Halloween Monsters

We had a scary monster at our house for Halloween.  Although, if you asked Calvin, he would say it was a friendly monster.  Out little blue monster with a big yellow tummy would run around saying "I'm gonna get you!" and then tickle his victims in a painful pinching sort of way. 

Calvin gives his best monster "grrr" on the front door step before trick or treating.

He tried out the monster costume one evening a few weeks before Halloween and did a good job of not spilling his soup. A monsters gotta eat.

Halloween was "pumpkin time!", which pretty accurately describes my attempts at decorating inside the house.  And we did have a pretty good set of carved pumpkins this year.   

Bryan carved the space shuttle, I carved the tree, and I helped Calvin with the scary face, which he picked from a list of carved pumpkins on google images.

Trick or treating was one of the highlights of pumpkin time (as it should be!) and Calvin got the hang of it pretty fast.  I took him for the first round of houses while Bryan stayed home to greet the many trick or treaters pouring down our street, then we switched and Bryan went out with Calvin while I stayed home and fed sugar to the constant stream of costumed children.  Halloween is a big deal on our street.

Calvin's off, ready to start trick or treating.

Monster Cavlin's Halloween loot.  Time to start rationing!

Bryan and I joined in the fun as a Monster family.

Super Storm Sandy

Super Storm Sandy (written a week ago):

Fortunately, we did not have as hard of a time with Hurricane Sandy as New York and many other states did, though for a while predictions were pretty serious for us in Northern Virginia too.  The concern for us wasn't so much storm surge and flooding from the ocean but lots of rain and wind as the hurricane collided with the other storms heading our way, with the strong winds from the hurricane carrying the rain down, concentrating right on top of us.  We were warned about flooding, damaging winds, and loosing power.  And with the local power company's reputation, that meant widespread power loss and for long periods of time.  Everyone made preparations.  People stocked up on water and non-perishible food, filled their gas tanks, found their flashlights; stores ran out of batteries. 


Everything shut down on Monday and Tuesday for the storm, and everyone was encouraged to stay off the roads if at all possible.  The metro was closed, all government offices closed, schools closed.  Monday started with some drizzle and an occasional small gust of wind, but by the afternoon it had increased to a significant storm.  By evening the lights were flickering, rain was pouring down in sheets, and the wind howled and slammed against our house.  We lost power Monday evening about half way through dinner - we felt lucky that we were able to finish cooking dinner.  I was shocked when our power came back on around 10pm because I can only assume that it meant that some poor power worker had gone out into the storm to fix whatever broke.  I was very, very thankful though.  Lots of our co-workers were not so lucky and went without power for much of the rest of that week.

By Tuesday morning, the storm had pretty much moved on and we were left with a wet, calm, work-free day.  So while flood waters receded and some power was restored to those still without, we enjoyed an unexpected family day at home.

A co-worker of mine sent this picture on Tuesday showing the flooding on the driveway to the high school where I teach.  The small river that normally flows only a few inches deep at best within banks that drop a few feet below the flood plain about 20 or so yards from the driveway had flooded so much that it covered the 3.5 to 4 foot fence that borders the road.  That was an impressive amount of water.

The driveway to Middleburg Academy flooded during Hurricane Sandy.

By the time I returned to work on Thursday (being part time, I didn't have to work on Wednesday, which was a Monday schedule due to the storm), the water was gone and most of the debris had been removed from the road and grass, though the fence was still covered in leaves and branches.

As I write this, another winter storm heads its way to New York and other states already hit hard by Hurricane Sandy.  I worry how they will get through it.  I am reminded again how lucky we were to have missed the worst of the fall storms this year.

It has been a while...

Wow, time flies fast.  It has been way too long since I last posted an update.  We've been very busy in the Hoke household, and distracted with other things, so blogging was put on the back burner for a while.  But now I'm returning to our blog, ready and excited to post many updates and pictures, so please stay tuned.

Some new developments for me include starting a job at a local private high school (Middleburg Academy).  This small college-prep school is about a half hour drive west of where we live, opposite of heavy traffic, through rural roads and cute little towns filled with history and old storefronts and rock walls bordering rolling pastures and old trees.  I'm only working part time, which gives me time to prepare and grade during the two days I don't go in to teach.  I had hoped that I would be able to keep Calvin home on my days off, and I do occasionally.  But for the most part, I use that time to do my "homework" so I don't end up having to spend my evenings or weekends preparing for my classes.  I'm teaching a freshman Earth Science class and two senior Forensic Science classes.  They are all a lot of fun and a great deal of work, and I'm learning a ton about teaching at the high school level.  I also have an adjunct teaching position (part time) with a local small college that will begin in January, assuming scheduling works out with my high school job.

With me back to work, Calvin started preschool/daycare in September at a nearby Montessori school.  He loves it, which is a huge relief for us.  When he started, he walked in like he belonged there, barely giving Bryan a backward glance and a "bye, dad".  I suppose we had built up excitement about starting "school" with him and made many visits to the school before his first day, so I'm sure that helped his comfort level.  But I think having been in a Montessori daycare previously made this one seem more familiar and comfortable.  And it is such a great school, it is hard not to feel comfortable there. 

Calvin (front row, 2nd from right) and his class at his preschool/daycare.