On Sunday, we headed over to Six Flags.  We had been meaning to go back there ever since NHL’s incident back in June.  With only a couple of weekends left in the season, we decided to make the trip.  Of course, this time of year, Six Flags parks decorate for Fright Fest.  This means plenty of (phony) spider webs and ghoulish decorations.

There was also lots of candy both of the giant display-only variety and trick-or-treat edible variety.

The kids got to trick or treat a bit and then go on tons of rides.  This was even more fun than our usual summer trips because: 1) we weren’t dying from the heat and 2) the lines were insanely short.  A few rides let NHL and JSL take a second pass without exiting because there simply weren’t that many people waiting on line.  A few times, they were the only ones on the ride!

They were a bit disappointed that the characters weren’t out, but at least Tweety was (dressed as an angel).

Hey, it’s Tweety and NHL Putty Tat…. uh, I mean lion.

After tons of rides, the evening was approaching.  Not only did this mean we would have to leave because it was a school night and we needed to eat dinner, but it meant we had to leave because the scarier elements of Fright Fest were coming out.  There were guys with chain saws wandering around lunging at park goers.  Yes, the chain saws are fake, but they sound real and are scary to little kids.  You could buy your kid a “don’t scare me” necklace for $3 but that sounds like some kind of weird Halloween extortion to me.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photo of the chain saw guy as I was busy herding my kids away from him so they wouldn’t get scared.

Even worse, I missed a zombie photo opportunity.  While waiting on our last line, a woman walked…. well, stumbled by with pure white eyes and a sliced up smile.  She was clearly a member of the walking dead.  She would stumble up to people and engage them for a bit before shuffling on.  How I wish I could have jumped off line, leaving B with the boys and gotten a photo of her.  But the way the line was set up (and as close as we were to the front of it), that just wasn’t an option.  After exiting the ride, I looked for her, but she was long gone.  Off to score some choice brains, I suppose.

All in all, it was a great time.  Perhaps we’ll even go back another time in the next week or two before the park shuts down for the winter.

On Saturday, we were trying to figure out what to do.  We had wanted to go apple picking for some time, but weather, Jewish holidays and other things kept getting in the way.  With the weather cooperating and no other plans on our agendas, we finally decided to stop by the local Pick-Your-Own place.

Needless to say, the boys were excited.  They love picking their own produce.  Not only do they get to wander around outside in the fresh air in large fields, but they get to pluck things off trees and put them in bags.  This may sound like a simple thing, but the simplest things are sometimes the most entertaining.  The bonus is that they can eat what they are plucking!

I tried to get shots of everyone, but I must confess that the photos were a bit JSL-heavy.  That’s mainly because NHL was too quick.  He was off, finding apples, plucking them, sticking them into his bag and running off to the next tree for more.  Meanwhile, JSL was having trouble navigating all of the apples that had dropped to the ground.  This meant he was slower and more photographable (if that’s a real word).

In the end, we picked 29.5 pounds of apples.

Our fridge is now packed full of apples and we’re going to need to figure out what to do with all of them.  Slow Cooker Apple Sauce will be made, but we’ll need to come up with some other things as well.  We have some frozen pie crusts…. Maybe apple pie?

During our apple picking, we also stopped by their pumpkin patch to get a pumpkin for carving.  There were plenty of interesting specimens here for us to look at.

In the end, we decided that these had been sitting on the ground during too many rain storms.  So many were rotting that we were worried that any “non-rotting” one we picked wouldn’t last until Halloween.  On the way back, we passed a place with plenty of pumpkins to pick from.  (Try saying that three times fast!)  Here we picked a 22.5 pound pumpkin which will soon be sliced and diced into a Jack-o-Lantern.

I plan to save the innards to make something with.  Roasted pumpkin seeds, of course, but I’m open to other “pumpkin innards” recipes.

We headed home with a car 52 pounds heavier and a pair of very happy boys.  Hurray for pick-your-own farms!

What are your favorite pumpkin and/or apple recipes?

Thursday was a very expensive day.

For the past week, my car’s been making a rattling sound when I turned on the fan.  The higher I turned it on, the worse the sound.  At first, I thought water had gotten into the system (with all the rain we had), so I ignored it hoping the sound would go away.  When the dry weather arrived and the sound didn’t leave, I knew there was a problem.

So I brought my car in and the guy mentioned offhand, “I hope it’s not a mouse.”

“A mouse?", I asked.

“Yes, they look for someplace warm and dry and find their way into cars.”

So he went to check on my car.  Sure enough, it turns out I was paid a visit by a certain mouse.  Personally, I would have rather had a visit with Mickey Mouse… in Disney World!  The mouse crawled into my car’s heating/cooling system, built a nest and got all comfortable.  Then I turned on the fan and made minced mouse.  (No, this will *NOT* be a future Cooking With TechyDad installment!)  I was told fixing it would take some time as most everyone had gone home and they needed to remove my dashboard and go through my systems.  We were looking at about a $160 hit to my wallet.

I was loaned a car for the next day and went home.  That night, I went on my computer, started to Skype with my parents and…. my computer went dead.  Completely off.  I turned it back on and noticed that the battery was running low.  Yet, I was plugged in.  Perhaps the outlet was bad?  No, the baby monitor plugged into it worked just fine.  I even tried another outlet.  No dice.

There could only be two possibilities.  Either my laptop’s AC adapter was bad (possibly fried when I left it plugged in overnight) or my laptop itself had a problem.  So I spent last night frantically backing up my PC before the battery ran out.  Luckily, I had run a backup recently and so just had to update that backup.  Now I’m looking for a new AC adapter to see if that’s the problem.

With all of Thursday’s events, I think I need to consult with a mouse, a duck, a dog, a pooh bear, and a tigger in Disney World.  Who wants to join me?

Dear NHL,

Too often, I feels like we’re always yelling at you to do things.  We’re rushing to get things done with all the worries and concerns of our adult world weighing on our minds.  You’ve grown up so much now that you are in second grade and are so smart that it is easy to forget that you are just a kid.  Much of the world is still a mystery to you.  Mysteries can be fun and exciting, but they can also be scary and terrifying.

A few days ago, your mother went to a PTA meeting.  While she was gone, you, JSL and I went out to eat at Dunkin’ Donuts.  We came home with 25 Munchkins for dessert, but you didn’t get any that night.  You kept not listening to me and doing the opposite of what I told you.  As I gave you chance after chance to earn dessert, you seemed determined to blow it each time and then try to win it back by showing remorse.

After having you sit in your room for a few minutes, I did something that I haven’t done in far too long.  Something that I want to make more time to do more often in the future.  I sat down on your bed with you and talked, father to son.  We talked about things that make you nervous in school.  Things that frighten you.  Things that go on in your head.

I calmed you down a few times as you got anxious talking about these things.  It’s good to get them out.  Trust me, I know.  I’m the master of bottling up your anxious feelings and it does *NOT* feel good to do so.  They’ll just fester in there and make you feel worse until you want to find a quiet, dark spot to cry in.

Keeping things bottled up doesn’t solve anything.  Your mother and I are here to talk with you any time you want.  Though it might not seem like it when we’re yelling at you to get dressed because we’re running late and you’re watching TV half out of your PJs, we’re on your side.  If you’re having trouble with something or someone at school, we want to know.  We can’t work to fix it if we don’t know.  While I can’t guarantee that we can fix everything that worries you, we promise that we will try our best.

So let’s make these father-son talks a regular event.  I’ll pause my adult world worries and just focus in on you.  We’ll go into your room, lie down on your bed, shut the door if you want, and talk about whatever worries you.  Above all, know that I love you and just want the best for you.

 Love,

Daddy

_______________________________________

To participate in Dear Kid Saturday, head click the button below and go to CutestKidEver:

Being a geek, I love superheroes.  I grew up watching He-Man, Superfriends, Spider-Man, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman and more.  Super powered individuals who protected the innocent from the forces of evil resonated deeply with me and I spent plenty of time pretending I was super-powered as well.  It should come as no surprise that, when I became a parent, I wanted to introduce my children to the world of superheroes as well.

I can’t remember exactly NHL’s first encounter with superheroes, but it might have been a Spiderman kids’ book.  After that, I expanded to Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Ben 10 (both the original series, Alien Force and now Ultimate Alien).  NHL and JSL love running around pretending to turn into aliens.  I even went online with them to the Superhero Generator to let them make their own heroes.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure if the world of superheroes is having a bad effect on them.  Their playtime together seems to revolve around them “turning into” superheroes and fighting each other.  NHL will also “turn into” a superhero to ignore us/run away from us instead of listening to us.

Part of it is their normal development, I’m sure.  After all, siblings fighting isn’t abnormal.  Neither are kids who want to do their own thing without their parents telling them not to for whatever reason (dangerous, no time, homework to do, etc).  Still, I find myself wondering how much their normal development has to do with it and how much has to do with the folks in spandex and capes.

Thus, my Aloha Friday question for today is: At what age did you introduce your children to superheroes?

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.

Aloha #59

It’s no secret that I love candy.  Specifically, I love nearly anything with chocolate in it.  So, when I spotted the Butterfinger booth at BlogHer, I was intrigued.  They were handing out samples of their newest product: Butterfinger Snackerz.  Of course, I had to try them.  To quote those Bart Simpson commercials, they were crispedy, crunchedy and peanut buttery.  (All great things in a candy.)  We brought a couple of packages back from BlogHer for the boys.  Of course, they both loved them.  (The only thing they didn’t like about them was that we didn’t have more!)

A nice thing about the Snackerz, versus a full-sized candy bar, was that we could pick up the smaller, bite-sized pieces instead of holding onto a full-sized bar.  It also meant that one package could be divided up more evenly between two boys.  No fighting over “his half is bigger!”

These will definitely be among our top candy choices when we go shopping for a sweet treat for the boys (or ourselves).

Giveaway:

Thanks to Nestle, one lucky winner will receive either four fun size bags of Butterfinger Snackerz (16 pouches inside) or 2 boxes of full size pouches (24 pouches inside) – depending on product availability. To enter, simply leave a comment below answering this question: What types of candy were your favorites to get during Halloween when you were a child?

You can also earn bonus entries by doing any (or all) of the following items. Just be sure to leave a separate comment for each item that you complete.  (Don’t just leave one comment listing everything you did.)

• Follow @TechyDad on Twitter. (1 bonus entry)
• Follow @ButterfingerMmm on Twitter. (1 bonus entry)
• Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter. Be sure to include @TechyDad, @ButterfingerMmm and a link to this post in the Tweet. (1 bonus entry per day) For example: Win Nestle Butterfinger Snackerz in time for Halloween from @TechyDad and @ButterfingerMmm. http://bit.ly/cSSZaG #Giveaway
• Subscribe to my RSS feed or let me know if you already are. (1 bonus entry)
• Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from September/October. Leave a comment here letting me know which post you commented on. (1 bonus entry per comment, maximum 3 entries)
• Write a post on your blog linking to this giveaway. Leave 3 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries. (3 bonus entries)

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today, October 14th and ends at Noon EST on October 21st, 2010. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. only.

Disclosure: I received a free fun sized bag of Butterfinger Snackerz complimentary of Nestle in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed above are my own. Nestle is also providing the giveaway item to my readers.

With the Ziploc Prize Pack Giveaway over, I checked Random.org and the winner was #11.

Checking the comments, this was Cheryl F. (The Lucky Ladybug).  I contacted her and she’s already replied with her address.  Congratulations, Cheryl!

Our plans on Sunday changed rather quickly.  Originally, we were going to use our season passes to Six Flags one last time.  Then, JSL started coughing in his sleep.  His barking cough indicated that he was fighting something off which was aggravating his asthma.  We decided that bringing him to a big park where he would encounter a lot of germs was not the best idea.  So we split up.  B took JSL to her parents’ house to play.  Meanwhile, NHL and I went out for some father-son fun.

First, we went mini-golfing.  I had meant for us to go to the indoors mini-golf course that we have gone to before.  Instead, NHL insisted that he wanted to play on the outdoors one.  Considering that it was a nice day, decently warm (with jackets on) and sunny, I agreed.  We paid, got some balls and clubs and followed the footprints to the outdoors course.

There were two courses.  The Castle Course (holes 1 – 18) and Knight Course (holes 19 – 36).  We opted to do the Castle Course.  During the golfing, NHL seemed to be in a rush.  He just wanted to go hole after hole to see what the next one had to offer.  I had to remind him to slow down, wait for me, and take his time.  It’s a good thing we weren’t keeping score.  Oftentimes, he wasn’t putting the ball so much as he was herding it.

On the last hole, he – with my approval – resorted to using his feet to block the ball from falling back down.  I even helped him by kicking it.  Hey, that was a tough hole and we were having fun!  That’s the most important thing.

After we finished the 18 holes, we decided to walk the Knights Course.  No, we wouldn’t be playing it, but we could “preview” it and take some photos along the way.  Of course, we were careful not to interrupt anyone’s play.  There was a group in front of us at one point and I used this time to remind NHL to be patient and to keep in mind that their golfing experience was more important than our walk around the course.

During the walk, we noticed a bunch of statues and I had NHL pose with each of them.

Finally, it was time to return our golf clubs (the balls automatically return after the 18th hole) and leave.  I intended to take NHL out for ice cream, but again plans changed.  I remembered that we had a Friendly’s coupon at home.  A quick stop at our house and then we were headed out.  The coupon was good for one free ice cream drink (Fribble, milk shake, etc) with the purchase of one.  NHL decided to get a strawberry Fribble.  I ordered a vanilla one.  The waitress returned with two strawberry Fribbles.  When I pointed out that I ordered vanilla, she apologized and offered to get me a new one.  I decided that strawberry actually sounded better and opted to keep the one she brought.

NHL and I had a great time talking and drinking our Fribbles.  NHL did complain to the waitress that their play mats were too easy.  I had to remind him that not everyone is as smart as he is and younger kids could use the mats.  Somehow, I don’t think restaurant coloring mats are designed for the gifted set.  (For her part, the waitress took the “complaint” in stride and thought that NHL was cute.  Yes, yes he is.)

There was another (delayed) upside to going to Friendly’s.  Since I tweeted photos of our trip on 10/10/10, I wound up being one of ten winners of Friendly’s 10-10-10 contest!  Looks like we’re going back to Friendly’s again!

Finally, we stopped at a nearby grocery store to pick up some supplies before heading home.  The only excitement there was spotting a Cabot car.  Nothing like a plaid car to liven up an otherwise ordinary grocery store trip!

Maybe next time, NHL will go somewhere with B and I will take JSL someplace fun.  Or I could take both of the boys and B could have some quiet time.  Or B’s parents could take the boys and B and I could have a date night.  (Don’t get nearly enough of those.)  Don’t get me wrong, spending time with all of us together is great, but I also value time alone with my kids (either one, the other or both) and time alone with my wife.

On Sunday, it will be October 10th, 2010, or 10/10/10.  The geek in me couldn’t let 101010 go by without a special post.  Since I don’t post on Sundays usually, I made my Tuesday post: Plus or Minus 10 Years.

This marked 3 firsts for me.  It was my first Linky and the first post I created a button for.  Most significantly, though, it was the first time I really apologized (in a public fashion) for something stupid I did when B and I were engaged.  You’ll have to read my post to see what it was.  (Hey, you didn’t expect me to just tell you, now did you?)  Needless to say, I thought I was doing the right thing at the time but hindsight (being 20/20 and all) has shown me how wrong I was.

Thus, my Aloha Friday question for today is: Have you ever done something that affected a loved one that you thought was the right thing at the time only to realize later was the wrong action?

After you answer my Aloha Friday question, stop by my LuLu.com Photo Book giveaway and B’s CardsDirect $50 gift card giveaway.

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the Linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #58