Firsts, part 2

--DJ

First car: 1979 Ford Pinto (yes, the kind that explode when they're rear-ended). Bright orange, started with a screwdriver instead of a key, and did zero to 50 in 37 seconds (I never could test zero to 60, because it wouldn't go 60 except down a steep hill).

First date: an Italian restaurant in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. After a visit to Chapters (the Canadian Borders) and just before seeing "Toy Story 2," where Sara and I laughed ourselves silly.

First movie seen in a theater: The Bakshi version of "Lord of the Rings" in 1980. I had already read the trilogy by then, but I was so scared by the Ringwraiths at Weathertop that I left. The last movie I saw in a theater as a child was "Return of the Jedi;" Dad was not happy about Leia's costume, and decreed that we weren't going back to the theater. The next time I saw a movie in a theater was the re-release of Star Wars in 1997.

First book I read myself: I think it was some of the stories out of "Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes." Probably David and Goliath, as Mom says that was my favorite. The first one I remember is one of Enid Blyton's Noddy books.

First kiss: Sara, at our wedding. It was, um, more enthusiastic than I expected, leading to my first married words being "You little minx!" after we exited the church. :)

First grade teacher: Mr. Mudrick, who also taught me 3rd grade. He's still teaching 3rd, and I got to see him the last few years when I went back to New Hampshire for the homeschool conference. He's still an amazing teacher. I remember him reading "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" to us, and he also introduced us to "Where the Red Fern Grows," which we 3rd graders considered the absolute height of fiction.

First decision as a father: When Addie had her first dirty diaper in the hospital, I decided to change it so that Sara wouldn't have to get out of bed. Geni Hall had to teach me how to do it, as I'd never changed a diaper in my life.

First moment I thought Sara was an actual possibility: When she came by my office at HSLDA (she was an intern there, and I was a legal assistant) and dropped a trivia card on my desk. With the answers all whited-out. I was charmed :)

Fun Sunday

Today was the first spring Sunday of the year. After this February, which lasted 38 years and dumped 25 feet of snow on us, a day like today was joy in weather form.

Ferdinand looks even brighter on the first spring Sunday.


It's spring, and the children were swarming. We figure if they get too bad, we'll smoke them out by chasing them with a burning chore list.


Our spring project is a container garden. Addie and I have been reading up on it for the last 67 days of February. (I really am including Addie: I checked out a book from the library, and Addie read it as thoroughly as I did. She referred to the author by his first name.)


Addie has filled the reservoir and checked the gauge and is feeling proud of herself.

Here's Daphne and me filling the new self-watering boxes with soil.
We planted lettuce, "yellow pear" tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, and strawberries. Further bulletins if events warrant.


Addie captured on video how well her early crawling lessons paid off: here's Phillip (sort of) demonstrating his brand-new, acquired-this-evening skill of crawling. His incentive: getting to the way-cool bathtub.



Thanks for stopping by. Please don't mind if we hustle you out: there's homemade ice cream waiting for us. The only thing better than a spring Sunday is a spring Sunday in Lent.

-- SJ