Thanksgiving 2009 (part 2)

For the Goldsmith family, the Thanksgiving holiday is more than just the daytime meal....it starts the week before when the New Jerseyans get to town, and ends when we return from our trip down to CT (for us, that was last night). Thanksgiving day is great...dont get me wrong....but the real fun always seems to start when the guests leave, and we're left with the Goldsmith family, the Favry family, and good ol' Papa "Ortiz" Goldsmith staying overnight (Barbara always has to work on Thanksgiving, so Ortiz makes the trip solo....). This is always a great time, mostly because we make fun of dad for the whole time he is here. So we've got that going for us....

After the guests had gone home, and Jackson had gone to bed, Callum was still a bit restless from the days activities. So the Goldsmith men all huddled together and watched some Cookie Monster, Ernie and Bert, and Elmo videos on the Mac....Doesnt Callum look comfy?


Here, Papa reads Callum a bedtime story about a family that celebrates Hanukkah. Maybe Callum will be able to play Dreidel this year....
The piece de resistance of Ortiz sleeping over is the traditional "Thanksgiving night TABOO" game. My dad is the best Taboo player in the history of education. I could go into detail about his intellectual prowess.....but I will not at this time. Suffice to say we all look forward to Thanksgiving night games!

Another great tradition is the "morning after" breakfast. Usually, we go out to eat. But now, with the two boys being on schedules that necessitate a morning naps, we cook "in." Anthony made a stellar spread, complete with eggs, bacon, sausage, Amish Friendship Bread, and hash brown casserole. I have no idea how we were all hungry enough to eat...but we were!
And Papa got to spend some quality time with the boys before he left late on Friday morning....
On Friday, Kris and Amanda got to spend some time together with the boys, and Anthony and I did some errands and got a few drinks at the VooDoo Grill in Mystic. It was a great day! THEN, as if we were still needing more reason to have heart disease, we ordered some Valentino's pizza....the ONE and ONLY Valentino's pizza. Amazing stuff.....

The holidays are here.....

Thanksgiving 2009 (part 1)

Well, we all have a little more to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving holiday, as little Jackson is now okay! Our day started off with a scare:

Jackson broke out into some type of allergic reaction to something yesterday....his body was virtually covered in welts and spots, he was convulsing, and he was having trouble breathing. Anthony called the doctor, and the recommendation was to get the little guy to the hospital ASAP. So, we had a visit from Ledyard's finest yesterday (too bad you dont live in Ledyard, Kemish!). They were at the hospital for a while, but now all is fine. They still havent figured out what caused the reaction, but after some steroids and Benadryl, he is fine (and Jackson is fine too...haha).

Cousin Mike, Brian, Dan, and I took hold of the "fort" and took care of the THREE (yes three) turkeys that were being fried in honor of the feast. This meant that we stood out in the garage, drank beer, talked about leaving to go to Foxwoods down the street, and occasionally looked at the deep fryer...haha

Callum was all decked out in his Packer's Pride yesterday, and he watched as they smoked the Detroit Lions. GO PACK! Sorry I cut out your beautiful eyes, Amanda....

There are two things I love about Thanksgiving down in CT (well, there are a lot, but I love two things in particular). First, both of my parents are together in one place, so they can nag me double as much....and second, I get to see all my cousins and family who I never get to see as much as I would like! I had a wonderful childhood, and I have wonderful memories of playing with cousins Lauren, Brian, Alley-cat, Mike, and more around the holidays. Yesterday was an opportunity to "resurrect" that...even if only for a bit. I really wish I could see them more, and I am hopeful about a summer visit to Maine this year! Here's the first table (not everyone was at the tables, but you get the picture....) From front to back, starting on the left, we have cousin Mike, cousin Leah's son Zach, cousin Leah, Aunt Patty, Leah's daughter Maddie, and cousin Allyson. Callum LOVED his cousin Alley yesterday!
Here's the dining room crowd. From L to R we have cousin Lauren, Brian's girlfriend Jess, my cousin Brian, Anthony's cousin's husband Skiddey, Anthony's cousin Darryl (and her baby who is still inside!), and my beautiful wife Sally.
We ate fantastic food (as usual), drank great beer and cider, watched football, played Wii, and watched Callum and Jackson romp around the house. Here are Nannie, Callum, and Jackson enjoying a snack.
More to come soon. Hope everyone had a great day!!!

