Showing posts with label occasion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label occasion. Show all posts

Sunday, December 23

A Hobbity Holiday Outing

We saw The Avengers earlier this year, and we try to keep treks to the theater to a minimum (it's SO expensive!), but we really wanted to see The Hobbit in theaters, too. So we splurged and called it a Christmas present. The three older boys - who have all read the book many times and know and love the story, and I - who would watch Martin Freeman read electric bills - hit the theater on Friday afternoon.

They are so fun to be out and about with, but I think on this outing, Jacob was the most fun. You could see the frustration on his face at every change and deviation. He'd whisper the original to me, then glance my way, as if to say, "You see that, right?" I started to worry that this had been a bad idea (while also quietly celebrating how dearly he loves the written word. I admit it.) The screen went black, the lights came up, and then you could hear a lone little voice gasp (had he not been breathing this whole time?) and whisper-shout, "That. Was. Awesome!"

Yeah. It was. It so was.

We thought it would be fun to make it a Full Adventure for the Whole Family, so I got tickets for Zorak to take the Littles to Santa's Village at the Early Works Museum while we were at the show. The program material said there would be crafts, programs, Santa's reindeer, an elf workshop. It sounded neat. Guess it turned out to be a bit of a dud (no real crafts, or interactive or hands-on activities, but plenty of stations with different winter scenes to take pictures in various settings. At $5 a head, they at least paid for the cut-out snowman, right? Weird.) The reindeer were cold and sleepy. But the letters to Santa were hilarious (Jase marked that he had been both Naughty and Nice), and Z did enjoy the time with them. They consoled themselves with sushi and miso soup while they waited for our show to let out.



We ate sushi, too, because really, who turns down the chance to eat? Then we drove through the Galaxy of Lights at the Botanical Gardens. The wait in line was about 45 minutes. The drive through, itself, was nearly an hour. It was beautiful, but I'll tell you, if you want to enjoy the full experience, let me know and you can borrow Jase. He was like this at the sight of every. single. display.



A CANDLE!!! A TREE!! A BUTTERFLY!!! OMG, THIS IS THE BEST LIGHT SHOW EVER!!  I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!



We didn't think he could keep up that level of intensity for long, but we were wrong. He did start to short out a bit at the end, but he was still at full-throttle. It was magnificent. I'd happily pay $20 for anything that elicits that response.

Then we hit Krispy Kreme. The light was on. We were distracted by the pretty doughnuts. It was worth it.

We didn't manage to get a picture of the family, but everyone wore their non-holey, non-camo clothes just in case there was a random photo shoot. Three of the kids were sound asleep before we hit the edge of town. We pulled into the drive around midnight, feeling our ages, but really glad we ran with it. The movie was fun, the food was good, the lights were pretty. Most of all, though, the kids are neat, and they are so much fun to be around. The whole outing turned out to be more of a gift to myself than to them. It was a good gift.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Monday, September 10

This Is Not A Productive Week

Yeah, I know, it's only Monday. But we're not exactly shooting right out of the gate this week.

Everyone was up early this morning because there were presents to open! (We didn't get home from our ride until around ten last night, and there was no way I was going to give the kid a remote control helicopter, a Trilobite kit, and a video game, then tell him to get some shut eye. Even for me, that would have been pretty clueless.) So up, up, UP they were, bright and stinking early.

He opened his presents, and was so genuinely delighted with each one. MeWa and MeTae gave him the coolest Smithsonian set - Trilobites, a Volcano kit, and an archeological dig set. Wee! (And we're doing Ancients this year! Double Win!)

But the gift that took the spotlight was the one from EmBaby and Jase: they wrote him a letter...


... and made him a paper doll set, complete with a crocodile, a lion, a bridge, a shrub, a guy, a gun, and a zombie!



Look at the detail on that - the little gun, for fighting zombies, is detachable! Oh, my gosh, Zorak and I were speechless - it was the sweetest, most delightful, thoughtful present we've ever seen. I wish we had a camera other than on the phone, because the details are fantastic - the lion's mane, and the crocodile's jaws - all of it, just neat. They made this a week ago, and have kept it a secret the whole time. None of us, not even the big boys, knew what they'd made.

And Jacob's reaction? Total icing on the cake - he took out each figure, commented on some aspect of it, set them up, let the littles explain all the details. I think he got how special that gift was. Z and I will never forget it.

After that, it was pretty much all fun and games. The Trilobites are incubating in their environment on the dresser, the helicopter logged many flight hours, and it has been decided that the dolls need to be laminated so that they won't ever get torn or destroyed. Sure, we got a little school done, but really, nobody was paying attention. That's okay. You only turn nine once.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy


And You Shall Ride the Gauntlet

Well, no, it wasn't that bad. He thought it might, be, though. Jacob turned nine yesterday, and the timing of it landed so that we rode the first half of the Chief Ladiga Trail *on* his birthday. He wasn't convinced this was a great plan, but he went along with it.



He doesn't look traumatized, does he?

OK, maybe a little surprised, but certainly not traumatized, right? 

At the end, the exhilaration of knowing he'd ridden 16 miles under his own power was pretty heady stuff. And it was fun! EmBaby rode the trail-a-bike behind Zorak. Jase rode in the child seat behind me. The boys gave their bikes a good workout. Everyone enjoyed the day, which is pretty impressive, all things considered.



We stopped at Logan's on the way home to refuel with steak and veggies. Then we stopped at the halfway point for a milkshake from Jack's. As he sipped his milkshake, he let out a contented little sigh and said, "This was a pretty fantastic birthday."

And we never got to the presents or the cake!

Happy Birthday Smidge, er, Jacob! You are going to have an Amazing year being 9!

(I'm trying out Dropbox for photos right now. If any of these don't appear properly, and I don't catch it, please let me know. Google/Blogger and I aren't able to communicate very well at the moment when it comes to photo and file uploading.)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Sunday, September 9

Boarding School & Birthdays

JakeRabbit is nine today. He's so very excited. His presents are wrapped, taunting him from a corner of the dining room. We'll have steak and creamed kale for dinner (his pick). I'll pester him with his birth story a bit. My favorite part of that story is that the first sounds he heard were his big brothers shouting, "Welcome to the world, Baby Jacob!" That, and the green chile burritos Aunt B brought us. Those were pretty fantastic, too.

The bigs and I rode yesterday. We got in ten miles, and they felt more grueling than I'd expected. Part of that was that we followed the river upstream, which meant we gradually, but consistently rode uphill. (Note: get a topo map soon!) To highlight the fact, I'd messed up the front deraileur on my bike when I fell last week but we only checked the rear gears before heading out yesterday. Turns out, if you're heading uphill, you'll miss having those bottom seven gears! We ride again today, but I'm ready with ALL the gears!

The boys' Troop had an Eagle Court of Honor last night. The previous Courts of Honor this Troop has had have been very laid back, informal, almost second-thought affairs. This was our first Eagle Court, and it was impressive. The boys all did very well with their speaking parts. The newly minted Eagle just beamed.

And in a completely unrelated vein, do you know why Boarding Schools always look lovely, even with all those children? Staff. They have full staff for every department, including landscaping and kitchen. I'm tempted to see if we can take in some boarders and get on that. Until I can sell Zorak on that plan, though, we tag each other in for different aspects of it and hope for the best. I stayed home yesterday morning to work on the house, while Zorak manned the popcorn booth with Jacob for Cub Scouts. Funny how moving all the airsoft gear to a shelf in the boys' closet gave us back our foyer. (How is it that stuff will fit on a 2'x4' shelf, but it took up an entire 4'x15' room?)

Anyway, we're off to celebrate and enjoy the day!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Sunday, June 24

Whoa! Where'd the week go?

John turned twelve this week. (He lobbied to be promoted to 15, as he swears he's been 11 for three years and we need to set the balance right.)

Thanks to the envelope system, there was enough cash in the gift envelope to take him to the drive-in to see The Avengers. Do you remember going to the drive-in when you were a child? Yeah, it's still awesome. Of course, as an adult with children in town, it is also a little aggravating. (The Bigs totally "got" it, and they were fantastic. My plan to set the littles up with their own cushy paradise inside the Suburban, where they could play quietly? That didn't pan out. So, even having braced myself to be okay with a certain level of aggravation, the littles far surpassed that. Crazy little overachievers. :eyeroll:) Friends came with us, which was doubly cool. (And you know they're loved, because the children spent half the time in their car, as well!)

We'll pop it in the queue with Netflix and watch it again when it comes out. I don't think Zorak or I have laughed so hard, or enjoyed a movie quite so much in a long time. (Even when you factor in the littles.) I do think we'll try the drive-in again, though, after making some adjustments (or finding a sitter) for the littles. The Bigs really got into it, and they were a riot.

