On the Beltway on the way back from Jack’s birthday party, we ran into a snowstorm. The road wasn’t bad but the outside temperature went from 43° to 33° in about 10 minutes. Supposed to go down to 18° tonight. Brrr!
My old car didn’t have an outside thermometer. Maybe ignorance was bliss.
I have started using a new camera. New for me, it’s actually a pretty old camera. It’s my Mom and Dad’s Polaroid Land Camera 101. Probably at least forty-five years old.
Once I found a new battery that fit, and some film that it could use, it worked pretty well. You take the picture and then pull the print out of the side of the camera. It develops in about thirty seconds and you have a print.
I tried to explain the concepts of film and developing to the twins, but I don’t think they got it. They are used to cameras that show on the back the picture that was just taken. They were fascinated by the process though and modeled for me.
I’m still working on getting the exposure right, but this one came out pretty good.
Adam has been busy with the Cub Scouts–and Dad’s been having fun too. Adam recently was awarded his Bobcat badge for finishing all of his associated tasks. The tradition is that the scout has to wear the badge upside down until he does a good deed, and since you wouldn’t want to disrespect the badge by holding it upside down, the scout gets held upside down by the Scoutmaster while the badge is pinned on. Adam had a ball.
Adam also competed in the Pine Wood Derby, with his car “Hawaii Five-O”. I think the Missus helped him pick out that name. His car won the first heat–I think I may have screamed like a girl when he did. By the time all the heats were run, he had slipped into 5th place (out of 12) overall. I congratulated him on a good race, but he was disappointed he didn’t get a medal. Here’s a picture of the awesome Hawaii Five-O:
Tessa’s been busy too. I got to join her at school to see her receive a Citizenship Award. I was able to surprise her and got a big smile in return. Congratulations, Tessa!
The Missus had to go back to work this week, so the twins and I have been home playing with the stuff Santa brought. The wily old elf brought me Risk, the game of global domination. I hadn’t played it since I was a kid. The twins caught on pretty quick, but they aren’t as willing to stab their opponents in the back as I am. Hey, what can I say? I don’t believe in coddling them.
Here’s a picture of the contestants having fun. The puppy won.
Bought a brand new car! And donated the old one. I shed a tear or two as they took my Accord away. As I told the twins, “I’ve known that car longer than I’ve known you!”
At a recent cub scout meeting, Adam got his kit for making a pinewood derby racing car. He was excited about making the car, carving the wood, and winning the race. I was trying to set expectations. ”We’ll do our best,” I said, “but Daddy hasn’t had much experience with carving wood.”
“But, Dad!” Adam said. ”We built a computer!” Which we did. My boy!
The Missus and our niece ran last Saturday in the Freeze Your Gizzard 5K. They did great!
First in, first out. Tessa lost her first tooth today. Her adult tooth is coming in already.
