World's Lamest Blog Post

Halloween:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2082109&id=1074972765&l=a996632ee3

Kalahari trip:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2082106&id=1074972765&l=da73d8ecaa

Julia in the hospital:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2080744&id=1074972765&l=36cdc43235

Other:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2079347&id=1074972765&l=7136dfb04a

Poetry of a Good Day

Foreground, background, Finn

Blue green juxtaposition
Unplanned but lovely

A curious sound
Looking to the trees for birds
The source: foot-level

Man-made and rusty
Arachnid-made, silky, strong
Both useful structures

Footsteps to unknown
Daily crossing life's bridges
I'm optimistic

August, 2010

We've had a really busy August. We went to Chicago earlier in the month to celebrate Julia's birthday by going to Shrek the Musical.

We stayed with Jason and Tracie while in the city and they took us to Millennium Park. The Bean, as it's called, was really cool. I especially liked the way the Chicago skyline looked in the reflected surface.


While walking around downtown, we stopped and watched a few street performers. One was a man dressed and painted in silver. He stood or sat completely still like a statue but once in awhile would move and do something funny. Mandy told Finn to go sit by the statue and he didn't think twice about it. A bunch of people were watching him do it and he had no idea why he was getting all the attention. When he looked over at Mandy while sitting right next to the guy, the man turned his head to look right at Finn. Finn turned back, saw him, and made a horribly frightened face and ran back to Mandy. I got a picture of him sitting there, but I wasn't ready for the next part. Finn was a little leery of being so brave after that.

After playing outside in puddles, Skippy does her best drowned rat (or maybe fox) impression.

As rough as he sometimes is with her, I'm surprised at how much Skippy still snuggles up to Finn.

Back on Track - Skippy

The second installment of blog posts aimed at getting me back on track.

In the beginning of May we got a puppy. Skippy is a Pomeranian. She started out as a half-pound ball of fur, but she's changed a lot in the last few months. These pictures are all from the furball phase.

But first! If you dare try to harm our pup, you'll have to deal with... Weapon Master Finn!


When we got her, she was barely eight weeks old. Below is Julia holding her in the car when we picked her up. Following that are more pictures from Skippy's first day at home.




Skippy is a good sport about being played with by the kids.

She's also enjoys snuggling.


Even though it's cute, we don't let her sleep on the steps because we're afraid someone won't see her and step on her.

She does this adorable thing where she looks at you and cocks her head really far to one side.

So much for not eating meat!

We found out that Grandma Ruth's Pomeranian, Maggie, is Skippy's half-sister. So Skippy may look like this in a few short years.

We really don't make Finn sit in Skippy's pen, but we might if he used his weapons from the first picture too often.

Back on Track - April

After fighting a month-long battle with a computer virus (on both computers), I got behind on keeping up with pictures. After that, my inactivity in blogland kind of snow balled. A few quick blog posts is my attempt to get back on track.

Finn turned three in April.


Some things go beyond a mutl-generational gap. One of those things is the love of donut holes.

And the willingness to fight for the last one. Joking aside, it's great watching Finn and Great-Grandpa Ronnie interact. From early on, those two have had a great time together.

Peace is helping Finn get his truck.

Julia definitely has an affinity for art.

February, 2010

Family shot, with Finn still recovering from his nap.

For my birthday we broke out the fine dishes and thankfully none actually broke. If you look closely at the cake you might be able to figure out Mandy's clever way of showing my age.

The kids got some special Valentine's Day treats. Finn shows them off while Julia phones to give a thanks.

Julia posing in pink with a homemade snowflake.

A red-cheeked Finn takes it upon himself to get his own snack. He could do worse than pretzels.

Julia shows people what a real tea party looks like.

Plenty of options for dress up can lead to some interesting costumes.

Julia plays some PBS Kids games online on our new office desk.

Finn and Mandy baked some really big monster cookies.

We all enjoyed the warming weather with a nice walk along the river.

Sometimes we all need a little snuggle time.

A New Year, A New Blog Post

Finn had the honor of handing out presents for our family Christmas before we traveled. His small body was perfect for getting under the tree for those hard to reach gifts.

Julia and Finn are all smiles while hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Here is a picture at the kids' Great-Grandma Laverne's: Amanda, Torey, Julia, Finn, Finn's belly, Grandma Laverne, and Chris.

It may look like she's hamming it up, but Julia wasn't sure how to get out of there once she squeezed her way in.

Finn has had a big last couple of weeks. He's started sleeping in his toddler bed and he even helped take down his crib.

He also has had some interest in using his potty chair.

Despite his advances, he was still left out of our New Years Eve celebration. We watched a movie while snacking on chips and guacamole, cheese, sausage, crackers, and some tasty drinks.