October Surprise(s) (Updated with pics from Campaign 2000!)

October in Minnesota can be cold.  Yes way.  So cold that I came up with a family rule.  Since MT's birthday is in October and mine's in April, I decided that if it snows before her birthday, and after mine, for three straight years, then we have to move.  I think Albuquerque would be nice.  Scenic, full of character, near enough to El Paso, a short SWA flight away from the Bay Area, a place even MT's parents might be persuaded to move to some day.  By my official count, we have had back-to-back years with snow after my birthday and before MT's.  That official record, however, had been under dispute, depending on whether the Albuquerque Rule began in October 2009 or April 2010.  Kind of like how people would string together Detroit's final four games from last season to bolster their play-off predictions ("The Lions have won 10 in a row, including the preseason and going back to last year.")

Well, this October turned out to be absolutely beautiful, and the dispute over the official record matters not now.  It was almost like having three Augusts instead of a September and October (but, unfortunately not three State Fairs), and August is my favorite Minnesota month.  I don't know what it means that I couldn't be completely happy about the extended warm weather.  In part, like all other Minnesotans, I was thinking, "Yeah, it's great now, but we're going to have to for pay this nice weather in February."  In part, I was also rooting for another early snow, even just a flurry, to trigger my Albuquerque contingency.  Well, now we're in mid-November, and still no snow.  In fact, today was forecasted to be a high of 66 degrees, 5 shy of the record, and a whopping 30 above average!   I guess Albuquerque is going to have to wait, at least until 2014.

October also came with some surprises, and I don't just mean Perry's drunk speech* or Herman Cain's sexual harassment scandal that just keeps on going, like Harry & David's fruit of the month.  October also brought about my son's obsession with wearing a skirt and my daughter's behavioral issue.  Thankfully both issues have been resolved.  Skirts are for girls, so that takes care of that issue.  No, seriously, I am just trying to roll with it.  Today for example, at Isaak's birthday party, both he and David donned skirts and started a whole "dance show," one that (of course) ended up starring their sisters, Maria and Audrey.  We'll be sure to link to pictures as soon as they are posted on Audrey's personal documentarian's (her grandpa) snapfish.

(Update: Pic of the boys in skirts):

I think letting him play basketball in the skirt actually made it better for me.  As for the second issue recap, Maria continues to answer the call, trying to change her behavior. 

*The SNL spoof was pretty good.  "I'm so bad at talking, Seth."  And that was before "Oops."  The presidential campaign season is always fun, and I remember in 2000 when MT and I went up to New Hampshire to see some candidates.  Too bad we were only able to get up during Iowa weekend and of all the candidates, just McCain was there.  That didn't stop MT from sticking it to him on his position of privatizing Social Security. 

She's all: "Look, I'm young, and even I know the market's risky, just wait until the bubble bursts in '08 and NO ONE will be talking privatization anymore...Trust me, I am always right."

He's all, "Who invited that chick, dammit?  Sounds like a freakin' Gore plant."

MT at the NH Museum on presidential campaings.  Yeah, we were totally cool.  OK, except for the apparently impressive collection of Cosby sweaters that MT owned. (At least this one's not as bad as the one she broke out for the campaign event!)

As Phill Gramm (see background campaign sign in MT's pic!) once said: "This beard was Vinatieri before Vinatieri was cool."

I also remember this trip because it was a personal record (at the time) for cold outside: -4 degrees.  A record that stood until my first Minnesota winter 2 years later.  -4? That's perfect pond hockey weather!  Hmm...Albuquerque anyone?

And one random salsa dancing picture.  Nothing more hot than a denim button-up, baby!  Look, MT can't get enough of my zany on-stage persona!  Good to know we haven't aged a bit.  Also good to know that the denim button-up never made it out of New Haven.  Thanks, MT!

In another October development, while we have known for a long time that Maria was ready to read, the light bulb didn't go off until this last month, during the same time period as the sticker chart.  It may have likely happened anyway, but the timing is interesting, nonetheless.  I am proud to report that our daughter can read.  The trick wasn't so much sitting in front of a chalkboard or flip chart sounding out letters, as much as it was wrapped up with writing.  All of a sudden (cue the big music from Space Odyssey), she went crazy writing on her pictures.  Here is the first clue that we got.  She came home and had written this on the back of a Halloween decoration (really a Dia de los Muertos decoration, but who's counting?):

Those are some of my favorite letters, too! 

Then a couple of days later, we got this:

Her first comic book!  In addition to the text (her first written sentence), I like that she made Doctor Two Brains laughing, and in a different color than the narration.  Plus, the renditions of Word Girl, Captain Huggy Face, and Two Brains are pretty spot on. 

Then the dam broke.  We had this one:

And then we discovered (because the only paper we had for the sticker chart was photograph paper) that washable markers on glossy photo-paper makes these bright, vivid colors.  Maria has started a "factory" where she sits down, and cranks out picture after picture, along with "stories" for the ones she likes the best.  She has displayed her products on her bedroom wall.  Deciphering them is like one of those newspaper word games. I promise, they all make perfect sense.

See (you can click on the pic to make it more hyuomuingis, a word that not only shows that she thinks she can spell anything, it also shows that she is getting conditioned to look for -ing words):

We are spending the late afternoon and evening of this most beautiful November day at a wedding!  And who doesn't love November weddings.  (Ahem)  Here's MT getting ready (her eyes didn't look so drunk in person) and Maria at her picture factory, and then showing off her "fancy" curled hair.  Here's to love!