The Marsian Chronicle

We "Heart" K.I.

2010-06-29T18:56:00.000-07:00

We've just returned from two and a half days on Kelley's Island. We stayed at Annalee's cottage on the southwest side of the Island. We had a bit of a storm the first night, but it turned out perfectly anyhow. Our cottage was right on the beach, and the sunsets were amazing. The beach was completely covered in shells. In fact, the 'sand' was not sand at all, it was crushed shells.

Top 5 Reasons My Dad is #1

2010-06-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

5. Knows how to fix anything

4. World's best listener, with a heart of pure gold

3. For helping me to build a computer in the 6th grade

2. Loves on his grandkids!

1. Gave me + siblings the legacy of a loving home

Memorable Day / Weekend

2010-06-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Day weekend, we went to see cousin Marg at her grad party. But first we did pancakes and chorizo con huevos at Linda's tia's house. Grandpa Santos did the cooking on the grill. Joe and Izak got some quality time together, and we got to see GG Tompkins too!

Mystery, Peach, Sostenes, Quiz

2010-06-06T18:29:00.000-07:00

We have cats! Momma cat is named Mystery. She's a stray that the kids adopted last year. This spring she got prego, and now we have 3 baby kittens: Peach, Sostenes, and Quiz. Quiz is the black cat. Peach and Sosti look like their mama.

Wicked

2010-04-11T12:13:00.000-07:00

Linda and I went to see Wicked, the musical, on Friday. The show is on tour and is now in Toledo. Linda read the book and has been wanting to see it for awhile now. I like musicals as a general rule, so we decided to splurge on good seats, and make it a big night out. Wow! We had a great time.

Wicked is the story of the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba), and of Glinda the Good, and it starts in pre-Dorothy Oz. It tells the story of a friendship between Elphaba and Glinda the Good. Elphaba has raw and unique ability, is a misfit on account of her Green skin, and feels a strong sense of calling to protect the weakest citizens of Oz. Glinda is beautiful and popular. They meet as roommates and despite its unlikliness, they become best friends. I won't spoil the whole story by revealing much more of the plot. Along the way you learn how the Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow came to their places in the original Oz story.

The music and effects were best-in-class. They have flying monkeys and a giant mechanical Wizard of Oz. My favorite songs were "Popular" and "Defying Gravity".

I can say that this was absolutely the best live show I've ever seen.

Easter

2010-04-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

A few photos from our weekend. That's Dad with the camera, capturing some of the grandkids and friends on an Easter egg hunt and Dan's new place. After the eggs were found, Grandma gave out prizes. And Anna is driving now, on her temps. The weather here was unseasonably warm this weekend, except for about three hours where we had a storm blow through. Kids are on spring break now. So Thursday we went down to a water park. Friday we met up with some of our cousins in Columbus and had a picnic in the park. Saturday we dropped in on Mom and Dad and Dan and Les for the egg hunt. Then back home for sunday. I sing in the choir at church, so had to be ready for a 7:30 rehearsal.

Disrupting the peace

2010-03-20T18:37:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't posted since January. I do track stats on site visitors, and am glad to know that many of you all are still reading despite our slow delivery of new material. The stats show that I have regular readers in New York City and in Germany! I don't know who you are, but I know you keep coming back.

Here are some recent pix:
- Our elementary kids all dressed up for spirit day. LB's girl's basketball team was heading to the state game. We learned today that we won! (Anna and Linda were there, since Anna is in Pep band).
- Joe dressing up for geek day. He didn't have to look far to find garb. He just raided my wardrobe.
- Princess Lydi with Grandpa.

Don't try this at home...

2010-01-03T10:18:00.001-08:00

A few years ago we visited a local pioneer graveyard. We came to the headstone of Charles McKinnis, and one of the kids asked "Dad, are ghosts real?" I was agnostic at the time, and answered like a good scientist, "I don't know, let's do an experiment." So (gulp), I invited Mr. McKinnis to haunt us if he was real.

He has haunted us ever since. Now, whenever we hear strange noises in our home, we know who it is. Check out the graffiti I found on our kitchen wall.

Happy Birthday To Papa

2009-12-28T19:16:00.000-08:00

Today my Dad turned 70 years old. For me this seems quite accomplishment. He has worked hard in his life and has been there for his children. We are happy to be able to share this day with him. We baked him an awesome pineapple upside cake. Ya that's right it was AWESOME!! --Linda

Guapisimo

2009-12-12T16:10:00.000-08:00

Joe decided to go all the way with his haircut today. He seems genuinely pleased with the new look - check out that smile. Actually, we all got haircuts this weekend. Anna took off 14", Lydi got a bob, and Amaya shortened hers up too. I went in the to the barber for mine. I like the warm-shaving-cream-on-the-neck treatment.

How do you know that Christmas is coming?

2009-11-29T15:06:00.000-08:00

The Christmas season has officially started! We spent yesterday with Grandma T making cookies. We made russian teacakes, sugar cookies, and ricotta cookies. We learned that Grandma has two ovens, so she can handle all of the demand.

