My family recently had a weekend reunion and one of the activities on the agenda was a sing-along out in the mountains of Idaho. Since we couldn’t be there (and I typically provide the guitar accompaniment) my sister asked me to record some songs that could be used in our absence.
The result was 4 subtitled videos that were projected up on the exterior wall of a cabin for a family of about 25 people to sing along to. I picked songs that I figured most of the grandchildren (my nieces and nephews) would know and actually sing along to. That was easy because I have a few songs that I play all the time that our kids dance and jam to.
What I did NOT expect was the comedic relief of Kate to come out in the filming. I was cracking up when I was making the final edits of the movies, and when I showed Jeana, we were rolling with laughter. There are some clips that must not go unnoticed, and to that end I have produced a quick sequence of the highlights for your viewing pleasure.
One thing I didn’t notice until just barely was the part when Audrey jumps off the chair and doesn’t make the landing. That’s about the only subtle part of the sequence.
To see the full length films check out the Songs of the Day:
At Scott’s last soccer game, I actually got some pictures of him playing! Usually, I’m so busy chasing after Simon, I’m lucky to see the game at all.
This time however, I was a little more focused on the game and didn’t see what crazy Audrey was up to until she was already at the top.
She climbed it over and over and over again….until she ended up with a blister on her toe. I guess that’s what she was mainly using to grip with.
At half time, Scott encouraged her to reach up and grab the top with her hand. What a little monkey!
This month was the annual “Take Our Children to Work Day” at IBM. Simon was not eligible to attend quite yet, but I think next year he’ll be able to. Our kids look forward to this event far in advance and this year we had a pre-event IBM visit while Jeana was in Colorado.
Jeana dropped the girls off at my office at 10am (yes I actually went into the office for once) and we raced to the first events on the schedule. Jeana had them prepared with backpacks of books to read and to color/write in, toys to play with, and food to eat. Of course, I had the backup plan of two DVDs in my backpack just in case of an emergency. The exciting part is that we went from 10am to 4pm non-stop and then they hung out and played for an hour while I wrapped up some work. We left the office around 5:15pm and they didn’t even fall asleep on the way home. I think they have built up the stamina to make it through a full work day now.
Here are some highlights from our day.
The first thing we wanted to do was go to the cookie walk. They must have walked in circles at least 10 times before Audrey’s cookie was called out. She stood at the cookie reward table trying to decide what to get for quite a while. Finally, she chose a bag of three brownies so that she could share – how sweet. Kate’s cookie was never called out, so we decided to leave.
Downstairs in the old library there were displays of countries around the world. They played instruments from Guatemala, declined spicy gum from Mexico, experienced boredom at the USA table, spoke Portuguese at the Brazil table, and met my friend at the Africa table.
What kids event would be complete without a visit from a fire engine? We got to the engine right before they had to leave, but we still got to climb inside and sit in their chairs. One of the nice firefighters (you could tell he either had kids or has been around them lots) showed Audrey and Kate a “magic door” on the back of the engine where the ladders were stored.
We had lunch in my office – you can see Kate’s spread of food above – and then watched a spelling bee for second, third, and fourth grade kids. Audrey was sad she wasn’t old enough yet to participate, but next year she’ll be ready. When the host would call out the word, I would hurry and have Audrey spell it in my ear. She did alright, but she’ll be better off waiting a year to compete with kids older than her.
Professor Sparky gave us a presentation about volts, microvolts and megavolts. He showed us a theremin and let us try it out! Theremins are the devices used in old scary movies to make UFO or alien sounds.
The day ended with a performance by a local musician / story-teller, Staci Gray. Staci was great with the kids and involved them by having them stand up and move around during the songs. She concluded her show by turning on a bubble machine which invoked a sort of kids mosh-pit up front. Audrey and Kate begged me to let them go up. I hesitated to let them, but gave in and let them go. Here is a clip of the hokey pokey to open the show.
Thanks IBM for a wonderful event again, and for helping me spend fun quality time with my kids. We’re looking forward to next year!
My soccer season at IBM ended a few weeks ago. At one of the games near the end of the season I happened to be in the right place at the perfect moment, and with a great amount of luck, shot a goal to the top-left corner of the net. I was so excited, as you can imagine, since I normally play a defensive position, that I was tempted to grab the front of my shirt and lift it up over my head and go screaming up the field. My better judgment kicked in and I left my shirt on. I’d like to say that my contribution to the offense made a difference but it didn’t. Our team has seen better seasons than this one.
In the last game of the season, I had a bit of a collision with the opposing forward and my ankle is swollen, green, and causing a severe amount of whining to spew from my mouth. Poor Jeana has to listen to me complain about it constantly.
While Jeana and Simon were gallivanting in the mountains of Colorado, I was home trying to get work done while the girls took care of themselves. Audrey and Kate were amazing. They played and played and played making it possible for me to work as much as I needed to while Jeana was gone.
I took them to my new office which has no decorations on the wall and commissioned them to create a mural for me to enjoy. I also took a stack of recent pictures they had drawn for me and tacked them up on another wall above my desk. Audrey told me, “Thanks for hanging up these pictures dad.”
My sister, Michelle, sent a book to the girls of how to draw. Audrey has been practicing with that book, and you can see in the images above teddy bears, a snake, a wizard, and a cauldron. Audrey is also really good at drawing snails. Kate focused on butterflies and flowers. I asked Kate to draw Jeana in the mountains – which she did.
Kate has been practicing her cartwheels so she can go to Capital Gymnastics this fall. I think in her mind she has to be able to do them before she can go, a prerequisite if you will. The girls took it to the next level and started doing cartwheels without their hands.
Jeana was gone the weekend of the World Cup finals. The girls and I decided we’d have a World Cup party. They were insistent on streamers and balloons, and I wanted to make a dutch oven cake. I ended up burning the bottom of the cake, but luckily we had ice cream to try to drown out the burned taste.
Chris and I ended up watching the Germany vs. Uruguay match – well I did while Chris napped – and the girls played. Every time a goal was scored I’d get their attention and have them watch the replays.
I used to fix the girls’ hair all the time when they were younger. I’m not sure when that stopped, but I was ill-prepared for fixing their hair on Sunday morning while Jeana was gone. They ended up with the same back-pony as I call it and coated in spray gel.
Each day while Jeana was away, Audrey and Kate did a fantastic job of keeping their room clean. They were amazed every day when the Room Fairy left them a treat and note saying, “Congratulations! Keep up the good work.” One day Audrey left a thank you gift on her bed in hopes that the Room Fairy would come and find it. Well, the Room Fairy did come that day, and the Room Fairy accepted the gift. When Audrey discovered that she came running to me to tell me, “The Room Fairy took the sea shell I left her!”
