Who's the Master?

This is a little conversation I overheard in my classroom on Tuesday while we were practicing writing our letters.


"Look, I am a 'd' master!"

"No, Jesus is da master."

"Oh."

The perks of being a teacher/student...

Spring Break 2009, baby!

Our Hawaii dream turned into a Brookings, Oregon reality, but we had a wonderful time with Jake's family.



If you haven't already noticed, we are really into jumping pictures. Should you find yourself in our company in the near future, you can almost guarantee that you will be forced/persuaded into a similar shot.



Jake reached 26- we're now just another old married couple.




I have always loved climbing up things, but never have been sure about getting back down. If I would only realize that when extended my legs are usually over half the distance to the ground, I might have an easier time.



Showcasing yet another Denbrook Family talent.



Little boy, stuck in a giantically tall man's body.

Erika and Justin enjoying the view from our deck.

This picture pretty much sums up the trip. What is going on? No one has a clue.


And now for Jake's pretty pictures:




Thanks for organizing and paying, Mom and Dad Denbrook!

Trying to Avoid Cliches

Hello,

My battery is about to die, so I'll make this quick. Our group of friends has decided that still-posed shots are sooo 1898, and that we'll now be jumping in every group photo we take from here on out. This is an advanced effort to battle the debilitating effects of a disease commonly known as cliche digital photography (or CDP)

Briefly, I'll describe each character archetype being demonstrated.

Sara is a cracked-out Amelia Airheart with her ace pilot scarf.
Jacob is afraid of becoming irrelevant by having his head chopped off by the top of the frame
Jill is not getting any air at all, and is compensating by smiling as foolishly as she can.
Michael is unsure of what to do with his hands.
Daniel is attempting to split molecules with his karate chop.
Vanessa is practicing a marketing campaign for the Gap.

Hope you all enjoy these brief Twitter-like entries.

New Years Resolution Take Two

What do you do when it’s March and you have yet to start your original New Years Resolution? You ditch it and make a new one. We weren’t really serious about starting to run again anyway…

Jill’s new resolution: To learn to play the guitar.
Jake’s new resolution: To successfully teach Jill to play the guitar.

In both cases the word “play” is used loosely. It may mean to learn how to hold a pick, but it also may mean that Jill becomes famous. It’s hard to tell.

Our first lesson ended after about 4 minutes.

Kinders

While I daily risk contracting head lice, the below quotes are exactly why I love kindergarten.

Mrs. Denbrook: "Okay, Miss Reina let's get the show on the road."
Reina: "I ain't Miss Reina, I just plain Reina."

Kinder (singing): "Nana oh Nana why did you die? Oh oops, that song sad cause Nana is still alive!"

Kinder: "Hey teacher, look at my boots!"
Mrs. Conrad: "Oh yes, they are very nice."
Kinder: "I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to the long teacher."

Kinder: "Where is Mrs. Denbrook?"
Mrs. Denbrook: "I'm right here."
Kinder: "No, not you. I'm talking about the other Mrs. Denbrook. Ya know, the boy named Mrs. Denbrook?"

"What's your honey's name? He coming today?"

That work was intriguing!

"Mama said it's really bad to choke someone when you're a kid."

"G..G...God! Hey God starts with G! You member him Mrs. Denbrook?"

The Creepiest Domestic Product of the Obama Era

Jill is demonstrating her recent acquisition of a “Snuggy,” as I think they’re marketed. As everyone knows, Jill’s blood at any given point is about 52. 3 degrees Fahrenheit, and so she’s always had to take extra measures to protect her basic life-functions. Normally, she accomplishes this through a very scientific process called “heat transfusion.” I’ll summarize; Jill attaches herself to my body like a parasite, sucks the heat from every portion of my body, and unceremoniously detaches after the host is no longer a suitable environment (I am uselessly shivering on the linoleum flooring). Recent studies have shown that 100 percent of marriages involve this type of relationship.

However, things have changed since the “snuggy.” This revolutionary product is actually a micro-fiber blanket that can be zipped, and buttoned until it fits around the body as a heat-trapping ceremonial robe (see photo). For me, it’s been a bitter-sweet ride. I can see that Jill no longer needs my heat services. She’s thinking, “this robe keeps me warm, AND I don’t have to listen to it talk non-stop about Oregon football recruiting! Thanks, SNUGGY!”

Perhaps I’m just a little jealous of the “snuggy,” but a small part of me can’t help but wonder about the origination of this product. To me, it looks like the designers were gathered around a table, and one guy spoke up and said, “Hey, we should make something for the Klu Klux Clan to wear to keep them warm while they’re out in the deep woods.” Then, another person in the room got practical and said, “wait a minute. We need to make sure that it doesn’t have a hood, and that we don’t sell any white ones so that we can market it to non-bigots and non-racists too!”

This was all capped by a recent television ad that Jill and I saw over Christmas. In the ad, a whole family of white, upper-middle class people are wearing the robes, laughing and roasting marshmallows. In the next shot, they’re watching a movie in their matching ceremonial robes, and eating popcorn. And even though you can’t see what they’re watching, I’m willing to bet it’s either American History X, or maybe a confederate propaganda film.

This just goes to show that it’s possible to sell anything in America (during normal economic times). Overall, I’m glad that Jill has found a way to stay warm, but if she ever goes to a national convention of “snuggy wearers” I’m going to be a little bit suspicious…

PS: You can find the official commercial for the Snuggy on Youtube.

New Year's Resolutions

Happy 2009. Here in the Denbrook family, we like to make goals, resolutions if you must, for each new year. We're really good about keeping them as well. For example, last year we decided to add push ups to our daily fitness routine. Our fitness routine up until that point had consisted of pacing back and forth in our 10' x 6' foot room. We needed to add something extra. Man, were we pumped. The Japanese would for sure shrink back in fear of our massive biceps. The push ups lasted for three days. We were sore for two weeks.

This year we've decided to add running to our regime. It will be a nice addition to our Jane Fonda workout videos. It's January 3rd, and we have yet to dig out the old Nikes. Isn't February the new January?