MeadeUmms Family News

Kelly Gets a New Do!

2010-01-19T22:43:00.001-08:00

Before...

After...

For some time, Kelly has been asking to get her hair cut, and a couple of weeks ago, she actually did it! What do you think? She thought about sending her hair to "Locks of Love" but they require 10" minimum, and she didn't want to shave her head or wait a year. At least she got a nice portable ponytail out of it! Anyhow, the new cut looks great, and it cuts way down on the snarls and tangles she was getting when her hair was long.

Science Olympiad 2009

2009-03-03T21:46:00.001-08:00

This was Chris' second year to compete in the Southern California Science Olympiad - the (self-proclaimed by estimate) largest Science Olympiad in these United States! There were 43 elementary schools in the venue, along with numerous Junior and Senior High teams. This year the team was composed entirely of 5th graders, so the bar was set high to bring home a 5th consecutive gold medal for Washington Elementary.

Chris (and Karyna's) first event was "Starry, Starry Night" - a study event which required the 2 of them to know (among other things) - all the planets, all types of celestial bodies in the solar system, about 20 constellations and any major stars within them, eclipses, seasons, the celestial sphere, and more! A tough event, but they came out with a perfect score (30 out of 30)!

Next event was Paper Rockets with Gina. The challenge was to build a paper rocket with just paper and tape in 20 minutes, then launch it with a breath-powered straw to a target somewhere between 3 and 8 meters. After trying several designs in practice, they settled on a very simple design which could be easily constructed. They both landed the rocket on the target plain, which few teams were able to do, thereby earning Washington an additional 30 points!

The most sophisticated of the events Chris participated in was the "Tennis Ball Catapult" along with his friend Dex. They had to build (with some help from the dads) and position the catapult so it could land in a cup 2-4 meters from the launch. Here you see them taking careful aim based on hours of testing to hit the target...

The crack team of judges measure from where the ball first lands to the center of the target. While both the official shots landed in the sandpit, the competition for this event was tough. However, the boys still came away with 20 out of 30 points for the team!

At the end of the day the scores were tallied and the Washington team came away with gold medals - 515 points out of a possible 600 - the 3rd highest point total of all the elementary teams competing! All the kids did great, and they all had a great time to boot!
Way to go, and congratulations!

February Family Update

2009-02-23T23:52:00.000-08:00

So, what have we been up to lo these many days?

1. Cleaning up - Once a year for a month we get the "opportunity" to serve our local church by setting up and cleaning up for the snacks and/or potluck we have. The reason this man is smiling is because this was the last wipe before turning the keys over for 11 months! Actually, it's not all that hard, especially since we have such a hard-working team.

Chris has been firing fuzzy green projectiles (aka tennis balls) at 2-4 metres with his friend Dexter in preparation for the Science Olympiad next week. With help from Dex's dad, I think this tennis ball catapult is ready for launch!

Kelly is our gymnast extrordinaire! Her hands are covered with callouses, and she's got more than her share of bumps and bruises, but that's only because she lives on these and the money bars every day at recess. We got to watch her "do her stuff" the other day and got a couple shots.

Finally it was Valentines (the day of love, as Kelly calls it). Stacey (not pictured) broke out her artistic skills to give the kids a couple life-sized cards - complete with real and candy kisses!

Winter Break 2008

2009-01-11T20:53:00.000-08:00

So - what have we been up to this winter? Well, it's been busy enough to keep postings down, but the camera is still rolling...

Christmas Eve, our church had a special service. Despite the fact Kelly loves dressing up (on her own), she dreaded dressing up in public as a shepherd. However, once she got up there with the other kids, she had fun. Chris, of course, did it as his duty, but also pretty much had fun.

The next day, we celebrated the coming of Jesus as a human! Hooray! The kids got a couple special treats, including new beanbags and stuffed animals. As per usual, the bean bag boxes lived on many weeks afterwards for various building projects.

For all of 2008, Kelly has been wanting to have a "Restaurant Night" - to turn our house into a restaurant for the neighbors with a real menu with real choices. We (and the neighborhood guests) really had a blast, but boy, it is a lot of work in the kitchen to be a short order cook and dishwasher!! Afterwards we played games with the "customers."

The next day at church we hosted a year-end party for all the kids (random kids photographed). Also, this marked the transition for all our elementary teachers - our 4-6th grade teachers are taking a break, the 2-3rd grade teachers (including Robert!) are "moving up" to 4-6th grade, and the K-2 teachers will now take on a "leaner and meaner" set of K-3rd graders!

Another day, another sleepover - Kelly's best friend Brianna and neighborhood friend Miranda enjoy a jack-in-the-box moment in the beanbag box (see above).

Chris has wanted to get his friends together for a day of world conquest - Risk! A truly incredible games in that everyone had fun, even those who went out early. Part of that was the good nature of the kids playing, part of it was the prizes Stacey had for every player as the went out, and part of it was that the DS's could come on as each player went out! Chris came in third, while the oldest boy, Jediah, was ruler of the world on this day.

We had to get some winter in, even if it was indoors! On New Year's Day, Robert took Kelly with her friend Portia and mom to the Pasadena Ice Arena. Even though it was only a block from the Rose Parade, by 1 PM the throngs of people had cleared, and a cool spin on the ice was a nice change of pace. Kelly did a great job on skates, even though she's only done it a few times. Look out Michelle Kwan!

As always, the time went too quickly, but it was great to have a winter break without going anywhere exotic!

Friend-filled weekend

2008-12-21T22:30:00.000-08:00

School's out, so what to day? A weekend of non-stop kid action - Friday night, Chris's friends Max and Camden slept over in the living room while Kelly's friend Brianna slept in the kids room. Pretty much immediately afterwards, on Saturday, we hosted our 4th (or so) annual neighborhood Christmas party with 16 kids (and a few adults) packed into our apartment - relatively few breakages or hurt feelings for that number over 6 hours, remarkably! However, the fun wasn't over yet - Kelly got a second sleepover with her friend Michaela, and Max also crashed here another night. Church Sunday morning was the first rest we got, and it was a really great Christmas sermon.

The Boys

The Girls, night 1

By night 2, we didn't do all the group photos, but here's Michaela!

1st Semester School Awards

2008-12-16T22:19:00.000-08:00

The kids are off to a great start this semester. With a lot of hard work and a great result on one final test, Chris made the "Principal's Honor Roll" (4th & 5th graders with only the highest academic standards).

Kelly (in the back row with the big smile and red coupon), meanwhile, continues to excel in her writing, receives the Excellence in Writing award for her class.

Way to go, kids - Keep up the good work!

Nativity - Rocky Peak Style

2008-12-14T22:03:00.000-08:00

This year we finally made it to the Rocky Peak Nativity "Back to Bethlehem" - a "recreation of Bethlehem on the night of Jesus's birth". Except for the coldness (which was actually probably pretty historically accurate, come to think of it!) this church does an excellent job of creating a mini 1st Century Bethlehem with Romans, merchants, shepherds, tax collectors, rabbis, singing angels and more! If you live in Southern California and have kids, I would definitely say it is worth the trip. Our kids gave it "2 thumbs up" - besides the history, Chris loved the pistachios and Kelly loved the bread they offered for just a few "shekels"! Entry is free, but they will accept donations.

Look - it really was cold (for Southern Californians, anyhow)

Real donkey, real petting, and real old dude

Nativity

For more information, go to http://www.rockypeak.org/ministryhighlight.asp?ministryHighlight_id=22. The Church at Rocky Peak is located in Chatsworth, CA, near the 118 & 405.

Advent 2008

2008-12-11T21:43:00.000-08:00

One family tradition we have started and kept the last couple years is a celebration of Advent every night leading up to Christmas. We have a couple different books with sort passages we read (either a daily devotion from "Family Celebrations at Christmas" or a page of "What Nick & Holly Found in Grandpa's Attic" - an interactive book with 12 ornaments reminding us of 12 aspects of Jesus Christ). Its great for both the adults and kids to review these Bible stories and to remember how and why Jesus came to us as a child! We progressively light the candles each week - you can see how much the kids enjoy that in the pictures.

Happy Birthday Stacey!

2008-12-08T00:00:00.001-08:00

Its time once again that I (Robert) get to celebrate a few months of being married to "an older woman"! The kids made some crafts for Stacey, and I got her the door draft stopper of her dreams! Happy birthday!

Kids Sing at Fair Oaks Retirement

2008-12-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

The Christmas Caroling season has officially begun - the kids sang with the children's choir at the Fair Oaks Retirement Center today - we couldn't find the camcorder in time, but we did get a couple stills (the choir was a lot bigger, but hey, you're coming to this blog to see our kids, right?!)...

Justice, Kelly and Melena

Max, Trey, Chris and Ted

Family Newsletter 2008

2008-12-05T22:13:00.001-08:00

Hey - if you didn't get our annual family newsletter in the mail, click here for an online copy to peruse.

Flag Football Season

2008-12-03T22:00:00.000-08:00

This year Chris decided to join after-school sports and play flag football. His coach, Manny (in the blue shirt) really encouraged him and worked with Chris's great speed and dodgability to become one of the high-scoring running backs on the team. By the end of the season he was selected to play on the all city All-Stars team. Unfortunately, they lost the first round against Azusa, but it was great fun and a great experience.

Part of the team - Chris is with his good friends Rikia and Grant.

On the line - when Chris played this game, we later learned the other team was told to "stop the fast kid in red"!

Joshua Tree with the Cub Scouts

2008-12-03T21:02:00.000-08:00

Only in Southen California - camping in November! After Thanksgiving, the local cub scout troop went camping in Joshua Tree National Park. I really like this park, especially in the fall and spring. The weather was ideal - low 60's in the daytime, and high 40's at night, but not a cloud in the sky. Besides camping, hiking and climbing, we were able to see a rare close encounter of Venus and Jupiter in the night sky. Actually, because of the clear air, it was hard to find constellations - there were just too many stars out there!
If you get a chance to visit Joshua Tree National Park - run, don't walk!

Look, we're really here!

The camping scounts and siblings pose near the tents.

A Joshua Tree. as photographed on the kid's camera

Hiding in the cleft of the rocks - the kids had more fun climbing in caves and scaling HUGE (50 ft or more!) summits in the rocks. Gave a few of the moms short breaths and skipped heartbeats, but no children were injured in the filming of the weekend.

2008 Thanksgiving Gratitude List (from Stacey)

2008-11-27T09:20:00.000-08:00

These are a few of the things that I (Stacey Meade, a mom, wife, daughter, aunt, teacher, & Christian) am thankful for on this 2008 Thanksgiving Day:

I am thankful that God exists, that I have a personal relationship with God - the Father, Son & Holy Spirit - that I know God loves me unconditionally, that I am free to worship God in my country - what a blessing that is which I take for granted.
God forgives me. He loves me NO MATTER if I am good or bad, or loving Him back.
I am thankful that I feel God's love so powerfully when I take time to talk/walk/live with Him.
I am thankful I have a church home that is healthy and filled with loving Christian people.

I am thankful for my family - for my mom & dad who birthed me, for them taking care of me, for the sacrifices my mom made to raise me as a divorced mom, for the many things she taught me, for the way she can still love up my family & kids.

I am thankful for my husband, Robert, who adores me, who care for me & our kids, who loves God, who helps me in so many ways - spiritually, emotionally, mentally & physically. I am thankful he is such a strong Christian man, that he as wonderful parents, that he is calm and content in life, that he wants my love & accepts me with all my faults.

I am thankful for my children. I am thankful to God that I was able to get pregnant & have 2 healthy children. I am thankful for their health, their love, their personalities & the lessons they teach me all the time.

I am thankful for Kelly's happy & playful way about her, for her ability to forgive, her devotion to Jesus Christ, her faithfulness with her friends & her love for her brother.

I am thankful for Christopher's inquisitive mind, for his amazing talent with making up games, math puzzles & magic tricks. I am thankful he knows the Lord & that he has good friends at church & at school. I am thankful he loves his sister.

I am thankful that our kids have a great elementary school with wonderful teachers to help them learn important lessons in education & in life.

I am thankful for OvereatersAnonymous and the way it helps me in my life & the great friends I have in OA and in many other places.

I'm thankful I have food to eat, in a warm, cozy, apartment to live in, beautiful holiday decorations, a job to go to, and such beauty in nature that reminds me of how magnificent our Lord is who created everything!

It Never Rains in Southern California - It Pours!

2008-11-25T22:29:00.000-08:00

Well, the unusual heat finally broke, and with it has come the life-giving rains. Kelly is really excited - I bet she'll move to Seattle or the Arctic one day - she can't get enough of cool, precipitous weather! Chris is nursing a cold in his chest - we're glad the powers that be canceled flag football practice tonight, even though it had not started raining yet.

Picture This... Not :-(

2008-11-23T22:30:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a busy week with the kids, and I have some great pictures, but my SD card from the camera is corrupt, so I've got nothing to show you.

However, Kelly put on a most excellent art display at her art class graduation, with several creative animals drawn from imagination, and a sock fish on rice paper!

Chris, upon returning from Outdoor Science School, had his "final" flag football game. He and the team went out with a bang - they won, putting them in a 3-way tie for first, and he scored a touchdown in the winning effort! In the afternoon, he and the Green Hornets played in a one round playoff against the top team in the city. They lost, but they really did put up a great fight against an excellent team.

All afternoon, and the next day, Stacey and Monica Christmified the house - it looks wonderful! Pictures on this should be coming as soon as I get another SD card...

Chris @ Outdoor Science School

2008-11-21T07:47:00.000-08:00

All week Chris, along with the entire 5th grade classes of Washington and Wilson Elementary, have been in Malibu for LA County Outdoor Science School. Giving kids the chance to learn "hands on" in nature is a rare treat in Southern California, so we're really glad he's had this opportunity for the week.

Turkey Trot 2008

2008-11-15T07:26:00.000-08:00

Once again the kids ran in the annual San Gabriel Turkey Trot 1K "Fun Run" and Mom Farrell was out here this year to cheer them on! Last year I (Robert) had to run with Kelly to get her started, but this she ran the full race on her own! The kids did great - Chris came in 2nd in his division, and Kelly came in 3rd. Excellent!

Kid Recognition

2008-11-14T22:44:00.000-08:00

Recently, the kids have gotten some positive recognition...

Kelly was awarded "Student of the Month" in her class (the last time she received this was kindergarten!). She is really enjoying her class this year, and it shows! Thanks, Miss Bennett!

Meanwhile Christopher, while still doing well in school, has found a fun sport in afterschool flag football. He has scored a couple touchdowns for his team, and was selected to be on the San Gabriel All Stars team (3 players selected per school)! Chris is the player in green and red in the far right of the screen.

Way to go, kids - keep up the good work!

Halloween

2008-11-13T22:19:00.000-08:00

Chris came up with a "yellow pencil" costume from the box Papo & Halmony used to ship the trombone in. Kelly wanted to be a pirate girl this year. We'll be eating the haul for many moons...

We're Back...

2008-11-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

I'm ready to rouse from my self-imposed slumber to restart fall blogging. Stay tuned for family updates and future blogs of interest. In the meantime, check out my facebook profile - just search for Robert Wayne Meade in Glendora, CA

Yale High School Class of 82 Reunion - and I'm not there :-(

2007-09-13T22:53:00.000-07:00

I'm so bummed I can't make it to my 25th high school class reunion. 25 years - blows my mind! Anyhow, I thought I'd post this brief update I sent to the class to let them know I'm alive!

Name: "Robbie"
Class: Yale High School 1982 AD

Current Residence:

An apartment in a small suburb of Los Angeles - San Gabriel, CA (just 1 mile from one of the famous California Missions, and half a mile from a Chinese grocery store that sells live fish, frogs, clams and frozen beef pizzle)

Marital Status:

Married, with children - I got married to Stacey 12 years ago (first and only marriage). We have 2 children: Christopher (9) and Kelly (7).

Employment: Computer Department Manager - same employer for 21 years

Best High School Memories:

* the play we did (someone remind me of the name) and the party afterwards; band (my 9 year old now wears my black Yale Pep Band t-shirt to bed - I was small, but not THAT small - it had to have shrunk!); the small amount of homework we had compared to kids today; and, of course all the friends and fun you can only have as a teenager in high school

Fun Fact:

* I've travelled to parts of Eastern & Western Europe, Australia and the Caribbean, and have had the opportunity to give computer presentations across the United States.

Life changing events:

* When my church stopped being a cult (as some of you tried to tell me it was, but I didn't believe you!), Walk to Emmaus, wife, kids.

Biggest regret:

* Not being there tonight, of course!

Favorite Creative Outlet:

* Making up "Adventures of Super Smiley Face" stories for my kids at bedtime.

Favorite pasttime:

* I'm a slave to my computer(s).

Best way to keep in touch:

Email me - (sorry, can't risk getting spammed - but I did post them in the real message)

You can also check out my seldom updated blog for pictures and stuff: http://meadeumms.blogspot.com

Parting words:

25 years - and loving it! Truly, though, I can't believe it!

Please - every one of you - take lots of digital pictures and video, and make a list of everyone's email that you can! I'd love to either start, and/or work with another classmate, to set up a Yale Class of 82 type website that everyone can get on without needing to pay (like classmates.com makes you do). If anyone is interested, let me know, and we'll meet online!

Finally - here's a recent picture of me and my family...

Where Have We Gone?

2007-09-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'll admit it - we haven't posted for a while. Where have we been? Well, most recently, thanks to my generous parents (and a great deal they got thru the real estate biz), we were able to spend a week in Silver Lakes / Helendale, CA - a private city with a private lake in the desert between Victorville and Barstow, and for all pratical purposes, a private condo for us! Here are a few shots of what we did during the week...

The beach was in walking distance from our condo - this is what it looked like on a busy weekend - us and one other family! Of course, it was hot, maybe 105, but the water felt great!

About 1/2 hour to the northeast was Calico Ghost Town - a real live restored ghost town! I thought we'd get a good two hours out of this place before the kids would want something "more exciting" but we had so much fun there we spent the entire day! For more information, you should check out http://www.calicotown.com/.

Another thing we spent some time doing was fishing. We saw some huge catfish & trout off the swimming docks of the lake, but unfortunately, you couldn't fish there. We never caught anything from shore, but the kids sure did try!

One of Christopher's "Wish List" items for the summer was to hit a bucket of balls at the golf course. Well, just at our doorstep was a PGA rated golf course. The guys were great there - not only did they let the kids hit a bucket of balls for the first time, they let us take 2 golf carts out to see the course - all for free! What a blast!

All week long the kids practiced doing a synchronized swimming show in the pool for us - they did a great job putting on a great show to cap off the week!

A Tale of Two Valentines

2007-02-01T22:50:00.000-08:00

The traditional school valentines are fast approaching - do these valentines reveal your personality? Well, maybe not for you, but they sure do for our kids.

Case 1 - "Quick draw" Kelly went shopping with me a week ago, looked at the 4 or 5 choices at Dollar Tree, immediately fell in love with one of them (Maya & Miguel - a PBS show - see http://pbskids.org/mayaandmiguel/flash.html), and viola - her card work was done!

Case 2 - "Make it Right, or don't make it at all" Christopher looked at a couple different choices, and we suggested a few others, but none were "right" for him. So, he decided to make personalized Pokemon cards for everyone, and quickly learned a 10 step process to find, download, edit and create cards from data on the official Pokemon site (http://pokemon.com/flash.asp) - no mean feat! He may have his dad's computer genes.

World's Longest Christmas?

2007-01-19T22:28:00.000-08:00

We continue to celebrate expanded Christmas, from Thanksgiving to ???
In looking through the pictures, Stacey saw we did not have one of the family around the tree. So, using the handy, dandy camera timer, we got a great shot of me running to get in the picture, then a keeper!

Trying to beat the camera timer - Bzzzzt!

Merry Christmas in January

Scooter Scouts

2007-01-14T23:59:00.000-08:00

Although the kids said they were tired after basketball, Christopher was up for a bike and scooter trip across the local Santa Fe Dam with his Cub Scout troop. (Stacey stayed home, and Kelly went over Portia's.) We estimated the entire trip to be about 3-4 miles, and Christopher was the head of the pack of the scooter crowd. Meanwhile, Dad trailed signifigantly behind having no wheels other than the ones that got them to the dam. It was a good fun hike for him, though. At the start/end there was quite a steep ramp of maybe 150 yards to get to the top of the dam. Well, boys being boys, they raced down at breakneck speed as a thrill ride! Actually, Christopher, not wanting "broken neck" speed, jumped off his scooter about 1/4 of the way down, but seeing everyone else had survived, got right back on and made the rest of the trip. Of course, in classic 8 year old boy style, Christopher, Alex, and Dexter ended up making 6 consecutive trips down (and up!) the hill. Afterwards, Christopher and I went to Denny's where I got my first animal protein in the week. Dining Tip - if you want to make Denny's taste good, go on a juice fast for a couple days!

Look Out Globetrotters

2007-01-14T23:40:00.000-08:00

Christopher and Kelly at their first basketball game. Now that soccer season is done for the year, Christopher and Kelly wanted to give basketball a try. Fortunately (for us), they are on the same team - the Beavers - and a couple eager Beavers they are! After just 1 practice they and the team were ready to go. They play at in local Nazarines church league, so there's good emphasis on sportsmanship and cooperation and a Godly attitude toward sports, which is good considering they have not really touched basketballs before last week. They personally didn't get any baskets in the first game, but they both really enjoyed it!

The Year Old and New in Liquid Form

2007-01-11T23:08:00.000-08:00

I guess that was a busy month - what all with Christmas, Chris and Lori and kids visiting, New Years and Stacey working the Rose Bowl Parade as an usher, having our pastor over, kids out of and back in school, small group, cub scout ice skating, and much, much more. Unfortunately, Stacey has net been feeling the best with colds and flus and what all. Partly as a result, and partly because I was in the mood to stop junking up so much, right now we're trying a juice diet. I pictured lots of Trader Joe's blueberry and raspberry juices, but instead, we've having jucified garlic, bok choy and carrots (its not as bad as it sounds - really!). We've done it all week - tonight was the first "real" food I had - potato and carrot peeling soup - a delicacy in some vegetarian part of the world, no doubt. Oh, and a piece of bread with butter I accidentally ate at Costco. I resisted the hot dog and pizza, but was tripped up by a kindly old lady handing out morsels of bread - go figure!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

2006-12-13T23:19:00.000-08:00

A couple shots around this house, which has been decorated since Thanksgiving. The kids (and mom) put together the gingerbread house, Christopher arranged the snowmen, Stacey did the wreathing all by hand, and Costco provided the manger scene a couple years ago for us. A wonderful season for family to have fun and remember our Savior.

Snakes on a Kid

2006-12-13T22:39:00.000-08:00

Sunday after church Christopher and Kelly went to Trevin's birthday party (one of the kids Christopher has played soccer with the last year). Besides the usual bouncy house, cake and festivities, they had Mr. Valentine and his traveling zoo. Mr. & Mrs. Valentine have a collection of dozens of live exotic animals (reptiles, amphibians, centipedes and mammals) which he encourages, nay, requires, every child to "have and to hold". While most of the kids were quite excited by this prospect, Kelly was, shall we say, reticent to the point of tears (for a short time). However, he worked very kindly with her, and she ended up petting a wallaby, and holding a hedgehog and a 2 ft white lizard (not at the same time!), with smiles all around! Christopher petted most everything, and held a foot long centipede and a 2 1/2 ft quite active snake that made a couple trips around his neck! I ended up holding most all of those when the kids were ready to move on to their next beastie. Mr. Valentine does a great job encouraging everyone to not be afraid of the animals, and (by his own admission) is more successful with the kids than the adults.
No pictures - forgot the camera - but if I get some from Trevin's family I'll post them later.

Happy Birthday Stacey & Halmony

2006-12-07T22:31:00.000-08:00

Today, the traditional "Day that shall live in Infamy" is also the birthday of both my wife & mother! Congratulations and happy birthday!

The kids make some enjoyable gifts for Stacey - the biggest mystery was a great big cylindrical one from Christopher, which neither of us could figure out what it was. When she opened it, it was a roll of paper towels he had won some months ago at an outdoor fair!

In the evening we all went to the Crystal Cathedral to see the "Glory of Christmas". It was OK - a bit long and slow for the kids, though.

Change for Change Final Tally

2006-12-04T21:38:00.000-08:00

Well, the Change for Change Holiday Basket Program went extremely well - the school collected over $1300 and over 30 boxes full of toys, games and stuffed animals to be given to those who cannot otherwise afford it.

Change for Change - Holiday Basket Program 2006

2006-11-30T23:11:00.000-08:00

The kids' school has an annual one week "Change for Change" fundraiser to help needy families in the local community, and Stacey is chairing it this year. She has come up with a number of improvements and incentives, and so far participation from students and administration has been very good! We're really proud to see Christopher offering a couple dollars (not just change!) of his own hard-earned money every day! Kelly has not been moved in the same way, but she's definitely contributing as well. Last year it took literally months to count all the change - this year, with Stacey's initiative to get a generous donation from the local Albertson's market, all the change will probably be counted the same day the event ends!!! Hope you have something local you can do to take your mind off yourself and help others out as well.

A Giga-Thanks Giving

2006-11-25T19:53:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Day - we got together with the Montheiths at their home in Orange County, CA - great food, great fellowship, and "giga-exhaustion"! We decided to break out one of the prizes our kids won from the recent school fundraiser many of you helped us with - the GigaBall! 2 hours (or more) of pumping action (25 or more chambers the size of large beachballs), and voila! Kids climb in, roll around, run like hampsters, and more. Only one small hole in it by the end of the day. They had a blast, but between pumping and pushing, Robert probably got the biggest workout from it.

Kelly, Emily, Christopher and Elizabeth in a rare still moment.

The First (Grade) Thanksgiving

2006-11-25T19:38:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, one class of Pilgrims and one class of Indians / Native Americans met to share the First (Grade) Thanksgiving Feast. The parents put on a great spread for the kids, and a good time was had by all - hope your Thanksgiving gave you plenty to give thanks for this year!

What is Meadeumms?

2006-11-20T21:02:00.000-08:00

Some of you may be asking yourself, "Self, why did the Meade family choose such a bizarro link for their blog? What is a blog? Why am I talking to myself?"

Well, if you asked these or other questions, you're in good company. Referencing the title, I will only be answering the first question. Wikipedia claims there are over 60,000,000 blogs, each with a unique name, so pretty much all the obvious choices have been taken. However, I was able to come up with 3 finalists:

PancakeORamaFest - Pros: friendly, yummy sounding, exciting. Cons: references activities of a past life, somewhat longish.

Meadean - Pros: serious, semi-palindromic. Cons: not yummy, sounds like something involving road kill.

Meadeumms - Pros: friendly, yummy sounding, stammering in a folksy way. Cons: None, so it won!

Although the die is cast, if you want to vote for one of the others, or if you've the 60,000,002nd best choice for a name, add it to the comments!

Welcome to Blogdom

2006-11-20T20:08:00.000-08:00

Hi - I've been talking forever about starting one or more blogs, so here is the inaugural posting. I've loved reading the blogs of other friends and acquaintances, so it's time to share the love. Let us know if you stop by, or if you use the incredible RSS feed to automatically receive updates.

Big news - we're printing the 6th annual family newsletter on good old fashioned paper once again as I type. I'm sure that how you found this site (if you're reading it in 2006, that is), so welcome!