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.