Swim!

Drove to Ithaca, New York this past weekend for the State swimming championships. Jack had qualified in one event, the breast stroke, and so we drove four hours, stayed in a hotel, and fought through the masses of people at Ithaca College to watch our son swim for 25 seconds, after which we'd get back in the car and drive another 4 hours back home.

The first day felt like a huge waste of time. Directions were poor and our 4-hour drive ended up being 5 hours. We got to the college to watch Jack's team finish up its Saturday events, only to find they'd already ended and there was a 2-hour break before the next session. Skipped the team dinner because it was going to be late and we didn't want to keep Jack up. (Plus there was a Pizza Hut directly across the parking lot from our hotel!) We ate pizza, watched a TV Land Gilligan's Island marathon, and wondered why we were there. Throw in a really bad night's sleep (Jack and Kate, who had shared a Queen bed without so much as a cross look for a week at Disney World, bickered over who got to sleep on which side, fought over the middle pillow, and tossed and turned for enough of the night that we finally gave up and separated them around 3 a.m., with me moving over to Jack's bed and Kate moving into ours.

(They slept better after that, but we didn't. At one point I woke up to find Jack sleeping on top of my HEAD -- yes, he was using my skull as a pillow. C'mon, man!)

But the next morning we were starting to feel the enthusiasm, which continued and increased when we arrived at the college. We watched Jack do warm-up laps and dives with his team, both of which were shaky -- his dives are always shaky, and on the laps he seemed to have trouble staying in a lane, frequently drifting over to collide with people coming back the other way.

Half an hour before he was scheduled to swim, he was calling to us from across the pool, so I went to meet him, only to find he'd made his way up to where we were sitting. He was hungry, and had to go to the bathroom, and evidently didn't want to wait on one and couldn't find his way to take care of the other. We gave him a handful of Fritos, I took him to the bathroom, and said oh by the way Jack, good luck, you're swimming in 20 minutes!

As his event approached, Emily was getting more nervous. Me too, worrying about him missing it entirely by getting stuck in a bathroom or falling off the block and being disqualified or somesuch. But no; when it came time, he was there on the block, and started at the right time and everything. We were just hoping he wouldn't finish last...

And he won!

Afterward, we caught his eye across the pool. He raised both arms in the air in excitement and triumph. He ended up finishing 7th overall (he won his heat; there were three in total) out of 30 swimmers; safe to say dramatically better than we dared hope.

We drove home with an extra energy; the four hours seemed like a lot less. We were still excited about his performance; he I think was still excited about the cool new-fangled Soda machine at the restaurant we stopped at for dinner. I got 3 hours of great classic and alternative rock on upstate New York radio. Jack and Kate got a couple of hours of sleep. And we had a state champion (well, 7th) swimmer.

Disney World, Day 6

You wouldn't think we could top the Universal day, but Day 6 was pretty great, too. I woke up to the sound of Jack cracking up from the balcony, because he and Emily had just seen an ostrich poop outside our window. High comedy!

We had breakfast at "Cinderella's Table," which meant we dined at Cinderella's castle at Magic Kingdom, and were treated to visits from all the different princesses. Kate had a blast and it was fun for me, too! They were all pretty awesome and friendly, I guess that's probably more important when hiring than being the spitting image or anything, although that doesn't hurt. Jack didn't want to get his picture taken with any of the princesses, understandably, but he ate OK.

Edit: OK, Emily has requested more color from the breakfast. Well, the truth is that one of the Princesses, Ariel, was kind of flirting with me! Oh, she hid it in her innocent questions about my t-shirt, which had a bizarre dodge ball logo on it, but clearly she liked the Richardsons a little more than everyone else in the room. But eventually we had to leave and she had to return to the ocean, so this Disney fairy tale would not have a storybook ending.

Spent the day doing rides, mostly ones we'd done on our first trip to Magic Kingdom. Nothing made the notes but I'm pretty sure we had fun.

We powered through the day but stuck it out even when we got tired, because this was the day we were going to take in the parade and fireworks that happen at Magic Kingdom every night. We lined up on the street at a good spot (Emily had researched it) to see everything, then chose another spot when about 200 cheerleaders (there was a competition in town) crowded up against us. But apart from the jostling and crowding, it was by and large a happy, excited atmosphere. A Disney character skit was going on on the castle steps. Fun.

And then as it got dark, the parade began. Slow moving vehicles covered with lights, marching soldiers and dancers, characters - Captain Hook, Tinkerbell, Mickey, Minnie. Then a light show on the castle itself, and fireworks above it. Awesome. Kids loved it, we loved it.

Late night, long day, but a good one. We took the shuttle home with kids sleeping in our laps. It was a day of princesses, rides, parade floats, light shows, and fireworks.

And ostrich poop.

School interlude

I went into the school today to make some copies for an upcoming after-school course. While I was in the office (I was there for a couple of hours), I saw both kids, and their teachers.

I saw Kate's class lining up for recess. She waved happily to me, and I waved back. Later she told me she wanted to come and give me a hug. So I gave her a hug.

I saw her teacher, Ms. Naselli, who has told us before that she loves Kate. (Kate loves her, too.) I asked how Kate's day was going. Ms. Naselli told me how they have a reading group, and Kate, after the group was over, was excitedly telling about how well a new kid had done with the reading. Ms. Naselli said to her, Kate, that's really nice of you to be so happy for him. Kate kind of gave her a strange look, like it was no big deal for her to feel that way. "Well, he did a REALLY GREAT job!" So, Kate's really nice.

I saw Jack lining up with his classmates for lunch. As usual, he was talking and laughing with a couple of them about something or another. I waved to him, he waved back.

A few minutes later I saw his teacher, Ms. Gullotta. Asked how he was doing, if she liked his new haircut (he got a buzzcut yesterday). She said it looked great, but apparently Jack got teased by a couple of older kids, 4th and 5th graders, that morning about it. She said he was a little sad then. That the other kids in her class weren't giving him any problems, they all liked it. That it was just older kids teasing, like seniors do to freshman. I told her to tell Jack he could come talk to me if he wanted. He did, and I asked how he was doing, what the kids were saying, so on and so forth. He said they were saying he was bald.

I said, No, I'm bald. You're beautiful. And he nodded and smiled and was OK, and went back to lunch. Later I saw him running around happily with his friends at recess. Kids tease. I remember.

Later, driving home with Jack after dropping Kate off, I said, so Jack, you're not too sad about the haircut, are you?

And he smiled and said, "No, we're twins!"

I love those kids.

Disney World, Day 5 Universal Studios

Let me say up front that it's no knock on Disney World that this was our favorite day of vacation. Some of it because we were really excited about Harry Potter, some of it was because our meals were so awesome, some of it was just chance and good timing and luck. And we had a really awesome week at Disney. But I'm convinced that if you go to Disney and DON'T do a day trip to Universal, you're missing out. (And even Disney might realize this, since they did in fact run shuttles or busses from Animal Kingdom Lodge, although we opted for a taxi to get there quicker.)

We were lined up at the gates about half an hour early, so that we could be the first ones in and race to the Harry Potter area of Islands of Adventure. (Which was naturally way in the back, like the milk at the supermarket.) Of course, once the gates were open, our line was the only one that seemed to have a problem reading tickets in the front, and we stood there steaming quietly (most of us) while the other lines happily moved forward. We finally got in and Jack and I raced for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. As we got closer, and saw the castle tops looming ahead, Jack got more excited. I snapped a couple of pictures of him in front of things -- Hogwarts Express, the gates to Hogsmeade, Hogwarts Castle -- and in all he was standing with kind of a goofy, cheerful grin, since I think he'd been thinking about this day for several months.

We wound our way in line through Hogwarts Castle, eventually going on a ride which pretty much blew away every other ride to this point. You were strapped into a seat like in Soarin' and seemed to be gliding over all of Hogwarts on a broomstick, but not only were you soaring but swooping up and down and sideways, evading dragons, Dementors, and other Potter staples. All along, the comforting and encouraging presence of Daniel Radcliffe on his own broom reassured you. Kate was too small for the ride (oddly; it was no tougher than some she'd been allowed on), so Jack got to do it twice -- once with Emily, once with me.

After that one, we did the Flight of the Hippogriff, which was a rollercoaster similar in design to many we'd been on, also awesome. You began with a steep ascent, then felt your stomach turn over as you rocketed down and around the loops. Kate loved this ride; we ended up doing it twice. After going through various shops (Jack got a stuffed three-headed dog, which I frankly couldn't believe they had, that he'd been talking about as his planned purchase for several weeks, and various other Potter-swag: chocolate frog, Sneakoscope, chocolate wand, every-flavor beans), we briefly left to go to Seuss Landing (Dr. Seuss land), which was skewed younger, but also a lot of fun. Kids got pictures taken with the Grinch, Thing 1 and Thing 2, and I believe the character from Oh the Places You'll Go! Really had fun there.

Then it was back to the Wizarding World for lunch at the Three Broomsticks. I got a Butterbeer which was fantastic and fish and chips, everyone else got, I dunno, probably the standard: chicken fingers, fries, whatever. A nice tavern-style meal in a somewhat dark but comfy and homey tavern that seemed like it belonged.

Two more things to do in Islands of Adventure: Jurassic Park, and Marvel Super Hero Island. Kate wanted no part of the Jurassic Park ride, which involved getting onto a rollercoaster-like ride that warned you you might get wet. But Emily had brought rain ponchos for the kids, so they slipped into them and we clambered onto the ride. At the slow parts you drifted past scenes of dinosaurs, which was kind of cool. But at the very end, a huge T-Rex seemed to be about to eat you, when you suddenly dropped straight down over a waterfall and got soaked. Possibly the biggest surprise of all the rides on our vacation and thus the most thrilling, although Kate carped about it for a little while afterward. But even she was in good humor about it, probably because Emily and I got more of the brunt of the experience.

The Spider-Man ride was OK, but it was pretty loud and garrish; more of a 3-D experience with explosions and stuff than a ride. We steered clear of Dr. Doom's fearfall and a Hulk roller coaster that the kids were probably too young for (and I was too old for).

Once we'd finally done all we wanted to there, we headed over to the other half of Universal, primarily devoted to movie and other entertainment type properties. Stood in a way-too-long line for a Despicable Me 2 themed ride that in no way lived up to the effort. Next did the E.T. ride, which we had to do since the kids had just seen the movie, which was probably way more fun 10 years ago. But you felt like you were riding a bike in the sky, so the kids enjoyed it. The rides concluded at Simpsons World, which had a fun rollercoaster, lots of neat visuals, and an all around happy and fun vibe -- walking down the street you really felt like everyone was just enjoying themselves. That was also the case at Harry Potter, but not everywhere (some places you could feel the angst of the lines and whatnot). Really had a good time. The actual Simpsons ride, a fairly new one that had great effects, also yielded the best Kate moment of vacation. At one point you seemed to be swallowed by a giant Maggie (the baby). Kate's post-ride reaction: "I loved that ride. Except for when I got wet. And was inside someone's mouth!" Later, Kate would impress me by winning a stuffed Maggie at a carnival game -- nice work!

