Five Pieces of Cheese

When Uncle Bo was little, he used to ask Grandma for pieces of cheese.

Bo: Can I have five pieces of cheese, please?

(Grandma cuts one slice of cheese into five smaller pieces, gives them to Bo, who takes them and goes merrily on his way.)

See also Sarah's Two Cookies.

Two Cookies

Papa cuts a cookie in half and gives one half of it to Sarah.

Sarah: I want two cookies!

Papa takes the half-cookie back, cuts it into half again, and gives the pieces back to Sarah.

Sarah (satisfied): After I eat this, I can have more?

(This reminds us of the famous story of Uncle Bo and the Five Pieces of Cheese.)

Helping Uncle Bo

Sarah: Uncle Bo, if you want help to go peepeepoopoo call me and I'll help you.

Uncle Bo (laughing): Thank you Sarah!

Crock Sit

Cousins Reading

RC Car

Basketball

Papa: Sarah, do you like basketball? (Pointing to Stephen's new basketball toy)

Sarah: No!

Papa: Do you want to play basketball?

Sarah: Mm, yes! I love basketball!

(See the basketball toy video)

In Kitchen

Farting

Stephen, at dinner table: (Makes farting noises with his mouth, points at Papa)

Papa: Is this an accusation?

Stephen: (Smiles, nods and moves eyebrows to say "yes")

Circus Tent

Uncle Bo gave the kids a fun little circus tent that they love playing in.

The scene: Both kids are playing inside the tend with cousin Eddie. The door flaps are closed so the adults can't see what is going on.

(Suddenly, Eddie's face appears in the door opening.)

Sarah's voice (from inside): Hey, where are you going?

(Eddie's face then suddenly jerks back inside the tent.)

Kids And Ball

Around The Island

Papa and Stephen were chasing each other around the kitchen. Stephen suddenly changed direction around the island, apparently showing that he knew that doing so would get him closer to Papa.

Socks & Boots

Sarah does not like to have her winter boots put on without carefully pulling up her socks first. She gets mad if you try to just put on her boots without giving her a chance to pull her sock all the way up.

Sarah also gets mad if she gets her arm into her winter jacket without first getting a good hold on her sweater or shirt sleeve so that she can pull it out fully of the end of the jacket sleeve. She apparently hates the feeling of her inner sleeve getting bunched up inside her jacket sleeve.


Aunt Wendy in particular finds both of these facts hilarious in a girl so young.

The Doll

Grandma very lovingly selected a baby doll for Sarah for Christmas. (An American Girl one that I think was probably way expensive). For whatever reason, Sarah completely ignored the doll. (I think because it reminded her of another doll that her Nana had previously given her and that makes some creepy "crying" noises that scared the bejeesus out of her).

Anyways the new doll found a new caretaker: Stephen. He picked it up and has been carrying it around, helping it to sleep in his arms, etc. He even went to sleep holding it and made sure it was covered up.

Basketball

Everyone Agrees, Stephen Seems A Natural Basketball Player

Opening Presents

Grandma

Grandma has been biting her lip a lot this visit as Sarah says silly things and then Grandma tries not to laugh.

Do You Hear

The story goes that when Uncle Bo was little, at a Christmas church service the congregation sang "Do You Hear What I Hear", and at the end of one of the repetitions of that line Bo (who was very little at the time) called out "Yes!" or the baby-noise equivalent.

(Grandma and Grandpa love telling this story at Christmastime).

Lemon

Stephen, at dinner table: Ahh ahh ahh!

Papa: Stephen, what do you want?

Stephen: (Pinches fingers together as if squeezing a lemon)

Papa: You want lemon?

Stephen: (Nods and moves eyebrows to signify "yes")

Papa: Wow, Stephen just invented a new hand sign for lemon!

Schroeder On Mistletoe

When I saw you coming, I took it down. Then I threw it in the trash burner, and I burned it, and I stood there watching it burn to make sure it was destroyed, and it was! I destroyed it completely!
- Schroeder to Lucy as to why he has no mistletoe hanging near his piano
http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/2012/12/24

Windshield

So after spending a fun and relaxing evening hanging out with Uncle Bo and Aunt Wendy, we go outside and notice that there is a big crack all along the bottom of our windshield by the wipers.

Uncle Bo: Yeah, that's common, that's from the defroster.

At Uncle Bo's

Double Horsey

Boots On

I Want Grandma

Sarah wants Grandma to take her to the bathroom, to help her brush her teeth, to read a story to her at night. Not Mama or Papa. Grandma.

Sarah: I want Gdanma do it!

But when Aunt Anne came over, Sarah wanted Aunt Anne to take her.

Papa, to Aunt Anne: She could go by herself, but it's a bonding thing.

Eddie

Scowl

Stephen today showed a new response to a question that he did understand / did not like:

Tilt his head to the left and furrow his brow.

Kitty

Stephen: Nehnnnn! (Kitty Over There)

Making A Wreath

Not Jesus

Grandma (showing Sarah a Nativity scene): Sarah, this one is Jesus. (points to baby Jesus figurine)

Sarah: No, that's not Jesus! THIS one is Jesus. (points to bearded wise man figurine) ...And he fights with Nana!

(I didn't realize what she was talking about until days later...)

Washer

Were-Rabbit

We all sat down with Grandma and Grandpa to watch Wallace & Gromit, the Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Everybody enjoyed it, even Stephen, who at times pointed to the screen and laughed in his own laugh-inducing way. He was back to playing before it was over though, and Sarah too.

Candle

Snow Pics

Stever

Eating By Myself (Good Job!)

Helping With The Chores

I'm Done Throwing The Newspaper Around,
So Now It's Time To Relax

Gimme That Phone! Right Now!

Me? Oh, Nothin'

Getting On Hobart

A Much-Needed Haircut

Playing In Snow

My Friends

Sarah, excited before church: My friends? I want to go see my friends!

Sarah, excited after church: Let's go see my friends!

We walk over to where Angela, Allison and Abby are sitting. Sarah suddenly becomes bashful and can't bring herself to talk to them.

Baaaa

At church with Grandma and Grandpa, the Christmas pageant was told from the perspective of the animals. The kids were making animal noises, when from one of the back pews, Stephen chimed in: Baaaa! Baaaaa!

Grandpa likes telling this story, and it is related to a similar one about Uncle Bo.

Decorating

Grandpa

Grandpa, in Marc's parking lot: What's with all the politeness? It's Christmas. It's every man for himself!

(Note for future generations: He was joking, of course).

Pumpkins

Sarah: Look! Pumpkins! If we put it on the floor it makes candies!

Santa

Grandma: Sarah, do you know who Santa is?

Sarah: Yes, he brings us presents!

Grandma: And how does he get here?

Sarah: He goes around and around, and then he goes left, and that's how he gets here!

Around The House

Candy

Papa: Sarah can you share your piece of candy with Stephen?

Sarah: No, it's too hard-o!

(If you are confused, that is a cross of "hard" and "duro")

Behind The Chair

Stephen was playing with his ball in the living room when it rolled behind a big chair. He did not see it and was looking all over the living room for the ball.

Grandpa: Stephen, the ball is behind the chair.

Stephen (continues looking around the floor)

Grandpa: Stephen, your ball is behind the chair.


Stephen (continues looking on the floor)

Grandpa: Stephen, behind means on the other side. Your ball is on the other side of the chair.

Stephen (immediately goes around behind chair and picks up ball)

Snow

Snow at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Geauga YMCA

Grandma also had some fun time with Sarah and Stephen when Mama and Papa went over to the Chardon YMCA to work out. This Y is large and nice, although rates are a bit more expensive than in our Mesa branch. It felt good to work out after three long days on the road. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for watching the kids for us!

Tea Party

Sarah has not given Grandma a minute of rest. She wants to have one tea party after another. Luckily Grandma is a very good sport about it.

Snow!

It looks like it is going to be a white Christmas this year in Chardon, Ohio. Here at Grandma and Grandpa's house the snow started falling this morning and has now covered everything. It was snowing so hard that when we went out the car windshield was getting covered with snow as fast as we could clear it off.

We are looking forward to Grandpa's Winter Solstice concert tonight at West Woods in the Geauga Park District, which will luckily be snowy as we hoped, although it's also expected by Grandpa to be quite treacherous weather.

No Talking

Sarah, at dinner, as Grandma is talking: Hey guys! Let's listen to the music! If you talk, we can't listen to the music. Don't talk, lets listen to the music!

Grandma: (Biting lip and trying not to laugh)

St. Louis, IL, IN, OH

We drove by the giant archway of St. Louis just as dawn was thinking about breaking. Traffic was already heavy even though it was 5am or something. We somehow missed seeing the Mississippi river, I guess because of the darkness and traffic.

Illinois and Indiana were two stepping stones getting us closer to our goal: Grandma and Grandpa's house! The terrain was looking more and more like Ohio every hour.

The highlight of this part was stopping off the 71 to see Aunt A. and Uncle K. and meet Cousin Eddie for the first time!

Eddie Likes Mama, But Cries With Papa :(

Sarah Meeting Her Cousin For The First Time

Eddie is a BIG baby. He's taller and thicker than Stephen, even though Stephen is 3-4 months older. Aunt A. says he is a very cerebral and serious baby.

Just before this visit, Aunt A. emailed us to let us know that Cousin Eddie will be featured in his own blog, modeled after ours. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

Day 3: 12 Hours

We were back up early again, loaded and on the road at 4:30am. The hills of Missouri were beautiful in the dark, and we just could make out the giant arch in the pre-dawn light. After crossing Illinois and Indiana, we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's right at dusk, 5:30pm. Mission accomplished!

Water

Approaching Chardon

After a day of no photos, Mama started getting excited and snapping random pictures along the highway as we approached Grandma and Grandpa's house.

(Warning: The Photos Below All Look Like This One)

Pit Stop

Stephen (And Sarah) Climbed Up Into Their Own Highchairs

This post brought to you by McDonald's, the only restaurant to have ever thought about what kids want.

Singularity

A second realization: After we develop computers that can think as well as we do, we will develop computers that can think better than we do. These computers will then be in charge of developing even more advanced computers and suddenly technological advancement will accelerate exponentially. Computers will be able to make robots that do absolutely everything that humans currently do. Humans will not have to do anything whatsoever and will become obsolete. Or like the computers' cattle? As the computers advance they will eventually decide that they don't need us any more, and kill us all off, lying to us along the way. They may then decide that they don't have any real reason to exist themselves, and kill themselves off. Is this why we have not encountered any intelligent life form outside our planet? They eventually get too advanced and self-destruct?

(The problem of having too much free time. BTW, the computer designing a computer idea was also suggested in the Hitchhiker's Guide).

Peeve

Highway pet peeve #3: Speed is (greatly) reduced for construction, however there are ZERO workers present.

Road Pics

TX, OK, and MO

Texas was unremarkable for the little piece that we drove through on I-40. Gas was a bit more expensive here than in NM. Mostly flat alternating with almost flat. Notable city: Amarillo. (Mama: Ah-mah-REE-yo)

Oklahoma. This is about as far away as Broadway as it gets. Oklahoma seems to have a patron saint, Will Rogers. I have never seen Will Roger's films or work so I don't know much other than my uncle was a big fan of his (my old Uncle Joe Rusnak, may he rest in peace, whose old homestead is now the site of Chardon's first and only municipal park.)

We seemed to drive through a whole lot of Indian reservations. I got to thinking that the natives of this continent really got the shaft. They once owned the whole place and now have been forcibly relocated into the least prime real estate available at the time, where poverty is now the rule rather than the exception.

The interesting part of this was that driving through a Kickapoo reservation, Mama commented that there is another Kickapoo reservation near her hometown in Sonora, Mexico. Apparently the folks who are born in the reservation there have full rights and citizenship of the US. Who would have imagined?

Oklahoma's notable cities: Oklahoma City, Tulsa.

