Catch up post

Well Dinners with Dad have continued, however my blogging has fallen off.  So, I am going to do some catch up all in one entry.

October with Brittany was the Olive Garden.  Fantastic food and we have continued our new trend of NOT being in a hurry which means we talked, talked and talked.  Love it.

 

 

October with Henry took another Henry-ized twist.  His idea this time was take out dinner at home followed by a movie.  His preferences were chicken and The Three Stooges movie.  Well I was able to deliver on both counts after a trip to KFC and Redbox.  We had some great original recipe with some sides of wedges and corn followed by the movie - which I must say was better than I thought it would be.  Great idea Henry.

 

 

 

November with Sara was another first.  We went to one of my favorites - Jose's Blue Sombrero.  Sara and I talked about a lot including the fact that she needs to move AGAIN.  It's her third move this year.  Lots going on in her life right now.

 

 

 November with Brittany was at Chick-fil-a.  Another novel idea that turned out great.  I have not been to a Chick-fil-a in years and it was quite good.  We hung together for quite some time, covered a lot of conversation, solved world problems and I forgot to take a picture - so I am pasting the Chick-fil-a logo here instead.

 

 

November with Henry was at Red Lobster.  Both Henry and Sara have tried to go to Red Lobster before but it was always too busy.  We finally got in this time with no lines and no waiting.  Henry said that he wanted to go there to try some new things.  He knew he liked crab legs and wanted to try other things like crab legs.  So I ordered the "Ultimate Feast" which included crab legs, lobster and two kids of shrimp and he ordered broiled fish.  We shared it all with each other and Henry found out that lobster was ok but not as good as crab legs and breaded shrimp was better than garlic shrimp.  Personally I liked it all a lot but I am partial to seafood and especially (as Lisa calls them) bottom feeders.  Conversation was fun and funny as usual making the evening fly by.

 

 

 

October and November with Joe have been delayed.  We have had trouble matching schedules with him working second shift and us busy on weekends but we have vowed to have dinner in December and do some make up dinners at some point.

 

Well all caught up for now.  More to come.  Oh ya.....Time with Sara, Brittany and Henry = PRICELESS!!!

 

October with Sara

So the Dinner with Dad schedule finally was overrun by our hectic schedule and September really did not come together.  So we have just jumped into October and we will have to make up the missed month later.

It was great to get back to the Dinner with Dad schedule.  Even though it gets hectic some times, it is always a GREAT evening when it is a Dinner with Dad evening!

Sara and I finally made it to the new Texas Roadhouse in town.  Every time that we tried this place in the past it was a very long wait.  Well I think the newness has finally wore off and we got in with no wait at all.

Dinner was very good and there was certainly service with a smile.  Sara went with the ribeye steak and I went with BBQ Chcken and Ribs combo.  Both loved our meals and the server dude was definitely a character.

Since we hadn't been out in a while, we had lots to talk about and time flew by.  Sara is now very busy with her new job and is looking at other job opportunities.  She had quite the flat tire episode last week on the way to work, but all worked out and she got to work and home safely.

Time with Sara = Priceless

August with Henry

Another dinner that happened a while ago and honestly the details are a bit scetchy - perhaps it was the martini's.

Henry and I had a very nice dinner at home.  Ribeye steaks were on sale so we had good ole steak on the grill night.  Of course we had to do it right add a nice salad with all the fixin's before dinner.

Granddaughter Rose happened to be over that night so I guess this is the first episode of Dinner with Grandpa - hmmm, this could be the start of something.

We all had a very nice night taking time to cook the dinner, fun conversation with dinner and then of course the most fun of all doing the dishes. 

We did follow it up with a heated game of Mario Cart on the Wii.  I honestly cannot remember who won - which may be a good thing.  Mario Cart and NASCAR are the only games that I can compete with Henry on - all the others are no contest - in his favor.

Time with Henry (and Rose) = Priceless

August with Brittany

I have gotten waaaaaay behind on my Dinner with Dad blogging.  So today will be some catch up and then we will be back on track - I hope.

Brit and I went to Georgie Porgie's  restaurant.  I had the gyro dinner - very good and Brit had the chicken pita - I think (I am telling you it has been a while - how many of you remember what you had for dinner last night even?).

I can't tell you any details about the conversation, but one thing that I do know is that after our often rushed dinners, we finally had a nice long conversation and dinner.  We had lots of laughs, hit on some serious subjects and talked about the current events of our life.  It was very nice that neither of us were in a hurry and the time just flew by.

Dinner = $??? (I have given up trying to keep the receipts), Time with Brittany = Priceless!

August with Sara

OK, summer is really taking a toll on my Dinner with Dad schedule and also the associated blogging.  I am now 2 behind in Dinners with Joe and two weeks behind on my Dinner with Brittany - to be made up next week.  Summer in Wisconsin is something that goes by very quick and is full of one activity after another - maybe that is why we pretty much hibernate in the winter.

After being undecided on where we were going to go for dinner, Sara and I decided to go to TGIFriday's.  The deciding factor on the choice of restaurants - it was a good place to catch the first Packers pre-season game.  Another key factor of Wisconsin - you are not allowed to miss a Packer game - even if it is pre-season.

Given that I am writing this two weeks after the event, I honestly forgot what Sara had for dinner but I know she liked it.  I had the 3 appetizer platter - very good.  Sara has a lot going on these days and at times the conversation was very serious about very serious life decisions and of course some of our conversations were our typical fun humorous laughable topics.  Sara seems to be dealing quite well with a lot going on which was good to hear.  The Packers lost but our dinner was a winner - winner winner Sara's dinner!

Time with Sara - Priceless!

 

July with Henry

Henry put in yet another twist to Dinner with Dad.  When I asked him where we were going for his July Dinner with Dad, he said "I want to do something different and let you choose."  Well that caught my by surprise but I must say that I did not have a problem making a choice.

We went to the Charcoal Grill.  Henry surprised me and for the second time in a row, my dinner date chose a salad.  Henry chose the kids chicken salad.  I was in the mood for mexican food so I went with the "South of the Border" plate.  Henry ate most of his dinner and I ended taking home about half of my dinner.

Henry did some great art work (see picture below) as we waited for our order.  Our dinner actually went pretty fast.  We talked some about sports and summer but that was about it.  We were quickly on our way and then went home to cap it off with some Nascar Wii.  A good night for the boys.

July with Brittany

Summer in Wisconsin goes by so fast and I certainly don't spend much time on my computer (other than work where I need to) and thus I have fallen way behind on my blogging - sorry about that.

So TWO Thursdays's ago, Brit and I met at Georgie's Porgie's.  After my comments about my dinners with Brit being too fast, we both finally had a night with no hurries.  I actually had no where to go with Lisa and Henry both out of town and Brittany had a rare schedule free night too.

Brittany was very good for dinner and had a salad for dinner and I was not so good and went with the gyro combo - I love gyros.  Brit also mentioned that she was practicing great restraint by resisting her favorite - cheesy fries. 

Given that we had lots of time, our conversation covered just about all that we love to talk about.  Brit asked about my new job and we also talked about some stories from her job.  We talked about the wedding plans, and of course stories of our faith and Christian radio that we listen to.  Brit likes some of the Moody Radio programs and I listen to Relevant Radio.  After quite a while we were on our respective ways

July with Sara

Sara's July dinner got pushed back a bit due to our typical summer hectic schedules but we caught up on Monday night.

Sara chose Javier's Cuisine.  Rumor has it that this restaurant was started by a former chef from Jose's Blue Sombrero, which is my second most favorite Mexican restaurant ever (after El Azteca in Kimberly).  I think the rumor must be true because the menu had a lot of similarities and the food was fantastic.

Sara had the steak tacos and I went for the seafood burritos.  This confirmed that the chef was from Jose's because the seafood burritos were just as good and totally my favorite.  Sara said that her dinner was very good too.  And of course we had to partake in "Margarita Monday."  Sara went with the strawberry blended and I with the original on the rocks.

The conversation was all over the place as usual and went by so quick.  Total date time this time was only about an hour and a half which is short for us and that time flew by.  When we got back home, baby Rose was in a playful mood and I had her giggling like crazy.  Great night with Sara and Rose.

Dinner = $39.67  Time with Sara = Priceless!

 

Sara thought the bright background made the picture more "artsy" lol.

July with Joe

Even though it was actually the last day of June, Joe and I kicked off July with another Dinner with Dad twist.  Joe won Brewer game tickets at work and decided to bring dear old Dad to the game so we made it into our Dinner with Dad - Thanks Joe!

Well we got there a bit before the first pitch so we had plenty of time for a fine Miller Park dinner.  Of course we both had brats but the big difference was that I added the kraut - gotta have the kraut.  The dinner was up to Miller Park standards and as we finished our fine dinning, it was time play ball!

The game ended up being a blowout - in a good way.  The Brewers ended up blowing out the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-2 including hitting 4 Home Runs.  Bernie Brewer got a work out that night.

We actually left in the middle of the ninth (I must be getting old, I was trying to "beat the traffic").  I dropped Joe off at the Park n Ride where we originally met up and we were both on our way by about 10pm.

Dinner = ??? (brats, peanuts, beers)  Time with Joe = Priceless!

June with Henry

Last Wednesday evening was Henry's turn for June.  Henry got back to his trend of earlier in the year.  Not just Dinner with Dad but Dinner and ......

The dinner part was actually pretty quick.  Henry wanted to get on to the next event so he decided a quick dinner would be good - but he did not want "fast food."  So I looked in my Entertainment Book, found a coupon for Subway, suggested that and off we went.  I had my favorite Spicy Italian sub and Henry went with salami and lettuce - keep it simple :). 

Then it was off to the next event - the driving range.  Henry has been golfing for a few years now, loves the game and is now getting more interested in practicing and working on his swing.  Plus I was glad to go because lately I think I have struggled a bit on the course.  We both got a large bucket of balls, punched them out onto the range - some far ones and some just beyond three club lengths :).

That finished the original plans for the night but then Henry asked if we could do a round of mini-golf.  I thought that was a great idea so off we went to the waterfalls, tunnels and ramps (no windmills or clown's mouth on this course).  We played match play and let's just leave it at it was very very close.

Then since we already had some great fun on this beautiful somewhat warm summer evening I decided to surprise him with one more stop.  He actually guessed it on the way and I am guessing you can guess it too.  Nothing like having a nice big ice cream cone at the end of a great summer day and evening.  We headed off to Old Dutch Custard.  Henry went with the Creamy Vanilla and I tried something new - Cake Batter.  It was good, but not a flavor that will move into my top 5.

That wrapped up our night, home we went and pretty much straight to bed.  I know I slept well, I am guessing Henry did too.

Dinner, driving range, mini-golf and ice cream = $17.  Time with Henry = Priceless!

June with Brittany

Got a little behind on my blogging so this is the update from Dinner with Brittany from last Thursday.  As seems to be too often the case, but Brittany and I had a lot going on that night and dinner came and went all too fast.  And for the second time ARGH I fogot to take a picture.

Brit and I met at Noodles & Company.  I was in between work and heading out to Henry's baseball game.  Brittany got there a bit late because she was shopping for a wedding dress and of course saw one that she liked right before she was ready to leave.  Now that the date has been set for July 13, 2013, there is a lot of wedding planning and activities going on and so on top of work and school, Brit has lots more on her platter now.

So we talked about lots of the stuff we usually talk about, work, school, God, quirkiness of this world and so on.  And of course we shared some laughs about who knows what.

All too soon we had to each head off to our next stops.  In my last update I mentioned about how Sara's dinners were definitely the longest ones, Brit and I have had too many quick dinners due to our complicated schedules, so we will have to work on that for the next six Dinners with Dad for the second half of the year.

