This week in Photos

Rodney and David's 1st Day of their new session of ice skating lessons. Rod is in level 3 and Dave is i Level 1

Athena and the scraching post covered in cat nip. Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industry, justice and skill, however our Athena doesn't see to fit her name

Bowling as a family

David's new glasses

David is wearing glasses again. He did not have them for a wile because he didn’t need them from the last time he went and he we were having a hard time keeping them on him. This year his astigmatism was spotted and he now needs them. Our hope is they will help him in school now that he has clamed down a little this year.

One of the funniest things I have seen in a long time

up first is Boston Dynamics video of their Big Dog on ice and snow, and also demoing its walking gait. very cool see it first so you can get the next video.



And now the hilarious, somewhat flawed predecessor to Boston Dynamics' infamous Big Dog Robot.

Up in Travers City for Easter

For Easter we went to Travers City, to visit Amy’s Family. We stayed at Amy’s Grandfather’s Farm House in Empire 20 minuets out side of Travers City. The Boys were very excited to stay at their Great grandpa’s, so much so they wanted to bring him home with us to live here.

On Sunday the Easter bunny came and the boys got lots of eggs, their Easter bunnies, and new kites. Rodney said that great grandpa must have a different Easter Bunny then we do. We spent the rest of the day at Amy’s parents home near down town Travers City, and had much fun.

Some fun Photos from the week

Palm Sunday

On Palm Sunday the Boys got to sing in front of the whole congregation at church. Both boys were very excited and could hardly contain them selves.

Spring Thaw Out

These are photos of the family out side for a day of 50+ degree weather. Still some snow but not for long

Our latest Card Game: Gloom

Gloom is a gothic card game that reminds me of the Lemony Snicket books, Edward Gorey's The Gashlycrumb Tinies or the Adams Family, the objective is to make up miserable things to happen to your characters, and the one with most miserable wins. The object of the game, in fact, is to make your characters as miserable as you possibly can. Each player has a family, a group of misfit characters that they then play event cards on.

The really interesting thing about Gloom is the story-telling aspect of game play. When you play an event card such as "Terrified by Topiary," or “Was Mauled by Manatee,” you may explain how this event occurs. Each character develops as more and more event cards are placed on it, so the character’s life story becomes increasingly unfortunate and, well, abnormal. Your opponents then can cheer up your characters with happy occasions. The card are clear so you can see your characters and any effects that have been played on them. Rodney and David really love coming up with their stories. Sometimes they even became a little too long and had nothing to do with their cards. But it was good for them to play a game the really gets them thinking about what they are doing and get the creative juices going.

The game is for 8 and up and takes about an hour to play. You can play it simple or with the more complex effects on the cards, so adults will love it to.

Rodney's Sing along and Book fair

On Thursday March 13th Rodney had his sing along at school. The them was on the planets and space. It was very cute. After ward we went to the school’s book fair and spent a little to much, but it was for a good cause and a good thing.

Munchkin

The Game we have all been playing lately as a family is Munchkin. Munchkin is a card game designed by Steve Jackson that "simulates" (well, sorta') a fantasy-themed RPG (oh, ok, D&D) in a simple, card-based game that's chock full o' silliness. Everyone begins the game as a 1st level Human with NO Class (heh-heh) and via cards, they acquire Classes, Items, Armor, Potions and more that they use to combat hideous monsters The object of the game is to reach Level 10 and levels are acquired via the slaying of monsters and the selling of acquired treasure (1,000 Gold Pieces equals 1 Level). Very silly and a lot of fun!

Munchkin Cthulhu is a the version of the game we have been playing in the Munchkin line, this version lampoons H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos and the horror gaming that surrounds it. The boy’s really love it. Some times they just can’t stop laughing.

Uncle Rob’s birthday

On March 9th was my brother’s birthday. We took the boys to my parents for lunch and to send time with Rob. David who has been really started to read in the past month, thanks to his reading recovery teacher, was reading to everyone who was there. We all had much fun

Employment.

I once again am unemployed. For right now I’m just going to be a stay at home dad. Basically I lost my job due to someone else making a mistake and one of the guys who lived in the group home got hurt. So the State and Recipient Rights came in and cleaned house. My boss fought to keep me, but in the end had no choice. So I’m going to start looking after Easter for a new job, and then in the fall I will go back to school.

Time Alone Together

This week Amy is off from school, and the boys are back in school. So Amy and I have spent some time together as a couple. Yesterday we went to the grocery store and the library. Today we went on a date. First we had to fax some thing for her autism endorsement. Then we went to Boarders Books to relax and look at books. (of course we started at the kids section, old habits die hard) Then out to eat and finally to a day spa in Ann Arbor, to rest in a hot tub. My back and knees had been really hurting me, so it was nice to get all of the stiffness out. We both are very relaxed and had fun together as a couple. It’s always nice to get away with out the kids. now I get to go to work reall late this afternoon.

Recycling as a family

No we are not trying to recycle our kids! Actually the boys were helping the workers at the recycle center in Ann Arbor to pack down the brown paper bags in there bin. We go to the Recycle Center every other week. And we recycle quite a lot. All of our containers; glass, metal, and plastic are recycled. We also collect our entire paper waist. This was Rodney and David's Idea that we recycle not ours, we have been doing this for a year now and it makes us all feel good. After we always go to the Comic book store. It has become a great outing for us