Nicholas has a rap sheet

Nicholas has been causing all kinds of trouble over the last week. It's a good thing he's so cute!

Last Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), Alison was at work in the morning and David was home with the kids. David called Comcast for only 5 minutes to confirm a service appointment. The kids were upstairs, and David was in the kitchen. At the end of the phone call, David could hear Nicholas faintly crying. He went upstairs - and found that Nicholas had locked himself alone in the bathroom! David tried to push the pin in the little hole in the doorknob to release the lock, but it wasn't working. He then decided to just unscrew the door handle, but all that did was drop the handles on both sides of the door and leave the bolt in place. David and Sarah could now see Nicholas was in there with the lights off, and was trying to put the door handle back in place. Sarah shone a light through the hole for him, while David tried to get the bolt to come out. Finally, he decided to just break a little of the (particle board) door to get it out. Nicholas was freed after ~10 minutes of "Entering and Locking" - and was fine after a 30 second hug, following his parole.

Also on Friday, Nicholas committed "Disposal of Stolen Merchandise", but wasn't busted for it until Monday night. On Sunday night, David couldn't find the iPod after a half-hour of looking around the house. He (and Ali) checked all the usual places that Nicholas might have dropped his toys; David even searched in the top two bags of trash outside, as Nicholas is in the mode of throwing things away into the kitchen garbage. We went to bed thinking that either Nicholas had really hidden it somewhere crazy and it would eventually turn up, or that the Comcast guy had taken it when he was here "fixing" the phone/internet (see a thread here?). The next night, Alison and David had the same thought to check the bottom trash bag outside, even though David thought it was from before the iPod went missing. Alison had just opened the bag and started looking through it, when she found it in there! We threw out the cover, but otherwise the iPod still works great.

Last night, Nicholas was busted for "Public Urination". He'd finished with his bath, and was running to his room when Ali quickly turned on some warm water for Sarah's bath. That's all the time it took for Nico to start peeing on the carpet, a couple of his toys, his clothes, etc. Oy!

Nicholas starting to talk

Nicholas is starting to talk; he now has a vocabulary of 7-8 words: "cookie", "sock", "hi", "daddy", "juice", "choo choo", "touchdown" (complete with the international sign for a touchdown), and when we ask him was a little tiger says, he'll say "roar" (sort of). Here's a video of him talking; there's more new pictures and videos on the kids page.

Sarah had her investiture ceremony for Brownies; of course, being the troop leader's daughter, she'd earned the most patches over the summer and so far this fall. She's doing great in school so far this year; we had our first parent/teacher conference, and found out (no surprise) that she's above average in reading. Nicholas is headed that way as well; he loves to have books read to him. He also loves the alphabet puzzle. He will tip it over, and then hold up each letter until we say what letter it is. He will try to repeat it, and then knows exactly where each letter goes. His fine motor skill isn't all there yet, so we sometimes have to help him position each letter correctly. He'll go through all 26 letters, and then tip over the puzzle and start again.

The weather's turned cold and dry, so the kids have caught some colds. Nicholas was home on Thu and Fri and has bronchitis. Sarah was home on Friday and has the sniffles and a cough. David's coming down with something as well, and has spent most of the day in bed.

Election 2008

We had an election party at our house on Tue Nov 4th. All of our friends and us managed to eat most of five pizzas, 30 wings, shrimp, spanakopita, veggies, cheese/crackers/chips/cookies, etc. A few beers (or more) might also have been consumed. Sarah helped us keep track of the electoral votes on her dry erase board. We waited until just past 11pm for the networks to declare a winner - and they we broke into the Sweet Sweet Victory Pie (and some champagne). David stayed up really late watching the speeches and coverage (and to wait for the room to stop spinning), and took off part of the following morning to rest up and start cleaning the house.

Halloween 2008

For Halloween this year, Sarah dressed as an angel (complete with white dress and halo), and Nicholas dressed as a devil (with red shirt and pants, a New Jersey Devils bib, and red horns). The kids first went trick-or-treating with our friends in their neighborhood; there seem to be more houses with candy and kids out over there. After hauling in loads of candy, the kids said hello to Grandma who stopped at the house on the way to Ocean Pines, and then we went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. Several times, we were asked if Sarah acts like an angel and Nicholas acts like a (little) devil. The answer is yes - unless the roles are reversed. Pictures from October are up on the kids picture page.

Beautiful Fall Weekend

This past weekend, Poppy came down and we celebrated his birthday in person (a few weeks late). Instead of a cake, we got him a chocolate pecan pie from Best Pie. At the same time, we got ourselves a chocolate cream pie. Yum!

Alison and Sarah were outdoors all day on Saturday with Girl Scout activities. Their troop participated in Bowie Stream Clean-Up Day; they helped clean Millstream in our section of town. After that, they met other troops at the park to celebrate the Juliette Low birthday bash.

That night, Grandpa came over to babysit Sarah and Nicholas. He said he couldn't guarantee that there would be any chocolate cream pie left when we got back. Poppy, David, and Alison went to the Verizon Center to see the Devils face off against the Capitals. Alison wore her Capitals jersey, David wore his white "away" Devils jersey, and Poppy wore his red/black "home" Devils jersey. It was an exciting back-and-forth game, and it was tied 3-3 at the end of regulation and overtime. The Devils won in the shootout.

On Sunday, David took Poppy on a steam engine trip on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. The weather was great, the skies were clear, and the trees had some great fall colors. Check out the trip pictures here.

Trip to Chicago

Last week, we all went to Chicago to visit David's brother Bryan and his wife Anne and also to see Alison's cousin Erin, her husband Tim, and their baby Dorothy. On Wednesday, we took Sarah out of school a little early and drove to the New Carrollton train station, took the MARC train to BWI, and then flew to Chicago. Bryan met us at the airport, and we took the bus to their place, and then collapsed from all the travel.

