I got the honor of walking the girls to school today. I'm usually out the door and on my way to work before they leave in the morning, but with Mike out of town, I had the job of getting them there.
I didn't realize there was a whole morning ritual to it, but the best part was the Apple Game. Here's how it's played: Everyone chooses an apple from a neglected overgrown tree that sits on the side of the road. Then everyone takes a turn rolling their apple down the very steep hill that leads to the main road. You get points for your apple making it to the main road, and bonus points if a car happens to run over it.
First up: Miss Moo
She chose a plump apple with a promising shape and cut loose bowling ball-style. Her apple was looking good till it hit a bump and veered left. While it made it all the way down the hill, it stopped before it hit the main road.
Next up: Me
I chose an apple from the ground with a nice worm hole in it. I did my best underhand pitch and watched it bump and roll all the way down. Did it make it? It veered right so we wouldn't know until we got down the hill.
Final Contestant: Nat
Nat chose a very small green apple in which I held very little hope. She gave it a toss and that sucker rolled straight and true all the way down!
Once we got down to the main road we looked for my apple, and lo and behold it had made it to the road! I also noticed quite the pile of bruised and beaten apples lining the roadside from past day's games!
Neither apple had been hit and squished by the time we got there, but on my return after dropping off the girls I found that Nat's was now a pulpy mess on the pavement. I guess that means she won.
Our neighborhood is very circa 1938, and this bit of fun this morning reminded me of something that children back then might have played too. (Is there such a thing as deja-vu nostalgia? I get that a lot living here, if there is such a thing.) I can hardly wait for tomorrow's game!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
10 Terrific Things on 10-10-10
We met Cam and Cass at a pumpkin patch to celebrate Cam's 23rd birthday. (I had him when I was 23...how weird to think about that!) What better way to spend 10-10-10 than by doing 10 terrific things. (Not all 10 are illustrated below, I just chose the ten best photos for my post. And I'm sure we did more than 10...)
Zip line ride.
Cam and Miss Moo were the only ones who wanted to do it.
Shooting the pumpkin blaster was definitely a highlight!
Miss Moo and Nat both rang the bell in the nose of the pumpkin and were rewarded with a button. Here is Miss Moo with her button and her ammunition!
On to the corn maze. We were told, "Don't pick the corn, don't eat the corn" when we entered. Yeah. Notice the delinquent in the back with an ear of corn.
The birthday boy had pumpkin-pecan pie.
Sis and Trav joined us a little later (just in time for pie of course). Here they are at one of the bridges in the middle of the corn maze.
Snowcones were refreshing. It got really hot! Here Nat shows off her blue raspberry tongue and lips.
And my favorite bunch of pumpkin pickers. (I took the picture and then noticed Nat was absent. She took at least another 20 minutes trying to find the perfect pumpkin in the hot blazing sun.)
Zip line ride.
Cam and Miss Moo were the only ones who wanted to do it.
Shooting the pumpkin blaster was definitely a highlight!
Miss Moo and Nat both rang the bell in the nose of the pumpkin and were rewarded with a button. Here is Miss Moo with her button and her ammunition!
On to the corn maze. We were told, "Don't pick the corn, don't eat the corn" when we entered. Yeah. Notice the delinquent in the back with an ear of corn.
It was a perfect day for a pumpkin patch picnic. We had pasties (that's the Cornish pass-tee, not a paste-y, which is a completely different pronunciation and thing), pears, Pringles, peanut brittle, Peeps, and popcorn balls. Fortunately the water was labeled "Premium Bottled Water", otherwise I would've called it purified water.
(I didn't really plan the whole P thing, I just decided on pasties and pumpkin-pecan pie, and then Sis and I were shopping and she suggested the P theme, and we got all excited about it, and the next thing you know I got carried away and there was an embarrassing incident in Rite-Aide in which I yelled out, "Peeps!" at the top of my lungs.)
The birthday boy had pumpkin-pecan pie.
Sis and Trav joined us a little later (just in time for pie of course). Here they are at one of the bridges in the middle of the corn maze.
Snowcones were refreshing. It got really hot! Here Nat shows off her blue raspberry tongue and lips.
