“That was exciting!”
— the kid, as we leave Disneyland’s “Soarin’ Over California”

“Nice one, Dad!”
— the kid comments on her dad’s use of a hair dryer on his shoes after a rainy day at Disneyland

Here’s another video with pics from our Disneyland trip.

Music Used:

• “It’s A Small World“, “The Aristocats“, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious“, and “The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers“, from the Sherman Brothers Songbook performed by various artists and written by the Sherman Brothers

“It’s a hotel after all.”
— the kid, when asked to name her favorite Disneyland ride

We just spent four days at Disneyland and I’m actually quite surprised to say that we happily would’ve spent even more time there.

I’m sure we’ll be posting lots of words and pictures. For now, here’s a video of our time there.

Dad: “You’re, uh…”
Kid: “…THE BEST KID IN THE WHOLE WORLD. THE END!”
— the kid finishes her dad’s sentence for him

Here’s the latest chapter of “Life with the Kid”. In this ongoing series I post a video collage of pics and videos from the past half year.

This latest installment contains approximately 180 photos and 20 video clips and clocks in at 9 minutes and 37 seconds.

Previous installments:

1. 2007: Part 1 (Jan – Jun) | Part 2 (Jul – Dec)
2. 2008: Part 1 | Part 2
3. 2009: Part 1 | Part 2
4. 2010: Part 1 | Part 2
5. 2011: Part 1 | Part 2

All pics and short videos used in this collage were taken from July through December, 2011.

Music used:

• “Feel Good Inc.” from Demon Days by Gorrilaz
• “Coffee & TV” from 13 by Blur
• “Porno Music” from the Freaks & Geeks Soundtrack by Michael Andrews

“I wish Wube was here, then he could claw Daddy’s ear.”
— the kid thinks of ways to wake someone up

Here’s a video of our Christmas morning. The first half focuses on a kid and her stocking, the second half on waking up a lazy daddy before presents are opened.

Music Used:

• “Jingle Bell Rock”, “Jingle Bells”, and “Winter Wonderland” from Christmas with Chet Atkins by Chet Atkins

“And that is Wubie dressed as an angel.”
— the kid explains a Christmas drawing

It’s that time of the year, so I’m cranking out some home movies. Here’s a video of yesterday’s our Christmas get-together at my mom’s place. Every year we say “Wow, look how grown up the kids are!” For some reason it seemed especially apparent this year.

Sorry you couldn’t make it!: Sam & Mirjana & family (OR), Tisa & Jim (HI), Nina & Larry (TX), Michelle & Michael (CT!)

Music Used:

• “Deck the Halls”, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”, “Silent Night”, “Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum)”, from Christmas Album by Charlie Byrd

“Whooah! They fall down on the floor, tiny ice cream.”
— the kid narrates as mom drops something on the floor

It’s 3:22 AM Christmas morning, so I better be getting to bed pretty soon. I stayed up a bit later than I thought I would, wanting to finish off this video Jill shot last night of the kid leaving out various foodstuffs for Santa and his trusty reindeer.

This is our fourth “Christmas Eve with the Kid” video. I really treasure these things and am already a bit fearful of the eventual day when the kid isn’t bouncing off the walls excited about Christmas morning.

Luckily, Gpa Peter, Uncle John, and Auntie Laura visited with us last night, so we got a bit of them in our little video. These are the good times. Merry Christmas.

“You can’t go to the airport, Wubert! There’s a plane squash you…and take you away. That’s not fun, Wubert.”
— the kid explains to Wubie why he can’t go on a plane trip in September, 2009

Here’s a quick video from this year’s Dicken’s fair. The kid’s Gpa Tom and Gma Karen are featured, along with some footage of the kid playing one of her favorite fair games, “Boot the Cat.”

Music used:

• “Christmas is Coming” by the Vince Guaraldi Trio from A Charlie Brown Christmas

“Hey, why are you making me freak out!”
— a grumpy kid

Unfortunately, there are a great number of things that flit into and out of my soggy brain without leaving nary a trace. Because of this, I find it especially interesting when seemingly innocuous things I viewed or experienced years ago carve out a permanent residence in my mushy cerebrum and bind themselves to my psyche.

One case in point: The Last of the Curlews, an animated Afterschool special I viewed a single time as an eight year old. Truthfully, I don’t really remember the specifics of the cartoon. However, I do remember how incredibly sad and depressed it left me for days afterward. Sheesh, even thinking about it now gives me a sad dull ache!

How can a forty year old cartoon have this kind of impact? I thought I was alone in how it still affected me all these years later. However, after some googling, I soon found this wasn’t the case. IMDB was a wealth of info. It was there I found a handful of reviews from those who were affected much like myself.

Actually, here are two reviews taken verbatim from IMDB:

Like others who commented this animated film made such a huge impact on me that i was compelled to search (36 years later) for information on it online. I remember watching it with may sister and the both of us crying all night about it. My mother came home from work, and we were crying so hard she thought someone had died. In school the next day, all the kids were talking about it. One kid actually stayed home sick because she was so upset.

Ouch.

Up to two days ago, I did not know that what I had come across as a child was this. I had caught it maybe halfway thru and the memory of the last 5 minutes of it has been with me forever, yanking at the heart strings with each time I remember…..though I remembered them more like sparrows and not like snipes.

It’s powerful, powerful in memory and powerful in that now I have located a source, I’m not sure I could bear to watch it, knowing what is to come, even though it has been 20-30 years since I’ve seen it. Of course, as an adult, I can use all the compensating techniques that comes with being adult……..but I wouldn’t want to.

Unlike the others who have commented here, I never talked about it the decades before. I suppose being able to do so “now” changes the impact for in the 5 minutes it has taken me to write these 2 paragraphs, being able to see it again becomes an easier thought to approach.

Which is probably part of its impact; it is about being alone and being alone is such a terrible thing. One needs to share something at least.

I found some video clips on YouTube, but I haven’t viewed them. I’m sure the adult me would see them as dated and less impactful. However, at the moment I’m not interested in finding out. I guess I still need a little more time!

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

“Yes, but you’ll have to open the package first. They won’t spill out magically!”
— The kid’s answer when asked if she wanted some Halloween candy M&Ms in a bowl

Here’s a quick video of the kid playing with our new tablet. I’d originally planned on getting a Kindle Fire or Nook tablet. However, after a little research, I decided to spend a little more and get a full-sized tablet.

“It’s slightly dark, but there’s a cheerful light coming from the pumpkin lights.”
— the kid’s answer on Halloween night when asked if it was dark outside.

Here’s a Hi8 video dub of a Christmas Eve spent with Jill’s family back in 1998. Note: A young Wubie makes a brief cameo at the very beginning.