Fly Eagles Fly, On The Road To non-Victory

Monday Night Football featured the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowpoke. Ally got all dressed up in her cheerleader outfit (Thank you, Grandma!) and watched the game over at Daddy's coworker's house (Thank you, Lynn and Ralph!). To our surprise, Ally could already recognize the symbol on her belly and could say "eagle" fairly well without any coaching. I guess she was born to be a lifetime fan. And, true to loyal Philly fan-dom, Ally already doesn't care much for the Cowboys; every time they were mentioned, she'd Mooooo!

While Ally was busy rearranging Lynn's placemats and fridge magnets, Chris was busy watching the game and requesting blood pressure medication, and Karen was busy eating half a pizza and trying to keep up with the action. We were hoping for a different final score, but at least Ally was a winner in her little outfit. I hear there's another Eagles game on this Sunday, and we'll be able to watch it from the comfort of our own couch. That means I should look through our boxes and find Chris' Eagles football so he'll have something to throw at the TV screen. Don't worry, it's stuffed.

Tickle Torture

I realize it's been a week since the last post. I apologize for not keeping everyone updated on our latest and greatest news. While Ally is busy eating her leftover chicken strips and french fries, I'll try to fill in the vague details of our life.
My good friend Jessica flew in from North Carolina last Wednesday. She came for a visit; we put her to work painting and cooking and shopping and child-rearing. Jess was a very good sport about the whole thing, and I really appreciated having an extra pair of hands and an adult to talk to during the day. Although I've always wanted to be the one raising my children, I now think having a full-time nanny around is a fabulous idea. Too bad we'll never be able to afford one (or find one as good as Jess). She left a few days ago, and Ally still wanders around the house asking, "Where's Jessie?" And, Ally just took a break from shoveling food into her mouth to come up here and kiss the picture. Jess, we love you. And now the whole blogworld knows it.

This video is a little dark, but people seem to like the videos and this one shows off Ally's squeaky laugh. I should take a video of Ally watching this video, 'cause then you'd get to hear double the squeaks!



The big news is: We closed on the houses! The Pinehurst house left our hands on August 29th; the Richland house became ours at 4:45pm on September 5th. Little by little, we are making some changes and moving our belongings over to the new place. We're taking our time, so if anyone else needs a vacation destination over the next fews weeks, your more than welcome to "visit" us in Washington!

Baby Kisses and Oinks

This past weekend we took a trip up to Spokane to visit my Grandma and my Aunt Kathy. They both know a lot about quilting, and I was hoping they'd help me get started with my long-time goal of actually making a quilt. Of course, even the best laid plans never seem to work out. Ally started spiking major temps, didn't sleep for 2 full nights, and was super-clingy. It's kind of hard to pay attention, learn something new, and use a sewing machine with a crankster attached to your chest-- especially when you feel so bad for the little one. Little by little we muddled through, and now I only have to finish the binding (the little strip that runs along the edge of the quilt to cover all the layers). Thank you, Aunt Kathy and Grandma, for your patience and willingness to share your skills and materials!

I wanted to post this blog with a picture of the finished project; however I realized at the rate I'm going, I wouldn't publish another blog entry for a few months. . . Maybe I'll remember to post a picture of Ally's new quilt when I'm finished, 'cause I'm really proud of myself. So, instead of ohh-ing and ahh-ing at my handiwork, you can enjoy some new video of Ally. (That's probably why everyone checks this site anyway.)


In the first 2 videos, Ally will demonstrate her great love of self and knowledge of animal sounds.

It's hard to get a good video or picture of Ally these days 'cause she always wants to be the one holding the camera so she can watch the person on the digital screen. Here she is trying to take charge, and not understanding why the baby keeps disappearing . . .

To the Gates of Hell and back....all for a bunch of beans

Another Hanford friday off meant another weekend road trip for us. We've been having bad luck with our camping trips lately, after leaving a KOA earlier than planned and asking for some money back after it turned into Animal House a few weeks ago, and then having to skip a church camp out because it is very uncomfortable sleeping in a tent when it's over 100 degrees out. But we gave it another try this past weekend with great success.
So we packed up friday morning and headed east. Eastern Washington is full of these rolling hills of hay, wheat and barley. Since it's late in the season they are all brown but still look like this:

Ally wanted to stop and smell the flowers along the way, so we made a stop in "Historic" Pomeroy.

About four hours after starting the trip we were finally at our destination, or at least where we were staying for the weekend.














But we would get to our real destination the next day when we drove about 45 minutes north to Pullman,WA, the home of Washington State University and more importantly, home to:

That's right, not just some local namby pamby lentil fesitval, but the NATIONAL lentil festival. I know, jealous,right? Well get over it, it wasn't all that great. But they did have a big parade. And just like Santa brings up the rear at all the Thanksgiving/Christmas parades, the lentil parade was finished off with a visit from the one and only Tase T. Lentil. Karen and Ally were lucky enough to get their picture taken with him after the parade.


Unfortunately they were all out of lentil festival merchandise which means all my family will have to wait until next year for their lentil fest tote bags and note cards. And that also means that I wasn't able to get my commemorative poster, which I think would have looked great framed and hanging on a wall in our new house, but we still had a fun weekend and look forward to going back to Hell's Gate (a great campground, by the way) next year when all the rolling hills are green.

Ghetto Circus and the County Fair

Last weekend, since it was 103-plus degrees out, we decided to trade in our 3-person camping tent for the joys of the big top. We thought the circus would be a cooler option, but a large, 3-ring tent becomes just as sweltering when you add a few thousand people without the benefit of adequate circulation or air conditioning. Thank goodness for overpriced snow cones!

This is a behind-the-scenes picture of some entertainers. You'd think a clown would be a little happier; of course, he's probably working illegally and making less than minimum wage. The only performer who was truly identifiable as being American was the ringmaster. This was no Barnum and Bailey. This was the great and venerable Carson and Barnes Circus, being presented live in our local mall parking lot. Luckily, we didn't have super-high expectations when we walked in, because we found plenty of things to make fun of. Although we probably won't attend a parking lot circus again, we did enjoy our evening foray into ghettolandia.

Ally loved the flashing lights and watching the different acts, especially the people flying high on the "Weeeeee!" They also had goats, miniature horses, a miniature zebra, a miniature hippo, 2 llamas, 2 one-humped camels, a big python, and "36,000 pounds of elephant" (somehow that translated into 3 small pachyderms; either they were very dense, or that advertising math is wrong). We are both cheap and a little germaphobic when it comes to low-budget animal displays, so Ally wasn't allowed to ride or touch any of them. Thank goodness she's still small enough to be content with just observing. I sure do miss being near a zoo.

On Tuesday night we went to the Benton-Franklin County Fair. It was a definite improvement over the Moore County Fair, but not as grand as the North Carolina State Fair. Unfortunately, they don't sell deep-fried
candy bars or cheeseburgers here, but we still managed to enjoy ourselves. We saw more animals, a lot of 4-H exhibits, and some fair rides that got Ally pretty excited.

We also sat on a blanket and listened to the band Chicago play their new stuff. In some ways, Ally was more entertaining than the band. As Chris' coworker pointed out, we should charge admission for people to watch her. Click on the videos and have a look . . .



Shake your moneymaker and dance to the music!

Everything Comes Down To Poo

Honestly, my intention was to sit down today and blog about what we've been up to this past week, but some stories are too good to pass up. You'll probably find this a lot more interesting than my planned ramblings about last weekend's camping trip to Ellensburg/Cle Elum/Roslyn/Ronald. As always, you can check out our slew of pictures on our picasa site (type in the address or JUST CLICK HERE). If you are needing a good laugh, read the following article. I copied this one from the www.nationalpost.com website, but I found the exact wording on multiple sites. Enjoy!

U.S. artist Paul McCarthy's inflatable poop may not be recovered, museum says

Agence France-Presse Published: Wednesday, August 13, 2008

A giant inflatable dog turd by contemporary U. S. artist Paul McCarthy blew away from an exhibition in the garden of a Swiss museum, bringing down a power line and breaking a greenhouse window before it landed again, the museum said Monday. The artwork, titled Complex S---, is the size of a house. The wind carried it 200 metres from the Paul Klee Centre in Berne before it fell back to Earth in the grounds of a children's home, said museum director Juri Steiner. The inflatable turd broke the window at the children's home when it blew away on the night of July 31, Steiner said. The artwork has a safety system that normally makes it deflate when there is a storm, but this did not work when it blew away. Steiner said McCarthy had not yet been contacted and the museum was not sure if the piece would be put back on display. The Los Angeles-born McCarthy is infamous for his graphic, provocative sculptures and installations, many of which feature allusions to bodily fluids.

And, while we're on the topic . . . This article reminds me of a catchy tune I once heard on a sitcom. Thanks to the Internet, it can now be stuck in your head, too. All you have to do is click here, turn up the volume, wait patiently through the commercial, and let your brain absorb the lyrics.

Ally's Sweet Sixteen (months)

While Ally is peacefully napping on the couch, I have snuck upstairs to try a new blogging skill-- posting a video (or 2 or 3). If all goes well, you should be able to click on the boxes and see our precious little one in action. You can even turn on the volume and hear my lame commentary, but please refrain from doing so in a public place. No one else really needs to hear me talk, including probably you. Anyway, cross your fingers and here we go with Ally's internet movie star debut. . .



First up: Ally will sit patiently on the stairs until she has your undivided attention, and then she'll give you some sweet lovin'.



Next: Ally's newest addiction. Ally was very much sold on raisins and goldfish, but she recently discovered a substance that trumps all other things she's ever tasted. She'll beg us to open the fridge so she can get to it. She knows exactly where it's kept in the door, and she knows to open her mouth WIDE and let the sweet deliciousness squirt in. . .



In case you missed it, here's another video of Ally trying to get the sweet fix all on her own. (Sorry it's sideways; I don't know how to correct that.)



P.S.- Ally is also prone to begging and screaming for TUMs. I wonder if she has a tummy ache from all that cream. Am I a bad mother?