A Flashlight That Is Set Upon a Head Cannot Be Hid

Halloween again. Which means I continue my tradition of creating a costume out of cardboard and duct tape to be fitted on my head.

This year, the idea for my costume came from Lora, who said one day in July, "Dad, you should be a flashlight for Halloween."

And so I was. (And with a headlamp affixed, I was a fully functioning flashlight...)

Ian was an Orioles player, Lora was a candy corn, Isabel was Tinker Bell, and Tess was a ghost. And Heidi was the cranky lady who stayed home to give out candy.

NEXT STOP: Ian Goes to War

So They Think They Can Dance

Scenes from Lora and Isabel's dance classes this past spring. Tess managed to steal some camera time, too.

NEXT STOP: A Bright Idea for Halloween

In Six More Years, It Won't Be So Cute When Ian Speeds

Ian is only six years away from obtaining a driver's license. If these shots are any indication, we should all be afraid -- very afraid.

NEXT STOP: Dancing Queens

My Wife, the Unabomber

I took the summer off from blogging, as you can see by the five-month gap between posts. Now I return to the blog with the shot I am most proud of. Ever.

My wife, the unabomber.

This was snapped at Boondocks. What makes the shot scrapbook-worthy -- beyond the hoodie pulled suspiciously low and the nefarious sunglasses -- is Heidi's primal scream.

Chilling.

NEXT STOP: Ian Drives Fast and Flashes Gang Signs

Faces at Boondocks

We took the kids for a day at Boondocks about a month ago. Boondocks has two go-kart tracks, miniature golf, bumper boats, batting cages, rock climbing, an arcade, laser tag, and other assorted noisy things that kids love.

At the park, I was approached by a man who said, "You look really familiar. Have we worked together?" He said his name was Rod Williard, and in a moment, my memory clicked. He had grown up in the same stake as me in Maryland. He had attended the Rockville Ward and I was in Potomac South. He was best friends with the son of one of my mom's friends, Lou Fisher.

In any case, we stood there and yapped for about 30 minutes, catching up. It's nice to run into blokes from Maryland who grew up there at the same time. I don't have a photo of him to add to the blog, but we exchanged numbers, and vowed to get together for dinner. Perhaps he and his family will appear in a future post.

In this post, I feature close-ups of the kids. In the next post, I will feature a few action shots of bumper-boating and go-kart racing.

NEXT STOP: The Uni-Bomber! and Other Stuff

H.R. BunnyStuff -- Reflections on the Easter Bunny that Visited My Kids

For Easter, our kids attended an Easter egg hunt at their cousins' house. While at the house, the Easter Bunny paid a visit. And for some reason, the Easter bunny creeped me out. Maybe it's the hollow eyes. Or the serious, almost perturbed, purse of the lips. This is a face that says, "I'll visit your house while you're sleeping, sure, but if you don't take precautions, I may maul you."

This is a bunny spawned from the psychedelic surrealism of Pink Floyd's "The Wall," or from the whacked-out world of Syd and Marty Kroft ("H.R. Pufnstuf" -- see image above).

Thankfully, my kids were charmed by the Easter Bunny rather than unsettled. And my reaction is more a reflection upon me than upon the bunny. (Although if I woke up in the middle of the night on Easter Eve, stumbled sleepily into the living room, and discovered this particular bunny standing there in the dark, I do believe I would shriek, do a cowardly little dance, and knock myself out on a corner as I sprinted wildly away from the dead-eyed hopper.)

NEXT STOP: A Day at Boondocks

An Interlude with Hannibal Lechter

Before I blog about the psychedelic Easter Bunny, I needed to embed this link from NBC's "The Office." It is a scene that marries two of my favorite characters: Dwight from "The Office" and Hannibal Lechter from Silence of the Lambs.

(Now that I've typed that, I'm wondering if it is a misstep to admit publicly that one of my favorite fictional characters is Hannibal Lechter. Contrast this with my wife's favorite characters from Jane Austen and my mom's from Anne of Green Gables. Oh well. Up with cannibals.)