Guitar Hero

Congratulations to Pete for enduring an epic encore on Freebird to complete Guitar Hero 2 (which Dad received for Father's Day).

Sam is also getting much better, and is almost good enough to finish his first song in Career mode.

Ice Cream Truck

Pete and Sam are enjoying a treat from the ice cream truck at the bottom of the driveway. Sam's started out as a Spongebob popsicle, and Pete's is a cup of ice cream dots.

Farewell Pool Party

Pete and Sam had fun at Caleb's farewell party, which was held at the "Bucket Pool". Caleb is moving to North Carolina.

Matt Wilhelm

We went to see Matt Wilhelm at the Ashburn Library on Saturday. He did some cool bike tricks, including Time Machine, Tornado Spin, Jump Rope, and Spider Man. The music was awesome too. When we got home, we had to put the song San Dimas High School Football Rules on Pete and Sam's MP3 players.

One Way To Get Alone Time

The other day Pete provided a unique proposal for getting some time alone:

“Mom! Sam keeps bothering me. Bring me a gun. I want to give it to Sam so he can shoot me. Then I will go to heaven and he will go to hell.”

Last To Leave

When Pete and Dad go to an event, they are often the last ones to leave. They help every one clean up, then hang out for a while doing nothing or just looking around for more things to do. Dad has many fond memories of time spent at such events.

One of the best was Pete’s last baseball game a few weeks ago at Newton-Lee. It was an evening on the last day of a heat wave – the heat index was in the 90-100 range, and humid. Mom and Sam had left the game earlier. Pete’s teammates and coaches finished their post-game snack, packed everything up, and headed home. Everyone was sweaty and exhausted. Dad asked coach if they could keep one ball. Dad and Pete stayed on the deserted field and played another 30 minutes of one-on-one baseball. The rule was that every hit was either an out or a home run.

Bible Study

Sam reads in his Bible the story of Joseph and the Power Rangers of Many Colors.

Lots of Learning

I'm not sure what subjects they're covering at Pete's school this month, but the students seem to be enjoying it.

Somehow it involves Sam, also.

Crayfish Boil

Pete and Sam had fun at the neighborhood Crawfish boil on Memorial Day weekend. Here is Sam playing with the fish before they went into the pot.

I See Dead People

Dad: Sam, did you have a good time at church?

Sam: Yeah, Mom took me with her into the cemetery!

Mom: Sanctuary

Late Night Activity

Pete's friend Eric (from Pittsburgh) came for a brief visit on Saturday night. His family was passing through town on their way back from vacation in North Carolina. Like most visitors, Eric slept in Pete's bottom bunk. Dad asked Pete the next morning about their late-night activities.

Dad: What were you guys doing up until 10:30 last night?
Pete: We were passing math problems to each other in my journal.

Sprucing Up the Basement

Pete and Sam were helpful in getting the basement painted.

And unlike most local painters, they are legally permitted to be in the United States.

Tornado Warning

It is not too often that we get tornado warnings in Virginia, so perhaps we should not have been surprised to find the trampoline in a new location about an hour later.

Pete's question was not "how did that get there?". If you know Pete, you can probably guess what he asked.

What is She Cooking?

Sam: What is Mommy cooking in there?

Dad: I think it's ham and eggs.

Sam: Oh. I was thinking it smells like barbecued poop.

Desire To Help

Inspiration for concept from here.

Baseball Lineup

Pete's baseball game was a good test of endurance, with temperatures close to 100 degrees. It was also a good opportunity to learn some of the new terms for upcoming batters:

If you're up next, you're "on deck" (knew that one)
If you're up 3rd, you're "in the hole"
If you're up 4th, you're "in the mouse house"
If you're up 5th, you're "in the backpack"
If you're up 6th, you're "asleep"

There were only 8 players at this game, so if you weren't one of the above you just had to wait 1 or 2 batters to get into the rotation.

Lyme Disease

Pete had a rash, so he went to the doctor yesterday. They gave him some anti-biotics in case it is Lyme Disease.

Pete was asking the doctor about the medicine:

Pete: Will the medicine taste good?
Doctor: Oh, yes.
Pete: As good as the Strep Throat medicine?

Hair Math

Guess What He Will Say Next

Today we will play "guess what Sam will say next". This one is very easy - difficulty is 2.5 (on a scale of 1-10).

Dad: Sam, bring this Life Saver to Pete.

Sam: I want a Life Saver too.

Dad: Pete needs a Life Saver because his throat is sore.

Sam: _____________________

National Spelling Bee

Pete and Sam had fun watching the National Spelling Bee over the weekend. It is unfortunate that none of those words have any practical value. Pete had a good suggestion, which is that we attend next year (since it is in DC).

On a related note, the website for the Speeling Bee that Pete participated in has now posted the winners along with what seems like a few thousand photos. Here is one additional photo of Pete we found: