Yo Ho Ho Halloween

After some henpecking (not to mention bellyaching at the suboptimal ordering of our blog posts), I have consented to update the blog to address the most recent celebrations on the Eve of All Saint's Day. Leading up to the festivities, we carved a mighty Jack-'O-Lantern, with Rebekah serving as the primary lobotomist/goop-scooper, Nicolo as the chief sculptor, and Benjamin acting as overseer. Our creation turned out rather ghoulish compared to our relatively weak attempts in prior years. Here are a few pictures of Jack:

Following these festivities, we repaired to our ward's celebration, with Benjamin masquerading as a buccaneer, and Rebekah as a corsair. Grandma happened to be in town on her way to the Great State of Texas, so she joined us, complete in her very own peculiar habit. Here are a few pictures of the night:

As a final send-off, the kids went out for a night of door-to-door proselyting as the sugar missionaries. To reduce the chance of mishap, we traveled in a large herd, with several of the neighborhood children and their parents in tow. Here is one of many failed attempts to photograph all of the children in one sitting:

Benjamin's Bodacious Birthday Bash!

Benjamin celebrated his fourth birthday last Saturday, with a smattering of local friends. Although Benjamin initially craved a vampire birthday party, Miriam considered that option to be unpalatable, not to mention patently offensive to the pro-vampire party. As such, Miriam commenced on a coercion campaign to convince him that vampires were no longer as blood-thirsty as they might appear, and therefore would not be nearly as cool as they might otherwise seem.

Eventually her efforts bore fruit, as she convinced him to settle for a an Elmo birthday party instead. Leading up to the big event, Benjamin repeatedly expressed his desire that his next birthday party be a vampire-themed party, and even now he continues to remind us that next time he will not be swayed by his mother's arguments against the merits of vampires.

Despite the major let-down of substituting Elmo for his superior vampires, Benjamin still enjoyed the event reasonably well, as evidenced by the pictures below:

Latest Events

Miriam's parents arrived home in San Diego from their trip to New York on Thursday, and were kind enough to drive up yesterday, as Bianca was blessed in sacrament meeting today. Here are some nice pictures of the event.

Benjamin started preschool last month, and thus far has defied all expectations through his upstanding behavior as a model student. Here are some pictures of his first day of school.

Name that kid!

We here at the Pedantic Pinolis have noticed a slight resemblance amongst our three children. To test your ability to discern between them, we've posted baby pictures of all three of them below. See if you can tell them apart! (see answer at bottom)

A)

B) C)

A) = Benjamin

B) = Rebekah

C) = Bianca

Rebekah's first day of second grade

Rebekah reluctantly, but alertly, returned to school on Monday to begin the second grade. Here are a few pictures of the event:

Bianca Elizabeth Pinoli

The Pinoli family welcomed the newest pedant to their family on Friday morning at 12:36am. Bianca weighed in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 19.75 inches long. As she delayed her exit from the womb by a mere 7 days, Bianca is expected to be less stubborn than Benjamin (14 days late), and more stubborn than Rebekah (a mere 3 days late). As an avowed 4th trimester specialist, Miriam was not surprised at the timing, although even she will admit that the 4th trimester is by far the most difficult, noting, "That morning sickness from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimesters is nothing compared to the fun of the 4th trimester." We're glad she is finally here, and we are happy to announce that everyone is doing very well.

A big thank you to Grandma Gunter for all her help before, during, and after the birth. Here are a few more photos, courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Gunter:

Benjamin's Bathroom Kerfuffle

Earlier this week, Miriam took the kids with her to the gym. Towards the end of their stay, they were in the bathroom for some routine maintenance. Meanwhile the hero of our story, Benjamin (see picture taken today), remained as vigilant as ever, carefully inspecting the premises for any signs of malfeasance. While Miriam was attending to Rebekah, Benjamin noted an elderly woman attempting to exit the bathroom. While she was in the midst of escaping, Benjamin yelled a supreme accusation,: "HEY, she didn't wash her hands!!!"

Anyone who knows Ben knows that he's not a particularly quiet child. In fact, he's generally much louder than occasion warrants. In this case, his accusation was probably deserving of a very low whisper. However, he yelled this taunt at the top of his lungs. Now, you would expect that most elderly ladies, upon hearing such a bold attack, would probably feign deafness and continue to shuffle on their way. However, as a further indictment against her innocence in this matter, our villain immediately ascertained that Benjamin's outburst was directed at her, and proclaimed her innocence by quickly retorting, "YesIdid." [spaces removed to indicate the hastiness of her response, casting further doubt on her assertion]. Anyone who knows Benjamin knows that he enjoys a good argument (a trait inherited, no doubt, from his excellent mother), and not willing to let such an important matter drop, Benjamin immediately refuted her assertion, by refusing to lower his voice and shouting in response, "Mommy, no she DIDN'T!"

Fortunately, by this time, our villain realized that she was not to win this war of wits and words against such a determined (and clearly superior) opponent, and hastily beat a retreat from the scene of the crime.

Let this be a lesson to all of you to not neglect your personal hygeine in public places, even if the only witnesses appear to lack the necessary qualifications to ascertain the difference between salubrious and insalubrious activities.

Puerto Rico

Miriam and Nicolo took a nice little trip to Puerto Rico for the weekend in early June. Grandma Pinoli was nice enough to come and stay with the kids while we were away. While we were there, we went kayaking, and Nicolo did some serious snorkeling (see picture). Fortunately, sharks don't generally go into water of such prodigious depth, so Nicolo emerged from the water unscathed.

In addition to the great snorkeling and walks on the beach, we also visited Old San Juan, with an unforgettable trip to "El Morro", the great fortress by the sea (see picture).

Finally, we spent an evening at a food and dance festival in Old San Juan. To prove that she also made the trip, here is a nice little picture of Miriam, feeling very hot and very pregnant at 7 months, but enjoying the trip very well in spite of the circumstances.

Portland or Bust!

Around the middle of June we took a week to travel to Portland. Since we're planning to move there next summer, we decided a trip to case the joint was just what the doctor ordered. While we were there, we stayed with Grandma Carol in her lovely home in Happy Valley. Whilst we were there, we spent a day with a realtor, looking at typical houses within our price range, and gaining a feel for what items we consider to be absolute necessities when we finally buy a house (next summer). We also took a day to go to Multnomah Falls (see picture of Rebekah at the falls). We really enjoyed Portland, and are looking forward to moving into a (somewhat) larger residence than our current apartment.

Rebekah's Birthday Party

Rebekah celebrated her 7th birthday in style with a Princess Tea Party. Here is a nice picture of her and her friends from the party. As you can see, they are well princessified, and ready for any sort of princess in distress action that might be necessary.

The Last Ride of the Red Bomber

Since this is our first official post, for any of you that haven't heard, the Red Bomber has taken its last ride. Here is the last picture of the Red Bomber, which I used to sell it for a whopping $500. Here is the great ad I wrote which caused many people to drop whatever they were doing and rush to make an offer on the car:

My well-used 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera is for sale. My wife's grandfather purchased the vehicle in the late 1990s from a dealer in southern CA. The Olds (affectionately dubbed "the Red Bomber") has served us well, most recently as my form of transportion to and from BART, and is now prepared to transition to service under a new owner. Please send me an email to set up an appointment to view/test drive the car. Condition: Runs Mileage: Unknown - (estimated at 120,000 to 130,000 miles) - see below for further info Color: Mildly dark red Features: Air conditioning, AM/FM stereo with digital tuning, V6 engine, manual windows and doors. Being a kind and generous soul, I am asking the relative pittance of $500 for this impressive technological marvel. Keep reading for more detail on this once-in-a-lifetime bargain. As the Red Bomber is getting old (16 years old now), it is not in pristine condition. To the best of my knowledge, the Red Bomber has never been in an accident. However, with its hearty Detroit steel frame, the Red Bomber would likely emerge unscathed from all but the most harrowing accidents. Although it has several very minor mechanical problems, they do not affect the car's ability to run properly, and give the vehicle the type of real character that is sadly missing from most vehicles you find on the road today. Here is the list of all known defects possessed by the Red Bomber: 1) Odometer has not worked since 1999 (thus the current mileage is unknown) - the odometer currently reads about 77,000 miles. 2) Speedometer has not worked since 1999. 3) Cruise control does not work. 4) The rear trunk sometimes jams and is difficult to open. 5) The driver's side door sticks mildly - use your shoulder to force it to open. 6) The left hand turn signal does not automatically turn off after executing a left hand turn. It will, however, yield to a manual operation to shut it off (using your hand). 7) The passenger door gets filled with water during periods of heavy rainfall. 8) The shocks on the right front side are exceedingly poor, causing the vehicle to bounce when driving over uneven terrain. 9) The knob on the radio tuner has fallen off. 10) The inside knob on the left rear door has fallen off. If, after reading this list of character-adding traits possessed by the Red Bomber, you still have a resolute desire to purchase the vehicle, please send me an email with a proposed set of dates and times when you are available to meet. If you would like to view a few photographs of the vehicle before choosing to purchase the car, I would be happy to email them to you.