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.)

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!

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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.

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.

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.

Football Again...Again...

Seems like the only time I have time to post is after the Saturday sports marathon. Owen had two games this week, Jack one. Owen played great.  Although he really loves being on the line and blocking, the coaches make them rotate positions, so he got to be fullback and scored his first touchdown.

Jack had a great game as well ... he gets credit for two important tackles and one "assist". His team is undefeated! I got photos of two of his tackles and put the last one in there to remind you how tiny he is compared to the others who are playing with and against him (he's number 16, the littly bitty boy on the left).

And Fiona, was ....mostly silly.