depending on how much time we had. It would be a nice trip, I know several people (Sharon Polite, Andy Trevino) that have done the trip and they seemed to enjoy it.

I've already looked into some changes I'd like to make to my bike to make it a little more comfortable for a longer trip. This would include adding a windshield or fairing as well as some hard saddle bags that were easier to manage. If Kari comes along I'd also need some kind of rear rack to store things on behind the sissy bar. It's fun to dream about the next adventure, fun to thing of sharing it with Kari! :)

Day 4 - 320 miles home

2011-07-07T13:12:00.000-07:00

I woke at 2am on day 4. I didn't mean to wake up that early, but I was awaken by some kind of choking fit my dad was having and realized that I couldn't fall back asleep. At 2:30am I packed my things onto the ol' Harley for the last time and began my trip home. The first couple of hours were pretty uneventful, as the roads were clear and I was by myself most of the time. I swung past Springfield, Illinois and began heading north on 55. I stopped twice along the way, once for gas and another just to get off the bike for a while.

It wasn't until I got to Joliet and onto 80/94 east that it really hit me that my trip was ending at 3.25 days rather than the 10-12 that I had planned on. It was very nice to see Kari and the kids, but I have to admit that continue to be very disappointed in how my summer vacation ended so abruptly. I'm not sure what I would have done differently if I were to do it again. I had a great time for the time that I was on the road. It was fun and challenging, just what I'd hoped for. I road in several states for the first time, visited several major cities for the first time, and was a hop, skip, and a jump away from Texas before the big surprise hit me. I'm disappointed that nothing stopped us from continuing, we stopped ourselves.

There are some positive things!

First of all, I gained some valuable experience on the road. I learned how to pack my bags on my bike effectively, and also figured out some things that I'd change about my bike before I took on another trip like this. Another great thing is that I've already got two great leads on a bike trip for next year! I have a friend that might be interested in a fun road trip next summer, and Kari and I have talked many times about she and I hitting the road either with the kids or just her and I. I am signing off, thanks to those of you that followed me on my fun yet abbreviated summer motorcycle trip.

Day Three - 571 miles - The Wrong Way!

2011-07-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

Somehow a picture of a dead armadillo that Doug and I came across on day 2 is a fitting picture for this entry. As mentioned, day 2 was very hot and trying on our group. We finished up the evening with a trip to the Waffle House, and then relaxed with a trip to the hotel pool to relax. We decided as a group to wake up early on day 3 with hopes of getting an earlier start to avoid the hottest temperatures. When we got moving for day 3 we had a surprising decision made. Two of the group of four decided that it was too hot and too hard, and the decision was made than rather than moving on to Amarillo, Texas as planned we would instead drive up to Wichita, Kansas and effectively cutting the trip by more than half. Gone was a trip to the west coast, and instead we would travel north through Kansas before heading back into Missouri and eventually Illinois and home to Indiana. As we traveled through the flat lands of Kansas I must admit that I was in shock of what had transpired. I went from being very excited about the trip (I mean really, who blogs about a trip that they aren't excited about! :) ) to being extremely disappointed and simply wanting to go home as fast as possible. We traveled through Kansas quickly, dealing with a short rain storm along the way before heading back into Missouri. We did manage to stop in at a Harley Davidson dealership in Kansas City for some souvenirs. Once we left Kansas City we headed north for a bit then traveled east across Missouri. Once again we enjoyed the rolling hills of Missouri. Our day ended in Hannibal, Missouri, just short of the Missouri/Illinois border. I decided that I was going to travel home early on day 4.

Day Two - 288 miles

2011-07-05T19:55:00.000-07:00

Day Two - 288 miles

I realized that I ended up averaging 48.5 miles to the gallon on day 1! Not bad! The Harley has been doing great so far, it's been a joy to ride.

Today we started in Springfield, Missouri at the hotel with a shower and a breakfast. We got on the road and soon we came across Joplin, Missouri. Some of you may remember that Joplin recently dealt with a horrible tornado and lost many lives. We didn't realize how large Joplin was until we saw that it had 5 exits on the highway we were traveling on. At one point while we were driving I looked to the right side of the road and saw several highway signs that had been mangled and destroyed in the tornado. As soon as I saw that I immediately looked to the left side of the road and there was a neighborhood that had just been drilled by the tornado. There were houses that were missing roofs, siding was ripped off of houses, backyards just in shambles. It was awful.

It wasn't long after that where we left Missouri behind and headed into Oklahoma. We stopped at a visitor's center and it was then that I realized how deeply the history of Oklahoma is intertwined with the Indian culture. It was interesting to learn that different parts of the southern states are marked as areas for different tribes. I would be driving along and would see a sign that would say, "Entering Kickapoo Tribe Territory" or something like that. There were also many casinos along the way, many ran by the different tribes that were connected to that particular area.

Missouri has a helmet law, meaning that all motorcyclists must wear helmets. Once we got into Oklahoma we took off the helmets just for a rest, I can tell you that my neck was sore for having driven so long for the two days. It was nice to feel out in the wind a little more, but later on in the day I put my helmet back on to get out of the wind for a bit. :)

If Missouri was hilly, Oklahoma started off very flat before transitioning back into a rolling hills environment. Oklahoma transitioned back and forth between hilly and flat plains that were used for cattle and crops. There was a ton of traffic between Miami and Tulsa, it was tough to drive in one lane traffic over a long distance. It wasn't much fun, and as the temperature rose it was getting worse fast! As we headed into Tulsa we got lunch and went to the Route 66 Harley Davidson dealership. Man, they have some great deals! Their prices were $2,000 - $2,500 cheaper than I'm used to seeing in Porter County! I may be flying out to Tulsa when it's time to get a new bike!

Finally we headed out of Tulsa, but the temperature had rose to over 104 degrees. Driving on the asphalt was awful, it was like you were getting hit twice, once from the sun and then again from the asphalt! We were dealing with overheating bikes and bodies, so once we got into Oklahoma City we decided it was enough for the day. We finished up with dinner and decided to call it a day. The plan is to get moving earlier tomorrow to try and drive in cooler temperatures!

Most of our miles today came along the historic Route 66 highway! It was neat to see the small towns along the way, they try to use the history of Route 66 to boost the economy along the highway.

Today I saw my first armadillo in nature! It was dead on the side of the road, but Doug pointed it out to me and it was pretty cool to see one in the real world!

Lastly, I noticed how beautiful the red clay is at construction sites in this area. I know baseball coaches kind of like that red clay on baseball fields, and here it is right next to our hotel in piles! I'll try to upload a few pictures today.

Updated Pictures

Day 1 - 532 Miles

2011-07-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

Day 1 began as mentioned before in Portage, Indiana. We hit route 30 and took it into Illinois before heading south on 57. Driving in Illinois is very familiar; if I didn't know better I'd swear I drove down 65 in Indiana. I really thought the first day would be something to simply get through, but things changed quickly once we got into Missouri. First we drove through St. Louis, driving right past the Gateway Arch while an amazing air show was going on. Words don't do justice to seeing this live, I have no idea how many people were sitting at the base of the Arch watching the air show. It had to be in the 10,000+ range, I'll leave it at that! I have to say that driving in Missouri was a highlight that I was not counting on! Driving through the foothills of the Ozark Mountains was awesome, a slow roller coaster of a ride that gave us amazing views of miles of beautiful forests on a regular basis. We arrived at Springfield, Missouri and called it an evening. This evening an ugly cloud came in and threatened to storm, but as of now it hasn't really done anything. Hopefully tomorrow I'll blog from Texas!

I'm excited to say that I've never been this far west in my life! I know that's pretty sad, but what a way to change that in a hurry! Other than a few bumps in the road the day went smoothly and we'll be ready to move on tomorrow.

Packing it all in

2011-07-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

So once you've been convinced or blackmailed to go on a huge adventure the next question of course is, "What do I pack?". With the plan to camp out at least once in mind, I'm now faced with the challenge of fitting my clothes, my tent, my mattress, my sleeping bag, and my clothes and other equipment on a single motorcycle. Lucky fhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifor me, I planned ahead and picked up some saddle bags and traveling bag a while back! Today, with the help of Jaecy and Kari we'll get everything packed for our trip. I made sure to pack plenty of bug spray and sun block for myself; after years of umpiring in South Haven I can say from experience that I thoroughly hate Mosquitoes and all that they are. Circle of life be darned, I'd be a happier man if mosquitoes were to suddenly decide to pack up and leave the planet. I'm still working on the best way to get my pictures uploaded onto the blog, but when I do I'll make sure to include a picture of the bike when it's fully loaded.

Pictures

There and Back Again

2011-07-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

It started a year ago about this time of year. My brother Doug, myself, and Dad planned out a short trip down to Kentucky to enjoy the Shawneetown Rally. It didn't take long for me to get hooked. From the first days of me owning my 2009 Harley Street Bob I dreamed of going on adventures with only my motorbike and some friends. I haven't traveled much in my 35 years, and I've never been further west in the U.S. than Illinois.

With all that said, the first time I pitched the idea to Doug and Dad about a much longer trip I think they thought I'd lost it. It took some time for them to open up to the idea. Many times during the winter we'd talk about a summer trip, but mostly during tough times when we needed a moment of levity. It's only been in the last few weeks that we've really talked about it seriously, at least serious enough to sit down with an atlas to plan out some sort of route.

So now I find myself less than 24 hours away from kicking off the trip with the furthest point away from home being San Diego, California. The goal is simple; two pictures, with one being of me, my bike, and the pacific ocean and the other being of me in the pacific. The sights that we will see along the way will be amazing, the stories that result will be epic and shared for years to come. Tomorrow the trip begins at 7am, and for some reason beyond my understanding we'll be leaving from the parking lot of the Portage K-Mart.

We plan on camping out at least once during the trip, so yesterday Kari helped me pick out my tent, mattress, and odds and ends I'll need along the way.

Inspired by movies by Jesse James and Ewan Mcgregor we begin our journey. I tested my bags during my trip to Grand Rapids earlier this month, so I'm as ready as I can be I suppose. I plan on updating on a regular basis along the way both here on the blog and on Facebook. I have a 4gb memory card that I intend to fill with pictures and experiences. I hope you'll join me on my adventure,

Our day one goal will to travel from Portage, Indiana to Springfield, Misouri.

Summer Plans

2010-05-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

The summer of 2010 is pretty intimidating when I think of all of the things we have planned. I'm really not sure how all of it's going to get done! Here's a brief version of the TO DO list:

Going to Wisconsin Dell's with the Lady Warriors
Working both the Porter County and Lake County Fairs (11 days a piece!)
Family trip to Georgia
Motorcycle road trip
Basketball camps galore!
Softball umpiring
Kid's baseball season
June 21-25 Calumet New Tech Training in Indianapolis, IN

2010-05-16T07:47:00.000-07:00

So, here I was on a Sunday morning when it struck me that my time on Facebook book and a direct connection to the premature death of my little corner of the blogging world. Well, we Nelson's often lovingly consider ourselves too stupid to stop when it comes to the persistence side of things. That being said, it's going to be my personal mission to get my Amazing Nelson Adventure blog back up and running! There's way to many cool things that happen to us without getting a chance to share it with the friends and family that we've attached ourselves to along the way!

Whoa Baby!

