My family, fully embracing how much of geek their husband and father is, bought me the brand new Star Wars videogame "The Force Unleashed" for my birthday.
I apologize if I don't answer the phone, or respond to emails, or.. you know.. bathe for the next few days.
But in honor of their awesome gift-giving skillz and keeping with the general theme - here's the next track from the Kahl Brother's Greatest Hits: My Lightsaber.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Hot Outta the Studio (aka the guest room)
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The one-and-only Kahl Brothers, singing their smash break-out blues single...
"Grocery Store Blues".
We had a great time and it was super easy (thanks GarageBand!)... so there are likely more where this came from. We've already got a song about a lightsaber in the works, and I'm thinking it might be a good way to wrap-up the boys' research projects - so be on the lookout for "Homeschoolhouse Rock".
The one-and-only Kahl Brothers, singing their smash break-out blues single...
"Grocery Store Blues".
We had a great time and it was super easy (thanks GarageBand!)... so there are likely more where this came from. We've already got a song about a lightsaber in the works, and I'm thinking it might be a good way to wrap-up the boys' research projects - so be on the lookout for "Homeschoolhouse Rock".
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Summer Vacation
Thursday August 7th the boys and I along with my friend Colleen and her 3 kids headed north. That makes 7 in a 2001 Honda mini van. There was not one moment of silence. We drove straight to Seattle and arrived at Colleen's friend Elizabeth's house at around 11:00 pm. Long drive. We stayed at Elizabeth's for a couple of days and the went to North Bend, Washington and stayed with some other friends for a few days. While in Washington we ate all sorts of food, went to a kids Cabaret show (it was hilarious), played at various parks, went to the Henry art museum, went swimming at Rattle snake Lake (there are no rattle snakes), and played in some strange swings our friends built. I also went to two knitting shops and 1 weaving shop.
On Wednesday the 13th we traveled south to Portland. This is Colleen's and the kids home town.We stayed at her grandmother's house. While there we played at the creek, fed the chickens and turkeys, read, and relaxed. Oh yes two knitting stores and a button store.
On Saturday we packed up and headed to Lincoln City beach. We stayed in a rental Colleen had found which had a hot tub. Our weather was not quite what we were hoping for. It was windy and rainy reaching a high of about 62 each day. The kids spent a lot of time in the hot tub. I spent a lot of time knitting. Our last day there was Friday and it finally cleared up and was a beautiful sunny day. We all stayed down at the beach most of the day. The kids even played in the freezing water. Mine especially didn't seem to care how cold it was. Oh! Colleen went to one knitting store, but I stayed at the house. Saturday we headed south very early and arrived home in time for dinner with the dads. It is good to be home. We really missed Andy.
Colleen, Sanjay and the kids are still boarding with us, but it looks like their house will be somewhat livable in the next couple of weeks. So we will have the place to our selves again. Boy scouts starts up in September. Gabe will be a tiger and Caleb will be a bear and Andy will be leading. I meet with our ES tomorrow for the charter home school. Not sure how that is going to go. I have tons of questions. I am close to having our fall trip plans finalized. Caleb, Gabe, and I will leave here on Monday September 29th. We will be to Nana and Papa Bob by October 2nd. We will be to Mamaw and Papaw by October 16th. We will be to the folks in Tallahassee on October 30th. Andy will fly in around the 5th of Novemeber. We will then all four head west on November 30th.
On Wednesday the 13th we traveled south to Portland. This is Colleen's and the kids home town.We stayed at her grandmother's house. While there we played at the creek, fed the chickens and turkeys, read, and relaxed. Oh yes two knitting stores and a button store.
On Saturday we packed up and headed to Lincoln City beach. We stayed in a rental Colleen had found which had a hot tub. Our weather was not quite what we were hoping for. It was windy and rainy reaching a high of about 62 each day. The kids spent a lot of time in the hot tub. I spent a lot of time knitting. Our last day there was Friday and it finally cleared up and was a beautiful sunny day. We all stayed down at the beach most of the day. The kids even played in the freezing water. Mine especially didn't seem to care how cold it was. Oh! Colleen went to one knitting store, but I stayed at the house. Saturday we headed south very early and arrived home in time for dinner with the dads. It is good to be home. We really missed Andy.
