Road Show

We had a fun time in Vegas and the kids and I played with the cousins while Scott actually had to work. Here are some photos that Laney took and also one of "the band." Happy Birthday, Chip!!!

The Danish Capital of America

We went to Solvang, CA, for a conference and had a great time looking at the buildings, eating pastries, looking at cool toy stores, eating pastries. The kids also got to feed some emus and an ostrich!

Why does time have to fly so fast?

What an awesome visit with Papou & Nana! Half a week in San Diego, yummy food, fun parks, the Del Mar beach, the airpark at the home of the SR-71, and backyard moto action with Mike! I'll let Papou post pics of his first dirt ride on his blog! Sorry you didn't get to ride until the last day... this big air pic of Mike might've been you! Oh well... guess you'll just have to come back then! Enjoy the red-eye flight back east!

And now as Thanksgiving is upon us, we will give thanks for this house with its acres of sand God has blessed us with to share with many visiting guests... to enjoy again and again!

Just some photos

Here's Gib with an intricately arranged group of toys -- we're not sure how long this took to set up.

Then, there's a pic Gib took of his sisters.

And finally, a pic Laney took of Sadie.

Dear Uncle Mike,

Thank you so much for the helmet, gloves, goggles and jersey. They rock! I feel like Ricky Carmichael! I think the boots are a little too big but I will grow in to them. :)

Come back soon! love, Lelaney. ;)








Laney's Practice Moto (& Uncle Mike!)

Halloween pic

Here's a pic of the kids - it's slightly disturbing, so enjoy with caution.

Mike's new '95 CR-125

Here's Mike getting initiated into the world of 2-strokes!! This is Mike on his newly acquired Honda we picked up today. Of course his riding gear is still in transit so he's sporting the "community rentals."

Good on Mike, he never dropped the bike, broke a bone, T-boned a chain-link fence..... Great job on that wild horse!

. . .
Aaaand, my garage looks cooler now too! :) In fact, if our garage gets too full of bikes, I can always use my bedroom and sleep outside. :) :) :)

Friday Night Goof-offs

Here we are, up to no good, but having lots of fun. The kids are urging me to get back to this game of '007' on the Xbox. Duty calls. :)








Note the poor black beetle trying to carefully yet swiftly escape the "dance of the giants!"

Photo op

**The views expressed in this blog are, unless otherwise stated, those of the author and not those of the President.

Happy Pumpkin Patch Day

Here are the happy pumpkineers who got to go on a school field trip to the Pumpkin Patch, take pumpkins home, and then got to paint their own pumpkin. Much love for the pumpkin!



Also, a bonus film from the other evening... backyard running!!!

Friday Night in the Backyard

Here are the kids burning off some steam in the backyard at dusk.

Developing social relationships

I found the results of a study that some of you (Lu, especially) might like to incorporate into your daily life. The study found that regular use of profanity at the workplace allowed people to express their feelings, such as frustration, and develop social relationships, according to researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA). I'm trying to figure out if that means I need to let the kids swear or if just the parents need to swear - hmmm, things to ponder.

Pushin' it up

We know how to party here at our house! Chip, makes you miss our big Friday nights, huh? Actually, the kids received a truckload of books and were occupied for quite some time. It was a reading frenzy.

posting without pictures

Okay, just wanted to share our day with you. We can sum it all up with the fact that our trip meter in the 'burb says 110 miles. We started off by going to the planetarium which the older two enjoyed but the younger two decided playing in the hallway, while the show was going on, was more fun. Then we went to lunch with some friends and the kids got to play arcade games. Then we drove to someone's house for science lab and then we went to choir practice and then we came home and had dinner. Now, I may not spend every day in my jammies lounging around but I do enjoy the fact that I don't have to leave my house by 7 a.m. on a regular basis. Today, however, was just craziness. It was totally like when I used to take my entire class of 27 first graders on a field trip. Except it was only my own four kids!! It was fun and the kids enjoyed themselves but I do not plan on driving anywhere tomorrow.

Sadie Walks!

Here she is! She's probably already out the door as I speak. Hey, where are my car keys!?!?!

motoMONDAY

Laney rides the XR50! Today was her second day on the bike, but her first day unassisted, and first day on the dirt! And she did an outstanding job -- shifting out of neutral, working the throttle, getting her feet up on the pegs, and using that engine kill switch when she tipped over in the sand. She didn't mind the soft landings. Mya happily shouted reassuring wishes, "watch out for snakes!!" Laney was all tired & sweaty when she was done--telltale signs of a good ride.

More "Development" (now and recently)

As you can see, there's always something going on around here... from Gib getting a first hack at 2-wheeled training; Chip & Sadie's odd but very cute feeding lesson; Sadie learning to walk (or is it learning to push a shopping cart?); Gib doing tumbling (that ends with a spirited 'discussion' with sister Sadie); and Mike-On-Bike! Mark it down, Oct 7 '07 is the day Mike and Laney both first rode a Honda XR50!! We'll get you some Laney footage once she completes here initial ground-school training! :) Mike's probably going to get this model bike for his new commute. We may buy this XR50 we're borrowing...if only to further entice Vee to return to the west coast! :)

Child Development

So much child development to catalog here... Thanks to the tutelage of Chip, Mike, Beck and the rest of the gang (and our DVD player), our kids can now shoot giant nerf rocket launchers with pinpoint accuracy; Sadie is demanding to spoon-feed herself; Baseball skills are being honed; and big little-cousin Andy is teaching them to live with intensity!

Quote of the day: [Gib walks out the backdoor with helmet, baseball, batting gloves, and hands Uncle Mike a mitt and says] "Here, it's called 'baseball.'"