The Germans have a treacherous racetrack they’ve dubbed “The Green Hell.” I wouldn’t go that far in describing last Saturday’s festivities, but there were moments when, as somewhere between 12 & 15 4-to-6-year-olds simultaneously tried to asphyxiate me, I thought, “Wow, I wish I were wearing a GoPro so that other people can see what it looks like to die this way.” 😛 Check me out (if you can even somehow see me) at the bottom of a tot-pile at our friends Jake & Shay’s annual St. Paddy’s party:
Soon after I first met our friend Maria in Kansas City, she mentioned that as a kid she’d had something like 26 pen pals. Now she has two more (or maybe together one full-sized one) in the form of the Micronaxx. She’ll sometimes send them fun calligraphic work, and they like to return the favor by riffing on her supposed love of eating strawberry stems. Here you can see what they whipped up following a quick video chat with her:
[YouTube]
I awoke to the sound of Margot “cracking up,” as Finn later put it. Apparently when she greeted the dudes around 6am, they treated her to a news flash: “Henry can’t marry Maya anymore because she keeps singing ‘Let It Go.’” This is the super annoying, catchy, and strident theme from Frozen. Ask the parents of any young girl. Finn continued, “We’re gonna write a note: ‘FORGET IT, Maya!!’” And so they did!
The boys love to call me KOBI (King Of Bad Ideas), and now look what I discovered on campus at Google—a rolling Bad Idea:
The CoBi is a seven-passenger death machine that I pedaled past yesterday. Here’s hoping I can get the little KOBIs (Kids Of Bad Ideas) on it soon. 😉
(Seeing this Margot makes a loud “thbbbbtp!” sound while giving a thumbs-down. “I’d rather team-build over drinks!”)
Finnster & G-Man recently helped their Pasitos buddy Jesse celebrate his 4th b-day. Downside: They’re not into spicy Mexican candy. Upside: Hen walked off with a papier-mâché dino leg in which to store future treats. 🙂
This post is a bit belated, but the party wasn’t: Happy Birthday to our big, bright, blonde boy! We had a ball (my totally sore, bouncy-house-strained neck notwithstanding ;-)), and we’ll post photos soon. Meanwhile, let’s sing!
Hear the chaos!
See the uncooperative candles that keep threatening to go out!
Celebrate our big blonde guy turning 6!
Surprise produce for the G-Man:
“For those about to shave (in ~10 years)… we salute you!!” 🙂
“Dad-O, I hope you make a lot of new friends at Google,” Henry told me every day my first week. I shall try indeed, my son. Meanwhile, here’s the little guy rocking the crazy propellerhead “Noogler” (as in, New Googler) beanie I was issued:
Bonus, via our neighbor Chris:
G-Man, as seen through Mom’s-Eye View at Target this afternoon. 🙂 (Amazingly he maintained his deep nap from car to cart.)
Is it still a conspiracy theory if you know they’re out to get you?
The boys have started to delight in (hilariously loudly) whispering little plots to one another, generally having to do with some pending attack on Dad-O or gambit to score forbidden treats. Here, after they’d twisted my arm into buying them some Taco Bell schlock, I overheard Finn whispering, “Hey Henry, let’s pour fiery sauce into Dad-O’s brain to make him go bananas!” In a similar vein they’ve taken to attacking my “six” (aka butt—”six” being fighter pilot shorthand for one’s six-o’clock position). Most amusingly, when I bust them (to their delight), they invariably claim, “Oh, we’re just talking about gummi bears & tasty snacks.” Snacks, my butt! 😉
Early morning scene: Mom-O & her eyeliner getting Finn suited up for Crazy Mustache Day at school. 🙂
🙂
Hey, there’s something to this temporary quasi-unemployment thing. 🙂
We had fun exploring the driftwood-laden New Brighton Beach (which we’d somehow missed all these years) with the boys’ preschool buddy Clark & his dad Alex a couple of weeks back. Here you can get a glimpse of them constructing a “Beach ranger station” and burying their amigo. 🙂
Beach ranger station:
“Dad-O, I’m making Henry into a superhero,” says Finn, attaching a garbage bag “cape” to his bro. “He’s Trash Man!” 🙂
A boy & his flyin’ lion.
🙂
What a day! Here’s our little chronicle of following Bixby Creek down to the sea, digging innumerable holes, frolicking with Bruce’s dog, and just generally cooling the heck out. 🙂
Saturday was just unbelievably lovely. Here’s a quick peek: