TJ and Clayton relaxing before TJ's and Seth's performance.

Gorgeous afternoon in the city

Doesn't this look like a wonderful way to spend a beautiful Saturday? While others enjoy playing and working outside we're in the truck in Chicago traffic after picking up some trail machines and parts from Michigan for Non-Toxic's lodge. By the way, Michigan is lush and green and feels just like Wisconsin unlike Chicago, Gary and northern Indiana. Those places look and SMELL different. Anyhow, we'll be home soon, right after we pay a month's mortgage to the Illinoise tollway :-)

A little taste of the Pops Concert

Tonight was the Annual Pops Concert given by various members of the school's choirs.
Nathan Hataj asked son Clayton to come and play the bass for him, along with Richie on drums and Jessie on electric. Clayton I know had a lot of fun practicing with this talented group of guys.

The more expensive camera's batteries died, so we had to make do with Clayton's digital camera after the song started. The sound in person was much better and I'm sure the DVD will be excellent.

And for some reason, Nathan wasn't allowed to use his own very nice electric acoustic which is why he way off to the side so far away from his bandmates.

Wrap up of the BEST field trip EVER!

Joseph, Jayson, Clayton and Joel in the Engineering Centers Building at UW Madison

Friday, April 17th was a last minute 'field trip' day for boys.  It was just gorgeous out-sunny and 70 degrees and I was so glad that I got to go with them.

Clayton and Joseph along with their cousins, Jayson and Joel had the privilege of attending the

Engineering Expo, 

Pizza Brutta, handmade wood-fired pizza  on Monroe Street, 

Quarry Skate Park in Middleton (it's the 'bowl' kind-very fun), 

Eric's Bike and Skate shop, 

Guitar Center (!!!) 

and then Non-Toxic Teen Center.

Not a bad itinerary for one day, eh?

They were a fine, fine group everywhere we went.

 Clayton in the red shirt, to the left of him Joel, to the left of him is Jayson. 

This is just a little tiny glimpse to show how how crowded the informational booths were. Unbelievably, in this huge expo, the boys caught up with some of their friends from Edgerton High School-that's Wesley to the right of Clayton, who took the time to show the boys some of the cool places they'd already found.

  

This is a lightening machine. It was cool. What was it's purpose? No one has any idea. 

It was supposed to be hooked up to Guitar Hero and students could then cause the electricity in response to their playing, but since it was put on by the only slacker engineer students we saw there, it didn't work. It gave us hope though, that even in the field of engineering, a slacker is still welcome.

  

                  EnginEarrings

The shiny 'gems' here on these earring at the bottom are actually grains of high purity aluminum that have been "annealed" that is heat-treated to a very specific degree to cause the grains in the aluminum to grow.

This was at the Material Science's table, and unlike the lightening show across from them, actually taught us a lot about metal, how to retain it's strength when working with it and even then how that applied to guitar strings! The material science engineering student there really knew his stuff in order to explain all of this to us-very prepared and interesting.

 

Joseph (in the superfly sunglasses) and Jayson

Mucking About in Oobleck

This was waaaaaaaay fun. Clayton, who I didn't get a pic of, really liked this exhibit. They let you get your hands into this big, rectangular pool of gooey non-Newtonian fluid. When they just drew their hands through it gently it was like going through water, but if pressed down on it-it felt like a solid. Jayson and Joseph are making balls of it in their hands by quickly rolling it like snowball, when they slowed down though, it went through their fingers.

It was fun and it was messy!

The student there told us an interesting application of non-Newtonian fluids is being used to develop less bulky forms of bullet resistant clothing. It was way cool.

   

    Joseph, Jayson, Clayton and Joel

After we found our way out of the Expo by miraculously finding the magic door that we had accidentally used to enter it, we made our way to lunch with Aunt Rosemary. This was the first time Joseph and Clayton had wood-fired pizza from a brick oven. It was quite a culinary step up from their usual fare of McDonald's and Taco Bell. 

The pizza is made in front of you on delicate crust, the sauce is just tomatoes and olive oil and the pepperoni was thinly sliced to get crispy. All in all, a very nice experience in a cozy little restaurant on Monroe Street. We all recommend it.

  

Joel, Jayson, Joseph and Clayton's legs

Middleton's Quarry Skate Park was our next stop that was much anticipated. It is a 'bowl' style skate park unlike the Edgerton and Whitewater parks that are flat concrete with jumps on top. There were no bmx bikes allowed here but the boys were prepared with skateboards and helmets.

It was very difficult trying to get a pic with all four boys in the screen at anyone time! Everything is fast and noisy there.

We did get a chance to discuss all the engineering that goes into something like this-right down to their own boards, body mechanics and even protective gear. We learned that engineering is everywhere!

  

Jayson (in the black) and Joseph 

Joseph really got out and skated a lot. I had to go somewhere else and not watch as it all makes me way toooooo  nervous. To me, concrete + wheels + kids = missing front teeth.

  

Joel, Joseph and Clayton

We found a skate shop!! Erik's Bike shop in Madison by Westgate is a great place. Clayton got to pick up some much needed grip tape and all the boys got to take a look at everything offered there.  It was fun, especially after trying to find other skate shops only to find that they had closed down.

