A Strange and Amazing Unbelievable story

One of the things I love about our family is that we are extremely creative and imaginative. The boys and I (and mommy) are always creating stories and coming up with wild and crazy things. That's where the idea for Andrew and Yeti's Strange and Amazing Unbelievable Story came from.

Xavier, Gideon and I were sitting at Gondolier's one day waiting for mommy when the idea hit Xavier. Originally he wanted to tell a story about a boy travening through space looking for the end of the universe. I told him that it sounded really cool and that he should write it down. IT was then that we decided to make it a summer project. So our goal is to have it finished by the end of the summer, or Labor Day.

The story has evolved and is now completely different. About the only thing that is the same is that it still about about a boy traveling but now he is with his faithful companion, Yeti. The two of them are...

Well we're just not going to tell you about their journey, you'll just have to read it. You'll have to see if it really is a Strange and Amazing Unbelievable Story. 

Here is the first page of our book (yes only one page). Click on the image to make it larger so you can read it. I'm hoping to publish a page every other day or so.

Xavier is the creative genius of our story, I am editing and transforming his wild imagination into comprehensible English. Giddy, Xavier, and I are collaborating on art direction and image layout. Finally, I am doing stick figure art to illustrate our story because that's about all I can really do in the short amount of time I have to work on it.

Hope you enjoy reading it as much as we're enjoying creating it!

Leave comments let us know what you think.

My well rounded son...thanks to PBS???

My oldest son has much to say this morning. I listen intently and can't help but smile. He did yoga this morning with Missy Cain on PBS. They did planks and stretches and "it didn't make him tired one bit!"

Now he is enjoying Greek Yogurt and apples. I can remember my Granny sharing her apples and Fritos with me when I was a child. I smile again knowing that as I slice my apple for breakfast and both boys ask for one of their own, this could be a childhood memory that fills them with the warmth that "apple time" with my Granny fills me. So, around a full mouth of apple X tells me that he wants to raise bees. 

Raise bees!? Where did that come from? Curious George of course. Apparently he knows all about raising them and collecting the honey. If only life were as simplistic as his beautiful mind believes. "You have to buy the bees at the store mommy, because they do not just show up." Two of my co-workers are bee keepers, so I may have a chance of helping him realize this dream. 

Now, the reason all of this is interesting to me is that he has participated in, or discussed, three things that make me worry about his and his brother's futures. My oldest was a lazy baby because he was such a big baby. I worried about his health. Add to this he only ate bread and corn and potatoes (only Granny's potatoes would do) until he was almost three. I worried about all those carbs. Now he eats Greek Yogurt and fruit, seeds and nuts, kale and broccoli, tilapia and salmon! He wants to swim and be a runner and play tennis. He aspires to learn karate and play baseball next spring. Two things that caused me to worry (healthy eating and exercise) are taken care of. 

The third, bees are disappearing and I am very aware that if bees disappear, our foods are soon to follow. Without provocation from me or his father, X wants to be a bee keeper. He wants to grow his garden too! As a parent, my well rounded child offers me a sort of peace for a healthy future for him and whoever comes after him! 

Play The Game!

Last night, I found and introduced a new game to the family. It's just stupid fun that will bring our summer plenty of silliness.

Our game is called "The Game" and was taken from the awesome book UNBORED: The EssentialField Guide to Serious Fun by Joshua Glenn & Elizabeth Foy Larsen.

I've heard that The Game was invented by members of a science fiction club at Cambridge University in 1977. This may or may not be true. What's an incontrovertible fact is that The Game is a diabolically clever (and annoying) past time.

 There are three rules:

1. You're always playing The Game. So is everyone else in the world, even if they don't realize it yet.

2. If you think about The Game, you lose The Game.

3. Whenever you lost The Game, you must say the following phrase aloud, to whoever happens to be nearby: "I lost The Game." Doing so, of course, causes everybody to hears you to lose The Game. They groan and throw things at you.

How do you win The Game?

   You can't! The best you can hope for is to avoid losing - for a few days, weeks, months. Someone or something will eventually make you lose.

   Most players suggest that after you lose The Game, you can't lose it again for a certain period of time - perhaps an hour. This makes sense, because otherwise once one person in a room loses The Game and says so, everyone else in the room will lose The Game an say so, which will cause everyone in the room to say so, which will cause everyone else in the room to lose The Game and say so...on and on without end. Some schools have banned The Game precisely because it can sometimes cause an ongoing disruption - particularly when a student loses The Game during a test, and says so.

How do you make others lose The Game?

   You can make others lose The Game via text or email, or by passing a note - or by wearing a T-shirt that says, "You Just Lost The Game." The only problem is that whenever you make someone lost The Game in this fashion, they'll say "I lost The Game." and then you'll lose, too.

   An even sneakier strategy is making other players lose The Game, while you are not around. Write the phrase "The Game" on a piece of paper and sneak it into a friend's schoolbook, or their desk, for example. Some players write "the Game" or "You just lost The Game." on dollar bills, on stickers, on web pages, and other places people might stumble upon. You might get into trouble for some of these strategies - so avoid vandalism and graffiti.

And there it is... big stupid silly fun! Don't be surprised if, at random times throughout the summer, you lose The Game by reading this blog.

It starts!

Welcome to my blog. This is where I (we) want to share our summer adventures. While the official start date of summer is still a few weeks away, we feel that Summer actually begins on Memorial Day. Or sooner if school lets out before then.

Typically, at some point during the summer we go on some trip somewhere. Past trips have included Niagra Falls, Boston, Myrtle Beach, Grand Canyon, Colorado, or Yellowstone National Park. This year it's going to be a bit different.

Our "yearly" trip is taking place in November and we are going to Disney World for a week. So we are not going on one big adventure in the summer but instead be going on many mini-adventures.

Some of the things we are planning this summer are hiking, camping, white water rafting, spelunking, birthday parties, Cub Scout events, tubing, and who knows what else! So, let the adventures begin!