Happy Birthday Tommy!!

Today was Tommy's 13th birthday! As always, the day started bright and early with the ever so incredible Sticht Family Robinson Choir bursting into his room singing the Happy Birthday Song!! That should have been birthday present enough! But, like any other 13 year old (I'm assuming this is the case, anyway) he wanted more! No, not more singing, but actual presents! Tommy is our 'poky little puppy' - he usually doesn't get in too big of a hurry to do anything. This includes reading birthday cards in the early hours of the morning! This drives the older kids crazy (okay, it drives me a little crazy too). Finally, onto the presents - a book (why would we give him a book?), AXE body spray (which was sprayed on heavy enough to be enjoyed by everyone at school) and instead of a Tickle Me Elmo, or even a Barbie, he thought he needed an air soft pellet gun (egad, we actually caved in and got one for him). The day could not have started better (all because of the serenading)! But wait! He then got to go to school, to wrestling practice, and then a scout campout! And since it was his birthday, I didn't even harp on him about homework (that can wait until tomorrow)!

Tommy, you're a great kid! You are very concerned about how other people are doing, or will handle certain situations. I admire how thoughtful you are towards others. I appreciate your sense of adventure and willingness to try things, even if they tend to be scary at first, or foods that nobody else in their right minds would eat!

Yes, this was some sort of gross looking sushi (sashimi or whatever) that Tommy thought he needed to try. His comment, "it's not too bad"!

Happy Birthday Tommy! We love you!

(Mikki, the paint splotches in the background of the first photo - just think of them as shadow puppets!)

Veteran's Day, Camping and Tow Trucks.....

Ah Veteran's Day in the Pacific Northwest! What a beautiful time of year - moderate temperatures, rain, rain, and rain. Did I mention that we just had a "pineapple express"? (The "Pineapple Express" is when we have a weather system that has its origins from the Hawaiian tropics. These tend to be the wettest-type of storms we get around here -- bringing between 1-2" of rain per day for Seattle and much more near the mountains -- as it has an abundance of warm, tropical moisture.)

With weather like this, why not go camping? Especially since there was no school on Veteran's Day! This is the plan that Steve and a few of his friends came up with. No worries, as they have done this numerous times without reason to be concerned. Have fun and be careful, along with my usual advice "remember who you are and wear clean underwear"!

And fun they did have! Mission accomplished! Now to get home. Hey! Where's my car? Didn't we leave the car right over there?

The car got towed (and the reason is unclear - there were no private property signs or no parking signs) and it was slightly more than 50 bucks to get the car back. We are still questioning if the car was worth that much. It's a '94 Dodge Neon, afterall!

Costume Dilemma Solved.....

Friday afternoon, we were able to solve our Halloween Costume Dilemma! Monique came up with quite a few ideas (mine were a little too suggestive and quickly shot down by Monique). Some friends of ours, that were going to the same party, wanted us to dress up like them and go as hippies. This was something that we both agreed on (some what). We went looking for "hippie" stuff Friday, and we must have been shopping in the wrong stores (not to mention the wrong era), as we could not find "hippie" things! Now on to plan "M" at this point....what to dress up as. Wandering through the aisles of the Dollar Store, Monique had a brilliant idea! Now, how to implement the idea. As they say, two heads are better than one - we were able to figure out how to pull this idea off. We were able to get everything that we wanted for both costumes for less than $13!! Once home, the assembly took about an hour for both. The kids thought we looked like dorks, and gave the impression that no way would they be caught wearing something like this. We went as 'showers'!

We received several compliments on our costumes (positive compliments, no less)! I believe that the kids are still traumatized by this. But hey, we can't all go as 'Power Rangers' as Steve and Jon did (and these were a lot more comfortable)!

P.S. Yes, Mikki, there is a reindeer and an amaryllis plant in the background. And yes, they have both been around as long as the snowmen in photos from previous posts. You can't say that we aren't planning ahead on holiday decorating!