Unique Jack-o-Lanterns

It's Halloween and who doesn't love Jack-o-Lanterns? I'm not a big fan of carving them myself because I'm really bad at it. However, I'm a fan of anyone who can carve some cool designs into pumpkins. I found some pictures of unique Jack-o-Lanterns on Wired.com. Here's some of my favorites.


Ah, yes, the thriller pumpkin. You know me and Michael Jackson.


I'm not much of a Star Wars fan but seeing a Storm Trooper is still cool. That is a storm trooper right?


It's our favorite Gremlin, Gizmo!


The New York City skyline.


Any collection of unique Jack-o-Lantern pictures wouldn't be complete without the evil Mr. Burns. Excellent.

No Cinderellas

My favorite Jordan Brand commercial. If you watch the full minute, you'll see why.

Toilets Flushing in My Head

Please be patient with me while I try to ease out of my Nyquil/Aleve stupor. I don't know if I had the swine flu, regular flu, or whatever. I do know it was horrible and like most colds it's going to linger around for a while. So this weekend I did what I always do when I get remotely sick and that's rely on my best friends Nyquil and Aleve for comfort. When I get sick, I want to feel the least amount of discomfort as possible. If that means taking alcoholic-like doses of Nyquil and dipping into my Costco size bottle of Aleve then so be it. Throw in a bag of *cough drops and I was practically a dealer.
I realize this method may not be the healthiest way to go about battling a cold but that's what I do. And yes, there comes a price. For example the other night when I was lying down on the couch just praying to fall asleep, I couldn't. Why? Well every time I would close my eyes I would hear a toilet flush causing my eyes to spring wide open. I was the only one in the house awake. But sure enough, I heard this "toilet" flush about 8-10 times. That's right. I couldn't fall asleep because of a make believe toilet kept flushing in my head. Weird.



Anyway, the high has worn off. It feels good to not feel like a lunatic in my dreams. It also feels good to have the ability to concentrate on my monitor for longer than 10 seconds. However, I wasn't really able to get any picture taking done this week so there's no POTW this week. Don't fret because POTW will be back next Monday.

*Editor's Note: Before this weekend I hadn't bought cough drops in about 10 years. I nonchalantly walked into Albertsons thinking I would get a few cough drops and be on my way. I was frightened when I discovered the selection I was obligated to choose from. I spent several minutes standing there reading bag after bag trying to discern which cough drop was right for me. In a sweaty panic I finally called Becka and begged for her help. I stood there, my phone in one hand, about four different bags of cough drops in the other while Eric is standing there with me also holding bags of cough drops. I'm glad Becka knew what to do because if she didn't I'd still be standing there. In my best Seinfeld voice, what is the deal??

20 Facts About the Statue of Liberty

I'm intrigued by the Statue of Liberty and I'm also intrigued by useless facts. It's only fitting that I would find a list of useless facts about the Statue of Liberty. In this case I don't feel completely comfortable calling them useless facts. Anything that symbolizes our freedom in America can hardly be classified as useless. Anyway, you get the idea.
Many of the facts are commonly known but interesting nonetheless. I found the list at howstuffworks.com (one of my favorite sites of all time) so it was a simple copy and paste job for this post.


1. The Statue's Real Name
The statue's real name is "Liberty Enlightening the World."

2. Construction Begins
Construction of the statue began in France in 1875.

3. Masterminds
Lady Liberty was sculpted by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi; Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was the structural engineer.

4. Completion
The statue was completed in Paris in June 1884, given to the American people on July 4, 1884, and reassembled and dedicated in the United States on October 28, 1886.

5. The Model
The model for the face of the statue is reputed to be the sculptor's mother, Charlotte Bartholdi.

6. The Replica
A quarter-scale bronze replica of Lady Liberty was erected in Paris in 1889 as a gift from Americans living in the city. The statue stands about 35 feet high and is located on a small island in the River Seine, about a mile south of the Eiffel Tower.

7. Spikes and Windows
There are 25 windows and 7 spikes in Lady Liberty's crown. The spikes are said to symbolize the seven seas.

8. The Inscription
The inscription on the statue's tablet reads: July 4, 1776 (in Roman numerals).

9. Visitors
More than four million people visit the Statue of Liberty each year.

10. Symbolism
Symbolizing freedom and the opportunity for a better life, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they sailed through New York Harbor on their way to nearby Ellis Island.

11. Height
Lady Liberty is 152 feet 2 inches tall from base to torch and 305 feet 1 inch tall from the ground to the tip of her torch.

12. The Hands
The statue's hand is 16 feet 5 inches long and her index finger is 8 feet long. Her fingernails are 13 inches long by 10 inches wide and weigh approximately 3.5 pounds each.

13. Eyes, Waist, and Weight
Lady Liberty's eyes are each 2 feet 6 inches across, she has a 35-foot waistline, and she weighs about 450,000 pounds (225 tons).

14. The Sandals
Lady Liberty's sandals are 25 feet long, making her shoe size 879.

15. The Steps
There are 192 steps from the ground to the top of the pedestal and 354 steps from the pedestal to the crown.

16. The Lighthouse
The statue functioned as an actual lighthouse from 1886 to 1902. There was an electric plant on the island to generate power for the light, which could be seen 24 miles away.

17. Renovation
The Statue of Liberty underwent a multimillion dollar renovation in the mid-1980s before being rededicated on July 4, 1986. During the renovation, Lady Liberty received a new torch because the old one was corroded beyond repair.

18. The Original Torch
The Statue of Liberty's original torch is now on display at the monument's museum.

19. The View
Until September 11, 2001, the Statue of Liberty was open to the public and visitors were able to climb the winding staircase inside the statue to the top of her crown for a spectacular view of New York Harbor.

20. The Interior
Although the pedestal and the museum are once again open to the public, the interior of the Statue remains closed. Legislation has been proposed to reopen the inside of the statue to the public, but until then visitors can view the interior framework through the pedestal's glass ceiling.

Picture of the Week

Unlike most weeks I have a lot of pictures to choose from for this weeks POTW. I took almost 300 pictures in the last seven days. No wonder I'm a bit...indecisive. I almost picked a picture of Eric attempting to give a statue of a little girl a kiss. As I prepared for this post mentally, that's the picture I had in mind. However, when I got up to the line of scrimmage I felt the need to audible. Mikey Week just wrapped up so I decided a picture of something besides one of my boys (as awesome as they are) would be a good way to go.
Also, I figured a seasonal picture might be more appropriate. I love the different color of the leaves. It gives you one more chance to enjoy all the pretty trees before all the leaves fall off and everything turns brown in Southern Idaho.
On with the picture. I took the picture at Julia Davis Park here in Boise. You see many of the fall colors with part of Downtown Boise in the background.



Pictures like this are so easy to take because the beauty and colors do all the work.

Mikey Week Continued: The Interview

In conclusion of Mikey Week, I had an exclusive interview with Mikey so we could all learn a little more about him. During the interview Mikey was poised as he answered each question with precision.


Me: First of all Mikey, thank you for making some time for your daddy to interview you. I'll start off by asking, what is your favorite toy to play with?

Mikey: That's a great question! My favorite "toy" is not a toy at all. It's the remote to the TV. After I'm done playing with it I really enjoy hiding it so you and Mommy can't find out.

Me: And where are your favorite hiding spots for the remote?

Mikey: In the couch, behind the couch, under the sink in the bathroom, oh and sometimes in the garbage, that's the best!

Me: Hmmmm. That makes a lot more sense, I'll have to remember that. Besides the remote, what kind of actual TOY do you like?

Mikey: Well, I typically just want to play with what ever toy one of my brothers is playing with at that moment. I just try to grab it out of their hands and run. If I can't get one of their toys I look for something small to put in my mouth.

Me: Yeah I have noticed you really do like putting things in your mouth.

Mikey: Yeah, well, I'm only 17 months old, what do you expect?

Me: Good point. What are some of your hobbies besides stealing toys from your brothers?

