Frankly, of interest only to my family

Franky, for no other reason than the fact that I doubt my sister has a copy, here's a few poems my nephew Jonah wrote Oct 26th of '04 for a 5th grade project.

He's the same kid who started the Jonah's Wail blog on the sidebar then ditched it for Myspace. If he - or his sister - would start up a journal and stick with it, I'd reward them. I think it's a great way to develop their writing skills before high school.

Crunk

When I go into my room

I can kinda hear my hampster say voom-voom

He wants to go in his car and drive very far

And go to the hamster bar

The bar is on 85th and Nar

That’s where you’ll find his blue car

Bugs

Bugs crawl through the dirt

Birds come down and eat insects

They are really small

Leaves

They fall from all trees

And can not get stung by bees

You might not lose your keys

Monkeys

They might feel funky

Some are very chunky

And I like monkeys

Money

Fun essential

Spend buy save

Car home school food

Cash

Six Flags

Thrilling intense

roller coasters game prizes

Fun food nausea families

Park

Cocoa

My dog is brown my dog is round

She always makes a sound

Her nose is wet

She hasn’t been to the vet yet

You wanna make a bet?

She’ll pull off your hair net

That’s all the time for the rhyme

That’s my dog

Cocoa

Crunk

When I go into my room

I can kinda hear my hampster say voom-voom

He wants to go in his car and drive very far

And go to the hamster bar

The bar is on 85th and Nar

That’s where you’ll find his blue car

Bugs

Bugs crawl through the dirt

Birds come down and eat insects

They are really small

Leaves

They fall from all trees

And can not get stung by bees

You might not lose your keys

Monkeys

They might feel funky

Some are very chunky

And I like monkeys

Money

Fun essential

Spend buy save

Car home school food

Cash

Six Flags

Thrilling intense

roller coasters game prizes

Fun food nausea families

Park

Cocoa

My dog is brown my dog is round

She always makes a sound

Her nose is wet

She hasn’t been to the vet yet

You wanna make a bet?

She’ll pull off your hair net

That’s all the time for the rhyme

That’s my dog

Cocoa

 

 

Tags: Jonah

Happy Birthday Stacey

Before I run out of time today, let me say that Lisa and I wish our niece/Goddaughter Stacey a very happy 7th birthday!

On a less joyous note today is also, as you know, the 172nd anniversary of the fall of the Alamo (may Crockett/Travis/Bowie live forever in our memory) and the 12th anniversary of a horrific car accident that nearly crippled my cousin.

All in all, I think we'll stick with the birthday wishes :) Happy Birthday!

Misc Shots from June

Here's some shots of Parker, Middle Child and moi, at my nieces birthday party in early June. No real reason for posting them, 'cept to show off.

Here's a pic from my mother-in-law's retirement party, which I mentioned in an earlier post. I don't have any decent shots from that gig at all, but I wanted to include this just ' cause Parker looked so smooth.

 

Short Post

I see my absence from the web has been terribly mourned [snicker].

Anywho, I'm taking a wee break from my book to announce the launch of a brand-new AIM blog written by my eleven-year old nephew.

It's called Jonah's Wail, and aside from one line blatanly stolen from his gorgeous Uncle's blog, it's all his own.

It'll get prettier as time goes on, but if you have a moment stop by and say hello.

For Jonah, Napoleon Dynamite's biggest fan

News of this has been circulating in blogdom. The last - but not the first - time I saw a link to it was on Coldhearted Truth.

And no, I couldn't get it to look any prettier without spending waaay too much time on a throwaway post.

Behold, the work of the lawful rulers of Idaho:

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                        
      Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
                                                                        
         WHEREAS,  the  State of Idaho recognizes thevision, talent and creativity
      of Jared and Jerusha Hess in the writing and  production  of  "Napoleon  Dyna-
     mite"; and

  WHEREAS,  the scenic and beautiful City of Preston, County of Franklin and
      the State of Idaho are experiencing increased tourism and economic growth; and
      

WHEREAS, filmmaker Jared Hess is a native Idahoan who was educated in  the
    Idaho public school system; and
       

WHEREAS,  the  Preston  High School administration and staff, particularly
   the cafeteria staff, have enjoyed notoriety and worldwide attention; and
       

 WHEREAS, tater tots figure prominently in this film thus promoting Idaho's
   most famous export; and
      

WHEREAS,  the  friendship  between  Napoleon  and  Pedro   has   furthered
    multiethnic relationships; and
      

WHEREAS,  Uncle Rico's football skills are a testament to Idaho athletics;
   and
       

 WHEREAS, Napoleon's bicycle and Kip's skateboard promote better air  qual-
   ity  and  carpooling  as alternatives to fuel-dependent methods of transporta-
    tion; and
       

 WHEREAS, Grandma's trip to the St. Anthony Sand Dunes highlights  a  long-
   honored Idaho vacation destination; and
     

  WHEREAS,  Rico  and Kip's Tupperware sales and Deb's keychains and glamour
    shots promote entrepreneurism and self-sufficiency in Idaho's small towns; and
     

   WHEREAS, Napoleon's artistic rendition of Trisha  is  an  example  of  the
   importance of the visual arts in K-12 education; and
      

 WHEREAS,  the schoolwide Preston High School student body elections foster
    an awareness in Idaho's youth of public service and civic duty; and
       

 WHEREAS, the "Happy Hands" club and the requirement  that  candidates  for
    school  president  present  a  skit is an example of the importance of theater
    arts in K-12 education; and
       

WHEREAS, Pedro's efforts to bake a cake for Summer illustrate the positive
    connection between culinary skills to lifelong relationships; and
       

 WHEREAS, Kip's relationship with LaFawnduh is a tribute to e-commerce  and
    Idaho's technology-driven industry; and
      

  WHEREAS,  Kip  and LaFawnduh's wedding shows Idaho's commitment to healthy
    marriages; and
       

 WHEREAS, the prevalence of cooked steak as a primary food group pays trib-
    ute to Idaho's beef industry; and
      

  WHEREAS, Napoleon's tetherball  dexterity  emphasizes  the  importance  of
    physical education in Idaho public schools; and
       

 WHEREAS,  Tina  the  llama,  the  chickens with large talons, the 4-H milk
          cows, and the Honeymoon Stallion showcase Idaho's animal husbandry; and
      

  WHEREAS, any members of the House of Representatives or the Senate of  the
    Legislature  of the State of Idaho who choose to vote "Nay" on this concurrent
      resolution are "FREAKIN' IDIOTS!" and run the risk of having the "Worst Day of
     Their Lives!"

         NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the First Regular Session  of the Fifty-eighth Idaho Legislature, the House of  Representatives  and  the Senate concurring therein, that we commend Jared and Jerusha Hess and the City of  Preston  for  showcasing the positive aspects of Idaho's youth, rural cul-
    ture, education system, athletics, economic prosperity and diversity.
       

 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we, the members of the  House  of  Representa-
    tives  and  the  Senate  of the State of Idaho,advocate always following your3    heart, and thus we eagerly await the next  cinematic  undertaking  of  Idaho's
   Hess family.

And lest you fear this is a waste of money: FISCAL NOTE There is no fiscal impact to the general fund.

 

The Trip with All the Kids March 28th

Fair Warning: This is one of those sappy parenting orientated posts that are really just an excuse to avoid scrapbooking. Read at your peril.

Today, in exchange for getting out of cleaning the house, and to honor a promise to my daughter over her spring break, I took my three rugrats and their three cousins  on a road trip to some local sites.

Alone, without any other adults. Yikes!

The Mitchell Park Conservatory - which is something it's never called, it's The Domes for cripes sakes - are three conoidal glass domes that have been a Milwaukee landmark since the '60's.

There's a desert dome

 a jungle one,

and a temperate dome that rotates through different themes throughout the year.

My Dad, if memory serves, worked there before he went to Vietnam, and I've probably seen the things a hundred times.

This was the third trip for my eldest - we went there on Sept 11, 2002 when many city landmarks were free in honor of 9/11 - and once last fall with my youngest daughter along.

 This, naturally, was Parkers first trip.

It went suprisingly smooth, despite having the Brady Bunch along. The eldest denied remembering the place, but suddenly remembered an obscure donated art project that's tucked into a corner of a dome. The search for this art class globe was one of the centerpieces of the expedition.

Afterwards, the kids enjoyed running in the drained pool outside and called me over to tell me they'd found the 'rest of the water' - a puddle that had formed over a drain cover.

I tried taking them on a tour of a firehouse, but unlikemy childhood, the firefighter told me I'd have to clear a tour with the bigwigs downtown. Not today, folks.

So I went throught the KFC drive-thru, and took the gang down to Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers.

On this gorgeous spring day we picniced in the shadow of the stadium, then spent a good half-hour playing on the elaborate jungle gym that can be found by home plate.

 

 

Still on the plate for this spring break week: No, not Daytona. A visit to a firehouse, a sleepover, Betty Brinn Children's museum, and (hopefully) some rest.

Hope your Easter went well.

 

Ps. Thanks to Jonah for taking many of the pics along the way. Good job!

ps2. Over Easter a neighbors soccer ball got stuck in Jonah's tree, and he was kind enough to leave the festivites to climb the tree and retrieve it. Here's a pic, which is cool enough I felt forced to tack it on to this post.

Happy Easter!

A Happy Easter to everyone!

For your blogging pleasure I present a holiday-inspired photo scheme, a sampling of this Holy Thursday's

Ninth Annual Bring Your Kids Over to Dan and Lisa's to Dye Massive Amounts of Easter Eggs Because Back In their Youth They Foolishly Thought They Couldn't Have Kids And Created An Annual Tradition to Bring the Joy of Children Into Their Lives, If Only for A Day, and Now Are Forced to Stand By the Fruits of This Foolish Belief

Virtually every kid we've known in the past decade has taken part in at least one year of the festivities, with my nephew Jonah racking up a Cal Ripken-like streak of nine consecutive starts. 

This year went quicker than most, despite dyeing eight dozen eggs. Chalk that up to having two kids at the table nearing or at the decade mark.

As I explained to Jonah, it takes a little longer when the average age at the table is four, and half the eggs land on the floor . . .

I'm sure I'll burn in hell for this, but I present my easter tribute to Kurt Cobain:

and just some of the finished product, which is then distributed to family far and wide

and only mildly related, but worth a look anyway: this morning after church, we had a visitor at the breakfast table:

 

Again, Happy Easter!