Thursday, March 20, 2014

More Spring Break 2014

I enjoyed my spring break last week. Although I kept busy and didn’t often feel like life was any different, I tried to squeeze some fun into each and every day. At the very least, I always looked forward to watching a midday episode of Dexter with Melanie. We only recently started watching the acclaimed series, which is about a serial killer who also works forensics for the Miami Police Department. I had no idea I’d enjoy the series so much, but I’m loving it. Melanie and I are already on the fifth season, and I’m already mourning that only a few seasons of the show remain to be watched. It’s got a lot of dark humor, and the Dexter character is very likable. (His policy is that he only kills murderers, so he’s a pretty good guy when all is said and done.) Anyway, Melanie and I have been cruising through the series, in large part because we watch an episode every day while the kids are entertained with other things. We typically watch another one or two episodes at night. It’s been great.

Not all of my spring break shenanigans involved sitting on a couch. Sometimes I sat in other places. For instance, on Wednesday of last week, I spent some time sitting at Bagelheads and enjoying a delicious bagel sandwich. On Thursday, Melanie and I took Peter and Creegan to Eddie’s school to eat lunch with him. The school encourages family to meet kids for lunch, on any and as many days as you want. It’s pretty cool. Eddie knew we were coming, but he was excited to see us. We were able to take him to sit at an outside picnic table, away from the hectic and loud cafeteria. It was quite nice.

On Friday, we picked up Eddie from school and went out for ice cream. A few hours later, we went to the grand opening of a large park located downtown. There wasn’t much in the way of a playground, but the kids had a ton of fun. There was a splash park, where the kids got absolutely soaked. They then spent some time rolling down a large grassy hill, along with several other kids. We finally moved over to the amphitheater, where we watched part of a magic show that had our kids laughing and (at times) quite baffled. For example, the magician had the audience stare at a large, rotating swirly circle for a minute or so. He then told you to look at his head. His head appeared to balloon (or shrink, depending on which way he had rotated the circle). Eddie was slightly disturbed by that one.

Saturday night was date night for Melanie and me. We went to a Cuban restaurant that Melanie had been to once before. I ordered what was basically a country fried steak sandwich. It was absolutely massive. It tasted good, but half of it was more than enough. I realized when I was almost done with the first half that it wouldn’t be so bad if you cut the excess meat off and at only what was contained in the actual bread. But by then I was already quite full. I took much of it home, and let some of it be tossed. Here are some pics:



After dinner, Melanie and I went to see the new Veronica Mars movie. We were fans of the TV show, which (like Dexter) we also didn’t start watching until after the show had officially gone off the air. The movie was entertaining, although if you aren’t familiar with the show, I wouldn’t recommend it. As an actual movie (plot wise, etc.) it’s somewhat middle of the road. Still, I very much enjoyed going to a movie with Melanie, and the revisiting of familiar characters was not without its charms.

This week, I am back in school, but it is now Eddie’s spring break. Peter’s spring break is scheduled for next week, but virtual school affords some flexibility, so Peter’s been on spring break this week, too. That means my own fun has continued (in moderation). On Monday night, after my family picked me up from school, we stopped for dinner at Pitaria. It was a bit stressful due to Creegan’s antics, and they didn’t hold the onions on my gyro like they were supposed to. Still, it ended up going okay. On Tuesday night, we got Frozen from Redbox and watched it for the first time while eating a take-and-bake pizza from Costco. I’ve had to be working otherwise, but Melanie’s taken the boys to the park, to visit friends, and to do some other fun activities. I’m glad they’re getting some recreation. And yes, I’m still taking a midday break to watch Dexter whenever possible.

And that’s that. Nothing else fun is on the agenda for this week. If something nifty happens, I’ll let you know. Bye.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Spring Break 2014

This week is spring break. I wish it could be more relaxed than it’s going to be, but such is life. At least Sunday was a good day. A very good day, in fact. A true day of rest, which sadly and ironically is uncommon for Mormons. You may think it strange that daylight savings could have led to a good day, but it did. You see, knowing that we’d be losing an hour of sleep, coupled with the fact that Sunday morning was a special stake conference starting at the unusual time of 9 a.m., Melanie and I decided to forgo church and spend the entire day as a family. (Sacrilege, I know.) We didn’t set any alarms. We just woke up when we woke up. Melanie and the boys made oatmeal pancakes, and I whipped up some scrambled eggs for the kiddos and some bacon/tomato/spinach omelets for me and the Mrs. (Note: I’ve never before referred to Melanie as “the Mrs.” I’m pretty sure she isn’t going to like it!) It was a tasty start to the day. Next, we taught the kids how to play Racko. The kids then spent a good chunk of time playing video games while Melanie and I watched an episode each of Dexter and Saturday Night Live. I spent some time reading, as did Melanie. We then took the kids out scootering, which gave Melanie and me a chance to converse—something that also doesn’t occur nearly often enough, simply because there are too many interruptions. Our late breakfast led to a skipped lunch, and in turn to an early dinner. We had leftover pizza from a couple of days earlier. The kids watched Charlotte’s Web as we ate, and everyone was satisfied. We then did Family Home Evening, wherein I video-interviewed Creegan, Peter, and Eddie, individually and in turn. (See below!) We then had some brownies, played the card game Sleeping Queens, and put the kids to bed. It was one of the most enjoyable and genuinely relaxed days I’ve had in a long time! I’m sad it’s over!

In order to make this post more exciting, it’s been jam-packed with multimedia! First, a photo of my breakfast. Then, the video interviews with my children. By watching these videos, you’ll learn the answers to such fascinating questions as: what kind of animal is Master Oinky? How does Creegan spell his name? Can five-year-olds do multiplication, and if so, does it lead to epilepsy? All this and more, below!



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Friday, March 07, 2014

How to Draw a Person Sitting in a Chair

Follow these four simple steps to draw your own picture of a person sitting in a chair.

Step one:


Step two:


Step three:


Step four: