Mariners Baseball

Pete played on the Mariners in DLL Spring baseball for 2010. The team had a rough regular season, but played well in the playoffs. Both playoff games went extra innings. They defeated the Angels 11-10 in a Tuesday night game that went from 6:00-8:30. Then they lost to the Yankees 10-9 on June 5, after Pete scored the go-ahead run to go up 9-8 in the extra inning.

The picture above was taken in the dugout, exactly 6 minutes before the manager was heard yelling from right field: "Someone get a towel and some ice! Pete got hit in the mouth and he's bleeding". The game was followed by a trip to the dentist on the way home.

Talent Show

Pete was in the Dominion Trail school talent show again this year. He did a group performance with some of his friends. Pictured above are the people in the skit (l-r): Renzo, Devin, Mitchell, Ayush, Luke, Alec, Corey, Pete, Brad. They did a basketball dribbling routine.

The show is not a "talent show" in the true sense. There are no auditions. To give you some sense of the fare, roughly a dozen people each sang the timeless classic "Naturally" by Selena Gomez. The primary requirement is that you are talented enough to go to the rehearsals. I think one of these years they may change it to an "opt out" show - you are automatically entered into the show unless you get a note from your parents that you don't want to be in it.

Due to the sheer number of acts in the show, it ran a little longer than last year. It started Friday at 7:00pm and was over (I'm guessing here) around 2:45am Saturday morning.

Cake

Pete and Sam decided to bake a cake on Sunday, without a recipe. Mom gave them some suggestions to keep things on the right track. When it was ready, they decided to cut it in half and each frost their half. Sam went with a standard chocolate frosting. Pete opted for a marshmallow frosting that involved quite an ordeal with various pots and pans simultaneously on the stove. Sam put some strawberries on top of his half, but he had already eaten the chocolate-covered strawberries prior to the taking of the photo shown above.

The cake was a delicious treat enjoyed by all. By the way, "all" means "only Pete and Sam".

The Last Meeting

Last week's cub scouts meeting was the last of the year, and quite possibly Pete's last ever. Pete had a good time at the meeting.

First, he raced the Go Kart around the parking lot. This was the Kart that his Webelos den built during the year, under the expert guidance of Mr. Korrie.

Next, Pete and his group led the flag ceremony at the meeting.

Finally, it was time to head outside for shooting off some water bottle rockets and throwing pies at the leaders.

As always, Pete and Dad were the last to leave the event, after dark.

Just One Question

It was getting pretty late, so Dad said to Sam, "ok, you really need to get to sleep, so you can ask me one more question and then I need to go".

Sam replied, "ok. What is life?"

Jamaica Wedding Weekend

Dad spent a lot of time with Sam while Pete and Mom were in Jamaica at Uncle Steve's wedding. Below are some of Sam's quips and observations:

On the ride home from bowling:

• "You know, real life is harder than video games"
• "Did you know that every day there is somebody bowling somewhere?"

"We read a book in class today called Clifford Visits the Hospital. This book is fiction. If this happened in real life, he would probably poop all over the thermometers."

(after sprinting into the house, grabbing a dollar, and running down the ice cream truck): "The Hershey's Chocolate Pie I had earlier was my dessert appetizer. This is my actual dessert."

(after going into about 20 cars at CarMax): "My favorite was the one with the bird poop all over it"

"I went to school, the driving range, Burger King, and CarMax. I've had a rough day."

"Mostly all teachers are women. This is because women are smarter."

The Melting Game

After about 40 inches of snow were on the ground in early February, the family decided to play a guessing game. The winner would be the person who could come closest to guessing when the last drop of snow would be melted on the street. Sam recorded all of the guesses in his notebook:

Congratulation to Pete, who precisely guessed the ultimate melting date, March 11.

Snowmageddon

Springtime is especially welcome this year. This past winter featured record snow for Northern Virginia. A big storm in December brought about 22 inches of snow. But this was surpassed by a storm in early February that brought 32 inches here at Dulles airport, plus another 10 inches just a few days later.

Super Smash Brothers Brawl

Dad: "I'm getting too old to play Pete's games. He asked me to help him get past an enemy on Super Smash Bros Brawl. About 10 seconds after I picked up the controller, it said 'Game Over'. So I walked off to go ask Sam to help him."

Unexpected Endings

Pete just finished telling Mom a story about some activities he and Sam were doing while she was gone for the day. The story ended with the phrase: "and then his throat ran into my foot"

Mini-Vacation Day 3 - More Water Park

Day 3 of the mini-vacation was spent at Great Wolf Lodge and then heading home.

9:00 IHOP

10:00-3:00 Water Park

3:00-5:00 MagiQuest

5:00-10:00 Head home

Highlights: Howlin Tornado, River Canyon Run, getting doused by the bucket at Fort Mackenzie.

Lowlights: Too cold for mini-golf.

Mini-Vacation Day 2 - MagiQuest

Day 2 of the mini-vacation started in Fredericksburg and ended in Williamsburg.

9:00 Donuts

11:00 Arrive at Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg

11:00-2:00 MagiQuest

2:00-7:00 Water Park

7:00-8:00 Relax

8:00-9:00 Dad and Pete returned to the water park

Highlights: A surprise visit from Nana, with a Valentine's package of goodies. Magiquest was fun. Pete and Sam enjoyed Wolf River Wipeout (surf simulator). Dad and Pete had a great final hour at 8pm with no lines and lots of pitch dark water slides.

Lowlights: Getting Pete to calm down for bed. Dad's long walk back and forth to the Business Center.

Mini-Vacation Day 1 - Funland

Mom has returned to substitute teaching this year. She started off the year teaching at Rolling Ridge in Sterling, and was then scheduled to teach until February at Pinebrook in Aldie. When she found out that the original teacher would not be returning in February, Mom agreed to stay on for the rest of the year. Since this would be a tough few months for everyone, they decided to do a short family vacation over the President's Day weekend.

Day 1 began with a short drive to Fredericksburg.

12:00 Lunch - Ledo's Fredericksburg

1:00-6:30 Funland

6:30-7:30 Dinner at Red Robin

8:30-10:00 Watched "Shorts" at the Holiday Inn

Highlights: At Funland, Pete and Sam enjoyed the indoor playground, bumper cars, Frog Hopper, "jump rope" game, roller coaster, Himalayan, and lots of other games. Mom went off shopping for a few hours. Mom and Dad got one free ride on the bumper cars. Prizes includes a bouncy ball that would later make an appearance in the deep dark void behind the 2-ton dresser at the Holiday Inn. Because of all the pothole delays in the race, Pete and Sam were actually able to watch the end of the Daytona 500 from our table at dinner.

Lowlights: The crane games. Sam had to be a passenger for the bumper cars, but still had fun. Forgetting to put Pete and Sam in separate beds at the Holiday Inn.

Why It Takes Sam 4 Minutes To Take 3 Shots

Dad: Sam- before I tuck you in for bed, you can take 3 shots on Pete's basketball hoop. If you make at least one shot, you can then take one bonus shot.

Sam: If I make the bonus shot, do I get another bonus shot?

Dad: Yes.

Sam: If I then make that shot, do I get an additional bonus shot?

Dad: Yes.

Sam: If I then make that shot, do I get an additional bonus shot?

Dad: Yes.

Sam: If I then make that shot, do I get an additional bonus shot?

Dad: Yes.

Sam: If I then make that shot, do I get an additional bonus shot?

Dad: Yes.

Sam: If I then make that shot, do I get an additional bonus shot?

Dad: Yes.

Sam: If I then make that shot, do I get an additional bonus shot?

Dad: Yes.

Sam: If I continue to make bonus shots, can I continue to take additional shots, until such time that I miss a shot?

Dad: Yes.

Sam: ok

Pancake Breakfast

The photo above was intended to be "all of the items gathered together in preparation for Pete and Sam's Sunday morning pancake breakfast". There are actually at least 3-4 items missing from the picture, but it is unlikely the reader will be able to guess more than 1 or 2 or them.

Family Pic

Mom came up with the idea to take a family picture that could be done on a large print and framed for a gift. Dad thought it would be fun to go to an outdoor location and take a picture in the cold December air, using the auto-timer on the camera.

Above is the best picture out of a few attempts before everyone got too cold. Click here to see some of the additional attempts.

The pictures were taken here.

Gangsta Zone

(driving in the car...)

Dad: Sam, did you have a good class tonight at Curiosity Zone?

Sam: Yeah. Our regular teacher, Angela, is on vacation in Africa so we had a substitute teacher, Britney. She was good, but I think it would be cool if our substitute was a gangster.

Dad: Do gangsters know a lot about Science?

Sam: No, they pretty much know mostly about killing.

Name That Mark - Answer

The answer to the "Name That Mark" question from last week is B.

References for anger management therapists are gladly accepted.

Gumball Machine

(waiting at Sal's Pizza...)

Sam: Can I have 25 cents for a gumball?

Dad: Sorry, I don't have any change. But you can have a piece of candy from your candy bucket after dinner.

Sam: Is it ok if I get a gumball without 25 cents?

Dad: How are you going to do that?

Sam: I'm familiar with that machine. I know how to hack it.

Christmas Shirts

Sam got the above shirt from Uncle Steve for Christmas. It features the Roosevelt station onChicago's elevated train system. This is the stop Sam would take if he were going to Soldier Field to watch the Bears. Sam visited Uncle Steve in Chicago last year.

Pete received the following shirt from Dad:

He said he got a lot of comments when he wore the shirt to school on January 5.

Chorus Concert

Pete had his first chorus concert a few weeks ago at school. Sam saw it during the day, so he got a break and went to Ethan's house during the evening concert. So it was a night out for Mom and Dad. Well, 45 minutes anyhow.

Songs included "Hot Chocolate" and "No School Tomorrow".

Pete had a bad cough all day of the concert. But he managed to only cough a few times, in between songs. Good job, Pete!

Name That Mark

How did Pete get the above mark on his arm?

a) Sam wrote on him with pink Sharpie while he was asleep

b) Bit himself after losing a crucial point in Wii Tennis

c) Played with the chain from his bicycle

d) Spread cat saliva on it to see if he was allergic

Answer will be posted on Monday 1/11 at 6:00am.

Bad Thoughts

Driving in the car...

Pete: Can you turn the radio back on?

Dad: Not until you are finished correcting Sam

Pete: But my lyrics are correct and his are wrong

Dad: Well, you need to stop correcting him for the radio to come back on

Pete: Ok, I'm done

Dad turns the radio back on...

Sam: Dad, turn off the radio. He's still thinking about it.

Merry Christmas

Christmas 2009 will be remembered as the year of the backyard tree.

Dad cut down a tree from the backyard and it was successfully decorated and displayed in the family room, despite some fundamental flaws in the tree's "straightness".

Shraya's Party

I found the above picture posted in the online album from Shraya's party. Having not been at the party, the photo begs a few questions. Such as what Sam seems to be coveting from the table. Perhaps he is wondering how he has a blank place while everyone else seems to have ended up with drink, pizza, balloon, tokens, etc. And notice the girl not acknowledging Sam's existence. It's like an old Casper the Ghost cartoon where he goes to a birthday party but no one can see or hear him.

Maybe the person who took the picture took pity on Sam and gave him a slice of pizza. Like in those documentaries from Africa where the children are emaciated while the cameraman is eating a footlong and some chips. I also hoped that they gave those kids some rice after getting their video clips.

Report Card Comments

Pete found one of Mom's documents on the laptop. She was recording comments to put on the report cards for her students.

