Merry Christmas - The Sequel

Since I had the week off, we got to go to Granny and Grandpa's house. It actually took the kids a few days before they realized that they hadn't received anything from Granny and Grandpa on Christmas day!

Stephen was very proud of his "Ohio State jacket":


Granny enjoyed wrestling all three kids at once!

Mr. Subdued?

As you can see, Stephen has no trouble expressing himself:

2007_12_29 - Stephen's Many Moods

Peeling Apples

The kids just love using Angie's new apple peeler/corer/slicer:

2007_12_27 - Peeling Apples

Merry Christmas!

Ah, the joys of watching their faces as they discover Santa's surprises.

Getting Ready For Santa:

2007_12_25 - Christmas Day

Family Picture

How hard is it to get a nice family picture?

All I Want For Christmas...

Guess who lost some teeth!

Finding A Tree

Since we were home this year for Christmas, we went to our local tree farm to get a real tree. The weather was actually really nice this year, so I got more time than usual to hunt around before everyone was ready to go (sound familiar, anyone?).

2007_12_08 - Christmas Tree

Wexner Center and Conservatory

One of the kids' favorite outings is to go to the Franklin Park Conservatory... they change their exhibits a couple of times a year so there is always something new to see. We combined this visit with a trip to the Wexner Center For The Arts (on the OSU campus) to see a William Wegman exhibit.

The kids liked the Wegman exhibit, but really loved the conservatory. This time, they were showcasing a collection of miniature buildings made entirely of natural materials: plants, sand, and stone. There were several famous monuments, and an entire room devoted to fairy tales. Marcus's favorite is probably still the Chihuly glass, though!

2007_11_24 - Conservatory and Wexner Center

Thanksgiving

This year we got to have both sets of grandparents up for Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun, with great food, trips to the zoo, and wonderful company.

2007_11_22 - Thanksgiving

Wildlights At The Zoo

Each winter the Columbus Zoo stays open late and puts up millions (yes, millions) of lights. They are quite a sight to see, and there are other fun things for the kids besides the animals: a skating rink and model trains. Honda R&D usually has an event at the zoo where we get some munchies, a stuffed animal for each kid, and the opportunity to see some of the animals up close.

2007_11_17 - Wildlights At The Zoo

Bye Bye Crib

It's been a long time since I've updated this blog, so here goes...

In mid-November, we switched Stephen from his crib to his bed. Here the kids are saying goodbye to the crib. They showed us what it looked like when each used to sleep in it...





Elise never actually sucked her thumb while sleeping.


Stephen always turned to face the opposite way of the other two.

Rocketry, Part 4

If anyone ever doubts how much kids learn by osmosis, check this out. Stephen was supposed to be helping Angie cook. What did he do instead? Stephen built a "rocketship":

Halloween

Well, we managed to carry on our traditions from past years pretty well. Our Annual Pumpkin Carving Party had a total of 45 people this year, and no carving-related injuries (at least none that I know about)! We might have to move the carving to the garage next year to make enough "party space".

I started on the Halloween costumes earlier than ever, and still ended up finishing the day before the big event. Marcus was Harry Potter in Quidditch uniform, complete with a broomstick and Golden Snitch. Elise was Hermione with wavy hair and her wand. Stephen was Hedwig the owl, although without the beak many people thought he was a chicken. I'd say chicken is about right, since this normally-talkative kid wouldn't say "Trick-or-Treat" or "Thank You" to anyone we visited!

Here are some pictures from the party and from Halloween night:

2007_10_31 - Halloween and Pumpkins

Rocketry, Part 3

I rebuilt the fins in a different way and made some adjustments to the nose cone to help it stay on a bit better and release a bit better. We still had one "nose-first-into-the-ground" incident, but it was fixable with some tape. All 3 kids enjoyed launching and catching it. Here's a video of what the current launches look like:

Still some work to be done, but it is getting more reliable and a bit higher!

More Rocketry

Well, we made a few adjustments to the rocket and tried again. On the first launch, we tried wedging the nose cone on a bit tighter to stop it from coming off before apogee. Apparently it was on a little too tight:

That freed us up to try other configurations, including empty bottles. They worked surprisingly well (sorry about the bad camera work!):

So now the rocket is back on the bench for repairs... I mean, design improvements!

Water-powered Rocketry

About a year ago I got an issue of Make magazine with plans for a water-powered rocket. Well, I finally decided to give it a try. The build went pretty smoothly overall, with the main problems being finding a way to get glue to stick to a 2-liter bottle and finding the right o-ring/notch depth combination to create a good seal when pressurizing the rocket. Marcus, Elise, and our neighbor, Addie, helped... mostly with the parachute.

Today we headed out to Smith Park along with the Mangolds for the rocket's inaugural launch. I'd say it was a success because: no one got hurt, the rocket went up in the air, the parachute worked, nothing unfixable broke, and we all had fun. Next up... more height!

Here are some pictures:

Water-powered Rocket: First Launch

... and some videos:

Nose Cone Failure On First Launch:

Early Nose Cone Release And Tether Failure On Second Launch:

Our Best Launch:

Stephen's First Day of Preschool

Stephen had his first day of school on Wednesday, and it was a success! No clinging, no crying, just quiet attention and eventually some participation.

Stephen's First Day of School

Strong Wind

Wind speed today was 15~18mph, gusting up to 30 at times. So lots of windsurfers (and a few kiters) left work early to take advantage. I only had strength for a couple of runs, but I used my rest time to take some pictures. My new personal speed record is just shy of 25mph! Click the photo below to see my favorites from the album:

Riding the wind at Alum Creek 9-7-07

Mountain Biking

Marcus and Charles headed to the local trails for Marcus's 2nd mountain bike ride. He showed off his technique at the skills park and on the trail. Charles did OK too!

First Day Of School!

Both kids had their first days of school last week... Marcus in 2nd grade and Elise in Kindergarten. Can you see the excitement?

The Big Haircut

Elise decided a while ago that she wanted to donate her hair to Locks Of Love (one of her friends had done it). So she grew her hair longer and longer, and finally had enough to cut!

Hammy-Boy

We took a break for lunch at the fair, and Stephen somehow decided that this was the time to ham it up.

Fun at the Ohio State Fair

All 3 kids enjoyed the slide, although Stephen didn't want to do it again.

It's HOT!

Since it is so hot and humid, the slip and slide has been providing both relief and entertainment!

Delaware Classic Car Show

This year the Delaware Classic Car Show was huge! The kids got to sit in an antique fire truck and hand-crank the siren.

Why yes, that is a hover board in the Delorean.

We also thought Great Uncle Johnny would appreciate some of his cars' brethren (the Jeep and Ford Model A).

Elise rides without training wheels!

Elise is learning to ride without training wheels!
Dad and Uncle Eric couldn't resist showing her how it's done.
Marcus has a need for speed.