'Tis the Season

Christmas is approaching and that means there is a lot of festive happenings...um...happening. In addition to Chris and Ashley's engagement, there have been a lot of exciterrific things going on. The MSM has been going really well. We have had a record number of kids lately. Last week we had our leader's Christmas part at the Johnson's and yesterday we took 30 students to San Francisco to go ice skating. It was a great time. My dad came to help chaperon and actually fell asleep on BART which was rather ironic and funny. Friday is the last day of school before break and it also happens to be the day of our annual tacky sweater party. This year its in the canyon. It shall be fun. Enjoy the pics.

More Engagement Day Pics

Tate & PhotobookIce Skating in SF

Chris & Ashley

Chris popped the question on Friday. Ashley responded by saying yes. It is always a relief when they say yes. Mel, Tate, and I are all excited to add Ashley in to our family as we continue to build an incestual VBC family tree. It is fun to know that I am now related to Kyle by proxy. Here are some pictures from the engagement that Mel took and some from the surprise after party (for Ashley) at the Hopyard afterward. Check out Ashley's blog (ashleykclark.blogspot.com) to get the whole story. Enjoy the pics.

Ill post more pics later...

A Christmas Story

I wrote this story as a prelude to our annual tacky sweater Christmas party, which is set to take place on December 19th at the Perry's:

It is said that Mr. Chesterton came out of his house but once a year. Quiet by nature and clandestine by design, he made one secret trip annually. It was early in the morning August 3rd, 1923 and by the light of a single kerosene lamp I read the letter that Mr. Chesterton had sent me. I use the word “letter” liberally considering Mr. Chesterton had penned a note in his finest calligraphy consisting of only 3 words: “Dress warm today,” he said. Warm, I thought. What a curious word to use. It was late summer and Vermont was as humid as the dense Paraguayan jungle in which I was raised. I would soon find out that President Harding had died of a heart attack and I, Calvin Coolidge, would be the next to take the Oval Office. You will not read about what happened next in an almanac or a history book. In fact, I hardly believed it myself. But happen, it did. I folded up Mr. Chesterton’s letter and made my way to the front door to assess the climate. It was cold, but then again it was 2:20 in the morning. I breathed in the algid morning air and stared out in to the acreage hugging the single dirt path that led to my home and I saw it. Faint at first, it grew increasingly bright as it approached the patio on which I stood. I was startled to say the least, but captivated by the increasing glow of this enigmatic emanation, I stood and waited for it. Soon enough I was blinded. Literally or figuratively, it matters not. I could not see for the sun-like glow filled the periphery of my vision. Strangely silent, the light stayed for what seemed like an hour, but more realistically I stood in its glow for all but five minutes. Shivering and confused, everything suddenly went black and I heard the soft thump of delicate objects landing at my feet. I looked down to find a Tunisian crochet hook, three radiant broaches, and a skein of the most magnificent yard I had ever seen. I gathered the objects in to my trembling arms and, crying, stumbled in to my home. For the next 14 days I neither ate nor drank. I simply crocheted. History books will tell you that I immediately took office and began acting as the president of this great nation. However the facts dictate another story altogether. I never wore the sweater I created but, all things considered, it was the single most spectacular garment the world may have ever known. I never discovered the source of the glowing aurora that changed my life but I have my suspicions. You see Mr. Chesterton once told me (in a dream) that a life best lived is one that is constantly striving to obtain the truth behind the source of the light that changed one’s life. I can only assume that he meant himself. Ten years later I was found dead in Northhampton, Massachusetts. Those who attended my funeral commented on the outfit that an uninvited guest was wearing. It was said that this man was quiet and wore a sweater that could only be described as “the single most spectacular garment the world may have ever known.” I can only imagine that Mr. Chesterton floated away that day in an ethereal cloud of yarn and glory.

A month in pictures

This month saw my dad near retirement, Tate nearly walk, 2 Thanksgivings, and a lot of fun (couldn't think of a clever closing statement). Life is going well and as Tate grows older (and bigger), Mel and I grow increasingly thankful and humbled by the gift that God has given us in him. When he is not bringing us books and crawling in our laps, he is saying new words and finding new ways to entertain his parents (that would be us). Our life has been good. We are blessed. Enjoy the pictures.

