This is a small glass of milk. And that brown ribbon at the bottom? You guessed it, chocolate syrup. I caught Rhys with this before he got the opportunity to stir it. I promptly made him pour it all into a big cup, and add more milk. I do feel slightly bad that I dashed his hopes of enjoying what was going to be the world's most chocolaty cup of milk. Darn moms.Thursday, July 30, 2009
Optimism
This is a small glass of milk. And that brown ribbon at the bottom? You guessed it, chocolate syrup. I caught Rhys with this before he got the opportunity to stir it. I promptly made him pour it all into a big cup, and add more milk. I do feel slightly bad that I dashed his hopes of enjoying what was going to be the world's most chocolaty cup of milk. Darn moms.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
When Brothers Babysit
Asked the boys to keep an eye on Lucy for minute so that I could put the laundry away. I went in to check on them, and found this....
They built the most amazing baby pen! Ethan let me know that they like to tunnel under Rhys' bed so that they can spy on her up close (pic. 1). Wow. Should I really send help like this back to school? I mean think of the possibilities! Then again I don't think I could afford the grocery bill if they were home year round! Ah well, one afternoon of good brother babysitting is good enough for me!Sunday, July 26, 2009
Rocket Boys
A story told by guest blogger, Jacob.
Four years ago, Jacob bought a rocket kit for Ethan and Rhys to mess about with. Really, this was a toy for Jacob, but he says it was for the boys. Jacob put the kit together since neither of the boys had gathered the requisite skills to assemble anything more complicated than a finger painting or a crayola masterpiece.
After the glue in the rocket had dried, the boys carried their creation to the baseball fields by the Tigard elementary school and prepared to launch. In addition to the rocket, the kit came with an battery powered launching remote, igniters, motors, and a launch pad. They could not have been more prepared. With the rocket fueled up and sitting on the pad, they wired up the remote and stood back. Excitement coursing through every muscle and nerve, they chanted the time honored mantra from rocket boys of yesterday. Ten. Nine. Eight. "How high do you think it will go, Dad". Seven. Six. "I don't know, buddy. Maybe a mile!" Five. Four. Three. "Wow! Maybe, ten miles!" Two. One. Blast Off!
"I said...Blast OFF!"
Jacob says that either bad igniters or humidity foiled their launch that day. We'll never truly know. Regardless, they returned crestfallen. Their rocket had failed to launch. The rocket was put in a box for another day, but that day turned into weeks, then months, then years. Sadly, the poor Alpha III sat in a box collecting dust.
Four years later, a friend of the boys invited them to his Cub Scouts rocket launch party. The air was filled with the whoosh of rocket motors and the sounds of recovery teams scrambling to be the first to get the spent rockets. Ethan recovered eight, and Rhys recovered three that day. The car ride home was filled with talk of resurrecting the long forgotten Alpha III.
The next day, Jacob returned from work laden with fresh igniters and rocket motors. The boys recovered the long forgotten rocket from the lonely grasp of storage. They tested the remote and made small adjustments. Finally, they steeled themselves for the long wait until launch day on the weekend.
Launch day was a day of mixed successes and failures. After being thwarted twice at the movie theaters, the boys were looking for a positive note to end the day on.
Anxiously, they gathered their rocket gear and made their way to the Windermere Primary Launch Site. Ethan set up the pad. Jacob set the motor and igniter and placed the rocket on the pad. Rhys gently placed the remote controls connecting wires to the igniter terminals. They stood back and marveled at their creation under the blue Texas skies. Ethan boldly inserted the key into the remote and began the mantra. Ten. Nine. Eight. Do you think the igniters will work this time, Dad?" Seven. Six. Five. "I hope so, buddy." Four. Three. "How high do you think it will go?" Two. One. "Maybe, a mile!" Blast Off!
"Oh, no! Ignition failure" groaned Ethan. Jacob, who was standing over Ethan's shoulder, suggested that Ethan release his death grip on the safety switch to allow the sensitive circuitry to operate correctly. Ethan adjusted his grip and the electrons streamed out of the remote's batteries down 30 feet of fine copper cable. The electrons collided with the igniter's volatile molecules. The igniter spent itself in a tiny spark. The spark agitated the solid fuel inside the motor. The motor erupted in a torrent of fire and hot gas. In the blink of an eye, the rocket jumped off the pad and soared into the sun.
