We missed that holiday...

Featuring the artistic talents of all three Watsons: Joy drew the outline, Derrill cut the holes based on themes and variations on the outline, and Hyrum gave chose the number and style of the teeth.

Hy dressed as Buzz Lightyear for Halloween, Joy repeated her role as the romantic Roman, and I came dressed in 22 t-shirts ... for some strange, esoteric reason. If anyone has pictures -- of me being wrapped up as a mummy by the Petersons, for instance -- please send them. There were several other Buzzes among the children.

Hy enjoyed Trick or Treating more than expected. He followed all the other kids around, said trick or treat, and filled his bag full of candy we knew he'd never eat.

Wrong again. Halloween candy became amazingly popular, in no small part thanks to Mario Party 8, which includes characters that eat candy that produces fireworks and changes their shapes. He wanted candy instead of cookies, actually ATE Tootsie Rolls in multiple flavors, and played with all sorts of strange, new, artificially-colored shapes for weeks.


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Happy Fathers' Day

Mother on Mothers' Day: a Joy post

I've got this idea - I thought of it at church today - since Hy was sick today, I had no Mommy duties - and I realized that my stage of life Mothers' Day is Really Great to have a break. But I know there comes a time when Mothers' Day is really great if you at least get some contact with your children. I'm okay to be on this end for now.

Hyrum vs. Easter Bunny

Hi there. Hy here.

This is me eating my chocolate cross. Mommy and Daddy told me all about Jesus and what He did for us on Easter. We read my New Testament stories all week and Mommy did a special Family Home Evening with pictures from her Primary lesson about Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.

They also told me there's a fun tradition about an Easter bunny who gives out candy and eggs. So I went on a hunt through the yard on Saturday trying to find my eggs. The Easter bunny brought me some plastic food toys, some play dough tools, and a chocolate Easter bunny and a chocolate cross. I ate my cross all up.





In the picture on the right there are 4 eggs. Can you find them all? If you need some help, that's okay. So did I.







Mommy and Daddy hid the eggs in clever places. There are two by the car, for instance.

We had fun and I got to help decorate the eggs and peel them later. I don't want to eat them yet though.

Happy Easter, everybody!

3-11-10

Looks like something fun is happening at the Watsons. Derrill's brother and his wife are visiting for spring break, but why all the decorations?







Oh that must be it. The little giant is finally 2 years old. Hyrum is a toddler. I took the day off work to spend time with him and make the day special.




Hyrum usually shows his interest in something by being very intent and serious-looking, so most of the pictures I got are of a very intent, serious-looking boy fascinated by his presents. One present stood out on the cheering and giggling scale, though: Grandma Straw sent him a Sorcerer Mickey Mouse. He saw it and immediately asked to watch and listen to The Sorcerer's Apprentice. He danced Mickey around and showed him to everyone multiple times with great ecstasy. Now he's started sleeping with Mickey in the crib too. Congratulations, Grandma Straw.

Here's a video of his fun with Mickey, starting with a kiss and ending with a laugh-inducing request for milk:



There were many other hits, though. Joy got Hyrum another toy phone. This one is perhaps the most phone-looking toy phone he's had. He picked it up, put it to his ear, and started having a conversation. He even held it to his ear to open the next presents! So far, we know he's talked to Pop and Boo, Daddy, and Bob the Builder on the phone.




Pop and Boo got Hyrum this nifty tent and tunnel set for his soft ball collection. We invited a few friends his age over - so sorry for the others who couldn't come due to illness! - to run through the tunnel and throw balls around. Hy had a lot of fun playing with them. They also enjoyed some homemade play dough and dug through a big container of rice to hunt for presents and tops. Hy enjoyed crawling through the tunnel by himself, but wanted to watch the other kids and throw balls around.

Joy adds, "It was really nice at the party that the kids tended to get tired of activities about the same time. And they all enjoyed the activities that we had and it was fun - kind of busy. We had some fun. It looked like everyone else did too. Emilee did a great job helping Hyrum with the rice and Steve did a great job of helping Hyrum with his play dough. They also helped clean up and helped it all go smoothly. I'm also really thankful for Derrill who organized a lot of it and insisted there be more than one guest - a good thing since several couldn't make it."

It was a major production for us, unaccustomed as we are to multiple kids or throwing parties. We were glad Steve and Emie were around to help out - Uncle Steve dumped the entire tent of balls out on one of the kids, to his delight.

Hyrum successfully blew out his two candles after enough tries.