TSBTMATG

The-Sunday-Before-Thanksgiving-Meal-At-The-Goldsmiths, that is. Doesnt this ham look amazing?

That is because it was, if I do say so myself. And I do. (Of course) I started off with a Mellow Gold from Joseph's (as if there were another type of ham!) and rubbed it with a southwest Sauza tequila flavored rub. Then I used indirect heat to cook it on the charcoal grill (as if there is another way to cook, even!). Basically, I pushed all the coals to one side, and put the ham in a roasting pan on the other side. I threw a few chunks of maple on the hot coals, poured a cup or so of apple cider in the roasting pan, and then let chemistry work its magic. The glaze was a "whiskey-citrus" style glaze which, for now, will remain secret. Until you bribe it out of me with pale ale or egg rolls. In addition to the ham, I made my dad's famous baked beans (only, instead of salt pork, I used slab bacon from...you guessed it....Josephs). Lynne and George brought a delicious cole slaw, and we also had a great salad. Amanda baked a raspberry chocolate cake. As you can see from the pictures, there is plenty of room...so come on up and enjoy the food! Here I am with Callum, Emma, and a bunch of half stripped dining room walls.....
Ba-Ba, Michelle, Aunt June, and Emma at the "kid's table." Lynne is off in the background managing the workings of something...and George sulks because Lynne is talking again. Ha Ha!! Just kidding. Oh, and Emma is pretty gangster!

A cozy meal had by all.....
People really enjoyed the food, beer, wine, and family time. And Stevee Cee was especially impressed with the way we ate right on schedule (ha ha). I missed most of the Patriots beating up on the Jets, but it was worth it. Amanda and I love having family over for dinner.

This week, Callum and Emma have really enjoyed each other's company. Most of the day, Callum just walks around aimlessly shouting out Emma's name, as he searches for her. Emma does a really good job of playing "book" and "card" with Callum, and as you can see the two of them love to joke around. Callum enjoys staring contests, as you can see.....
Callum also has some new, random words and phrases he picked up on his own
-Aria (Lynne and George's cat)
-a-doo-doo-doo (which is his version of a rooster's "cockadoodledo!"
-bunny
-baby ah-meeal (baby oat meal, which he calls packets of sweet&low at restaurants. If you think about the logic of this, it is pretty awesome....he is used to eating instant oatmeal packets...and the little packets of sweet&low and sugar LOOK like "mini" or "baby" oatmeal packets. Do they not?

The first of many blogs....

On the topic of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday! For the Goldsmiths, the Thanksgiving holiday is literally a week long celebration, as the New Jerseyans are up in Maine for the week, and then, on Wednesday (this Wed) we travel down to CT to have Thanksgiving with my family. The days are full of activities, and we'll be posting a lot....so that means the text wont be as developed...

Yesterday was the traditional "rivalry Saturday tailgate" at fellow colleague Wick's house in Waterville. We get together to watch some of the Maine state high school superbowls, the UNH/UMaine game, and the Harvard Yale game. But mostly we just hang out, drink beer, and eat amazing tailgate food. The piece de resistance this year was Wick's "heart attack hotdog," which was a hot dog stuffed with cheese and then wrapped in bacon. Beautiful. L to R are Mike, Wick, Trenton, and Josh. I am sporting my new Johny Hannah jersey for the occasion.

Then I met Sally and CS at grandpops, where we hung around for a bit. There was a beautiful crescent moon last night, and BaBa and Callum admired it out BaBa's window....
Callum thoroughly enjoyed his chocolate ice cream cone for dessert, didnt he?
Everyone at dinner. Jon is missing from the picture because he went camping in Bar Harbor last night.....
Best friends reunited! Callum was so happy to see Jenny, the New Jersey Newfoundland dog. He just kept looking up at her going "wowwwww!!!" over and over again! Here, he was sitting on the floor, petting her head, and going "shhhhhhh."
Right now we are just waiting for people to get here, as we are hosting dinner. I am BBQing a ham on the Weber, I have homemade baked beans in the crock, and Amanda is baking something that smells great. More to come later.....