On Thursday, we took the bus to the Lincoln Park Zoo and met Erin and Dorothy (Tim was in rehearsals for his new show). We saw lions and giraffes and had plenty of fun at the sea otters. Nicholas really liked playing with his second cousin. On the way back to Bryan and Anne's, we went out of our way to stop at Dat Donuts. We purchased three extra large donuts (two glazed, one chocolate frosted) to go, had Chicago deep-dish pizza delivered, and then watched the SNL Election special with some friends of Anne and Bryan.

On Friday, we went to the Museum of Science and Industry. They had a "green" Smart Home built on site which we toured. We also checked out the train exhibit (David's favorite), the kids play area (Sarah and Nicholas's favorite), and the baby chicks being born (awww). After the museum, we walked to Lake Michigan and watched Sarah climb up and down the rocks. On the way back, we got off the bus a stop or two early and walked by Barack Obama's house. He lives just a few blocks from Bryan and Anne, and was their state senator before he became a U.S. senator. There are barricades on all the sidewalks near his house, and Chicago police and Secret Service on all the corners. That night, we played Guitar Hero and Sarah helped Anne make a delicious dinner of pasta and beer bread, with cookies for dessert.

On Saturday, we took the subway to Chinatown for dim sum for brunch. Erin and Dorothy tried to meet us, but we hadn't realized it was China National Day and the streets were blocked off for a parade, and thus there was no parking for them. We were sad we didn't get to see them again, but still stuffed ourselves at the restaurant. We packed for home, and then saw some cool public art sculptures in downtown on the way to the train station.

The Amtrak train bound for D.C. was supposed to leave about 7PM, but we were delayed about an hour waiting for another train's passengers to arrive from Wisconsin. We finally left, and then ate a late dinner in the dining car. The family bedroom in the sleeper car had two bunk beds, and Sarah and Ali slept on the top level, and David kept Nicholas from falling out one of the lower beds. The kids didn't want to go to sleep, and Ali didn't sleep all that well, but it still felt much more pleasant than flying. By morning, we were into central PA, and had breakfast in the dining car. There was some nice fall color in the hills, and David especially enjoyed seeing some of his favorite trainspotting locations from the train (such as Harpers Ferry and Point of Rocks). The train arrived in D.C. only a half-hour late, and then we took Metro back to our car to drive home.

Election Party '08

The Mockos are hosting their 4th Quadrennial(*) Presidential Election Night Party - and you're invited! The festivities officially start at 6:00pm, and will last until a winner is declared (or until 2 a.m.). We will have snacks, veggies, and drinks; the main course will be determined by polling, so please vote early and vote often. All you will need to bring to the party is an "I voted" sticker. RSVP below in the comments, or by e-mail to David or Alison. Hope you can make it; feel free to come and go whenever during the evening. David has already taken the following day off from work; he figures whether he's celebrating or mourning, either way he'll be in no shape to go to work the next day.

To make things a little more interesting, we will also be having a contest to guess the winner and correct number of electoral votes. If you need help coming up with a number, David is updating the current presidential odds. If you can't make it to the party, leave your guess in the comments. Closest to the actual final number wins a prize!

(*) - Technically, it's only the 3rd Quadrennial party, but David is counting a party from 1992. Among the lessons learned from previous parties: three words - dry...erase...board.

Busy kids

Sarah is busy again this fall. On Wednesday afternoons, she has Brownie Girl Scouts. Alison is again the troop leader - this time with 16 girls in the troop. Sarah loves to wear her Brownie shirt or her Brownie vest to school as often as she can. On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, Sarah has soccer practice; David is the coach again this fall. Sarah has also started CCD on Thursday nights.

Nicholas is no longer the only "outside" kid at his day care; he's making friends with the new kids, and learning how to get up and down stairs by himself. He's also great at saying hi or saying bye.

Presidential 2008 odds

For informational purposes only...

Wager	Rock Star/Amtrak Joe	Maverick/Caribou Barbie
Point Spread (EVs)	-61.5	+61.5
Over/Under (EVs)	299.5	238.5
Money line	-135	+135

EVs = total Electoral College votes

UPDATE (10/13/2008):

Wager	Rock Star/Amtrak Joe	Maverick/Caribou Barbie
Point Spread (EVs)	-85.5	+85.5
Over/Under (EVs)	311.5	226.5
Money line	-143	+143

UPDATE (10/23/2008):

Wager	Rock Star/Amtrak Joe	Maverick/Caribou Barbie
Point Spread (EVs)	-105.5	+105.5
Over/Under (EVs)	321.5	216.5
Money line	-151	+151

September 2008 weekends

September was so busy, there wasn't time to update all the things the family did. Over Labor Day weekend, we enjoyed the last few days at our outdoor pool - and on Labor Day we went to the church fair. The highlight there every year is the hay ride and the pony rides. A few days later, we went to our gym to the outdoor pool before it closed for the summer.

The following weekend (the 6th/7th), we went to Ocean Pines, MD to visit Grandma and Papa Bob. On Saturday, we mostly stayed inside as Tropical Storm Hanna made its way up the East Coast. It didn't rain much where we were, but it sure was windy. The next day was much nicer, and we went out on the boat on the bay.

The day that David got back from NJ after his Geneva trip, our street had a block party in the afternoon. They shut down the street a few houses down, and we met people who live in houses further down the street. They had three grills going and (of course) way too much food. Sarah made some new friends, and they had fun riding and running in the street. The highlight was a visit from a fire engine from the local volunteer fire company. Someone who lives on the street has a son who drives the engines there. The kids even got to ride around the block in it.

We went to the Washington Nationals new stadium on the 21st with Sharon and Dean. The Nationals lost, but the view was great. The food was pretty good too.

Lots of new pictures from September (and our August trip to NJ) are up on the kids picture page.

David in Geneva - Part IV

The last day of the meeting on Wed Sep 17th went well. For dinner, David went with another group to a pizzeria near the hotel. David commented it sounded like the setup to a joke: "Three Americans and two Brits walk into an Italian restaurant in Switzerland and...". One wouldn't think that Swiss pizza would be any good; however, Switzerland does share a border with Italy, and there are many quality pizzerias in Geneva. David ordered a pie with prosciutto ham - and he's got to say that it was the best pizza he's EVER had. Thin crackly crust and delicious sauce and cheese - better than Jersey pizza! And the ham toppings were not little chunks, it was entire thin slices of the best quality prosciutto. It wasn't just this restaurant either; one of his dinner companions said he'd had a little better at a different place the night before, and David had another great pizza pie at yet another place on Thursday night. For dessert, David ordered ice cream in a plastic cow. The waiter just stopped and said, "But that's for children!". David ordered it anyway; he wanted the cow for Nicholas. When he was done, the waiter tried to take it away, but he just said he was going to give it a "shower" so David could take it home.

On Thursday the 18th, David took the Golden Pass train from Geneva to Interlaken and back. It was a little over three and a half-hours one way, and the trip requires a couple quick train changes because of different track grades. The first part of the trip went along the north side of Lake Geneva. There were clouds that kept the visibility poor for most of the trip along the lake, but once the second leg began and the train started into the mountains, the clouds were mostly gone. The views were spectacular, of green hills and farms in the valley going up to treeless mountains on the side. There were chalets and farms and cows and goats in the valleys and along the tracks. The final leg of the trip went along the south edge of Lake Thun into Interlaken. David walked around town, did some shopping, saw some very clean blue water in the river, and had a big lunch of sausage, onion gravy, and rösti before getting on the train back to Geneva. The best pictures from David's trip are online.

David flew back into Newark on Friday the 19th - and a few hours later, he had a new niece! Paige Elizabeth is her name, and David and his Mom and Dad got to visit the baby and Steven and Jenne in the hospital. He stayed the night in Madison, before getting on the Amtrak train back home after one week away.

Alison and Sarah and Nicholas did well enough without "Daddy" around. Ali dropped off Sarah at Nico's day care before work, and Ms. Beth gave Sarah a ride to school once it opened. Nicholas did try walking down a concrete step, and landed on his face. He hardly cried, and only scraped his nose and cheek a little. But the next day, it looked like he was in a brawl the day before. *grin* He healed fully in just a few days.

David in Geneva - Part III

On Tuesday night the 16th, David decided to go to a Swiss hockey game. He'd seen some ads for the team on the buses and saw the schedule and decided to go. He almost talked one of his NASA colleagues (also a hockey fan) into going, but he was too tired. By the time David got back to the hotel after the meeting to change, the game had started, so he tried to call to see if tickets were still available. After only hearing a pre-recorded message in French, he decided to just go out to the arena and risk it. The arena was only ~95% full and David got there in time for the start of the 2nd period.
The fans were very vocal during the entire game; it was like watching a European soccer match. Many things at the game were the same as American hockey (rules and style of play, food, mascot, zamboni). But some things were just different enough to feel odd. There were NBA-style cheerleaders, who danced to music in the aisles during breaks in play. Even stranger was that half the music was European disco-pop and the other half was American arena-rock standards (The Offspring, Outkast, Donna Summer, etc.). The home team won 4 to 1.

David in Geneva - Part II

Some pictures and movies from David's trip are now online. He also spent a little time after the poster session playing with the mapping feature of the pictures.

At lunch on Monday on the 15th, everyone went to the cafeteria on the WMO building. The cafeteria is on the top floor, and there is an open air deck all around the building with spectacular views of the area. David ran into someone he knew from grad school who now works at WMO. He is half-Swiss and moved back to Switzerland about 10 years ago. They had a nice sandwich lunch out on the deck, at least until the cold wind chased them back inside.

That evening, David went out to dinner at Les Relais de l'Entrecote with some CEOP scientists. The restaurant only serves one item for dinner - steak with their special sauce and thin french fries. The waitress wrote down on the paper tablecloth how well everyone wanted their steak cooked. She even came around and filled the plates with both steak and fries again after they were cleared once. David had a Cardinal beer with dinner; everything was delicious. On the walk to dinner, they walked across one of the bridges over the Rhone. David tried to take pictures of the night cityscape, but the wind was blowing the camera (and shaking the bridge as well).

The meeting itself is going well enough. David is glad to see everyone who he only sees at most every year or two, as well as talking to them on international telecons every couple months. Some of the scientists though tend to filibuster when showing their results, and the agenda kept getting pushed back. There were many interesting results shared, and there will be additional international collaboration in the coming months and years.

David in Geneva - Part I

David is in Geneva, Switzerland this week for 2nd International Implementation Meeting of the Coordinated Energy and Water Cycle Observations Project (CEOP). The meeting is being held at the World Meteorological Organization building. The WMO is near buildings for the International Red Cross, the World Trade Organization, the League of Nations, and numerous United Nations buildings, including the World Health Organization and UNICEF.

David took the train from New Carrollton to Newark to get onto a direct flight to Geneva. He got in at ~8 A.M. on Sunday and didn't sleep much on the plane. He was able to check into the hotel early and (after testing the alarm twice) took a one-hour nap. Then he took a quick bus to the downtown area by Lake Geneva and the Rhone River. David doesn't use/own a watch, and his cell phone didn't connect to anything, so he considered buying a Swiss time piece. After looking at the prices, he decided to just use the digital camera to help tell time.

David walked across bridges over the Rhone to see both the Left Bank and Right Bank sides of town. The weather was overcast and very windy, so the famous water jet fountain in the lake was not operating. There were many sailboats on the lake taking advantage of the winds. David did see some historic buildings, several lovely parks and gardens, and even watched a little of a club soccer match. For dinner, David went to Les Armures and had pumpkin soup to warm up and then Swiss sausage and rösti. He'd entered the restaurant right behind someone David knows from the CEOP group, along with his wife. He is mostly retired, and they live in the Eastport section of Annapolis, very close to the SPCA where Alison works.

