Saturday, January 19, 2013

Small Talk with Mom and a Letter from AB

Yesterday Hambone threw a tailgate party for his workers, and Hamslice and I were invited share in the cedar-smoked hams and turkeys. Big Dave brought the big smoker grill and prepared the meats right in the parking lot in real tailgate fashion.

So good.

After the meal, the guys all went outside for the grand finale -- Big Dave threw all the extra wood on the grill and blasted flames high into the air. Hamslice wasn't interested in that, because he wanted to play games on my phone.  I said that I would stay with him if he promised to talk to me. And he agreed.

After a minute or so of silence, he said "So what's your favorite color?" and then after we established our favorite colors, he asked "What's your second favorite color?" And then I had to smile because I realized he was making small talk with me. Apparently, this is what five year olds chat about in the absence of actual activity. I felt like a peer. =)

We also received a letter from AB this week -- here's his video response, along with an interesting description of Martin Luther King.

Friday, January 04, 2013

Are the Holidays Over So Soon?

We're back from our extensive Midwest tour -- The trip consisted of 35 hours of driving through the wilds of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Iowa in a seven-day sweep!

We were able to see relatives in Iowa, Illinois and Michigan. All of them, in fact. I don't think we left anyone out this time. And it was super to see everyone again and spend some time in the Midwestern Native Environment. I'll miss all the smiles and "how do you do" attitude as we reinstate ourselves in the polite-but-extra-competitive landscape of Maryland.

Hamslice had a great time seeing his cousins. He was also excited to open his presents before we disembarked. Here's his favorite zombie book:



And here's Hamslice during the three "hanger on" days after our trip, when he and I worked hard to fill the days. On Thursday we spent 3 hours in the science museum learning all about dinosaurs, earthquakes, and of course the digestive track. (eeeewww)

In this particular photo, he's supposed to be learning about how weight displacement works, but really he's just up there because the nice lady offered to hold his hand.