A short post

 Merry Christmas! 

Rock Garden and more

 More from our Ohio wish list...the day after Thanksgiving we headed to a...

 ...Rock Garden in Springfield...

 ...a dairy where they milk the cows and turn it into ice cream!  That's so crazy to a city girl like me.  Like we met the cows where the milk came from. 

 Moooo  

 Obligatory toddler-tractor photo opportunity. 

...and the Dayton Air Force Museum.  

And here's a big plane that Greg was excited to see. 

Happy Holidays!

Mimi Sings

Today was awful.  Immense sadness and helplessness.

So, to cheer up and strengthen the bonds of love in our home, Mimi and I listened to rock and roll together.

This is her new favorite song, The Crane Wife part 3 by the Decemberists. We sing the chorus together.  Mimi suggested that the singer "hangs his head low" to duck the boughs mentioned in the beginning of the song.



One of Mimi's past favorites is Knights of Cydonia by Muse, an SF prog rock anthem.  We shot a video of her singing and dancing to all 6 and half minutes of this song in the van.  Around 4:45 mark in the song is when she and Parker really started to headbang.



Another favorite was Fidelity by Regina Spektor.  She liked the "shake it up" in the beginning.


For older posts featuring Mimi's penchant for rock and roll and dancing see here, here and here.

Time Flies

Parker said this on Saturday...
"I can't believe I'm almost a decade old!  It seems like just yesterday I started preschool.  But it was Friday."

__________

It seems like just yesterday Parker earned his Wolf badge, but whoa!  Now it's a year later and he earned his Bear badge...

Quotable Saturday

Yoda is in our Saturn Ion that is parked in the Driveway.  He leans out the window and says, "Hi."

Valerie says, "Who are you saying 'hi' to?"

"I just hi-ing the orange cat."

=====

Parker grabs his Origami Yoda book on the way to bed.

I said, "whoa, it's 9:10 you can't read anymore.  You have to go to sleep."

Parker said "Nine-oh-eight, it is."

Some things

Me, as I take a picture:"Smile!"

Yoda:"I didn't smile."
Greg *laugh!*

_____________________

Mimi was bummed that I was getting rid of her old bathing suit so we took a picture 

to help her remember it. 

Then I remembered we already have lots of photos of the silly thing!  

Here she is in that same suit 5+ years ago :)

________________________

This summer we watched as our favorite tree got chopped down.  

We loved and now miss the shade it brought us, but it wasn't our tree so it was up to the neighbors. 

 This was the same tree that dropped a huge branch on our fence before our trip this summer and the owners just didn't think it was safe anymore.  So long shade tree....

The Movie

A few notes:

• The kids came up with the story themselves.  They drew the storyboard and did half the camerawork.
• I made no attempt to clarify their vision.
• It is supposed to be silent.  I couldn't mute the ambient sounds in the editor.
• They enjoy fainting on screen.
• And nonsense.
• When Mimi is wearing a hat, the sign above her shoulder shows files that signify that she smells like garbage.  The flies don't show up very well.
• The whole process took about 5 hours.  Writing, shooting and editing. I used this editor. It has a sharp learning curve.
• As soon as we were done, Mimi said, "Let's do it again!"  She has completed the next storyboard.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey Pancakes

Parker's latest trick
(video)

timing...

After WEEKS of political ads coming in the mail, I stopped looking at the mail altogether.  Yesterday I dug through all the junk to find my Costco coupons.  It said "good through October 13-November 4".  I said to myself, "well, I better use this quick before November gets here...Wait!  I think November is already here... Wait!  It's November 19th???!!!  Seriously NOT ready for the holidays!!!"

That's one way to explain how I didn't post yesterday.  Just lost track of days/months.

 I have a whole list of things I've wanted to do in Ohio since we moved here 4 years ago and have not done.  While Greg isn't studying we are going to try to tackle a few of them. 

 This week was Old Man's Cave.  This hunter guy lived here for years.  The kiddos made guesses as to where his bedroom and living room were. 

 Super pretty, a little crowded, very fun. 

 This was the attic. 

On the way in a sign read something like :"Cliff Area -- Closely Guarded Children" and one dad said to his wife:"take a picture of [our children] now because it may be the last we see of them".  I laughed a little too loud :)

Rock formation that looks like a Sphinx

 On the way home we stopped so I could look at some antiques and the kiddos scored a day of mini-golf! 

 There was even a small "cave"! 

Juxtaposition

 Juxtaposition: Goofy Glasses and Serious face

  __________

While playing charades we couldn't guess Mimi's word.  So she did the sounds-like sign and a new action to help us along.  We still couldn't guess.  She finally told us what it was--"flower".  The problem was she was acting out "devour"!  Sounds like "flower" right??

Two Words

Election Weary

Halloween part TWO

On November 3rd Yoda said:"I want to go trick-or-treating"
Me-thinking:"um, a little late."

__________

 Halloween shaped pasta--Bats, Pumpkins, and Spiders

 Ironman, a witch, a firefighter, Sonic, Mario, and a cowboy all stopped by to go trick-or-treating! 

 Yoda went to about 5 or 6 houses and was ready to go home, so I turned on a movie while he waited for the kiddos to come back home. 

 He was much happier when the kiddos came home with all their candy. 

A happy (and moldy so I photoshopped it a bit) pumpkin! 

 Happy Birthday, Greg! 

Halloween 2012 part ONE

Mimi is gearing up for Halloween.  When asked what she is going to be for Halloween, she says:"I''m the Queen of Halloween!"  She is taking this role very seriously...take this story for example...

But first a little history, Parker loves the color red and always has.  When given the choice Parker often picks red--cup, shoes, hats, etc. 

So when we go to the dentist, I know Parker will always pick the red toothbrush and I guide the other kiddos to pick a different color so the brushes won't get mixed up.

Mimi messed up my routine this week when she picked a red toothbrush.  When I questioned her about it, this was her response:"What? It's the the color of blood!"

Me*what?!*

__________

When Yoda saw a jack-o-lantern

Yoda:"That pumpkin is laughing at me."

__________

 Pumpkin Patch!

 Booooo!

 Getting lost in the maze!

 Acorns...so cute :)

 School Harvest Parade. 

 Church Party

 Water *wooshing* sound

 Trunk - Or - Treat

 Jack and Jane - O - Lanterns...