Installment #2
What was the best part about your Thanksgiving holiday?
Pierce: “ Eating turkey… the one my Mom made. We make Grandpa make his own because he always over cooks it, it’s so dry and it’s totally disgusting!”
Monday, November 28, 2005
Christmas & Swimming
Just a couple of shots from recent activities. First is how our house looks at night. We were blessed with a 50 degree sunny day on Friday after Thanksgiving. I'd estimate 75% of our neighbors were out decorating their houses.
And, these are some shots of Liam at his swim lessons. He and Grady take lessons at the North Clackamas Aquatic Park, the same place our Weimaraner used to enjoy the Dog Daze of Summer swim event. It's a wonderful facility with an olympic-sized pool for lap swimmers, a giant wave pool, a beginning swimmer area into which two giant water slides empty, a high dive area, and a kiddie pool that has a small slide Liam loves. Liam is the youngster with blond hair and the light blue bathing suit. Grady's class is in the background of the middle picture below.
And, these are some shots of Liam at his swim lessons. He and Grady take lessons at the North Clackamas Aquatic Park, the same place our Weimaraner used to enjoy the Dog Daze of Summer swim event. It's a wonderful facility with an olympic-sized pool for lap swimmers, a giant wave pool, a beginning swimmer area into which two giant water slides empty, a high dive area, and a kiddie pool that has a small slide Liam loves. Liam is the youngster with blond hair and the light blue bathing suit. Grady's class is in the background of the middle picture below.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
YouTube
YouTube.com is one heck of cool site. It's free video hosting, and they are so smart to provide easy to paste functionality for eBay, Blogger, etc. The previous 2 videos I grabbed from there. This one you can play right within my blog. This one is quirky but inspirational. My favorite is the shot from Connecticut.
Mantis Mangia
This young lady who eats a live Praying Mantis probably has never seen that this large insect has an actual fleshy pink tongue (click picture for video). I've closely watched one eat before and was amazed. The best part of the video is how she picks a remnant from her teeth, looks at it and then pops it back in her mouth.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Princess
Each day, Grady's teacher, Cleta Woods, asks the kids a question and then records verbatim what they say. Today is Cleta's birthday, so the questions was: Happy Birthday Teacher Cleta, My wish for you is….
Grady answered: “that you will be a Princess, because I love you!”
That makes me so happy that Grady feels this way for his wonderful teacher. I believe it's reciprocal because every morning Cleta hugs and smothers Grady with kisses. That's one of the nice things about private school -- there's not a no touching rule for these innocent and healthy exchanges.
Some of the amusing verbatims from the past few months:
What do you pray about?
Pierce: “ When my Mom doesn’t let me go to Baskin and Robbins I pray that she’ll change her mind.”
This one will make more sense when you read Pierce's next answer...
How was your Halloween?
Pierce: “Good! I got four thousand pieces of candy…that’s why I wanted to stay home today. I wanted to keep an eye on my candy to make sure my Dad isn’t eating more than 1 piece of it."
Jackson: “my Grandpa knows how to do a bunch of cool stuff but somebody must have pulled lots of my Grandpas hair out because he doesn’t have much but my Grandma has a whole lot.”
Can you tell who the disciplinarian is in this household?
Do you obey your parents?
Kaitlin: “I only obey my Dad because if I don’t he’ll get really mad.”
Piece isn't just witty...
What do you want to show your parents at Back to School night?
Kaitlin: “Pierce, because he’s so cute”
It's reciprocal for this Sponge Bob Square Pants fan...
I love…..
Pierce: “Kaitlin…Oh tartar sauce, I shouldn’t have told you that….don’t tell her!!”
Following the "don't talk to strangers" rule to a fault...
One time I…
Grady: “saw a stranger say hi to my brother at church and I saved him.”
I cant wait …
Josh: “to have a date with my Mom tonight, I kinda wish I could marry her and our date tonight would be kinda like our honeymoon.”
You said it bro...
Who thinks you're special?
Josh: "Maddie and Annie....they always try to hold my hand across the table....girls...they're a little confusing..also my Grandma and my Mom like me a lot too."
Beautifully sheltered...
Do you know anybody who lives really far away?
Jackson: "My brother; he lives close to my bedroom but he has to sleep in his own bed."
