Good Presents of Great Joy!

Hi! I'm Bryn and this is what we did today.

There were lots of presents under the Christmas Tree. Grant couldn't wait to start opening them.

I, of course, was a model of patience and demureness.

I was pretty excited about my Nemo Pez!

Cole called this his "cremoter" and crashed it into things until the battery died.

Uh oh! Cole cut himself with scissors but we all got band-aids in our stockings so we were prepared.

I finally got a loving family. I like to put the baby to bed.

In the afternoon we went over to Mona and Papa Z's house for Christmas dinner.

Papa Z made something called "cheesecake" but there wasn't any cheese or any cake in it. I ate it anyway.

Then Papa Z asked Hannah to pull a sliver out of his thumb. He was pretty brave and hardly cried at all.

Of course we watched some football.

Hannah let me send some texts.

There was a brief incident where my pants got lost. That seems to happen a lot.

And finally, I helped Papa Z put on his hat.

Well, he's a little less scary than the real Santa Claus.

Now that's what I call a full day. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve Jam(mies)

If it's Christmas Eve, it must be time for new pajamas.

A brief look of disappointment crossed Grant's face when he saw that the present contained clothing but, as Sue pointed out later, "Get used to it." Regardless, they posed for a photo before heading off to bed to seek visions of sugarplums.

Coleopteran Decor

After Cole squished a bug, Grant admonished, "Cole, it is not nice to kill Heavenly Father's decorations!"

Falling Snow (and Toddlers)

Snow in November...in Vancouver? I'm feeling especially grateful this year!

Tres Chic!

This girl is a one woman fashion statement.

Well, she's more of a question than a statement. And yes, she did dress herself.

Uncivil Engineering

The boys have always been good at destroying towers of blocks. Lately they've become especially good at building them.

Now it's Bryn's turn to destroy towers.

Billy Goats Beware

Some bridge trolls you just want to hug.

Practice Makes Perfect

In case any of you wondered how Cole achieved such a proficiency in violin, I think it has something to do with his stance while practicing.

Concertmasters in Training

We finally got the video of the boys' violin playing compiled with footage from their first lessons through their first recital.

So, have we heard enough Twinkle Little Star around our house to last us for many years? Yes. Yes we have.

A Halloween Fairy Tale

Little Red Riding Hood was on her way to Grandma's house.

Suddenly the horrible Big Bad Wolf jumped out!

The Big Bad Wolf's twin brother came running as well.

Hmmm, he doesn't seem so fierce in this picture.

But don't believe that smile. Big bad wolves are scary, as this picture taken with a couple of the Zabriskie ladies will affirm!

They cornered her on the doorstep...

But she somehow tricked them into bobbing for apples.

Meanwhile, Little Red made a break for it.

"I'm coming Grandma! And bringing candy."

G.O.U.S. (Gourds Of Unusual Size)

Just in time for Halloween, we finally carved our award winning pumpkins. Here are the blank canvasses.

The top comes off and Cole pretends to be Atlas. The shell is about 5 inches thick at the top. A little thinner around the sides. The top weighs about 8½ pounds.

Let the scooping begin.

Proof that this GOUS is larger than my head.

Larger than Grant's head, too.

The boys suggested that we make the larger pumpkin look sad and the smaller one look scary. You be the judge.

Not the most artistic Jack O'Lantern I've ever done but by far the largest. Now if we can just keep old Peter Peter Pumpkineater away from our doorstep.

Keep on Truckin'

Words fail me. Fortunately, this picture is worth at least a thousand.

Things I Never Did Before I Was A Dad

I had originally posted this on my Thoughts From a Dad blog but Sue thought it belonged here also.

• I never felt like the hero of the world when I came home from work and a toddler squealed, "Daddy!"
• I never felt like the dregs of humanity after making that same toddler cry an hour later because I insisted that she put her diaper back on.
• I never struggled to maintain a straight face as a toddler's pouty lip pokes out when I later insist she stop taking her jammies off.
• I never had a boy call me and excitedly exclaim, "Dad, I made soup!"
• I never listened to the sounds of the night and wondered how I'd protect my family if one of those sounds came from an intruder.
• I never felt the sort of love that comes when my small child gives me a hug and says, "I ub you".
• I never found pacifiers, plastic animals or fruit snacks in the cushions of my couch, car or bed.
• I never bought so many band-aids, most of which will never cover a legitimate wound.
• I never knew how much worry a parent feels for children, even when they're young and healthy.
• I never removed slivers from so many little hands and feet.
• I never understood why children behave poorly in public. I still don't understand it but I'm now pretty sure it's not entirely the parents fault.
• I never wondered how to get Silly Putty out of carpet it had oozed into.
• I never held a sick child in my arms and prayed for them to feel better so we can both get some sleep.
• I never sent a child to his room.
• I never knew how a parent knows what to say to a child who has been sent to his room.
• I never knew how much of parenting is just making it up as you go along.
• I never held a slimy, sticky, gory, precious, newly born infant.
• I never knew how much debris a child leaves behind when merely passing through a room, yard, or vehicle.
• I never sat through a music recital with my heart bursting with pride and joy.
• I never had "There was an old woman who swallowed a fly" going through my head during a meeting at work.
• I never pinched so many noses, tummies and toes.
• I never read so many books out loud.
• I never caught so many crawdads, frogs, tadpoles and slugs.
• I never caught so many colds.
• I never shared so many bites of so many sandwiches.
• I never knew that dads like onions and spicy things so they don't have to share everything on their plate.
• I never wondered about the most appropriate response to the most inappropriate questions.
• I never knew how much time it takes to be a parent.
• I never felt such empathy for my own parents.
• I never gave and received so much love.

The Great Pumpkin

About six months ago, while eating buffalo wings with some friends, one of them challenged the rest of us to a pumpkin growing contest. Not one to take spicy food induced contests lightly we planted our seeds. We went for quality, rather than quantity and produced only four pumpkins. This is the smallest at 8 pounds.
This tall specimen tipped the scales at 52 pounds for a solid second place.

And by far the largest, at 94 pounds, the champion gourd.

Naturally we posed for photos with the winners. Here you can see the third place pumpkin which weighed 25 pounds.

Bryn sat for an especially beautiful pose with a cucumber.

Then she ran into the corn to hide.

Now, who's going to carry this beast out to the porch?

I can hardly wait to start carving...

Hired Hands

So long, farewell to the old cedar shake roof, and all the moss that was growing beautifully over the top of it! We finally got a new roof. And although we did not demand a discount for all the labor Grant put into the job, his contribution was not small.
For literally hours, Grant kept filling his little wheelbarrow with the shake, and took it around front, unloading it all with his bare hands....
always careful to lift it up and empty every tiny piece into the contractor's trailer. (I at least made him wear his helmet to avoid falling debris on his noggin.)
The guys doing our roof were both impressed and perplexed at his dedication. So were we.
While posting this, I said, "hey Grant - come look at the pictures of you working!" He said, "Mom, I really did like doing that." Cool kid. I don't think he'll be on the parental "dole" for long with that attitude.