We sat outside and had a drink, and then the day was ending, and we decided to get dinner. Various ideas occurred to us, but we decided to go to the Hard Rock Cafe on the outskirts. Turned out to be basically one of our best meals -- we were all happy, the food and beer were great, the waiter was this friendly old rocker dude who charmed both kids and us while looking and acting like he'd stepped out of a '70s rock movie. Sometimes we have bad luck at restaurants -- slow service, cranky kids, distracted waiters, whatever. This was like the opposite of all that.

While we were eating, the skies outside opened up. It rained pretty hard, so we clambered into what we had for rain gear and headed for the exits. Got lucky with a cab, made it home, fell into our beds, wet, tired. Happy.

Sometimes we get sidetracked. Looking at our phones. Planning some future activity. Reviewing some past activity.

On this day, from start to finish, we just kind of lived the day and enjoyed it.

That's probably a large part of why it was so good. I am going to try to do it more often, whether on vacation, or not.

Disney World, Day 4

Day 4 was an interesting one. We had planned our big, day-long trip to Universal Studios for Day 5, and knew that was going to be an early morning and probably late night (since we had to take a cab both ways, and didn't have FastPass options to avoid lines, so we had to be there when the park opened to get to popular things -- Harry Potter -- early). So we scheduled all of our Day 4 activities in the morning and early afternoon, and (since it was supposed to be a nice day) figured we'd go to the lodge pool in the late afternoon.

We went to Epcot, which according to the literature "Celebrates the Human Spirit." It had two main areas: Future World, which showcases technological innovations over the years, and World Showcase, which partitions the park into different areas celebrating the culture (and food) of different countries: Canada, Mexico, Japan, Italy, etc. We had a lunch reservation at Via Napoli in Italy, so there was a lot of Future World to get out of the way first.

Two rides stand out (there were others, no doubt, but these ones made the notes). First was Space Mission, which was like you were going into outer space as an astronaut. It was pretty funky and all looked real; you watched an introductory video narrated by Apollo 13's Gary Sinise and then strapped yourself into a shuttle which seemed to rocket you off into space. There was a lot of pressure -- very intense -- and I wasn't really sure how much I was actually moving. It recommended that younger kids do a less intense version of the ride, which Emily and Kate did while Jack and I were in the high-intensity one. I got through it fine and Jack loved it. Future astronaut? Who knows.

The second ride was one basically everyone had recommended, Soarin'. You strapped yourself into a chair and seemed to fly across the globe, over fields and mountains and oceans. Pretty fantastic. I'm really not sure exactly how much you move and how much you only seem to move, but it was very cool.

Noteworthy rides completed (Jack and I did another one that was only so-so, spinning out promises of future developments and technological advances that probably seemed pretty cool a number of years ago, although I should mention that Jack thought it was awesome, so good show), we headed to lunch. To get there we walked through a bunch of other areas devoted to different countries, being tempted by Mexican food (and margaritas), Oktoberfest style dancers, and various music, dancing, and comedy acts (including mimes!). By this point we were kind of hungry and had a reservation to catch. Food was fantastic and we all liked it; pasta for Kate, pizza for Jack, something delicious for us and awesome desserts. After that we didn't mind walking around just a little bit more (debating doing Soarin' again but the line was pretty long...) and heading back to the lodge.

It was a nice swimming day, so we all went in the pool. Best thing about this was I managed, finally, to convince Kate to go down a slide she did not want to go down. And she finally did, LOVED it, and went down again and again and again. Laughing each time. We also went in a hot tub, their first time in an outdoor hot tub, and both giggled wildly at the jacuzzi jets. Then back in the pool for more swimming and more going down the slide. Jack and Emily knocked off before we did. Kate had to get one more run in for the day. Thrill seeker.

Dinner was a wretched experience as some sort of mishap in the kitchen resulted in our order getting lost. Not gonna dwell on it but after that we didn't eat in the cafeteria anymore. Fortunately the whole experience was magically washed away by Day 5, The Best Day of Vacation. Oops, I'm out of time for now.

Disney World, Day 3

On our third day, Monday, we had a very ride-heavy day lined up at Hollywood Studios. As I'm reminded, "Fast Pass" enabled us to skip long lines at 3 rides per day (saved the day at Space Mountain, let me tell you!). So we used ours at Star Tours, the Star Wars ride, the Toy Story ride, and the Little Mermaid show. Star Tours was pretty awesome; we sat in a shuttle which appeared to whisk us all over the galaxy, into light speed and through battles with Darth Vader, pod races with Ewoks, and other things (the ride was different each time we did it, which ended up being 3 times over the course of the week). Again it was one that Kate didn't want to do but ended up thinking was pretty cool. Third time we did it the "Rebel fighter stowed away on board" turned out to be Emily. I KNEW there was something suspicious about her!

The Toy Story ride was also awesome. You were sitting in a car which spun around as it traveled along a roller coaster track, and every so often it would stop and you would shoot at targets. We'd end up doing this ride twice more (Kate REALLY wanted to do it again), once waiting in an absurdly long line, but it was a lot of fun. The Little Mermaid show was fun, though I actually don't remember it all that well. A cool effect at the end where Ariel's tail transformed into legs, and a scary evil Octopus woman. Liked Sebastian too. I think Kate enjoyed it (it was mostly for her benefit) though she didn't like the Octopus lady any more than when she saw the movie (although she wasn't quite as scared this go around, I remember her hollering woefully as a 3-year-old).

We did a Muppets 3D show that was OK, with some good jokes but I think it went on too long. A big highlight was meeting characters, including Chip and Dale for the kids, and Woody and Buzz and Sully and Mike (from Monsters Inc.) for all of us. Got some great pictures and Woody and Buzz were particularly friendly. Emily seemed to enjoy her hug with Woody a little too much. I also got to hug him; it was kind of awkward. Not used to hugging people two feet taller than me.

After the Star Tours ride we hit the gift shop, where the highlight was assembling little R2D2 action figures. You picked your own colors and features (including, amusingly, Mickey Mouse ears or a Goofy Hat) and they bound it up into a plastic package just like in a store. Kind of neat.

Can't forget to mention the Great Movie Ride, basically a big riding tour through movie history, which Emily and I thought would be fun and the kids wanted no part of. Indeed, it was the kind of thing that was fun for adults who have seen a lot of movies, and most of it went right by the kids. Lots of gangster interaction and gunplay that didn't fly with Jack and Kate at all. Then there was an Indiana Jones bit where a gangster who tried to steal a golden idol was seemingly turned into a skeleton. I'd like to believe Kate isn't having nightmares about it, but...

At some points during the day the kids were talking about Harry Potter land, which we'd be going to on Wednesday at Universal. Maybe Emily mentioned being concerned about possible rain in the forecast. Jack said, "It's Harry Potter land. It's fine if it rains." Kate responded matter-of-factly, "Okay, if that's how it is."

That evening we had dinner at the Sci-Fi Diner. I guess the big deal about this was that you sat in a car while you ate your meal, in low lights while 50s movies trailers and cartoons played on the big drive-in screen at the front. All of the car-tables faced the screen; Emily and I sat in the back seat and the kids sat in front and colored and half-watched the trailers and cartoons. But the main thing in my notes is that they had our favorite beer from Colorado, Fat Tire, which we can't get in the Northeast. So, yay! Dinner was fine but lights were kind of low and the kids were beat. Kate slept on my lap on the bus ride home.

Disney World, Day 2

We had an early reservation at Chef Mickey, so it was early to rise, quick snack in the room, and off to the restaurant, where all your favorite Disney characters would be frying eggs and sizzling bacon. Or wearing Chefs hats and aprons and walking around slapping high fives with the kids and signing autographs, whichever. Jack and Kate suited up with their Goofy hat and Minnie Mouse ears, grabbed their autograph books, and we were off.

The experience began with riding a Monorail to the restaurant, which was kind of fun, and then we lined up for a pre-breakfast picture with a statue of Chef Mickey. Amusingly, when they went to sell us the picture during our meal, they showcased one with Jack frowning -- even though we later found that the two other pictures they'd snapped were perfect. Anyway, the kids ate very little, star-struck as they were by the characters, and Pluto cracked us all up by signing autographs by holding the book on his giant nose. And then it was off to Magic Kingdom for our first round of Disney rides.

We got to the Tomorrowland section of the park early enough that there wasn't much of a line for the oft-mentioned "Space Mountain" ride, so we all clambered into that one. It was a ripping, wrenching, peaks and valleys up-and-down rollercoaster in nearly total darkness. So you couldn't see what was coming, just had to react to it. I took notes about their post-ride reactions.

Kate: "I will NEVER do that ride again. I did NOT like that." Jack: "THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!" We then did the Astro Orbiter ride, which we eventually discovered followed a similar template to many other rides: you sit in a vehicle of some shape (in this case, a spacecraft) and travel in circles around a central post. This ended up being one of our favorites because you were really high up. Kate loved this one (and we would soon find that she loved most rollercoasters, just not Space Mountain. And I'm with her; that thing was not great on my back, and because it was dark I had to fret that maybe I was too tall and I'd end up getting the top of my cranium lopped off. Where was I?), and we ended up doing it a couple more times.

After lunch (strangely the kids were hungry; they didn't eat enough at the all-you-can-eat buffet at Chef Mickey's, sigh), we took in an "Enchanted Tales with Belle" show, featuring an actress playing Belle from Beauty and the Beast (all the kids were invited up to meet her; Kate didn't want to go), and some cool effects with a talking cupboard and candlestick and whatnot. Good show, I said, eh, Jack? as I woke him up before he fell off his seat.

Then it was on to more rides. We stood in a ridiculously long line for the Dumbo ride, because you have to do it once, and discovered it was essentially the same ride as Astro Orbiter, only not as high, not as cool, and way, way more of a line. Sorry, Dumbo. We then did the Buzz Lightyear ride, which was a lot better. We'd read the description about how you'd be shooting things, and Kate wanted NO part of it. All through the line, she groused about it and said she was afraid and wanted no part of it. Who ended up loving it? That's right, Kate. Actually we all did, so much so that a few days later we stood in like a 70-minute line to go on it, and didn't regret it.

Our best ride of the day, by far, and surprisingly, was the spinning Teacup ride, which Jack groaned about beforehand ("Teacups? Oh yeah, THAT sounds cool" -- and at this point he hadn't even read any Calvin and Hobbes) -- but in fact, it was awesome, partly because it was one of the few rides were we could all four sit in the same vehicle/cup, and we spun and laughed and discovered clearly why Disney is such a wonderful place. Because we all had fun and were all happy and for a little while it was just us in a ride grinning at each other like idiots and laughing it up.

When our day finally ended, we went back to the lodge and the kids wanted to go swimming. I went with them, while Emily sat in a deck chair taking pictures while wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. Because it was COLD. Not zero degree cold, but maybe 60 (maybe). All of us were shivering and our teeth were chattering afterward, but we did swim.

Back in the room, Kate found something of hers (my notes fail me) in a place she didn't want it, like near a wet towel or something. She complained to Jack, who responded "I didn't put it there, the Mousekeepers did!" (Housekeepers = Mousekeepers, naturally.) Kate, in a funny voice, lamented "Ooh, the Mousekeepers keep making me touch nasty things." I guess you probably had to be there. Also to see the Mousekeepers folding our towels into funny animal shapes, like this one.

Finally -- yup, day not over yet -- we went out to an overlook where they provided night vision goggles to see animals. That was pretty cool. Though I think we were still kind of chilled from the pool. Slept hard that night.

Disney World, Day 1

We went to Disney world last week. We'd never been, and there was a lot of advance planning that went into it. Almost all of it by Emily. I took notes all week, and I think the best way to try to recap it is a day by day sort of blog. So here goes.

Day 1

We got a Disney Shuttle from the airport. It played old Mickey Mouse cartoons on a screen, which the kids watched with rapt attention. At the end of each one, Kate clapped her hands happily.

Checked into our room at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We picked one with a view which enabled us to see actual animals from our balcony -- giraffes, gazelles, ostriches, etc. It also provided arguably the funniest (uh, but unfortunate) moment of the trip, with Kate running toward the balcony to see and smashing flat into the glass door. Anxious moment where we checked to see if she was OK followed by an awkward moment where Emily and I tried not to laugh and Jack guffawed heartily. Kate was in good humor about it after she stopped crying, which was good because Jack recreated the moment frequently the rest of the week. "Kate, remember when you went like this -- Wham! -- into the glass?"

It was too late to do much so we grabbed the shuttle into downtown Disney and walked around. It was also cold (for Florida) and rainy. First thing we saw, outside the Lego store, was a giant, life size Loch Ness monster in the water. Jack has been obsessed by Nessie for the past two months, so that was great. Then inside we saw a Lego Hulk, also life size, and I've been fond of the Hulk for about 35 years, so that was great too. We can go home now!!!

Had dinner at the T-Rex cafe. Totally awesome restaurant with huge, animatronic dinosaurs throughout. We were seated in I guess the Ice Age room (maybe had a fancier name), which had blue lighting and icy walls all around us, with huge dinosaur skeletons frozen into the ice! Had a steak and a giant drink or two, both of which were fantastic. Unfortunately both kids were half asleep from the long day and low lights, and we ended up trundling them out of there, taking dessert with us, and making our way back to the room. In the shuttle home, they slept on our laps; don't know the last time either of them did that.

When I put Kate to bed (Jack: "Watch out for the glass, Kate! Guffaw, guffaw), she sleepily said, "I'm lucky to have you as my Daddy..." Not sure what prompted it. I took her Minnie Ears off and turned out the light.

Ski vacation

Just got back from Disney World (future blog! Promise!) but the kids had a break from school, so we finally got in the trip to Vermont we've been trying to take since about Christmas. Cruised up Tuesday morning, stopped for a quick Burger King lunch, and came out to a snowstorm that doubled our remaining drive time. But we made it ok, the kids inhaled Nana's spaghetti and meatballs and bread, and we were able to relax for a few days.

Relaxing initially consisted of drawing, reading, and playing lots and lots of Yahtzee. Jack can't get enough, which was pretty much the case with our family for a while growing up, if memory serves. I remember burning through entire pads of scorecards, finally photocopying blank ones to avoid continually trying to find places selling them. Think we might be still using those in Vermont, although the supply is running thin. Anyway. Where was I.

First morning in Vermont we got up and went skiing. Jack loves it, recently ranking skiing way above both baseball and swimming in his levels of enjoyment. Kate, I think, has fun, and is in good spirits before and after, but I am not sure she cares much one way or another. Maybe her age, maybe she just would rather stay in than be cold or bundled up in four layers, I don't know. Anyway, we dropped her at her 5-hour lesson, Jack and I did a quick run, and then delivered Jack to his 2-hour lesson. I briefly considered hitting the lodge, but it was 10 a.m., so instead I stumbled around on the bunny slopes until Jack was done.

By the end of his lesson, he was going on the lift for the first time, so when he asked me to go with him, I said, OK! Even though I was a little nervous. But if my 9 year old can do it, so can I. We got on the lift and rode up it like we were the only two peopl in the world. That high, it kind of felt like it to me. Then we made our way down, with minimal falling on my part. In three runs together I think he fell once.

Checked in on Kate and she was doing fine, but not long after that I got a call that she had had it. She made it 4 of the 5 hours (the only lesson choice for her) which I thought as pretty good. She happily showed me a picture she colored while waiting for me; in good spirits. By this time Jack, too, was weary, and we all slugged down some water bottles and headed back. Kate was acting goofy, putting on Jack's goggles and messing around, I think Jack and I were just drained.

But when we got home and parked in the driveway, there was a huge pile of snow that had built up from falling off the roof -- the pile was all the way up to the roof. And both of them got out of the car and immediately climbed up to the very top, clowned around, posed for pictures, grinned and laughed. Probably could have bagged skiing and just gone sledding on that behemoth. Funny and awesome.

And then we went to dinner at Black Rock, which is basically one of my favorite places to eat period and I have no idea how it came to be in Springfield, but there you go. I love the food and didn't mind being squeezed into a side of the booth with Baba and Kate (Kate wanted to sit next to Baba, so that's just how things worked out; ideally the two kids would have been on the same side, but whatever).

We reviewed the menu briefly, and I told Jack I would be getting the salad bar and would smuggle him a piece of tasty bread. (That's what we call white bread.) So naturally when it came time to order, and the waitress asked Jack if he wanted to add the salad bar to his meal, he said loudly, "No, my Dad said he would smuggle me a piece of bread." I am not sure whose jaw dropped more, mine or the waitress'. Later he told me he didn't know what "smuggle" meant. Hmm. Dinner was great, Jack and I had steaks, Kate had a hotdog, and Jack talked Dad into sharing his lobster, too. Oh yeah -- dessert. Jack got ice cream, Kate got a piece of chocolate cake the size of her head, and we all went home stuffed.

Not a peep out of either kids after their heads hit the pillow that night. Another nice Vermont ski trip. Can't do it all the time, but fun when we do.

Lucky penny

Kate came downstairs with me to help me move laundry into the dryer. She found a penny on top of it.

"It's a coin!" She said happily. "Can I have it?" Uh, sure, I said.

She smiled and danced off upstairs, singing. "This is my luc-ky day! I found a pen-ny...it is my lucky day-hey! I found a penny, I am going to put it in my wal-let..."

Kate the reader

Kate has really developed as a reader in a hurry. I feel like Jack either started slightly younger or it was more of a gradual thing with him, or maybe it's entirely due to her late birthday versus his early one meaning she was eight months younger than him at each shared milestone (starting school, etc.). Whatever.

A year ago she was barely reading at all. Seems like just a month or two ago we were chortling over her deadpan reading of Dr. Suess. "I would not. Could not. With a mouse." But now, she's like a little Shakespearean actor, and she'll find books she likes and read them over and over, aloud, with emotion and emphasis.

"HI, it's your FRIEND, blue CRAY-on. I JUST want to SAY, I really LOVE your coloring on the WHALE...."

I think it would be fun if Kate takes an interest in acting. She's going to be in this talent show act with a bunch of other little girls singing and I presume dancing to "Hard Knock Life," so maybe that will help get her started.

Lucky

Jack and I were on our way to the batting cages today, when Jack out of the blue said, "I feel really lucky right now."

Why is that, I asked. "Well, today I got to go to Game Stop to use my gift cards on some new Skylanders. And NOW, we're going to the batting cages to hit some balls. And then we're having pizza for dinner."

"Tomorrow, we're going to watch the Broncos-Patriots game together, and I'm going to get to have a Coke or Pepsi" -- he has recently developed a taste for it -- "and eat mini hotdogs. And THEN, I get to sleep over at my cousins tomorrow night."

"And Monday is a day off from school!"

After the batting cages, I was looking at Jack's Nessie binder. I am not sure I have yet written about his current Loch Ness monster club he has formed with all his school friends, I will have to do that soon. Anyway, in the midst of all the names of club members he had written on the binder, I noticed, "My Dad." After which he had added "Home finder analyst." Basically, he explained, I help him research Nessie at home.

So really, I'm the lucky one.

Funny Kate

At Jack's swim practice today, Kate and I played Go Fish, as we often do. I won my second straight game. At bedtime I said, Kate, I had a fun playing Go Fish with you. She looked at me funny and said, "Me too, Daddy. Although, I don't think I've won in a long time!"

She had dry lips and I sent her down the hall for a drink of water. As she walked, no ran, no, skipped down the hall, she sang. "I am going... To get.... A drink... Of... WATER!!!!!" She skipped back, then skipped off again, still singing. "Getting...more...water!"

She has notes written on her bedroom door. One reads, "Do not come in." The second reads, "Do not come in unless you want to play with me. From: Kate."

I took her to the grocery store with me yesterday. Shopping with the kids can be difficult -- they generally want to buy things I don't want to buy, usually sugary cereals -- but I actually think I enjoy shopping more with Kate than alone. Because she usually has some amusing observations ("There sure are a lot of people buying fruit today"), questions ("Can I go say Hi to the lobsters?") or general remarks ("I like raspberry yogurt best. Is it time to get yogurt yet? Oh, no, we get that near the end. Can we get the scanner? Can I hold the cereal? I want to carry it. Here, I'll put it on the scanner...."). She's pretty entertaining.

I put Kate to bed last night. When she's sleepy she's very peaceful. We read her Magic Kitten book (this crazy book where a lion has changed into a kitty or somesuch but can do magic!). Sometimes she reads, and then she gets tired and asks me to read. But every minute or two she interrupts, because she's trying to follow along on the page but has lost her way. "Where are you? Oh, I see. OK." With Jack, sometimes we read together, but mostly he reads to himself. I'll miss it when Kate does the same.

Jack's teeth

Jack's dental issues have long been a concern, from the infected tooth he had to have pulled at a young age, to the ludicrous number of fillings he had to have when he was, I dunno, 6 years old. There were tears and wailing and discomfort. And Jack didn't have much fun, either.

So now we've moved on to a palette expander, not terribly unlike one I had myself way back when. For the last couple of weeks I've been using a little hook thingy to turn a wheel in it, with the result being it's moving his front teeth apart to make room for ones behind them. So he is looking kind of toothy these days. Also thin, since eating is difficult, especially certain foods (spaghetti...whoops), and he is not a kid who can afford to lose much weight.

But he has been a trooper about it. He lies down, opens wide, I turn the wheel, and sometimes it hurts. And he's sore. And I say, sorry, and he says it's OK. And a few minutes later he is playing like it's no big deal; I am the one shaken by the whole thing.

Anyway, it isn't a lot of fun, but I am proud that he's managed as well as he has.

Sleepy Kate

Put Kate to bed tonight. She had stayed over at Grammy's last night and maybe stayed up a little late, so she was tired. I asked her what she did over there, and she answered in a sleepy, almost sing-song voice, with a little smile.

"We made cinnamon rolls with the milk on them," she said. The icing? "Yes. And my hands got all sticky."

What else did you do? "We played Life. But I didn't want to play for long. So then Stacey and I played with the baby--" (a doll) "--for about two minutes. And then we watched TV. And then we went to bed. And then Lyndsay came in, and her hair was so long! And it was so messy! But now it's fine!"

And then I kissed her goodnight.

Skating

Took the kids ice skating yesterday. Day off for all of us, Emily was sick, Jack had been saying he wanted to go for a while. So we piled into the car in our warm clothes and bike helmets (for the kids) and headed to the ice rink.

I am not a particularly adept skater. Emily and Jack are both better. But I manage, and while Jack made his way around and around, Kate and I went around the edge, gripping the rail as we went. Kate did okay, taking little steps, holding my hand, continuing on. Every so often Jack would circle by, offering tips, occasionally wiping out.

We probably did this for close to an hour before both were hungry, so we hit the snack bar. Burgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, French fries. I got a soda, they got chocolate milk...and hot chocolate. I said to Jack, are you sure you don't want lemonade or water or something? He maintained he anted hot chocolate. Halfway into the meal, of course, he asked to try my soda. And enjoyed it. The hot chocolate was OK.

As we were finishing our meal, Kate put her bike helmet on and walked (awkwardly, on skates) over to the rink. I said, uh, ok, you are ready? Jack and I were still eating. She went out onto the ice on her own as I wolfed down my last bite. Figured, well, she will be clinging to the edge when I get there.

In fact, when I got to the ice, I spotted her out in the middle. Walking slowly along, on her own, upright, near the cones in the center. She turned to look back at me, saw me, grinned.

So yeah, she kind of picked it up.

At one point they had to clean the ice, so everyone was kicked off. I thought they might want to go, but no. We grabbed a seat in the stands and watched the zamboni go round and round and round again.

Christmas time is here

On December 1, the kids started their Advent calendars, thank you Nana. Kate had been talking about it for a couple of days beforehand, and on the 1st she came down saying, "Jack! We can open Door No. 1!" We hauled out all the Christmas decorations, and I set up everything on the front lawn, including the Christmas Pig, while they decorated their rooms. They played with the Nativity pieces, no doubt faithfully re-creating the first Nativity (or having the animals chat together about football, one of the two), and also with all the stuffed toys we have accumulated over the years - Santa, Frosty, Rudolph, Penguiny, etc.

On December 7, we went to the Holiday Breakfast at school, where we ate bagels, drank orange juice, and watched A jovial Santa, played I believe by one of Jack's baseball coaches. One of Jack's friend's Grandmas played piano and a bunch of kids, including Jack, sang along to Carols - Frosty, Rudolph, etc. Kate didn't stand up, but she sat at the table holding the song sheet, singing along.

Afterward, we went to get our tree. Jack picked one. Then Kate picked one, then Emily picked one, then I picked one. Then we actually agreed on one and got it. On the way home, Jack said, "that's what I want for a job.  I want to pick up the tree, bang it on the ground, and wrap it up and put it on people's cars." I said, well, I don't think that's his full-time job...he probably does something else the other 11 months of the year.

On December 9, it was icy, and school was delayed. Then on December 10th, it snowed and school was cancelled entirely. We went outside and the kids made snow angels and went down the slide. We had a small snowball fight, and then we played "Abominable Snowman," where I ran at them roaring and they either ran away screaming (Kate) or hit me in the face with a snowball (Jack). That was fun. Then I said, let's go make a snowman, and I was going to just make a standard one, but Jack wanted to make an Olaf, from the movie Frozen, as we had talked about when we saw it. He talked me into it, we made Olaf.

All along, we've been watching Christmas specials in the evening. Rudolph last Wednesday. Charlie Brown last Saturday, Santa Claus is Coming to town on Wednesday. I heard some commercial about, You watched them as kids, and now you can watch them with your kids, the kind of thing I would have scoffed at not so long ago. But here we are.

The Christmas Pageant was Monday night, where all the 3rd 4th and 5th graders would sing songs they'd been practicing at school. Frosty, Feliz Navidad, Silver Bells. Jack got to introduce one of the songs for his grade, representing the class, that was cool. He had a cold and his nose was twitching beforehand, we were waiting for him to sneeze, but he didn't. What was cool about the show, which we watched with Kate between us, was that she was fidgeting and complaining before it started, but once it began, she was totally engrossed, smiling and clapping and singing along quietly. She loves music, she sings absently almost all the time, it's awesome.

And that night they dressed up in red and white and were beautiful.

Thankful

Had my parents down for Thanksgiving. It's always great that the kids are so excited to see them. They didn't want to go to bed, and then Jack came into our room in the middle of the night to ask when they would get up. Hugs all around in the morning. Jack played Scrabble with Nana, while Kate, humorously, picked Headbandz to play with Baba (where you wear a picture of something on your head and have to guess what it is; Baba was a toaster).

We played Hearts, Parcheesi, and Chess; Emily and I, having each played a lot of Hearts back in the day, really enjoyed it. Even though Kate wanted to get points, and Jack didn't seem to fully grasp the goal, either. Later, out of the blue, he announced, "I really like board games a lot right now."

Went to Cathy's for Thanksgiving. The kids disappeared to play with their cousins for most of it. We reconvened at dinner, and for presents (it was also the first night of Hannukah).jack and Kate each got a present, and when we went home, they immediately began playing with them. Jack's was an electronics projects set, Kate's a Barbie makeup art set.

It isn't often that I see Jack completely enthralled by something. He'd make a project, show it to us, smile, make another one. At one point I was in the kitchen, he brought it out, showed me what he made, and we walked back to the living room. He looked down at the set in his hands and said, almost to himself more than me, "I love this." Like he was filled with wonder about how much he enjoyed it. I don't see that very often. It's pretty cool.

I put Kate to bed. She read to me. She has become a great reader, quickly. Kissed her goodnight, went to say goodnight to Jack. He said, "Tomorrow, will you play with my electronics set with me?" You bet.

Walking home

We walked home from school today. It was a little cold but beautiful, sunny and clear.

Kate was a little sulky initially, preferring not to walk. Jack, in contrast, would walk home every day if he could. So he made it fun for Kate.

"Kate, let's see what we can find for leaves, OK? We can find the biggest, or the most colorful?" They did that for a couple of minutes, then Kate got leaves in her sneakers and was irritated. So Jack said, "Let's walk on the sidewalk, and see what else we can find."

They spotted what seemed to be a piece of colorful glass fused into the sidewalk. "Look, Kate, it's a secret passageway!" Jack said. "We need to find the key!" They knelt down and sifted through rocks and twigs. "Is this the key?" asked Kate. "What about this?" "Ooh, that's a good key. Hmm, no it doesn't work."

We walked some more. Jack found a metal key ring. "THIS is the key!" They both ran back to the fused glass. "Yeah, look at this, that's great!"

Walked a few yards more. Played with more leaves. Analyzed the staples in a telephone pole. Careful, I said.

On the street parallel to ours there are two big columns on either side, like a gate or archway. "Stop!" Jack instructed to us. "We can't go through without the key." They both knelt to find the key. Kate came up with a stick, Jack a rock. Jack said, "We place the rock here--" (in front of one column) "--and poke it with the stick." Kate poked it. "There! Now we can go through." So we did. 

Came to the white stones on the border of a neighbor's lawn. Kate dubbed them the "Rocks of Joy," and jumped from rock to rock. Jack followed suit. I told them it was time to cross. Kate looked up. "Look, MORE Rocks of Joy!" We crossed, and they continued jumping from rock to rock.

On the cross street near our house, there was a big, waist-level tree stump at the edge of the road, where a tree had been knocked down in a storm. They approached it reverently. "This is the thump-thump stump," Jack explained. "You have to pat it while singing a song to pass." They both patted the stump like a drum, singing a made-up song. We passed.

On our street, we passed a house with a lawn decoration of a turkey rising out of a pumpkin. They walked up to it and said hello to the turkey. I noticed the owner on her porch and warned them not to touch it. She said, it's OK, they can look. So they did.

We passed a guy walking his dog. The dog's tail whipped back and forth as she saw us. As we passed, Kate moved aside, I held out my hand to greet the dog. It flopped down on its back and Jack and I scratched its belly. Its tail went thump thump thump.

Reached home, having made a 10-minute walk in about half an hour. "See, Kate, isn't walking home GREAT?" said Jack.

Art

Jack and I do a lot of outside activities, either football or baseball or whatnot. Kate plays occasionally, but it isn't her first choice. Today, with Jack going to swim practice, I tried to figure out what I could do with just Kate that she would enjoy. And then I remembered she had been drawing pictures from the Hand Art book last week, so I suggested that. And her eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously.

The Hand Art book enables you to make all kinds of animals whose heads or bodies start out by tracing your hand. A bat is made with two hands. And a butterfly, and... You get the idea. And it is hard for Kate to trace her own hand, so we did them together.

"You're a good tracer, Daddy," she said admiringly, as I traced her hand. Well, thank you, Katie.

We made elephants, dogs, bats, and giraffes. I made her a kitty that she loved. I know this because when I finished it and gave it to her, she said, " I LOVE it." Then we made pictures for everyone else. I made an elephant for Jack. When he saw it he looked at it for a minute, smiled, and said "Thank you." Very sincere. It was nice.

Saying goodnight to Kate, I said, it was fun making hand art with you, Kate. And it really was.