Christmas Mad Libs

 My mom gave the boys Christmas Mad Libs. We did a few. It turned out pretty funny.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/uqkGcGmkvZxpxWo97

Playing with New Toys

Spent the day cleaning things up around the house. Putting new stuff away and playing with new toys. Cousin Lena got the boys a Sumo Wrestling set. They seemed to think that was pretty fun. She also gave them a laser tag set which they thought was pretty fun.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2r6eC3LngBymraJE7

Christmas

Christmas was a bit different this year but it was still good. The boys woke up at about 7:30. Tommy was super excited about his new watch he got from Santa just like he wanted. And Jake seemed pretty happy with his giant pillow seal and blanket he got from Santa. Thank goodness since he asked Santa to surprise him. Then we began opening all the presents. It was a big Star Wars year thanks to Granny's online shopping and someone who sold a bunch of cheap Lego Star Wars sets on Facebook. Them boys are lucky. I also got them each a Nintendo DS on Granny's online and a bunch of games. We even found a virtual reality little saber battle game on Facebook. We then a video chat with Grandma and Grandpa while they opened the presents from them. Grandma got Tommy a gigantic Chewy. After presents we made lots of snacks to have for lunch. We had a little video chat with the family and then spent most of the day just hanging out and checking out the boys new toys. Jake did pretty good at building one of his Star Wars Lego sets considering it was his first time doing one. They really loved playing Lego Star Wars on their Nintendo DS. And then we had prime rib that Dean did on the BBQ for us.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dNp9iQDCnGcEuCKw7

Merry Christmas

The boys had fun recording their Christmas ornament this year. They got to do their favorite song, "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas".

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2jT7ygcc11rjGvAD7

Christmas Eve

The boys were pretty excited. But we managed to get them settled down and to sleep. Then Santa got to work. Hopefully Jake is not disappointed in the morning because he asked Santa to surprise him. He is a tough kid to please. He has already cried once after he saw what Santa brought him.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4peosvjUDHygegTh6

Gingerbread Houses

Eric bought the boys gingerbread house making kits. Boy was it a mess. Not sure I will encourage them doing it again. Tommy mostly just ate all his candy which was a lot. But they did have fun. The where do you put the things when you have a tiny house. I put them on the picnic table outside because Tom kept eating candy off of it every time he walked past it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3zG8aj4QghRauNBA8

Little Bit of Snow

The weather was pretty weird today. It rained like crazy until the yard was totally flooded. then it started hailing like crazy. And then it started snowing. It did stick a little bit. But our yard was so flooded it was just a soupy mess. So we didn't really go out in play in it. It was mostly gone in the morning.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XhxF7hSEPF6kaLwB8

Looking at the Lights

We first went to town and got dinner from Island Queen and from the pizza place. Then we got popcorn from the theatre. And then we drove around looking at the lights and made our stops to deliver presents to family. There were some pretty cool displays.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/o6BsamSaFz6txrrb6

Little Bit Bigger Than a Fly

A while back Eric bought a Venus fly trap. It has been catching flies around the house. But today it snagged the leg of something a little bit bigger. It sucked it in and ate it. Pretty amazing.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/QLuUjv6JTNo5PKsN7

Last Day of School in 2020

The boys are very excited it is their last day of school for 2020 and that they get a break for a couple weeks. We have all been working so hard.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/1kwKXx3SmZBNbe569

Wrapping Presents

The boys did most of the wrapping of the presents for the family this year. The used a lot of tape.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/v3uAvuxuSjsyGgXk9

2020 Cookie Day

Cookie making day was not really the same this year. We made the cookies and the fudge. But we did it all by ourselves. We did not go to grandma's or have anyone over to join in on the fun. I did most of the cookie making to make sure I was keeping my hands clean and such. The boys got to do their own cut out cookies and frost them. But I did not let them touch the frosting until I had already done the cookies we were giving to grandma and grandpa. The boys enjoyed frosting theirs and they also liked licking the fudge pan. Not really the same kind of cookie makin year. But we did still get to share cookies with friends and family.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CRxaqHgc5mphm3Zv5

Trying Out the New Kayaks

Eric found a couple of free paddles on the side of the road so we took the new kayaks out for a spin. It was a pretty high tide so we took them down to Dockton and paddled around a bit. They worked well. It was a little cold but not too bad. Excited to go again.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9JbyVcXgmRieKz4j8

What A Relief

I made it to the end of this seminar year! Every year this day is a relief. I have been doing online simulcasting of live in person legal seminars for 15 year. Doing tech support for our on site staff and for attendees is always a little stressful, but I have never had a year like this. Weekly seminars. 8 hour long days in various time zones. Holding my breath all day long, hoping the power stays on and the internet stays up not just at my location but at all the locations of all our faculty members. On days where there wasn't a live seminar happening I would have phone calls almost every half an hour to do a tech walk through with the 900 faculty members we had this year. And no offense, but not everyone is great at technology. All the while hoping people in my house don't make noise. The constant stress is tough. But I made it to the last seminar and without any major incidents. I do not have a single seminar or phone call until January. I can just do regular work for a couple weeks. What a relief!

Happy Anniversary

Every year our Anniversary fall right in the middle of our busy season at work. So I had a very busy work day. Eric was also at work. But he picked up some flowers and May's Thai food on his way home. And we had a little piece of chocolate out of the freezer. This was from the chocolate wine bottle that came with our chocolate fountain.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6rBN8t6U5aPBdKMe9

Just a Little Trim

Another downside of online school. They are constantly looking at their own video image during class. Today Tommy decided his hair didn't look good, grabbed scissors and cut his bangs in the middle of class. He just cut a big chunk out of the middle. Joke's on him. I don't have time to cut his hair till this weekend. I am a little surprised it took this long for one of them to try cutting their hair. I always thought it would be a curiosity thing, not an attempt to make it look better.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/NjpGTWATBEW1g5AY7

When Mom Is Not Looking

Here's the new addition of what the Bingham boys are doing while mom is not looking.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/s53j9wzJ3izEg4ge6

COVID Kitty

During COVID there are two kinds of kitties. The kitties that are wondering what happened to all our their personal space. That would be Jimmy. And the ones are are loving all the extra attention. That would be Jessi. The boys have now convinced her to start sitting on their lap. I think they are all loving it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EPBPFzcdV1vxmKrQ6

Eric's Birthday

Today was Eric's birthday. Since he is our family shopper I told him he could bring home whatever food for dinner that he wanted for his birthday and I would make it. He brought home some monster sized king crab. I don't think anyone was disappointed. We didn't do much else for his birthday as he had to go to town for an appointment, the boys had school and I had a busy work day. But it was a great dinner.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gxYgtm4piFqfHm12A

Santa Letters

The boys made their Santa letters. Tommy asked for a pedometer watch like mom and dad have. Of course he wants to try and beat our steps every day. What a competitive boy. Jake asked Santa to surprise him. I can see another Christmas crying episode coming. Hopefully Santa can guess whatever it is that Jake wants.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/AarnUGgeavrUjM158

New Kayak's

Super excited. We just picked up Christmas presents for Eric and I. 2 years ago we got the boys kid kayaks. They are so good at them now that I can't walk fast enough on the shore to keep up with them. So we rented kayaks for Eric and I once this summer. It was really fun. Eric can't hike anymore so this was something we could all do. So we just bought 2 kayaks for Eric and I. All we need now are a couple oars and we are ready to hit the water any time we want. When you live 5 minutes from a beach you need some kind of boat.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/MtG5sjFGy3QE81LL6

Thanksgiving

Good thing we love leftovers. We had so much food even though we tried to keep it small. Jake is a little gravy monster. He actually ate everything we put on his plate as long as we covered it in gravy. I must admit it was pretty good gray. Except the brussels sprouts. The boys were so excited that we set the table nice and used our nice serving plates. We had a good Thanksgiving at home. And then zoomed the family and played some games.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/AJiynRSV9DxMqGbW7

Outside Time

Spent some time outside this weekend. Walked Judd Creek on Saturday. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/mdDnGkZxPhrLT2Hd8

Hiked Shinglemill Creek today. Took a path we had never been on there before. The elevation was really high. Had no idea when we started. I thought Jake would tire out. But we made it. Didn't see any salmon, but it was good to get outside.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/o8wKB6BML3t1ijC98

They Never Get Bored of Fire

Boys of all ages are easily entertained. Just light a fire and they will never get bored.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XzWeVr75oadWkYau9

Can't Believe It

I just happened to come across this picture of Tommy with his reading book that he did last summer. I couldn't even believe this was last summer when I saw it. So much has happened since then. I took a video of him reading this last page in his book of 100 lesson he had to read. He was able to read it all with me asking him to look at words again if he missed them to self correct them. It took him 18 minutes to read. I had Tommy read this story again today when I came across the picture. It took him 4 minutes. I know 2020 has totally sucked. But it has given us this chance to really catch him up in school. And I have that to be thankful for. I really can't believe this was just a year and a couple months ago.

https://eric-dani.blogspot.com/2019/08/summer-reading.html

Seahawks Stats

The boy loves competition. Keeping stats during the hawks game.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FMuS5msh7BtqvMea7

Weird Games

What weird games these boys come up with.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/iZpBsP3nXR64REAd7

Lena's Birthday

Lena's 13th birthday was coming up. We wanted to make it special even though she couldn't have an actual party. I think everyone will probably have a COVID birthday by the end of this. Since we all know how it feels at this point we wanted to do something to brighten her day. Susan had asked people to send her cards. Since the boys are really into writing right now I asked them if they wanted to write her a book. It did take some encouragement to get them through all the pages, but they did it. It required a little direction on my part as you will see in the editor's note. And then we did a Storyline Online style reading of it for her. Lena got lots of cards and she was also very surprised by her book from the boys. She also had a birthday parade. We decided to go for a Star Wars theme for her birthday parade since we had Halloween costumes we could throw on. So we made her a poster with star wars drawings on it made by the boys, dressed up in our costumes and drove the truck through the driveway. Of course it began pouring. But oh well. We had a bunch of balloons on the truck. Some were ones I have left over from Tom's fire fighter birthday that were long and squiggly. So we used them as laver beams to shoot out at Lena. They turned into an impromptu laser beam battle. It was fun for everyone. We wished Lena a happy 13th birthday and drove on. Happy COVID birthday Lena.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Bx6mFAKCNVJnfCLN9

Bringing Our Cutouts Home

Eric went to T-Mobile Park for us to pick up our cardboard cutouts. They are now hanging out in the windowsill of the boys playroom.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XBzHZDCqvf8cPwtcA

Dead Rat Yoga Pose

Jake told me he came up with a new yoga pose this morning. Dead rat in a trap. I guess that is what I get for asking him to do some exercises before school starts. Where do they come up with this stuff 🤪

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HvKKs9EtrsGXoR3R8

Boys at Sunset

 Eric loves taking sunset pictures. Today he took the boys with him.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/YzeCVGH6fYSFGdsy5

Disagree Respectfully

I am sure many of us are feeling a sense of relief today with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris getting elected. But let us not forget how we got to the place we are right now in America. Our country is big and diverse, with people who have all different kinds of lives and ideals. We will never agree on everything. We may have different ideals than our neighbors, our coworkers, our friends or even our family. We need to work on disagreeing while still having respect and empathy for each other. We should listen to different points of view and have constructive debate. We need to stop dividing ourselves into teams and shutting out people who may not be on the same team as us. I know this can be hard to do. And there may be some people that we will never be able to get along with. But we should try harder to get to a better place. Not always to a place of agreement. But a place of understanding. As much as we disagree on things, really there is much more that we can agree on. Focus on things we can agree on. I think we have seen one of those things this week. We believe in our right to vote. We voted, in a pandemic, with huge logistical challenges in some places. And we voted in record numbers for both parties. We believe that our vote is important. We believe that our democracy is important. When we disagree, let's find a way to do it kindly, respectfully and peacefully.

Wrap Up the Counting

Can the counting wrap up already. Tommy has been going nuts. He has been running up and down the house every time the dramatic election music comes on. I mute the sound and he see numbers flashing and goes crazy. I turn the tv off and he says he just has to know who is winning. He hasn't slept well all week. Today I let him go in and watch a little and he is now pretending he is Steve Kornacki at the big board and writing a bunch of math equations on his clip board. Keep in mind he has no idea anything about the politics. We just explained to him how voting works and that there will be a winner. Boy does he love a competition.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/81juQYJoCTs4vYddA

2020 Trick or Treating

It was a bit of an odd Halloween this year. We spent most of the day at home. Making pumpkin soup, watching some Halloween shows and playing in the yard in the beautiful sun. Then we go all dressed up. The boys were dressed up as The Mandalorian and the Child. And Eric and I happened to have 2 other Halloween costumes available in the costume box. So it was a full Star Wars Halloween. 

So our first stop on Halloween was to trick or treat at my parent's house. My mom had some treats for them that she put in a box decorated like the Monster Book of Monsters from Harry Potter 3. The boys were excited for all their little treats.

Then we went uptown to take a walk around. Sporty's was the only place handing out candy, but the boys had fun walking around a bit and showing off their costumes to other people. With their masks on of course. Then we headed over to the Eagles to pick up our take-out prime rib dinner. And then we drove around to look at some of the decorations.

Then we drove to Camp Burton for the Haunted Halloween drive through. I wasn't really sure what to expect since this was a new 2020 thing. But it was awesome. There were spooky decorations, people dressed up and jumping out of the bushes. The fire department had a truck and an ambulance there. I am so thankful for all the people who worked hard to put it together. It totally blew away my expectations.

Then we drove home. And had to make a brief stop at the waterfront for a picture of the huge full moon. Talk about a beautiful Halloween night. I had to stop and think if COVID wasn't there how amazing a Saturday night Halloween that was clear and calm would have been. It was still fun, just different.

We did take the boys trick or treating a little. We exchanged treats on porches with a couple of our neighbors. And a couple of our neighbors let us know that they would be handing out candy at a distance. So we walked around to maybe 5 houses. Some people were pretty inventive. Candy shoots. putting bags on their fence. Lowering a bucket of candy from up on their porch. It didn't last a long time. But the boys were really excited about it. And they got plenty of candy. People were very generous.

Then we headed home to watch a show. When I bought the costumes for the boys they had not see The Mandalorian yet. So I had to sign up for Disney + so they could watch it. Of course they loved it. We watched all of season 1 in a week. Well, just so happened that the new season just started so we went home and watched the first episode to cap off the night. The boys are hooked. Now they are going to have to wait for the next episode to come out. I am sure that is going to drive them nuts.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/24PigE2vPj67v31X8

Pumpkin Soup

All of the 1st graders were so lucky to get a pumpkin grown by Ms. Boyajian, who was Tommy's 1st grade teacher. And Ms. Bookani insisted that we take one for Tommy as well. So we had 2 little sugar pumpkins. Part of their assignment was to count the seeds. After we counted the seeds we had to figure out what to do with them. We could have made pumpkin pie. But we had some apple pie in the house already. So we settled on pumpkin soup. It was pretty easy and it actually turned out pretty good. Tommy doesn't like soup. But Jake loved it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/iqWnGT8M4QnJCdjB8

Two Old Men

 Just two old men sitting in their chair and chilling on a Saturday.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bptBVspHyndtFG8C9

Halloween School Fun

Tried to make this Halloween as fun as we could for the kids. I think the spooky zoom background really helped. They had a pretty fun week in class. And on Friday the kids all dressed up and showed off their costumes. Tommy was so funny. He would turn off his camera when he took his mask off. No one gets to see a Mandalorian's face :)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hAGo4vpgERdaP7Vz5

Getting Ready for Halloween

The boys and I did some decorating and pumpkin carving last weekend weekend. They were pretty excited. Their zoom backgrounds are looking pretty festive. They were the talk of class this week. Then Grandma brought us a few more things to add to our Halloween display today. I think they are ready for a Spooktacular Halloween. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RzaPZjMcDngmb1J5A