Here's a picture with my girl. I look tired.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Magic of language
Maya has discovered a new world with words and writing. When I turned 40 and threw myself a party a few weeks ago, she wrote signs that were misspelled but adorable. Things like "Kome in prty poopers and dans" and "Do you now wher the prty boy is?". I think she had more fun than I did.
Here's a picture with my girl. I look tired.
Here's a picture with my girl. I look tired.
Lucky sock
I'm rubbish. It's been 8 months since I posted last. If I had a dime for every time I thought, man I should write something on the blog to remember this.
Last week, Julian started to get a hole in his sock. He decided to make it larger so the hole became two and half of the sock was holy, the rest was well, a boy's dirty sock. Don't know why but it became his lucky sock. He'd wear it all week long with (preferrably) sandals so that he could show it off. It's winter and it's cold, so I had to fight him to get his boots on. But that wasn't good, he'd say, because then people wouldn't see his lucky sock.
I just tucked them in to bed and took a photo of him sleeping with his lucky sock. You can see the picture here:
Last week, Julian started to get a hole in his sock. He decided to make it larger so the hole became two and half of the sock was holy, the rest was well, a boy's dirty sock. Don't know why but it became his lucky sock. He'd wear it all week long with (preferrably) sandals so that he could show it off. It's winter and it's cold, so I had to fight him to get his boots on. But that wasn't good, he'd say, because then people wouldn't see his lucky sock.
I just tucked them in to bed and took a photo of him sleeping with his lucky sock. You can see the picture here:
Monday, April 29, 2013
The Return of Chico
Hands down the best, I mean absolute best, job I've ever had is working as a Ranger at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. The year was 1995. That was the year I started going out with Amanda, so it was a pretty sweet year. My grandfather also died that summer so well it wasn't all sweet.
I've got so many stories to tell about Philmont that they could fill a book. Tonight I just wanted to tell you about the Return of Chico.
I haven't heard that name for ages. When I started working at Philmont and we were doing the Ranger training, somebody asked me where I was from so I told them I was going to school at Chico. So it started and that is what they called me at camp all summer. It sort of took a life of its own and lived with me in so many different ways that summer.
After the summer I realized that there would never be another summer like that again. I'm sure you've had summers like that. So Chico disappeared with the memories of camp. I had forgotten about Chico.
I just got suckered into being a cub scout leader. I say suckered because we wanted Julian to join cubs and it seemed that if I didn't become a leader that he would be on the waiting list until he joined at age 35. So he's in cubs now and I'm a leader. When I joined the Scout Leader and I shared tall tales about the scouts. So he started calling me Chico. At first it was weird hearing those words again. I didn't really respond to it. It was like he was addressing someone else. But then like it spread it Philmont, people just decided to call me Chico. Now it's been 3 weeks that Chico has crept back into my life. I also wear my Philmont belt pretty much all the time and we're taking the cubs to camp at Lake Kielder in a few weeks time.
But the thing that bowls me over is the feeling that I get when Julian calls me Chico. As soon as we arrive at the cub den, Julian immediately switches from calling me Dad or Dada. When we're there I'm no longer dad, it's just Chico. "Hey Chico, I'm stealing your wallet. Hey Chico... hey Chico... hey Chicoooooooo."
So Chico has Returned just like that. Who would have thought it. Yet as fun as it is to be Chico again, nothing beats having a sweet son that loves you and thinks that you are pretty cool.
I've got so many stories to tell about Philmont that they could fill a book. Tonight I just wanted to tell you about the Return of Chico.
I haven't heard that name for ages. When I started working at Philmont and we were doing the Ranger training, somebody asked me where I was from so I told them I was going to school at Chico. So it started and that is what they called me at camp all summer. It sort of took a life of its own and lived with me in so many different ways that summer.
After the summer I realized that there would never be another summer like that again. I'm sure you've had summers like that. So Chico disappeared with the memories of camp. I had forgotten about Chico.
I just got suckered into being a cub scout leader. I say suckered because we wanted Julian to join cubs and it seemed that if I didn't become a leader that he would be on the waiting list until he joined at age 35. So he's in cubs now and I'm a leader. When I joined the Scout Leader and I shared tall tales about the scouts. So he started calling me Chico. At first it was weird hearing those words again. I didn't really respond to it. It was like he was addressing someone else. But then like it spread it Philmont, people just decided to call me Chico. Now it's been 3 weeks that Chico has crept back into my life. I also wear my Philmont belt pretty much all the time and we're taking the cubs to camp at Lake Kielder in a few weeks time.
But the thing that bowls me over is the feeling that I get when Julian calls me Chico. As soon as we arrive at the cub den, Julian immediately switches from calling me Dad or Dada. When we're there I'm no longer dad, it's just Chico. "Hey Chico, I'm stealing your wallet. Hey Chico... hey Chico... hey Chicoooooooo."
So Chico has Returned just like that. Who would have thought it. Yet as fun as it is to be Chico again, nothing beats having a sweet son that loves you and thinks that you are pretty cool.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Celebrating Maya's Ballet Recital : The Celebration
We celebrated at Pizza Express on High Street in Gosforth.
Celebrating Maya's Ballet Recital
Goofing around with Baba
Dear God and Aunt Beverly
I hope you are okay up in heaven and that God is taking good care of you in heave. I love you very much.
-Maya Petkov
-Maya Petkov
Friday, April 26, 2013
Pumping
My Geordie kids keep cracking me up. They sound so adorable with their thick British accents. I guess they sound a bit American to the kids at school.
My accent on the other hand is not going anywhere, although Amanda and I just passed our Life in the UK exam which means we can apply for permanent residency. The plan is to get permanent right to stay and then a year from now apply for citizenship so that we and the kids can be dual citizens. This (if it works) will make our lives easier in many ways and help the kids to work in Europe if they ever choose to do so.
Anyhow, last night I was reading the kids a bedtime story. I thought I would let one slide past them (if you know what I mean). No siree. Maya said, "Dad something stinks. Did you pump?". I'm like, "What the heck are you talking about? I'm here reading you a story, not pumping gas into the car". Then I corrected myself: "I mean I'm not pumping petrol into the automobile, if that is what you mean." She and Julian laughed. Then they both corrected me. "No dad, pumping is when you toot. Fart." So I tried to change the topic and said, "Look guys I'm not pumping gas. I'm here reading you a story." But then Maya kept insisting. "But dad, it stinks. Did you pump." So I said, "Yes, Maya. I pumped. I'm sorry. Now can we read the story?".
My accent on the other hand is not going anywhere, although Amanda and I just passed our Life in the UK exam which means we can apply for permanent residency. The plan is to get permanent right to stay and then a year from now apply for citizenship so that we and the kids can be dual citizens. This (if it works) will make our lives easier in many ways and help the kids to work in Europe if they ever choose to do so.
Anyhow, last night I was reading the kids a bedtime story. I thought I would let one slide past them (if you know what I mean). No siree. Maya said, "Dad something stinks. Did you pump?". I'm like, "What the heck are you talking about? I'm here reading you a story, not pumping gas into the car". Then I corrected myself: "I mean I'm not pumping petrol into the automobile, if that is what you mean." She and Julian laughed. Then they both corrected me. "No dad, pumping is when you toot. Fart." So I tried to change the topic and said, "Look guys I'm not pumping gas. I'm here reading you a story." But then Maya kept insisting. "But dad, it stinks. Did you pump." So I said, "Yes, Maya. I pumped. I'm sorry. Now can we read the story?".
Saturday, March 2, 2013
The Story of Heidi
Today was Julian's 8th birthday. Happy Birthday my son. May there be many many more.
We'll have his party on Sunday, so tonight was the meal of his choice (mamma's Beef Stroganoff) and some rock and roll in the music room. Did I tell you how great it is to have the 3 guitars hanging off the wall, like a shotgun rack, ready to be used in a split second. Ah music.
The kids seem to gravitate towards good music. It's nice to see. I was looking for some music I hadn't played in a while so I put a Bruce Hornsby CD in the spinner and one that Amanda and I got married to. It's a Rennaisance music CD played by a Toronto orchestra. The song that we played in our wedding is something about Barley Corn (getting drunk from barley corn alcohol). Thank goodness the kids don't know what that means. But the music is catchy and Julian likes it when I make up my own lyrics (trying to keep him from paying attention to the real lyrics).
There's also another song by LL Cool J that we love because it's so special for us. It's called Rub My Back. It's special because every night when I read a story to get the kids to sleep either Maya or Julian will say, "Dad, can you rub my back", so we sing the "rub my back, rub my back, rub my back" song.
So what does this have to do with Heidi. Well tonight the kids cuddled up on either side of me and I read them a book about a story that is over 100 years old. You know the ones that last have got to be pretty good. This one was. It's a story about a girl Heidi whose mean aunt Dete takes her up to the mountains to leave her with her Grandfather. We decided that if Dete was so mean that she should have a really dark mean voice. So every time she would speak we would growl her voice. It was funny. Don't you wish all evil people could be identified by their demon voice?
That's all I wanted to say. After a number of somber posts recently, it's just nice to return to writing about the cute things that the kids do.
Here's a couple of other things I wanted to tell you:
I was starting to enjoy Amanda's Kindle. Apparently we can read the San Jose Mercury News. I told Amanda that we should read it and then feel that we're right there with her dad in Livermore.
The second thing is Mars. Yesterday I read about some rich guy that wants to send a married couple out to circle around Mars on a journey that would take a year and a half. Amanda and I thought this was ridiculous, but I've been thinking about the practicalities of taking such a trip. No doubt it would suck, but there's something mesmerizing about being stuck with your honey in a pod blazing towards Mars with nothing to do for 1.5 years. It's good food for conversation. Talk it over with your significant other.
Good night.
We'll have his party on Sunday, so tonight was the meal of his choice (mamma's Beef Stroganoff) and some rock and roll in the music room. Did I tell you how great it is to have the 3 guitars hanging off the wall, like a shotgun rack, ready to be used in a split second. Ah music.
The kids seem to gravitate towards good music. It's nice to see. I was looking for some music I hadn't played in a while so I put a Bruce Hornsby CD in the spinner and one that Amanda and I got married to. It's a Rennaisance music CD played by a Toronto orchestra. The song that we played in our wedding is something about Barley Corn (getting drunk from barley corn alcohol). Thank goodness the kids don't know what that means. But the music is catchy and Julian likes it when I make up my own lyrics (trying to keep him from paying attention to the real lyrics).
There's also another song by LL Cool J that we love because it's so special for us. It's called Rub My Back. It's special because every night when I read a story to get the kids to sleep either Maya or Julian will say, "Dad, can you rub my back", so we sing the "rub my back, rub my back, rub my back" song.
So what does this have to do with Heidi. Well tonight the kids cuddled up on either side of me and I read them a book about a story that is over 100 years old. You know the ones that last have got to be pretty good. This one was. It's a story about a girl Heidi whose mean aunt Dete takes her up to the mountains to leave her with her Grandfather. We decided that if Dete was so mean that she should have a really dark mean voice. So every time she would speak we would growl her voice. It was funny. Don't you wish all evil people could be identified by their demon voice?
That's all I wanted to say. After a number of somber posts recently, it's just nice to return to writing about the cute things that the kids do.
Here's a couple of other things I wanted to tell you:
I was starting to enjoy Amanda's Kindle. Apparently we can read the San Jose Mercury News. I told Amanda that we should read it and then feel that we're right there with her dad in Livermore.
