King of Pop

I finally got to see This Is It, the documentary about Michael Jackson's preparation for his last concert tour. For some crazy reason, I seem to be the only one I know that loves Michael Jackson, but there, I said it. Ok, he was strange, and accused of some things that are quite nasty. But let us not forget where he came from... This man had an extremely tough childhood, working in the recording studio when other kids played in the park. Desperately lonely, and ruled by a father so strict and abusive that Michael was literally sick to his stomach from stress being around him. And out of this grew... music that is still loved. Dance moves that are still recognizable, still fun to watch, still influential. I really believe he was a good guy and meant well, and we should all just get over his oddities. He was a product of the environment we all put him in, he never had a chance to be normal, and he was weird, but he was a wildly successful genius too. The best part of the documentary for me was that his 50 last shows were all sellouts. I'm glad he had that satisfaction before the end.

Here's a little reminder, if you want the short version, skip to the 3:30 mark.

And incidentally, Wikipedia has a very interesting page on him, that describes his accusations of child abuse (no charges were brought on the first one, and he was acquitted on the second), and the hundreds of millions of dollars he spent supporting dozens of charities. I'm just sayin.

Parks and Rec

One of my goals for the summer has been to familiarize the kids with some local parks, and get them acclimated to equipment so I can -- eventually -- trust them not to plummet to the ground. It's been a fun experiment, although not without some excitement. Mostly, they still have a 10 minute attention span before looking around for the exit. This is why we have "backpacks."

I love this photo of Ada. Click on it to enlarge the cuteness. I have a feeling we'll be spending some more time on this rope climbing thing, at a park off Lincoln and Yosemite.

Logan and Ada's Commute

Here is Logan's, and here is Ada's!

Playing In The Kitchen

Click HERE.

Leslie's Last Day

Last Thursday was Leslie's last day with Ada and Logan. She has started a new job as a camp administrator for a girls' summer camp in northern Minnesota, and we wish her the best of luck!!

Back From Hiatus

Wow, that was a long break. Unfortunately I wasn't lying on a beach somewhere or hanging out with Andy Samberg. I was doing laundry and stuff.

Here are a few pics from Ada and Logan's second birthday! We had some friends over, and I think the noise and energy gave Ada a case of the shys. Logan was very content with some new toys and a cupcake...