2015-12-13: A Riddle from Nigel

First, from a holiday cracker.
Q: What do you serve, but never eat?
A: A tennis ball!
Nigel's answer: Water, because you drink it, instead!

2015-12-13: What Makes Nigel Happy

A group of kids, asked what makes them happy, said, "Family," "Hiking," "Friends," "Christmas presents," and "Riding bikes." Can you guess which of those was said by Nigel? If Christmas presents came immediately to your mind, you may be as pragmatic and secure in your familial relationships as Nigel, or you may just be a 7-year old boy.

2015-12-07: Upgrading Dad's Computer

Mom said it was okay for Nigel to tell Dad about one of his Christmas presents tonight. Nigel said he wanted to get Dad's laptop computer upgraded to Windows 6, because it has better security. (He almost certainly meant Windows 10, which came out just recently.)

Update 2016-01-30: Dad has finally succeeded in upgrading his laptop to Windows 10, overcoming a number of obstacles. (Overcoming computer obstacles is something he is quite good at.)

2015-11-27: Seriously

"Seriously."
"That was ridiculous!"
and sometimes,
"Seriously, Dad? That was ridiculous."

2015-11-09: Hinky Dinky

Nigel and Dad have played a number of games in the car, like The Club Game, The Old Red Barn, and 20 Questions. (See below for instructions.) Their latest is called Hinky Dinky, and it has become a favorite at which Nigel has gotten quite good.

Hinky Dinky: Make up a rhyme composed of two words, and for best results, make those two words connect together, like "yellow Jello", which Nigel came up with. Then, give the other person or people two clues to figure it out. The first clue is the rhythm of the syllables, ideally one, two or three. For one syllable words, say it is a "hink dink"; for two syllable words, tell them the puzzle is a "hinky dinky"; and for three syllable words, use "hinkety dinkety". The second clue is to use synonyms or other very short hints in the place of each word, like "sunny dessert", for "yellow Jello", or "big ship" as the clue for "large barge", or "free duck" for "loose goose", etc.

The Club Game: Make up a category composed of a qualification and an exclusion, like "things that are round but do not move", or "things that make noise but are not alive". Ask the other person to think of five things that are in that club.

The Old Red Barn: Make up a category of things and go around the participants taking turns saying, "I am going to the old, red barn and I am going to get _____," inserting an example of a member of the category, if you are the leader, or a guess at a member of the category if you are a guesser. If it is a guess, the leader then tells whether or not that "works", by being in the category or not. When they think they know the category, a guesser may use their turn to guess what the category is.

20 Questions: The chooser thinks of something, and the guesser(s) try to narrow down what it is using only questions that can be answered yes or no, and using no more than 20 questions. The chooser should ideally only say "Yes" or "No" once they have announced they are ready. Certain situations do call for a (small) bit of explanation, but that should be kept to a minimum to maintain the mystery.

2015-10-29: Paying Attention to Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Nigel and Dad have been reading From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E. L. Konigsburg, for stories recently. This is a book Dad and Grandpa read together many years ago; one Dad has fond memories of. Being a long book, aimed at late elementary kids, Nigel's attention span has lasted for fewer than a dozen pages per night. This has only served to build even more drama into the story, though. 

Tonight, Dad was reading while he thought Nigel was lying down in bed, then found out Nigel was looking through the frog washcloth book while listening. Dad had just read one of the most significant paragraphs, in which Mrs. Frankweiler gives the kids permission to search her files for information, and he was concerned Nigel hadn't been paying attention, so he asked what Nigel remembered. 

Of the eleven sentences, Nigel remembered all but one, actually quoting more than half of the 125 words verbatim. Dad concern was completely groundless.

2015-10-25: All Hallow's Eve Carnival

Nigel and Dad had an eventful day today. After spending the morning taking care of things around the house, they attended an All Hallow's Eve carnival, dressed in Star Wars costumes. (Mace Windu for Nigel, Count Dooku for Dad.) The carnival was quite well done, with a potions table, where kids assembled colorful, fizzy, bubbling drinks spiked with pieces of dry ice, and a variety of other games and activities.

2015-09-20: Encountering Feelings of Embarrassment

Nigel really enjoys playing imaginative games. He and Dad sometimes play fairies together. Today, though, when Nigel wanted to play fairies and Dad wanted to go to a park to take advantage of the nice weather, Nigel was initially excited about the idea, but quickly changed his mind, saying, "I don't want to go to the park to play fairies. I think I will feel embarrassed."

They tried to do both, playing a different game at a park, then playing fairies at home later.

2015-09-14: Amazing Dad

A message sent from Mom to Dad this evening:
"Watching you play together is awesome! You are an amazing Dad!"

2015-08-30: Multiple Borrowing Midnight Math

Dad tried to stump Nigel on multiple borrowing problems during Midnight Math tonight. Multiple borrowing didn't throw him, in fact he seemed excited to show Dad how he could do it. They talked it through, and Dad was able to show him a shortcut to multiple borrowing. (What is one less than the whole number you are borrowing from, so do all the borrowing in one stroke, rather than each place value one at a time.)

As an aside, doing math before bedtime stories has proven to be a useful tool. Nigel is a bit fresher that way, and stories are more relaxing for him than math.

2015-08-21: Spotting Dad's Tracks

Dad and Nigel went to Olympus Hills Park today and explored around on the dirt trails that have been carved out. At one point, very observantly, Nigel noticed Dad's shoe prints in the soft dirt, indicating they had come that way already. (Dad was wearing fairly distinctive shoes, separating his toes and leaving a very unusual print.)

2015-08-15: Birthday Party and Sleepover

Nigel and Dad attended a birthday party at Thanksgiving Point's Museum of Ancient Life today, for Nigel's classmate at Dancing Moose, Ben. Ben's father had previously helped to put on an astronomy night at Dancing Moose along with a friend of his, Dad, and class 7's teacher, Miss Laura. Ben had helped Nigel rebuild his 3-D globe puzzle when Nigel brought it for show-and-tell one day, but dropped it in the hallway outside the classroom.

Ben, apparently, is a big dinosaur fan, and really enjoyed the party activities. Nigel also quite enjoyed stomping around on dinosaur stilts, making a trilobite fossil, eating cupcakes and ice cream, assembling a custom dinosaur and excavating fossils in the sand areas with the other attendees, and playing in the erosion exhibit with Dad, which the two of them stayed late to do by themselves. That is Dad's very favorite part of that museum, and is apparently one Nigel really likes, as well, as they played happily there for a few hours after the party ended. (Yes, really, a few hours.)

Realizing how late it had become, Nigel and Dad finally left the museum to go meet Grammy, who was hosting Nigel for a sleepover. Nigel ate macaroni and cheese at Gram's house, then stayed up late watching TV and reading stories.

2015-08-08: Biking to Smith's

To get dinner tonight, Dad proposed Nigel ride his bike to the grocery store, thinking he could ride all the way to Walmart while Dad jogged beside him. At first, Nigel was reluctant, especially when Dad told him it would be about a half-mile round-trip. Dad talked him into trying it, and off they set. When reaching the corner at 900 East, however, Dad asked if Nigel wanted to go only to Walmart or all the way up to Smith's. Nigel easily chose Smith's, and they took off up the hill. Dad lent some pushing as they ascended, but Nigel pedalled hard as well, with one break in the middle.

Just north of the storage units facility, there are a few dwellings that time seems to have passed by. Two long dirt and gravel roads lead down to these aged houses, with reasonably steep slopes to each. Nigel really wanted to ride down one, and Dad decided that would be okay to try. It turned out to be quite the ride, as about six feet down the slope, the pavement gave way with about a two inch drop; a drop which sent Nigel fishtailing just as he was really picking up speed. Nigel held it well, though, riding it out and skidding to a stop at the bottom, sliding the back end out as he locked the rear wheel a couple of times. Dad was probably more nervous than Nigel, however, as Nigel though the ride was great and wanted to do it again!

They continued up the hill, and Nigel had no trouble riding all the way to Smith's. They stuck his bike in a shopping cart, got items for dinner, then headed back home with Dad struggling to keep up while Nigel cruised down the hill. Who's effort was greater would be a tough question to answer, but Dad suspects his own.

2015-07-28: Preparing for a Play Date

Overheard by Mom, while Nigel was in the playroom preparing for a play date with Owen: "Oof! Ouch! This will never do!"

2015-07-25: Odd and Even Numbers

Nigel and Dad talked through what constitutes an odd or an even number today, for Midnight Math. Dad wrote the set of even numbers vertically down a whiteboard, and Nigel noticed that the evens all end with 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8.

2015-07-23: Handcart Days Parade

Bountiful hosts a large parade each year the day before Pioneer Day. This year, Nigel and Dad went up to spend the evening at the city park, enjoying the activities and watching the end of the parade. Nigel enjoyed the large inflatables, particularly one where kids would stand around a large, hanging, inflatable wrecking ball, swinging it at each other in hopes of knocking someone off the pedestal each stood upon.

Nigel is quite tough and bold, when it comes to confrontation, and he showed those traits in this case, when playing with two kids who were a few years older and a fair bit larger than him. The other child Nigel's age took to ducking under the ball when it was thrown at him, but Nigel just leaned into it and grabbed at it when it came at him. He never fell, either, though he was rarely able to hang onto the ball to have a turn to throw it himself, and when those turns did come, it was clear he was much less strong than the older kids, who, unsurprisingly, had no trouble handling his best swings. While Dad was worried about Nigel being intimidated and uncomfortable being in this situation, Nigel quite enjoyed the experience.

Dad and Nigel climbed all over the large spider web-like climbing apparatus while Grammy scoped out some treats, and they all explored the fair-like attractions together. Grammy obtained a Tour de Utah (bike race) frisbee for Nigel, which he and Dad used to play frisbee leapfrog* all the long way back to the car when they all left the park.

*Frisbee leapfrog consists of one person running ahead, then turning around to catch the frisbee, then staying in that place until the other person has run ahead and is ready to catch.

2015-07-18: Whitewater Rafting

Nigel, Mom, Dad and Grandpa took a short trip down to Moab to go whitewater rafting this day. It really was a pretty short trip, leaving Friday afternoon once Dad and Grandpa were done at work, and arriving home Saturday night. While short, the trip was certainly worth it.

After eating breakfast at the hotel, the group met at the expeditioner's shop on Main St. to get life jackets and join the crowd boarding a bus to the drop-off site. A 45-minute-or so drive brought everyone to the drop-off point to wait for the boats to be prepared and load up. Once on the water, Nigel wasted no time in diving into the arsenal Grandpa had brought along. With little concealment, Grandpa had brought an array of squirt guns and cannons to liven up the day. He and Nigel started with the small guns, as it was a remarkably cool July day, for Moab: cloudy, with the temperature in the 70s as we set off. Everyone struggled to get the small guns to fill, but Nigel persisted in filling them and immediately emptying them on everyone within reach (which consisted of Dad, Mom and Grandpa, and primarily Grandpa). Fortunately for everyone, the clouds cleared around the time of the first rapid, and the weather climbed toward a sunny 90 degrees.

Growing bored and frustrated by the small guns, Nigel wanted to trade up to the water cannons, and Dad finally turned him loose once the weather warmed up, but only to try to squirt the other boats. The guides of those boats were well accustomed to water fights, and allowed some good skirmishes between the boats to occur. In particular a French-speaking family took to splashing our boat and throwing water with anything they could find at hand, doing a pretty good job defending themselves with water bottles. Seeing a distinct imbalance, and having plenty of arsenal at-hand, Dad signaled a truce to the other boat and arranged a hand-off of two squirt cannons to them, to even things up. The skirmishes became more even-handed for a time, until the guides subtly spaced the rafts far enough apart to bring an end to the soakings. (This was later explained as probably a good safety measure, given the temperature and possibility of hypothermia, particularly for the smaller boat occupants.)

One more assault was planned - a sneak attack. Toward the end of the day, at a long flat water portion of the trip, Dad and Nigel jumped into the water with another traveler from their boat. They swam far ahead to catch up to the boat with the French-speaking family, bringing a single water cannon with them, but keeping it under the surface and out of sight. Upon reaching that other boat, Nigel (riding on Dad's back this whole time) brought forth the water cannon and he and Dad tried soaking the other kids as best they could. Their response was largely ineffective, given that Nigel and Dad were already in the river, and couldn't possibly get any more wet no matter how much squirting they received. It was a very devious plan.

The rapids were four in number and quite fun. Categorized as IIa and b, and IIIa, depending on water conditions, they made for some good excitement. In one case, the guide steered the raft to thoroughly soak the occupants on the left side, and another time soaked everyone sitting on the right side. Grandpa objected to the afternoon guide (we switched boats after lunch) about lack of aggression in the morning's chosen lines. That resulted in a huge blast of water up and over the bow of the boat in the afternoon rapid, and was quite the thrill.

Though Grandpa was hoping for a bit more excitement in the trip, reminiscent of his trips down Cataract Canyon in the Boy Scouts and with Grandma M., Mom easily had her fill of excitement, and Nigel also seemed quite satisfied with his first whitewater experience. The family would love to do another trip, and several such ideas have been floated.

2015-07-13: Sports Day: Tennis and Baseball

Dad and Nigel went to a park this afternoon to play some tennis. Dad invented a new game called Skyball they both thoroughly enjoyed. At the tennis court, there is a wall for practicing with oneself. Dad would hit a ball against that wall to Nigel, who would try to hit it up and over the fence the wall is attached to, practicing approaching the ball with a rising stroke. Nigel hit all six of the balls they were playing with over the fence a few times before they were finished for the day.

Upon arriving home, they decided to play baseball, and went down to Nic's house to invite him to play. He and his family were just returning from a day of boating, with patchy sunburns to show for it, so Nigel and Dad went home to play by themselves. That was not to be, however, as Trevor soon came by to talk, and ended up playing a fielding position. The weather was hot, and Dad called an end to the game after a few innings for drinks and cooling down, only to have Nic arrive wearing a baseball cap and fielder's mitt. Nigel and Dad finished their beverages and headed back out for a few more good innings.

Nigel now prefers pitched balls to hitting off a tee, and Dad acquired a thicker bat to make that workable for him. Nic swung a narrower bat that ramped the difficulty up just about the right amount to keep things pretty even between Nigel and himself. Nic and Nigel played on the same team, against Dad, which made for a pretty competitive game, really pushing Dad hard. Nic preferred to play in the field with his mitt, allowing Nigel to pitch, which went surprisingly well, Dad thought.

Following this game, Nigel seemed well worked, but Dad was completely exhausted and spent most of the remaining evening sitting with ice and heating packs on his sore ankle (still recovering from a nasty sprain incurred the previous year).

2015-06-30: Nerf Ping Pong

Nigel has gotten out the Nerf Ping Pong game recently, and he and Dad have enjoyed several games of this. One of the foam balls included with the set has held up well, and the other is at least playable, but the paddles work well with other small balls Dad has been able to dig up, including an actual ping pong ball. They have gotten in a few rallies, though Nigel tends either to hit the ball quite hard or to miss it entirely, making returns by Dad tricky. Fun times, though, and it is neat to see Nigel's skills improving.

Seeing the box for this game reminded Dad of a childhood experience of his. When growing up, Grandpa got this set for the two of them to play with, but Dad got quite frustrated with the difficulty of scoring points against Grandpa (who was and is a pretty good player), and/or the lack of mercy shown him. Finally, in a fit of frustration, Dad got a marker and rewrote the recommended ages for the game, changing them from "7 to Adult" to "8 - 10". (This seems to imply Dad was eight years old at the time, as he remembers adding a couple of years on to give himself some extra time to play, not wanting to be denied access to the game upon having a single birthday. -Ed.) He later recanted, and changed the recommended ages back to their original value with a ballpoint pen.

2015-06-06 Cap'n Crunch Gift Card Math

A question arose this morning while Nigel was looking at the back of a box of Cap'n Crunch: Which is more in total, 1,000 $50 gift cards or 500 $20 gift cards. Some discussion produced a specific answer for each, though it would also have been a good opportunity to discuss estimation techniques (e.g. multiplying a smaller number by another smaller number will never be larger than multiplying a larger number by another larger number).

2015: Best of State for Nigel's Preschool Teacher

Nigel's preschool teacher, Ms. Shanny (Shantel Pilcher), received the Best of State award for Early Childhood Educator this year. Dancing Moose's school administrator won for Best Administrator last year (2014 - Jennifer Duffield) and in 2011 (Joyce Sibbett), and the school won Best Private Preschool in 2010. Mom and Dad's instincts in evaluating schools seem to have been good indicators, or at least shared by the committee choosing these awards.

2015-05-27: Best Friend

Nigel and Dad were reading stories at bedtime tonight, and came across a mention of a character's "best friend". This prompted Dad to ask Nigel if he had a best friend. Nigel very sweetly answered, "You, Dad." It was a very touching moment.

2015-05-27: Like a Hypnotized Chicken

Ashton has been spending some afternoons at our house lately, while waiting for his mom to return home from work. He and Nigel have mostly enjoyed their time playing together, enough so that it has sometimes been hard to separate the two so Ashton can go home for dinner. Mom and Dad had discussed this with Nigel, and asked for his help getting Ashton out the door when his mom was ready to go.

This evening, Nigel led Ashton out to the car and got him in, then returned to the house to tell Mom and Dad how Ashton follows him "like a hypnotized chicken!"

2015-05-26: Falling Over During Tickles

Dad was trying to help Nigel with his handwriting, but much grumpiness was taking place. After that session concluded, Mom tried to help things by starting a family tickle festival in Nigel's room. It worked awfully well, and at one point, Nigel actually fell over from laughing so hard.

2015 Soccer: Cowabunga Kick-offs

Dad coached Nigel's (U6) soccer team this past year, and both he and the kids had a lot of fun. The practice games were a particular hit, including:

• LA Freeway (red light, green light with crashes and police)
• Sharks and Minnows (or the Blob variation)
• Relay races (running, dribbling)
• Soccer trail (dribble along a path)
• Soccer pirates (sneak in and steal balls)
• Big snake (dribbling)
• Persistence (continuous attempts to drive the ball into the goal despite opposition)
• Soccer bowling (knock balls off cones by kicking other balls at them)
• Soccer billiards (use one ball as a "cue ball" to direct a second ball into the goal)
• Crab soccer (soccer played while crawling on all fours, belly up and back down)
• Freeze tag (be tagged by a teammate or have a ball kicked between their legs or do 10 toe taps on the ball to unfreeze)
• Red light, green light (players have to freeze with their feet atop the ball)
• Passing circles (make a circle and pass the ball back and forth between the players, all taking one step back when a ball goes out of the circle)
• Coachodile (kicking or throwing ball at him to tranquilize him, but not entering his circle to avoid being bitten)
• Military death runs (running while chanting, military-style)
• Ministry of silly walks (full range-of-motion warm-up motions)
• Obstacle courses (running, jumping, hopping, backward, etc.)
• Fartlek runs (all directions, switching things around)
• Hokey-pokey (dribble in a circle around a cone instead of dancing, place feet upon ball instead of putting appendages into the center)

During the games, Nigel's favorite activity seemed to be what Dad came to call his "Cowabunga Kick-offs". When it was his turn to kick off, Nigel would retreat all the way back to his goal, then run at full speed toward the ball and deliver a huge kick to it. The results of this endeavor were mixed, but Nigel certainly loved the idea, and even managed to score a goal with one of them!