Visit to TN

2009-11-24T15:31:00.000-08:00

Abby, age 12.

Aunt Jan and Cousin Paul. Paul is recovering from a 15' fall he took last week from a roof.

Lydia and Elydia.

All of us together just before saying Goodbye.

My Lydi, what big eyes you have...

2009-11-15T11:01:00.000-08:00

Recent happenings

2009-10-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

We've adopted a cat. It was a stray that the kids started feeding and petting. We've named her Mystery. She's already pulling her weight - she's caught two mice!

Here's Joe at a recent XC meet. This is his first year. The season just recently finished. Joe PR'd at nearly every meet, and by the end of the season he ran a 17:33. (~2 miles)

These are the potatoes we harvested from our garden. Everything from large potatoes suitable for baking, all the way down to a potatoes the size of a pumpkin seed.

Anna is in Marching Band this year. Here they are playing Tim Burton's 'Nightmare before Christmas'. The band just won 2nd place at a competition last night.

Guess where I'm at?

2009-09-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

I traveled this past week to teach an internal course about the mechanics of rubber to Cooper materials and product engineers. Our Melksham plant is only 20 miles away from Stonehenge! One of my colleagues here took me on a tour of the area. So much history. We saw world's largest man-made hill, and other stone formations. Did you know the stones here (which are massive) came from Wales, and were put together around 3000BC?! How did they get them here? Nobody knows who or how.

Anna's quinceañera

2009-08-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

Anna with some of her friends at the beginning of her quinceañera, and her little sister Elydia (also in white).

Joe and Izak hanging out in the DJ station. Joe did a great job with the music, and kept everyone dancing all night.

Anna opening gifts. She took donations on behalf of the Findlay Hancock County Public Library, and raised a total of $225!

Quinceañera coming...

2009-08-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

Anna just turned 15, and we are gearing up for a big celebration on Saturday. Hope we see you there! 4 pm - ?
Food, Dancing, Cumbias...

A corny project...

2009-08-16T15:20:00.000-07:00

We started this corny project on a whim when we found a good deal at Suter's. We got 15 dozen for the price of 10! Amaya invited her friends to come help shuck. They did a great job, and only left the buggy ears for Dad to do. Mom did the steaming and cutting, and now we have corn for the rest of the year. We'll share at Thanksgiving, or you can come over for dinner sometime...

First 5k

2009-08-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

Joe ran his first 5k race this weekend. He ran at a pace of 13:06 per mile, and finished about 1.5 minutes ahead of his dad. Joe is the guy in black.

Welcome to the family, Tevita!

2009-08-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

This is my (almost) newest brother-in-law Tevita. He is bigger than any of us, and he has a heart to match. Take good care of my sister, Tevita, and welcome to the Mars Clan.

Kelley's Island daytrip

2009-08-05T17:37:00.000-07:00

Dad sitting in his chair on the beach at Kelley's Island. Kids making themselves into Mermaids, as viewed by Dad in his chair. Kids reading about how a glacier carved 3 acres of giant grooves into the limestone. View from the Ferry that carried our Suburban to and from the island. It was a great day.

Cuke #1

2009-07-19T10:40:00.000-07:00

Amaya showing off the garden's first cucumber. It didn't last any longer than it took to cut it up and take this picture.

France

2009-07-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

Linda and Anna accompanied me to Nantes, France for a week. While I worked with colleagues at the Ecole Centrale de Nantes, they explored. Here are some photos of the week.

Mechanical Elephant

2009-07-05T13:13:00.000-07:00

While Linda and Anna were in Nantes, we went to see a giant mechanial elephant.

Insurance man - don't look...

2009-06-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

Here's Joe with his back flip.

Prepping for Father's Day...

2009-06-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

I finished setting up the trampoline today, while the kids made 'Dad fan club' t-shirts, and Lydi watched Wall-e. For lunch we had veggie chili, and Amaya made corn bread. The chili featured fresh cilantro, which I failed to chop finely enough. So it was a little like seaweed in our chili. But the flavor was great.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-31T14:55:00.001-07:00

We have a family tradition now to go to Putt N Pond on Memorial day weekend to enjoy the go-karts. Kids were faster this year, and Joe was fastest. I think he got lucky with the car he picked. He whomped everyone.

Guest Blogger!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Anna)

2009-05-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm the 'guest blogger'...(YAY) I am the Mars's eldest daughter.
We did this project in science where we lauched projectiles (Tennis balls) at different amounts of force. The hightest we were allowed to go, sadly, was only 50 lbs. of force. Okay, I guess that would have been dangerous. There were some Pullers (people who pulled back on the rubber thing) who fell over at less than that. Although, I have to admitt, seeing Brad launch was hilarious. He weighs like...eighty pounds. (He has a big head even though he's tiny) Anyway, so Brad is pulling back with more than half his weight, he's practically millimeters from the ground, and the Releaser lets the safety pin out and launches, and Brad like falls over. It was pretty funny. Oh, and one day Brad told his team, 'We have no idea', to dress crazy for the last day of launching. Only him and his marker ended dressing up. Brad wore a tie and a construction hat and his Marker, Lauren, was a scuba diver. She had a life jacket, goggles, and bright pink flippers. See, the Markers have to run super fast after every launch and try and put a wooden marker where they thought the ball first hit. Lauren did this with her flippers on. And very quickly I might add.
The whole thing was very entertaining to participate in because we have to go through a verbal procedure. The Puller is the head or leader of the group. They get to order everyone around. The procedure goes something like:
"Are all things ready to begin?" Puller to the Teacher in charge. The teacher nods.
"Releaser, retrieve projectile." Puller to Releaser. Releaser come to the Timer(me), who records the launch times, sled numbers, projectile numbers and what-not on a fancy graphy thing, and I give the Releaser a projectile and write it down.
"Timer, is stopwatch ready?" Puller to Timer. Timer clears the stopwatch and checks breifly for safety hazards.
"Stopwatch ready!" Timer to Puller.
"Releaser, charge projectile." Puller to Releaser. Releaser puts the tennis ball in the pouch.
"Projectile charged!" Releaser to Puller.
"Timer, what are we pulling to?" Puller to Timer. Timer looks at the appropriate box on the cool graphy thing and then tells the Puller a number no less than twenty and no higher than fifty.
"Ready to pull?" Puller to Teacher in charge of sled. Teacher points to the sled so that the Markers, way out in the field, can see who's team is pulling.
"Pull!" Teacher to all people (safety reasons) Puller pulls back till the scale reaches the force given by the Timer.
"Force obtained! Release safety pin." Puller to Releaser.
"Safety pin released. Projectile aimed? Scale tipped down?" Releaser to Puller.
"Projectile aimed, force obtained, scale tipped down...LAUNCH!" Puller to Releaser.
"LAUNCH!!" Releaser jerks on the pin hard to launch the projetile. This is when the Timer presses Start and when the ball hits the ground the Timer presses Stop. Writes down measurements and the whole thing begins all over again.
Signing out,
Anna

Joe Deere

2009-05-10T15:21:00.000-07:00

Joe dismounting from our new Green Machine. The kids think its so cool that I'm thinking about charging them to mow the lawn. Hooray for Spring!

Sunday's Launch

2009-04-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

Lydi's Visa Moment...

2009-04-24T17:51:00.000-07:00

Lydi commandeered my camera on the way home and took this shot out of the Suburban window. Check out the surprised look on my face as I realize that my 3 year old is dangling my camera out the window...

Camera - $500
Look on Dad's face - Priceless.

Launch-time

2009-04-19T16:57:00.001-07:00

Joseph and Dalton helped to build this rocket, which we finished last month. The plan is to launch next Sunday, weather permitting. Watch this space for launch news. You can check the weather here. The rocket features a G79 engine, which will produce 25 lbf of thrust for about 2 seconds. We are expecting a flight to about 1 mile in altitude.

Anna can dance!

2009-04-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

Anna loves dancing. She went last night to a church dance with some of her girlfriends, and they had a blast. Linda and I dropped in during the last few minutes, and caught this photo.

Its catching...

2009-03-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

My brother got this from my sister, and now I've got it. I'd like to see if five people read this blog... game on... the rewards could be... well... interesting... but handmade.The first 5 people to comment on this post will receive something made by me. But there is a catch...Here are the rules:1. It's my choice what to make... and you won't know what it will be until you get it!2. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make, but I hope you do!3. What I create will be just for you.4. It will be done this year.The catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same giveaway to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.

Matching dresses

2009-03-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

Amaya and Elydia in their matching dresses this morning.

Tortilla Española

2009-03-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

Ingredientes
Olive oil
8-10 potatoes (papas) – diced
2 onions (cebolla) – diced
2 cloves crushed garlic (ajo)
1 Tbsp salt (sal)
Mushrooms (champiniones, optional)
Chorizo (optional)
5 eggs (huevos)

In a 10.5” cast iron skillet, heat 1/8” olive oil on Medium High.
Add potatoes, garlic, onions, mushrooms, chorizo.
Cover and fry, stirring occasionally until potatoes are soft on the inside, and some are crunchy on outside.
Transfer to a steel bowl, add eggs and mix.
Coat the skillet bottom with olive oil, then pour potatoe-egg mixture into skillet.
Cook on med-high heat until egg sets.
Use a glass plate to cover the skillet, quickly invert so that the tortilla falls onto the plate, with the uncooked side facing the glass plate. Slide the tortilla back into the skillet and cook until bottom is browned. Use the same technique to remove the tortilla from the skillet to serve. Traditionally sliced into 1” squares and served on a toothpick, or as a sandwich (on a baguette).

Serves 6.

¡Que aproveche!

Deep Geek

2009-02-25T18:22:00.000-08:00

If you have any interest in XML, or how internet technology is changing us, check out this video.

New Eagle in the Family

2009-02-22T10:33:00.000-08:00

I am so proud of my brother Ben. He earned his Eagle scout award! Joe and I went to the court of honor yesterday. It was attended by a huge crowd of well-wishers.

"Can you believe all of these merit badges?!"

Mom and Dad on refreshments and photography.

We got to see many friends and relatives, including Uncle Leonard and Grandpa George.

Thank you everyone for a great birthday

2009-02-22T10:17:00.001-08:00

Thank you, everyone. My big Four-O was really great. I'm looking and feeling younger every day!

Spirit!

2009-02-07T15:23:00.000-08:00

Amaya is in the Upward
basketball program as a cheerleader this year. Linda is the assistant Coach for her team. The rest of us get to go watch and snack.

Strategies for Staying Warm

2009-02-07T14:59:00.000-08:00

This past month has been really cold, and we've had lots of snow. I love it. It reminds me of winters when I was young. Seems like the last decade has just been warmer in winter than when I was a kid. The only bummer is that now its my kids who are getting all the snow days. I still have to go to work. So we are keeping warm by bringing in the firewood (Joe), stacking it (Amaya), bundling up and sledding (Joe), and by growing a beard (Will).

Happy Birthdad Mom!

2009-01-25T10:58:00.000-08:00

Christmas Rockets

2008-12-31T13:49:00.000-08:00

Renewed Vision

2008-12-06T16:50:00.000-08:00

The kids picked up their new glasses today, and are all feeling that 'laser-beam' thing that you get when suddenly the world comes into crystal clear focus for the first time. Joe is sporting glasses for the very first time. Amaya picked out a shade of blue that is totally her - stylish and artsy.

The Fiery Furnance and Papa's visit...

2008-12-06T16:41:00.000-08:00

OK. These topics don't have much to do with each other, except that we started burning wood in our wood-burning furnace for the first time last month. We are hoping to save a chunk-a'change on our heating bill, and use up the firewood we've had sitting around. It's more work to get the wood to the basement, maintain the fire, carry out the ashes. But it has its own rewards.

Grandpa (papa) Chavez visited us for the last two weeks, and went home on Wednesday. He brought a warm spell with him, and left us just in time for some stinking cold weather.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

2008-11-28T17:18:00.000-08:00

Things I'm Grateful for this year:

The start of the Christmas season - a time to remember our hope in Jesus Christ .
Growth and healing that God worked in my heart this year. Some of you know that I have struggled in my faith for several years, and that I found a way to move forward this year. Be on lookout for faith coming out in new ways.
16 years together with a beautiful woman who loves me, and who devotes herself completely to our children.
Children who make their dad proud in many ways, and who know just when to scratch my head.
Being part of the Mars Clan. I feel so blessed to have parents who raised us in love, for the paths they chose, and what they taught us. Every one of my brothers and sisters amazes me.
To live in a time and a place where we enjoy so much freedom and prosperity.

Mama Mia! Joe's Recent Events

2008-11-28T17:10:00.000-08:00

Joe played the part of Luigi in the production of 'All Aboard for Broadway'. He did a great italian accent, and made us all smile and laugh. He also got to spend a week at camp Storer on the 6th grade camping trip. Best part? "the food!"

Amaya's Fall Fun

2008-11-28T17:07:00.000-08:00

Here is Amaya at a football game with her friends Alexis and Megan. And Lydi and Amaya playing in the leaves on our deck. Fall has gone by so quickly.

Wambold's Amazing Circus

2008-11-28T17:03:00.000-08:00

OK. I'm a little late getting this onto the web. Its almost December, and this happened back in August. This is when we went to see Wambold's Amazing Animal Act at the Hancock County Fair.

Anna's B-day

2008-08-24T12:58:00.000-07:00

Anna turned 14 this week. To celebrate, we went go-karting and bumper-boating with some of her friends. Yes, that's Amaya pushing mom into the sprinkler!

Back to School

2008-08-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

School started back up this week. Joe is going on the same bus as Anna, which means he has to get up earlier, and that Amaya is on her own later bus now. Lydi was very bummed out to see all of her sibs going away (those are tears in the picture).

Blown away in the Windy City...

2008-08-12T16:39:00.001-07:00

Here's some photos from our vacation. We took the train from Toledo to Chicago. The train was awesome! (but the schedule was a little weird) Here's everyone at 4:30 am waiting for the train. After sunrise, we lounged in the 'sky car' and had a snack. It was a luxurious way to travel.

Here's Lydi at Lake Michigan, and Tia Karyn and Ruby and Alli. The water was great. Lydi was full of explorer spirit that day. While the other kids built a sand castle, Lydi and I combed up and down the beach.

Here's Amaya and Joe washing windows outside the Hancock tower - the 2nd tallest building in Chicago.

Here's Linda with 'Sue' the T-rex at the field museum.

