tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-113740052024-03-07T20:57:27.866+11:00Life + Times of Fenton et al.All the Gruesome Details of the Life and Times of Fenton, Gaynor-Marie, Joshua, Elijah, Mara, Ariana, Bryna and now Micah.Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.comBlogger175125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-85461662675429502592023-12-25T13:13:00.001+11:002024-01-01T13:33:06.689+11:00Christmas 2023<div style="padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/53418355267" title="Christmas 2023"><img alt="Christmas 2023" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53418355267_f2d10b1a5d_c.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 640px;"/></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: smaller;">Like great art, we hope you're aging well.</span></center></div><ul style="text-align: left;">
Clockwise from top left
<ul>
<li><i><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Art/comments/g1psax/the_making_of_the_perfect_martini_guy_buffet/">The Making of the Perfect Martinelli's</i> by Guy Buffet</a></li>
<li><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Sunday_Afternoon_on_the_Island_of_La_Grande_Jatte">A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Coronado</i> by Georges Seurat</a></li>
<li><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isadora_Duncan">Brynadora Duncan</i> by Paul Swan</a></li>
<li><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_Crossing_the_Alps">Arthur Crossing the Alps</i> by Jacques-Louis David</a></li>
<li><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Gothic">Wollongong Gothic</i> by Grant Wood</a></li>
<li><i><a href="https://imgur.com/a/VlwHwXU">The Yuletide Gathering</i> by lsabella Farnese</a></li></ul>Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-24459819001071216582022-12-24T12:08:00.001+11:002023-03-20T11:37:26.923+11:00Christmas 2022<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/52583704235" title="Christmas 2022"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52583704235_83707c4dca_z.jpg" style="display:block; width: 640px; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="Christmas 2021"/></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">Sometimes we'd all like a little less tension in our lives ...</span></center></div>Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-4237941849023554462021-12-25T12:23:00.001+11:002021-12-29T12:24:24.090+11:00Christmas 2021<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/51774030868" title="Christmas 2021"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51774030868_cdac874ec6_h.jpg" style="display:block; width: 640px; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="Christmas 2021"/></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">While not approved by nutritionists anywhere, we think our guide is at least realistic.</span></center></div>Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-57018499307558121432020-12-25T12:20:00.001+11:002021-12-29T12:21:35.879+11:00Christmas 2020<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/50753558418" title="Christmas 2020"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50753558418_adaeffe136_h.jpg" style="display:block; width: 640px; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="Christmas 2020"/></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">Possibly you didn't think you'd make it this far this year ... well, we're glad you did.</span></center></div>Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-83086675020084750542019-12-25T12:05:00.001+11:002021-12-29T12:08:50.637+11:00Christmas 2019<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/49272452316" title="Christmas 2019"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49272452316_ff672469f4_h.jpg" style="display:block; width: 640px; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="Christmas 2019"/></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">Hey, look at that bunch of mugs. No, it's just the Glasses.</span></center></div>Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-50153288906620579902018-12-29T11:53:00.003+11:002021-12-29T12:05:05.961+11:00Christmas 2018, Part II<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/32865494508" title="Christmas 2018, Part II"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/4910/32865494508_27edc0c97b_h.jpg" style="display:block; width:640px; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="Christmas 2018 & Happy New Year 2019 Puzzle, Part II"/></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">For those playing along at home, here is the completed puzzle. Remember "3+ years" on a puzzle doesn't refer to how long it will take.</span></center></div>Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-13305594709481809232018-12-25T15:40:00.005+11:002021-12-29T12:03:38.554+11:00Christmas 2018, Part I<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/45541255625" title="Christmas 2018"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7900/45541255625_2854e42b61_z.jpg" style="display:block; width: 640px; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="Christmas 2018 & Happy New Year 2019 Puzzle, Part I"/></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">Life can be a bit chaotic so we hope you take some time to find a little peace this Christmas.</span></center></div>
Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-20052937970463019732018-06-23T05:01:00.003+10:002018-06-23T05:01:22.258+10:00Democracy Gets What It Deserves; Or, How Five Minutes with the Average Voter ...<blockquote>Suppose two politicians are running for president, and one goes through the farm section and is asked, "What are you going to do about the farm question?" And he knows right away - bang, bang, bang. Now he goes to the next campaigner who comes through. "What are you going to do on the farm problem?" "Well, I don't know. I used to be a general, and I don't know anything about farming. But it seems to me it must be a very difficult problem, because for twelve, fifteen, twenty years people have been struggling with it, and people say that they know how to solve the farm problem. And it must be a hard problem. So the way I intend to solve the farm problem is to gather around me a lot of people who know something about it, to look at all the experience that we have had with this problem before, to take a certain amount of time at it, and then to come to some conclusion in a reasonable way about it. Now, I can't tell you ahead of time what solution, but I can give you some of the principles I'll try to use - not to make things difficult for individual farmers, if there are any special problems we will have to have some way to take care of them," etc., etc., etc.
<p>Now such a man would never get anywhere in this country, I think. It's never been tried, anyway. This is in the attitude of mind of the populace, that they have to have an answer and that a man who gives an answer is better than a man who gives no answer, when the real fact of the matter is, in most cases, it is the other way around. And the result of this of course is that the politician must give an answer. And the result of this is that political promises can never be kept. It is a mechanical fact; it is impossible. The result of that is that nobody believes campaign promises. And the result of that is a general disparaging of politics, a general lack of respect for the people who are trying to solve problems, and so forth. It's all generated from the very beginning (maybe - this is a simple analysis). It's all generated, maybe, by the fact that the attitude of the populace is to try to find the answer instead of trying to find a man who has a way of getting at the answer.
<p> - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman">Richard Feynman</a>, Lecture III: "This Unscientific Age"</blockquote>
Here we see that democracy can be self-defeating in solving its constituent's problems if/when the populace tends to pre-select simple non-solutions to complex problems. Or as post-elected Donald J. Trump once said, <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/trump-nobody-knew-that-health-care-could-be-so-complicated-235436">“nobody knew that health care could be so complicated”.</a>Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-19518416219840406122017-12-25T12:10:00.001+11:002021-12-29T12:01:50.366+11:00Christmas 2017<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/25405459088" title="Christmas 2017"><img src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4591/25405459088_0d727b5429_z.jpg" style="display:block; width: 640px; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">Who doesn't love a good protest?</span></center></div>
Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-4658709380979663462016-12-25T16:07:00.000+11:002017-09-26T16:12:07.025+10:00Christmas 2016<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/31015928224" title="Christmas 2016"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/711/31015928224_6975ec61b3_z_d.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">Christmas is all about family ... and running through them to score a well-worked rugby try.</span></center></div>
<p>
<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/31726444812" title="White Christmas 2016"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/405/31726444812_c50ee0a362.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">White Christmas. Though I've never dreamed of it, Utah does a pretty decent job of making sure it happens.</span></center></div>
<p>
plus a <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/albums/72157683548526685">couple more photos</a> taken this festive season.Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-48040269721969664912016-07-31T10:56:00.000+10:002017-11-15T02:30:34.974+11:00Micah's EighthWe were fortunate to be able to have a number of members of extended family and friends join us for Micah's eighth birthday. Traditionally, in our faith, eight is the age at which children are baptised -- formally joining the faith -- and thus, a significant event for them and family. Though we had moved further away from some family (but closer to others), with enough planning family -- including Rochelle and her family, my parents, Martin and his family, as well as Elijah -- were all able to converge for a few days to help celebrate both events.
<p>
We held a loosely-based-on-Star-Wars brunch party for Micah's birthday on the day itself, settling into a favourite spot in Balboa Park. The party itself was a more traditional Australian fare, with homemade food and games that Gaynor and I had enjoyed as children and that we had done at many of the other children's earlier parties. Gaynor baked up cinnamon rolls (a-la Princess Leia's iconic New Hope hair), fruit platter, lolly lightsabers on the cupcakes, and Jabba the Hutt meringues. Ariana and Bryna were great at taking the lead in running the games, including egg and spoons races, pass-the-parcel, lightsaber battles (half pool noodles were a great hit, literally), a water bomb fight, and a homemade <a href="http://www.starwars.com/databank/training-remote">Jedi training remote</a> piñata.
<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/21qMG7h" title="Pass the Australian Parcel"><img src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4555/38349203412_8a19fdf085.jpg" style="display:block; width: 500px; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">Bryna & Micah teach the American children at Micah's 8th birthday party a traditional British/Australia children's game of Pass the Parcel (parcel itself is mid-child, upper left).</span></center></div>
<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/21tvKmr" title="Jedi Remote Piñata"><img src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4532/38380042021_28cbdc8131.jpg" style="display:block; width: 500px; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">The children's homemade lightsabers (blue-painted broom handles with a grip-wrapped & decorated end) were put to good use, beating the snot (or at least candy) out of a homemade Jedi training remote.</span></center></div>
<p>
The baptism itself was a week later with some local-ish and not-so-usually-local friends (Oliver and Vanessa!) joining us for the service. We try to have this as a seperate event from the birthday as it's significant in it's own right but also so that the out and out fun of a birthday bash doesn't become convoluted with the more solemn but joyful time of the baptism.
<p>
It's always good spending time just hanging out, chatting with family, generally catching up, and being in each other's lives again in a more immediate way but attending the LDS temple together draws out another important, spiritual aspect of our relationships. Having the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_California_Temple">San Diego Temple</a> only twenty minutes drive (plus traffic!) from our home is a marked benefit to living here. Occasions such as these remind me how grateful I am for family and friends and all that they bring to my life!
<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/ZonGLd" title="Family at the Temple, July 2016"><img src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4519/37665533164_5cb2f486ce.jpg" style="display:block; width: 500px; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">Some family members who made the trek for Micah's baptism (& 8th birthday celebration) gather outside the LDS San Diego Temple.</span></center></div>Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-34699073627995398182016-01-24T11:46:00.000+11:002017-01-02T14:41:16.456+11:00Travels and Farewells with the ChildrenPart of the deal of moving back to the US was that Gaynor -- who I had to do a lot of negotiating with -- would get to see her children at least once a year. For those that we brought with us, that was never going to be a problem. For those that had their own lives already running in Australia, it would be more of a challenge. Josh & Mara flew over to spend some time with us from Thanksgiving through to Gaynor's birthday in mid-January. It coincided with end-of-academic year and summer holidays for them, so it worked out well. Apart from the usual sparkling banter, we enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with some family on the same continent ...
<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/C2xstW" title="Thanksgiving Day Dinner 2015"><img src="https://c5.staticflickr.com/1/704/23646297700_d61a253824.jpg" style="display:block; width: 500px; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">The also now traditional Thanksgiving Day Dinner. Glad to be had with family!</span></center></div>
<p> ... played some cricket ...
<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/DmkVtk" title="Traditional Christmas Day Cricket"><img src="https://c6.staticflickr.com/2/1662/24515417341_080383e73d_c.jpg" style="display:block; width: 500px; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">We couldn't find a nearby cricket field and so a little used baseball diamond with 'natural' wickets was the order of the day.</span></center></div>
<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/Dj3hnJ" title="Traditional Christmas Day Cricket"><img src="https://c5.staticflickr.com/2/1584/24489342652_d4053436bf_c.jpg" style="display:block; width: 500px; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">Micah has a go while Ari is prepared in case he really connects with it. Josh tidies up behind the stumps.</span></center></div>
<p> ... enjoyed a tour of the Anza-Borrego Desert with friends ...
<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/Cw75u5" title="Couldn't Stand the View"><img src="https://c5.staticflickr.com/2/1580/23969524284_1ddf5ea670_c.jpg" style="display:block; width: 500px; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">We tried to stand there and enjoy the grandeur of nature but just couldn't stomach it for very long. We are shallow people.</span></center></div>
<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/D2uMGJ" title="Getting Out of the Box"><img src="https://c7.staticflickr.com/2/1588/24302133790_708847f54d_c.jpg" style="display:block; width: 500px; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">Just like the Mormon Battalion may have tried, everyone has a go at getting out of the box canyon vertically.</span></center></div>
<p> ... and spent time together at the beach.
<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/QwKhZB" title="Sun Sets on Josh & Mara's Visit"><img src="https://c6.staticflickr.com/1/760/31853066725_d6d768f5f8_c.jpg" style="display:block; width: 500px; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, even daylight. Gaynor's birthday wish was a bit of time together watching the sun set at the beach.
</span></center></div>
Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-46177679239220882612015-12-27T14:13:00.000+11:002016-10-03T12:03:20.879+11:002015 in Review / 2016 Ahead<p>
<b>Gaynor</b> has been through a bigger year this year than many in recent memory. Apart from the turmoil at the beginning of the year with a husband looking for work and the uncertainty that meant of where she may end up living, Gaynor carried on with quite a few hours of part-time work at the local schools. Then I left for the US and she took on the tasks of organising to ship our goods, selling, throwing or giving away what we weren't taking with us. On top of that, cleaning and final preparations for renting the house kept the stress levels at DefCon 4 until leaving for the US in mid-July. She seemed fairly happy to have me around again and so I took that as a good sign.
The rest of the year was re-acclimating to southern California for everything that was the same as last time and acclimating to the new things about San Diego. Drivers licences, getting the children into school and dealing with that bureaucracy, setting up more of the house, unpacking our goods when they arrived, ... you get the idea.
This year promises to be not much less eventful than recent ones. Though she'll still have all the children on the forefront of her mind with only three needing immediate, at-hand help she has a little more time available. She expects to fill that, initially, with volunteer work and -- probably around late August, after the children return for the new school year -- will be looking for paid employment. Exactly what is yet to be determined but she's not a great fan of typical US employment practices.
<p>
<b>Joshua</b> After a tough last half of 2014, Josh continued working on his comedy, developing and performing various shows at a number of locations around Canberra and Melbourne. He resumed his university studies in the second half of this year, moving in with a couple of friends after we fled the country. I think 2016 will be more of the same with shows at the Canberra Comedy Festival and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival already on his radar, as well as running a room in Canberra that regularly hosts comedy acts. University may also get a look in as well, if nothing else, 'to keep Mum & Dad happy'.
<p>
<b>Elijah</b> continued his volunteer <a href="https://www.lds.org/callings/missionary?lang=eng&_r=1">missionary work</a> in New Zealand and is set to complete that late June/early July. He has been enjoying his time there and sends almost weekly updates about his activities. We look forward to spending more time with him again when he returns. Unfortunately, my work visa conditions means that he won't be able to stay with us longer than three months unless he decides he wants to stay on his own terms, say as a student. I don't think anything is set in stone at this point, so we'll see how it turns out as the year progresses.
<p>
<b>Mara</b> successfully completed her first year of university studies where she is undertaking a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance. She has really enjoyed the learning, the fresh challenges, and the performances. I don't think she has enjoyed the regular early mornings so much, taking strongly after her father in that regard. Her and Josh were both able to join us in the US for Thanksgiving and Christmas and it was just lovely to have them around, enjoying regular interactions again. There's been plenty of laughing to be had. :) Mara is looking at another year of the same -- more challenges, more learning -- as she develops her talents. Contrary to her opinion, I don't think she needs to develop her chocolate eating skill set much further.
<p>
<b>Ariana</b> closed out 2015 having starting Year 11 twice, once in Canberra and again in San Diego. As always, she's been taking her studies very seriously -- the common thread between both high schools was the International Baccalaureate program she enrolled in -- and continuing to try her hand at all and sundry extra-curricular activities. In Canberra, outside of her school's purview, she played cricket during the summer, representing the ACT in regional competitions as well as playing in a local boys team. In school in San Diego she's become involved with the academic league (glorified trivia) and improv groups, and helping in the library. Outside of school she's followed in <a href="http://fentonetal.blogspot.com/2009/05/rugby-2009.html">her older brothers' footsteps</a> and has taken up rugby. They have a seven-a-side season first with a few high schools combining to field a team, followed by a full 15-a-side round of games. The latter most depends on how many girls they can recruit to join up. Having watched a lot of rugby over time as well as plenty of backyard mucking about with her siblings, she has a good sense of the game and how it's played. Now she just needs to further develop the skills to go with that. With this year having two weeks away from home at Girl's camp and FSY.
<p>
<b>Bryna</b> enjoyed her last semester at her school in Canberra, participating in many sports as well as bringing home a decent report card. Ballet is still her main activity besides schooling and she's keen to take that as far as she can. We loved her <a href="http://www.classicalballetcentre.com.au/">dance school in Canberra</a> and part of the challenge of a transition to a new area is re-finding institutions of this nature that will be up to the standard -- not to mention sporting the right kind of culture -- that will enable reaching one's potential. She's been attending two different schools, with a class each, and it looks like one is more our style of place so she'll continue there, picking up more classes.
<p>
<b>Micah</b> didn't find the first school we enrolled him in particularly satisfying. Lunch and recess breaks that were too short left him not enough time to make friends. Since Micah is a very sociable, this is, in our opinion, much more of an indictment on the system and format they had at the school. We managed to wrangle him into another nearby charter school that follows principles and guides much more inline with our preferences. They even offer German as the second language, which works well around our house. :)
<p>
<b>Fenton</b> mostly feels like he's been doing whatever has been needed to provide for the family. He finds it easier to think of this in the third person. :) I think the new job should work out well on a long term basis -- as long as they don't fire me for incompetence -- with plenty of opportunities in a thriving research environment. So, you know, should be good that way.Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-73851933287367958482015-12-24T21:27:00.000+11:002015-12-24T21:36:39.213+11:00Christmas 2015<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/23833787632" title="Christmas 2015"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/614/23833787632_fc0781dc2b.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">Wishing all an enjoyable Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Also, this is how we regularly prepare dinner.</span></center></div>
Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-18763024225924722992015-05-03T05:56:00.000+10:002015-12-24T21:27:36.123+11:00Odd Three MonthsI've been Stateside for a few weeks now and I'm looking down the barrel of another couple of months before Gaynor and the younger three join me. Due to a variety of circumstances -- children's schooling, house readiness, and a need for income among them -- we are doing this move differently. I'm going ahead to start work, find a place to live, schools, vehicles, and buy half a household and Gaynor is staying with the children to sort, sell, throw, and ship our goods and to finish getting the house ready to rent. We've decided to not sell it. So much work has gone into it that, in short, I'm not ready to part with it yet. It will also be nice to have a sizeable asset we can return to at some point.
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Both Gaynor and I have our work cut out for us. I know Gaynor will get a lot of help from our fabulous friends nearby but I think it will still be very stressful for her. On the other side, I have a lot of research to do and big decisions to make and the don't always lend themselves to an afternoon of cool, calm collectedness.
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I've also realised that the oddest thing about these three months is that it will be the longest I have ever lived by myself. Growing up with parents, grandparents, and six siblings in the same house you get used to always having someone (usually many someones) around or, on those precious few occasions when you are by yourself, someone about to be around. Given that our children showed up early in our marriage, that feeling never really went away. Though I do not doubt my self-sufficiency skills to survive in an apartment by myself, it will be strange walking into a room you have previously tidied and find it in the same state.Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-87437855374251857562015-02-18T17:17:00.003+11:002015-12-24T19:54:58.048+11:00Into the West (by Heading East)<div>One of the downsides of physics research can be the unpredictable nature of the funding. While there are plenty of instances where physics research can almost immediately be made into a commercial product (thus justifying its value in the minds of some, I'm sure), there are many others where the research is 'pure' or with such a long term before its intended payoff that really the only moneyed interest is a government.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><a href="http://fentonetal.blogspot.com/2011/01/go-further-west.html">Our return to Australia</a> was on the basis of a fixed contract, as part of a defined project. And while it has been extended on a couple of occasions, the short of it is, there isn't sufficient on-going funding. This isn't news to me -- nor should it be to anyone in Australia with an inkling of the system here -- but we had initially hoped that it would parlay into something more permanent. After all, you never quite know how things will pan out or where you'll end up!</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>During the past year, I've come to the understanding, with my position and skill set, that it would either be not physics or not Australia. Since we had bought a house and were generally living a good life, I spent considerable time pondering 'not physics'. Teaching secondary school, a role in IT, patent attorney, physics outreach, and technology transfer were some of the opportunities I considered and pursued. And while I have no problem with working your way up from the bottom the couple I thought I would quite enjoy doing meant extra schooling and a significant cut in initial pay. So, though money has never been a main motivator for me, I did still have children to support and they don't get any cheaper as they get older.</div>
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<div>As per my usual technique when I'm looking for employment, I told anyone and everyone. I've found offers often seem to come in the most serendipitous way when you are really chasing them down and this time was no exception. A 10 minute conversation with a collaborator of a colleague, who used my office during a short-term stay, meant he passed my resumé and relevant publications onto his colleagues in a different area of where he worked. They had a job advertised that had slipped through my searches. A call in January asked me if I was interested in pursuing a position with them. At this time, through other channels and means, I already had two other offers and so, eventually, it came down to three places that wanted to employ me for the skills I already had. To be sure, a nice position to be in, though not one of them was in reasonable commuting distance of our house.</div>
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<div>The decision to move back to the US -- and San Diego is not a bad place to end up -- was the most difficult one of all our moves. There was a lot of discussion, negotiation, and a few conditions put in place. And even though I believe it was the best long term choice <i>and</i> we've done it three times before, it won't make the move really any easier. I do think, however, that it will likely be our last for some time.</div>Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-47102331924228427502014-12-29T11:10:00.000+11:002015-06-22T15:08:53.919+10:002014 In Review / 2015 AheadIt's been a long and productive year by most counts, excepting the impartial measurement of time. It's sometimes instructive to look at <a href="http://fentonetal.blogspot.com/2014/01/2013-in-review.html">the past year in preview</a> and see what was then the future and how much of it came to pass. Though the future is notoriously difficult to predict, that should stop one from engaging in wild speculation from time to time.
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<b>Gaynor</b> continued with being on casual call for work at local schools, everything from helping with disabled children to watching children over lunchtime at the kindergarten to manning the front office. In addition to this, they asked her to take on the grunt work of a study into reading and comprehension effectiveness with a group of children. She really enjoyed it and made it her personal mission to make sure each child improved in some way, with some of the children quite resistant to her pedagogical charms. Nevertheless, she persisted and I would get the run down at the end of each day with small victories or setbacks. Gaynor also taught early morning seminary almost every school day of the year. Class was 6:40 - 7:30am with a sizeable amount of preparation needed for each lesson. Finally, Gaynor was also quite involved in the <a href="http://fentonetal.blogspot.com/2014/06/extending-ourselves.html">house extension</a>, overseeing colours, some design, and lending a physical hand when seminary and work left her able to do so. For 2015, Gaynor still plans to be on call for casual work and depending on what that amounts too will give her time for other pursuits, such as enjoying and finishing her new extension.
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<b>Joshua</b> has been working on and improving his comedy career over the past while, including <a href="http://www.trybooking.com/Booking/BookingEventSummary.aspx?eid=70810">writing and producing a show</a> with his partner in crime, Riley at the Canberra Comedy Festival as well as performing at the Melbourne Comedy Festival soon after. He also had his first headline gig at the Polit Bar as well as clocking over the big 21. 2015 likely promises the two festival shows as well as semi-regular gigs around Canberra.
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<b>Elijah</b> helped work on the house extension until he <a href="https://plus.google.com/116780535140803014932/posts/cWqSwBaRwXz">left for his missionary work</a> in Hamilton, New Zealand in early July for two years. He was a great help -- you'll see him show up in quite a few house building pictures -- but being in New Zealand is the right thing for him to be doing at this time. We'll certainly miss him while he's away.
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<b>Mara</b> turned down an offer of a place to study dance at the Victorian College of Art this year to work part-time and continue her dance studies with her current school with the aim of re-auditioning for the two programs she strongly prefers to participate in. VCA doesn't offer enough ballet for Mara's preference and both the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) courses are highly regarded. QUT is particularly appealing due to its association with Queensland Ballet and that both sets of grandparents are nearby. If all goes to schedule, she'll be at one of them, commencing next year, for the three years of the Bachelors degree.
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<b>Ariana</b> has completed a fine year at high school, earning a number of awards for her studies. She's a dedicated student as well as being involved in a number of extra curricular activities such as Tournament of the Minds, band, and debating. 2015 will see her commence Years 11 and 12 through the college system of the ACT. I'm encouraging her to undertake the <a href="http://www.ibo.org/en/programmes/diploma-programme/">International Baccalaureate Diploma</a> so that it might be more easily transferrable if we end up moving again. More on that soon. She also continued on with her cricket and teaching herself the trumpet.
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<b>Bryna</b> also enjoyed her schooling very much during 2014, including being a part of the school leadership team. She takes part in pretty much every sport going. She won her cross country race, played touch footy and cricket for the school, and also enjoyed learning the fife, playing in a multi-school concert event. Next year she'll move on to the flute and I don't see her sporting endeavours diminishing any time soon.
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<b>Micah</b> has been going on in leaps and bounds with his reading and schooling in general. He's learnt to share a room with Ariana alone after being in the large room with Elijah and Bryna as well. After Elijah's departure and the completion of a new master bedroom, the trickle down effect meant there were only two left! Ari does a good job of helping him to learn the discipline of putting things away :) He's a sweet boy, always ready with a smile and a hug.
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<b>Fenton</b> had a couple of things on the go during this past year. Commencing and (pretty much) finishing the house extension was a sizeable one, as was being called as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_(Latter_Day_Saints)">Bishop</a> of our local congregation at church in April. With the addition of mostly holding down a full-time job -- with much thanks to his understanding and flexible colleagues and supervisors -- it made for perhaps the busiest year of my life[1]. Of course, I couldn't have made any of it work without so much help from all and sundry, including[2], but not limited to, Geoff and Margaret, José, Mischa, and Steve among many.
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[1] Previous title holder was mid 1995 - mid 1996, which I won't bore you with details about now.<br>
[2] excluding immediate family, most of whom have been previously mentioned.Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-57077603170217841742014-12-21T10:04:00.000+11:002015-06-01T04:52:17.626+10:00Christmas 2014<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/15463319234" title="Christmas 2014"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8659/15463319234_eda800c0de.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">Wishing you a lovely Christmas and New Year. Bonus points for knowing which book belongs to whom.</span></center></div>
Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-6851041161051370692014-09-22T09:12:00.001+10:002014-09-22T09:12:25.520+10:00Getting There<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/15100345827/" title="Getting There"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3895/15100345827_5b3c2b0555.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">After a few months of a very intensive work schedule, these are the last remaining tasks. Scraping together the time to get them done is the challenge now.</span></center></div>Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-92221911281773906652014-06-17T00:12:00.000+10:002014-06-17T00:12:28.587+10:00Extending OurselvesIn <a href="http://fentonetal.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/so-we-bought-house.html">past posts</a>, I've <a href="http://fentonetal.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/2013-ahead.html">alluded</a> to <a href="http://fentonetal.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/2013-in-review.html">the planned extension</a> to our home and now that we are getting down to the business end of the deal, I thought I'd better share a post showing what we have planned before everything comes unstuck. :) Even though it has been/will be quite busy around here for the past/next while, hopefully I'll be able to post a few progress shots. The lack of posts in the recent past are mostly due to work on the extension and my new responsibility in our local church congregation as its <a href="http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/bishop">bishop</a>.
<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/14249531998" title="Original State"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3849/14249531998_4e33fdef00.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;"><b>Original State</b> A few extra trees which were present when we purchased aren't shown. After all, I didn't want to get obsessive did I?</span></center></div>
<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/14413017846" title="After Demolition"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5570/14413017846_ecb6ee8a68.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;"><b>After Demolition</b> The parts that will be removed or altered.</span></center></div>
<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/14435016044" title="Planned Status"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3922/14435016044_ca1fa86505.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;"><b>Planned Status</b> The final product.</span></center></div>
<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/14249527100" title="Planned Status, Internal Reveal"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3868/14249527100_a2dcd9207e.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;"><b>Planned Status, Internal Reveal</b> Inside the final product, showing the mezzanine at the front to catch all that lovely northern sun.</span></center></div>
<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/14456333023" title="Kitchen Detail"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3856/14456333023_37510eafd2.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;"><b>Kitchen Detail</b> The current kitchen and dining will be converted to the master bedroom and en suite. Floor here is polished concrete and is hydronically heated.</span></center></div>
Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-13356809962821177092014-01-26T09:05:00.000+11:002014-05-13T09:47:20.417+10:002013 In ReviewJust a quick review of what has been this past year, covering events that didn't make the blog for one reason or another. I'll post again early next year about what lays ahead. As seems to be typical for our family, we've tried to fit in the maximum amount allowable.
<p>
<b>Gaynor</b> has taken up casual, part-time work assisting at local primary (elementary/Grundschule) schools, primarily with high needs students. She's always had a strong interest in, and love of, education and she quickly develops a relationship with whoever she is working. Balancing home life and work -- which is on an as-needed, usually-called-the-day-before-or-morning-of basis -- has been helped by Joshua's flexible schedule and efforts around the house and with his younger siblings.
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In addition, she has toughed out the better part of the year without a proper oven in her kitchen. Since the kitchen was about to be ripped out soon (and still is) a new oven didn't make much sense, nor did spending money repairing the old one. Cooking hot cross Easter buns at her sister's and birthday cakes at her friend's meant she still fulfilled her minimum obligations.
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<b>Joshua</b> is working on his comedy -- (obligatory plug) upcoming show <a href="http://canberracomedyfestival.com.au/events/josh-glass-and-riley-bell-bicycle-theives/">Josh Glass and Riley Bell - Bicycle Thieves</a>, 6 March, 9:30pm at the Canberra Comedy Festival -- with a number of recent paid gigs in various locations. He has also been keeping his parents happy by squeezing in his first year of full-time study of a Bachelor of Writing. In addition, as noted above, he's been very valuable in his help around the house this past year.
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<b>Elijah</b> just completed a year-ish long contract as a public servant, specialising in office duties and over-the-phone work. Primarily, the job has allowed him to save a large chunk of money but I think it has also helped him narrow his focus on what he would like to do for a career. Highlights of the job included many a lunch hour playing a variety of inter-office sports. Nevertheless, he's grateful to the friend who helped him secure the position. He also spent some of 2013 learning more about cars and how to fix them up. Nothing like a inheriting a friend's discarded car, having it fail a vehicle road worthiness check, buying an even more discarded same-model and swapping parts until it passes said check to bring your working knowledge of cars up to speed (pun intended). This hobby was made easier by the availability of Dad's tools, knowledge, very occasional strong arm and a perfectly serviceable car he'd purchased earlier in the year.
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<b>Mara</b> had a busy year by many standards; <a href="http://fentonetal.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/mara-graduates.html">completing Year 12</a>, three ballet exams -- Advanced 1 (June), Grade 8 (August), and Advanced 2 (October), three auditions for places at university, and having a starring role in the end-of-year production of her ballet school. She played the Wicked Witch in an adaptation of <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> and, since the role came so naturally to her, had to do a bit of work with the young children who were initially scared of her. It didn't take long for them to love her though :)
<p>
<b>'Ariana</b> did absolutely nothing' was what she said when I asked what she did last year. In reality, she finished her first year of early morning seminary, Year 9 at high school, took up cricket (played in a schools tournament and committed to training with the ACT squad) and trumpet (a birthday gift, at her request) and continued with saxophone and piano. To round out her shotgun approach to activities she also tried her hand briefly at fencing and badminton (though not at the same time).
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<b>Bryna</b> enjoyed a lot of sporting adventures this year at school -- cross country, cricket as well and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-20/buroinjin-ball-reconciliation-in-sport/5106276">learning an Aboriginal game</a>, buroinjin. She also enjoyed a good year academically as well as continuing with piano and fife. She played a Flying Monkey in the end-of-year ballet school production, enjoying being on stage with her big/wicked sister.
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<b>Micah</b> finished pre-school with a lovely report that mentioned how well he got along with the other children. He is very good verbally and, together with his lovely temperament, this means he is usually a moderating influence on his peers, occasionally acting as a mediator when needed. He's also shown a keen interest in learning mathematics, reading and writing. Fortunately for him his older siblings are happy to pass on their acquired knowledge -- he's never really short of someone to play or spend time with.
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<b>Fenton</b> pretty much did the usual during the year; busy with church-related responsibilities, kept the cars and <a href="http://fentonetal.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/motorcycling-again.html">motorcycle running</a>, marked <a href="http://fentonetal.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/half-life-day.html">my half-life day</a>, and finished the house extension plans enough to receive approval from the local government to build it. Oh, also tried to fit in a full-time job in there somewhere.
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Next post ... what's coming up in 2014!Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-13745973619014525262014-01-25T15:24:00.001+11:002014-01-25T15:24:44.537+11:00I Love a Sunburnt Country<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/12128161046/" title="I Love a Sunburnt Country"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3706/12128161046_d415be5bac.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">The parched grass, the ever-green trees, the sublime colours of the sunset ... I love a sunburnt country.</span></center></div>Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-75595061639427952302013-12-24T21:51:00.001+11:002013-12-24T21:51:41.969+11:00Christmas 2013<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/11529211435/" title="Christmas 2013"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2839/11529211435_45670fe46d.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border="0";" alt="" /></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">We wish you an enjoyable Christmas and are betting on a great time next year.</span></center></div>Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-75396297194039821872013-12-19T20:33:00.001+11:002013-12-19T21:45:52.181+11:00Mara Graduates<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/11431770304/" title="Mara Graduates"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7453/11431770304_f530173226.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border=" 0";"="" alt=""></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">Number Three in as many years. Nine-school-veteran Mara and Gaynor just before her college (high school) graduation ceremony.</span></center></div>
<br>And for Mara this year, three is the number of the ballet exams, the auditions and the times she cleaned her room. A busy year indeed. Well done Miss Mara.Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11374005.post-43623054728637330132013-09-15T16:10:00.000+10:002013-09-15T16:12:19.758+10:00Heroes at FiveMicah recently celebrated his fifth birthday in fine five-year-old-boy fashion by organising a bunch of close friends to dress-up as their favourite superheroes and run around the park. A few regular heroes organised a bit of food, some semi-structured games and a good time was had by all.
<p>
<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/9535041925/" title="Heroes in the Park"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5481/9535041925_74b28b8e90.jpg" width="500" height="451" alt="Heroes in the Park"style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border=" 0";"=""></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">Super Micah and his friend Iron Man (a.k.a. Tom) roam the park looking for people to save or things to blow up (basically the same thing).</span></center></div>
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<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/9539784741/" title="Even Heroes Eat"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7338/9539784741_168356518d.jpg" width="500" height="355" alt="Even Heroes Eat" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border=" 0";"=""></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">A break in festivities to refuel. Even Captain Suprised needs something.</span></center></div>
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<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/9537843238/" title="Determined Fruit"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5456/9537843238_682902d315.jpg" width="500" height="408" alt="Determined Fruit" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border=" 0";"=""></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">With a bite like that, the fruit does its best to stay out of the way.</span></center></div>
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Later, at home with some fire to extinguish, Micah dressed as a pirate (as you do) and did the honours. So glad to have this happy boy in our lives.
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<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/9535046389/" title="Captain Hornblower?"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5526/9535046389_bea5a04e0a.jpg" width="500" height="447" alt="Captain Hornblower?" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border=" 0";"=""></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">Micah showing great form on the inhale ...</span></center></div>
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<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fentonetal/9535057255/" title="Captian Hornblower?"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5323/9535057255_639ae24269.jpg" width="500" height="459" alt="Captian Hornblower?" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border=" 0";"=""></a><center><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:smaller;">... and blows as hard as a scrunched up nose will allow. (The nose-blowing method suggested by a sibling who really shouldn't be offering that kind of advice.)</span></center></div>
Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721520117174060318noreply@blogger.com0