I like not having gutters as they clog easy and route water away from the plants in the front garden. One side effect of taking them off: icicles.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Final Tally
It never came down fast, but it did come down pretty much constantly from Saturday (Christmas) morning until Monday around noon, leaving us with about 8½” by the time it was through: a couple inches of heavy, wet stuff covered by half a foot of fine, dry powder.
Snow-Covered Lane, Boxing Day
On Boxing Day, Fred, Arthur, and I ventured out on a walk around the neighborhood. This is across the street from our house.
Cam at the Christmas Dinner Table
Why does he look like a teenager to me in this photo? Perhaps it’s the grunge-reminiscent plaid shirt, or the seemingly alternative hairstyle caused by the paper hat, or the faraway angst-ridden look in his eyes. Mostly, though, I think it’s from having seen him with Cam and Elena and Libby — he’ll always be the oldest cousin on both sides, the eldest of his generation.
Cam, Ian, & Christmas Dinner
Gramma’s dining room table was more than up to the task again this year — Joanna was just happy to find a tablecloth large enough for it!
Joanna as Mrs. Claus
Nana, Pappy, Auntie Karen, Uncle Arthur, Elena, and Libby came over late in the morning with more presents, just as the snow really started to come down. It continued through Monday morning (about 48 hours, almost non-stop), making the roads too treacherous to venture out on, so we spent all of Christmas Day and Boxing Day (and the nights following) together. Aside from a touch of cabin fever, all went pretty well — no loss off power and heat, as happened during last year’s blizzard (see December 2009), and plenty of food and drink for all.
Lego Train!
Daddy was more than happy to help Ian put this together, though it took two hours and several Ibuprofen tablets for his back. (Warning: Do not click to see the full-size version of this photo if you are at all snot-phobic.)
Joanna Opens her Favorite Prezzie of the Year
We promised to not buy anything too expensive for one another this year. Fortunately, all phones were free at U. S. Cellular the week before Christmas, including the HTC Desire. She spent much of the rest of Christmas Day (and the days since!) playing with it and smiling — guess I chose well.
Ian’s Accordion
Apparently Mom and Dad were on Santa’s “Naughty” list this year. If this is what we get, we promise to be nicer next year! (And we’ll have a year of beginner polka music to remind us of this promise.)
Santa Presents, Christmas Morning
The boys are now old enough that, when Santa brings presents to share, they cooperate on opening them and actually share them. How civil.
Blowing Ian’s Nose
I’m not really sure why Joanna thought this an appropriate subject for a photograph, but wiping the nose of Ian the Snotgurgle became all too common an activity for the adults over the Christmas weekend.
Three Cousins
Elena, Cam, and Ian around the Thomas the Tank Engine “computer,” Christmas Eve afternoon at Nana & Pappy’s.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Naptime
Apparently the Jacksonville-Indianapolis game wasn’t particularly exciting. I believe Cam added the Diego blanket while I was asleep.
Movie Night
So that the adults of the house can occasionally enjoy a meal that doesn’t include preformed gobs of breaded chicken, Saturday nights have become movie nights for the boys — a cartoon, a frozen meal each, and, this night anyway, a tent to sequester them and keep them out of trouble while Mom and Dad enjoy Szechuan beef and noodles.
Snow Day(s)!
Grammie and Grampa had planned to leave on Monday, but the snow and cold came in over the weekend, so they stayed a couple of extra days and, as Cam’s and Ian’s schools were closed, got to play out back a bit.
Racing with Grampa
Aside from opening presents and playing with Luci, Cam was most enthusiastic about challenging Grampa to a game of Mario Karts on the Wii. Unfortunately, Grampa’s driving skills weren’t as refined as Cam might have liked (scary, considering he driving the world’s largest pickup and pulling a giant fifth-wheel camper around). After two races, in which he was unceremoniously decimated by his eldest grandson, Grampa gave up.
Early Christmas Presents
Grammie and Grampa arrived with Luci a couple weeks after Thanksgiving on their annual jaunt through the Southland. The boys were so frenetic in opening presents that this was the best shot I got in the 38 seconds it took them to tear into seemingly scores of gifts, so heaven help us Christmas morning….
Ian Tops the Tree
After returning from Durham the Sunday after Thanksgiving, we did as we usually do and put up the Christmas tree — well, I put it up (i.e., assembled it and plugged in the lights), and Joanna did pretty much all the rest. Except, that is for the angel/fairy on top, which Ian got to put on this year.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Boys on the Stairs
As we left Durham this morning, Cam set up this shot insisted I take a picture for the blog, saying, “Ian’s on the fifth stair, and I’m on the eighth stair, and he’s five, and I’m eight — get it?”
Primates Communing
Chimp’s thoughts: “What a swell looking red hat!”
