Friday Pumpkin Blogging

We carved some pumpkins for our family Halloween party last weekend.

CBK Jr.'s Pumpkin - We were running out of time before the party, so Lovely Wife just carved a "C".


The Bear's Pumpkin - He actually carved his all by himself! The face started when he accidentally poked the stem of one pumpkin into his, making a star-shaped eye. So we made another eye and he carved the face.


On the other side he just carved some designs. He's so damn cute!


Lovely Wife's Pumpkin - She used a bat pattern, and it turned out pretty cool.


My Pumpkin - I tried to go for a goofy, cross-eyed face this year instead of scary or menacing. I think it looks like a drunk gorilla, though.


The pumpkins are shiny because I sprayed them with WD40 right before I took the pics. Apparently, that helps preserve them after carving.

For much, much better pumpkins, some cool carving techniques, and entertaining commentary, go to this awesome website: Extreme Pumpkins.

And come back next Friday for Halloween costumes!

Friday Kid Blogging

It's been a little while. Here are some videos.

1. The Bear wanted to dance with CBK Jr. Here are the adorable results.



2. Oh yeah, guess what CBK Jr. can do!



3. He can go the other way, too.



4. He loves books now. In the video he's trying to bark like the doggies. This video kills me.

Real Beautiful Women - North Carolina Edition

Yes, it's back! For now anyway.

Real Cutie
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Real Hottie - Special Legs Feature
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Real Pretty
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I should have some good stuff for a Friday Kid Blogging next week. See you then.

Monday Trip Blogging

Day 3 - British Library, Camden Lock, and general walking around

Phone Box near British Library. It was full of Porn flyers.


Canal, locks, and street on Sunday in Camden. Great way to spend a day and money. You may recognize it from a recent American Express commercial starring Kate Winslet.




Piccadilly Circus and Eros Fountain. As you can see, it's no longer a circus.




Take away Fish & Chips.


Battersea Power station, seen through a dirty window on the train to Gatwick. Classic/Pro rock fans will recognize this building from the cover art of Pink Floyd's Animals album. I geeked out when I saw it coming in on the train from Paris, and made sure I got a picture when I saw it again.


So that's it! It was a great, but tiring trip. While in London we saw "Chicago" at a West End theater. It was really good. We saw it mere days before Ashlee Simpson took over the role of Roxie Hart at that theater, so we dodged a bullet there, for sure.

Another thing that I haven't yet mentioned was that Lovely Wife and I had the pleasure of meeting not one, not two, but three bloggers on the trip! We had a long layover in an airport near where The Jinx of Spades lives, so we got together with him and his wife (herself a former blogger) for dinner. We didn't have time or interesting environs to do much but talk, but seeing as we are both married couples with young children about the same ages, we had plenty to talk about. It was a very good way to spend the afternoon before our flight, and I (belatedly) thank Jinx and his wife for making the trip out to meet us.

On our last day in London we had the pleasure of a guide in Graculus, that mischievous rascal of a British blogger. He lives several hours away from the big city, and was recuperating from nasty looking hand surgery, but he made the trip up anyway and introduced us to Camden and his favorite little tea/French pastry shop. He haggled (unsuccessfully) for us at souvenir stands and told us of his rural life. Thank you, too, Grac, for coming up to London and hanging out with us. That brings the number of bloggers I've met to eight, and I have yet to have anything but a wonderful experience.

Things will be pretty slow around here now that I've got the pictures up, but stay tuned for a surprise this week, maybe even tomorrow!

Wednesday Trip Blogging

Day 7 - London Bus Tour, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, and St. Paul's

Admiral Nelson column in Trafalgar Square


Big Ben seen through the London Eye. The tour guide told us to take this picture.


Allegedly, the church steeple that inspired the first three-tier wedding cake.


The monument to the devastating fire that destroyed most of London in 1666, cleverly named The Monument.


One of the Tower Bridge's towers, seen from the bus.


Scenes from the changing of the guard at the relatively unremarkable Buckingham Palace.








The Tower of London; actually a fortress with many, not very tall towers.


The infamous Traitor's Gate.


Our Beefeater tour guide. The Crown Jewels are in the building in the background.


Some of the famous Tower Ravens.


Tower Bridge, with the drawbridge raised.


One of the guards with a silly hat who's not allowed to move at all.


The impressive dome of St. Paul's Cathedral.


Only one more day to go. Not sure when I'll get the pics up, though, as I'm traveling to a wedding tomorrow.

Monday Trip Blogging

Day 6 - London

Shot of Kensington Gardens near our hotel.


Marble Arch, at the northeast corner of Hyde Park.


Old-school British toilets near Marble Arch. Lovely Wife used this bathroom, came out to get the camera, and went back in to take a picture.


Big Ben.


Parliament. (The building is actually called Westminster Palace). We went on a very interesting and informative tour of the building.


The back of Westminster Abbey.


The cloister in Westminster Abbey.


Pirates of the Caribbean exhibit in Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. (Keira Knightley should raise a stink.)


The impressive and ridiculously expensive London Eye overlooking the Thames.


Westminster Palace, lit up, seen from the Eye.