 

Clayton and Jayson 

Guitar Center At Last!

Clayton tries out a Jackson guitar, while Jayson plays the exact same guitar he just bought. Guitar Center is wild, crazy and LOUD!

  

Joseph tries out an Ibanez that he's thinking of getting.

  

Joseph and Joel jam together. Joel's picked out some pretty guitar that I don't what kind it is, but I'm sure he does.

  

The Daisy Rock Guitar!!

Okay, now this is a guitar that is marketed to girls and I wanted Clayton to try it out 'cause I've always thought that it would be cool guitar for the girls down at Non-Toxic. However, the girls there have expressed their desire to have "serious" guitars and we found out that despite it's pink rock candy finish and in-laid stars on the fret board-this is a seriously awesome guitar. It's got Duncan pickups and it has the approval of at least two 16 yr old guys! 

 

Jayson goes "old school" electric.

 

Clayton picks out a tune on flying-V guitar.

Ooooohhhh and the other 'boy' David had his own field trip:

 

Son David after working on Friday, though left out of our field trip, went and arranged his own. He got together with some friends and went dirt biking and then had a cook out. 

All in all- a GREAT DAY was had!!!

Clayton and his new guitar an Epiphone SG G400

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Happy Birthday Evan! Evan is 8 years old today so we celebrated with him at breakfast at Ray's.

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First and Second Place Cousins

Joseph and his cousin, Jayson

These are the days of brother vs. brother and cousin vs. cousin at the teen center! Now,  this is not nearly as bad as it sounds-it's actually fun. Because of the ages of my boys and sister Rosemary's boys being nice and close and all of them enjoying a game of pool, they often have to play each other during the pool tournaments at Non-Toxic.

Last year, all three of our sons would play and lots of times it came down between two of them. It can often be a cousin or brother who takes them out of the tournament -or one of each 'cause it's a double elimination meaning you have to lose twice before you're out.

Anyway, last night was fun. Jayson had the game against Joseph in has hand when he accidentally scratched on the 8-ball. But all the kids in the tournament are such good sports-they are gracious winners and losers.

Congratulations guys!

*Notice Jayson's nice newly brace-free teeth!!*

The Von Trapps live!

David and his Grandpa wearing their matching outfits: moss green sweaters and black pants. His Grandma and mother also ended up wearing moss green sweaters! 

Now it's only 'matching' outfits NOT 'identical' outfits (unplanned of course)  like Sam McCumber and David's Grandpa had on in the very first post on this blog. 

Today walking around we must have looked like one of those travelling singing families on tour.

Once More With Feeling

So here David is warming up before his audition. 

He was able to procure a practice room for students about an hour and a half before his app.  He played Jeff Hickey's "The Old Fishing Reel "  and then his own "My Refuge". It lasted 8 times longer than his last audition.

There was a crazy awesome piano player in the practice room next door. I peeked in, but didn't want stare--have no idea who he was but he really was crazy awesome.

David's audition went well; he liked the professor very much.

So now we just wait to find that letter in our mailbox accepting, denying or wait-listing him. 

Either way, it was a good visit today.

Ahhhh... Life is good again at Taco Bell

Taco Bell makes everything way better! Yes, it is the table picture part of our trip.
And this made Joseph think that tagging along on this particular little adventure was totally worth it. Grandma and Grandpa are at the table too.

"Have Gun Will Travel" movie marathon

Grandpa and Joseph in the 'way back' of the van on the way back home from Chicago.
Can you back-seat drive from the seat in of the back seat? Ask Mom what she thinks...she was the one driving back to Wisconsin.

They were back there watching episodes of "Have Gun, Will Travel" which Joseph thinks is the best show ever. It's so cute watching them watch movies on a little portable dvd player with earbuds in. Something I certainly didn't do with MY Grandparents!! Technology can help bridge the generation gap-amazing.

David finds out that music composition is NOT going to be his undergrad degree.

I wore a sweater and everything!

The Thinking Man

Son David contemplates his future after his audition. He will be having another audition next week perhaps-then, or middle to late March. The college admission drama continues!

A snippet of the praise team for urban missions week

This student body praise team was so awesome! The drummer in down in front on the left side with the lead guitar and bass on down on the right, and a Sam McCumber like guy at the piano and keyboard. They were movin', raisin' their hands and people out in the audience were clapping-which makes getting a good recording on a little cellphone really tough people!

Sterling North Show 2009

Here's Grandpa Hodges doing two songs. He was so great! The audience really enjoyed him.
FIVE of his grandsons (David, Clayton, Joseph, Jayson, and Joel) were also in the show.


MANIFOLD! Yes, this is the boy's band. It's Clayton (far left), nephew Jayson, friend Nathan singng, Joseph on drums, nephew Joel and friend Michael on the bass.
They performed a song called New Beginning composed by son David, arrangement by the band with lyrics by Nathan. It was very much a group effort. This was their first public performance outside of the teen center.


And finally, here we have son David. He's performing three of his original compositions. The first is Snow Drift Riff-which is a new favorite of mine.

It was a lot of fun that day. There is a lot of talent in the Edgerton area; singing, dancing, flags, poetic readings-it had great variety. It was just the sort of thing that makes living in a small town a charming experience.