JKXY

Christmas Seasonings

2011-12-30T13:57:00.000-08:00

The season started off with promise, with a good Brandon visit, and then Ima ("Ee-ma" short for Imary) came over (with her parents) for a dinner. She is very reminiscent of Bela at that age, which was a nice flashback for us. Scary flash forward for Tere and Aldo?

The Stuff
Finally the long awaited threat is fulfilled.

Socks for Christmas! BwaHaaHaaaHaaaa!

Oh no, this isn't all? It's not >just< socks? That ruins the whole idea! Now it's just... nice.

Some gifts seemed to have Audrey in mind.

Ysabela got her first sonic. Watch out.

Not many action figures this year. But the ones he got completed the Justice League.

Fluffy the Vampire Slayer. She wore this to church. No one noticed?

The big thing was what the kids got themselves. They've been saving for the Wii, and some generous grandparent presents helped them cross the line. So we've crossed some kind of line. The parents are nervous.

Then we got a quick trip in to see Carmen. She seems like she's recovering well from the defibrillator procedure. We also got in some quality time the Roelants. Grace and Cate are great, and have become Sleeping Queen experts of first rank in short order. We also taught odds and evens, Nim, and zip-zap-zoop in one dinner.

Looks like a quiet build up to the New Year: blessings on the ends and beginnings to you and yours.

2011 in Rearview

2011-12-23T17:19:00.000-08:00

Well we did it:
a) survived another year
b) redid the main basement room (mostly)
c) actually got together a Christmas letter!

It says in the letter that we would put the photos up here, so here they are! In technicolor, and clickable for full size. Plus some bonus pix that didn't make the letter.

The card: Low resolution but viewable online. High resolution to download.

Special web bonus: the script for the comic and an unused panel!

Merry Christmas!

Gingerbread in the House

2011-12-15T07:19:00.000-08:00

So this happened.

Here's how.

Cupcake Break!

Finishing touches:

This is gingerbread pride from the Golem family!

Thanks to Ellen and everybody at Desserts by Design.

Two Videos

2011-12-10T18:06:00.001-08:00

Pictures of Gingerbread Decorating Action coming soon. Till then, two videos. We just watched tonight this awesome 50s teledrama, The Answer, starring David Niven. Features the great line, "Let x=world peace. Solve for x." Carolyn Jones also has a brief fun part.

The other comes from realizing that my favorite fun Christmas song had no YouTube video. Found this copyright free old Disney clip, and cut it down to fit the song. Check out the Klezmonauts at Amazon - fun group. Give it a try and you'll watch mit groise fargenign.

Hope that's a treat; 'tis the season.

Halloween 11

2011-11-04T08:40:00.000-07:00

So there was this nice demon...

... who could really hit the high notes and appreciated a good Sea Breeze.

We had our usual Halloween gathering, but not on Trick or Treat night which was actually nice. We, of course, regathered a bit for Trick-or-Treating, so it was like getting two Halloweens.

There were epic battles.

Children of the night.

A good variety of creatures and heroes (and a cupcake).

Treats for having and sharing. We estimate about 180 trick-or-treaters.

And our humble pumpkins as well as the Minnebo's wowser-o'-lanterns.

2011-11-01T14:29:00.000-07:00

11-1-11

Fall-ing

2011-10-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

Halloween music on, Karen making dishes with root vegetables... means it must be ages since I posted.

Some old guy had an awesome chocolate-orange cake with a Tabasco theme.

We got in a visit with Carmen and the Amazing Roelants. Waaay too long since we've seen them, and the girls are a delight.

But the big fall event was a movie premiere for

Storm Dependent

the local west Michigan movie that threatens to turn super hero storytelling on its head.

Red Carpet, sponsored by Dr. Pepper.

Co-director and editor, Anna Minnebo.

Co-director and screen"writer," Diablo Cody.

The first showing!

Setting up for the gala. The cake was so good we invited the baker.

Awards the same night as the premiere? Someone's on the ball.

This was the first awarding of the Ultimatums, sure to go down in history as the greatest honor in cinema.

Here are the nominees. Winners are highlighted.

Best Location Supervisor & Craft Service for a Motion Picture:Karen Golden, Storm Dependant; Rachel Ray, Unbearable Lightness of Being; Martha Stewart, The Thief, the Cook, His Wife and Her Lover

Best Riff Raff in a Motion Picture: John Golden, Storm Dependant; Simon Helberg, Dr. Horrible; Meryl Streep, Sophie’s Choice; Gregg Minnebo, Storm Dependant (it's a tie?)

Best In-depth Reporting in a Motion Picture: Ysabela, Storm Dependant; Michelle Pfeiffer, Up Close and Personal; Holly Hunter, Broadcast News

Best Editing in a Motion Picture:Anna Minnebo, Storm Dependant; The Bourne Ultimatum - Christopher Rouse; The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Jamie Selkirk

Best Super Villain in a Motion Picture:Xavier, Storm Dependant; Jack Nicholson, Batman; Samuel Jackson, Unbreakable; Neil Patrick Harris, Dr. Horrible's Sing-along-blog

Best Sidekick in a Motion Picture:Chris O’Donnell, Batman Forever; Brandon, Storm Dependant; Sebastian Stan, Captain America

Best Sword Fighting in a Motion Picture: Mandy Patinkin, Princess Bride; Mason, Storm Dependant; Viggo Mortensen, Lord of the Rings

Best Super Hero in a Motion Picture: Christian Bale, Batman Begins; Chris Hemsworth, Thor; Robert Downey, Jr., Iron Man 2; Lillian, Storm Dependant

Quite a night for Storm Dependant!

Aside from the premiere, we've had the chance to catch a couple rocking Christian shows. The Blind Boys of Alabama at Hope, and the Music with a Mission Tour with Super(chick).

The St. John's youth group took a spin for Crop Walk. The youth were cheered on by Tess the Tremendous.

To wrap up, two videos from this weekend with the kids, showing where they're at...

Xavi did a great job with this belt test. Good concentration and perseverance.

Ysabela finally consented to putting a song to video - she's been working hard on this one.

Happy New Year

2011-09-06T15:12:00.000-07:00

With 75% of the house starting school (can you hear Karen rejoicing?) it feels like a new year. Just a few pictures to quickly share.

Both X and Y are at middle school this year, and both reported a great day 1. A mini-tradition we're working on is videotaping their expectations... those are at the end. This school does an excellent job at welcoming new students, and Xavier has had a seamless transition, except for an antagonistic locker door. (Closest thing to Calvin's bicycle we've met.) Ysabela was just happy to see her buds after the summer separation.

We got to go to Mia and Grace for the first time in too long, this time with our good friend Elizabeth. She has the most fascinating English Ivy across from her - this is a picture of the ivy doing a tree imitation. It's on a white pine, so the pine branches don't start up until way above.

Karen also loved the cute little gnome door. She did spot the mutant ivy flowering elsewhere, but not imitating branches. The root/trunk of the ivy had to be about a foot in circumference or more.

We can't have two consecutive posts without an Audrey update. So here she is, with bubbles! I suspect she's contemplating how bubbles minimize surface tension by forming perfect spheres.

Fez are cool.

We've been enjoying this back to school advice from our favorite TV/movie writer Joss Whedon. There's other advice in the article as well, but it's a definite mixed bag.

Tabernacle

2011-08-29T05:25:00.000-07:00

The Tabernacle Experience is in Holland this week at Beechwood Church. We would highly encourage you to go if you're interested in the Old Testament as a Christian, Jew or anthropologist. They've constructed a lifescale model with an audio tour. They make it very participatory, and only allow in a few people at a time. Very well done.

Hebrews 9:9-12 "The first part of the tent is an example for the present time. The gifts and sacrifices that were brought there could not give the worshiper a clear conscience. These gifts and sacrifices were meant to be food, drink, and items used in various purification ceremonies. These ceremonies were required for the body until God would establish a new way of doing things. But Christ came as a chief priest of the good things that are now here. Christ went through a better, more perfect tent that was not made by human hands and that is not part of this created world. He used his own blood, not the blood of goats and bulls, for the sacrifice. He went into the most holy place and offered this sacrifice once and for all to free us forever."

We attended the outdoor worship service first, and it was also nice; good contemporary music and a nice sermon on the significance of the Tabernacle. The only thing missing was a Tardis, to give us the impression that we were really there. Although I have to say, the Most Holy Place had a bit of the bigger on the inside feel.

Quarterly Catsup?!

2011-07-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

Boy... WHO has been a bad family blogger?

When last we joined our protagonists... Xavi was giving a good presentation on his ancestor. Since then was Easter, finishing the school year, Xavi's 5th grade graduation, putting on a fundraiser to help bring the Korye Dance Theatre to the area, Vacation Bible School, and the kids heading off to camp whilst the adults finally attacked the basement. We've little to no pictures to show for any of this, so I'll just share what we've got.

Maybe Audrey's parents should reconsider leaving her with us...?

Pocket review: 3/4 Houses. Better than we feared, yet inexplicable changes from the book. King's Cross - excellent. Final battle - meh.

Karen's amazing Imperial Cookies.

The returning from camp sequence.

Back to normal! They were wiped out from the hottest week in 15 years. Bela is heat sensitive and Xavier has the allergy issues, yet both survived. We are so grateful for all the prayer support they had. Xavi's written a brief bit about camp. Maybe more or Bela's take later.

The General Situation

2011-04-15T06:19:00.000-07:00

Wax Museum Report: Wilson Brown
Engineer in Andrew’s Raiders

by Xavier Golden

Hello, I am Wilson Wright Brown. I want to tell you about my life. I was born on Christmas 1839 and I lived 77 years. I fought against slavery in the civil war on the side of Abraham Lincoln who was fighting slavery. After the Civil War I got married and had 7 children.