Meanderings 56 (and a "Callum mealtime progression")

1. The fitness level of athlete characters in video games is inversely proportional to the fitness level of the people playing these games in the basement.

2. Old people look hilarious doing stuff young people are supposed to do: Guitar Hero, Wii, texting, etc etc. Sometime, if you are bored, google search some images of "Old people playing Guitar Hero." Magic

3. Ironically enough, a milestone IS a roadblock....and vice versa. Ironically enough.

4. I'm really surprised we don't see more eraser filings all over the world.....where do they all go? They can't all go in the trash; constantly, people are using pencils, making mistakes, erasing them, and blowing the little pink shards wherever they please. I know there are brooms, vacuums, etc, but they can't catch all of those eraser shreds, right? Erasers (and mistakes) have been around for hundreds of years....that is a lot of erasers! All I'm saying is that I'm surprised we dont see more of them. That's all

5. This is not my best collection of meanderings, and I fully realize that.

6. What did the engineer who designed erasers use when, in the process of sketching out some eraser model schematics, he made an error and had to start over?

7. 93% of the males from 17-25 are walking around with permasmiles and hand cramps due to the release of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare." This is a video game which, essentially, sensationalizes CURRENT wars we have going on in Iraq, Afghanistan, and anywhere else where there is "city" fighting. That is the first problem; I vehemently believe that what these video game makers are doing is popularizing and, dare I say ROMANTICIZING a war---a war in which American men and women are dying each day. "Wow....you get to snowmobile!!!" I heard one student say. "War is so cool if you get to snowmobile!" This brings me to my second point: I think all these morons who sit at home and play Call of Duty for 6 hours should man up and actually join the Army or Marines. If you love war so much, why not go enlist today; the troops could use some help.

8. There's this "buzz-phrase" that I hear from time to time, and it becomes more pervasive as we enter the stormy winter season. It has to do with driving or travelling, and the phrase involves "getting there in one piece." What's all this talk about getting someplace in "one piece?" Is there some epidemic I'm unaware of where people are losing body parts, etc. as they travel? And I think that, colloquially speaking, arriving someplace in one piece is soooooo desirable; if you arrive "in one piece," then your journey has been successful. This, I think, is a misnomer. You can still be in one piece but be dead. You can still be in one piece but be paralyzed from the forehead down. Also, you can still be in one piece but have the rest of the people in your car become shredded or julienned by a wood chipper. "Getting there in one piece" isnt as glamorous as it sounds.....I'm just saying.

Amanda's new obsession....

No, it isnt shoes or Coach bags or Godiva chocolates, like many other women I know.....

The new addiction of Ms. Sally Piles involves a wonderful little Facebook application called "Farmville." In Farmville, people plan, grow, and maintain a pretend farm with pretend fuits, crops, and livestock. One thing about this application (notice I do not use the word "GAME" because it isnt a game....games have objectives.....) that is pretty neat is the community spirit alive within the context of Farmville. Basically, all of Amanda's "friends" who play Farmville all have their farms "near" each other. Part of the daily commitment of "playing" Farmville is that you not only tend to your own crops and animals, but also the crops and animals of your neighbors. Altruistic by nature, Amanda will get on, check on Belle, Michelle, or Twon's farms, and say out loud "hmmm....Anthony's strawberries need to be watered...." and thus pretend water them. By taking care of other people's pretend crap, you get pretend money which can be used to buy more pretend crap, which can then be added to your "farm." Here is Amanda's farm.... (notice how she is personally "welcoming" you with her friendly face.....this is yet another cool thing Macs can do that PCs cannot....)


Amanda's farm looks pretty good, huh? It should, considering she spends AT LEAST 40 minutes a day playing the wonderful game....she has lots of fruit trees, a chicken coop, a dairy farm barn, and lots of room to expand to grow more stuff. She even has a duck pond. But she does NOT have a place to live yet.
If this obsession keeps up longer, you wont have a REAL place to live either.....haha

Just kidding. Truthfully, I love her little farm. It is actually really cute, and I like the community involvement of it....the irony, of course, being that you isolate yourself from direct interpersonal communication so that you can participate in each other's fake lives. Hilarious!

But Amanda loves her farm, and that makes me happy. I guess I have some pretty strange things I do too......RIGHT???!!!

Books and Books and Books......

My second grade teacher Mrs. Spagna said it best: "Books are friends." The Goldsmiths love books--we love them now, and we loved them when we were growing up. We really hope Callum grows to love reading as well....presently, I would say things are going that way! Haha. I love to read down in the basement in the "den," and here are some of the built in bookshelves we have....

I chose the subject matter of this blog because today we spent a couple of hours at Barnes and Crapble checking out all the "holiday inventory" they had available. Callum just loves poking around the kids section of the store--he plays with the big Thomas the Train table, sits on the mini Adirondack chairs and peruses Elmo books, and asks us (in his own language, of course) to read him books about whales. Whales are still his favorite thing. I can't blame him (for loving books....not whales) because I find myself most interested in kid's and "Young Adult" literature. Maybe this is why I teach English to high schoolers. I love the conferences I get to attend about "YA" books, reading, etc. Also, I love the artwork, storylines, and overall production of kid's books. Here are SOME of Callum's books, on one of the shelves in his room.....
We were going through some of the ones he has "outgrown" today, and looking through all the books just really re-affirmed my love of reading.....AND reading to him. Amanda and I both just love reading books to Callum....we sit in the special "reading chair" in his room (it used to be the "nursing chair") and he is so attentive as he listens and looks at pictures. Usually, he goes and picks out the books he wants to read, and he brings them to us. I have mentioned before how much he loves bikes and bike magazines, and here is a good example from tonight when Amanda was reading to him. He was so engrossed he didnt even know I was there taking the picture!
I have so many great memories of books, reading, and being read to from when I was a kid....young adult literature kicks butt! What are some of your favorites? I remember once, when I was a kid, I got grounded for something, and thus could not watch TV or movies....but I COULD read my books, so it was the best punishment ever! Haha. Here are some of my favorites from when I was a kid:

HENRY AND THE PAPER ROUTE (AND ALL THE BEVERLY CLEARY BOOKS)
TALES OF A FOURTH GRADE NOTHING AND SUPERFUDGE (JUDY BLUME!)
JOHNNY TREMAIN
FALLEN ANGLES (A book about the Vietnam war....wicked awesome)
MR. POPPER'S PENGUINS
FRANKIE THE FIREMAN (had a record that went along with it)
SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK
"CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE" BOOKS
SINK IT RUSTY, THE RELUCTANT PITCHER (And anything else by Matt Christoper)
A TALE OF TWO CITIES (I LOVED this book in school!)
WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS

(The following are from Amanda)
THE SADDLE CLUB
NOT BETWEEN BROTHERS
NANCY DREW
HOW TO GROW UP AND DO NOTHING BUT PLAY FARMVILLE
THE RATS OF NYMH
THE RED PONY
BIOGRAPHIES (I loved these too, thanks to Johnny C.....we ate up all there were!)
*Note* Amanda was "not allowed" to read "The Babysitter's Club" books. hmm.....

And, finally, here's our little Gordon's fisherman......

Our camera is broken.....

Which is why we haven't been doing as many blogs as we would like. Perhaps Santa will bring us a new one for Christmas, although we may need to get one sooner. Perhaps our camera being broken has something to do with Callum dropping it in the driveway.....

Well, it is a rainy rainy Saturday evening in Maine....a lot warmer out than it should be for this time of year. Today I had a men's breakfast at church, and then Amanda and I worked outside while Callum napped. Amanda actually put up the Christmas lights on the bushes out front....only to find out our outdoor outlet isnt working! The next few weekends leading up to Thanksgiving will be very busy for us, so we figured we'd put up our lights now.

Here is a "photobooth" picture I took of Jackson and I a couple of weeks ago. The Mac continues to impress, and it even takes nice pictures. Callum can't wait to see his bestie in a couple of weeks.

Callum has these new pajamas that Amanda picked up for him....they are pjs an 80 year old would wear....they are ridiculous... Below, he is giving Amanda some pens....his new favorite activity is going through out "junk drawer" and emptying it out....

I see him every single day, so I dont notice changes as much as others....but even I have to say that Callum looks like he is "changing" physically over the past couple of weeks....like he is looking older. Do you think so? And yes, he is playing with a binder clip....and he did this for like 20 minutes
He might have a tiny little body now, but just you wait....he is going to hit his growth spurt, and before you know it he'll be the starting tight end at the Naval Academy......
And here is 'Ampy, Maine's very own "hospitality mascot." He is inviting you to come and taste all things Maine. One is for Bob, and one is for Twon (he knows you dont drink, Ortiz!)

One more week until the zoo comes!!

Veteran's Day

Amanda, Callum, and I were all home today (Wednesday is one of Amanda's usual days off, Callum isnt old enough for the Naval Academy yet, and I had a school holiday). We just enjoyed a lazy day of hanging around, snacking, playing, and enjoying the unseasonably warm weather....the Goldsmiths do NOT like this weather in November...we are winter people.

We took a walk to the library, and after I slapped myself in the head for forgetting that the library is not open on Veteran's day, we went across the street to the park. Fairfield, being a very old Maine town, is quite interesting in its layout. There is "Fairfield Center," which everyone thinks is a downtown kind of place...but it is not. Rather, Fairfield Center is literally the "center" point of the town, and it is mostly woods, farms, and fields. We live close by to "the village" of Fairfield, and the library, the old high school, and some old captain's houses make up an interesting "quad." The park is really nice, and Amanda and I took turns throwing leaves at Callum.
This is funny: Callum LOVES looking at magazines (Bicycling Magazine, and toy catalogs are his favorites), and he would not get in his stroller without the latest "Target" catalog. He loves pointing out the bikes, babies, horses, and farm toys. And he likes pointing out the trucks.
Before we left to go on our walk, we worked outside, tying up some loose ends as far as the yard goes. Brittany and Brianna from next door came over and were playing with Callum outside, and Amanda and I got to work. Below, Amanda cleans up the dead stalks from some of her flower beds. I spent my time burning said stalks, moving firewood into the garage, and "tarping" NEXT year's wood, which I split this fall.
Have I mentioned how much Mister Callum LOVES whales, and basically anything to do with the ocean? Whenever he sees a computer of any kind, he immediately points to it and says "whale" or "Elmo," since we watch videos of both of these on the internet. Since I was on the computer already just as he was about to eat lunch, we let him watch some whale videos while he ate his grilled cheese. Watching TV while we eat goes against our DEEPEST principles......but rules are made to be broken, right? haha.....
Question: The Goldsmiths need a new computer. Should we get a mac (of our own, as I am using my school computer) or stay with a PC? Uncle Bob, do you still read this blog? If so, I would appreciate your insight, as I know you are a Mac person. Why should we switch?

Thanks

When style was king.....

Amanda and I were having a conversation the other day about clothing we used to wear when we were kids--my mom would always take Kris and I to "Rochelle's" in Foxboro to get clothes, and Amanda would always get Gimbles or Michelle hand-me-downs. THEN, I was talking to Josh, our school cop, about sneakers, and how when we were in high school you were virtually DEFINED by your footwear. All this got me thinking about clothing from when I was a kid....And I know I have made reference to some of these before, but whatever....

I had one pair of these silly Z Cavaricci jeans....I remember when I got them too; my mom got them for me at Filene's Basement in Downtown Crossing. What silly pants these were, known for their high waistband and "double" buttons.....if you wear them, you had better be an Italian Soccer player, otherwise you will look silly. Also, they were tremendously overpriced..... I could go on about sneakers forever! Here is a picture of some old Nikes I found. I disagree with Nike on so many levels, and refuse to wear anything made by them. An evil company. But I digress. Some former Nike shoes that used to be paradigm for high school students like myself: ProMax, Air Pegasus, ACG (all conditions gear), Air FLIGHT, Air Flight Light, Air Jordan, Air FORCE, Air YOUR MOM, Cortez (aka Dean Prohaska), and Air Max.

