Special Day Assembly 06 ---

This is late but we have pictures from the Special Day Assembly we took on the second of this month. A good time was had by all, though Daddy had to leave right at the end of session to get back for work (one of his co-workers was good enough to stay and wait for him to show up). Enjoy the pictures of Eliza sulking, taking after her old man. Fortunately she's got her mother's resilience and she bounces out of it a lot faster. :) Can't keep a good girl down.

Ella Grace swims like a pro now and continues to grow into very much her own person. She continues to be a social person and so enjoys the crowds at the Assemblies.

Pictures are here.

Family Trip ---

We had a great time this last week, traveling down to see Grannie Vick Vick and then to see the most recent addition to the burgeoning Yarmosh family. The proud dad can be seen in picture holding little Layla.

Eliza had a great time with Grannie Vick Vick (where the Victoria in Eliza Victoria Rose comes from), as did we all, and Grannie Vick Vick said Eliza gets her personality from her, Naughny-Na, and Daddy. Eliza talked everybody's ears off and held school in the living room several times a day. Ella Grace had fun with old fashioned video games (of the Atari 2600 variety) and Mom and Dad got a chance to relax and do nothing.

We attended their bookstudy on Friday and met some of the friends who were very nice and many of them surprisingly knew exactly where Groton is, something that doesn't happen too often. That night we spent at Nan's playing cards. They were supposed to be teaching us but Nan and Grannie Vick Vick kept swapping hands because they didn't like their own, so it got a little confusing. Ella, as usual, took lots of great pictures. She's quite good at catching people off guard.

Eliza crashed when we first got to John and Lisa's but was then up half the night. Layla was alert and entertained by all the attention Ella and Eliza gave her. She's got her mothers looks but her fathers expressions. We spent most of the evening at Eve's as she, as usual, outdid herself with a delicious dinner. We got to see Darryl and Justine again and the four of the kids spent a lot of time playing with each other.

John's in-laws were nice enough to let us spend the night at their place (which is right above John's) and John cooked us all breakfast in the morning.

Pictures can be found here.

Clyde's Cider Mill ---

As Jan's father is up visiting from Pennsylvania, we took him down to Clyde's in Mystic to watch them press the apple cider. This was the first time the kids got to see them press the cider, although we've been at least once a year. We've always made the mistake of going too late in the year, when they start pressing as needed rather than on a schedule. Right now you can see it on the weekends, at 10AM, 1PM, and 3PM. The kids enjoyed it, and got to see a steam engine at work.

Then it was on to the store to get all manner of goodies, cider, candy, apple crisp, and more. It's very crowded this time of year, as it's not that big a store, but it was well worth all the gentle pushing and shoving.

More pictures are here.

Eliza gets a boo boo, but is all right ---

Around noon today Eliza burned her right forearm on the iron, though she is okay and not seriously injured. We're not yet sure why the iron was on, although Eliza says she turned it on. We don't know if that's true or not, but Daddy did notice the iron did not seem to be up to full temperature directly after the incident.

The heat must have been radiating, because where Eliza was feeling the pain and where the burn ended up appearing where not the same place, so for the first five minutes or so ice was being applied to the wrong area. Eliza was mostly quiet through the ordeal, not initially acting as though she had been hurt, although she said that she was in a matter of fact way. After ten to fifteen minutes Eliza said the burn was not feeling any better, so Daddy brought her to Pequot to have a doctor make sure the burn wasn't severe.

It wasn't, and the doctor said it should heal itself in two to three days. He didn't feel it needed any treatment but had a dressing put on it to make Eliza happy (she had been wanting one). Before we even got to see the doctor she was jumping around again and asking to go home. Eliza missed school and spent the afternoon resting with Daddy and enjoyed pizza and ice cream.

The iron has been moved and is no longer within reach of Eliza.

Why We Left ---

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Branford Manor is getting a bit of press lately for all the robberies that have been going on. We're glad we got out when we did. Maybe part of the problem there is that the manager said she thinks the residents exaggerated the thefts. Real nice. Kind of hard to deal with a problem you don't admit. Maybe if she had been broken into she'd feel a little more drive to get these crimes solved. But, in a place where you can complain for eight years about rot and corrosion in your bathroom and not have anything done about it....

Furnature Additions ---

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Originally uploaded by jonnierodsg.

We've recently added some new furnature to the new house. Ella Grace got a bunk bed with a futon below that she loves. We've also been given a couch and an old-fashioned clock. The clock doesn't run on batteries but has to be wound by hand every once in awhile. Daddy loves it because of the ticking sound at night, very soothing.

Click here, the last eight pics in the set are of the new stuff.

Eliza's First Day of School! ---

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Originally uploaded by jonnierodsg.

Last Thursday was orientation, Monday was the first official day. Eliza is now at Headstart, the same program Ella Grace started with and loved, and so far Eliza loves it too. On her first day Mom and Dad were on hand, emotional, and promptly dismissed by Eliza who never looked back once arriving. Just like her big sister, Eliza took to school like a duck to water. Eliza is going on Monday through Thursdays, 12:30 - 4:00.