Colleen, Sanjay and the kids are still boarding with us, but it looks like their house will be somewhat livable in the next couple of weeks. So we will have the place to our selves again. Boy scouts starts up in September. Gabe will be a tiger and Caleb will be a bear and Andy will be leading. I meet with our ES tomorrow for the charter home school. Not sure how that is going to go. I have tons of questions. I am close to having our fall trip plans finalized. Caleb, Gabe, and I will leave here on Monday September 29th. We will be to Nana and Papa Bob by October 2nd. We will be to Mamaw and Papaw by October 16th. We will be to the folks in Tallahassee on October 30th. Andy will fly in around the 5th of Novemeber. We will then all four head west on November 30th.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Cute kids
Gabe loves to make kitchen master pieces. This one is Doritos and strawberries.
Caleb got this pirate set for his birthday. Both boys absolutely love it.
Caleb's den
More changes
So a lot has happened in the last month. Andy has taken a position at Yahoo in Sunnyvale, Ca. We have moved into a house in Cupertino, Ca. Sort of. Caleb graduated from Wolf in Cub Scouts and has moved on to Bear. Which Andy is now leader. Gabe will be starting Tiger. I am enrolling the boys in a charter home school come fall. They will still be at home with me, but we will check in with an ES who will keep our records for us and administer Ca state tests. We will also be able to use education tax money to pay for supplies and classes. Both boys will be getting $1800 a year and we can use it how ever we please off of the school vendor list. I am very excited. We have all liked the boys being home. They have really grown this year and are excited about planning what we want to learn as we move along.
Soooo the sort of comment above about the house. We ended up moving early because we found a place that suited us. We have been going back and forth between the new house and the apartment for two weeks. The house needs painting and we want to work on the yard and stuff, so we are there mostly. Our moving company said they could have everything from Tallahassee here by Tuesday the 17th. So we wait. They actually called Sunday and said they would be here Monday afternoon and then did not show. They were confused on where in California we were they said. So we wait. Jose, the driver says maybe Saturday. All of us will be very happy to have our things here and to get settled.
What does the summer hold?
1. Andy and I are going to Philadelphia the first week in July for our friends wedding celebration and will stay for Independence day. They boys will stay in their new house and our friends the Gadkari's will stay with them.
2. Painting and decorating.
3. Trying to get a garden started.
4. Pool parties, park days, hikes.
5. Camping at Mount Diablo in August.
6. Saving money for my trip east in the fall.
7. The boys and I are going to Portland and Seattle in August and spending a week at the beach in Oregon with the Gadkari's.
I guess that is about it. We are really having a good time out here. We love you all.
And now what I am sure is the real reason you check this thing. The pictures!
There will not be as many as intended, my other camera is at the apartment. Some of the boys and many of the new house. Enjoy
Soooo the sort of comment above about the house. We ended up moving early because we found a place that suited us. We have been going back and forth between the new house and the apartment for two weeks. The house needs painting and we want to work on the yard and stuff, so we are there mostly. Our moving company said they could have everything from Tallahassee here by Tuesday the 17th. So we wait. They actually called Sunday and said they would be here Monday afternoon and then did not show. They were confused on where in California we were they said. So we wait. Jose, the driver says maybe Saturday. All of us will be very happy to have our things here and to get settled.
What does the summer hold?
1. Andy and I are going to Philadelphia the first week in July for our friends wedding celebration and will stay for Independence day. They boys will stay in their new house and our friends the Gadkari's will stay with them.
2. Painting and decorating.
3. Trying to get a garden started.
4. Pool parties, park days, hikes.
5. Camping at Mount Diablo in August.
6. Saving money for my trip east in the fall.
7. The boys and I are going to Portland and Seattle in August and spending a week at the beach in Oregon with the Gadkari's.
I guess that is about it. We are really having a good time out here. We love you all.
And now what I am sure is the real reason you check this thing. The pictures!
