Napping on a big couch Sunday afternoon

We purchased a new couch this summer. It took us about six months of serious searching to find the one that would fit our family. The couch needed to be big enough to fit each member of the family, fit in our front room, have attached cushions, be comfortable if upright or prone, and be under a set price. We were just about to give in and get a compromise couch when I found this one at Macy's in Alexandria, VA. I was taking a walk through a mall near the conference hotel to put steps on my pedometer. Fortunately, the same model was available at the Macy's in Ohio, too. It is very similar to a couch at the Italian furniture store near our home, but it was half the price and just a little shorter on the ell. It has a classic, clean look, and the leather has been easy to clean up after sticky hands. Our "no eating in the living room" seems to be overlooked by 2-yr-olds. This same 2-yr-old even tested out the responsiveness of the warranty concerning damage by toddlers and ball-point pens. Turns out that our warranty would have replaced the entire couch for deliberate yet barely visible markings made by children, but not if done by a dog. We chose to keep the damaged couch rather than have to purchase a new warranty on another new couch. So far, it appears to be working pretty well for our family.

Very Blue House

We just painted our white house blue. What's the nation going to do?

Rebecca just said, "It's a good thing it's not red." She took me canvassing for Obama yesterday and reminding people to vote. This was the first time we have actively participated in the politcal process other than showing up to vote. It was fun.

We do plan on painting the door red, someday. As Jacob says, "Bipartisanship."

Pumpkins for Obama

Another of my favorite carvings this year.

Halloween 2008 continued

Princess Abby and Toucan Sam rode in a carriage pulled by a mule. We were blessed to have a warm evening, and we had a very nice walk. Sam impressed many people since they had never seen a toucan before. We collected a lot of candy, about 5 to 6 pounds per kid. It is about half eaten now, literally. Abby opens a piece of candy, takes one bite, and then shares it with the nearest person (or dog).

Sam decided that I wasn't going fast enough, so he pulled the princess for a block. Earlier that day, Sam wore his costume to preschool. They were told to dress as community helpers, so Sam told everyone that toucans help the rainforest community by spreading seeds. He did not tell them how the seeds were distributed.

Halloween 2008

Jacob created his own costume. It's a moose, not a reindeer, as shown by the broad antlers and milk jug snout. Abby thought this was the scariest of the costumes, and she would scream and cling to the nearest parent, burying her head so she could not see the very scary moose. Can't blame her too much. Moose are very vicious creatures and happen to be the new monster to rally against if you are a Republican. Maybe that's way Jacob chose to be a moose. I hear it was pretty scary on the street with the McCain/Palin signs.




This is dark matter with a red eye. We weren't quite sure how to depict dark matter since no one has ever seen it, but we know it has mass. Joseph decided that dark matter had to be related to pure evil since it is everywhere and pure evil is much more fun than your run-of-the-mill substance that makes up most of the universe. The red eye was to add a little color to costume and give the dark matter some context.

Jesse got a new costume, trading in her dragon for a witch. The hat also doubled as a beard. She helped to protect the moose from Republicans. I'm not sure that dark matter needed to worry about Republicans since many of them don't believe that it exists.
Here are the Happy Halloweeeeners, the only group that caroled while begging for candy. Lillian is dressed as her favorite character from the Harry Potter books, Ginny Weasly (note the red hair), for reasons that should be obvious to the informed reader. Emma is Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile and lover of Julius Ceasar (she hasn't learned about Mark Antony yet). Our girls are strong-willed women attracted to powerful men. Hmmm. They were accompanied by Zombie Hannah Montana, Elphaba of West Oz and another witch. I think this was the fastest group of trick-or-treaters on the block. Sam wanted to follow them, but we just couldn't keep up. Daddy's legs don't move at 9-yr-old speed.

Carving Pumpkins

Sam said that his pumpkin would be a surprise. Everyone else chose patterns from the Pumpkin Masters carving kit. He proceeded with the exactitude of an almost 5-year-old, punching holes to trace a mouth pattern that he then sawed. I helped with eye shape, but he did all of the cutting. He wanted a triangle nose, but it came out a little curvy. This is my favorite of the family pumpkins this year. It's so primitive and graphic, a well-suited expression of Halloween. If an adult had made this, they would have messed it up. This jack-o-lantern is so authentic, and very much a "surprise."

It happened on a cold, dark evening. Note that Abby has bare legs. She stripped down so that she wouldn't get her clothes messy. Or they got messy, and she didn't want to be dirty. Or maybe it was just time to change clothing again, and she hadn't managed to get her pajamas on yet.

Very spooky pumpkins.

Derthick's Corn Maze

Our family went to Derthick's Corn Maze on Friday evening after dinner. This was the first time that we had done a corn maze in the dark, using flashlights to help guide our way on the path. I am glad that the owners provided a maze map, because we probably would not have been able to find all 12 check points without one, especially since it was dark. Jacob and Joseph went ahead of the rest of the family, and they quickly found the first two check points while the rest of us plowed ahead without referencing our map. After about 15 minutes or so of wandering around and finding other lost people, we decided it was time to let Emma and Rebecca read the map instead of Lily, and then we got back on track. Eventually we met up with the boys as they headed off to checkpoint 3. We gave them a cell phone and told them to call us when they got out of the first maze. Our group finished the maze about an hour later and called the boys to arrange a meeting. It turns out the boys had not gotten past the third checkpoint and were still in the maze, passing the first checkpoint for the third or fourth time. After a little break to warm up by the fire and a bit of climbing on the hay bales, the entire family stayed together and quickly moved through the second, smaller maze. It was good opportunity to tease the boys about their lack of navigation skills and achieve a goal as a family.

Some things we learned about night-time corn mazes:
1. It's very fun to sneak ahead on loops and jump out to surprise other members of your group.
2. Wear socks.
3. 2-year-olds are not impressed by corn mazes.
4. Yell "Marco" when passing groups in the other maze.
5. Bring extra batteries.
6. Crop circles were probably caused by lost teenagers, not aliens.

Very Angry Snow Being

Last Christmas, our relatives from Arizona came up and saw this peculiar white substance covering our lawn. Following a brief taste test, they determined that it was manna (not sweet to the taste), and it lasted beyond one day. Further investigation proved that the substance could be compacted and shaped, as shown in the photo on the left. This particular being soon appeared and, unlike its dancing cousin, could not move about because it lacked a majic hat and legs. Unhappy at the prospect of standing motionless, the being proceeded to change form, reduce in size, and flow back into the earth.

Finding Animals

Over the Memorial Day weekend, we traveled to Cass, West Virginia, and stayed in cabins at the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park . We were there to celebrate the wedding of Rebecca's brother and sister-in-law. The cabins were once the family dwellings of the workers for the logging company that owned the town of Cass.



On Memorial Day, we went down to the river with Rebecca's family to throw rocks into the water, a sure-to-please activity for all family members. While conversing with her siblings and keeping an eye on the children, Rebecca's sister-in-law said, "Hey, look at the snake," and Rebecca looked down and saw a large black snake writhing toward Abigail, and rushed over to her daughter and rescued her from the potential danger. Meanwhile, I was hunting crawdads by turning over rocks, but a big snake is much more interesting, and I was temporarily distracted from the hunt. Fortunately, the snake was just one the largest snakes I have ever seen in the wild, the black rat snake, and it permitted us to "ooh" and "aah" over its magnificence. This harmless snake also gave our boys fodder for teasing their mom for her quick emergency response with all the appropriate sound effects.

Later, I resumed my search for crayfish, and Abby let me put one in her shoe, so we could show everyone else our find.

Robins nest

We have a robins nest in our back yard lilac. Our neighbor pointed it out to us this evening, and then we knew why they was an adult robin bothering Joseph while he worked in the garden. This nest has three hatchlings that must be a couple of weeks old. They do not look as if they will stay in the next much longer since they will probably push each other out.

You can see the next in the bend of the left branch that is covered with ivy. A very nice hiding place. Emma is standing on the ladder looking at the chicks.

While we were preparing the garden for seeds, I heard a bird singing in the big maple tree next door. The tune sounded very familiar--do dee doot doot, do dee doot doot, doodily doodily doot--very lyrical, like a Disney princess song. I went to see what kind of bird it was, and it was a robin--the papa of the birds in the nest. Rebecca and I tried to pinpoint the tune, and finally figured out that a similar tune is used on the DVD of Ella Enchanted for the menu music. Definitely a moment of biomimicry, and a lovely, catchy tune.

Parade the Circle 2002

In Cleveland, the Cleveland Museum of Art and other University Circle institutions host an art parade the second Saturday. It's fun, colorful and interesting. In 2002, our family (Jacob, Joseph, Lillian, Emma, Rebecca & I) participated with other staff from The Health Museum, featuring the visible woman, Juno. I found this photo in a file on my old work computer. I no longer have the pants.

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