2008-12-14T16:15:00.000-08:00

Rather than trying to go on and on about how busy we've been I thought it better to get right to work. I've been a bad, bad person when it comes to updating the blog lately, so it's time to get back at it. Basketball season is now full underway and we've managed to be horrible and 3-1 all at the same time. It's a gift that I've passed along to my athletes, no doubt about it. Santa and Christmas has been the theme around the Nelson household for a while, Kari went as far to buy our first "real" Christmas tree. I'll have to get a picture of it, she did a real nice job. We have one more week of school before Christmas break, and if you ask me it isn't coming a moment too soon. :)

Jaecy's Birthday cake in November. Happy B-DAY!!

Jayden's New Fancy Wheelchair. If you look close his name is stitched on it!

Jayden in the new ride!

Jayden working with his walker aid.

Do You Hear It?

2008-10-27T17:09:00.001-07:00

Well, can you? The wind rustles through the leaves as the weather slowly changes on us, and that sound in the distance can only be one thing. It's a sound known well by the Nelson family, especially during this time of year. As part of the season as pumpkins, costumes, and Thanksgiving dinners. That sound? That sound you hear? It's getting closer! It's getting clearer! I hear cheers! I hear squeeking! I smell.....I smell popcorn! It must be basketball season! GOOD LUCK AS THE SEASON GETS UNDER WAY!

Good luck to the Lady Warriors of Calumet!
Good luck to the Lady Wildcats of Hanover!
Good luck to the Warriors of Calumet! (We're gonna need it!) :)

Hey Pumpkin!

2008-10-27T17:00:00.000-07:00

As Halloween gets closer Kari and Jaecy picked up some pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. We all sat down around the kitchen table and went to work! The results can be seen in the picture below!

Jaecy's pumpkin with a wink and a smile!
Kari and Mav carved out the Pokemon logo!
Daddy went for the grumpy pumpkin look! (Check out the mean eyebrows!!)

I'm Hit!!!

2008-10-01T13:15:00.001-07:00

Well, today all the kids got their flu vaccinations and updated shots. Mav and Jayden were like pincushions, they got hit all over!

It's been a while, so how about some updates?!?

Kari is all done with Golf and is helping out a bit with Volleyball in the absence of Sue Gabbert at Calumet. Coach Gabbert is out of work and is receiving treatment for cancer. Go Sue, get better soon!
Jaecy has a new website! I'll add it on here and on the sidebar.
I tweaked my back last Friday but have recovered quickly and am back to feeling good!
We picked up a copy of the movie Iron Man! It's a fun movie to watch, we all enjoy watching it.

http://msjaniceportageymca.blogspot.com/

This is the link to Jaecy's classroom at the YMCA. If you look through the pictures you can see her in action!

Monday, Monday

2008-09-22T08:16:00.001-07:00

Well, all is back to normal after the crazy amount of rain we had two weekends ago. I am finally able to take 80/94 to work, knocking my commute back down to around 25 minutes.

Maverik and I have been introduce to a game called Spore and have been having a blast with it. Part of the game includes being able to use the computer to build 3-D models of creatures, buildings, boats, cars, planes, and space ships. It's wonderful to peak over his shoulder and see him work. He makes some wonderful creations, I'm going to see if there's any way to get some of them on the blog for all to see. Maverik and Jaecy are now working on writing their letters at home, Jaecy loves to work on it while Maverik simply puts up with me while I make him do it.

While Kari and I are far from couch potatoes we are very excited about this week because season 3 of Heroes premieres tonight and IronMan is released to DVD next week.

We're talking about role models in Health class, and for years I have exposed my students to Team Hoyt. I once saw this man on TV participating in a Triathalon and was in awe of his drive. Little did I know at the time where the real drive was coming from. As Jayden has been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, this video should reach out to anyone that loves him! For your enjoyment, Team Hoyt!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flRvsO8m_KI

By the way, I love the song that plays at the end of the video:

I Can Only Imagine

"I can only imagine what it will be like, when I walk by Your side...I can only imagine, what my eyes will see, when Your Face is before me!I can only imagine. I can only imagine.
Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?
Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'?
Will I be able to speak at all?I can only imagine! I can only imagine!
I can only imagine, when that day comes, when I find myself standing in the Son!
I can only imagine, when all I will do, is forever, forever worship You!
I can only imagine! I can only imagine!
Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?
Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'?
Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine! Yeah! I can only imagine!
Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?
Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'?
Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine! Yeah! I can only imagine!
I can only imagine! Yeah! I can only imagine!!
Only imagine!!!I can only imagine.

Jayden is becoming more and more curious...and I as I see him, see him with his brother and sister, and see his soul through his eyes....I know one thing as sure as I'm breathing air. That boy knows love, knows what it means to love and be loved. Spend 5 minutes with him, it's undeniable. It's a gift that we all need to enjoy because, as a teacher, I see that not everyone has that light in their eyes.

Noah, Where Are You?!?

2008-09-15T17:52:00.000-07:00

The last few days were spent inside as Northwest Indiana was hosed consistently with record setting showers. Thankfully the Amazing Nelson Adventure waddled on without much change. I went to the Portage vs. Merrillville football game on Friday with Grandpa Merel, Uncle Doug, and Kale. We had a good time in the rain, and Portage figured out a way to make things much more exciting than they should have been.

As a small gift to us we were all given the day off from school while most were recovering. I'm interested to see how things are at Calumet tomorrow, as Lake County seems to have been hit hard due to rising rivers as a result of the massive rain amounts.

BEST OF THREE

Each fall I have my little ritual. We watch high school football on Friday, Notre Dame football on Saturday, and the Bears on Sunday. I've always figure if two of the three won that weekend that all was good. I've added Calumet into the mix now that I work there. Thankfully Calumet is doing well this season, that makes it fun to root for them.

Maverik and Jaecy worked on their writing a bit this evening. Both can write their name with some help, but I'd say that Jaecy really enjoys it more than Mav.

How Do I Love Thee, Dish Washer? Let Me Count The Ways

2008-09-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

Kari and I have happily glided into the twentieth century (no, that's not an error!) with the purchase of a new dish washer! Now, we had a dishwasher while we lived in Washington Township but the well water was so bad that the dishwasher was basically useless! On Sunday I did some hunting around and ended up at Menards (You save big money....) and purchased a new portable dishwasher and outside gas grill. The dishwasher is a champ!!! Kari and I sit around looking at each other now, thinking to ourselves, "Shouldn't we be cleaning something?!?" The dishes are getting washed, and that leaves me more time to spend on my favorite new hobby.....drumroll please...... COLORING!!! I've been doing lots of coloring lately to be a good example for Mackie. Poor Mav is just plain awful right now at staying in the lines, so I'm taking it upon myself to be a good example. I've caught the bug, and I've colored Dora, Diego, Ariel, Flounder, Fairies, Hedgehogs, and lots of trees! I may have to take some pictures of these works of art, you'd get a tear in your eye as a result of the beauty of my work! (Hopefully along the way I'll get Mav convinced!)

Mav was sad last night when he went to bed, so I used Froggy and Cubby Bear (his two stuffed animals) to create a make believe Pokemon battle! He was so impressed that he returned the favor and recreated a very elaborate battle by himself! I'm sad to say that Squirtle and Cubby Bear were defeated, but I was impressed by Mav's detailed account of the battle.

Dink, Dink

2008-09-10T17:12:00.000-07:00

Dink, Dink is the sound that you'll get now when you prompt Jayden with a bottle of his favorite drink. It's pretty quiet, but he says it whenever he's hungry and is presented with a bottle. He started it at Grandma's (I thought it was a fluke), but I've heard him say it on several occasions this week during dinner time. This is certainly a great step!

Maverik has homework every Monday that is due on Friday, and thankfully I'm still smart enough to help him with it! :) Seriously, his homework consists of letters (pick out the pictures that start with the letter A), numbers, and basic addition. He still needs some work with coloring and staying within the lines, but he's got his letters, numbers, and basic math down pat!

Jaecy has been enjoying her preschool and is doing well, she certainly looks forward to the days that she visits her class.

OTHER UPDATES:

Kari's Golf season is wrapping up in a few weeks!
Kari and I are preparing for another season of basketball!
We rented Baby Mama the other day and really enjoyed it
Maverik gets to pick out a library book to bring home and read. This week's choice was called Goodnight Moon by Margret Wise Brown.

The Trifecta!

2008-09-03T18:16:00.000-07:00

Jaecy by her cubby hole in her classroom

Jaecy with her pink backpack
Jaecy with her name tag, all ready to learn!

No tears, no clinging to the leg. Jaecy's first day of preschool was one that she's looked forward to for a long time. Mommy helped Jaecy put her backpack away, then Jaecy simply said, "You can go now!" With that, the Nelson family experienced another first: The first day when all three kids went to school!

As you will see by the pictures, Jaecy has a light cast on her right hand. She was at Grandma's house and fell while playing with cousins Kale and Nate. The cast is a preventative measure more than anything and should be on for about two weeks. We take it off before she goes to bed and when she takes her baths.

Update!!

2008-08-31T06:16:00.000-07:00

Maverik in his classroom

Maverik puts his bookbag away

Maverik at home! He's getting so big! (I may be biased, but he's one good looking guy!)

Today is the rare day when there's not a ton of new stuff going on, so it's just an update day. Nothing wrong with an update day!

Kari's Golf season will be winding down in the next few weeks.
I'm starting our preseason strength program for the basketball team.

Maverik is off and running at school!

Jaecy will have her first official day at preschool this week!

Jayden stayed home Friday with the sniffles, he and Mav are fighting a cold.

We are celebrating Grandpa Merel's birthday today!

It's very unusual for the Nelson family to actually look forward to a new season on television, but we've grown fond of the TV shows Friday Night Lights and Heroes. We're up to date with what happened last season and are ready to go!

The Beginning of Things to Come

2008-08-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

I was about to begin this blog with a "First Day of School" title, but then I began to realize that this day was just the beginning of lots of "firsts". My buddy Jerry Bechtold always called a high school student's senior year their "season of lasts" so I would say that for the Nelson family this is the beginning of our "season's of firsts." Jayden was picked up for the bus for school for the first time, and Mom was there to catch it on film. I'm also going to try and include footage of Jayden sitting up on the new carpeting to catch a glimpse of one of his favorite shows. (DORA!!!)

Jayden Sitting Up Like a Pro (And Doing Something Funny With His Tongue)

Jayden Getting On The School Bus For The First Time!

In other good news, I have almost made it through the first week of school alive and well! The boys are about to kick off their first football game of the season this Friday against Lew Wallace.

Summer Ends

2008-08-17T18:41:00.000-07:00

Well, tomorrow it's back to work for me with an all day meeting at Calumet High School. Maverik and Jayden both start this week, and Jaecy will start her pre-school program early in September.

For teacher's this next week is almost like New Year's Eve. As a teacher walking into a new school year, I always make resolutions to try things different or avoid past mistakes. This year I am using the beginning of the school year to lose some weight. I've actually started another blog on the issue, I've labeled it THE MISSION and have it linked on the right side of the page. Hopefully the blog will be a positive reinforcement towards losing some weight. I start officially tomorrow, although I've been tracking things since last Monday.

It's amazing how quickly things change. In the last week Jayden has really taken off with sitting up and getting on his hands and knees and rocking, almost like he's thinking about crawling. These are things that he's worked on during his therapy for quite some time now, so to see even the little break trough's is very exciting!

Kari and I have been following the Cubs, the Olympics, and the Big Brother live reality show. It really sounds worse than it is, we're not really couch potatoes but once we get caught up in something we're hooked!

Recommendation of the week: I just saw the movie Deja Vu with Denzel Washington. It started off a little ENEMY OF THE STATE'ish, but it really picked up half way through and really surprised me with how caught up in it I was.

