Ho! Ho! Ho-bbit.

Santa Elrond

I recently started reading The Hobbit with the boys and tonight I read the part where Bilbo and the dwarves arrive at the valley of Rivendell and meet the elves. Grant asked, "What are elves?" I told him they are a type of people but they're not real. Cole was quick to point out, "But Santa's elves are real."

I stand corrected. This is certainly not the season to cast doubts at the jolly old elf and his elvish assistants.

Principia Gastropoda

Cole had his own entry in our story writing exercise. He opted for the more traditional paper-based writing material but kept with the mollusc-based theme.

Here is the transcription:

Once there was a slug. His name was "Slimee" and he was going to school but he found some sand and he started to play with it but he was late for school. The end.

Pulitzer Aspirations

Grant has produced another literary tour de force and he's experimenting with different, more durable, writing media. He brings a whole new meaning to "board book".

Here's a transcription:

Once there was a slug named "Dooglee". He was going home but he was getting poked.
And that was because he ate a porcupine but he did not know it was a porcupine so he spit out the porcupine. The end.

The Big 4 (and 40)

This was a big year for both Bryn and Mom.  She turned 4 (which was HUGE in her eyes) and I turned 40 - exactly one week from each other.  We each got to have a date with dad, although one of us dressed herself to the nines and even brought her purse.  I'm not even sure if I have a purse.  Well, that is one happy little girl, and one really cool dad.

Just in Time for the Holidays...

Missing: Two Front Teeth

I recommend printing this picture and putting it beside your bed as a way to avoid having good dreams.

What a Crock...

... Pot Box!
It's hard to say whether the box or the camera is what causes the funny faces.

The Grantwick Papers

Stake conference today. Sue was in the choir so I was a lone dad wrangling three bored offspring. In an attempt to distract them I suggested that Grant and Cole write a story. This is what Grant produced:

Here is a line by line translation:

Once there was a
slug that was very
naughty because he was
walking (picture of the slug, including feet) and
he found a cactus.
He did not want to go
near it but his sisters lived
in the cactus so he was climbing
up the cactus but the cactus
was poking him too much.
So he decided to go down his secret
door but it was locked so he dug a hole
inside the cactus but his sisters
were so mad that they kicked him
out.
The end.

Naturally this required a second chapter which he wrote after we got home.

So he had to find a new
home.

Nice resolution. Can anyone say "Pulitzer"?

Time Machine

The kids were all snuggled in Grant's bed at bedtime while waiting for a story.

I was reminded of a similar photo taken nearly 4 years ago.

Rah Rah Ree, Kick 'Em in the Knee

We have successfully navigated another season of soccer.

Grant was very happy to add another trophy and team photo to his collection.

OCD Warning!

Grant: I don't want to get bumps like this (points to a picture of warts) so I'm washing my hands a lot. Sometimes I almost wash them three times in a day.

Grant - Journal Entry

This entry is undated but is estimated to have been written in late spring of this year.

Translation of the left hand page:
Grant I
mumble.

Transcription of the right hand page:
I froo a plant in u
bd gis undrpants.
It groo tu bee a big
sunflawr and
it wus sticeeing
awt uv his undrp
ants.

Translation of the right hand page:
I threw a plant in a
bad guy's underpants.
It grew to be a big
sunflower and
it was sticking
out of his underpants.

It is unclear who the uni-browed, sandal wearing man on the left is.  The lack of a sunflower sticking out of his underpants would seem to preclude his being the bad from the story on the right.  However, it is possible that this portrait was from happier days before his bad guy ways took over and resulted in the agricultural assault described.

Play Ball

Soccer season! These games are funny. We really like observing the boys, and they're entertaining wherever they are, not just on the field. Love our little soccer players!

 Bryn runs a few laps during each game, too.

A Teacher At Last

I finally got a good music stand.  As soon as Grant saw it, he said, "now I can teach Brynnie violin lessons!"  I had no idea that a missing stand was all that was getting in the way of  Grant's teaching career!  That afternoon, Bryn fell asleep and Grant was crushed that the lesson would have to be delayed.  But early the next morning, he was ready for her! (He had some old visuals from earlier lessons, a pencil, and some stickers as rewards.)

Loving all the attention, Bryn jumped on board (thankfully!)  The first exercise was he would tell her which string note to play (E, A, D, or G) and if she got it right, an animal would advance to the picnic.  She was focused.  So was he.  Seriously.....it's true.  (We had to delay Bryn's real violin lessons because she was incapable of concentrating for more than 3 seconds continuously.)

Here's how it went down:

 The animals all got to the picnic, and it was a party for sure.  (He came up with this all on his own.)

 Then time for note reading, or - I mean writing.  Grant drew the first note (G, as you can see if you enlarge the picture, you'll see two ledger lines.)  Bryn had to draw at least 6-7 more of them, and he did D, A, and E after that, all of which she copied several times.

I'm still trying to process this, and figure out how to put this model in place with everything we do.  It was instructive, to say the least.

Paddling Puget Sound

Around Aug. 11, Brian (Evan's brother) and two of his kids - Shauntel and Sheridan all drove up from Gilbert, AZ to enjoy some cool northwest weather.

We headed up to Hood Canal (where my mom grew up, part of Puget Sound, WA) and caught hundreds of little crabbies,

and hundreds more...

and there were all different kinds, and we just couldn't get enough of those little guys.

And, we finally figured out a way to keep Bryn contained in the tent.  She never kicked us once, so we may have to bring this kayak on all our trips, whether there's water or not.

The kids LOVED their older cousins - Sheridan and Shauntel.  They are SO cool, we all agree, and wish they lived a lot closer.

The kids kayaked all over, and the water was crystal clear.  We could look down 10 feet and see star fish and stuff.  Very cool, and actually not that cool to swim in.  It was almost warm - for the northwest.

Evan's sister, Laura (with new baby Avery - thanks for havin' another cute baby, Laura!) and Evan's brother, Brian.

Grant and Cole with cousins...

And Bryn wading around.

Making smores

Bryn and me cruisin' around.

Grant got into the kayaking more than anyone - it was his kind of sport!

Cole and Shauntel.

Thanks for a great trip, family!  It only took me 6 weeks to get this posted! Seriously, that's really good for me, these days.