A taste of our Sunday.

Lego Land

Sam's babysitter from many years ago, Kate, gave Sam an amazing cache of Legos! She'd already given him a big box a year ago. This time, two huge boxes, including a tackle box with pieces neatly divided by type (including  bin for little heads)!

Sam's been in heaven making a panoramic scene, shown in this movie. Fair warning: it's about 4 minutes long.

the best medicine

Josh is very pleased!

Sam starting work on an archeology science kit shaped like a pyramid

First you transliterate the heiroglyphs to find where the secret entrance is... inside await treasures to be excavated

Josh is crawling like mad these days

Tonight was a family video night. NOVA about a remote part of Madagascar. Cool!

Indefatigable at least til bedtme

Josh taking a bath

Josh taking a bath, and Josh getting a kick out of taking a kleenex out of a box.

Aunt Amy!

 Visit from Aunt Amy this weekend. For entertainment on Saturday we all went to the art museum, for the last weekend of Extreme Materials 2. These are works out art made from unusual media, such as soap, packing tape, hat pins, pencils (see Kraken, below), bunt pans, breakfast cereal, band aids, and a number of bodily fluids and personal medical items from the edgier artists.

They were very artistic and interesting, and some were quite beautiful.

Amy and Sam are shown in front of a sculpture of sorts consisting of plastic spoons glued to the wall.

Sam loved the new art and kept excitedly running from artwork to artwork eagerly looking to see what they were made of, then running back to us to tell us.

We also viewed part of the regular collection. Shown are daddy and Josh next to "Analogy of Night".

It's a nice statue, but anyone who's had insomnia will tell you it's not a good analogy for night. Notice the star on her forehead and the moon in her right hand. And the smug look. Are those really enough to justify that title? You be the judge.

The museum has a large central hall upstairs the size of a gymnasium. I went through there with Josh on my shoulders.He immediately started whooping and waiting, testing out the acoustics. He was in heaven.

Yesterday we went to Mendon Ponds for Winterfest 2012. We ended up not seeing the main atractions--snowshoe, ski and sled-dog races, horse-drawn carriage rides, and some indoor activities.Instead, we just sledded for 1.5 hours. Sam often threw his head back and screamed, "THIS IS AWESOME!"

It was pretty good, too. :-)

Sam's wish

What with our 1-2" of snow this morning the commute was at a snail's pace. It took 40 minutes longer than usual for him to make it to school. That gave us lots of time to chat:

Sam: You know how when you blow on a dandelion you make a wish?  My wish would be that everyone believes in God.
Tim: That's a great wish!
Sam: What would yours be?
Tim: The same thing, I think.

A little later:

Tim: Why do you want everyone to believe in God?
Sam: Because it's better.  Because God is not like those other gods and goddesses who are fakes.

We really don't sit around night after night at the dinner table bashing Zeus and Isis. Sam just remembers everything we say (that doesn't involve a chore for him to do).

Today's post brought to you by the letter I, for Imagination

From Susan:


Best moment of today's play date: when Sam and his friend had a minor argument over possession of an INVISIBLE weapon. Um...why not just invent TWO invisible weapons? Apparently that wasn't an option...

The invisible weapon was finally borrowed and then returned.

Sam and friend Zachy playing with his new wall-mounted marble racer

Notice Josh incarcerated in the background

Two videos:

• Antiphonal lip smacking while eating a meal (The other smacking being Susan and I)
• Josh, as he often does, playing hide and seek over and over by ducking below the strip of fabric at the top of his play pen, and hopping up again, something he's inordinately proud of

Sam's "family tree", excluding all but him, Uncle Paul, and the Wright Bros.

I stretched things a little. When we say we are related to someone, we usually aren't including by marriage.

Sam knows he's related to William Bradford. He likes this a lot. (And he recognizes that since he's adopted, he's related to two family trees.)

Uncle Paul is related to the Wright Brothers! Cool! So now Sam is too, though unconventionally. (And Katie enjoyed pointing out she's related to the Pilgrims. :-)

In Sam's mind, he's quite related. He drew the diagram above to demonstrate that while he and Uncle Paul are both related to the WB, you can see by the relative lengths of the sides of the triangles, Paul's just a little closer than Sam. :-)

* * *

Tonight Sam says, "When you're like twelve you can decide if you want to follow God or be, like, a villain?"

Nice to know he remembers that stuff about deciding for Jesus when he's older. But... villain? So he expresses some curiosity about whether he might enjoy being a villain. I point out that villains have no friends because they are mean to other people. Hope that sank in.

* * *

Sam thinks limousines are the best cars in the world. He also watches Scooby Doo.

Sam: Do limos have seat belts?
Us: Um, yes.
Sam: What about phantom limos?
Us: We have no idea.
Sam: What are phantom limos?

The old bait-and-switch, eh? Yep, he's still got the moves.

Christmas, Round #2

We spent the week around Christmas in South Dakota, first in Brookings with Susan's Dad, then in Mitchell with the Gilberts and Mansons. A fine time was had by all, and we were sorry to leave. (Though after eight days I am sure the Mansons were ready to no longer find the occasional diaper on the floor!) 

Highlights included:

• The South Dakota Children's Museum
• Marlene's cookies, fudge and toffee
• Good food & conversation at the Depot (including a Buffalo burger)
• The candlelight Christmas-eve service (not at the Depot)
• Excellent dinners in Mitchell!
• Katie and Jon playing with Sam and Josh
• Seeing the Colorado kin after way too long
• Cabela's!
• Showing Sam the great Baal between Sioux Falls and Mitchell
• Steaks at that restaurants... what was the name?  Susan will tell me. (Thanks, Gene!)

That just scratches the surface. A good time was had by all. Below are some photos. Jon and Tim and Joe managed to avoid the lens--Tim, do you have any photos of the missing three you could contribute?

Sam flanked by Colorado cousins Erin (left), Megan (right), seated in front of the Chest Of Death. This ~300-yr-old chest was brought by Olaf Mansson, one of Paul's ancestors, from Sweden, to "Iova, Ameika." It's a gorgeous piece of history which Josh loved to stand next to. The danger of his slipping and smacking his skull or tearing flesh on the old iron keyhole only added spice to the fun. :-)

Eric, Megan, Sam and Aunt Ruth waiting to open presents on Christmas eve.

South Dakota cousin Katie with Josh

Josh! Always ready with a raspberry.

Katie and Josh with a soon-to-be-asleep Tim

Beloved Uncle Paul and Aunt Ruth

Nuk-kiss!

Sam at the water room in the South Dakota Children's Museum

One pumped up an air tank, then released it to send a ball up along tracks and eventually down into the water again.

Susan, her dad Gene, and Marlene of the Colorado Gilberts, hanging out in Mitchell