Happy Thanksgiving!!

November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
*gobble gobble*

(Zach bought this for me; we used it as the centerpiece today. Erin named it Gus the Gobble Turkey. :)

Dickson Double Date

[photo courtesy http://www.local540.com/marketplace/businesses/crown-pub/]

November 12, 2010
Zach and I headed out for our first real Dickson Street adventure last night. (We've been there together before, but it was over the summer and the place wasn't hopping like it was last night.) We met up with one of Zach's friends from Pomfret Mervin and his wife Teryl at Sideways and had a great time. Once it started getting run over with people, we headed to this charming little place. Too bad I'm an old lady now and need to be in bed by 11. *lol*

This picture makes me want to go back to the UK...or at least stare at Zach's Lego pub all day!

Brick by Brick

September 21, 2010

I finally finished destroying this skyscraper.
Lego sorting really is back-breaking work unless you are under the age of 12. ; )
The dust collected on the bricks didn't help either...
...but it's D-O-N-E!

SPOTLIGHT ON: Jake Pharr

Jake at his first Pharr Family Christmas

Jake was sooo happy his mommy finally won a card in Apples to Apples!

Sayer bonds with Jake at Erin and Nathan's birthday party

September 10, 2010

SPOTLIGHT ON: Jake Pharr
AGE: 1.5
ANIMAL: Dog
BREED: Setter/Spaniel mix?
OCCUPATION: Mommy's Dog
LIKES: his mommy, naps, canned food, treats, table scraps, getting all of the attention (He's the baby!), people: family, friends & strangers, balls, small boys, Duplos, his mommy's shoes, doggie daycare
DISLIKES: the pool, thunderstorms, power surges, getting in trouble
HOBBIES: licking feet, running, sleeping, being a lap dog, annoying Phoebe and the cats in his attempt to get them to play with him, playing with stranger dogs, herding, rolling in the dirt, plopping down, chewing on the occasional Duplo or shoe, stealing shoes, dancing with Zach and me
HERO: Dug, the golden retriever from UP
FAVORITE HOLIDAY: Christmas, for the wrappings

He has just the prettiest ears!

SPOTLIGHT ON: Hobie Pharr

HOBIE

Hobie and Daddy (a.k.a. his Old Man)

Maman cuddling an unhappy Hobie

August 31, 2010

SPOTLIGHT ON: Hobie Pharr
A.K.A. Hobie Washburn the Cat, Hobiekins, Ritty Rat, Pretty Ritty, Fuzzy Face, Fat Boy, Prissy Pants, Petit Prince, Mon Chou
AGE: 5
ANIMAL: Cat
BREED: Turkish Van
OCCUPATION: Gentleman of Leisure/Emperor of [his] Universe/The Cat's Pajamas
LIKES: himself, naps, foil balls, pipe cleaners, canned tuna, the pink wingback chair in the living room, window sills, getting brushed, treats, black clothes, catnip, crinkly tubes, French, acting like a snob, dressing up, a strong cocktail, Sasha
DISLIKES: Jake, being cuddled, being snuggled, being picked up, being picked on, being ignored, music, technology, lint brushes, Sasha (She thinks he's a snob since he went to college! *gasp*)
HOBBIES: getting famous on Wikipedia, hissing and swiping his paws (specifically at Jake...and sometimes Phoebe), dropping pipe cleaners into his water bowl, caterwauling in the middle of the night, hogging the bed, running across the house, chirruping hello, keeping his white coat clean, watching out the window, chasing the other cats, catting around, talking too much, waking his Maman in the morning by tapping her face and biting her arms, wrestling his Old Man to death, studying for his PhD in Philosophy
(Hobie likes to eat tuna. Your arm is made of tuna. Hobie likes to eat your arm...or, at least, gnaw on it. ; )
HERO: Garfield
QUOTE: "I want some foil, beotches!"


I thought I would just share a bit about one of the furries running around our house. He's our wittle ritty rat! Isn't he too cute? (He knows it, and he knows you know it, too. ; )

Look for the other 5 soon on a facebook near you!
(I know I am now a crazy cat person, thankyouverymuch.)

He did not want to leave Aunt Monica!

Sasha and Hobie are complete opposites, but ya know what they say about opposites...

As soon as we got the pipe cleaners out of the shopping bag, he knew what they were!

our little gymnast

Hobie is top drawer ; )

eating tuna out of a spoon

helping Maman with graduation applications

He loves to play with (er, chew on) Lego, too.

crinkly tube

Weekend Update: (Board) Games are NOT Boring

July 16-18, 2010

Swimming, the Brau Haus, and board games on Friday...who could ask for anything more?