2015-05-15: Cereal Nutrition Battles

Nigel has independently invented a game played by countless children (Dad included) growing up: breakfast cereal nutrition battles. Dad really believes he did not plant the idea for this, aside from answering Nigel's questions about what the numbers on the side of cereal boxes represent. Nigel has been playing this game off and on for a few months now, comparing various types of cereal, and been getting more strategic about his choice of cereal: he usually picks whatever Dad is eating, and gives Dad the box he is eating.

Nigel has recently introduced a variation to this game, in which the nutrient's score comes not just from its value with or without milk, but with those values added together. Dad is thrilled with this rule, as though it doesn't change any of the outcomes*, it includes addition practice atop the numerical comparisons, and makes for an even better math game.


*The exception to this statement is Cheerios, which has an additional column of nutritional ratings for children under 4, making it nearly undefeatable. Dad is plotting to bring out the Special K to combat Nigel's Cheerios soon.

2015-05-07: Sick for a Few Days

Nigel has been sick for a few days now. Comments from him during the experience:
"I can't get any clean air." His description of how he felt one morning, presumably with a stuffed-up nose: "I can't get any clean air."
Toward the end, with a fever: "I love having company." Nigel gets very cuddly when he has a fever.

2015-05-05: Wanting to Accompany Mr. Hofer

Nigel's violin teacher, Jakob Hofer, was performing on the radio this evening, starting at 8 PM. The family didn't know in advance what to expect him to perform, but were all looking forward to listening. Mom and Dad arranged for the family to listen while Nigel was in bed, as that is his bedtime. Nigel had an interesting request for this event: he wanted to have his violin out and ready in case Mr. Hofer played something he knew, so he could hurriedly grab it and accompany him. Nigel and Mom even rehearsed his jumping out of bed and grabbing his instrument to refine that process, leaving the violin and bow sitting atop his dresser.

Mr. Hofer played a piece by a Jewish composer whose music is the study of his doctoral thesis, then a seven movement fantasy by Schubert (Fantasy in C major, D. 934). Nigel did not get to play with his teacher, much to everyone's disappointment, and fell asleep during the fantasy. It was a really wonderful idea, however, and one Mom and Dad found particularly touching.

2015: Pokemon

It is about time for a Pokemon post. Nigel has been enthralled with this Japanese character collecting and battling game/TV show/world. Most days, at some point in the day, Nigel is being a Pokemon character, whether Pikachu, Squirtle, Pancham, or any of dozens of others. He has a guide book to the characters in the "Kalos" region, which he has studied to the point that several of its pages are falling out.

Nigel and Dad were playing "Guess that Pokemon" at Nigel's request this morning over breakfast. They would offer clues to a Pokemon character's identity for the other to guess at.

At Wandamere park this afternoon (the one with the big, green, plastic dragon and a few different playgrounds), Nigel and Dad were pretending to have Pokemon battles when a young girl (2nd grade?) climbed up and asked to play along. She was very nice, and soon captured Dad's Buneary character. Having no luck capturing Nigel's ever-changing characters, after some time she switched into Pokemon form and had Dad direct her to try to weaken Nigel for capture. All attempts were unsuccessful, and he remained wild.

In the car on the way home, Nigel told Dad his favorite Pokemon characters are the psychic types (this seems to change) and the cute ones (this never changes, and provides Mom and Dad many lovely cuddles with these cute characters).

2015-04-04: Trip to Las Vegas

The family went down to Las Vegas this weekend to see Leslie and Brian. Nigel was very nervous about meeting the two dogs they now have (two chihuahua mixes: Buttons and Bailey), but loved playing with them and taking them for walks.

What Nigel was most excited about, though, was going swimming in their pool. This being the beginning of April, however, that turned out not to be such an enjoyable experience. Despite a solar pool heating system, the water was pretty cold for swimming. Dad insisted he would get in if Nigel did, and Nigel went through with it, both days, even! The two of them only lasted five or ten minutes in the pool before Nigel huddled up against Dad for warmth and Dad's patience quickly ran out, but it was fun swimming around while it lasted.

The family actually spent more time on the strip than usual, watching the fountain show at Caesar's Palace, visiting the aquarium at Mandalay Bay, and riding the new observation wheel (giant Ferris wheel) across from Caesar's, which was a real highlight of the trip. At 550 feet up, the view was expansive, making the strip generally seem a bit small, although a few of the newest hotels were even taller.

2015-03-28: Salad for the Ants

Years ago, Nigel had been introduced by someone at school or in the neighborhood to the idea of squishing ants. Dad thought this would be a good time to bring up empathy and compassion for smaller creatures. He picked up one of the ants, letting it crawl up his arm. He laughed and told Nigel how much it tickled when those cute little guys ran across his skin. Nigel wanted to try holding an ant, too, so Dad arranged a transfer over to Nigel's arm and they laughed together as it tickled him.
Since that day, Nigel and Dad have been excited to see ants in the upstairs bathroom from time to time, and Nigel always tries to catch them and let them crawl on him. They refer to these as their "ant friends".* Nigel's affection for these small creatures extends to other situations, as well. He likes to provide food for them when seeing colonies on our sidewalk or driveway. His favorite food to provide them is a "salad" of plant leaves and grass, which he piles in a decorative fashion next to an entrance to their nest.

Today marked the return of ants to the driveway for this year, and Nigel prepared them a celebratory feast in honor of the event, saying, "Here you go, ants. A big meal for our good ants, on your first day awake this spring."


*Note that Mom is understandably not so pleased on these occasions to see ants in the bathroom.

2015-03-14: Powers of 10 for Pi Day

Nigel and Dad worked on powers of 10 for Pi day this evening. They talked about the decimal point and about how to move numbers back and forth.

2015-02-28: What Does Mascara Do?

While applying makeup together, Nigel asked Mom, "What does Mascara do?" "It is supposed to make your lashes longer and thicker," she replied. "I don't think it's working," was Nigel's response.

2015-02-26: Long-Range Walkie-Talkies

Nigel and Ashton got out the FRS radios to use as walkie-talkies as they played today, while waiting for Molly to come and pick Ashton up. (Our two families have been carpooling to save trips and better accommodate their schedules, now that Ashton is going to Dancing Moose.) Nigel had the idea to have Ashton keep one of the radios to see if it would reach all the way down to their house, in the end of the circle.

Believe it or not, it actually did reach that far, and Ashton and Nigel talked back and forth excitedly for a good while, until Ashton had to turn his radio off to have dinner. Nigel was nearly bouncing off the walls (and literally bouncing off the furniture) with excitement. "Just think of all the things we could do!," he exclaimed. They have plans to contact each other in the morning over breakfast via the radios.

2015-02-14: Music Appreciation

Nigel recently officially graduated from the Suzuki method Twinkle songs recently, and Mom decided there should be a break from violin for a while. During this time, Dad has been doing a few "music appreciation" days with Nigel, in which they talk a little about a famous composer and listen to some of their more notable compositions.

The first day, Dad selected Johann Sebastian Bach, and played a selection of organ, keyboard and symphonic works by Bach. Nigel showed great taste by really liking Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (and who doesn't?). The second day, Mom and Dad both made selections from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's repertoire, including Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.

Nigel really seems to have been enjoying these sessions. Dad is thinking to move this to a once-a-week practice substitute.