Pictures here.

Yvonne's Wedding ---

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Originally uploaded by jonnierodsg.

On Saturday Mommy and Daddy went to the wedding of Ynonne Holland's (Daddy's family may remember she lived across the street from us in Colonial Manor and went to our bookstudy many moons ago). Yvonne was the one who's bible study with Jannai was what really drew her to the truth, also many moons ago. The wedding was nice, split between two country clubs for the wedding and the reception, and the food was bountiful. This was Mommy and Daddy's first "date", as in sans kids, also in many moons!

Pictures here.

Can't Leave Bad Enough Alone ---

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Originally uploaded by jonnierodsg.

Last night, after the meeting, Daddy and Ella Grace were sitting on the couch watching some TV when there was suddenly a loud crash outside. Daddy turned to look out the window and saw a dark car speeding by, disappearing down the road. Daddy and Ella went outside to see what had happened, as did three other neighbors, and found that the driver had slammed into the side of Daddy's Volkswagon (the one that had just been fixed when the wheel had come off of the other side about a month ago). The rim is destroyed and there's a lot of cosmetic damage done to the left rear paneling. Whoever the jerk was who hit the car never came back to claim responsibility.

The police took information, but there's little chance of catching the guy at this point. We're trying to make arrangements to have the car fixed as soon as possible, and the insurance company and police where notified immediately.

The impact was hard enough to move the car sideways a little so it looks as though it had been parked by a drunk person. We're still waiting on the insurance company to have a look at it, and Daddy doesn't want to make any repairs until they do.

Movin' On Up ---

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Originally uploaded by jonnierodsg.

Most of you already know this, but we will be moving out of the slums this September across town to a much nicer, and bigger, half of a duplex. For the first time as a family we will have a basement, and our own bedrooms. The extra space alone should make daily life more enjoyable, plus we have a fenced backyard for the kids.

As part of the deal we're painting the inside in trade for the washer and dryer downstairs, and the oil in the tank, so many a day has already been spent in the house working on it.

Eliza is ready to move already and is inconsolable when we have to leave for the day.

The picture is smudgy because there was a smudge on the lense when taken, which has since been removed.

WinterFest at Olde Mystic Village ---

The family braved the elements on Saturday to take in the WinterFest at Olde Mystic Village as a light snow began to fall that accumulated to nothing. There was a clam chowder taste test being put on by some of the local restaurants, so we enjoyed a couple of paper cups worth of various competing recipes.

Eliza continues to enjoy shopping, as she walked around many of the stores picking up as many things as she could hold in her arms while she meandered the store. She was finally convinced to stick with just a stuffed little plush dog that she seemed particularly attached to, while Ella Grace picked up a big fat cat. They also enjoyed the Irish store, and Eliza liked the painting on one store wall of a Scandinavian viking, as she likes it when they play vikings on the Backyardigans.

The girls also got to see a live owl and what we think was a hawk, but they were actually more interested in the water pump nearby that Mommy and Daddy had never noticed before. A full set of pictures of the day can be found here.

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Backyardigans ---

Lately the kids show Backyardigans have taken over our TV, helped by the advent of the DVR. We record them every day for Eliza, and it's about the only show she ever wants to watch. Once in awhile she'll take in a Dora episode, but most of the time it's Backyardigans, which she says as "Backagains". Morning, noon, and night, you can usually find it playing on our TV.

Fortunately for everybody else it's an enjoyable show that parents can appreciate and not be annoyed with. The five kid animals share a backyard and play together. The show manages to portray them as being children without being condescending to either the characters or the audience. They're well spoken tykes who generally get along. The show also manages to give each episode it's moral lesson for the day without coming across like a public service announcement. There's also a lot of singing and dancing in each show which is more sophisticated than most kids shows. This is great for Eliza who likes to dance along, and dance in general. The show also centers around the childrens extensive use of their imagination and reminds me very much of playing in the backyard when I was a kid, something today's kids might miss out on.

This is the first show in which Eliza has remembered all the characters names, Pablo, Tyrone, Tasha, Uniqua, and Austin, and we think she might have a crush on Tyrone. :)

Disney On Ice ---

Forgot to post this earlier, but recently the family enjoyed a trip down to Providence to see Disney On Ice, which the kids enjoyed very much. Cousins Emily and Dillan were brought along as well. A funny thing we parents noticed is that we got Ella and Eliza into the car, drove all the way to Providence, got them in the arena, all without either one of them even once asking us where we were going or what we were doing. This was great because when the characters started skating out on the ice it was a complete surprise to both of them. Guess we just have trusting kids! :) The show was two hours long with an intermission, and none of the kids ever appeared to get bored.

The Camera Returns ---

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Originally uploaded by jonnierodsg.

For awhile we've been without camera. The digital camera we had bought wasn't working and we really couldn't figure out why. It had been sitting peacefully with no one bothering it and just stopped working. Come to find out it was because we were using regular batteries and the camera didn't like that, it wanted to be fed with rechargables. We obliged and now the pictures can flow once again. To view pictures that were being stored on the camera all this time click here.