Weekend Activities

We had an extremely active weekend and I am very glad to be working from home today after it. We started it off by attending a Halloween party at the McKenzies. Amanda worked hard to get our costumes together and I think that they came out pretty good.

Being Barney and Betty Rubble was pretty easy, though in the future I have to remember how static electricity works as my costume kept clinging to my shorts. Nevertheless, the costumes were a hit.

Saturday morning brought frost and soccer. This was our last game, so I mixed up the players and positions a bit more. Noah was on offense and alertly stayed near the goalie while the goalie tried to drop-kick the ball. He picked up the trash and put it in the net! This was very exciting for us as it was a pure hustle play. We came home in the afternoon and had some grilled burgers before I watched the first half of Ohio State's pasting of Penn State.

Sunday we went to church early and then got ready for the Monster Dash 5k. Here are Amanda and her sisters in their Pink Ladies getups.

The race was an unqualified success for all. The ladies ran through the whole thing. I finished with a PR of 23:46, which made me happy. Then we headed over to Lilly's Pizza to eat and drink some carbs. Brenna spent the night last night, so I took Noah out to Buffaloe Lanes to play some arcade games and earn tickets. We finished with a long browse at Target, which is one of his favorite things to do.

All in all, it was a very successful weekend. Today I have a parent-teacher meeting with Noah's teacher. I am looking forward to what she thinks.

Neighborhood Watch

Anyone who knows Amanda knows that she isn't afraid of much. She sees bugs as targets. Snakes are friends. Why? They eat the one thing she does fear - rodents.

She is going to be able to go outside more confidently now because of our new neighborhood watch. Lily found this guy in the tree in the cul-de-sac. I got this shot a bit later when she went back out to take Oreo for his evening constitutional.

I tried to get a little closer, but the owl flew off. Oreo picked up on that and tried to chase it. Good luck flushing a bird that might have tried to eat you when you were a pup.

10 Years Ago Today...

Roughly 9 years, 364 days, and 22 hours ago we welcomed Lily Helena Chamberlain into the world. I can still remember Amanda waking me up in the middle of the night and the drive through downtown Cary as we went to the hospital. I remember slow dancing with Amanda through labor. I remember transition in the tub. I remember the nervousness of the hospital staff since Lily had the cord wrapped around her neck. And I remember how grateful we were to God that she was healthy.

A lot has changed for Lily over these 10 years as she's grown into a young lady, but some things haven't. From the moment she came out she was looking around and paying attention to the world around her. She has never been afraid to voice her opinion about things either. The good news is that she now has much better hair.

We let Lily celebrate with friends last night. She had her two best friends from school over for a sleepover. We got pizza and they watched a movie. Amanda helped them make tye-dye shirts as a favor from the party. We enjoyed a cookie cake that Amanda and I worked together on. They stayed up until 12:30 and got up around 7:30. We have a wedding to attend this afternoon, so we figured we'd better celebrate early.

Happy birthday Peanut!

Birthday Boy

Today is the big day. Our Pook turns 6! I made the drive to Raleigh this morning to get us some Krispy Kreme doughnuts and when I got back everyone was already awake. We had Brenna spend the night for fun and for her to help with the party. Everyone enjoyed Krispy Kreme, Noah opened his presents, and then they went off to North Cary Park for the party.

Swordfighting on the Wii

The theme of the party was "Jedi Academy." Everyone was greeted with a name tag and the title "Padawan." They were then presented with a light saber (half a swim noodle with duct and electrical tape to simulate a handle), which they got to decorate. 

They then had their training with the light sabers. This consisted of keeping a balloon in the air with their light sabers. After that they had to find Yoda to complete their training. This was a scavenger hunt with clues hid around the park. Lily and Brenna were key for this part, particularly in guarding Yoda on top of the climbing rock. Noah said that this was his favorite part of the party.

After that the boys dueled with the sith lords. In this case, they were Lily and Brenna who sported double-sided red lightsabers (whole swim noodles). Word is that Noah's friend from church Abel was the best at dueling as he really got his blade moving fast. They all had a great time with that.

Next, they had a pinata of Darth Vader's head. I guess it didn't last too long, but everyone had fun with it. I'm not sure who dealt the fatal blow, but everyone enjoyed the little treats inside.

Finally, they had pizza and cupcakes. It ended with the presentation of their diplomas as "Jedi Master." They also got a T-shirt with the jedi logo on it. 