The second thing is Mars. Yesterday I read about some rich guy that wants to send a married couple out to circle around Mars on a journey that would take a year and a half. Amanda and I thought this was ridiculous, but I've been thinking about the practicalities of taking such a trip. No doubt it would suck, but there's something mesmerizing about being stuck with your honey in a pod blazing towards Mars with nothing to do for 1.5 years. It's good food for conversation. Talk it over with your significant other.
Good night.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Aunt Beverly and those that loved her
Beverly Buell is Amanda's aunt. Beverly has been heroically battling cancer for over a year. Yesterday she succumbed to it.
I'm a bit numb, so I don't know where this is going. So I'll just write. The only consolation that I can get from any of this is that she can finally rest. Goodbye, lovely lady with the golden heart and warm smile.
I've been with Amanda for 18 years and Beverly has woven through our lives in so many ways. When I first started dating Amanda, I was invited to spend Thanskgiving with her family. We drove down to San Luis Obispo and then joined her large extended family in Fresno. In Fresno I met Helen and Ben Buell, parents to Amanda's mom Bette and her aunt Beverly.
Grandpa Ben was a sweet man and grandma Helen a fiesty lady, that first terrified me until we became good friends. Beverly and Bette, her older syster and Amanda's mom, both get their strength from both of them. Heck Amanda get it from them too. These Buell women can fight, but man when they take you in their arms for a hug you'd think you were in heaven.
Bette was not only Beverly's big sister, but without a doubt also Beverly's best friend. Beverly took care of her parents Helen and Ben until they passed on and Bette took care of her sister until she joined them.
Shortly after I met her, Beverly had moved her parents to El Toro in Southern California to better take care of them in a retirement community called Leisure World. Amanda and I would visit Beverly whenever we could and have fond memories of visits to the place. It's a bit strange to think that's all in the past now.
Beverly's mom Helen was as tough as nails. She called it like it was, but for some reason seemed to think I was an ok guy. At least ok enough to be dating her grand-daughter. Maybe it was because she liked watching tennis and we would watch it with her. Maybe it was because she liked dancing and we would sometimes dance in the living room for her. Beverly took care of her aging parents without batting an eye. It was thankless work really, and Helen was not easy to take care of. But Beverly did it and I never heard her once complain. There were disagreements about how their parents should be taken care of between Bette, Beverly and their brother Bill. I wish these disagreements would have gotten cleared up before Beverly passed away. Their parents Ben and Helen would have wanted this, I'm sure.
When her parents had both passed away Beverly continued to work in the area and host us for visits. Leisure World is a strange gated retirement community. The security gates are staffed by retirees that have scrutinized me so many times about the purpose of my visits. Weird to now think how much I would miss that grilling just to see Aunt Beverly.
Last year about this time, we found out that Beverly had been diagnosed with lung cancer that had spread. When we found out Amanda immediately flew out and I stayed in Newcastle to look after the kids. Beverly had started chemo and the battle had begun. Amanda is now grateful that she had that good amount of time to visit with her. Beverly was not supposed to last a few weeks but she fought off the cancer and it had gone into remission. Unfortunately in the last two weeks the cancer had come back even stronger while the treatments had worn out Beverly. All we could do was watch from here and wish that there was something we could do.
It's late, I'm in a foul mood. The baby next door has been crying for hours. It's one of those days were you have to fight to think of something to smile about when all you feel like is crying.
Today it snowed. The flakes seemed to brighten the cold day. I like snow. It is peaceful. There were things to do when all I wanted was to just sit and look at them, zone out and think of time past; time playing guitar for Kristopher and Joseph on the lawn of Beverly and Helen's house, with Cecilia running about. I'd like to imagine that they're all hanging out again, reunited.
I miss you boys. I miss you Ben, Helen, Beverly and Cecilia.
I'm a bit numb, so I don't know where this is going. So I'll just write. The only consolation that I can get from any of this is that she can finally rest. Goodbye, lovely lady with the golden heart and warm smile.
I've been with Amanda for 18 years and Beverly has woven through our lives in so many ways. When I first started dating Amanda, I was invited to spend Thanskgiving with her family. We drove down to San Luis Obispo and then joined her large extended family in Fresno. In Fresno I met Helen and Ben Buell, parents to Amanda's mom Bette and her aunt Beverly.
Grandpa Ben was a sweet man and grandma Helen a fiesty lady, that first terrified me until we became good friends. Beverly and Bette, her older syster and Amanda's mom, both get their strength from both of them. Heck Amanda get it from them too. These Buell women can fight, but man when they take you in their arms for a hug you'd think you were in heaven.
Bette was not only Beverly's big sister, but without a doubt also Beverly's best friend. Beverly took care of her parents Helen and Ben until they passed on and Bette took care of her sister until she joined them.
Shortly after I met her, Beverly had moved her parents to El Toro in Southern California to better take care of them in a retirement community called Leisure World. Amanda and I would visit Beverly whenever we could and have fond memories of visits to the place. It's a bit strange to think that's all in the past now.
Beverly's mom Helen was as tough as nails. She called it like it was, but for some reason seemed to think I was an ok guy. At least ok enough to be dating her grand-daughter. Maybe it was because she liked watching tennis and we would watch it with her. Maybe it was because she liked dancing and we would sometimes dance in the living room for her. Beverly took care of her aging parents without batting an eye. It was thankless work really, and Helen was not easy to take care of. But Beverly did it and I never heard her once complain. There were disagreements about how their parents should be taken care of between Bette, Beverly and their brother Bill. I wish these disagreements would have gotten cleared up before Beverly passed away. Their parents Ben and Helen would have wanted this, I'm sure.
When her parents had both passed away Beverly continued to work in the area and host us for visits. Leisure World is a strange gated retirement community. The security gates are staffed by retirees that have scrutinized me so many times about the purpose of my visits. Weird to now think how much I would miss that grilling just to see Aunt Beverly.
Last year about this time, we found out that Beverly had been diagnosed with lung cancer that had spread. When we found out Amanda immediately flew out and I stayed in Newcastle to look after the kids. Beverly had started chemo and the battle had begun. Amanda is now grateful that she had that good amount of time to visit with her. Beverly was not supposed to last a few weeks but she fought off the cancer and it had gone into remission. Unfortunately in the last two weeks the cancer had come back even stronger while the treatments had worn out Beverly. All we could do was watch from here and wish that there was something we could do.
It's late, I'm in a foul mood. The baby next door has been crying for hours. It's one of those days were you have to fight to think of something to smile about when all you feel like is crying.
Today it snowed. The flakes seemed to brighten the cold day. I like snow. It is peaceful. There were things to do when all I wanted was to just sit and look at them, zone out and think of time past; time playing guitar for Kristopher and Joseph on the lawn of Beverly and Helen's house, with Cecilia running about. I'd like to imagine that they're all hanging out again, reunited.
I miss you boys. I miss you Ben, Helen, Beverly and Cecilia.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Friends, Pippi, Video Games and Music Room
Greetings to a New Year 2013.
We stayed in Newcastle for the holidays this year. Amanda and I have been sick with the flu on and off, but surprisingly the kids have not been hit hard by it. Amanda was laid up for a week in bed before Christmas so that dampened her spirits a bit. It's also tough for her to not spend holidays with her big extensive family. But we did the best that we could here. We got a great looking little Christmas tree. I had fun thinking of presents for Amanda and myself.
I got myself a great acoustic guitar amplifier which takes two microphones as input and two guitars. So I've taken over the guest room and we've now set it up as a music room. It's great. We can listen to music and play along with it. We even came up with the makings of a song. It's inspired by the "cowbell Will Farrell" clip that you can see on the internet. The song goes, "When I get up in the morning..... I put my pants on, one leg at a time" then the guitar kicks in with a really heavy blues riff. Love it. We've also played along to St. Germain's Thank you Mum (4 everything that you do). Great rif on that one. Anyhow, when you come to visit you'll find a few musical instruments and some guitars hanging off the walls of your room. Hope you don't mind.
Ok, back to Christmas presents. I got Amanda something I thought that she would like, but she was kind of annoyed that I kept telling her what a cool present I got her way before Christmas. I was excited at having thought of one for the first time (ever). Usually I'll get her something practical and I don't fuss too much about whether it's right because I know she'll exchange it for something else that she wants. But this year I thought I'd nailed it. So Christmas morning she opens up he presents. She opened up the one which was a massager and she thought that could be useful (give how my massaging skills are non-existent). Then she opened the second. I was looking forward to her reaction. As soon as she opened it she asked "Can we return it". Offended, I said, "Amanda let me give you a pointer"... "when someone gives you a present, maybe the first things you say shouldn't be "can we return it?"." So like Maverick in TopGun, I crashed an burned. You're probably wondering what I got her and how it could be so alwful. Well, Amanda loves to read so I thought to reduce book clutter I would get her a Kindle so she can read books on it. The other advantage is that the Kindle has free internet access anywhere in the world. Yep, I thought that would be pretty cool. But Amanda likes reading books the old fashioned way. Well, let's see. The present may grow on her yet. For now at least she's getting better back massages than she used to and she doesn't have to remind her masseuse to stay awake all the time.
The other neat things about Christmas in Newcastle is that we took Julian to a lighthouse on Christmas eve, where we all got stranded. This is a lighthouse that gets isolated from land when the tide comes in. That was a lot of fun. Maya in the meantime joined her friend Izzy for a ballet show.
But my absolute favorite part of the season was taking a whole week off from checking email. That was great. Also, we got Mitch, Emily and their kids Leo and Bea to visit us for a week. That was awesome. The kids each had a buddy to play with and we got to hang out with Mitch and Emily at night talking and playing card games. We even spun some records and had a disco party one night. Mitch rented a car and we all checked out some castles on the coast as well as going to a really neat 2nd hand book store (where I bought records, not books, go figure). The time flew with our visitors and each day was fun packed. I also want to thank Mitch and Emily in reviving my interest in cooking with the slow cooker. There is some history behind this but I'm glad to say my hang ups got hung up. I'm cooking again with it! It will be great to see you guys again soon.
Over the holidays our favorite song was "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas". I'm not sure who sings it but it's a great version. There is a part in the song that goes, "... and mom and dad can hardly wait for school to start again.". Well, school has started again and we've gotten a lot of snow this year. Newcastle seems to be dealing better with the snow this year than a few years ago.
We've finished reading the Pirates of the Carribean books with the kids and now I'm reading the Pippi books to the kids. Boy I'd forgotten how wild Pippi is. But I can tell Maya loves having a role model that is free to do what she pleases, is the strongest girl in the world, and is funny. Hey, much like her. Julian finds the stories that Pippi makes up a lot of fun and I think he also likes that a kid can beat the world's strongest man.
Julian got a video game for Christmas and played it a bit with his friend Leo. We're still playing it and I step in when the going gets tough. This morning I'd promised him we would fight the bad guys that were giving him trouble but even together they beat us. It's a kid friendly game, but I thought certainly I could defeat the baddies in this kiddie game. Well, I guess we'll have to work on that. Won't be finishing this game anytime soon.
I'm on my way to Germany for a quick trip. I'll be back on Friday for Maya's 6th birthday party. Happy Birthday Maya. Love, your dad.
Here's hoping for a great year for everyone!
We stayed in Newcastle for the holidays this year. Amanda and I have been sick with the flu on and off, but surprisingly the kids have not been hit hard by it. Amanda was laid up for a week in bed before Christmas so that dampened her spirits a bit. It's also tough for her to not spend holidays with her big extensive family. But we did the best that we could here. We got a great looking little Christmas tree. I had fun thinking of presents for Amanda and myself.
I got myself a great acoustic guitar amplifier which takes two microphones as input and two guitars. So I've taken over the guest room and we've now set it up as a music room. It's great. We can listen to music and play along with it. We even came up with the makings of a song. It's inspired by the "cowbell Will Farrell" clip that you can see on the internet. The song goes, "When I get up in the morning..... I put my pants on, one leg at a time" then the guitar kicks in with a really heavy blues riff. Love it. We've also played along to St. Germain's Thank you Mum (4 everything that you do). Great rif on that one. Anyhow, when you come to visit you'll find a few musical instruments and some guitars hanging off the walls of your room. Hope you don't mind.
Ok, back to Christmas presents. I got Amanda something I thought that she would like, but she was kind of annoyed that I kept telling her what a cool present I got her way before Christmas. I was excited at having thought of one for the first time (ever). Usually I'll get her something practical and I don't fuss too much about whether it's right because I know she'll exchange it for something else that she wants. But this year I thought I'd nailed it. So Christmas morning she opens up he presents. She opened up the one which was a massager and she thought that could be useful (give how my massaging skills are non-existent). Then she opened the second. I was looking forward to her reaction. As soon as she opened it she asked "Can we return it". Offended, I said, "Amanda let me give you a pointer"... "when someone gives you a present, maybe the first things you say shouldn't be "can we return it?"." So like Maverick in TopGun, I crashed an burned. You're probably wondering what I got her and how it could be so alwful. Well, Amanda loves to read so I thought to reduce book clutter I would get her a Kindle so she can read books on it. The other advantage is that the Kindle has free internet access anywhere in the world. Yep, I thought that would be pretty cool. But Amanda likes reading books the old fashioned way. Well, let's see. The present may grow on her yet. For now at least she's getting better back massages than she used to and she doesn't have to remind her masseuse to stay awake all the time.
The other neat things about Christmas in Newcastle is that we took Julian to a lighthouse on Christmas eve, where we all got stranded. This is a lighthouse that gets isolated from land when the tide comes in. That was a lot of fun. Maya in the meantime joined her friend Izzy for a ballet show.
But my absolute favorite part of the season was taking a whole week off from checking email. That was great. Also, we got Mitch, Emily and their kids Leo and Bea to visit us for a week. That was awesome. The kids each had a buddy to play with and we got to hang out with Mitch and Emily at night talking and playing card games. We even spun some records and had a disco party one night. Mitch rented a car and we all checked out some castles on the coast as well as going to a really neat 2nd hand book store (where I bought records, not books, go figure). The time flew with our visitors and each day was fun packed. I also want to thank Mitch and Emily in reviving my interest in cooking with the slow cooker. There is some history behind this but I'm glad to say my hang ups got hung up. I'm cooking again with it! It will be great to see you guys again soon.
Over the holidays our favorite song was "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas". I'm not sure who sings it but it's a great version. There is a part in the song that goes, "... and mom and dad can hardly wait for school to start again.". Well, school has started again and we've gotten a lot of snow this year. Newcastle seems to be dealing better with the snow this year than a few years ago.
We've finished reading the Pirates of the Carribean books with the kids and now I'm reading the Pippi books to the kids. Boy I'd forgotten how wild Pippi is. But I can tell Maya loves having a role model that is free to do what she pleases, is the strongest girl in the world, and is funny. Hey, much like her. Julian finds the stories that Pippi makes up a lot of fun and I think he also likes that a kid can beat the world's strongest man.
Julian got a video game for Christmas and played it a bit with his friend Leo. We're still playing it and I step in when the going gets tough. This morning I'd promised him we would fight the bad guys that were giving him trouble but even together they beat us. It's a kid friendly game, but I thought certainly I could defeat the baddies in this kiddie game. Well, I guess we'll have to work on that. Won't be finishing this game anytime soon.
I'm on my way to Germany for a quick trip. I'll be back on Friday for Maya's 6th birthday party. Happy Birthday Maya. Love, your dad.
Here's hoping for a great year for everyone!
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