Ticket to Ride was FUN! We should play it again, ok? Or Puerto Rico. But not Galactic Truckers.

Melissa surprised the Gates' with a visit from TX, and we were happy to see her again.

Also, thanks for the cider! It was most enjoyable in the unemployment pool. ;)

Zach has been hard at work on his new Lego Amsterdam-esque town.
He built this sweet pub, The Lion, on Saturday!
All day I was running between our living room and the bedroom to give him my opinion on its construction.

If we can't move to Europe, we'll move Europe here. :)

Sunday night was game night with the Hendrixes!
Our six-month reunion with Rob and Mechelle: they joined us for a fajita dinner with pico de gallo AND twos kinds of dip: cheese and Mechelle's yummy corn dip.

I also baked up some cookies using our stash of dark chocolate raspberry creme chips--DELISH! They were sooo good! I hope we can find some more of these chips because not many cookies are left for tomorrow. :)

[*lol* Zach and I also realized this is the first sit-down dinner with friends we've had since we got married. Our old apartment was very small. ;]

Erin and Josh joined us for a game of UNO. Geez, I hate losing. But I really do love that game! I have so much playing it, especially with our UNO buddies. I'm so glad you guys got to meet Hobie the Cat. We really should this more often than every six months. Aren't we silly?


[I forgot to take pictures during this game, so this is one of Mechelle attempting Rob to take the cards back out so we can recreate the scene. I finally got him to at least hold up the game. *tehe*]

The candyman can!

[photo courtesy http://chalk.richmond.edu/education/projects/webquests/goldenticket/intro.html]

July 11, 2010
I LOVE this movie! "It's Scrumdidilyumptious!"

[photo courtesy http://www.downarchive.com/forums/movies/85464-willy-wonka-chocolate-factory-1971-dvdrip.html]

I seriously rented it nearly every weekend when I was a wee thing. :)

I wonder why I never bought it...

[photo courtesy http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2558302208/tt0067992]

Veruca was my favorite because her dress was way better than Violet's pant suit and I liked her little song-and-dance with the geese that lay the golden eggs and their colorful wrappings. But this Violet's outfit is much improved! (I have to admit I haven't seen the remake in its entirety. I feel as if I am betraying my childhood.

[photo courtesy http://www.polyvore.com/charlie_chocolate_factory_violet_beauregarde/set?id=3741324]
I love collages!

[photo courtesy http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2531/3746175807_497a78b529.jpg]

[photo courtesy http://vignettebricks.blogspot.com/2005/06/willy-wonka-vlc.html]

[photo courtesy http://news.lugnet.com/announce/moc/?n=2828]
This is the best Lego Wonka-just as Gene Wilder is!

But the time we get to Mike TeeVee's shrinkage, I'm bored. And I never was scared. My favorite areas of the factory are the Fudge Room and the Inventing Room (?)...who cares about a shrunken candy bar?! That's just silly. ;)

Check out this awesome French version:

[photo courtesy http://www.moviegoods.com/movie_product_static.asp?master_movie_id=3913&sku=514367]

Happy Father's Day!

June 20, 2010

Happy Father's Day to all the dads, grandpas, uncles, and "other" fathers out there, especially all of my own! Thanks to all of you for what you have done in my life. Even though I miss my Daddy, I know he is celebrating this holiday in a far better place. Sadly I don't have any pictures from the last years of his life.

I tried to call my brother Matt's daddy A.J., who also had a hand in raising me, but I'll have to call back tomorrow. :(This is my father-in-law modeling his present from all of us. 8) We love you! Hope you had a wonderful day!
In other news, I am now afflicted with a rare condition known as Lego-shoulderitis. It occurs from frequent building and requires more frequent massages (which I HATE because they tickle *tehe*).

This is what happens when you love to organize and sort things and agree to help your husband organize his boxes and boxes, buckets and buckets, and tubs and tubs of Lego. I do like stacking all of the similar bricks, but it begins to wear on the body after awhile. Who knew?

Lego Lifer

June 12, 2010

Zach's summer project is sorting and organizing all of his Lego for when we move.
I've been helping. (Sort of.)
Well, I've trying finding certain pieces, and I assembled tackle boxes yesterday.
Then I had to take a nap.

*le sigh*
Even Hobie is overwhelmed. ;)