Orange and Black

For most of the Zinn family it was a Happy Halloween.

Steven, Kirsten, and James spent some time after church giving their pumpkins life.
We had a nice visit with our home teachers.
The Giants beat the Rangers 4-0 after losing to them yesterday 2-4. Go Giants!
And the 49ers even managed to pull off a victory against the Broncos.

But one little guy had a hard day. A nasty cold has given Dave-o the blues. He was full of energy and happiness until he woke from his nap. Then it was tantrum after tantrum. I assume this is the reason Dave-o was being difficult on Friday. He was probably starting to feel sick.

We turned out the lights and hunkered down in our family room. Because it was Sunday, our family chose not to hand out candy (much to Justin's displeasure). We scrolled through our Netflix DVD searching for an appropriate movie to watch. I saw "The Incredible Mr Limpet" starring Don Knotts listed and told the kids that my family used to watch it about once a year growing up. They grudgingly agreed to give it a try, but about 20 minutes into it, they were begging me to turn it off. Oh well...I tried.

Happy Haunting!

Trunk-or-Treat

Tonight was our ward's Halloween Party/Trunk-or-Treat. Steven is a smoking hot detective this year. His dad's trench coat and shades completes the look. And Kirsten is an artist (which is what she wants to be when she grows up). We used my beret and the lining of David's trench coat for Kirsten's "artist jacket". On a side note; I put mascara on Kirsten for the first time tonight and was blown away at how long her lashes are. I had no idea! They looked like fake eye lashes. She is so lucky. David told me that she gets them from his side of the family. Is he trying to say that I don't have long, lushes lashes? James was a cowboy being attacked by snakes. He used fishing line to attach to a rubber snake to his ankle (although I never got a picture of it on). Justin didn't get dressed up because he had planned on going to the Homecoming Game, but changed his mind last minute. He had fun hanging out with his friends. In fact, I didn't see much of him the entire evening (which is why I don't have any pictures of him.)







Kirsten brought her friend Fiona to the party. They had so much fun together. There was a jump house, cotton candy, BBQ, a cake walk, a hay ride, and of course a parade.

David and I donned our cowboy hats. Women came up to me asking if David was supposed to be Tim McGraw. I said, "If that makes me Faith Hill than yes!" Dave-o was King David incognito. He freaked out each time I tried to get him dressed up for tonight. Oh well. The cotton candy was a hit with him.

Kirsten, Steven, and Fiona got a ton of candy. I think they circled the parking lot at least 3 times.
It was a fun evening. I got to visit with a lot of people that I don't normally see very often. And we even escaped getting rained on. On the ride home Fiona wanted us to pinch her to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
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Yesterday the SF Giants won game two of the World Series 9-0. Whoo-Hooo!

Pre-Game Show

Here's what our pre-game show looked like today:

Kirsten and Fiona love playing with their stuffed animals.

Mason came by to show Steven a new paper airplane design.

You'll probably read (or hear) that the first pitch of the World Series was thrown by Barry Bonds; however we know differently. Look at Dave-o's form. He's a born pitcher.
You didn't have to be sitting in AT&T Park to feel the excitement and energy from the Giants. What a game! They easily won 11-7. Dave-o sat on my lap for parts of the game and repeatedly said "baseball". After noticing many of the players spitting, Dave-o proceeded to show off his own loogeys.

David spent most of the game fixing our dishwasher (thank goodness). On several occasions, I heard him calling the washer names. We always laugh when David gets frustrated. I know that's bad, but he sounds so funny talking trash to inanimate objects.

I'm ready for game 2. Are you?

Pumpkin Patch

For Family Night I took the kids to our favorite pumpkin patch, Uesugi Farms. This was Dave-o's first time here and he LOVED it. He calls the pumpkins "Byee". Weird, huh? We headed towards the 7 dollar row and noticed that they were buy one get one free. Justin became the official "wheel barrow pusher" while everyone else searched for their perfect pumpkin. There is only one rule that the kids must follow: You must be able to pick the pumpkin up if you want it. I don't know how or when we made up that rule, but somehow it stuck.



The big "real" pumpkin behind the kids won first prize. I think it weighed about 1300 pounds.
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Later on in the evening, I took some of the kids to pick up David from the airport. He had spent a few days with his parents at the Zinn Ranch. Each year his mom and dad by him a ticket to Montana for his birthday. Over the years, this has become a special bonding time that David is able to share with his father. It's hard having him away, but the reward is knowing that a father and his son are becoming closer. I hope that David will carrying on this tradition in some form with his own sons and daughter.