It became apparent that Pete went in and made some subtle changes to the comments. See if you can find the change in the comments shown below:

Sam's 6th Birthday Party - Favors

Each attendee got a few keepsakes to take home from Sam's party in a brown bag marked "TOP SECRET":

- Magnifying glass

- Spy certificate sticker

- Completed checklist sticker

- Fingerprint sticker

- Homemade lollipop

Sam's 6th Birthday Party - Target Shooting

"Your final training stage will be target shooting. You should never fire your weapon unless absolutely necessary. Your instructor will train you to use your weapon and will set up the target of your choosing. You get three shots to hit each target. After three shots, it is the next person's turn."

Pete and his friend Corey manned the two target shooting stations.

After all of that shooting, it was time for some cake and opening presents.

By the way, that is not a reversed image in the above picture. The letters on the cake were backwards, for spy purposes.

Sam's 6th Birthday Party - Fitness Training

"You have identified the enemy and he is small and quick. You must train yourself for a tough chase. We have prepared an obstacle course for you to practice crawling, jumping, and searching. You must complete the course to prepare yourself for the future."

The obstacle course consisted of the following:

- crawl under pool table

- jump on numbered squares 1-2-3-4-5

- ring bell on treadmill

- jump over couch

- search for a single dime in a basket of pennies

Sam's 6th Birthday Party - Search and Identify

After cracking the code, the cadets headed to the basement where total darkness awaited them.

"We have learned that an enemy spy is armed and dangerous. He is trying to steal our secret codes. Your spies in the agency have left clues for us to identify the enemy. You must go one at a time to get the clues and bring them back here. Follow the glowing line on the floor. It will be dark. Use your flashlight if necessary. Go slowly. Watch out for walls and other objects. Good luck."

The team was able to retrieve the clues and work together to solve the puzzle and identify the enemy.

After that hard work, it was time for some pizza:

This was the first party where Pete or Sam have had pizza. Sam's quote was "you can't have a birthday party without pizza". Apparently this rule did not apply to the 14 previous birthday parties Pete and Sam have hosted.

Sam's 6th Birthday Party - Code Breaking

When the guests arrived, Pete handed them a sheet of paper and read the following:

"Welcome to the Berman Spy Agency. Your first mission is to crack this code. Use the symbols to fill in the letters. It will give you some instructions. After you crack the code, we will take your fingerprint and you can report to the next stage."

Sam's 6th Birthday Party - The Preparations

Saturday finally arrived, and everyone was ready for Sam's party. After Pete's basketball game, it was time to set up the house for Spy Training Academy. We put the BSA (Berman Spy Agency) logo at various places around the house, and set up for the games.

An unexpected visitor arrived before the party, which was about 5 inches of snow:

Since this is Virginia, a little bit of snow means the party attendees will call to see if you are still having the party, and then arrive 15 minutes late. So at 12:15, the festivities were ready to begin.

chute and sHOot

Sam had a birthday party on Sunday at Chuck E. Cheese's. So Dad took Pete to his basketball game, and afterwards to Sal's Pizza.

Pete and Dad were working on the Sunday crossword in the Washington Post and watching the Redskins/Raiders game while eating their pizza.

The theme of the puzzle was HO HO HO. There were some long word answers that had a clue with the word HO in it and then the answer had to have HO HO somewhere in it. For example, 30 across "oxford HOnoree" is "rHOdes scHOlar"). Pete figured out 33 across by himself with no letters filled in, which was very helpful. Check the image below to see the clue ("chute and sHOot" : 10 letters).

Shark

Yesterday was the kids gift exchange on our street. Pete was pleased to get a hand buzzer, whoopie cushion, and some other gags. Sam got a Shark Webkinz from Pickle.

If you know Sam, you can probably guess what he named the shark:

(a) Huckleberry Fins

(b) Sheldon

(c) Sharky

When he walked out the door this morning for the school bus, he yelled out "Good bye, Sharky! Don't go on the internet!"