Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! It's back to work for me, but the Christmas spirit continues on with our family, in our house. It was a good four days at home.

We started the weekend with a family trip to Bertucci's. The kids were pretty good there. We were there very early in a nice quiet corner. Hazel had a big bench to roam back and forth on. Henry made his usual three trips to the bathroom. I don't know what it is about that place, but I always spend half my time in the bathroom there because of Henry. Hazel insists on going every time too. She and I did have one cute moment in there when we dance together while Henry did his business (the music is louder in there, so she was moved).

On Saturday morning I took the kids to the Ecotarium. We had a good time there although I did have to drag Henry to the car because he was angry about not getting something at the gift store. "I don't want any Christmas presents!," he told me ... 'yeah right!' That afternoon Henry helped me cut up a big branch that fell from the mini ice storm we got earlier in the week. He had his plastic chainsaw and my bush cutting snips.

The next day after church Henry and I wrapped a big bunch of Christmas presents. He was very happy to sign his name on gift tag. I found it cute, but then realized that he viewed this tag as a magic tag that when put on a present meant the present was for him, not Evan or Liam! He was concerned I wasn't wrapping any of his presents and I told him that Meg and I would do so when he was sleeping. He left the room for about 5 minutes, went upstairs, came back down and said, "Did you wrap my gifts? ... I took a nap."

When Hazy got up from her nap Henry very willingly went with me to get a haircut. He was really excited to bring Hazel along. He got nervous when we thought we'd have to use a different stylist, but then our usual stylist came out from the back and all was well again. Henry did a great job and then it was Hazel's turn! Her first professional haircut. It was so cute. I wish I took pictures of it. She was very serious. It didn't take long at all, but towards the end of it she seemed to be enjoying it.

On Christmas Eve Meg found a good entertainment idea for us ... Pump It Up free jump time (as in no restrictions, not cash free)! Meg got an opportunity to cook multiple dishes for Christmas day while the kids tired me out (and stretched my arm out a bit) jumping like crazy in an assortment of bouncy houses and slides. I took them to a massively grocery store for supplies. I was proud of my patience in there, just a Dad, two kids and three carts (one adult sized and two kid sized). We were quite a sight! Very cute, I think. When we got home Meg astutely told me, "even simple dishes take a lot of work when you're doing three of them simultaneously." I don't doubt her. I wrapped more presents in the afternoon, this time without Henry.

For service we went to our own church. I got a promotion this year from sheep herder and "performed" as wise man #2. Greg played the part of an angel - with a speaking part. The donkey pooped, Meg managed Hazel for a full hour in the pews, it was a lot like last year. Afterwards we had dinner at Nicole's. The food was good, the kids were well-behaved and we put off opening presents to keep things more calm. When we got home the kids were put to bed quickly and Meg and I brought the Santa gifts downstairs. It doesn't take long to arrange the gifts around the tree, but I think those are ten great minutes to be a parent.

The kids were up pretty early on Christmas Day. The first few minutes of them downstairs were touch-and-go. Meg and I really don't understand all the anxieties, but they went away pretty quickly. Our presents were open in no time. Hazel opened Meg and my gifts as well as hers. I built a doll high chair for Hazel and Meg made us a breakfast treat. Before going to Nana and Grandpa's I built two Lego sets with Henry. It was a big a time thrill for me to be building new Lego sets with him. I'm sure I had more fun. It was a multiple "Lego-gasm!"

For dinner we went to my folks. There were a lot of people (Hazel pointed this out to us). I didn't get as much time to visit with some relatives I rarely see (this is a shout out to you, Aunt Carol) as I would have liked to, but the kids were pretty well behaved for most of it. Above all I became more scared of a video game system for our family than I was before. The boys got a Wii and brought it over at my request. It was addictive for all, but sure seemed complicated. I can't wait to hear how Nicole, Greg and the boys are mastering the system! We got home fairly early, but really tired. I "pushed" myself onward and made four more Lego sets. Evan would be proud of me.

I won't give out all the details just yet, but expect some big changes for this blog for 2013, including some local weather reports with detailed measurements as Meg got me a super gift I've been thinking about for years ... a home weather station! I'm pretty psyched.

We're all looking forward to more Christmas fun. Hopefully Meg and I can sneak out somehow and have a breakfast date or something similar.

8,000 halves turned up one 90% silver half dollar (1964), twenty-two 40% silver halves (1965, 3 x 1966, 14 x 1967, 4 x 1968D), one proof half (1978S) and one Dominican Republic 50¢.

6,440 quarters produced four Canadians, five US nickels, three US pennies, one Bermuda 25¢ and one US dime.

2,650 dimes rounded up four Canadians.

1,600 nickels yielded four Canadians (2 Ni), four US pennies and one Kenya 40¢ (1969).

A couple days ago it was my birthday. When I got home I got even better greeting that usual (the kids usually make a big deal of my arrival ... it is very nice). Hazel ran up to me and said, "Happy Birthday, for you!" while pointing at me and dancing a bit as if she were a Supreme. It was really cute. Henry came up to me and gave me a present he made, a drawing. That night Meg made me a special treat of ham, homemade mac-n-cheese and brussel sprouts. For dessert we had rice pudding.

The next night Meg and I went out to eat and my folks watched the kids. It tasted good and was relaxing!

400 half dollars had two 40% silver halves (1967, 1968D).

4,080 quarters turned up fifteen Canadians, two US nickels and one US penny.

4,300 dimes rounded up fifteen Canadians and one UK 5 pence.

1,440 nickels yielded thirteen Canadians (8 Ni), five US dimes and one US penny.

Overall those were some pretty lame-o coins I searched.

Last night Henry told me, "Hazel had a bad dream at nap time. She dreamed a large monster was eating her ... I asked her and she said, 'Yes.' Something tells me Henry doesn't know the power of suggestive interrogation! Meg told me afterwards that Henry, himself, had such a dream recently.

This morning Henry asked me why I had to go to work today if today is my birthday. I like that idea! He also wondered why he had to go to school on such a special day ... thanks little dude!

17 small dollars had one Canadian.

8,000 half dollars turned up eight 90% silver halves (2 x 1941, 1942S, 1944, 1944S, 1946, 2 x 1964), seventeen 40% silver halves (2 x 1965, 1966, 6 x 1967, 5 x 1968D, 3 x 1969D), six proof halves (1976S, 2 x 1978S, 3 x 1979S) and one new modern mint set one for me, the 2012D.

3,360 quarters yielded five Canadians (one was a 1966, 80% silver), one US nickel, one US penny, one quarter with a cud on the reverse (2006P North Dakota) and one new modern one for me, the 2012P Denali. That's the first 1966 Canadian quarter I've found in a roll. The cud error is worth about $12. Here's a link to an E-bay sale of a very similar coin; my coin must be from the same die and is in the same condition.

2,300 dimes rounded up one silver Rosie (1946) and one UK 5 pence.

1,240 nickels produced one War Time (1945S), one Canadian nickel and one Canadian dime.

13,950 pennies yielded ninety-five Wheats, one hundred sixty-five Canadians, twenty-six US dimes, one US nickel, one Bahamas 1¢, one Guyana $5 (2008), one Australian 5¢ and one Euro 2¢.

1909(2), 1911, 1917D, 1919(3), 1920, 1926, 1928, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1939(3)

Yesterday I took the day off to take Henry and Hazel to their first dentist visit with Meg. We were scared ... three of us anyway. Meg and I were scared because we've seen what doctor and hair dresser can do to Henry; Henry was scared because, well it was something new and he was expecting something awful, "Is the dentist going to take my teeth out?" he asked us? The Bernstein Bears book about going to the dentist backfired a bit I suppose.

Well, wonders be no one had a reason to be scared. Henry and Hazel dressed without fuss, got in the car no problem, played blissfully in the waiting room (got two stuffed dolphins from the staff) and went willingly into the examination room. Henry was very shy and didn't talk much to the dental assistant, but she did a really nice job walking him through everything and letting him play with all of her tools. It went as well as it could of, better even. Hazel's turn was after Henry. She wasn't very cooperative, but they didn't try to do much with her and she held up through it all so we didn't care. "Do you guys do haircuts too?," I asked. Afterwards we celebrating with a trip to the mall food court for pizza slices and a ride on carousel.

I took a bunch of pictures of the whole experience. Towards the end of the appointment they told me I wasn't supposed to be taking pictures. So are some of the ones I took illegally with some censoring!

Here's a great piece of work Henry made at school. I think the person is supposed to be him picking up toys (it's a fantasy piece).

1,760 quarters turned up three Canadians and one Bermuda 25¢.

600 dimes rounded up one silver Rosie (1961D) and two Canadians.

280 nickels had one Swiss 20 Rappen.

Last night I worked with Henry on one of his first homework assignments. I'm so glad he waited for me to get home to do it. I cut out the pictures, he glued on some and Hazel glued on others. Henry also drew various things on the sheet. My favorite drawing of his in the piece is the one he did of Hazel's doll. I know before long helping him do homework will be a big pain, but for now it still has some novelty to it! (Ironically I had spoken to my sister earlier and she was struggling with Evan and his multiplication homework ... that'll be me in a few years ... I'm sure of it.)

Henry's homework.

This is another drawing Henry drew yesterday. It includes a stop sign and traffic light.

3,080 quarters rounded up eight Canadians, one US nickel, two US pennies and one Chinese 1 Yuan.

2,300 dimes yielded four silver Rosies (1952, 1954, 1963D, 1964D), three US pennies, two Canadians and one Estonian 20 Senti. That's the first coin from Estonia for me. A new country!