And my favorite bunch of pumpkin pickers. (I took the picture and then noticed Nat was absent. She took at least another 20 minutes trying to find the perfect pumpkin in the hot blazing sun.)
Here's the run-down on the Ten Terrific Things:
Zip Line/Pony Ride for Nat
Pumpkin Blasters
Haunted House
Picnic
Pie
Petting Zoo
Train Ride
Snowcones
Corn Maze
Pumpkin Picking
But a great day with my family is always a "10"!
But a great day with my family is always a "10"!
Friday, October 8, 2010
By Gosh, I'll Make A Man Of You!
My dad called today, and as usual he went off on one of his old stories. Don't get me wrong. I love his stories, and he has a lot of them. That's pretty much what he's famous for. I prefer his stories over his end-of-the-world "Doomsday Dad" predictions. And that's pretty much your two choices when you talk to him. I definitely like to steer him towards recalling the old days.
Today he was reminiscing about the time his father dropped him, his brother and their friend off to go camping. He was 12, his brother 13, and the other boy about the same age. Their dad didn't drop them off at a campground mind you. He dropped them off at a spot where they would hike into a lake. He even gave them a rubber boat to paddle around. They camped by themselves for 3 nights and 4 days.
Dad said in all those days they never saw another person up where they were.
Of course he looks back now and thinks how dangerous it was to leave them there alone, and all the tragedies that could have, but fortunately didn't befall them. Burns, accidently amputating fingers or limbs with axes, drownings, were just a few of the scenarios he came up with.
My dad's dad was German, and very "Old World". He would sit down to dinner and expect to be served by his wife. She could eat after he had been taken care of. The family consisted of 2 girls and 2 boys, and my grandfather told my grandmother that she could raise the girls, but he would raise the boys. He wanted them to grow up to be MEN, after all!
So this story about the camping is just one of the many stories my dad has about how his dad tried to make a man out of him. Dad said his mother must have been worried sick about them the whole time, but she didn't dare go against anything my grandfather did.
Dad said the reason this event stands out so distinctly for him was because at the end of the four days when his parents arrived to pick them up, they had with them his first pair of glasses.
He says he remembers taking them out of the box and putting them on and he just couldn't believe it! He said he kept putting them down his nose and looking over them, then looking back through them in comparison. It was a memory he'll never forget.
It wasn't until his grown-up years did he look back on the trip as yet another risk his dad took with he and his brother all in the name of making men out of them.
Today he was reminiscing about the time his father dropped him, his brother and their friend off to go camping. He was 12, his brother 13, and the other boy about the same age. Their dad didn't drop them off at a campground mind you. He dropped them off at a spot where they would hike into a lake. He even gave them a rubber boat to paddle around. They camped by themselves for 3 nights and 4 days.
Dad said in all those days they never saw another person up where they were.
Of course he looks back now and thinks how dangerous it was to leave them there alone, and all the tragedies that could have, but fortunately didn't befall them. Burns, accidently amputating fingers or limbs with axes, drownings, were just a few of the scenarios he came up with.
My dad's dad was German, and very "Old World". He would sit down to dinner and expect to be served by his wife. She could eat after he had been taken care of. The family consisted of 2 girls and 2 boys, and my grandfather told my grandmother that she could raise the girls, but he would raise the boys. He wanted them to grow up to be MEN, after all!
So this story about the camping is just one of the many stories my dad has about how his dad tried to make a man out of him. Dad said his mother must have been worried sick about them the whole time, but she didn't dare go against anything my grandfather did.
Dad said the reason this event stands out so distinctly for him was because at the end of the four days when his parents arrived to pick them up, they had with them his first pair of glasses.
He says he remembers taking them out of the box and putting them on and he just couldn't believe it! He said he kept putting them down his nose and looking over them, then looking back through them in comparison. It was a memory he'll never forget.
It wasn't until his grown-up years did he look back on the trip as yet another risk his dad took with he and his brother all in the name of making men out of them.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Ever Wondered About Adoptive Breastfeeding?
My friend started a new blog and her first post is about just that. She's an awesome mom with a wealth of knowledge---and the cutest darned baby girl. Enjoy!
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