How would you spell it?

Living with a six year old you realize how many words SHOULD be spelled. Take, for instance, pirates. Lucy's spelling makes much more sense (pierits). I also like her stylized skull and cross bones. She also makes pirate hats to go with this flag, constructed of a giant leaf petiole and construction paper.

Three Things

1. Yes, let me say it again, I still love OBAMA and so should you. Read this HILARIOUS article from SF Gate on Obama and what he needs and we all need.

2. Mitch got the highest compliment ever yesterday. At lunch, one of the second graders who was in Lucy's class last year asked Mitch if he would come to his birthday party and bring science demos! Mitch is his own Just Ask Why? I'm the Science Guy and has become something of a cult hero to the little people of Open Classroom (especially the extra nerdy little people...although i must say that things like rockets do resonate with all)

3. Mitch just learned a new song on the acoustic guitar. Can you believe it? Just now while the girls were in the bathtub. He just busts out with a lovely and rocking rendering of Whats So Funny About Peace Love and Understanding in honor of an article he read on Nick Lowe in the New York Times. Rock on Mitch!

4 out of 4 Brigham Allens Still Strong on Obama

L.A. Times headline today:

Obama strongly leads GOP candidates in California poll

Allie and Tom come for a visit

Allie and Tom took the train up for a day long visit yesterday. It was great to see them - we haven't seen them since they came back from their Seattle sojourn. Lucy called most of the shots for the day so we all spent time at the mermaid store, played at the playground on the beach, read stories, had tea, played at the neighborhood playground, played a quick game of chess, and played Don't Let The Pigeon Ride the Bus. We also went out for a yummy sushi dinner.

Allie and Tom are such good sports that they played several board games with the girls which can be frustrating since JoJo never actually knows the rules and Lucy frequently conveniently "forgets" them...

Allie and I talked gardening and both she and Tom listened to me rant about all my many issues. We all spent some time deconstructing climate change and talking peak oil (one of Tom's many specialties).

Good times were had by all.

Some Things Never Change

On Saturday we went to our friend Evan's fifth birthday party. It was a great party and the girls had tons of fun jumping at the bouncy place for two hours on a Saturday (a rare treat since the place isn't open to the public on the weekends). As we were getting ready to leave and the girls were looking in their goody bags, all of a sudden Josie realized that her goody bag did not contain army men, like the boys goody bags did. So JoJo asked Mary (Evan's mom) if she could have some army men too and Mary gave her a whole handful.

So JoJo is now happily playing with her army men (she has divided them into "lookers" - ones with binoculars, and "shooters" - ones with machine guns and bazookas).

It is amazing how similar these army men are too the ones that we used to melt against our bicycle tires, turning them into piles of plastic goo. Army men are apparently frozen forever in WWII era garb and weaponry. Fine with me. I prefer playmobile pirates anyway.

The Family Jewels

Growing up I loved to go downstairs to my parents bedroom, open the accordion doors to their closet, and get out my mom's two jewelry boxes off the top of her orange dresser. I would set them on my parent's bed and spend a good half hour to an hour looking through all the shiny rings, the charm bracelets with my mom's high school graduation date, the cupid bracelet with hearts with red jewels, the brown seed necklace from the sixties, the flower pins. It was all marvelous. My mom hardly ever let me wear any of her jewelry because she was afraid that I would lose them or break them (and I probably would have). After my mom died, I inherited all the "jewels", none of which are actual jewels.

Now the girls love to look through all the rings and necklaces and bracelets. Last Sunday I let them wear some necklaces and pins around the house while they were playing dress up. It is so strange and nostalgic to watch them doing the same thing that I did 30 years ago...

JoJo Says

To Mitch as he leaves for a garage sale that Jojo has decided not to go to,

"Please bring me back a beanie baby of any kind."

To Mitch while riding in the van,

"Cobras squeeze people up and then eat them."

Mitch to Josie, "No they don't. You are thinking of boa constrictors. Cobras are venomous snakes. They bite animals and inject them with venom and then eat them."

JoJo, "NO!! They squeeze people and eat them up. My friend in the green shirt at the park told me so."