Oh Cod, not the fish!

OK, I admit it - I fell asleep while watching Ryan. But did he really have to dump all of the fish food in the tank while I was sleeping? Why would he do that??

It all started with a little Christmas tree...

The tree in this picture was donated to the Roxbury FD by Lake Silver Springs. It adorned the back of our fire truck while Santa spread Christmas cheer and candy canes to the children of Roxbury. At the conclusion of our event, we donated the tree to a needy family with two boys - ages 5 and 7 - with money and gifts collected from my company. The tree proved to be the catalyst that encouraged financial contributions from many people, and hopefully made a family's holiday season a little brighter.

www.ginnieshouse.org is an organization with a tough mission - they provide advocacy services for children who may have been abused, assaulted or witnessed a violent crime, including domestic violence. It was through their outreach that we were able to find a needy family to accept our gift. I met their executive director, and we agreed to sponsor another family next year. All we need is another Christmas tree to get the ball rolling.

Chocolate Chip Mint

This weekend, we made chocolate chip mint ice cream in the Big Red Ball. Next weekend is something with peanut butter, chocolate and marshmallows...

Tree Pruning

Our maple tree took some major damage during the last snowstorm, so we had it pruned yesterday to remove the dead branches. One of the climbers estimated the tree to be over 180 years old!

Thanksgiving Hockey Tournament

The Thanksgiving Tournament was held in Delaware this year. The kids faced some tough competition, but they played well and had a great time.

Fa ra ra ra ra...

This year, we celebrated Thanksgiving with...CHINESE FOOD!

gǎn ēn jié kuài lè
(Happy Thanksgiving!)

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

The Big Cheese

Never miss the opportunity to have your picture taken with a 6 foot log of cheese.

Danielle sent Michael and I to the grocery store on an empty stomach. Thank God we didn't come home with this!

Mad Scientists

Was an explosion imminent? Nah.... but you have to admire their safety precautions.

Penalty Box

Some words of advice: Try not to get a penalty when your dad is working the penalty box. Michael got a minute and a half for tripping the other team's left winger in the second period.

Ice Cream Ball

We made this...


With this!



Here is how it works: Add ice and salt to one side of the ball, and ice cream mix (soy milk, sugar, vanilla) to the other side of the ball. Take it out in the yard and roll it around for fifteen minutes. The ball makes approximately a pint of ice cream.

We bought it from Cabelas in Pennsylvania on our way home from a hockey tournament.

Merry Halloween!

Yes, this time we took it too far!

White October

Hopefully this is the last natural disaster. In the span of two months, we have seen a hurricane, a thousand-year flood, an earthquake, and a freak snowstorm.

This particular storm dumped 8 inches of snow on us between Saturday and Sunday, and the weight of the snow snapped tree limbs and took down power lines all over town. 2.3 million residents lost power in the Northeast, and, for most people, it's not expected to be turned on again for about a week.

Halloween costume

Ryan went to nursery school dressed as Bob the Builder today.

Wing Night!

We decided to try a new recipe for Teriyaki wings, since Joey does not like spicy food. It was pretty bad.

We also deep-fried some pickle slices and potato chips this time. Danielle did a great job on the potato chips. They were the best chips I've ever had!

Joey-ism #764

Joey spotted this sign from the back seat of our truck. As he sounded out the words, it all became clear to him:

He said "Holy cow...they cook WOMEN there!"

Waiting patiently for the bus.

Bike Riding in Princeton

This tricycle is amazing. It is one of the few toys that survived all three boys.

Danielle and I took the boys bike riding in Princeton on Saturday. Joey got to ride his new orange bike, and Ryan did his best to keep up on the tricycle. We had to stop periodically to fill up the "trunk" of the tricycle with acorns.

Look who can cook!

Michael came down to the kitchen on Sunday morning and asked what I was making for breakfast. I gave him a shoulder shrug with a look that said "sorry buddy, I can't cook".

He said "don't worry Dad, I'll cook for us" and he got under way making blueberry muffins. They came out great!

Cucumber Lips

Who said you can't have fun with your vegetables?

Punkin' Pickin'

Ryan and I went to Oort Farm in Chester for his nursery school field trip. We took a hay ride around the farm, we picked pumpkins, and then we fed the animules. The weather wasn't great, but we still had fun!

Septic truck humor

I like this message! Of course, if he saw how much my kids eat, he would realize that he needs a bigger truck.

First Day of School 2011-12

This year, Joey and Michael are going to two different schools. Joey is starting second grade and Michael is starting fifth grade.

It was a rainy morning and we had to look around the house for two more umbrellas, but we made it to the bus stop on time.

Northwood Picnic

I brought the family to the annual Northwood Fire family picnic this year. We ate everything from clams to hot dogs, and it was a very relaxing and mellow afternoon. Ryan slept through most of it while Joey and Michael played horse shoes and climbed on the trucks.

The truck in this picture will be replaced soon. It's a 1984 Pierce, and it's the only truck in the county that still has a spot for firemen to ride on the back.

Ryan's workbench

Ryan has a work bench right next to mine. He loves hanging out with me in the basement.

Taming the savage beast

Danielle and I got suckered into buying a leash for the guinea pig. I'm not sure why we did that, because it's not like we take him out for long walks or anything.

Follicly challenged

To those who doubted, here is proof that Dad and I once had hair :)

Michael at Space Camp

Space Camp - Danielle in the Multi Axis Trainer

Joey-ism #206:

I've come to realize that our blog is not only a great medium for sharing pictures and stories about the kids, but it's also an online journal of random funny quotes from Joey. Whenever I need a good laugh or just a little perspective from a kid that has an amazing ability to think outside the box, I go back and read some of his posts.

So here is Joey-ism #206:

"Daddy, that must be quicksand! Look at what happened to that truck!" (see picture).

living with boys

Joey comes into the room dressed as Iron Man and asks: "Mom, which causes more damage - a bomb or a grappling hook?" and "Dad, can we build jet boots for my costume with model rocket engines"?

I can't imagine what it must be like having girls.

Super Mommy

Danielle has met many powerful people during her tenure as Teacher of the Year, including Governor Christie, President Obama, Jill Biden, Arne Duncan and more senators than I can remember.

But now, in the eyes of our three year old, mommy just took it to the next level. Today she met Fu Pow (that's Ryan-speak for Super Why). This will be hard to beat.

June

Ahh, June. The air is hot, the pool is luke and the kids can watch TV from outside :)

Generation gap

Dad: Michael, one day you'll be able to do your book reports on a typewriter.

Michael: What's a typewriter? All I need is a laptop and a USB key.

Lunch date with Mom

Some little man's making moves on my wife. I bet he made her pay for lunch, too. :)

Learning to ride

Ryan's learning how to ride the scooter. He's only one step away from learning how to ride a bike with training wheels.

Joey

Joey's still playing the guitar, and he's getting pretty good at it. We discovered that headphones are a great alternative to an amplifier :)

1.21 gigawatts? Great Scott!

We have a plastic slide that creates static electricity each time you go down it. After about ten trips down the slide, Ryan could practically shoot a lightning bolt from his fingers.

Look closely at his hair - it's standing strait up. He's armed and ready...

Ohio Trip

We had another great visit with the Ohioans. Dad took us fishing and we caught two bluegills (we, meaning Joey and Dad. I didn't catch squat).

Truck Stop

I think that one of these exhaust tips would look great on my Honda...

Seaside Heights

One of the great things about living in NJ is that you're always within driving distance of the ocean. That makes it easier to enjoy it during the off-season while the beach crowds are still months away, and before the show "Jersey Shore" starts filming.

That is Michael's melon in the picture. He is getting tall.

Meet the newest member of the family.

Joey earned enough stars on his star chart to get his reward, and we picked up his new Guinea Pig this weekend while we were down at the shore.

Since the Guinea Pig is a female, I guess Danielle finally got the girl she always wanted. However, it didn't take long for Joey to masculinize it and name it Blaster :)

Joey-ism # 101

Dad, what was your name when you were younger?

Updates

The last two weeks have been pretty busy in our house! Starting from the top left and going clockwise: Danielle accepted an award from NJ Senator Menendez for being a "Pioneering Woman", Ryan learned how to ride on my back (it's one of those small milestones in our house), Joey advanced another rank in Karate, Joey went to three birthday parties, Danielle and I discovered that playing with the kids stuff after they go to bed can be fun, and I think we have a rabbit living under our deck.

The Couch Strikes Back

Master John Makeover

How do you know when the hockey season is over? The only thing you have to talk about on your blog is your new bathroom.

But seriously, my wife bought everything we needed to re-do our master bath for less than 50 bucks. That includes paint from Home Depot, new curtains, shelves, a vase, a new mirror and storage compartments. I think that's pretty amazing.

This weekend

We helped Uncle Stephen move into his new house this weekend. The boys helped install new locks and door knobs.

On Sunday, Danielle surprised us with a trip to the Model Train Convention for my birthday. Some of the layouts we saw were amazing; I realize now that most of the work spent on setting up a model train comes when you create the scenery, not when you lay out the track.