I won't even go into the whole Reebok Pump silliness, but there were also so many more trendy shoes: Old school Converse (not All Stars, not "one stars"....just regular CONS), Reebok Hexalite, Roos, LA Gear (remember those "Michael Jacksonish" shoes they made? They were black and they had like chains and big zippers on them?), Etnies, Vision Street Wear, Simples (wearing them today), Tretons and Keds (for girls), and Ryka Nitrogen. Today's version of all these silly shoes would be "Keens." When those things go out of style in a year or two, they are going to go out of style HARD.

If you wore one of these shirts:

Chances were very good that your parents made a ton of money AND didnt really care about you, so they bought you stupid clothes to make you happy. Sorry. It just seemed like when I was in school, the only kids who wore these Vuarnet shirts (and many probably dont even know this is a SUNGLASSES company) were the spoiled rich kids. And Jay Ponticelli. If you had more than three of these shirts, it directly followed that you golfed at the age of 11, AND you spent most of your summer in Hyannis....

These guys were a pretty interesting store
Remember Benetton? They were pretty progressive as far as clothing stores go, and they were WAY ahead of their time! They were the first modern-liberal-"global awareness"-anti racism clothing store.....now the world is full of stores like this. Benetton really brought these issues to the forefront....even in the late 80's when it WASNT trendy to be global, green, and politically conscious. They ran some pretty controversial ads--one of them was the topless torso of a black woman breastfeeding a white baby (and you could see nudity), and another image they used to have on their bags was that of the Buddhist monks who set themselves on fire to protest the Chinese occupation of Tibet. Oh, and Benetton sold clothes too.

And now, a random Goldsmithish list of crap I remember from when I used to be cool.

GOTCHA clothing (had that whole paintball gun thing going)

TANK TOP FLANNELS usually with hoods too. Popularized by Joey on "Blossom." Whoaa!!

HYPERCOLOR turns colors when you sweat. Mine would be the brightest freakin' red ever.

UNIONBAY

COTLER

PANAMA JACK who was another sunglass company who sold shirts

COED NAKED frisbee, golf, football, cheering, underwater basket weaving, edible luggage making, etc.....

BIG JOHNSON who tried to ride the Coed Naked wave. They were silly

GITANO

GUESS

ESPRIT

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS which is something I put on because, during Operation Desert Shield (and then STORM), these sweatshirts really were something like a fashion statement. My mom got me one off the Home Shopping Network

NEASC

I have never really written about NEASC (some long acronym for the school accreditation process we do) because it is boring and completely non-entertaining. But, since it has played a significant part in my professional life over the past two years--and will be ending tomorrow--I thought I'd spin a few lines on the subject.

Essentially, every ten years, each high school in Maine must go through an accreditation process. This process ensures that each school is performing well, and is deserving of being a nationally accredited school. The evaluation begins as a "self study," and there are about seven or eight sub committees in the school, each focusing in on a certain area of school culture: Instruction, Physical Plant, Curriculum, School Resources for Learning, Assessment, Administration, School and Community Profile, etc. My colleague Trenton and I were the co-chairs for the instruction committee, and there was a ton of work involved; we were asked to lead a group whose role it was to assess the way our school "teaches." I crafted a 24 page report to submit to the NEASC group, and Trenton was in charge of collecting evidence to support what I wrote.

Isnt this exciting?

At any rate, the culminating experience of the NEASC process is when the visiting team of "consultants" come to observe, interview, snoop around, and report their findings. They arrived on Sunday, which is why I had to work on Sunday (we met them, I was personally interviewed by a consultant, we attended meetings, and we had a reception). During this week, they have been in and out of our classes, shadowing students, popping in to ask me questions, etc.

I have to admit that when this first started a couple of years ago, I was kind of cynical (imagine that!!). But I am actually enjoying this process now that they are here, and the reason is twofold. First, these are all professional teachers, just like me. Who knows teachers better than teachers? It isnt like there's a cadre of suits walking around pretending they know best...ya know? Second, I feel hopeful this process is going to improve our school in the long run because a lot of the negatives that we often complain about are brought out into the open--we aren't "lying" to make ourselves look good. For the most part.....haha just kidding. Issues and concerns about the "management" of the school are put on the table, and hopefully they will be addressed. I feel fortunate to have a job like this; in what other job do they ask the employees what needs to improve....and then improve those things??

