Tallest Man

Pete: "Dad, did you know that the world's tallest man was 8 feet 11 inches tall and lived to age 22? Hmm, I wonder why he died."

Sam: "He probably got murdered by the world's second tallest man, so he could become the tallest"

Seven Springs Feb 2012 - Heartbreak Hill

Sam had great time skiing for the first time on the family trip to Seven Springs.

Above is Sam pictured atop the training area he and Dad would later call "Heartbreak Hill". After a few Sunday runs on the Magic Carpet beginner run, Sam decided to ride the conveyor belt to the top of this intermediate training hill. When he reached the top, Sam realized that having not learned yet how to slow down or stop was going to be a big problem. Dad's final words to Sam were "lean forward", after which Dad raced down the slope to pick up the pieces of Sam's spine and equipment that were strewn about the bottom of the hill.

Sam and Dad agreed that about 50 more runs on the Magic Carpet were in order before trying something like that again.

But by Monday afternoon, Sam was able to go up in the big Polar Bear lift and ride Phillips's Trail all the way down. He even skied through one of the Terrain Parks.

Before he could turn in his skis and head home, Sam knew what he had to do. Although the conveyor lift was closed, Sam took off his skis and hiked up to the top of the hill. And then he skied down to the bottom, turning gracefully and coming to a gentle stop. Heartbreak Hill is now referred to as Happy Hill.

Dollar Store

In case you were wondering what Sam will buy if he brings $5 of his own money to the dollar store, I have his receipt here in front of me and the answer is:

• Sound Tube
• Ring Pops
• Air Horn

Honor Roll

Congratulations to Pete for making the 6th grade Honor Roll:

Note his special recognition for receiving straight A's, and his other surprising recognition. I didn't even know they knew about that.

If You Give a Communist a Cupcake

Found in Sam's school papers:

If You Give a Communist a Cupcake

by Sam Berman

If you give a Communist a cupcake, he'll eat it. If he eats it, he'll ask for another one. He'll plant a camera in it. Then he'll give it back and say he doesn't want it. He will make sure you are in the military before he gives it back. If you are in the military, he will spy on you. And then he will tell the Russians about our attacks and they'll drop a nuke on us. We'll lose the war and die. And that's why you don't give a Communist a cupcake.

Quiet an interesting and cautionary tale. I wonder what lesson preceded this writing assignment.

On a side note, I'll bet you'll agree that he'll use contractions anywhere they'll fit.

Memes

Dad has decided to get with the times and spice up this blog with some memes.

A few nights ago, Dad and Pete developed a new meme called Zebnot. Zebnot is a talented and powerful robot, but unfortunately he is also a bit selfish. Here is one example of Zebnot in action:

Expect to see some more meme postings in the future!

Angry Feet

Dad and Sam were in the basement playing on the Xbox while Pete was finishing his homework. It was getting a bit late. Dad could hear footsteps through the creaky floorboards above.

Dad: I hear someone walking upstairs

Sam: It's Mom

Dad: How do you know that?

Sam: You can tell. The footsteps are mad.

Red Scarf Care Packages

On February 4, 2012, the family participated in the Red Scarf Care Package volunteer project at Christian Fellowship Church. This was the continuation of the Red Scarf Sorting project that they did back in December.

There was an assembly line. First you grab a box, then fill it up with one of each item (including a red scarf), and then after packaging/labeling the box for delivery to the orphan, stack the boxes for pick-up by FedEx.

This work was through the organization "Foster Care To Success" (formerly Orphan Foundation of America). After the packages were done, a "graduate" of the program spoke to the group.

After all of their hard work, Pete and Sam went to Chick-fil-A for lunch.

Red Scarf Sorting

On December 10, 2011, the family participated in the Red Scarf Sorting volunteer project at Christian Fellowship Church.

First they would unpack a box of red scarves that were knitted by people all around the world. Many were very nice scarves, with hand-written notes. Each scarf was individually bagged and sorted into various categories (boy/girl/color/etc). Later they will be shipped off to former foster children in care packages.

After all of their hard work, Pete and Sam went to the mall for lunch.

Waffle Zone

Pete's Middle School has a newspaper called the Waffle Zone. Above is a picture of the article in the latest issue, featuring Pete's Spelling Bee victory over the "six-grade" competition.

In other news:

• Entries for the photo contest are due by Friday, Friday 10
• Michael Jordan has inspired Caitlyn Harper to become a hardworking team player. she is today
• The following all received the maximum 5 stars in their review: The Help, The Hunger Games, The Adventures of Tintin. On a related note, someone threw up in the gym but that only received 4 and a half stars.