Oh yeah I have a blog...

...and I suppose I should update it. We went to the Children's Museum last Saturday:

Benno shops and Anthony rings up the groceries:

Benno waves hi:

Benno, the receptionist:

Anthony's self-portrait:

And Benno discovers himself in the mirror:

Today's Guest Star:

And the fabulous performance (the Bennion kids star alongside the X boys)

Benno sits in a Bob the Builder vehicle:

Boys building with giant Lincoln Logs:

Aaron's fabulous face paint...he always does his own:

I helped Benno. He's Mr. Peabody, the dog with glasses:

Clay artists:

Not sure what he's making but he's very serious about it:

Anthony the dog and his nest sculpture:

Christopher and his ball sculpture (he worked REALLY hard on that one):

Funny, I just realized that the majority of these photos is of Benno... Such a photo hog he is...kidding, the kid is just too cute that the camera is irresistibly attracted to him. They're all cute. Fun day....

Happy Birthday George

Not my George, but the Father of my country George.

I read the book 1776 by David McCullough last summer and it gave such an insight into the character of this great man. I also once read (all the way back in middle school) a biography of his mother Mary Ball Washington (about whom there was a rumor floating about that we were related to her...I never heard whether the rumor was confirmed or not) and I've admired both Washington and his mother ever since. It was such a treat to grow up living close to his home Mt Vernon and so many historic sites nearby in DC & northern VA.

Anyway...Happy Birthday George Washington. 

Sorry my blog is not all that exciting lately. Life has settled down around here post-holidays, which is nice, but there's nothing particularly blog-worthy happening either...

Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King, Jr...

Did you know that today is Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday (and not the floating Monday holiday that the gov't's assigned it)? Well it is and I would like to just take a moment to honor this true American hero. 

Enjoy a handful of excerpts from his great "I have a dream" speech: (For the full text, which is totally worth reading if you haven't...you can find it here.)

"The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people. For many of our white brothers as evidenced by their presence here today have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We can not walk alone."
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'"
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood."
"Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring—when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children—black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics—will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

I know I've been blessed to grow up in a world where his dream for the most part was reality. Of course there are the odd cases here or there but you know what I mean. (And yes, I could go on about how things have swung to the other extreme too but I won't.)

How many utility workers does it take...

...to change a lightbulb?

This post would have been so much better with a photo but I didn't think to snap one as I went past...  My friend & I were out for a morning speed-walk (usually we jog, but she's 6 months pregnant so the jogging doesn't work too well for her these days) when we came upon 2 GIANT utility trucks, a crew of men, orange cones guarding the entire set-up and just one man up in the hoist unscrewing a lightbulb from the streetlamp. Funny sight. Even the neighbor across the street from it was looking on bewildered by the unnecessary amount of manpower/truckpower involved in the process. (It looked as though the public utility company was getting a jumpstart on Obama's public works projects.) ; )

We passed by it again on our way home and turns out they were replacing the entire streetlamp.

Triumph in the face of failure.

For the handful of you who check out my photo-a-day blog, you know I have been dreadfully behind. Woefully behind. Woe-woe-woefully behind is more like it. Over a month had elapsed since I last added a photo. Deplorable, I tell you!

But I have triumphed in the face of defeat and failure. I am completely caught up. Not a day missed! Woo-hoo!!!! I am so happy right now I can't tell you....what a relief!

The almost tragedy involving a fork and an eyeball

After our ice skating adventure yesterday, we went out to eat at Juan Colorado's (a local Mexican restaurant). While waiting for our food and engorging ourselves on chips & salsa, Anthony was holding his fork up when Benno lunged forward into it, hitting his eye! Oh, horror! He cried immediately and George tried to survey the damage...I about lost it when I saw blood dripping from his eye like tears (even now as I write this I'm feeling woozy...I can handle anything but eyeball stuff). George took Benno out & up the street where fortunately there was an eye doctor (who luckily was still open--for once we were eating dinner early) and the doctor checked him over. Thank goodness the fork hit above his pupil so everything should be ok as long as the little laceration doesn't develop an infection.

Here's the sweet little guy after we came home...he was dead tired after a busy day of skating, eyeball injuries & dinner. He carries that little piggy with him everywhere he goes now. It was a Christmas present...so cute.

Patins a glace...

Benno did not enjoy it so much but the rest of us had fun! We bumped into both the Jolie & Despain families also at the ice rink...good day for skating!

2009!

We rang in the new year with our friends, the Garza family, and lots of yummy treats, such as this fabulous fudge (Daddy's YUMMY fudge recipe in the family cookbook!!!)

And keeping a Greek New Year tradition, I made a Vasilopita (I was going to make the Tsoureki and in my search for an easier recipe, discovered that the official tradition is with the Vasilopita, which is much easier to make anyway!) I found an old 100 Drachma coin to use. 

So the tradition goes as follows...you make the cake-bread and a coin is either baked directly into the cake or you can put it in later through the bottom of the cake. Everyone present sits around the table and the cake is sliced. As it's sliced, each slice is assigned to someone or something...first is always God, second could be work or the home, next each individual family member, etc... Anyway, then the slices are passed out and whoever's slice contains the coin receives the luck/blessings for the new year. Fun tradition!

George sliced it up. And we served up the cake to discover that the new year's blessings would go to Javier's job! The cake turned out pretty good--the boys asked for seconds, so that's evidence right there! 

We played a few rounds of Quoridor, Apples to Apples & Liar-Liar before it was finally nearing midnight. Here are the Garzas, minus one...

And there's Marissa, who didn't quite make it to midnight:

Counting down the seconds...

Could we look a little more enthusiastic? I think they were all pretty tired.

Cheers! (Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider, of course.)

Then we all ran outside and banged pots & pans (to the annoyance of our neighbors, I'm sure...we didn't see any sign of anyone else even up in the cul-de-sac) and Javier had brought along a little stash of sparklers & a couple little firecrackers. A bit down the street someone had some great little fireworks going off.

Fun New Year's!!! Now to see what 2009 holds in store for us!