( education / news / rss ) Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) reflected on the death of her oldest brother, Donald Reed Herring, from the coronavirus in an interview excerpt publ ... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) continued from Hiking with Elizabeth
The scariest part was when we stopped. Then he stopped. I had my phone in hand, looking at the map. There was a tense moment until he smiled and said, Y'all lost?
Just trying to find our way back to the parking lot, I said. He walked on ahead... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) Went hiking with my daughter, Elizabeth, yesterday evening. There's a nice little park in Thompson's Station with fairly extensive walking trails on the south end of the park, near the water tower.
We saw an owl, so, with her new birthday-gift SLR camera in hand, Elizabeth shushed and gestured for me to stop while she took pictures. She got som... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) Preparing to take Elizabeth to a skating party, I said, Here, take some money. Go ask your mom for more. I thought I had at least a $10, but only had $6. When she returned I asked how much she had now.
Forty-six dollars.
What?! Yeah, I'll need most of that back.... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) Me (folding clothes): I need some of your hangers.
Elizabeth: Here you go.
Me: Wow, a variety of hanger types, thanks.
Elizabeth: Well, I am diverse!.
Her friends are diverse, actually, but it's an inside joke with us about her overbearingly liberal school whose biggest source of pride is its "diversity."
... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) It was father-daughter day (for me, my brother, nephew and our daughters) at NorthStar ski resort in Lake Tahoe. See vimeo.com/122485652... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) There's something on the kitchen counter. I'm thinking it's a shriveled, rotting potato. Not that we usually have that sort of thing on the counter, but that's what I'm thinking. I point at it and ask my wife, What is that?
Elizabeth's rock, wife deadpans. She's convinced it's a fossilized dinosaur tooth.
I just laughed out loud. Of c... read more
( education / language / elizabeth ) I love how my daughter, Elizabeth, 9, makes up words.
Tonight I was complimenting her on what a good fruit smoothie she'd just made. I said she should always try to remember how much of each ingredient she used so she can make it again. So, she was going through the list of ingredients: two bananas, some of those honeydew melon pieces, a pynk... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) Just finished putting up chicken wire around my strawberries. Elizabeth picked one last night, turned it around to look at it, and discovered that it had been bitten into. We can only assume it was rabbits.How many were ruined? I asked.Four, she said.In my garden, that's a LOT. :) Anyway, hopefully the wire (not to mention the old scar... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) Elizabeth (at the dinner table being forced to eat her broccoli): Ugh, can I throw up?
Her mom: Um, no.
Me: trying not to laugh out loud
Mom: You're not helping!... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) Elizabeth dragged me onto another one of her outings this morning. If nothing else, she keeps me in shape. This time, she was on her motorized scooter (the kind you stand on), while I rode my bicycle. No fair making the old man use pedal power while she rides a scooter, giving only her throttle hand a workout.But first, I had to fix my flat. I h... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) Elizabeth received a birthday card from Grandpa today with $20 inside! She said, I love your dad! Tell him thank you very much! Your dad is rich! I wouldn't have thought such an old old person would have so much money!... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) After catching a cricket and putting it into her bug cage (yes, she has a bug cage), my six-year-old daughter Elizabeth asked, Can you ... um ... look on the Internet and see what crickets eat? I just laughed and said, Yes, I can actually do that. So, excuse me while I go do that. And here's the link: ... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) As it turned out, today was a good day for kite flying. Elizabeth, 6, had been bugging me about flying her new kite since returning from the vet this morning. We had brought all three pugs in to see Dr. Paula: ... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) I'll be spending all week (Spring Break) with my almost-6-year-old daughter, Elizabeth. Woo hoo! Yesterday was supposed to be my only day off, as she was supposed to be in school (snow make-up day). But she's come down with the flu, so she stayed home with me.
I took her to the doctor, and they confirmed she has type A flu. It's been going a... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) This could get expensive coming here on a regular basis at $9-$10 every time, but Tara had a coupon that made it half price. We're at the new one in Brentwood/Cool Springs. Much better than the one north of town near Rivergate. Much more professional-looking. For one thing, all the bouncy ... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) This could get expensive coming here on a regular basis at $9-$10 every time, but Tara had a coupon that made it half price. We're at the new one in Brentwood/Cool Springs. Much better than the one north of town near Rivergate. Much more ... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) Tara had a busy day off. Her basic schedule consisted of: 1) taking our pug Chandler back to the vet (for the fifth or sixth time the past month) to check on his ulcerated cornea; 2) awaiting delivery of our new used clothes washer; and, 3) picking up Elizabeth from school. U ... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) Elizabeth, 5, came up with the following play just as we were finishing dinner the other day. Dinner theater, if you will. :) We were in Sacramento visiting my Dad, joined by my brother Greg and his wife June.
MOM (Tara): Where is the prince? There he is. Will he join me for dinner?
DAD (Bill): Will my mother stop making me work al... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) As Elizabeth likes to say, she and I were hanging out today while Tara had a girls' day out with Ronica. I think Tara's was a belated birthday thing. Hers was on the 10th. Anyway, once Ronica finally called — after Tara had started to worry — I was left alone with Elizabeth.
