Entries categorized as ‘Da boys’
So, sunny Sierra Vista, Arizona. Well, it is sunny but not very warm. They are having unusually chilly weather for this time of year. Mid-50’s to lower 60’s. We were anticipating upper 60’s lower 70’s.
The weather forced us to play inside in the morning. Terry’s parents stumbled across his old Laser Tag stuff. You know, the targets you wore on your chest that your enemies shot at and would beep at you when you were down? While the targets did not work as well as they once did (good grief did they take a lot of batteries…) the boys really got a kick of the guns which made a kid-appropriate amount of noise. Muskrat was particularly fond of the helmet and wore it whenever we were in the house.
Once the temperature increased enough for the Arizonans/Californians we ventured to a park where we found this antique piece of playground equipment. Ah, the merry-go-round. My boys have heard of these things in books and seen them in cartoons but had never experienced one. Terry told me he played on this one as a kid.
We also found this gem. Again, it is ancient as my husband remembers playing on it too. The boys weren’t quite as impressed with this baby teeter-toter. Sadly it did not go round and round while you teetered on it as everyone in our group felt it should. :)
The boys just love coming to visit their grandparents in Arizona. Except the sunscreen I force them to put on….I think we are wearing SPF 100 in this picture. No vitamin D for us. :)
Categories: Arizona trip · Da boys
Things of interest on our vacation so far….We got to fly on the Disneyland plane. As a person who does not like to fly, I consider this a really good omen. The Disneyland plane would never, ever crash into the Pacific ocean. We left at oh-my-gosh-it-is-early o’clock in the morning as that is what one has to do when they need to travel about 9 hours to get somewhere. Bubba was not feeling so well and kept it together until we were taxiing to the jetway in Tucson when he promptly threw up all the juice, gummy bears, and Clif Bar he consumed. He did it quietly, discreetly, and right into the vomit bag he was clutching for the last 45 minutes so none of the other passengers noticed. Really though, they were too busy giggling about Muskrat who was jumping up and down (seatbelt, what?) and yelling things like, “I won’t have to wear a coat!” and “Look at how warm it is outside!”
Categories: Arizona trip · Da boys
In our household, Star Wars is often spoken of. In fact, Muskrat doesn’t just say star wars….he shouts it when enthusiasm no matter when he says it. ”Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away…..STAR WARS!!!!” as he runs off into the distance wielding his light saber.
It was only fitting that we pack up the kiddos and head over to the museum and soak up the new exhibit that has consumed the museum. Now let me say this right up front….if you are reading this and are planning to go, do not stand in line for the Millenium Falcon. Seriously. Not worth an hour wait. If the line is not long, certainly go but otherwise skip it. There are way cooler things to do.
Like soak up the weaponry of all six of the episodes. Of course, Muskrat is already an expert and can tell you by sight alone whose light saber is whose and can point out the subtle nuances of the various blasters. Ever wonder what kids do with their spare time? I swear it is memorize stuff like this. (Sorry for the slightly blurry photos….no flash allowed.)
We enjoyed all the various Millenium Falcon models available. There were lots used. The exhibit gave plenty of quirky information about the making of the films before they used computer generation. My favorite was the sound effects. All the cool sounds effects from Episodes 4, 5, & 6 (the originals to us older people) are pretty much generic sounds such as LA traffic simply distorted. Cool.
Bubba is just a mild fan of Star Wars. I mean it has guns and ship and stuff but in the end it just a classic story of good versus evil in his mind. Give him Star Trek any day. However, the top floor of the exhibit was all about robots. Here was some material a more cerebral person could sink their teeth into. He loved it. The movie. The activities. Even when he went back this week for a field trip, it was still his favorite part.
Ask me if I am knitting. Kind of. Just a plain pair of stockinette socks with special yarn given to me by my nephew. Now ask me if I am reading. Why, yes, I am. Children are being neglected. Laundry is piling up. Making of meals has become a nuisance that keeps me from my book. ”Whiskey Rebels” by David Liss. Not the most historically accurate piece of historical fiction I have ever read, but it is a good story that has interesting characters and a back drop of my favorite time period in history. Love me some Hamiltonian versus Jeffersonian talk.
Categories: Da boys
I like Valentine’s Day. I know, I know. It is a “holiday” that is practically made up by the greeting card industry designed to force you to buy things you don’t need and put unnecessary pressure on men everywhere. Still. I like it. I like the cheeriness of the red. I like the idea of telling people you love them. This year I forced my kids to make their Valentines.
Bubba was so cute about making them. He picked people out from his list with thoughtfulness and designed his cards with care. It was actually thrilling for me. It is the closest he has ever come to showing enthusiasm for crafty endeavors.