David took his work laptop (which is really great because it is so small and can last about all day without needing power, especially because the Swiss use different electrical plugs), but the wireless is not working at the hotel. There is a computer in the lobby, and it uses a Swiss keyboard. Most of the letters are the same, but the punctuation/special characters are really moved around. The y and z keys (or is that the z and y keys?) are switched, making it a QWERTZ keyboard. There's plenty of power and wireless within the WMO building. David's decided to listen at ~75% and post to the blog, rather than fall asleep during the meeting from jet lag and sleep deprivation.

Sarah is a 1st grader

Today was Sarah's first day of school as a 1st grader at Whitehall Elementary. We took loads of pictures, of course - walking to school, by the school sign, by the front doors (with her new lunch bag), and at her desk. Sarah took the whole day in stride - talking up a storm (as usual) all the way to her classroom, and then quietly starting to color once she sat down. Alison went into work late so we could both drop her off, and just about every other parent at the school had the same idea. We had to park somewhat far away, but still got to her classroom on time. Sarah's already asking to buy lunch at school tomorrow - cheese pizza!

NJ Vacation 2008

We took a few days off from work last week and visited David's parents in Little Egg Harbor, NJ. On Sunday, we just hung around the house, did some boating, and went out to dinner. The place we chose just happened to have a mini-amusement park attached. We played some putt-putt, and Sarah went on some kids rides they had there, including getting strapped into a harness to jump really high on a trampoline.

On Monday, Nicholas stayed with David's parents, and Alison, David, and Sarah went to Six Flags Great Adventure. Alison had been very eager to ride the big coasters there (especially Kingda Ka). We also went to the drive-thru safari park next door; Sarah liked seeing all the animals, but didn't like it when an ostrich came right up to our window. At the park, Alison rode nearly all of the big coasters, and went with Sarah on some rides she was tall enough to ride. David gets motion sick easily, so he stuck to rides such as the ferris wheel and cable cars. We all went on the water rides, and got very wet on the big raft on the rapids.

By Tuesday, David's brother and family were also visiting, and we went to the beach. The water was just warm enough, and the kids had a great time playing in the sand. They were rehearsing for the Atlantic City air show nearby, and several times, jets flew very low overhead. By evening, we went to A.C. to the Borgata hotel and casino (where David's parents had a comp room for the night). We swam in the pool at the hotel and had dinner at the casino's food court. David and Alison stayed with Nicholas overnight in the room, while Sarah got to stay with her cousins back at their grandparents' house.

On Wednesday, we met everyone at Storybook Land for yet more amusement park rides. The weather was perfect (mostly sunny, but not humid) and the park was shaded, so we spent all afternoon going on the rides. Even Nicholas got to ride some of them, although on the first ride he went on (a mini ferris wheel), he fussed every time he and Alison came to the bottom and saw us all waving at him. He had plenty of fun after that, especially on the train ride.

Loads of new pictures on the kids picture page - including from an earlier trip to NJ that just David and Sarah took for a weekend in July.

Alison is on YouTube

Last year, Alley Cat Allies recorded footage for a short video they were putting together explaining high-volume cat spay and neuter techniques. The footage they recorded was at the monthly volunteer feral cat spay/neuter clinic in northern Virginia. They finalized and released the video this summer - and Alison has a starring role! The video is narrated, but you can see Alison in her surgical mask and gown and be awed by her surgical skills. If you want to jump to Alison's appearance, skip to the 3:45 mark.

Disney concert

This afternoon, Alison and Sarah went to the Disney concert. It was really hot and humid out, but they did have a mist tunnel and some other indoor-ish activities. Sarah invited her friend Amber - her dad is also on David's softball team. Ali and Sarah got really close to the stage to see They Might Be Giants. They had a fun time and were home before 8pm. Check out the kids picture page for some new pictures.

Disney Music; Diving Board

Today was a very exciting day. Sarah went off the diving boards in the deep end of the pool for the first time! She's taking swimming lessons this week, and can now swim well enough to get herself to the side. Sarah and Alison were at the pool in the evening while David and Nicholas went to the gym. Alison was actually guest-teaching her water aerobics class (the regular instructor is away this week) in the shallow end, when she noticed Sarah going on a diving board. Some of the ladies in the class just said, "Oh, she's gone off the boards a couple times already". Sarah made friends with a boy while swimming, and went with the boy and his dad to go off the boards. It was the boy's first time off the diving boards as well. Sarah jumped off a few more times - including off the high dive! We've since explained to Sarah to let us know when she's going in the deep end. *grin*

Even more exciting - Alison won concert tickets to see the Disney Music Block Party Tour! Sarah's favorite album right now is Here Come the 123s by They Might Be Giants. She has been seeing commercials for the tour on the Disney TV channels, and just a couple days ago, we noticed that the tour was coming near us. It's a show in the afternoon and evening with several different kids acts, ending with TMBG. After finding out the ticket prices were $36, we spent some time debating if Alison and Sarah should go or not. But while driving home, Alison heard on the radio that they were going to give away tickets. She got home, kept the radio on, and called in when they announced it - and she was caller #10 and the winner! She'll be contacted by the promotions department with the details; the concert is next week.

4th of July, Annapolis

We didn't go to Asbury Park for the 4th - we were in Annapolis for two of the three days this weekend. On Friday, we went to Ali's friend Cat's house for a picnic. Sarah and some of Cat's nephews played in a sprinkler, and Nicholas (and David) ate a little bit of everything. In the evening, we just stayed home instead of going out to fireworks. It rained off and on anyway, plus we had our own fun - we gave Nicholas his first haircut!

On Sunday, we went to meet Grandpa and Sue at a new address in Annapolis, and were told there was a surprise. Ali and David were guessing it was either a boat or a new house. When we went to Cat's on the 4th, we drove by and did some recon, and didn't see either a For Sale sign or a boat. It turned out they bought a new house! It has a dock out back (like the former house), but is a single-story house and roomier on the inside. The backyard has grass and is flatter, and will be a great place for the grandkids to run around and play, both inside and out.

Nicholas is walking

Nicholas is walking! He'd been slowly working up to it, each day taking a few more steps. But over the weekend, he started walking instead of crawling to anywhere he wanted to go. Need some proof? Check the picture page - and watch some movies.

Sarah is back - she went to Grandma and Papa Bob's in Ocean Pines, MD for a few days. Papa Bob's granddaughter Madison was also there. They went to the beach, to the pool, to the boardwalk, and played some mini-golf. On Saturday, David, Alison, and Nicholas went to Annapolis to see some disc dog competitions. Ali's friend Angie's husband Jeff has several dogs that do very well in the competition every year. On Sunday, we cleaned the house - the last three hours before bed in the dark when the power went out for a while thanks to some more thunderstorms.

Father's Day 2008

On Father's Day, we went to the Bowie Baysox game with Alison's friend Cathy and her mom and dad. They had a special promotion for Father's Day - we went to the Diamond View restaurant in the luxury boxes behind home plate. They had a buffet and drinks and popcorn. They also let us go onto the outfield before the game to play catch. Nicholas mostly just sat there, although he did roll the ball to Sarah and/or David a few times. When the game started, we sat in some shaded seats just in front of the restaurant windows, but right behind home plate. Two times a foul ball went just over the screen and hit the windows just above us. The promotion included kids tickets so Sarah could ride the carousel and moon bounce. The Baysox won 5-2.

Sarah Kindergarten Graduation

Today Sarah graduated from her kindergarten class at GCDC. The ceremony was held in the big auditorium at NASA. She and her classmates sang songs and shared facts about the planets. Sarah read a letter to next year's kindergarten-ers. She also walked across the stage to get her diploma. David, Alison, and Nicholas are very proud of Sarah; she's learned so much this year thanks to her great teachers - and in all four of her years at GCDC.

Heat Wave & Twilight Camp

From last Saturday through Tuesday, there was a big heat wave in the Mid-Atlantic. We recorded highs up to 99F on a couple days here in Bowie. There also two more rounds of thunderstorms on Sat and Tue; one bolt scared Sarah so much that she came downstairs out of bed. David played softball on Tuesday in the heat before the storms. Wed and Thu have been a little cooler and much less humid.

This week Sarah has been going to Girl Scout twilight camp from ~6-8pm. They've been going for hikes and activities in one of the local parks. The mosquitoes have found Sarah though; her legs have bug bites all over them. She even got one bite on her eyelid. She having loads of fun, however; last night she even brought home a mini-cake that she'd made.

Yankee Stadium

On Friday, David went with his Dad and his brother Steven to the "The Boogie Down Bronx" to visit Yankee Stadium and go to a Yankees game. It's the last year in the old stadium, as a new stadium is being built right next door and will open in time for the 2009 season. We drove to the area around the Port Authority, parked, and took the subway to the stadium. We had tickets for the stadium tour, and got to enter the press box, Monument Park, and then walk along the warning track on the side of the field all the way into the Yankees dugout. If we had come on a day without a game, the tour also includes a visit to the Yankees clubhouse. It was great fun to be there, the tour guide had plenty of interesting stories, and we got to pretend we were managing the game from the dugout bench.

We hung around the stadium in the afternoon, and got some food and drink and bought the kids some Yankees gear. We entered the stadium again right as the gates opened to make sure we got the giveaway for that game (a mini-replica of the Stadium). David and Steven went to the left field stands just by the foul pole during batting practice to try to grab a home run ball. After a few minutes, David started flipping through the game program, when Steven said "David - grab the ball". David looked down first and saw the ball squirming around the seats and grabbed it just before someone else did.

The game was close and entertaining, but the Yankees couldn't seem to get a hit with runners on base. We were sitting in the last row of the loge (middle) section in left field, with a great view of the bullpens and Monument Park. Of course, that didn't stop us from yelling at the umpire for every bad call against the Yankees! By the end of the game, it was a little chilly up in the wind. The Yankees tried to rally in the last couple of innings, but ended up losing 2-1 to the Royals.

Stormy weekend

This weekend, Alison had training for Girl Scout camping, which included camping overnight with other trainees. She packed up all of her stuff, made a last-minute run to Target for some final supplies, and left at 9AM Saturday. David took the kids to the pool right after it opened at 11AM, and just as he got the kids out of the car, the first rumble of thunder hit. David _did_ check the radar before he left, and it appeared that if anything was coming near Bowie in the early part of the day, it would be brief. So, David, Sarah, and Nicholas waited at the snack bar for a half-hour to pass without thunder so the kids could go in the pool. We waited with some friends and Nicholas and Sarah shared a grilled cheese sandwich. Unfortunately, there was thunder every few minutes still, when David decided to leave around 12:30PM. Sarah was in the car, and Nicholas was almost out of the stroller when the heavy rain started. The kids were laughing (and David too) as David rushed to get Nicholas buckled in and all the stuff in the car while trying (futilely) to stay dry. It rained off and on most of the afternoon, but didn't get to the campground that Alison was at until later on. But it rained heavy enough that they canceled the overnight camping part of the training, and Alison got full credit for the training. She can't wait to go camping with Sarah and the Brownies next year.

Today, we again went to the pool. There was a brief shower, this time with no thunder, so we just stayed and kept swimming. The pool water still needs to warm up some this summer - there's been plenty enough falling from the sky in the last month.

Loads of new pictures

David finally finished putting pictures of the last 6 months up on the kids webpage. There are pictures of Sarah and Alison at the parade, but David was taking video and our friends were taking snapshots. Once we get the files, we'll add them to the page.

