A Teenager!

 Bode is now an official teenager--no more of this tween crap.  He's a full-fledged adolescent, but despite the new age, he's still a pleasant person to be around. We started the day with the opening of the presents.  Bode was thrilled when he received an Oculus 2.

Ashley spent a good portion of the day making a three-layer Neapolitan cake.  She didn't do ice-cream this year, which was great because that meant I got to eat some.  She made all three layers from scratch and even made the icing.  Here is a look at the finished product.

I managed to get Bode to pose for a picture with me.  This was far from easy, as Bode seems adverse to having his picture taken now that he's a teenager.

We then got the cake set up for the singing of the birthday song.

As always, Ashley and I carry a perfect tune.

Bode's wish, sadly, was not granted as Auburn lost a close one to Alabama 42 - 13.  We did sample the cake and gave our critique similar to Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith from The British Baking Show.

Note the well-defined layers--chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.  The texture is moist and fluffy.  Well done, and if I were Paul, I would have shaken Ashley's hand, which is the highest compliment he gives).

It's a bit rainy today, so we'll spend it indoors.  Perhaps we'll get the Christmas decorations out of mothballs or maybe we'll do some cyber shopping.  Pleasant week to all.

Bode Playing Beat Saber

 We've posted previous videos of Bode playing Beat Saber.  This video is the same with a twist.  Bode figured out how to stream his Oculus headset to his computer so he is able to rewatch his games.  It's pretty neat, although I think he likes it more than I do.  After about thirty seconds, it all looks the same to me, but Bode is really into it, so I'll watch as many videos as he will make.

He did tell me that in the recording, there is a lag between the video and the audio, so the moves might not match up.  He can tell the difference.  I cannot.  In terms of video games, this one is quite a work-out.  We are going to get a shirt made for Bode that says "Body by Beat Saber" because after he has played for awhile, he complains about how sore his shoulders are :-)

Ashley AARP

 Today was Ashley's FIFTIETH (50) birthday.  She's filled out her AARP application and has her Amazon account to auto-reorder her hair-dye which is shipped in by the crate :-)  To celebrate, we went water-skiing, and everyone agreed Ashley was the hottest-looking 50-year old on the lake.  As always, we took a lot of pictures.  First, here's a nice one of Bode--little man is looking so grown up these days.

We even got him to pose for a picture with his mother.

Bode took the first run of the day.  He didn't do any slaloming; he said he wanted to work on his wake-crossing.  First, some pictures.

Next is a movie of the little man coming by the dock.

Next, we have Ashley starting on one of her runs.

She did quite well and looked awesome zooming around the lake.

We did get a good movie of Ashley drinking some lake water.

Afterwards, I took a picture of me and Ashley on her big day.

I wake-boarded as well, but I think all the pictures are on Ashley's phone.  I'll try to get some and post at a later date.  When we got home, we feasted on more turkey and ham, and then we did the obligatory singing of Happy Birthday after having paid the appropriate royalties to the Jackson estate.  Note the lovely cake that Bode and I baked.

We'll finish this birthday post with a picture of my two favorite people.

Tomorrow, Bode becomes an official teenager.  God help us :-)

Carriage House...Almost

We had the new driveway poured this week for the carriage house.  This means we are so close to being done.  It looks great--still need to do the bricks at the very end by the street, but it's dry enough for us to walk on.  We have to wait until next week to drive on it, but that'll be here before we know it.  First, here's a shot of the carriage house from the main house's front door.

Next is a little closer so you can see the curve in the path.

This is right in front of the carriage house.  Exterior is all done (I think).

This is the main floor.  I didn't take any pictures of the garage, as it is a bit of a mess with a lot of saws and other tools lying around.  This main room just requires some touch-up paint and minor trim pieces.

The bathroom looks great.  The shower is probably nicer than what we have in our house.  Everything is done in the bathroom except some trim pieces on the floor.

Here is another shot of the main room from the other side.

We should be done right after Thanksgiving...which means we need to start furnishing the place :-)  

Bode is doing great in school.  He got all A's and B's on the first quarter report card, and we continue to be thankful that Meigs has been able to stay open since 31 August.  Bode had to do a science project last week--a 3-D model of a plant cell.  

He molded all the parts himself out of clay.  Ashley helped with the main body, and I helped him type up the definitions, but this project (compared to some others) was mostly Bode's work.  He earned a solid A and a treat from Sonic.  

Only a few more work days until a much needed break for all of us.  We are looking forward to some water-skiing and a lot of turkey!  Pleasant day to all.

Mocking Bode

 Bode plays Beat Saber a lot on his Oculus virtual reality headset.  It is a pretty cool game, and if you want to see what Bode is seeing on his headset, go to this link.  His arms are controlling the light-sabers which are slicing into the blocks that are flying at him.  He's really oblivious to what's going on around him, and he doesn't like if I try to make fun of him but he catches.  Fortunately, he didn't realize I was mocking him.

My dancing skills have not improved much since I was a kid.  Maybe that is something I should work on over the holiday break.  Pleasant weekend to all.

Happy Halloween

 Today was Halloween, and because we live in Florida, we were able to celebrate in our usual fashion.  Ashley and I carved up some pumpkins early in the day.

We placed everything in front of the carriage house.  Before we headed out, I took a picture of Bode, who was dressed as Cartman from South Park.

We headed up the street and met up with our neighbors.  Ashley and Bode took a picture--to keep with the South Park theme, Ashley dressed as Kenny.

Once we got to the park, we took a family photo.  In case you can't tell, I am Randy Marsh, also from South Park.  Note that Ashley made all the masks from scratch--she's quite talented.

We spent some time doing the usual trunk-or-treat at the park, and then we headed around the neighborhood.  We spent close to an hour trick-or-treating, and we were very impressed with the number of people and houses that participated.  I could not tell the difference between this year and a regular year, so it was nice to feel like normal, if only for a little while :-)

On Thursday, there was a Meigs football game, so the football band performed both during the game and also at half-time.  This first picture is of the band arriving at the stands.

Next is a picture of the band performing; it's not the best picture because I didn't want to make a spectacle of myself trying to get a picture.

At half-time, the band had to go down to the field.  There was some down time during the transition, so here's a nice picture of Bode yucking it up.

Next, we have the band getting ready to march onto the field.

Here's a shot of the whole band on the field.  Bode is in the front-left.

Next is a close up of Bode playing.

It was great hearing how much the band has improved since the last time.  Plus, this game was 8th-grade appreciation night, so all the eighth-graders were recognized.  What we found amazing is Bode is one of a small number of seventh graders that play in the football band.  We are so proud of how hard he has worked.  We are also very hopeful they will be able to have a holiday concert.  

Happy Halloween to all!

Youth Symphony

 The Youth Symphony had a mini-concert today.  The organization was doing a fund-raiser, and as part, they performed a few pieces at the Destin Commons.  It was a nice day, but a little windy.  Still, I think it was a great performance.  Here are some still photos.  First, the kids setting up.  Bode is right in the middle in a black shirt.

Here's a close up of Bode.

This is a shot from behind the orchestra.

Finally, here's Bode doing some tuning before the performance begins.

Here's a movie of the warm-up.  I didn't record the whole warm up because I can only upload videos directly to this website that are less than 100 MB.

I uploaded some of the longer pieces to Youtube.   First up is the Egmont Overture.

Next we have the Barber of Seville.

Finally, we have the theme from Star Wars.

We are very proud of how hard Bode has worked.

We had quite a weekend--swim meet yesterday, concert today.  It'd be nice if we had a day to rest, but I guess we have to start again tomorrow :-)  Pleasant week to all.