Notice I am trying to be positive?

Anyway, it is over tomorrow. Note to self: Ask the guys to go out for a NEASC drink tomorrow afternoon.....

Halloween 2009 (part 2)

Part 2 of our Halloween weekend post! In addition to the actual festival of Halloween, we also did a lot of other fun stuff this weekend. We ate lunch at Mainely Brews on Saturday, depleted Hillman's bakery of all their inventory, watched "The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown," and played with Jackson and Callum. I dug out Callum's old jumparoo (I can't believe I am actually calling it "old!" He is growing up so fast!) from the attic above the garage. As you can see, Jackson was very appreciative, and Callum was very curious...being on the other side for once. 

Nannie bought Callum and Jackson matching pajamas, especially for this very special photo opportunity (what's that saying about herding cats??) We have two very busy little boys on our hands here.....

Here's our "Halloween headquarters" setup in the breezeway. We were having a fantastic time seeing all the kids in their costumes! But I had an even better time razzing all the 17 year old goth idiots who came just looking for candy. For them, I usually said (much like I did last year) "HEY!!!! HANNAH MONTANA/FERGIE/OBAMA!! I LOVE IT!!" just to see what kind of reaction I would get. If they were a good sport, they got candy. But if they were total morons, I did the following: Over the course of the evening, I was munching on some peanut butter cups, meticulously re-folding the empty packages. If a kid was a total dink, they got an empty wrapper. I even asked one kid why he wasnt at work. I'm cool like that....
Here's 'ampy with Callum. George and Ensign stopped over for some cider, Oktoberfest, photos, and Callum time. Lynne was at home because Glenn Beck told her to stay home, and she takes everything Glenn Beck says as gospel. Just kidding!! Kind of. Lynne is recovering from shingles and couldnt be over yesterday....we hope she feels better, because Callum missed mee-mee. 
The second year in a row Callum is blessed enough to have his Halloween costume picture taken with a great-grandfather. Don't think we dont know how lucky we are. 

Okay. Off to go watch some football/Netflix. It was a long weekend, topped off by Winslow High's NEASC accreditation visit that started today--I had to go into school for the afternoon, to attend some presentations and be interviewed. It is going to be a long next few days.....

Halloween 2009 (part 1)

First of all, this was an awesome weekend--we got to see a part of my family we dont often get to see, we got to dress the boys up for Halloween, we got to give out candy on one of the busiest trick or treat streets in Maine, and we got to drink Oak Pond Oktoberfest. Good stuff. Rather than write a bunch (since I have a lot of pictures to upload, and a lot to email to grandparents), I thought I would kind of let the photos speak for themselves. The above picture is of Callum (as a monkey) with Dana the pirate and The Wicked Witch of Fairfield (otherwise known as Cindy next door). Cindy always dresses up for Halloween, since it is her birthday1

We took the boys trick or treating early (about 5ish) so they could eat, and Twon and I could set up our "battle stations" to give out candy. Here's mom and Callum walking back from the Shores' house. As you can see, in the background, some other kids were starting early too! Callum is carrying his special pumpkin Nannie got him....it is a jack-o-lantern on one side, and it has his name on the other side. Fun!
If you blow this picture up, you'll see Callum looks like he is crying. That is because his "real" favorite monkey (my old roommate JR) couldnt be here. (Actually, it is because big old mean daddy just gave him his third eye drop treatment of the day.....but his conjunctivitis is clearing up nicely...)
Here's Uncle, Auntie, and "a-tin" (as Callum would say) posing for the entourage of cameras. Jackson was the cutest little swashbuckler this side of the Atlantic.
And here I am--proud daddy and Uncle. I totally blasted my bis and tris holding these two meat-monsters up all afternoon! I have to say, Jackson totally loves me....he always smiles when he sees me, and he loves to eat my nose, chin, and ear. Who could ask for anything more??
All in all, I would say we saw about three hundred trick or treaters. Probably more. From 5-8 we doled out 17 bags of candy.....tis the season.

I'll have to do a second post in a bit....