Dad's cell phone camera is not so good, but this was the view of Mt. Hood from the top of his team building "hike" in downtown Portland... |
Mom thinks my smile is forced... maybe I need to take lessons from Faith! |
Yes, it is a concert selfie without Dad - we went to Chicago for Ed Sheeran but Dad didn't go with us... |
As you can see, an outdoor concert in Chicago in October is quite the treat (but at least Maria still has her hat...) |
It was just a small, intimate gathering to see Ed... |
My cousins were happy to see me... no really - it was me - it wasn't the cake... |
Of course, I was happy to see their new puppy! |
One day we'll learn that group selfies are not the way to go... |
Dad was thinking there wouldn't be a lot of photos this month so he went to the Fernhill Wetlands and took some... there were just a few geese... |
Mom wanted to get a good picture of me as I headed out for the Homecoming Dance, but she had to settle for this... |
Dad also wanted to capture the last of the sunny days... |
My birthday got spread out this year - first some cake in Chicago - then I opened a couple cards and presents before school on my actual birthday... |
Mom went all out with the decorations! |
And she did another fine job on the birthday cake - this year I just went for song lyrics... |
When you get old like me your candles can get a little out of control... |
Anyway, I had Quinn and Joshua over for my birthday dinner and cake... |
Like any small child, playing with the gift wrap was the best part of the presents... |
We also had the first Forest Grove High School music program this month... |
I sang two songs in one of the five choirs... |
But you can see that the music program involved more than just choirs... |
Dad didn't get up quite as high as the official photographer, but some of us seem to be looking at him anyway... |
And, of course, we are high school students so some level of hilarity had to ensue... |
This is Dad's creepy Halloween image... even though it is really from October 27th... |
But wait... there's more... I had another party / sleep over witth my tribe and they knew just what to get me... see the green tentacles sticking out of the gift bag? |
Well here we are in October...
Normally I would now provide you with some exciting facts about the month of October, but when I tried to find anything interesting I just found the same kinds of things that I found last year. I did, however, discover:
There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.
Istanbul is the only city in the world built on two continents.
There are over 640 muscles in the human body. Your tongue is the strongest. The stapedius is the smallest, it is located in the ear.
Shakespeare invented the words flawed, generous and fixture.
Now, if you have no idea what any of that has to do with October, you are not alone... So, to ease your troubled mind, here are a few quick facts that are related to last month:
Andres-Jacques Garnerin made his first successful parachute jump on 10/22/1797.
Crayola brand crayons were first sold on 10/23/1903 - the packs contained red, blue, yellow, green, violet, orange, black, and brown, and cost a nickel.
And, of course, 10/24/1929 was Black Thursday - the start of the stock market crash that continued through 10/29/1929. However, 10/19/1987 was far worse with the Dow losing nearly 23% of its value in a single day (and losing another 8% the following week.) At least that makes our current stock market declines seem less dramatic...
On that happy thought - enjoy the pictures...
Oh yeah... what about Halloween? What was Lucie this year?
Nothing.
She didn't start on her costume early enough so Mr Potato Head with a name tag reading "Hello, my name is Richard" stuck to a casual shirt didn't happen. I know it is obvious, but just in case you were wondering what that would have been... Dick Tater in a Polo Shirt... obviously. And now, just in case you didn't get that obvious reference, let me quote The Bobs...
Dictator in a polo shirt... Dictator in a polo shirt...
A backwards society. A non-aligned nation can't afford to buy starch. No chance for dignity in our laundry...
When colonial powers were in charge, we send all the mufti to the riverbank. Pound it on a rock until it all come white. Then run it through the wringer while the women crank...
Dictator in a polo shirt... Dictator in a polo shirt...
The twentieth century brought us refrigerators, dryers, and washers with the built-in agitators. But they all turn communist and kick out the whites. Nothing left but the coloreds and the brights...
Dictator in a polo shirt... Dictator in a polo shirt...
In a bloody coup, the colonials are sent packing. But they take some skills that we seem to be lacking. The power fails and the washers all break down. And the runners bring a message that the rebels are attacking...
Dictator in a polo shirt... Dictator in a polo shirt...
Of the hundred palace guards, most have run away. Of the loyal ones, there are but thirty. They call to me to make a show of strength, but I can't come out when my uniform is dirty...
Dictator in a polo shirt... Dick Tater in a polo shirt!
So much easier than Trick or Treat!