Pictures from Around the House

The Nutcracker

EM AND I ARE GOING TO SEE THE NUTCRACKER!!!! Not just any Nutcracker, either, but the Moscow Ballet's performance. T and the boys got it as a gift for Em and me for our birthdays.

I'll let you know how it is. I'm sure it will be FABULOUS!

Where the "HECK" is Matt?

I first saw this last Summer when Mark Goodyear posted it on his blog. Our family watched it over and over. It's an inspiring video, and looks like it was a lot of fun to make. Introducing Matt, dancing:

Baseball and Bob Costas

Baseball has been a big part of our lives since we've been back in the States: the boys are in Pony and Mustang leagues, the Tampa Bay Rays made it to the World Series with Evan Longoria on the team (My son has a ball signed by him from when he was on the Olympic team. They played in Taichung, Tim wore his big, yellow SpongeBob SquarePants shirt, and Evan Longoria stood out even then. He later was called up to the big leagues, to the Tampa Bay Rays of all teams. Our old stomping grounds! Evan, if you ever happen to read this, that signed baseball has a place of honor on my son's dresser!), and Timothy has a shot at making the high school baseball team as a freshman.

I googled baseball, and came upon Ken Burn's Baseball series. One of the key storytellers in that series was Bob Costas. Since early in our marriage, Tim and I have been fans of Bob. We used to watch his late show when we got home from working 2nd shift at General Electric. We were always amazed at his knowledge of just about everything, but especially sports. He is a walking computer, but brings a human touch to his stories while filling them with all of those stats and computations. He understands the historic value of the stories he tells, but more importantly he recognizes that players today stand on the shoulders of those who came before. As a result, he is able to produce a flow of questioning that allows players, coaches, or Presidents for that matter, show their passion for the topic discussed.

Here is Bob interviewing Hank Aaron and Willie Mays in front of an audience. It's great fun, and the personalities of these great players shine through.

Historic Day Today.

Should be interesting. Can't wait to hear the percentage of voters. I hear it may break the 71% record.