Spring Break, week 1

The boys have a 2-week spring break, so here is the summary of week 1! Pete, unfortunately, has the week after their 2 weeks. Figures.

So, spring break started off with a visit from the Easter bunny! We skipped the crazy ruckus and shoving parents at the Westchester egg hunt, and let the bunny bring the goods to the house.

We made a dinner of ham, carrots, glazed radishes (from the garden), and foccacia. Yummy!

T-bone in particular was thrilled to see the garbage trucks on Monday--though one was so late we finally just had to go run some errands. When T-bone misplaced his green Bruder can, he decided to make a new one (disaster averted!), and trimmed down his first try to create a working can. Of course, as soon as he sat down to use it, he found the missing can under the couch....


On Tuesday we went to the Scout Shop to pick up a pinewood derby kit for E-man, and a larger shirt for T-bone. Then we went to the Cabrillo Aquarium since we were right there. E-man, of course, loved the sharks. T-bone liked the huge lobsters best. And the yellow recycling cans.

At home, E-man made a special seaweed collecting boat. The scoop (on the left) collects seaweed (kelp, really) from the ocean,  dumping it onto the small shelf. That then dumps it onto the main part of the boat (the dumptruck piece). As you may have guessed, they have some kelp at the aquarium!

Wednesday we went to play at Acacia Park in El Segundo, which has a super tall spiral slide, a wave slide, swings, and a tire swing. I didn't take the camera, so no pics of super dizzy T-bone or E-man bouncing down the wave slide.

Thurdsay we had a playdate with a friend of E-man's at Lindbergh Park in Culver City. Again, no camera, but the boys all loved a quick trip to Target for pizza after the playdate. What is it about kids that makes eating at target soooooo exciting?

Friday Pete and the boys finished up their pinewood derby cars. More on that tomorrow--hopefully blogger will be more cooperative in letting me upload pics! I spent the day at the Family History Center in West LA doing research on my Martins in Cambridgeshire (they actually have, there, a bunch of the films I need!).  Three hours, and I only got through one film. But I think I am now back two more generations! We'll see if the other films confirm or refute what I think I know!

Saturday we had to turn in the cars for  weighing and impounding, and we had a brief but nice visit with Scott and Elizabeth. Pete had some extra hops corms (?), and has now talked Scott into growing hops too. Lucky Elizabeth :)

Yellow Tiger & Orange Shark

Welcome Home little guys!

Well, we have fish again. Guppies, again. I like guppies. They are cheap, cute, and don't hate me when the water gets a little thick. And I do have to say I love it when they see me or a boy pick up the jar of fish food and wiggle waggle their whole selves (I mean the fish wiggle waggle themselves, though I suppose the rest of us could to get into the spirit of things). And they don't mind the boys staring at them. I am guessing most people reading this know which boy has the tiger and which the shark.

Do you have any idea how hard it is do take an autofocus picture of guppies? I do.

Yummy Desserts and a Small Project

Well, there were no drink tickets last night, but instead lots of yummy desserts! Mmmmm fruit tarts.

Today was a day of laundry, laundry, vacuuming, and laundry. Pete took T-bone swimming at the Y, and later played some football and soccer with E-man. Don took us to Truxton's for dinner, which was delicious as always--though both boys were not nearly as well behaved as they were the last time we had dinner there (uh, 3 weeks ago).

Meanwhile, I managed to find enough time to do a small crochet project. I got some D rings and plastic rhinestones at Joanns yesterday, and today made this dog collar.

 

This is for our neighbor Sonja's new doggie. Heidi is a cute little 6 pounder (Maltese? I don't know dog breeds) and won't get a whole lot bigger. I just hope this collar fits. It fits Tioga, who is one chubby 13 pound cat, so I have hope!

Same Time, Same Place

So, after all these years of genealogical research, I have finally put a branch of my family and, apparently, a branch of Pete's in the same county at the same time. I was so sure that if this happened, it would be in North Carolina, sometime before 1840. But no, it's Hunterdon County, New Jersey, 1700s.

So, for probably 10 years I have been trying to determine the parents of Pete's 3g grandfather Hampton, whose name I haven't even nailed down. He usually appears as RT, but in the 1860 census he is "Rukehill". In 1850 he and a brother, WG (William), both born in VA, are living in Warren Co., MO, with another family from Virginia. I've been trying to figure out if the Jane Hampton nearby in Montgomery Co. was their mother. She is listed as head of household in both 1840 (when other household members were not named, just counted) and 1850.

Well, a wee bit of poking on ancestry.com led me to Jane's cemetery record, where she is listed as "wife of SH". More poking led to a marriage record for Samuel H. Hampton and Jane M. Godley in Pittsylvania Co, VA. Could this be them? Hmmmm.... In 1830, guess what the name of the 1 Pittsylvania Co. Godley head of household is in 1830? Rockhill Godley. Rukehill=Rockhill. He was named for his maternal grandfather.

But for the real whack with a wet noodle, guess who is 2 doors down from Jane Hampton in 1840, Loutre T., Montgomery Co, MO. Yes, Rockhill Godley. All these years, and he has been right there, and is buried in Bedford Cemetery, with several other Godley family members (including his wife Sarah). Jane is with the Hamptons in White-Hensley. S.H. is nowhere to be found, but I suspect his stone is lost from White-Hensley.

So, I haven't confirmed any of this (other than a 1700s will of Edward Rockhill, who names his daughter and son-in-law, who was a Godley), but the Godleys and Rockhills were in Hunterdon Co, NJ. As was my Kise family, also in the 1700s. The Whitenacks were in Somerset (immediately to the east) but also Hunterdon.

So, maybe we will connect yet. Though or anyone who knows our families, the funny part of all this is that this is my Collett family--the really German part of it (descended from Michael Andreas Weidknecht from Adelshofen in Germany). And Pete's Hoereth line--the really English part of it (looks like the Rockhills were Quakers)!

Other than this big breakthrough from yesterday, we have had a busy day. T-bone and I went to Tree Musketeers' Trees to the Sea, and we weeded, picked up trash, planted trees, and had some pizza. E-man and Pete played games and had a visit from pete's high school friend Chris. I ran some errands, and now I should be getting ready to go to the Mar Vista silent auction. Not for fun, to work! Though it is fun :) We help close theirs, then they help close ours. And they give us drink tickets.

Gnome is Home!

T-bone finished his gnome today in handwork class! He is sooooo proud of himself, with reason. It looks fantastic! I love his color choices. He has been anticipating this day for weeks. And so have I, since he has been expecting to finish for each of the last 4 handwork classes.

The gnome is the big second grade handwork project--they started back in September with the body. They picked colors, knit and purled, changed colors, stuffed, and sewed. 

He knits better than I do! He really is going to have to teach me.

Rat-a-Cake-y & Building Bird Feeders

Last night we went to T-bone's cub scout pack Blue & Gold Banquet. Which meant that Friday night dad and T-bone baked a cake and then Saturday day they decorated it (which involved waaaay too much red food coloring). This year's theme was Chinese New Year, so T-bone drew a great rat for the year of the rat--the cake design was all him, as was much of the decorating. E-man found much of the evening exhausting (other than when the magician turned 4 birds into 1 rabbit, and the noodles and pot stickers got a thumbs up too!), and still hasn't recovered from not getting the giant Hot Wheels basket in the silent auction. Especially since T-bone won a Climb Mt Everest game as a door prize. No, we haven't tried playing yet!

E-man had a better Saturday last weekend. Both boys went with dad to the Lowe's Build N Grow to make bird/squirrel feeders. T-bone did his all by himself--all reading, finding pieces, hammering, everything. E-man happily hammered away with daddy. We gave these feeders over to the squirrels, who will be chubbier than ever now. This guy approves.

Where was I? Manning Miss Julie's 2nd grade class during another OCS open house. Which means I spent two hours talking (which my sore throat did NOT appreciate!) while simultaneously keeping toddlers brought to the no kids event from feeding the class's forced bulbs to the bunny. And I crocheted 4 afghan units!