October Drama plus Pictures

As an update on what's been happenin' lately....

Hurricane Sandy:  Last week, we were fortunate to have a relatively light brush with effects of Hurricane Sandy.  .....although Brock did manage to get our Ikea blue & yellow umbrella blown inside out(!)  The wind was fierce, but rain was not so bad.  In the metro Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area, there were minimal issues with power outages - in fact, we never lost power.  You boys missed 2 days of school, which isn't bad compared to some local districts that closed Monday-Friday (you were sorry last week, but will probably be happy about it come June!).  It was very, very different in New Jersey, where many of my co-workers live (some of whom lost power for over a week and are having to wait in long lines for gas).  You may have noticed some early morning and evening emails & phone calls, as Steve and I tried to get information out to people we work with.  By the end of the week, I was very glad that things were almost back to normal.

Halloween:  This year for Halloween, Brock dressed as a Spartan - and picked out the image below showing armor & sword just like his costume.  Brock wore his costume to the October cub scout pack meeting.  When Halloween did arrive, we went trick-or-treating with Dad, after rehearsing the Halloween verse:
     "Witches, ghosts and goblins, Walking down the street.  Knock on every doorway, "Trick or Treat".
We also heard this joke:
     "What did the abominable snowman give to the vampire?  'Frost bite!'"
Lately, there are very few houses where kids have to have to sing, do a trick, tell a joke etc. in exchange for candy.  There are also lots more people giving out healthy stuff like pretzels - eek!

Norse Gods:  We are now reading the D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths.  Am not certain I pronounce many names correctly, but we do enjoy the stories.  You boys especially like troublemaker Loki (pictured below).  We had a big laugh about the Vanir beheading the wise Mimir, and sending his head to Asgard.  Odin brought Mimir's head back to life, then kept it around for future consultations.  And you guys love the idea of Valhalla where warriors spend the after-life fighting all day, then feasting all night after re-attaching various severed parts.  We have lots of interesting stories to go!

Some Recent Pictures

• Steve and I visited Grammy and Grandad last month.  We had a lovely time at Longwood Gardens, which you probably think is incredibly boring.  Longwood Gardens was originally an estate owned by the du Pont family.  You can read about the owner here  -->  Pierre du Pont  ...  sound familiar?  The du Pont family started a gunpowder mill in the early 1800's, and it has since become a huge chemical company.  Steve took many beautiful pictures, including the next two below.

                I went to Longwood Gardens as a girl and remember these sculpted bushes. 

                                          Grammie especially liked the waterlilies.

                                          And here's all of us "old folks"!

• Last, here are some of my pictures.....  our house at Sharpe Street on a pretty fall day.

Hurricane Sandy brought down the last of the pretty leaves, and now it's on to November.  Holiday time is coming up before long!

October Events

Time to get caught-up on recent events in and around Wyoming.....

• Sasha is fully recuperated from removal of his wisdom teeth.  Meanwhile, Brock had 5 baby teeth pulled as well.  Like Sasha, he missed 2 days of school - and generally bounced back very quickly.  Here's a picture of Brock's teeth (which are now going to Dad's china cabinet for safe-keeping).  The tooth fairy kindly left $20, but did not take the teeth due to their excess weight.

• Our neighbor Sherry has been taking very good care of Mr. and Mrs. Leopard, and now she is also taking care of Baby Lep!  He/she (it's too early to know gender) was incubated at Pet Zone, and came home to Sharpe Street a few weeks ago.  Baby is colorful and growing nicely - eats small crickets voraciously, per Sherry.  Here's a picture of the newest addition to our extended family:

• In Scout news.....  as of the October pack meeting of Cub Scout Troop 366, Brock you have now officially graduated to become a Webelo.  We are very excited that you have finished all your Bear Cub accomplishments!  They included tying knots with Dad, and researching local history e.g., Frances Slocum & the Wyoming Massacre.  Also involved attempting to make a bird feeder with me, the remains of which effort are in a local landfill.

• The"Warrior Nation" is us:

1. Two weeks ago, you Sasha spent a cold evening at a Wyoming Area vs. Meyers football game.  Had a nice time with friends Gage, Conrad and Alexis1 (Gage had a romantic interest in Alexis1 when school started; quite recently, he switched his attention to Alexis2).  Temperatures were in the '40's, so in an effort to keep warm you frequented the nearby Dunkin Donuts.  Had 1 energy drink and 2 large coffees, then stayed up until 4 am Saturday while the caffeine wore off.  Read more about the actual game here -->  WA Wins 50-20
2. Brock, Steve and I spent a lovely evening in the '60's at yesterday's Wyoming Area vs. Northwest Area (i.e., Shickshinny) game.  Unfortunately, Sasha did not come along.  Brock, you were disappointed about not getting your hair spray painted green, but perked up when offered an LED flashing mouthpiece instead.  You had a great time playing/running with your friends especially Bryce and Michael.  Steve kept me company, including active prevention of cold hands, attempted translation of cheers, instant-recounting of plays that I didn't see, and a walk around the field.  And 5 years after the last Cookie Corner graduation, there's another use for your toddler sleeping bag - it's the perfect size to drape over bleacher seats!!  A good time was had by all.  Plus Steve wrote about the game on NCFE -->  Yeah Team!

• Last Tuesday, we were over-scheduled with 1) therapist appointment at 3:30, 2) soccer practice at 5:30, and 3) appointment for flu shot at 7:45 (note:  first and third items are at the same location, Pediatric Associates in Kingston).  At 7 pm, I sent the following semi-desperate text;  "R fell in the mud at soccer, came home & put him in the shower, changed shower head to fire-hose setting he wanted, came downstairs to finish dinner, bathroom floor flooded, burned rice, A tells me over dinner that he needs dress-up clothes for tomorrow and I left my jacket at the therapist office."  As it turned out, things improved slightly - I found my jacket upstairs on the ironing table.  We did still make it to the flu shot appointment and  got khaki pants & attractive shirt at BonTon.  After school Wednesday, Sasha reported this English presentation for which dress-up was required went Very Well!  Wish I had gotten a picture before he left in the morning, as it will probably be a couple months before there is a chance to see him in duds other than t-shirt and hoodie.

• The Pioneers fall soccer program wrapped up this week, with Brock's last game held on Thursday evening.  The end-of-season party was this afternoon at Fort Cafe.  The wings and pizza were popular, and I was a bit surprised to hear "You hurt my wienie!".  You later informed me, Brock, that your teammate Steven (a 3rd grader) was the injured party.

• With Halloween approaching, tonight Dad took you Brock to the "Trails of Terror" sponsored by the West Wyoming Fire Department.  (During your outing, Sasha and I went clothes-shopping at Sears and looked around at Best Buy.)  You are now sitting and the front porch with Ashley, serenading Sasha and me by playing your recorder.  With Hurricane Sandy aka "Frankenstorm" approaching, there is talk of trick-or-treating tomorrow night (Sunday), rather than on Halloween night (Wednesday).

And to wrap up, here are two of your current favorite songs from YouTube.  Here are 21 Guns  by "Green Day" and Welcome to the Black Parade by "My Chemical Romance".