The last of the chicks are now in the barn! Hallelujah! They all seem happy there, and I know I'm downright giddy with reclaiming the space.

After an embarrassingly long time, I've finally painted the two bedroom doors that never got painted. Most of the delay has been that the basement is always in use as something far too messy for painting to occur concurrently. So this week, while it was empty and relatively clean, I went to work. It's impressive how nice a freshly painted door looks (especially when one's standards have been lowered, by notches, to a shocking degree).

We are down to one toy shelf, *and* there's an empty bookshelf on the front porch, slated for life with someone else. It's a pretty crappy bookshelf, and we've used it well beyond its appointed time. But it still stays upright, the shelves aren't too saggy, and so it's functional. I can't bring myself to toss something functional. Not sure how to get it to the donation site, though. (DAV will come pick up, but we'd need to have a pile to justify asking them to bring the truck out and use more in gas than they'd have spent just buying a new shelf.)

The okra is doing beautifully with our system of gardening by benign neglect.

We did get James' desk and computer into his room, and he's standing ten feet tall right now. Possibly even bulletproof.


So. That's where the week went. Makes perfect sense.
Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Monday, June 4

It was!

It was absolutely crazy. And magnificent.

Friday's airsoft gathering went well. We had about nine boys, all properly attired with safety gear and low-end guns. (Minor Injuries Only, for the win!) We moms stayed on the balcony, figuring the 16' height would keep us out of firing range. It did. That's where we kept the food, too. It was a blessedly normal, witty, engaged group of women. I'm fairly sure I was the loose peg in the wall, and that's okay. Gives me an opportunity to work on my Don't Be Weird Around The Nice People routine. We'll see if it worked. The boys, at least, I know had fun, because they only came inside when thirst drove them in, and there were small, polite, but clear protestations when it was time to go. They all agreed they'd like to do more things together. Mission accomplished. (I told Zorak that night that I really loved all the boys - they were just the right kind of weird - sweet, quirky, fun kids.)

That evening, our friend, Daniel, arrived with his wife and son. He's been stateside, studying Chemistry, for several years. His wife and son joined him in the fall, so this was the first time we were fortunate enough to meet them. And she's pregnant with Baby #2!! I didn't know (Zorak may have known, and thought he told me, but there's a lot he thinks he's told me and didn't) -- so there was a lot of happy squealing. And I cannot tell you how hard it was for me not to just fondle her and swaddle her up and wallow in her adorable, beautiful pregnantness. But *aherm* I restrained. Also, watching her stand up from the table, I realized she may look "just adorable" to me, but she's probably larger than she's ever been, hot, off-balance, uncomfortable, and none of the joints are connected properly at this point. It really does look better than it feels. James made her sage water, and we kept her fed, and tried to pamper her as much as possible (she's quick, though - like lighting - up and helping any chance she gets!) Their son disappeared with the littles, the tiny herd making random appearances to dance, sing, or just make a lap around the living area.

We had a little cookout for them Saturday. It started out as a little cookout. We ended up with 30-some-odd people, and I'm not particularly clear where the line goes from a small gathering to a large crowd. It was a delightful outcome, regardless! The weather cooperated nicely, and we were able to spread out onto the balcony, the upper meadow, and the front yard. Naturally, we didn't get a single photo.  However, I didn't fret about the cleanliness of the house, or about putting people to work when they arrived. So this was probably the most enjoyable gathering we've had - internally, at any rate. No stress, no worries, just a really great time with some really fantastic people. More than once, I found myself standing at the edge of a cluster of people, just smiling and giving quiet thanks for having these folks in our lives. We are so rich.

The Bigs left for Scout Camp early Sunday morning. They'd packed at some point over the weekend. (Mostly at The Last Minute, and I've already got a list of things to bring to them on Family Day.) We got them headed off and then the rest of us went to church. From church, we hit Sam's for dry goods and travel food (because it's one glamorous outing after another when you have pantry locusts!), then took a lovely stroll along the river before heading home. Daniel and his family pulled out around five, and that felt too soon for them to leave. We hope they'll return again and again. Our door is always open.

And then, it was quiet. SO quiet. Jase promptly passed out. Zorak played video games with Jacob. EmBaby worked in her little MineCraft world James had set up for her before he left. I sat down with a few books and drifted in and out of sleep.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Friday, April 27

Back to work again!

As nice as it was to be home, we didn't have time to be still. We had this beauty waiting to greet us in the foyer:


It's a range hood for the kitchen! We got it up that week, and I took pictures, but seven years of cooking without a vent did a number on the ceiling (peat moss fire ring a bell? Ew!), which looks even worse with the sparkly shiny new hood in place. So that's going to have to be repaired before I'm willing to share photos.

And this fun pile in the drive!


We've used some of it to finish the drainage work that's been looming. The rest will go toward pouring a pad for the balcony stairs, and prepping the lower drive for the next project. (Of course there's a next project! *pfft*)

And, of course, we had a Day of Birth to celebrate.
How is my Baby Boy *four*? Wow. He is so glad to be four. According to him, he can have gum, and learn to read, and do whatever he wants to, now. Heh. Set his sights a little high there, but we're not going to knock him down. (Maybe that last one. We'll see.)

And it was nice that we made it back before the tulips that James and Em had planted were finished blooming. They weren't in their full glory, but the kids beamed to know they'd done the job well.


 It can't be all work and no play, of course. That's when people start setting things on fire or running away. And so, we've turned a little work into play, as well, at the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge.
We hit the Whooping Crane Lottery this year, and got to see juvenile whooping cranes at the Refuge before they migrated north for the summer. I wish I'd been able to get a better shot, but with my phone, this was the best I could do. Still, it was amazing!
 Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Wednesday, April 25

And then...

We spent three days at Zorak's Mom's house. For him, it was three days of doing nice things for his Mom. (Electrical wiring, plumbing repairs, pouring concrete, etc.) For the kids, it was three days of pure, unadulterated kid-fun.

She made them pancakes and chocolate fudge brownies. (Jase cried for a week after we got home, "When are we going BACK TO GRANNY'S???")

They played with Legos indoors when the wind kicked up the sand.

They rode their bikes to the corner store when the wind died down.

They identified plants and critters and read some of Granny's book stash.

I served as the parts gopher, and washed a lot of laundry. Bless my mother-in-law, she understands how nice it is to get home with clean clothes instead of bags of dirty laundry, so she gave me free rein of the laundry room and let me get it done. That's some happy stuff, right there.

And then, to Texas - to the middle-of-nowhere to see KathyJo and her punkins (we missed Ernie, much to both of the guys' chagrin) - to Austin to see some dear, dear friends, there. Meredith and Jami and ALL the children in between.

And then, homeward. With a passion. We had a beautiful trip, but it was a full two weeks on the road, and the children were beginning to unravel. Zorak and I were beginning to grow road weary. It was time. We pushed on that first evening, then made the last dash home in a 17-hour drive the next day, pulling it at one in the morning.

We could have stayed another night along the road, but I couldn't quite muster the umpf to rally everyone up and out early one. more. morning. (The kids were fantastic! It was me. I was done with the mustering and the rallying.) So we plugged along.

Home again. The South had sprung up in buntings of white and orange, dotted with flowery ribbons of orange and yellow. Springtime in the South is one of the most beautiful, amazing things I've ever seen. (And quite a contrast to the sandblasting we'd received during a New Mexico Spring.) That blunted the sting of being away from loved ones, and warmed the welcome upon our return. Oh, how I love it here in the Springtime.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Monday, April 23

Dancing Adventure

The night of Granny's party, there was a dance in town. ("Town" being Corona, pop. 165, bumped up to approximately 225 for the dance.) I completely dropped the ball on taking pictures for this trip. I was too busy having fun to even think about it. Thankfully, among the throng of people, there were a few shots I could pilfer from others to help frame out the day.

EmBaby had a hat, new pink boots and a pretty dress. She was set.

The boys, on the other hand, were a little uneasy. Dancing is not such a thing here in the South as it is in the Southwest. (It's actually somewhat frowned upon, in large part, here.) So they haven't been to dances, and we haven't danced in ages, just out of general lack of opportunity, and the whole concept hit them like a big foreign wall of awkwardness. "It'll be okay," we told them. "Just ask Granny to show you how."


They did.
They got it.


They danced the night away.

