Sadly Back to Work

April 30, 2012 by Adam in Family

It was such a nice weekend, full of hanging out in hammocks and watching chickens run around the backyard.  Coming to work was a little jarring in comparison.

Friday night Joanna and I had a good night out.  We went to Govinda's for tasty vegetarian food, then took some games to Divine Cupcake for game night.  We had an unbelievably fun time with "Would You Rather".  Joanna's response to "Would you rather be beautiful with an ugly spouse, or ugly with a beautiful spouse" was more insightful than weeks of premarital counseling.  The evening wrapped up with Lego Creationary and watching Glee.

I picked up Emma after breakfast and the kids and I all went to the library and Saturday Market.  Berry held on to her Sonic book with a death-grip as we wandered the stalls at the market.  Each kid ran into their current or past French teacher and said bonjour.  We picked up fresh veggies and treats before wandering home.

I worked through a fair number of house projects: mowing the lawn, planting potatoes, hanging blinds, putting up photos, and going food shopping with Emma.  I helped Emma climb the cherry tree in the front yard.  We discovered figs on the fig tree.  It was a very pleasant day.

Sunday morning the kids and I played in the basement while I worked on laundry.  I think Emma enjoys having younger kids who will go along with her play pretend stories.  I could only manage being a puppy for five minutes or so.  Later I whipped up crepes and dutch babies, which were delicious.

Joanna lured the kids to church with promises of Pappa's Pizza afterward.  They stayed for a long while, playing games and winning cheap plastic prizes.  Meanwhile I picked up Sam and we worked on programming efforts.  Mostly we added sound, and he went around recording weird things like clomping around in Joanna's sandals.

The afternoon was relatively quiet.  I took Sam for a walk where he chatted away.  I stopped by the park to hang out with everyone else.  Pizza and Mythbusters was enjoyed.

This morning all the kids went to school, however reluctantly.  Sam and Emma still sound sniffly, the last of the cold dragging on.

Mocha Friday

April 27, 2012 by Adam in Family

It's been a quirky week of sickness and visits with the principal.  I think we're finally moving towards a normal weekend.

Emma was sick for a couple days over the weekend, but managed to get to school on Monday.  Sadly Sam got hit bad and has been out of school all week.  He tried to go Wednesday, but I picked him up and ended up staying home with him the next day too.  I had a couple days of being sniffly and achy, but am feeling pretty good today.  The main challenge will be all the homework he's built up.  I've been e-mailing teachers and trying to get everything collected.

Duncan had an issue a couple days ago with another kid at school.  Evidently they heard Duncan laughing, though he was being made fun of, and this other kid punched him.  Duncan, being the kind and gentle soul that he is, went and told a teacher, winning praise from the principal in the process.  Joanna is understandably miffed, and has had both the principal and mother of the kid talk to her.  I think we're going to see if the principal's interventions help, and take appropriate action should it happen again.  Duncan seems fine, and somewhat happy that he's getting praised for his actions.

As for everything else in life, I've been working from home and taking care of an occasionally grumpy Sam this week.  Joanna is going in for an experimental back surgery, with a 2 in 3 chance of actually getting the procedure (if she's in the control group, they'll give it to her afterward).  She's also been having stomach issues, switching between acid-supression drugs.  Berry's been a little sniffly, and was a little grumpy last weekend, but seems back to her mostly cheerful self.  Emma was doing impromptu Glee routines when she arrived yesterday, to everyone's amusement.

Tonight Joanna and I are going out somewhere.  I'd just like a meal where they don't try to feed me meat.

Morning at the Courthouse

April 23, 2012 by Adam in Family

It's been a strange morning.

Sam's sick today, and Emma is getting over a cold.  Emma's off to school, but I let Sam stay.  We finally dropped off all the kids and headed to the courthouse.  There we saw the fascinating process by which the people who robbed our house were sentenced.  It was very formal.  They both pled guilty (or in one case, the plea where you say you're kinda guilty but not guilty).  Each had ten days of jail and probation.  The guy with the longer record had 18 months of prison waiting for him if he broke his probation.  Theoretically they're required to pay restitution, though who knows if we'll see any of it.

We also discovered why only Sam's laptop was admissable in court.  It turns out the Florence police didn't get a warrant to search the hotel.  The only admissable evidence is the laptop itself, which had the GPS tracking on it and led to their hotel room. 

After sitting through that long process, we wandered over and picked up a marriage license.  That part was far more fun and the woman at the counter was extremely nice.  We stopped by Full City to get a mocha and chai, then wandered in to work quite late.

The rest of the weekend was fairly pleasant.  Poor Emma was feeling under the weather, so we didn't make it to the raptor center.  Sam really got into programming, which we did a lot of.  He also ended up being very proactive on his homework and reading, which was great.  Friday night was pizza and Mythbusters.  Saturday we went to Berry and Duncan's dance performance, which was fun.  In the afternoon, Duncan had his friend Rob over and the three younger ones played like crazy monkeys all afternoon.

Sunday morning we stuffed everyone full of eggs, bacon, toast, and crepes.  Then Joanna took the younger boys to Rob's house to play and headed to church.  Emma worked on science.  Berry played Minecraft.  Sam programmed.  Eventually Emma, Sam, and I played boardgames until everyone came home.  One of my post-lunch highlights was going down to the park in the gorgeous weather.  Sam, Emma, and I played frisbee and rode Emma's bike.  I think I ended up on it the most, riding through mud puddles and giggling like a teenager.

Our new chicken, Goldie, started laying eggs.  We mowed the lawn and ate outside.

I'm really excited for Summer.

Fly

April 23, 2012 by Adam in Sam

Sam's been working on a Java based game for the last few weeks.  I've been providing technical support, but all the art, typing, game ideas, and some programming is all his.  He's incredibly excited about how things are turning out.  As his programming teacher, he's coming along quite nicely.  I no longer have to detail out all the curly braces and variable cases.  He's to the point where he'll say "I want the animation frame to go back to the first when you're not pushing buttons."  He'll add in all the logic and I'll supply the one line to make it happen.

I'm quite proud of the boy.

Wakey Wakey

April 22, 2012 by Adam in Adam's Games

I continue to fight the forces of darkness in Alan Wake.  I think I'm about 3/4ths of the way through the game.  There are some somewhat humorous elements in the game, and I'm especially fond of the main town with it's amusing annual festivities.

While it's not the best game ever, I do enjoy playing something in a genre I don't usually partake of.  The other game I'm playing somewhat in parallel is the Legends of Grimlock.  It's an old school dungeon crawler.  I'm currently wandering around hallways filled with puzzles and glowing slimes.

Three Weeks 'Til Commencement

April 22, 2012 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I am at home enjoying my newly aligned and re-arranged desk, while Greg finishes final problem sets and capstone sections in the library. I've staked my place behind the living room couch and am pretending not to have two gross monitors with the help of a scavanged painting. The photographed outfits represent my Saturday post-workout email check, not my professional attire. During the week, I put a blouse over my spandex for conference calls.

Greg's fellowship next year will keep us in the Pioneer Valley for another year; I'm hoping to dig in more than last year, when I was busy building our temporary community in Maine, and the year before, where my job ate out my heart. 

Last week, I got to spend a few days in DC with Ms. Carly Bruder, which was freaking awesome. A few hikes and backpacking trips on the horizon, but nothing too far from home until the big June party. We can't wait. 

Science Friday Mocha

April 20, 2012 by Adam in Family

I just finished dropping off all the kids to their various school locations, with enough time to stop by Duncan's science project.  He and Joanna whipped it up a couple days ago and it turned out quite well.

The week has been a little busier than usual, and the weekend promises to be equally packed.  Sam's homework load has been fairly heavy.  He has a digital storytelling project he's storyboarding.  There's a children's book that he's beginning to put together.  Fortunately he's been doing fun things in between.  When I left this morning, he was working on Jonny Jetpack, the main character in the game we're making.  It looks quite good.

Joanna and I had a lousy date night on Wednesday.  We went to Mekalia's where they served me chicken soup.  That's the first time I've spit out my food in a long while. They didn't charge us, but I think I'm done going there.  We gave our Groupon to our sitter.  Next was trivia night at the Supreme Bean, which had no seating, then to Metropol, which was closed.  We finally just went home in defeat and I ate a bowl of cereal.

Last night Joanna went to a work event and sat next to Jeff Musgrove, chatting away.  He's the dad of one of Sam's old friends, and Jamie knows his wife quite well.  Fortunately my mom came over to have me help with the kids, as it was a full house last night.

I think we're going to do pizza and Mythbusters tonight, as Sam is here.  Tonight we have a dance performance, taking Emma to the raptor center party, and a Duncan sleepover.  Hopefully I can find some time to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather.

The summer plans are slowly sorting themselves out.  Duncan and Berry go off to their dad's house through most of July.  I think Joanna and I will have our honeymoon after my birthday.  The wedding is coming together too, with Yayoe and her band performing.  We still have a few details to sort out, but I'm increasingly excited about the shindig.

Birthdays, Easter, and Springtime

April 16, 2012 by Adam in Family

We're back at work after three days off.  Work is a madhouse with all these issues pouring in.  Hopefully I can beat it into submission by the end of the day.

Friday was pretty great.  We took the day off as the kids were out of school.  Joanna got ready for the birthday party and took care of miscellaneous taxes and such.  Sam and I got some programming done.  His little jetpack guy flies around more elegantly.  Emma and I did some gardening and we turned the old shed stairs into a garden bed for her.  We stuffed it full of lettuce.  I managed to play some videogames between chores and playing with kids.  Emma, Duncan, and I got some Minecraft time in there.

Saturday was all about Berry's birthday, from breakfast through afternoon.  We started with presents after breakfast, set up for the party, and hordes of children descended on the house.  The weather was amazing, so it was mostly outside.  I think we managed to play one of the games.  Soon it became apparent that the kids were running the show.

In the afternoon we played outside and cleaned up.  Eventually we wandered down to cheese park with every other kid and parent in town.  Duncan and I had a good time playing shirtless frisbee.  Eventually we headed back for a low-key dinner.

Sunday was equally pleasant.  Joanna slept in so long that I fed the kids and got them ready for the day.  Eventually she wobbled down, still recovering from the day before.  The weather was nice once again, so we walked over the hill to help my mom set up for Russian Orthodox Easter.  Joanna and I helped with cooking and the kids picked flowers.  I came back early to get Sam, and the two of us played Splinter Cell co-op for an hour, which was quite fun. 

Eventually the rest of the crew returned for art projects.  Flynn and Duncan played frisbee and Minecraft.  Sam and I worked on programming.  We returned to my mom's to eat, chat, and drink.  Josh and Sam hung out.  The kids hunted for Easter baskets.  We adults kept eating until we were stuffed.

Robbery Update

April 12, 2012 by Adam in Family

I just got a call from the prosecutor for our case.  It turns out he's a neighbor, and sadly reported that there was an issue with the evidence and only Sam's laptop was admissable in court.  Apparently that means they couldn't get them for robbery, even though they were in possession of our stolen goods.  Still, the thieves are pleading guilty and will get probation, have to pay restitution, and get a no contact order.  One of them was evidently a repeat offender and will end up in prison should they do this again.

Evidently they'll be in court on April 23rd at 9 a.m. if we want to be present.  Mostly I just want their names and to see what they look like in case they come around.

Almost Friday Mocha

April 12, 2012 by Adam in Family

It's not quite Friday, but I had a mocha this morning.  The kids are out of school tomorrow and I'm taking the day off to hang out.

It's been a quirky last few days.  Sam's been sick and stayed home the last couple days, but went in today.  Emma was out of school today.  I had a bad headache Monday night, but crashed on the couch and was fine the next day.

Berry is celebrating her birthday at school, and Joanna made a ton of cupcakes for her.  Saturday is the actual party, and hordes of children will descend upon our house for a Sonic themed event.

Sam and I continue to work away on our little programming project.  We found a doozy of a bug, which ended up being a misunderstanding as to how Java works.  He'll be happy to see things working nicely when I show him the fix tonight.

Joanna had a fun medical procedure yesterday, just checking up on some stomach problems.  Everything is fine, so no worries there.  When I picked her up yesterday, she was really woozy and couldn't really remember much.  I managed to get her home and she perked up around noon.

We went out last night to register at Target for wedding presents.  She got a little maniacal with the scanning gun.

update

April 12, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Good morning!  Just a quick update to let everyone know that Isabell is doing well.  She didn't go to school yesterday or today, but I'm hoping that she'll be back tomorrow.  She has an appointment with the orthopedic doctor tomorrow, but I'm not sure they'll be able to do much more than the ER doctors did.  She is hoping they can do something to stablize her arm better, as the sling still allows a lot of bumping around to happen.  Otherwise she's happily getting bored out of her mind and upset at how much fun stuff she's missing - I take that as a good sign :)

Alan Wake

April 10, 2012 by Adam in Adam's Games

I picked up a few different video games that were on sale this last week.  Metro 2033 is an interesting Russian post-apocalyptic game that Sam recommended.  Alan Wake is a psychological horror game with literary elements.  I'm really getting into the latter, armed with a flashlight and battling the darkness that threatens the sleepy Pacific Northwest town of Bright Falls.

I'm slowly playing through an Indie platformer called Capsized.  The physics gameplay is fairly fun.

I also threw my money at some Kickstarter campaigns for upcoming games for developers I fondly remember from my past.  One made the pre-Fallout Wasteland and plan on making Wasteland 2.  The other worked on classic adventures like Full Throttle, Monkey Island, and Psychonauts.  Here's wishing them the best.

Monday in the ER

April 09, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Sigh... poor Isabell.  This morning (we have the day off today) Robbie and I were in finishing coffee and reading the paper while Isabell was out playing on her swing.  She walked up to the back door crying and holding her arm.  Apparently, her swing broke from the tree, and while not far from the ground, she fell and additional 2-3 feet into the acequia :(

We thought she may have dislocated her shoulder, so we headed into Espanola and took her to the ER.  By the time we got there she was doing a little better, but her arm was still really sore.  They took some x-rays and sure enough she broke the neck of her right humorous.  They can't really cast that area of her upper arm/shoulder, so she's in a cast for the next 6 weeks or so.  We finally got her home (with a stop for ice cream), and now she's in bed watching movies.  I think the part she likes is that we'll have to help with her homework!  So goes the ups and downs of childhood.

Easter

April 09, 2012 by Adam in Family

It was a busy weekend.

On Friday, Emma discovered that her fish had babies.  There are several tiny shapes lurking in the plants.  Hopefully they won't be eaten.

Friday night we stayed at home, where we watched the end of the first season of Downton Abbey.  Joanna slept for a long while and I made delicious blueberry oatmeal pancakes for her. I tidied up and got out all the egg dying supplies.  Emma arrived late morning and we began the Easter madness.

The weather was nice, so we spent a long while outside working in the garden and letting the chickens run around.  Our yard is looking relatively presentable.  To reward ourselves, we had tea on the patio.  The last of the sample wedding cupcakes were devoured.  Emma and I hung out quite a bit.

That night Joanna and I went out to a coworker's wedding, driving to Creswell and then back to the Springfield Hilton.  It was pretty nice and got us thinking about our own vows and such.  We also made note of the things we planned to avoid (there won't be a promise to obey the husband in ours).  We ended the night with a swing dance on the floor, and then back home to kiss the kids goodnight.

Easter started early with basket hunting and breakfast.  When the weather improved, we went outside for an egg hunt and more gardening.  Poor Emma tripped and hurt her ankle, so she hobbled around for the day.  She did a good job helping me put stairs on the shed, drilling holes and remove staples.  For lunch we had Pegasus pizza and watched Mythbusters.  Eventually the day wound down and we had kebabs out on the patio.

Mocha Friday

April 06, 2012 by Adam in Family

Joanna brought home some Divine Cupcake cupcakes for us to sample last night.  They were all quite tasty and rich.  Even Sam ate one, which is unusual for the boy and his cake-disliking ways.  I think we have Sweet Life to test out next, but otherwise we're closing in on a final dessert for the wedding.

Sam's been reading Game of Thrones and enjoying it.  He declared that he was going to read throughout the wedding, though I suspect he'll get lured away by uncles and aunts and their boardgame-playing ways.  He was asking questions about the wedding, and we jokingly said he'd have to read long passages from the most boring book ever.  "The bible?" Emma exclaimed with perfect comedic timing.  We cracked up and Berry asked what the bible was. 

I had a strangely good time mingling with the doctors at the Eugene Country Club.  Joanna nominated a cancer and hospice physician for an award and the hospice doctor in particular was really touched.  I ran into him again when dropping off Duncan this morning and he thanked us again.  Jamie's OB while she was pregnant was also there.  Since I went to every visit, I told Dr. Babcock that it was nice seeing her in something other than the same outfit she seemed to wear every time we came.

It's Easter weekend, which means crazy egg decorating tomorrow.  Sam and Emma are off tonight, so we'll be watching the season finale of Downton Abbey.  Sunday we'll likely do pizza and Mythbusters for lunch, followed by lamb, tofu, and veggie kebabs for Easter dinner.  Sam also pleaded for me to help him with his game.  His little dude needs fire and smoke for his jet pack.

I'm Wearing a Tie

April 04, 2012 by Adam in Family

Joanna and I are having our hot date at the Eugene Country Club tonight and so I'm wearing a tie.  And yes, my coworkers have all given me a hard time.  It's part of a Doctor's Day event that Joanna is helping with.  I think I get to pass out champagne at one point.

The week has been relatively uneventful, except for the crazy weather.  I drove to the downtown Smith Family bookstore and had to wade through hail.  It was nostalgic being in that building again, as I used to go there for coffee, Marc Allan, and playing Hearts with friends.  Twenty years later, I'm picking up A Game of Thrones for Sam.  We'll see if he can make it through the 800+ pages.

We had an odd moment last night were Joanna realized blood was all over the floor.  Eventually we tracked it to Duncan, who immediately started crying once he realized he was bleeding.  It continued a surprising length of time until I calmed him down by explaining how cool a story he had for school the next day.

Emma sent me an e-mail last night, which was cool.  She was complaining that school involved a lot of work.  She's also taking Coyote Kids again, and will likely return with all sorts of nature lore.

Sam and I continue programming.  He kept having these "aha!" moments when I realized he understood what was going on. I'm quite proud of the boy.

Back Home

April 03, 2012 by Adam in Family

We're back home after our trip to the coast.  The weather there was mostly rain, with a brief respite the day we went to the aquarium.  Joanna was feeling poorly, so mostly we hung out, ate, and played lots of games.  I had a good time with Emma, who was willing to play whatever.  Sam excitedly talked about the new zombie game he bought.  Sam, my dad, and I all played Cosmic Encounter.  Another highlight was a new Mythbusters, which focused on duct tape.

Today was pretty full.  I've been stressing about the always-on sewage pump which is incredibly noisy.  I spent a couple hours fiddling and getting parts, eventually giving up after getting sewage sprayed on me (fortunately just from Sam's shower).  I'll call a plumber tomorrow.

Emma went off after breakfast to hang out with her mom.  I think Emma missed her after a long weekend away.  Sam and I hung out and wrote a lot of code.  In his Java game, you can now fly a little guy around and he'll collide realistically with walls and such.  We added maximum velocities and the ability to scroll the map around to keep you from flying off the screen.  Lots of math involved.

Joanna worked from home, but managed to get outside to enjoy the weather.  Sam and I walked over the hill to get our hair cut.  I wore shorts and wished for more days like this.

Looking forward to work tomorrow and hopefully relaxing a bit.