Orange October

Have you heard that this month is "Orange October"?
This evening the San Francisco Giants beat the Phillies to win the National League pennant All of the sports analysts (including my husband who is an A's fan) said that the Giants didn't have the offense to beat Philadelphia. I'm glad my team proved them all wrong. Now it's off to battle the Texas Rangers in the World Series.

Go Giants!

The First Article of Faith says...

Each year around this time of the month the primary children put on a special program during Sunday's Sacrament Meeting. This is their chance to shine; to share what they've learned in word and song. I think it's pretty safe to say that everyone looks forward to the children's sacrament program. There is always a wonderful spirit present along with one or two children who do something funny or cute that you remember and talk about for years to come.

Well, today it was our child who did something memorable. Kirsten had a simple part:

The First Article of Faith says: We believe in God the Eternal Father and in His Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost.

She has known the 1st Article of Faith for a few years, so I wasn't too concerned about practicing with her. Yesterday and this morning we ran through Kirsten's part a few times and she said it perfectly without any concerns.

Kirsten was the second child to speak. As she stood at the pulpit, I was nervous for her (a typical parent, right?) She started out the way we rehearsed it at home. But then she deviated from her part and began to sing the article of faith. When she was done, I realized that I had been holding my breath. After I could breathe normal again, I leaned over to David and whispered, "At least she was on tune."

It turned out that Kirsten's little "solo act" was the hit of the program. People were talking about it for the rest of our meetings. On our drive home from church I asked Kirsten why she chose to sing. In her response to me, Kirsten explained that the girl sitting next to her on the stand told her to sing it. Kirsten is so cute; and unpredictable!

Love One Another

I loved President Monson's talk during the General Relief Society Broadcast about not judging others. He began with this anecdote:

A young couple, Lisa and John, moved into a new neighborhood. One morning while they were eating breakfast, Lisa looked out the window and watched her next-door neighbor hanging out her wash.

"That laundry’s not clean!" Lisa exclaimed. "Our neighbor doesn’t know how to get clothes clean!"

John looked on but remained silent. Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, Lisa would make the same comments.

A few weeks later Lisa was surprised to glance out her window and see a nice, clean wash hanging in her neighbor’s yard.

She said to her husband, "Look, John! She’s finally learned how to wash correctly! I wonder how she did it."

John replied, "Well, dear, I have the answer for you. You’ll be interested to know that I got up early this morning and washed our windows!"

Pres. Monson went on to say, "Mother Teresa, a Catholic nun who worked among the poor in India most of her life, spoke this profound truth: 'If you judge people, you have no time to love them.' The Savior has admonished, 'This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.' I ask: can we love one another, as the Savior has commanded, if we judge each other? And I answer-with Mother Teresa: no, we cannot."

While listening to his talk, I remembered a cute story involving my Grandmother Owens who passed away several years ago. While at a gathering some of the ladies present were speaking rather poorly about someone she had sympathies for. One lady made a comment that someday when "the individual" was on the other side he would be sorry for his life.

My grandma reached into her purse and pulled out a folded piece of paper, opened it and said, "I heard this little poem the other day and I liked it so I wrote it down." Then without batting an eye she read it aloud to the group.

I dreamed that death came the other night
And Heaven's gate swung wide.
With kindly grace an angel
Ushered me inside

And there to my astonishment
Stood folks I'd known on earth.
Some I'd judged and labeled
As unfit or of little worth.

Indignant words rose to my lips
But never were set free,
For on every face was stunned surprise
No one expected me!

Women in general tend to be really good at making judgments, when we should be taking a deeper look inside ourselves. I hope to be like my Grandmother Owens and steer clear of gossiping. I think I need to keep a copy of this poem to have my purse just as she did. I don't know that I would ever have the guts to pull it out, but it would serve as a remembrance to avoid judging others.

Beached Whale

I am a spontaneous person by nature. Doing things and going places on a whim is exciting for me. So, when I received an email from my friend telling me that there was an 85 foot beached blue whale at Bean Hollow, I piled the kids in the car and yanked Justin out from school to fulfill my need to go at a moment's notice.

Now, there are a few drawbacks to spontaneity; one of them is not knowing exactly where it is you're going. I mean, I knew the general location, but not exactly (and I didn't have my Tom Tom to help me out).

We arrived at what we thought was Bean Hollow (the sign said "Pebble Beach and Bean Hollow) and looked over the cliffs and saw nothing but rocks, sand, and water below. There were other people peering over the cliff as well, including a couple of police officers. I asked the cops if we were at the right beach and they said yes. They were hoping to take a few pictures of the whale too and guessed that the tide must have taken it back out to sea. I took the police officers' word as gold and consigned myself on the idea that the whale was gone.

I let the kids explore this new beach, which they loved. They had fun collecting hermit crabs. Then we ate our Subway sandwiches on a picnic table overlooking the waves crashing over the rocks. I love that sound. I could listen to it forever. As we were eating, a lady with 3 adorable little boys walked over to us wondering if we knew were this beached whale was. While we were trying to solve the mystery, a bus full of school kids pulled into the parking lot with the answer to our puzzle. They had just come from seeing the whale. Apparently we were at the wrong beach. Bean Hollow was just a little farther south.

The rotting smell of animal flesh guided us to the Blue Whale and it's fetus. At first the kids were apprehensive about going near the mammal, but grew more comfortable the longer we stayed. It was sad seeing the baby lying there not far from it's decomposing mother.

The kids then rolled up their pants and played in the water and sand (farther away from the awful stench). Dave-o is afraid of the waves, but he loves playing in the sand.

And then it happened...A bomb dropped on Steven's head. A wet sand bomb to be exact. (In the picture above, it looks as if the bird dropped the "package" on him.)

This of course meant all out war. Sand was flying everywhere; but luckily none flew on me. It was such a fun afternoon. One that I know the kids will always remember. How many people do you know has seen and touched a blue whale? Well, now you know 6.

Their Last Hurrah

My brother-in-law, Brian, has been cleared by his doctors to return to Montana. But before the Shaws packed up to go home, we paid a visit to the Tech Museum.

The earthquake simulator is always a huge hit. Lori was lucky enough to relive the Loma Prieta one.

The jet pack simulator is another popular exhibit. The kids have to line up a red laser beam with a green circle above them.

Mary is pretending she's driving an underwater craft and Steven and James raced each other in wheel chairs (although Steven's wasn't working very well).

Lori took the kids to an IMax movie about natural disasters while Dave-o and I hung out. Mary and Lori came out of the theater feeling nauseous. I guess it wasn't a good movie for people who get motion sickness easily. It's a good thing I didn't watch it.

I'm not really sure what happened with Mark. The last we saw of him he was floating towards space.

We eventually had to say our dreaded good-byes. We will miss them all a ton. I love having family around.
Love you guys!

Competitiveness

My feelings on competitions are not a mystery to those who know me. Society seems to be toning down on competitive behavior in children. Heaven forbid there be a winner any more. But instead, everyone is presented with a trophy; everyone gets a ribbon. This kind of thinking infuriates me.

Here is a recent example of what I'm talking about. Over the weekend, James went on a stake campout. He met with his scout patrol beforehand where the boys planned meals and made assignments. At this camp out, the stake would be judging each patrol's breakfast. The Zebra Patrol was really creative with their meal. Their fruit dipped in chocolate and caramel fondue and cinnamon twists topped with whipped cream won them first prize. The stake awarded the patrol with a huge bag of candy.

BUT

Their scoutmaster told them that they HAD to share their prize with all the scouts. Are we in America? Why are my children being asked to behave in a communist fashion? They're not going to want to work hard at anything if they know the fruits of their labor will be taken away to be divided amongst others who didn't work hard. That's like David getting a bonus at work but having to divide it equally with his department. Right? Please tell me I'm not alone in my thinking.

A Chaotic Atmosphere

On a few occasions I have watched a new TV show called "Hoarders". David can't watch it due to the disturbing subject matter. Hoarding is a disorder in which individuals compulsively obtain and collect massive amounts of possessions. These people develop an emotional attachment to these physical possessions. Seeing the clutter and chaotic atmosphere stresses David out. My reaction to the stories that are covered on the show is that of a curious nature. I watch it in order to understand how a person(s) can live this way. Why are they so emotionally invested in their possessions to the point that it consumes their lives? And why do these people have such a hard time getting rid of the their belongings?

Well, today Justin and I got a real glimpse of a hoarder's home. We spent 3 hours, along with 5 other individuals, making the space somewhat livable. The person who lives there has been in a rehabilitation center for the past 4 months and will be returning home tomorrow with a walker. We spent this time clearing and moving his belongings to make room for him to move about with his walker. I devoted 2 hours cleaning the bathroom out. I must have killed a hundred daddy long legs in the process. I was so proud of Justin's willingness to help out. He contributed his youthful endurance and strength by carrying bags and bags of garbage and furniture up and down the stairs to the dumpster located quite some distance away. What a trooper! Justin would also periodically check in on me expressing amazement at the progress taking place right before his eyes. The only reason we were able to get away with throwing so much out was because the owner was not home. In the past, he has made this process very difficult. David told me about a time when the man wouldn't let him throw out a little torn piece of paper. I don't know how people can live that way.

After returning home at noon, I showered and headed to the church for a funeral. I was needed to babysit a couple sets of twins that were labeled "very difficult". Normally I don't give any heed to "labels", but in this case the term was accurate if not too benign. The other lady that volunteered and I have 8 kids between us and yet we felt out matched and under manned. To make matters worse, the funeral went an hour OVER it's intended time. Once the parents came to pick up their little demons, I mean boys, Valary and I made a beeline out the door to our cars. I'm sure she was thinking the same thing I was on the drive home: I am so thankful for the children that I have. I can honestly say that I would rather spend 3 hours cleaning out the hoarder's house than enduring the same amount of time with those twins again.

So as not to end on such a frazzled note, I will end my post with this picture and story about Dave-o.

Yesterday, David was busy getting ready for work aware of the fact that Dave-o was walking around the house carrying an old helicopter remote.

After a short time had passed, Steven called out, "Hey Dad! Dave-o has one of your old helicopters."

Upon investigation, David found Dave-o hard at work trying to figure out how to fire up that darn helicopter.

I am amazed at how Dave-o was able to put two and two together. He's so observant.

Well, it's off to bed. I hope I don't have nightmares of twin boys and daddy long legs tonight!

The Oscillating Woodpecker

Here was our science lesson yesterday and today: "The Oscillating Woodpecker". I got the idea from Made by Joel's blog. He even provides the woodpecker to download.

Gravity, friction and momentum work together to keep the woodpecker pecking:

Before there were electric motors, grandfather clocks and giant tower clocks were powered by gravity. Weights were pulled up. As they slowly fell, they powered the gears of the clock. (I used Grandma and Grandpa's coo-coo clock as an example). Similarly, our woodpecker gains potential gravitational energy as we lift it to the top of the rubber band. Once it starts going, the potential energy is converted to kinetic (moving) energy.

But how is the energy to make it bob metered out a little at a time? Why doesn't it just drop like a rock? If we just put a straw on the rubber band, it does just drop. The friction where the rubber meets the straws keeps the bird form dropping.

Once we start shaking the weight (the bird), it bounces up until it digs into the rubber band, but tilted the opposite way. The energy from the weight is absorbed--captured, you might say--by the rubber band, and stored as potential energy. Not for long, mind you. The rubber band slings the bird back the way it came from.

If no new energy were put into the system, the woodpecker would just bounce back and forth a few times, each time a little less, finally becoming still. Whether it is bouncing balls or swinging pendulums or whatever, friction always robs some energy until they stop. But something interesting happens with our bird between each of the bobs. For just a fraction of a second in between the extremes of position, the straw is not digging into the rubber band. So it drops, just a little, but enough to turn a little bit of that potential energy into enough kinetic energy to keep things going.

Edible Ships

In history we've been studying the Pilgrims coming to North America. So, tonight I had the kids make a model of the Mayflower out of Rice Crispie Treats, Kit Kats, and Fruit Roll-Ups. I love finding ways to make edible projects. It makes for a tasty snack and there's less clutter. The kids wanted to eat their creations last night, but I didn't want them bouncing off the walls so near to bedtime. So, we compromised; I let them eat their sails (they were falling down anyways) and told them that the ships needed to be turned in to their teacher (me) tomorrow.

Mary and James

Steven and Mark

Kirsten...Justin even wanted to do it. (I think the yummy treats had something to do with his involvement). He clumped the rice crispie treat together, threw some Kit Kats on it and called it a ship; all in less than a minute. I don't think Justin was going for quality; he was going on taste alone.

Kirsten, Mark, and Mary have also been working on a paper mache pumpkin. I got the idea here.
It was a great way to use up all of my grocery store plastic bags. There are so many fun and cute craft projects to do this time of year. I love it!