Our Big Crazy Family in Africa

CrazyD

There are lots of advantages to having a large family - like being able to run two grids when you step outside to the driveway to play four square. Over thanksgiving break, we had a lot of four-square fun by having one square be the top division (or the pros) and the other be the lower division (or the minors). When someone lost in the pro square, he or she went all the way back to the lowest spot in the minors and the person in the top spot in the minors got called up to the pros. You will see in the video how Anna rides a hot streak all the way to the top. Go Anna!

CrazyD

F.G. won a coloring contest and got to light the town Christmas tree along with two other winners from different age divisions. It was great to bundle up, head out to the town "square," and be a part of the official tree-lighting ceremony. Here you see F.G. with Louie the Lightning Bug - the official mascot of the power company that sponsored the tree. If you notice, the switch is up so F.G. had already done the deed.

Here is F.G. alongside her winning entry.

And, of course, the tree!

Ed

“Buddy!” I exclaimed. “What do you think you are doing?”

My wonderful chef of a mother had just baked homemade granola bars and had brought some to Miss Bookworm, Buddy and I as we labored over our studies. Once again Buddy had tried to take the rest of my bar after his was gone. Guiltily running across the room, Buddy stood head down awaiting what was sure to come. Fortunately for him, a slight diversion aroused Miss Bookworm's attention.

“No! Sodo! No! Ed Look!” she cried.

Turning around I saw in a flash that my prized possession, which moments before had almost been taken from me by Buddy was now being stolen again. The naughty rascal was merrily chomping away when I reached in the slobbery dungeon to grab the now spoiled loot. Trying not to laugh, we dealt with the thief. Buddy was a great accomplice in the theft.

(Editor's Note: Please welcome Ed as a new author on this blog!)

CrazyD

We are fans of Project Hopeful. It is an organization that is involved in "educating, encouraging, and enabling families adopting children with HIV/AIDS." They just released a great short video which is especially relevant today since it is World AIDS Day.

Miss Bookworm

"Hey Mom, can I eat this for lunch today? I was standing in the kitchen, holding what appeared to me to be a can of vegetable soup.

"Vegetables?" Mom queried. "What else?"

I, in my disconnected state took this to mean that I needed some vegetables in my lunch.

"It's vegetable soup," I replied. "It has vegetables."

Mom proceeded to stare at me in the way that informs me that it is time for me to engage my brain. I busted up laughing. What I held in my hands was not a can of vegetable soup, as I had presumed, but a can of mixed vegetables. What a riot.

(Editor's Note: Please welcome Miss Bookworm as a new author on this blog!)

CrazyD

CrazyD

There are lots of things to be thankful for this thanksgiving - God, country, and family to name the big three. But let's not forget about technology! The turkey-day tech fest began while GrandpaD and GrandmaD were still in the air on the way to our house. Even though they were flying privately, they let me know how I could track them online while they were still in the air. I was thrilled that I could see just about everything related to their flight - that they had left early, where they were in the air, that they were diverting north a little to get around some weather, and their estimated time of arrival. Here is a screen shot.

Ahh, the wonders of modern technology. As we sit back and enjoy the old traditions of today it will also be good to enjoy the new tradition of googling any question that comes up during the day.

CrazyD

OSU had a big game against Iowa last Saturday, as most of you know. Rather than having the wonderful experience of sitting down with the family and rooting for OSU, I had to navigate the difficult waters of watching the game with an Iowa fan.

It all started a few years ago when my Iowa-born father was in town for an OSU/Iowa game (OK, I was born in Iowa as well). He engaged the unethical practice of trying to brainwash some young minds to root for Iowa. When that did not work, he turned to bribery. Most of my kids were able to say no to the temptation, but two fell to the dark side. Anna has mostly recovered from it all (notice she is shrugging in the photo and is wearing an OSU jersey but Iowa sweats) while poor K.D. has had to suffer through year after year of losses to OSU while donning Grandpa-provided game gear. I was doing my best to comfort him while they interviewed Coach Tressel, but it was hard after all.

But now that we have this game behind us, we can all root together for OSU against Michigan and Iowa against Minnesota. Oh, wait. My sister and her family are in Minnesota . . .

P.S. A very special thanks to our friends who donated an old tube TV to the cause so we did not have to watch the game on our only surviving TV which is a measly 10".