Ok, now for the sentimental part that I hesitated to put in here, but I think this is important for my kids to know and I would not have been able tell them about this verbally without blubbering.  As I drove from dinner to Henry's baseball game I heard the song Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman on K-Love.  I should have turned the channel instantly because I knew what was about to happen to me but instead I played the whole song and arrived at Henry's game with tears rolling down my face.  I cannot start to explain all the reasons why it choked me up so, but I know that other Dads, Moms, kids and especially MY kids will understand.  I love all four of you with ALL my heart and am so blessed by every minute I get to spend with you!

Dinner = $17  Time with Brittany = Priceless!

June with Sara

Well for the first time, we actually had to move the day for Sara's Dinner with Dad to the following Monday - the summer schedule gets pretty crowded.

Sara came to our house about 6pm, but we needed to wait for Glamma to get done with her water aerobics before we could head out so that she could babysit Rose.  So while we waited Sara and I had a cold one on the neighbors deck - nice chill down on a hot night.

So we finally headed out to dinner at Famous Dave's.  The nearest location was about 1/2 hour away so we had a nice drive in our new Suburban.  For dinner I had the Rib and Chicken combo, Sara had the Hot Link Sausage and Tips combo.  All I can say about the food is that it all was very good and there was LOTS of food.  Sara was smart enough to take some home while I for some reason felt like I needed to conquer the plate - Sara definitely made the better decision :).

Sara and I decided that our dates definitely had to be longest of all the kids.  It seems like our dates streched out for hours quite often while some of the other dates with the other kids weren't as long.  Even though this date was probably the longest of them all timewise, we never run out of things to talk about ranging from funny stuff, to politics to raising Rose to jobs to religion to relationships.  Sara has a lot going on that she thankfully shares with me and looks for advice.  Not sure I always give the best advice but either way I can tell she genuinely appreciates it.

By the time we got back home, Rose was asleep on Glamma's lap.  She was woken up to go home with Mom and we called it a night.

Dinner = $49.22.  Time with Sara = Priceless

June with Joe (and others)

Well, it's been a while since the last dinner with Dad and there have been a couple of new twists.  Technically last Thursday was a 5th Thursday of the month and should have been a dinner with my lovely wife Lisa.  But instead we spent the night burying a Suburban.  Ours 2001 Suburban is still hanging in there, but a bit worn and a bit unsure for another season of camping so we upped the vintage to a 2007 Suburban and are good to go.  Quite a bit more expensive than a dinner date, but it needed to be done.

As far as the June dinner with Joe (he missed May but we could make it up some day), it actually ended up being dinner with Joe and Dad and friends.

Joe moved his date back to Sunday.  Well after church Lisa and I talked about pulling some weeds and dead plants out of our landscaping.  Next thing you know we had Sara, Casey, Sara's friend Heidi and her Horticulturalist hubby Alex and Joe all over here either helping or at least giving "advice" from the sidelines.

By the time we got done moving all the plants 1) I was exhausted and 2) Lisa had prepared a fine dinner of barbecued shreded chicken.  I asked Joe if he minded having the whole gang joine us for dinner and he graciously agreed.

Joe and I did not get much time to talk until afer everyone else had left, but on the other hand I think Joe got a taste (pun intended) on what life was like at our house and how much fun it can be to be around family and friends.  I hope he shows up for more of these days and judging by the fun he had and the comments he made, I think he will be back soon.

Special note - thank you so much Alex, Casey and Henry for all your help - could not have done it without you!

Dinner = ???  Time with Joe (and the gang) = PRICELESS!

In the picture (L to R) - Alex, Rose, Casey, Joe, Me, Henry, Lisa, Sara and Heidi.

May with Henry

It all started last Sunday when Henry had two of his friends over and they wanted Pizza Hut for dinner.  After finding out that they don't deliver, we opted for Infusino's pizza instead.  Well Henry has been craving Pizza Hut since then so off to the Hut we went tonight.

Henry wanted to the $10 Dinner Box so that's what we got.  Definitely way too much food for two so we had some good take home for Mom (or for us later).

Henry had a unique school day and he told me ALL about it.  They had a field trip to Discovery World including a 3 hour cruise on a tall ship, a 3 hour cruise.  They had the kids rotate between several stations where they learned interesting scientific facts about Lake Michigan, its water and its animal life.  He told me so many details, it obviously made a big impression on him.

Only rough part of the night was the acting up of Henry's sometimes touchy tummy.  He knew he was on the edge of losing it but was still ok.  He left out two belches which would make any sailor proud and was able to hold it together.  We got strange looks from the people at the tables near us but I knew it was what Henry needed to do to be ok so even though it may have appeared rude, I was just thankful that Henry was ok.  By the time we got home, Henry was ready for some of the leftovers we took home so all was ok.

Dinner = $24.47 (beverages and tip more than dinner lol)  Time with Henry = Priceless!

May with Brittany

Brittany and I met on the usual Thursday evening timeslot.  However we both had a lot going on that day and so our time was limited and dinner went way too fast.

We went to Red Robin in Kenosha.  This was a very good choice.  I think I had only been to a Red Robin once before but I definitely think I will go there more often.  Brittany had the California Chicken sandwich and I had Guacamole Bacon Burger.  Both very good choices and plenty to eat.

First we talked about both of us being in transitional states.  I am actually in the middle of a week off between jobs.  More importantly Brittany is at the end of year 4 of her 5 year program at MU and just turned in an INCREDIBLE 4.0!!!  This of course is already opening some great doors of opportunity for her and I am sure will continue to do so.  Wedding plans continue and we discussed that a bit too.

With time running out Brit and I got to our favorite subject (our Faith) too late.  It is funny how quite often the theme of what Brit and I have been experiencing or reading or listening to lately often have some strong similarities and it seems that once we start on this subject, we could go on forever.  But alas, we both had time deadlines we had to keep and off we wen on our separate ways.

Dinner = $31.45  Time with Brittany = Priceless!

Also, we were so hurried that I forgot to get a picture :(

May with Sara

I have fallen a bit behind on my Dinners with Dad because I have not been able to match schedules with Joe yet for May so that update will be later.  The dinner with Sara went on as scheduled the second Thursday of the month.  Sara let me know that her Dinner with Dad has always been on schedule so far and she is also making it a mission to do a new location each month.

This month Sara chose Salute in downtown Racine.  As I think I have mentioned before, Racine has some great Italian cuisine and Salute is another one that fits that description.  Sara went with the Gnocchi and I went with the Sauteed Penne Bolognese.  Both of us loved our dinners and were only to finish about half of it - makes for some good leftovers.

One thing I am noticing as the Dinners with Dad continue is that our conversations seem to be more animated, cover more topics and go by too fast.  We had a long wait for dinner becasue Salute was very busy for a Thursday night - I am guessing they might have been a bit understaffed.  This gave us time to cover everything from work, to relationships, to politics, to religion and probably a few other things.  Our waitress realized that our service was very slow so she offered to make it up to us by giving us one free round of drinks and ending the dinner with a shot of Sambuca.  I have always been a fan of the Sambuca but Sara did not seem to like it as much and said it made her mouth feel funny lol.

Meanwhile back at home, Glamma Lisa took Rose to Henry's baseball practice.  Rose had a good time and was fawned over by all the other moms at the practice.  By the time Sara and I got back home, Rose was sound asleep in Glamma's arms.  She woke up enough to wave buh-bye and all was good.

Dinner = $31.74  Time with Sara = Priceless!

April with Henry

Due to another busy week including some business travel for me, Dinner with Dad once again got pushed off to Sunday.  Being the last week of the month, it was Henry's turn again.

Henry had been saying he wanted to go to Red Lobster but as we were driving there, he started to waver and was considering other possible options but he stuck with Red Lobster.  Well when we got there, we found out the wait was 45 minutes.  Well that was enough to push Henry to option #2 which was Denny's.

Off to Denny's we went.  Denny's is usually our favorite place for breakfast for dinner, however being that it was Sunday, we already had our big breakfast today which is our custom after Church.  So Henry and I discussed other menu options at Denny's outside of breakfast foods.

Well it ended up being a chicken night for both of us.  First we had onion ring appitizers and then it was Chicken Nuggets for Henry and the Hickory Grilled Chicken Sandwich for me.  We were both good with our menu choices and felt like it was just the right amount of food - usually when leaving Denny's we are over stuffed.

Conversation with Henry tonight focused on travel, then school and churh and then sports.  On the travel side, both Henry and I would like to go to Washington DC.  Neither of us have ever been there.  As far as school and church Henry shared with me his process for getting through different challanges as he grows up.  I can't quite repeat the whole process but basically he looks at each challenge as a step that he needs to climb and there are many parts of taking a step - picking up your foot, raising it, extending it out, etc.  I thought this was very profound for a 9 year-old.  Regarding sports, we went over the finer points of his basketball game. 

After dinner we stopped at Kohl's to pick up some new Sodastream bottles and then headed home.  For some reason we decided to speak like British people joking about Wisconsinisms as we drove home.  It was a strange conversation but sometimes it's fun to use your imagination and it had both of us laughing.  Then home for a bit of Wii and call it a night.

Dinner = $22.49.  Time with Henry = Priceless!

A special post - April with College Friends

Ok this is not exactly a Dinner with Dad post, but perhaps an offshoot of Dinner with Dad - Dinner with Friends.

A few days ago I got a call from one of my UW-O college friends Deb who was getting some of us together for a dinner.  I was happy to get the invite since I only seem to get together with these good friends a few times a year.  Last night the dinner happened with me and six of my college friends.  Sidenote - Lisa was going to join us but could not tear herself away from the Scrapbooking event that she was at - this is one of her favorite things to do so I was good with batch'in it.

We got together at Roma Lodge - which was good for me since this is very close to home.  Before dinner conversations centered around getting updated on each other's lives and the lives of our kids (and grandkids in my case).  A few of my friends commented on enjoying reading the Dinner with Dad blog and asked if this dinner could make the blog.  I said sure why not - it is not exactly a Dinner with Dad but it was Dinner with me and this could develop into a whole other tangent - Dinner with Friends.  We all agree every time that we get together that it is too long in between times that we see each other - maybe we need to start a Dinner with Friends blog?????

After a few cocktails, it was on to dinner.  I once again went with eggplant, several had the Filet Mignon, Russ had the ravioli.  Of course each dinner included a salad bar and an Italian side dish - mostaccioli, meatballs, angelhair, etc.  I could tell by the conversation, by the satisfied looks and by the inability to rise from the table after dinner that everyone loved their dinners and had plenty to eat.

After dinner we had some after dinner drinks and more conversation.  Most of the gang had Brandy Alexanders but Chuck and I stuck with the Spotted Cow.  Conversations morphed from updates on current life to several stories that started with "Remember that one time when we..."  All I can say is that it is a good thing that our offspring are obviously smarter than their parents because we did some crazy things and thankfully lived through it and got our acts together at some point (kind of).

Thanks Deb and Russ for getting us together teaching us the secret handshake to get into the Roma back room.  It was fantastic!

Pictured from left to right - me, Russ, Chuck, Cathie, Deb, Kathy and Da Mose.

Dinner = $120 + Drinks - gotta love Roma - great food for 7 for $120.

Time with great friends = Priceless!

April with Brittany

We are on a compact schedule this month it seems.  This is Dinner with Dad #3 in 8 days and due to scheduling conflicts Henry has decided to move his up to Monday next week so that will make it all 4 in 12 days - I love it!

Like Joe, Brittany decided to repeat her choice of March.  We once again went to Chipolte.  And just like I commented with Joe, I am good with this repeat because I definitely do like Chipolte and am happy to come back.  I had a chicken burrito and Brittany had some veggies in a bowl thing.  Also a little hint - their Margaritas are fantastic.