Wee bits of fantasy and reality...
Where does your Mom work?
Landis: "she sits at home and makes my birthday cake."
Walter: "I dont know but I wished she worked at McDonalds."
A little confused...
Where does your Dad work?
Kaitlin: "I don’t know…. somewhere where he pays money."
I'll make this an ongoing feature on my blog -- any of the answers that makes me chuckle, I'll post.
Grady answered: “that you will be a Princess, because I love you!”
That makes me so happy that Grady feels this way for his wonderful teacher. I believe it's reciprocal because every morning Cleta hugs and smothers Grady with kisses. That's one of the nice things about private school -- there's not a no touching rule for these innocent and healthy exchanges.
Some of the amusing verbatims from the past few months:
What do you pray about?
Pierce: “ When my Mom doesn’t let me go to Baskin and Robbins I pray that she’ll change her mind.”
This one will make more sense when you read Pierce's next answer...
How was your Halloween?
Pierce: “Good! I got four thousand pieces of candy…that’s why I wanted to stay home today. I wanted to keep an eye on my candy to make sure my Dad isn’t eating more than 1 piece of it."
What does your Dad like to eat?
Pierce: “for a special treat he gives himself 2 Popsicles. He loves to drink the Popsicle juice and then he eats 2 huge cookies and then 2 bowls of ice-cream…then sometimes he comes back for 3 more cookies…the best part about it…he gives me that much junk food too. We just sneak it downstairs so my Mom doesn’t know.”
Jackson will keep his full head of hair his whole life...
What are your grandparents like?Jackson: “my Grandpa knows how to do a bunch of cool stuff but somebody must have pulled lots of my Grandpas hair out because he doesn’t have much but my Grandma has a whole lot.”
Can you tell who the disciplinarian is in this household?
Do you obey your parents?
Kaitlin: “I only obey my Dad because if I don’t he’ll get really mad.”
Piece isn't just witty...
What do you want to show your parents at Back to School night?
Kaitlin: “Pierce, because he’s so cute”
It's reciprocal for this Sponge Bob Square Pants fan...
I love…..
Pierce: “Kaitlin…Oh tartar sauce, I shouldn’t have told you that….don’t tell her!!”
Following the "don't talk to strangers" rule to a fault...
One time I…
Grady: “saw a stranger say hi to my brother at church and I saved him.”
I cant wait …
Josh: “to have a date with my Mom tonight, I kinda wish I could marry her and our date tonight would be kinda like our honeymoon.”
You said it bro...
Who thinks you're special?
Josh: "Maddie and Annie....they always try to hold my hand across the table....girls...they're a little confusing..also my Grandma and my Mom like me a lot too."
Beautifully sheltered...
Do you know anybody who lives really far away?
Jackson: "My brother; he lives close to my bedroom but he has to sleep in his own bed."
Wee bits of fantasy and reality...
Where does your Mom work?
Landis: "she sits at home and makes my birthday cake."
Walter: "I dont know but I wished she worked at McDonalds."
A little confused...
Where does your Dad work?
Kaitlin: "I don’t know…. somewhere where he pays money."
I'll make this an ongoing feature on my blog -- any of the answers that makes me chuckle, I'll post.
Trial run for ads
I'm hearing that Google's AdSense is profitable, so please forgive this trial run on my blog. Since I'm out of work, I can use all the income I can get. And, if you wouldn't mind just clicking the ad above to help me with the pay-per-click, I'd sure appreciate it.
Good Ear, Good Year
Today is my youngest son's birthday. Liam is 3. His class, as well as his older brother Grady's class, is preparing for the Christmas program. We're impressed with how many songs he's picking up because of it; he's even prompting Grady with lyrics if Grady forgets the songs his class is practicing.
Liam is also prolific when it comes to memorizing the pop songs I often play in the car (usually upon his request). The songs he knows most of the words to (and 100% of the choruses): Modest Mouse's Float On, Carol King's I Feel the Earth Move , Prince's Purple Rain, Garbage's Bleed Like Me, and The Eels's Hey Man (Now You're Really Living).
But what really surprised us today was when I loaded The Polar Express audio CD in my car and seconds into Liam Neeson's narration of it, our Liam asked, "Is this Star Wars?" He recognized Neeson's voice from Episode I -- The Phantom Menace. Colleen and I both got a big kick out of it.