Ian’s thoughts: “It must be nice, being a chimpanzee, not having to bathe or pick up toys.”
Cam’s thoughts: “I think that looks like Chimchar, a fire-type Pokémon. I wonder if it can use Flame Wheel?”
Lion Dreaming
It wasn’t a particularly warm day, but the sun was out and the wind was calm, perfect for a nice afternoon nap. I told Cam he looks so content because his belly is full . . . of the last little boy who climbed on the barrier and fell into the enclosure. Cam didn’t climb on any more barriers.
Giraffe Chow?
On Saturday, the ten of us (two Tapps, four Pierces, and four Bakers) went to the NC Zoo in Asheboro, about 90 minutes from Durham, the first visit for the boys, Pappy, and and me since June 2008, when Elena was born. Our first encounter: a giraffe eating lunch. Now what do you suppose is in the bucket?
Chair Spinning
Cam and Elena seemed to bond during this visit over spinning in Auntie Karen/Mommy’s office chair.
Four Cousins
Taken just after Thanksgiving dinner in Durham, when three of them were full of pie and zonked on the first Christmas special of the season (Rudolph, I think), while the fourth was distracted by someone just out of shot. I believe this may have been the last moment during our visit when none of them was upset about something food- or toy-related.
New Chair
This new member of the family — replacing an old piece that had been through the wars (and a couple of re-covering procedures) — arrived last Tuesday. It’s easily large enough for two adults to share, provided they’re not jealous of personal space (a true love seat), and it folds out into a twin bed (perfect for visitors).
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Cam as HP
He’s a bit young yet (8) to be Harry in his first year at Hogwarts (11), but the black hair dye, round glasses, and lightning scar make him look uncannily like a young wizard — he seemed to get a lot of attention while out trick-or-treating.
Harry Potter & Woody
After reading all the Harry Potter books, Cam decided to go as his new favorite fictional character (Pokémon excepted, perhaps). Ian, after seeing Toy Story 3 twice in the theaters, and after watching the first two films umpteen bazillion times, decided to go as Woody. (Last year, you may recall, he went as Buzz Lightyear, so his interests are pretty consistent.)
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Feeding the Cat
For their birthday dinner the boys (and the rest of us) got pizza. And afterwards we learned something interesting: Mickey likes pizza crust.
Shared Birthday Cake
The days of the number-shaped cakes are behind us — arranging to make two such cakes on a work day is just too much — so once again Cam and Ian shared a cake with no objections whatsoever. Ingles again did a fine job, though I’m not sure what the yellow puffy stuff near Lightning McQueen is — smoke from his tires? (Not that anyone seemed to complain about extra frosting, regardless of what it looked like.)
Four Cousins
What I like best about this photo is not Ian’s unadulterated joy in playing with a new toy, or Elena’s befuddled look into the camera lens, or even Libby’s quiet gnawing on her own fingers. It’s Cam’s sense of composure, calmly and responsibly holding his youngest cousin while waiting for his little brother to settle down so the adults can take a picture. “Children,” he thinks, with his Lego Star Wars t-shirt and his Darth Vader watch, “will they ever grow up?”
Ian and Judy
Ian was very happy to show off the sheriff’s badge, cowboy belt, and Woody (from Toy Story) toy his Auntie Judy brought him. Why he’s holding up Cam’s new Garfield is a bit of a mystery, though.
The Holy Grail of Pokémon
Is it just me, or does Cam seem to be holding this game up like some long-lost mystic relic. (Maybe it just the Harry Potter outfit.) One neat feature of the game: It comes with a sort of Poké-pedometer that counts your steps — the more you walk (in real life, not in the game), the more Pokémon you catch “in the wild” and can port back into the video game. A cool add-on or a cynical attempt to increase sales while pretending to care about fighting childhood obesity? You decide.
Opening Presents
This afternoon, Nana and Auntie Judy came over with Auntie Karen, Uncle Arthur, Elena, and Libby to celebrate the boys’ birthday. (Pappy came over later after he got off work.) Here, Cam starts in on a new Garfield book while Ian smiles at a new Lego set.
Birthday Breakfast
Ian seemed to really enjoy the special strawberry muffins that he and Cam got for breakfast this morning.
Eight-Year-Old Wizard
Cam woke up well before Ian on their shared birthday and got to open one present before going to school. He opened a Harry Potter outfit (robe, wand, and glasses) from Grammie and Grampa. We refused to draw the scar on his forehead until he got home from school.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Judy Visits
Judy arrived yesterday afternoon for a two week visit. This afternoon we all got together to visit and to have dinner.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Shopping at the Community Store
After lunch at Howard's, we headed to the Community Store for some last-minute provisions. Ian, tired, found a spot to sit and relax.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)