As you might imagine, Amanda is pretty tired now. Noah is enjoying his unlimited Wii. I'm working from home and fighting the urge to play Wii with Noah.

Pomp and Circumstance

Noah had his kindergarten celebration today. He did all the same songs as Lily, but without as much gusto. We sat too far back to get decent footage of "Thank You." He did do a little hip action, but nothing like Lily. Still, he did sing all the songs and did the hand motions pretty much in sync with everyone else. 

This is a photo of Noah getting his "diploma" from Ms Snoots. He is the second Chamberlain to spend a year in her class. We are hoping he ends up with Mrs. Turner next year. 

Weekend Activities

We had a fun, but very busy weekend here. On Friday night I took Amanda out to see Star Trek in IMAX 3D. I was a little skeptical since I'm more of a traditional Star Trek fan, but it was quite good. Seeing it in 3D was really something. I spent most of Saturday painting. While Noah and I listened to and watched the Indians game the girls took a long walk with Oreo. Later, we went to see the finals for the NCAA Division II baseball tournament. There we saw the University of Tampa whoop up on Minnesota State. There were fireworks at the end, which Noah didn't think too much of. We got to see a few unique things at this game:

1. There was about a 15 minute delay because some of the lights went out.
2. We got to see a great dogpile when Tampa squeezed the last out
3. Some of the fireworks went off sideways and started a small fire in the landscaping behind the right field wall

Overall, it was a great time. Noah and his friend Nathan hung out and didn't watch much baseball. Nevertheless, they had fun. Lily and Rachel enjoyed getting their faces painted too.

A "selfie" Lily took in the car

Lily's flower just before demolition

Of course, this made for a late bedtime, but it was worth it. Everyone slept in this morning. We had breakfast, had a fine time at church, and then came home. I did more painting and the girls took another walk. Noah stuck with the whole game even though the Indians got bludgeoned today (final score 11-3).

Amanda suggested we have a family movie night, which we all embraced wholeheartedly. We watched the Karate Kid. Noah got really excited when Daniel landed the fateful kick on Johnny's chin.

I'm glad that I have the kitchen ready to be painted when the painters come on Wednesday, but it was still a lot of work. I did the trim to save us a lot of money. At their suggestion, I did it before they put color on the walls so I could be messy with the paint. I still have to paint the doors in the kitchen hallway, but I have made terrific progress. I think I'm ready to go back to work tomorrow so I can rest.

Field Trip

Lily and I had quite the day today. I got up at 4:00 and she got up at 4:15. I took a shower and then made us omelettes to prepare us for the day ahead. We got to Northwoods at 5:30 and were on the road at around 5:50 for the trip to Wilmington.

Our first stop was to Masonboro Island. However, before we could take the boat over the kids waited in line to use single-toilet bathrooms. That took quite a while, as you might imagine. The boat ride was fun for everyone, though extremely cold. I would estimate that the boat traveled around 15 kts, so combine that with a morning in the mid-50s, no sun, and some breeze on its own and you have some chilly children. The adults all stayed in the cabin.

The island was a lot of fun. There were three stations set up. One was to learn about the various life that is on the island. The next was to try catching some crabs, which was wholly unsuccessful since it was too cold. The last was to gather shells, but in a focused way. All three stations were quite educational.

After that we headed over to Ft. Fisher and the NC Aquarium. We had a picnic lunch which was unpleasant due to no-see-ums and fire ants. We breezed through the aquarium and all the girls had a good time. The gift shop was of course the main attraction. 

We then got back on the buses and went to see the USS North Carolina. This was the main attraction for many of the kids, even one of the girls in our group. Unfortunately, we were really pressed for time so we had to hurry through it. Lily was a little nervous standing on the grating in the engine room. Unfortunately, by the time we finished touring below decks we didn't have time for the bridge or CIC. We plan to go back as a family.

We rode for a little while and then stopped at a McDonald's. This was a pretty rough experience since they were out of ice cream with no way of making any. I tried to salvage it by buying apple pies for the girls. I hoped that the kids would all crash on the ride home, but only a few did. Fortunately, most were quiet as we watched Rio on the ride home.

Lily, Lauren, Kathryn, and Madeline

Everyone said that they had a great time. I know that I did. I also know that I am very, very tired now.