The boys stood with their mouths gaping. They had lift off! In just a few moments, the rocket had climbed to over a thousand feet. The motor wheezed out a final pop, ejecting the recovery parachute and ending the magnificent climb. The spent rocket dangled from the blossomed parachute like a dandelion seed. The rocket seemed to hang there motionless.
The rocket began to sway with the new wind that was pushing through the Windermere Primary Launch site. The soaring rocket began to drift towards Grand Avenue parkway. Ethan yelled "It's heading for the street"! In seconds, the wind had picked up, and the rocket began a new and terrifying journey. Jacob quickly snatched up the rocket pad and remote while calling for the boys to run to the car.
The rocket floated over the street and over the old folks home, sinking slowly out view. The boys drove in the general direction of the sinking rocket hoping to catch a glimpse of their fallen rocket. They eagerly navigated the labyrinthine neighborhood. Desperation began to sink in. Their reconnaissance was fruitless. "I think it went into the old folks home parking lot" said Ethan. Unfortunately, the gate was locked and the staff had gone home. "Well boys, I think we lost this one" said Jacob.
Yet again, the boys returned home crestfallen. This time they weren't completely defeated. Despite their loss of their first rocket, they were buzzing with the excitement of the launch. "I love the sound of the rocket taking off" shouted Rhys. "Yeah, me too" exclaimed Ethan. "When are we going to get a new Rocket" shouted the boys.
Yesterday, we returned from Hobby Lobby with new rockets in hand. T-minus too long to wait until launch!
Four years ago, Jacob bought a rocket kit for Ethan and Rhys to mess about with. Really, this was a toy for Jacob, but he says it was for the boys. Jacob put the kit together since neither of the boys had gathered the requisite skills to assemble anything more complicated than a finger painting or a crayola masterpiece.
After the glue in the rocket had dried, the boys carried their creation to the baseball fields by the Tigard elementary school and prepared to launch. In addition to the rocket, the kit came with an battery powered launching remote, igniters, motors, and a launch pad. They could not have been more prepared. With the rocket fueled up and sitting on the pad, they wired up the remote and stood back. Excitement coursing through every muscle and nerve, they chanted the time honored mantra from rocket boys of yesterday. Ten. Nine. Eight. "How high do you think it will go, Dad". Seven. Six. "I don't know, buddy. Maybe a mile!" Five. Four. Three. "Wow! Maybe, ten miles!" Two. One. Blast Off!
"I said...Blast OFF!"
Jacob says that either bad igniters or humidity foiled their launch that day. We'll never truly know. Regardless, they returned crestfallen. Their rocket had failed to launch. The rocket was put in a box for another day, but that day turned into weeks, then months, then years. Sadly, the poor Alpha III sat in a box collecting dust.
Four years later, a friend of the boys invited them to his Cub Scouts rocket launch party. The air was filled with the whoosh of rocket motors and the sounds of recovery teams scrambling to be the first to get the spent rockets. Ethan recovered eight, and Rhys recovered three that day. The car ride home was filled with talk of resurrecting the long forgotten Alpha III.
The next day, Jacob returned from work laden with fresh igniters and rocket motors. The boys recovered the long forgotten rocket from the lonely grasp of storage. They tested the remote and made small adjustments. Finally, they steeled themselves for the long wait until launch day on the weekend.
Launch day was a day of mixed successes and failures. After being thwarted twice at the movie theaters, the boys were looking for a positive note to end the day on.
Anxiously, they gathered their rocket gear and made their way to the Windermere Primary Launch Site. Ethan set up the pad. Jacob set the motor and igniter and placed the rocket on the pad. Rhys gently placed the remote controls connecting wires to the igniter terminals. They stood back and marveled at their creation under the blue Texas skies. Ethan boldly inserted the key into the remote and began the mantra. Ten. Nine. Eight. Do you think the igniters will work this time, Dad?" Seven. Six. Five. "I hope so, buddy." Four. Three. "How high do you think it will go?" Two. One. "Maybe, a mile!" Blast Off!
"Oh, no! Ignition failure" groaned Ethan. Jacob, who was standing over Ethan's shoulder, suggested that Ethan release his death grip on the safety switch to allow the sensitive circuitry to operate correctly. Ethan adjusted his grip and the electrons streamed out of the remote's batteries down 30 feet of fine copper cable. The electrons collided with the igniter's volatile molecules. The igniter spent itself in a tiny spark. The spark agitated the solid fuel inside the motor. The motor erupted in a torrent of fire and hot gas. In the blink of an eye, the rocket jumped off the pad and soared into the sun.