We went to the Lego store at Nordstrom's which has life-sized models of Star Wars characters, and 'play stations' where you can build things.
We went to the Navy Pier. We made all of our travels by bus and El-train (that's spanish for "the train").

Joe with Chicago in background at Adler planetarium. The girls went to American Girl store.

We ate vietnamese, indian, italian and junk food, among other things. We had an exhausting, fun, educational, luxurious, sunny, wet time.

Mars Cousin Camp

2008-08-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

This weekend the Mars Clan gathered at Mom and Dad's to celebrate Mars-ness. How to describe what happened? Bonding (hung out at Great-Grandma T's), Fun, Exhausting, Explosive (rockets), Competitive (1K cousin race!), fashionable (custom T's!), artsy (Jan brought us clay), campy, tasty (Dan's dutch oven), historical (we visited a local site where a Mastodon was dug up some years ago). We didn't get around to everything we planned, but we sure had a great time on the things we did.

Here's Amaya learning how to throw a tomahawk.

Anna and Sarah singing the Moo song (note Udder milking gestures)...

We attended the sportsfest put on by the Portage County Field and Stream club. Here's Anna nailing a clay pigeon. Anna turned out to be quite the sharp shooter.

Alli making clay sculpture with Tia Janis.

Tio Chris building his rocket. Four rockets are in foreground from other cousins. The lauch was a huge success, and quite entertaining. Aaron got the prize for most surprising launch. The engine in his rocket was not secured, and broke loose. His engine shot straight through the rocket body, knocking off the nose cone, and leaving the rocket on the pad, and shooting off into the sky.

Grandpa surprised everyone with lightsabers, and there was a mass "Clone War", as all of the cousins dueled.

Campers stayed in a city of tents in the back yard.

We dropped in on Grandma T, did a few chores, ate lunch, hung out.

First Garden Stuff

2008-07-20T16:44:00.001-07:00

Today was memorable - we tasted the first few veggies from our garden. Amaya and Dad found 3 cherry tomatoes that were ripe. Those did not make it very far. We also found 5 cukes, and a bunch of lettuce. We have some pumpkins coming on. Anna grilled marinated chicken for us. Yum.

Get to the Point

2008-07-20T16:33:00.000-07:00

We spent the 4th of July at Cedar Point. We got there first thing in the morning, and lunched and dinnered there, and stayed for the fireworks and closing. Joe and Dad rode the 'wicked twister' - rated a 5/5 on CP's thrill scale. After which we decided to stick to 4's and lower. I think the overall favorite thing was the sky 'cupcakes' that carry you into the center of the park via cable cars. We did that a couple of times. We really had a great time.

Happy Birthday Lydi

2008-07-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

Piano Recital

2008-06-23T16:24:00.002-07:00

The kids wrapped up their piano study-year with a recital. This is right before the show, with their teacher, and with Anna's friend Amanda. Anna and Amanda did a two-piano duo.

World's Best Dad

2008-06-15T18:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Grandma!

2008-06-15T14:39:00.000-07:00

Anna Burns Rubber...

2008-06-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

On memorial day weekend, we went go-karting. This shows Anna (red car) zooming past Dad and Joe (blue car).

Joe's Hair

2008-06-15T14:23:00.000-07:00

Joe's hair style has been seeing alot of action lately. For teacher appreciation day, Joe dressed up as Mr. H, his teacher. Complete with balding grey hair. Joe also dressed up as a frontiersman, just for fun. His ponytail went perfect. And then it was time for a haircut.

Noo Pet

2008-05-02T17:51:00.001-07:00

Amaya recently acquired a rabbit. Her name is Cocoa.

Noo Doo

2008-05-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

Lydi has a new haircut. Escaping from our watchful eyes for just a moment, she found a pair of scisscors and started the job. Then Linda found her, and the only path left was to finish it. So now she has a bob. She is just as radiant as ever, though, and now all of the girls are talking about haircuts.

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom and Dad

2008-04-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

The Mars clan converged this weekend in Columbus to celebrate Mom and Dad's 40th wedding aniversary. Dinner was a selection of memory foods - "Love" sandwiches (Mom's old specialty), organic salad, sweet corn (remember shucking corn as kids?), carrot cake, Great-Grandma McKay's cinnamon applesauce. The 'cafe Mars' had super-delux table service provided by the grandkids, and a continuous stream of live entertainment.

Primary Colors

2008-04-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

Amaya has a miles-wide artistic streak, and this often is manifest in her wardrobe selections. Here she is dressed in primary colors: blue, red, and yellow.

Spring Vacation

2008-04-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

For spring vacation, we dropped in on Paul and Lydia. Here are some photos...

Ida has started her own businesses. In winter she makes baskets, which she sells from the roadside. In summer she does herbs. While we were there, some folks brought by a bunch of sick seedlings, for her to nurse back to health. So she's grown a reputation as a herb 'vet' of sorts. I believe her baskets are made of strips of white oak (that Paul logs). She stains and dyes the strips, and builds the baskets. Each is signed and numbered. So far, she's made about 300.

