The Greens of Grafton

Pumped Up

2008-04-24T23:49:00.014-04:00

Today Joanna was invited to the birthday party of one of her school friends. It was at a place called Pump It Up. It was noisy and chaotic but it sure looked like fun.

The Lone Ranger Rides Again

2008-04-24T23:39:00.006-04:00

Joanna told us she wanted to make a book about the Lone Ranger. We asked where she had heard about the Lone Ranger and she told us it was in one of her books. Even so, she didn't seem to know very much about him. We told her he wore a mask, he had a horse named Silver and he had an Indian friend named Tonto.

Soon she returned with her illustration.

Here is the Lone Ranger.

Here is his horse Silver.

And here is his Indian friend Tonto.

Notice the dot on his forehead. Next time I will be sure to say Native American.

Lots of Fun

2008-04-22T16:50:00.031-04:00

It's Spring Break and Joanna is having lots of fun.

It started Friday afternoon with her first piano lesson.

She loved it and wants to practice the piano even when mommy wishes she wouldn't.

On Monday Bethany and Mariah came over for the day. Shiloh became part of a beanie dog pile. I don't think he minded the attention.

On Tuesday we went to Davis Farmland. Joanna went straight to the pony ride line.

Rusty took her for a couple laps.

Next it was time to feed some animals. The animals were certainly interested.

Joanna wanted to feed the lambs but they were still a bit young.

Mom was more than happy to have some.

Wookie the alpaca had a bad hair cut.

The little calf was hungry but Joanna was a bit afraid of the long scratchy tongue and backed away from it.

This was a bit frustrating for the calf.

Success!

There were some animals I wouldn't want to feed.

Snickers the llama was very friendly.

He thought Joanna's hat was more interesting than the food.

I wonder what kind of milk you get from a plastic cow?

Joanna soon found the face painting station and put on her war paint.

The play area was a lot of fun.

Joanna decided to try some fishing.

She caught one!

We went to check out the other play area.

Joanna was really excited to try out the carts. Turns out that pedaling is a lot of work.

Some of the kids went digging for dinosaur bones.

They found some.

There were also houses that needed paint.

Joanna found these carts easier to drive.

I knew she had a great time when she told me the next morning that her legs were sore.

Signs of Spring

2008-04-17T12:38:00.011-04:00

Spring is here and the temperatures are certainly warming up.

The trees are budding.

The flowers are blooming.

The turtles are sunning themselves.

Joanna is wearing short pants to school.

And the wasps are trying to take over the porch.

I guess it can't all be good.

Enjoying the Spring

2008-04-13T23:54:00.013-04:00

On Saturday Ainsley came by to play with Joanna. It was a lovely day so we went outside. The girls decided they wanted to ride in the canoe.

Rick got them loaded up and out into the water.

On the way back they spotted something we had lost in a wind storm. An empty water bottle had blown off our porch and out into the lake. These things have a $5 deposit on them so it was worth trying to get it.

Success! Ainsley lifts the bottle over her head in triumph.

Once back in the girls found something else to try, Joanna's fishing pole.

I'm not sure if there are any fish out there but it didn't really matter since they didn't have any bait, or a hook.

They had fun anyway.

Hat's On!

2008-04-13T23:04:00.002-04:00

In celebration of Spring, the kindergarten hat a hat parade and concert. First all the kids paraded around the room in the hats they had made.

You can see Joanna's teacher standing behind her.

After 3 turns around the room all the kids went up front to sing for us.

When looking at the pictures, Joanna pointed out the little boy in front of her wearing the black hat. She told me "That's Lewis, I like him, I want to marry him. I wonder if Lewis knows about this.

Mega Huge Haven't Posted in Ages Post

2008-04-01T13:09:00.012-04:00

Lots of stuff on this one since I haven't posted since January. I tried to grab the best pictures. I may add more later if I can find the other memory card for the camera.

Holidays

Today we were visited by the April Fool

She only stayed a little while then headed off to school.

Easter Sunday was a bit chilly.

We went to the sunrise service. Joanna really wanted to go. We were very surprised when she actually got out of bed and got ready. After shivering on the beach of Lake Chauncy I'm not sure if she will want to go next year.

When we returned from the beach, we found Easter gifts had arrived.

After going through all the goodies we put on our bonnets and headed off to church.

For St. Patrick's Day Joanna wanted to be sure she wouldn't get pinched.

Other Events

Joanna lost her first tooth!

We got a new camera which caused us to take a lot of pictures for no particular reason.

Joanna saved her money and purchased Moon Sand. The TV ads say that it is not messy like regular sand. Please notice the sand on the table and on the child. If it lands on the floor, it sticks to your feet and gets tracked all over the house. I'll let you decide how neat it is.

Ainsley came over for a play date.

One Saturday we had not just one birthday party but two in the same day.

The first was Joshua's detective party.

The party featured a mystery at a museum. Among the suspects were the security guard, the janitor and the heiress.

The detectives searched for clues.

Next up was Mariah's party. The detective theme spilled over a bit.

The actual theme was M&Ms.

Besides eating them, we had an M&M piñata and played pin the M on the M&M.

The Journey Home

2008-01-09T11:54:00.001-05:00

The trip home was blissfully uneventful. We had a bedroom on The Southwest Chief which included a shower and a toilet. There was a place for everything.

I did my best to avoid sitting directly across from the mirror. Want to lose weight? Put a full length mirror opposite your sofa.

We even had a little closet. Where's Joanna?

There she is!

We even got her to take a nap.

Surprisingly all trains arrived on time, even the Lake Shore Limited.

It's good to be home.

Happy New Year

2008-01-09T10:46:00.000-05:00

On January 2nd we went up to Pasadena to see the parade floats. After the parade they park them along the street so you can go and get a close view. They really are quite impressive.

This was Joanna's favorite.

There were some really clever touches, like the GPS on this float.

Joanna decided that she and Anna Spotnik had walked enough. This worked well for her but not so much for Rick when he stepped into a pot hole while carrying her.

Some dress codes never die.

More from California

2008-01-09T10:02:00.000-05:00

While we were in Southern California we rented a car and drove to Sacramento. Rick wanted to visit a client and it turned out that the Northern California contingent of my family was going to be in Sacramento that day.

We all met up and went to the train museum. They had some big trains.

They had some little trains.

They had old fancy trains.

They had some new not-so-fancy trains.

There were a lot of trains you could walk through. Each one had someone in appropriate attire explaining how that particular car worked. I think my favorite was the mail car. Joanna liked the toys.

One the way back south I had Rick pull into my favorite restroom stop, Fort Tejon. It is right at the top of the Tejon Pass, not a lot of people and very clean restrooms. I didn't know he would take our picture.

Just for fun we decided to take Joanna to play mini golf. Rick tried to teach her a proper swing.

He also gave her a little help with putting.

Holiday Recap

2008-01-08T23:03:00.001-05:00

After we finally arrived in California (you can read all about that lovely experience at http://mushmomgreen.livejournal.com/22140.html) we settled into the usual holiday stuff.

We had planned to go to some local attractions while in Sothern California. With Joanna breaking her coller bone these attracting turned out to be the San Diego Wild Animal Park and Sea World since we didn't think rides would be a good idea. She enjoyed both but I think Sea World was her favorite. As soon as I find the disk with the pictures I will post some.

We also did the usual Christmas stuff.

We spent Christmas eve at my cousin Gil's house with his family and my cousin Gary's family. Joanna enjoyed hanging out with cousin Brooke.

She also enjoyed help people open gifts. I guess she thought Grandma Janette might not be able to manage it on her own.

Cousin Cade got to play Santa.

Once everything was open there was some serious playing to be done.

One of my cousins brought out his "pet" to share.

Joanna decided to be brave and hold it too.

On Christmas morning Joanna was exicited to find two dogs in her stocking.

Grandma Janette still needed help opening gifts.

Uncle Rob needed some help too.

Of course she had some gifts of her own to open as well.

In the Holiday Spirit

2007-12-12T15:24:00.000-05:00

Today Joanna's school had their holiday concert. There was a morning performance with the 1st & 2nd grades and the morning kindergarten and an afternoon performance with the 1st and 2nd grades and the afternoon kindergarten.

This was the program:

Second Grade
In the Spirit, Jennings
Shalom, Jennings
O Kwanzaa!, Jennings
Snow Day, Jennings
White Christmas, Berlin

First Grade
Celebrate with Joy!, Jennings
Lights of Diwali, Traditional
Over the River and Through the Woods, Childs
La Pinata (Dale, Dale, Dale), Mexican Folk Song
All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth, Gardner

Kindergarten
Must be Santa, Moore/Fredericks
My Dreidl, S.E. Goldfard/S. Grossman
Jingle Bells, James Pierpont
Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer, Johnny Marks
We Wish You a Merry Christmas, English Carol

Here are the afternoon kindergarten classes.

