pages from my COOKBOOK

Gettysburg

We took Jack and Owen to Gettysburg over the weekend (Fiona got to party with G'mom and Jippy). The boys (and we) LOVED Gettysburg.

We had reserved a licensed guide from the visitors center and it worth so much more than the $60 fee....he spent over 2 1/2 hours with us. He drove our car for us (he knows all the shortcuts) and gave a running commentary the whole time. We stopped at various points to get out and walk the battlefield and see some landmarks.

Jack and Owen listened to every word he said, asked -- and ANSWERED -- questions, and contributed their own opinions and theories about the battle. Our guide was a retired high school history teacher and about halfway through he said that Jack and Owen could have easily passed his 11th grade history exam. He asked if we had early dinner reservations--he said he was having so much fun guiding us and was it OK if he ran overtime.

We got a good overview of the battle and it really makes a difference in understanding the battle to be able to see the landscape.

(above: Jack and Owen learning about Napoleon cannons and Parrot cannons, rifling and ammunition.)

(above: Jack & Owen next to "Sallie," the 11th PA's mascot. Apparently, Sallie wouldn't leave the field after a number of her unit was killed. When the rest of the unit returned three days later to bury the bodies, Sallie was still there. People leave dog biscuits on Sallie's memorial.)

(above: Jack and Owen both got Union army forage caps and weapons. They spent a lot of time running around the woods fighting battles. Owen built Fort Sumter in our hotel room out of pillows and was STILL fighting a battle after Jack, Kevin and I were alseep.)

(above: Soldiers from a confederate Maryland unit demonstrate how to load and operate cannons.)

Baseball Playoffs

Jack's on one of the township's post-season baseball all-star teams. They've been competing the past few weeks in a big tournament. The tournament is down to four teams and the playoffs start Monday night. The good news is that Jack's team made the semi-finals. The bad news is that they have to play the OTHER Solebury team.

Jack has been playing first base and made some amazing catches during the tournament (although if you look at the photos carefully, you'll see that he often plays with his eyes closed. We're not quite sure how he does that.)

Unfortunately, after leading his team with triples and doubles during the season, he's been in a bit of a hitting slump. He's had some RBIs and singles, but has yet to really blast one out there. Maybe tomorrow is his night? ... It would be very "Jack-like" to save his best for the big show ...

I pulled out a few photos of him at his position. You can see them here.

Spongebob Can Make One Do Strange Things....

I found Jack and Owen snuggled up (can you say "Bizzar-0 Photo"?) while watching Spongebob. I can't remember the last time they touched without fighting!

A sign that Jack watches too much ESPN?

The other day, Jack's knees were FILTHY!! I asked what had happened and he told me that it was "man sweat."

Not doing so great, am I?

I know this really isn't a newsy "post" but at least, here's a new scrapbook page.

Journaling reads:
After renovating the LES last year, NHS decided the hallways needed some decoration. Two local artists were commissioned to work on the murals. The 2nd grade hall features a map of the world. Each class had a continent and the students contributed their drawings, which the artists duplicated for the mural. Jack's version of an Egyptian bird was selected!!

More pages...

Two boys, one meet...TWO wins!

Move over Ciasulli brothers! Move over Peppelmans, Kemmerers, Haegeles, & Jastrzebskis! There is a new wrestling brother powerhouse in Pennsylvania!

Jack and Owen has their first VARSITY matches as brothers this weekend (Jack wrestled varsity last year.) Both of them won a match! (Owen won his JV match, but lost his varsity match.) They both wrestled great.

Maybe Kevin could write short match summaries and I"ll post them (hint hint hint). One of the highlights was when Owen threw his sprawl-mixer combo (a move he only learned Thursday night!). Jack had to fight back from a couple points down to win in the third period.  The rest of the photos are here.

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.

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.

Football & Halloween

Owen's class held their Halloween party on Friday, including a parade around the parking lot with the rest of the classes as well as lots of treats in their classroom. Owen is the scary Dracula toward the left.

Jack's last football game was today. They won, to finish 5-3 in their inaugural season. Jack played better every game, had a couple of nice tackles today and FINALLY got a chance to play some offense and got to run with the ball .... wrestling practice starts Friday. Stay tuned.