Emery has started a harness shop. He builds the equipment that folks need to hitch up their horses to their buggies.

Ida and Anna showing off their sisterly love.

Here is a picture of everyone (Ida, Emery, Lydia, Paul, Abigail, Anna) except Emmanuel. Emmanuel is taking up carpentry, and lives on his own down the road about a mile.

The day we visited was Joe's birthday, and to celebrate, we made homemade ice cream. Paul has a super-delux ice-cream maker. It makes two gallons. The mechanism is so good that Lydi spent about 10 minutes cranking the ice cream!

We stayed in a great hotel in downtown Linden. Although Linden is a very small town, the hotel is really first-class.

Invasion from the Planet Zorgon

2008-04-13T08:02:00.000-07:00

Amaya and Joe acted in a production of the subject play. Grandpa and Grandma and Ben came to see the play. This was Amaya's first play. Joe is an old pro at this, of course. Amaya was hilarious as 'Calamity Josephine', and Joe did a great 'Sheriff'.

Last Blast of Winter

2008-04-13T07:49:00.000-07:00

On 26 Feb, we got the year's last good dump of snow. Kids were off of school, and Will took the day off. The best part was going to The Hill and getting some sled time. Now I'm ready for spring.

Puzzled?

2008-04-13T07:43:00.000-07:00

Kids doing a puzzle on a Sunday afternoon.

Aphrodite

2008-02-03T15:07:00.000-08:00

In Anna's 7th grade English class, students studied and recreated Greek gods and goddesses. Anna decided to study Aphrodite. At the end of the project, she got to dress the part and make a 1st person speech.

Bowling

2008-02-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

Mom and Lydi bowling. Cooper's Research department recently took an afternoon at the bowling alley, along with our families. Lydi turned out to be a great bowler. Her score was only 2 points lower than her dad's score!

Lydi's Body Art

2008-02-03T14:54:00.000-08:00

Lydi's artistic streak has started to show. She loves markers, and her favorite medium is herself.

Merry Christmas 2008

2008-02-03T14:42:00.000-08:00

The Mars Cousins re-enacted the Nativity during our clan get-together at Christmas. Amaya was Mary, and Caleb was the baby Jesus.

Sisters In-Law

2008-02-03T14:36:00.000-08:00

Leslie, Linda, and Sarah Leona sharing the joys of having a Mars-boy husband.

Surprise Visitors

2008-02-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

Lydia, Ida, and Emery Edwards dropped in on us in early December. We have really missed having their family nearby, so it was a delightful treat to visit and catch up with them. While here, Ida called up Chris to reminisce about arm wrestling, and to say 'hi' to Chris' new wife LaTrisha.

Its a wonderful life!

2007-12-02T16:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend, Joe performed in a local production for radio of 'Its a Wonderful Life'. Joe played the parts of Harry Bailey (as a boy) and George Bailey's son Tommy Bailey. The production was recorded and will be broadcast on Christmas on WFIN.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T11:12:00.000-08:00

This year we remember with gratitude our Savior Jesus Christ. We are excited once again to enter the season where we celebrate His birth and His life. We are grateful for our family and friends, and the love they bring into our lives. We are grateful for our great country, for its founding fathers, and for the liberty we still enjoy because of their inspired wisdom. We are grateful for what God has entrusted into our hands, and we pray that He will bless our efforts to raise up those things in the right ways.

We also pray for the world Olive supply, that it will remain stable despite the demand of the growing Mars population.

May you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to seeing you at Christmas.

Chris and LaTrisha

2007-11-22T10:56:00.000-08:00

Chris and LaTrisha got married on 12 October 2007. Here's a photo of the family at the wedding (right), and of the Mars brothers (left).

Akron Marathon

2007-11-22T10:48:00.000-08:00

My brothers Dave and Dan ran the Akron Marathon this year. I took these photos from my 'cheering station' on the top of 'heartrate hill', which I believe was the highest elevation on the course.

A Mother's work is never done

2007-11-22T10:42:00.000-08:00

Linda making arrangements on the phone, and cleaning up almost as fast as Lydi can make a mess.

Alpaca Joe

2007-11-22T10:26:00.000-08:00

Our neighbor has a bunch of Alpacas. One of them looks just like Joe - Polaris. Can you see the resemblance?

Lydi was here...

2007-11-22T10:06:00.000-08:00

Here is Lydi cheering for Anna during an LB football game. Anna was on the field playing flute with the Eagles' 7th grade band. Lydi loves our 'quiet room' where we keep all the crayons and coloring supplies. You can usually tell when she has had unauthorized access.

Lunar Eclipse

2007-11-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

Joe took this series of images from our driveway in the early morning of 28 August. We had a total lunar eclipse. It lasted about an hour. I pasted the images together after the fact.

We're OK!