For Liam's birthday, we went out to breakfast at a wonderful breakfast spot in SE Portland: J&M Cafe, then headed to the Oregon Zoo, and onto the Pittock Mansion (where I proposed to Colleen 8 years ago), and finally to a local lunch spot near our home in Clackamas, McCool's Pub. It was a great first half of the day. After naps, they watched Madagascar that Liam received for his birthday, had dinner, ate birthday cake, then Liam got to choose what new pajamas he would wear to bed. He chose the fireman ones that Grandma and Grandpa Beauregard sent along. It was a hard choice vs. the Batman pajamas Aunt Kate & Uncle Sam gave him.
Here's a shot of Grady and Liam on the grounds of PIttock Mansion, overlooking the city and Mt. Hood:
Liam is also prolific when it comes to memorizing the pop songs I often play in the car (usually upon his request). The songs he knows most of the words to (and 100% of the choruses): Modest Mouse's Float On, Carol King's I Feel the Earth Move , Prince's Purple Rain, Garbage's Bleed Like Me, and The Eels's Hey Man (Now You're Really Living).
But what really surprised us today was when I loaded The Polar Express audio CD in my car and seconds into Liam Neeson's narration of it, our Liam asked, "Is this Star Wars?" He recognized Neeson's voice from Episode I -- The Phantom Menace. Colleen and I both got a big kick out of it.
For Liam's birthday, we went out to breakfast at a wonderful breakfast spot in SE Portland: J&M Cafe, then headed to the Oregon Zoo, and onto the Pittock Mansion (where I proposed to Colleen 8 years ago), and finally to a local lunch spot near our home in Clackamas, McCool's Pub. It was a great first half of the day. After naps, they watched Madagascar that Liam received for his birthday, had dinner, ate birthday cake, then Liam got to choose what new pajamas he would wear to bed. He chose the fireman ones that Grandma and Grandpa Beauregard sent along. It was a hard choice vs. the Batman pajamas Aunt Kate & Uncle Sam gave him.
Here's a shot of Grady and Liam on the grounds of PIttock Mansion, overlooking the city and Mt. Hood:
Friday, November 18, 2005
The Moon
The moon has been so beautiful the last two twilights. Last night around 5:00, it was the brightest orange and very big, just hanging over the hills. Tonight it was a bit a bit smaller, but very yellow.
I pointed it out to Grady (5 years old) and he asked some interesting and hard questions.
"Dad, who made the moon?"
"God did," I said, then added, "It was a miracle."
"But how did God make it?"
"That's the interesting thing about miracles, Grady, we don't
know how they happen," I answered.
Grady countered with: "I think he put a bunch of pieces together. Special pieces that stick together forever.""That's probably right," I indulged.
30 second pause, while Grady continues to look at the moon.
"Dad, what would happen if fireworks hit the moon?" he asked.
"The moon is too far away to be hit by any fireworks."
"OK, but what if fireworks did hit the moon anyway?" he persisted.
"Well, if they did, the air would have cooled the sparks enough so it
wouldn't damage the moon."
"Oh. Dad, is the moon bigger than a 10-, no, an 18-foot giant?"
"Yes, it's bigger than even the whole state of Oregon. Bigger than
all of the United States. It's not as big as Earth, but it's much bigger
than it looks. It's thousands of miles away in space, constantly moving
around the Earth. It's called revolving."
"But how can the moon fly without any wings?"
Oh boy. I took a shot: "You know how the moon is responsible for the ocean
tides? ["Yes.] Well, it's the gravitational pull that causes that, and that's what
keeps the moon floating next to Earth."
"So it's like a magnet?" he smartly asked.
"Yes, Grady, just like a magnet."
I think I passed tonight's pop astronomy quiz. Phew.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Ugh.
"On Monday, the patient’s family saw a gaping hole with swarming ants in it when they lifted the bandage on her left eye." Full story.
Return of the Dorks
A few years ago I caught a partial clip of Triumph the Insult Dog denigrating Star Wars fans at a premier. It's so rude and so funny. I found it in full online and it's worth 3 or 4 minutes of your time.
(in Quicktime format).
