Christmas, 2007

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Merry Christmas from all of us here at Needham Family Dot Net. We really do wish you all peace and joy.

So this is Christmas, and what have you done? Another year older, a new one just begun.

So this is Christmas, we hope you have fun, the near and the dear ones, the old and the young.

A very merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. Let's hope it's a good one, without any fear.

So this is Christmas, for meek and for strong, for rich and for poor ones, the world is wrong.

And so Happy Christmas, for black and for white, for yellow and red ones, let's stop all the fight.

A very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year, let's hope it's a good one, without any fear.

 And so this is Christmas, and what have you done? Another year older, a new one just begun.

So this is Christmas, we hope you have fun, the near and the dear ones, the old and the young.

A very merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. Let's hope it's a good one, without any fear.

Merry Christmas, everybody.

You Tube - Trying It Out

Several days ago I added a post about Bailey's Veteran's Day Assembly, and today I thought I would try to do something with YouTube. The results are below:



Well, this appears to be working, so here is the rest of the song:



Finally, this is the last video we're going to post from Bailey's Veteran's Day Assembly:



Since this is working, I expect I'll be doing more with it in the coming weeks and months.

Veterans Day, 2007

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Bailey had a speaking part in his school's Veterans Day assembly this year. He paid homage to the U.S. Coast Guard:

"Another branch of the military is the Coast Guard. They protect our coast to keep us safe."

This was actually a very nice presentation, with students describing the various branches of the military, while the student chorus hummed the songs for each branch. (Anchor's Away, for example, or The Halls of Montezuma.) The students gave the presentation twice, once in the morning, and again in the afternoon. When each branch was called, veterans from those branches were invited to stand for applause from the auditorium. Many veterans were there in full dress uniform, one Navy veteran was quite decorated. It was a very nice tribute to the veterans who have given, and continue to give, so much for our nation. We were very happy and proud that Bailey was able to participate in this tribute.

My only real regret was that my photography skills abandoned me at such a great moment. I have video of the presentation and I may post some of that here later, depending on how that came out. If I do, I'll update the top of the page to let you know.

Halloween, 2007

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No doubt about it, we were the safest people in all the land this year around Halloween, being protected, as we were, by not only the Red Power Ranger, but by an Imperial Storm Trooper as well.

(Note the Mr. Potato Head pumpkin decorations.)

The boys had a blast trick-or-treating and spent a LOT of time "in costume" and we had a lot of fun with the day as well.

Before and After

Nothing of any real interest here....

We got new siding in October, after experiencing some hail damage last October. Who knew? Insurance will still pay a year later!

Anyway....the before image, a somewhat fading white.

The after image, a nice, new, hail-resistant fiberglass, in a color called "pebble clay." It matches the patio in the back really nicely.

Gettin' Older

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Yikes! Bailey lost his first tooth on October 6th. 

October, 2007

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In October, Cody and I visited my college for (gasp) my 25th college reunion. 

Yes, I really am just that old.

Still, it was great visiting Central Minnesota again, seeing a greatly changed and expanded campus, visiting with so many great friends, and spending a weekend with just Cody.

Another picture. And another one.

The Saint John's football team plays in the second round of the Division III college football playoffs the weekend of November 23. 

GO JOHNNIES!

A Report: What We Did During Summer Vacation

Well, we kicked off summer vacation with Carolyn's second triathlon

Right after that, we headed to the Jersey Shore.

The NASCAR fans in our family got to see their passion up close this summer.

Cody and Daddy went camping this summer.

We spent a lot of time poolside, and doing cannonballs.

Cody started kindergarten this summer.

Bailey started First Grade so both boys are in the same school, once again.

Oh, and Bailey started playing in a soccer league a few weeks ago. Cody's league started next weekend.

Whew! Busy summer, which is one reason this website was updated so infrequently. We'll try to do better going forward.

We had a pretty nice summer, and hope you did too.

Soccer Time

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Bailey has started playing soccer in a local league, and Cody will be doing the same thing starting September 22. 

Bailey enjoys the games, though his team is presently carrying an 0 - 2 record early in the season. 

Cody spends his time at Bailey's games practicing his dribbling in advance of the start of his own league games.

Bailey got to play some goalie in his second game, and gave up no goals while playing there. (Full disclosure: there were no shots on goal.) When he was not the goalie, though, he played some great defense.

All in all, it was a great summer, and we're looking ahead to a great fall as well.

We hope your summer was great as well.

Back to School

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Last month Cody started kindergarten, as we've already discussed.

Not to be lost in all the excitement of that is Bailey's first day of First Grade. He started the all-day schooling a few days after Cody, and so far he LOVES it.

The boys now share the same grade school and they both say they enjoy seeing each other at recess and in the hallway.

They each start their day with a (relatively) healthy bowl of cereal. And mom reports that she is also enjoying some "alone time" during the day for the first time in about six years!

Sumer Pool Time

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We spent a lot of time pool-side this summer - it was a great summer, plenty of great weather for swimming.

Both boys, and a some of their friends as well, made a lot of progress with their swimming.

Why, the even both mastered the fine art of the Cannonball!

They are both quite adept Cannonballers.

We'll be closing the pool in the coming weeks, but we'll get what time we can in it until then. We had a lot of fun this summer poolside, a lot of fun.

Cody Starts Kindergarten

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Cody started kindergarten last month, joining his brother Bailey in "big boy school." It is quite a transition, going from three-times-per-week preschool to every day school.

Naturally, he's making the transition perfectly, and we could not be prouder of our little kindergarten student. Every day school does take it out of him, and he naps more frequently than he did during the summer. 

But he's doing fabulously in school and we're tremendously proud of him.

Camping With Cody - The "Who Cares" Experience

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Cody and I went on an overnight camping trip in early August. Cody came up with a motto for the experience - "Who cares?"

 It started raining as soon as we pulled into the campground. We set up our tent in the rain, then had to mop it out with a towel. We started a campfire in the rain, then grilled and ate brats in the rain. While we were sitting and eating our brats, Cody came up with the line of the day:

"Dad," said Cody, "it its raining, who cares?"

It was brilliant. From then on, we had a blast. We went for a hike in the woods, in the rain, but who cares?

We played soccer in the rain, but who cares?

We grilled burgers, then ate them in the rain, but who cares? We even made S'mores in the rain, but who cares?

We slept in the tent, in thunderstorms and torrential downpours, but who cares?

Finally, at about 5:00 a.m. the tent started leaking a little, at that point Cody cared, but just a little. We broke camp and headed home.

It was a great day and night for the two of us, and we'll definitely repeat the experience, but we hope to do it with a little less rain. And we hope to bring Bailey and Mommy along with us.

NASCAR Fans

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We're raising a couple of big time NASCAR fans, and this summer NASCAR came to our area for a race at the Chicagoland Motor Speedway, so we decided to take the boys to Pole Day. 

The kids had a blast, as they often do when watching cars go very, very fast and when there is a chance, however small, of someone going into the wall. 

Carolyn and I were duly impressed as well, though the kids had a muchbetter time.

Bailey and Cody know every driver, every sponsor, every car, and every race track. I don't, but here are a few that I do know:

1. Jimmy Johnson

2. Mark Martin, who almost won at Daytona

3. Jimmy Johnson again

4. In so far as I have a "favorite driver" it would be Tony Stewart

5. Dale Earnhardt, and again.

2007 - Jersey Shore

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The end of June brought our annual pilgrimage to our version of Mecca, namely the Jersey Shore. 

The kids absolutely love the time they get to spend down the shore. This time, for the first time, there was boogie boarding, which Mom taught, and Bailey tried to master.

There was a LOT of time spent with family, cousins and brothers andsisters and parents. 

More pictures:

1. Casey and Cody.

2. Mary Ann.

3. Tom and Mare.

4. Clark and Maureen.

5. Brothers in law.

6. Brothers and sisters.

7. Carolyn and mom.

8. Clark, Maureen and Tom.

9. Sons in law.

10. Mom and daughters.

Carolyn's SECOND Triathlon

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On June 24th, Carolyn ran her second triathlon, this one again the Subaru Triathlon in Naperville. It was a great challenge, and a great accomplishment. 

She deserved this medal, and all her fellas are quite proud of her.

Gone Fishin'

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I've talked a few times here at Needhamfamily.net about our fledgling attemps at fishing. 

Today, I am HAPPY to report that our days of getting skunked at fishing are behind us.

Today, we went fishing at, of all things, a local retention pond, and Bayand Cody both caught two bluegills each.

We practiced the catch-and-release method of fishing, mainly because Cody pointed out that the fish "wanted to get back in the water with their families." Which was true enough, I suppose.

Still, we've broken through on the fishing front. Fish have been caught. I thought Bailey was going to bust a gut when he realized he had an actual fish (as opposed to another weed) on his line.

After that, it was all gravy. 

And yes, that is Cody, with the dark glasses and the Dale Earnhardt Sr. baseball cap on. He's getting in touch with his inner redneck these days, and that is something we are both comfortable with and encouraging.

Gone Campin'

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So, Bay and I went camping. It was a large event for Bay's new Tiger Scout den - Bailey is now a fledgling Cub Scout. 

Bailey helped set up the tent, by helping driving in the tent stakes, and he had a blast with his new friends.

There was fishing, and casting contests (we caught no fish, alas), and an amazing presentation from a scientist from Fermi Labs, who brought tankards of liquid nitrogen and demonstrated its power. She even made ice cream by pouring liquid nitrogen over half-and-half with sugar and vanilla in it, and as the nitrogen evaoprated, the cream froze, making ice cream. Have you ever imagined a container that has two liquids in it, and one evaoprates as the other one freezes, just because of the chemical composition of the two liquids? 

As I said.....amazing.

Bay had an amazing time - he was, as often happens, the best behaved little fella at the campout. He was his usual happy self.

Fishing Time

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Guess who started fishing this weekend?

Yes, we caught nothing, but as it was put to me when someone asked whether "we were having any luck"...the answer was "no, the fish were lucky tonight."

Well put by Cody, I thought.

We'll get them next time, I'm sure, but we did have a lot of fun trying out the new rods and reels over the Memorial Day weekend.

Reunion Time

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We had a happy reunion with former neighbors the Bednars over the weekend, and the boys sure had a great time playing with their old friend Sarah. Bednars, e-mail me with your current address, and I'll send the full sized images in a zip file for you to download, though, be warned, the zip file is some 13M of data!