2007-08-25T16:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone for your prayers, and for checking in on us. It has been a crazy week. Findlay flooded - worst since 1913 - here's a slideshow taken by a friend of a friend of a friend. The region is very flat, so when the river swells beyond its banks, the water goes everywhere. Here's a plot that shows the river height as a function of time. Thankfully, our home stayed dry.

Sweet Corn!

2007-08-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about Ohio is the Sweet Corn. This year's has been especially sweet because of dry conditions earlier in the year. We put up about 40 qts, with help from the kids and one of Anna's friends, Katie. By the time we were done, the kids were getting really good at getting the corn off of the cob. Katie managed to get all of the corn off of one of her cobs in just 5 long slices!

Family Reunion

2007-08-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

On 12 Aug, the Mars clan converged at Malabar Farm in Mansfield to enjoy a few hours together. Check out all of the suburbans! It was a perfect day - sunny, warm, clear skies - in a beautiful place, with lots of siblings and cousins and grandparents. The kids checked out the horses and goats and sheep, and played cornhole and sack races. The sibs traded memories from when we were little. The food was great... Heaven.

When in Rome...

2007-08-25T14:58:00.000-07:00

The first week of August the cub scouts did day camp. Theme: Roman Empire. Ere'sHay oeJay ithway ishay argettay omfray uhthey eebeebay ungay angeray. He got to 'kiss the chicken' on the climbing tower.

Washington DC Vacation

2007-07-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

The Marsians have visited the leaders of this country. That right - we took our summer vacation this year to Washington DC. Here's everyone preparing for the outbound trip...

It has been many years since our last trip to DC (Dan and Les' wedding, I think?!). We tried to carry on the ancient Breezewood tradition of making art with our leftovers at the Bonanza / Steak & Buffet, but alas, we discovered that the restaurant has folded.

Upon arriving for our first night, and checking in, and swimming in the pool, and a walk around the National Mall, the first item of real business was to buy the new Harry Potter book, which was just going on sale. We found a Barnes and Noble in DC, and went there at midnight to do the deed. We were number 274 in line, and we made it back to the hotel by about 1:30 am.

The air and space museum was our first museum visit, and we liked it enough that we went back twice. We also checked out the museum of natural history, the museum of african art, and the library of congress. Wow! Kids loved them, and they were all free! (not counting gift shop). The Library of Congress tour was fascinating. We saw a Gutenberg bible, and a hand-lettered bible from the same time and place. Here are kids with the Viking Mars lander, and a steel tire used on the lunar lander...

We visited many of the great monuments that teach us about the great moments and people and ideas of our nation - the washington monument, the WWII memorial, the Lincoln memorial, to name a few. We were amazed at how big a place it is.

Here is Dad and Lydi with President Lincoln. He is my hero, and I was truly awed to "stand in his presence", and to read his inspired words (the Gettysburg address, and Lincoln's 2nd inaugural speech), which are carved into the walls of the memorial. Lincoln was our greatest president. The trip to DC would have been worth it if this memorial was the only thing we had seen.

Here's Joe in front of the White House.

Here's everyone in Chinatown. We rode the metro and checked out some of the sights outside the immediate vicinity of the Capitol - Chinatown, the national zoo. We ate Mongolian Barbeque. Yum.

Other than the hotel pool, the kids' favorite spot was the fountain in the sculpture garden in front of the National Archives. The spray from the jets is very cool in hot weather, and you can dip your feet in the water. Don't wade though, because there is always a guard on duty.

We also dropped in on our congressman, Jim Jordan. He was travelling in Iraq, but his aides let us sit in his chair!

Lydi's Birthday

2007-07-08T19:19:00.001-07:00

Lydi just turned two this past week. She had over some friends, to share a pinata and cake.

Happy Birthday Uncle Sam

2007-07-08T19:05:00.001-07:00

Independence day was great! We had a cookout with our friends Ron and Emily. Among other things, we brought watermellon to the feast, custom carved to celebrate our country's birthday. Uncle Sam was a joint effort between Dad, Joe, and Amaya. Lady Liberty was made by Amaya and Joe. The gash above Sam's right eye was Elydia's work. She just about poked his eye out!

Tennessee

2007-04-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our spring break visit to Paul and Lydia in Tennessee. Photos are below: That's Linda sewing buttons with Lydia, and Elydia playing with Buster, the 3-week-old goatly lamb. And Anna E. in her greenhouse. And the whole family the night before we left.

There was a cold snap while we were down. Although it was much warmer than in Ohio, it was still quite chilly. In fact, it briefly snowed there! Its a critical time for Paul's crops, and we spent evenings covering everything, and loading greenhouse fireplaces with fuel. During the day, the boys went logging with Paul. We felled a number of white oaks, hauled the trunks out of the woods by horse, then watched the truck load the trunks and haul them to the mill. We had long, deep conversations about family, the gospel, culture, technology, life.

