Whales' Tails

It's been too long since we've updated, and someone in the family is getting twitchy because of it...you can be sure that NorthernToddler and NorthernDaddy aren't the ones - we're too busy arguing over who gets the Goldfish crackers. (As a side note, I would like to point out that my mother never gave me Goldfish crackers as a childhood snack - I was THIRTY-THREE years old before I had my first Goldfish cracker. Can you believe that?! Now, I snarf them all the time, which is why Levi and I fight over who gets to hand out the snacks: he thinks that I short-change him in the snack department. I am of the opinion that I'm way bigger than him, so I should get a way bigger serving of Scooby Snacks.)

Okay, back to the update: for those of you that have driven the Interstate into the Burlington area, you know about the Whales' Tails. For those who don't know, if you're traveling north on I-89 near Williston, there suddenly appear two large whale tails. Just sticking outta the dirt on the side of the road. (Some crazy Northerner stuck 'em there....or some stoners....or maybe they're fossils!) We've passed them many times over the past few years - we finally made our way to the park that surrounds the area to get a whale close-up. (The real story on the tails and why they are on the side of the road? They were originally created out of black marble or granite or something to be placed in front of a hotel/conference center in Randolph, VT. The project fell through, and due to some cosmic weirdness, the tails ended up on the side of I-89. [There did used to be whales in Champlain, and whale fossils were discovered in Charlotte, so I guess there's a connection to whales swimming in dirt...]) We finally made the trip to see them real close, and they are impressive. Below, NorthernToddler poses to provide scale. The real reason that we stopped to see the tails is the weird field of weird things nearby. From the highway, it appears to be a wind-energy farm (with really tiny turbines!). From close up, it appears to be another stoner project: there are hundreds of poles with propellor beanies on top in a field. It might be a wind-energy generating project, but there are no wires from the windmills to the tubes... no idea what they are. On the way back to the car, we stumbled across a tiny little sign that explained the alien field: it's an art installation to inspire the watching of the wind, or light, or some such thing. The spinny-thingies turn in the wind and drive tiny generators at the top of the tube which power LEDs that light up the tubes. It was daylight when we were there, so we didn't see the display, but the sunset made the tubes look pretty cool. Look below, and imagine standing amidst hundreds of these eight-foot-tall poles. Kinda freaky/cool!

Levi hams it up near one of the alien light sticks.

Woof, Woof!

NorthernToddler picked out a puppy dog costume for this year. His mom and dad attempted to talk him into being something else, but our little man was quite insistent on the puppy outfit. After seeing him with the costume on, we think he made an excellent choice. Little man makes a good puppy. It didn't take long for him to learn the traits necessary to play his role: running around excitedly, drinking from toilets, and lifting his leg on fire hydrants. Okay, just kidding; he learned to say, "Woof, Woof" very quickly.

Levi's very first trick-or-treat stop. Ever. In his entire (short) life. NorthernMommy made sure that he was thoroughly prepared for the job by rehearsing his lines (twickorteet), and we headed out to bag some candy from the biggest sucker in the entire North Country - grandpa!

At first, Levi didn't really get what was going on....but as we headed to the other houses on the street and complete strangers started to fill his bag with candy, he caught on real quick! We hit all five houses on the street, and ended up with a full bag of candy! (It's a good idea to stop at houses staffed by senior citizens who've been waiting since noon to see if anyone will trick-or-treat at their house this year: they've got a lot of candy to get rid of - it's also recommended that you take along an impossibly adorable toddler: they provide a distraction so that you can shovel the candy into the bag with a minimum of fuss!)

By all accounts, NorthernToddler's first trick-or-treat outing was a smashing success. (Well, except for Mommy giving our little hero several pieces of his candy.... we ended up with a slightly wound-up ball of lightning who couldn't get enough of sprinting back and forth along the length of Grandpa's house!)(Good job, Mommy! - everyone knows that the candy is for the parents, not the child!) Our most difficult challenge of the night was trying to explain that the phrase 'twickorteet' only works on ONE night out of the whole year.

As a closing photo, we have a shot of our little redneck for your enjoyment.

Camo pants, lime green sweatshirt, mis-matching windbreaker, and a gimme hat from the GM truck dealer....that's our redneck! (The camo pants and lime green shirt came together as a set, and they look great in combination - but the total package is what sets out our little fashionista!) Now that you've had a little bit of time to absorb that fashion statement shown above, here's the best part: He went to church on Sunday morning wearing that exact outfit! (Well, minus the hat - we DO have standards...)