16 years ago, Zorak and I danced in that same building for Corona Days. We'd only been dating a few months, then. This year, we watched our children dancing, running, talking with family and friends. Then we danced. And we danced with the children. And we danced with others. But the highlight for me was dancing in his arms again. Oh, how I've missed that.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Sunday, April 22

The Great American Road Trip

Well, nuts. I can't get my phone to authenticate to Picasa. No pictures yet, then. (Also, I thought I'd posted this. Obviously, I've been in mental hibernation for a month.)
Since we don't really take actual vacations, we decided to make this one Official. We hit the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. From there, we included stops along the way to wallow in some of our Favorite People. We stopped in to see my cousin and her son, who we haven't seen in 13 years. (Man, kids grow a LOT in that time! Crazy!) Zorak got a wild hair and we splurged on a day trip to Six Flags. That was pretty impressive. EmBaby, it turns out, is a roller coaster riding fool. She loves the thrill of it. (This does not bode well for the year she hits driving age.)

We got to see Deb (who doesn't blog, but who is so busy being completely awesome in every other way) and Jarrod, and their Amazing crew. They took us to see fossils and play in the creek. We sat on their back patio area around a fire, watching the children play and talking about Life, the Universe, and Everything. They fed us well. (Oh, so well!) They make me want to live in Texas.

From there, we hit the family circuit -- Granny's, then to a cousin's (where there were easily 30 people, most of whom were children, absolutely scampering to and fro and having a wonderful time!),  Here, the children are dying eggs using silk ties. I'm so glad Zorak has crafty cousins because there is no. way. I'd have tried that with so many kids, raw eggs, and tile floors! They dispersed throughout the house to work on them, but notice how she kept the smallest of the crowd within arm's reach? She's smart, that one. The eggs turned out great, and the kids had a blast.


... and then to Corona for Great Granny's 98th Birthday celebration.

The field at Granny's was filled with cars as we pulled up. The kids were stoked. We got out and headed up the hill, anxious to see loved ones we haven't seen in years. As we neared the top, and the people came into view (perhaps 150, or so), John's eyes widened and his gait slowed. He whispered, "Are we related to everyone here?" Yep, kiddo. Mostly cousins, and all yours. :-)

The children disappeared into the cliffs with their cousins to search for rocks, snakes, petroglyphs, and adventure. Several of us had thought to bring wine. (Those two points are not connected, I think.) The food was unbelievable. The company was even better.

And really, for Springtime in New Mexico, the weather was pretty darned fantastic. It was windy, but that's what makes it Springtime in New Mexico. The sandblasting storms, though, held off until everyone had eaten and was already contemplating whether it was time to get ready for the dance. So that worked well. We got ready for the dance! (And I'll tell you about that, but right now, I'd best get ready for church.)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Wednesday, April 4

98

Granny turned 98 last month. And we were able to be there.

Of course, if you're going to drive 1200 miles, you don't just go eat a little BBQ, take a few twirls around the dance floor, and go home. No. At least, not with five children in tow. If you're going to go, go big and get your effort's worth out of it.

So, we spent two weeks on the road. (And the two weeks prior to that was all prep work and packing, which I couldn't blog about because, well, because for one, it wasn't very interesting, and also because I didn't want to announce to the world on Google that our home would be available for squatting.)

And this time, Zorak and I traveled well together! I can't tell you the joy that brought both of us - happy little smirks and discreet high fives along the way. We are an awesome team in so many areas, but travel has never been our strongest arena. I think in metaphors and literary adventures. He thinks in bullet points and destinations. (So, for example, when we cross the Mississippi, I want to pull over and think about Huck and Jim trying to navigate that on a raft - a RAFT, people! Whereas Zorak crosses and calculates whether it's best to stop for gas and coffee in West Memphis or wait for a truck stop.) Bless us, it's been all we can do to get moved across country a couple of times. But this time we were intentional, thoughtful, and purposeful.

And flexible.

And not a little giddy by the time we pulled in at home.

I'll post pictures and share more of the adventure after we run the million errands we have to run today. But I did want to touch base and say we are safe, sound, and still around.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Friday, January 27

Turning 6, and Other Fun

 EmBaby turned six last week. I'd be having a hard time wrapping my mind around how on earth my baby girl is six, if she hadn't timed her birthday perfectly with some kind of sprinting Amazonian growth spurt. Suddenly, she's so TALL, and her legs are a bazillion miles long, and all her sweet little dresses are tunics. Thank heaven for leggings! I *just* got caught up on shoes and pants for the males in the house, and we haven't quite recovered that envelope yet. So, anyway, I asked her what she would like to do for her birthday, and in my head, I thought maybe she'd like a lovely tea with her girlfriends, and a girls' day out. No. Before I could offer that suggestion, she hopped about, shouting, "Sushi! Sushi with Mr. Ward and Miss Terry!"

