It seems there's some sort of conspiracy amongst preschools that I was not aware of. The conspiracy involves convincing innocent little children that leprechauns exist. A couple of parents that I surveyed offered up the same story; one preschool teacher brings the kids outside to play while the other teacher surreptitiously leaves little bits of evidence around the classroom that leprechauns were just there.
So step aside Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy for yet another mythical creature to enhance our imagination. Hello little Leprechaun.
So with that said, Parker came home from school convinced that a Leprechaun would be coming into our house on the night of St. Patricks's Day to spread shamrocks (and whatever else...dwarfism, alcoholism, etc...) around the house for us to discover the next morning. And so, what better time to catch the little guy and keep it for a pet, right?
Behold the PARKER POWERS LEPRECHAUN-VALESCENCE TRAP 3000
She's thought of everything. There's a bed, a pillow, a toilet, a bedside statue and a little chain he can rattle when he needs PJ's assistance with meals and whatever else. Her plan (as she so eloquently recited to me that morning) was for the leprechaun to walk up the ukelele and slide down into the Leprechaun-valescence home where he will be well-taken care of by his new master Parker.
With last week being PJ's VIP week, Laura and I totally rocked a 3-song set for the kids. This time we had a song ready for an encore (B-I-N-G-O) however no request for was made by the audience (drat!). The 3-song set consisted of an original Maraca! (words by Loren Barroca-Haar),Old MacDonald and the ABC song.
Although it wasn't caught on tape, when we sang "and on this farm he had a..." and paused, one of the kids Laura pointed to said "igloo". Hmmmmm....after Laura and I looked at each for a brief second we moved on to the next audience member and continued with the song.
Note that we were merely the opening act. The headliner was a well-told story by Daphne Dahl titled "Parker and the Three Bears". She is marvelous at story-telling as well as changing the story on the fly...one this one she replaced Goldilock's porridge with Parker's blanket.
We may need to take this show on the road. Hopefully by then I can learn how to correctly play the chords to the ABC song.
This is an interesting video. It was taken in the morning during our first family camp out in April 2010 at El Capitan. Georgia offers up a sneak peek into her occasionally petulant personality. She knows she is not allowed to take her blanket outside of the camper but, like her counter-culture ancestors of the 1960s, she decides it's a good time to question authority. So the police state made up of Laura and myself elect to punish her with the utmost of consequences...behold the tortuous "Time Out Chair".
I cannot conceive how but Georgia managed to scrape the skin right below her nose a few weeks back. The result of this injury was something of epic comic proportions. This would’ve been much more timely (and tempting) a couple of days before Halloween.
There’s so much more Nazi humor to insert here but in the interest of good taste I will refrain from such childishness.
I'm not sure which is worse, the scar or the band-aid covering the scar. Either way it's some good comic relief.
...this is the longest post of this blog and deservedly so!
The actual notice to our neighbors was as follows...
Dear Neighbor,
We want to let you know ahead of time that we will be hosting a backyard birthday party this Saturday, March 5th. There will be live music playing a 10 song set, it shouldn't last more than an hour starting at 7:30 or so. We appreciate your understanding and hope it is not too much of an inconvenience for you. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to call us at 650-XXXX. Good day.
Scott & Laura Powers
The truthful, after-the-fact notice to our neighbors should've been something like this:
Dear Neighbor,
Be afraid…be very afraid. 30 people are gathering in our backyard this Saturday night and it’s going to be drunkenly loud. A live band will be performing at high decibel levels for about an hour but that will not be the end of the evening. Following their performance the encore will consist of a hippie-like Stevie Nicks character (a self proclaimed mix between Madonna and Sade...seriously) who will take the mic and repeat the same phrase "Laura from Ventura" over and over ad nauseum.
Neighbors, prepare yourself for a long night of adult exuberance! Hopefully you’ll enjoy hearing Grandmaster Melle Mel’s hit “White Lines” blasting in our backyard a little after midnight while a pack of wild ladies dance around the patio like it’s Studio 54. Unfortunately the keg that is being provided is of a somewhat lethal variety which will only encourage depravity throughout the entire evening. For all of this we apologize but please understand …THIS IS LAURA’S BIRTHDAY BASH AND SHE’S WORTH IT…SO POUND SAND PEOPLE!!
Scott and Laura Powers
P.S. To our neighbor across the street that will be hosing down the vomit chunks off of his sidewalk the next morning...sorry about that dude.
Every band needs a good looking drummer with attitude.
A special thanks goes to the sound engineer Allen Dahl... even though he kept erroneously telling me that my guitar was too loud. Further proof he doesn't understand the full effects of alcohol. Al was a tremendous help in getting the sound right in addition to putting a dent into the keg. He's a good man.
Another special shout out goes to the vocal stylings of Geoff Nicolle. Not only can he sing just about anything, he can make just about any song sound good. This night would've sucked (musically) without him. I as well as my country thank you for your service Mr. Nicolle.
This is the other guy that deserves special recognition. I have always been a huge fan of John's guitar playing. He's the only guitarist who can produce riffs that make me laugh (in a good way). I aspire to play like John. He brought so much to the songs he played on. No doubt we wopuld've sucked without him. And boy do our girls love John. I especially enjoyed playing the classic Miss Marmalade.
These two are nothing but trouble.
I am positive that Tracy had a good time. She's agreed to join Laura's basketball team, she challenged the husbands (along with Becky) to a sport of their choice, and she agreed to babysit our girls for a week while Laura and I go on a cruise (paid for by Tracy, of course). I tell you, it was good beer. She also busted out a mean drum solo late in the evening.
It was nice talking to Brian although he probably doesn't remember our conversation. Like Tracy, he agreed to babysit our girls for a week and pay for our cruise to Mexico. Thanks dude!
And I can't leave out Loren. She is a marvelous woman who dished out a mean dish of rice and beans...and I never get to talk to her anymore.
And lastly my dahling wife. I think this topped the surprise 28th birthday party. Turning the garage into a disco was easy compared to this. I know you had a great time because you're still talking about it which makes feel oh so satisfied and so very glad we embarked on this endeavor together. I love you for so many reasons but what comes to mind when thinking about this night was your energy. You were fearless on the drums, on the mike, and on the dance floor. I can't think of a better time I had and it's because of you. When it comes to your birthday my goal is to make it something special for you. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. However, now I'm in a tight spot. I have no idea how to make your Leap Day birthday next year nearly as memorable. Maybe we'll do the same thing but add in a princess jumper. I can't imagine that being nauseating after several cups of strong ale, right?
A special thank you to everyone that attended and made this an evening to remember. I was looking for a good party picture of Song and Becky Wicks to include but I could not find one.
The last song of the evening, I Love You Lakshmi Singh. Unfortunately the sound is a bit distorted. We were too loud for the little condenser mic.