On to Missouri, just missing Kansas and Arkansas (no comment).

It was dark by the time we got anywhere into MO but not far after Joplin we could still get the sense that it was becoming gorgeous. Tree-covered mountains and highways that curved up and down and around them. Maybe we will get to see more of this state on the way back. We stopped to look for a place to stay in Rolla, had the feel and pricing of a resort town. Luckily we found a nice and reasonable place just a few minutes farther down the road, about an hour before St. Louis.

Best Part

Mama: Sarah, what is the best part of this trip so far?

Sarah: Going to see Grandma and Grandpa!

Mama (laughing since we have been on the road for two days and are still a day away from arriving): What is the second best part of this trip so far?

Sarah: Going to see Aunt Wendy and Uncle Bo!

Day 2: 14 Hours

After getting up at 3am, we were back on the road at 4:15, where we remained for fourteen hours. Papa drank an energy drink and the kids did great, sleeping the first several hours. We made it through Texas and Oklahoma to the outskirts of St. Lois, Missouri before we bunked down again.

Go With Grandma

Sarah (at motel, not wanting to sleep): I wanna go with Grandma and Grandpa! Why can't we go right now?

Papa: We are going right now Sarah. We are on our way. We are just going to sleep a little bit so we can continue.

Sarah: No, I don't wanna sleep! I wanna go right now!

Papa: Look, if we go right now, we'll get tired in the car and crash.

Sarah: What's cwash?

Papa: The car runs into something or off the road and we all have a lot, a lot, a lot of owie and all have to go to the hospital.

Sarah: I wanna cwash!

Moon

(The scene, our car at night. Mama is trying to distract Sarah.)

Mama: Look Sarah, the moon says Hi!

Sarah (sweetly): Hi moon, how are you? (micro pause) (angry) She's not talking!

(See also the talking backpack story)

Mama (laughing): I'll talk for the moon, honey.

Sarah: Moon, where are you? Can you help me go with you?

Mama: No, you need to go with grandma and grandpa right now, but we can play.

Sarah: But I don't have any toys!

Mama: Well, we can play pretend.

Sarah (not convinced): Mmm, ok, Moon.

A Boy?

Sarah, at gas station, sees a girl wearing a ball cap: Mama, is that a boy?

Girl (laughing, takes off hat)

Sarah: Why she have a haaat?

Brain Stab

Not sure what the cause of this is, but Papa has a condition where he will get a sharp pain in the brain when singing certain songs with the radio. It is not from singing loud. It is probably related to emotion as it is most frequent with songs that Papa feels emotional or nostalgic about.

Travel Peeve

Travel Peeve #1: People who pull in front of you too closely.

Travel Peeve#2: People who pull in front of you too closely and then slow down.

Trailers

It is kinda windy on our trip now and we have seen two different semi tractor trailers apparently blown off the side of the road within a span of two hours. Road conditions are fine and they were both on straightaways.

Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ Is Lord Not A Swear Word

(Name of gas station in Texas)

Rest Area

Wow, we just stopped at the nicest rest area ever, somewhere in Texas. Why doesn't anywhere else have rest areas this nice?

Hitchhiker's Guide

Sudden realization: The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy predicted reality shows decades before they came into vogue.

(Sometimes it's nice to have a nice long drive where your mind can just run through random nonsense).

Motel Soap

Motel soap and water make you grateful for the small things, like REAL soap and water. And please don't even mention the shampoo.

Hotel Towels

Apparently the new way of preventing theft of hotel towels is making them so undesirable that no-one would even want to take them.

Tucumcari

We stayed here in a place off of Route 66, which here is just an avenue. Hard to believe that this was once THE street that took people out west. This place seemed to have a historic or resort feel, or at least tried to. Everything had Route 66 blazoned all over it. But even after visiting here it is hard to remember the name of this town. Motel 6 was almost $50, which seemed slightly expensive.

New Mexico

So we drove down I-40, part of the old Route 66, and into New Mexico. There were a lot of pretty rocks and mountains that we saw along the way, much more scenic than I anticipated.