Yes on Tate.

Neon Night @ thEvent!

My Dad's Retirement Ceremony

Thanksgiving 2008

Mel's Girl Reunion + Offspring

Though it does not look like it, I did spend time with my family on Thanksgiving and even went to dinner with Mel and Tate at my grandparents house two days before Thanksgiving. November was good to us. Bring on December and more vacation!

Tate Loves to Drive

Untitled from dan bowen on Vimeo.

FUNNY VIDEOS

Untitled from dan bowen on Vimeo.

Untitled from dan bowen on Vimeo.

Election Results (from the pivotal under-18 upper middle class demographic)

Today I held an election in my Freshman and Junior English classes. Last week the students in one of my Frosh classes came in and wanted to have a debate on the various Props (2, 4, and 8 primarily). The debates were lively and most of the positions were predictable. Today I had the students vote on Props 4 and 8 and the president. Though there were some staunch conservatives, the results definitely leaned left. Enjoy.

Juniors (ages 16-17) - 28 total (6 didn't vote-they must not have registered!)

Obama - 17 votes
McCain - 3 votes
Ron Paul - 1 vote
Mr. Bowen - 1 vote (no joke)

Prop 4 - In short, requires minors to get parental (or another family member in cases of abuse) consent prior to having an abortion.

Yes - 11
No - 11

Prop 8 - In short, would ban gay marriage.

Yes - 8
No - 14

Freshman Class A (ages 14-15) - 18 total (2 forgot to vote for president which doesn't bode well for the future of America)

Obama - 11 votes
McCain - 5 votes

Prop 4

Yes - 6
No - 11

Prop 8

Yes - 7
No - 11

Freshman Class B (ages 14-15) - 16 total

Obama - 11 votes
McCain - 3 votes
Nader - 2 votes

Prop 4

Yes - 5
No - 11

Prop 8

Yes - 6
No - 10


Overall, the results were pretty predictable. It was interesting that the older students voted evenly on the abortion consent vote. The younger students felt that it was an invasion of privacy while the juniors were able to see both sides of the issue. I am enjoying my classes. It is fun to dialog with the students about real-life issues and indoctrinate them with my opinions and beliefs. Just kidding. Seriously though it is great to be able to debate and discuss things with the students. Last week I had them write about an intangible weight that they carry with them and it was pretty heartbreaking to read about some of the crap that these kids are going through. It definitely gave me more empathy for them. I'll post some of their writing sometime.

I hope that you enjoy these real-time election results. Beat that CNN!

By the way...I'm watching CNN right now and the 3-D hologram correspondent thing is absolutely ridiculous. However, I think it would be fun to be a 3-D hologram.

Funny Cell Phone Videos

Tateopotomas

So this year marks Tate's second official Halloween! Although this was the first time we actually dressed him up. He was an adorable Hippo! Tate and I started off the morning by heading over to my school for the Halloween Parade. He loved seeing all of th kids dressed up and waved to everyone watching! He was quite the hit with all of my students! I loved having Halloween off to spend with Tate.
Later that night we headed over to visit Great Uncle Tony and Great Aunt Janet we even skyped Great Grandma and Grandpa Conley so they could see Tate all dressed up. We then made our way to Grandma and Grandpa Bowen's to show off our little Hippo! After Grandma and Grandpa Bowen's, we (Tate and I) went to Jen and Jeff Freitas's House to take pictures and trick-or-treat with Bradley, Ashley, Baby Andrew, Stacey, Amy, Dan, Carol and Katie. Tate even got to trick-or-treat at cousin Josh's new house! As if we didn't do enough, we ended the night at the Morse's for a yummy barbecue with Jen, Allison, Laura, Lacey, McKenna, Ashely, Uncle Chris, Tyler, Chad, Charlie, Jake, Melissa and Addie. To say the least we had a fun and eventful Halloween! Tate was a trooper too! Dan got to teach all day and then work all evening getting ready for a fun filled Halloween night with the junior high students. They started the night off at the church and ended at the ice rink for a game of broom ball. We hope you all had a safe and enjoyable Halloween as well!