"I'll be dead before ... "

Dan Jenkins is, first and foremost, a proud TCU alum. He also happens to be a sportswriter, having covered sports for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Dallas Times Herald and most notably for Sports Illustrated, a golf columnist and has written several books.

In this month's TCU Magazine, he makes this comment about the future of newspapers:

"As for the future, I'm glad I'll be dead before I'm forced to read a paper on a gizmo in the palm of my hand. Dan Jenkins has spoken."

Good thing he doesn't live in Detroit.

Freep makes the leap

Today marked the end of 7-day home delivery for the Detroit Free Press. Tomorrow, readers can grab a copy at drugstores and gas stations, read the e-edition or browse the website. It's a big change, and somewhat of a gamble, but necessary.

Here's a video from freep.com about the changes.

Little angel

Kelsey is still battling a stomach bug. This is day #3. She didn't
sleep too well last night; she kept waking and wanting to get "up,"
likely because she was thirsty. She's completely tuckered out on the
couch now.

Ha!

Last night, while picking a background for the blog, I couldn't remember Allison's blog address. I tried several different combinations before giving up. It had been a long day; I worked more than my usual freelance hours!

Now, I realize that I have chosen the exact background as Allison. Ha! Thanks much, Allison, for the idea and the background.

Ch-ch-changes

Well, you can't keep a website stagnant these days. Everyone expects change! So I'm unveiling a new design tonight.

Ken's cousin Allison has an adorable blog, and ever since I've been reading hers, I've wanted to add a background. Unfortunately, I don't often have time for such things as maintenance and redesigns. (Wow, that sounds just like my old job!)

Tonight, though, I took the plunge. I hope you like it!

Lil Kickers

Last week, Ryan began the Lil Kickers soccer program, which teaches the fundamentals of the sport in a fun, positive atmosphere. Kids can begin as young as 18 months and continue until they are 9.

We've been eager to sign up Ryan for an activity yet hesitant because we know we have many, many years ahead of us when we'll be balancing the busy lives of three children. (We constantly watch our neighbor on the go, shuttling her kids from one place to the next. It's exhausting!) Still, Ryan's sat through many of Brendan's activities and we believed he was ready for his own.

To make it even more fun, we asked Ryan's preschool friend Andrew to sign up for the same session. The result has been pure fun for both of them. The coaches are engaging, the activities are fun and the kids are loving it. Some photos from this week:

Ryan, with red cheeks and all.

Andrew (left) and Ryan, best buds.

Small, medium and large.

Our little cutie pies!

What's that?

Kelsey's vocabulary continues to grow, with new words and even some sentences added each day. It's always exciting to recognize her new words! Some of her latest:

• Up, which she uses most often when she wants up to wash her hands at the sink, something we seem to do all day long.
• No. A toddler favorite.
• Hot dog, which she picked up from Mo Willems' "The Pigeon Loves Things that Go!"
• I want some or I want that! She uses this quite often.
• Pablo, when talking to her miniature Pablo doll of the Backyardigan's fame.
• Lollipop
• Dance
• Cookie (I promise, we don't eat sugary treats all the time!)
• Walk, another favorite that I hear any time we attempt to leave the house or get out of the car. She wants to walk everywhere.
• Kankie, which is her word for "blankie." Funny, Brendan used to call his blankie "kind" but I don't recall Ryan ever having a different name for it.
• Shoes
• Socks

B's artwork

Brendan is our budding artist. He loves to draw. In fact, in school, he often forgets that writing workshop is about writing words. He'd rather spend his time drawing illustrations for his stories.

Sometimes, his drawings come from his imagination. Other times, he draws characters or objects from his world of toys and TV.

Recently, he was driven to draw pictures of characters on his Pokemon shirt. We were rather impressed with the results. First, he drew Ash, one of the more popular Pokemon trainers. (I pretend to know, but I don't really.) Next, he drew pictures of some of the Pokemon.

Take a look:

Ash, a Pokemon trainer

Three Pokemon

Brendan is taking an art class this week after school, where he'll learn how to draw cartoons. He's excited, if a bit nervous, but is mostly interested in what characters he'll be able to draw. We'll learn more this week.

The sun!

This weekend we saw the sun! Lots of it! Yes, this is totally worth the multiple exclamation points!!

Sun doesn't come around too often during the winter in Michigan. We're gradually seeing more and more of it these days. This weekend, we had very few clouds. The temperatures were in the 50s, which seven years ago I would have disregarded as a cool day. Now, it means everyone is outside all day, and some folks even wear shorts or leave the jackets inside!

We spent both afternoons playing outside, sometimes by ourselves and often with neighbors. The neighborhood really came alive. Saturday morning, Ryan participated in his first soccer practice. He's in a program called Lil' Kickers, in which the kids progress at varying levels from "practices" to easy, fun games. Ryan loved it and did such a great job. (He particularly enjoyed playing with his friend, Andrew.)

Saturday evening, my girlfriends and I hosted a baby shower for a friend at our house. It was nice to have the kids outside all day -- where messes are easily cleaned -- instead of in the house. The shower was beautiful and the girls had a great time.

This morning we hit Zach's for pancakes, the Plymouth Play Cafe for some indoor playground fun and then took a short walk through downtown Plymouth. Outside, we played soccer, football, rode bikes and scooters, and even played Legos and Rescue Heroes. How fun! The kids were exhausted and all fell asleep quickly.

Just hangin'

Ryan has days when he's more tolerant of his little sister. Today is
one of them. He invited her to sit next to him on the floor while they
watch "Wow Wow Wubbzy," their favorite show. As I type this, she's now
jumping on top of him. Well, it was nice while it lasted!