And finally, the June 6 update...

Sorry about the delay. Time flies when you are insanely busy.

6/6 Column:

I don’t recall if I’ve mentioned this but for the past several weeks, Nate, Jacob and I have been living with his parents.
It all came about due to the house deal we’re working on. We had hoped to have the purchase wrapped up by May 1. We gave notice to end our lease in February with plans to move into our new house right from there.
But as the date loomed, it became clear we needed an alternate plan. The house wasn’t done and we hadn’t agreed on a price.
We had extended our stay at our rental home past May 1, but it still wasn’t enough time. A day before we were to move, we decided it was time to move to plan B: put everything we owned in storage and move in with the in-laws.
Now, just for the record, I get along great with my in-laws, but I also wanted to keep it that way. Now into week four of residing with the Eckert family, things are going OK yet, but I am feeling a little claustrophobic.
It was time for a break from central Wisconsin. After making sure I had a clear schedule from noon on Friday until Sunday evening, I called my mom and told her I was coming down.
I hadn’t taken time to visit my parents since a quick visit in March. Several times I had hoped to make it down there, but something always came up: work assignments, car trouble, etc.
But this weekend luck was on my side. I picked up my car from the shop Thursday (it was diagnosed with a security system problem) and had no events to cover for the weekend.
Jacob has gotten to be a good little traveler. He sat quietly in the back seat, pointing out the more exciting sights like “Tree” and “Cows.” He dozed off somewhere around Babcock and didn’t make a peep until I woke him in Spring Green.
Friday night was a quiet night in, then Saturday we made it to the Iowa County Dairy Breakfast. I used to help at the breakfast during my 4-H days, but it’s been a few years since I made it there. It rained, but the pancakes were still the best I’ve had and we ran into several old friends who had not yet met Jacob.
We had an afternoon trip to the zoo planned, but we decided to do an indoor activity instead. My sister, Kirsten, who is also Jacob’s godmother, and I took the little boy to his first big screen movie, the latest Shrek flick. Jacob loves the big green ogre at home, so he was quiet as a mouse throughout the movie. The only time he moved was to get another handful of buttery popcorn from the bag on his aunt’s lap.
Back at home Jacob took a tour of the farm with my other sister, Kaitlyn, while I attacked some weeds in the strawberry patch. The recent rain is good for the garden, but bad for the rapidly growing weeds. Still, I got a good section cleared and found enough strawberries for shortcake.
On Sunday it was packing and lunch at a graduation party. We also visited my grandpa in his nursing home. He always gets a kick out of seeing Jacob. Then we headed back north with my little passenger sleeping almost all the way home. Dad was glad to see us, but his eyes really lit up when he saw the strawberries we brought him.