 
Well, there ya go. Happy as a pretty little clam, that one. Terry was under the weather that day, but Ward came along to help EmBaby celebrate her day. And her brothers helped, of course. Because they're good like that. (Camera phone! I forgot about the camera on the phone! Yes, I'm new to the 21st Century.)

Her favorite gift was a plain pink t-shirt from Hobby Lobby, given with express permission to use the fabric markers Terry had given them years ago (I'd hidden them. The kids found them in the room re-shuffle. You would not believe how incredible the concept of fabric markers can be! We sort of bought the shirt out of self-preservation. This way, I can enjoy the children enjoying the project. It wouldn't have gone so well had they run with their initial plan of, "Can we use these on the curtains in the living room?") But really, it was awesome. She is awesome. She is going to be *great* at being six, I just know it.
We've had a warmish and wet winter, so the freeze the other day was fun. Friends came over and the kids all headed to the creek to play (because isn't that where everyone wants to play when it's freezing out?) James came back up and asked for my phone to take some pictures. They'd found quite a few beautiful and interesting things - this ice ridge is one of them. I thought it was kind of cool that a herd of children would want to stop for pictures of something, to enjoy the beauty of it. Made my day. Well, that, and getting the last of the muddy clothes washed and dried before the other kids' parents came to pick them up. There may have been a little internal high-fiving over that, too.

Kiss those babies!
Dy

Wednesday, January 4

A Beautiful Start

We had such a great day today! One of my cousins was in town on a layover, and let us kidnap her for lunch and a trip to Burritt Museum. The kids are in awe of her, and I'm so happy that we re-connected. It's been 13 years since we've seen each other. Life gets busy, but it just shouldn't ever get that busy. I didn't get any pictures, though. We were too wrapped up in talking, eating, talking, and planning future visits.

The kids were amazing! Bless them. I didn't even do the usual, "For the love of God Almighty, PLEASE keep your brains on!" speech. (I meant to, but I forgot.) Serious fist bumps to the bigs and the smalls for keeping it normal on their own. Of course, we got back in the car after dropping her off, and all kinds of absurdity broke loose. There was so much poking and wrestling on the drive home that I began to wonder if their heads would have popped off if we'd stayed much longer. I love these kids. They make me laugh. I'm glad they didn't explode.

Tomorrow, our copy of The Codes of Hammurabi and Moses should arrive. I know, exciting times. Good stuff.

Friday, the bed risers should be here. If I can blow off skate day (unlikely, but one can hope), I can spend the day getting a little Old English Housekeeper action going on the master bedroom and storage plans.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Friday, September 9

Happy Birthday, Jake Rabbit!



Jacob turns 8 today. Wow. We celebrated a little early, thinking Zorak would be on the road to pick up a friend today. So when he got home, he brought a bike with him. Jacob's been using John's old bike. We got it for John's 4th Birthday, so not only has Jacob looked like a Shriner on the 4th of July for most of the Summer, but this new bike seemed HUGE to him.








(The capes and hat are part of their costumes - they were Porthos and Athos at the time.) He ditched the cape (according to our stringent No Capes On Bikes rule, or something like that) and off he went. It's nice to be able to keep up with your big brothers. He can hardly wait to take his bike to Tannehill with him this fall.





We had his birthday dinner and cake last night, too, and we called it a day.

This morning, he got the rest of his presents (a couple of books I hadn't ordered in time - oops). His brothers did the wrapping, and they couldn't resist the bag-in-a-bag-in-a-bag-in-a-bag trick. Then we took his Cub Scout Den to Dairy Queen after today's meeting (which was an awesome hike to Hurricane Creek). He said it was a pretty darn great way to turn eight.






Ah, but he makes it so easy, with his laid back, happy nature and his willingness to find happiness in everyday things. Really, how could we not want to celebrate *him*?

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Friday, July 15

Milestone Fun

Last night we joined approximately half the population of Northern Alabama in attending the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. This was big for us, as we usually only see one movie in a theater in any given year. But added to that was that this was the first time Jacob had seen one of the Harry Potter movies in the theaters (he read all seven books in the last year, and then started over, just so he wouldn't forget anything important). And the first time any of us had gone to an opening showing of the HP movies. It was really great. For them, it was probably great for different reasons than it was for me. I so enjoyed spending time with them, doing something we can all enjoy together (so, not Victorian literature *or* video games). JK Rowling, for the win! Thanks!

