Cooking, Will style

A Man, A Can, A Tailgate Plan: The cookbook for Will.

Let the fun begin

The Christmas tree decorating begins with Madeline's friends, Amy and Steffi, over to help.


and the finishing touches are added

While the cookies bake....

Madeline knits. Her natural talent in crafts astonishes me- since I can barely sew on buttons, I am in awe.

Madeline's Handiwork

Leave Madeline alone for an hour and this is what you get:

Finding Just the Right Tree

Visiting Mayne's Tree Farm on Sunday in search of our Christmas tree.


Not only did we find a beautiful tree that everyone loved, but we were graced with this spectacular sunset!

Boys In Hats

Akshay and Brendan in hats.
Madeline knitted the hat Brendan is wearing-a bit small for Brendan, but not bad for a first try.
Her knitting ability must come from some recessive gene- sure skipped me.

Wootton Swim Team Party

The party has hardly begun and already our hallway is filling up with party shoes.
What a great bunch of teenagers- polite, helpful and fun loving. And they sure can eat!
Although banned from the basement, John and I had a good time listening to them all singing at the top of their lungs while watching The Lion King.

Annual Thanksgiving Hike

the kids watching a hawk and waiting for us to catch up

my men


somehow bunny ears always end up in the picture

a spectacular view over Middletown Valley- we could almost see the house we want to move to.


This year we went up to South Mountain, hiked and talked about the civil war history that took place here. Sarah, having gone to bed at 4am, didn't awaken in time to join us- but we had a great hike- although I think the kids spent a fair amount of time waiting for us old folks to catch up.

Thanksgiving '06

another fabulous holiday feast with our friends, lisa and paul farhi and tobi and eric starin. our dinners are getting larger as the kids come home with friends and significant others. as parents, nothing makes us happier!
dan and peter were nowhere to be found, but the others actually gave me 15 seconds to take this photo:
rich, arden, will, bob, maurice in back
jessica, sarah, helena, danielle, madeline, liz in the middle
and mike and tom in front.

Thanksgiving Football

William's shoes, after the annual thanksgiving football game. and they would have been muddier, except that they stopped the game after half an hour to take nabil and chad to the emergency room to get stitched up- it seems they were both a bit too determined to catch the same pass. good news was they were fine in the end and actually had a good time bonding with all the other guys in the er who were there with injuries from their thanksgiving football games.

Raising Atheists

This was a conversation I overheard between Mike and Tom, our twin 9 year-old boys:
Mike: When I grow up, I will have a library in my house and I am going to put the Bible in the mythology section.
Tom: But what if some of those really religious people come over and see it there. They can get really crazy mad, you know.
Mike: Well, they're just going to have to learn that the Bible really is mythology.

Looks like we are 5/5 on the atheist front.

Listen Up, George!

There was not a whole lot of gray in the results of last night, so King George should probably be able to understand what the American public had to say yesterday at the polls!
I am so happy that finally, after 6 very long years, people have come to see the current administration for what it is, a group of good ol' boys look out for themselves, thier cronies and their collective wealth. Folks who make no attempt understand the complexities of human nature, let alone the interactions between individuals or groups.
For George, in his mind, not much had changed since his Skull and Bones days at Yale, when he could swagger around campus, intimidating others with his wealth and postion- only his campus had become larger over the years.
But now there is hope that his fearmongering,simplistic,self absorbed ways will be stopped.
Thank you, America!

wrestling fun

tom declares victory
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

the monkey house at the zoo looks significantly more civilized than our home.
tom declares victory in the boys vs. sarah wrestling match.

big brother fun

big brother fun
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

what could be better than a 23 year old brother who acts nine?

where have the years gone?

happy birthday will and sarah
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

23 and 19, it doesn't seem possible.
it seems like only a few years ago that i was swinging will to the moon on that swing john hung so high up in the huge backyard oak tree. i turned around and now he has a real job as an economist with the bureau of labor statistics, lives in his own apartment and " looks forward to coming home....at least until i get here and remember how insane it all is".
and sarah.... i can still see the look of wonder and joy on her face as she first learned to string steps together, walking across the whole dining room at the rusty scupper in philadelphia. so fiercely independent from birth, she seems to be tempering it a bit in her old age- enjoying her time at home- a respite from dorm life.

jack-o-lanterns galore

jack-o-lantern galore
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

our front walkway on halloween night.

kid heaven

kid heaven
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

admiring the loot post trick-or-treating.
one thoughtful fellow gave them a toothbrush.
looks like we will be needing that.

sometimes they can be so sweet!

sometimes they can be so sweet!
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

i hadn't heard any jumping, screaming, banging or maniacal laughter
for over an hour... and here is what i found. mike and tom, good as gold, reading "bud, not buddy" and "redwall" on the hammock.
maybe they are growing up.

halloween 06

halloween 06
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

mike and tom as thing1 and thing2 for halloween.
i love these costumes- cute, quick and easy!

what a husband!

what a husband!
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

a flurry of activity the night before halloween. finishing costumes, carving pumpkins.
since i don't sew- the task falls to john- finishing the Thing1 and Thing 2 costumes for mike and tom.
he is a good husband!

pumpkin prep

pumpkin prep
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

mike and tom prep the pumpkins for the big carving extravaganza.

dad and boys

dad and boys
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

john does the handiwork to mike and tom's specifications. Mike and tom oversee to ensure quality control.

4 of 7 complete

4:7 complete
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

Well, for the first time in our lives, we are slightly ahead of the game. 4 of our 7 pumpkins are carved before Halloween night- this is unheard of in our family of procrastinators.

will is "getting ready" to travel

will is "getting ready" to travel
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

We are getting ready to travel to Connecticut for my mom's 75th surprise birthday party. This is Will's version of helping to get ready.
Have football, will travel.

john and sue

john and sue
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

john and sue getting ready to read our clever toast to mom.

lesley and mom

lesley and mom
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

sue's daughter,lesley, wishing mom a happy 75th!

lisa,charlie and david

lisa,charlie and david
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

lisa,david and charlie chatting it up.

mom's calendar

mom's calendar
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

mom admires the calendar the kids made for her

farm

farm5
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

for 22 years we have been coming to the farm to unwind,pick fruits and veggies and get our fill of fresh air and beautiful vistas.

guys and pumpkins

farm6
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

a full load to carry. looking forward to all that carving!

tom chooses

farm3
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

tom decides between his finalists in the perfect pumpkin contest.

the one

farm2
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

after a few hours, mike has finally found the perfect pumpkin.

farmtime

farm1
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

the boys have decided that want to move here full time and jump haybales forever.

homework time

homework time
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

homework time at the caseys.
we don't seem to have gotten that whole work/study skills bit.
nothing like doing a bit of weightlifting with the left hand while the right hand is doing math problems.

will is home

will is home
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

a new family tradition (thanks for the idea goes to our lovely friend, ursula epstein, who recently passed away)- every sunday evening we cook a huge pot of something delicious and the big kids come over with friends (whoever is in the mood) for a good meal and lively discussion. this sunday will and bob appeared and enjoyed fantastic white chili as well as the amazing entertainment provided by the younger brothers. it is good to see the older kids and sit around discussing politics,school,jobs,life etc-of course, politics reigns supreme in our household as a topic for discussion. lenghty discourses on the absurdity of the current administration peppered with quotes from " the daily show".

thoughtful contemplation

thoughtful contemplation
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

labor day spent hiking along the potomac river.

john and tom

wishing we had our canoe. a perfect day for a paddle on the river.
swim?
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

hi ho hi ho

off to school
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

it's off to school we go.
school is starting and both boys are returning to fallsmead after some intensive negotiations with the school system. all seems to be going well so far.

boys and walls

boys and wallsJPG
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

you just can't fight the magnetic attraction between boys and walls. got to climb each and every one.

mike, tom and i took the day to explore the franklin instititute in philadelphia. one of my favorite museums for kids.

the heart

the heart
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

walking through the heart- a rite of passage of childhood, not to be missed.
mike and tom pose before entering the left atrium.

domino fun

domino fun
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

mike is enjoying building a LONG domino chain. this museum is fantastic for learning about science in a hands on fashion.
ben franklin would be proud.

tom is mesmerized...

tom is mesmerized
Originally uploaded by funnkds5.

by this rube goldberg contraption. 30 minutes of uninterrupted joy as he examined each and every part of this machine. the engineer in him was overwhelmed with excitement. sort of like on the ride up to philadelphia, when we passed under the maze of soaring, tangled highway overpasses in downtown baltimore, tom says" oh man, this is my favorite part of the ride- those overpasses are just beautiful'.
it is all in the eyes of the beholder.