So there I was, in the spring of 1971, happily coloring in the living room, minding my own business. My mom whisks into the room with an armload of flowers and pussywillow buds to create a flower-arranging masterpiece. Here's what a pussywillow bud looks like:It's about the size of a lima bean but, as you can see, it's covered with a soft, downy fuzz.Now, for some reason which only God knows why, my mother turns from her flower arrangement and says to me "Kevin, don't stick any of these pussywillow buds in your nose!" And with that she whirls away, into another rooms to do, again, only God … [Read more...]
Scawee Vampiwe
January 30, 2009 by 1 Comment
Boo!We bought this school cape for Anna more than a year earlier when we'd taken the then 10-month old Anna with us to London. Anna Lynn loved this little English cape so much. She played Harry Potter in it quite a lot. But most of all, she just had to be a vampire for her third Halloween. Katie was just born that summer (July 0f 2001) and wasn't yet into the Halloween thing. So Anna was trick-or-treating with her older brother and sister. She loved everything about the costume - the white face, the slicked back hair, the cool costume - except for one thing: the vampire teeth. The teeth … [Read more...]
Christmas Plays are Everywhere
January 5, 2009 by Leave a Comment
With as many kids in school programs as we have, it seemed like there was at least two or three plays, choir concerts, or activites to do every week of the Christmas season. The picture above shows Emily in her role in the Christmas play as the narrator of the scene from "The Christmas Story" where the kids do their double-dog dare and tongue on the light pole scene. I'm sorry for the blurry picture, but I forgot how huge the new auditorium is and that I'd have to zoom half a mile to get fairly close up on Emily. She did great!Here's a picture of Dylan and Connor goofin' at the Candlelight … [Read more...]
Now you see it. Now you don’t.
December 15, 2008 by Leave a Comment
So...I grew a beard during the month of November. It all started when I got sick in Germany. Since I was feeling so low for so long, I didn't have any inclination to shave at all for the first couple weeks of November. And once I had the Don Johnson/Miami Vice vibe going full force, it was hard to stop. Of course, Emily and Dylan's constant urging always factors in to these sorts of decisions. So, without a protest from Rachel, I decided to go for the full month without a shave.REDUX 1994Of course, once I did shave, I went back to the goatee that I've worn since the Christmas holidays of 1994. … [Read more...]
Thanksgiving Dinner
December 14, 2008 by Leave a Comment
The dinner was great and the turkey was absolutely perfect. Rachel was disappointed that the skin wasn't golden brown, but it's flavor and juiciness was perfection. We pigged out for a couple hours and then headed out to the back deck to enjoy the new firebowl. Rachel's mom brought lots of delicacies. Perhaps most importantly, she brought the desert.I'm not exactly sure what Katie was trying to do here, but I'm glad her tail end wasn't near the fire at the time. More photos to follow in the Photobucket gallery.-Kev … [Read more...]
Dylan, Sam, and Conner
November 29, 2008 by Leave a Comment
I got to spend some time with Dylan, Conner Miller, and Sam Holley-Kline (my nephew) over the fall. Dylan got to realize a life long dream of actually holding an Elite Powersword from the Halo game series when we went to Gatlinburg over fall break.Sam came down over the Thanksgiving break and we got to spend some quantity and quality time with him. I took Dylan and him out one night for a lil Dave & Buster's action. Of course, Dylan had to spend some time on the DDR machine. Sam was dragged into it to and, humorously, able to beat Dylan's score because he played on Beginner level and … [Read more...]
Fall Festival Fun
November 18, 2008 by Leave a Comment
We've been doing this for 10 years now, since Dylan and Emily were in elementary school. That means we only have 5 more years to go until Ava is done with elementary school. The annual Fall Festival had lots of fun activities for the family.There are a few "must attend" components of any elementary school fall festival. First, there's all the big inflatable moonwalks and bouncy playthings. Next, there's the food booths with burgers and hot dogs. There's the cakewalk and silent auctions. And then there's always the horrible injuries to treat at the MASH tent: The poor critters! How will … [Read more...]
My Dance with Stardom
November 12, 2008 by Leave a Comment
I've told friends from time to time that I had a bit part in big Hollywood movie - Space Camp. It took place in the late summer or early fall of 1985, just after graduation. As an extra, we got paid $35/day plus some really nice catered food.But I got lucky because they had a scene that needed two tall extras. We were needed to conceal a cartload of cables that ran alongside two vending machines. So me and another good looking blond fella who went to Randolph (a private school), got the lucky break. In the scene, the black actor (whose name escapes me) needs change for a coke. He asks if I … [Read more...]
A Birthday to Remember
November 7, 2008 by 1 Comment
Ever have one of those "special" events that turns out to be a lot more special than you wanted? That was the case with my 42nd birthday.The week started off nicely. We initially thought I had to leave for a long business trip on Saturday. So we were all happy to see that I had some extra time and didn't have to leave until Sunday. Rachel and I took the kids down to our church's Fall Festival for a hay ride, pumpkin carving, games, and general merriment. You can see Katie, Kaylee, Anna, and Rachel (standing) pretty clearly at right. Katie, who's closest to the camera, is just getting in her … [Read more...]
