Twins win! Twins win! Wow, what a game. They beat the Yankees 3-1 in Game 1, in Yankee Stadium no less. The pitchers really did the job, holding them scoreless until the ninth, when Stinky Garbage Eddie came in and threw junk, giving up 3 hits, allowing a run to score and escaping with two left on. The hitters did the job against tough Mussina, who was 20-2 against the Twins coming in. They did blow some scoring chances, but they put 3 on the board and hung on.

Game 2 Thursday night! Go Twins! Wwwwwoooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Both John and Hanna have the snifflys, although John sounded a bit worse this morning. John woke up in the night again crying, not sure what was bothering him. Maybe he was just cold or not feeling well?

This morning while Rhonda was getting Hanna dressed, I was holding John and looking out Hanna's window, and there were a couple of squirrels chasing around the backyard, and John said "Squirrels like acorns." Ha. His vocabulary and grammer have sure come a long ways.

I picked up the kids from Sue's house yesterday. Boy, Sue has sure been a godsend. She does so much with them. Sue said John always asks to sing the "head shoulders knees and toes" song, cuz they do it faster and faster, and John demonstrated, and had great fun trying to sing it as fast as he could. Hanna was fussy when we got home, like she often is. Maybe she's just making us pay for leaving her there for the day.

John wanted to stay home and play with toys at John's house again this morning. Hmm, I know he always likes it at Sue's house. Just seems lately he's been more sensitive about being at home.

Lately as Hanna has watched the Baby Bach video, there's some babies on it, and when Hanna sees them she says "baby!", says it real clearly too!

The last few nights John has had me give Wrinkles a hug too when we put him in bed. John says "He looks sad." ha.

This morning as I was washing my hands after getting the kids dressed, they both came tromping into the bathroom, and then John went over and gave Hanna a hug. Awwww.

Got the yard mowed yesterday. Good thing too, as it got real cold overnight. I think it was below freezing up north, must have been in the 30s here, if not close to freezing.

That dinner theater was enjoyable last night. It might have been a tad long at 2 and a half hours, but was funny. It was about a diner in 1956, so had 50s music, the food was burgers and fries, etc...

Wednesday we'll head up to ND for a nice visit with Grandpa and Grandma. Hopefully the kids will do well on the long drive. At least this time we have the minivan. So much more room, how did we ever get by with just the small car?

Well, the Vikes won in convincing fashion today. Twinks lost, but they'll begin the playoffs in New York on Tuesday afternoon.

Kids are napping. I'm about to go out and mow the yard. Shouldn't grow too much more, as cold weather is spilling over us, might even get frost this week.

Lately when we're reading, I might stop and look at a picture or something, and John will say "Talk, Daddy, about Percy!" Or whatever. Or, if he wants me to go on to a different story he'll say "Talk, Daddy about Edward!" Funny.

There'e some kind of funny dinner theater at church tonight we'll probably go to.

Oop, John is up. I don't think he slept. He does that sometimes. So, better get out to the grass... The neighbor across the street must be bored. He's putting in underground sprinklers by himself.

Well, we had a very enjoyable day. We just got back from the annual Family Resources picnic. It's for families and their kids that have adopted through our agency. It was so neat to see so many Russian features and faces all in one place again. Most of the kids were, I'd say, about age 7 or 8 and under, maybe just a few older than that. Quite a few were in the 2 to 5 range.

Some kids were from Astrakahn, and with some there sure was a resemblance to John, especially in the eyes.

Only bad thing today was the weather. Brrrr. Temps must be in the 40s, and there is a cold wind blowing. So, had to dress warm.

The kids just had a ball. They romped on the playground. An ambulance came by and let kids walk through and John liked that. But the best thing of all was they had a couple of those big inflatable jumping pens. If you know John, you'd know that kinda thing is about his favorite thing in the whole world. He just jumped and bounced and cratered to his little heart's content. He must have been in there for close to an hour. Hanna gave it a try, but there were a bit too many kids in there for her, and they were bouncing around, so inevitably she got bumped over and starting crying. She wasn't hurt, she just doesn't like being knocked over. John of course was very grieved when it was time to go. Poor guy.

We saw Amy and her little girl. They are the ones that we traveled with when we went to get Hanna. Amy said the one little boy, that the other couple who traveled with us decided not to get, was getting adopted by a family along with another child from there. So that was nice, that that boy found a home.

Hanna fell asleep on the way home, and John was obviously tired too, though he kept saying he wanted to jump. Both angels are upstairs now taking a nap.

I'm going to try and get in a bit of Myst III before they wake up again.

Cubs just won Game 1 of their double header today. I'd like to see them win their division. I think if the Cubs and Red Sox were in the World Series, the Rapture would happen...

So, last night, since I refuse to be beaten by the oncoming winter and early darkness, I took the kids to London Park after supper. It was cool, and started to sprinkle as we left, but John and Hanna had fun. (They didn't seem to be as depressed as I was remembering nice hot summer days and evenings playing there in warm sunshine :( )

There's this one spot on the paved basketball court that has some fine sand and gravel, and Hanna always wants to go over there. Don't know why. She grabs my hand and pulls me over there. Maybe she likes how it sounds when we walk on it or slide on it. Last night when we got there, were just getting out of the van (was just easier to drive over there) and walking into the park, she said "nnn" and pointed, and I knew that's where she wanted to go, and sure enough she grabbed my hand and pulled me off that way.

There's a paper birch tree there, and John likes to go over and pick the thin bark off.

While I was pushing John in the swing, Hanna was having fun standing by the other swing and pushing it all by herself. She'd push it and look at me with this satisfied smile. Then, she started doing her own underdogs with that swing. She'd say "doggnnn" and then push it and kinda walk under it or try to and then turn to get out of its way. Funny. She did that quite a few times.

Sometimes if John bangs a finger or something, he'll come over to me and I'll kiss it and make it better, and when Hanna sees that she is so funny. She'll then come over too and hold out her finger and forces herself to make this fake cry, so I'll make her better. Ha. I've said before, she doesn't want to be left out of anything.

Last night after supper, John had his pants off, just a shirt and diaper on, and he started running around the kitchen and living room happily shrieking something about a ladder. Of course, Hanna thought that looked fun so she too started running around and screaming, so for awhile both kids were tearing around carrying on. Never a dull moment!

In the Baby Bach tape, there is one farm animal thing where someone pushes buttons and it makes animal sounds, and for the last button, a farmer comes out and says "Howdy!" John thinks that is funny and always looks for it, and he laughs and says "howdy!" too!

I've been singing Deep and Wide with Hanna when I put her to bed, and she's learning it. She'll kinda wave her hands around too! When I show her airplanes, I'll kinda make a motor sound and wave my arms around like wings flying, so Hanna does that too, she'll kinda stick her arms out and tip back and forth and say "nnnnnnn". It's cute. Sometimes I'll make faces at her, and she laughs. So when she wants me to make faces at her, she'll tip her head over and I can tell she's trying to make a face too. That's cute, too.

By Monday it might get cold enough for a first frost. Bbbboooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!

Twins win! Twins win! The Twins are the 2003 American League Central champs! Wow, and they have the best record in baseball the second half. How did they do it? They don't have a king kong killer slugger, they are horrible baserunners, their pitching has been shaky (except for the Hawk). I remember early on, Seattle came to town and swept a 4 game series, and the Twins weren't even competitive. They didn't look like they belonged on the field with a major league team. But they turned it around!

bad news is they will probably play the Yankees in the first round, a team the Twins have had lots of trouble with. The Twins didn't beat them once this year. Record against them was 0-7, I believe.

This morning John said "I want to read books at John's house", and when we got to Sue's house, he said "I want to go". Hmm, don't know if something has been bothering him lately. Rhonda said he was kinda restless yesterday and mean to Hanna. I played with them last night, took them to the park, and he seemed ok.

Hanna was real cranky yesterday after she came home from Sue's house. She just seems to get of sorts when she's there for the day. She starts out fine, but by the time she gets home she just wants Rhonda to hold her, isn't happy if she's put down, etc... So, maybe both of them still are adjusting, etc...

I've been playing Myst III (computer game) lately. I really like the Myst series. Great graphics, music, puzzles, etc...

John has really enjoyed watching the Baby Bach tape lately. He's always liked, but seems like he asks to watch it more often lately.

Hanna sees the little sun emblems on that tape and she points and says "done!" (at least that's what it sounds like)

Yesterday turned out kinda rainy and overcast. After their nap, I took John out for a walk around the block. He enjoyed running and running. Rhonda took Hanna out, and we met them coming back the other way. Hanna is getting much better at running. She's much more coordinated, hardly falls down anymore, can move pretty good.

She's also getting better about motoring around the driveway on the various trikes/bikes. She just pushed herself around voom voom.

The WhiteSox play the Yankees tonight, and if the Yanks win, the Twins magic number will be 1, with two games left at home! Meaning, the Twins could clinch the division at home for a change. Their last three division wins have all come on the road.

Did you see the Paul McCartney special on A and E, about his concert in Red Square? That was interesting. That sure brought back memories of walking around Red Square. The stage was down towards St. Basils Cathedral, which is where I thought it might be, as the Square slopes down that way.

Part of the special was showing McCartney on his various visits to other places, and one place he went was a Childrens Home. (Apparently one of the things he did was help set up a charity). That sure got to my heart. I couldn't help but imagine John and Hanna still there, in a place like that, older. Just so happy they are home with us now.

Hanna just got up from her nap. John will be up soon. The Vikings won today. The Twins are ahead in the 8th inning. If they win, their magic number will be 3!

Had a good morning in church. I played with the orchestra today, so got there about 7:30, played for both services, and got home around noon. Played some good songs. Choir sounded good today, too.

Apparently there were a couple of firsts for John today. John said to Rhonda, "Mommy, I want to eat." I don't think he's ever said that before. And, he came and handed his diaper to Rhonda and said "I want to go potty." But his clothes were all on, and he had on overalls, so he must have somehow gotten them down, got his diaper off, and got his overalls back up. Ha.

Hanna still doesn't like being left in the nursery. She cried, and cried when I helped her get into the van after sunday school as they were going home.

Saturday was just a beautiful day. Sunny and warm. Although, pretty sad when mid-70s feels warm.

I see that Galileo is scheduled to plunge into Jupiter's atmosphere this Sunday. Farewell, little spacecraft. It is almost out of fuel, and has had a long, successful mission. I remember watching its launch live in Iowa in the physics dept. Some people there had an instrument on board the spacecraft.

Had a deacons meeting last night, had some good discussions.

Am just about done with Chapter 2. I want to quick bang out the rest of it today so I can get it printed and ready for our meeting tomorrow. It's kinda fun seeing things I've had in my head for months, even a couple years, start to show up on paper.

Lately John has been holding Hanna by the hand and helping her walk around. Ha, how sweet.

Both little heads were in the kitchen window when I left for work today. Hanna is aware now of saying byebye when I leave, and she'll come over for a hug and kiss goodbye, and she'll say "bye bye!" She was saying "Daddnnnn" this morning too.

Twins won again last night. Magic number is now 7!

We had a nice time with Mom last night. John of course loved the chance to go to the airport. Escalators! Elevators! Buttons to push! Doors opening automagically! Stairs that move! What fun!

We picked Mom and then left to go get supper. I had thought of going to the Everest on Grand, a Nepali/Tibetan restaurant. The food is a lot like Indian food. Mmmm, so good. It's in St. Paul, on Grand Avenue.

At first I couldn't find it. It had been awhile since I'd been there, and I thought I remembered it being at an intersection with a traffic light. So, drove by it the first time, but saw it coming back. It had only a stop sign at that intersection, but I rememberd it being across from a grocery store.

Hanna did very good, John got a bit restless by the end. Rhonda had brought some food for them, and they ate some of the restaurant food. John liked the rice especially, and Hanna liked the peas. I had a ground lamb curry. Mmmm. Rhonda had good soup, and Mom and some of their delicious momos. Also had a cup of chiya tea. It's a tea that must have had some milk or cream in it, as it didn't have quite that bitter tea taste.

Then, we headed back to the airport for a bit. I accompanied John around in his many treks up and down elevators and escalators. Hanna came with a few times, but mostly she was content to stay with Mommy and Grandma and push the stroller around.

Rhonda put on their pajamas there at the airport. It was probably 10 by the time they both got to bed. They were still doing pretty good for it being past their bedtime. When we got home, John even took the trike out for a spin in the dark.

Twins won again! They beat the hated White Sox. Twins magic number is now 9!

The kids watched Baby Bach while having their breakfast this morning. John really likes that one. When I dropped them off at Sue's house, I gave them a hug and a kiss, and then Hanna came back for another one. She tilted her head to the side so I could kiss her cheek. Ha.

Tonight will go meet Mom at the airport. Might go out somewhere for dinner. I'm supposed to have orchestra practice tonight, as we're scheduled to play this Sunday. Hmmm, don't know if I'm going to make it.

Twins have a 1.5 game lead! Their magic number is 11.

Here's a link to a what kind of brain/personality are you quiz. Here are my results... Some of it I think is fairly accurate, a couple things I'm not sure I agree with...

Auditory : 46%
Visual : 53%
Left : 70%
Right : 30%

Jeff, you are somewhat left-hemisphere dominant and show a preference for visual learning, although not extreme in either characteristic. You probably tend to do most things in moderation, but not always.

Your left-hemisphere dominance implies that your learning style is organized and structured, detail oriented and logical. Your visual preference, though, has you seeking stimulation and multiple data. Such an outlook can overwhelm structure and logic and create an almost continuous state of uncertainty and agitation. You may well suffer a feeling of continually trying to "catch up" with yourself.

Your tendency to be organized and logical and attend to details is reasonably well-established which should afford you success regardless of your chosen field of endeavor. You can "size up" situations and take in information rapidly. However, you must then subject that data to being classified and organized which causes you to "lose touch" with the immediacy of the problem.

Your logical and methodical nature hamper you in this regard though in the long run it may work to your advantage since you "learn from experience" and can go through the process more rapidly on subsequent occasions.

You remain predominantly functional in your orientation and practical. Abstraction and theory are secondary to application. In keeping with this, you focus on details until they manifest themselves in a unique pattern and only then work with the "larger whole."

With regards to your career choices, you have a mentality that would be good as a scientist, coach, athlete, design consultant, or an engineering technician. You can "see where you want to go" and even be able to "tell yourself," but find that you are "fighting yourself" at the darndest times.

GAAAAAH! Some group here at work is having a big BLT lunch today, and they are cooking tons of bacon right outside the room I'm in. It's torture!!!! How can I be expected to work with that smell wafting in? I can't take it!!!!

After supper last night, we all went to the park again, John pedaling his trike. It's depressing though, we have a slightly late dinner, head outside to the park, and by the time we get there it's getting dark already. Wwwwaaaaahhhhhh.

Hanna was bright eyed and bushy-tailed this morning when I left. She giggled and gave me a hug. I think Kyle is coming over for a bit while his mom goes somewhere, so John and Hanna will have someone to play with.

Quite the ending to the Cowboys-Giants MNF game last night. Both teams made mistakes.

The Twins begin a big series with the ChiSox tonight.

I got a couple more pages done on Chapter 2 last night. I found a tone I like, and I hope to continue down that vein. I am trying to create a mood and a world with word choices, so the reader will find themselves in a different place, one that seems different than ours, so the language has to be different, yet I don't want to get carried away and have it sound like a Shakespeare parody or something like that.

There's a definite fall coolness in the air. Waaaaah. Unless we get a sudden burst of hot weather, we've probably gone to the lake for the last time. Waaaaah. I'd like fall much more if it didn't mean winter wasn't far behind.

Vikes won last night. Although, the Bears aren't that good, the Vikes dominated, but they had trouble scoring, a glaring problem that could come back to haunt them this season.

Twins won as well, still tied for first.

When we got home from church last night, the neighbor girl and her dad were outside, so John and Hanna played with her for a bit. I went over and shot a few baskets with Scott. John thought that looked like fun so he wanted to play with ball, and then thought it would be hilarious to throw the ball down the hill. Hanna is starting to pedal the trikes. She's getting better at it anyway.

