Elser Family Blog

The annual North Augusta Christmas tree lighting ceremony was last night in the park across from our house. We walked over and listened to the high school choir sing Christmas carols, and Santa came to visit.

Melinda looking at Santa. I wonder what she is thinking!?

Seconds after the Tree was lit.

Special thanks to Dale for lending me his camera. I really like the wide angle lense adapter.

As I am posting this, Kath tells me she heard a big opossum outside. She heard it. No wonder she complains I make too much noise when I’m walking across the floor at night. She must not have listened to enough loud music when she was younger.

OK.. So I left my Camera in Charleston. No thanksgiving pictures for YOU!
In their place I have chosen some random pictures for you to enjoy.
I received 2 very cool birthday cards this year. They both had old pictures in them! I love old pictures. Some time Ill have to read up on what makes people like to dwell on pasts they don’t remember themselves. (that eliminates “better times” no?) Thank you Steph and Melinda for sending some of these pictures. If anyone’s wants to be my proxy when mom divvies these things up, I’d appreciate it.

This is a picture of my Grandmother Verna Rourke and Her mother Anna Plana at Anna’s Mother Hannah’s grave. This is who our HannaH is named after.

Hey, My third birthday party. How cool is that? Along with my cousins from my Aunt Floralees Family. This is in the 9609 Albany house, October 1967… But I the math does not seem to add up. I thought the Tornado was in 67′ and I though the family lived in a trailer for a couple months. This must have been RIGHT after we moved there.

Like father like son. Dad is about the same age in this picture, as I am now.

Yall did not see to many pictures of our vacation at folly beach this year, because of Dad’s funeral.. But here was a cool random one from this summer at the beach. Rockwell was really boogie boarding. He was not able to stay on but I bet he will figure it out quick..

Cousins forever!
The girls went to a movie the other night something cartoonish about penguins. The boys stayed home and hung out together.

Way to Go Melinda!
Melinda has really shown improvement in her alphabet and letter writing. She likes to write and copy text out of books and off of things. I bet she will be reading in no time.

Hannah, showing off her new prizes.. The last two books of Harry Potter.
[parental boasting]
Hannah was the first person in the school to reach her pagemaster goal of 3000 pages. Almost 1000 of those were the small print in the HP books. Way to go Hannah! Interestingly enough, the second person to reach pagemaster was also in H’s class… And that is out of a school with over 700 kids in it. Also, she was the first person in her class to reach her AR points goal for the year. And finally, although trivial, she also won a quiz in the third grade answering who mark browns aardvark was (as Hannah said TOO easy- Arthur!)
[/parental boasting]
I said to Kath.. “It seems Hannah is competitive” and she said “no way, she’s just her own person. She motivates herself”
In retrospect, she might be right. I would like that.

Not to leave Melinda out… She came home this week with a principles writing board certificate in her bag! That’s a big deal, and she never told us about it! I talked to the teacher, and she said that she was chosen for the kindergarten writing board. I’m not even sure what it was… I did not get to see the paper.

Today Hanmelrocks Cousin Camryn from Wisconsin came to visit! Kathis sister Wendy, her husband John, and son Christopher are in for thanksgiving.. We are thankful they are here! But I think they brought the cold with them.. Brrr its cold here!!! Anyway, I had some scrap copper to recycle, so the girls went on a recycling run.. They are smiling because they are each $6.20 cents richer than they were a few moments before..

I just finished down

I just finished downloading my blogger for MSword client.. I suppose we will see if it works with this post!
Just for everyones information, Trooper the squirrel is still hanging around. She comes and goes when she wants to. She was away for three days in a row, but then Kathi saw her sleeping in her cage, all snuggled up in her blanket.

Silly squirrel. She is entertaining, I have to give her that.

I love technology. I consider myself a postmodern guy. I love what the new media and what IT is doing, I’m excited about where we are going with the vast efficiencies, jobs overseas be darned, we are on the verge of making everyone’s lives across the globe better, along with giving the bastard oligarchs their profits. Its all good.
However.
I’m beside myself. I just refuse to accept poor behavior from children, and especially the programs that instill that poor behavior.
You would think that a spiderman movie would be relatively benign, right?
Click on this picture of the PGV rating on the DVD from the childrens section at blockbuster and listen to the language. *you all know what “PGV” means, right?* Good, because I work in TV and I had to look it up. It means Parental Guidance Violence.
“A$% stomped”? in a spiderman cartoon?..
What are we supposed to do? Keep our kids from watching anything??
You know what I’m pissed the most about? That the VAST MAJORITY of parents aren’t doing a DAMN THING about what their kids are watching/playing on their new PS3/Wii. And MY kids are going to have to deal with them.

I want to swear at them so bad I can spit.

Patriotic girls at school this morning!

TRooper has been gone for a day now. Kathi is bummed. And a little worried, as there has been yet another housecat in the yard.
So, just how many house cats do I have to catch and send to animal control for people to figure out that they need to keep their cats indoors? If its in my yard, its going to get sent to animal control.
Simple as that.
Keep them out of my yard, and all is well.
Same would go for a dog, except I dont have a dog size trap…

More squirrel adventures.
…K looked out the window today, and there were 5 (five) squirrels on the porch.
It seems TRooper brought home 4 of his friends to check out his pad.
As soon as Kathi opened the door the other 4 scattered, and Trooper was left alone wondering why his friends ran away…