Cute Kid Pix November 2025

Photos that didn't make their own post...

Our month started with a special Mass at Saint Mary of the Mills for all the parishioners who died in the past year. One of the candles on the table was for our son who died in February. It was a beautiful service and sad for us.

Remembrance on All Souls Day

The candles

Only my youngest son went to trick or treat on Halloween. His sister helped to sort the candy. Neither of them wanted us to inspect for items that might have to be claimed by their parents rejected.

No assistance needed or welcome!

My daughter was on the tech crew for her high school's drama department and built, among other things, the radiator used for the Fall play, Out of the Frying Pan. The play is a farce about six actors who live in an apartment over a producer whom they want to meet and get employment from. It was written in the 1940s so it has a very innocent sensibility. The radiator was a plot point since the actors could look down into the producer's apartment and see what he was doing. So maybe not too innocent!

Artist and her craft

The radiator

The next weekend, our middle scholar had a friend in their school play, Heist at the Giardina Museum. We went to see that, which was not as good as the high school production. The plot is based on a true crime event but it has been turned into a mystery appropriate for middle school by the theater teacher. We didn't take pictures, alas!

The next weekend, we went to see friends in a homeschool production of The Sound of Music (Youth Edition). Some of the singers were great and the staging was fun. A lot of big numbers had the whole cast on stage, maybe twenty kids ranging from kindergarteners to high school students. The "Youth Edition" introduces Rolf as a romantic interest for the eldest daughter but then he drops out of the story at the end (i.e. no Nazi Rolf). A few other bits were shortened or consolidated from the movie version (I've never seen a stage version before now). We had an enjoyable time.

We had Thanksgiving dinner on the Eastern Shore at an airbnb. We bought a pumpkin pie/cheesecake hybrid from The Ugly Pie in the nearby town of Salisbury. 

Our dinner table

Is it a pie or a cake?

Cute Kid Pix June 2023

More pictures that did not make their own post...

On a bike ride, we stopped at an exercise area and worked out some other muscles. Some were better at the "horizontal ladder" than others...

A pro about to work

We've been working our way through all the scenarios in Memoir '44, a two-player game set during World War II. It's fun and quick but very dependent on luck, both of the dice and of card draws. The history about the battles is interesting and a nice way to sneak in some educational material.

Ready to fight

My daughter had her spring orchestra concert that was a lot of fun for the musicians and for the adults.

Ready to play

Her eight-grade promotion ceremony was also great--they scheduled it for two hours and it ended a little over an hour after the start time!

Receiving her certificate from the principal

It was a quiet month, though a lot is coming because we ended with a trip to Europe. Posts coming soon!

Book Review: A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat

A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat

This autobiographical story chronicles Dan Santat's first trip to Europe during the summer between middle school and high school. Middle school was a terrible experience for him, highlighted by having to read a poem in front of all the students and doing a less than stellar job. Kids that age think they make funny comments but really come off cruel. So Dan's self-esteem was very low going into the trip. The trip was a mixture of kids from his small town middle school and other schools across the United States.

His experience in Europe was one of discovery. As the title suggests, he tried a lot of new things, some good (like Fanta soda and kissing a girl), some not so good (like beer and stealing a bike). He met a lot of new people and learned a lot along the way. Most importantly, he learned more about himself and became comfortable with who he is. He even let Amy (the girl he kisses) watch him sketching, something he didn't even let his mom do (the book is a graphic novel).

The story is sweet and relatable. Everybody has some negative memories from school and has faced the challenge of being yourself when you don't even fully know yourself. The honest portrayal of the good and bad things he did makes him easy to like and to understand. The reader learns more about Dan and is comfortable with who he is. It's a heartwarming, well-told story.

Highly recommended--this is a great coming-of-age story, all the better because it is true.