As I type this Maverik is laying next to me reading about 50% of what type. He's a pretty slick whistle! More news to come as I hear what's going on at Calumet tomorrow.

Wrapping Up Summertime

2008-08-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Mav!

Maverik's Birthday cake had a Wall-E theme

With summer winding down in the next few weeks the Nelson family has been busy with a number of activities. We've celebrated Maverik's Birthday and are working towards getting new furniture and carpeting for the living room. I've included some pictures and a video of the birthday action.

Well, in the last few days I've caught Jayden in the act of sitting up straight in his crib! Sunday morning I walked into his and Mav's room to get him out of bed, and Jayden was sitting straight up and looking at me. Jaecy and Mav were playing in the room today after their naps and Jaecy starting yelling at me, "Jayden's sitting up Daddy, Jayden's sitting up!" Little moments, little steps....this boy's gonna walk some day.

Back in The Saddle

2008-08-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

Whew! That's all I can say now that I'm done with my annual 10-11 day summer job. For those of you not aware I (Dustin) and my brother work at the Porter County Fair for the entire duration of the fair. That basically means working 11 days of 15-16 hours a day in a row. The job leaves me tired and plain worn out, and to be honest it took me almost a full 3 days before I felt good once the fair was done. We have lots of little things going on right now, so I thought a short update was in order.

Mav and Jaecy went to the Dentist! They were very brave!
Kari and I went to see The Dark Knight.
We've been doing some window shopping for living room furniture.
Kari has started her Golf practices at Calumet High School.

We have been to lots of movies this summer, The Dark Knight being the latest. It was a really good movie, one that I'd recommend to anyone. So far we've seen TDK, Hancock, Wall-E, and The Hulk. I have also watched some new DVD movies, I really liked Vantage Point and Definitely, Maybe.

God Shed His Grace On Thee!

2008-07-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

We had a great time for the Fourth of July holiday! We spent time with family and went to Lake Michigan to watch the fireworks. Kari even caught some of the fireworks on video. I've never seen so many firework shows in one place!

Mav playing with the sand at the Ogden Dunes beach

Jayden swinging in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard

Jaecy in action on the water slide

Firework show at the beach

Happy Birthday Jayden!

2008-07-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Jayden's birthday at Zao Island, the second year in a row that we've done so. At Zao Island we played mini-gold, road Go-Karts, hit baseballs, road the bumper cars, and had some birthday cake. The pictures tell the story better than I ever could!

Aunt Ann and Uncle Doug

Mommy and Jayden

Cousins Alyssa, Hanna, and Jaecy

Jaecy, Mommy, Jayden, Daddy, and Mav stop for a picture!

Jayden and Cousin Brogan share a moment

Summer Activities

2008-06-29T07:41:00.000-07:00

We've been pretty busy here lately with a flurry of activities. Here's an update of things we have been up to or will be doing soon!

The whole family went to the 49er Drive in to watch Kung-Fu Panda and The Incredible Hulk. We brought a lot of snacks and mosquito spray to the evening and had a great time!
Yesterday we celebrated Jayden's 3rd birthday with a trip to Ryan's for dinner! We are also planning on going to Zao Island tomorrow for a party! Hopefully we'll have some pictures from the fiesta!
We've been doing so much swimming that Mav and Jaecy are growing gills.
We got some Root Beer Floats and the Port Drive In Restaurant in Chesterton. We were out and about doing some window shopping for homes and came across the Restaurant. Their Root Beer is good stuff!

We also splurged a bit and bought the Wii Fit game and board. We've had lots of fun playing with our balance, conditioning, and strength. Jaecy loves the hula hoop game, and Mav loves running real fast so his Wii character trips and falls. To each their own, I guess! :-)

Earlier this week I spent time with long time friend Kevin Scott and helped him move some things out of his house. He is moving in with his mom as she recovers from heart surgery. Kevin and his wife Nycole have sadly filed for divorce. Kevin's dad recently passed away, it's a rough time for all involved. The Nelson family sends their love to Kevin and Nycole as they work through this difficult time.

There is a serious line up of movies in the theatre that I'd like to see here soon. Hancock, The Dark Knight, and WALL-E are just a few movies that I'd like to see. I usually don't go to the movies this much but there are some neat movies out there! The kids loved Kung-Fu Panda!

G-O-A-L!!!!

2008-06-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure I'd believe it if I hadn't seen it myself, but Maverik Tyler ended his first full soccer season in style with his first ever goal! We were fortunate enough to catch it on camera, so today's video is of Maverik scoring a big goal! Most times Maverik lays back and lets everyone else do the work, but for whatever reason when the ball squirted out of the pack this time Maverik kicked it once away from everyone then kicked the ball straight into the goal from about 8-10 feet away. Way to go Mackie! Check out the video, Kari did a great job of catching the action.

Last night the kids and I went to Andy and Cindy Trevino's house to celebrate Andy's birthday. Andy and Cindy both work at Calumet with me, they are very nice people that care about the Calumet community. Jaecy and Maverik got to do some swimming, and lots and lots of people stopped to visit and chat a while with Jayden. The Trevino's and their family are wonderful people, we had a great time!

Splish Splash!

2008-06-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

I'm now all caught up with the Heroes episodes, all the way up to season 2. We've been doing a lot of swimming, sleeping, and hanging out in between sessions of basketball and work. The Calumet boys are working hard and have a long way to go. Kari and I both just got new cell phones! They have the same numbers, but we're now able to take pictures with the phones. They are pretty darn snazzy! I always get the rugged kind because I tend to beat up on my phones and MP3 players.

Jaecy went big time and used some magic jelly beans to score her first goal ever this past weekend for her soccer team! She was very excited, and her whole team was happy for her!

