pages from my COOKBOOK

Fiona the FisherGirl

Kevin and the boys planned a trip to the secret fishing spot this morning, so last night Kevin and Fiona had to go out to get worms. Of course they ended up with unplanned purchases, and Fiona came home with her first, very own fishing pole (Barbie pink, UGH).

She spent about 45 minutes last night with the weight on the line, very seriously practicing her casting and reeling in.  I think she's ready.

By the way, the fishing trip this morning lasted about 15 minutes due to the 40 degree weather, mushy worms and windy conditions.

Here's Fiona catching a "weally big one" (she's got a bit of a Daffy Duck accent lately, to go with her Brooklynese).

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Last couple of pages for now....

Visit to Santa

Fiona had her first "real" visit with Santa (Jack & Owen are experts). She was very chatty and wasn't afraid at all. She told Santa that she was a "good ga-wurl" and she wanted a "tiny baby" for her present. We usually go visit Santa at Howell Farm in New Jersey, one of our favorite places anywhere. If there's snow, Santa comes up the lane in a sleigh, otherwise two of the horses, Barney & Mac, pull Santa in the carriage and then he sits in the sleigh to visit with the kids. A few more photos of our visit are here.

Fashionable Fiona

THIS is the outfit Fiona picked out HERSELF to wear to school. She originally had on the pants and shirt. However, she's very very fond of her new nightgown and threw a temper tantrum when we took it off. So, I offered to let her wear a dress. She seemed to think that was a good idea, but insisted on keeping her other clothes on as well. Instead of her regular school shoes, she wanted to wear "Pink Crockies" (on the wrong feet) and to top it off, added her Christmas hat and her doll, Lulu, clipped onto her dress. Vogue magazine, here she comes.

Trick or Treat

Fiona warmed up her scary face before trick or treating.

Owen was Dracula, Jack was Lord Darkskull (a zombie) and Fiona was Princess Nemo (after wanting to be Nemo, she changed her mind at the last minute and kept telling us she was going to be a princess, so we told her she was Princess Nemo).

They all really enjoyed trick or treating this year and you can see more photos of the evening here.

Pumpkin Patch 2006

Annual trek to the pumpkin patch took place Sunday, including pony ride, tot train, bluegrass bands and hot dogs. Photos are here.

Fiona's Pretty Dress

Fiona got this dress for her 2nd birthday from Aunt Jo & Uncle Kevan. She was very pleased with it and likes to twirl. She kept trying to put her hair bow on her doll and thought that was very funny.

Fiona's Bedroom Quilt

I've been meaning to post this for a while. Ghana asked a wonderful lady in our church, Gert, to make this quilt wall hanging for Fiona. I found the quilt hanger with the same little girl.

Saturday Sports

For the photos below:

#1 -- Jack actually took down the guy who's carrying the ball. See the little legs with gold socks back there? That's Jack. He tackled the guy, held on, and slowed him down enough for another Solebury player to come help finish bringing him down.  Post tackle, Jack had to lay on the ground for a minute and then limped off to the sidelines.

#2 -- This is proof that Jack actually had his hands on the ball this season! The photo's so blurry 'cause I think I was so surprised. The Solebury kickoff returner bobbled the ball and dropped it and Jack had the presence of mind to grab it and run. He only made it two or three yards this time, but, believe it or not, the same thing happened on another kickoff and Jack gained almost 10 yards, giving them position for a touchdown run on the next play.

#3 -- Another don't-forget-how-tiny-Jack-is photograph. Most of those boys are fifth graders who weight 15-20 pounds more than Jack. In physics, momentum equals mass times velocity. Jack is quick, but I don't think he'll ever be able to generate enough velocity to make up for a guy whose mass is 25-30% more than his. But, Jack just grabs hold and hangs on, and eventually the guy comes down or one of Jack's teammates comes over to help. The guy Jack's about to slap hands with is the one he tackled in photo #1.

#4 -- Fiona spent a lot of time during Jack's game sampling, and guarding, the team's snacks. She also plays with all the big kids like she's one of them. Last week, she "worked out" with the U14 boys soccer team that practices after Jack's practice. While we were waiting for Jack to finish up, I looked over, and Fiona was kicking the ball around as part of a group of five or six teenagers ... wait 'til she starts playing football!

#5-- After football, we had to rush Jack over for his travel team's soccer tournament. They won the game and Jack is starting to play more aggressively, although why he needs that tongue out all the time, I don't know. As I've said before, I guess if "tongue out" worked for Michael Jordan, it's OK for Jack. He also logged some sideline minutes this game after taking a kick to the "personal area."

Last photo is from Owen's flag game this week. Over the season, I've noticed that when Owen is standing on the line before the play, he keeps taking his mouthpiece out. It's become apparent that what he is doing is "trash talking" before the play.  With the number of tackles he's made, I guess it's working, although I question whether it's sportsmanship-like.