There will not be as many as intended, my other camera is at the apartment. Some of the boys and many of the new house. Enjoy
Pictures
Front of house
To the right down the street
To the left down the street
The dinning room
Master bathroom
The view out of my bedroom door
The boys room partly repainted
Caleb in his room staying out of my way
The back yard dying of thirst
The dinning room again (not sure why I did that) and the door on the right is the front door
The living room. That is the back yard and patio out the window
The kitchen
The guest / boys bathroom
So calm (HA HA HA)
True
So many freckles
Caleb is the one in the back with the extra long hair
Friday, April 25, 2008
Greetings
So we have good and bad news. Yahoo has offered Andy a reasonable salary package to stay on here in Sunnyvale, Ca. We got together with the boys and made a pretty long pros and cons list and have decided to take the offer. Andy will have a new title, but will stay on with the department he is working with now. I will try and get him to post soon with more on that. As for the boys and I, we are very happy. We miss everyone very much, but we love California. We are going to continue homeschooling for a few years and therefore have a flexible schedule. We are still planning on making a trip south east in the fall. So we will see just about everyone before the year is out. As always we would love visitors. California is beautiful and there are lots of places we would like to share. Other news.... I can't think of anything right now. The boys seem to grow more everyday and are really starting to refine some of their interests. Caleb is very in to music, swimming, reading, and most of all socializing. Gabe is becoming very into nature. He has a large collection of rocks, seeds, sticks, etc.. He likes to try new things physically. Right now his favorites are walking on stilts, skateboarding, snorkeling and scootering.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Long Overdue Update
Aren't they all?
Let's see -
1) Several weeks ago, the boys and I took a trip with Caleb's cub scout den to gold country. One of the families has a house in the mountains, not far from Deer Ridge ski resort. So the boys spent a day learning to snowboard, and I spent the day wishing I'd remembered the camera.
Everybody did fantastic, I was extremely impressed with the progress that all the kids made during the course of their lesson. Gabe, though, acted as if he'd been snowboarding all of his life. His instructor, upon realizing that Gabe was only 5 and had never snowboarded before, asked me "Did your wife snowboard while she was pregnant or something?"
Also of note is that all the boys went with only the dads, and no one returned dead, in a cast, emotionally scarred, or in any way corrupted... despite the lack of motherly influence.
2) Caleb's birthday was fantastic. We pretty much stretched out celebration for a week or so. On the actual actual day (yesterday, that is) we started by joining Savethebay.org at the Palo Alto Baylands. We planted native plants and rid the area of some non-native plants. It was hard work but the kids (this was another Cub scout endeavor) did great and most said they'd like to come back. We left there and drove up to San Francisco, where we watched the Giants blow a 5 run lead (after 7.1 innings of no-hit ball from Matt Cain) to lose to the Cardinals. It was a fantastic game despite the loss... extra innings, bloop hits, lots of pitchers pitching differently, really fun to watch. AT&T Park is gorgeous, can't wait to go see more games there, even if it means cheering for the Giants.
I was, yet again, without my camera.
3) Caleb was supposed to graduate from the Wolf path of Cub Scouts (there's a theme here, huh?) last Tuesday but there was some miscommunication and that'll wait until next month's meeting. If you ask me, certain adults who have agreed to oversee Cub Scouts machinations may need to earn their organization badge. But that's just if you ask me.
I had the camera for that one, but nothing terribly interesting happened. I'll be sure and take it for the real event.
We do have some pictures, and I'll pull them off the camera and post them soon. And by soon I mean the normal definition of "soon", not the definition evident by our posting record.
/ak
Let's see -
1) Several weeks ago, the boys and I took a trip with Caleb's cub scout den to gold country. One of the families has a house in the mountains, not far from Deer Ridge ski resort. So the boys spent a day learning to snowboard, and I spent the day wishing I'd remembered the camera.
Everybody did fantastic, I was extremely impressed with the progress that all the kids made during the course of their lesson. Gabe, though, acted as if he'd been snowboarding all of his life. His instructor, upon realizing that Gabe was only 5 and had never snowboarded before, asked me "Did your wife snowboard while she was pregnant or something?"
Also of note is that all the boys went with only the dads, and no one returned dead, in a cast, emotionally scarred, or in any way corrupted... despite the lack of motherly influence.
