Last Days of Summer

The mid-September life guard knew all about this one...








"What?"

August Camping Trip

We went to the Redwoods.








The trees were huge.







  There were many photo opportunities.








We're not sure, but we think the thing A liked most about the Oregon Caves was the Chateau.

Two Knights Practicing

A won a blue ribbon at the fair for his painting.

He seemed surprised.  

Solstice T-Ball

A has been playing T-ball.







He bats well. And he likes being a baseman instead of an outfielder.






We want a pitcher, not a belly-itcher.

Truck Day

A long time ago (I'm going to guess 2009) it was Truck Day in the Park. 

More Zoo Photos

One of the things we did was ride the Zoo Train!


















Guess who fell asleep ?













I guess the ninty minutes spent in the dinosaur exhibit was exhausting.

Summer Vaction Photos

A and J went to the zoo the other week. J just noticed how Evil A looks (in fairness, J looks like some sort of disguised cleric on vacation).
















Last weekend we all went to Cape Blanco. A was very brave and climbed up all the see through steps. The volunteers were very professional in their warnings about Not Touching The Optics.


















After the lighthouse...
and pretending that we had No Idea it was there...



















We went to The Prehistoric Gardens !

(Only a little bit older than J, but who's counting?)













And ran around on the paths five times.














The next day we went back to the Cape Blanco beach. The tide was very low and all the treacherous rocks were exposed.


















We found the bones of a large (apparently) mammalian sea creature. Or two.

















With conjecture on their probable connection.

This is Halloween

A is particularly focused on creating a Haunted House for Halloween. Never mind that M's birthday, Labor Day, the first day of Kindergarten, and the Autumnal Equinox all come first; A wants Halloween to happen now.

SCENE: driving from the local hardware store to home. A has been grilling J about preparations.

A: "...and what else could we put into our spOOooOOooky Haunted MAAaantion for HalloweeEEeen?"

J: (still driving, but able to keep the word 'rabid' out of the following list) "We could have mutant squirrels with laser eyes."

A: "Oh J! That would never work; that's not scary, that's just cool."

Fathers' Day Remembered

2010-06-20 Sunday

Happy Father's Day!

We went to Dutch Wonderland! Think Enchanted Forest. Think Disney. Think, electric powered, full-motion water cannons and Evil Five Year Olds.

M and J went on a quick coaster ride. It was fast enough that they got smooshed together on the curves, but not so fast that M didn't get sick. It was kind of too fast to be romantic.

M and J reconnected with Aunt M, Cousin D, and A back at the Frog Prince show. This was a diving show, featuring three guys in frog costumes leaping into a deep pool to Renaissance Knight Music. Insert Wicked Magician here, and obligatory splashing of the audience by a frog using the Old King as a target. Luckily, a quick fetal curl around the digital camera saved it.

Then we went to a portion of the park that provided Very Large Water Guns for small children to practice their marksmanship with. This place was an oasis of gushing opportunity for the wicked. While every song ever sung by The Beach Boys played. Loudly. "...Do you love me, do you, surfer girl..." Of course, A loved it; probably because he found another Evil Five Year Old, and they poured water on younger children.

We took many turns down water slides. Along the way out we stopped at various carnival rids. On the carousel, J tried to recapture the romance of the Playland Carousel with M, A insisted that his horse had gone the fastest, and M worked hard to not throw up.

When the day was over, A and Cousin D fell asleep leaning on each other in Aunt M's van (sorry no picture). They woke up twenty minutes later almost fully re-charged.

The evening ended back at Aunt M's, when J suggested that "Snap" would be a less violent card game than "Slapjack." He was wrong.

A was disappointed when we didn't go back to Dutche Wonderland the next day. Or the day after that. Or the day after that.

More East Cost Vacation...

2009-06-15 Tuesday


We (M, M, J and A) piled into a car and drove up to visit M, M, M & M at their new house at New Paltz. Last time we visited the house, it was mostly a shell around their old cabin. Now, it's mostly house around a Very Large Living Space. A loved the two trap doors in the floor and all of M and M's pirate toys.

The drive home featured 100,000 fireflies.



2009-06-16 Wednesday

We rented a car for a Big Road Trip to Virginia. We saw lots of toll booths. M had detailed instructions to his Brother, M's house. This was a good thing -- because who would have believed that M & J (and S & J) live just a couple of miles from the Walton's Museum (yes, as in "John-Boy").

As we drove in, the World's Biggest Thunderstorm blew in. M kept reminding me of the possibility that the river might flow over the final stretches of road. We pointed out the spooky haunted Southern mansions to A (for Sale!).

That night, as we were eating dinner, the electricity went out and we went to sleep to the quiet and the moonlight.


2010-06-17 Thursday.

The Virginia Relatives hosted us at their country house. We reacquainted ourselves with Mow the Chow (ancient) and a less older Shamus.




M set up the Monopoly board on the grass. And we had a few rounds. Uncle M dressed as Marvin (the) Garden(er). Aunt J wore beach wear as Mediterranean Avenue. Cousin J wore over-alls with a pillow tucked in and a long stem o grass in her mouth -- there was debate whether she was Virginia, Tennessee or North Carolina Ave. Boyfriend H dressed as Oriental Avenue, with a really cool Dragon Sword.

A wore his Mr Moneybags outfit, and promptly discovered that he was too warm. So I held an umbrella over his head to keep him from overheating.

We also had only one die, which added an extra dimension to getting doubles.






2010-06-18 Friday

J decided that it was too hot sleeping in the second story room, so at midnight he wandered downstairs to look at the stars (and pee). The screened in gazebo was available, and after re-arranging some futons, he fell asleep listening to the rushing water from Uncle M's fountain. And the night-sounds of distant dogs killing something.

A, M, and Uncle M went on an archeological dig, and J stayed inside, out of the bugs and sun, to write.

A, M and Uncle M returned about an hour later with a trophy from their dig -- an old cow skull. A thought it might be a triceratops skull. A showed me the teeth, which were a plant eater's teeth, and the place he thought the horns aught to go. M says that he was just playing along and that he knew it was a cow skull the entire time.

Probably somewhere around here is where A thought that "Camp M" was the greatest and that Uncle M was the coolest (East Coast) relative.

The Big Monopoly Birthday Party

2009-06-12 Saturday

The Big Monopoly Party

I don't quite remember when A said that he wanted a Monopoly Party. It must have been sometime shortly after we read Mark Teague's "Pigsty," the book that started A's fascination with the Parker Brothers' classic game of capitalism.

The big question of the day was would it rain or not. So, early-ish in the humid morning, Cousin K helped with the tents and tarps, directed by Aunt M (formerly with Treasure Island).

The second question was, would I (J) have my costume ready in time. Luckily, I was; my role was "Chance, the ABBA interpretation." I taped a photo of ABBA onto my breast and had a "chance orange" caption which read, "Take a chance on me." I also had orange "Take a chance on me" cards with my phone number written on at the bottom.

A dressed up as Mr. Moneybags, with white shirt, black shoes, pants, and shoes, and tailcoat. We forgot about his cane (which was a good thing, as he very likely would have whacked someone with it).

M, with his usual flair for preparedness, strapped on his duct tape Scottie dog token, conceived, designed, created and modeled in time for it to be mailed to Grandma M's.

Grandma M wore glamorous sequins and a sash as Boardwalk (the most expensive property on the board).

LGL came in a fancy tuxedo as The Banker, which was mandatory, as he is in real life an honest-to-goodness New York City Wall Street Banker. He and A sat in the middle of the board handing out money and deeds. They had a great time, as LGL informed A that "the banker always wins."

Uncle M (Buffalo) came as a News Paper Boy and shouted out how there was a new chairman of the board (he came equipped with $50 bills, which he used as counterfeit cash curing the game). Aunt K (Buffalo) came bedecked as Marvin Gardens. Cousin M (Cursed with House Snakes) dressed in a furry hat as Vermont Avenue. His brother, Cousin P and his (P's) boyfriend, M, came as "The Dice Boys," and threw the red inflatable dice.


Cousin M (of New Paltz) dressed as a $500 bill, and Cousin M (of New Paltz) dressed as a House.

Cousin C dressed as a Hobo, and his brother B dressed in a ski outfit as Vermont Ave. Sister, Cousin D came as the person from the card who "Won Second Place in a Beauty Contest."

Aunt M (formerly with Treasure Island) and Aunt M (B, C & D's mother) dressed as Waterworks and the Electric Company, respectively. Cousin M (cursed with house snakes) did an impromptu wire-job so that Aunt M's faucet had twirly paper-streamer water and Aunt M's light bulb hat really lit.

Great Uncle M came as a railroad conductor, and Great Aunt J put on her jewels as Luxury Tax.

Cousin V wore a black slinky dress and a hula-hoop with a tin-foil diamond on it, also as Luxury Tax. Her husband, J, came in his real-live honest-to-goodness Police Uniform (he left his gun and handcuffs at home, but brought a water squirter).


Cousin K (Works Hard) dressed up as Oriental Avenue. Cousin K (from Russia with Love) dressed up as the Statue of Liberty so she could be New York Avenue.


There were other games... and a Monopoly Board Ice Cream cake with six candles (the extra candle was for good luck). Everyone had a fun time and the party lasted until late into the night.

September Utterances

Scene: The Preschool. J has just entered to pick up A.

A (running to J): "J! J! Today I learned to use my words and not hit people with a shovel!"

(pause to imagine Tweety/Sylvester shovel source material)

Teacher (responding to J's stricken look): "We had a great day."

---

Scene: Early morning at home. M is packing the car for an early-morning hike. A is being an over-energetic, rude, and slightly destructive pain in the rear.


J: "C'mon. Put on your shoes. Come with me."

(the shodding commenced, they head outside.)

J (sitting down on a patio chair): "Do you think you can run around the cherry tree six times?"

A (runs across backyard to tree): "Let's see... one... two... [...] ...six!"

J: "Do you think you could do seven?"

A: "I'm going to do all the numbers!" (jump-skips around tree)

J (leaning back in chair): "OK. I'll count."

(time passes)

J: "Twenty six..."

A (panting): "I'm getting tired. How many numbers are there after twenty-six?"

J (carefully not smiling): "Ooh. There's a few -- keep running!"

A (more determined): "I'm going to do them all."

J: "Do you think you can do thirty?"

(more time passes, A is sort of walk-hopping)

J: "Wow, buddy! You made it to forty! That's great!"

A (walking away from tree): "I (pant) think I (pant) need some water..."

He Asked For It.

Monday night, A asked for a buzz cut. I said that maybe we would later in the week.




Tuesday morning, A asked for a buzz cut.




"Are you sure?" I asked. "Once I cut them off, I can't put them back on." I took down Portable Stonehenge. "So, Bud, we're almost at the equinox here." I put my finger at the Ides of Autumn. "And Halloween is here, and Christmas is here." I moved my finger around the path of the sun. "And Groundhog Day is here, and the Spring Equinox is here. Your curls probably won't come back until Easter or so. Are you sure you want me to buzz cut your hair?"

"Yeah," he said. "What's Groundhog Day?"

After I explained how the Groundhog's Shadow worked... I got out my electric clippers and buzzed the golden curly locks away.

"There's going to be women crying all over the country," M said when A greeted him at the door later that afternoon.

At the Beach

When we were at the beach it was new moon, so the tides were extra high (and low). I'll bet this castle will last for days!

Beach Shot

We're back from the beach.

August Photo Safari

The latest photo safari.



We're still sort of jet-lagged.