The big reason for inviting other kids over was because when Hyrum went to James' birthday party, he saw the other kids eating cake and he tried it too. So Joy made the same vegan chocolate cake for this party and when he saw the other kids eating it, he tried some too. It wasn't much, but he ate a little! Woohoo!

"It was really cute to see them gathered around to eat cake. It was like seeing miniature people. They were just sitting there all agog waiting for ice cream and cake. It was like the reason they got together was to eat ice cream and cake and it was exciting and fun. That kind of anticipation is exciting. Hyrum didn't know what was going on, but the other kids did."

In every sense, it was a much more successful party than the traumatizing one we threw for Hyrum alone last year. To assist, we introduced him to some of the activities the day before. They all passed.


The tent came with two "complimentary gifts" that the company wanted us to review. These glasses with silly, flexible ear pieces were one of them. Hyrum opened the glasses, pulled on the ear pieces and in 2 seconds flat had torn both of them out. What a cheap thing! Are they sure they really want a review from us?



Pop and Boo also got Hyrum a truck book he loved and a numbers puzzle he has enjoyed putting together a few times - it goes up to 20.

Uncle Steve and Aunt Emilee gave him a set of Lightning McQueen Cars cars. They were worried nothing could compete with Mickey for attention, but he was quite enthralled with them too. So enthralled, he wasn't interested in opening this great big package in front of him. So Mommy told him it was a ramp for the cars. He played with them for a bit longer, then parked them under the couch in a line.



Imagine his surprise when he opened the big box to discover a truck filled with hot-wheels-like cars. He got them all out, lined them up several different ways. Then he gathered them up in his arms and sat on them to make sure no one stole them from him. I asked him where his smile was, and this is him showing me where it's hidden. A big Mommy win.

We got him a bunch of books, some Handy Manny toys - of which his favorite is the flashlight and my least favorite is the pliers because they are very annoying to get out of the toolbox and they hurt putting them back in - a Bob Builder and a Toy Story memory match game (two parents with one mind), a couple easy puzzles, a slate to draw on, a Bob the Builder video and some other Bob merchandise. Our card to him has Mr. Rogers singing to him, but Grammy's card to him took the cake: Alvin and the Chipmunks singing "Funky Town," changing their tune depending on which of them you press. I think we're going to hear a lot of Funky Town soon.

We opened some of Pop and Boo's gifts the night before and some the day of while they joined us via webcam. This is them watching him open one of our presents to him.

Hyrum's second Halloween

Hi there. Hy here. For Halloween, I was a horse!

Horses say ppppppppth. 


I even had a tail and everything.

I got to play with Uncle "Stee"ve and Aunt "Emomilee." ... but not much. Really they played board games with Ma and Da while I ran around their apartment like a maniac, throwing balls, conducting John Williams movie music, and watching Book of Mormon stories on the TV.


I'm not just any horse. I'm Heber J. Grant's horse. I helped Heber's family cross the plains when he was a little bitty boy, like me! Me and Heber look a lot alike when we smile.

Most of the time, I rode on Heber. We tried it the other way, too, but it didn't work as well.

 Hey, you guys, cut that out!

You don't want people to see that!

Oh well. Happy Halloween from Hyrum the Heber Horse!

The other Halloween post

I was standing there, changing Hyrum's diaper and asking him to identify the pictures of the latter-day prophets we have on the wall there when I was struck by the thought that my beard looked a little bit like Heber J. Grant's. I'd always liked Pres. Grant - the stories I'd heard of him anyway - and I decided it might be fun to go as him for Halloween.

There was just one problem: Heber was largely bald even as a young man. That seemed to imply that if I was going to do this properly, something had to go.

I had intended to get my hairs cut [yes, I'm anticipating your age old joke] before we left for Italy in early September. Here it was mid-October and I still hadn't gotten around to it. My hair was simply unmanageable and it was bugging me no end at night as it bunched up behind my ears. While it wasn't the longest I'd ever let the hairs on the top of my head get, it was definitely the longest I'd gone between haircuts - something like 3 months.

Wouldn't it be nice to just get rid of it all?

I got out my beard trimmer and whacked the whole thing down to a semi-manageable size... and prepared for the worst.

That's why we're hosting this pledge drive! If we receive pledges of at least $1000 by October 30, we will not make Derrill shave his head. And you'll get a free tote bag, paid for out of the funds you donated to us, making your gift of $20 really only a gift of $10 and that's not very efficient is it, but we're smooth and smarmy public radio. Paid for by suckers like you.

