Madison: Reports from Okemos state that Madison safely re-entered the house Sunday around 6 pm.....outside continuously for 60+ hours. Stupid cat.....
Sunday: Went to the beach near Destin.....stayed for about 90 minutes before incoming showers forced a hasty, but, organzied, retreat. Kids went in and out of the pool at least 3 times.
Monday: Day started with thunderstorms and it never really stopped raining all day long. Went down to Sandestin to have lunch at Acme Oyster House......temporarily closed due to power outage. So, had lunch at a diner-type restaurant instead. Went to see Wall-E in the afternoon after lunch.....2 thumbs up. Rain had ended by the time the movie ended, so, the boys spent the rest of the evening (after dinner) in the pool.
Tuesday: Renting a boat for the day to go tubing, etc. Should be a video-picture laden post tomorrow!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
On the Road
A smattering of thoughts from the last few days:
Prius: Suprisingly, the travel to and from Ashtabula was non-eventful. Arrived in Erie ontime, and at the rental car counter, was asked if I wanted to drive a Prius. Very different car....the key is just the 'fob' that you use to lock and unlock the car, and you insert it into a slot on the dash and then hit the 'power' button to turn the car on. And hear nothing when you do it, because it is so quite. First couple of times I came to a stop were wierd too; the engine shuts off, so, you get this shudder in the car like you've stalled. But, for drive-a-bility, it was pretty awesome. Didn't like the view from the rear mirror (you have this split view because of some metal for the trunk...) and the dashboard took some getting used to (there are no displays, nada, directly in front of you....it's all electronic readouts up near the windshield or over in the center), but, a very cool little car.
Madison: It's been almost 48 hours without a Madison sighting; we realize now that, before we leave on a trip, we have to confine the cats in the house at least 24 hours before we go to make sure we have all of them in the house. We thought that, since we were leaving at around 2 pm, that just having Kevin collect them as they came in and out in the morning would work out well, and by 10 am he had Marino and Daphne. But, Madison didn't turn up later, didn't turn up when Ashton came down to feed the cats and check on them late Friday night, didn't turn up when he came down Saturday morning before he left for a day or two. So, we asked Ashton to leave some food and water near the back door, and hopefully, she'll turn up tonight when he comes down to check after he gets back.
Chik-fil-a: Suzanne and I haven't been to this southern institution of chicken greatness, so, when we stopped for lunch in Alabama (north of Montgomery), we decided to check here. This Chik had a indoor playground as well, so, a bonus for Christopher and Matthew. We pull in, and realize, that this Chik may be the most popular location in and around Montgomery....you wouldn't believe the crowd! They had a man out directing traffic; we walked inside and had to wait for someone to leave for a table....and the crowds kept coming and coming. I mean, lunch was ok, but, was it really the be all and end all of lunch goodness?
Rock Band: Purchased Rock Band for the Wii; had it shipped to Florida and the kids got to try it out last night. Learned that Kevin does pretty well with the singing, Matthew is pretty good at the guitar, and Christopher doesn't seem to have the same musical sense his brothers have; his experience on the drums was mostly banging at whatever he percieved to be interesting, any attempts to hit the beat weren't very successful. Oh well....
Prius: Suprisingly, the travel to and from Ashtabula was non-eventful. Arrived in Erie ontime, and at the rental car counter, was asked if I wanted to drive a Prius. Very different car....the key is just the 'fob' that you use to lock and unlock the car, and you insert it into a slot on the dash and then hit the 'power' button to turn the car on. And hear nothing when you do it, because it is so quite. First couple of times I came to a stop were wierd too; the engine shuts off, so, you get this shudder in the car like you've stalled. But, for drive-a-bility, it was pretty awesome. Didn't like the view from the rear mirror (you have this split view because of some metal for the trunk...) and the dashboard took some getting used to (there are no displays, nada, directly in front of you....it's all electronic readouts up near the windshield or over in the center), but, a very cool little car.
Madison: It's been almost 48 hours without a Madison sighting; we realize now that, before we leave on a trip, we have to confine the cats in the house at least 24 hours before we go to make sure we have all of them in the house. We thought that, since we were leaving at around 2 pm, that just having Kevin collect them as they came in and out in the morning would work out well, and by 10 am he had Marino and Daphne. But, Madison didn't turn up later, didn't turn up when Ashton came down to feed the cats and check on them late Friday night, didn't turn up when he came down Saturday morning before he left for a day or two. So, we asked Ashton to leave some food and water near the back door, and hopefully, she'll turn up tonight when he comes down to check after he gets back.
Chik-fil-a: Suzanne and I haven't been to this southern institution of chicken greatness, so, when we stopped for lunch in Alabama (north of Montgomery), we decided to check here. This Chik had a indoor playground as well, so, a bonus for Christopher and Matthew. We pull in, and realize, that this Chik may be the most popular location in and around Montgomery....you wouldn't believe the crowd! They had a man out directing traffic; we walked inside and had to wait for someone to leave for a table....and the crowds kept coming and coming. I mean, lunch was ok, but, was it really the be all and end all of lunch goodness?
Rock Band: Purchased Rock Band for the Wii; had it shipped to Florida and the kids got to try it out last night. Learned that Kevin does pretty well with the singing, Matthew is pretty good at the guitar, and Christopher doesn't seem to have the same musical sense his brothers have; his experience on the drums was mostly banging at whatever he percieved to be interesting, any attempts to hit the beat weren't very successful. Oh well....
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Wipeout
On the road again, a night/day trip to Ashtabula. We'll see if my late flight out of Detroit goes off without a hitch this time. Northwest sent me a letter apologizing for the flight cacellation and giving me 2,500 miles......really, it's hard to fault Northwest for a woman freaking out in the bathroom, and God knows, if I feel Northwest is at fault, I'll type out an email. So, wasn't expecting the miles, but, hey, miles is miles.
ABC premiered a new reality tv show last night, Wipeout. Three Hutsell Boys give it a total of six thumbs way up.
The 9 o'clock hour, with the Japanese game show gig, was also a big hit.
Currently reading (finished on the flight from LAN to DTW): "American Nerd: The story of my people" by Benjamin Nugent. Keep your wise cracks about the appropriateness of the subject matter to yourselves!
Currently listening: Have been watching a fair bit of Euro 2008 (soccer is boring! It takes a lot to getme to fall asleep in front of the tv, and both Saturday and Sunday I was out) and had to find the song they play after the goals
ABC premiered a new reality tv show last night, Wipeout. Three Hutsell Boys give it a total of six thumbs way up.
The 9 o'clock hour, with the Japanese game show gig, was also a big hit.
Currently reading (finished on the flight from LAN to DTW): "American Nerd: The story of my people" by Benjamin Nugent. Keep your wise cracks about the appropriateness of the subject matter to yourselves!
Currently listening: Have been watching a fair bit of Euro 2008 (soccer is boring! It takes a lot to getme to fall asleep in front of the tv, and both Saturday and Sunday I was out) and had to find the song they play after the goals
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Weekend Update - Saturday
Race for the House: Saturday started with the Race for the House, a 5K that benefits the Ronald McDonald House. The race was being held at the Delta Dental complex, just across Okemos Road, so, Matthew, Kevin, and I walked over for the events (Christopher was in a deep funk....on the low end of the mood swing cycle, and found himself on the wrong end of the law this morning).
The events started with the 5K; Kevin's first go at a 5K race. In the fall, he had completed the 5-mile run that the middle school sponsors as a fundraiser.
In the Sunday paper this morning they had results from a competitive 5K run a few weekends ago; if Kevin had run in that he would have finished second in his age group. Kevin did get tired and walk part of it, so, perhaps not his best time. He's thinking about going out for cross-country next year, so, we've talked about trying to do another race or two this summer to see how he does.
The Race for the House also had a 1 mile event for the kids (ages 5 to 10). They really didn't do a good job of explaining the course (a lap and a half around the complex); so, Matthew thought the first time he got near the clock it was the end....and started sprinting.....and then when he came around to the start/finish line (for the 5K) he sprinted to the end.....and then, again, as he finished the race, sprinted to the end. He's very proud of finishing 5th overall.
Pruess Animal House: Suzanne wanted to take the boys to the very nice pet store here in Lansing, so, mid-afternoon we headed off. First, has to stop at the local bake sale......down the road on the other side of Graystone a family was having a "Hungry for Change" bake sale to support Obama, so, Suzanne wanted to go contribute. Suzanne and the boys hop out of the car and go peruse the items, walk back to the car with a plate full of brownies. Christopher takes a bite of one and promptly starts spitting it out, not what he was expecting.....Suzanne looks at the plate she has later on, and they say "cheesecake brownies"....so, she's not as thrilled all of a sudden. I take this opportunity to point out to Suzanne that this situation is a pretty good allegory of the Obama presidency.....it sounds good "mmmm, Brownie"....it looks good, but, that first bite may not be what you think it is. Got punched in the shoulder for that remark!
Animal House was good; they have a ton of neat animals. Boys are very much taken with purchasing a Chinchilla......those are code words for "expensive guinea pig".....
Evening: Boys enjoyed watching the Gymnastics Olympic Trials
The events started with the 5K; Kevin's first go at a 5K race. In the fall, he had completed the 5-mile run that the middle school sponsors as a fundraiser.
In the Sunday paper this morning they had results from a competitive 5K run a few weekends ago; if Kevin had run in that he would have finished second in his age group. Kevin did get tired and walk part of it, so, perhaps not his best time. He's thinking about going out for cross-country next year, so, we've talked about trying to do another race or two this summer to see how he does.
The Race for the House also had a 1 mile event for the kids (ages 5 to 10). They really didn't do a good job of explaining the course (a lap and a half around the complex); so, Matthew thought the first time he got near the clock it was the end....and started sprinting.....and then when he came around to the start/finish line (for the 5K) he sprinted to the end.....and then, again, as he finished the race, sprinted to the end. He's very proud of finishing 5th overall.
Pruess Animal House: Suzanne wanted to take the boys to the very nice pet store here in Lansing, so, mid-afternoon we headed off. First, has to stop at the local bake sale......down the road on the other side of Graystone a family was having a "Hungry for Change" bake sale to support Obama, so, Suzanne wanted to go contribute. Suzanne and the boys hop out of the car and go peruse the items, walk back to the car with a plate full of brownies. Christopher takes a bite of one and promptly starts spitting it out, not what he was expecting.....Suzanne looks at the plate she has later on, and they say "cheesecake brownies"....so, she's not as thrilled all of a sudden. I take this opportunity to point out to Suzanne that this situation is a pretty good allegory of the Obama presidency.....it sounds good "mmmm, Brownie"....it looks good, but, that first bite may not be what you think it is. Got punched in the shoulder for that remark!
Animal House was good; they have a ton of neat animals. Boys are very much taken with purchasing a Chinchilla......those are code words for "expensive guinea pig".....
Evening: Boys enjoyed watching the Gymnastics Olympic Trials
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Baseball
Last game of the season for Christopher (two practices next week, and then the tournament and the last game are while we're in Florida).
Christopher's really done well; he hits the ball better than any of the other 1st graders on the team, and, really, some of the 2nd graders. Had three hits tonight; his third hit he ripped, but, it was right at the 2nd basemen who made a nice play to knock it down.
Christopher's really done well; he hits the ball better than any of the other 1st graders on the team, and, really, some of the 2nd graders. Had three hits tonight; his third hit he ripped, but, it was right at the 2nd basemen who made a nice play to knock it down.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Short Post
Again, waiting at Detroit airport for a flight. :)
Just downloaded Firefox 3.0....so, I'll be checking that out for the next 90 minutes.
Sports Update: Christopher had a double(!) and a single in tonight's 15-12 win for the Mud Hens.
Just downloaded Firefox 3.0....so, I'll be checking that out for the next 90 minutes.
Sports Update: Christopher had a double(!) and a single in tonight's 15-12 win for the Mud Hens.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Travel woes
last night's post (camping...) was created at Max & Erma's in the Detroit airport. I was on my way to Milwaukee. For financial reasons, it made more sense to leave Sunday night, so, left Lansing at 5 pm. Got into Detroit and saw that the flight to Milwaukee was delayed about an hour...that's a good thing, I could have dinner and watch most of the US Open.
They start boarding the plane right as Tiger and Westwood are teeing it up on the 18th, so, I'm left to getting updates off the blackberry and in a phone call to Suzanne. Taxi back and out about 9 pm.
Taxi back into the gate at 10:20. I always seem to be the one to do the Detroit tarmac tour. We're heading out to take off, the flight attendants have done thier spiel, everyone's sitting down, and over the intercom, the one flight attendant says "Ma'am, you have to sit down"....."Maam, we're on a live runway, you have to sit down"......I was reading, so, never saw the woman get up, but, she did, and went to the lavatory......and stayed there. So, we pull over and wait.....and wait.....and wait....and finally the pilot announces that we have go back for more fuel. We're greeted there by multiple vehicles with sirens on top, and 4 nice young men from the Detroit Airport police come on board, ask the woman to come out of the lavatory, and escort her, in handcuffs, off of the plane.
Of course, by this time, the flight crew has spent too many hours working, and the flight is cancelled. Rescheduled for 6 am Monday morning. Northwest hands out hotel vouchers (Days Inn Romulus...woo hoo!) and says we can take a shuttle over there. I've made friends with another guy who was watching the US Open with me (side note: he's on his way back from Paris; had his wallet stolen as he headed to the airport....) and we grab a cab instead of waiting for the shuttle. Good, but, pricy, move, as we check in right as the shuttle we wouldn't have made it onto arrives, and 12 people line up to check in. It's about midnight by now.
Wake up at 4:30 am, head back to the airport, arrive in Milwaukee at 6:30 am Central time...
Yoi!
Scott's current reading list (a lot of progress made here yesterday!). "The Sunne in Splendour" by Sharon Kay Pennman.....a re-read of a book about the War of the Roses (the trip to London and Paris has me going back to books set there) and "Better" by Atul Gawande, subtitled "A surgeon's notes on performance"
They start boarding the plane right as Tiger and Westwood are teeing it up on the 18th, so, I'm left to getting updates off the blackberry and in a phone call to Suzanne. Taxi back and out about 9 pm.
Taxi back into the gate at 10:20. I always seem to be the one to do the Detroit tarmac tour. We're heading out to take off, the flight attendants have done thier spiel, everyone's sitting down, and over the intercom, the one flight attendant says "Ma'am, you have to sit down"....."Maam, we're on a live runway, you have to sit down"......I was reading, so, never saw the woman get up, but, she did, and went to the lavatory......and stayed there. So, we pull over and wait.....and wait.....and wait....and finally the pilot announces that we have go back for more fuel. We're greeted there by multiple vehicles with sirens on top, and 4 nice young men from the Detroit Airport police come on board, ask the woman to come out of the lavatory, and escort her, in handcuffs, off of the plane.
Of course, by this time, the flight crew has spent too many hours working, and the flight is cancelled. Rescheduled for 6 am Monday morning. Northwest hands out hotel vouchers (Days Inn Romulus...woo hoo!) and says we can take a shuttle over there. I've made friends with another guy who was watching the US Open with me (side note: he's on his way back from Paris; had his wallet stolen as he headed to the airport....) and we grab a cab instead of waiting for the shuttle. Good, but, pricy, move, as we check in right as the shuttle we wouldn't have made it onto arrives, and 12 people line up to check in. It's about midnight by now.
Wake up at 4:30 am, head back to the airport, arrive in Milwaukee at 6:30 am Central time...
Yoi!
Scott's current reading list (a lot of progress made here yesterday!). "The Sunne in Splendour" by Sharon Kay Pennman.....a re-read of a book about the War of the Roses (the trip to London and Paris has me going back to books set there) and "Better" by Atul Gawande, subtitled "A surgeon's notes on performance"
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Camping....sort of.
Suzanne and I aren't camping people. Would rather be in a hotel than in the woods; as simple as that.
But, a year ago, we were registering for some promotion Amazon.com was running and had the chance to buy this huge 8 person tent for some cheap cheap amount and said "what the hey", and the tent showed up at the house. And, the tent has sat in the garage from then until yesterday, when, as I was cleaning the garage, decided "what the hey", let's take it out and see how easy it is to set up.
Pretty easy as it turns out. (putting it back in it's snappy container, well, that's different...)
So, the tent is set-up in the backyard, the weather is nice, the forecast is good.... boys night out begins.
9:00 pm. The gang gathers in the tent; we decide we'll play Outburst Jr.; that goes pretty well, until it gets dark(er).....Christopher and Matthew said they wanted to play charades, so, by flashlight, we did that. Very amazed by what the boys came up with; the best part was Matthew making these motions in what was slow-motion, and Kevin and Christopher complaining it wasn't fair and that he should speed it up to "real speed", and eventually gave up trying to figure it out, and Matthew said that he was acting out an astronaut walking in space (thus, the slow motion)! And really, once he said it, it was obvious that he was doing a great charade of it!
10:30 pm and everyone is turning in. Slowly talking about things (if you could have a race car, what number and what colors would it be? Matthew's would be #26 and be green, blue, and white on one side for the Seahawks and black and gold on the other for the Steelers). Matthew drops off, then Christopher. Should note here that while Wiley is outside with us, he refuses to come near the tent. So, Kevin and I talk a little bit about what Wiley is going to do all night, before he wants to roll over and try to sleep.
So, I'm lying there, listening to the sounds of bullfrogs and insects and thinking how much louder these noises are out here than in the house, and looking up at the stars, and notice that it's clouding up. Ok, saw that in the forecast, no big deal. See a flash or two and realize it's more than clouds, there is some lightning and storms around, but, it's a long way away, again, no big deal.
About 11:30 pm, the first, and only cat, to show up for the night shows up. Daphne is pawing at the tent....she hits the tent near Kevin and spooks him...I tell Kevin that it's the Blair Witch (he's been obsessed with this lately after Suzanne and I made a joke about it...he looked up the plot on the internet)...he's not amused. Daphne, eventually, moves up to a full-scale launch and jumps up to the top of the tent, where she's promptly pushed/nudged away and runs off into the night.
By this time, the lightning is much closer, we can hear the thunder, and it starts raining. Get up, close (ok, zipper-close) all the windows in the tent, and listen to the rain and wind get heavier, and louder, and really, a full-scale thunderstorm comes crashing in on us. Debate, as I'm lying there, whether I should wake the boys up (Kevin's up, Christopher and Matthew are both dead to the world....and neither wakes up for this weather event) and get inside, but, don't hear any sirens for a tornado warning and figure, if we were really camping we'd have to get through this, so, we'll ride it out.
12:15 - 12:30 am. Things finally come to an end. Kevin and I, now that we can finally hear each other talk again, wonder what Wiley ended up doing, as he's not a big fan of the rain (and come to find out as soon as the rain and thunder really kicked off he went up on the deck and whined and cried until Suzanne let him in). Figure the rain and thunder has chased Daphne off for good....and wham!, she jumps up on top of the tent again, with no warning. Startles me and Kevin; I'm laughing...Kevin just wants to go to sleep.
1:30. Matthew wakes up, decides he has had enough camping for one night, and heads for the back door.
3:00 am. I jump up awake as the loudest train I've ever heard rolls by....(really, they are a lot louder outside). Train is really hauling-ass...sit there and am amazed by how quickly it seems to be moving.
7 am. Christopher wakes up.....decide to head inside with him at this point. Kevin stays outdoors.
Suzanne and I have talked, before this camping event, about an excursion to one of the local state parks; we'll see if we get out there this summer or not. Not sure, after this experience, if the boys are real up for going now.
But, a year ago, we were registering for some promotion Amazon.com was running and had the chance to buy this huge 8 person tent for some cheap cheap amount and said "what the hey", and the tent showed up at the house. And, the tent has sat in the garage from then until yesterday, when, as I was cleaning the garage, decided "what the hey", let's take it out and see how easy it is to set up.
Pretty easy as it turns out. (putting it back in it's snappy container, well, that's different...)
So, the tent is set-up in the backyard, the weather is nice, the forecast is good.... boys night out begins.
