September Randoms

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

The first month of the new School Year is at an end, and miraculously nobody's dead. 

I survived my first few weeks in a new school system with new kids and a new team of colleagues, the girls have thus far managed to stay out of too much trouble in first and third grade.  Keep your fingers crossed these calm seas prevail.

So here's a look back at the last few weeks, as the Houghs returned to the Grind and otherwise kept the ship afloat.

Enjoy. . .

Back to School supply drive with the Girl Scouts

At Dow Gardens, checking out a Dr. Seuss exhibit with their friend (and our next-door neighbor), Katie.

Watering some plants

. . .sweeping water?  (I don't know what the hell's going on in any of these pictures - I wasn't present for any of this.)

Pointing out a grasshopper

Abby's soccer squad

My classroom, at the end of the day

Dad gave the girls this old, vintage Magnastiks toy from the early '60s that used to belong to him, and that had been in Granny's basement when she passed away.  Still in pretty decent shape, considering its nearly 60 years old.

More vinyl that I got rid of recently.  Kris and I have a rule set in place in order to curb further expansion of my record collection:  for every album I bring into the house, I have to get rid of one.  I've been buying a crapload of new LPs lately, so I've been hard at work trimming the fat out of my collection lately.  Some of these I didn't even know I owned. . .

At the annual Chestnut Hill Ice Cream Social

Some uncooperative photo ops with the girls

All.  Out.  Chaos.

Smitty and Rita swung up for a Saturday visit at the end of the month, and Smitty was good enough to toss our kids around for awhile.

To break up the day a bit we took Watson down to the Dog Park, on the other side of the Tridge

Smitty makes a new friend

This is a dog toy, but it seems to entertain these two. . .

On our way back across the Tridge.

Since it was only a day or two before the beginning of October, we decided we'd be nice and let the girls break out some of the Halloween decor.  'Cause, you know, they weren't hyper enough already. . .

Once the kids went to bed, we broke out the old VHS game, Nightmare.  As usual, it was comically awful. . . and awesome.

Kris gets an earful from the Gatekeeper.

Pissed

Trying on some of their mom's old prom and bridesmaid dresses

Kris sent me this pic one day while I was at work.  We had a clog in the sink, and instead of buying Draino like I had recommended, she took apart the pipe and found. . . whatever the hell this is.

Fast food dinner with the neighborhood kids

Seriously.

The girls' new Reading Nook.  Since we set up Alayna's furry lounge chair underneath this lamp, and set up a bunch of book boxes underneath it, the amount of time the girls spend reading on a daily basis has skyrocketed.  Kinda wish I had done this years ago. . .

During a high-energy play session with a bunch of the neighborhood girls, Abby somehow got this remote-controlled car stuck in her hair.  It was wrapped pretty tight around the wheels, and instead of getting a grown-up for assistance, Abby just Hulk'd out and ripped the damn car out of her hair by force.  This is what she brought to us.

At one of Abby's soccer practices

The Champions

- Brian

Awards and More from the Dawn of Summer

FINALLY.

Holy God, those last two weeks of school felt like two months.  Overall the year flew by - ridiculously so - but damn did it ever grind to a halt after FCAT testing. . .

The Cannonball's last day of school (it was pajama day - we're not that bad as parents)

With Ms. Adriana, her After School teacher.

Alayna finished school on Wed-nesday, while I wrapped up with students on Thursday and had to go in today in order to submit grades, finish boxing up my room, and turning in my keys - all of which I finished by 9:30am.  The rest of my teacher workday was spent playing a Nintendo I hooked up in a coworker's office and putting together a puzzle.

Thug life.

After work myself and a few other guys I work with stopped off at a dive-pub along 192 in Kissimmee called the Fox and Hounds (fortunately that name references British fox hunting, and not the depressing Disney cartoon of the same name. . . you know, the one that make you want to kill yourself.) 

Not a stellar selection of beers on hand (mostly low ABV British ales), but decent.  And you can't smoke inside like you can at Stogies (our usual hangout spot), but the decor and atmosphere inside is awesome - very British:

 Another commencement ceremony this week that featured the Houghs was Alayna's 'patch ceremony' (I'm not sure what it's called exactly, as this is really more of Kris' thing - I'd ask her to write a blog post about it, and she'd say 'sure,' and then nothing would ever come of it.  You know how wives are.)  Anyway, Alayna was awarded her 'Daisy' peddles (patches, not real ones), and Kris ironed them on to her vest for the last meeting/award ceremony of her Daisy Troop.

Here's some pictures (that Kris took - I wasn't there, so I'm just going to go ahead and wing these captions):

Making. . . baked goods?

Ah, they're cupcakes.  I see.

(My kid's the one screwing around with her shoe while the of her platoon is focused on the task at hand.)

. . . and now she's lying on the floor, which is I guess totally permitted.

Officially a Daisy.

The Squad

. . .gang initiations?

Okay, that's weird.

. . . aaaaand, in closing, here are some random shots from around the house from the last week or two of May:

The night before her big book review project was due, Kris attempted to have Alayna pose with her finished project.

In front of Ms. Billiterri's portable classroom.

The girls being introduced to the '80s classic, The Goonies.  Abby grew bored watching it after the first hour, but Alayna sat through the entire thing and loved it.  Thank Jesus.

Abby's real birthday (5/21) fell on a Wednesday, so Kris bought another balloon and brought cupcakes into Abby's class at Sunchild.  Why Alayna's there, I forget.

After school that day, letting Abby open some presents from Grandma and Papa John on the back patio (couldn't Skype with the grandparents, unfortunately, as Mom had laryngitis and sounded like Gollum from Lord of the Rings.) 

Without the distractions of a resort hotel room and a ton of relatives about, Alayna didn't do so well sitting aside and watching her sister open a ton of presents.

I had prepared for this, so I bought them both a couple pity books.

Staying at home on a school day, taking care of a sick kid with a fever.  Of course, when she's napping, what's a dad to do?

Kris recently taught Alayna how to braid hair.  Sadly enough, Alayna's already better at it than I am.

Anyone for a gratuitous crotch shot?

Playing with dolls. . . who are taking turns puking into a garbage can.  'Cause that's how Hough kids roll.

Late-evening park session in Ginger Mill with the fam and dog

Every time I see the kids' panel, I get pissed - had I not been holding onto a squirming child, I would've put more thought and effort into this.  There's a shit-ton of negative space in that upper-right hand corner of the square.  And it kills me.

- Brian