Save Benjis named in 100 best iPhone apps

Feel the love! Cortis's Save Benjis iPhone app was just recognized by iLounge's ...

• 100 Best iPhone and iPod touch Apps and Games: With more than 5,500 applications currently available on the App Store, it’s hard to know which apps are right for you. We’ve done the leg work for you in our dedicated roundup of the 100 Best Apps and Games, which highlights the best apps we’ve seen for Apple’s new mobile platform, from racing games and RSS readers to puzzlers and photography apps. A listing of Ten App Developers to watch is inside, as well.

iLounge was the company that awarded Save Benjis their "Quest for the Best iPhone Application" award this summer.

Save Benjis

Halloween!

Hurray for Halloween! Every year our cul-de-sac has a Halloween Party. We eat the traditional White Elm Cove Black Beans and Rice (mmm, black beans and rice), burgers, chips and whatever else anyone happens to bring. We invite our friends and sit out in one of the driveways while the kids run in circles around the cul-de-sac for hours. Is there any better way to have a party? No one has to clean their house, before or after, and it doesn't really matter how many people show up.
I went as a soccer mom (not pictured, it was great I had the whole outfit on already), Cortis as a "Space Nomad" (as described by my Simplicity Pattern), Heidi was Tinkerbell, Phoenix was Boba Fett, and Adam was "Star Wars Guy."
Are you a Jedi, Adam? "No, Star Wars Guy!" Well, we indoctrinate them young. May the Force be with you!
Phoenix as Boba Fett. For the last 2 weeks, Phoenix has made almost everyone guess this relatively obscure Star Wars character he was planning on dressing as. About half the time, people were like "Who?"
Heidi's new favorite everything, Tinkerbell! I made the costume (we borrowed the wings). It was cute, when she is dressed up she runs everywhere (apparently running is more like flying than walking).
Here are the awesome pumpkins I carved. Yes, me! We bought one of those carving book kits and did it all one night. Pretty spooky!

Transportation Parade

The kids school has a great event every year called the transportations parade. The first year I thought it was a parent test. Are you a good enough parent to make your kindergartener a vehicle for the transportation parade? The kindergarteners parade in homemade vehicles. First grade parents have it a bit easier, they just have to dress their child as a community helper (basically, dress like someone's job. No superheroes please!). All the other grades just get to watch the parade.

Phoenix this year, as a first grader, went as a pilot. He has a bomber jacket for his winter coat so it was a piece of cake to dress him as a pilot.









Last year, I built an airplane for Phoenix. I'd been thinking of how to make it all year long. Phoenix loves planes more than anything so he needed a plane for the parade. He is wearing his Grandpa's Air Force hat.







Last year, when Heidi was in first grade. She went as a community helper; a cook!








When Heidi was in Kindergarten, her vehicle was a bus. Her favorite color is blue. So it was a blue school bus.







After the parade, the kids get to look at all sorts of transportation vehicles that people bring: Fire trucks, amulances, boats, race cars, classic cars, motorcycles, shipping trucks and anything else someone can bring.

This is a photo of Phoenix's first grade class.

Maker Faire

It was a busy day for us last weekend. We had a baseball game in the morning, the school's fall fest in the afternoon and then we just had to go see the Maker Faire. It was so cool. All these different people making stuff and showing it at the fair.

There was a lifesize Mousetrap Game (which was awesome to see in action but the "show" they put on beforehand was just painful to watch). Here is Adam climbing around the Mousetrap Fence. My camera's batteries were running out while we were there so I don't have very many pictures.

We all loved Robowars! All those robots trying to destroy each other. Awesome! Adam hated it. He covered his eyes and his ears and pretty much cried the whole time.

I was able to giant hula hoop pretty well.

Even Phoenix could giant hula hoop too.

There was a guy who had made a replica R2D2. It was so cool. He had it on a remote control and it would drive around and make R2D2 noises. What's not to love?

Fall Fest at School

The kids school has a great Fall Festival every year. With purchase of a wrist band they get to jump on all the bounce houses (4 or 5), have cotton candy, popcorn, snow cones, and play a bunch of other activities.
Heidi on the Equalizer.

Face Painting: It's a dog. Adam held still for it. Of course, it was rubbed off his face within an hour.
What do you think? Gumby with an electric guitar? You'd be wrong. Apparently, it was supposed to be an army guy with a gun. Phoenix's response, "He's not supposed to be green."
Heidi came home from the Fall Fest with a party for our family. She won a cake at the Cake Walk (she has been trying to win for 3 years, but it is surprisingly difficult).
She won a Sprite at the ring toss. Here she is ready to throw.
Of course, who had to carry all this stuff around for the rest of the festival. Not the kids!
Check out Phoenix on the rock wall.

Phoenix was slightly less successful at the ring toss, but really, do we need that much soda?

Chef Phoenix and his Legos

Here is actual proof that Phoenix has been doing the cooking around the house also.  Here is Phoenix with his magnificent dish of Hot Dog Pizzas with Minute Pickles.  The pickles were way too spicy (thanks to Rachel Ray's recipe) but everyone loved the Hot Dog Pizzas.  Great job Phoenix! 

In other Phoenix news, he has really gotten into Legos this year.  At Christmas, he got a couple Lego kits (age appropriate) that he really enjoyed building, but one of us had to sit with him while he built it.  We explained how to sort all the Legos (either by color or by type), pick out the pieces the instructions ask for, follow the instructions, and to go from one page to the next (and not skip to the end).  What do you know, it worked!  He built this age 8-12 Lego set entirely on his own.  He sorted the Legos, followed every instruction, and the only time he needed help was when he had trouble finding a specific piece.  Awesome!

Of note also is that this was his Hooked on Phonics award for finishing his Hooked On Phonics Kindergarten set.  He sure worked hard and deserved this great present.  

Cooking, Computers and Ice Cream!!

I've been teaching Heidi and Phoenix to cook.  All part of my grand plan to get out of cooking dinner alltogether.  I found a "Rachel Ray 30 minute meals for kids cookbook" and we've been experimenting with some new dishes.  It's really  been fun.  The kids pick different recipes than I would normally chose and so our dinners have been fun and just different.  Here is Heidi with her dish of Worms and Eyeballs (an asian flavored spagetti and meatballs) and candy sushi (on the plate she is holding).  

Phoenix has been cooking too.  There is a section for kids 4-6 years old with a grown-up helper (that's me!).  Last week, he made Crunchy Baked Chicken Toes that were great!  Sadly, I didn't think of taking a picture.  Oh well, there's always next time.  I believe he picked some kind of bagel pizza with "minute pickles".

Adam is getting better from his pneumonia.  He still has a terrible sounding cough but his breathing is much better. 

I took this picture of him on the computer because I just find it amazing.  He can navigate on pbskids.org all by himself!  What will computers be like for a boy that has been playing on them since 2 years old.  I can't imagine.  

The kids had a school holiday today so Cortis took a day off (!!?!!) and we drove out to Brenham, Texas to see the BlueBell Ice Cream Factory and eat some Blue Bell Ice Cream.  Here in Texas, Blue Bell is THE ice cream that everyone raves about (although I personally prefer HEB's awesome store brand).   It was a fun family trip but it is way too far away.  It took about 2 hours to drive there.  Brenhan, Texas really is in the middle of nowhere.  We all had a good time and the ice cream is very good.

Adam's Pneumonia

Adam got pneumonia again this week.  It is his fourth time this year!  I noticed it on Monday and took him to see the doctor.  He is breathing much better now, but still has the terrible cough.  I probably should take him in again, but I'll wait until Monday and see how his cough is then. 

It's so weird that he keeps getting pneumonia.  I'd have to describe him as ridiculously healthy. The pneumonia just keeps coming back. Our doctors keep asking us; Is he in daycare? No.  Do you have pets? No.  Does he have alergies? No. Why does he keep getting it?

Still, we've been lucky.  He hasn't been hospitalized with it.  I think we catch it early.  I'll tell you, I can just look at Adam and tell by the rate of his breathing that the pneumonia is back.

Adam finally gets some wall space!

I have had an empty frame on my wall for an entire year.  There is a portrait of Heidi, one of Phoenix, even a family photo, but just the empty one for Adam.  Well, not anymore.  Friday, I took Adam for some portrait photos.  Please don't print them out as we don't own the copyright.  There will be some gifts forthcoming to various grandparents, so just be patient.

New Photos on the Family Website

I put some new photo albums on our family website (see the link on the side). I need to come up with some new solution to picture albums.  I really liked iWeb but I need a better management system for my dozens of albums.

Rats in the Attic

Well, we had our pest management company come out and check our attic.  We've been hearing noises up there for about 6 months.  The pest guy said, "Well you either have rodents or cute rodents."  The above picture is a cute rodent.  We have squirrels all over the yard.  We usually watch them jump and climb while eating breakfast.  Perhaps what we are hearing is cute squirrels dashing about our attic.  

The pest man went up and saw signs of both, rodents and cute rodents.  So here's a gross picture of what may be living up there.
A pest exclusion service came out to quote sealing up all the entry points to our roof. When we were standing in our front yard, looking at our house, we saw a RAT run out of the bushes, climb up the side of the house, and slip into our attic.  Eewwgh!  It was the first rat we have ever seen. EVER! (well, of course, I'm not talking about pets or pet stores. come on.)

But right when we are talking to the pest exclusion service.  So of course, we joked around that the exclusion guy had a really well-trained rat, that could climb into our attic on command.  Seriously, that would be a really well-trained rat.  But how would he signal the rat to return to him? You wouldn't want to lose such a good rat after all.

But I digress... So now the house is all closed up.  They put traps in the attic that haven't caught anything yet.  (Maybe the rats were all out for tea!)  We haven't heard any noises, so maybe our little rodent problem is over