Fall photos from the world's largest leaf pile

Thanks to Vikki, our neighbor, for taking the pictures and letting us bathe in her leaf pile. And good vibes going out to her husband, Barry, who is competing next week in the Ironman Triathlon Qualifer in Florida. Go Barry!!!

Ahhh, ain't they so cute.....

The Warty Hog....poor guy can't help it if he has warts.

"Kendall, I am pretty sure we are the cutest chicks in this joint."

Here is Mason enjoying the Flamingos, just like Damma.

Who says Monkeys and Lions can't be friends?

Who says the Grizzly Bear can't celebrate Halloween? Taken today at the Minnesota Zoo where we were celebrating Hallzooween. The Grizzly exhibit is fairly new and the Grizzly's were very happy to get some pumpkins today.

Stinky Poos......

Do you think stickers on the tummy= lifetime of tattooing?

"Look here Mom, there is one pumpkin and there are two of us kids....what's the deal??"

"Yuummmm, this box elder bug is delicious. There is a hint of woodsy, nuttiness with a smidgen of pesticide that just tastes delicious...."

"Mom, this leaf matches my jacket......and is as big as my head. Now get to work cleaning up this yard."

Dear Friends and Family.....

As the holiday season approaches, the following question has been raised "What are you doing for the holidays?" Well, the deal is, if we win Powerball we will be taking all of you to some desert oasis where we can drink Cranberry Margaritas and eat turkey enchiladas.

But being as the chances of winning Powerball are not in our favor, we will have to likely take up some other plans. With the economy the way it is and the cost of plane tickets, we will likely stay here in Minnezona (as Kendall calls it).

HOWEVER, I would like to extend a generous hand out to all of you and say, that we would LOVE LOVE LOVE if you wanted to come visit us. We will cook you good meals, you can sleep on our hideaway bed, we will show you the city and more. If you want to go to Cabela's we will take you there....if you want to go to the Mall of Ameria....we are all over that, or if you want to just relax and watch Netflix.....we are down with it. Please just know that we would love to have you.

PS: No subliminal messages/pictures were used in this letter as a way to make you want to come visit us ;)

Awards Update

I can't help you...I have never heard of the Peace Prize winner or the French writer that won. Sorry.

Random Thoughts for a Sunday Night

1)High School Reunions....I think that they should have 4 years of grades all together for a reunion. And if you grew up in a small town, like I did, you have all the high schools from those grades, convene together. This whole Facebook phenomena has reminded how many great people were in different grades and went to different schools then I did. I am not saying that old Flag High Class of 93, wasn't the best damn class EVER....I just think it would be fun to see some old friends. 2)There Will Be Blood---anyone seen it? I swear there is a lot of symbolism rolling around in that movie....Oil Tycoons getting too much power, the problems greed can cause, Southern Conservatives being very powerful, the environmental devestation........Maybe I am reading too much into it. Oh, and I am only an hour into the movie.

I am glowing.......

We should have known, GFP wins the Prize. The stuff is like water, it is everywhere, it is hip and cool and a pretty color and it will help save lies. All the cool science geeks use GFP. AND it glows under UV. In my opinion anything that glows is pretty much a shoe in for a Nobel. Oh yeah, if you didn't hear, GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein)---which was originally obtained from a Jellyfish, was the big winner of the prize....well actually the scientists that discovered it got the prize. It would be hard for a Jelly Fish to spend 1.4 mill. You can insert GFP in a gene and when it turns on, it glows. This allows you to look at genes that would be potentially life threatening. You can look at neurons, cells, and entire organisms (puppies, rabbits, little babies (j/k) in GFP: (From yahoo: Shimomura, 80, now works at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., and the Boston University Medical School. Chalfie, 61, is a professor at Columbia University in New York, while Tsien, 56, is a professor at the University of California, San Diego, and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The trio will split the $1.4 million award.) (in fact today, I even wrote to you in GFP......)

Physics is the least cool Nobel, in my opinion

Not to mention, particle Physics isn't exactly the easiest field of research to understand. Those guys are like super uber geniuses. Quoting Yahoo News : Two Japanese scientists and an American won the 2008 Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for theoretical advances that help explain the behavior of the smallest particles of matter. (Inserted Opinion: Like Duh?) The American, Yoichiro Nambu, 87, of the University of Chicago, won half the $1.4 million prize for mathematical work he did nearly a half-century ago. "I had almost given up" on getting the Nobel, Nambu said. Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa of Japan shared the other half for a 1972 theory that forecast the later discovery of a new family of subatomic particles. So parental units and friends that are of a slightly older age group---there is hope for you. You still have a very REAL chance to win a Nobel. And if I were you, winning it might be a good idea, being as your (and mine) 401K, pension, Roths, IRAs, savings, etc....are all being snorted up the nose of some CEO sitting on the beach in St. Lucia. Sorry, my message was meant to be hopeful and awe inspiring. Let's just hope the dudes that win the Economics prize can help us all out.

It's that time a year again.....

You were thinking Elections...but you would be wrong. It is that time of year when they award the Nobel Prizes. Seriously folks, this is good stuff.....did I not say just a few months back, how important viruses are? (Thanks Dr. Martinez Hewlett for my awesome virology class at U of A.) Today, the awards for medicine and physiology were handed out to the geniuses that discovered HIV (French researchers Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier) and Cervical Cancer (HPV-Human Papillomavirus)(awarded to Germany's Harald zur Hausen ).....However, I bet for years to come there will be a controversy over the HIV award. If I can recall, the US group (Gallo) was working neck and neck against the French group....and although the French were the first to identify the virus (as ruled by the courts)--they waited a long time to use the HIV test to test their blood supply. As a result, many more people in their country got HIV from their lack of using the test. Anyways, many thanks to these brilliant minds. Awards to come: Physics tomorrow Chemistry Wednesday Literature Thursday Peace Friday Economics Monday I know you can barely wait....but I will keep you posted. You can depend on me for your Nobel news...... Here are what the guys in Vegas are saying: Rumors are that Bono is up for the Peace prize again. Others are saying that the committee may give it some Chinese or Russian groups to sort of "spit" on them for their horrible human rights policies.....

Little boys in overalls

A long time friend of my Mom's (Janet Clark) give me these overalls when Mason was born. They were too big at the time, but now they fit just right. She hand sewed "Mason My Son" on the front pocket with a little sun in the middle. Little boys just look so cute in overalls...why is that? Thanks Janet for being so thoughtful.