1,640 nickels got me four Canadians (2 Ni) and one US dime.

Here are some pictures I've taken recently.

On Tuesday last week I had to stay home in the morning for a bit longer than usual so that I could pick up my phone at the Bank of America. I left it there over the weekend! Henry was motivated by Sid the Science Kid to do some drawings for his grandmothers and send them out via the computer. This is probably his best car drawing yet! It includes an exhaust pipe and exhaust!

Not to be outdone Hazel drew this.

On Saturday Nicole and I took all of the cousins to my grandfather's VFW Post for their annual Christmas party. The kids did really well there. In the above picture Henry and Hazel are watching the magician. A sampling of his jokes are:

"My wife asked me to take her somewhere expensive; so I took her to the gas station. She said, 'No, take me somewhere I've never been before.' So I took her to the kitchen."

(When calling up a young volunteer.) "Come on up, sweaty ... I mean sweety."

This year Evan was a volunteer helper. He did well.

Before Santa arrived Liam joined the other kids in singing Christmas carols. The other three cousins just sat and watched. Liam did really well. Nicole didn't realize he knew so many carols! After the caroling was over the emcee told the kids that she wanted them to say into the microphone what they wanted for Christmas. At this point, totally unprompted by anyone, Henry joined the group, when up to the lady with the microphone, got a turn and said, "car." I was so thrilled! Meg was too. I wish she had seen it. Liam also did well and spoke of a big Lego set. (Before the event I was totally blown away by Liam's reading! It was unreal.)

8,000 halves turned up one 40% silver halves (1969D), one token (says "Good for One Beer") and a half that's colorized for the 30th anniversary of Elvis's death.

2,520 quarters rounded up one silver Washington (1961D), three Canadians and two US nickels.

1,350 dimes got me one silver Rosie (1951) and eight Canadians.

640 nickels produced two Canadians (1 Ni).

8,000 halves produced eighteen 40% silver halves (1966, 8 x 1967, 5 x 1968D, 2 x 1969D).

18,800 pennies turned up one hundred twenty-five Wheats, one hundred fifty Canadians, thirteen US dimes, one Bahamas 1¢, two Bermuda 1¢ and three UK pennies.

1916, 1919, 1921S, 1925, 1934D, 1935, 1935S, 1936(2), 1937(2), 1938, 1939(2)

Here's two good exchanges from Henry (somewhat paraphrased):

Henry: "Today we told knock-knock jokes." Meg: "Oh, yeah, like what?" Henry: "Someone said, 'Knock, Knock. I peed.'" Meg: "Did you tell any?" Henry: "They weren't funny."

Henry: "Wyatt told me he threw up on his train for Christmas. His mother threw it out. In the trash can!"

And an oldie (last week) from Hazel via and e-mail from Meg:

On the way home from dropping Henry at school, Hazel asked me when you were coming home. I told her not until supper time, and she asked why. So I reminded her that you'd gone back to work. She then asked me why you go to work. I told her that you go to work to make money. Her response, "For ME?" I laughed and said yes, and she yelled out "Yayy! Money for me! Where my money? My money at home?"

106 small dollars had one Canadian.

3,200 quarters turned up four Canadians (one was a 1960, 80% silver), five US nickels, one US dime, two US pennies and one Bermuda 25¢. The 1960 silver Canadian is the the first one I've found of that date.

2,250 dimes rounded up one silver Rosie (1959), one Canadian and one Israel 1 Shekel.

1,280 nickels produced one Buffalo (1913S Type 1), two War Times (1942P, 1943P), one Canadian (1 Ni), two US dimes and one US penny. The Buffalo is a great one. I actually found another of these in September, but this one is far better. The previous one had a date I couldn't read, this one has a full date! I think it's worth like $40-$50.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It has been a while since I wrote ... sorry. I had five days off for the Thanksgiving. It was great. The day before Thanksgiving Meg cooked a ton, I patched a five year old hole in our ceiling and the kids spent a good long day at Nana and Grandpa's (with a nap from Hazel)!! They're even up to doing it again - the kids that is - I haven't asked the grandparents, but I think they'll be game too.

For Thanksgiving we had twenty people at our house. It was one of my favorite holidays we've all had together. I've been enjoying the food for almost a week! The behavior of the kids couldn't have been better, they were no trouble at all. I particularly liked the time I had with my eldest nephew Evan. We share a lot of interests.

Throughout the weekend we also had a great trip to the library, a good time with the boyz at the Higgin's Armory and McDonald's and a pretty well behaved time at Bertucci's. We even did some clothes shopping with the kids.

Here are some good quotes from the kids before I forget.

Henry: "Why do turkeys like Thanksgiving?"

Hazel: "Mommy outsigh?" Henry: "There's a 'd' at the end of that Hazel!"

Henry: "I'm my own brother."

Me: "Hello" Hazel: "What you say?" Henry: "I said 'hello' to Henry." Hazel: "Why?" Me: "Um, because he came downstairs."

Here's two pictures of the kids creativity. There's been even more we don't have pictures of, lots of drawings and some cute playing. Yesterday they made a camp for duck in Hazel's room and Meg overheard Henry teaching Hazel "Jingle Bells" with instruments. I'm sorry I missed that one!

This is Henry's scene he made. He told me it was Tougas Farms, with benches for sitting and eating donuts, houses for the people who work, a building to sell donuts and a building to sell the baskets for picking apples. I tried to get in the photo so I could put in on their Facebook page ... oh well. Notice the increased realism now that I have let him use some trees and bushes I made years ago.

Here's Hazy in the morning with a see saw she made.

44 small dollars had nothing.

8,009 half dollars got me one 90% silver half (1964) and twenty-three 40% silver halves (1965, 6 x 1966, 8 x 1967, 5 x 1968D, 3 x 1969D).

17,680 quarters turned up three silver quarters (1959D, 1962D, 1964D), twenty-one Canadians, two UK 10 pence, one US penny, five US nickels, one Kenya 1 Shilling (2005), one U.A.E. 1 Dirham, two Bahamas 25¢ and two South Korean 100 Won.

12,050 dimes yielded five silver Rosies (1959, 1961D, 1963D, 2 x 1964D), twenty-three Canadians, two Bermuda 10¢, one Irish 5 pence, one Swiss 10 Rappen, two US pennies, three UK 5 pence and one Venezuela25¢. This pushes me over the 2,000,000 mark!

2,880 nickels rounded up three War Times (1945D, 2 x 1945S), six Canadians (2 Ni), one US dime and one US penny.

10,000 pennies produced forty-two Wheats, sixty-four Canadians, two US dimes, one Brazilian 1¢ and one Barbados 1¢.

1924, 1936, 1939

Happy Thanksgiving!

It has been a while since I wrote ... sorry. I had five days off for the Thanksgiving. It was great. The day before Thanksgiving Meg cooked a ton, I patched a five year old hole in our ceiling and the kids spent a good long day at Nana and Grandpa's (with a nap from Hazel)!! They're even up to doing it again - the kids that is - I haven't asked the grandparents, but I think they'll be game too.

For Thanksgiving we had twenty people at our house. It was one of my favorite holidays we've all had together. I've been enjoying the food for almost a week! The behavior of the kids couldn't have been better, they were no trouble at all. I particularly liked the time I had with my eldest nephew Evan. We share a lot of interests.

Throughout the weekend we also had a great trip to the library, a good time with the boyz at the Higgin's Armory and McDonald's and a pretty well behaved time at Bertucci's. We even did some clothes shopping with the kids.

Here are some good quotes from the kids before I forget.

Henry: "Why do turkeys like Thanksgiving?"

Hazel: "Mommy outsigh?" Henry: "There's a 'd' at the end of that Hazel!"

Henry: "I'm my own brother."

Me: "Hello" Hazel: "What you say?" Henry: "I said 'hello' to Henry." Hazel: "Why?" Me: "Um, because he came downstairs."

Here's two pictures of the kids creativity. There's been even more we don't have pictures of, lots of drawings and some cute playing. Yesterday they made a camp for duck in Hazel's room and Meg overheard Henry teaching Hazel "Jingle Bells" with instruments. I'm sorry I missed that one!

This is Henry's scene he made. He told me it was Tougas Farms, with benches for sitting and eating donuts, houses for the people who work, a building to sell donuts and a building to sell the baskets for picking apples. I tried to get in the photo so I could put in on their Facebook page ... oh well. Notice the increased realism now that I have let him use some trees and bushes I made years ago.

Here's Hazy in the morning with a see saw she made.

44 small dollars had nothing.

8,009 half dollars got me one 90% silver half (1964) and twenty-three 40% silver halves (1965, 6 x 1966, 8 x 1967, 5 x 1968D, 3 x 1969D).

17,680 quarters turned up three silver quarters (1959D, 1962D, 1964D), twenty-one Canadians, two UK 10 pence, one US penny, five US nickels, one Kenya 1 Shilling (2005), one U.A.E. 1 Dirham, two Bahamas 25¢ and two South Korean 100 Won.

12,050 dimes yielded five silver Rosies (1959, 1961D, 1963D, 2 x 1964D), twenty-three Canadians, two Bermuda 10¢, one Irish 5 pence, one Swiss 10 Rappen, two US pennies, three UK 5 pence and one Venezuela25¢. This pushes me over the 2,000,000 mark!

2,880 nickels rounded up three War Times (1945D, 2 x 1945S), six Canadians (2 Ni), one US dime and one US penny.

10,000 pennies produced forty-two Wheats, sixty-four Canadians, two US dimes, one Brazilian 1¢ and one Barbados 1¢.

