Jan 15 '09

So last weekend, which happened to be a holiday weekend, we had an extra day on our hands. (Why I get MLK day off from work, but not either of the two President's day holidays next month, I don't understand. But that's a different story.)

Instead of letting the kids devote all 36 hours of the weekend to Playstation and computer games, and since it was 85+ degrees out, Stephanie and I met up and took everyone for a walk. We let the kids climb in trees, throw rocks, and chase squirrels.



We followed this creek for about 3/4 mile before turning around to go back and eat lunch.

The other side of that bridge is the MainPlace Mall and then the 5 Fwy. I guess if we kept on going, we could have walked to the beach. That's the next excursion planned - bike riding to the beach...or maybe drive to the beach with bikes and ride around down there.


Last night the Cub Scouts held a "Drive-In Movie" nite. The boys were all given cardboard boxes to make their cars. They could add items on, but they had to be cardboard. Matt made a pickup truck, flames and all. The boys snuggled down with their snacks and sat in their cars to watch the movie.

Matt's Big 9

Matt decided he wanted a birthday party this year. Wait, take that back. Matt talked me into having a birthday party for him this year. Between costs and weather, this time of the year isn't conducive to renting bounce houses or going to the beach - so we held a slumber party.


After riding their bikes and skateboards around the cul-de-sac a few times, and playing a few rounds of ping-pong, the boys made their own pizzas washed down with lemonade.

We played other "classic" games like pin the tail on Master Chief (don't ask me who that is, but they all think he's cool); charades (ask Matt to show you how the Grand Canyon was made so he could jump over it); "Who Am I" (do I have a mask? do I wear boots? can I fly? am I green?) and the birthday version of Santa's scavenger hunt (Jesus was put in the basket on the Nile, did you know that?)

After present, cake and ice cream, they settled down to watch a movie before passing out for the night. Only 30 minutes of Playstation was had by all, which was only to give me a sanity break.

Swimming in Flowers

For one week a year, the gang all gets together, puts on our grubby clothes to work on floats. This year we proceeded to glue, seed, petal, pick, blow, mum, cut, tweeze, sneeze, and freeze our way through decorating on six different floats.

Kevin and Thomas tried their hand at detailing, and decided they didn't have as much patience as was needed for the job at hand. It gets just a little bit tedious at times, cutting straw flowers and gluing seed on to little tiny spaces. Even with the assembly-line process we had going, it was hard with a couple hundred of these detailed designs...

...that eventually ended up on sides of these giant purses. They wanted to be on scaffolding - with all the other teenagers.

Alanna and Sam worked on putting all manner of seeds and flowers on the floats.

Two of the projects I worked on during the week. I now can add dogs and bees to the animal repetoire of butterflies and fish.

Cindy taking a break with a long-time decorator.

Tracy, Donna, Melissa and Robbie decorated as well. Many long days and nights later, after inhaling glue and diesel fumes, listening to float soundtracks again and again, answering questions from passers-by, singing to stay awake, bowls of chili and adding layers of clothes to keep warm, the floats were pulled out of the barn to be driven to Pasadena. If we're lucky, we won't sleep through the parade.

Christmas Happenings..

Alanna and Curtis came over Christmas Eve to make cookies for Santa. These involve crushed candy canes...and making the cookies is as much fun as eating them. (You must be sure to ask Curtis sometime about how good those cookies taste.)

I have four handsome boys.... but I guess asking them to pose at 7:00am Christmas morn brings out the most handsome closed-eyes / goofy grin sides of them. Hurry up, mom, take the picture so we can start! (HEY! At least you're not being blinded by a 6,000 watt light bar attached to the movie camera!!)

Four pages of questions relating to Michelangelo, the Strait of Magellen, and Boy Scout merit badges greeted the boys searching for their big Santa present. Well, Matt did write a note to Santa to "PLZ make the scavinger hnt harder this year."

A much easier white elephant gift exchange happened in the afternoon at Cindy and Gary's, followed by everyone feasting on brisket, marcies potatos, and liquid fortitude. Since it was pouring down freezing rain, we stayed inside for the day.

December Happenings

We started out the month with Matt in the Christmas play at school.. Since each kid performed in this same pageant in both 2nd and 3rd grades, and they haven't made any significant changes to the program in oh, the last 10 years or so, I figure we've seen this shin-dig going on eight times.


Kevin's troop had a Court of Honor the same week, celebrating the fact that Kevin got his Tenderfoot rank about 9 months ago. (Not a particularly timely group, are we?)

Matt's cub scout den needed to see a model of a construction site. What better place than the site of a $1.2b construction site? After checking out the new upgrades coming to DCA in the next five years, we played in the parks with a boatload of other merry-makers.

Kevin had his Christmas concert at his school last night. Wait, I mean "holiday" concert...it is politically incorrect to call it anything but that.

I wanted to get a good pic with my kid, he just wanted to make a silly face. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.