Will he do it? Can we show you such carnage? More after the fold:

Happy Halloween to Joy's Family

Starring:
Fran, Derrill, Joy
DeWayne and Hyrum

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Feel the love.

Where West Meets East

"We had all of Derrill's family visiting us last week!

It was a real treat." My brother and his wife are going to be living up here now, in the Northeast anyway.

"That is why they were able to come, because they were passing through on their way to their home and Derrill's parents were helping them with a load of there belonging. They are soooo nice."

Steve was hoping for a large reaction from me when I saw his goatee. Something along the lines of, ~Oh, no! What have I done!??!~ I did ponder the infectious nature of beards. What I said to my brother in the evening shadows was: Are you sure you're a BYU student? No, but he used to play one on TV.

Steve and Emie stayed with us two nights. They got to show us a lot of their new games. "I really enjoyed Dominian the most. That is not only because won the game the first time, but it certainly doesn't hurt ;). Thanks so much Steve and Emie. We also played Dance dance revolution Disney style, Mario Kart (which was more fun than we expected) and Wii Active. Derrill does a great job at DDR, so do Steve and Emie. I had fun watching them. The next morning I showed them My Fitness Coach."


We were delited to discover what we hadn't thought of before, that Hyrum has an Auntie Em. And he loves her "as shown in the above video".

One of my favorite parts was that I had plan food ahead and was feeling like I could relax and enjoy our company and they really enjoyed the food I made. They loved the deserts, chicken soup, and wheat banana poppy seed bread. Dad also took us to a lovely dinner at a Chinese restaurant.




In a surprising return to tradition we had a joint birthday celebration for me, Steve and Emie.

"Emilee and Steve both have birthdays in July and Derrill's is in August" in two weeks. "This video is of Steve opening his gift of a kitty from his parents. Animals are not allowed in their apartment, but this Fur Real kitty does some real things and is fun."

It lifts it's paw to lick it and it rolls onto its back so that you can scratch it easier.

"I took this video especially for you mom, so you could remember how much he loved it on first sight. Here is the beautiful mother with the beloved kitty now"

We sure wish everyone could have stayed for longer. It will be nice to have Steve and Emie closer. Hyrum should enjoy it too. But this means that the Watson family is now more East Coast than West. eek.

Year of the ...

I find it helpful midyear to pull out my New Year's Resolutions and remember what it is I'm supposed to be working on. You may recall our amazing coverage of last year's Year of the Potato, hosting by FAO. The fourth largest source of calories in the world and a major source of vitamins and carbohydrates, the potato was recently credited in new research with increasing world population by 12% and half of the urbanization that took place from 1000-1900.

So what are we celebrating this year?

Year of animals!
In the Chinese calendar, it's the Year of the Ox, aka buffalo. Check out the link for ideas on what this means and what to do about it. The UN has declared it the Year of the Gorilla, with Jane Goodall as the obvious choice for advocate, to preserve the species. It's also Year of the Shark according to environmentalists who aren't satisfied with saving one species a year. Which one should we celebrate? Maybe we should decide by cage fight... Year of the Gorilla vs. Shark Grudge Match!

Year of science!
To celebrate 40 years since a giant leap was made for mankind and 400 years since Galileo first used a telescope to study the galaxy, it is the International Year of Astronomy. We've already celebrated by repairing Hubble and launching the world's largest telescope to find earth-like planets around other stars.

Year of trench workers!
Two professions, actually. His Holiness is celebrating the Year for Priests while the military rejoices in their non-commissioned officers (Year of the NCO).

Semi-honorable mentions
In California it's the Year of the Olive, while the Jewish Zodiac celebrates the Year of the Pickle. The pickle demonstrates its seasoned maturity over the days when it was just a cucumber. [The Jewish Zodiac ("Remember the Sabbath Brunch and Keep it Holy") tells me that I was born in the year of the Lox, meaning I am thin, rich, and very high maintenance. "Consider retiring to Boca. Compatible with bagel and schmear, although you top them." Happily, Joy and Hyrum are both bagels.]

And the FAO winner:
The Food and Agriculture Organization, to whose data and conferences my dissertation owes its life, has actually decided to abandon the food side this year in favor of ...

