Today Meghan and Mathew went roller skating with their summer camp. As I used to be a competitive roller skater, I decided to show up at the rink. I had always wanted to be able to spend time with the kids and skate with them. So after a long search of many boxes of stuff packed away during our renovations, I finally found my old speed skates. I checked them out and they were still in good condition.

The camp bus arrived at the rink at noon. I decided to show up about fifteen to twenty minutes later to allow the kids to put away their shoes and get their skates on. I couldn’t have timed it any better. You should have seen the look of surprise on Meghan’s, Mathew’s and all of the other campers’ faces when I entered the rink.

I put my skates on and loosened up. Saying a silent prayer that I would not kill myself in front of the kids. After not being on skates for many years, I was a little stiff when I first started skating. But fortunately, the rink had the same floor cover as my old rink. That meant my skates were properly set for the floor. AFter a while, my legs loosened up and I felt as if I had never been off of my skates.

I was able to help all of the campers with their skating. I worked with Mathew and Meghan trying to teach them to skate. They were a little frustrated that dad could skate as well as I did. In fact, some of the other campers were amazed at how well I was able to skate. One girl said to Meghan, “Your dad is really good, is he a professional skater?” All too soon it was time to put the skates away and go home.

5 years ago today, my wife and I walked into the dr’s office for her weekly maternity check. Little did we know that Sheryl would be whisked through the secret cypher locked door directly into the labor and delivery suite at the hospital. Hard to believe that 5 years ago, our son was born. Our little baby has grown into an amazing boy.

This boy continues to amaze us on a daily basis. He has already started to recognize simple sight words like “the”, “and” and “dog”. I’m not sure if he has memorized stories or can actually read them but it is still quite an accomplishment.

My how the time has flown. In just a few short months, Mathew will be starting Kindergarten. It really makes me wonder what the next 5 years will bring or the 5 after that….

Congratulations to Pro Scapes, my brother’s landscaping and snow plowing company for being awarded the 2008 Excellence in Business and Safety awards at the recent annual award banquet hosted by the Snow & Ice Management Association in Buffalo, NY. I know my brother, Rick, works hard to maintain a customer centric, high quality organization. Way to go Rick!

“But mom, I’m the only one in the whole wide world who doesn’t have one!. I want a Webkin” Over the last school year, we’ve heard many variations of this whiney complaint from Meghan. She’s begged, pleaded and used every tactic known to a seven year old girl in order to convince us to buy her a Webkinz.

In case you’re not aware of the Webkinz craze, it is basically a Beanie Baby. However, along with the purchase of the Webkinz, you also receive a code which allows access to the on-line Webkinz world. This is a world just for kids. It has games and activties. And oh by the way, the Webkinz you’ve bought comes alive. The kids have to feed and care for it every couple of days. Otherwise, it can become sick.

To make things interesting, the food, toys and activities for your Webkinz are not free. The owners have to earn Webkinz world money to purchase these things. I guess it teaches kids to save and budget. How do I know this now. Well, last Sunday, Meghan figured out she had $28 which was enough to buy a Webkinz. Since it was her money we decided to let her buy a Webkinz.

Tuesday evening, Meghan and I went to the mall to buy her Webkinz. She had spent time researching her purchase and knew exactly which one she wanted. Goldie, the dog. First we stopped at KBToys. They did not have the dog she wanted. They had frogs, cats, tigers and other animals but not the dog Meghan wanted. So we went to antoher store where we had seen the Webkinz. Meghan managed to grab the last Goldie.

When she checked the price, she discovered it was on sale. She asked if she could buy two. Before, I could say “No!,” Meghan explained she wanted to get one for her brother Mathew because she knew that he would be upset that he didn’t have a Webkinz too. After much consideration, Meghan selected a Brown Lab Webkinz for Mathew. The total came to $28.12. I was so proud of my young lady that I made up the shortage. She beamed with pride not only for making her own purchase but also because she was able to do something nice for her brother. Her mom was pretty impressed with her too!