Jayden is back to full health and really seems to be picking things up. He has a check up today so he and Kari are headed up to Chicago for a visit. Mav and Jaecy have their last practice of the season today....the season went so fast!

Heroes!

2008-06-14T06:55:00.001-07:00

For my birthday on June 10th I was thoroughly spoiled by my family. I received happy birthday hugs from the kids, a three person swing from Kari to go along with Season 1 of the TV show Heroes. It's a neat show that follows a group of people that through evolution have special powers. I've seen before where people were asked what one superpower they would assume if they could just chose one. When I was a young pup I think I would've said super strength or the ability to fly, but now I would say that I'd like the power to heal people. How neat would that be, to walk into a hospital and go room by room changing lives? I would definitely hunt this little cutie down and give him and hand. His story is way too real to me:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=clemmons/080612&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab3pos1

We are close to wrapping up our first soccer season! I really think it's been good for the kids to be a part of a team. The family that coaches them have been pretty nice to the kids, it's been fun to step back and be a spectator for a while.

It's also fun as Maverik and Jaecy grow older and watch them become friends. They like to pick on each other from time to time, but at home there are some very sweet moments where they really look out for each other and Jayden.

June 23rd is coming up quick! Why is that date important? On June 23, 2001 Kari Lynn Wiseman and Dustin Russell Nelson were married at the Valparaiso University Chapel. That was a neat day that I remember well. It's just the night before that I have trouble with.....

Free at Last!

2008-06-08T05:01:00.000-07:00

Late Friday night Jayden was released from the hospital, and everyone is very happy that Little Diddle is home! Maverik and Jaecy don't like it one bit when their Mom and little brother stay at the hostible (as Jaecy calls it), so they like to sleep in Daddy's bed when this happens. That leads to the Nelson family being sad, tired, and cranky (and the kids aren't happy either!). Any who, Jayden got lots of rest on his first day home and even spent some time visiting with Isabel on Saturday evening. All is well now that family is back under one roof!

A Nice Place To Visit, But I Wouldn't......

2008-06-06T04:05:00.000-07:00

The Nelson family has been fighting the sickness bug on and off for about two weeks, and on Wednesday it finally bit hard. Kari took Jayden to the doctors only to discover that he was dehydrated and had elevated kidney levels (the bad one's :) ) So, with that in mind Jayden was admitted into the hospital in Valpo for a visit. At this wonderful vacation spot Jayden gets to sleep in a cage-like bed, get blood tests every two hours, hang out in his diaper, and gets all the juice that he can handle! Kind of like a trip to Vegas for some of you fine folks! :) We're keeping our fingers crossed that he'll be home for the weekend.

I finally went to the doctor on Thursday to get some antibiotics and nose spray. I've been having trouble with overall energy, my ears, and breathing here recently and good ol' doc says it's due most to the recent pollen and ragweed counts in the air along with a bit of sickness. Hopefully I'll get to feeling better, when I ran in my last running "race" I felt like I was breathing through a straw the whole time!

Maverik and Daddy are now done with school for a few months! We celebrated by visiting Jayden and getting lunch at the hospital, then went home in the evening and took a quick dip in the pool! Maverik made sure to tell me, "Daddy, I love the summer time!"

Basketball is off and running at Calumet, and we're so young that I'm not sure I could take my team to see a PG-13 movie! At this point it looks like we'll have a small handful of seniors that can contribute. Right now as it stands there are 3-4 sophomores and even a freshman that might end up helping us on the varsity level. We have a few games coming up this next Wednesday, it will give us a small indication if we can compete next season.

Interesting Article

2008-05-31T02:44:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy reading articles online, and when I read online I often come across an article or quote that speaks to me. Anyone who knows me well knows that I absolutely love The West Wing, an old television show about the White House. Martin Sheen plays the character of Josiah Bartlet, who is the President Of The United States on the show. I highlighted in the information that stood out to me.

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Martin Sheen became "fanatic" when his son Charlie was using drugs.

Martin Sheen says he was a "fanatic" about going after son Charlie's drug use.

"When a life is at stake and it's your child, you become fearless in a lot of ways. I mean, you just become fanatic," the 67-year-old actor says in the July/August issue of AARP The Magazine. "Nothing ever gets done unless it's done by a fanatic."
Sheen, who portrayed fictional President Josiah Bartlet on NBC's "The West Wing," tells the magazine how he intervened to save his actor-son.
"The only way I got to Charlie, frankly, was because he'd skipped out of the hospital. I had to pay the bill," Sheen says. "In paying the bill, I got to see why he was in there. He'd consumed an illegal substance; he was on probation. ... This was a criminal matter. And so that was the wedge; that was the leverage I had. That is what I took to the court; that's what I took to the sheriff. It was the only way I got him."
The veteran TV and film star, who battled alcoholism himself, also turned to Alcoholics Anonymous to help his son.
"I got sober through Catholicism, through my faith," Sheen tells the magazine. "I only got involved with AA when I was trying desperately to find a way to help Charlie, because I didn't have any skills."
Sheen also talked about his career and politics, saying he doesn't plan to run for public office.
"I'm not qualified," he says. "It's crossed my ego. I feel like a public servant. I feel like a responsible citizen. But I couldn't do it professionally. I don't have the temperament."

One more:

Here's an interesting link off of Randy Pausch's website that discusses both statistics (mean, median, and mode) along with the importance of attitude when fighting adversity:

http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/news/medianNotMessage.html

I like to think of myself as a right-tailed person in most cases. :)

One, Two, Three, Like a Bird I Sing

2008-05-30T18:01:00.000-07:00

Mav and I experimented with Mommy's camera to make a quick video.

From the Mouths of Babes

2008-05-30T17:15:00.000-07:00

This evening I thought I'd let the kids say whatever they wanted on the computer. Maverik went as far to type his own name after each of his statements. Jaecy didn't type, but she was very sure of the messages that she wanted to give to everyone. After a while they got bored of my little project, but it was fun hearing what they wanted to say!