We visited all the neighbors that Paul visited. I was amazed at how many people he has contact with every day, and enjoyed chatting with them. Because Paul doesn't have a phone, he relies on an elderly neighbor for long-distance communications, and he gets his news from everyone he meets. The weather is an important topic here.

The ladies stayed at home and made some delicious meals. The girls made soap. One night Linda did tacos and Mexican Hot Chocolate for everyone. We had Berry punch, a treat made by preserving blackberries in sugar water. All of the kids got to take a turn riding Duke (the horse).

On our way home, we stopped for an hour or two in Scottsville, Kentucky, where there was a Plain (this term encompasses the Amish, Mennonites, and other related groups) auction that Ida, Emanuel, Emery, and Anna attended. The auction was attended by several thousand Plain folks (and their friends and admirers). Joe liked the auctioneers especially. We thought they only did that funny jingle-talkity-talk in movies, movies, movies, hey! Will liked the Chili and hotdog. Linda liked the shovel she bought. Elydia liked the chickens.

Pinewood Derby and Joe's Play

2007-03-31T17:46:00.000-07:00

Here are the boys from our Pack, on Pinewood Derby Night. Joe is not pictured - he was at play practice. His friend Devan raced the car he built, and took 2nd place.

Joe will be appearing in a play put on by Findlay's Youth Theatre - Aesop's (oh so slightly) Updated Fables. It runs on the following dates:

Fri, 27 April, 7 pm
Sat, 28 April , 7 pm
Sun, 29 April , 2 pm

Flaming Disaster

2007-03-26T18:11:00.000-07:00

This is the heating element from our oven. It suffered a catastrophic failure when we were baking chicken nuggets. Anna noticed that the oven was on fire. Dad looked in to find the element arcing and melting. Dad tried to shut off the oven, but it kept arcing. Mom shut off power to the whole house and saved the day.

Sloppy Joes for Lydi

2007-03-26T17:52:00.000-07:00

Here's Elydia showing off her lunch. Everyday she likes to show off new ways of being independent. Today, she wanted to go outside. She didn't have anything on except a diaper, and I said "oh you can't go out without pants on..." I was trying to buy a minute, intending to get her dressed as soon as I finished putting away some things. When I got back, I found her sitting on the laundry room floor trying to put on some pants. So, yes, she is picking up the language just fine.

Happy Birthday Joe!

2007-03-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

Joe turned 10 this weekend. This is a photo of Joe at the BGSU planetarium. That's the star projector in the background. Joe and 5 buddies watched a show about Pluto and its new designation as a TNO. That "Trans-Neptunian Object" for you land-lubbers.

Joe just earned his Bear badge in cubs, finished up the Upward Basketball season, and is staying busy practicing for his part as the butcher in our local Youth Theatre's production of Aesop's (oh so slightly updated) Fables.

Basketball

2007-02-04T11:37:00.000-08:00

Anna, Joe, and Amaya are all in Upward basketball again this year. Here's Anna playing.

Her team is named Mercury, and has an abundance of players with similar names: Anna (2), Annie, and Hannah. Poor coach. They have lots of height on their team, and they won yesterday's game.

Lego Creation

2007-02-04T11:28:00.000-08:00

Amaya shows off a statue of Elydia that she and Joseph built together. Check out the hands with 3D fingers!

2007 Cornbread Champ

2007-02-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

Last weekend our ward had its chili-cookoff, complete with cornbread competition. Joseph entered his cornbread, and won 1st place! Joe uses Jiffy mix. He has perfected his own cooking process.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2007-01-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

Our holidays were full of joy and family and -yes- some stress. Photos above: Linda looking at the "Guess Who?" game that Erik and Lo made for us. The photos are of us and the kids, but with 'special' photoshop treatments: beards, mustaches, bald heads, etc. My '93 civic died - blown headgasket - at 225K miles. I decided it wasn't worth fixing, and bought an '04 civic. The last photo is of the kids on New Year's Eve. We spent the evening at home making cookies. We actually were awake this year when the ball fell. Then we went outside and threw snap dragons at each other. At in Akron, the whole Mars Clan was together for the first time in awhile. We launched a big rocket, and lost it. We did not end up going to TN to visit Paul, much to our dissappointment. The extra time and budget stresses from the civic surprise kind of ruined that plan.

Tired Dog

2006-12-17T10:48:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I ran 15.7 miles, breaking my former distance record by 0.7 miles. New route, and I feel fine today thank you very much. Only a little joint soreness. I am thinking a marathon may be within reach for me next year.

The title of this post is in honor of our neighbor's dog. A week ago, when I went for a 10 mile run, Amaya came with me on her bike. About 0.5 miles into the run, this little dog comes out and starts yipping at us. I tried to chase it away, but it kept following. So then we tried ignoring it. But it still kept following. In fact, it ended up following us the whole 10 miles! Poor dog looked pooped by the time we got back. It was all matty from sweat, and sort of running sideways like he (she?) had real sore feet. The next time I ran by his house, though, he just yipped and me and stayed in his yard.