Joanna tried her best to do the hand motions with her arm in a sling.

I'm not sure what was going on here.

I think Joanna really enjoyed singing for all the parents.

Just to give you a taste, here is a sample.

Christmas is Coming

2007-12-03T09:31:00.000-05:00

I think it is coming faster than I want!

I did go out and decorate the porch though. I couldn't wait to get the "new" porch all decked out for the holidays.

Next it needed lights.

Just one more thing would make it perfect, snow!

The Porch

2007-11-06T16:39:00.000-05:00

It's finally done, well mostly done.

In case you don't remember what our porch looked like, it was a wooden cage.

For Christmas I just hung a big wreath over it.

The combination of the two poplar trees and the wood lattice it gave the message "Keep Out."

We removed the trees but we still had the cage. No longer.

The lattice is gone and there is a nice coat of white paint.

We still want to replace the roof and put some white lattice below the porch but it is already much more welcoming. I even like sitting outside now.

Tricks and Treats (lots of treats)

2007-10-31T20:28:00.001-04:00

After school it was time to put the costume back on and head to the mall. The Solomon Pond Mall invites trick or treaters from 3 - 5 on Halloween. Most of the shops pass out candy or stickers to the kids. The Lindt Candy shop gave out product samples. :)

Sorry grandma, no samples at the Yankee Candle shop.

Picture People did give out coupons to the adults.

The mall had already started putting up the Christmas decorations.

We found another Minnie.

We couldn't leave the mall without playing on the Sanyo/Reactrix projection.

When we got home Joanna took door duty and gave out candy.

When daddy got home he took over passing out candy so we could go trick or treating. I don't think he minded.

Most of our neighbors were just waiting to give out candy. Some had gone all out with their decorations but it didn't bother Joanna. Nothing scared her. She knew there was candy at the other end.

I think we will be rationing this out for a while.

I Love a Parade

2007-10-31T14:35:00.000-04:00

Today was the Halloween Parade at North Grafton Elementary School. The AM kindergarten had their parade in the morning and the PM kindergarten paraded in the afternoon with the 1st and 2nd grades.

There was quite a crowd as we waited for the kids to come out.

Soon the first kid was out ad the parade was underway.

There were lots of great costumes.

I think if Joanna had hair like this little girl, we would have gotten the Little Mermaid costume too.

I loved the 1960's kid.

Hey, I know that kid!

Joanna: "Can Abby come over to our house?"

Mom: "As soon as you clean your room."

I think she has a plan.

Soon the parade was over and all the kids had to back to class.

Next up, Trick or Treat.

A Very Busy Day

2007-10-28T14:15:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was very busy. Not just busy, it was a three costume change, feel like your in a Broadway play kind of busy.

Act One was dance class. We were off for a little brush up on our ballet and tap dance.

Act Two was a costume party at the home of Branden, one of her kindergarten friends.

After a few poses in the picture spot of the day we were off to the party. I printed a map but when we got into the neighborhood I had trouble finding house numbers. Pretty typical around here. I asked Joanna if Brandon was on the same bus as her and she said he was. Great! Which house is it? She had no idea. Her bus stops there everyday and could not tell me which house it was. I shouldn't have been to surprised. Rick and I left the house last week about 15 minutes after the buss had picked her up. When we got to the end of the street Joanna's bus had finished its loop through the neighborhood and was going down the street to the school. We saw Joanna up in the front of the bus. She was in the seat behind the driver, facing backwards and chatting with the kids behind her. The bus could have driven to Cleveland without her noticing.

I just picked a place to park and we got out of the car. Across the street and up a hill some kinds came out the door and yelled, "It's Joanna! Joanna is here!" That was easy.

Here she is with her friends Abigail and Isabella.

After the party is was time for Act 3, the Sock Hop. Joanna learned about hairspray.

With a lot of help from some ladies at church, I had made her a yellow poodle skirt.

I tried to find some saddle shoes but ended up getting some canvas sneakers and using a black marker.

The phrase that goes with the following expression: "There's dog slobber on my shoe!"

Joanna took a picture of mom & dad.

At the church there were lots of people dressed in their 1950's finest. Even baby Caitie had her poodle skirt on.

Joanna danced,

and danced,

and danced

until it looked like she was ready to fall over.

We even had a very special guest arrive.

It was a great time.

Demolition, Competition, Terpsichore and School Chore

2007-10-24T16:16:00.000-04:00

We finally got rid of the giant piano. Since it could not be tuned to correct pitch without risking breaking the strings, it was not going to get played. We tried giving it away but no one wanted it. We rented a dumpster to clean out the basement and decided that was where the piano would go.

Getting it out on the porch was easy enough. Then there were the stairs.

We had friends over to help move the thing and we all tried to think of how to get it down the stairs. We didn't care if we damaged the piano but we didn't want to hurt the stairs.

We came up with a plan.

With luck the piano would slide down the ramp and land on its side on top of the dolly so we could wheel it to the dumpster. There was nothing let to do but push.

At least the stairs suffered no harm.

Every year I want to enter something in the Bolton Fair but I always forget. This year I remembered! I entered Joanna's butterfly sweater in the knitted "fancy sweater" category.

It won second place! Joanna wanted to wear it and the ribbon to school.

After school I asked her if everyone liked her sweater. She said "They liked the ribbon."

I felt pretty good about winning 2nd since the first place winner was incredible.

Joanna is taking ballet and tap lessions at a local dance studio. This is the outfit she picked out for the class.

All the other little girls have a plain pink leotard.

Joanna was actually excited about doing her homework today. She came come with a large Ziploc and the instructions to gather 15 colorful leaves. We didn't have to go very far.

Weekend in California

2007-09-11T18:57:00.000-04:00

We took a very short trip to Southern California last weekend. We woke Joanna on Thursday and took the train to the airport. I don't think Joanna was ready to get up.

When we got to Logan airport we found the play area.

Pilot Joanna and co-pilot Minnie flew the plane.

Joanna enjoyed the baggage slide.

We arrived in CA Thursday evening only to leave again on Saturday evening. We had the red eye out of LAX. When we checked in for the flight we were given the option to check if we would be willing to voluntarily surrender our seats if the plane were oversold. We checked "yes". The last time we flew the res eye we volunteer and were given a room for the night and travel vouchers and put on the first flight the next morning. It was a good deal. The plane was not oversold and ended up departing later than expected.

From LAX we flew to Newark. We had a 7:30am flight to Providence. That flight WAS oversold. It was annoying to be bumped off a 30 minute flight but we all received $400 in travel vouchers. Joanna made the most of the extra wait time.

We let her sleep pretty late which we regretted that night when we were tired and she was still frisky. I think we are all back in the correct time zone now.

First Day of School

2007-09-11T18:26:00.000-04:00

Joanna started Kindergarten! Can you believe it?

She was very excited the first day as we waited for the bus.

I wasn't long before we say it coming.

I think she was a little annoyed that I made her turn and wave for a picture. She wanted to go right in.

At 4:00 the bus brought her back.

So far Joanna thinks kindergarten is pretty cool but she still misses her best friend Abby from her other school. I think it helps that one of her class/bus mates is also named Abby.

Joanna's First Camping Trip

2007-09-11T17:38:00.001-04:00

A couple week ago we went on the church camp out at Shawme-Crowell State Forest. It was Joanna's first time camping and our first time on Cape Cod.

Shiloh spent the drive up trying to sit in the front.

We got there with just enough time to set up the tent before dark. We were pretty tired.

Camp sweet camp.

Shiloh tried to escape from the tent.

It was really hot and humid while we were there. Joanna got some cooling off time at the camp water spicket.

We never got the canoe in the water bur Joanna enjoyed it anyway.

With the high humidity it was really hard to start a fire. You can see Rick worshiping the campfire gods.

Joanna tried to help.

This was a very strange camp out for me. I'm used to camping in places where you have to drive down the mountain to get to civilization. This was a family favorite. On this camp out we were able to pick up some things we forgot at Walmart, go out to breakfast and I could even see some one's back yard from our camp site.

I think Joanna's favorite time was at the group camp fire where she got to play with Brielle. They even had craft time and made mini lighthouses.

Checking In

2007-09-11T17:00:00.000-04:00

I finally managed to get the pictures off my camera. Now I just need to post everything.

During one of Rick's trips we decided to curl Joanna's hair for church. You can see the result.

I'm not sure she really liked it. She hasn't let me try it again.