1924, 1936, 1939

Happy Thanksgiving!

It has been a while since I wrote ... sorry. I had five days off for the Thanksgiving. It was great. The day before Thanksgiving Meg cooked a ton, I patched a five year old hole in our ceiling and the kids spent a good long day at Nana and Grandpa's (with a nap from Hazel)!! They're even up to doing it again - the kids that is - I haven't asked the grandparents, but I think they'll be game too.

For Thanksgiving we had twenty people at our house. It was one of my favorite holidays we've all had together. I've been enjoying the food for almost a week! The behavior of the kids couldn't have been better, they were no trouble at all. I particularly liked the time I had with my eldest nephew Evan. We share a lot of interests.

Throughout the weekend we also had a great trip to the library, a good time with the boyz at the Higgin's Armory and McDonald's and a pretty well behaved time at Bertucci's. We even did some clothes shopping with the kids.

Here are some good quotes from the kids before I forget.

Henry: "Why do turkeys like Thanksgiving?"

Hazel: "Mommy outsigh?" Henry: "There's a 'd' at the end of that Hazel!"

Henry: "I'm my own brother."

Me: "Hello" Hazel: "What you say?" Henry: "I said 'hello' to Henry." Hazel: "Why?" Me: "Um, because he came downstairs."

Here's two pictures of the kids creativity. There's been even more we don't have pictures of, lots of drawings and some cute playing. Yesterday they made a camp for duck in Hazel's room and Meg overheard Henry teaching Hazel "Jingle Bells" with instruments. I'm sorry I missed that one!

This is Henry's scene he made. He told me it was Tougas Farms, with benches for sitting and eating donuts, houses for the people who work, a building to sell donuts and a building to sell the baskets for picking apples. I tried to get in the photo so I could put in on their Facebook page ... oh well. Notice the increased realism now that I have let him use some trees and bushes I made years ago.

Here's Hazy in the morning with a see saw she made.

44 small dollars had nothing.

8,009 half dollars got me one 90% silver half (1964) and twenty-three 40% silver halves (1965, 6 x 1966, 8 x 1967, 5 x 1968D, 3 x 1969D).

17,680 quarters turned up three silver quarters (1959D, 1962D, 1964D), twenty-one Canadians, two UK 10 pence, one US penny, five US nickels, one Kenya 1 Shilling (2005), one U.A.E. 1 Dirham, two Bahamas 25¢ and two South Korean 100 Won.

12,050 dimes yielded five silver Rosies (1959, 1961D, 1963D, 2 x 1964D), twenty-three Canadians, two Bermuda 10¢, one Irish 5 pence, one Swiss 10 Rappen, two US pennies, three UK 5 pence and one Venezuela25¢. This pushes me over the 2,000,000 mark!

2,880 nickels rounded up three War Times (1945D, 2 x 1945S), six Canadians (2 Ni), one US dime and one US penny.

10,000 pennies produced forty-two Wheats, sixty-four Canadians, two US dimes, one Brazilian 1¢ and one Barbados 1¢.

1924, 1936, 1939

Today Meg heard two funny things from Henry. This morning she overheard him say to Hazel, "I can't teach everything, Hazel. You need to learn somethings by yourself." We're not sure what Hazel was requesting to be taught. After school, Henry said to Meg, "you know what the old people were called ... pilgrims;" he then described their ocean crossing voyage with some wavy hand motions, "like this."

Not to be outdone Hazel has been pretty chatty too. This weekend we saw her cover her face and say, "where are you, me?" Similarly she told her baby, "I love you, me."

8,000 halves had two 90% silver halves (1962, 1964) and four 40% halves (3 x 1967, 1968D).

2,680 quarters turned up two Canadians and two US nickels.

1,200 dimes rounded up two Canadians.

760 nickels had one Swiss 20 Rappen and one new modern one for me, 2012P.

9,100 pennies got me seventy-one Wheats, twenty-six Canadians, five US dimes and one Bahamas 1¢.

1917, 1918S, 1929, 1930, 1936(4), 1939

Phew ... the weekend's over. It was non-stop adventure for Meg and I. Things didn't seem to stop until last night at about 8PM and then at that point we were too beat to do much. I'm not sure how I managed to stay up until 9PM.

On Friday we had a raucous dinner at Friendly's. Saturday I somehow thought we'd have more time to get things done. I was wrong. Taking the middle seats out of our minivan took more than an hour and involved me going back to the KIA dealer and getting the instance of three guys! With the seats out I was able to pick up Henry's new mattress and box spring. I brought that home and we converted his crib into a bed frame only to find out the crib converts to a full bed, not a single like we bought! (Ugh.) The conversion process was a bit crazy as the kids love tools, but still fun. I can't believe he's actually out of his crib-day bed. He's a big guy now! We then went out West for his soon-to-be cousin's reveal party. The kids behaved well and we had a good time.