Ballet Recital

This afternoon, Sarah danced in a ballet recital at the Bowie Center for the Performing Arts. She was a gold finch, and danced beautifully with her classmates. She had yellow flowers in her hair (which she was very excited to have up in a bun) and a yellow skirt on. Sarah's class was almost at the end of the program; Nicholas barely made it to the end of the show. He was fine when there were dancers, but quickly got bored (and didn't like the dark) between classes. Sarah was very happy to get flowers both from Grandpa and Sue and from Grandma and Papa Bob.

Today Nicholas stood up for ~5 seconds without holding onto anything. He pulled himself up to stand next to one of his toys, then decided to let go to see what happened. He kept standing, and then decided to slowly sit back down.

Memorial Day Parade

Today, Sarah marched with the Girl Scouts in Bowie's Memorial Day parade. Alison marched as well, as the troop leader. David and Nicholas met some friends and got a shady spot near the end of the parade route to wait for them. When Sarah and Alison came by, Sarah had a big smile on her face waving to her brother and to her friends. Nicholas was very excited too - until his Mommy kept on walking right past him. He started to cry, so Alison came back and carried him the rest of the parade route.

Later on, we had some friends over to barbecue in the backyard. The kids were playing on the swing set; Nicholas in particular was happy to be in the bucket swing. The kids ate dinner outside on the kids table, while the adults stayed inside. The weather was so nice that we just used to screen doors - and also so we could see what those crazy kids were up to!

Big Steps

Nicholas is hitting a bunch of milestones the past couple of weeks. He's picking up a cup (with a straw) and drinking out of it; he said "bye bye" to David one morning being dropped off at day care; he's saying both "da da" and "ma ma" (although seemingly randomly); and he's "furniture surfing" - walking very slowly around tables and couches while holding himself up against whatever he's near. Two days ago, he wanted to get from the table to a toy, but didn't want to get down on the floor to crawl to it. He kept reaching and thinking about taking a step towards it, but wasn't quite ready. Still, it won't be long now!

Sarah had her "bridging ceremony" from Daisies to Brownie Girl Scouts on Tuesday night. She also received several awards and patches for her hard work this year, including stream cleaning, making cat toys for the SPCA, and helping to evaluate playgrounds. Alison made a bridge across a river (out of construction paper) and the girls "walked" across the bridge onto Brownies next fall.

Everyone had a cold this week, though. David was out the longest - 4 days (although he did go to NJ one day for Aunt Kathy's funeral), but Sarah was home 2 days, Nicholas 1 day, and Alison would have gutted it out other than having to watch all the sick kids one day. Everyone's finally getting better; just in time for another busy weekend!

Aunt Kathy

David's Aunt Kathy died yesterday, from cancer. She was also David's godmother. There is a blog in her memory here. When David was growing up, sometimes he would take the train from Madison to near where Aunt Kathy worked (Bloomfield/The Oranges area) and stay with his cousins for a week. It was always great to go in the summer time - because they had a pool set up in the backyard! The funeral services will be next week sometime; most likely only David will go up, and he'll probably be taking the train....

Rainy weekend

It was a very rainy 5 days here in Bowie. We measured a total of 8.58 inches of rain at the house - which is more than was measured from Apr 16th to Oct 18th of 2007. There were 2 different rain storms, one centered on Friday and one from Sunday night to Monday afternoon.

On Friday, Sarah's field trip to the zoo was rained out - plus her classroom was closed because they were installing new floor tile. The idea was to do it during the field trip, but with no trip, there was no room for the kids. So Sarah had to stay home - plus the parents of one of her classmates asked us to watch their daughter. Not to mention, Nicholas's day care was closed because they didn't have power. So David watched the three kids until mid-afternoon until Alison came home from work - then she watched them until David got home in the late evening. They behaved pretty well, but we still wanted to collapse that night.

But on Saturday, we drove up to NJ for Maddie's first communion. There was traffic (always bad on Sat mornings), and we ended up having to go right to the church (St. Vincent Martyr). David hadn't been in this church since probably high school/Youth Ministry - after then, the Mocko family was going to St. Patrick's in Chatham instead. It was a nice service and there was a fun party back at Steven and Jenne's afterwards. Then we drove back home and finally went to sleep after midnight.

On Sunday, Sarah went to the Washington Ballet with Grandma to see "Cinderella". They also went with Papa Bob's daughter and grand-daughter, and took the Metro train in and out of the city. By the time they got home, the rain was falling. While they were gone, David got out the ladder and cleaned the gutters just in time for the big storm. Alison got to stay inside and enjoy some rest on her Mother's Day, although she did make a big brunch for everyone before they left, including matzoh brei which we tried to make for the first time.

Tonight, one of David's two softball games was canceled because of poor field conditions, but the latter game (on a different field) was played. Unfortunately, we only had 8 players, and most of the outfield was still a swamp. The team lost, but probably could have kept it closer with a full team. David came home with mud all over his legs and the back of his shorts and shirt.

Sarah's 6th Birthday

Happy Birthday to Sarah who turned 6 years old today!

We had two parties for her on Sat May 3rd. The first was for her little friends and classmates; it was in the children's room at our gym. They bounced around, went through an obstacle course, and threw balls into a basketball hoop. The room was very loud, but the kids had fun. There was also a pull-string pinata and cake - one side dinosaurs and the other side princesses. The second party was right after that for cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. This time, we had ice cream cake, and all the kids had a great time playing in the backyard.

Sad Day on E Street

Longtime and founding E Street Band member Danny Federici (keyboards, accordion, glockenspiel) died yesterday of skin cancer. He'd been off the tour for several months, but Ali and I did get to see him with Bruce and the rest of the band when they came through D.C. last fall. He'd been playing with Bruce for over 40 years, both getting their start along the Jersey shore. More info can be found over at Backstreets and on Springsteen's page. There's a fund for melanoma research that you can contribute towards. God bless, Danny!