Monday, November 14, 2005
Frogger
Unbelievably, the tadpoles that Grady and Liam collected on August 28, are still alive in the bucket. Three of them, that is. The others have grown and exited the confines of the bucket and taken up residence in our boulder wall and other spots in our yard (like near the hose). They are resilient little creatures, and I have to imagine that the three left in the bucket are either offspring of the original dozen, or were tiny, tiny ones that we didn't realize we had caught. They all have eyes and four legs now, so I hope they mature in time for the first heavy frost. We've had weather cold enough to form some thin ice on the surface of their water, but that didn't seem to affect them.
Grady said something a little funny the other day.
"Dad, if you step on a snake, what will they do?"
"They will probably bite you," I replied.
"But, I'll bang into a tree," he inexplicably said.
"What?"
"Dad, if I'm looking at the ground so I don't step on a snake, I'm going to
bang into a tree."
Oh, to be a kid again and only have these kinds of worries.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Amazing Bird
Check out this 2MB clip of an amazing African Grey Parrot: here.
Speaking of grey animals, our local pet shop that Grady and Liam love to go to has a female Weimaraner for sale. On Friday, I was there with Grady and Liam while Colleen was out of town, and we took her out to play. She was the most loving, cuddly puppy that ever was. She'd nuzzle her face into the crook of our arms or drape her torso over ours and rest her head on our shoulders. And, we thought our old Weimaraner, Coltrane, was the most submissive/craving human contact dog that ever lived. This little bitch (yes, I use that term correctly) has him beat.
We took Colleen there on Saturday and it took all of our willpower not to adopt this beautiful dog.
Speaking of grey animals, our local pet shop that Grady and Liam love to go to has a female Weimaraner for sale. On Friday, I was there with Grady and Liam while Colleen was out of town, and we took her out to play. She was the most loving, cuddly puppy that ever was. She'd nuzzle her face into the crook of our arms or drape her torso over ours and rest her head on our shoulders. And, we thought our old Weimaraner, Coltrane, was the most submissive/craving human contact dog that ever lived. This little bitch (yes, I use that term correctly) has him beat.
We took Colleen there on Saturday and it took all of our willpower not to adopt this beautiful dog.
Wednesday, November 2, 2005
Great links
Off the top of my head, I'm thinking this might drive some traffic here.
Denver Broncos gear for up to 75% off. Broncos gear on sale.
Red Sox jackets, hats and shirts for wholesale prices.
New York Divorce lawyer attorney free consultation
L.A. divorice lawyer/attorney free consultation
Florida vacations
Nutraceuticals
Oasis
Bo Bice new album and pictures
Download Outkast MP3s
Keith Urban photos and full album downloads
INXS free downloads
New York Yankees blowout sale
Sex
Nude photos of models
Free Playboy subscription
XBox 360 for $199.99 60% off, 250 available
PS2 console
iPod micro for sale
Wholesale prices for all Apple products
Sony piracy
Viagra no precription needed
Nike shoes at wholesale prices open to the public
Baby Phat at rock bottom prices
Lucky jeans 75% off
Pottery Barn furniture all styles
Williams Sonoma pans and pots
Nike jet lands safely in Portland
Christina Aguilera nude photos
Britney Spearks nude vacation photos
Reef sandals
Sorry.
Denver Broncos gear for up to 75% off. Broncos gear on sale.
Red Sox jackets, hats and shirts for wholesale prices.
New York Divorce lawyer attorney free consultation
L.A. divorice lawyer/attorney free consultation
Florida vacations
Nutraceuticals
Oasis
Bo Bice new album and pictures
Download Outkast MP3s
Keith Urban photos and full album downloads
INXS free downloads
New York Yankees blowout sale
Sex
Nude photos of models
Free Playboy subscription
XBox 360 for $199.99 60% off, 250 available
PS2 console
iPod micro for sale
Wholesale prices for all Apple products
Sony piracy
Viagra no precription needed
Nike shoes at wholesale prices open to the public
Baby Phat at rock bottom prices
Lucky jeans 75% off
Pottery Barn furniture all styles
Williams Sonoma pans and pots
Nike jet lands safely in Portland
Christina Aguilera nude photos
Britney Spearks nude vacation photos
Reef sandals
Sorry.
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