Girls in Pink

Fun
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

It had been a long time since the people of Dublin had been sledding, and they were a bit rusty. Many walked up the hill instead of getting to the side, others, typically little girls wearing pink, decided to hang out at the bottom of the hill. On one of his first trips down the hill Michael leveled a 4 years old girl wearing pink. Later, I had to roll off my sled to avoid a different wee lass in pink; with the momentum of my mass a collision would have been very bad. At least two other times we had to "eject" in order to prevent young ladies who lack sense, from being sent to the hospital, but the best one was the last one.

Jen was on my back and we were cruising, when, what do we see ahead of us -- a clueless little girl daydreaming of fairies and unicorns dead ahead. I try to stop the sled with my hands, I yell to get their attention, but to no avail. We keep moving at her quickly, as I use my hands to slow down; I see nothing but snow, but fortunately I slowed down enough so that when my head hit her sled a park worker lifted her away. At the end of the day we decided that pink is now the international color of "oblivious-ness."
RAP (1.24.2007)

Super Alex, Go!

Super Alex, Go!
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

We planned to go to the art museum today, to see the last day of the Degas exhibit, but mother nature had other plans; for the first time in 2 years, it snowed enough to present us with the opportunity to go sledding. This was not a chance to be missed. One of the ways I have taught Jens to thrive away from her native climate is to embrace what is good about each season. Sledding is a good thing about winter, and thus we had to seize the day! It was a great day, but we did have some interesting incidents that I will fill you in on when I next write.
RAP (1.23.2007)

Two Gray Sentinels

Cat Wranger
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

When I arrived home on a sunny day last week, the front door was wide open; sometimes the wind can do that, if the door is not locked. Jenny was out all day, so it could have been that way all day. Obviously, some one could have burglared our home, but fear not true believers for sitting right inside the portal to our home staring at the outside world ,and keeping watch, were two gray sentinels. No one was going to invade our home with Bruce and Grayson on the job.
>> RAP(1.19.2007)

The New Frontier

Big Reader
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

As you know, Michael can read anything, but as you might not know, his little brother is well on his way to being able to decipher any tome also. Last night, he read me a very difficult Dr. Suess book and an issue of the Batman Strikes. His rapid improvement has been striking. Although they can read many things on their own now, the boys still enjoy being read to on occasion.

This last week, I have been reading to them the landmark graphic novel "The New Frontier." It takes place in the days after WWII up until Kennedy gave his New Frontier speech. In fact, the final chapter is the speech. It was a good way to expose them to some of the history of that era.
RAP (1.18.2007)

Wii

We Are Ready
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

As you know Santa brought the boys the Wii game system, and they have enjoyed it's inventive way of playing games. In addition to playing games, the Wii is also connected to the Internet and one of it's features is a "weather channel"; who would guess, but now the boys, especially Alex, want to check the weather forecast all the time. The Wii people are in the process of implementing a "news channel" also, so I am interested in seeing how that takes as well.
RAP 1.17.2007

Enthusiastic

Welcome Bear
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

The boys are getting older, but many things are the same as they ever were. Michael is still diligent and honest. Alex still loves his bears and entertaining a crowd. Most importantly, they are both still very enthusiastic. Today they ran off the bus incredibly excited because they found something in Michael's back pack that they thought they had lost. It was as if a supernova of happiness was exploding, as if all their dreams had come true. I hope it is something that never changes.
RAP (1.9.2007)

King Michael

King Michael
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

One of the highlights of our trip to Chicago was seeing the King Tut exhibition. Michael did not want to place this hat on, but fortunately I have some sway. This head piece appeared to me as an opportunity to get a picture that may be able to work in Michael's book next year. Michael and Alex enjoyed seeing the boy pharoh, but I still think that the dinosaurs ruled their hearts. We finished the display early and the Michael and Alex used that time to look at Sue, the T-Rex, from every angle.
RAP (1.8.2007)