Annual Calendar: Zig

There's one picture that sticks out to me in this set. It's the big one in the top left corner, where Zig has his "angry face" on.

That Zig is the sweetest, sweetest boy I've had occasion to know--but when he gets mad, HE. GETS. MAD. Fortunately, his "mad" is looking less like a punching machine these days and more like an awesomely knotted-up face. Just-a like so.

What's great is that he'll charge up to his sister and--without touching her--get right in her face and make the "angry eyes" at her, all while being this stiff little creature who is just madder than a hornet.

Highly entertaining.

The rest of the pictures show Zig for who he is--a squashy, tenderhearted, easygoing boy.

The girl pic is up tomorrow.

Annual Calendar: Campers

I'll get around to posting some Christmas pics, I know, I know. But first I'm going to give you a little taste of the annual calendar that Pa puts together each year.

For three of the pages, Pa had the kids make one crazy face after another. I assure you. THAT was an easy request. Somehow being doofy is within their skill set but smiling is not.

I digress.

Campers. He's got a face made for the stage.

I see those faces and so many more every day on that boy. He's a walkin' crazy person, with about 873 different moods and personalities. But I don't know anything about that. No.

Brother and sister pics to come.

Suzie And The Vegetable Book

Well, if you don't love your vegetables after seeing this clip--then you might be a lost cause.

"Squash" is right.

The Cam: Age Eight

Eight. Campers is so "eight." And doggone it, he's just as conscientious and self-aware and goofy as I was at that age. You'll notice he seems to have his performance all planned out, too. No surprise there. Nooooo surprise.

The Zig: Age Five

Age five is perfection personified. One part baby, four parts boy.

The Suz: Age Three

I am an absolute buffoon when it comes to video recording. So if you're thinking, "Hmmm...my DOG could set up the lighting better than that" well, YOU'RE RIGHT.

But the girl has gotta sing, and she wants to share it with the world. Enjoy.

Moon Festival 2009, The Literal Celebration

Moon Festival, a Chinese celebration, took place a few weeks back. Our local library had a party and you *know* how my girl likes a party.

I even dug out a dress for her to wear. I figured--if we're going to go to a party with a bunch of cute Asian kids, I'd better show up with a star.

Little did I know she'd come through for me. In spades.

The library was crowded like all get out, so I walked my little darling over to the front row of the music area and sat down to watch a little of this:

While the show was still going on, the Suz started getting a little antsy and the next thing I knew--she was standing right in front of the crowd, pulling up her skirt, and bending right on over.

Thus showing the world her pale nakey bum.

You see, she was wearing tights under the dress--but they were waaaaay too small and therefore had rolled right down past her cute little cheeks--taking her undies along with them.

Thus making the "Moon Festival" a true celebration of...the moon.

My mortification was complete.

This wasn't a one-act show, however. By the time our little adventure was over, she must have mooned every single person at that sweet Asian event.

In the midst of all the excitement, I did get the star of the show to sit down and color:

And then show off something besides her bum her lantern to the world:

Isn't she radiant?

Wild And Crazy

Life is just one show-stopping number after another.

We're just along for the ride.

Soft And Squishy

Is that the Zig hugging some playground equipment?

Yes. Yes it is.

Some things never change.

And we wouldn't want them to.

Tall And Lanky

How, I ask you, HOW did I get a kid this tall and skinny?

Officially, Not My Gene Pool.

Course, on the other hand, he is kind, funny, brilliant, and obsessed with bossing the universe into submission. You're welcome, world.

*smile*

Halloween 2009: Part 2

Let's just get it over with:

Mmm-hmm. I can't believe it either. My baby boy has graduated out of superhero costumes. He loved, loved, loved being a vampire, and MY WORD, will you give a hand clap or seven at the makeup job?

I married well, y'all.

All those days of Hubs applying theater makeup have finally been put to good use. And Campers was the hit of the town. THE HIT. Very few of our friends even recognized him.

Then there's the Zig. Who was a pumpkin. Sorta. He didn't really care what he wore. He just wanted the candy.

And then, and then.