We made wands at the last minute, thanks to an instructable a friend linked. You can find it here. And these are the wands they came up with:

From left to right: mine, James', John's, Jacob's, Emily's, Jason's. (The bigs helped design Em's and Jase's. The Littles picked their own colors.) Not bad for 40 minutes' work! Go teamwork!

The boys all created their own costume ideas and we managed to cobble them together without stressing out much. James, with his blonde hair, fair skin, and thin build, is just a natural to go as Draco Malfoy.

Jacob rounded up the much-used, much-loved Harry robe and accoutrements from the basement to reprise another round of Harry. His longer, wild hair was perfect for it this time. Zorak chipped in with an old pair of glasses (minus the lenses) when we couldn't find any in the thrift stores (and I'd bought what Z informed me were "not cool round Harry glasses", but were in fact, "thick nerd glasses". Huge difference. Funny, coming from the man who reads in a Ben Stein monotone, just to get out of ever having to read Harry Potter books at all. But when it really matters, he can nail it.)

John was going to go as Ron Weasley. We had this maroon sweater and had planned to switch out the 'G' for an 'R', a'la Mrs. Weasley's Christmas Sweater. One afternoon, John commented off-hand that it's too bad we couldn't do the ear or he could go as George. I remembered then that one of our friends does the special effects makeup for the haunted houses every year, and thought if anyone could do it, she could. So I got with her and asked if she could do it. She graciously said yes, and she. was. AMAZING! In less than fifteen minutes of work, she took off a good portion of John's ear.

We drove home from her place in a raging thunderstorm, and all I could think was man, if we're in a wreck I hope this ear doesn't cause any problem getting him diagnosed and treated! We made it home without incident. (Yay!)

Because of the last minute wand making, we were a couple of hours behind our planned schedule, but still set to be there early enough to get in line and have a shot at good seats. The storm set us back an additional hour, though, and we arrived at the theater only an hour before showtime. So our seats were not *great*, but that didn't dampen the experience.

The place was full of great costumes, happy people, high energy, and a fun mood. Some of the costumes were really fantastic. I wish I'd thought to take pictures. Luna in her roaring Lion's head, Mrs. Sprout, a snitch (he made several laps through the theater while people waited), Cho Chang, Voldemort, Neville... it was so much fun to see the creativity that went into people's costumes.

And the movie. Ah. Well, yeah. This is the first time I'm not the last person I know who sees the movie. I'll return the graciousness of those who just smiled and said, "Oh, you'll have to see it and then let me know so we can talk."

So. You'll have to see it, and then let me know so we can talk about it. ;-)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Thursday, July 14

Summer electives

This week, in Science for Summer...

Spiders: some things really make you appreciate glass


Hormones & Bacteria: what they can do to you, why you should care, and what you can do about it. (It's accelerated course.)


Heat & Humidity: why you really don't want to do your Physical Fitness badge in the middle of summer. in the South. Let's just play in the sprinklers. Please.

Art: Hey! The basement stays cool! Let's play there!

Getting ready for the Harry Potter premier tonight! See you later.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Thursday, May 12

Easter.

Huh. I'd posted a couple days ago about the recovery process here in Northern Alabama. But it's... gone. Ah, I guess Blogger was doing something while I was posting, perhaps? Ah, okay. I'll have to write that one up again, later. Right now, I'm geared up to get these Easter pictures up.

Easter was lovely. We have such a fun mix of ages. James "hunted" eggs by walking with the littles and making casual remarks like, "Oh, that tree would be a lovely place to hide an egg!" and "I wonder if the Easter Bunny likes horseshoes?" Emily and Jase would squeal with delight as they discovered their treasure after acting upon these "subtle hints". We had so much fun watching him at work.

Emily helped Jase, too. And Jase just had a wonderful time. I think he still checks the yard when he goes outside to play.

Jacob is at that wonderful age where he's able to find, able to help, and still young enough to be really excited by his own discoveries. Every year, I think this is it - I couldn't possibly enjoy these kids more. And every year, they surprise me with their joy and their depth. This is a really cool gig.

Sharon generously took about a bazillion shots of all of us together. I need a super editor that can paste the heads from other shots onto the one that's the best of most of us. Until then, this was a relatively decent family photo. The last one of the year, most likely. Next time, Jase won't need to be restrained and James will probably be taller than I. Wow, where does it all go? I could have sworn I was right here for all of it!



We hope your Easter was just as blessed as ours. There is, truly, so much to celebrate.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy
Posted by Picasa

Sunday, April 24

Color us contented!