We went to the ... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) ... of kindergarten! Tara's getting Elizabeth ready now. Elizabeth has been ready to go, already jumping into bed with us, then jumping out almost immediately, I guess because she couldn't sleep.
Tara will usually be taking her in the morning and I'll be picking her up after.
Yes, she could take the bus, but hell no we're not going to throw... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) You will not believe what I've been through! :) Okay, maybe it's not been that bad. You single parents out there are laughing at me, I'm sure. But I went an entire week taking care of Elizabeth, our 4 year old, while Tara not only had to work all week, but also came down with a cold. So, I've had to start her baths — Elizabeth's not ... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) Or, as they piously call it around here, Fall Festival, because Halloween is the work of Satan, you know. :)We just returned from trick-or-treating, which Elizabeth absolutely loved. She kept saying, Halloween is so much fun! And now we're all recovering from the hike around the neighborhood. Well, that plus our activities earlier today.F ... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) I can't believe I made it. Of course, it's not over yet. It's only dinner time. It's been a LONG day. I'm at McDonald's as I write this. I tried to get online with their free wi-fi, but you have to have an account already before you can use it. Now I know. For some reason, this ... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) Elizabeth and I went down to the creek this cold fall morning. With all the recent rain, Indian and Mill Creeks both had a lot of rushing water. We walked along the edge of Mill Creek. Usually, we stick to the closer Indian Creek. Elizabeth went as far as she could (or wanted to), then I had to carry her. At one point while carrying her, I slipped ... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) In the twenty minutes that Tara and I left Elizabeth alone, she found some (child-safe) scissors and cut off all her hair. At first I thought it was just wet. Then I realized she'd cut it all off. I laughed and said I was just glad she hadn't hurt herself.
A few seconds later, Tara came into the room and I told her what Elizabeth had done bef... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) We had a list of stops to make. First came Ace Hardware for a clothes line and a no-pest-strip. Elizabeth had rediscovered her Barbie electric guitar earlier that day and brought it with her on this trip. She wanted to bring it into the store, she said, so everyone can hear my music. I said OK.... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) The other day at the house, we had this conversation:Elizabeth: This is my house.
Bill: Your house? I thought it was my and mom's house.
Elizabeth: No. It's mine. I'm sharing it with you.
Tara and I cracked up. ... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) It's this Sunday! Just FYI if you want to send an email or call or whatever.We should have pictures up here from tomorrow's party at Chuck E. Cheese's.... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) I finally edited these a little bit and uploaded them:
Chandler hanging out
Elizabeth's baby shower in February
Elizabeth's b-day party in April
A... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) Elizabeth's directorial debut. A probing, provocative, sometimes introspective look at a typical weekend around the house with Mama and Papa and the pugs.
Elizabeth's first video ... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) Elizabeth's directorial debut. A probing, provocative, sometimes introspective look at a typical weekend around the house with Mama and Papa and the pugs.
... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) We had a scare a couple of Wednesdays back with Elizabeth. She was at pre-school/daycare when she tripped and fell head-first onto the pavement outside as everyone was told to get in line to go back inside. We figure, being so competitive, she was racing to get in the front of the line when she tripped. She lost consciousness for a second or two an... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) Tara, Elizabeth and I just returned from a trip to California. Ostensibly, we went for my nephew Thomas's wedding (to bride Heather at Lake Tahoe), but it was also a convenient excuse to let everyone on my side of the family, especially her Grandma and Grandpa, finally meet Elizabeth. No offense to Thomas and Heather!
Tara's side are a... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) I delegated the responsibility of reading Elizabeth her bedtime story :) By the way, she slept great! I put her to bed at 8:15 and she was asleep by 8:30. We woke up at 8:00 this morning. — Ronica ... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) I delegated the responsibility of reading Elizabeth her bedtime story :) By the way, she slept great! I put her to bed at 8:15 and she was asleep by 8:30. We woke up at 8:00 this morning. — Ronica... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) Well, Elizabeth's birthday party is this Saturday. She'll be 3, and it'll be her first real party. It'll be outside at a covered table next to a playground in a nearby park. I can't tell you here on the Internet exactly where this park is because you might be a murderer or child molester. You know who you are.
Anyway, let's hope it's better w... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) Elizabeth spent her first official full day at daycare yesterday. The teacher went on and on about how wonderful and good and helpful she was. I say first official day because Tara took her to a free trial day last week. Daycare is probably a lot like the orphanage, which is why she flouris... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) Tara's female family and friends threw Elizabeth a baby shower last weekend. I was the only man there. The only reason I went was so that any other men showing up wouldn't be the only man. Oh well. I was able to get a lot on video, and Tara took pictures.... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) I can't believe how nice my coworkers at Franklin are. On Friday, they had a luncheon at work for Elizabeth and Tara. They invited me, too. :)
Great food, several gifts, and the biggest surprise: a money tree. Tara and I were speechless at that. It's not like my coworkers have any more
spare money than we do. Don't worry, we'll spend it all (... read more
( family / holmes / elizabeth ) I just thought I'd mention that Elizabeth is settling into her new life pretty well. Tara is her full-time parent, I just appear after work and on weekends. :) Even then, it's Tara who does most of the work.
Elizabeth's biggest hurdle so far has been getting used to our pets, three pugs and a cat. She's ALMOST completely used to the pugs by now... read more
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