Well since I last had Dinner with Brittany, she has gotten some big news.  Brittany has gotten engaged to her high school sweetheart Vince and I am very happy for the two of them.  So with work, school and now wedding planning going on Brittany is very very busy.  We found out that we have a similarity in that we both appreciate down time and when a week is booked before the week starts it becomes tough.  Both Brit and were in the middle of one of those weeks.

One other thing I noticed about our conversation was that even though she has all this going on in her life, the first thing she asked me about was my life and how my week was going.  As I was driving to our dinner date I was thinking about all things I wanted to ask Brit about regarding her life and then she turns it on me and gets me talking about my life - very nice.

Dinner = $19.92.  Time with Brittany = Priceless!

April with Joe

Well after a slow two weeks, things have picked up in the Dinner with Dads.  Sunday night was Joe's rescheduled night.

Joe came down late afternoon and we had the first repeat restaurant so far and that was fine with me.  For the second month in a row we went to Infusino's.  I would love to try other things on the menu but I can't seem to stray away from my favorite Eggplant Parmigiana - maybe I will try something next month ;).  Joe definitely tried something else and went with the Seafood Platter.  I loved my dinner as usual and took half home for Lisa (she loves it too).  Joe put down the Seafood Platter, some soup, fries and a baked potato - hungry man I guess.

Going out on Sunday evening always seems to be quite a slower pace which is nice.  Conversation was relaxed and we hit our our usuals of work and politics.  Joe is working a lot of hours and has not had a chance to do much else.  He is keeping a good attitude about it and is planning to possibly take some time off in the summer after earning some savings and some vacation days.  Perhaps we could do a Dinner with Dad at Summerfest???

Came back home and Joe joined Henry and I in a game of Monopoly.  Joe and I made an early game trade I got States Avenue and he got Park Place.  We had Henry just about out and then I hit Boardwalk wiping me out first followed shortly thereafter by Henry.  Nice win Joe.

Dinner = $28.28  Time with Joe = Priceless!

April with Sara

It has been a while since a Dinner with Dad date.  Last one was the the 4th week of March with Henry.  Since then I had a Dinner with Mom and then a week off because Joe wanted to reschedule due to the fact that we were out of town last weekend which when his dinner would have been. So.....

The first Dinner with Dad for April was with Sara.  First choice for location was either of the new restaurants in town Texas Road House or Red Lobster.  However, just like last month - these two restaurants are still very new and obviously the place to go so very crowded (so much for "times are tough").

So we went with option three which was Buffalo Wild Wings.  I either had never been to Buffalo Wild or it's been a long time.  Thursday is of course "Boneless Thursday" so we both partook in the special.  The only difference was that Sara went with the mild sauce and I went with the medium - which made my head all sweaty.  I think we a both a bit wimpy on the spicey tolerance.

Conversation was great.  Even though Sara does come to the house quite often, it felt like it had been a long time since we last chat.  Sara is working on getting her date for her CNA test and looking forward to that.  She also moved from the upstairs flat in their house to the downstairs flat and are helping the landlord with upkeep and looking for a renter for the upstairs.  It is good to see the constant movement towards her improving her financial situation and career development.  As I told her one step at a time but keep stepping.

Dinner = $27.95  Time with Sara = Priceless!

 

First 3 Months Update and a Challange to Dads and Moms

Three months into Dinners with Dad I have to say I am loving it!  As I have told many of you, this is the best gift that I have ever given to ME.  I have re-connected or connected better with all 4 of my kids and feel like I have something with each of them that I did not have before this started.  Thank you very much Joe, Sara, Brittany and Henry and also a huge thanks to my great wife Lisa who is 100% on board with this whole idea.

Between the blog posts here, my facebook updates and just everyday conversations, I have gotten many comments about this being a great idea and something they or their spouse would like to do.  My guess is that some others may have already started having Dinners with Dad or Dinners with Mom.

I would like to hear your stories and will start adding Guest Stories.   I have added a form at the top of the right hand column for you to submit your stories.  My hope is that this turns into something that many families are doing resulting in many great stories. 

Many studies have been done that prove how important time with your "kids" is - no matter how old the "kids" are.  Also, there is nothing like a one on one dinner with your child in the middle of all of our buy lives.  So go out and dine with your kids and share with the world.  Who will be the first guest post???????

March with Lisa

A very special episode of Dinner with Dad tonight.  Since this is the 5th Thursday of the month (kind of like a blue moon) none of the kids were scheduled for Dinner with Dad tonight.  Therefore there is a chance to have Dinner with Mom!  She is the one that helped come up with this idea, watches Rose while I have Dinner with Sara, hangs with Henry while I am out with Brittany and with Joe and has her one free night when I am out with Henry.  She is just as much a part of this as I am and I am thankful the she is 100% on board with this and helps to make it happen.

We decided to go to 20 and Oakes Bar and Grill.  We were both in the mood for something kind of middle of the road and a place that would not be loud and this place fit that perfect - plus I had a coupon that I could use in my Entertainment Book ;).  Surprisingly Lisa went with the BBQ Burger.  I say surprisingly because she usually goes with lighter fare, but she said she was just hungry for a burger tonight and she said it was fantastic.  I went with the Pan Seared Sea Scallops.  It was a strange mix of scallops, risotto, tomatos, and arugula salad that really worked - it was great.

As far as our conversation, as usual we bounced all over.  One of the reasons that we clicked on our very first date was the fact that we talked for hours and hours.  Well after years of dating and 13+ years of marriage that has not changed and we love to talk with each other.  We talked about work, family, the good things of life and about missing our good brother-in-law and friend Doc Johnson who left us one year ago this week.  He left us a reminder on what is important in life and how much a good person is missed after they are gone.  We miss you Doc, but I am sure you are up there giving Rose and all the other Saints a laugh a minute.

Back home we went to Henry, Sara and baby Rose.  Sara hung with Henry tonight so we could go out - thanks Sara!  A good night for all involved.

