Cast of Characters:
Sam -- Dad, Development Manager for Sims games at EA
Jennie -- Mom, Court stenographer
by training, Sims designer by accident
Gwen -- Second grader who can be found reading, swimming, or playing on the computer
Spencer -- 3-year-old that's into climbing, bike riding, and art
Vesta -- Faithful Border Collie
Random Picture
Flower girl.
2008-06-30
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Photo Album (album home)
Latest 10 Photos
Spencer!
2008-09-25
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The babies sit out all the rambunctious fun in the "cool tub."
2008-09-25
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Spencer and Jason.
2008-09-25
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Take two, better angle.
2008-09-25
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"Did you take it?" Gwen asks.
2008-09-25
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Autumn, Dylan, Jason.
2008-09-25
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Gwen wanted a picture of her feet while her head was underwater.
2008-09-25
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Kid soup!
2008-09-25
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Violet and Monika. One of them is highly amused.
2008-09-25
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The two wettest kids: Spencer and Autumn.
2008-09-25
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Sam's Blog (blog home)
Latest 5 posts
A dog gone shame
Sun, 24 Aug 2008 06:54:14 GMT
We'll be headed back to Pennsylvania on Wednesday, spending ten days visiting my parents, attending my class reunion, relaxing, seeing old friends, and sightseeing. It'll be hectic trying to fly cross-country with two young children, but it's worth it.
What would be problematic is what we do with Vesta during the trip. Luckily, Sue and Mark love giving her a vacation spot to enjoy for times like this. They snuggle with her, give her some treats, take long walks and hikes with her, and enjoy having a puppy in the house for a week or two.
We took the dog over there today, as we had a family BBQ planned. Vesta loved being there with everyone, even though it was hot. She checked out the perimeter for invaders, stood on alert for falling food, and by the end of our visit was falling asleep while trying to stay alert, since she hadn't had her usual beauty naps with all the excitement.
She seemed to understand when we left that she was staying behind. She gave a little bit of a mournful look, but didn't try to run after us and did not seem too terribly upset. Still, it's hard to leave her behind.
Tonight, Jennie's out dancing, so I'm home basically alone since the kids have gone to bed. It's very strange to have a snack and not have a furry snout come check it out. And I'll miss having her curled up at my feet tonight when I go to bed. I know that taking her over today was a very good idea. She always gets very nervous when we start packing, and I don't even know if there would have been room for her in the car when we head to Sue and Mark's on our way to the airport. So taking her now should make things better for her in the long run.
But I miss my fuzzy puppy. That's one good thing to look forward to when the vacation finally wraps up.
Tags: mark, sue, vacation, family, vesta
| Obama's VP
Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:41:23 GMT
OK, the craziness surrounding the speculation of who Obama's VP will be is getting insane. First, there's Fox News, which is always a good place to check when you are talking insanity. They have a headline up right now: Waiting for Obama: Veep Announcement Builds to Frenzied Standstill. So, people aren't moving, but doing it in a very quick way? Nice use of oxymoron, Fox.
Next is this blog post which speculates as to the selection with an amusing and unique twist.
Tags: politics, obama, humor, election
| Second Grade Stories
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:40:10 GMT
 She's been looking forward to it for a long time, and today it happened. Gwen had her first day of Second Grade.
The morning started out a bit frantic. She woke up early, obviously excited to meet her new teacher, see her new classroom, find out who her new classmates are, and begin Second Grade. She got out her new backpack, took her new lunchbox, and put on her new shoes with laces.
We were running a little later than we wanted, but had a bunch of things to do. The school area was crazy, and we had to park a couple of blocks away. It didn't take long to walk over, and first we did a quick stop in the before-and-after-school room, as she is in that program for the first time this year. She's been upset that she has to go, but was happy to see the room, and was looking forward to going after school.
Then, we went to her room just a few minutes before the day began. She met her teacher, found her desk, and turned in the baggie full of Boxtops for Education that we've saved up -- $14 worth. We got a chance to see her classroom, and to let her teacher know that Gwen will be out for 7 days starting next Wednesday when we go to Pennsylvania. We'll be getting Gwen in Independent Study for the duration so she won't fall behind and won't even be counted as absent.
After leaving the class, we remembered that the PTA was running a first day of school doughnut and coffee gathering. I can't resist pastries in the morning, so we stopped in. The PTA president joked with me that it seems like we've seen each other every day over the summer, between our kids being in the same swimming class and camp, and the summer planning meetings for the Fall Harvest Carnival. We didn't stay long, and headed to work.
The drive home was hectic, as traffic was horrid. We made it in to pick Gwen up just a couple of minutes to 6, which is closing time. Gwen was the only one there, and I was afraid that she'd be lonely or upset. On the contrary, she was playing Mancala with the leader, and declared that she loves the game and the program. She had artwork up on the wall already, and had a good time.
It sounds like she had a great day. They did refresher exercises, she's allowed to bring a snack to eat mid-morning, she likes her teacher and classmates, she played some good games, met and likes the new principal, and got the school year off to a good start.
I'm so proud of her, but I can't believe how old she's getting, and how big she's growing. I clearly remember lots of teachers, friends, and activities from when I was in second grade. My daughter can't be old enough to be going through those experiences for herself!
Tags: pta, games, second grade, gwen, mancala, school
| Movin' on up
Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:23:57 GMT
Last week was Spencer's transition week into the Preschool class at day care. He started by spending two hours in the new class on Monday (and the rest in his previous class), three hours on Tuesday, and so on, until he spent the entire day in there on Friday.
On Thursday morning, we had a parent-teacher introduction with the head teacher. It went really well, especially since his "new" teacher was previously one of his teachers a year or two ago in the Jr. Preschool class. That meant that I already know her. The other teacher in his new class was the assistant teacher in Jr. Preschool for a month or two earlier this year. I think this helps the transition greatly, as he has a comfort level with both teachers and most kids in his new class. It also helps me, as I like and am comfortable with his "new" teachers right from the start.
Spence's first week went really well. He had no problems (other than the normal noy-with-too-much-energy issue that he and many of his friends often exhibit), and seemed to really enjoy the "big kids" class. In the evening, I asked him what he did, and on several occasions, he told me proudly that he played with Legos. So he is responding well to the new toys, activities, and challenges with an older-themed classroom.
Not that I had any concerns on this front. I think that the familiarity of his old class, combined with him outgrowing and mastering some of the classroom features, was slightly frustrating him. I knew he was ready for a new class, especially one that allows the occasional computer time for the kids. And when I told him about the tour of his class that mommy and I got, he was very intrigued when I told him about the art center they have set up. I'm sure he'll discover that soon.
He's let on a bit that he likes his new classroom, older friends, and new things, but hasn't talked about the transition too much. But I know he's proud to be a big kid. Over the weekend, he wanted to play a different game on the computer, and when I went to change it, he declared that he wanted to, because he now was a "Preschool Boy."
Tags: growing up, spencer
| Wikipedia Birthday Meme
Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:09:11 GMT
Borrowed from ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) ginamak.
Go to Wikipedia and enter your date of birth. Then pick 4 events, 3 births, two deaths, and one holiday.
So, here's my take on August 10th:
Events:
Births:
Deaths:
Holiday:
Tags: meme, birthday
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