A Wild and Wooly 2009: Natural Fibres Year
[Picture of Douglas Fairbanks in Wild and Wooly (1917)]
By this announcement and attendent celebrations, the FAO hopes to assist impoverished natural fibre farmers. The list of the privileged includes:

cotton [Harvested today by machines called cotton pickers and cotton strippers],
flax (Worst comes to it, eat your shirt and get 100% of your B1 and Magnesium)
sisal [from a plant in Africa and China],
hemp ('It's not just for smoking anymore'),
abaca [related to the banana],
jute [in India and Bangladesh],
silk ('I'm wearing discarded worm housing!'),
wool ('Clothing for the sheeple'),
alpaca [llama hair],
camel ('Without us, some lawyers would be naked, and we wouldn't want that'),
angora [Do you mean the Angora rabbit, the Angora goat, or the Angora cat?],
coir [coconut hair! Dude, where can I get a coir hat?]
and cashmere [Persian wool actually from Kashmir originally]

"England’s rise as a world power was built on wool and textiles, while silk for centuries held a central role in international trade. ... Celebrations of IYNF will include conferences, exhibits, and fashion shows in many countries, including an International Mohair Summit in South Africa and a Creative Fibre Festival in South Caterbury, New Zealand."

So remember, if you see a non-comissioned priest in a mohair suit sitting on a pickle-eating ox while he tries to find constellations of a gorilla and shark dueling in the heavens, offer him an olive. This year's for him.

100% Doctored

Cornell's graduation was last week. It was a thrilling, fulfilling, wonderful day. My Dad just happened to be speaking in Philadelphia the week before and Syracuse the week after, so he and Mom flew out to spend the weekend with us.







Course, I've been a doctor for more than six months now. Three signatures = PhD, and that happened in November. It would have happened earlier, but that was the first day my entire committee was in town since May. So I was a doctor in November.

I was a bit more of a doctor in December when I was handed a piece of paper signifying that, yep, I had three signatures and could now claim my "rights and privileges" as a doctor.

I was a bit more of a doctor when the grad school confirmed things back in early January.The diploma arrived in March, that's another bit of doctorocity.

But putting on the cap and gown for the first time on Wednesday just after handing in a rough draft for the next project after the dissertation and taking pics with my adviser was extra special.

And the Sunday festivities Memorial Day weekend were the final capping. It's nice to get to celebrate the same event so many times. Given how long it took, I deserve it!







Christopher Colwatson,
setting sail on three papers
into the uncharted waters of
developmental economics research





But getting back to our story....






Mom, Joy, Dad, and Hy were in the stands to see me, even if they didn't until it was over. Hy, for the record, was remarkably calm and well-behaved throughout the commencement.






I'm somewhere on the right of that sea of red, on the fourth row, towards the right. I can't find me. I have a guess where I am, and there's someone straight in front of me. Joy managed to catch me in a couple videos, but I have to stop them at just the right second to show it to you.



(Here I am at my old building.)

I gathered with the other P.H.ony D.octors at 9am and we stood around chatting until 10 when the bells announced the beginning of the processing. I was very pleased with our bell ringer. We started out marching to Verdi's Triumphal March from Aida, and then strode to the glorious euphonia of Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance.

I told Joy the only thing I really needed was a good solid hour of Pomp and Circumstance. By the time we got to the stadium, I discovered that the wind ensemble had other ideas. I have no idea what I marched into the stadium to. I felt a bit jypped. The Human Ecology undergrads (including those in my new dept.) came in to the March of the Jawas from Star Wars. What?? The engineers got Pomp and Circumstance. Bout time.

It turned out the coolest moment was at the beginning of the march. With Pomp and Circ. in the background, we passed rows of faculty members in their regalia cheering and applauding us as we made our way to the stadium. Though I didn't see anyone I recognized, seeing the genuine celebration in their eyes - particularly when they saw one of their own students - was a really welcoming embrace.



Of course, there's little that could top the moment when the degrees were conferred.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

We PhDs were largely dignified in our celebrations. The Veterinary Medicine PhDs, who had their own seating, had all brought pink hand balloons that they waved. The master of ceremonies -- who did an excellent job, by the by -- instructed each group after their degrees were conferred, "Will the Masters and Doctors of the Universe please be seated." To the VMs he said, "Will the Veterinary Medicine PhD's please Sit DOWN." There was no anger in his voice, but the way he said it brought laughter throughout the stadium.

I was the only doctor near where I was sitting who could sing the Alma Mater thanks to the 4-5 years now that I've lead a quartet/quintet/trio in it at the LDSSA Opening Social. Both Joy and I did my longstanding joke of adding in a few 'bustle bustle bustle's after the line about "Far above the busy humming of the bustling town."