Grandma I love you! MAVERIK

Grandma loves helping me fix the 64 video games! MAVERIK

Grandma loves helping me make a drink! MAVERIK

Grandma loves helping me play computers! MAVERIK

GRANDMA LOVES HELPING ME MAKE ADVENTURES! MAVERIK (Mav typed this whole thing, I just helped with the spelling)

Grandma loves helping me figure out what to do! MAVERIK

Hannah, I'm on the computer! JAECY

Alyssa, Travis, Maverik, Jayden, Mommy, Daddy, Jaecy, Shooter

Grandpa Merel - Grandpa loves me alot! JAECY

Grandma Kathy - I love her so really much! JAECY

Grandma Debbie - I love her so much in the world! JAECY

Grandpa Terry - I love him so in the world much! JAECY

Grandpa Steve - I really, really love him in the much! JAECY

Grandma Abbey - I really, really love her so much! JAECY

Kale - I really, really love him! JAECY

Daddy, I think that's all! Jaecy

'Nuff said!

Tomorrow I'm running in a 3.1 mile run with Mike Villanueva and Bryon Clouse. We signed up for the race recently, although we've decided on doing a few of them this summer. My goal is simply to run the whole race without stopping, it won't be easy with the chest cold I've been battling for the past week. As Jaecy would say, "I've got the heart of a champion!" (use your imagination to see her singing it!) :0

Lace 'Em Up!

2008-05-28T09:14:00.000-07:00

Last night I was officially hired as the next boys basketball coach at Calumet High School. As you all know I was last at Morgan Township during the 2006-07 season, and I spent year as the freshman boys coach here at Calumet. We're working hard to plan the summer schedule, I think things are going to go well. We will have a meeting today after school to get the boys moving in the right direction. Kari and I have planned on this summer and fall as a way to be able to spend more time together as a family, so this is all a part of a larger plan (in more ways than one!)

By the way, as I finish typing this I just received a standing "O" from my Health class for being named the new coach. That felt good. :)

Bon Fire!

2008-05-26T15:36:00.000-07:00

As the youngest of three brothers I have long given up on the idea of having candles on my birthday cake. With that and the sanity of the South Haven Fired Department in mind the Nelson family celebrated Doug's 34th birthday this afternoon. It was neat to walk down the hallway of his house and see pictures of him back in high school, especially the ones of him on the mound for the Portage Indians baseball team. Now Nathan wears that uniform, the kids are getting bigger everyday, and we're celebrating Doug's 34th. It's weird getting older. In my mind I'm smarter than I was then, but there's a very large part of me that still feels like I'm 20 years old. When I see a picture of myself or catch a glimpse in the mirror I'm reminded otherwise, but I'm happy with what I've done with my time and most of the decisions that I've made. I look at my family, my wife Kari, and my children...I wouldn't change a thing. Happy birthday Dougie, we love you!

Updates:

Kari has started her part time job at the YMCA!

7 days of school left until summer time!

Jayden is starting to get used to being outside with the wind on his wiskers.

The Porter County Fair is getting closer everyday!

Yo Momma!

2008-05-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

A while back I cut out a newspaper article for Health class that discussed how strong marriages benefit society. Within the article I found an interesting section that I thought I'd share today with the mothers in my life.

A few years ago the National Geographic provided an example of sacrificial love. After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers assessed the damage.
One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes at the base of a tree. He knocked over the bird with a stick and three tiny chicks scurried away from under the dead mother’s wings.
Instinctively the mother had gathered her chicks under her wings knowing the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies.
The blaze had scorched her fragile body but she remained steadfast. Because she had been willing to die, those covered by her wings would live.

HE SHALL COVER YOU WITH HIS FEATHERS,
AND UNDER HIS WINGS YOU SHALL TAKE REFUGE;
HIS TRUTH SHALL BE YOUR SHIELD AND BUCKLER.
~ PSALM 91:04 ~

Jaecy and I took a trip to Wal-Mart the other day to pick up some stuff. In the parking lot Jaecy noticed some birds, and she pointed them out to me. As she and I walked towards the store I told her to hurry up or the birds would poop on her head! Her response was, "Daddy, birds don't poop!" She said it in a tone that made me feel like I'd missed out on a well known fact of life! She'll believe me once she turns 16 and washes her car. ;) (Scary thought!)

It's A Wrap!

2008-05-21T06:32:00.000-07:00

As of today I'm looking at 10 days until the school year is completed! I'm a bit envious, Maverik has Friday off from school and I don't! I really can't complain though, because I have Monday off to enjoy!

We have a lot of stuff going on as we head into the summer! I am already beginning to plan for this years edition of the Porter County Fair. Last year went so smooth I can't help but be a little nervous about this year, but the key to that job is solving little problems as they come along. Next week I should find out if I'm "officially" the varsity basketball coach at Calumet.

Updates:

Maverik lost another tooth since our last tooth posting!
Tuesday night 7pm is the school board meeting for my new coaching job.
Jayden bit Mommy on the head too, so now we have a little club going.
Maverik and Jaecy have an off week for soccer, no games this weekend.
Kari and I are trying to plan ahead so the upcoming basketball season will be a family friendly one!
Jaecy still wants pink walls and purple carpeting. :)
We are one step closer to taking the Nelson show on the road! (A new home in our future? Maybe!!!)

Readin', Writin', and 'Rithmatic

2008-05-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

In a recent phone call to my wonderful wife I realized that next year the vast majority of the Nelson clan will be enrolled in some form of education! I will tentatively be finishing up with my Master's Degree in January of 2009 through Indiana Wesleyan, Kari will be continuing her education towards her R.N. license, Maverik will officially be a kindergarten, and Jayden will be receiving therapy somewhere! We are are still figuring out the details with Jayden, but we're being very aggressive with his therapy as usual. Mav will be in a mainstreamed kindergarten, that's a HUGE "W" for the Nelson clan! Now we just need to find some trouble for Jaecy to get into and we'll be all ready to go!