The boys stood with their mouths gaping. They had lift off! In just a few moments, the rocket had climbed to over a thousand feet. The motor wheezed out a final pop, ejecting the recovery parachute and ending the magnificent climb. The spent rocket dangled from the blossomed parachute like a dandelion seed. The rocket seemed to hang there motionless.
The rocket began to sway with the new wind that was pushing through the Windermere Primary Launch site. The soaring rocket began to drift towards Grand Avenue parkway. Ethan yelled "It's heading for the street"! In seconds, the wind had picked up, and the rocket began a new and terrifying journey. Jacob quickly snatched up the rocket pad and remote while calling for the boys to run to the car.
The rocket floated over the street and over the old folks home, sinking slowly out view. The boys drove in the general direction of the sinking rocket hoping to catch a glimpse of their fallen rocket. They eagerly navigated the labyrinthine neighborhood. Desperation began to sink in. Their reconnaissance was fruitless. "I think it went into the old folks home parking lot" said Ethan. Unfortunately, the gate was locked and the staff had gone home. "Well boys, I think we lost this one" said Jacob.
Yet again, the boys returned home crestfallen. This time they weren't completely defeated. Despite their loss of their first rocket, they were buzzing with the excitement of the launch. "I love the sound of the rocket taking off" shouted Rhys. "Yeah, me too" exclaimed Ethan. "When are we going to get a new Rocket" shouted the boys.
Yesterday, we returned from Hobby Lobby with new rockets in hand. T-minus too long to wait until launch!
Friday, July 24, 2009
A Concert in a Parking Lot
The other day my friend & I took our boys downtown to the BMX park, and let them ride the big jumps. Afterwards they were covered in dirt, so we let them change. Then we went to get pizza. Well Ethan had not put on his shirt yet, and was carrying it in his hand. This was so that he could more effectively make arm pit farts. I was horrified, and started yelling at him to put his shirt back on when a huge truck in the parking lot started to reverse towards us. The truck was full of older guys and they wanted Ethan to "play" his armpit for them. My brain could not process what I was witnessing, and then it became crystal clear, "boys never really grow up." And that thought actually made me happy, because I now know that no matter how big my boys get they will always laugh at silly things. I wish I had a picture of Ethan playing his armpit for those guys, because all them boys were having the time of their lives. So if you ever feel blue, remember that you too have the power to make laughter, and you don't have to look any further than your own armpit.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Ft. Davis, Part II
On the last day, we toured Ft. Davis. The kids had a blast, and loved seeing all the old buildings. We also learned a lot of facts, because the boys completed the Jr. Ranger scavenger quiz. It was a fun trip, and a delightful respite from the 104 temps we are getting in P-ville!
Boys getting stepped on by giant roadrunner!Thursday, July 16, 2009
Ft. Davis
Last week Jacob had to inspect a building at the McDonald Observatory in Ft. Davis. So the boys and I tagged along (Lucy stayed @ Gasthaus Swain). West Texas is beautiful, and the Davis mountains make Ft. Davis an oasis in a flat land. I always forget how big the sky really is out there (notice the huge shadows that some of the clouds leave on the ground). We stayed in an awesome hotel that was built in 1912, and it had the most lush garden! While Jake worked, the boys and I did some great hiking. We saw some really beautiful sights, and the best part is they got to experience a West Texas tradition...they caught a Horny Toad!! I can remember Melanie and I catching them all the time in Midland, and it was neat to see how excited the boys were at catching one on their own.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIA!!
Can't believe 3 years have flown by so quickly! You are so awesome and we hope you have a very happy Birthday! We wish we could come to your party and celebrate with you!! Your present is on it's way, picky promise swear! You know Aunt Kel has a problem with snail mail, but I count this year as a success because I mailed it before your big day!!
WE LOVE YOU!
WE LOVE YOU!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Eating Update
Well, looks like there won't be any feeding tubes in our future! Can you feel my relief? She is doing awesome, but Daddy said the old high chair had to go! Something about the way Lucy smashes the food into the fabric and Joon licks it off (kind of like a cat we used to know). So we went to Ikea and got a cool new one that wipes right off! Added bonus Ikea = cheap!! Everyone is happy, except Joon...she is missing her snack!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
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