I climbed over the stadium railing once I found my family. We went home, had lunch, and sent everyone away to take naps while I ... did something. I forget what. It may have been church related. After naptime, Joy and I drove around town taking pictures of me in my robes before returning them. Someday I'll own my own set, but it shall not be this day. We ate corned beef and cabbage for dinner, and went out Saturday and Monday for steaks (Lucatelli's) or chicken and pork with sweet potatoes (Boatyard, most excellent!).

I felt loved. I felt appreciated. I felt sunburnt.

I felt truly grateful for the many wonderful fellow students and teachers who have helped bring me along to this wonderful day.

Mother's Day

I had the most Perfect Mother's day ever. So, this blog is really a tribute to my wonderful Husband, Derrill!

It all started on Saturday morning. We had stayed up late to listen to the Dogders loose against the Giants. It was a really fun game to enjoy together, but we had planned that Derrill would be getting Hyrum in the morning. So I slept in on both Saturday and Sunday, because of my wonderful Derrill. This was really a sacrifice for him physically, since we were up past 1:30 am. Then he made crepes for me (my current favorite breakfast), and let me exercise and shower before sending me off to the temple. Derrill then took care of Hyrum all day after having taken care of him in the morning. Derrill usually helps a lot on the weekends, but he even told me when I got home that he realized that what he usually does is help with Hyrum on the weekends and he had felt before he was taking care of him on weekends by himself.

I only explain the last part, because part of him mother's day gift to me that was very sweet was his added understanding of how much work taking care of Hyrum is. Understanding and compassion beat gifts any day. I got home from a wonderful temple session at 5:30 and had some great time with my family, because I had missed them. A gift that Derrill did not plan on giving me that day was that he told me that I was a good cook. It was a conversation that was inspired by some comments of a friend who wasn't feeling like a good cook. It kindof hit me in this moment that Derrill really likes all of the foods that I make him that he had growing up and that I have been very blessed (partly because he is not picky) to be able to feel that I cook as well as anyone has for him. It really made my day. He also gave me a small plant with cute pink flowers called Azealia. He was so on my wave length. He has never gotten me potted fowlers that we not daffodills and I was secretly hoping for potted flowers of some kind. What a guy!

Sunday, Derrill got up with Hyrum again (as I said before) and made me breakfast in bed with a divine chocolate muffin, grapes and crepes with a fancy banana sauce. I appreciated the extra sleep and the special treatment. My Derrill is so kind (then on top of all of that he was concerned the mothers day had not been good enough). After church Derrill and Hyrum presented me with cards and gifts, one each. The card from Hyrum has been a source of entertainment. On the front it says. "And now, PLEASE RISE for the National Mother's Day Anthem..." Then you open the card and it begins to sing "I will survive, oh as long as I know how to love I know I'll be alive. I've got all my life to live, I've got all my love to give. I'll survive" The picture inside is of maham and pandamoniam with a cat chasing a dog, mom pulling out her hair, dad panicing with a screaming babe in arms looking at a young child happily roasting marshmellows on the living room floor. Laudry, hand prints, other wall graffiti, cracks on walls, overturned flowers, paint and it says "Happy Mother's day". "Thank you for your patience, mom. Hy (of course written by Derrill)"

Well, the card was funny enough just the way it is, but for most of the rest of the day Hyrum also sported the card as he tottled around the house. He made sure to make the card sing everyonce in a while, he was cute figuring it out. The gift that came with Hyrum's card where some delicious milk chocolate covered cashews. Derrill's card was a sweet card telling me a list of 25 reasons why we are perfect for each other. His gift to me is a pair of earings that he has ordered, but was not able to give them to me yet. I opened a wrapped jewelery box with a not letting me know about the delayed gift. It was a really great day. I was some kind of royalty for mother's day ;)

At church I conducted the congregational hymns which is always fun for me and we had a lot of visitors for the Law commencement (people are leaving soon, wawah). We also had two musical numbers. The branch choir sang For the Beauty of the Earth. I sang with Caroline and our new branch president's wife As Sisters in Zion. It was a last minute thing planned at the Cinco de Mayo branch party. I was sittting with Sister Horrocks and she said that she had wanted As Sisters in Zion to be a musical number, that is how it ended up in the program as the closing number. I told her that it was still possible, and we could go back to the previous hymn chosen for the closing. She asked me who would sing it. I said that she and I could and we recruited Caroline as well. Before the Branch party was over. We practiced the Hymn once or twice with Caroline doing Alto and us on Soprano and Ben playing the piano and were to practice just once more before church. All went well, what a blessing.