To help manage our yard we picked up a used riding mower. Joanna enjoyed the ride.

Unfortunately our van finally gave it up and we found ourselves needed a new car. Being the miserly types, I mean fine Dave Ramsey disciples that we are, we gather the cash we had available and got a hooptie.

Okay it's not really that bad. It is a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis. One window doesn't work and I need to find some tan duck tape for the front seat but other than that it isn't a bad ride. Besides, Joanna loves telling people we have a hooptie.

Vacation: Part VI

2007-06-25T00:06:00.000-04:00

Day 8: We spent the day driving around Florida visiting some of Rick's clients who live there. After four days of Theme Parks my feet were a bit sore and I had a nasty case of heat rash but I was otherwise OK. The ride in the car made my feet swell until my shoes barely fit. Still, it was fun to see people and Joanna had a great time.

Day 9: After Breakfast we made our way to the train station.

Joanna soon found a friend.

Joanna had Minnie and Beatrice had Princess Minnie. Joanna loaned Bea my hat.

We had a little wait for the train so we went to the play area.

Joanna was determined to climb the blue rails. She would not try any of the other parts of the play structure until she conquered the rails.

We check out the engines that would pull us north.

We had a the family bedroom on this trip so we made use of the extra space.

Bea turned out to be our "neighbor" so she and Joanna played for a while until they both got tired.

Joanna decided to watch movies in her bunk.

At least I think she was watching movies.

Soon we were all engaged in our favorite leisure activities.

When it came time to sleep Joanna wanted to curl up with me. The ride was pretty rough so I could understand why she didn't want to stay in the bunk. Still, this picture just doesn't seem right.

One of the drawbacks of the family bedroom is the fact that you sleep perpendicular to the tracks. I had a lot of trouble sleeping. I think I was awake more than I was asleep.

Day 10: It took a while before our van was unloaded so we didn't get on the road until 10:00am. We took the scenic route home and went through PA. It was a nice change. We got home around 9:00 pm which wasn't too bad.

On arriving home the license plate game was declared over and here are the results.

47 states! I wasn't expecting to see Hawaii so I had to draw it in. We also saw 3 Canadian provinces, District of Columbia, 1 Consular Corps plate on the back of a speeding BMW Z3, and a US government plate.

Vacation: Part V

2007-06-24T23:47:00.000-04:00

Day 6: Back to the Magic Kingdom.

The parents can be taught.

We made a deal with Joanna. We would get a stroller and push her around the midway but she had to walk/stand in the lines.

After her day at Epcot, Joanna was ready for roller coasters. First up was the Barnstormer in Toontown.

We had a bit of fortune when we found that the Mouse himself had just arrived in the judge's tent and we were able to get to see him without a long wait.

We then went on the roller coaster tour. We did all the mountains. Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain. After Big Thunder I asked if she thought it was scary. She said "Yes." I told her Space mountain was a lot like Big Thunder except it was in the dark. I asked if she thought that would make make it scarier. She said "That would be really scary. Let's go!"

We had tried to get into a character meal but it seems they book up very far in advance. We did manage to get a 9:00pm character dinner buffet in the Chrystal Palace with friends from the 100 Acre Woods. We had a bit of time before our meal so we completed a running joke.

Rick: Let's go to the Hall of Presidents.

Joanna: Noooo!

We took her to the Hall of Presidents. The animatronic George W. Bush spoke clearly and intelligently. It was weird.

After that we checked in for our meal and waited for our table.

Look carefully at the next photo.

This is probably the most expensive plate of macaroni & cheese with chicken strips you will ever see.

The adult meals were very good but I don't think I have ever paid $28 a plate for a buffet. Joanna's was $23.

It wasn't really about the food.

Joanna was pretty tired when we got to the van.

Day 7: Disney-MGM Studios

Because of Rick's seminar schedule this was our shortest day at the park. Just as well because Disney-MGM Studios is the kind of place the park hopper pass was made for. I can't imagine spending a whole day here.

There are several shows but only 3 rides. Joanna loved Star Tours and we rode it twice. We didn't bother with the Rock & Roller Coaster and I was afraid if I took Joanna to the Tower of Terror I would never get her in an elevator again.

We enjoyed the Muppets and saw several other shows.

The best show of all was Fantasmic! It is the only this in the park I would list as "not to be missed". At the end of the day I think we had enough theme park to last us for a while.

Vacation: Part IV

2007-06-24T22:46:00.000-04:00

Day 5: Epcot. When we were planning the trip I wasn't sure we would go to Epcot. I didn't think there would be a lot Joanna would enjoy. Boy was I wrong!

The first thing she wanted to do was go in the "Big Ball", more officially known as Spaceship Earth. I remember this as being a long slow ad for the phone company. The ride has been recently renovated and is now sponsored by Siemens. It is a lot better. Joanna loved it and kept wanting to go back.

The next thing we went to was GM Test Track. The line was quite long and all the fast passes were gone. I showed Joanna how fast it went and she still wanted to ride. I got in line and Rick and Joanna went to check her height against the requirements. There were two employees at the height sign who help check to see if Joanna was tall enough. Rick and Joanna joined me in the line and about a minute later the two employees approached and asked if we would like a back stage tour of the ride and a trip to the front of the queue. Hmmm, let me think.

The two young ladies took us through the ride and into the dispatch booth. After the tour we were loaded in the ride and told that if we enjoyed it we could go again when we returned. With a top speed of 64 mph I wasn't sure what Joanna would think of it. She wasn't too sure afterward but she said she wanted the second ride.

Her favorite part of Test track wasn't the ride, it was the show room you exit into. She tried out a few vehicles.

I wasn't too sure about letting Joanna drive.

This car is too small.

But this one is just right!

Joanna had to try out the very back of the Hummer.

We wanted to make sure Joanna could find us if she got lost. We gave her lots of instructions and this:

The little tag on her shoe had our names and cell phone numbers. We told her if she got lost she should find an employee and give them her shoe.

The park had several "cooling stations" It was a bit windy the day we went so the mist was blown over Joanna's head. Rick helped her out.

We went on a few smaller rides and then got in line for Soarin' (TM). The line was well over an hour and there were no fast passes available. I was very long before Joanna started goofing off in the line.

Then she went into a position that we had many times on this day and the day before.

After much begging, Daddy gave in.

Soon after Joanna was asleep.

Really asleep.

We woke her up when we got to the front of the line. She was in a much better mood but Rick had a really sore shoulder.

The ride was great! I don't know if it was over an hour wait great but I would certainly recommend it. Joanna wanted to go again. We directed her to other attractions.

In the evening we headed into the World Pavilions. We saw our favorite Epcot band Off Kilter.

We were all tired and hungry. We hoped to get some dinner in the World Pavilions but we found that you can't get any sit down service in Disney World without a reservation. We decided to head home and get dinner outside the park.

Joanna wanted one more trip through Spaceship Earth.

We also had a nice rainbow on the way out.

By the time we had dinner and got back to our room, Joanna was out.

Vacation: Part III

2007-06-24T17:50:00.000-04:00

Day 4: The Magic Kingdom! We got up bright and early to make park opening. We also wanted to check out the Disney parking lot for more states on our license plate game. After the gates opened we took the boat over to the park. We started to see the advantage of staying in a room on Disney property. No fooling with the parking lot, just take the monorail or a boat over to the park.

Once we were in we went direct to Fantasyland. We wanted to go for the rides with slow moving lines before the park filled up. Our first choice was the teacups. Joanna liked it at first and wanted to go faster. Then it got a little too fast and she wasn't so sure.

She really wanted to go to Toontown but it opened an hour later than the rest of the park.

Our next choice was the carousel. (Yes, I do know the difference between a Merry-go-round and a carousel.)

I sat a couple horses over because the ones that had stopped in the up position seemed a little daunting for my stubby legs. Of coarse the nice low horse I got onto ended the ride in a full up position.

I had Joanna's camera so Rick and I played dueling cameras.

Joanna just enjoyed the ride.

We went through the whole series of kid rides. Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Snow White.

Joanna liked this guy.

Of course we had to go on Small World. Now you know what time we went.

Joanna spent the whole time pointing out things for us to look at and waving at the dolls.

We also went to see Mickey's PhilharMagic. I highly recommend it and not just for sitting down in an air conditioned room. It was very well done and it was a lot of fun watching Joanna reach out to try and touch the 3D effects.

When we were done with Fantasyland, we went to Toontown. The characters have their "houses" there. We went to visit Minnie's house.

We found Pluto out in the back.

Most of the characters hold court in the Toontown Hall of Fame. The lines for the popular characters can be really long. One was almost 2 hours! Fortunately Joanna wanted to see Minnie and she was in one of the shorter lines.

Daisy was in the same area with Minnie.

After all this Joanna was getting tired and it was hard to keep cool.

We left the park for lunch and went back to the room for a nap. Once she fell asleep Joanna slept until 6:00pm. After that we had soon dinner and went back to the park. It was a whole lot cooler when we returned and if you didn't mind missing the parade, the lines were shorter.

We went to Adventureland. Pirates of the Caribbean had a very short line so we went there. If you rode this ride before the movies came out you will notice a few changes. Joanna wanted her picture taken inn front of the ride.

Then she wanted to take our picture with her camera.

Joanna also enjoyed the Jungle Cruise and the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. Joanna really liked the spitting camel that would occasionally get you. We also went to the Enchanted Tiki Room which is now under new management, Iago from Aladdin and Zazu from The Lion King. We couldn't help but imagine Iago uttering Gilbert Gottfried's signature phrase.

After Adventureland we went off to Tomorrowland. We saw Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor which was very well done. We also rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and the TTA. The Tomorrowland Speedway usually has really long lines but as we neared park closing it wasn't bad at all. Joanna really liked "driving" her own car.

We had a few minuted left before the midnight closing time we we headed for Dumbo. Since it is another low churn ride it usually has a really long line but there were not a whole lot of kids left in the park near closing. Even so we did have to wait a little.

Since it was a two seater, Rick decided to stand outside and be the photographer.

We got one last picture in the display elephant.

As the park closed the three of us were pretty tired. We took the monorail to the parking lot and again thought about the benefits of staying on property.

Vacation: Part II

2007-06-23T22:51:00.000-04:00

Day 3: After breakfast on the train we arrived at in train station in Sanford, FL.

After our van was unloaded we drove out to the Kennedy Space Center. Joanna enjoyed checking out what it would be like to be an astronaut.

She even got a little instruction about what the different buttons were for.

Joanna loved the space themed play area.

We went to see the "Mad Mission to Mars" where Joanna was selected as a volunteer. She is holding up Earth and Mars.

Joanna also got to meet a real astronaut. Here she is with Col. Richard Searfoss.

This was Joanna's second real astronaught. While in CA in August of 2005 we went to a book signing. Buzz Aldrin was signing his new children's book Reaching for the Moon.

It was very hot and it didn't take long before we had a tired and grumpy future astronaut. We decided to go find our room. Joanna had a nice nap in the car.

Our room was a condo that we got through Rick's parent's time share plan. THANKS!
It was quite large.

Besides the living room, dining room and kitchen, it had a really nice screened balcony.

Joanna had her own room.

This is the master bedroom

I really liked the master bath.

It even had laundry.

I wish I had those mega capacity machines at home! The spa tub would be nice too.

After settling in we went to the pool for a game of chess.

We had a great game going until a quick tropical storm rolled in. I think it was a first for all of us when our chess game had to be canceled because of rain.

We went back to the room and Joanna decided to check out the tub before bed.

Soon it was time for bed so we could be rested up for a day of Disney.

Vacation: Part I

2007-06-16T10:25:00.000-04:00

We took a lot of pictures so I think this will take a few days to put up.

Day 1: We didn't leave home until 2:00pm which was a lot later than we had planed. We amused ourselves on the drive by trying to find different state license plates. I printed a blank map of the US and when ever we saw a new state Joanna would color it in on the map. Since the states were not labeled on the map it had the added fun of learning where each state was. I was surprised by how many we found in the first hour. Long haul trucks and U-Hauls became our favorite targets for finding new states.

We drove to Fredericksburg VA, just past Lorton to get a room for the night. I was around midnight and we were pretty tired, except for Joanna who was already asleep. We got a cheep room at the Super 8.

Day 2: We planned to sleep in but the bed just wasn't comfortable enough. We went out for breakfast at Bob Evans. Joanna had toast and eggs, I got strawberry banana crepes and Rick got biscuits and gravy. It was all yummy! I left wishing the Bob Evans at home had not turned into a Friendly's.

We got to the train station a little before they were open to take cars and there was already a line.

After we check in our car Joanna had to check out the play area.

I made myself busy on the bench.

Rick went to check out the train and watch them load cars.

It didn't take long before Joanna had a friend.

Unfortunately it started to rain so we had to move into the station.

We rented a digEplayer for the trip. Joanna and her friend enjoyed it while we waited to board.

Soon it was time to board and we went to find out little rooms.

When it was time to sleep Joanna took the upper bunk where she would sleep.

If she would sleep.

Will she ever sleep?

Maybe she could pretend to sleep.

That seemed to work.

Happy Birthday Mush!

2007-06-03T07:20:00.001-04:00

Yesterday we celebrated Joanna's birthday at Davis Farmland. Looks like there were a few other birthdays too.

Joanna got a nifty birthday hat.

Jess, our personal "Party Animal" took us around the farm.

We got to pet some animals ans feed some animals.

Joanna had a great time with her new camera.

You can also see this from Joanna's perspective.

Pretty scary!

Next all the kids got to go on a pony ride.

After the pony ride was a hay ride then off to the party cabana. It was very warm and humid and Joanna was already pretty tired.

After a little juice and pizza the birthday cupcakes came out.

The kids all got to decorate their cupcakes. I think some of them enjoyed that more than eating them.

Now that they were all sugared up it was time to assault the pinata. Of course this was followed by a candy feeding frenzy.

It didn't take long for the sugar to wear off.

All in all, Davis Farmland really measured up.

Soon we were headed home with a van full of gifts.

There were toys.

There were clothes.

Soon there was nothing left to do but play with the packaging they came in.

If you would like to see all of the pictures from the party, you can find them here.

You can also check out Joanna's birthday sweater at The Empty Stash.

About Time!

2007-05-12T17:51:00.000-04:00

Okay, I know it has been forever since I posted any Pictures. My camera still had Easter pictures on it!

Here is Joanna checking out her Easter basket.

I'm just wondering which wall/piece of furniture will be graced with the 1500 stickers.

Joanna models the Easter dress she picked out. I was still pretty cold here so she needed a sweater and leggings. She also picked out a dress for Mommy.

Soon the weather started to look more like Spring and Joanna got to wear her new dress from Grandma Janette.

With spring came canoe rides and dog baths.

Today the neighbor girls came over and asked if they could ride in the canoe. Rick told them they could if they had life vests. I think he was a bit surprised when they ran home and came back with life vests. Here is a picture of a very full canoe.

Play Day

2007-03-17T17:16:00.000-04:00

We got a good batch of snow yesterday so we invited Ainsley over to play.

Ainsley's mommy was busy so her daddy brought her over.

There was a lot of snow to play in.

When the girls said they wanted to go into the house, this wasn't really what I had in mind.

When we did go into the real house the girls decided to play

"The Princess and the Bear."

Yeah, I didn't get it either.

The Benefits of a Clean Room

2007-02-12T19:31:00.000-05:00

After much procrastination, we finally got Joanna's room clean. Here is the proof.

Now that the room is clean Joanna can have friends come over.

We have had Ainsley come over a few times.

They like to play dress up.

2 Cinderellas!

Sometimes they even outlast Rick

Christmas Has Come!

2006-12-25T12:00:00.000-05:00

It just wouldn't be Christmas without a bunch of poses in front of the tree.

There were lots of gifts to unwrap. Most of them for Joanna.

This is nice, can I open more toys now?

Mommy and Daddy got a couple gifts too.

I think Shiloh was hoping for snow.

Joanna had one very large gift.

Joanna really liked the Barbie (tm) pet doctor kit.

We did get her to try on some clothes.

What is Christmas all about?

I don't think it's about plastic reindeer that dispense candy out their back end.

Joanna is pretty sure it is about playing with your new stuff.

I think it is about enjoying the gifts you already have.

Being Four

2006-11-17T18:03:00.000-05:00

Now that she is four Joanna can do many things.

She can clean the burner covers from the stove.

She can mop the floor with the Swifter.

She can amuse herself by squirting mommy's feet with the Swifter.

She can even help make dinner.

I think I'm starting to like four!

Put Through the Mill

2006-11-16T10:39:00.000-05:00

Last week I got a call from Accountemps for a short term temp job. Initially it was supposed to be one day. One really long day. Friday from 6:30AM - 9:30PM! I figured I could handle that for one day so I agreed.

They called again on Thursday and asked if I could go in that afternoon. I could so I was off to Riverdale Mills to help with their inventory. I did some research on the web and found out they manufactured products with wire mesh. I imaged counting a lot of wire.

When I arrived I found the company was in an actual old mill building build in the 1850's. It even had the mill pond. From what I read the building had been abandoned for 3 years when the company purchased it in 1978. They did a really great job restoring all the wood in the building.

When I went in they had a nice display of some of their finished product.

I worked 4 hours on Thursday and they told us to come in at 7:00am the next day. I wasn't actually counting anything but entering the product information and the inventory count into Excel. The day wasn't quite as long as originally expected. We were all pretty tired so they suggested we leave at 8:00 and asked if we could come back the next day. There were 3 of us from Accountemps and we all agreed to come back. Though it was a long day the company provided us with plenty of free sodas and they brought in pizza for lunch. We were also entertained by Patrick, the office dog.

Patrick's owner brings him to work with her. He was very well behaved. A fine office companion.

I arrived for work at 6:30am on Saturday a was treated to a beautiful sunrise over the mill pond. It was a shame that all I had was the cell phone camera.

We finally finished all the data entry and data checking at 7:30pm. I can't tell you how many part numbers I checked, but I can say I entered over 2000 lines of data into Excel. It was quite a job! Fortunately there were nice people and a beautiful building so it wasn't all bad.

Update

2006-10-02T19:43:00.000-04:00

Lots of little things.

We were visited by Scurvy Dog Shiloh

Joanna has started to want her turn at the computer. I really don't think it is ergonomically correct for her.

Last Friday evening Ainsley Marr came over for a pajama party while her parents went to their Bible study. The red smudge on her face is from a red ink stamp pad that she decided was lipstick. Rick tried to sit on the bench to fold laundry but he soon had company.

On Saturday we hosted a multi-family yard sale. There was a ton of stuff! The weather turned out great and I think we did pretty well. There was still a lot of things to put back in the basement but much less than we started with.

Today we went to Boston. Mommy went to a job interview at the John Hancock building while Daddy and Joanna went to play at the Public Garden.

Joanna took a ride on Mrs. Mallard with Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Oack, Pack and Quack trailing behind.

On the way back to the car we found a really nice park to play in.

It was a very nice day. The job interview went well, the weather was beautiful and we didn't even get a lot of traffic on the way home.

Going to the Picnic and the Ball

2006-09-02T22:34:00.000-04:00

Today we had the church picnic. It was a little different this year. Several families hosted small groups at their home for the main meal then we all went to a "surprise location" for desert and other festivities, including 2 baptisms. The hosting families knew the final destination and others figured it out by considering what family had both a pool and the available space to host the entire church.

We were one of the host families. The weather was threatening rain most of the day so to be on the safe side we set up tables on the porch.

I think it went well. We did have to leave early from the second half since we still needed to finish the church bulletin and we were all pretty tired.

Joanna asked for her new Cinderella night gown.

While taking pictures I asked her to pretend that she was dancing at the ball. She happily obliged me.

Wiggle Time!

2006-08-19T17:37:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I took Joanna to see The Wiggles at the DCU Center in Worcester. It was fun even if we did do it on the cheap. Parking for the event was $20!! so I parked at the train station for free and we walked. We also had the cheapest seats. Here is the view from our seats.

I'm glad my camera has a really good digital zoom.

The put on a good show. Very high energy. I image they can eat what ever they want without gaining a pound. There was a lot of audience interaction too. They even wandered into the first balcony which was more than I expected. I knew they would not venture into the rarefied air of our seats. Children brought roses for Dorothy the Dinosaur and bones for Wags the Dog which were gathered up during the show. They also got all the names of children who were having a birthday and sang happy birthday to them. I can image some poor guy scribbling down all the names so he could read it back to their headsets during the song.

I recognized the dancers from the videos Joanna has. I thought it was nice that they brought their regular dancers with them rather than getting local dancers. It was also fun listening to them trying to say Massachusetts and Worcester (rhymed with rooster). At least I know that they do actually play their instruments. At one point I saw Murray pick up his guitar, strum a bit, fool with a knob on the amplifier, strum a little more then thump the side of the amp with the heal of his hand. That seemed to work.

Here is a picture of Joanna under the influence of upbeat music and sugar.

You Belong in the Zoo

2006-08-18T18:33:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday Joanna and I went with Amy and Ainsley to the Southwick Zoo.

I was a beautiful day and the girls enjoyed looking at the animals.

The playground was even better than the animals, a lesson in sticking with activities that are FREE! Best of all was the petting zoo.

Joanna loved the kids and the calves,

but her favorite was the piglets.

She wanted to buy some animal feed but mommy was too cheap/frugal to spend 50 cents on a handful of dried corn so I suggested she pick up some of it that was laying on the ground. The animals didn't seem to care.

The night before we went to the zoo Joanna washed her hair with some new shampoo. She kept telling up how it smelled like peaches and calling us over to smell it. It would seam that goats like peaches too because while she was feeding the piglets one of them tried to eat her hair. Of course there is no accounting for taste, the goats also tried to eat Amy's shoe and another lady's camera strap.

Tougas Revisited

2006-08-12T07:31:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we went back to Tougas Farm. This time it was for blueberries. Blueberries are so much easier to pick than strawberries. They come off easy and no bending over required. I took the top of the bush and Joanna took the bottom.

We got a bunch of berries and Joanna made some new friends.

The younger child in the picture was having a little trouble getting the berries into her basket. Her mother said she should have weighed her before they went in so they could have accounted for all the berries she ate in the field.

After picking the berries we went to Rick's office to do some work and took the blueberries with us. Between the visitors and the regular office staff there were a lot fewer berries when we left.

We are watching Mopsy this weekend and when I spoke with Jan about it she said she had a recipe for blueberry rhubarb pie. That sounded yummy! She said she would leave the recipe on the counter when we came to get the dog and we could help ourselves to some rhubarb from the garden. We only had one problem. When Rick got there we realized we had no idea what rhubarb looked like when it was growing in the ground. We decided to get some from the store since we knew what it looked like there. Here is the result.

Can't wait to try it tonight!

Getting Back to Normal

2006-08-12T07:04:00.000-04:00

After having all those dogs in the house we really needed to do some cleaning. The normal dog hair dust bunnies we get from having two dogs turned into dog hair tumble weeds with four dogs. Joanna did her part in the cleaning effort.

We also had a little recovery operation. When the heat wave broke a storm rolled in. It was preceded by some really high winds. Joanna had left a ball out in the yard and the winds blew it into the water and almost halfway to the lake. Rick and Joanna went to retrieve it.

Success!

While we were down by the water we found what Libby had been after when she went into the water.

I think I've been hearing this guy serenade us at night.

Since we purchased the new (to us) sofa and move the old one, Shiloh seems to think the old sofa is now his. He likes to take naps on it and finds it very useful in facilitating barking at the neighbors.

It seems like an awfully large dog bed to me.

Saturday With The Pack

2006-08-05T22:07:00.000-04:00

Joanna has been enjoying the extra dogs. She really likes Libby.

This is what you get if you stand around with a dog biscuit.

I'm not so sure about one of those dogs.

Today we took the pack outside for some play time. They seemed to enjoy being outside.

Libby went for a swim in the lake so we had to hose her off.

Mopsy had to bark at everything.

There was fetch time

and frolic time.

After we came in Joanna had to check Libby's blood pressure to make sure she didn't over exert herself.

Joanna decided she was fine and gave her a party hat.

After that we went on a shopping expedition. I have really been wanting more seating in the living room. I'm tired of needing to bring in the dining room chairs. We didn't have a lot of money we could spend on furniture so we went to the Thrift Store. All furniture was half price. We found a standard size sofa. I figured that combined with our smaller sofa should help with the seating problem. We looked it over and checked under the cushions. No stains or rips in the fabric. The upholstery was certainly not something I would choose but the price was right so we got it.

Yeah, I know it looks like something my grandmother owned when I was little but it was $25. At least I didn't get those round brass plate wall hangings to put over the top of it.

Havin' a Heat Wave

2006-08-03T20:18:00.000-04:00

Here it is, the official porch thermometer picture for yesterday. Imagine if it had been in the sun instead of on a shady porch!

Joanna wanted to play outside anyway. The dread pirate Joanna the Yellow took about 3 rocks on her pony before fleeing to the comfort of the air conditioned house.

Dog Days of Summer

2006-08-02T09:35:00.000-04:00

The Misarski's are on vacation and we are taking care of their dogs. Normally this would mean that I would go to their house in the morning and evening to make sure the dogs had food and water and let them out to play and take care of any necessary business. We had to change that plan today. This is the weather report for today.

The room the dogs are in does not have air conditioning and I just couldn't leave them there in this heat. So here is what I have to deal with today.

The picture doesn't really capture the whole experience. Add in lots of barking and dominance struggles with Shiloh. The first thing that happened when they came in - Shiloh growled at them and Mopsy pinned him to the ground with her paw on his throat. Shiloh is now sitting in a corner sulking and giving a low growl whenever one of the interloping dogs approaches.

