"Freedom!"

Time to find something to do with our mornings now that Emilyn is done with school! A great old standby, Lone Elk Park. And a bonus: When we take Mommy's red car, the kiddos can ride al fresco!

Emilyn finishes fourth grade

Emilyn's last day of school was today... A half-day. This morning was the spring academic rally... Emilyn won six awards this year! Super Strings, Sensational O's, Excellent Effort, Homework Hero, Intermediate Outstanding Achievement, Community Builder. She got all A's in her subjects, which means the matching grant has been made: I just doubled her savings toward a Wii and Rock Band.

We also plan to take that perfect report card to Incredible Pizza Co. and Krispy Kreme, where A's are rewarded with free stuff! Also, I just found out that Blockbuster will give her a free kids' movie rental for a report card with all A's. Sweet! Congratulations, kiddo! We are all immensely proud of you.

Sunday fun with the Sirimaturos family

I actually had a whole two days off, thanks to Memorial Day, so Amy and I made plans to hang out at the playground on Sunday, then grab some lunch... We thought Cheeburger Cheeburger sounded like a great idea!

The kiddos sat at their own table... and they were so good! My theory: The bigger siblings kept each other entertained, while the little brothers were happy to be left alone, for once! Photographic evidence:

(If you go, I highly recommend the maple walnut milkshake.)

Strawberry picking at Thies Farm

If it's May, it must be time... to go back to the farm!

And boy, we've been back. We've been eating strawberries until they come out our ears. The first day I went, people were waiting by their cars for the tractor to come back out of the field with more berries. So many people, they put up a limit of four pints per person.

The next day, it was "pick your own" time. Berries for $1.50 a pound, which is about half-price from those picked by the farm workers. We filled two whole flats for just over $10!


Yes, we are still eating them. Want some? With fat-free ice cream and cake? Come on over!

"Don't take my picture!"

It looks like he's laughing... Or maybe pretending to be a pirate... but he's actually just figured out I was taking his picture. And he's freaking out about it. I never did get a good one... But the light was so perfect, and the two of them so handsome... Nuts.

Latest Grampy moment

In yet another discussion about putting away those diapers and wearing real big-boy underpants... Allen says: "But I just like to look at underwear."

Our 12th anniversary

Fresh squeezed OJ, champagne, fruit, sushi, shrimp and crab legs on ice, carved ham and beef, petit fours, omelet station, waffle station, eggs benedict, sausage and bacon, biscuits and gravy, O'Brien potatoes, bloody marys, garden and caesar salads, cheeses and crackers, full dessert bar, pasta tutto mare (with scallops as big as your fist), sirloin with mushrooms and onions, pork tenderloin with mustard sauce, chicken with salsa, salmon with pineapple...

Hmmm. I know I'm forgetting something. But there were over 100 items available at the Top of the Riverfront for our anniversary brunch!

And, of course the scenery was spectacular. And so was the company!


Emilyn had a little trouble with the rotating resatuarant at first... But we turned her around to face forward, and then she was OK.


We felt so full and sleepy when we were done... We had completed about a full turn by the time we were ready to go. So we had seen all the scenery. Mommy was so tired... I took a nap on the lawn in the sun when we got home!

A great anniversary, and thanks to everyone for all the good wishes. For more pictures, click here.

A breezy and warm Field Day

Go White team! Emilyn's field day was yesterday. She competed in the three-legged race, the shoe kick and the tug-of-war. Here, she and Hayley work together to round the marker and head for home:

Allen and I saw all the events; Daddy showed up a little later and missed the three-legged race. The Blue team took the top prize, with their points augmented by cans of food they donated for the needy. Emilyn's White team came in second. Red rounded out the pack, but they definitely take the prize for loudest cheerleaders. Yikes. I had no idea kids could scream for that long without taking a break.

For more from Field Day, click here.

Children of the 21st century

Allen just brought his rocking chair in, took a card from a card game, ran it between the slats of the chair and said, "Are you ready for me to swipe my card?"

Ice cream party, surprise shower

Busy morning! We had to go to the store before school to get Miss Amy and Miss Janet their thank-you presents. Allen picked out begonia plants. Pink for Miss Janet and orange for Miss Amy. And, of course, we had to get gummy bears, because that's what Allen picked for an ice cream topping. So I dropped him and the flowers and the bears off at 9, ran home to charge the camera, and was back by 10:30 for the ice cream party!

Allen had gummy bears, marshmallows and strawberry syrup. Hmmmm. If you click on the picture, you'll read what I did to that poor ice cream after he picked and scraped all the stuff off. You could tell these kids don't normally eat like this... Everyone went hog wild with toppings and goop, and they kept shoveling it in with a glazed look in their eyes. Ecstasy for 3-year-olds!

Busy afternoon! We had to run out, buy a basket for Miss Veile's shower gift, head home, get Daddy, grab lunch and be at Emilyn's school in time for Miss Veile's surprise bridal shower. We bought her a recipe box, silicone oven mitt and measuring spoons.

I think she really was surprised. She and the kids were off watching the 5th grade's assembly, while Mac's mom and Hannah's mom set the whole thing up in the classroom. They came back pretty late, but Miss Veile still had time to open all her presents.


Then I walked home, with cookie cake for Daddy, grabbed Emilyn off the bus and headed out to give blood. Phew. Giving blood was the first time I'd sat still all day!

To see more pictures from our busy day, click here.

Tiger and Sauce (aka Flicky)

Well, we've welcomed two new members to the family... Emilyn's adopted crawfish, Tiger and Sauce, also known as Flicky. Mmmmm. Tiger Sauce. But Daddy has promised not to eat the little guys. Yet.

Flicky is so named because of his penchant for flicking his tail. Probably to make up for his sad lack of claws.

Tiger is feistier and has pinched AND bitten Emilyn. Swamp kids. They're tough to love.


And here's their home, complete with a log to hide under and elodea, the green plants they need.


Emilyn says: "I just wanted a pet that I could hold. And that does more than just swim." Well, here you go, kiddo. Let's wish Tiger and Flicky a long and happy life here at The Crabbe Trap. If we can just keep Daddy's mind off po'boys...

Allen's caterpillar friend

With spring in high gear, Allen's learning a lot about creatures in the yard... And learning how to be nice to them. He found this Eastern tent caterpillar walking across the street today, and he was very kind to it.

When it was time to let the little guy go, Allen said: "Bye, little caterpillar. Go back to your grass home."

Mother's Day at Laumeier Art Fair

Strawberry picking, my first choice, was out. It's been far too wet, and the farms say it'll be a couple weeks before the berry fields are ready. So, backup plan: Laumeier Sculpture Park, and their annual art fair. Laumeier is kind of like Storm King Art Center, for you New Yorkers out there. In fact, I think Laumeier was based on the Storm King model. My friends, Amy and Brian, got engaged there. Great place!

Anyway, we haven't been there in ages, and the art fair is a great excuse. So many beautiful things we can't afford!

I took some great pictures of my little works of art... For more, click here.

My Mother's Day Eve Eve miracle

Very stormy this morning, but then we settled in to a nice, gentle rain. Perfect for playing outside!

One of us, though, is a little brother, so he has to wear his big sister's hand-me-down rain gear. He doesn't mind! He likes the ladybug coat, purple boots and rainbow umbrella!

And, miracle of miracles, he let me take this picture of us! And, it came out good! I never take a good self-portrait!

For more photos of Allen in his rain gear, actually smiling, click here.

Grampy would be proud

I got to teach my beautiful tots about graduated fuels... And we made an excellent first fire of the season.

For more photos and videos (including Steve and his chainsaw), click here.

Why school is cool, more evidence

When Allen got to school (second to last school day of the year), there was goop! With bugs in it! And potato mashers!

When I went to pick him up, I heard, sadly, that he'd had two major meltdowns... One at cleanup time and one on the playground. Sigh. I think he's realizing that a.) There are kids and rules there and b.) Kids and rules are really annoying. Oh, well. Maybe this will give him a jump on reality when it's time for real preschool in August!

So, the 14th is his last day, and families are invited for an ice cream party. I'm supposed to bring a topping. Allen wants to bring his teachers a flower. Let's hope it's a happy day!

Why did the geese cross the road?

To get to the other side, of course! But it must have been something great, because Manchester Road is no dirt country track. At least, not in this century. I saw two goose families cross. At the intersection, at least, though not necessarily with the light! ;)

In this photo, you can see the second goose family, upper right, waiting patiently to cross! The first gaggle had three babies; the second had five. If you click the picture, it'll take you to DropShots, where you can see more pictures that I snapped while we all waited through a green light and a half to see the parade.

Planting pretty flowers

Allen and Daddy bought some Gerber daisies today.

My boy keeps asking me if my back feels better.

Allen, from the back seat: "Do you feel a little bit better?"
"A little bit, buddy," I reply.
Allen, softly, kinda offhand: "Well, we got some pretty flowers. Sometimes flowers do the trick."

Awwwww!

So, he and Daddy got to work planting five pretty colors of daisies. For more photos from today, click here.

Avis' movie trivia extravaganza

My friend and mentor, Avis Meyer, just finished up a protracted legal battle with my alma mater, Saint Louis University. You may remember this post I wrote about Avis and the case.

Anyway, it's all over now, but Avis and his wife have been left with some pretty hefty legal bills... and all of his friends wanted to do something to help him raise some cash to offset them. Since Avis is the world's most serious movie buff, a trivia contest was a natural.

And wicked-hard it was! The moderator, Joe Holleman, used to be my paper's movie critic, and he'd qualify as the second-most-serious movie buff I know. He got the 100 questions ahead of time and chided Avis because they were too difficult! (One of the rejected questions: "In 'Chinatown,' Popeye Doyle loses a shoe in the gutter. What kind of shoe was it?" If you're dying to know, I've got the answer.)

So, even the dumbed-down version was wicked-hard. My table mates and I correctly answered 79 questions of 100, with 10 points earned in bonus rounds. So we won, with a C-plus! (That's actually typical of Avis' tests in college. Many of his students called him B-vis.)

I had the best minds at my table... Collectively, we were a force. Myself, I would have foundered. Badly!

Anyway, here are 10 of the 100 questions. Some were ones we got wrong, some we got right. (In each of the 10 rounds of 10, we got an average of 8 right. We never got more than 9, and in one category we mustered only a 5.) How will you do?

1. What was the name of the whale that swallowed Pinocchio?


2. In "The Great Escape," the prisoners were digging three tunnels. Name the tunnels.


3. In "The Godfather," what was the name of the race horse that met an untimely end as a head in a bed?


4. In "The Graduate," what kind of car does Dustin Hoffman's character drive?


5. In "LA Confidential," what's the name of Danny DeVito's gossip rag?


6. In "Bridge on the River Kwai," what's the name of the song they whistle?


7. Natalie Wood didn't sing Maria's part in "West Side Story." Who did?


8. Who was the only member of "The Dirty Dozen" to survive the movie?


9. In "African Queen," what are the first names of Bogart and Hepburn's characters?


10. From "Dr. Strangelove," complete the quote: "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. ---- ---- ---- ---- ----. " (5 words)

Welcome, Sarah Dennise Garbo!

This beautiful little girl was born at 9:51 a.m. on April 30 in Pennsylvania, and is the daughter of my friends Stacy and Terry. You may remember Stacy as the Uber-mom who made her boy Trevor a Thomas cake for his 2nd birthday. Well, now she's an Uber-mom times two! For Terry, this is daughter No. 3. Busy dad!!



Sarah weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces, and was 18 inches long. She missed sharing a birthday with Betty Lou Critchlow by one day, but that's OK! She'll still be a great Taurus, I'm sure.

Welcome to the world, little Sarah Dennise! Can't wait to meet you!