I made a important decision to fight against slavery in the civil war. I was part of the Great Locomotive Chase which was a act in the civil war where Andrew’s Raiders were supposed to steal a train that had southern army supplies. It took place on April 12, 1862 and even though we failed, the story became famous, and gave the North hope to fight against slavery. The General, the train we took, was restored in 1961, and can be seen at the Southern Museum of Railroad and Civil War History

In the era I lived, lots of people owned slaves, But I was someone who fought against it. The Civil War had just begun when I was a young man, so I joined the army. I lived in the south of Ohio though, so my southern accent helped me in our secret mission.

I have two very interesting facts to tell you. First, I am Xavier’s great-great-great-grandfather. Another is that I was one of the 54 men to get the first presentation of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest award a soldier can get.

Ohio Monument to Andrew's Raiders

I was mainly picked to help in the Great Locomotive Chase because I was a train engineer. We had to travel disguised as southerners for four days from the north to where we stole the train called The General in Big Shanty, Georgia, which was deep into southern territory. I drove the train with the other engineer and James Andrews, the spy who was in charge of the raid. We destroyed train tracks and sabotaged telegraph wires so they couldn’t call for help. We wanted to destroy bridges but they were too wet to burn. Our plan was almost perfect but we were pursued by William Fuller, the General’s real engineer, who practically single-handledly caused us to be captured. He chased us on foot, and then by handcar, and finally in a train called The Texas. He got more and more people to help him and catch us. We had to abandon The General just south of Chattanooga, where we would have been safe, because we ran out of fuel. We had used some of our wood to try to block the tracks. We were all caught in the next two weeks – I made it to Alabama – and thrown in Confederate prison. We went to court and were found guilty and were sentenced to hang. But I escaped with five other men. Some prisoners were later exchanged, but some were hung, including James Andrews.

All the soldiers received the Congressional Medal of Honor, and we were the first to ever receive it. I stayed in the army, and fought in battles at Battle of Stones River, at Dug Gap, GA and at Chickamauga, GA where I was injured and captured again. I stayed friends with another Raider, Jacob Parrot, my whole life, and my daughter Gertrude even married his son. The Great Locomotive Chase was so exciting that two movies have been made of it, and many books written.

McNally History

2011-03-22T05:33:00.000-07:00

As far as I know. The Irish are notorious storytellers, so a few grains of salt may be necessary.

Michael McNally and Kathleen Donnelly, the builders of the cottage, were both from Irish immigration families, immigration funded by Charlie O'Malley, a key 19th century figure in Island town politics and builder of the Island House. He insisted that his cousins settle near by so as to pay him back. Many Irish came either because of him or because they knew someone he had brought. Other Irish, especially from the west of Ireland, settled in the straits area because it reminded them of home. Charlie believed the island was going to be a great resort area, and so would provide another source of income for families. They could play their trade, and then take in lodgers for the summer.

The McNally's chose St. Ignace, and the Donnelly's chose the Island. After prospering, the Donnelly's built a big house to be a guest house as well as the family home. That's Cloghaun, named after the village they came from. ( It means Stepping Stones in Irish and I think has been subsumed by Clifden.) Supposedly you could see Crogue Patrick from where you hung the laundry. The McNallys, Donnellys and maybe Douds were all from this neck of the woods. Mother McNally became quite famous in St. Ignace as a healer, and was supposedly given Bishop Marquette's ring as a mark of honor. When they went to remove it before burying her, her hand was clenched so tight they couldn't.

Michael McNally fell for Katie, but she insisted that he take The Pledge before marriage. Wise thing, as Michael was supposedly quite a bar brawler. Big man, over 6 feet, and "straight as a pin till the day he died." The saying was, when he was on the town, lock up you sons. His best friend was quite the rake; when he was out, lock up your daughters. When they were both out, lock up your house. So the story goes. Michael's favorite spot for a bit of sport was the Bucket o' Blood (no idea what the real name was) - the bar that the fort soldiers liked.

But all that changed when he agreed to the pledge. Supposedly, Pa Donnelly gave the land for McNally Cottage as a wedding present, and the house was built by Michael, by pacing off Cloghaun. (If not, they had the plans as the pre-modification houses are identical.) Michael's first modification was adding the porch, which for 100 years was a prime Island watching spot. He had an ice house in the spot nest to his meat market, next to what is now Shepler's. In addition, he was a fisherman, and a free diving salvager. Lived to his 90s, so even with his and his daughter Mary Ann's late start on families, my father and his sisters got to know him.

There were 6 McNally kids, three boys and three girls. Seamus (James) Mary, Thomas Mary, and Patrick Mary, and Mary Margaret, Mary Ann and Mary Catherine. Michael McNally had a "great devotion to the Blessed Mother." He was a great believer in education, and everyone except Catherine completed post-secondary education; quite unusual for the time. (Catherine may have found that too challenging, but did complete high school.) James "Red" McNally was an early football star at the University of Detroit, and then got a football scholarship to medical school at Creighton! (Pre-NCAA rules.) He put his Island horsemanship to good use later as an amateur champion harness racer. Thomas was an early advocate of photography (rather vain, too, or so the story goes) and most of the photos we have of the old family are from him. I don't know much about Thomas and Patrick except that Thomas' boys ended up spending a lot of time with Catherine on the island. The girls were sent to Monroe to an Immaculate Heart of Mary preparatory school called St. Mary's Academy. Margaret went on to a Chicago Normal school, and Mary Ann went on to the University of Michigan. By the time she died she was the 2nd oldest woman graduate of U of M. She returned to the island to teach, and was shortly superintendent, the first woman superintendent in the state.

There's a story she told about her students that reminds me of Stand and Deliver. Latin was a common study at the time, and Mary Ann a great scholar of it. She taught it at the island school, back when it was in what was and is now again the Indian Dormitory. They did so well on a national honor test of the subject, that she was accused of cheating, so they came and retested and found it was true. "Of course," she would say. I know in her 90s she could still correct my Latin homework, and was very disappointed that I couldn't speak it. "I remember that girl," she said of my ancient Latin teacher, with no more said.

During the summer, the kids would move to the attic. They hung sheets down the middle, and one side was boys, the others girls. The upstairs, with its one bath, would usually be rented to two families. The mothers and children would summer on the island, and the fathers would visit (coming north by train) as they could on weekends. The same families came for years and years usually. The families each had a cow, with a distinctive cowbell that would enable them to find the cow when needed. Ireland had a lot of common property, and it took a while to transfer to the more American view of "mine!" Some of the stories say that early on some property belonged to whoever could pay the taxes that year. (That must be a story, right.)

At Catherine's graduation, Mary Ann met Oliver Golden, and began a courtship that led to her moving away to Monroe, Michigan. Margaret traveled with a health education speaker, who went around the country speaking to women about nutrition and kitchen health standards. At one point she was diagnosed with a fatal heart condition, and with a few years to live she moved back with Michael and Catherine. And lived a couple more decades, attributing it to the clean air and healthy living that the Island offered. By this time the Island was becoming noted for what was just the normal way of live when the McNally kids were young. Michael retired from his businesses, and Margaret managed the business of the cottage. At this point tourism was becoming much more like the current state, with people taking shorter vacations. Resort customers stayed at the fancier hotels, and working families would come to the cottage for a week or two. When she finally passed in the 60s, Catherine took over the business from her. She mostly only accepted guests she knew and liked. Did no advertising, and charged a quarter per bath, and that for two inches of water.

In Mary Ann's family, we assumed that Catherine would outlive my grandmother, whose health had begun to fail. (Though her mind was sharp enough to still do the Times crossword in ink, her eyes needed a powerful magnifying glass.) Michael McNally had a survivor's clause in his will; while living the Cottage belonged to all of them, but ownership would go to the last survivor. That would mean the Cottage would go to Edward McNally, who was bound to sell it. At one point he cajoled Catherine for the back property of the cottage to build a house to be near her. The day it was signed to him, he sold it to Wes Mauer who built the Carousel Mall. (Continuing the family tradition of bad business deals, he supposedly only got what amounted to one month's rent on the completed shops. There's a mean bit of family gossip for you.) Catherine was simple and sweet, and couldn't imagine a bad thing about you. Even after that, Edward continued to live with her.

But Catherine fell, broke a hip, and died soon after, and Mary Ann not much more than a year after that. Mary Ann's children inherited, and that began the fracturing of the Cottage ownership. Jeannie Head ran the cottage a few years, and then my mother and I, then just my mother and then Tricia Cameron. In the past decade, Matt and Molly Pfundstein did amazing work to keep the business and cottage building in shape.

After our parents' generation passed away, the idea of selling become more and more common. My take is that finally my cousin Mac Head made the majority of us afraid that we wouldn't be able to keep it, that it would cost us money we didn't have. And that was the end. We laid our family heritage down, and to my mind, betrayed our trust. I am sorry that our family has fractured, and especially sorry that my children won't know this heritage. Staying in the attic, and welcoming friends to the island. It's not many what get a chance to walk in their ancestors' footsteps these days. Ah, but it was a grand life.

Mary Ann on a bike in the 50s.

Stan Bielecky painting
in front of the Cottage.

Cutting ice for the ice house.

The boys: Pat, Jim, Tommy

Michael McNally elder statesman.

Katie McNally nee' Donnelly

Margaret

Mary Ann and Catherine.

Patsy's daughter Mary Pat swinging through
Grand Haven - source of many of these photos.

Margaret at school in Chicago.

Mary Ann leaving on a ferry.

When were there pavilions on
the front lawn?

Mary Ann on the lake road.

Pre-Loon Feather (store, not the book.)

Mother McNally

My brother Michael and father Oliver on the steps.

My first visit to the cottage.

The Irish come to Mackinac.

A pre-marina view of the harbor.

February Catsup

2011-02-19T09:46:00.000-08:00

Who's been a bad, bad blogger?