We weighed them the other day, Hanna was 24 lbs, John was 27. So, John has gained some, but still a bit small. He has gotten a bit taller. Hanna was definitely grown some.

Had a good day in church today. Even though it was only his second time, when we got in the church John trotted right past the nursery and down the hall towards where the three yr old room is. I think he's still a little unsure about being in there, but hopefully he'll adjust. Hanna did OK too, doesn't sound like she cried too much.

We have nursery duty tonight. (I think I hear John kicking around upstairs. Hmm, he didn't nap yesterday, hopefully he will sleep some.) Paul will come over tonight and we'll have taco salad and throw stuff at the tv as the Vikes play Da Bears. Twins are currently up 4-3 going to the ninth inning.

Sunday school was interesting. It's a class on the Tabernacle. The teacher pointed out a couple things I hadn't noticed before. We all know the priests came from the Levites, but Jesus, called our high priest, was from the tribe of Judah. The Tabernacle faced east, and the only gate was on the east side. The tribes camped all around the Tabernacle, the Judah was the one camped out in front of the gate. So, to get in the gate, and the first thing inside the gate was the altar where sacrifices were made, one had to pass through Judah. Also, the foundations of the Tabernacle, where the boards that formed the inner structure were anchored, was made of silver. Silver was typically used for payment for redemption, and so a symbol of what the Tabernacle pointed to. Also, the arrangement of things in the Tabernacle sort of formed a cross. The long axis ran from the altar through the basin up to the inner Holy of Holies, and there were tables on either side that formed the short axis. Quite interesting.

A neighbor around the corner on Isanti is having a big neighborhood party today. They had a live band that wrapped up playing around 1:30. They have food, etc.. I took John over there to see the sights. Hanna had laid down for her nap. John had fun seeing the neighbors. He's taking his nap now, although I think I hear him kicking around up there.

Got the yard mowed last night, it was a nice warm evening. Hmm, wonder if that was the last one of the year. It's cooler today, and will remain in the 60s to low 70s for the next few days. We all went to the park last night, John rode his trike, and I pushed Hanna in the stroller. Even Ellie got to go with.

When I got back from orchestra practice this morning, we got out the roller skates, and helped John around. He loves them. Then, of course, Hanna wanted a turn so I suited her up too.

I put three stories in the mail on Friday. Awaiting the rejections. Grr. A couple aren't too bad on response time, the other has been taking 200+ days. Oh well, it's a good outlet, and might as well have it sitting there instead of on the shelf.

Will see if I can anything done on Chapter 2 now...

John likes to wear his giraffe slippers, but they are getting holes worn in the bottom, one of them is getting a sizeable hole. And John is just fascinated by it. Lately he's been looking at it a lot and saying "big hole". When I saw him this morning, that's the first thing he said, "big hole." Ha.

It rained a fair amount yesterday and overnight. Was much needed around here. Hopefully it'll dry up enough so I can mow the yard tonight. I like to do it Friday night so I don't have to worry about it on the weekend, and I can use the time to play with the kids. Although, I have orchestra practice Saturday morning.

The Vikes play the Bears on Sunday night on ESPN, so my friend Paul will come over, and we'll have taco salad, and Iowa City tradition.

Didn't get any writing done last night, was tired, so finished up my Newsweek and Atlantic Monthly.

A solemn day today, but for us, always a day with happy memories. It's the day we first got to see John, and we spent several hours with him. I'll always remember when they brought him into the room the first time.

Rhonda brought John into bed with me this morning, and he started singing the Bunny song from the fiery furnace Veggie Tales story. He just loves that one, he always asks to watch that one. Last night John played with LeapPad for awhile.

Hanna was happy and smiley in her chair, having breakfast, when I left for work today.

Got another couple of pages done on Chapter 2 last night.

When I got John up this morning, he said "Hanna is two years old. John is three!" Ha. He's a sharp guy.

When we're driving to Sue's house, he'll often say "we're going fast!"

He got an ouchie last night. He (along with Hanna and the neighbor girl) were rolling balls down the driveway to me last night, and at one point John came trotting down the hill and tripped and landed right on his face on the cement. Ouch, eek it made a sickening sound. Luckily it wasn't too bad. He got a bloody lip, a little bloody nose, a bit of a bruise on his upper lip, and scraped his big toe (he had his sandals on). Poor guy.

Got another page and a half done on Chapter 2 last night. Keep chugging away. The worst part of writing is the constant nagging feeling that this is no good, no one would want to read it, etc... Just gotta write the best I can, let the reader decide...

When I was getting up this morning, Rhonda went in to get John, and I heard him say "Happy Birthday to Hanna". Ha. He remembers the excitement of yesterday.

Hanna had a good day yesterday. She crammed cake into her mouth. Got some neat presents. Got to talk to Grandpa and Grandma on the phone.

John got a little antsy with all the attention focused on Hanna. He decided he'd remind us that he was still there, so was knocking Hanna's new tea set around, hopping around, etc...

Last night after the kids were in bed, I got three pages done to start Chapter 2 of The Circle. Writing is a funny thing. When you read a good book, the reading just flows, and it's easy to miss how much work went into creating that book. Writing is very much a craft, which is a scary word for me, because I'm not real craftsy. I wouldn't be any good at pottery or needlework or painting, etc... so I don't think of myself as a craftsman. Yet, good writing is more than just throwing words on a page, there is an art to it, and that's what makes it hard.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HANNA!!!!!!!!!! yay! You're two years old today. Such a big girl. When I got back to the farm after my weekend in Sioux City, Hanna seemed a little older, even though it had only been two days. She is growing, she fits into clothes that were way too big for her when we first got her. Same with John. We gotta quit feeding them.

Will have some cake tonight (which will please John!) and Hanna can open her presents. Grandma said she'd call, so the kids will like that.

We all went for a walk last night, even Ellie. It was such a nice evening. I pushed Hanna in the stroller, and John rode his red trike. We went all the way around the block, and coming back went around on Cloud Drive and back up that path between the houses to get to 120th Lane, so John pedaled a long ways! He just motors around!

Rhonda had went on a rummage sale rampage on Saturday, and got some neat stuff for the kidlings. She got a pair of plastic roller skates for John, and he just loves them. When he sees kids go by on scooters he always wants to play with them, so having something of his own on wheels is just keen. He still kinda trys to walk in them instead of skate, but he likes it. Rhonda had got him a pair of knee pads too, and we have his bike helmet, so those should protect from bumps and bruises.

The kids will be up from their naps soon. I'll probably take them over to bumpy slide park for awhile before supper.

Tomorrow is Hanna's birthday!! She'll be two!

This morning at church, both John and Hanna had new rooms to go to. John went to the three year old room, and Hanna went to the two year old room. Before sunday school, we checked in on John, and he cried when we left him again. I suppose he just has to get used to the new room.

I served communion at both services, and then today was Corn Roast Sunday, so I helped people who needed a hand carrying plates.

Yesterday was nice and warm, so after their naps, we took the kids over to the lake. The water felt cold at first, but then was fine. Wonder why it was so cold, if water was coming up from the bottom of the lake, or if the cool nights have let the water cool that much. Still very nice today, and should stay in the 80s for a few days.

The Vikes beat the Packers today! Twins are tied in the 8th inning, and still tied for first. They have 4 big games with White Sox starting tomorrow.

Oh yeah, was going to say that at the farm, John slept in a little twin bed, in the "little boys" room. So, in other words, a bed with no sides like a crib. Hence, John would often get out of bed, but he was so cute about it. We'd hear a noise, then a pad-pad-pad-pad down the hallway. Either Rhonda or I would go in and lie down with him till he fell asleep, and then he slept all night there.

In the morning, he'd get up and come walking into our room with this cute big grin on his face. It was so sweet.

So, don't know if we're ready yet to have him in the toddler bed at home.

Hanna slept in a playpen thing in our room, and she slept very well too.

Last night while the kids were having their snacks, I let them watch the Animals video from the baby series Mom got. At one point there was a picture of a fish, and I don't know what kind it was, but its mouth kinda turned downward, and when John saw it he said "He's sad." ha.

I took them to London Park last night. Boy oh boy, it gets dark early, and really starts to cool off when the sun is gone. But, after cool mornings, temps this weekend should get into the high 80s. Yay. Will maybe try to get in a trip to the lake, won't be many more of those.

Hanna woke up a couple times in the night crying. Rhonda went in one time, and I went in one time. Don't know what was bothering her. Just held her a bit and she went back to sleep.

Another word Hanna can (sort of) say is "helicopter". She likes the pictures of a helicopter in the Thomas books, and once in awhile, a helicopter will fly over th house.

Last night at supper while we were eating, Hanna's faced turned a bit red and got a bit splotchy. Hmm, don't know if she had an allergic reaction to something or not. I don't remember seeing that before. I didn't think she had anything she hadn't had before. She had had some tomatoes and green grapes. Strange.

Hanna has discovered she can scream. And boy, can she. Eardrum-shattering, crystal glass breaking screams. And we'll try to quiet her down by saying "shhhh", so now sometimes she'll let loose with an eyeball-rupturing scream, but then she'll put her finger to her mouth in an awkward, backwards way and say "shhh". Ha.

When I was at the game convention, I saw a Corvette parked in a handicapped spot, and it did have a handicapped permit hanging from the rearview mirror. Huh? I don't know how handicapped you have to be to get one of those permits, but why would a person in that condition be driving a Corvette?!? Strange.

This morning when I dropped the kids off at Sue's house (Rhonda had something at work) John said to me "Come sit on couch, don't go to work." Aww, I wish I didn't have to go!

I had the kids out on the driveway last night, and they were playing with their trikes and various little cars. The neighbor girl came over, and she had a red trike, but I don't think she can pedal it yet. So she was interested in our little cars, like the Tigger truck, and John wanted to pedal the red trike. He was zipping around like an expert, weaving in and out of people and obstacles, coming close to hitting them but always missing them.

When I came home from work yesterday, the kids were in the pool in the front yard. It was a nice warm afternoon. (Today is a lot cooler, but it should warm up again into the weekend.) They were having fun, as well as enjoying playing with the toys in the house, etc... all things they haven't done for a few days.

Lately when Hanna wants to wander off to a different place, she'll look at you and wave her fingers and say "bye". And she'll wait for you to reply, she wants you to say "bye" back to her! She is saying a few more words more clearly now, like "juice".

I took the kids to bumpy slide park last night while Rhonda went to Walmart. John had fun chasing around with a group of older boys. He always went up and down the big metal slide a lot. And of course, Hanna saw that and she wanted to go up too, so she climbed all the way up there all by herself. I caught her when she came down, as it was a bit fast, but she knows no boundaries when it comes to being involved with whatever everyone else is doing!

Ah, September traffic. Was a slow drive into work this morning.

Yay, back at home and work. Had a nice holiday weekend. Had a fun time at the game convention, as always. I finished 1-3 this year, but every game went right down to the wire, and the dice just didn't help. But, enjoyed seeing some of the regulars.

John and Hanna did very well on the drives. They napped a bit both down and back. We stopped in Worthington for a meal both down and back. Coming back we stopped at a MacDonalds that had a playarea, and John enjoyed that.

They both had fun on the farm. Hanna just loved seeing real live cows! She stared at the cows, and would say "Mooo!" with such intensity when she heard the cows talking. John had fun with all the room to run around. Rhonda's Dad and family came up camping at a place not too far from the farm, so Rhonda went over there a couple of times, and the kids had fun with them. Brenda plays so well with them.

When I came back on Sunday, the kids were quite happy to see me, and I them. John had been quiet I guess, but when I came in he got excited and animated. He went outside so I went out with him, and it was just the two of us, and he wanted to hold me my hand and run all over the place, and we marched and sang the Hi-Ho song from Snow White, and I tossed him in the air. He was a sweetie. Hanna came out later then and we went over by the cows for awhile.

Hanna took a tumble down the stairs when we were leaving. Eek. She cried, but seemed to be ok.

Got a nice email from Kris. Sounds like all are doing well and settling in.