And . . . Then . . . Kaboom!

Once again, something unexpected from our oldest child. I'm amazed at how he can see a scene in his mind and then put it on paper. I can't do that, at least with pictures (with words, the jury is still out). But I can see that poor limp figure being dragged from the plane and know he's being dragged, not that he's just swooning. And he's also off in his own little world, as is the guy with the binoculars. So much like our oldest kid.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Who doesn't enjoy all the cliches of Thanksgiving! Turkeys! Indians! Turkeys gobbling! Followed by a cute little girl standing under a smilin' sun in a flowery field. Just in case you're tired of the cliches.

Soooooo looking forward to the day.

The Little Details

As a student of "The Great Escape," I know that it's often the tiniest little human frailty that can unravel even the best-laid plans.

Our oldest son knows this as well. Behold:

And the detail shot:

I just taught him the intricacies of Pig Latin a few weeks ago. I'm glad to see the lesson sank in.

I'm also pleasantly surprised at how easily he gets his characters to emote. You know the guy on the left is disgusted. You know the guy on the right is trying to fix things. You know the colonel is aghast. And you really, really know the guy in the middle has to go ottypay.

The drawing is incomplete because I fished it out of the trash. He decided he didn't like the picture, so not only didn't he finish it, he tossed it. I'm glad I rescued it.

Wo ist Jones?! Part III

Indiana Jones and his corral of friends and enemies certainly keeps our kids occupied. I present here tonight an eight-page illustrated story our middle child and youngest wrote earlier this week. Hope you enjoy it.

"Indy works in Barnett College," their story begins. "One day while Indy was teaching, some bad guys came into Barnett College. They wanted to kill Indy. But before they could, Indy killed the men that were bad."

"All of the children cheered for Indy. A boy said 'We should give our hero a hug.' Then all of the children lined up to give Indy a lot of hugs. Then after all the hugs, Indy went to teaching the children."

"Then after Indy was done teaching the children, he diecieded to go on a adventure. But Indy didn't know where to go. Then Indy's friend Marcus came running up to him. He said 'Indy, there is a hidden grail.' Indy said 'That's a perfect adventure for you and me.'"

"Then they packed up there bags. And they also bought tickets. Then they went to the airport where they would be tooken to where they wanted to be for their adventure. But the didn't know they were being spied on."

"Then three bad guys jumped right in front of them. Indy pulled out his gun and shot the bad guys. Then they climbed on board the airplane. They were arrested when they were they saw . . . "

". . . Kuzim. He said 'Show the right grail for me instead of you, Indy.' Well, Indy did but it was a death grail. Then Marcus and Indy had to find the right grail. Then Elsa picked out a grail."

"It was the right grail!' Indy grabbed the grail out of her hands. Then something started to rumble. Then a cracked showed. Finally Elsa fell down that crack! Indy loved her. But she was an enemy."

The End.

I have no idea whom Kuzim might be, but it's fun to read their re-telling of the story, even if they're getting their information not from the movies (they can't make it through that Benji film where he gets lost in Greece for heaven's sake; they're not ready for Indiana Jones) but from their Indiana Jones Lego games.

The Puppet Master

I'm not sure I really understand this one. There's some puppet mastery going on, with hilarity ensuing above. I'm just going to roll with it.

We're In the Army Now

We have many, many drawings of army guys. I'm not really sure why. They have an uncle who served in the US Army, but that was before they were born. Their Opa served in the Dutch army in Indonesia in 1948, but about all he did was eat food, try to ford a river while wearing a big backpack and holding his rifle over his head (he sank like a stone and had to swim to he opposite shore) and play pranks with the other country boys on the city kids.

We do watch some army-themed TV shows, notably MASH and Hogan's Heroes. That's got to be where it comes from.

Here's another. The first is from our oldest. This is from our youngest.

I think this one's either African or Russian, given the number of decorations he's got on his uniform. And before you ask, I have no idea where the bow tie came from.

Behold the Much-Vaunted Art Portfolio

With the posting of Liam's Webelos art portfolio, he has completed the final requirement in his Artist pin, and the final award he can earn as a Webelos Scout. He'll get his Arrow of Light on the 23rd of November, then have two whole months to work on Boy Scout stuff before he officially becomes a New Scout. We're proud of him. And also glad the portfolio is done.

Surgury Guy

We watch a lot of MASH at home, so I'm surprised this guy isn't dressed in white or olive drab. Not sure where the bright light blue came from, but you know what, maybe he's been more observant on our few trips to the hospital than I give him the credit for. This is from the oldest, of course, another bit of computer art.

Optical Illusion

When we first started having kids, one of my vivid first parental fears was that, when my kids were old enough to draw, they'd hand me a picture that I was supposed to admire. And I'd admire it while holding it upside down, much to their chagrin.

That happened tonight, minus the chargrin part. Here's the picture.

When I saw it, I instantly knew what it was: "Oh, son, what a nice pig!" I said.

"It's not a pig," he replied.

"It's not? Then what is it?"

He took it gently from my hands, turned it over, and handed it to me again. "It's a bunch of smiley faces," he said. Indeed it is:

Caveman

Here's another of our oldest's computer drawings, this time of a caveman. He's drawn cavemen before, so this is a recurring theme with him. That we've visited caves and talked about cavemen probably has nothing to do with it.

Neighborhood Cliche

Yes, square houses with the four-paneled windows do certainly exist in the neighborhood of our childrens' imagination. Though I think the door-high sunflowers on this house, and the round window, are a nice touch.

The Mummy Walks

Our oldest is working on his Artist pin in Cub Scouts, and one of the requirements is to use the computer to produce some art. So here's the first installation, which he calls "The Mummy Walks." I like the red eyes. Nice touch.

Grown-Up Scooter

Grown-up Scooter is finding out, cryptically, that being all grown up doesn't mean you get to sit in front of the big-screen TV in your shorts all day long.

Anvil Time

Oh yeah. Oldest joke in the book. I'm sure he got this from poor ol' Wile E. Coyote. Super Genyusss.

Subtle Humor

As much as my son mimics the styles and stories of comic strip creators like Scott Adams and Bill Watterson, once and a while he comes up with something pretty original. Like this:

My wife and I are pretty amazed that he came up with something so subtle.

Scooter, by the way, is a recurring character in our oldest's comic strips. We'll see more of him in the days to come.