On Sunday I gave a speech at church about stewardship that I had worked on the night before. It went over well. After service Greg, Evan and I raked and blew leaves outside the church buildings (Evan helped quite a bit!). Nicole watched the young ones and Meg got to have a well deserved brunch with some of her college friends. I failed at fixing Nicole's computer and then brought he kids home for a long Hazy nap and a some good scene making with Henry.

26 large dollars produced nothing. This batch puts me over the 2,000 mark, however. It took 5½ years to reach this point ... yup, they don't come up much.

8,000 half dollars rounded up five 90% silver halves (1962D, 4 x 1964), twelve 40% silver halves (4 x 1965, 1966, 1967, 4 x 1968D, 2 x 1969D) and two proof halves (1980S, 1985S).

2,800 quarters yielded one silver Washington (1956), four Canadian, one Bermuda 25¢ and one East Caribbean States 25¢.

700 dimes had one Canadian and one Swiss ½ franc.

600 nickels turned up one Canadian.

9,900 pennies pulled in forty Wheats, fifty-five Canadians, one US dime, one UK penny and one Barbadoes 1¢.

1929, 1930, 1936, 1937

On Tuesday morning Meg and I took the kids to our polling place. Henry brought a small toy broom with him in the van. I'm not sure why, but it did seem to produce Democratic sweep in Massachusetts. After that we went to Henry's school for a parent-teacher conference. Meg and I couldn't be more pleased with the report. According to his teacher he's ready for kindergarten now. We do, however, need to work on his fine motor skills. For that the teacher had several recommendations.

30 small dollars had nothing.

8,000 half dollars yielded nine 90% silver halves (1942, 1943, 1944, 1946, 5 x 1964), eleven 40% silver halves (4 x 1966, 3 x 1967, 4 x 1968D) and two proof halves (1972S, 1981S).

9,900 quarters turned up six Canadians, one East Caribbean States 25&#162, one Bermuda 25&#162, one South Korean 100 Won, one Philippines 1 Piso and three US nickels. There was also a new modern quarter in there for me, the 2012D Hawai'i.

1,800 dimes rounded up three silver Rosies (1962D, 1963, 1964D), one US penny, one UK 5 pence and one Israel 1 Shekel.

2,320 nickels got me one Bermuda 5¢.

7,300 pennies roped in twenty-five Wheats and thirty-eight Canadians.

1919

Well we got lucky with a New England/Mid-Atlantic storm this time. Sandy didn't cause any harm to our house or property. We only lost power twice for about 5 seconds each time ... go SELCO! Our neighbors fence had a portion blown over near our sand box. I got an extra day off from work so in retrospect I feel I came out ahead.

Henry built this bus and bus stop last week.

Inspired by Henry's building. Hazel built this house for puppy.

Halloween went pretty quickly at our house, but it was great (for me anyway, Meg's been sick with a bad cold!). The kids couldn't wait to go out when I got home. We pushed them off until 5:30PM and I was out with them for about thirty minutes. We did about twelve houses on one side of our street. Henry and Hazel were both getting cold at the end of the street and were anxious to show Meg their candy. Some good holiday quotes:

Some Henry quotes –

After hearing that kids were coming to our house for candy. “Are they going to stay and play?”

When Meg asked him what we did during trick-or-treating – “We go to the door. You say “Trick-or-Treat.” We get candy.”

After I asked him if he could say “Happy Halloween” at the next house. “Why?”

"Yesterday was Halloween, Hazel. Today is also a holiday. Don't you just love holidays?" I told him about All Saints Day that morning.

All ready to go get some candy!

The awesome owl costume Meg made for Hazel. Unfortunately she only wore half of it!

Henry made this artwork at school.

Henry's signature.

I haven't scrounged up much coin lately. Darn hurricane!

17 small dollars had nothing.

8,000 halves produced three 90% silver halves (1943, 1964, 1964D), nineteen 40% silver halves (2 x 1965, 2 x 1966, 10 x 1967, 3 x 1968D, 2 x 1969D) and one proof half (1972S).

2,640 quarters rounded up one Bermuda 25¢ and one US nickel.

900 dimes had nothing.

3,000 nickels turned up two dateless Buffaloes, one War Time (1943P), five Canadians and one Euro 20&162;.

5,900 pennies yielded thirty-seven Wheats (including one Steelie), forty-three Canadians and two US dimes.

1917, 1920(2), 1929, 1930, 1934, 1938

Last week I had a really awesome bill score. A teller saved me nine old bills, eight $1 silver certificates and one red seal $2. In the silver certificates were three I needed, 1935D, 1957A, 1957B. I had only found two silver certificates previous to this and the 1935D series is now the oldest I've found (printed 1946-1953)! This one felt great.

Here's some good pictures we took last weekend.

We had some fun playing outside in the driveway on Saturday (probably Hazel's favorite on property activity).

In the evening on Saturday we went to the Ecotarium's Pumpkin Festival. It was jammed packed! Way more people than we thought would be there. We got in for free. A nice lady ahead of us gave us a strip of twelve tickets. We waited for a long time to ride a packed, two locomotive train ride, but it seemed worth it. The kids were excited to ride there favorite train in the near dark. We had cotton candy ("on a stick!") and saw lots of carved pumpkins.

Henry spent the whole of last week working on this scene. It was a lot of fun helping him with it and hearing his descriptions of the place. Every building had a small story attached to it.

575 small dollars had six mint set dollars (1981P, 2002D, 2003D, 2006P, 2007P, 2007D) and one Canadian.

8,000 halves turned up one 90% silver half (1964), eight 40% silver halves (1965, 1966, 1967, 1968D, 1969D) and two proofs (1971S, 1978S).

5,040 quarters rounded up two silver Washingtons (1950, 1964), three Canadians, two Bahamas 25¢, one Bermuda 25¢ and one US nickel.

3,300 dimes got me one silver Rosie (1946S), five Canadians, one UK 5 pence and one Barbados 10¢.

6,000 pennies yielded seventy-six Wheats, sixty-nine Canadians (including one 1936, George V penny), one UK penny, one Panama 1¢, six US dimes and two Euro 2¢.

1919, 1920, 1927, 1930, 1937, 1938(2)

6,080 quarters rounded up one silver Washington (1957), six Canadians, one Philippines 50¢ and one French 10 Centimes (1855W). The French coin is the 4th oldest coin I've found! It is slightly bigger than a quarter and this one is extremely worn. You can definitely see the design/year if you hold it at the right angle, but it is going to be very difficult to take a picture of this one. Still extremely cool! Here's a picture of the same coin in much better condition than mine. Mine is from 1855 and has a W mint mark on the back meaning it was minted in Lille. 9,837,000 were minted.

350 dimes turned up one US penny.

440 nickels got me one Canadian and one US penny.

Today Meg told me another good Hazel quote (she's full of good ones lately).

Listening to Hazel talk to her baby with the little leapfrog writing game...

"Yes, that your name, baby. Now, you try. You write, baby. Hold that. Baby hold tight. Now you draw birdie. You did good." :)

2,360 quarters rounded up one proof quarter (2003S MS), eleven Canadians, five US nickels and one US dollar (an extra one too, the roll had forty quarters in it and one Sacagawea, strange).

2,700 dimes got me three silvers (1945S, 1946S, 1947D), five Canadians, one UK 5 pence, one Chinese 1 Jiao and one Ukraine 2 Kopiyky (2009). That's the first coin I've found from the Ukraine!

2,040 nickels produced eight Canadians (6 Ni), two US dimes and two Bermuda 5¢.

Tonight during supper the kids were super. They actually had decent meals and played very well together, including some really cute costume time.

25 small dollars turned up nothing.

2,960 quarters had two Canadians.

1,500 dimes yielded one silver dime (1926) and one Canadian.

800 nickels rounded up one War Time (1943P) and one Canadian.

This weekend started nicely with a trip to an Indian restaurant on Friday. It was a long experience, but the kids were in pretty good form. On Saturday I took the kids to Olde Sturbridge Village to look for a gift for Nana and play a bit. Considering how the kids were both on edge when we left things went really smoothly. They had a lot of fun looking for their gifts and as always they were very cute at Kid Story. On the way home Hazel was a bit cranky and after I asked him to, Henry was very good and sang songs with Hazel to keep her happy. That evening we went over to my sisters to celebrate Nana and Uncle Greg's birthday. All four kids did super. Hazel was very excited about being outside in the dark when we left. When we got in the back door Hazel said, "I'm home now. Babies, where are you?"

Things fell apart big time Sunday morning before church. It was total chaos in our house. Meg and I didn't know how we'd survive the day or get them to church. All we knew is that everyone needed some time apart from each other and out of the house so we absolutely had to go to church. At church all seemed fine. Hazel had a good time in the nursery and Henry seemed to do well at church school. Henry helped me pick up hedge clippings in the afternoon, went to Home Depot with me and later we got him a haircut. There was a small amount of fussing in the van before we got to the hair cut place, but otherwise things went stellar. At bedtime I said to him, "You did a very good job at the hair cut place." He replied, "I didn't cut my hair. (so why are you saying 'good job') I just pretended to be asleep." I'll take comatose over screaming any day!

Today Meg told me:

we were making ghosts for Halloween, and Henry drew a smiley face on his. And a penis.

Hazel just told me, "You take nap. I play myself."

8,000 halves turned up two 90% silver halves (2 x 1964), four 40% silver halves (2 x 1967, 2 x 1969D), one proof half (1995S) and a Philippines 50¢.

