Our Favorite Things in 2011

Once again, we present to you the Houser kids' favorite things in 2011:

book

Zach: Airman by Eoin Colfer

Phoebe: Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George

Ben: Quest of the Warrior Sheep by Christopher Russell

Christmas song

Zach: Frosty the Red Nosed Snowman (ATHF parody)

Phoebe: Yuleman vs. the Anti-Claus by The Bobs

Ben: Chiron Beta Prime by Jonathan Coulton

future occupation

Zach: architect

Phoebe: writer and/or teacher

Ben: video game developer (“or even better, a video game tester!”)

game

Zach: Dungeons and Dragons, Minecraft

Phoebe: Harvest Moon

Ben: Kirby Mass Attack

show

Zach: Star Trek: Next Generation (favorite character: Data)

Phoebe: Star Trek: Next Generation (favorite character: also Data)

Ben: Mystery Science Theater 3000

2011 memory

Zach: seeing Blue Man Group in NYC

Phoebe: playing with my cousin Charlotte

Ben: visiting friends (and seeing the Phillies play) in Pittsburgh

thing you're most thankful for

Zach: books

Phoebe: my family

Ben: Penelope (the cat)

BONUS! EXCLUSIVE WEB-ONLY OUTTAKES!!

Who watches Santa Claus when he is sleeping?

Zach: the reindeer

Phoebe: Mrs. Claus

Ben: the Easter Bunny

If you had a pet reindeer, what would you name it?

Zach: Connor

Phoebe: Belle

Ben: Chucky Ducky

If we are out of cookies and milk on Christmas, what other foods do you think Santa might like?

Zach: soda and brownies

Phoebe: Nutella & graham crackers

Ben: celery

Fight! Santa vs. Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship Enterprise! Who wins?

Zach: Can Santa use his Christmas magic? (No.) Then Picard wins.

Phoebe: Can Picard use technology? (No.) Can Santa use his giant candy cane? (No! Hand-to-hand combat only!) I'll go with Picard.

Ben: Santa. Because he's awesome.

A new challenger enters the arena! Lord Voldemort vs. Santa! Who emerges victorious?

Zach: Santa

Phoebe: Santa - Christmas magic is more powerful than dark magic.

Ben: Santa. Voldemort looks like a pig. A bad pig.

Our Favorite Things in 2010

Once again, we are mailing out a brief survey of our kids' favorite things with our Christmas cards in lieu of a formal Christmas letter.

Here is this year's survey:

activity
Zach: reading
Phoebe: playing DS, playing on the swings, reading, writing
Ben: playing outside with my friends

game
Zach: Dungeons and Dragons online
Phoebe: Apples to Apples
Ben: Sorry

song
Zach: Viva la Vida by Coldplay
Phoebe: Let It Be by The Beatles
Ben: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

book
Zach: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordian
Phoebe: anything by Holly Webb
Ben: Detective Dinosaur by James Skofield

show
Zach: Phineas and Ferb
Phoebe: Phineas and Ferb
Ben: Phineas and Ferb

Christmas carol
Zach: O Tannenbaum
Phoebe: Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer
Ben: We Wish You A Merry Christmas

2010 memory
Zach: vacationing in Maine
Phoebe: playing with Penelope (our cat)
Ben: having a sleepover at my cousins' house

thing you're most thankful for
Zach: books
Phoebe: cats
Ben: video games

BONUS! EXCLUSIVE WEB-ONLY OUTTAKES!!

If you were an evil scientist, what kind of diabolical contraption would you build to take over Christmas?
Zach: an Anti-snow-inator that prevents snow from falling
Phoebe: a Forget-inator, which would make everyone in the tri-state area forget about Christmas
Ben: a disappear-inator, that would make Santa disappear and make all of the children cry

If there is life on other planets, how do they celebrate Christmas?
Zach: making lists of their favorite things
Phoebe: eat turkey and stuffing
Ben: just like us

What do you think Santa would like to find under his tree?
Zach: a new sleigh
Phoebe: penguins
Ben: a stuffed teddy bear

Before he moved to the North Pole, where was Santa Claus from?
Zach: Pluto
Phoebe: the United States
Ben: New York. He used to sleep on the Empire State Building.

Our Favorite Things in 2009

Instead of sending out a formal Christmas letter, our tradition is to include a short insert with our Christmas cards listing each of the kids' favorite things in several categories.

Here is this year's survey:

book
Zach: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
Phoebe: Bad Kitty Gets A Bath by Nick Bruel
Ben: Here Comes Snoopy by Charles Schultz

game
Zach: Cosmic Encounter
Phoebe: Go Fish
Ben: Checkers

song
Zach: Dreams of an Absolution by Crush 40
Phoebe: Let It Be by The Beatles
Ben: All You Need Is Love by The Beatles

food
Zach: tacos
Phoebe: pasta
Ben: pizza ("And peanuts!")

future occupation
Zach: architect or video game developer.
Phoebe: teacher
Ben: "Blimp pilot. I like being high up in the sky and taking pictures."

Christmas carol
Zach: Deck The Halls
Phoebe: Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer
Ben: Jingle Bells (Batman smells)

Santa Claus: Man or Elf?
Zach: "Elf, according to the Artemis Fowl books."
Phoebe: "Man. Elves have pointy ears."
Ben: "He's the chief elf. All the other elves have to follow him."

Wish for the World
Zach: Peace
Phoebe: Silence
Ben: Toys


BONUS! EXCLUSIVE WEB-ONLY OUTTAKES!!


What is the best thing that happened to you in 2009?
Zach: "Spending two weeks in Maine."
Phoebe: "Getting new kittens."
Ben: "I passed my swimming test."