We are notoriously non-crafty people, Zorak and I. As such, we tend to forget (or blow off) the craftier aspects of holidays. Paper chains, doily hearts, and even, I'm sorry to say, Easter eggs. Every year we insist to one another that we'll do better. Every year, we experience some kind of neurological twitch that blows the whole thing, and the kids end up bringing us unearthed boxes of egg dye in September, asking if we can use them now. Well, not this year!

This year, we dyed those eggs. There were rainbows, and layers, and wax. (And plenty of supplies, from prior years' boxes...) The kids really got into it, and just did a fantastic job. As a matter of fact, we're so flush with the joy of pulling it off that I'm thinking next year we'll go Big Time and try Pysanky. (That gives me a year to remember to buy/build/borrow the pens... someone remind me of that in a couple of months?)

I think a few factors really came into play. One, the balcony. There's room, there's light, and there's absolutely no worry about messes. It's like having an actual studio right off the school room, but one I don't have to *clean*. Another is the round yard sale table Zorak picked up last year. It's a fantastic table for doing crafty things - sturdy enough to handle Jase clambering about on it, large enough to fit everybody comfortably working around it, and at $10, I don't feel compelled to worry if it gets stained. Actually, between the Christmas cookies, the gingerbread houses, the kite-making, and now the eggs, it's starting to look quite colorful and festive.



The kids and their attitudes make the whole process infinitely more enjoyable than we are prone to expect it to be. I love them for that. And finally, I think we're just wrapping our minds around how much these things can mean to the little guys when we can relax and let it be about what it ought to be about: spending time together, doing something delightful, learning something new, and enjoying the whole thing. So, that's what we're doing. Pretty crafty!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Friday, March 25

Newfangled Technologies, and Springtime



It's the end of March! Sheesh. Well, here we are. Or, here we were...


Z's Granny celebrated her 97th birthday this month. She went out dancing for the actual event, but her daughters put together a family get-together in Texas so that everyone could come. This is the first time since we've left New Mexico that we have been able to make it out for something like this. In the past, there's always been something - too broke, no vacation time, vehicle transmission died, children got sick... Needless to say, we held our collective breaths until we actually arrived at our destination! It was a great time. The kids had cousins galore to run and play with, and they did. All the children got loved on by their Grannies and other people's Grannies, and total strangers who they were assured were relations of some sort or other. It was pretty awesome.

Upon our return, we found that Spring had arrived! And so, we got to work on projects. First up, the dishwasher. We got word some months ago that our dishwasher had been recalled due to spontaneous combustion. Never a great thing. So we hammered out the details and got a new one, using the rebate offered by Maytag, supplemented by our willingness to pay a little extra not to have to either put out kitchen fires or have to do dishes by hand. (Maytag did offer to replace the faulty component at no cost, but considering ours leaked heavily enough to soak a beach towel each load, we chipped in for the full replacement machine.) It's in, now, and seems happy. Hard little worker, that one. I have pictures, but they're on my phone and I can't get them off.

Zorak's shoulder is healing beautifully. It aggravates him no end, because he wants it to be all healed rightnow. Of course. I can't say I blame him. Thankfully, it's a self-limiting thing - if he tries to push it, it pushes back and makes him stop. I think, in general, he's doing splendidly, and handling both the healing process and the frustration very well and with a great attitude, which we all appreciate.

The washing machine is our next project to tackle. I was going to wait for Z's arm to be back in the game, but the washer leaks and now the dryer makes a horrible racket (sounds like someone kicking dogs in there, it's awful!) With the amount of laundry we need to do, and how small the washer is to begin with, the non-stop squealing, spraying, wailing (that last bit is me) really needs to stop. We can avoid the squawking dryer by hanging clothes when it's not raining. But we've got to do something about the leak before we're all driven mad by a return of the mold! James agreed to help me with that.

Actually, the boys have all been fantastic about helping out around here. John built a rose garden bed for EmBaby. (Pics are held hostage on the phone.) Jacob helped Jase put in strawberries around the tea garden. (Yep. This danged phone is killing me!) EmBaby decorated every flat surface in honor of Jase' birthday.

Yes! Our Easter Baby is three, now. THREE! He was so un-ruffled over it, too. We've had two who refused to turn three, and two who kind of hoped they could maybe be four, or three-and-four, or just skip straight to five. Jase just nodded and said, "Yeah. I'm three now." It's all good.
Oh, have mercy! It's all going too quickly!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy