The D&#39;s Full Feed

Brian » Juliet, Naked

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:01:37 +0000

Juliet, Naked: A Novel by Nick Hornby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Nick Hornby, once again, flat out nails his characters. The seemingly reclusive “genius” musician, the lonely internet fans who stalk him, and most especially the woman trapped in a relationship she hates but can’t escape. He gives them all voices, and paints them such that you are sympathetic to each, yet you are still able to see each for the flawed individuals they are.
Classic Hornby, well worth the read.
Next up is Far North, by Marcel Theroux, National Book Award nominee.

Evan » Almost Three

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:35:01 +0000

Evan turns three in a few short days. He celebrated his birthday at school today with his friend Abby, who has the same birthday. Lisa made special Dora and Diego cupcakes for the birthday couple.

Diego.

Dora.
She’s got some talent, that wife of mine.

The cutest birthday couple ever.

What would a party be without birthday hats?

Yankees Win 27th World Series Title [Digg]

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:50:48 PST

Yankees defeated the Phillies 4 games to 2 in the World Series to win their 27th overal title.

Best Soccer Goal Celebration Ever (GIF) [Digg]

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:35:37 PST

Less is more in this case.

Pabst Brewing Co. for sale [Digg]

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:42:43 PST

Pabst brands own a special place in beer history, and include Schlitz, Colt 45 and Old Milwaukee. But the brand that may end up getting the company sold is Pabst Blue Ribbon, a hipster favorite that is seeing skyrocketing sales.

Ellie » Junior Great Books

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:05:49 +0000

Last year when Ellie started Kindergarten, the teacher asked the kids what they wanted to do in Kindergarten. A lot of the kids said things like “I want to play in the classroom’s kitchen,” or “I want to color.” Stuff like that. Ellie, on the other hand, said that she wanted to learn how to read (specifically, she wanted to learn how to read “Brown Bear, Brown Bear). She did, obviously, and this year, she got picked as one of the first students to participate in the first grade “Junior Great Books” program. It’s something that’s supposed to challenge her more than the usual one sentence per page books she usually brings home to practice reading. Yesterday she brought home the first story for the program: Mother of the Waters, a Haitian folktale. Definitely more challenging material.
We’re very proud of our smart girl!

Eco-Friendly Water Bottles: SIGG Gets Stung by BPA [Digg]

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:00:17 PDT

Many consumers are feeling deceived now that SIGG has been outed for failing to tell the public that its bottles were not BPA-free, at least not the ones that were manufactured before August 2008

Gary Brolsma (Numa Numa Guy) Conducts MSU Marching Band [Digg]

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:22:49 PDT

Brian » The Golden Compass

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:25:18 +0000

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A little bit late for Banned Books Week, but that’s why I read it. So I suppose that I understand why religious defenders would be upset about this book. It’s certainly not appreciative of religion in general, and more specifically religious leadership. But if you read the book for the sake of enjoying a book, like I do, rather than try to read meanings into it, it’s very entertaining. I was definitely caught up in the story and found myself turning the pages quickly more often than not. And I’m hooked in to reading the remaining two books of the trilogy as well.
Next up is Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby.

Football, Dog Fighting, and Brain Damage [Digg]

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:19:50 PDT

Malcolm Gladwell looks at the long term effects of playing football and contrasts with the experiences of dogs used in dog fighting.

Happy 15th Birthday, Netscape Navigator! [Digg]

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:37:51 PDT

We celebrate the birthday of a browser that changed the Web.

Mile Long Trail of Shit Closes Beach [Digg]

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:31:22 PDT

Swimmers and sunbathers arriving at Humiston Park Beach in Vero Beach, FL got a disgusting surprise last Wednesday evening when they found a mysterious mile-long trail of large feces in the sand. The Environmental Health Department was able to rule out humans as the source of the mess, but it took a bit more digging to determine the actual culprit.

Brian » Founders Breakfast Stout

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:56:30 +0000

At some point, I will have a taste-off of my favorite stouts, and this will certainly be among them.
None of my pours so far have yielded much of a head to speak of, but the thin one that does show up laced the glass fully. The color is dark as night, deliciously chocolate.
What an aroma! Coffee and dark chocolate. Mocha beer!
I could go on for days describing the fine nuances of the flavor of this beer. Coffee, of course. Dark roasted malt. Dark chocolate. I really don’t notice the alcohol coming through, though there is a hint of something like what I get from a bourbon stout. But this one needs no help from anything like a barrel, it stands on its own.
Thick but not to the point of being chewy. And, as I mentioned before, the alcohol is hard to detect, so I could drink these for a while.
Awesome, awesome beer.
Overall rating: 4.75 (New stout record! It beats Bell’s Kalamazoo and Dogfish Head World Wide Stout.)

Brian » The Lost Symbol

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:10:13 +0000

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I don’t think anyone will be surprised to learn that this book follows the Dan Brown Formula: fast-paced, short chapters, utterly non-sensical conspiracy theories culminating in the good guys “winning.” That said, while I enjoyed Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code, I did not enjoy this one nearly as much.
I live in the DC area. From the beginning, I was disappointed in his interpretation of the city. He drove across the Memorial Bridge from Dulles? And looked to his left to see the Jefferson Memorial? Basic stuff that a guy who put so much effort into explaining his symbology should have been able to correct. And then there was the whole Noetic Science angle, and the weighing the human soul thing. Frankly, Mr. Brown just went off the deep end a bit on this one, trying to top himself. Too bad.

Brian » Olive’s Ocean

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:38:19 +0000

Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A Banned Books Week special review. Challenged for “sexually explicit, offensive language.” Sigh. There is so little of this “language,” it has to have been for a one paragraph description of the parents’ “MSB,” “Morning Sex Behavior.” What a stupid reason to challenge an otherwise completely inoffensive and touching book.
The book itself is a very quick read, being aimed at the “tween” set. Martha is a young girl trying to figure out her place in the world and realizing that the world does not, in fact, revolve around her. The book doesn’t even give her a happy ending, but it definitely holds some lessons to be learned.
Next up, I’ll be tackling the more challenging Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya.

Brian » Victory Prima Pils

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:38:15 +0000

This one is going to spoil me on other pilseners.
Pale yellow color, good substantial frothy white head. Looks great.
Mostly hoppy aroma, lemon too.
Very hoppy flavor as well. More citrus and herbal flavors too. But the hops were more than I expected. A full-flavored pils, wow!
Finish is nice and dry, only some slight bitterness left behind.
I’ve had a few people recommend this one to me, and I’m definitely glad I tried it out.
Overall rating: 4.5

Brian » New Holland Ichabod Ale

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:47:40 +0000

Great looking pour, good head and lacing, nice copper color.
Nothing much in the aroma, somewhat earthy I guess. A touch of pumpkin when I look for it.
I was surprised by the hop bitterness here, not what I would expect in a pumpkin. But first there is a definite pumpkin sweetness, with some undertones of pumpkin spices like nutmeg, and a little cinnamon.
A good fall seasonal, I think.
Overall rating: 3.9

The D's » First Day of School 2009

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:13:12 +0000

Hard to believe, but we now have two kids in school! Wow. Ellie started the first grade, and she’s already an old pro. She’s in the same classroom as she was in last year, thanks to a fluke in scheduling, so she didn’t even need us to walk her to class. Evan started two days a week of preschool. He had a harder time of things at first. He eventually warmed up though, after seeing Ellie’s picture on his classroom wall (she had the same preschool teacher her first year), and especially when his buddy Abby showed up. He’s got a little crush, and who could blame him? Now, the important stuff: pictures!

Ready to get out the door.

Say cheese!

Ellie was obviously ready to go, in spite of the rain. Why does it always have to rain on the first day of school? I guess we shouldn’t complain as long as it’s nice for outdoor birthday parties.

Evan wasn’t too far behind. A little slow, but he’ll get used to it.

Crossing the busy street.

The “clique” is ready to terrorize first grade.

She knew right where her seat was, and waved me off after sitting down and immediately started reading her book.

Evan had just said goodbye to Mom when I showed up to take pictures. He was having a tough time. But I brought with me the magic solution: his ever-cheery buddy Abby! He toughened up after seeing her immediately get down to playing with the blocks. Seriously, is she not the cutest? I’d be trying to impress her too!

Obviously he was okay, because when we came to pick him up, this is how we found him: still playing with the toys, no trouble at all.

Walking home after the first day with their ginormous backpacks. Too cute!

Mac and cheese for lunch, post-first day.

A happy reunion at the end of Ellie’s first day.

Ellie » Ellie Turns Six!

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:01:18 +0000

It is truly unbelievable that our little girl is now six years old. Nearly as unbelievable as the fact that it took me nearly three weeks to get these pictures up. So without further ado….

The fairy for the “Pin the wings on the Fairy” game.

The wings on the fairy. Once the first kids got one close, the others just felt around and put theirs right on top!

Ellie’s example of how to decorate fairy wings.

The rest of the wings, drying out from the extreme overapplication of glitter glue. Shocking, I know.

Another fine cake creation by Lisa.

The happy six-year-old blows out the candles!!!

Evan » First Day of School

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:55:57 +0000

After much trepidation in the weeks leading up to the first day of preschool, we decided that Evan was potty-trained “enough” to start school. It was a busy morning, but I managed to gently wake him up by reminding him that he’d see his friend Abby at school, and asked him what he wanted for breakfast. “French toast!” Now there’s a boy who knows what he wants. He peed on the potty while Mom got breakfast ready. He excitedly ate his french toast and drank his orange juice. We got him all dressed, and bundled in his rain coat (it rained on Ellie’s first day too), and started walking to school. Mom walked him to his class while I took Ellie to her class. (Ellie’s school starts later this year, so now both school start at almost the same time, a bit of a logistical problem.) Ellie was in the same classroom again this year, so she was totally cool with it and didn’t really need me there, except to take pictures. I met Evan’s friend Abby on the way back to his school. Lisa was just coming out as we arrived and said that she couldn’t go back in because Evan couldn’t figure out why Mom wasn’t staying. When I walked in, he was pretty sniffly, but I showed him that Abby was there, and Abby, being the happy-go-lucky kid that she is, just started playing with the toys, and I managed to convince Evan to play as well. He gave me a hug and a kiss, and he went off to play.
When we went back to pick him up, all of the kids were in their seats ready to go, except Evan and one other boy, who were still off playing with some of the toys. He had a good day, and even went on the potty at school! He even colored a picture of the school which looks eerily like Ellie’s picture from her first day. Hopefully he can keep it up, but we’re fairly sure that the worst is past us now. Way to go buddy!

Brian » The Magicians

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:11:52 +0000

The Magicians by Lev Grossman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The most likely comparison for this book will be a grown up Harry Potter. I’ve never read Harry Potter though, so I couldn’t say. What I can say is that The Magicians is a fantastic story of discovery and growing up. Magic plays an integral role, of course, but ultimately this book is about the characters, the magicians, and Lev Grossman does a wonderful job in bringing them to life with his own magic.
I’m taking a little break from book reviews for a while to get caught up on some other stuff. Books will return in a couple of weeks.

Brian » Terrapin SunRay Wheat Beer

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:24:41 +0000

Last gasp of summer, but my first taste of Terrapin.
Cloudy pale yellow, not much head to speak of.
Getting banana and clove on the nose right off.
Fairly typical array of flavors for a wheat beer: banana, clove, but an extra spiciness as well. I thought the honey might add more sweetness, and it does give some, but it just didn’t mesh with the other flavors for me.
I think I’m just not a fan of honey in my beer, it just throws me off. Maybe my next Terrapin will be better.
Overall rating: 3.2

Ellie » Happy Sixth Birthday!

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:18:43 +0000

Ellie turned six years old on Saturday, and the plan was to celebrate with a pool party with her friends from school and the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the forecast for that day was looking grim all week. First it was a 60% chance of thunderstorms, then there was a possibility of a tropical storm. Saturday morning came and Lisa was freaking out about the chances of rain. She was running around trying to clean up the house in the event we had to move the party. But as the day wore on, the chances of rain diminished.
We pulled up to the pool at 1pm to unload our stuff, and the temperature was getting nice and warm. There were only a few clouds, but they didn’t seem threatening at all. By the time most of the kids had arrived, we were actually pulling umbrellas up onto the deck to provide shade from the sun!
Ellie and the kids had a great time playing “Pin the Wings on the Fairy” and decorating their fairy wings. Thanks to everyone for all the gifts. Hopefully Ellie doesn’t get over her fairy phase for a while, because she’s got a lot of fairy stuff now. And happy birthday to our little girl, about to start first grade!

Brian » The Signal

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:42:27 +0000

The Signal: A Novel by Ron Carlson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Kind of an odd book. Ron Carlson beautifully depicts the setting of his novel in the mountains of Montana and Wyoming. But the interactions between Vonnie and Mack fall into the terse limited ways that people who have been together for years tend toward. And in its own way, those interactions are beautiful too.
Carlson keeps the story tight and short, so you’ll finish it quickly. But I think it will seep into you for a while after you read it. Nice work.
Next up is The Magicians by Lev Grossman.

Brian » Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:43:05 +0000

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read an interview where Seth Grahame-Smith admitted that P&P&Z was 85% Austen, and only 15% him. My wife asked me whether I had read Pride and Prejudice before, which I hadn’t, but now I feel like I got through most of it, at least, enough to fake it better than reading the Cliffs Notes. Really, the zombie part doesn’t come into play all that much, other than to be a common ground between Elizabeth and Darcy, and to slightly change what happens to Charlotte and Wickham. But those changes are pretty flippin’ awesome. Hence, it must be five stars.
Next up is The Signal by Ron Carlson.

Evan » Potty Training Gone Wrong

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:50:30 +0000

Shockingly enough, Evan is supposed to be starting preschool in just over three weeks. The catch is that he needs to be potty trained to attend the school. Or at least, potty trained for the 3 hours he’s there. So the potty training has been shifted into overdrive. First thing in the morning, we try to get him to go. Then he will usually get to go naked or wear underwear from then on, trying to get him to understand what it feels like when he needs to go. On Saturday morning, it was naked time. He had just peed, and had grabbed his cars to play with. He was climbing up into his chair to play with them on the table when I heard something hit the floor. I figured it was one of his cars he had dropped. Nope. Poop. He pooped all over his chair, on his leg, and onto the floor. Lovely.
Apparently he could just care less about “feeling” like he has to go at this point. Three weeks to go? Not looking good. Still, he has been doing fairly well with trying to pee, but he does need to be reminded often or he will just pee wherever he is. But I could do without the poop accidents.

KC D's » Second First Day

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:49:23 +0000

Austin was actually excited for his first day

The crew

Austin gets his ID badge

Austin getting down to work

KC D's » School’s back

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:55:24 +0000

First day of second grade

Taylor was very excited to get started

Taylor's classroom

Taylor's second grade survival kit

Austin starts tomorrow!

KC D's » More From T-Ball

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:00:34 +0000

Hat backwards this time, too funny.

on the run

Hitting for power...hehe.

This reminds me of those old Toyota commercials

Not tball, just our little over achiever...where do I get my bumper sticker?

KC D's » A busy Saturday

Mon, 11 May 2009 00:29:06 +0000

The first stop was to get Taylor’s ears pierced. She was pretty nervous at first but she had her friend Jamie hold her hand through it. She hasn’t stopped playing with her ears since.

Scoping out the location

She was a little nervous but her friend Jamie was there to hold her hand.

The final result

Next stop was Austin’s first ever t-ball game. He absolutely loves t-ball and was talking about his ‘big game’ for DAYS. Austin did great and had so much fun…even though they don’t keep score, he insists they won 11-8. I will say that Austin made some good plays in the field when he was in the pitcher spot. It was just fun to see how much he really enjoyed it.

Waiting his turn...anxiously

Pitcher, ready to go

Ready position

Austin charging the ball

Posing

Austin scores!!

Evan » The Kid is Too Cute

Wed, 06 May 2009 17:04:02 +0000

Evan can drive us a bit crazy these days: whacking people (his sister mainly) with various objects, rolling around on the floor randomly, banging the wall when he’s supposed to be sleeping. But he sure can be cute too.
He walks around saying “Awesome” all the time. We really need to catch that on video, because just writing that he says it does not do it justice. Me: “Hey Evan, want to go to the library?” Evan: “Oh, awesome.”
Barack Obama is on the TV. “Evan, who’s that?” “Obama!” Yeah, we brainwash our kids, so what?
These days (except for last night of course), he even sleeps in his own bed for the whole night. Awesome.

The D's » Ireland Pictures

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 21:43:36 +0000

No commentary yet, but you can view all of our raw, unedited, 487 pictures from Ireland on our Picasa web site.

Evan » Scenes from our House

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:23:05 +0000

Lisa is sitting in the office at the computer. Evan walks behind her with a step stool.

Lisa: “Evan, what are you doing with that step stool?”

Evan: “Nuffink.”

Oh boy, are we in trouble.

The D's » Snow Day!

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:52:02 +0000

After trying to shovel the driveway twice yesterday morning, I finally gave up and decided to stay home for a snow day. It was totally worth it. We made a snowwoman just at the right time, since the sun came out for a little while and melted the snow just enough to allow us to pack it properly. Then after warming up and having some lunch, we headed back out to go sledding. Would you believe this was the first time Evan had ever gone sledding??? Thanks to our neighbor Jennifer for taking the pictures for us.

Ellie shows Evan how it’s done.

Evan went down on his back like this every single time. He looked hilarious in his elf hat.

I made snow angels with our neighbors’ daughter. See how deep it was? Our own measurements came up with about 8 inches!

Good looking couple.

Ellie and Stella make the little sledding hill look a lot more thrilling than it probably was. But it was just right for the kids.

KC D's » Austin is 5!

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:02:51 +0000

It was amazing to go back through some of these old posts:

And now…

Blowing the candle out on the Hulk cake!

Fun at Monkey Bizness

Austin getting love from his big sis

Present time!

Evan » Whoops

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:23:05 +0000

In case you caught that earlier post about Evan, I deleted it because I had things all wrong. Poor little guy must be sick….

KC D's » Jayhawk hoops

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 04:18:21 +0000

Cole dunking

Sheron with a pullup

Shake and bake

KC D's » Overdue Pictures

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:14:20 +0000

The lion sings

Taylor on drums

Our cute Kids

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Austin

The D's » Switch It Up

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:03:56 +0000

For better or for worse, I officially moved the blog to Wordpress. Feel free to comment, because you (hopefully) can.

Update: It’s worse apparently, for now. Seems that all the images and videos are not resolving like I thought they would be, so I’ve got some fixing to do. Sorry about that.

Update 2: I think that I managed to hack a fix to most of the stuff that was broken. Still a lot of work to do, but I think it’s mostly done. Please do let me know if you find broken stuff. I imagine the Google will take a few days to get things indexed back properly too.

Ellie » Report Card

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:48:06 +0000

Ellie just got her latest report card, which doesn’t have grades, but “progress updates,” showing how far along she is with each skill compared with where they want her to be at the end of kindergarten. She’s doing very well in all aspects, but she’s already at end-of-kindergarten level in writing! Of course, we’re not surprised, since this is the girl who, contrary to her classmates whose goals were to play and color, wanted to learn to read since the beginning of the year. Smart kid!

Ellie » Teeny Snowlady

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 03:12:58 +0000

Ellie really wanted to share this picture of her snowlady which we made in Michigan. Unfortunately, they only got a dusting while we were there, so we had to shovel the sidewalk and use all of that snow, plus some of the neighbors’ sidewalk snow, in order to make this little snowlady.

From Christmas 2008

KC D's » Christmas Piano Recital

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 23:16:56 +0000

Austin and Taylor recently had their second piano recital, their Christmas recital. Austin played Jingle Bells and Taylor played We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Austin Christmas 2008
[flashvideo file="files/videos/AustinChristmas2008.flv" /]

Taylor Christmas 2008
[flashvideo file="files/videos/TaylorChristmas2008.flv" /]

Ellie » Reindeer Bullies

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:18:33 +0000

This morning, Ellie was singing, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” (We heard it last night at the Vienna Holiday Stroll.) She stopped and asked Lisa why the other reindeer wouldn’t let Rudolph play any reindeer games. She said that not letting him play was mean and that they were bullies. Right on, kiddo!

KC D's » A while back

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:14:34 +0000

We went to the circus

Sit Ubu Sit

It was pretty cool…I couldn’t remember the last time I went to a circus so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The kids really enjoyed it so that always helps.

KC D's » Halloween

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:34:50 +0000

Glittery

Taylor had a parade at her school where they got to dress up as adjectives, she was glittery.

Story time

Wizard of Ds

After much anticipation, here is the fam in costume.

Evan » Trains and More Trains

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:55:09 +0000

In case you hadn’t heard, Evan really likes trains. A lot. So for his birthday we headed down to Alexandria to the Amtrak station and watched trains. Mostly the Metro trains on the other tracks, but a couple of VRE commuter trains and Amtrak trains went by.
His party on Saturday evening was also a train-filled affair. We painted a bunch of cardboard boxes to look like boxcars and an engine (I used the Mr. McGroovy’s rivets to make the engine out of two boxes). He loves his new train table, aka our new coffee table. The only problem is that we now have bits and pieces of three different types of Thomas the Train sets: the classic wooden, the “Take Along” plastic, and the Lego Duplo. Not a lot of room left for things like, oh, furniture. Luckily, we are dual-purposing the train table as a coffee table, so there’s that.

The train table, with the wooden tracks ready to set up.

Evan and his buddies AJ and Henry playing with the cardboard train we made. Aside from one box car ripping, the train held up surprisingly well to their abuse.

Another one of Lisa’s masterful cake creations. Evan looks a little worried that it’s going to topple over, but it stayed put. OK, the very top did fall over, but it landed right on the chocolate, so we were able to just get it back on top without too much trauma.

The obligatory cake face picture. Note the skillful use of spoon in one hand and fork in the other for optimal cake consumption.

Evan » Happy Birthday Evan!

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:35:04 +0000

Time to add a new category to the blog, because Evan turns two today! I can’t wait to get home and show him his present: a train table and wooden train set. And his birthday party tomorrow is going to be train-themed as well, complete with another one of Lisa’s epic cake creations.
Happy birthday little guy!

Ellie » Would You Like to Take a Survey?

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:43:19 +0000

Lisa belongs to one of those survey panels where you fill out surveys and they give you points you can redeem for valuable prizes. Or something.
So the other day she gets a survey about toys, and it asks her to have a child come and help answer the questions. The very first question was: “What is your favorite toy?” Ellie’s answer? “Daddy’s Wii.”
She definitely likes doing the Wii Play cow racing game. And I already pre-ordered Guitar Hero World Tour, which has a new beginner mode, described here by the creators:

Why did you add a beginner level?

KH: Our whole objective with “Guitar Hero” is to make it as broadly accessible as possible. By adding this beginner mode, we can get even young kids, who are 5, 6, 7 and who maybe can’t coordinate pressing a button on the guitar and strumming at the same time. . .to make it really easy for them. All they have to do is strum.

CH: My 7- and 9-year-old daughters play. And there are times when my 70-year-old dad plays. You want to give people of all ages and all sizes the ability to play “Guitar Hero” and have fun.

We are SO going to be rocking out to “Livin on a Prayer!”

Evan » Tain!

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:40:14 +0000

Ever since we went to “train central,” AKA Gardner, KS, Evan has been really into trains. He carries around a toy train, loves to point out the Metro trains as they pass, loves to climb on the caboose at the farmers market. So it comes as no surprise the utter glee that came to his face when he saw the elevated subway trains passing by Yankee Stadium. Yes, this was the picture we finally took of his face after the FIFTH train passed by, still just as excited as when the first one passed. By the way, the subject line is not a typo, that’s just Evan-ese for “train.”

The D's » The New Place

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:19:41 +0000

Welcome to the new edition of The D’s! Let me know if you have any problems. I’m already trying to fix the aggregator that is supposed to be feeding this page and was not mixing the various blogs in correctly. Very frustrating.

The D's » Rain Everywhere

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 09:12:19 +0000

We survived the rain of Hurricane Hanna. Unfortunately, not entirely unscathed. After the rain stopped, I was outside trying to put my new bike lights on my bike, and went downstairs to the workshop to get a screwdriver. Walking in, I was greeted with a big puddle. Oddly, it didn’t seem to come from above, but appeared to seep up from underneath. The water soaked mostly just the stuff on the floor in the workshop, prodding me to finally get around to cleaning that place up. Some of the water also seeped into the basement living area, but we stopped it before it hit the carpet. Not bad, since the worst side effect was that we didn’t have time to go grocery shopping and instead went to Glory Days Grill for dinner, where I had the Glory Cheesesteak, topped with queso and fried onion rings. Evil and delicious, and so worth it.
Aside from a few small branches down around the place, the 8 inches of rain were the worst of the storm we got, and naturally we got the most rainfall in the area.

Evan » Ready?

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:39:01 +0000

I haven’t had the chance to update on the fun things that Evan is doing. Maybe that’s because he constantly attacks you by throwing rocks, or headbutting your thighs, or worse yet, biting. But he does have his cute moments. We’re not entirely sure where he got it from (maybe Discovery Channel’s “Ready Set Learn”?), but his favorite thing now is to warn you when he’s about to attack:
“Ready? Go? Set!”

Ellie » First Day of Kindergarten

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:54:57 +0000

We walked Ellie (and half her class) to school this morning. She actually did very well, getting up with her alarm, eating a good breakfast and getting dressed and everything. She was ready to go 20 minutes before we had to leave! Evan, on the other hand, was more than a bit grumpy. It’s going to take him more adjusting.
Ellie knew right where her class was and hung up her backpack, walked right in and found her seat. I took many pictures, but didn’t get the chance to load them up quite yet, so we’ll post again tomorrow. I’m planning on getting home early to pick her up, so I’ll have a first-hand view of how her first day went. I have a feeling she might be a little tired after the long day, but I know she’ll do well.

Ellie » Happy Birthday Ellie!

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:42:39 +0000

Our little girl is turning 5 today! Wow, time flies. She is starting kindergarten on Tuesday and is very excited. She went to the open house today and met her teacher and knows at least 3 other kids in her class, including her best friend Stella and neighbor from across the street Brendan.
Happy birthday to Ellie.

Word to your mother.

Ellie » Ellie=Jason?

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:56:22 +0000

I was out getting the paper this morning in the dark and a light rain and had just turned back toward the house when I was scared out of my wits. The light in the dining room was on, and I saw the curtain in the front window move, and a small figure appear in the window. I half-expected it to be wearing a hockey mask! But no, it was just Ellie, woken up by the rain at 5:30am, who must have heard me opening the door to go get the paper.
Nothing like a little adrenaline to get you going in the morning, no coffee required!

Ellie » Daddy-Daughter Date

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 08:06:55 +0000

On Sunday, Ellie and I went to the movies together. We took the Metro up to Silver Spring to watch a special presentation called “Muppet Fairy Tales.” The Smithsonian is doing a tribute to Jim Henson, and the AFI has been showing some of Henson’s work at their Silver Theater. We rode the Metro up and walked the two blocks up to the theater to pick up our tickets. After grabbing a quick lunch, we headed into the theater for the show. Ellie really enjoyed it! Usually she just sits there kind of comatose watching the screen, but she was actually laughing along with the rest of the crowd.
We had a nice relaxing ride home, and Ellie even fell asleep on my lap for a little while. I couldn’t ask for a better day.

The D's » CSA Discoveries

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:10:45 +0000

Lisa had a good idea last night, to make a list of all the things we have made using items we received from our CSA share. In particular, it’s most interesting to list things we never would have made of our own volition if we hadn’t gotten the key ingredients from the CSA. The list so far includes moussaka, ratatouille, beet cake and gumbo, and I’m sure there will be more once Lisa reminds me. I will keep a running list on this page as we go. Lucky us, we’re only about halfway through the CSA period, as it keeps going into October! Yesterday, I had to have Lisa pick me up since I couldn’t get home the watermelon on my bike. I should really look into those SUBs more. We also got poblano peppers, so we’ll have to figure out some Mexican dish to make with those. Let me know if you have any ideas.

The D's » Shenandoah Trip

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:13:49 +0000

Pictures from our Shenandoah trip this weekend. You can view them all on Flickr, in bigger sizes too.

Evan getting a drink. He loves steps.

Yes, they have a playground there too. Big hit.

Beautiful, no? The view was nice too.

We could hear the pileated woodpecker that made these holes, but we never saw him.

Ellie did pretty well and walked almost the whole way. She only got tired about a quarter mile from the end, which thankfully was fairly flat. Maybe next time she’ll make it the whole way. She just needs better pants, since she kept having to hold hers up to keep them from falling down.

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