Miss Priss.

Complete with Makeup By Daddy as well.

It was her shoes that topped off the outfit -- and that girl walked for almost two hours, TWO HOURS in those plastic clodhoppers. She was also the hit of the party, and ate all of the attention up. ATE. IT. UP.

My first kid likes to be best, the second kid likes candy, and the third likes attention. So Halloween was a need-meeting holiday if ever there was one.

Speaking of party, Pa was single-handedly prepping the kids and dragging them all over town while I led an event at the local community center. I'm guessing 200-300 kids came to the party--it was a big gig involving crafts, games, giveaways, refreshments, and the like. I've been working on Halloween stuff for a couple months now. So you know. GOODBYE HALLOWEEN. IT'S BEEN REAL. AND IT'S BEEN FUN.

Well, it was a lot of fun, of course. And Pa's ping pong eyeballs were floating and scary and made me laugh (IN A NERVOUS GUT-WRENCHING FEARFUL SORT OF WAY) every time I saw them.

As for me, the fresh cider was *my* favorite part of the party. So I'm going to go kick back and drink a cup or seven and see you in a few weeks on the next blog post.

*smile*

Halloween 2009: Part 1

Never would I have guessed seventeen years ago that Pa and I would sit at home on a Friday night and make eyes at with each other.

What's not surprising is that my part of the project was buying the ping pong balls and keeping the kids from bumping the table while Pa put to work his mad skillz.

Don't they look purdy? They're going to be used at the annual neighborhood Halloween party I'm in charge of this year. They'll be floating in a cauldron and the kids will get to pick an eyeball which determines the type of prize they win. Heh heh.

Speaking of skillz, Pa and the boys carved up some pumpkin delights as well:

Ziggy's is on the left, then Susie's, then Campers'.

More to come.

Ridiculous

At her finest.

Campers Turns Eight

Oh, people. Time is flying by. The older my kids get the faster times goes, and MY WORD, WHY DIDN'T I BELIEVE Y'ALL WHEN YOU TOLD ME THAT EIGHT YEARS AGO.

So Campers is eight now. And he got some Wikki Stix, which are these awesome wax-coated yarn-type bendable thingys that can be used again and again to fiddle around and build stuff with.

And lo, we have entered the age of the "science set:"

My brother had a circuit set when we were kids, and I'm tellin' ya, it was a whole lot cooler than most of the girly junk on the shelves. Then again, I wasn't exactly your "pony heart flower" kind of girl.

On to the cake.

It was a chocolate volcano, from the book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" that Pa just finished reading to the kids.

Mmm-hmm. That's FONDANT, people. Homemade fondant. A first in the snippets and sagas household.

And--because you care--underneath was a four-layer chocolate cake with a jar of black raspberry "simply fruit" in between. The frosting was made with cool whip, and that lava you see is a double bag of chocolate chips. Plus gummy candies, jelly bellies and junior mints on top. Mmm. Sugar overload!

Speaking of sweetness personified:

What a couple of goofs.

(Suz was hiding out in the background. Begging for cake.)

Happy 8th birthday, Campers.

There's A New Nickname In Town

"Sparky."

Pa Turns 36

Pa wanted Thai food for his birthday dinner.

He got to take the rest of us along with him.

Even The "Seven."

Who insisted on making a scary face for the camera. Complete with arms. Not that we had to take 87 shots just to get the perfect one, no.

We took our favorite Chinese girl to eat Thai food as well.

Happy 36th, Pa! We're getting o-l-d!

Seattle: Part 10

Oh, the International Fountain.

This gem sits right in the midst of the "World's Fair," and fortunately for us, it was 83 gazillion degrees while we were in Seattle.

So, an over-the-top style fountain was just what the Heat Doctor ordered.

Best I could tell from old pictures, this fountain used to have a decorative pool where the people now sit or play.

Not only does the fountain shoot high high, super high into the air--it also plays music that's choreographed with the water show.

I know!

Very cool. In more ways than one.

And now that you've looked at three pictures of the same fountain, I'll give you a little dose of this:

Part 10 of 10.

The end! Believe it or not!

Seattle: Part 9

One of the buildings left over from the World's Fair in Seattle has been transformed into a science center. And since our family has some unwritten rule that we track down and conquer every. single. one. of these museums, we made this part of our Running Ragged In Seattle trip.

I took that afternoon "off," which means I sat in a dark hotel room not moving a muscle so that the Suz could get some sleep.

So the commentary on the following pictures is going to be next to nothing, or howshallwesayit, NIL.

Part 9 of 10.

Seattle: Part 8

Oh. I guess had more to tell you about the Space Needle.

Suz also enjoyed this particular outing. Course, she couldn't really look over the edge, so she was clueless about the whole "heights" thing.

As you might imagine, the elevator ride (up and down) was a real trip for her as well--and she shared all that excitement with everyone else in the small, cramped box that was flying up 40 million stories. Or something like that.

You see this smile on my face? It was because I WAS SAFE ON THE GROUND.

And here's a bonus shot just for the "cute" page--see, he's not always scowling for the camera.

Part 8 of 10.

Seattle: Part 7

So...the Space Needle. It's kinda tall.

Which is good for viewing the city of Seattle, and good for feeding a fear of heights:

He was sitting as far away from the edge as possible, of course. Right next to me.

Meanwhile, the more adventuresome enjoyed the sights:

And once we were done with the tour, it felt just about right for a group shot of the kids:

Which will promptly go in the scrapbook under the page heading, "Revenge."

Part 7 of 10.

Seattle: Part 6

We dedicated this trip to Seattle as the "touristy trappy trip." We wanted to make sure that we saw most of the biggies just to say we saw them.

The biggest of the biggies is, of course, the Space Needle. I mean, no movie scene depicting Seattle can go without a picture of this leftover remnant from the World's Fair of the 60s.

But even though the Space Needle hasn't changed much over the years, the entry fee sure has!

I think we paid $16 a person to go up an elevator. Oh, and down the elevator, too. So I guess when you calculate that in--well, sixteen dollars STILL SEEMS LIKE FOURTEEN TOO MANY.

Moving on.

We were in Seattle during July 4th weekend, so we were one of the 18 million people standing in line waiting for a turn. But we eventually moved forward (really?!)...

...and got a chance to stand in another line on the inside of the building, crowd in an elevator, bust to the top so we could feel like this:

Oh, Campers and I were the worst of us all. (Really?!) It was a hot day and neither one of us has a fondness for heights, heights, and did I mention--heights?

Meanwhile, the Suz made sure to enjoy the Space Needle from a very special spot...the floor:

More to come on the Space Needle.

Post 6 of 10.

Seattle: Part 5

Does it feel like this trip to Seattle lasted about two months? Yes? And you're wondering why it's taking so long to tell the story? Yes?

Well. It was just one weekend. Couple months ago, now.

We happened to be walking through the Seattle Center when I looked over to see this:

Unprompted geekness, folks. I laughed so hard and for so long that we drew attention to ourselves with all the commotion. Sorry, Campers. Add it to the therapy bill. (But HE was the one to yank his shorts up that high! HIS fault!)

And in news pertaining to the youngest child in the family...

I've noticed that with multiple kids, the third kid operates on the schedule of the older two. Oh, I remember the days that The Whole World Would Stop so that Baby Campers could take a nap. The Suz? We dragged her all over the city with barely a break to breathe. Fortunately, she's energetic enough to keep up with us all. But still. We did manage to wear her out (and ourselves at the same time).

Part 5 of 10.

Seattle: Part 4

On our exhausting walk back from the (closed) fish market, we went past the aquarium. Where the boys got a chance to do this:

(And that was it.)

Then we hiked our happy selves back to the monorail station, which just happened to be at a mall. That's what I like to call "City Planning," right there.

I was so worn out and hungry that some ice cream was in order.

And McDonald's had vanilla ice cream cones dipped in chocolate. And I suppose that's all lame and doesn't fall in the category of "living locally," but hey. It was awesome.

Just ask the kids.

Part 4 of 10.