I didn't post these correctly... start from the bottom and go up.

Our first trip (of many, so far) to Six Flags Fiesta Texas - Erin was so brave on the Log Ride!! It's so good to be here in Texas, hopefully this will be home for a while :-)

Family Dinner Night at the Warrens' - Nathan was interfering with family kisses.

And I didn't get a clear picture of the Welcome to Texas sign, but this was just as good - the Taco Cabana in Ft. Worth Texas!!

We made it to Oklahoma... yay!

This Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City - Yum again!!

We started a roadtrip that revolved around BBQ - this was at Central BBQ in Memphis... Yum!!

We went to the playground ALL the time....

We went swimming a few times...

Since I last posted, here's what we've done.... Caleb graduated from Virginia Tech!!

think of every town you've lived in, every room you lay your head...

In which the Mom had recently remarked to the Dad, "It's rather quiet in here..."

A Small Boy (no more than 17 months old, mind you) had, for the second time in one day, helped himself to a rather large scoop of petroleum jelly. This might not have been such an entirely bad thing, for the Small Boy does have patches of eczema that can benefit from such a substance in reasonable doses, but said Small Boy didn't apply it to said affected areas, instead focusing more on places like his tongue, lips, and eyelids. The Mom, upon discovering her greasy Boy (and scarcely recognizing him), yelled for the Dad to come straight away and take the Boy to the bath. With no concern for the mess his parents were facing, the Boy found a bathtime hobby with which to amuse himself. Despite her great irritation, the Mom took a few moments away from the fury of cleaning the greasy carpet and greasy pacifier (which must be suitable for use by bedtime) to document the Boy as he entertained himself. The Small Boy is now clean, dry, dressed for bed, and still slightly greasy. The Mom is inclined to believe that this was all a plot devised so that the Small Boy would slip easily from her grasp when being pulled away from forbidden objects.... Nah.

you've gotta fight for your right to [protect the constitution]

We interrupt this regularly scheduled display of kid cuteness to inform you of your rights. If you watch no other news segment today, watch this.



With all this talk of Big Bad Obama, keep in mind that these particular rights being trampled are courtesy of none other than (your favorite politicians and mine...) - neoconservative Republicans. We can thank them for the Patriot Act and other such constitutional nightmares, all enacted in name of "Homeland Security".

Benjamin Franklin knew what he was talking about - anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security.(my paraphrase)

blue for the sky, and the color green...

For some reason, blogger is no longer uploading pictures for me. I'm not sure if its the movies I've posted lately or if the system is just fruitlooping. Either way, I've posted new pics on Facebook and you can see them there.

The weather was beautiful today, and Virginia Tech had their big international festival this weekend so we took the kids over to try some exotic food and just enjoy being outdoors. Caleb got a plate of red curried rice and vegetables at the Thai booth (VERY good) and I opted for sweeter fare - Guarana and brigadeiros at the Brazil booth. Gotta represent, right Dad? It was a fun afternoon and the kids got plenty of time to run around and wear themselves out.

Caleb is still plugging along at school and doing very well, and I'm working part time at the University for the Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences department. There's about a month left before classes end, and hopefully by then we'll have a better idea of what we're doing next. Life is always exciting!

In which the Judeman displays his sin nature.

Yes he usually gets "disciplined" for this kind of behavior, but I needed to document this for posterity's sake. He may or may not have been provoked by the camerawoman.

heart of this world... or something like that.

this is her rendition - i claim no responsibility for lines like "ripe young women, nekked swimmin', ready to stand!"

test video.

my kids are silly, and i happen to capture a tiff on camera. really i'm posting it because i've never posted a video before and am unsure how to do it. hopefully this works!

honey, we're all resplendent.

Coming home to a place they've never been...

We are at home in Blacksburg! It took awhile, between the long season of packing and cleaning, to the month-long vacation while staying with Caleb's parents, but we're finally moved into our little apartment and completely unpacked. The kiddos love their new (shared) room and have already happily rediscovered all of their toys... so happily, in fact, that I think from now on I'll always keep one third of their toys packed away, and then rotate so there's always something new and exciting. Christmas all year long!

And speaking of, it was a good Christmas. As I mentioned, we were staying with the Weltys for the holidays so we got to share Christmas morning with them. Judah and Erin were sick but still managed to enjoy the new toys and goodies. We had a low-key New Years, and even went to bed early.

So college life starts in earnest this week - I'll be hunting for a job and Caleb will start class on Wednesday. Abby (Caleb's sister, who will be living with us for the semester) starts classes next week and will job hunting as well. Should make for a full and fun 5 months!!

I will post some pics in the next few days. No, really... I promise.