9:00 pm. The gang gathers in the tent; we decide we'll play Outburst Jr.; that goes pretty well, until it gets dark(er).....Christopher and Matthew said they wanted to play charades, so, by flashlight, we did that. Very amazed by what the boys came up with; the best part was Matthew making these motions in what was slow-motion, and Kevin and Christopher complaining it wasn't fair and that he should speed it up to "real speed", and eventually gave up trying to figure it out, and Matthew said that he was acting out an astronaut walking in space (thus, the slow motion)! And really, once he said it, it was obvious that he was doing a great charade of it!
10:30 pm and everyone is turning in. Slowly talking about things (if you could have a race car, what number and what colors would it be? Matthew's would be #26 and be green, blue, and white on one side for the Seahawks and black and gold on the other for the Steelers). Matthew drops off, then Christopher. Should note here that while Wiley is outside with us, he refuses to come near the tent. So, Kevin and I talk a little bit about what Wiley is going to do all night, before he wants to roll over and try to sleep.
So, I'm lying there, listening to the sounds of bullfrogs and insects and thinking how much louder these noises are out here than in the house, and looking up at the stars, and notice that it's clouding up. Ok, saw that in the forecast, no big deal. See a flash or two and realize it's more than clouds, there is some lightning and storms around, but, it's a long way away, again, no big deal.
About 11:30 pm, the first, and only cat, to show up for the night shows up. Daphne is pawing at the tent....she hits the tent near Kevin and spooks him...I tell Kevin that it's the Blair Witch (he's been obsessed with this lately after Suzanne and I made a joke about it...he looked up the plot on the internet)...he's not amused. Daphne, eventually, moves up to a full-scale launch and jumps up to the top of the tent, where she's promptly pushed/nudged away and runs off into the night.
By this time, the lightning is much closer, we can hear the thunder, and it starts raining. Get up, close (ok, zipper-close) all the windows in the tent, and listen to the rain and wind get heavier, and louder, and really, a full-scale thunderstorm comes crashing in on us. Debate, as I'm lying there, whether I should wake the boys up (Kevin's up, Christopher and Matthew are both dead to the world....and neither wakes up for this weather event) and get inside, but, don't hear any sirens for a tornado warning and figure, if we were really camping we'd have to get through this, so, we'll ride it out.
12:15 - 12:30 am. Things finally come to an end. Kevin and I, now that we can finally hear each other talk again, wonder what Wiley ended up doing, as he's not a big fan of the rain (and come to find out as soon as the rain and thunder really kicked off he went up on the deck and whined and cried until Suzanne let him in). Figure the rain and thunder has chased Daphne off for good....and wham!, she jumps up on top of the tent again, with no warning. Startles me and Kevin; I'm laughing...Kevin just wants to go to sleep.
1:30. Matthew wakes up, decides he has had enough camping for one night, and heads for the back door.
3:00 am. I jump up awake as the loudest train I've ever heard rolls by....(really, they are a lot louder outside). Train is really hauling-ass...sit there and am amazed by how quickly it seems to be moving.
7 am. Christopher wakes up.....decide to head inside with him at this point. Kevin stays outdoors.
Suzanne and I have talked, before this camping event, about an excursion to one of the local state parks; we'll see if we get out there this summer or not. Not sure, after this experience, if the boys are real up for going now.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Paying off bets, collecting prizes
....Wednesday was "pay off the Penguin-debt day". Had to mow the front lawn of the neighbor across the street. Oh well. We bow to our Red Wing Overlords......
Thursday took the boys down to Cincinnati to collect the free night stay and 4 water park passes that Kevin won with his hula-hoop excellence on New Year's Eve. Got there around 1 pm, boys swam/played until 6 pm. Dad swam a little, not a lot. Did manage to get a fair bit of work done sitting pool/park side. Really, really appreciate that my current company is very flexible about the work schedule.
For dinner, took the boys to Dave & Buster's. Boys had an absolute blast here; we'll have to go back sometime. I did spend more than a few minutes playing Galaga...the boys noticed I was playing for a looooong time.
Drove home Friday.....stopped to play some miniature golf around lunch time near Toledo.
Bonus Art today. Christopher had this picture in one of his year-end collections.
Thursday took the boys down to Cincinnati to collect the free night stay and 4 water park passes that Kevin won with his hula-hoop excellence on New Year's Eve. Got there around 1 pm, boys swam/played until 6 pm. Dad swam a little, not a lot. Did manage to get a fair bit of work done sitting pool/park side. Really, really appreciate that my current company is very flexible about the work schedule.
For dinner, took the boys to Dave & Buster's. Boys had an absolute blast here; we'll have to go back sometime. I did spend more than a few minutes playing Galaga...the boys noticed I was playing for a looooong time.
Drove home Friday.....stopped to play some miniature golf around lunch time near Toledo.
Bonus Art today. Christopher had this picture in one of his year-end collections.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
What's new?
Kevin: School ends today; Kevin's very excited. Lots of Wii-playing and trampoline jumping last week, but, not anything real earth-shattering to report here.
Christopher: Went to see Kung-fu Panda this weekend. Twice! Martial arts animals, seems like a natural fit for the big guy. Bennett Woods had move-up day yesterday; Christopher will have the same teacher as Kevin did for 2nd grade, Mrs. Hoffman. Baseball last week was rained out, but, the Mud Hens did play last night and lost 13-3 to a team from Haslett. Christopher made contact twice, one base hit, and one out on a close play at first. Sadly, the first base coach (Dad) had to make that out call, and Christopher wasn't very happy about that!
Matthew: Lots of Wii-playing and trampolining with his big brother and his "adopted-big-brother", Ashton. Matthew will be moving up to Mrs. Dudley for 1st grade, so, he gets the same teacher as Kevin and Christopher.
Christopher: Went to see Kung-fu Panda this weekend. Twice! Martial arts animals, seems like a natural fit for the big guy. Bennett Woods had move-up day yesterday; Christopher will have the same teacher as Kevin did for 2nd grade, Mrs. Hoffman. Baseball last week was rained out, but, the Mud Hens did play last night and lost 13-3 to a team from Haslett. Christopher made contact twice, one base hit, and one out on a close play at first. Sadly, the first base coach (Dad) had to make that out call, and Christopher wasn't very happy about that!
Matthew: Lots of Wii-playing and trampolining with his big brother and his "adopted-big-brother", Ashton. Matthew will be moving up to Mrs. Dudley for 1st grade, so, he gets the same teacher as Kevin and Christopher.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Christopher Artwork 2008
At the end of the school year the children come home with big folders with the large artwork they've completed during the year. The scans below capture the theme, but, not the size, for example, the first picture is only 8"x11" of the actual work, which is more like 11" x 17".
Comments by the artist follow each piece.
Comments by the artist follow each piece.
"well, um, that's a winter bird, and it's called a cardinal"
"For the vase I folded paper then I got a crayon then I made like this one shape and then cut it and then it looked like a vase. I made the flowers using my finger that I put in yellow paint. I got all these different shades of green for the stems."
"I made apples in a basket which I made. It was not hard to make it."
"This is a robot I made out of paper and special paper. I like his whole body the best."
(editor's note. Christopher wanted to tell me the robot was named Wall-E...)
"This is a scarecrow. It was not hard to make it. It takes glue, scissors, and paper to make it. I even had to make little cuts of paper because the paper inside it looks kind of like straw to me."
"A turtle. I made my turtle out of paper. When I was done with the decoration I had to crumble it up and put it in black water and it just looked like the picture."
Matthew Artwork 2008
Matthew's artwork from 2007-2008. Notes from the artist included below.
"That's the August one. When it was autumn, it's a tree with the yellow and orange leaves."
"The turtle picture is about a turtle. We had to go to different stations and make different patterns for the shell."
"This is an apple tree. We had to go to the paint area and we had a potato with a stamp and we had to paint it and it had an apple on it and that's how we made it. The leaves were a little bit hard."
"These are two fish in a fish bowl. We made the rocks at the bottom using stamps in the stamp area. We made the fish with different colors and the teachers said that orange and yellow would make cool colors."
"This is a penguin that went skiing."
"This is the head of the alligator" Note. The alligator was about 4' long.
"We made the sun shine because the teacher said the sun was shining brightly."
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Lynching?
So, they are starting off the morning at Chippewa Middle School and Kevin's teacher says "I can't believe the Red Wings lost last night!"
Kevin, loudly, chimes in. "Go Pens!"
Many eyes turn towards Kevin. A few voices recommend that Kevin be evicted from the room.
Suzanne and I have warned Kevin that this most likely will end badly for him and the Pens, and he's set himself up now for some serious abuse......but, if they win Wed. night, we agreed that it's a Hutsell-Penguin-shirt day on Friday!
Kevin, loudly, chimes in. "Go Pens!"
Many eyes turn towards Kevin. A few voices recommend that Kevin be evicted from the room.
Suzanne and I have warned Kevin that this most likely will end badly for him and the Pens, and he's set himself up now for some serious abuse......but, if they win Wed. night, we agreed that it's a Hutsell-Penguin-shirt day on Friday!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Tick
So, I'm down at Cranbrook with Kevin on Sunday morning and I get this call from Suzanne
"What does a tick look like?"
Turns out, in Christopher's hair, was a tick. Could have been there from the hike through the woods in the UP, could have been from something outside in the neighborhood...we have no idea how long it could have been there.
Suzanne made one attempt to remove the tick, and Christopher wasn't really cooperating with that. So, off to urgent care Suzanne, Christopher, and Matthew went. Apparently, both boys did a really good job of behaving during all this, so, that's good.
Doctor removed the tick, and had to 'dig' and clean the are to get the jaws, etc. Christopher did really well (especially during the part where the doctor asked him to take off his clothes to check for others!). Went to the family doctor today, Christopher will be taking a lot of amoxicillin over the next 3 weeks just in case.
Christopher clocked in at 83 lbs....if you go here you'll see where that falls on the growth chart. For reference, Kevin is playing on a 5/6 team for lacrosse this year, so, Kevin's playing against 12-year olds and 11-year olds. Those average 11-year olds; they are Christopher's size. Happily, on the Body Mass Index, he trends along just fine....above the 95% curve by a fair bit, but, not too big to be obese at all. Never mind his awesome performance at the Michigan Mile!
"What does a tick look like?"
Turns out, in Christopher's hair, was a tick. Could have been there from the hike through the woods in the UP, could have been from something outside in the neighborhood...we have no idea how long it could have been there.
Suzanne made one attempt to remove the tick, and Christopher wasn't really cooperating with that. So, off to urgent care Suzanne, Christopher, and Matthew went. Apparently, both boys did a really good job of behaving during all this, so, that's good.
Doctor removed the tick, and had to 'dig' and clean the are to get the jaws, etc. Christopher did really well (especially during the part where the doctor asked him to take off his clothes to check for others!). Went to the family doctor today, Christopher will be taking a lot of amoxicillin over the next 3 weeks just in case.
Christopher clocked in at 83 lbs....if you go here you'll see where that falls on the growth chart. For reference, Kevin is playing on a 5/6 team for lacrosse this year, so, Kevin's playing against 12-year olds and 11-year olds. Those average 11-year olds; they are Christopher's size. Happily, on the Body Mass Index, he trends along just fine....above the 95% curve by a fair bit, but, not too big to be obese at all. Never mind his awesome performance at the Michigan Mile!
Last Lacrosse post of the year
Kevin's happy it's over; I like that lacrosse has a finite length...warm enough to practice to the weekend after Memorial Day. The final games were part of the Cranbrook tournament; 4 games over the course of the day, no standings kept, so, I guess it's really an invitational, not a tournament. Kevin's team went 2-2, won the first game and the last game and got hammered in the middle two. Kevin continued to play well, and had an assist on a goal and had his big chance at a goal late in the game when he darted in, scooped up the ball, and turned and fired....just missed, the ball crashed into the side of the net!
But, unlike last year, Kevin's positive about playing lacrosse throughout middle school, so, that's definitely an improvement.
And....Matthew already loves to play with Kevin's stick, and Kevin's showing him how to cradle and scoop....it's scary how good Matthew looks already!
But, unlike last year, Kevin's positive about playing lacrosse throughout middle school, so, that's definitely an improvement.
And....Matthew already loves to play with Kevin's stick, and Kevin's showing him how to cradle and scoop....it's scary how good Matthew looks already!
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