Today's picture is of Jayden and I hanging together at Mav and Jaecy's soccer game. I can't figure out if the picture is before or after Jayden decided to bite Daddy on the top of his melon. :)

Dandelion Kickers

2008-05-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

Well, Pele' rests tonight knowing that no one in the Nelson clan is a major threat of knocking him off of his throne as the best soccer player ever. If Maverik and Jaecy attacked the ball with the same ferocity that they go after their post-game snacks we might be onto something, but that day seems to be a while off for now. For now we'll settle for fancy firefighter hats and smiles.

Stink Bombs, Basketball Shoes, and Wrestlers, Oh My!

2008-05-16T06:34:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd write a quick entry about the last few days of school here at Calumet. Early this week we had a Health Fair here at school. The Health Fair was held in the gym and included many local colleges and other programs specifically designed to promote healthy life time decisions.

This week we've had a few pranksters that were letting off stink bombs here at school. The stink bombs give off a rotten egg smell (not unlike my buddy Shooter), and this morning they finally caught and suspended a few of the culprits. They don't mess around here, we have a camera system that is used on a regular basis. The three boys that were caught were given 5 day suspensions. Ouch! There are some days when I wish I could get a 5 day suspension.

I've been brow beating the basketball players this week to pay up for this past seasons basketball shoes. I wish I could pull a "Rocky" and break a few thumbs, that would make the process much easier. Our last coach basically handed the boys $75 shoes and said "pay when you can!" Well, several months later that strategy hasn't worked, he resigned, so I'm left to collect the money so we can use it to pay for summer camps. My freshman boys have all paid up months ago, but the jayvee and varsity are a different story. Great way to start off my varsity stay here, playing the heavy and leaning on kids for shoe money. :(

I just got done reading a book about Dan Gable, the legendary wrestler and wrestling coach from Iowa. The book was sitting on my co-workers desk (Andy Trevino, former Indiana State High School Championship wrestler 44-0 his senior year!) when I asked if I could borrow it. Guess what! His success came from his focus, intensity, and passionate hard work! No secret there! In honor of the great Dan Gable I decided to include a "Welcome to the Gun Show" picture for the day. This immense show of power is common in the Nelson household, it's how we get what we want in life. :)

Missing in Action!

2008-05-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

I must start this post with a mention that I've received some grief on the home front concerning nicknames. I have to admit that I forgot some of them while writing my initial post, so I'm taking the time today to add to the previous list.

Big Momma (Kari's nickname during her three pregnancies)

Hooter (Shooter's nickname)

Hooter-Shooter-Tooter-MaGudder (it rhymes when you say it right...the dog has some serious gas at times, so the Tooter is pretty darn appropriate.)

Okay, let's move forward!

A while back we noticed that we had a quitter in our midst. While brushing Mackie's teeth before bedtime I saw that one of his top front teeth had a little wiggle in it's jiggle (not unlike myself while out on the dance floor). Since that night we knew our little white friend would soon meet its demise. After a prolonged struggle, the fight came to and end last night at Grandma Debbie's house. The story gets a little fuzzy here...either Grandma made Maverik go out and cut the backyard grass with a severely sprained ankle (wait a minute, that was me! Sorry, just a flashback!) or the tooth fell out while Mav was playing downstairs. Either way you choose to remember it, Mav is now one tooth short of a full deck.

General updates:

We're getting wonderfully close to the end of the school year!

Jaecy and Mom cleaned Jaecy's room.

Kari's slow pitch softball season is in full swing.

Dustin's slow pitch softball umpiring season is in full swing.

We have to cut this one short today. I have to leave for work early to go buy gasoline, but first I have to stop by the bank and talk to my loan officer. $4.00 a gallon??? I'm thinking about picking up some roller skates this weekend so I can save some $$$ and still get to work! :)

My Little Tour Guide

2008-05-13T11:21:00.000-07:00

A few times a week I'll strap on the old Ipod and head out for a run. Jaecy often asks to tag along, and my exercise time changes dramatically when she does. When I go by myself I usually sweat out a few miles, listening to music along the way and thinking about my current to-do list. When Jaecy goes with me we'll walk a while, run a while, the whole time talking about things that I would never even notice otherwise. Jaecy is an expert at pointing out bunny-rabbits that might be moving about, or she'll point out some pretty flowers that some one has planted. She loves it when Daddy runs backwards in front of her, I'm not sure if she's looking forward to the imminent trip and fall that will surely follow or not. :) The point is, it's amazing what I see when I change the lens through which I look. I try to stay quiet so she can point out the next conversation piece, and she never disappoints.

What's in a name?

2008-05-13T05:24:00.000-07:00

In this family you don't have to be around long before you get nailed with at least one nickname. The reason that I mention this is lately they've been coming fast and furious for the Nelson family.

Maverik, being the oldest youngin', has the most. He's been tattooed (not literally!) with: Super Goo, Mackie, Mav, Mackie-docious, Mackie-licious, and the ever mysterious Lucario! :)

Jaecy is catching up fast: Jae, Baby Girl, Princess Peach, Big Diddle.

Jayden has some work to do: Jay Jay, Wheezy Man, Little Diddle.

As the kids get older they've started in on nicknaming Mom and Dad. I know I've been called Daddy-docious and have somehow been labeled Daddy-Jigglypuff (I think Mav has noticed the everlasting battle with my mid-section). Mommy has been nicknamed Mommy-docious and Grumpy Butt. :)

Not to be left out, Jaecy has nicknamed Shooter "Stinky Dog." I think he and Kari have gotten the short end of the nickname stick. :)