Thanksgiving dinner... everywhere

Lego creations

Jordan's new lego creation, on location in Namibia.

Luke was here!

... and of course he left an indelible mark on his new little niece's heart. :-)



Chatting on the phone with one hand (actually, it looks like he's trying to use two), while ignoring his BlackBerry vibrating on his belt and Skype beeping at him from his computer.

Jordan and Berghan

Of course, Jordan and Jessie are great in every picture, but I particularly love these photos of Jordan's friend Berghan -- he's so photogenic and full of life!

Piglets!

Jordan witnessed some neighbor's piglets being born this week. Last year he just got there after the last one was born, so this time he was excited to be able to watch the whole thing. One of them was named Jordan in honor of his help -- he's pointing to it in the last photo (the one with a black spot on its nose).

Google Flight Sim

Jordan and I discovered Google Earth's latest addition -- a built in flight simulator! This is going to be a major distraction for us both until we tire of it. Here we are making a desperate attempt to land at Calgary International Airport -- too high and too fast. I almost made it once, but had to call off at the last moment when I noticed an airliner on the runway I was going to land on! Who do you report runway incursions on Google Earth to?

St. Louis, Virginia

This sign hangs at the entrance to the town of St. Louis, VA, where Jordan attends Banneker Elementary, showing the historical significance of this area. Click on the photo to view full size.

Slow Saturday

We had a nice, slow day today. Claudia up at 7 with Jessie's first cry, Ben and Jessie fully up by 8, Jordan amazingly sleeping in til 9. Apple pancakes for breakfast. A stroll through Philomont stopping at every house that has kids to invite them on the walk but no one was home. Wiener Schnitzel with rice and applesauce for lunch (yum!). Jessie napping (on and off) from 1-4. Claudia giving a horse lesson at 4, and loading up the barn with the first load of hay for the winter. Jordan off to a friend's house for dinner and a movie while Claudia and I unexpectedly had a quiet evening to ourselves with Jessie sleeping again. We listened to Mantovani's orchestra and each read our books side by side on the couch. 9:20 now and Jordan just got home so we're all heading to bed. Good night!

Jessie, as she looks right now

Best Invention of the Year

The Ares I rocket was awarded the "Best Invention of the Year" award by Time magazine today. It's a little funny that it would earn such a distinction in 2009, about three years after the "inventing" started, but if you've been following manned space news as avidly as I have you know that it had its first test flight just two weeks ago, which went off exceptionally well. The "little spire" on the top is our Launch Abort System (actually just an inert replica on this launch). At 327 feet tall, this is the tallest operational rocket in the world today -- I think only the original Saturn V moon rocket was taller. It feels pretty amazing to think I had a part in designing this incredible and historic machine. I'm sure it's something I'll always look back at and marvel at, regardless of how it ends up eventually. Ironically, though its first test flight went so well there is a lot of discussion in the US space industry and government about the costs and schedule of this new design and its future is not at all certain. Click on the photo for the full article at Time.com.

4-month checkup

Jessie went to the doctor's today for her four month checkup. She's happy to report she's 25 1/4 inches tall (the nurse says "long", but Jessie can stand just as tall as she can lay long!), and just over 13 lbs. She was cheerful and laughing through most of the checkup, but didn't appreciate the two shots at the end. :-( She's understandably a little cranky this evening.


On the examination table

Afternoon nap

Fall photo shoot

Late night emergency vet visit

If our horses are bored and trying to get our attention, they've got it! We've had a series of illnesses and other horse troubles recently, not to mention costly horse trailer repairs. Is there a message they're trying to get across -- like horses can be a lot of fun but need maintenance too? On the positive side, Claudia's getting busy again with lessons and trail rides, which keep her outdoors and happy, and help offset the added expenses. The photo below is of our vet Nancy clearing out Joey's blocked esophagus last week. The visit made me think of the James Harriet book on tape Claudia and I have been listening to -- but thankfully none of the incredible reactions worth writing a story about came of it. I wonder what James would have thought of Nancy's modern diesel pickup truck with a custom bed of smooth rolling drawers for all her supplies, as he trundled around the English countryside in his old Austin 7.

Jordan is running for Governor!

Tuesday is election day here in Virginia, and while Jordan will have off of school that day he's working on his own campaign poster for a school project the next day. Here's his very patriotic campaign mug shot. His slogan: "More jobs, lower taxes!" This admittedly more compelling slogan overruled my attempts to get him to use the slogan "He's the kind of man for the times that need the kind of man he is!"