Dinner = $47.31 (with coupon :))  Time with my Spouse = Priceless!

March with Henry

Already the fourth week of March and time for Dinner with Henry.  For the first time, we just had dinner - no bowling or video games this time.  Henry promised that the dinner plus activities will be back but this time just dinner was good.

Even though we did not have an activity, Henry kept true to his theme of fun and we had dinner at IHOP.  Henry went with the Silver Five off the kids menu and I went with the Bacon Temptation Omelette (which of course also includes pancakes).  We were both stuffed by the time we were done and I have to admit neither of us made the "clean plate club" - it was more like the "oh am I stuffed and glad someone else will be doing my dishes club." 

The theme of the conversation tonight revolved around sports.  Henry likes basketball, football, soccer and baseball and does pretty darn good at all of them for a 3rd grader.  He also has become more of a fan of watching some of these sports and learning more about teams, players and game strategy.  Side note - Lisa always says that when she was pregnant with Henry, she prayed for a "sport-o" because she knows how much I like sports.  Her prayers were answered without a doubt :).  Second side note - as of right now - Henry is winning our NCAA Pool.

Dinner went by really fast and at the end Henry even commented "this went really fast".  That's when he let me know that dinner plus activity will be back soon - just plain dinner is just plain too fast.  I thank the Lord that he (and the other 3 kids) have this attitude versus the opposite!

Dinner = $16.00  Time with Henry = Priceless!

March with Brittany

Well for a first time ever, we have a Tuesday edition of Dinner with Dad.  Brittany is on Spring Break this week and typical of Brittany, a week with a "break" actually means a very busy week.  She has filled her week with some work, some play, some family, some friends and has a very busy week - all good.

So we met up at Chipolte.  For those of you not familiar, it is kind of like Qdoba but I definitely liked it better.  Brit went with the Vegetarian bowl while I want with the chicken burrito.  The kicker is that they had Margaritas.  So I went with a Margaritaaaaaah (that's what it said on the cup) on the rocks.  It was a slow night and the counter guy let me know that refills are on him (but don't tell anyone) so don't tell anyone.

Brit and I can get into some pretty serious conversations, but this one seemed to be lighter and lots of laughter.  We talked about her busy schedule, me looking for a career change and then went into quarky things about the world around us.  One very strange thing is that we both had a story that we started to tell almost at the same time that both led to telling each other about a movie that we heard about - and it was the same movie!  It is October Baby coming out next Friday.  It sounds really good and a must see, but it looks like it will not be in a theater very close to hear for now.  So I guess you all need to go see the movie and let us know what you think.

The dinner went quick and off we went to the rest of our night and busy weeks.

Dinner = $19.95  Time with Brittany = Priceless!

March with Sara

A little late getting this post up but it's been one of those kinds of week.  Anywho...

Sara stuck for the traditional Thursday night.  Our plan was to go to Racine's new Texas Roadhouse.  However, apparently we were not the only ones with that idea.  After finding out that the wait time was 45 - 55 minutes we decided to opt for Plan B.  Racine also has a new Red Lobster - let's try that.  Parking lot looked VERY empty - Plan B could be in trouble.  Sign on the door says "Training in progress come back for opening March 12."  On to Plan C.  We ended up at Lone Star (which ironically is very much like Texas Roadhouse) which had no lines and no waiting. 

After quickly getting seated it didn't take us long to start with some beverages and choose our dinners.  I found out something interesting when Sara ordered Cherry Coke.  That is the same beverage that Joe ordered on Sunday.  Who knew?  Sara went with the "San Antonio Sirloin" medium rare with smashed potato and chili.  I went with the Steak, Salmon combo along with a salad and steak fries.  Both were very happy and stufffed.

After completing the classroom part of her CNA course, Sara did her first week of clinicals this week.  She worked at Becker Shoop Center - elderly care center.  She spoke about her experience with such excitement that I am thinking Sara has found something that she is going to do very well at.  Sara has a very kind and patient personality which fits perfect with this just as it did when she was working with kids.

By the time we got back home, Uncle Henry and Glamma Lisa had Rose sound asleep.  But then wen Sara woke her up to go home, she was as smiley as ever and was very entertaining.  A good night for all for sure.

Dinner = $40.37  Time with Sara = Priceless!

March with Joe

Now that Joe has his own wheels, we had some flexibility to change the day and time to allow for a not so rushed Dinner with Dad.  So we moved the dinner to Sunday and Joe came down to Racine.

We ate at the always great Infusino's.  You can never go wrong or go home less than stuffed when you go there.  Joe ordered the lasagna and I ordered my favorite Eggplant Parmigiana.  Of course at Infusino's, not only do you get a main course all too big to finish but you also get soup salad and a side of noodles - mostaccioli for me.

Being that the pace was much more relaxed we had time to discuss all kinds of things.  We talked about religions, science, politics and women - can't say we have any one of them figured out but we sure have lots of opinions and ideas.

Dinner was great and then it was back to the house for a couple rounds of Mario Kart on the Wii with Henry.

Dinner = $25.18  Time with Joe = Priceless!

February with Henry

Henry and I had our Dinner with Dad today - the first time Dinner with Dad has been moved to a Saturday and with good reason.

Henry had chosen Stone Fire Pizza as his February destination.  Since this is located about a half hour from home, plus the fact that dinner at Stone Fire Pizza is more than a meal, it's dinner and games, we needed more than a school night's available time.

We arrived a little after 1pm and went right to the buffet.  I had never been to Stone Fire Pizza before and was surprised with the variety of choices in the buffet line.  From fruits and salads to nachos to a build your own baked potato to kids fare (including tots!) and of course several pizzas.  Henry stuck mostly with the pizza, I sampled the salad, nachos and several of the pizza slices - all very good.

Then it was on to the games.  For those of you not familiar with the setup - it is very much like Chuck E. Cheese where you play games, get tickets and then trade in for trash oops I mean treasures. Henry and I each played games and accumulated 266 tickets.  We scored big on skee ball, Deal or No Deal, Trivia and Big Bass Fishing and pop-a-shot basketball.

