Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Am I a Muppet of a Man

In days long gone, (in a galaxy far far away),... I remember a time when the muppets ruled the world.  Well at least they ruled the living room every time the show was on the air.  The Muppet show...never did I think that they would seep in to the lives of my kids.  I thought their days may be slipping past...  Even my most favorite of muppets:  Beaker....

Beaker and Profesor HoneyDew

So when the latest Muppet movie came out... I did have some doubts if it would live up to the tradition of the original show.  My son actually wanted to go see it so we made a night of it.  And low and behold, there was a little sitting area where Matthew would rest just in time to capture this picture for posterity.

Matthew and Muppets

And the legend lives on.  Matthew loved it ... and wants the movie when it comes out.  cool

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The Boys

What is in a name... or a last name.  There aren't too many Fachisthers left in this world but in this photo we capture a few. 

The Fachisthers Boys

This next generation I am sure will surprise us...  You can just see it in the smiles.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Reading in a bowl

I have never figured out why they call it a bowl...  Super bowl...  Science bowl... Reading bowl.  But what I do know is that it takes a lot of hard work on everyone's part to make it a success.  And in today's world, the definition of 'success' can be very different from person to person.  What do I call a 'success'?  Well it really is not about winning the competition.... or having the highest score for me.  To me, I try to step back and see the 'success' as the hard work and effort that is put in.  I tend to see it as the team working and practicing together.  You can see some of it in the reactions, when the team wins, ... and when they lose.

Reading Bowl 2012

Matthew was part of the reading bowl this year.  And the whole team did great.  They put in a lot of practice as a team every single week.  And Matthew also did a lot of hard work (reading and studying) on his own as well.  Of course Paola also helped out a lot with the practice questions and reviews.

Matthew Reading Bowl 2012

This year, they won first place in the the competition at RCA for the county which means they went on to the next regional level.  There the team won second place and also went to the next level of competition.  At that regional level they came in fourth place and did not move to the next level.  Matthew was a bit hard on him self and was not happy with the results.  All that hard work and effort that he and the whole team had put in.  We had to chat...  and remind him that team did amazingly!!  They hit a new level for the school that had not been reached before.  Even if the team had never passed the first competition, the 'success' was in the team work and in the experience.  And that follows you through the rest of your life long after the trophy is gone.

Saturday, March 03, 2012

When the grass was green.

The other day we were in the front... throwing and attempting to catch the old Spiderman Nerf football.  Matthew was trying to teach me the proper technique to no avail.  When I noticed the grass... it really was not-green.   It was dry and stiff.  Running around barefoot was not as nice at it used to be.

Spiderman Nerf Ball

I know that it is supposed to be something like winter... although this year it really has been a lot not-winter-like.  But I saw this picture from last year.  It was a warmer time.  The kids were a little younger and they had some friends over.  But the grass... man it was greener.  No chemicals or service or anything.. It was by no means a great lawn.  But it was soft to the feet... and it made the memories sweet.

Kids and Friends [2011]