Why wasn't this on the outside of the box?

The following found in the instructions of the portable basketball hoop we purchased for the Adventurers for Christmas. We had no idea...

"Do not attempt to assemble this system without reading and following all instructions carefully. Failure to comply with any of the warnings in these instructions may result in serious personal injuries such as cuts, broken bones, nerve damage, paralysis, brain injury or death. Failure to comply may also result in property damage and will void warranty."

Should we have purchased the more expensive model? Or maybe this is why we don't usually shop at Buy'N'Large but generally stick to the Bullseye.

9-1-1 dialed into the phone as Danjo the Magnificent and King Carrot (aka Grandpa L.) attempt the assembly. 

Did I mention that certain steps in the assembly process are also irreversible? Would that be the death, or brain injury?

Edited to add:

After encountering more warnings on page six, referring back to the previously quoted warnings on page two, King Carrot and Danjo the Magnificent are now claiming an adrenalin rush, saying this may be the most dangerous thing they have ever done.

I am expecting The Doctor to arrive at any moment. 

More Photos Later

Reading the Christmas Story

Anyone ever heard?

Of Andrew Peterson? He writes books and songs. Looks like the book is new, but he's been writing songs for a while. My sis just mentioned a song of his tonight and I am intrigued. The song is Matthew's Begats, and it is on iTunes. I haven't heard a song about the begats before, but I think I like it. It has a little banjo thrown in to add to the appeal. The other stuff there sounds very cool too. The sample of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel was awesome classical guitarish stuff as well.

 BTW, grandma has always referred to her sisters as "my sis Edna" or "my sis Ruby." So there you go, Sis.

What to do...

So far, on the dog haircut front, we have no admission of guilt, just a guilty look and a determined denial when interrogated using non-terrorist techniques. Totally not sure what to do. I'm not really cool with waterboarding. For now, we are waiting and praying that the hand of God is heavy upon him when he hides his sin, or that we are somehow wrong in our identification of suspects. 

I suspect I am getting a cold for Christmas, so I am drinking tea and reading a book-Nim's Island, for all who are curious. Cute story so far. Better than Magic Treehouse, in my adult opinion.

Dusting for Fingerprints, Interviewing suspects

Evidence:

• Big chunk of hair missing over Indie's ear.
  
• Even cut-not hair caught on a bush in the yard.
  
• Easy access to scissors for all members of household.
  
• Young Adventurer has been acting strangely for about 24 hours now. Asked to go to bed an hour early last night, skipped two meals yesterday, shows no sign of illness, seemed depressed--or is it guilt?
  
• Young Adventurer is the only one of the three children who has ever cut his own hair.
  
• If it had been Stevo, Dusty would have been shaved, not Indie, by his own admission, and due to Dusty's generally hostile behavior toward Stevo. 
  
• No one else has probable cause.
  

The, uh, Suspect is fortunate that this was Indie of the ragged itchy scratchy coat, rather than princess Dusty, or I would be more upset. As it is, I am wondering what consequence would be an effective deterrent against a repeat...

Tribute To Arby's Fries, part 2

The spider (sorry, sister) under the box

As close as she has permission to come to body piercings, or maybe it's her butterfly tongue.

Undah da Sea...

The Holly Jolly Bison!

Bow Wow! Havanese in fries? 

They tasted pretty good, too. 

I am really too tired to think of anything else to blog about tonight. I am glad Christmas is coming.

What is your brain like?

This evening I was driving in the car with Young Adventurer. I was asking him questions about school. He must have gotten tired of the questions, because he informed me that the portion of his brain that deals with school had shut down for the weekend. He then proceeded to describe his brain as a bunch of condos. Some of the condos are shuttered at various times (his words, not mine). Currently the school condo is shuttered, indicating that it is not available. Do guys compartmentalize? Well, he's a little young to have heard that sort of description applied to men, and he was applying it to himself. 

If nothing else, I was entertained by picturing his brain as a condo complex. I wonder if there is an HOA? I did tell him that I thought it was interesting to picture his brain as condos. He said the condos were wrinkly and brain-like. 

Ha! Did you think only cold places had snow?

In other news, I bought the ingredients for Christmas Party Egg Rolls today. Now I just need some time to cook.

Venom is concertmaster for tomorrow's concert.

Adventurer Two is not feeling too great. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. She thinks Asthma stinks.

There was some sort of bird of prey in a neighbor's tree watching my little dogs in the yard a few mornings ago. It was not as big as a hawk. Maybe a kestrel. It was too early in the morning for my camera to get a good picture.  There are no other birds in the yard now. Have they all flown south, or is it the predator in residence?

You know your child is growing up when...

Venom stayed home while I drove to pick up some Adventurers tonight. She had homework to finish. When I came back, she had finished her homework, cleaned the family room, and was emptying the dishwasher. She didn't want me to have to stay up late. 

She also showed good judgement recently in her reading choices, and in her friend choices. 

Young Adventurer wants mercy for Christmas. Santa doesn't bring that. He brings lumps of coal to naughty children. Young Adventurer knows where mercy comes from. He watched the Advent Conspiracy video and immediately found a way to spend less and share more.

Adventurer Two is smiling with friends again. 

She had a blast at Biztown this week, learning by experience how to balance a checkbook, run a business, and pay back a loan. Danjo went along as a parent volunteer, and he had a blast too. He made sure the kids in his area knew how to run a profitable business! He focused especially on customer satisfaction and bill collection, from what I understand, and they paid back their business loan and made a $10 profit, which is a lot, at Biztown.