Birthdays

Bode and Ashley both had birthdays this week.  Ashley turned 49 , and we celebrated with a home-made cake.  Bode and I worked for many hours, combining ingredients, greasing pans, and avoided burning the house down.  We then sang the obligatory tune...

After singing, Bode posed with his Mom for a nice picture.

Little man turned 12 today.  Hard to believe he is an even dozen.  We got Bode an oculus quest virtual reality system.  He seems to like it.

Here's a movie of Bode playing some game.  I'm sure it looks great inside the head-set, but outside the head-set, it looks a little goofy.

Ashley's family is coming over for some turkey and ham later today.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!

A Tween (almost)

Bode had his 12th birthday party today.  His actual birthday is on Thanksgiving this year, so we had the party a couple of days early.  Six kids came--Alex, Jacob, Brody, Dillinger, Colin, and Olivia.  Ashley arranged for a game-truck to come to the party--we did this a couple years ago in Colorado, and it was a big hit.  We had similar success here.  First, here's a shot of the kids.

Next, a shot of the exterior and interior of the truck.

After the party, we had everyone inside for some pizza and the obligatory singing of Happy Birthday.

Bode also opened some of the gifts his buds brought him.

All the kids seemed to have a nice time.  Ashley and I also had some fun, as we played a couple rounds of Just Dance 2020.  I'm sure we look awful, but we had fun doing this--we'll probably be doing this when we're in our 70's (something to look forward to...)

Bode is off from school the rest of the week.  I have to work tomorrow, but then I'm done.  I think we'll try to exercise on Wednesday in preparation for the feasting on Thursday and Friday...and hopefully on Saturday when we celebrate an Iron Bowl victory.  Pleasant Turkey Day to all!

Dogs on the Dock

We have found the dogs expect to be taken down to the dock each evening.  You'd think Joey would be a bit hesitant to want to go to the beach since he fell off the dock, but he's none the worse for the wear.

It's been very pretty here with some beautiful sunsets.  I don't think my little camera is the right one to use to capture all the colors, so I guess you'll just have to use your imagination.

The work on the carriage house is going...slowly.  Here are some shots of the progress. 

We talked to the builder, and the next step is for the plumber and grader to do some work.  I'm sure I'll be out there checking to ensure everything is done right :-)  Pleasant Vet's Day to all.

Science Project

Bode had to do a science project for school.  They needed to show the five layers of the earth's crust, and they also had to write a story.  Here's Bode's finished product.

Ashley and I did help Bode just a little bit with the model.  However, he wrote the entire story himself; the only help I gave him was with spelling and punctuation.  Therefore, I present to you, Bode's first story.

The Journey to the Core

 by Bode McGuirk

 Sometime in the future, in the United States, there were two men named Marcus and Brandon who wanted to know what the layers of the Earth were. They were so interested that the wanted to travel directly to the center of the Earth, so they came up with heat resistant pads which they thought would protect them from the temperature of what lies beneath the Earth’s crust.

  Brandon (he had the idea for the heat pads) said, “Marcus how’s the drill going?”

  Marcus replied, “Great how about the heat pads?” 

  “We might have to delay our plans,” said Brandon sadly.

  “Why?” questioned Marcus.

  “The heating pads may not be able to handle the heat from the Earth’s core,” replied Brandon.

  “Nonsense” said Marcus confidently. “The heating pads have been able to block the heat from rocket ships!!!”

  “But…” Brandon tried to speak but Marcus said, “No buts. This will work. We have been working on this for years.”

  Brandon asked, “Even if the heat pads work, where do you plan on getting a power source to power the drill and the heat pads?” 

  Marcus said, “ I was busy while you were working on the heat pads.” Marcus lifted some strange object and showed Brandon.

  Brandon said in amazement, “Where did you get one of those!?”

  Marcus replied, “ I have my ways,” as Brandon was still shocked.

  Brandon said, “That is a quantum fusion reactor. I thought those were millions of dollars. How did you get one?”

  “I built one,” replied Marcus.

  Brandon asked, “Where did you get the parts for one?”

  “I bought most of them,” Marcus said, “and got some of them from a friend.”

  Brandon said, “Well let’s get to installing this reactor.”

  After three months of hard work, Marcus said, “I think it is finally finished.”

  “Well. we still need to make sure the heat pads are working and make sure there are no holes.” Brandon replied.

  “I was doing that while you were installing the reactor,” said Marcus. “I also added a massive teleporter so just in case we won’t lose the drill or our lives.”

  “Well let’s start drilling down then,” said Brandon in amazement.

  “Wait--first we must learn what the layers are so we know what layer we will be in and how hot they are,” Marcus said.

  “Why must we know how hot they are?” questioned Brandon?

  “So we know what layer we are in. And I forgot I never told you I put a thermometer on the drill.”

   “Oh that makes sense,” said Brandon, “but what layer are we standing on right now?”

  “Let me look it up,” said Marcus “ It says that we are standing on the lithosphere.”

   Brandon asked, “ What is the next one?”

  “You will find out,” Marcus said, “so lets start drilling!!!”

  Brandon and Marcus got in the drill and started drilling away. After awhile the thermometer read 300 degrees Celsius. Brandon said in amazement, “The heat pads worked!!!”

  “I told you they would work,” said Marcus, “ but just look how hot it is already. We are only in the second layer and according to my research the asthenoshpere is part of the lithoshpere.”

  Brandon replied, “ I could have sworn we were on the fourth layer. How hot is the inner core then?!?!”

  “Very hot” said Marcus.

  After a day of digging the thermometer read 600 degrees Celsius.  As the two men kept digging, they threw a rock out the back of the drill to see what would happen to it. The two men were surprised when the rock started to melt. Brandon said “ How hot must it be to melt that type of rock!?”