Mopsy is barking at everything. She makes Shiloh seem like a quiet dog. She barks when she needs to go out, she barks when she wants attention, she barks for no apparent reason. Sometimes Libby feels a need to join the chorus. I think I might just want to go ahead and take the Excederin now. I'm also thinking about going to see a movie, any movie.

How is Rick handling this? He is getting on an airplane. I told him I would be happy to take his client to their INS interview and he could stay here but he didn't think that would work.

Avast Ye Scurvy Dogs

2006-07-31T17:20:00.000-04:00

The Green house has been attacked by pirates!

Two notorious pirates were right here in the living room.

Joanna the Yellow soon spotted Captain Rick Scratchybeard and the battle was on.

After a long sword battle Captain Rick was defeated and Joanna stood victorious.

I've got to remember to lock the doors!

A Day at the Beach

2006-07-27T19:33:00.000-04:00

Ok, it's not much of a beach especially to someone who moved here from Huntington Beach, CA but it is as good as it gets in Grafton, MA.

Today I picked up the Misarski clan and we headed to Silver Lake Beach.

Joanna, Mariah, Bethany and Sam had a great time swimming, jumping off the dock and playing in the sand. Joanna didn't actually jump even though the water was only waist deep to her and the other kids were encouraging her. Instead she would sit on the dock and slide in.

We packed a picnic lunch and supplemented it with yummy treats from the ice cream stand. I think we all left tired and sandy. A good way to spend the day.

Making a Splash

2006-07-17T19:42:00.000-04:00

Summer fun continues at the Green house. I tried putting curlers in Joanna's hair put she did not want her picture taken. Patience was the key.

No pictures of the end product. She hated the curls and cried until I removed them with the spray bottle.

Speaking of spay, we decided to beat off the oppressive heat with a trip to the Northborough splash pad. She got to play and I got to sit in a chair and knit. Good time had by all!

The other night Joanna asked if she could have a leftover ball of yarn she found. She said she was going to set a trap for Shiloh.

I don't know, Shiloh is kind of low to the ground, this seemed a much more effective trap for mommy. I resisted the temptation of showing her how to make a more effective trap with the yarn, a yard stick, the laundry basket and a dog biscuit.

Back on the splash theme, we conducted a little experiment while waiting for the barbecue to heat up. The first step was a paper funnel and a bottle of Diet Coke.

We then used a paper clip and and piece of string for a "fuse."

The next step, Mentos. You will notice Joanna is safely in her bunker.

A quick pull of the string (and a wiggle of the paper funnel because the humidity made the Mentos stick to it) and we had our very own soda fountain!

Outdoor Beautification

2006-07-11T13:08:00.000-04:00

This morning Shiloh was being his usual self, sniffing along the ground looking for crumbs, when he found he had a little problem.

After laughing at him and taking his picture I tried to help him out. The basket handle was snug around his body with one of his legs stuck inside the basket. Trying to get him out was not fun. He doesn't like his feet messed with so he would growl at me and I would pin him down and hold his nose to show him who was in charge. He's lucky I didn't leave him in the basket.

After the basket incident, Joanna got dressed and we went to Perreault Nurseries. I needed some stakes for my sweet peas. While we were there we had to look at all the plants, go in the butterfly greenhouse and feed the llamas. I found some bamboo stakes and I saw that annuals were marked down to 99 cent a try if you got six or more trays. Joanna rode around in the wagon while we picked out six trays. We also got a perennial she wanted (don't ask me what it is I have no clue about plants) which was 20% off.

When we got home I pulled out the weeds while Joanna watched then she said she had to sit down because she was tired. I guess watching work can really do you in. She did help me do the planting though. I would dig the hole and she would put the plants in. I think it looks very nice.

Joanna shows off the plant she picked out.

We came inside after and showered off. Now it sounds like God is getting ready to water our new plants.

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

2006-07-09T15:55:00.000-04:00

We can start with the lazy part.

I think we need a bigger sofa.

I took Joanna to the discount shoe store to get some nice white summer sandals. We buy some every summer since her feet tend to grow at least 2 sizes over winter. We looked at all the cute little sandals but she didn't want any of them. She pulled out a pair of ugly plastic shoes and told me she wanted them in yellow. No cheap knock offs for her. We went to the sporting goods store and she found herself a pair of yellow Crocs. I made the mistake of saying "okay" then looking at the price. I have always purchased cheap shoes for her. They only last a season and she outgrows them. On the average I pay $10 for a pair of shoes for her. These were $25! More than I wanted to pay but not so much that I needed to back out of the purchase. Oh well, she loves them. She wears them everywhere, even to church with a dress. If I need to find her I can scan the ground for the bright yellow feet.

She wore them to Rocketland and they were great for climbing but not so good on the slide. She put down her feet halfway down the slide and the grip on the shoes almost flipped her right over.

Yesterday evening we needed to pick Rick up at the airport in Providence. I figured we could spend the afternoon at the Roger Williams Park Zoo since it is really close to the airport. It is a nice zoo but I have been terribly spoiled by the San Diego Zoo. I got a few pictures of Joanna sitting on statues and her favorite animal, the tamarin. The moment we got there she kept telling me she wanted to see the monkeys. When we left 3 hours later she was telling me "I can't walk another walk." Mission accomplished!

Happy Birthday Rick!

2006-07-02T21:33:00.000-04:00

Today is rmgreenesq's birthday! Yesterday we took Joanna to her first movie at a theater. We went to see Cars. Great movie and Joanna managed to behave herself in the theater. She had a little trouble with the chair. When she would try to sit all the way back the chair would try to fold in on itself. I wish I could have gotten a picture of her sitting on the edge of the seat, clutching a giant bag of popcorn with both hands, eyes fixed on the giant image in front of her.

Last night we went to the end of the street to watch the local fireworks display. Joanna didn't like the loud noise and I think she would have been happier if the show were shorter.

After staying up to watch fireworks it was pretty hard getting Joanna ready for church this morning. She did not want to get out of bed. With much effort we got her dressed in the outfit Rick bought her in San Antonio. She made a perfect grumpy cowgirl.

After church and lunch Joanna and I made Rick a cake. We made peanut butter cake! Joanna helped stir and tasted all the ingredients to make sure they were ok.

While the cake was baking, Joanna helped shuck the corn.

When the cake was done we decorated it with peanut butter M&Ms. If you look real close and use some imagination it says "Happy Birthday Daddy"

The cake was delicious! Very moist, not too sweet and not overwhelmingly peanut buttery The icing was really more of a glaze than a frosting. The only really sweet part was the decorations. I think it would be really good with chopped nuts on the top.

Joanna the Bracero

2006-06-22T14:59:00.000-04:00

The weather this morning was very nice, even though thunderstorms are predicted for this evening. For the morning the impending storm just created a nice cooling breeze. Joanna and I went to Tougas Farm.

Joanna started by visiting the goats. She thought the long beard on this one was pretty funny.

After the goats it was off to the playground. There were plenty of tires to play on.

Soon it was time to get to work picking strawberries. With both of us working we soon had a nice bunch of strawberries to take home.

Farm labor is hard work so we stopped for a yummy blueberry smoothie before heading home.

We were both pretty tired when we got home.

Father's Day

2006-06-22T14:29:00.000-04:00

Happy Father's Day Rick!

For your hard work and dedication you get a one-of-a-kind designer tie and a decorative mobile all hand crafted for you during junior church.

After church it is lunch at Outback followed by relaxing at home and a knitting lesson from Joanna.

In the late afternoon the neighbor kids will try to show Joanna how to use the Slip 'N Slide while Shiloh looks on with curious uncertainty.

Sounds like a great day to me.

A Very Busy Day

2006-06-22T13:58:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday was very busy. On Saturday morning we went to a picnic at Hopkinton State Park. It was an end of school party for Joanna's preschool.

There was a ton of food and Joanna had a great time hanging out with her friend Abigail and playing with the other kids,

You might notice that in the last picture she had a long weed in her mouth. When I asked her why she said she was doing the tango.

Joanna, Abigail and Abigail's mom and older sister went to splash around on the beach by the lake while Rick and I picked everything up. When we went to go get her she really did not want to leave. Rick had to carry her. I told Abby's mom I would give her a call to arrange some time for the girls to get together this summer.

We then went to Rick's office so he could meet with some clients and I could write the church bulletin. Joanna was not doing too well at working on her own so as soon as the bulletin was done I took her to a nearby bookstore. She picked out a Father's Day card and she saw a little globe she thought daddy needed. We got a gift bag and some paper, wrapped the gift and headed back to the office.

The work at the office was done so it was off to the next event, Missy Newman's graduation party. There was another great lot of food and kids to run and play with. Just after dusk the host set up a ice line of citronella candles in the yard. Soon after Joanna and Mariah went along that line blowing them all out.

After all this we thought for sure that Joanna would fall asleep on the ride home. Nope! We got home with a keyed up, hyper-tired grumpy kid who did not want to go to bed. I guess car ride magic doesn't always work.

Last Day of School!

2006-06-16T08:45:00.000-04:00

Joanna just went off for her last day of school. This morning was very different from other mornings. She usually gets out of bed looking like this.

I was really tempted to leave the red eye from the flash on that one.

This morning she was up and ready before Rick was. She even got her picture taken in the shirt Auntie Julie got her in Thailand.

She also wanted to show off the picture she drew.

After the pictures were taken she got her shows and socks on then stood at the door saying "Come on Daddy!"

In other news, Joanna learned to knit! You can read more about that here.

Slip Slidin' Away

2006-06-11T17:18:00.000-04:00

We finally had a sunny day today! Joanna got to wear her new dress to church.

After church we went to Ainsley's house for a dedication reception. Joanna had a lot of fun playing with the other kids.

When we got home we set up the Slip 'N Slide in the yard.

Joanna modeled her new swim suit.

Daddy tried to show her how the Slip 'N Slide worked.

Joanna didn't want to run and jump so she just tried to go through with a commando crawl.

She was very proud of herself when she got to the end.

Joanna Turns Four!

2006-06-10T21:50:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Joanna!

We started the day opening gifts from the family. Joanna can't wait to try her new Slip 'N Slide from Uncle Rob.

We had planned to have the party at Davis Farmland but the weather did not cooperate. It was very rainy and the farm did not open. Fortunately the Bells came to our rescue and offered their house for the party. They even put up a sign!

The party was great. The kids had a lot of fun and Joanna enjoyed her "Pirate Dora" cake. That took a little improvising.

After the party Joanna still had another gift, a new big girl bike.

She is still learning how to use it and if we can get some sun she will be able to get more practice.

With my camera and Rick's parents camera in action we got way too many photos to put them all here. If you want to see the rest, just click here.

Slow Boat Through Grafton

2006-05-28T17:38:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Joanna saw something surprising in our back yard.

People were fishing behind our house! Not only that they said they had caught some.

This made Joanna want to go out in a boat. Rick promised to take Joanna on a canoe ride. She was a little nervous about it remembering seeing our friend Greg and his son Jonah tip the thing over last year.

We convinced her that if she sat still and did what she was told this would not happen to her. She put on her life vest (yellow of course) and they got in the canoe.

Soon they were on their way. I walked up the road to watch them. Rick and I later debated who got the most exercise. He had to row but I walked over the big hill on Logan Path the get the pictures. I think this photo may support my side.

Zooming in it looks like someone might be slacking there.

Soon they were coming back in and Zena was very happy to see them.

After getting out and hauling the canoe out of the water Joanna said "Let's go again!"

Amoxicillin to the Rescue!

2006-05-25T15:59:00.000-04:00

This was Joanna all day yesterday.

Blanket, pillow, Little Zena and television. At one point Dora was asking everyone to jump up and Joanna responded to the TV, "Can't, too sick."

Her fever shot up to 103 last night so I made an appointment with the pediatrician this morning. Turns out she has a nasty ear infection. We started the antibiotics today and she will probably be feeling better tomorrow.

While we were filling her prescription, she saw some nail polish she wanted so when we got home she got a manicure and a pedicure.

Anyone surprised by the color? It's called "Taxi Yellow Creme".

On the upside of staying home 2 days with a grumpy child, I cleared a lot of old stuff from the TiVo, got a lot of knitting done and had dinner ready before 7:00.

I think I will be glad to go back to work.

Not Feeling Well

2006-05-23T18:35:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks ago we purchased an Ikea loveseat from eBay. I told Rick that we needed more seating in the waiting area at the front of his office. There was only one chair and many of his clients came in pairs. As a temporary measure I moved the two guest seats from his office out there since he met with most of his clients in the conference room anyway. When we saw the loveseat on eBay we thought in would go well with his Ikea desk and could replace the chairs. After we got it we found it was very low to the ground. Rick's clients would be looking across the desk at his belly. We moved the guest chairs back to his office and put the loveseat out front.

When it started raining in the office we folded it up and put it in a little alcove at the back of the office. Since they still have not fixed the roof it remains there.

Today the loveseat found a purpose.

I got a call from the school telling me Joanna was sick. Her school is in the same building as the office so I went down to get her. She had vomited on her mat during rest time. At least the vinyl mat was easy to clean.

When I came to get her she felt a little warm but the most telling sign was that she was quiet. This child is generally either talking or sleeping so something was definitely wrong.

I carried her up to the office and Rick set up the loveseat.

After a children's Motrin and a good two hour nap she seemed to feel a lot better. Pretty soon she was talking up a storm and getting into all of daddy's toys.

We will have to see how she feels when the Motrin wears off.

Hair and Other Unmanageable Things

2006-05-19T10:51:00.000-04:00

Joanna's hair has been a problem for a while. It is straight in the front and wavy in the back.
It is a bit windblown in this photo but I think you can see the problem.

I like little girls with long hair. I want to be able to brush it and braid it and put it up in pig tails and do all those cute girly hair things. Not going to happen. I'm lucky she lets me comb it. She doesn't want braids or bows. Clips are okay as long as they aren't actually holding back hair off her face. She did let me braid it before bed once.

I thought it would help keep it from tangling at night. It did, but it was wilder than ever the next day. I finally had to admit that I have a shaggy child.

Yesterday Rick decided he needed a hair cut so we all went to Supercuts after work. Joanna and I looked through the hair cut picture books. There were hair cuts for straight hair, hair cuts for curly hair, hair cuts for wavy hair, but no hair cuts for straight in the front/wavy in the back hair.

In the end we went for a simple bob.

Easy to take care of, nice for summer, and no more shaggy child. There was a lot of hair removed but it wasn't anywhere near as traumatic as Bernice.

After the hair cut we went to the mall so Rick could look at cell phones and he and Joanna took a ride on the carousel.

As for other unmanageable things, it's raining. No, I not talking about the rain outside, I'm talking about the rain inside.

It is raining in my office.

During the last rain we told the management company that the roof was leaking. They did nothing. During this current rain the leak has gotten much worse. Here is the wall just outside our door.

Nice. On Saturday one of the ceiling tiles became so saturated it fell and broke. Fortunately we had removed the computer from my desk but we did have to use the table in the conference room to dry out some papers.

This is the ceiling over my desk.

You should be very glad I can't upload the smell.

They did come and clean up the broken tile but this is what my desk looks like right now. I think we are using every trash can in the office to catch water.

I'm working in the conference room.

We were wondering why it was taking so long to fix the roof. Perhaps they were having trouble locating the breech. We went outside and looked up.

I don't know a lot about roofing or construction in general but I think I can see the problem.

My psychic powers are predicting an office relocation in our future.

Mother's Day

2006-05-15T20:16:00.000-04:00

There were a few years when Mother's Day was a day I wanted to wipe off the calendar. After my first pregnancy ended unexpectedly at 21 weeks, I did not need this day to remind me of what should have been. Each year the feelings of loss, failure and inadequacy all came rushing back and the pain was suddenly fresh again. The first Mother's Day after her death I had no idea how it was going to hit me. It had been 10 months. I went to church that Mother's Day without a clue what it was going to be like. When they started passing out flowers to the mothers, I found myself fleeing to the bathroom. One lady sought me out and gave me a flower. She told me not to forget that I was a mother too. I did not forget, but I made a point of not attending church on Mother's Day again.

When Joanna was born, I starting going again. I still have mixed feelings. I try to make sure I have something for my mom and that Rick gets something for his mom but I don't really expect a lot for myself. This year was nice.

Mother's Day began on Friday when Joanna's school had a Mother's Day tea. The children set the little tables with placemats, vases with flowers, a candle and a place card. There was coffee, tea, cookies, fruit, and bread the children had baked the day before. Each child also made a gift for their mother.

Joanna put her handprint in yellow and signed her name. All the letters are there, just not in the order you would expect.

It was great fun to try and gracefully sit in the tiny chair at the tiny table.

After the tea, each child gave their mother a rose.

On Sunday, Joanna made a card at Sunday school, and during the service she selected a yellow carnation for me. It was all very sweet, but I still remember when it wasn't.

For those of you who face the day with dread, I understand. It's over, take a breath, you've got another 364 days before it comes again. Perhaps the next one will be better.

Laura, mother of Joanna and Megan

Jonathan turns 2!

2006-05-08T09:52:00.000-04:00

On Saturday we went to celebrate Jonathan's birthday.

Nothing like new toys to play with.

There was craft time.

Joanna was in a very yellow mood and placed only yellow stickers on yellow paper.

Soon Joanna and Jonathan were ready for food

Jonathan's mommy made chocolate cake!

Joanna enjoyed the cake.

Jonathan really enjoyed the cake.

Sturbridge Revisited

2006-05-03T08:08:00.000-04:00

Our tickets for Old Sturbridge Village were good for a second visit so we took Rick with us this time. We got to wander into some of the building we missed the first time and revisit a couple of Joanna's favorites.

We went to "meet the teacher" at the schoolhouse. We had to bow/curtsy as we entered and sit in the rather uncomfortable benches. The teacher told us that in 1830 she would have actually been a "school keeper". She would have taught the 4 year olds their alphabet and basic reading. From there the kids were on there own to go through their lesson books and her job was just to keep the peace.

Out on the playground Joanna tried to figure out the hoop and stick. It looks a whole lot easier than it is.

We also went to the bookstore. Joanna picked out a little book that came with a tiny tea set. It also had little place cards and menus that you could remove from the book and recipes for miniature food. One example was a miniature chocolate cream pie that was a chocolate sandwich cookie with the top removed and whipped cream with chocolate sprinkles put on top. I got a a knitting book (of course).

On Sunday Joanna wanted to help Daddy mow the lawn. You're never to young to learn new chores! Because of her height she got totally covered in grass cuttings.

Various Things

2006-04-28T11:12:00.000-04:00

I have almost finished catching up from Rick's parent's visit. Of course I still need to wash sheets and collapse the trundle bed but that's another matter.

I saw I had a few pictures that I haven't shared yet. This first one if from trying to wake up Joanna for school. She really is not a morning person.

I also have a nice picture of Joanna modeling a new dress before church.

In other news, Rick has created his own blog. Just click the link on the side bar to read his ramblings. I have also made a separate blog for knitting stuff. You can go there to see Joanna's new sweater.

Chocolate and Farm Animals

2006-04-28T10:17:00.000-04:00

No, I did not feed any chocolate to farm animals. We did however watch chocolate being made and then go feed farm animals.

We started the day at the Hebert Candy Mansion for a tour.

We were very fashionable. I had my Ben & Jerry's cow shirt on for the trip to the farm and we all got attractive head wear for the tour.

We got to see chocolate being made and got some free samples at the end. Yummy!

After the chocolate tour we went to Davis Farmland.

This is a fabulous place for kids. If you don't have any children of your own and you would like to go there, you will need to borrow some. Adults must be accompanied by a child.

Joanna enjoyed feeding the animals and playing in the play areas. She is always good at finding friends.

There were also pony rides!

We went on the safari hay ride to see the different animals.

Like this one.

Looks like the llama version of king of the hill.

The hay ride stopped for a while at one point and this guy started to eat the hay bale Joanna was sitting on.

Joanna said "Hey!, He's eating my seat!" Then she decided to move to one of the center bales.

After the hay ride she chased/petted some cute spotted Jacob lambs.

There was also a place where you could paint your face. I think Joanna has watched mommy put on makeup too many times.

The green wristband in the pictures is part of the farm's security system. When leaving the farm they made sure my wristband matched Joanna's so they knew I was leaving with the same kid I came in with.

After painting her face Joanna spent the rest of the time in the play area. Great place, like a mini kid village. I think we will be going again.

Old Sturbridge Village

2006-04-27T16:10:00.000-04:00

Another fun trip we took was to Old Sturbridge Village.

We had another beautiful day and Joanna played the part with her sunbonnet.

Joanna got to try on some clothes.

There was a brand new baby lamb.

We got to ride in a wagon.

We went to the carding mill to see how wool was turning into roving and batting.

Joanna tried hand carding. Hmm, I think I have a fleece at home that needs carding.

Ever wonder where plastic milk comes from?

Feasting Time

2006-04-26T14:02:00.000-04:00

As part of the fun while Rick's parents were here, we went for a Fireside Feast at the Salem Cross Inn. This is an amazing event where they cook whole prime rib roasts on a spit in the fireplace.

It was a beautiful day there.

Joanna enjoyed exploring outside while the food was cooking.

It was a bit windy so we went inside for some warm cider and Joanna watched them make the apple pie.

The last part of the cooking done before the meal was the chowder. They cooked it in a big iron cauldron over the fire. Rick took a turn at stirring it.

Great fun, great meal! I highly recommend it.

Easter

2006-04-25T14:10:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know Easter was a little over a week ago, but things have been quite busy. Rick went flying, but I will leave that for him to write about. Grandma and Grandpa Green came to visit during Joanna's school vacation so we did lots of fun things. I will try to get caught up over the next few days, but today we are talking about Easter.

Joanna didn't exactly jump out of bed on Easter morning, even though she had a very nice basket waiting for her.

She was very excited to see it and she dug right in.

She really liked all the "jewels" she found in her basket.

After the basket was empty, it was time for church.

Joanna put on the pretty dress and sweater Grandma Jeanette had sent her and topped it off with last years hat.

After that it was time to find some eggs!

There were eggs on the porch.

There were eggs in the house.

Where could that last egg be?

All eggs present and accounted for!

Anyone for candy and egg salad sandwiches?

Binky: Part II

2006-04-08T17:25:00.000-04:00

It was time to try again for a visit from the Binky Fairy. This time Joanna agreed that if I made a special binky basket, she would put her binky in it for the binky fairy.

I made a small basket using strips of colored card stock and tape. This was one of those things that sounded like it was going to be a lot easier to do than it actually was.

Joanna put the binky in the basket and we set it out for the binky fairy.

We knew it would be a tough night so we let her stay in our bed. The was much weeping and mourning for binky and she finally fell asleep about an hour later than normal.

During the night the Binky Fairy came.

Joanna was thrilled with what she found.

She gave Dora a big hug and we played a few games of Elefun.

Joanna still misses her binky but I think she will be fine. We will see how bedtime goes tonight.

Sleep Over

2006-04-07T11:42:00.000-04:00

We had a guest last night.

Lawrence came to stay with us while his mommy went to go see a baseball game. Joanna thought he had a pretty good idea with the binky. We are going to try to get rid of it again this weekend. Hope it goes better than the last time.

Joanna had a great time playing "big sister". We thought Lawrence needed some hair so we tried out some knitted hair on him.

Eventually, all that hard playing lead to some hard sleeping.

In the morning they both enjoyed a bowl of cereal with blueberries before Lawrence went home with his mommy and Joanna went off to school. Shiloh (the dog) acted as the official floor cleaning service.

I Dressed Myself Today!

2006-04-05T09:21:00.000-04:00

The title really says it all on this one. She started out wearing matching clothes but I guess they just weren't to her taste. She went to her room and put together this ensemble. Please don't tell Mr. Blackwell.

Joanna has also been decorating her room. She and her friend Abigail exchanged artwork at school. Joanna was very pleased with the painting her friend gave her and wanted it framed and hung over her bed.

I think it really compliments the Scooby sheets.

The Great Binky Fiasco

2006-04-02T14:31:00.000-04:00

Well, we tried. Joanna was ready to give up the binky. She said she wanted to tie it to balloons and send it to the "binky fairy".

It was a warm sunny day. We went and got 6 bright yellow balloons, Joanna's choice, and headed to the park. One of the balloons popped in the van but we figured 5 would do. When we reached the park a storm was blowing in and just as we parked the car the heavens opened and the rain came down.

We waited a few minutes to see if the rain would blow out as quickly as it came in. Joanna fell asleep. So, back to the house with the sleeping child, the balloons and the binky.

Mom and Dad: 0 Binky: 1

By 5:00 the weather had cleared and we woke up Joanna for another try. It was very nice at the park.

Rick tied the balloons to the binky.

Joanna took one last suck then prepared to send the binky off to the binky fairy.

Just then a sudden wind came up and the knot that was holding the binky came loose.

Back to the car we went. Binky in hand, no balloons, and Joanna crying "I want my balloons!" "I want my yellow balloons!"

Fortunately we were headed to the YMCA for "Parent's Night Out" and the excitement of arriving there for a night of pizza, ice cream and playing with other kids helped her forget about the balloons.

Final score:

Mom and Dad: 0 Binky: 2

Joanna says she will keep the binky another week. <sigh>

2006-03-28T10:20:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our new blog!

There isn't much here yet but give use time and we will make it a real blog.