Year 241 Begins

Avery Marie.

By the time I finish writing this post, I could be a great-uncle! (Or in the vernacular of the Disney XD series Gravity Falls, a grunkle.) Our niece Breanna's water broke this morning and as I write this she's in Trinity Hospital with her mom, Martha's sister Margaret. Martha got a text at work about it and when Sarah, Jeffrey, and I met her at her office we learned ourselves! It sounds like Breanna's sister Josceline predicted the right date for Avery to be born -- I guessed the day after our wedding anniversary the thirteenth, and we'd already passed Martha's guess on the thirtieth. I should find out more when, or even before, I get off work tonight.



Sunday morning at church we had a six-month-old baptized with that same name. I especially like the name Breanna chose for her debuting daughter -- in Knox Overstreet's words from the movie Dead Poets Society, it's quite ... sonorous. (And if she's reading this years from now when maybe Grunkle Dave or even some familial or professing archivist is pointing out what was said about her the day she was born, Avery may also get the impression I'm a bit, just a bit, pretentious.) This happening the day after our family celebrated the two hundred fortieth birthday of the United States of America  -- Independence Day ... also known as the Fourth of July,


but something wasn't right to me about just saying "the Fourth" this year.

Anyway, Sunday afternoon after church we set up the picnic table and giant canopy for us to shelter under, and we had to look up the directions online because Patrick and Donovan had misplaced the booklet. I don't know if they've found it yet. But it was great to enjoy grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and potato salad and assorted snacks and drinks there, and we got to see the fireworks at the State Fairgrounds on the edge of town that night! Also, we had Jeffrey's birthday party with ice cream and cake, for our son's ninth birthday was Saturday.


Halfway to legal adulthood, blows my mind.

And when I get home tonight the younglings will not be there! They are going camping with Grandma and Grandpa at Fort Totten a little over two hours southeast of Minot from today until Saturday afternoon, and I brought them to Robert and Sharon's this morning, but for the next three days that will not be a stop for me. Martha and I have our wedding anniversary a week from Tuesday, so we'll likely plan something to commemorate that while the kids are gone as on the actual day (July 12th) we're both working late. Of course we miss Sarah and Jeffrey and I'm sure Sarah's snark at me that all they'll do is play on their tablets will be quickly dispelled.


At least it had better be, David