October 31, 2013

Halloween

Alden went as Eve from Wall-E this year. Karen and I transformed a trashcan to make the costume. This is somewhat ironic since Alden's self-named and self-styled superhero is a character he calls "Trashcan". This is what Trashcan, the superhero looks like:
We don't get it either, so don't ask us. The net on his head is "a gun that shoots metal parts at bad guys". The handle of the net fell off and now it's basically just a metal spike that falls right at eye or crotch level, depending on your age. So to protect the family from an unintentional skewering, Kerstin fashioned it with a Kinder Surprise egg case on the end. The mouth piece is a handle from Elliott's sippy cup. 

Elliott went as a frog because we had a frog costume handy... not much beyond that. He seemed to enjoy the transformation and Halloween night was rainy... weather that frogs like. 
Here is Alden with Elliot just before leaving for trick-or-treating.


October 21, 2013

Saint John

Kerstin was invited to a music conference in Saint John, NB, so we packed up the kids and turned it into a mini vacation.
The view of the city from our hotel. The Queen Elizabeth 2, shown here in the harbor, had docked here over the weekend and we shared the city with the passengers, who were mostly retirees from the States.
There were lots of musical performances that weekend, including a children's band in the Market Square, so we took in the show as a whole family. Otherwise, I spend most of the time shuttling the kids between luncheon locations, playgrounds, and the hotel room for naps and/or a re-up on supplies while Kerstin attended the conference, so it wasn't quite as relaxing as perhaps I had hoped. Still, it was fun to explore Saint John, a city none of us had been to before. Elliott was a little fussier than normal, although he liked the 4-hour car ride through northern Maine and Canada.
Elliott's first international trip!

October 14, 2013

Follow the Dog!

The middle days of October have been simply beautiful. 

I spent three hours outside with the boys enjoying the sun and the green grass. At some point two neighborhood dogs came by to check out what we were doing. One got bored and left, but the other one decided to stick around and smell out trees and bushes.
I followed the dog for about an hour, pulling Elliott and Alden behind me in the wagon. Alden kept yelling, "Follow that dog, he knows were to go."
Eventually the dog left. At some point Elliott fell out of the wagon, but was not hurt and we played on the grass.
All in all a nice day.

October 1, 2013

St. Johns, NF

Just a quick note from Newfoundland. I am attending a conference this week and thought I would post a few pictures. 
When I told the customs agent that I was attending an arts conference in Newfoundland the officer said something like "There are arts in Newfoundland?" As it turns out it is a very vibrant arts community, especially for live music.

Here is a picture of folks getting Screeched in. Half fabricated tradition, half alcohol promotion, but all very fun.