Helping the Economy

On Saturday, we went shopping. We used to go shopping together until Sarah was old enough to not have to be in the shopping cart. David decided then it was much easier and less stressful (at least for him) if Alison did most of the shopping - especially groceries - during the weekday. Alison has afternoons off, and the kids are in day care, which definitely help! We first went to Target and then to Sports Authority - the main purchase there was a new softball scorebook. Then to PetSmart for some litter and then to Kohl's for clothes (mostly for David). His underwear supply was vastly dwindling, as Alison would throw out anything that was wearing out. After that, we were hungry and tired, and decided to delay our last stop until late that evening. We went to Lowe's for some garden supplies and mulch.

On Sunday, David spent most of the day working on the yard. The new plants in the backyard seemed to have survived the drought and the winter, but a few weeds were starting to come up, so we put down some tarps and covered with new mulch. David was a little sore, but was convinced he wouldn't have made it through the day if we hadn't started going to the gym. We also found time to go the Girl Scout Hike & Bike day. We fit Sarah's bike in the trunk of the Prius, and drove to the starting point. Sarah rode her bike, and we walked next to her pushing Nicholas in the stroller. At one point, Sarah wanted to get off and walk, so David jumped on her bike and rode off with Sarah laughing and chasing him.

By Sunday night, Nicholas was starting to feel warm, so we kept him home from day care and took him to the doc on Monday night. He didn't have many symptoms other than a fever and sounding just a little congested. But, sure enough, he has strep throat. He also stayed home on Tuesday, but went on Wednesday morning. You really can't tell he is or was sick, as he's just as happy as always (assuming he's fed).

Parents Night Out

When we joined the gym, we didn't just sign ourselves up, we also signed up Sarah and Nicholas. True, Nicholas won't be doing free weight curls any time soon, but there are plenty of kids activity classes for Sarah. But best of all - the kids membership includes babysitting. Now, we have no excuse to not go to the gym. Several times already, the whole family has gone to the gym, with Sarah and Nicholas in the babysitting. Plus - one night a month, the gym does "Parents Night Out", which gives us 3 hours of babysitting (no extra cost). Last Saturday night, we went to a steakhouse in Annapolis and had a really great time out. We made it back to pick up the kids at 8:59:59! We even made it back to the gym the next afternoon to work some of it all back off.

Last night, we went to Chick-Fil-A with one of Sarah's friends from school (and her mom and younger sister). The girls got to play in the indoor playsets and got some (free) face painting. Sarah's friend Fiona lives the other direction from school and kinda far away, and going out to C-F-A seemed like a good compromise between our houses. But somehow Fiona thought Sarah was going out to eat and then going to play at her house. It was all she talked about with David the last few days when he was picking up or dropping off Sarah. Fiona was so sad when her mom finally got it across to her that the moms took out their calendars to find another date for the girls to play.

Back to busy

Sarah's much better now - the Tamiflu really shortened the length of her illness. She went back to school on Tuesday (and Daisy Girl Scouts that evening). Thankfully, the other 3 of us haven't gotten it, although Nicholas is still waking up in the middle of the night. Unlike when he was younger, simply picking him up and gently rocking him hasn't stopped the crying. We're thinking he's either hungry or teething or becoming a very light sleeper. With all the food he eats at night (and the rest of day), we don't think it is likely that he is hungry - plus he does fall asleep usually after ~10 minutes of screaming. Alison's theory is that he sees the bathroom night light on or hears one of us stir and then wants to be awake (while still very tired/rubbing his eyes). Last night, we tried closing his door and leaving him in his crib, and he fell asleep right away. We'll try it again tonight; hope it works!

David had his first softball practice on Tuesday night; he only stayed to take some BP because Sarah had Scouts. As they are on the same night, Alison will be taking Heather (Nicholas's day care provider's daughter) as a "helper" to watch Nicholas at the Scout meeting until the meetings are done for the year. Tonight, Alison had her monthly Scouts service unit meeting - David, Sarah, and Nicholas watched the Capitals on TV fight for a playoff spot.

Da Flu

Sarah has the flu. It came on really strong and she had a high fever and achy joints. She went from fine in the morning to needing to be carried around that afternoon. Nicholas also had a fever, but he tested negative. He also had a rash on his skin, so we're thinking it was either he was just bundled up too much on the warm Friday afternoon, or he had a reaction to a new food. We can't think of anything new he's eaten, and the rash is gone now. Unfortunately, both Sarah and Nicholas have decided the last two nights to wake up in the middle of the night - at different times, of course. Nicholas, in particular, has been difficult to get to fall back asleep. He's even slept between us for a couple of hours. We're pretty wiped overall, but will be very thankful if we don't also get the flu.

In better news, David got to go downtown to the Tidal Basin on Saturday and see the cherry blossoms. He took some great pictures, but it sure was crowded down there. After that, he met his friends Rob and Ellen, went out to dinner (yummy Salvadoran chicken and vegetables), and then went to see U2 in 3D. This morning, Alison went out to [br,l]unch with her friends, including Damaris who was in town just to see cherry blossoms this weekend.

Happy Birthdays

Nicholas turned one year old on Monday! We had a party the Saturday before Easter. He had a pretty fun time, but was spooked when we turned off the lights and starting to sing. :( Then he started to scream after being put in his high chair and given birthday cake. But we took him out of his chair and fed him some whipped cream and vanilla ice cream, and he was quite happy about it! Nico got lots of great clothes and toys and bibs and books - and also a little red wagon big enough for he and Sarah to ride in.

We also celebrated Alison's birthday. Instead of birthday cake, we had a birthday pie! It was a blackberry pie and surprisingly lasted more than one day. During the party, we also had a mini Easter egg hunt for the kids. On Easter day, we made a roast and potatoes. It was great to see everyone over the weekend, but we missed Bryan and Anne who couldn't make it out from Chicago, mostly because of a big snowstorm they had out there.

Judging; Scalpel; etc.

This Thursday, the 13th, was a very busy day. Alison cut herself with a scalpel right after a surgery, and needed to go to the urgent care clinic. They didn't stitch up the cut because the scalpel was not "clean" and they didn't want to trap in any possible infection. She left the clinic with a big bandage on her middle finger and orders for some antibiotics. It's only been a day, and the wound is much much improved.

That afternoon, David went to The Mitchellville School to serve as a science fair judge. The school is very close to our house (just a couple small blocks away); in fact, the building was formerly the public elementary school for the neighborhood. David judged the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade projects, and was very impressed with the level of scientific knowledge and presentation at such a young age. It took longer than expected (he really didn't need the kids to read off every line of data on their poster), but the kids were very happy to show what they'd done. The school itself is small - only 41 kids between pre-K and 8th grade - and expensive, so we didn't consider it for Sarah.

Speaking of which, we've decided to send Sarah to our public school - Whitehall Elementary. We were very torn between sending her there or to St. Pius. We liked St. Pius because Sarah can go there up until grade 8, they start school at 8:15am (instead of 9:15am at Whitehall), and because the school is SO close to our house. But we decided to send her to Whitehall, which is also a very good school, and save some money in the process. Now we'll need to figure out a new daily schedule for the kids and for David to work - but we will just have to make it work.

Hockey and Skating

The big event in February was that the four of us went to see a hockey game - the Devils at the Capitals down in DC. Alison, Sarah, and Nicholas wore Capitals gear, while David wore his Devils jersey. "Aunt" Marisa also joined us. We bought the family pack of tickets, so in addition to the ticket, we got hot dog/chips/drink and a Capitals hat. Nicholas liked watching the game; he only flinched when the horn went off. Sarah liked the game too (especially cheering "Let's Go Caps!") - but did say her favorite part was eating cotton candy. The Devils won 2 to 1 in overtime!!

Sarah took ice skating lessons this winter at the Bowie Ice Arena. She enjoyed it and didn't mind falling, as long as she wore vinyl-covered pants to keep her dry. David took her a couple times to open skating as well. At times, she would skate behind a "walker" that slides in the ice and you hold in front of you - but then usually gave it up to a smaller kid still learning how to stand up. Their favorite game on the ice is to pick a letter under the ice and skate to it and stop.

We joined a gym- Bowie Sport Fit. Mostly, it's because we need to get in better shape, but a big bonus is that they have an indoor heated pool, so the kids will be able to keep swimming all fall and winter until the community pool opens again in the summer. They also have free babysitting, so now Ali and David have no excuse to not go several times a week.

Over Presidents' Day weekend, we went back to Madison to celebrate Jake's 4th birthday. Yesterday, we hosted a 40th birthday party for Alison's brother Andrew. There was heavy rain in the morning, and then it was very windy in the afternoon - it was so strong it knocked down a couple panels of a neighbor's wood fence in the backyard. Finally, David and Ali celebrated Valentine's Day a weekend early at the Old Stein Inn. The German food and beer were delicious - but the desserts were awesome.

Super Bowl Champs!

Whoo hooo! The New York football Giants are Super Bowl champions!

David's very happy that he roots for the best teams around. Since 1995, he's seen his hockey team (Devils) win 3 Stanley Cups, his baseball team (Yankees) win 4 World Series, and his football team (Giants) reach 2 Super Bowls.

He's just glad he didn't grow up in the Cleveland area, which hasn't seen a championship in 40+ years, or even South Jersey (ha!) which hasn't seen a Philadelphia team win since 1983.

Scout Sunday

Today was "Scout Sunday" at church. Sarah carried the Girl Scout flag to the altar before Mass - along with another 30 or so various flags carried by other Girl and Boy scouts. She did really great! After Mass, they took a picture on the church steps.

Nicholas got himself another cold at the end of last week. He's been mostly just snotty, but we kept him home for a couple days because something was going around his day care. Sarah got the full version of it, though. She was sick to her stomach in the middle of the night. We had to borrow a neighbor's steam cleaner to get the carpet clean.

Nico is getting around on his belly; he's still not technically crawling - more like belly-surfing. But he will get himself across the room, usually to chase a toy that he grabs and then flicks away. He's also seemed to stop falling asleep at the end of breast-feeding. For the most part, he's been falling asleep when we put him in his crib, but there's been a time or two lately when he's been so tired, he can't fall asleep right away.

The New York football Giants are in the Super Bowl this year. David didn't think they'd make it this far, so it's been a pleasant surprise. Sure hope they keep it up!

Happy New Year 2008!

Been too busy to post lately - in part, taking care of sick kids :( Mostly, it's been Nicholas. We're lucky that David has a flexible work schedule and understanding bosses, and is able to work from home in the morning and/or work later at night. David only took Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve off this year - and Ali only took off New Year's Eve. We went to NJ for "A Mocko Family Christmas" at Steven and Jenne's. It was great to see everyone, and the four cousins had plenty of fun with each other and opening some more gifts.

We celebrated the new year back in Bowie at 8:00pm eastern. Sarah was very excited to bang sticks on pots and shout "Happy New Year!". We all went to bed before midnight, though.

On Sun Jan 6th, it was really warm out and Grandpa came over to help us put together a bike Sarah had gotten for Chanukah from him and Sue. After it was done, he, Sarah, and Ali went to a park to ride around, although Sarah was just as interested in playing on the swings and slides. David and Nicholas stayed home and watched the New York football Giants win a playoff game!

Yesterday, David went to a really neat seminar he'd arranged - the speaker showed data from the SORCE satellite, and it showed that the total spectral irradiance (amount of solar energy from the sun) at the top of the atmosphere is about 1361 W/m^2, rather than the 1366 W/m^2, which has been the "solar constant" for some time. This value does vary some with sunspots and an 11-year solar cycle, but the new measurements with more sophisticated instruments are quite precise. Although this is less than 1 percent of a difference from the previously measured average, David and his group are planning to test the effects of these new measurements in their atmospheric models.