We Miss You, Wowo!

Laura was here this past weekend, and we had a total blast. We haven't blogged in a week or so, so we'll include stuff since our last post. Without further ado, here's What's Been Going On:

If they knocked down the wall and combined businesses, they'd be RuPaul's.

G shows his bunny ("ribbit", as Laura would say) to Wo-Wo.

Jim 'N Nick's serves these enormous freakish mutant potatoes as a main course. They're longer than the forks!

Here was Laura's reaction to the potato.

Matthew made me and Laura drive by and take a picture of this sign. I wonder why!

Yesterday, we went hiking on Pine Mountain, which Jack recently discovered down the street from his and Jen's apartment. When we were waiting for Jack to arrive, Mom pointed at a steep hill and dared me to climb it. This is the view from the top; Jack, Laura, and Mom are at the Saturn and G was off the left side of the picture.

We hiked the West Loop trail to the Summit Overlook, and along the way, Jack and Gabriel found a scenic place to take in the view.

Proof that we actually made the summit!

The view was much greener than from Kennesaw Mountain. You could see 41 and I-75 unwinding, and to the right was the city of Cartersville, but mostly it was a sunny and green view. We all got a little color from the sun.

This is typical: Jack relaxes with good posture, Laura sunbathes, and Bun and Gabriel play. Oh yeah, and P takes photos.

Our more astute readers will notice the absence of Dear Matthew, Papa, and Jen from our hiking adventure. Jen was working on school stuff and Papa was fixing the desktop computer. Matthew, however, has had a horrible cold for the past week and we hope he will feel better quickly.

It doesn't take much to entertain us as a group. Here's a game we invented when we found a couple of uneaten onion rings after dinner.

Finally, Laura wanted her very own bit of amigurumi, so I made her Gangsta Bear. He does not have eyes, but he doesn't need them as his do rag is pulled down to his nose. He wears his bling proudly, but isn't a member of any gang. His message is "Stay in school and say no to gangs."

Laura is safe back in Michigan again, and we miss her a ton. Thanks for coming here this weekend!

Happy Birthday, Dad A!!

There is an old saying amongst rotary wing pilots: there are old helicopter pilots and there are bold helicopter pilots, but there are no old and bold helicopter pilots. We'd like to add one more to that - apparently there are also really, really old helicopter pilots!

If you can believe it, it has been 60 years (60!!!) since this guy was born. I know, that's a shocking number. How can it be true, you ask? The guy who now answers to Granddad has in fact been preserved by years of inhaling JP-8. It has infiltrated every one of his cells and keeps them from losing the battle against time. Its properties are amazing, he is even still capable of talking and walking.

Actually, he's a guy that is capable of and good at just about anything. At 60 he can still run circles around his son (maybe not his daughter-in-law, but his son anyway). He loves his family and there isn't a thing he wouldn't do for them. We miss him and we can't wait to see him again, hopefully with a freshly snared trout on the end of a fly line.

Happy birthday, Dad. We hope you had a great one, because you sure as heck deserve it.

Excuse Me, Blessed Virgin, But You Have Some Salt On Your Cheek

Mary in a pretzel.

Happy Birthday, Mom A!!

It was only a few years ago on this day that a certain Mr. and Mrs. Kranz, in the state of New York, brought forth Matt's mom onto the Earth. We would not be the people we are today if that day 40 years ago* had not happened. There is much that we owe to our favorite Bun-nut, and we hope that she knows that she is loved, greatly appreciated, and that we were thinking of her on her birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Is it coincidence that today there was a total lunar eclipse, in fact the last lunar eclipse until late 2010? We think not.

* It is possible that her actual age does not, exactly, match this number.

Robot...Robot...Robot...

I got Generation T, a book that shows you how to restyle t-shirts you don't normally wear. My first effort combines a couple of things from the book (hood, sleeves, taking off all hems) with my own ideas (cutting, inserting, and lacing the sides). I know I'm in my 30s, but the shirt didn't fit and I loved it, and I like it even better now. So there. And I don't know why it's sideways. I can't fix it and I have stuff to do. So there again.

At playgroup today, best friends were reunited after a long time apart. They decided that they were robots - here they are demonstrating what they made up: