Griffin, Photo

Almost 15

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I was just thinking about this kid this morning, as I lay in Oliver’s bed to wake him up (he likes to snuggle awake, which I will take as long as possible). I adore Griffin as an almost 15 year old, and I continue to be amazed at the person he is becoming. He is remarkable in all ways, and I love growing with him. I have no desire for him to be little again.

Except.

I do desire to be the mom I am now to the kid he was then. I know so much more than I did then about myself, about children, about life. I want to scoop that little boy up and let his little head fit perfectly into the space between my neck and my shoulder and whisper to him: I love you. I love you. I love you.

Facebook memory from 2011 of Griffin discovering his pockets.
Griffin

Wyre

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Griffin and his friend, James (and a few other friends), dove into a programming contest last week: the New Year, New Skills Game Jam. The contest ran for exactly one week, from January 7 to 14. They worked hard and developed a prototype game called Wyre. James was the lead coder and Griffin composed the music and designed many of the graphics.

You can play the game here and see the contest submission here. A few screenshots posted below.

Congratulations Griffin and James! This took a lot of work to put together.

Photo

A Bit of Culture

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We spent a fabulous day exploring the Hirshhorn Museum on the National Mall. We were wowed by sculptures by Simone Leigh, Yayoi Kusama, and Rodin. We also explored other worlds through an exhibit of contemporary Chinese photography, Laurie Anderson’s “Four Talks,” Mark Bradford’s 400-foot long “Picket’s Charge,” and John Akomfrah’s “Purple.” And food trucks. Obviously.

Oliver

Fluffy

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This is another song that Oliver wrote at school last month. Here’s the transcript followed by the original.

Fluffy monkey puppy pants.
Ya ya ya.
If you don’t like it, you will be a saw.
Ha ha ha.

Fluffy monkey puppy pants.
Ya ya ya.
If you don’t like it, you will be a saw.
Ha ha ha.

Oliver

Trees

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This is a song that Oliver wrote in school in the last month. He says that it is not in his best handwriting. Here’s a transcription with the original below.

There’s trees there. There’s trees here. There’s trees everywhere. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. I love trees. Trees are the best. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

There’s trees there. There’s trees here. There’s trees everywhere. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. I love trees. Trees are the best. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Andrew, Griffin, Maggie, Oliver, Photo, Sarah

Thanksgiving 2023

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Pam and Jeff joined us for the feast. We grilled the turkey on the green egg. It came out well, but I may have been over-enthusiastic with the apple wood chips—the smoke flavor was intense.

Besides the turkey, the menu included mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green beans, and Dick’s Buried Treasure. (The latter is a delicious Stocco tradition consisting of yams, canned pineapple, and dollops of cranberry sauce.) Dessert was Sarah’s pumpkin pie and Andrew’s cheesecake.

While we were prepping the meal, the kids asked what everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving food was and what we were thankful for this year. Then they created custom place cards for each of us.💖

Grilling notes for next time:

  • 300-325° on the grill is perfect
  • Use fresh lump charcoal (the smaller chunks at the bottom of the bag interfere with airflow)
  • Cooking time is faster than in an oven at the same temperature. The Green Egg estimates seemed spot-on. (We started our 17 lb. bird at 11:15 and it was done just after 2:30.)
  • Skip the smoking chips next time. I think the basic grill flavor will be enough.
  • The drippings were very dark and smoky too, which made the gravy a bit too powerful. Might be better without the wood chips. Clean the grate beforehand so none of the old char falls into the drip pan.

The latest news from Sarah and Andrew.