Jan gives a talk at a web programming conference called jQuery in Cambridge, MA. Since the beginning of September, Jan’s been working on a set of tools for user interface design and development. He’s been working on the tools for the past few years as a hobby and side project while at Cozi, and is now working on them full time. At the conference, Jan presents the current state of that work.
As best as we can determine from conversations with the girls, there is apparently a missing book of the Bible called the Book of Ya-ya, which was tragically omitted from the Christian canon. Accordingly, few people have heard the Parable of the Ninja Jellyfish with Swords.
Getting some new fish for our fish tank: platys, neons, and a cory catfish.
Angela’s spending a long weekend in Tuscon with her friend Sarah.
Bree opines: “It would be much funner if Angela were here.”
Today Jan taught Bree how to shoot marbles. Then he taught Angela!
Professor Bree
Anya’s birthday party sleepover. Anya’s birthday is coming up on Wednesday, but we hold her party on a Friday so she can have friends sleep over. She’s joined by Ariella, Cordelia, Jane, and Kaila. Liya has invited her friend Henrietta to spend the night as well. (Bree’s spending the evening — sure to be a loud one long past her bedtime — at her grandmother’s.)
Angela sets out a big pile of pumpkins, carving tools, and some patterns for the girls to use to carve their own pumpkins. Dinner, per Anya’s request, is hot dogs, followed by chocolate fondue.
When it gets dark, we walk all the girls down to the neighborhood park for a long game of Flashlight Tag. Although it’s the first time that some of them have played, they work out some of the strategy basics: waiting until the person who’s “It” has investigated some tree or bush and moved on, then running and hiding where “It” was just looking; swapping jackets (particularly critical for Henrietta, the lone redhead); and occasionally hiding out directly underneath base to immediate release prisoners. Jan is roped into being “It” for a few turns, and can’t remember the last time he had to run around so much.
When some of the girls are getting tired, we head back home. The girls watch the movie, “Ella Enchanted”. Anya thinks the movie’s fine, but wishes that they’d stayed and played more Flashlight Tag instead.
In the morning, we serve the girls a big pancake breakfast. Before they have to get picked up, the girls agitate for one more game of Flashlight Tag — even after it’s been pointed out to them that it’s now broad daylight. The girls are untroubled by such pesky facts. We head back to the park for another quick game of tag.
Anya is TEN YEARS OLD today!
In related news, Jan and Angela have now been parents for ten years.
Corn maze outside of Salem, OR. We eventually found all 10 numbered checkpoints in the maze, albeit out of order. We managed to find checkpoint #10 three times in a row.
In Salem visiting Aunt Skye and Uncle Jared, Bree has become Skye’s permanent appendage. We might have to perform surgery to remove her.
Bree and her sisters ride the colorful carousel in downtown Salem. Liya and Anya keep getting brass rings, so they end up riding over and over and over.
Annual school Halloween parade. Liya goes as a 1950s sock-hop dancer.
We attend the Baker-Street’s annual Halloween party. We aim to win the “Best Family Costume” award, so wrack our brains to think of something all five of us can do (and will tolerate). Angela hits on the idea of wearing Japanese yukata robes, which we happen to have in all the right sizes. We’re the only family that attempts to win the award – so we win!
Halloween. Bree goes trick-or-treating with Jan and Grandma at the Madison Park shops. She’s dressed as Rapunzel, a costume she begged for waaaay back in the spring when we were visiting Disneyland. She’s worn the dress many times in the six months since she got it, but today she’s also wearing the long, braided blonde wig that goes with the costume.