It might be another drizzly day out there - but let’s not forget to keep of spirits up!  I’m off to New Bedford again this morning (I’m spending all week there telling my stories at various schools) and I will keep in mind what my old Camp Counselors used to say on rainy days like this.  That it’s not rain - it’s liquid sunshine!  Don’t let it stop you from having some fun!

1 - Trick or Treating, getting free candy again.

2 - Playing Hide and Seek, I love that game!

3 - Reading Hulk comics with her before her bedtime,

4 - Eating Oreos, best cookie in the world!

5 - Watching her play soccer

6 - Taking her to the beach to look for seashells

7 - Skipping rocks

8 - Searching for turtles at the duck pond

9 - Teaching her to ride a bike

10 - Buying and decorating pumpkins with her

Yes, Oxford is quite the drive - but after driving to Groton on Monday, Oxford seemed like nothing!  So, there was a generous group of children to hear the tales that beautiful Tuesday morning and I am happy to say - they were such a great group!  I had Charlie and Edgar come out to tell “Lost Bone” and, as always, had a wild time singing and dancing to “The Button Factory”.  I would take a 2 hour ride everyday if the audience was like this group of excited kids!

After I finished with my Kindregarten show today the teacher asked the class if they liked the show.  One of the kids responded with:

“Like it!  I wanna marry it!”

 So, I guess he liked it…

I figure that this question may pop up in the near future with my daughter being born in less than 2 months.  I still have a few years to skirt around the issue - but when it does come up I’ll use this handy little children’s book!  A humorous and wonderful look at the follically challenged.  I am not alone in this, I know, but it’s always good to have a guide to go to when asked the harder questions that children ask - like, for instance, “Daddy, how come you have no hair?”

My wife and I went for a 3-D ultra sound today.  We saw our little girl just how she looks right now!  She has a whole bunch of hair and her Mother’s cute button nose!  You can also see part of the umbilical cord on the right,  She kept on holding/ playing with it during the ultrasound.  See you soon Alexandra!

I wish there was more to talk about in May!  I’m so sorry - I feel as though I’ve been ignoring the visitors to my site.  I have 2 great posts for you today - the first is about the Wilmington Library that I visited last Saturday.  Great show!  Great crowd!  There was a nice mix of older and younger kids who all enjoyed “Sarah’s Little Brother” and said hello to Charlie and Edgar and Alligator!

As I was singing “The Lion Hunt” with a group of preschoolers today, and we got to the part where we go through the mosquitoes, one little girl shouted out “Don’t worry!  I have Bug Spray!”

Who doesn’t LOVE flap books? This is one of the first books I ever bought when I became a teacher. The kids responded to this story about Mr. Wolf searching, page to page, through houses and grocery stores, for a little pig named Preston. If you talk in a nice, grumbly voice for Mr. Wolf - but then whisper when saying the repeated title “Shh… Don’t Tell Mr. Wolf!” and you pull down the flap to reveal where Preston is hiding. My favorite part of this story is right in the beginning where Mr. Wolf is searching in the bathroom and there is a little flap on the toilet seat. When lifted it says “Don’t be silly!” It makes me chuckle every time. Make sure to check this book out!

- Big Ryan

Yes, the pictures are a little blurry - but that doesn’t change the fact that this show, last Friday, was a great return to one of my favorite towns.  I had last told stories in Groveland about 2 years ago - and my return brought a nice, big crowd of kids who all giggled their way through “The Bunny Bird”.  I was so happy to meet the new Librarian - well, new to me anyways - and she made me feel so comfortable coming back.  All in all - a nice, perfect day!