Books!
Nicholas, Jonathan, and I all got our school books for the next semester. Scholastic books are really boring so I won’t bother taking pictures, but I will show you the younger children’s books.
I don’t know anything about these books, but they look really cool. Maybe my siblings will tell you about them in a future blog post!
Oh so many wondrous things!
January first was the little boy’s day of Christmas, so it was also a big day. They gave Dad two rotatable, clip-on lights.
Dad has been saying for a while that he needed a lights to see the sound mixer inside our custom radio speaker, but the speaker is another story.
They gave Mom new disks for her brand new sewing machine. 
These make the sewing machines perform different, special stitches and Mom really wanted them, so these were a great gift.
Next Nicholas got a pair of spurs.
You know, to wear with his cowboy boots.
I got an expansion pack for my new game!
We’ve been playing the game a lot since I got it and I really wanted this expansion, but I never thought the little boys would get it for me.
Christopher and Robert gave Jonathan a Lego set much like the one I got a few days ago, but this set has Spider-man and The Green Goblin!
Nathaniel also got Lego. His was a Galaxy Squad set.
In my opinion, Galaxy Squad is one of the coolest Lego themes in the last ten years.
Anne got a book, but not just any book, she got “Jean Craig Finds Romance.” Anne had the first two Jean Craig books and really wanted the third.
Robert also gave Christopher Galaxy Squad Lego.
Christopher gave Robert more art supplies: tracing paper, mechanical pencils, and a pack of Sharpies.
Despite the great gifts we all received the highlight of the evening was Veronica receiving her gift. 
There’s something uniquely amusing about a seven year old girl unwrapping the that box, clutching it excitedly to her bosom and shouting, “Tiny Girl!”
Apparently Veronica owned this set several years ago and named the robot Tiny Girl. The set has long since been lost to the mixed Lego and Veronica has been trying to rebuild her. I’m really glad Veronica liked her gift, but who would have guessed that this set would be named Tiny Girl.
my favorite Lego set ever!
Robin is my favorite superhero (outside of the Longbow Universe of course) and I have been wanting this set since I saw it in the Lego magazine. I was so thrilled with my gift that I built it immediately after I opened it, I didn’t even stop to take today’s picture!
As for everyone else, they got…
…all this!
From left to right, Veronica now has a Spirograph, not just any Spirograph, but a Super Spirograph. It comes with a bunch of different pieces to make different designs.
Robert has a Hobbit clock, it shows times for breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, lunch, afternoon tea, diner, and supper.
Christopher got a Metal Earth helicopter. In case you didn’t know, Metal Earth makes small models that come as flat sheets of metal with designs in them and perforations to fold them. You cut them out and then fold them into the model.
Anne got nail polish. I understand this is a good gifts for girls, but I don’t get it.
Nathaniel also got a Metal Earth kit. His was The Black Pearl, our first Metal Earth boat.
Jonathan received a pocket microscope. Now he can carry a microscope with him at all times for emergencies.
I got the Lego set (which I have talked about sufficiently).
Nicholas was given Gunslinger. It’s a cowboy themed card game. Now he has a nerd game too!
Mom gave herself a new pair of shoes. Another girl gift I don’t really get.
Finally, Dad got a Metal Earth plane to build.
Yep, today was another big day of Christmas.
Obviously yesterday is what would be considered a “bigger” day, but we didn’t open the gifts until later. Nicholas and I were out working and we didn’t get home until 5:30. After we came home the family ate dinner, and then we had to clean up.
Now I don’t mind opening gifts late, but I think the suspense was getting to some of my younger siblings. Apparently Robert told Mom that we where just staying out so that everyone had to wait! He was joking of course, he knows we wouldn’t strain their curiosity intentionally. Plus, Nicholas doesn’t like to wait either.
When we did finally open the gifts and sate my siblings swelling thirst for satisfaction, we found that the day didn’t really have a theme, except perhaps that most of the gifts could be used by multiple people (what could be more glorious than ten big gifts that everyone can use!?).
Dad and Mom got a set of rubber coated kitchen utensils to use with their brand new ceramic coated copper pots and pans (which they also got today)! Mom has wanted ceramic pans for a while as they work well for eggs, because they have a non-stick surface, but they don’t use Teflon which can peel off and prove detrimental to your health.
Nicholas got a new phone, because his phone has been dropping calls, no doubt due to the phone itself being dropped one too many times (admittedly the last time was my fault).
I own a sizable bottle cap collection, so I got a bottle cap dart game. It’s a large magnetic dart board in the shape of a bottle cap. The game also came with bottle caps to throw at the board, but I have cooler “darts” to use.
Jonathan got a Wii video game that Nicholas and I found at a garage sale for two dollars. The case actually had two games inside “Wii Sports Resort” and “Wii Sports.”
Nathaniel was given some sparring gear for him and the younger boys to use.
Anne received another video game, “Mario Kart Wii.” Nicholas and I also picked this game up, same garage sale, same price. This was quite the find since that game still sells for 30 – 40 dollars on ebay, even though it’s for an outdated system!
Christopher unwrapped the other set of sparring gear to use to battle Nathaniel.
Robert received an art pack and a sketch pad, because he is quite an art enthusiast.
Finally, Veronica opened (actually we opened from youngest to oldest last night, but who’s keeping track?) a cross stitch kit for an owl picture. This gift was perfect for her. She calls him Oliver the Unfinished Owl, but she’s been working on him all day and I think she’s almost finished!
A bunch of games! Actually everyone got one game. You see in our house instead of getting all of our presents on Christmas day we get one present a day for the twelve days of Christmas. Mom and Dad handle the gift giving for most of the days of Christmas, but the groups of the children have taken it upon themselves to give the gifts for one day each (that way the parents still get to be surprised). Anne and Nathaniel like to do the first day of Christmas (they are historically impatient), so yesterday they gave us our gifts.
From left to right (and youngest to oldest), Veronica got Mousetrap (one of my old favorites). Robert got a Lord of the Rings card game and Christopher got the same game so that four people can play together (in a large family you want very few two player games). Anne broke the theme a little, Nathaniel gave her a kit for crocheting Marvel superheros. Anne gave Nathaniel a display case for his bug collection (now he can stop keeping it in a shoe box in our bathroom). This gift was also a little off theme, but Jonathan got us back on track with a monster based dice/card/board game, King of Tokyo. I got a very cool superhero card game Sentinels of the Multiverse. Nicholas got the classic game Battleship. Mom broke theme again, she got eight wash clothes hand knitted by Anne (now you know why Anne got a crochet kit, she’s very crafty with string and yarn). Mom also got a cardboard house to match her cardboard Christmas village.
Finally Dad got Five Crowns a five suit card game.
Pretty cool, huh? I love it when a good theme comes together!
Today Nicholas and Jonathan got up before me because Jonathan needed to attend a math test and he needed Nicholas to take him. When I got up I showered and got dressed, but when I went to put my shoes on I couldn’t find them. Ten minutes later they were still lost. You guessed it, Jonathan was wearing them. So I put on his shoes.
I ascertained later that Jonathan had put my shoes on by mistake, but I wouldn’t have blamed him if you had stolen them intentionally, his shoes are painful! So yes, I can last a day in my brother’s shoes. They’re just too tight.
Anyone remember these guys? They were called Throwbots, or Slizers in Europe.
They are without doubt my favorite of the Technique robot figures from Lego. Maybe this is because they were the first set we owned when I was little, but I really don’t think so. I think they were just the most innovative and creative. Not only do they all look cool and are all composed of the same type of pieces, but they also have great boxes/ships they fold up into. These boxes even store their throwing disks! Despite their similarities they are all completely unique.
My favorite is Turbo (also called City in Europe). He’s the light green car one.
And just in case you haven’t seen enough Throwobot pics…
Hello everyone my name is Jonathan and this is my very first blog post ( cue trumpet fanfare). It is a story I wrote for my college composition class at Polk State about a time we were left at home alone when we were younger. Enjoy.
The Whole Story
“Hey, can someone get me some markers?” Mom called out one mid-summer afternoon about seven years ago.
“Sure, do you mind grabbing your markers, Joseph?” responded my oldest brother Nicholas.
Joseph, my thin olive-skinned older brother, hurriedly pushed his chair back from the oval mahogany table, then dashed off towards the upstairs.
“What’s taking him so long?” Mom asked after a few minutes.
“He keeps the markers in that little plastic safe and sometimes the lock gets stuck.”
“Wait, why does Joseph keep his markers in a safe?”
“Well once while you were gone, the little ones got into the markers and drew on themselves a little,” responded Nicholas
“Oh. You know, if you boys had been paying more attention, then the little ones wouldn’t havebeen able to draw on themselves.” That was all my mother had to say on the subject. Maybe that is because Nicholas did not tell her the whole story.
Mom and Dad had left the house, and we had just finished eating lunch. We did not use the dishwasher in our house, as it had a tendency to backup and fill with a dirty gray water, half-rotten vegetables and eggshells. To avoid this problem, we washed the dishes by hand. Amid the clinking sound of dishes bumping against each other, I could hear Nicholas and Stephen, the third oldest, working and laughing while Joseph played the video game. Nicholas told us that we would rotate through turns on the video game, and we all decided Joseph’s turn was first. While Nicholas was wiping the white laminate countertops, Stephen and I finished up drying the sparkling clean plates and silverware. All the while, I could hear the sounds of the video game punctuated by the occasional grunt from Joseph.
The video game was a relatively new item in our house. Mom and Dad had purchased it as a surprise gift. Like many privileges in our house, the video game came with certain rules : It couldn’t interfere with work, we could play for only fifteen minutes at a time, we had to ask mom before we played, and if Mom and Dad were gone we had to be watching our younger siblings at all times. When Mom and Dad were gone, these rules weren’t as well enforced as they should have been. In other words, we should have waited until the dishes were completely finished before we started playing the video game. As it was, the dishes became increasingly difficult to focus on.
After the wiping and drying were finished, I was left to sweep the floor while the other boys followed the siren call of the video game. I didn’t sweep the floor. Instead, I too was slowly drawn in by the video game’s hypnotic qualities. Like a rabbit mesmerized by a stoat, I was frozen staring at the TV. However, I had not completely forgotten about the kitchen. As I felt the broom slowly grow warm in my hands, I would suddenly jerk awake and wrench myself free from the video game’s grasp. After a few half-hearted brushes of the broom, I quickly returned to the front room sucked in by the mindless black hole of lights and sounds.
Suddenly, Nathaniel’s high-pitched voice piped up, “Look, we made masks!”
We all looked up, and in that moment the video game was forgotten. The warm, contented feeling left me, replaced immediately by a feeling of absolute terror combined with impending doom. My stomach tied itself into several knots, which must have rather inconvenienced the butterflies that had taken up residence within. The reason for my emotional disturbance was simple. Nathaniel had drawn intricate tribal-like masks directly on the little ones’ faces with the markers Joseph kept upstairs. Nathaniel had even made gloves for himself. Oh, and the markers, they weren’t washable. For a brief moment we sat there stunned. Then Nicholas issued marching orders.
“Joseph and Stephen, grab three hot soapy cloths and some water, and start scrubbing the little ones’ faces. Joseph, you clean Nathaniel’s face, Stephen; you clean Christopher; I’ll clean Anne’s face; and Jonathan, sweep the kitchen floor.”
While I hurriedly swept the floor, I could hear the low rumble of Joseph’s voice as he growled at Nathaniel. My broom made a swoosh sound as I kicked my sweeping into high gear. I could still hear the sounds of the little ones being cleaned. I could hear the sounds of Nathaniel’s indignant protest as Joseph growled and grumbled. I heard Anne’s occasional whimper immediately followed by Nicholas shushing her. Christopher endured his scrubbing with all the silence a two-year-old boy can muster. As I swept I thought about the day’s events, I recognized how lucky we were that the little ones hadn’t hurt themselves, I thought about how much trouble we would be in if Mom and Dad found out, and, most importantly, I wondered if I would get a turn on the video game. The feeling of impending doom never came to fruition because we managed to scrub every bit of that unwashable marker off of the little ones’ faces and hands before Mom and Dad came home. Because we cleaned up the marker before they came home, my parents did not know the story, at least not until we told them. We did not tell them the full story for seven years. By that time, we were sure there was no chance we would get in trouble.
It has been ten years since that day, and the story has become just another family story that gets told every so often. Invariably someone makes the point that we should have been paying better attention. For several years that story served to remind me to pay attention. Even now that story still keeps me alert and aware. Its ability to influence me lies less in what did happen but rather what might have happened. When I think back on it, I marvel at how lucky we were that nothing worse happened.
I never did get my video game turn that day.
