My arms ached as I hefted around 30 pounds of a muddy grimy two-year old boy.  Even though my muscles burned, I relished every moment down the mountain. My son Carrick was worn out. Tired of stepping over roots, trudging through muddy trails, and slipping on slick wet stones, my boy succumbed to his tiredness. He was a champ. His little legs had carried him […]

I used an American Girl doll to extract my six-year-old daughters tooth. I removed it the old-fashioned way, by tying one end of the dental floss to her tooth and the other end to Lucy, the American Girl doll. I convinced my daughter to let Lucy assist with the delicate operation. I’ll be honest this genius idea only came after thirty minutes of negotiations during […]

Spring always reintroduces two important things back into my life—hot dogs and campfires. I love sitting outside on a cool night, listening to a crackling fire while, roasting hot dogs. Living in the Midwest, there’s nothing more exciting than the return of spring after a long cold winter. As a parent, I cherish spring. It brings ample opportunities to get the kids out of the […]

“I’m playing dead, daddy.” The words of my three-year old still bring a smile to my face. I shot him good—with a toy cap gun—of course. Recently, on a family vacation, I bought four toy cap guns. The kind that make a loud shooting sound when the hammer strikes a firing cap. They’re the “real” toy guns I remember playing with as a child. I’ll […]