Fun Friday

Yesterday was a wonderful confluence of early release and beautiful weather. Unlike today when it has been in the high 30s and snowing, yesterday was in the low 60s and sunny. It worked out well because Lily finally got to enjoy her birthday present. Amanda bought a Groupon for horseback riding at a local farm and Lily went with her friend Grace. This is a photo of her upon her return.

Riding High

Amanda was a little nervous for the girls only because the group coming back had a nervous rider who fell off her horse. Lily and Grace did not have that problem and Pancho behaved wonderfully for Lily. She decided that she has developed a taste for horseback riding. To quote C-3PO, "we're doomed!" Speaking of C-3PO, we began a Star Wars marathon last night. Amanda had dinner plans with friends, so the kids and I watched Star Wars while eating pizza, popcorn, and cupcakes. It had been about a year since Noah saw Star Wars and it was time for a refresher. We watched The Empire Strikes Back today and I plan for us to watch Return of the Jedi on Monday since we are all off for Presidents' Day.

The day was also fun for Noah because he got to hang out at his friend Nathan's house during the day. It is great to see how well they play together. There is rarely any fighting and they just enjoy hanging out and doing boy stuff like shooting baskets on the inside Nerf hoop, playing outside, and playing Wii.

Obviously it won't be like this every time, but this was how to run an early release day. As Grandpa E used to like to quote, don't you just love it when a plan comes together?

Bedtime

The bedtime routines have been a little messed-up lately with various changes. However, one thing that doesn't change is how cute the kids are.

Noah's Favorite Jammies

This morning I had a funny conversation with Lily as she was taking Oreo out for his morning walk. She has been a trooper in getting up early and doing this regularly.

Me: Good morning, Peanut! How are you?
Lily: Uhhh...I'm OK.
Me: What's the matter? Didn't you sleep well?
Lily: I slept fine. It's just annoying having to get out of bed.

I think we've seen a pretty clear expression of the Pierce genes here. She still went out and took care of Oreo's business, so I have to commend her for that.

80s Day

This is spirit week at Northwoods and the kids are in on the action. Noah wore his Ohio State football jersey on Monday and had words with a Michigan fan on the bus. I'm so proud. 

Yesterday was 80s day. Lily wore a side pony and lotsa layers. She also had kind of a sparkly skirt. I think the one thing she lacked was jelly bracelets. Anyhow, Amanda helped them get into the spirit, despite the fact that Amanda has not felt very good this week.

Note the Popped Collar

Family Day

As noted previously, we had a lovely walk in the woods on Saturday. Here are some photos from that walk.

Oreo loves a walk

Mom and her Pook

Imperious Lily

He insisted that we take this photo

This is unrelated to the walk, but as I am including photos I thought I would include this one. Lily's famously long hair needed some conditioning, so Amanda whipped up some goop from a recipe she got from Pinterest or some other online source. She turned yesterday evening into full-on spa time. Here is Lily getting the royal treatment.

Amanda putting a magnet to the toenails

Halloween Photos

After much anticipation (mostly for Noah), Halloween 2012 came and went. Lily recycled another ballet recital outfit, while Noah wanted to go as Boba Fett. I'm not quite sure why he wanted to be Boba Fett, but he really got a lot of use out of the mask this year. Amanda also got him a small Nerf gun in a Star Wars style for him to carry. He had a lot of fun playing with that with Grandpa Jack too.

Our Spanish Dancer and Bounty Hunter

Amanda took the kids along with some of the neighbor kids. I stayed behind to pass out candy. I did make it a bit more festive by getting out the fire pit and making a campfire in the driveway. All the adults who came by appreciated that on a chilly evening. It didn't rain like last year, but it was still pretty chilly.

I'd say the only one who didn't enjoy the evening was Oreo. He hung out on the love seat and barked at everyone who came by. They didn't ring the bell, but they still got into his space. He didn't appreciate that much.

Pinterest represented in the middle

Now is the time to brag on Amanda's artistic flair a bit. She did the pirate pumpkin on the right. She also did the pineapple in the middle. She got the idea for that off of Pinterest, of course. Amanda did the nose for the one on the left, but the rest was all Lily's work. It's hard to be much prouder of my little artist with that.

Best...mommy...ever

Amanda let Noah choose what he wanted his pumpkin to look like this year. He chose Mario (of course). Although Amanda had a rough day today with gloomy weather, catching up on laundry, and coming down from vacation, she carved out this pumpkin for Noah. You can see the results and the template from which she started below.