Mikey: I absolutely love animals! When you take me for those awesome walks I really love looking for squirrels, cats, and dogs. If you recall correctly you took me to the zoo earlier today. (Me: Yeah, I vaguely remember that. It's been a long day.) Yeah, well I just had a great time. Normally when I'm riding in my stroller I get comfortable by sitting back and relaxing but today I had to sit up the whole time to get better looks at the zebras, lions, giraffes, penguins, and the monkeys...oh I love the monkeys!

Me: Oh right, I remember the monkeys. One of them threw a peanut at some guy. Well, who do you love most? Please say me!

Mikey: Ha! Nice try dad. I love you, mommy, Eric, Timo, and even Noah!

Me: Ahh, that's sweet. Okay, here's a bonus question. What is your favorite football team??

Mikey: Go Boise State Broncos!!!!!!



I tried asking him the tough questions but they just bounced off him like bullets off a tank. Here's a few more pictures of Mikey to finish Mikey Week.



These are a couple pictures left from the park the other day. He likes to take my hat, then play peek-a-boo with me while my hat is on his head.



As he mentioned in the interview, Mikey loved the zoo. He loved all the animals including this black bear.


I just liked Mikey's bright blue eyes in this picture.


That's it for Mikey Week. I had a lot of fun this week making Mikey a special sort of project. He's such a cute fun loving boy. He deserves his own week.

Mikey Week Continued: Playing at the Park

Today we all went to the park that's nearby our house to play some football. After an hour of chasing Eric around with the football I was finally able to get some decent pictures of Mikey. I even got a few videos! The fall colors of the park served as a good backdrop for the pictures. Mikey even gave me a little distance to photograph him. As a result I have a whole buffet of pictures for you to feast on. I have enough that I may have to save some for the next post. I know what you're thinkng..."stop talking and show me the pictures!"


I swear nothing pleases Mikey more than sucking on that little thumb of his. I like the pretty blue eyes too.

Mikey at the tail end of a sneeze. I love it!!

Mikey just looking cute and funny!

Mikey goes bonkers every time he sees or hears an airplane. He's always quick to point them out to us.



Here's a couple videos to enjoy. You'll notice how expressive Mikey is, especially in the first video. He's so funny! Man, I love that kid!

Mikey Week Continued: SpongeBob jammies

I may have discovered one reason why Mikey hasn't been getting as much blog attention. He is super hard to take pictures of! He's at that age where he's extra curious about things, like the camera. Every time I pull out the camera to get some pictures he marches over to me and he presses his chubby face right into the lens. I'm trying to be more sneaky and so far I've only had minimal success, but it's a work in progress.

Anyway, our favorite pajamas for Mike is his SpongeBob footie pajamas. Sometimes we just leave him in his jammies all day. Not because we're lazy, because he's adorable.


You can see I really did catch him off guard when I took this picture. But it shows his pajamas and the picture wasn't blurry, so it works.


No Mikey isn't actually reading up on Michael Medved, he's just rearranging the bookshelf like he always does. He's destroyed several dust jackets recently. I guess he figured we didn't need them. I knew those dust jackets were there for a reason.


More Mikey pictures to come tomorrow!

This is 'Mikey Week'

I decided that our baby Mikey just does not get enough pub on this blog. Since Mikey is vertically challenged he may often get overlooked when it comes to blogging about him (I know, stupid joke). I assure you Mikey is overflowing with cuteness. And just to prove it I'm dedicating this week of blogging to him. So, if you have something against cute 17 month old babies, you're going to be disappointed for the next five or six days.

Okay, I've got the introduction out of the way, let's get this kicked off already.


After a long day, Mikey couldn't stay awake anymore. He rounded up a pillow, propped it against himself for comfort and fell asleep on the floor.


When not sleeping on the living room floor, Mikey stays up on current events by reading the newspaper.


There's more of Mikey to come for the rest of the week. I've really wanted to take more videos lately. Hopefully, I do so I can post some later on. I hope to do around three or four posts this week featuring Mikey so be sure to check in often for the updates!

Picture of the Week

Earlier this week Becka and her friend Rose decided to wear some pink punk rocker looking wigs to work "just to be silly." The night before they wore their wigs to work we decided to try this pink wig on our boys. We simply put it on them one at a time and asked them to make their best punk rocker face. Here's how it went.





I don't know what the deal is with Eric's full pouty lips. If you ask me, he has an Angelina Jolie thing going on. Timo's picture has got to be my favorite. When the boys are older and getting ready to date, I can't wait to show these pictures to their girlfriends.

Timo

I'm in the process of deleting my old Webshots account. Many of the pictures on there aren't backed up on my computer so I'm transferring all of the pictures from the account onto my computer. It's a tedious job to say the least. It's also very rewarding since I'm able to view a lot of pictures we've taken over the last six or seven years.
Yesterday I came across three pictures of Timo that are some of my all time favorites. I may have posted one or two of these pictures before (maybe not?) but it doesn't matter. The funny part is, these pictures were taken within 10 minutes or so of each other.


One of the best cry faces ever! We're so lucky to have caught this. Timo's choice of clothes makes the picture complete. Taken in Tacoma, a choice of a t-shirt, shorts, and rain boots makes sense.


Of course Eric's monster face steals the attention of this picture but you get a good look at Timo's attire, complete with his boots being on the wrong feet.


A perfect depiction of Timo's cheery personality. Timo's smile has the capability of going on forever.


These pictures are just a small representation of the laughter and happiness Timo brings into our house...


...with a large dose of goofiness.

Sounds Easy Enough

NOT!!

Picture of the Week

I didn't take very many pictures this week making my options to choose from scarce. Well, that's not entirely true. I took a decent amount of pictures it's just that most of them didn't turn out so well. Earlier in the week I was trying to take some night time pictures of Boise but they were mostly blurry. You never realize how shaky your hands are until you attempt to take pictures of lights in the dark. I've had minimal success before but nothing I'm really satisfied with until I get a tripod. Okay, I'm rambling. Hang on a sec while I regroup and get back to the POTW.....


....okay I'm back. This week's picture is of the street Harrison Boulevard in Boise. *Even though Harrison Boulevard is in the North End neighborhood of Boise it's probably my most favorite road in the entire valley. Trees drape over the road for about a one mile stretch with pretty historic homes along the sides. With Boise being known as the "city of trees" you would think there would be more roads like this one.


Unfortunately these pictures don't really do this road justice. I tried several different angles and couldn't get the image I really wanted. It's much prettier to see in person.


*Editors Note: Most of Idaho, including the Treasure Valley is decidedly Republican with the exceptions being Sun Valley and Boise. Sun Valley is mostly democratic while Boise is about 50/50 between Republican and Democratic voting. It just so happens that the North End neighborhood in Boise is known as being quite liberal. It's becomes obvious when you reach the North End when you start spotting hippies and hybrids at a higher frequency. The North End also happens to be the most scenic neighborhood (other than Table Rock road where you can view the entire valley) due to the landscaping and historic look. I take this place with a grain of salt.

Danger Zone

Yeah, I like fighter jets and there's a lot of them flying around here at the Boise airport and blah blah blah. But am I the only one who hears the song Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins whenever you see a fighter jet?

"Aerobic Sleepin"

Personally, when searching for a place to sleep or rest, lying down on a chain never crossed my mind. In fact, I typically avoid sleeping on uneven metal. I guess it worked for this guy.
This picture was the winner of a best sleep photo contest submitted by readers from Wired.com.

The Burninator

If you've never heard of Strong Bad before then in you're in for a treat. Strong Bad has been a popular Internet cartoon since the early 2000's. My friend, Justin and I would wait eagerly for every Monday to roll around so we could watch the newest episode. Unfortunately, after a while both of us got burned out on Strong Bad. Now I check the website every once in a while to see if new episodes are being made. They don't seem to be on a weekly pace anymore but there's new episodes nonetheless. Before today I hadn't checked the website in more than a year so I don't know how regular it is now days. Strong Bad and the rest of the homestar runner crew is arbitrary humor at it's finest. Either you get it or you don't. If you want to watch more Strong Bad emails click here.