Henry's treasure include a sword (not real), a tiny basketball ball and hoop (to go along with the two bigger ones in the house), vampire teeth (not real) and a 1:452 scale model of a jet (also not real).

We had a great time and it was a wonderful way to spend a winter Saturday afternoon.  We left at about 3:30 after two hours of food and fun!

Dinner and games = $32.76  Time with Henry = Priceless!

I forgot my phone so we had to take the picture after we got home.

February with Brittany

Well for the first time, a Dinner with Dad was moved to a Friday evening.  After a long complicated week, Brit and I met at Penara's tonight.  We had originally planned on meeting at 6:30, but then we moved it up to 6:15 because Brit had plans after dinner.  Earlier in the week Brit sent me this text "Do you think you could make it to dinner closer to 6:15?  Just have to be in Kenosha about 7:30 and don't want to be rushed!"  I was thrilled by the fact that Brittany made sure not to cut our time short.

I definitely liked the Friday thing.  I think we both were in a different mode than middle of the week and our conversation revolved more around the quarkiness of life versus the details of the events of our lives.  Brittany and I are definitely on the same page when it comes to our world view, grand philosphy, big picture or what every you want to call it and we love to share how sometimes that makes the world seem a bit strange.

Brittany had the soup and salad deal and I had a Cuban Chicken Hot Pannini.  I liked my sammich and recommend it if you are into the chicken, ham, cheese thing - which I can be.

Time flew and before you knew it, Vince was there to wisk Brit off to the rest of their evening.  It was good to see him too and share a couple of quick laughs.  Now its time to call this week done and enjoy a couple of days off.

Dinner = $19.53. Time with Brittany = Priceless!



 

February with Sara

The timing for Dinner with Dad for February with Sara worked out to be perfect timing.  Sara has had a big couple of days and was eager to share.

Sara brought Rose over about 5:30.  Henry had Cub Scouts tonight so Sara and I dropped him off on the way to dinner which left Grandma Lisa all alone with baby Rose so it was a good night for all!

Sara chose Olive Garden for tonight's dinner.  Another fine choice as far as I am concerned.  Sara did the fantastic Soup and Salad deal and I went with the Eggplant Parmigiana.  Both were very good although I have to admit that Olive Garden Eggplant Parmigiana is not even close to how good Eggplant Parmigiana is at Infusino's.

The night started with a strange text from Sara.  She said that she picked Olive Garden as the location and she will drive.  I was not sure why she wanted to drive but started to think that maybe I have already started driving like my Dad and that was Sara's polite way of saying that she would rather take her life into her own hands.  But thankfully I was wrong.  Yesterday Sara bought a new car.  She bought a 2011 Chevy HHR.  Very nice vehicle and it was nice to have her drive (more beer for me).  Sara had a great buying experience and highly recommends Russ Darrow Mazda in Greenfield - ask for Todd.

Today was also Sara's first day in CNA class.  She has entered this 5 week course at Gateway Tech and is going for her CNA certification after that.  She shared with me this hand washing video - very cheeky.  I can tell by Sara's enthusiasm that she is going to do very well in this class and I am very excited to see her so excited about the class.

Dinner = $44.06. Time with Sara = Priceless!

February with Joe

Well January is already in the books and now it is on to month two of Dinner with Dad.  Joe's "Lunch with Dad" was moved back to Friday instead of Thursday.  I took a well needed day off of work today and Lunch with Joe was the only thing on my schedule so it was a chance to actually take some time for lunch rather than rush back to work.

So we walked to a place in downtown Waukesha where Joe had never been but he said he had been curious to try.  The name of the place is People's Park.  It's website describes it as "A charming Civil War era building, in the heart of downtown Waukesha, transformed into an airy urban space."  It was very nice and gave me a different view on downtown Waukesha.

Joe went with the grilled pork tenderloin sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries and I went with the chipoltle grilled chicken with avocado with a side saled of cucuumbers, tomatoes and greek olives.  We both loved the food and ate every last morsel.  Also, since I was on a vacation day, it was nice to have a couple Moon Mans with lunch (New Glarus seasonal brew).

Not much has change with Joe since last month and actually could be summed up with more of the same.  Still working the two jobs and saving some $$.  He is interested in buying the Verstegen's older car so we are going to make that happen next weekend.  Other than that just talked a little politics, Super Bowl and stuff.  Very pleasant and non-rushed conversation.

I think Joe liked the more relaxed pace and suggested moving my dinner with him to a weekend day so it is not so rushed - good idea.

Dinner = $38.49. Time with Joe = Priceless!

The picture is a little dark since we had our backs to the window - but it actually makes it look a bit artsy which fits the feel of the restaurant.

January with Henry

Well Henry finally got his Dinner with Dad - the wait had been killing him.  For once we actually stuck with Thursday night.  Once again, I got home from work exhausted but as I drove in the driveway, Henry came running out the door to greet me and asked when we were heading out and I said NOW.  Exhaustion gone, adrenaline pumping!

Henry got very creative and put a new twist on Dinner with Dad.  He decided he wanted pizza .... seems ordinary right, but there is a twisst.......wait for it ...... pizza at the bowling alley inbetween bowling games.  Works for me, off to the alleys we went.

First stopped at Paradise Lanes for some open bowling as advertised on their website.  Plus I had a coupon from my Entertainment book.  Well lo' and behold they did not have any open bowling available as advertised, hmmpf.  So we headed to Castle Lanes to see if they wanted to be part of our special night.  Not so much and Henry noted - gee they were not real friendly about it.

Not to be deterred there was one more chance so off ot Elmwood Plaza Bowling Center.  YES, there was room on the lanes for two fine kegglers.  From my point of view, the best part of the night happened driving between bowling alleys.  I was trying to prep Henry for the possible dissapointment of not being able to find open bowling and asked him if just dinner would be ok.  He said "I don't care, the big thing is I am getting a night out and some time with my Dad!"  Got me all verklempt.

Unlike the other Dinners with Dad thus far, this one was not about conversation, it was about knockin' those pins down.  We played three games with bumpers - although they honestly were not used much.  Henry came through with games of 124, 87 and 109.  I had 170, 153 and 138.  So with agreed upon 50 pin handicap, Henry won 2 out of 3 games and he won the total score by 9 pins!  Well done young man.  And yes, we did enjoy a tasty cheese and sausage pizza too.

Pizza and bowling = $37.45.  Time with Henry = Priceless!

January with Brittany

Well once again, we moved the Dinner with Dad night from Thursday night to Tuesday night.  One of those mega busy weeks on my behalf.  However this night worked out perfect because once again this ended up being a fund raiser night for Henry's school, this time at Noodle's and Company.

Dinner was very good.  After contemplating ordering buttered noodles and coming to the revelation that when eating out you can't go THAT plain, Brittany went for the Pesto Cavatappi (which is right in line with what I would normally order) .  I felt like something a bit spicey so I went out of my usual Mediterranean Menu comfot zone and went for Japanese Pan Noodles (with shrimp).  It was very good and only slightly spicey - no sweating bald spot tonight (which happens with REALLY spicey food).

It ended up that we picked a good night to get together.  It was Brittany's first day back to school at MU so it was also kind of a back to school celebration.  Funny how it seems like yesterday when back to school meant back to grade school and now she is all growed up.  Not only was it her first day back at school, but she also just got a promotion at work to Student Nurse which is a great accomplishment and puts her in a great spot for the upcoming two years.  After bouncing around a bit, our conversation gravitated to where it often goes with us and that is our faith.  Basically we had two themes to our discussion tonight.  1) Without faith, small things can seem monumental, with faith, small things are kept in perspective (hopefully) and 2) there is great joy to finding out that somehow you helped to increase someone else's faith and thus had a positive affect on their life.  I have no doubt that Brit does that every day!

As we were just about ready to head out, Lisa and Henry walked in to also contribute to the fund raiser night.  Brit headed out as Vince picked her up and I hung with Henry and Lisa - thankfully they have beer at Noodles, so I had "dessert."

Dinner = $14.50.  Time with Brittany = Priceless!

January with Sara

Once again a slight adjustment to the schedule.  We moved our date to Wednesday because Thursday this week is Cub Scouts and Pinewood Derby car building night.  I also broke my own rule of letting the kids choose the restaurant.  I chose The Chancery because they were doing a fund raiser for Henry's school John Paul Academy II tonight so we had dinner and raised money all in one night :).  It was a rough night for me to go out because our big layoff at work happened today.  I had to walk two people out and watch several others leave - lots of tears and sadness.  However, a date with Sara made me forget about all the work stuff and gave me some good laughs and smiles.

I got home from work about 6 and then Sara showed up at our house shortly thereafter so that Rose (her 5 month old baby) could spend some time with Grandma Lisa and Uncle Henry - we all win :).  It had been a while since I had been at The Chancery and the menu had changed quite a bit.  Sara had an Avocado Burger and I had Fish Taco's.  We both were very happy with our choices for dinner.

Sara just moved into a new apartment on New Year's Eve so we talked about them getting settled in to the new place.  Like usual, a conversation between Sara and I wanders all over the place and we did tonight too - from taxes, to cats, to creepy old friends, to men versus women's abilty to remember things - draw your own conclusions on that one - discuss.  We talked about Sara's job and financial future.  She will be taking CNA classes next month and hopefully that will lead to some good job opportunities.  She also talked about how they are now budgeting their money in a very orderly spreadsheet (just like Daddy taught her :)).  She also made the profound statement that they budget based on 40 hour/week income now versus what they were doing - budgeting assuming overtime.  This now creates a bonus when there is overtime instead of a problem when there was not overtime.  I laughed and told her that would be good advice for the Execs at my company - long story but fitting.

I also came up with the idea of taking a picture of each Dinner but did not think of it until we got home.  So here is a piture of me and Sara back at home after dinner - obviously I ate too much. 

Back to the house we went for Sara to pick up Rose.  Rose was sound asleep in Grandma's arms while they were watching the movie "Mars Needs Moms" - I am thinking that was Uncle Henry's idea.  Sara was on her way by about 9:00 and I am exhausted.

Dinner = $35.36.  Time with Sara = Priceless!

January with Joe

Right off the bat, we had to make a slight adjustment.  As of now, the monthly Dinner with Dad for Joe is going to actually be Lunch with Dad.  Joe woks second shift and thus Dinner is not doable.  The good thing is that Joe lives about 15 minutes from my office so it is a welcome break from my day - especially these days as we are having a tough time at work moving towards a rather large layoff in the near future.

I left the office about Noon to meet up with Joe.  I called Joe as I left and obviously just woke him up.  By the time I got there he was good to go.  He chose Jimmy John's - good with me because I am partial to a good sub.  I had the "Italian Night Club" (or a #9 for those of you that frequent Jimmy John's often) and Joe went with the "Turkey Tom" (or #4).

Joe just passed the 90 day mark at his job which meant getting hired on full time and getting benefits.  This is great news given that Joe has bounced around on jobs over recent years and now seems to have found a good place to work and is doing well.  Next step is to buy a car so we chatted about a possible car from Uncle Roy or possibly him buying our old Suburban - if I can actually pull the trigger on a new one.  Joe also talked about how he once again has lost contact with Melissa (the mother of his daughter Aura) but that is mainly because of Andrew (Melissa's SO) not being real keen on Joe talking to her.  Joe has gotten a good perspective on this situation and actually appreciates the fact that Aura has been raised by Melissa and Andrew and they have since had more kids so she is in a family and that is good.

Well I had to get back to lunch too quick and before you knew it we were on our way.  I dropped Joe off, he was very appreciative of the lunch and I think even more for the company which made my day!

Dinner = $15.46.  Time with Joe = Priceless!