Muskrat was a harder sell. There were Star Wars stickers involved so he finally succumbed. I made him write his name on each one too. Good practice. ;) It took us a week, but he made it through.
Big Valentine’s news for us was the arrival of the ginormous TV. We were, what felt like, the last family on the face of the earth without a flat screen TV. We are not huge TV people. We like movies but don’t watch sports or any TV shows really (yes, I know. we should watch 30 Rock.) However, the breaking point for my husband came when he saw an ad in the paper that used a LCD TV as “the conventional TV” and compared it to the newest TV, a LED one. He said, “Our TV is so old it isn’t even conventional.” So, we sucked it up and bought one. Neither one of us was thrilled but have to admit the picture is good and the streaming of instant movies from Netflix is freaking awesome. And well in the end, Terry is excited to have Apple TV because any purchase that requires the purchase of an Apple product is a good thing in my husband’s book.
Categories: Da boys · Holidays · me
I am a geek. My husband is a major geek, and I say this with a lot of affection. Nothing makes me swoon more than when he goes on and on about his latest use of Google Maps. He is so cute when he gets excited about that kind of stuff. I have always liked geeks. My closest friends in high school were geeky, and GOOD GRIEF were my college friends geeky. But I am not just talking the quintessential geeky things like computers and stuff. I am talking about the certain satisfaction in knowing quite frankly you aren’t cool nor will you ever be and there it is. No pressure and you go on liking what you like no matter what other people might think of it.
So, that said, I am not quite sure why I was so shocked when two years ago while in the grown up section of the library looking at airplane books (because that is where the most realistic ones are) Bubba points and says to me breathlessly, “What is that?” I glance over at a poster of Star Trek. William Shatner’s image looking all stoic and Leonard Nimoy’s image next to Shatner’s just oozing logic, all with the USS Enterprise in the background. It was really quite effective.
I coolly answer, “Oh, that is just Star Trek. It is an old TV show from when Granma and Pa were in high school.”
“Wow. Can I watch it sometime?” he inquires.
“No. It isn’t on anymore.” (which has got to be a lie….we have ever freaking cable channel out there)
“Oh,” was all he said.
Fast forward a couple years to the most recent Star Trek movie. We watched the previews on the computer until I thought I would die. Then came the DVD release and the day that Mom and Dad watched after the kids “went to bed”. I don’t really think he slept. He listened the whole time, I swear. So, Terry decides we need to watch the old shows. He starts hunting them down when it occurs to one of us that the library has them probably….you know, on VHS or something. So we go and find them. Oh no. They are not on VHS. They are on DVD. They are hot ticket items. Apparently, there are a lot of geeks out there and they use the library. :)
Dude. Both boys love these shows. We watch one a day until I have to return the DVD, and there are lots of DVDs. Bubba has declared he will be Spock for Halloween, which makes me a happy mommy on two levels. One, the ears will be freaking hysterical. Two, I won’t have to come up with another lame title change for what basically amounts to ANOTHER damn pilot costume. :)
Categories: Da boys
So, it is January. We’re over the holidays and deep into winter. Now I love winter. I love snow. I love cold. I don’t love entertaining small children in the winter. See, winter activities require balance and agility. Snowboarding. X-Country skiing. Downhill skiing. Ice skating. My poor kids, they have my sense of balance so couple that with their age and our winter sports are limited to something like sledding. And there’s sledding. Oh, wait sledding too. We spend a lot of time sledding.
Now Bubba is getting older – he is SEVEN now – and he realizes we sled a lot. He wants to do Other Things. One of the Other Things he asks to do now is fish. We went fishing a couple of times last summer, and he is hooked (pun totally intended). He was surprisingly shocked to find Little Campbell Lake completely frozen over when we took him by there. He suggests, “Ice fishing?” Phone call to my Dad who is versed in such things and the next thing we know we are outfitted enough to take the kiddos ice fishing. Over Christmas, my Dad took the boys & Terry fishing, and they had a great time. So, when we had a lull one weekend the suggestion was….”Let’s go ice fishing.”
Ice fishing it is. Now let me say up front, I am not a fishing person. Not that I have a problem with it, just I would rather do Other Things when I am outdoors. I am not squeamish in any way shape or form….quite the opposite actually. Still. The boys long to do something else, and I must be an open-minded mommy.
Honestly, it was a pretty good time. See these guys up above? They have very different fishing styles. Bubba is very alert and patient. As soon as he feels the bittiest, bit of a bite, that poor fish is yanked out of the water with force similar to a shuttle launch. Seriously. The poor fish are airborne well above Bubba’s head. Muskrat on the other hand is slower. He waits until he is certain the fish is on the hook. Preferably after the fish has SWALLOWED the damn hook.
Our job? We are fish removal and baiting of hooks minions. It is a thankless job resulting in very, very cold fingers. I think it was about 8 degrees in these pictures. We don’t keep the fish….they are pathetically small but very fun to catch.
One job we don’t get to do. Ice removal from the hole. This a kid only job and high prized. Note to parents: purchase two ice scoops for they are not expensive, and it will keep the peace.
We did drill our own holes in the ice using a hand auger. If one were REALLY into ice fishing, they would have a power auger. We are not REALLY into ice fishing so we use a hand auger because drilling the hole is half the fun. This is one of our holes in progress. The ice is about 18 inches thick. Plenty safe. I was surprised to find how easy it was to drill a hole in the ice. I expected it to take longer. We will definitely do more fishing this winter….
Categories: Alaska · Da boys
When it coms to what my kids eat, I am not a major food nazi. However, I do have standards. Whole wheat bread. Skim milk. Fruits. Veggies. Lucky Charms are evil, you know the drill. So, on Monday while I was making the weekly menu and feeling a little un-creative I offered up, “What do you guys want to eat this week?” Never in my wildest imagination did I expect to hear, “Kip Cuisines!!!” Why we call them this….I do not know. Off to the grocery store to buy Kip Cuisines for Friday. Friday has dawned and at long last I do not have to count down the days to Kip Cuisine Day. No longer do I have to shout at them to get out of the stupid freezer and quit pawing at the boxes. Tonight we dine in processed food heaven for small children. The adults you ask? Oh. We are having Moose’s Tooth…home of the best caesar salad and pizza ever.
Been to
Tom and Jessie’s blog lately? You should. Dude. They are gaining mad skillz. They totally deserve a z at the end of that skills. Scroll through the past few posts and prepare to be amazed.
Categories: Da boys
Categories: Da boys · socks
Yarn: Lamb’s Pride Bulky in Grassy Knoll and Cranberry Swirl
Needles: US 9
So, I have a nephew. He lives in WA and sometimes in the winter he needs a hat. Now my brother is much hipper than I am and wants my nephew to look hip as well. When he requested a hat for his son, the words “snowboarder” and “cool” were used to explain what he was hoping for. This pattern instantly came to mind because it is a cool yet very practical hat. Then I had a vision of Bubba and my nephew wearing identical hats only in their respective favorite colors. Well, I assure you Bubba will not be caught dead in this hat, but I think my nephew will like it because it is pretty cool.
All of Kirsten’s designs are fantastic – she is such a prolific designer. I can’t believe how many she creates. I am doing the mystery sock for Socktober.
I knit the medium size. The hat was a bit long in the green version, so when I knit the cranberry one I knit it a little shorter (1/2 inch) and really like the results. Not in the eyes quite so much.
What is is lately with Muskrat and sticking out his tongue lately? I don’t have a single picture that doesn’t have him sticking out his tongue. Goofy kid.Don’t you love the green hat? It is knit from the new Lamb’s Pride Bulky variegated. It is fantastic. A bit of pooling but nothing too dramatic. I think it is a cheap substitute for Malabrigo, in my humble opinion.
So, what’s up with all the knitting lately you ask? Well, aside from the fact that winter is rapidly approaching and I always crave knitting in the fall we have been sick. Bubba is moving on day two of a fever. If I had to guess, I would say he has the swine flu but that sounds so ominous. Either way, I have to keep him home tomorrow so he is 24 hours without a fever before he returns to school.
Categories: Da boys · Hats · finished object
Pattern: Basic Vest from Ann Budd’s Handy Book of Patterns
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport in Stone and Buddy Blue
Needles: US5
Vest number two complete. I like this one better probably because I love this yarn so much. I think this is such a great yarn – Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport. Cheap in price. High in quality. Tons of great colors. Plus I love knitting things at a smaller gauge – they feel like grown up knits as opposed to knitting something in a worsted weight. Silly, but there is it. The stripes are not as good as the last vest, but he wanted one color stripes.
I was a little more thoughtful about the ribbing at the neck. I left two stockinette stitches at the base of the V and did the decreases on either side of these two stitches. I think it came out cleaner. The only thing I would have done different is kept these two stitches from the knitting below live instead of picking up new stitches.
Let me just say, for both sets of pictures for the vests bribery was involved. There may have been an exchange of a cookie for pleasant picture taking. Somehow I don’t think that these knits will see a lot of action beyond the school photo requirement. Too bad. I think they look so freaking adorable in these vests. Along the lines of little boys when they wear tuxes in weddings and such.
Categories: Da boys · finished object · vests