What does Santa Claus give to trick-or-treaters on Halloween?
Zach: candy canes
Phoebe: toys
Ben: candy pumpkins

How does Santa get inside houses that don't have a fireplace?
Zach: "He goes in through a window"
Phoebe: "He's magical, or whatever."
Ben: "I guess he can't. He probably just leaves the presents outside."

How does Santa Claus keep Rudolph from jumping up on the kitchen counters?
Zach: "Rudolph is locked out of the house."
Phoebe: "He sprays him with a water bottle and puts coal in his stocking."
Ben: "Santa Claus yells at him and scares him."

Our Favorite Things in 2008

In lieu of a formal Christmas letter, our yearly tradition has been to include a short insert with our Christmas cards listing each of the kids' favorite things in several categories.

Here is this year's survey.

Our Favorite Things in 2008:

Philadelphia Phillie
Zach: Shane Victorino
Phoebe: The Phanatic
Ben: Chase Utley

Toy
Zach and Phoebe: Nintendo DS
Ben: Legos

Sport
Zach: Bowling
Phoebe: Swimming
Ben: Soccer

Planet
Zach: Saturn
Phoebe: Pluto
Ben: Earth ("Pluto is so little!")

Song
Zach: "Jerusalem" by Steve Earle
Phoebe: "Nowhere Man" by The Beatles
Ben: "Hey Bulldog" by The Beatles

Food
Zach: tacos
Phoebe: spaghetti
Ben: pizza

Future Career
Zach: architect
Phoebe: teacher, artist, police officer ("That's a pretty hard job!")
Ben: mail carrier

Hope for the New Year
Zach: less pollution
Phoebe: an end to war
Ben: Legos for Christmas

Wishing you all of your favorite things this holiday season!

WEB EXCLUSIVE!! BONUS WEB-ONLY OUT-TAKES!!

If Santa had a 10th reindeer, what would he name it?
Zach: Meteor
Phoebe: Nice-On ("It's the opposite of Rude-off. Get it?")
Ben: Peanut

What are candy canes made of?
Zach: mint
Phoebe: sticky candy
Ben: spice

Where do Elves go on vacation?
Zach: the South Pole
Phoebe: the beach (in disguise)
Ben: an iceberg

How does Santa know who's been naughty and who's been nice?
Zach: robots
Phoebe: He has a magical crystal ball that tells him.
Ben: grown-ups ("Grown-ups never lie.")

If Santa retired, who would be a good choice to take his place?
Zach: "One of the reindeer could probably take over."
Phoebe: An elf
Ben: "You could do it, Dad."

Zach: The Houserspawn(tm) Exclusive Interview

I asked Zach the same ten questions (some slightly modified) that James Lipton asks of every guest on Inside the Actors Studio:

Houserspawn: What is your favorite word?
Zach: Pokémon

(ed. note: Pokémon has been Zach's obsession for the past six months or so.)

HS: What is your least favorite word?
Z: Bedtime

HS: What makes you excited?
Z: Playing (Pokémon) games.

HS: What makes you sad?
Z: Doing things I don't want to do.

HS: What sound or noise do you love?
Z: The sounds that a Scizor makes.

(ed note: Scizor is a Pokémon character. Pokémon = crack cocaine for 7 year old boys.)

HS: What does that sound like?
Z: (In a hushed voice: "Scizor!")

HS: What sound or noise do you hate?
Z: (imitates a trumpet playing the "charge" fanfare)

HS: What word do you like to say when you are angry?
Z: "Oh man!"

HS: What do you want to do when you grow up?
Z: Make video games.

HS: What job would you not like to do when you grow up?
Z: A football player. (Because they get hurt too much.)

HS: What would you like to hear God say to you?
Z: I'd have to know how many words God knows before I can answer that.

Ben: The Houserspawn(tm) Exclusive Interview

Yesterday, I asked Ben the same ten questions (some slightly modified) that James Lipton asks of every guest on Inside the Actors Studio:

Houserspawn (tm): What is your favorite word?
Ben: I like the words 'I love you' and I like the word 'yes'.

HS: What is your least favorite word?
B: I don't like the words 'I don't love you' and the word 'no'.
(ed. note: We almost never tell Ben that we don't love him.)

HS: What makes you excited?
B: When I get to go back to my baseball game.

HS: What makes you sad?
B: When some bad kids scream at me.

HS: What sound or noise do you love?
B: The sound of twinkling stars.
HS: What do twinkling stars sound like?
B: Like this! [makes high pitched sound while shaking hands in front of self]

HS: What sound or noise do you hate?
B: Screaming

HS: What word do you like to say when you are angry?
B: STOP!

HS: What do you want to do when you grow up?
B: Be a knight that has a helmet with a feather on it.

HS: What job would you not like to do when you grow up?
B: A princess and a unicorn and a Fairy Realm creature.
(ed. note: Fairy Realm is the series of children's fantasy stories we've been reading to Phoebe and Ben at bedtime.)

HS: What would you like to hear God say to you?
B: I love you.

About five minutes after the "interview", Ben produced a pencil and a pad of paper, and proceeded to interview me. Take it away, Ben:

Ben: What sound do you like?
Al: Music.

B: What would you like [to hear] if God said something to you?
A: I would like to hear God say "Well done".

B: What do you do when someone is mad at you?
A: I try to talk to them about why they are mad at me.

B: How angry are you when someone breaks your computer? Super angry, or just a little bit angry?
A: This question makes me a little nervous, Ben. Is there something you'd like to tell me?

B: That's good enough, I think.