Birthday and Baptism last weekend

Last weekend we went out to Massachusetts for our Nephew Zac's baptism. It was about the best attended baptism of an 8-year-old I've seen. Here is a picture of Zac and his Dad, Frank.


It was also Betsy's birthday so we got to celebrate with her.

Walt has been feeling pretty good, although he tires easily. That doesn't slow him down, much, he's been working 4 or 5 days a week and still fits in some Grandpa time. Here is a picture of him with Jen's son Tommy.

We stayed at a hotel near Jonna and Frank's church and only had two beds, one for David and I and one for Parker, so we put Bryson in the closet (McKay stayed home with a friend). The couch cushions fit nicely in the bottom of the closet for padding. Yes, Bryson actually slept there all night! This picture was after he had fallen asleep.

It was his idea. He's so weird.

Objection your Honor!

There was an ongoing investigation at Voorheesville Elementary in order to solve a mystery using science. Someone was murdered and the 4th grade has been processing the evidence in their science lab to determine who could have done it. Finally a suspect was identified and a trial was scheduled.

Bryson was appointed as the Defense Attorney. He has been preparing for three days including a meeting of the Defense Team at lunch yesterday. The Prosecuting Attorney was Bryson's friend Carson. Bryson spent last night preparing his questions, closing statement, and memorizing all the possible objections for the trial today. He left the house in his best suit, hair combed nicely, and a cookie for morning snack.

The trial lasted for 45 minutes with one 5 minute recess to re-angle the cameras in the courtroom (sort of like the timeouts for commercials at football games), so the 4th grade could watch the trial from their classrooms. Apparently during the 5 minute recess both attorneys grew mustaches of marker ink. The Judge, Principal Diegel, and Jury, the entire 4th grade, unfortunately found his client guilty and she was taken away in handcuffs. He joked that the Bailiff had to restrain him from attacking the judge when they announced his client guilty.

He really wasn't too upset about losing his first (and maybe only) trial, but I consoled him by saying, "You win some, you lose some." His response was, "I'm just in it for the money." lol!

Ice Skating

We've been looking for someplace to go ice skating since we got used skates for everyone last fall. Just before everything started to melt, we found out OUR town park had an ice rink set up. We had driven by looking for one several times and didn't notice it down one of the hills and not visible from the road. Grrr. So we finally got out on the ice. Although we may never take Parker again because he's always whinning about how his skates fit (darn wide sasquatch feet) or their not tight enough, or the laces breaking (a valid complaint since it happened).

Some are graceful, some are boys.

In memory of Sparky

Bryson's rat Sparky had to be put to sleep today. Here are some pictures of when Bryson got Sparky for Christmas two years ago.

Recent video of Sparky (and Raskal)

We'll all miss Sparky!

Battle of the Hot Cocoa

One day we decided that we needed to find out which hot chocolate mix we liked best. I was excited when my local grocery store started carrying Stephen's Gourmet Hot Chocolate this year, but David was convinced it wasn't any better than Nestle that he likes. Parker was determined that Swiss Miss was the best. So, of course, we had to perform an experiment. Blind taste test.


For the 1st round we mixed it according to the directions on the label. There was no doubt the Stephen's was better, but the directions called for significantly more mix per water, so the others tasted watered down, while Stephen's tasted rich.


In the 2nd round we doubled the recommended mix of the Nestle and Swiss Miss. It was unanimous that Nestle was the best flavor with Stephen's coming in second and Swiss Miss in last. Although we all thought that with a lot of mix in the water, we would like any of them. David was having a hard time being humble and not gloating that he knew the cheapest was the best all along. We've now solved one of life's mysteries and shared it with you. You're welcome.