Yesterday Meg sent me this good one:

Me: "Haze, you're getting a time out!"
Hazel: "'kay. Bye, babies. Be right back. I be back soon, babies." (speaking to her baby dolls)

6,960 quarters rounded up one proof quarter (2005S KS), twelve Canadians, three UK 10 pence, two Bermuda 25¢, one Cayman Islands 25¢, one Finnish 1 Markka (1982) and one arcade token.

1,200 dimes yielded one silver dime (1963D), three Canadians, one Bermuda 10¢ and one US penny.

880 nickels had nothing.

5 small dollars had nothing.

5,600 quarters yielded seven Canadians, seven US nickels, two US dimes, three UK 10 pence, one French franc and a new modern quarter, the 2012P Hawai'i Volcanoes.

4,400 dimes turned up one silver Rosie (1957D), nine Canadians, two UK 5 pence and two US pennies.

2,800 nickels rounded up one dateless Buffalo, four War Times (3 x 1943P, 1944P), one proof nickel (1985S), five Canadians (1 Ni), one Bermuda 5¢ and one Singapore 20¢.

This weekend we took the kids on a short trip up to North Conway, NH. We had been talking about for some time and didn't know exactly when to fit it in. Last weekend we decided that it was now or never for the year ... I'm really glad we went. I'm still in the big Dad glow here.

On the way up we stopped in Portsmouth, NH to get special treats at a cool toy store there for the kids and to eat lunch. Henry found a old time car and Hazel was pleased to get a set of "guys" (Playmobil) which included a "baby guy."

It took a while to get to the hotel, but once there we went to the pool for a short swim. Hazel wasn't too into this time, but after some warming up Henry had some fun. His big moment was walking across the 3 ft. section without holding onto anything. "Mom, I'm swimming!" That evening we went for a ride on the Conway Scenic Railroad with some friends who were also at our hotel. It was great. They used a steam engine. We got all the authentic smells, smoke and cinders in an unpopulated car (Everyone else knew better and sat in other cars.). Afterwards we ate at Pizza Hut. I hadn't been to one of those in years. It had all of the original decor. I didn't eat anywhere near my record number of slices, just three this time, but it still made me feel twenty years younger! (The Apple Jacks I had the next day added to the effect.) We crashed very early at the hotel.

After a decent, free hotel breakfast that was only slightly marred by Hazel spilling pancake syrup on herself and necessitating a change of clothes mid-way, we packed up and went to Storyland. After paying we immediately went to the antique cars. We rode them twice back-to-back, once with Henry driving us all and once with both kids in separate cars. We then did a big round of rides, including Henry's first roller coaster ride. This was an absolute treat for me and a very proud moment. Henry loved it! We went twice. He had so much fun riding on that and the other rides it was hard for Meg and I to believe it. He was smiling and laughing non-stop. By the time most rides were over (the fast ones anyway) I often realized I hadn't looked at anything but his face for the full two minutes. Hazel had fun too and enjoyed rides that were faster than I thought she might like, except for the Twirling Turtles. For that ride Blue Doggy came in handy. Hazel was too short to ride the Flying Fish or the roller coaster. We ate a typical amusement park lunch, had some messy soft serve ice cream and played some more. We were at the park from 9 to 3 with no naps!

62 small dollars had one Canadian.

16,000 half dollars produced six 40% silver halves (1965, 4 x 1967, 1969D), six proof halves (1973S, 1984S, 1989S, 1991S, 2006S, 2009S) and one commemorative half (1991S Mount Rushmore). The silver stunk, but that's the first new commemorative I've found in some time.

8,840 quarters turned up three silver Washingtons (1959D, 1963, 1964), twenty-one Canadians, seven US dimes, four US nickels, one French franc, one UK 10 pence, one Cape Verde 20¢ and one Mexican 10¢ (1939).

8,400 dimes five silver dimes (1939, 1951, 1958D, 1959D, 1964), twenty-seven Canadians, three US pennies, one Bermuda 10¢, one Spanish 5¢, four UK 5 pence, one Irish 5 pence, one Jamaica $1 and one Swiss ½ franc.

5,800 nickels rounded up one Buffalo (1913S Type I), four War Times (1942S, 1943P, 1944P, 1945P), two Bermuda 5¢, one UK 20 pence, three Swiss 20 Rappen, three US dimes, three Columbia 50¢, one UK six pence (1948), twenty-two Canadians (9 Ni), one Euro 5¢, two Bahamas 5¢, and two Irish 10 pence. The Buffalo is really worn and although you can't read the date at all you can definitely tell on the reverse that's a Type I and that it has an S mark. I also came across a 1945S War Time nickel in change last week!

12,000 pennies yielded one hundred twenty-six Wheats (including one Steelie), ninety-six Canadians, eight US dimes, one Euro 2¢, one Armenia 20 Drams (2003), two UK pennies, two Swedish 50 ore and one Cape Verde 1¢ (1994). The Armenian coin is a new country for me!

1910, 1916, 1918(3), 1919, 1919S, 1920, 1926, 1930(2), 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939

This weekend went pretty well for us. We didn't have much planned, but there were still some very fun moments there.

On Friday we went out for Indian. It was a bit crazy as usual with Hazy. My favorite was her hanging on the handicap bars in the Men's room and her slamming the seat down on Henry before he was out of the way ... he's OK! Afterwards we got two new fish, orange ones, and some ice cream from Trader Joe's.

Saturday morning was filled with watching Meg run a short race that was part of the local Catholic church's family festival. It's always great to see her at the end. She was very surprised by our being there.

After that I took the kids to the Higgins Armory. The kids room there never disappoints and isn't very expensive with the library pass.

Later I took Henry and Hazel to the park after Hazel's nap. Henry did a face-plant while attempting to get off the swings right at the start, but he recovered very quickly and was off trying to use some new equipment. The whole week was filled with him trying new playground equipment, sticking to it and doing something he hadn't done before. We're very proud of him!

At night during bath time Henry and I were successful at getting Hazel to say "Hazel!" It was the first time I've heard her say it. It sounds like a cross between "Hazel" and "shovel."

On Sunday morning we went to our church picnic. In the afternoon we went to another park and for a very short time went to the family festival.

I didn't search too much coin last week. Light pickups!

7 large dollars and 70 small dollars had nothing.

6,480 quarters turned up one silver Washington (1934 ... found three of this year in 2012 so far), seven Canadians, one UK 10 pence, one Bermuda 25¢ one Bahamas 25¢, four US nickels and a new modern one for me, the 2011D Glacier.

1,350 dimes had six Canadians.

1,040 nickels produced five Canadians (1 Ni).

8,050 pennies rounded up thirty-one Wheats, fifty-eight Canadians, one Bahamas 1¢, one Euro 2¢ and two US dimes.

1919, 1937, 1938

This past weekend was a pretty good one for us. Things started out well on Friday. We went went out for dinner with the kids, Chinese, and they behaved reasonably well! We treated them afterwards with some ice cream.

Early on Saturday after some early morning errands we all went to the Sterling Fair. The kids had a great time. Henry was impressed that it was at the airport (a small one). He was very excited about seeing things like a Ferris Wheel and tractors there. We took Henry and Hazel on their first Ferris Wheel ride. Henry thoroughly enjoyed it ... Hazel not so much, she covered her face with dog the whole time. We also went on the carousel and after that Henry went on his first kiddie ride - a ride that had about six old-time cars going in a circle around the center. We were very impressed with Henry's behavior on this ride. He shared the blue car with another boy with no problem. He didn't smile or wave at us at all. Instead he focused on his steering and his attempts to figure out how the thing worked. Before we left Hazel got a small stuffed duck, Henry scored a small tractor and we petted some cute ducklings and rabbits. We were home before noon.

On Sunday we went to church. It was the first day of church school there for the new year. Henry did really well. He went very willingly to the classroom, understood Liam wasn't going to be in his class this year and conversed with the teachers! In the later afternoon I took the kids for a quick, fun trip to Nana and Grandpa's.

Meg e-mailed me some good stories yesterday:

Our children are playing together happily. They are sharing. They are laughing.
I'm hearing such things as:
"Wanna help me get the party favors ready?"
"Just try again, Hazel. Just try again," followed by "I did it, Henry!"
"Can I share that for just a minute? Then I'll give it back?"
"Let's make cookies, Hazel. Want to help?"
They're playing play dough, apparently getting ready for a party.

Going for a walk to DD soon, per Henry's request: "Let's go for a walk to Dunkin' Donuts, so we can get munchkins and you can get your favorite fall coffee."

17 small dollars produced one Canadian dollar.

8,000 half dollars turned up three 90% silver halves (3 x 1964) and twenty-one 40% silver halves (12 x 1967, 5 x 1968D, 4 x 1969).

2,480 quarters yielded nine Canadians, two US nickels, one Bermuda 25¢ and one UK 10 pence.

1,150 dimes had just one silver (1938D). It's a really good one though and a new one for me ... so no complaints!

1,600 nickels rounded up one Buffalo (1930), fourteen Canadians (3 Ni), two US dimes, one Thai 1 Baht, one Bahamas 5¢ and one Jamaica 5¢.

27,400 pennies turned up one Indian Head (1902), one hundred fifty Wheats, one hundred ninety Canadians (one was a King George V, 1920), three UK pennies, two Bahamas 1¢, one Euro 2¢ and sixteen US dimes.

1911, 1916D, 1917, 1919, 1919D, 1929, 1929S, 1934, 1935(2), 1936, 1937, 1939S

175 small dollars had nothing.

7,120 quarters turned up two proof quarters (1974S, 2002S LA), sixteen Canadians (one 1953, 80% silver), ten US nickels, one Dominican Republic 25¢, one trolley token, one Euro $1 and one US dime. Pretty cool to find two new proof quarters in one night.

1,850 dimes had one silver dime (1942) and two Canadians.

4,960 nickels rounded up two Buffaloes (1935, 1936), one War Time (1943P), fifteen Canadians (3 Ni), one Jamaica $5, one Canadian penny and one Euro 5¢.

Yesterday at work I got this cute message from Meg:

Henry dressed himself this morning! He was very proud. I told him I was proud of him, so then he later told me that he was proud of me. I asked him why, and he said, "Because you got dressed yourself, too."

I also heard about how Hazel hurt her foot by stepping on a marble. She was pretty upset about and had a hard time walking the rest of the day (seems OK today). She went for a quick check-up at the doctor, but was hobbling quite a bit. It didn't seem to bother her too much when I saw her, it was just very noticeable.

21 small dollars and 486 half dollars had nothing.

8,160 quarters produced twenty Canadians, two UK 10 pence, one Italian 50 Lire, one German Mark, seven US dimes and six US nickels.

6,650 dimes yielded six silver Rosies (1946, 2 x 1947, 1952, 1962D, 1964), ten Canadians, one Dominican Republic 10¢, one UK 5 pence and one US penny.

This weekend was a good long, independent and relatively good behaved weekend!

Things started out a little crazy on Friday when we took the kids to Panera Bread (their favorite, Henry's choice). It got much better when Meg came up with the idea of having them eat at their own table. It was very cute. Afterwards we took the kids to a local school park. There Henry voluntarily sat in the big kid swing and pumped! It was very relaxing to be out at the time, twilight, with them. Our time was a big contrast to the last frustration filled, scream-fest we had their a few weeks back.

On Saturday I took the kids out to do some errands. They were pretty good, except the checkout line at the grocery store was extremely chaotic. Curses to those evil people who put temptations in those lanes. At one moment I found Hazel climbing up a store display (she'll be the one who topples over some large display of paper towels or cans one of these days) and then as we were just about done she got stuck somehow in between the cart and the side of the lane and started screaming. She was fine, but scared. It didn't sound or look good. We had to rush out of there with her sobbing. Only when I got her seated in the car did I realize she was a bleeding a bit! Poor girl! In the afternoon cousin Liam came over for some nice, quiet playing while Nicole, Meg and I visited (Hazel was napping). "Let's make a traffic jam!," I overheard Henry saying to Liam. Liam replied, "no let's do good guys and bad guys with these cars." Henry later said, "Let's play car show. This one was made in 1967." Meg did a great deal of edging and mulching and I was able to repair some railroad tie edging with our neighbor's sledge hammer. Henry and Hazel were very into helping with a little hammer.

My folks watched the kids on Sunday while Meg and I went to church before we four drove out to Uncle Brian's and Aunt Heather's house. Henry was very please to cross over numerous railroad tracks and spot countless old cars. At the party the kids behaved very well, were very agreeable with sunscreen, enjoyed the pool for a bit and got to run and round and entertain for a good long while. We got home late. Henry was very interested in the night time. "Is it night time yet?" "Are other people still out?" "Have Jess and Tim ever been out this late?" (that last one was my favorite)

Monday was a survival day for us. With a terrible night of sleep for Hazel we knew just getting through the day anyway we could would be a victory. It was better than that though. In the morning I took the kids back to the same park on Friday. Henry used the big kid swing again (it wasn't a fluke!) and so did Hazel! It was her first time on the big kid swing. Henry and I were very proud. We went to Dunkin' Donuts and came back to the house for naps. BOTH kids took naps and then we went to a BBQ at my sister's house.

This morning Hazel did a bunch of puzzles all by herself and kept saying, "I did it!" and after I left Meg just told me:

Just now, Henry was drawing. Representational drawing. A pumpkin, a blueberry bush, and an art museum. All his idea. Vaguely recognizable. Wow, first the swinging, now the drawing!

It's not all independence just yet. I still can't believe that at 5:45AM this morning Henry called out to me, "Dad, my blankets are down," but we're making progress!

8,000 half dollars turned up thirteen 40% silver halves (1965, 3 x 1966, 1967, 6 x 1968D, 2 x 1969D) and five colorized halves (Maryland, Mississippi, Vermont, New York and Obama).

18,850 pennies rounded up eighty-nine Wheats, one hundred thirty-nine Canadians, two Euro 1¢, one Euro 2¢ and ten US dimes.

1915D, 1923, 1930, 1935, 1936(3)