Do you see the resemblance?

Amanda is hardly Ms Crafts, but she did this and she did a fine job. The only negative from all this is that she sets the bar pretty high for herself. I'm not sure that Noah really appreciates this as much as he should, but someday he will. I'm pretty confident his future wife may not appreciate this ("my mom used to carve Mario out of a pumpkin").

Lily has already said that she wants something much simpler. Amanda is very glad to hear that! Lily seems more interested in harvesting the seeds to toast. She went through all the goo and pulled out all the seeds. That should be fun.

Noah's Day

Noah had a very good day yesterday. We went to soccer in the morning and he did very well. He seems to do the dribbling drills about 50% faster than the other kids. At the end of practice I asked his coaches at what age they start working on headers and they told me that it depends, but that Noah was definitely ready. They then described him as being "very athletic." I told them that I envision him being a midfielder who gets things set up for the offense and they agreed. They said that he has a good sense of space. I think he gets that from me. My problem is that I can't make my body put the ball (soccer, football, basketball) where it needs to go. Noah doesn't seem to have that affliction.

After soccer we picked up Brenna, who spent the night. We came home and visited with some friends from our old church and then went for a hike at Umstead Park. Noah really enjoyed himself and even decided that he wanted his picture taken on this tree. I think that this came out pretty good, though I'm no expert.

He requested that we take his picture

Finally, at the end of the day he got to play some electronics. This is pretty much an ideal day for Noah. Perhaps the only improvement would have been if we went to a sporting event of some kind or went bowling.

Rockstar

You may recall that Noah had some mousse in his hair for school pictures on Friday. He still had it in his hair while we were running errands on Saturday. Lily took advantage of it to spike him up a little bit. You can see the results below.

Channeling his inner Morrisey

One cool dude

He has decided that he kind of likes this, so Amanda is going to get a cheap bottle of gel and give his hair a little body when appropriate. It's kind of neat to see how Noah is starting to have more of an opinion about how he looks. He is not particularly vain or anything, but he definitely is starting to get some ideas.

School Photos

Today is a big day at Northwoods. It's time for everyone to get their individual photos. We probably won't buy any because we have our own photographer who does a great job. However, there are people who might buy the annual yearbook (yes, a yearbook for elementary school), and we want the kids to look good for them.

Today is PE day for Noah and he first dressed appropriately for that. He had on a sleeveless top and was ready for action. Amanda sent him back upstairs and asked Lily to pick out something good for him. She chose one of his great aloha shirts. Then Amanda took it up a notch by putting a little mousse in his hair. You can see the results below.

Looking Slick

Hopefully they will do the photos for kindergarten early in the day. Fortunately, unlike his dad Noah does not play with his hair much.

Dog Walking

One of the ideas that Katie and Lily had this summer was to start a dog walking service. This was used on their promotional materials for "Divas Dog Walking." They are definitely divas.

It takes all kinds

So far, business has been rather slow. They do get to walk a little dog in the neighborhood called Ella. To give you a sense of perspective, Oreo kind of towers over her. I think they charge $1/walk and they split the proceeds. Lily is nothing of not a saleswoman.

Average Kid

Noah had his well-child appointment today. He is 43.7 inches tall (up from 41 last year) and weighs 42 pounds (up from 39 last year). This puts him in the 56th and 53rd percentiles, respectively. The doctor gave him a clean bill of health.

When I asked him about how his doctor's appointment went he said, "Great! I didn't get any shots!" That is a good attitude about it for a 5 year-old.

Canine Closeup

Lily asked that I post this photo of Oreo. She is proud of it and rightly so. If my company's internal directory ever allows photographs I may try to use this one. I think she took this the day after we got him.

One of Lily's best photographs ever

Staggered Entry

Today was the big day. The day Amanda has waited five years for. The day Noah almost started kindergarten. Although the problems surrounding after-school busing are becoming quite the local firestorm, the mornings seem to go OK. In fact, the bus was a little bit early today. Unlike on someone else's first day of school, Noah never hesitated getting on the bus.

Noah boards the bus

Forgive the blurriness of the photo. You can only do so much with an iPhone and a moving target.

I asked how Noah's first day was and he said, "Great!" He got to meet all the teachers for the specials, but was disappointed that they didn't play any sports in PE. He will soon enough though.