OK. I've accepted that I'll never get the holiday travel post that I wanted up here. So... here's the slideshow. It goes quickly through Christmas, Georgia - including our great, quick visit with the Bickerstaffs, and Florida - Disney, cousins and Femminineos. It was a great trip, planned to precision by Karen. Ysabela has a pretty thorough account. Xavi has a brief introduction to the friends we visited.

Bickerstaff bounty, with great goat greeting.

Hotton Happening at a hotel with wacky wildlife.

Kids were suckers for Disney.

We definitely had high Hogwarts hopes.

Universal was super Seussy...

...and sort of wet.

But the Butterbeer earned 2 thumbs up, the wizarding world was wonderful.

Bela's birthday spanned two states. Part the first, with the dramatic dragon dessert.

Of course, Baby Audrey was a prompt priority on our return, which also saw some part the second with peach pie of Y's B-day-2.

But we were definitely back in Michigan.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T07:28:00.000-08:00

Well, we're officially giving up on the Christmas Card this year. We'll get some kind of mailing out... in 2011. The kids had a cute idea which we turned into a glog that you can see at the end of the post.

The holiday season kicked off with Xavi's Market Day. (Link goes to his blog for the full business report and more pictures.) As he and Karen slaved over delicious chocolates, Bela and I headed to Desserts by Design for some gingerbread construction.

We got a chance for an extended Audrey visit. She was huffing and puffing, rocking and rolling, and was five star enetertainment until she passed out.

We had a quick visit to the other side of the state, but got in lots of visits thanks to Aunt Peg hosting the Meyer family Christmas party, with 4 generations of family. Traditional caroling had some new spins this year.

Aunt Peg, Karen's goddaughter Julie (up from Atlanta and on her birthday) and Aunt Mary.

Xavi also took the opportunity to document for his friend Cam that his grandfather knows a thing or two about cars.

From there we headed on to Monroe, for a nice visit with Carmen. We took some pictures down in the cutely decorated Loranger Square, and Bela posed in front of the Monroe County Courthouse, where generations of Goldens have practiced law. Is that her fate?

We even got a rare picture of Karen and I together!

The glog is a kind of internet poster. Click to go to the poster directly. Click and hold on a picture to enlarge it. Some pictures are links to other sites or blogposts. You can pause the music if it's at all annoying! The scripture is what Karen's bible study has been on, so we've been talking about it as a family also.

Harry Potter 7

2010-11-25T16:08:00.000-08:00

Yeah! Finally got to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, movie 7, part 1a. The following has NO SPOILERS because to do otherwise is just mean.

J's review: I was very (surprisingly) pleased. Definitely the best this director and screenwriter has done at getting the feel of the book. The acting was terrific, and there were lots of very atmospheric scenes full of menace and emotion. Only a couple places where they substituted an inferior line for one from the book that would have been stronger, and none of the infuriating additions that marred movie 6. Rupert Grint (Ron) was really strong, and Emma Watson, often berated in our house, was ... actually good. There were several difficult-to-film sections of the book where they got across the important bits and the feeling in a quick visual way, like the opening scene in the Malfoys' house or the camping sequence. They even worked around several omissions and oversights from previous movies in an elegant way. For me this ranks third in the movies so far, behind only movie 5 and the great movie 3. Worth a watch or two at the theatre.

So, who would you rather take on? Bellatrix, of course, has the out of her gourd thing going for her, but if it has any planning to it, I'd take K in a fight.

K's Review: Overall, the short cuts taken were needed and was perhaps one of the better attempts in the series to bring the books to life. I liked it enough that I'd like to see it on the big screen.

Thumbs up

Bill Nighy as Rufus Scrimgeour. Too little screen time, but understandable as they had to move the plot along.
The gates and Alan Rickman's performance as Severus at Malfoy Mansion. For those who have read all the HP books and understand the complicated feelings Rickman needed to portray, these few minutes on screen were amazing.
Emma Watson steps up in this film and gives her most realistic portrayal of Hermione Granger.
The three actors who gave performances of Harry, Ron and Hermione transformed. Those folks did an amazing job of making us believe they were really Harry, Ron and Hermione.
Great job of portraying the Malfoy's distress of having the worst house guest ever.
The seen with Bathilda Bagshot in the cemetery and walking around her home was like watching the pages of the book come to life.

Thumbs down

Too little of Luna and omitting the ceiling in her room was missed opportunity that would have cost little time yet had big effect.
Messed up Ron's and Harry's best lines after the deluminator.
Omission on the redemption of Harry's relationships with Dudley and Kreacher.

Looks like Severus has selected X for a special opportunity. Concentrate...

X's review: Do I have to review it? Can I just say... "I saw Harry Potter part 1 and I loved it. I liked the part where the Deathly Hallows story was animated. I also liked when Ron broke the locket horcrux."

Y's review: 7 is much better than 6. It had more details and it was funny. Though some people (oh no, not you, Xavi) say criticizing a movie you like is a horrible and unjust thing to do, I think even good movies have faults, and this one had several. It had a couple parts where you had to have read the book to understand everything. There were also some things they could have fixed by just switching a sentence of lines for another one, but otherwise I would say it is a movie worth watching.

We got all four reviews! A family first.

Dia de los Muertos

2010-11-13T10:54:00.000-08:00

Friday: Pumpkin Carving

The costumes: Athena (I am not a princess I am the goddess of wisdom and war) and Flash (seen here mind-controlled by Starro).

Stick Man? What Stick Man?

Saturday: Trick or Treating with Elizabeth Swan, a Knight Templar and Baby Death Santa Claus in Pajamas. You know how sometimes you'll see someone else in the same costume? We did just once. Baby Death Santa Claus in Pajamas. Really.

We were also joined by Baby Sweet Pea. Mostly the moms gave out the snacks. Literal snacks in our case as we are now "the house that gives out chips."

As you can see, Baby Audrey already has figured it out. In fact, she must be pretty on the ball, since she is the only one who notices the figure in the background!

Worst werewolf ever. Even if it's a decent Rum Tug Tugger. Good thing Ysabela likes cats.

Sunday: monster cupcakes at church. Good turn out of kids made some really excellent monster cupcakes. These are our pals Gwen and Tess with their creations.

Sorry so slow to post. As you can see, a grand time was had by all. As usual, click on a picture for the full glory.

October Phot Ops

2010-10-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

We (erm, Karen, that means) took some nice pictures of the kids. And then a visit from baby Audrey, which always makes a big splash on the cuteness meter.

Prepared for the mess.

And who are these guys?

It's enough to make you start singing Time in a Bottle or the Cat's in the Cradle. Or...

Must be October

2010-10-09T19:33:00.000-07:00

We know it must be October because we've seen the Dynamic Duo.

And their nemesis, the Craw.

Batman escaped a death trap due to a timely batarang.

Ysabela and Miss Nataly took Lady for a blessing of the animals in honor of St. Francis.

The hydrangea has had a good year. Lots of blooms, the butterfly incident, and now this mysterious arrangement where all but one of the blooms has changed color.

Today's big adventure was the Pumpkin Roll in Montague.

The central event of the festival is the eponymous roll. It begins with wave after wave of 3 year olds.

The kids patiently (sorta) waited their turn. An hour in, it was finally time!

Bela was very enthusiastic but Xavi got the ribbon.

Even the dad rolled. With form like that, is it even a question that we won more than one ribbon?

The prize pumpkin this year was 480 pounds. The farmer who grew it was beaming. There was general agreement that we'd like to see it rolled, though.

Afterwards, we skipped the festival snacks for Mia and Grace. We discovered that Bela is known there as hot dog girl and that one of her hot dog art pieces is up in the kitchen. See, she only orders the hotdog, and always draws one while she is waiting. So please call her Hot Dog Girl the next time you talk to her.

If you have not been to Mia and Grace, please go!

School Days

2010-09-18T14:57:00.000-07:00

Like many families around the northern hemisphere, we've been consumed with the start of the school year. We got the traditional shots of off to school:

Bela left while still darkish - on the first day! She's on her way by 7:30 am, and her back-breaking pack is heavy stuff. She seems to think the only benefit to the early start is being home for an hour before Xavi. Read about middle school exploits on her blog. There should be some good stuff from her team building overnight camp experience at Camp Pendalouan, I would hope.

Xavier is seen here sporting the current superhero backpack, Iron Man, which is a little counter to the Batman phase. But he has plenty of Marvel shirts to go with it, so no worries. He has Bela's teacher from last year, so it's nice to know a bit of what to expect.

In other news, parents continue to get older. The good news is that it sometimes comes with swag, like two copies of the Elspeth vs Tezzerret decks. Nice!

So far looks like Tezzeret takes Elspeth in a fair fight, but loses to Xavi's souped up Garruk deck.

There have been requests for shots of Ysabela's purse, made under the guidance of Aunt Jill. Shown here with her favorite complementary dress, the purse features alternating squares of day and night with a moon button clasp. As always, click on the picture for full size.

Allergy Free Recipes

2010-09-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

Karen just put some our favorite allergy friendly recipes together for friends with newly found allergies. Thought I'd share them here. They are all egg-dairy-soy-nut free or have her notes for making them so.

Lard makes some of this possible, and we've already posted all of our rendering secrets.

Of course, like most of Karen's stuff, these things aren't just good -ifyouhaveallergiesandcan'thavetherealthing; they're just good.

Egg Dairy Nut Soy Free

Butterflies and Broken Boards

2010-09-02T07:48:00.000-07:00

Happy September! John is back to school and the kids are just around the corner from it. Ysabela in middle school (!) and Xavier in his last year of elementary. Zoinks.

There was a weird happening a few days ago when suddenly a crowd of at least 25 monarch butterflies showed up in the ysabela tree (actually a hydrangea). I have a new appreciation for those butterfly photos you see because it was really hard to try to capture it.

While I was out there trying to shoot the butterflies, I met the daughter of the mayor who brought the Coast Guard to Grand Haven. She grew up in the big house up the hill when there were no little houses down below on Slayton. Pretty neat local history.

More relevant and exciting was Xavier's belt test. After all our conflicts and miscues, he tested for his Blue Belt. Did a great job on the form, is ahead of the game on his Korean, and broke a thick board on the first try with a spinning back kick. Wow! Nearly as tough to capture as butterfly action.

More Old Photos

2010-08-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

When Mary Pat came through she brought a bevy of old photos, and there was some interesting stuff. Mackinac, Monroe and McNally/Golden family history. As always, click on the photos for full size.

Mary Ann McNally's 1908 graduation. She went onto University of Michigan and by the time she died was the 2nd oldest woman graduate of the school. (She was a bit suspicious when I told her I was going to what she called "an agricultural school" for science.) When she came back for Catherine's graduation was supposedly when she met Oliver Golden, Sr., who was quite involved with the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) as their lawyer.

Ice cutting, 1913, probably for Michael McNally's ice house, which used to be next to the meat market, now the bicycle rental next to Shepler's.

Pictures of Margaret McNally are pretty rare. This one is from her time at the Chicago Normal School in 1914 where she took a teaching certificate, before she began her work traveling with the nutritionist, educating housewives about how to make healthy meals for their families.

One of the biggest events of the 20th century in Monroe was the burning of St. Mary's Academy, June 3rd, 1929. Pretty amazing photo.

The Algomah II coming to Mackinac in winter.

Stan Bielecky painting in front of McNally Cottage with an interesting note on the back of the photo. Stan was a friend of the family's, especially Aunt Jean, and was quite well known for his ink and watercolor paintings of Mackinac and the French Quarter.

One of the most famous family stories (and rightly so!). "Gen and her guest attended a dance that night at the Grand Hotel."

At right is an amazing picture of dad (Oliver Jr.) with Patsy. And then a picture of him a bit closer to the time of the story.

A somewhat rare picture of Oliver Sr. He's on the right here. I know I should know the fellow to left, he was a great friend of the family... but I just can't remember!

On the right is a great picture of Gram (Mary Ann Golden nee' McNally) biking on the Island.

A picture of Oliver Jr from his brief stint in the army. Just after he got his teaching certificate from the Univ. of Toledo. He wound up down south teaching English classes rather than being sent to Korea.

He spoke fondly of his travels during those and the college years, often by hitching.

A couple of pictures of Gram from her traveling days, from which I never saw many pictures. She was proud of having gone around the world twice, once by steamer and once in those new-fangled aeroplanes. She often cited transportation as the biggest change of her lifetime, 1889-1982.

I think the picture on the left might have been on the ferry to Mackinac. The one on the right is definitely on the shore road. Is she with Mary Ann Cameron?

A couple of classic Mackinac shots. On the right, McNally Cottage before the Loonfeather was built. On the left, a classic view from the fort shot, before the marina was built.

A picture of Oliver III from fall 1964.

And one of the famous Pfundstein pyramids that I was lucky enough to join. The Christmases they drove in were amazing.

Good picture of dad where he could be often be found during the years that Carmen managed McNally Cottage. Greeting guests and telling them tales of Mackinac That Was.

August Catsup

2010-08-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

Why have things seemed so crazy? Well there was Coast Guard Festival. It started off with a surprisish visit from my cousin Mary Pat Dunlap nee Pfundstein. (Of the Minnesota Pfundsteins.)

We had a great day at the rides with the best weather in ages. Brandon and Kaitlyn joined us. (Be sure to check out the movie as well.)

B & K were fearless, riding almost anything.

And Brandon even got a chance to sit in with some drummers. He an Bela made plans for busking in the future.

We had Mason and the Minnebos for the parade. Good eats from Grapes and Grain with lots of fresh veggies.

One of the favorite post parade traditions has become a show of Anna's latest animations. Great stuff.

Finally, we got another visit from Baby Audrey. Maybe more anticipated than the whole Coast Guard Festival.

Hmph.

2010-07-29T09:59:00.001-07:00

If Xavier can break in, so can I.
Do any of you readers have brothers who break down the door to your room, try to sit on you, try to force you to put the radio you have in your room (That happens to be on its loudest setting) to his favorite song, take some of your stuff, (Even if you stop him) and then, finally, after 20 minutes of fighting, leaves for 10 minutes before repeating the whole process?
I do! (at the moment, we are at the "Favorite song" part of the cycle."

INTRUDER ALERT, INTRUDER ALERT

2010-07-25T06:13:00.000-07:00

Hello blog-readers, time for a guest post from Super Creations! since my dad hasn't been doing any posts I cut in. Time for a post Xavi style. What happend to my blog you ask? I got bored of it.

Hoped you liked Hobby!

DA-DA-DA-DAAAAH-DAAAH-DA-DA-DA-DAAAH-DA

2010-07-16T09:06:00.000-07:00

Dumbest post title ever. But it's been a good week for Star Wars coming into our life. Not to this extent...

We got to go to Star Wars in Concert this week -very fun. Moreso because we got to go with one of the two biggest Star Wars fans we know. Celebrated the next night by watching the 1980 VHS of A New Hope from the other of the two. ("Why can't people just call it the first movie?" says Karen in response to all the episode this or that talk.)

So who's the bigger fan? I don't think there's any way to settle this without a lightsaber.

We're lucky to know both!

Listen, you must, to your parents.

Two wookies and a kid.

The queen and her court.

Finally, if you have a minute, check out Anna's first talkie. It fills in a needed gap in the story.

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July Catsup

2010-07-11T18:44:00.000-07:00

Bad blogger! Bad! Good bloggers update more often than every two months.

So... what you been doing?

Ysabela graduated from elementary. To her credit, she said, "It's not a big deal. If I was like going to go get a job or go to college maybe."

Xavier sang with a 4th grade group.

Mr. Z gave all the grads parting hugs. He graduated, too. Er, retired.

Y and Ashley

Bela's awesome teacher Mr. Schiller

- hopefully we'll see him next year for X!

Xavier's great teacher, Mrs. Bruckbauer. But maybe secretly Amanda Peet. (Ms. Peet probably is nowhere near as good a teacher though.)

Been trying to get out in nice weather and hide from the heat. Smashball, tennis even, chalk drawings, sprinkler action, etc.

These pictures really don't do the chalk drawings justice.

Father's Day brought some great swag, but even better cards. Bela made an Avatar style dragon and Xavier's had a heap of heroes. The coolest gift was a family set of purple Batman shirts. Karen's and mine were a size too small to encourage weight loss. Good idea.

We had a rare visit from Carmen here in GH. Highlight might have been the great Mia & Grace dinner. Everyone must go there.

Don't make me give you the mean face. I mean, this was to my own mother.

Carmen had a bag of photos someone sent to Michael, which I greedily scanned before delivering. Great stuff like this one of Oliver and Carmen at my Aunt Jean's marriage to Uncle Gil Dunning.

This might have been HS graduation. Had the note: 6' 1/2" and really applying himself.

Xavi keeping his head down.

Ysabela with the follow through.

Last week was a neat thing, the kids got to try golf lessons. Randy White, also director of our local First Priority, gave lessons at a club for four days. The kids did well and looked marvelous.

But wait! We REALLY want to hear from you about your fantasy dinner party. We've got a simple new cooperative game you can play over dinner, where you make up a guest list and pick a restaurant for a great dinner party. It has it's own dedicated blog, guys! Guess Who's Coming For Dinner? But wherever you go in your fantasy dinner, I'm sure they won't have cinnamon rolls like these:

Thank goodness.

Grogger Blog I - Chicagrog

2010-06-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

Guest post by our good friends, Benita and Bobbert Grogger, about their most recent trip to Chicago.

These opinions are not necessarily those of J-K-X-Y or our parent companies. Nor is their exclamation point use policy.

Benita:
We went to Chicago.

Bobbert:

It was horrifying! we got eaten by a T Rex, and got stepped on by the Hulk.

I know! And the zoo was so cool!

I took a trip in a saber tooth tiger's digestive system!

So first we went to the T Rex pen.

There were 25 of them but I think they were starved.

And it was skin and bones. Well, minus skin.

So, we didn't get digested when we were eaten.

And it almost ate us, and its breath was really, really, hot.

I just said that! Plus, its breath was gnarly!

And then, we went to the saber tooth tiger den! And it ate Bobbert!

Ever since then Xavi thinks I am Germanish Potatoish.

And then we saw a bear.

It break danced on my head.

It was taller then 5 Ysabela's!!!!!!!!!

And that's grooving tall.

It really knew how to break dance.

And lions were in the zoo too.

They were green.

Oh my gosh! They were!

And there was hair in its mouth. No wait, thats the one Mr. Stream
said was in front of the library. Ysabela told me about it.

I thought they were German Potatoish.

What??!!!!

And then, a comic book shop!

And I read a book. Not much for me there.

But lots for me!

Go on....

There were all the essentials of the Avengers, and Power Man!

They had millions of action figures, and the highest price was $20.00.

There was lot's of my favorite comic book story lines, and it was awesome!

No German potatoes?

No. But there was Hulk.

Didn't you get stepped on?

Yeah! he was doing it for free!!

And Spider-Man! Thwip!

How old is your grandson?

What??!!

Lets talk about the Palmer House.

Okay...

We rode the escalator 15 times!

And we slept a lot. And watched a really bad T.V. show.
Xavier hated it, but wanted it on. Make of this what you like.

Lets quit talking about the lame stuff, and get on to the Griffins!

Oh yeah, there was some really cool Griffins, standing on a door that wasn't there any more.

And they spat at us.

They spat on YOU, and they were golden, that has to mean something, right.

Kittens.

Are you falling asleep or something?

There were kittens at the art mueseum, remember?

Oh yeah! The green kittens that escaped from the zoo!

And there was an awesome Matisse exhibit.

And then, there was modern art!!!!

We had to witness: Its making!!!!

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

Its true! That darn Calvin tricked me!

Do you need a nap? I'm getting worried about you.

It's okay, I'll be napping on the way home.

Speaking of the way home, we went to Wonder Land with Alice,
and grew and shrank and grew and shrank and..... well, you get the idea.

Five thousand billion trillion...

Okay, you need a nap. We're going. Say goodbye, Bobbert.

Bye, Bye, Bobby!

X=10

2010-05-31T08:13:00.000-07:00

Or is it 110? Archivists have turned up this interesting little picture. Looks pretty familiar...

Actually, he got to go to DeWitt Schoolhouse and see how a turn of the century (20th) school worked. They wrote on slate with pieces of chalk, cleaned the erasers by clapping them together, played new/old games at recess, arithmetic in math class, etc. Xavier was singled out as having nice typical school clothes, but you'd change when you got home for chores. If you went to school in chore clothes, the teacher would think you were behind on your work.

<---The full effect.

Of course, the major holiday around Memorial Day is Xavier's birthday. We had visits from the Meyer clan, Aunt Liza and Mason. Desserts by Design, one of our favorite local places, made a Batman: Brave and the Bold cake that was "in one of my favorite poses, with my favorite filling, and it was awesome."

How can both kids be double digits?

Coming soon: groggers blog?

Haiti

2010-05-26T06:32:00.000-07:00

Partners in Health is still doing great things in Haiti, but there's another organization we're trying to support now.

The What If? Foundation was started by a woman Karen knows, Margaret Trost, but she sees herself as just funding the Haitians to be self sufficient.

PBS recently ran a great story covering the two organizations efforts.

It's been very nice to see that Xavier in particular has taken this to heart, and prays for the Haitians every night.

Spring Catsup

2010-05-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

We have been so delinquent! Sorry. When your instantaneous communication is slow, there's nobody to blame but yourself.

This will be mostly just pictures. What was up?

St. Patrick's Day with the traditional Corny Beef.

In some of our Pretties spring weather everything was Bubbly.

Some startling new science about Grand Haven. Click on the investigator's illustrations to spy all the surprising geological features.

Eggs were colored in the surprising shadeof cats, butterflies, Spider-Man, and the questionable Deadpool. Plus some actual Easter eggs, go figure.

So, this happened:

In what has become a family holiday, Free Comic Book Day was celebrated. The 501st showed up at Lange's, and our favorite Star Wars family showed up. Troopers seemed surprisingly friendly towards the rebel scum. Xavier was surprised to see one of his Tae Kwon Do chums there.

Scott Rozema generously drew a picture for each of the Goldens in attendance. Match the picture with the recipient.

Hulk Bela

Blackbolt John

Harlequin Xavi

Somewhere along the way a Blue Stripe was obtained.

Recently, we did a whirlwind Chicago visit. The Matisse exhibit was amazing - really taught you about his crucial experimental period. Graham Crackers was visited, but for the first time, didn't snag Xavier's budget. Lego Store, Heaven on Seven and the Field Museum filled up the rest of the whirlwind itinerary. The Mammoth and Mastodon exhibit at the Field is definitely worth your time.

Now that's a Mother's Day shot!

Coming soon: an exciting new JKXY feature! Want a hint? What's full of beans and surprisingly noisy?

Wait, that's a terrible clue...

Madeline La Framboise

2010-04-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

The Fifth Grade at Ferry does a special project each year: the Wax Museum. Students choose and research a historical figure and put together a verbal presentation that they then get to give dozens of times to other Ferry students and parents.

Our Miss Bela went off-list and presented Madeline La Framboise. She is an interesting figure from Mackinac Island and Grand Haven history. I'd tell you more, but why not get it from the furrier's mouth...

Lard

2010-04-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

So Karen has become a lard rendering maven, on her way to expert status. Here's the video that started us off:

From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp0QIo7OOBw

Lard-the most misunderstood of fats.

Home Rendering: Zarela’s Home Rendered Lard

Start with unsalted, frozen lard. We get ours from Creswick Farms, where it is called leaf lard. Cut it into small cubes. Can do this in the oven, but on the stove top you can see the three stages.

Clear - very white and clear,good for anything you would use butter for, even frosting.
Yellow (amarilla) - uses for making breads or non-delicate uses of oil and butter.
Asiento - can spread on tortillas, or use with savory dishes. Has more of a pork flavor.

Cube into 1/2 in size. Be sure to carefully trim any remaining meat if you're doing this for baking. Add to pan. 15 to 20 min, then pour off fat slowly. (Helps to have someone else.) We use a 7-8 setting on the electric range (medium high). It's a judgment call when to pour off, we're still experimenting. You can always pour off more frequently and then combine by color.

Use a strainer or slotted spoon to return any cracklings to the pan. Return to the stove for the second stage. After about 15 min more, pour off separately.

Return to the stove. The bits of lard left will form pork rinds or cracklings - chicharrones. When these turn golden brown and are not reducing anymore, pour off the third stage of lard. This is the stage with the strongest smell, and if you’re not interested in the chicharrones or asiento lard, you can skip it.

2 pounds of lard gives about a pint of clear and a pint of amarillo. And close to a pint of asiento, if you keep going.

CINNAMON ROLLS - Dairy/Soy/Nut free
Dough

2 1/4 tsp yeast

3 cups bread flour

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 c warm oat bran milk to avoid dairy/soy allergy. (2/3 warm milk 1/3 c warm water if not)

3 Tbs lard ( I did a bit more)

Make the dough, raise once. (We use bread machine on dough mode.)

Filling
1/4 c sugar
2 Tbs cinnamon
1/3 c olive oil or melted lard

Roll dough out to about 16"x12" rectangle. Cover with oil or melted lard. Spread cinnamon mixture evenly. Roll up to make a 16" tube. Slice in 1.5" wide slices to make rolls. Raise a second time in roll form. Bake at 350 degrees 20 to 25 minutes (stay close to oven at 20 minutes)

Frosting
1/2 cup of room temp lard whipped until almost twice its size.
2 cups confectioners sugar (or more to taste) added slowly, while whipping at slow to medium speed
3 tsp of Vanilla

If your frosting is too thick, add oat milk, a tablespoon at a time, and whip thoroughly in. Adjust sugar to taste. Karen is willing to go up to 4 tsp vanilla (or more to taste) and a tsp of imitation almond extract. (Imitation to avoid nut allergies.)

Or you can make a drizzle kind of frosting with just oat milk, confectioners sugar and vanilla.

Pi

2010-03-19T12:36:00.000-07:00

Every year, in honor of Pi Day, the Math and Stats Club runs a Pi your Professor contest. I am a perpetual also-ran, but this year - I think through the combined efforts of Leah W and Paul F - I won handily. The club raised $150 in total, so that's a win. But you probably want to see... (Click for full size.)

It was cherry.

13

2010-03-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

In honor of 13 years today, it's Tripback Tuesday.

For posterity, our vows:

I, ____, take you, ____ to be my wife/husband.
To love you and honor you.
To forgive and strengthen you.
To be faithful to you and
To share with you all that is to come.
To serve God and others with you.
So long as we both shall live.

Best decision I ever made!

Purim

2010-03-06T20:04:00.000-08:00

She sees when you're not sleeping, she knows
when you do work... it's Shabbas Queen!

Menorah Man! With the strength of Samson,

the aim of David, the wisdom of Solomon,

and the patience of a Patriarch.

So, Purim! We celebrated last Saturday with a wonderful crew. Shabbas Queen and Menorah Man were there leading the festivities.

People arrived and got settled, and we started in on the blessings. Bread was broken, and we started on the nosh (dried fruits, nuts, the challah and a lentil salad) and the Megillah. People were enthusiastic groggers even in those paragraphs where Haman was mentioned a zillion times. The main repast was delicious and generated a lot of great leftovers for the week. Two kugels, kasha varnishkes, sepphardic green beans and the brisket. I think we did okay for a bunch of goyim.

Elizabeth definitely had the best costume, as Ms. Kralc, multiple medal winner in snowshoe events at Vancouver for the glory of Slobovia. Bonnie brought homemade groggers that have joined our family. Pendells loaned the table we ate on, and Lembkes brought a beautiful phylactery for John to wear while reading the Megillah. Looked great with the coat of many colors. Lombardos brought hamentashen that were scrumptious. People brought a lot for the matonat la'eyyonim, so that's a mitzvah, too.

Barukh attah Adonai eloheinu melekh ha-olam,
shehecheyanu vekiyemanu vehigi'anu lazeman ha-zeh.

(Blessed art Thou, LORD our God, Master of the universe, who has kept us alive and has sustained us, and brought us to this season.)

Amen.

Ysabela explains it all. What's a couple of millenia among friends?

Jewish Heroes, Green Belts and Tea

2010-02-06T12:53:00.000-08:00

So... we're gearing up fro Purim. That includes some fun costumes for kids, so I present: Shabbas Queen and Menorah Man!

Okay, that's Batman. But really, there's a Menorah Man. Both heroes are waiting for their description of super powers. So if you have any idea, comment or email, please! Of course, I prefer to catch superhomework...

That's Bela's Shadowy science fair project. Be nice if some info on it showed up on her blog...

Karen had a small Shalom Tea for Meredith Slater, who's expecting soon. Spectacular setting and amazing food, I thought. Even the leftovers were scrumptious

Also, just today was Xavi's test for Green Belt. We've missed a couple crucial days before the last few tests, so he was probably a bit overdue. He did a great job, and for the first time broke the board on the first try.

Partners in Health

2010-01-18T05:45:00.001-08:00

While there are many ways to donate to help in Haiti, just wanted to quick share one that our friend Elizabeth pointed out: Partners in Health

She notes, "It was started by Dr. Paul Farmer (the subject of "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder) and has 20 years of getting health care to the people and developing a viable Haitian medical presence as well. Website is www.pih.org. They have been sending me updates every few days and, because their programs are outside Port au Prince, they have been able to bring needed medical staff and supplies into the affected areas quickly and efficiently."

Please take some time to pray for the people of Haiti, for their suffering, for their loss, for the rescue and care efforts. Don't underestimate the power of prayer! Nadia Bolz-Weber (Sarcastic Lutheran) had a good sermon on that this week. Plea to God for water for the thirsty, He understands and shares the suffering.

Charity Navigator has an overview of all nonprofits helping in Haiti, as well as ratings for agencies based on their effectiveness and % of funds that goes to relief work.

Catsup Packet

2010-01-16T20:54:00.000-08:00

Only real news of the year so far was Bela's birthday. 11! Zoinks. We saw Avatar with some good friends and came back for cake, on the Caturday before. Ysabela's two big loves are cats and dragons, so cat people riding dragons... fuhgetaboudit.

Oh, there is the first family music video...

Fans of Dr. Horrible, beware!

Happy New Year

2010-01-10T07:09:00.000-08:00

First post of the new year with an old photo. I think this is from Carmen and Oliver's first wedding at the courthouse, which would put it December 7, 1963. 9 mo.s and 3 days before my birthday. (They said it was a a good honeymoon at Chuck and Alice's cabin.)

Thanks to Ken P for the scan!

Chicago Redux

2009-12-30T12:54:00.000-08:00

So, it turned out that we got the tickets to Banana Shpeel, and, thanks to grandparent-sitting, got to go. Karen and I took a one night trip to the Palmer House. It was quite a fun a show, with a real Vaudeville flavor and some spectacular variety-style performers. More dance than I was expecting, and it was good stuff. The premise is some audience members audition and then cause havoc.

We included 2 visits to the Art Institute, to revisit the 3rd floor of the modern wing, as well as catch the Arts and Crafts exhibit Apostles of Beauty, and the Caravaggio exhibit around The Supper at Emmaus. Both were worthwhile, with the arts and crafts being particularly well thought out.

A real discovery for us was the Heaven on Seven restaurant on Wabash. We had an awe-inspiring Louisiana breakfast, in particular the ambrosia that is their Voodoo sauce. It is now impossible to imagine a trip to Chicago without a visit there. There are 2 locations, with the Loop one being only open for breakfast and lunch. It made me very happy.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T09:14:00.000-08:00

May your Christmas be joyful!

Once again, we have a postal miracle and actually sent Christmas cards this year, of the e- and non e- variety. Ysabela references a couple movies they made, and those are here:
Humans are High in Fiber
Care and Feeding of Dragons

Xavier says: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years. Bela is not ready for comment.

Neither is ready to talk about presents yet. John got cool superhero tees, a Dr. Who DVD set, the RENT DVD, an unowned Calvin and Hobbes book and they came wrapped in handmade Tick bags. Karen is also not ready for comment. Makes it sound mysterious. If only they hadn't opened the monkey's paw...

Just kidding, no monkeys. See below, totally innocent:

Verse of the Day

2009-12-18T08:08:00.000-08:00

By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

- Luke 1:78-79

I thought the verse of the day today from Sojourner's just completely captured my feelings about Christmas this year.

Best of advent to you all!

December Catsup

2009-12-13T13:36:00.000-08:00

Not too much going on with us - the usual Christmas/end of semester rush and bustle.

Bela's foray into basketball finished up with a Saturday tournament where they played four ten minute games. Hank and Marilynn came out for all four games. Up to the last game they had a chance to get into the semifinals, but ran into a determined Robinson team. Bela learned a lot, and really tried hard - especially considering that she rapidly regretted her decision to sign up. Her coach mentioned how far she progressed several times and was amazed at how well she listened. This Friday we had a father-daughter basketball game. Thankfully no pictures, but it was great fun.

Karen got the house decortated for Christmas, inside and out, despite all the other stuff going on. The house color looked a bit out of place in the browns and golds of autumn, but a little snow and voila, back to minty fresh.

Joseph and Mary have started making their way.

This weekend was the Christmas pagaent, and the fundraiser for the Sunday School to buy a cow for a family in a third world country. (Through Heifer International.) We thought a cow ($500) might be out of their reach, but the combined Christmas card sales plus bake sale raised enough for a cow, a sheep, and maybe some chickens. There was great rejoicing. Miss Leslie did an amazing job with both things going on at once. Karen had the sales looking like a real marketplace today.

Backstage at the pagaent.

Narrators on the march.

And I don't know if we'll finish the planned DVD production, but if we do, you'll see something like this:

Hmmm.

Thanksgiving on the Other Side

2009-12-04T08:21:00.000-08:00

After much planning and effort by Karen, the stars aligned and the waters parted (or the snows held off), and we made it to Chicago for Thanksgiving. Stopped at the Museum of Science and Industry for Holidays around the world, but also love the standing exhibits there. Checked in, and K had found a great rate back at the Palmer House.

The renovations are complete, and, thanks to Percy Jackson, the kids were into all the mythological art in the lobby. Y and K liked the Peacock theme... is that new? We finished the day in Pilsen at the Museo Nacional del Arte Mexicano, a beautiful little museum, and a great dinner at the Nuevo Leon.

Wednesday we started with Graham Crackers, Xavier's favorite Chicago comic book store. (Cool toys and a great comic selection, especially the graphic novel collections.) We wandered over to the Cristkindlemarket preview day in Daley Plaza, for some good German food on the hoof, warm cider and to goggle at the amazing handicraft. Bela longed for a handcarved dragon and cat, and even karen thought there were neat things. (She's not much a one for 'stuff'.)

Macy's made it clear that Christmas was coming, and both the kids dropped off their Santa letters to contribute to Make-a-Wish.

In the late afternoon we went for a couple hours to the amazing new Modern Wing of the Art Institute. It's gorgeous, even if some of the art is stressful. The third floor is my favorite with all the gorgeous early 20th century modern. The architecture is astounding. After the museum closed, we headed down Michigan Ave to the Mag Mile and the Lego store. (Now a must stop on any Chicago visit.) Ysabela got a neat Christmas village set, which became the Thursday night activity, and now the centerpiece of the dining room table, with the addition of an X-nativity.

Thursday was the parade, which was cool, and relatively sparsely attended, because of a bit of drizzle. It was mostly balloons, bands and folkloric dance troops. (Including the excellent Polish marching cello.) The kids were troopers for the full duration. The people who got there way early left about halfway through, promoting us to the front row.

I thought Rocky needed a moose, but he was just lagging behind.

Afterwards we had an amazing Thanksgiving dinner. Xavier is quick to count his lamb chops as the most amazing.

Afterwards, we revisited the Christkindlmarket, where we bumped into a Cirque de Soleil group promoting their new show, Banana Shpeel. I am proud to report that I officially have award winning schpiel, as we found out a few days later we won 2 tickets to the show. (Now how do we get there...?)

Friday we left early and had clear sailing out. Great trip, better than we could have hoped for.

All Hallow's Eve 2009

2009-11-01T07:29:00.001-08:00

Always with the fighting, those Jedi.

Halloween was oddly sedate this year, with limited trick-or-treating, but fun nonetheless. Minnebos came, with thier usual infusion of fun, food and fantastic art and costumes. In particular this year, Gregg's buzz generating $50, award-winning pumpkin. Karen put on the usual feast and we had a great stream of trick-or-treater-visitors. Hank and Marilynn somehow avoided the camera, bu grandma manned the door for a stretch, and Henry took Bela on her rounds.

Except for the smiling, that's Quinlan Vos.

And I know you'll want to see THE pumpkin. Judging from the number of photos taken last night, it should be all over the internet by this morning.

The kids gave out sugar skull awards this year. (First annual?) Some standard and some creative categories.

Halloween'een we got to take Marilyn out to dinner for a slightly belated 73rd birthday celebration. We went to the Boatwerks in Holland, terrific place, then back home for stout cake.

Sugar Skulls!

2009-10-29T15:22:00.000-07:00

Be sure to check out the Sticky Silverware on y-z-z-y. Experienced retailers have spotted that she's practically giving them away at 25% of most retailers. Get 'em before she comes to her senses!

This past Saturday was Sugar Skulls! Although the day started with the crushing news that the Minnebos were sick (surely you heard the wailing and sniffing from the 4 kids), our spirits were buoyed by Leslie and Michael and Aldo and Tere and their excellent skulling. It's just not the same without at least one professional artist to intimidate you. Plus I think we gave Aldo and Tere a scare about Michigan winters. Sorry!

Lots of styles this year, from the mostly frosted to most innovative use of menorahs. Check'em out! (Click on the images to enlarge)

Which do you like best?

Where They Are

2009-10-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

The kids got their chores done, so we got to go to the movie today! Yeah!

I loved it. Thought it was one of the better movies I'd seen this year. It was amazing for taking the book, and imagining why things in the book are the way they are. Great connections among the characters, between Max's wild life and home life... very intense emotionally. Visually, it's just about perfect. The special effects are seemless, and the Wild Things are amazing in physicality and in voice actors. Max is very convincing with his sparse dialogue and expressive eyes.

As to whether it's too scary for kids, Xavi says "it was kind of scary, but it was not creepy. Big dramatic scariness, and not creepy scariness. It is scary, but big, and just in one place."

It's not fluffy funny exciting... it's full of deep intense emotions like sadness, frustration, rage and joy. No woo hoo, but whoa. And maybe a long satisfying howl.

ps. On the pix, Karen says, "and I pose in front of Judith. I guess that's appropriate." Which was a very Judith thing to say.

Wild Things

2009-10-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

OK, there's probably something off when the dad is the most excited person for a family movie, but I'm getting really geeked about Wild Things. Here's some resources to get you geeked, too.

Reviews at Rotten Tomatoes, and by my favorite critic. EDIT: Kids-in-Mind breakdown for parents. There has been some chatter about too scary for kids, but my impression is that it's scary in exactly the same kid-friendly-scare that the book is.

Trailer. (Best send up of the trailer. Blame the Werksma's for showing us.)

Ultra cool art gallery of Wild Things art. (Scroll past the gallery opening shots to see the art. That's where I saw that picture by Mark Masztal up above.) Really shows how loved this book is among illustrators.

And here's this cool interview with the man hizzelf, Maurice Sendak, about being an illustrator.

Water Thing

Art on the Street

2009-10-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

"I've never been a fan of painting, but ... wow." -Xavier Golden, 10/10/09

Grand Haven had its own little art competition (Grand Haven Tribune story) and celebration this weekend - spinning off the very cool ArtPrize effort in Grand Rapids. Despite the chilly weather there were 50 entries or more - here's the story of two of them. It was windy and chilly, but the kids, including friend Brandon were really troopers. Mom came soon after we started with supplies, gallery services, and the photo ops.

In the process. Xavi was definitely the main man on his and dad's, setting the scene and choosing the topic. ("You can paint the background.") Ysabela needed to paint dragons, and she and Brandon worked out the colors and composition.

Last week we had a game night with the granperes. They taught them Cheat Your Neighbor and CLR. Both the kids displayed an unhealthy interest in gambling with poker chips.

Sugar skulls are coming.

October Catsup

2009-10-03T07:34:00.000-07:00

Since this a blog, it just makes sense to go in reverse chronological order. Doesn't it?

The new magic set, Zendikar, is out. We played with the black and white theme decks last night - our own little family release party. This is Ysabela playing a vampire deck on a skull tablecloth licking a Blood Pop. The second shot is actually from going to see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, which was a very fun family film with lots of good themes and hearty laughs. (See this neat Sojourner's article about it with terrific connections.)

Note that we do ask Xavi to pose for pictures, too, but he says no a lot.

The busiest weekend in September was Irish themed. For once the Muskegon Irish Festival got great weather to go with the great music and good for you beverages. This is us at the end catching the excellent group Slide IE, who were bursting with energy.

Ysabela got a chance to get on stage with Seamus kennedy for the Unicorn song. He's a bundle of chuckles, he is.

The day before was the biennial Notre Dame-Michigan State game. Our good friends the Websters came up, and Jo hung with KXY while Johns went South (Bend). First time John has had me to a game where the good green lost - but a great game and beautiful day all around.

The weekend before we tripped down to Carmen's for her 75th birthday. (That little girl? No way!) We spent some time chatting, did birthday dinner at the Bolles Harbor Cafe, visited the little channel walk at Bolles Harbor, and went back to Carmen's for healthyish birthday carrot cake.

The surprise of the weekend was getting to see Batty Old Aunt Carol. She had cool Korean malas (meditation bracelets) from Neko Chan for us, but she was the treat. The kids were happy to meet the ninja from all the stories.

Oldies But Goodies

2009-09-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

Sermon today mentioned this passage from Romans, which reminded me of this video, which I still had. This is Sean Fahey and Tara Felock, doing a great job with a complicated script. Forgive the camera work and editing... that's my fault. (John's)

It's a take off, of course, of this classic skit. (Inspiration, shameless plagiarism... potaytoes, potahtoes.)

Old Photos

2009-09-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

Ken Pokorny, teddy bear and computer consultant extrodinaire, has scanned some old photos from Carmen. I felt obliged to pass them on, despite that some were of me.

Confirmed!
<--Michael ... Lisa-->

Lisa in elementary + as a toddler

Not sure what the story with the ball is.

Definitely the gems.

Honoria Teresa, HT with Carmen, and Auntie Jo (Pruden Sullivan)

September Catsup

2009-09-16T19:38:00.000-07:00

Where have we been?

Not sure where the last month went. Small trips, like to the Hackley and Hume Homes in Muskegon (with Hank and Marilynn), John Ball Zoo, and the beach ended summer. School started in a flurry, with the kids getting their first taste of traditional classrooms. (It's an adjustment.) We made a quick 1 day visit to Carmen's in honor of her 75th birtday this week, and the kids finally got to meet Batty Ol' Aunt Carol. ("Like in the ninja stories?" "Yeah!") Check out her company Neko Chan. As Uncle Michael commented, we hadn't seen her in a 'coon's age. Uncle Michael turns 40 tomorrow! How can you have a 40 year old baby brother? They had a cool tour of the new courthouse the weekend before it opened - lots of good civics lessons. And...

Bela captured every inch of the historic homes. She's either planning the world's most exact diorama or her next heist. See the Lakeshore Museum Center.

We finally tried Mia and Grace in Muskegon. Great stuff, homemade old fashioned sodas, and a great chalk written fresh menu.

Bela's natural persecutor comes out. It's genetic. No cracks about Karen as judge, seriously.

Aunt Liza came up for a weekend visit just before school started. It was a cold August!

More pics to follow? I think we might have some pictures on flim. Fulm? How did those old cameras work? I wonder if they'll be black and white...

Humans Are High in Fiber

2009-08-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

A joint production of Golden Films and Felock Productions.

Once Upon a Time...

"It felt like the end of the world."

2009-08-10T01:05:00.000-07:00

That was Xavi's take. Otherwise I might have called this post "How Qdoba saved 75% of the Goldens" (Remember - click on photos for the full size.)

Just a note to let people know we're okay, power's back on, and though we were around the worst of the storm, Camp Newaygo seems to have missed it for the most part.

Sunday afternoon we headed up to Newaygo to drop off Ysabela for church camp. Our main concern had been for the weather - but just the heat, as she is heat sensitive like Karen. The camp is beautiful, she seems to have a great counselor, and the main building just reopened after a 2.5 million dollar renovation. Air-conditioned, which was reassuring. Ysabela seemed happy and rapidly adjusting.

On the way home, the rain started. By the time we got to Muskegon, it was torrential, and we were looking for a place to eat to just get out of the heavy rain and lightning. We finally settled on Qdoba, and dashed inside. Just as lightning seemed to strike the Meijer parking lot across the street. Impressive stuff! The power was flickering, but the wanting-to-go-home crew of Qdoba made us dinner anyway.

When we left, every path seemed blocked. We finally found a route back to Grand Haven, and then a path back to our house. Block and a half away there was a major tree down holding down power lines, half a block away a silver maple looked like it exploded, and 50 feet from the house the silver maple in front of Paul and Sarah's had fallen over - into our front yard, rather than into the house, thank the Lord.

Power was out for our couple of blocks, but not city wide. The most nerve wracking thing was not being able to get news about whether the weather had been as bad at Camp Newaygo. Our first hour of power was spent assuring ourselves that they skipped the worst of it.

So we're thanking the Lord for sparing us, as the news of the storm was like an account of our route, for watching over Ysabela and the other campers, and blessings over the brave people out making repairs in this weather. Check out some of the news coverage at Wood TV and MLive. Poor people in Holland and parts east got another heavy soaking, 2-4 inches of rain in less than a few hours.

UPDATE: Terry's Tree Service came by and cleared the road last night, and the city came by and cleared about two trucks worth of wood this morning. Leaving just a few large piles on the verge on our property, and the trunk on Paul and Sarah's. It was a big tree! (Sounds like at least 80 years old.)

Very sweet girl came by this morning. Her mother explained that she wanted to go help someone, so they packed up their rakes and started driving. They helped us clear the clearable parts of the yard. I think Natalie's mother was glad to find a reasonable task, and Natalie seemed to get a lot of pleasure from helping. What a nice kid!

Animal Catch

2009-07-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

X: Bela put me in a box and put a blanket over me.
J: That doesn't sound good.
X: We were playing Animal Catch.

X: I was the animal.

Ba-dum-bum

July Catsup

2009-07-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

Well, we're into Coast Guard week, but haven't made too much of it. What have we been doing?
a) Nothing. Hence no posts.
b) Forced to flee the house again.
c) Stuff?

No worries, it's just stuff. After June felt crazy, we thought July would be easy, but July has felt crazy too. There were weddings, with Karen going to goddaughter Julie's solo, and Loren and Mike's, that we did a crazy drive in for the day thing. The house saw deck repairs, new windows, the couch back from Andre (who is like the answer to "what do you get when you cross a dutch fireman with George Clooney," but, man can the guy pretty up a settee), and painted what has alternately described as lime sherbet, mint chocolate chip hold the chips, fresh, cottagey, oooh bright, and topiary tint. (The last what Sherwin Williams calls it.) We had a terrific guy, Eric, for the windows and a great team from College Pro Painters for the paint, call for the numbers. And VBS, which we were more into again, with Karen running crafts, with Heather and Gail support, and John story-telling Joseph. (No pics as of yet, but you should see the Many Colors Coat that Elizabeth made. Wow.) Our church's education person, Leslie, does a great job and really treasures the kids. We also had the chance to do Loving Spoonfuls again, a nice service where the church provides a Sunday supper for free, run by Randall and Cissy. Andrew helped us, and we always welcome guest chefs/waiters to work with us. Xavier passed his second belt test in a month, and is now a green stripe. He has a group board break on Monday before the Whitecaps game. And that brings us to Coast Guard...

Cookies for cookies' sake. They weren't for anything in particular!
(EDIT: it has been pointed out that these were 4th of July cookies.
You know, with cats.)

Coming soon: the latest flick from Y's pen: Humans are High in Fiber, filmed with a full extended family cast. I'm excited because it looks like Tara's editing it instead of me!

Green Theme.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

2009-07-17T13:16:00.000-07:00

A reviewish post by John. No spoilers about book 7, ever.

Non-spoilery part: It was a good movie. Unfortunately we are huge or devout or rabid fans of Harry Potter and expect greatness. The movie was shot well and acted well. The fault is with the screenwriter. He just didn't get it. I was horrified to see that he is writing 7a and 7b. I was stunned to find out he wrote all of the previous, except for Order of the Phoenix. (By which I was quite impressed.) Well, not stunned for all, because of course the other movies were bitterly disappointing. Maybe sourly disappointing. But he wrote Prisoner of Azkabhan, which I love. The credit for which I will now give even more to Alfonso Cuaron.

Jim Broadbent improved Professor Slughorn from the book by really fleshing him out as a person. Really made him more sympathetic. Tom Felton made good use of his increased screen-time as Draco. And, surprisingly, Emma Watson made big strides in her acting, without even a single seriously wince-worthy moment. There were odd changes of sets, like a completely revamped Burrow, which you would only expect with a director change, but David Yates continues on from Order of the Phoenix. (And on into 7a and 7b.)

Bottom line: go see the movie. It is still Harry Potter, and worthwhile. But it could have been so much more. To know how much more, read the book.

Spoilery-Part below the book image:

But the writing! The book is so rich in characterization and connections, and the movie just falls flat. It is largely ignorant of what has come before, what happens during and what is to follow.

The DA, the focus of the previous movie, is ignored. Their role in the book is just cut. The Order of the Phoenix is largely invisible, despite the many opportunities for subtle screen time. Grimauld Place isn't even mentioned. Once again the House-elves were omitted. Shockingly, Privet Drive is cut, despite the really charming scene with Dumbledore there. But the most glaring point is how little anyone cares about Voldemort in this movie. As a part of the series, it really makes it fall flat. As a stand-alone movie, it is just confusing. The movie opens with dramatic revelation of what a threat he is, and then... nothing. For a school year.

Even connections within the movie are lacking, as everything is about the eponymous book for the first third of the movie, and then it's completely forgotten except as an excuse for messing with how Harry and Ginny get together and a throw away line at the end. The entire focus of Dumbledore's and Harry's relationship in the book, the focus of understanding Voldemort, is cut. Crucial information about the horcruxes is cut. The big funeral in the book is cut, even though it serves large emotional and plotting purposes. The big battle in the book is cut, even though it is the WHOLE CULMINATION of the Malfoy plot which was made front and center in the movie.

And the worry is, after cutting so much, how will they tell the end of the story? So much of what came before is necessary and a part of the finish. Both emotionally and logistically. I have real fears about how they are going to muddle what is one of the most satisfying and deep culminations to a story that I have ever read. I understand that things need to be cut to make a movie. But then why add in new scenes of your own? Is it because Mr. Kloves doesn't understand the story? Because he's too focused on a chapter rather than the whole story? Because his ego demands writing himself (figuratively) into the story? It just doesn't make sense. When they disapparate from the castle, Harry asks how it is possible. Dumbledore answers with a joke, but it felt like it was the writer telling us he is messing with the story just because he can. Booo. I mean Boooo!

Last Post of a Busy Month

2009-06-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

So it was finally time for our window installation. (Which went great, and we'd highly recommend the guys - call us if you need the name.) Due to Xavi's allergies, we felt like we should vacate while the house was open, so we headed to Lansing. With a surprise guest - the kids' good friend Mason!

First stop, even before the hotel, was the State Capitol. We got there an hour before closing, and got an excellent private tour with Barb, who had just finished a history study of the Capitol's architect, Elijah Myers. She also filled us in on restoration details, secrets in the paintings of the governors, and a story about an unnamed representative putting a sticker on a 130 year old antique desk.

Captiol exterior, senate chamber
looking up into the dome, on the steps

We stayed at the Kellogg Center on the MSU campus. The room was quite nice, great view of campus, and perfect for 5 with a large sitting area. There was much Magic (including Xavi!), and superhero playacting, action figures, reading and drawing.

On Saturday we hit the Michigan Historical Museum. We were disappointed that the prehistoric and frontier sections were closed, but the 20th century floor was super cool. The kids were given an assignment to learn three things, and they all found different interesting bits and did a great job writing about them. We're definitely going back when the whole museum is open. There was a cool connection with the capitol: the main rotunda has a display of battle-flag replicas from the civil war, and then the real thing was on display at the museum. (Barb tip!)

The Museum/Library complex, breaking with some Voyageurs,
replicas and the real thing

Other than that we spent our time touring MSU (with obligatory bad Dad stories), eating and hitting comic book shops. Clem's Collectibles in Lansing on Washington just south of the capitol was quite a hit, even though it's no Lange's (our local shop).

Care and Feeding of Dragons

2009-06-20T07:37:00.000-07:00

The latest from Golden Film Studios, A Ferryport Landing Special Report.

No dragons were harmed in the filming of this video. If only we could say the same of the children.

In related news, the Feminineos came in for a whirlwind visit. We had a recap of the Grimm Party mystery, and then the kids made a mystery for the grown-ups. The Scarlet Hand had stolen the Bell of Au (one of the trippiest Grimm artifacts, involving church attendance and forest apes. Really.) and we had to solve three riddles to find it.

The next day saw an amazing encounter with our favorite children's author, Laurie Keller. She seems as nice as is humanly possible. Back home for the movie making and ... slinky? After a quick 24 hour visit they were off again, wending their way towards Florida.

Carmen Comes to Call

2009-06-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

Through the generous auspices of Jo and John Webster, Carmen came from Mackinac to Grand Haven for a quick, packed visit before heading back to Monroe.

Unintentionally matching. I admit I put this in just so there's a picture of my great, new Cookie Monster shirt. The rumors of his becoming a lettuce leafer have been greatly exaggerated.

Tuesday we did a whirlwind tour of downtown Grand Haven, starting with Morning Star, and ending with tea at Bodacious Babes. There were hats. Maybe Bela will post the full range she modeled on her blog?

This has to be the best picture of karen and I in ages. She feels the Packo's shirt is what really sets it off.

Ain't No Party like a Jedi Party

2009-06-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

Anna Minnebo's Star Wars party was a blast. Preparations involved costumes and Karen's excellent cookies from far, far away.

The party had crafts (snippets? like Annakin gave Padme) and several extended lightsaber battles. And a viewing of Return of the Jedi at the Mastertag Bigscreen. (There were still ewoks, though.)

The conclusion saw Anna opening many SW related things (including Bela's handmade foldables set) and a delicious ice planet cake. As was often said, May the Force Be With Her in the coming year.

Sisters Grimm

2009-05-31T06:15:00.000-07:00

It finally arrived - the overlaying of Granny Relda's house with ours, the Sisters Grimm party, aka Ysabela's Unbirthday party. Bluebeard and the Queen of Hearts hosted the Nymph's celebration, with Puck looking to scam some free food.

The guests started arriving: Princess Fiona, Tinkerbell, Red Riding Hoods, Snow White, Daphne, a giant and more. Souvenir Wands were made, and then it was time for the Hall of Wonders. The Magic Mirror welcomed them in with some sad news - Granny and the girls werecalled away on an Everafter emergency. But help yourselves to some food. The kids attacked the spread - Salamander Hearts, Hobgoblin teeth, Blue veggie dip, Octopus Ink Pesto Pasta - despite the invasion of large bugs. Ick. Some said they were edible, chewy and delicious. Hmmm. A fun game of Poison Apple (kind of an everafter version of hot potato) followed.

Then the really bad news. The Fairy Godmother's wand was hidden. The Scarlet Hand had to keep it out of its holder for an hour, and then it could be removed from the Hall of Wonders. But Puck had given us a chance: enchanted to not reveal the location, he left clues to lead there. The guest everafters searched the house, unraveling clues to find each of 5 questions, researching the Hall to answer the questions, and then assembling the answers to reveal the location of the wand. Of course they had to release Mr. Canis from suspended animation with a lively game of Freeze Dance. Wand restored, disaster averted.

Figuring clues; Putting together the answer with Mr. 7.

Then the kids were free to play. Miss White led some classes. Puck had some hijinks. Kids tried out Mr. Seven's typewriter. ("Where's the enter?") Photo ops were had. Red Riding Hood, real name Biddy, came in three varieties: Old Biddy, Young Biddy and Itty Biddy. Nice to see them and Mr. C getting along.

All in all, one fine party upon a time.

Green girls; Daphne in Daphne's Room

Puck objects to Jack's handiwork;
Mr. C makes up with the Biddies;
the Giant's got some house on his shoe.

Xavi's Birthday

2009-05-28T15:28:00.000-07:00

Xavier's Birthday finally wound up this past Tuesday, with his official passage into year 10 at 4 pm on Tuesday. He was clear that he was 8 when he woke up and not 9 until 4.) Above was the scene on Saturday morning, and the first present, which was big because it completed a build-a-figure. See his blog for details.

Later was a full Meyer visitation with all aunts, uncles and grandparents over for cake and presents.

But probably Bionicles with Andrew was the biggest hit.

Current Obsessions

2009-05-26T12:31:00.000-07:00

One of our current family obsessions is this song, from the Discovery Channel ad campaign. Bela got it from guitar last week and has been learning it, and we've written a new verse for each family member. Can our own video be far behind?

Karen and John are reading Out of Our Minds, by Ken Robinson, a creativity expert. (What an awesome job description to have.) It is pretty good so far, and well introduced by how we found out about him, his talk at TED, on how schools kill creativity. Plus he's really funny, like Ricky Gervais on PHD. (That Ricky Gervais link is not for all ages.)

Next post: some clips from Xavi's birthday (celebrated). Xavi's birthday (actual) is today. 9! Happy Birthday, X-man!

Quick Notice

2009-05-24T05:31:00.000-07:00

Some new blogs on the Golden block. I'm not sure how frequently they'll be updated, but it might be an interesting insight into the minds of X and Y.

x-a-v-i.blogspot.com

y-z-z-y.blogspot.com

Asleep on the job already?