2) Caleb's birthday was fantastic. We pretty much stretched out celebration for a week or so. On the actual actual day (yesterday, that is) we started by joining Savethebay.org at the Palo Alto Baylands. We planted native plants and rid the area of some non-native plants. It was hard work but the kids (this was another Cub scout endeavor) did great and most said they'd like to come back. We left there and drove up to San Francisco, where we watched the Giants blow a 5 run lead (after 7.1 innings of no-hit ball from Matt Cain) to lose to the Cardinals. It was a fantastic game despite the loss... extra innings, bloop hits, lots of pitchers pitching differently, really fun to watch. AT&T Park is gorgeous, can't wait to go see more games there, even if it means cheering for the Giants.
I was, yet again, without my camera.
3) Caleb was supposed to graduate from the Wolf path of Cub Scouts (there's a theme here, huh?) last Tuesday but there was some miscommunication and that'll wait until next month's meeting. If you ask me, certain adults who have agreed to oversee Cub Scouts machinations may need to earn their organization badge. But that's just if you ask me.
I had the camera for that one, but nothing terribly interesting happened. I'll be sure and take it for the real event.
We do have some pictures, and I'll pull them off the camera and post them soon. And by soon I mean the normal definition of "soon", not the definition evident by our posting record.
/ak
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
A day at the park
So things are good here. I just thought I would ive you a story.
Gabe gave me a great scare yesterday. He and two other boys (both about eight and bigger) tried to do the zip line at the park as a group. From what I hear it was going well until Caleb came running, tripped and knocked into them. At this time they all tumbled about 6 feet. Still not to bad, right. Here is the problem Gabe landed at the bottom on his back with the two bigger boys on top of his chest and stomach. Now normally Gabe would hide out for about 5 - 10 min behind a tree or something so as not to let anyone see him hurt, then jump up and be right back at it. Not the case and this is what worried his mother. I had to pick him up, he wrapped his arms and legs around me and did not move or speak but a mumble or two for almost and hour. His head was turned toward my friend Annette and she kept a close eye on him. After that he said he was O.K. and went off to play. I started to relax a little and just keep an eye on him. Then I noticed he was playing alone, running slowly, and putting his arm across his chest every so often. My friends said to let it go for a little longer and just watch him. Over the next couple of hours he returned to normal and seems completely fine today.
That kid is going to age me! He has become quite a daredevil. Caleb is going to give lines all over my face caused by his DRAMA and Gabe is going to turn me gray with is flying off of things.
Gabe gave me a great scare yesterday. He and two other boys (both about eight and bigger) tried to do the zip line at the park as a group. From what I hear it was going well until Caleb came running, tripped and knocked into them. At this time they all tumbled about 6 feet. Still not to bad, right. Here is the problem Gabe landed at the bottom on his back with the two bigger boys on top of his chest and stomach. Now normally Gabe would hide out for about 5 - 10 min behind a tree or something so as not to let anyone see him hurt, then jump up and be right back at it. Not the case and this is what worried his mother. I had to pick him up, he wrapped his arms and legs around me and did not move or speak but a mumble or two for almost and hour. His head was turned toward my friend Annette and she kept a close eye on him. After that he said he was O.K. and went off to play. I started to relax a little and just keep an eye on him. Then I noticed he was playing alone, running slowly, and putting his arm across his chest every so often. My friends said to let it go for a little longer and just watch him. Over the next couple of hours he returned to normal and seems completely fine today.
That kid is going to age me! He has become quite a daredevil. Caleb is going to give lines all over my face caused by his DRAMA and Gabe is going to turn me gray with is flying off of things.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Update: Still No Earthquake...
... but some decent pictures!
Fun with the Gadkaris (Arjun, Lilly, and Julian):
Too cool for school, so we're going to the zoo:
At the Sonora Celtic Faire:
waiting on the jousting (our knight lost, despite our hearty boos at his competition)
Caleb's den was the color guard for the evening
Fun with the Gadkaris (Arjun, Lilly, and Julian):
kickin' it old school, Sesame Street style
Too cool for school, so we're going to the zoo:
Lesson of the day:
this tiger will not eat you if you don't shoot slingshots at it
this tiger will not eat you if you don't shoot slingshots at it
At the Sonora Celtic Faire:
Dad w/ Myth and Magic (he survived)
Caleb and Gabe learning to smith from the second coolest blacksmith at the faire
waiting on the jousting (our knight lost, despite our hearty boos at his competition)
Pack 426 monthly meeting:
Caleb's den was the color guard for the evening
One last shot for the road:
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