  “Pretty hot” replied Marcus. As the two kept digging, Marcus noticed that the thermometer started glowing. Marcus was becoming worried about the heating pads.

  After a long time of digging they get to the outer core, but the two men didn’t know yet because the thermometer melted.  They would have to wait for the pressure barometer to tell what the pressure is. “It appears we have entered the outer core,” said Marcus

  “Indeed we have” replied Brandon. Marcus noticed the heating pads starting to glow.

  Marcus said worried, “this is bad”

  Finally the two reached the inner core. Marcus said, “We have reached the inner core.”

  Brandon said very worriedly, “The heating pads are getting too hot, and the drill is getting crush!!! We need to teleport now!”  Brandon and Marcus both ran as fast as they could to the teleporter just before the heating pad failed.  They teleported back to the earth’s surface.  They both were relieved when the saw the outside of their houses.

  “We barely made it out alive,” Brandon said.

  “Well we turned out all right. I don’t think the drill did” said Marcus. Brandon turned around and saw the beat up drill. “I think it’s still in good enough condition that we can get some parts out of it.” The two men started scrapping the drill.

  “Well at least the reactor and teleporter are still alright. We can sell them for money for our next adventure,” Marcus said.

  “Well, see you next time Brandon.” The two men went home and thought of what they should do next.     

The End...?

All Saint's Eve

We went trick-or-treating tonight.  Bode went as Zoom, one of the evil speedsters from The Flash television series.  Ashley surprised Bode and wouldn't tell him her costume until today when she debuted it.  Bode was not amused.

An explanation is probably in order.  Bode hates unicorns.  Well, I don't know if he would hate them on his own accord.  However, ever since he was young, we would joke that he was watching My Little Pony or something with Rainbow Unicorns.  Thus, it's been a running gag--anytime we see something unicorn-esque, we tell Bode we're gonna get it for him.  This is why he was less than amused with Ashley's costume.  Still, he did pose for some nice pictures with his cool-as-hell-Mom.

We went down to the park with some friends and did the trunk-or-treat, and then we headed up Poplar Street, which is just packed with trick-or-treaters.  We were out for about an hour--it was surprisingly chilly (I wore a hat and gloves---Brrr!).  Happy Halloween to all!

FBJ

Joey is a bit heavy.  At the vet's office, he weighed 101 pounds; he probably should be closer to 85 pounds, so he's on a diet.  Hence, until he's shed the weight, he's "Fat Boy Joey."  Of course, the acronym could also stand for "Fat Boy Jeffy," so I guess we'll all watch what we eat over the next few weeks to prepare for the impending holiday gluttony.

Bode's been doing great.  He got his first middle school report card and earned all A's and one B (in Language).  We are very proud of how hard he is working.  The beginning band also had an introductory night (I forgot the camera).  It wasn't really a concert--the teacher walked all the parents through some of the things the students do in band.  It's impressive how far they've come--some kids started without ever having played an instrument.  As part of the evening, the band did play three or four songs, some with solo sections.  Bode volunteered to do one of the solos and did awesome--no wrong or bad sounding notes.

Bode has also made some friends at Meigs.  The football team was in the championship game last week, so we all went.  Bode didn't watch a single down--he was off doing whatever it is kids do at these things.  I didn't embarrass him by whipping out the camera, but I did try to take some shots.

His best friend (I think) is Olivia.  She's a very nice girl, and she's come over to the house a lot after school.  Here's a picture of Bode and Olivia swimming (again, I had to sneak in the picture-taking so I didn't embarrass the young fellow).

There was a trunk-or-treat at our neighbor's church last night.  I tried to convince Bode he was a little old for most of the things (targeted more towards toddlers), but he wanted the free candy.  I took him, and he wasn't all that interested in the games, but he did like petting this dog (looks a little like FBJ).

We had a nice relaxing weekend.  Ashley and Barkley took a little nap.

Work has started (sort of) on the carriage house.  Some trees have been removed and some sand has been brought to the site and pushed around.

Another week of the same ol' stuff this week...with some trick-or-treating on Thursday night.  It might be "cool" in that the temps might be in the 70's :-)  The temps are getting lower in the evenings, so I decided to pick my watermelon...it's not very impressive.

I will try to refine my gardening methods for next season; I think I need to be much more proactive in fighting bugs and fungi.  Pleasant week to all.

The Carriage House

We spent about seven hours this weekend on the Destin pool deck.  Bode had a swim meet, and since he doesn't have school tomorrow, we loaded him up with events.  He swam the 100-IM, 50-free, and 100-back on Saturday, and also did a 50-free as part of the relay.  Today, he swam the 100-free, 50-back, and 50-butterfly.  In the IM, he shaved five seconds off his best time, while in the butterfly, he took off four seconds.  In the other events, he was right on his best times, or slightly slower, but it is hard to say our timing is down to tenths of a second because the timers are manually stopping the clock.

Here are some good pictures and movies.  First, Ashley hanging out at the pool.

Here's one of Bode getting ready to start.  I'm in the picture because I volunteered to be a timer for both days.  Bode certainly doesn't miss any meals...

Nana and Papa were able to make it to the pool to watch Bode swim.

Here's a movie of Bode's 50-fly race.  He's looking very good.

Overall, he had a great meet.  He's probably tired now, so it's good that he has Monday off; sadly, Ashley and I both have to work.

We were told work will (might) start this week on the carriage house.  We think this will just be some staking as well as some tree removal; here's hoping.  I thought I'd document what the property looks like before construction.  Hopefully by spring, there's be a nice two-car detached garage with mini-apartment up top and a small area for Ashley's workshop and a space for a gym...fingers are crossed.

Happy Columbus Day to all.