Happy Epiphany from the Sparks!

Well, here we are, happily sitting pretty at Epiphany in twenty-fourteen, fondly reflecting on the myriad of things that went on in what now seems a distant twenty-thirteen. It’s hard to remember back to last winter or spring, but I’ll do my best in recollecting the year that was for the Sparks for your enjoyment and edification.

This video is a little thing we like to call "the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree". My dad did it with my brother and me back when we were about this age, and we've done it every year since. Here's this year's edition with Emmie and Nate, Jill dutifully holding the camera.


Nate turned four back in the summer, and his love of superheroes hasn't diminished in the slightest. His artistic ability has really blossomed and he spends at least a half an hour a day drawing new pictures of heroes and their various adventures. Much like his father he’s also taken a shine to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to the point where Dave taught him (and he subsequently memorized) the theme song (to the old cartoon, of course). Nate is currently loving pre-K at Jill’s pre-school and is looking forward to Kindergarten at our neighborhood elementary school next fall with his friends.

The family last Easter

Nate realizes he's holding jelly beans

The kids in the bluebonnets last spring

Emmie has developed her own strong personality. In contrast to her brother, she’s rambunctious, adventurous, and runs most everywhere she goes. She’s learned to jump on or off nearly every piece of furniture in our house, and follows her brother around everywhere. She looks up to him and mimics most of his moves, even going so far as to claim some of his old pajamas and clothes. Her curly, crazy, bouncy head of hair is always on the go, usually looking for her brother.

With the cousins in Branson!

Last summer saw the Sparks take two fantastic vacations to go visit both sides of our family. First we joined Jill’s side of the family just outside lovely Branson, MO, and enjoyed the swimming, running, and lots of eating meals together with three generations of the Ross clan. In case you’ve never been, the hills and lakes outside of Branson are just as enjoyable as the varied shows and spectacles in it.

Seriously, we had to add this picture

Nate is as big as a bear

We also traveled overseas to Greece with Dave’s parents to visit with Dave’s side of the family, spending a little over a week outside the small village of Leptokaria in the foothills of Mt. Olympus. Emmie met her namesake, Dave’s grandmother Emilia, and the kids had a blast playing with their cousins (once removed, that is) Yiorgos and Nikos on the shores of the Aegean Sea.

Walking through Mt. Olympus

Just playing on an old Venetian cannon. Y'know, standard kid stuff.

Theo Kleanthis picks mulberries for Yiorgos and Nikos

At the beach

Sandcastles with Grandpa

Nate, Dave, Yiayia Emilia, Emmie, and Yiayia

Dave is still happily working away in the Survivability department at Bell Helicopter, keeping the choppers up when the bad guys want them to come down. He’s been working a bit on the new V-280 Valor (which you can watch cheesy videos of on Youtube), and is looking forward to first flight sometime in 2017. Also, he’s now an Inventor, proud holder of U.S. Patent #8,590,827, which he’ll be happy to explain to you some other time.

Over the summer Jill switched jobs at the Pre-school, moving from the infant room to being the Curriculum Coordinator. Her new role has her helping make life easier for the teachers by collecting and sharing age-appropriate curriculum for the kids.

Penultimately, she’s helped with a new online weekly letter from each class to let parents know what their kids have been up to each week. She’s currently in the midst of a massive pre-school book re-organization which will allow the teachers to quickly find books related to the topics they’re teaching that week.

Additionally, Jill has been keeping busy growing a new little bundle of joy in her womb, set to arrive in mid-March. Nate and Emmie can’t wait to meet their new baby brother, and Dave is excited not only for the baby, but that Jill’s nesting phase is hopefully over for a bit.

At the Texas State Fair

Happy Epiphany from the Sparks!

Shave and a haircut...

Below is not quite Nate's first shave ever, as he's been shaving with me in the evenings on several occasions now. Here it is for you to enjoy in all its foggy splendor. Thanks to Jill for manning the camera and de-fogging the lens. Please note that Nate's razor still has the cover on, and that Jill does not, nor has she ever, shaved her arms. Also, be aware that you're about to see a hairy man's hairy chest and back. View at your own peril. Lastly, be aware that the whole "shave and a haircut" bit is one of my proudest accomplishments as a father.

For me and my gal

For those of you not aware that the full moons have names associated with them (who knew?!), this Saturday the 29th, in two days, is that old favorite, the Harvest Moon. It’s the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox, which is apparently also time for the harvest to come in. Please note that whoever named it thusly did not live in Texas – today our high will be somewhere in the low nineties. But the nicest thing about the Harvest Moon is an old tune written back in the early 1900’s that, for one reason or another, has hung around for a very long time. I fear that, like so many other songs, it will be forgotten by the march of time; consider this my part in its preservation.

I probably first heard the tune on some garage-sale purchased VHS my folks bought for me back in my childhood days. While I initially attributed it to a Disney Donald Duck video (which included “The Spirit of ‘43”, a propaganda piece about paying your taxes), it seems that after a bit of research that it was a segment in a longer set called “Farm Foolery”. And lo and behold, it’s on Youtube. The song (along with a bouncing ball!) comes in at about the 4:30 mark. Make sure to watch through to the end for some actual animation.



With that lodged firmly in my adolescent brain, it was no wonder that many, many years later I would become quite endeared to Leon Redbone’s tin pan alley show. Part of it is in joy that someone else is trying to preserve all these old tunes, but mostly it’s a joy to realize that others actually like these old songs as well. Redbone is a delight at keeping this stuff alive. If you ever have a chance, see him live. He is even more of a delight in person than on the records. His fumbling, shuffling, mirthful voice comes through delightfully. Also, if you go to a show you are very likely to hear him whistle. And happily, he almost always plays a little “Harvest Moon” at each show.


It’s not that hard a tune to learn, and the chords are easily floating around on the internet. Some range is required to sing it, but not much. This Saturday try crooning it your gal, and enjoying the look on her face when she wonders why you’re singing a 100+ year old song to her. Plus, when was the last time you got to sing about spooning?

Emmie turns one!

Alright, so last Saturday was Emmie's first birthday party, which, for you studious observers, was two days late. Not too much exciting on her birthday (except for Nate getting more and more excited over the upcoming party) except of course for a delightful excursion to Braum's. We initially tried to feed her a tiny scoop of ice cream with a spoon, but she proved pretty interested in Nate's cone (orange sherbet). At the point of the video I had traded my butter pecan for Nate's orange, and then let Emmie go to town on the cone. Cue the video:

This looks a lot like when Nate had his first cone, except that Nate, being a little older, managed to snap off the bottom tip first thing. Emmie had a bit more trouble, seeing as her teeth aren't quite in yet, particularly on the top.

Emmie's party on Saturday was partly courtesy of Fisher-Price. I'll leave Jill to explain it for those more interested, but basically there's a way to sign up wherein you get to host a party and Fisher-Price provides the toys. Then you get to keep the toys. Win-win-win. We'll be posting photos and video of the party later, but as always, the fun part is when Emmie eats.

Not shown on the video, but Emmie took care of the cupcake in about two minutes. Just wolfed it down. Also, Nate has some lungs on him to put out the candle at that distance. I've got a feeling he'll be a trumpet player one of these days.

Post-script:
For those of you paying attention, while we both now have iPhones (4, no S), I still prefer using the FlipHD for video. The iPhone is too awkward to hold for horizontal video, and vertical video only works when you're watching it on an iPhone. Flip's quality is still a bit better.

Nate at the park

Just your average day at the park with Nate. One thing of note is how much fun Nate had on a playground nominally designed for 5-12 year olds. Yes, some of the ladders were too much for him, but some weren't. He got down all the slides on his own, and even managed to pysch himself up for the more difficult tasks:

And yes, there are squirrels at the park too. Nate was confused as to why the squirrels were playing on the playgrounds, and whether or not they would go down the slides. Also, according to Nate, squirrels eat leaves, but only at night. Fun times.

Some notes for lawyers from a juror

Ok, so last December I had the joyous opportunity to be selected for jury duty. It was a civil case, so we the jurors never had to worry about putting anyone away, but over the course of the trial we did realize that we could be doling out some hefty damages. While I could get into the details of the case, suffice to say that it was a two week long slog through the intricacies of commercial window installation, and why it's really, really hard to renovate old semi-dilapidated buildings. However, a few notes fow lawyers on some annoying things we as jurors mentioned while deliberating:

1. We can tell when you are acting. Perry Mason was a fun show, and it might have given you the desire to go into law in the first place. However, you are not an actor - you are a lawyer. All the fake indignation, all the fake surprises, all the raised tones of voice had the overall effect of making us take you less seriously.
2. Do not coach your witnesses. We had a good laugh in the jury room when we all recalled how the lead lawyer for the plaintiff, on multiple occasions, picked his head up, scowled, and vigorously shook his head "no" to his lead witness who was being cross-examined by the defense. Lawyers, you're less than thirty feet from us. Do you really think you're that sly that we won't notice? Even if the other side doesn't object, you make yourself look really, really bad.
3. Do not hang your case on a logical absurdity. To sum up a mildly complicated case, the plaintiff claimed that the contract was not complete because of some defects. Now, the extent and number of defects was contested, but the plaintiff's logic was that any defect at any point in time in the future was a sign of improper installation, and hence the contract had not been completed. At some point a warranty has to go into effect. The plaintiff in this case wanted us to believe that the work had to last effectively for eternity for the contract to be fulfilled. Needless to say, we eventually decided (after being initially split) for the defense.

All in all it was a good introduction to the civil court system. However, I have to question the wisdom of plaintiff and defense when hiring lawyers who make the above mistakes. For $200 an hour you should expect more than this.

Our curly haired kid

It's been awhile, so enjoy some cute video of Emmie playing around in the tub. Of particular note is her hair - curly and getting curlier every day. Jill absolutely loves it. The drawing in the tub is courtesy of Nate. It's just tub crayons, so nobody go worrying that he's marked it all up or anything.

Wiggle Rag

You know how sometimes you think you've had a brilliant revelation, say for an invention of some sort, only to realize it's already been done before? Or maybe a particular turn of phrase that you think you made up but has been around since the dawn of the internet? Some things just sit in the back of your mind and ruminate there, and then pop back up without any link to where you first heard it.

I bring this up because I really like the Wiggles as a children's musical group. Their TV show and eductational style probably isn't the best (nothing wrong with it, but there are better shows out there for that) but their music is some of the best I've heard for kids. It probably helps that they were a real band before they went to kid's music. But the other day I heard their dentist song and realized "yeah, they just stole the chorus from Tiger Rag". Now, Tiger Rag hasn't been popular for a long time, but hey, it's catchy. You can hear it especially in this version with words here (this version is pretty much the chorus repeated; the original has much more distinct sections).

And yeah, I think this happens a lot in general in music. The Wiggles do it again with their "Fly through the sky", whose verses follow pretty directly with The Beatles' "You've got to hide your love away" verses. Randy Newman just sped up the very old "Rocking Chair" for the theme from Monster's Inc. Something fun to listen for.

Tomorrow, I will have a cell phone

Or possibly Monday. But the fact of the matter is that for several months now (maybe since January or February) I haven't had a functioning cell phone. For me, it hasn't been that big a deal.

It all started back when the family was fighting off a stomach bug, and Nate threw up on my pants. After cleaning Nate up I threw my pants in the wash, found myself a new pair, and kept on trying to keep everyone hydrated and comforatble. Turns out my phone was in my pants. Even after a night in some rice, the thing just wouldn't turn on.

Now, most people would just bite the bullet and get a new phone. But I'm not allowed to have one at work (for various reasons), and since we've got Emmie still real young (nine months this past week!) we're not out all that much. And so, I opted for no phone until we got a new plan, which was supposed to happen in May. And all in all it hasn't been that much of a hassle. Instead of Jill and I each having a cell phone, her phone has turned into the family cell phone. Whoever's out gets it, in order to call back to our landline (which is really VOIP in actuality). There have been maybe a dozen times in the past few months where it woud've been nice for us both to have one, and only a handful of times where it was frustratingly needed.

Which kinda makes you realize the difference between something that's necessary and something that's desired. I remember back in college when one of my friends got the first cell phone in our group. He kept it in a drawer with the battery removed. A cell phone is not much good if nobody is dying to get in touch with you. And happily (or sadly, if you read it this way), I went months without checking the messages on my dead phone, with no adverse results. It's less isolation than simplicity.

But anyways, Jill and I will both be getting new phones either tomorrow or on Monday. We are finally getting smartphones. I understand that this may make us hip and with it. Oh well.

Birthday at the pool

So for all you astute observers of the Sparks family, last weekend was Nate's third birthday. The celebration was at Arlington's Howard Moore Pool, and was combined with the Choi family to celebrate Allison's fifth birthday. If you ever need a place for you and ninety-nine of your favorite small-children toting family and friends to hang out, this is a pretty great idea. Some video of cupcake and fruit munching below.



Emmie is getting pretty good with her fine motor skills.

Hey all you video fans, here's one from our backyard a coupla weeks ago.



I'm pretty sure that awhile back I mentioned that having a garden was pretty much like any hobby that's out there nowadays. You can probably get something close to what your're creating and at a significantly cheaper price and much faster than the time it takes to do it yourself, but overall it's still a joy to do it yourself.

Since then I've actually had some success with the garden, besides just ghe aforementioned cucumber. Just last night we picked three ripe (if cracked) tomatoes, and we've already had quite a few peppers and cucumbers as well. We've pulled several onions (that had flowered, so they were small) that were unexpected but still apprpreciated. Overall, it's been a lot of fun. Funny how much better everything grows when you're not experiencing a massive drought.

Alright everyone, here's another video of our little girl for your viewing delight.


While in general she is a much, much easier sleeper than Nate, we originally thought she was in general a more laid-back kid too. Turns out, that's not necessarily the case. She can still get upset when someone's not playing with her, as Nate was prone to. But now that Nate's around she's got someone who is continuously happy to entertain her, and if not that someone she can watch as he bounces around the living room.

Anyways, this is her in her bed, laughing her head off. She always gets silly around bedtime.

For real! A new post!

Apologies to all for never really updating. Things are going well here at the Sparks household, with Emmie and Nate both getting big. Spring is generally a good time here in Texas, and shortly I should have some videos up of the green green backyard. For now, here's a pretty crazy update on Emmie, who is now much bigger and splashing a whole lot. Enjoy.

Baby videos!

So, first off, apologies for the massive space between posts. To recap, Nate is now two, Texas is experiencing a massive drought and heat wave, and now we have a little girl. Enough with the typing, bring on the videos!

And one more!



Since the typing just usually means the posts don't go up, I'm stopping now and posting. Enjoy.

Fun at the Museum, almost 2 year old style

While we were in DC over Memorial Day weekend, Nate and I visited the Natural History Museum. The video posted below needs a little explanation. You see, we were in the main hall, looking at all the dinosaur skeletons, and Nate saw everyone taking pictures of the bones. Naturally, he thought our video camera was a regular camera, and insisted on taking some pictures. When it goes super-blurry, that's Nate holding the camera up to his face, as if he were looking through a viewfinder.




Also, afterward we ate a sandwich on the Mall. I don't know why I like this video so much, but I do.

Garden Update

So as the heat really ratchets up here in Texas, I thought I'd give another update on our garden. But first, some thoughts on the overall experience.
Going into it, I sorta envisioned something fairly nostalgic. Probably along the lines of "victory gardens" and all that. I'm now understanding that, like most hobbies, the wonders of modern industry can do a far, far better job than I could. Not only can I get good quality produce from a grocery store, but it comes in far cheaper than the effort I've put in so far. Now, a lot of that was initial cost, and next year (yes, there will be a next year) probably won't be nearly as expensive. Since I've started viewing it as sort of an experiment and with less of an end state in mind it's been much more rewarding. And who knows? Maybe it's just the ridiculous Texas heat that's keeping things down. For those of you that don't know what Texas is like, the past week highs have been in the high 90's, and soon we'll consistently be hitting 100. It will stay this way, with little to no rain, until September.
But with that, onto the photos. We've got one monster cucumber that's still waiting to turn green, and another smaller fully ripe one. We had more cherry tomatoes, but I'm pretty sure the birds are eating them. We're getting a few sweet and hot peppers too, and a few onions as well. The fennel is coming in nicely.
Also, our pigeons are back. Can you find her? Note, she's not the one eating our produce. If we didn't have pigeons nesting, I'd get one of those owl statues to protect the garden.

Again, growing up

Some of you may have seen the photos on Jill's facebook page, but Nate's got himself a new bed. While the position of it in the video below is no longer accurate, it's fun to see Nate jumping around in it.



He's generally sleeping just as well in the bed as in his crib, with the added benefit that our backs no longer have to haul him out of his crib. And while we put some pillows down on the floor next to his bed, he's already woken up once when he fell out of bed. I guess the rails weren't quite big enough. Stay tuned for more updates, to include our resident pigeon and a garden update.

Cooking with Nate and Dad

Following a strong family tradition, Nate helped me cook and we made a mighty pasta sauce together. As growing proof that he's getting older, here's a nice video of him chopping up some mushrooms with a dinner knife. Note that the knife isn't sharp in any way, nor is he even holding it right. But the concentration is fantastic. We'd previously gone over the ingredients we were going to use, but man, he was just focused on those mushrooms. More proof that he's growing up soon.

Some news, and a video for one

Thought I'd go ahead and catch everyone up on the latest here at the Sparks household. The biggest news, at least in my mind, is that recently Nate has increased his credentials as a Texan. That's right friends, he has been bit* (or stung to be more precise) by fire ants.

Oh fire ants!

You may have seen the video online where they form a little raft out of themselves on the surface of a tank of water to keep from drowning. You may have cheered for the fire ants as they huddled together, saving themselves from the briny depths. You may have marveled at their ingenuity and teamwork. You are wrong to have had these emotions, specifically because you have never been bit by a fire ant. If so, you would have cursed the experimenter in the video for not killing them all outright. Fire ants are invasive, hardy, and tiny. Their bites hurt and burn and itch like crazy. There is an old hymn that goes "All things bright and beautiful / All creatures great and small / All things wise and wonderful / The Lord God made them all." This is not true. Fire ants are not from God - they are from the devil himself.

Incidentally, except for the initial bite, they haven't been giving Nate too much trouble. It must be all the jalapenos he eats.

Switching gears entirely, here's a video Nate made for his yiayia on her birthday. Enjoy!




*I know bitten is the proper usage, but for some reason the Texan in me wants to use bit. In this context it seems right.

Fun in the garden, again

Here's another video of Nate roaming our garden and backyard. Usually he goes to town on the herbs, but it seems that the throat gunk that was plaguing him curbed his appetite. Enjoy the embed.