sea ranch

We just got back from two and a half stunning days at Sea Ranch with Steve and Elizabeth... and after a harrowing drive back in late night storms we're snug in our apartment.

For some photos click here.

Our Holiday Video

So a Turkey called up a firetruck...

We spent the morning with friends at a playground, then went to their house for lunch. The kids were having so much fun I didn't want to drag them home yet, so I returned alone, preheated the oven, and put in our Turkey. Then I went back out to grab Anna and the kids -- maybe a 15 minute journey.

On my return there was a lot of noise. We like to cook our turkeys hot -- which should only really be done when people are in the house. We opened windows and calmed down the alarms, but were too late. The firemen had arrived.

At least we got a picture:

Max's poetry reading

Max: I learned a poem at school today, Daddy.
Me: Yeah?
Max: Yeah. You be my echo.
Me: OK.

Max: I walked through Autumn woods today,
(me: I walked through awesome woods today)
Max: No, no, NO, Daddy. I walked through Autumn woods today.
(me: echoed)
Max: I cupped my hands along the way
(me: echoed)
The leaves shook down with pure gold
(me: echoed)
Too much for my two hands to hold.
(me: echoed).

Max: And then... (he started giggling) I dumped them on the ground!

Blast Off

So we were coming out of a week of Swine Flu, and both kids were pretty depleted. Nevertheless, after spending 3 weeks on the costumes, we were definitely going to trick or treat. At least at 3 or 4 houses. But let's rewind the clock:

At the beginning we made the engines of the rockets. Max calls these "baga-boosters." This video is of us paining the pipe cleaners for Olin's -- Olin's rocket is horizontal, so the fire needs a little wiriness:

Then, finally, we try them on outside earlier today. When the kids are still sane.

And last but not least. They trick-or-treated at maybe 6 houses, and each got to eat one piece of candy on the trip - a gummy life saver -- calling them "gummy bobos." Olin started by putting it in his hair.

A few minutes of getting freaked out by skeletons on the street, and then, clearly, it is time to go home. Olin at the end repeated what he would for the rest of the night -- "scary robot man" -- referring to a kid dressed as a storm trooper. Later, Olin kept thinking scary robot man was in our house.

Both kids were asleep in their beds, fully clothed, by 7:30. Success.

The Halloween House

This morning Max and I were drawing and he drew this:

It was the story that went with it that I loved:

Me: Who is that guy?
Max:
He's the scarecrow. Those lines hold him up.
He's in the Halloween house.
First you have to get past him and he's scary.
Then you get in the elevator, and it takes you up (sound effect)
(thinking)
Somebody got in an escalator and got up to the highest shelf.
Then they went through all of those scary vines (to the left), until they got to the stairs.
That the end up step by step, then they swinged over stop signs, one then the other.
Then they put on suction cup shoes,
and climbed to the highest path.
They went all the way down the path to the other side.
Then they stepped over a stair,
and went down the highest slide.
And then they were done and then they went home.

A Brother's Love

There are moments that Maxwell is sweet.

When he was younger, he liked the book "Guess How Much I Love You," and sometimes he describes his love in distances, like between two outstretched hands.

Today he said to me, "Daddy, I love you all the way around the world and back." I told him that meant a lot to me. But he wasn't finished. "I love Mommy to outer space and back." Yeah? I said, that she loves you to outer space and back, too!

"And Daddy... I love Olin around the house and back."

Nice.