10,560 pennies yielded one Indian Head (1883), one hundred six Wheats, sixty-two Canadians, one Bahamas 1¢, one Bermuda 1¢ and one US dime.

1910, 1918, 1919, 1919S, 1920S, 1925, 1934, 1935S, 1936, 1937(3), 1938S

I didn't turn up much coin this week. It was a pretty busy week though ... so no matter. On Wednesday it was my company's golf day. It sure was a wet one! Before the golf I spent time at home with Meg and the kids. We went to a new old diner very early (Henry was excited about their neon sign.). I also took the time to paint Hazel's nails.

1,120 quarters had four Canadians, one US nickel and one US penny.

5,700 dimes turned up three silver Rosies (1959, 1964, 1964D), ten Canadians, one UK 5 pence and two Bermuda 10¢.

This weekend started a bit crazy, really bad traffic and I forgot my phone at work, but things picked up afterwards! On Saturday we went to the Fall Festival at Tower Hill Botanical Gardens. The kids were pretty well behaved, we went on a hay ride, did some crafts and enjoyed some snacks. My only wish was that Hazel was more up to long walks in the woods as it was really pretty up there.

After church on Sunday we went to soccer tournament to see Evan play and visit a bit with our family. When we got home and were putting Hazel down for her nap we could not find her favorite lovey, Blue Doggie. I was pretty certain we left it at the soccer event, so I hopped in the car and drove back to the event. Meanwhile unbeknownst to me as Meg and I only had one cell phone between us Meg found her just after I left. :( It was a long journey back and forth for gas I say! Oh well. Blue Doggie was found and that's what counts. Meg went to do some errands in the afternoon and Henry, Hazel and I "worked" outside. I took up three stumps (with some digging help from Henry), Henry swept the driveway ("This is a really big job, Dad!" "Hazel's going to help in a few minutes.") and Hazel played with her babies.

Last night after supper Henry told Meg he wanted her to write down some of his stories. Meg wanted some Duck stories, but instead he told a few about trains. She wrote them down (I'll transcribe them here later). He then told her he wanted to write his own. He wrote "I GO TRAIN HOME!" We helped him with the spelling and I had to write the A and the M, but we were super pleased. He then drew pictures with us (recognizable ones) of a couple hot air balloons with fires in them and wrote "COW," "DUCK" and few other words. I'll put pictures up tonight or tomorrow.

This morning Meg e-mailed me this gem:

The world according to Henry, as described to Hazel, "Dinosaurs aren't alive anymore. They died a long time ago. Like a hundred years ago. Then there were people. And then cars and trucks. And then it was like it is now."

1 large dollar was a 40% silver dollar (1971S-Ag circ.). That's the first new large dollar I've found since January, 2008! It is also the first 40% silver dollar I've found. Such dollars were minted just for collectors and originally were packaged cellophane with a blue plastic disk and so they are sometimes referred to as Blue Ikes.

Note: I'm not really pleased with our new camera for macro shots. These two shots are the best I could get, but the depth of field and focus are not what I would have liked. I have to do some more research, listen to Meg and get a better camera for us!

8,000 half dollars produced one 90% silver half (1964), fifteen 40% silver halves (2 x 1966, 7 x 1967, 3 x 1968D, 3 x 1969D), four proof halves (1974S, 1985S, 1986S, 1991S) and one British penny (1912). The British penny is really cool. It is in much better condition that the previous George V penny I found.

12,650 pennies turned up eighty-two Wheats (including one Steelie), one hundred six Canadians, five US dimes, one Trinidad and Tobago 1¢, one Bermuda 1¢, one Barbados 1¢, one Irish penny and one plastic penny.

1917(2), 1920, 1925, 1934, 1935, 1935D, 1939

Two nights ago Meg and I went to Curriculum Night at Henry's school. It was wonderful. I finally got to meet his teacher and see his classroom. His teacher spoke for about 45 minutes and Meg and I looked around for pictures of Henry and artwork he had done. I'm so proud of the big kid he's become!

Hazel had a funny moment last night. She and Henry were fussing about a small spider they found in the house. I came over with a tissue to deal with it, but Hazel grabbed the tissue, said, "I do it myself" and killed the bug.

63 small dollars and thirty half dollars had one mint set half (2012D Chester Arthur).

6,440 quarters turned up seven silver Washingtons (7 x 1964), five Canadians, one Bermuda 25¢, Bahamas 25¢, five US nickels, one US dime and one arcade token. I found all of the silver quarters in one roll! That's the most silver quarters I've found in one time in years! Eleven is my one roll record ... this was close.

4,700 dimes produced four silver Rosies (1946D, 1960D, 1963D, 1964), eleven Canadians, one East Caribbean States 10¢ and one US penny.

2,480 nickels rounded up three War Times (1944P, 2 x 1945P), ten Canadians (4 Ni), two US dimes and one key date Jefferson, the 1939D.