nextgen_holiday:

"A father is a guy who has snapshots in his wallet where his money used to be." -- Unknown

lucky_penny:

Summer vacation meant one thing to Penny - deciding where she wanted to visit and hoping that Mom and Dad let her go. This year she wanted to visit the Avengers mansion and coast on Grandma Jen's membership. Sit by the pool, work out in the training room that could handle a person who turned green on every so often, maybe get into some clubs and dance. With guys. Not that she would mention /that/ part to Dad.

After a call ahead to make sure there was room for her and it wouldn't inconvenience the household staff if she spent a week or two, she was popped into the Avengers kitchen by Mom. She immediately went to the refrigerator. First order of business - make peach iced tea.

nextgen_holiday:

Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children. ~William Makepeace Thackeray

nextgen_holiday:


I arise from dreams of thee
In the first sweet sleep of night,
When the winds are breathing low,
And the stars are shining bright.
I arise from dreams of thee,
And a spirit in my feet
Hath led me -- who knows how?
To thy chamber window, Sweet!

The wandering airs they faint
On the dark, the silent stream--
And the Champak's odours
Like sweet thoughts in a dream;
The nightingale's complaint,
It dies upon her heart,
As I must on thine,
O belovèd as thou art!

O lift me from the grass!
I die! I faint! I fail!
Let thy love in kisses rain
On my lips and eyelids pale.
My cheek is cold and white, alas!
My heart beats loud and fast:
O press it to thine own again,
Where it will break at last!

Percy Bysshe Shelley

nextgen_holiday:

There's a piece of paper and a pen attached to a bulletin board. Across the top is written:

New Year's Resolutions
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Anonymous entries accepted.

nextgen_holiday:

All Hallow's Eve, or Halloween as it has been come to be called, is a popular holiday with children and adults alike. It is a holiday that had its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain or Summer's End. Samhain celebrated the end of the "lighter half" of the year and the beginning of the "darker half".

On this evening the barriers between this world and the Otherworld were believed to be thin and the spirits, good and bad, of the dead could pass through. The spirits of the family's ancestors were welcomed in while evil and bad spirits were warded off by the wearing of masks and costumes. The costumes and masks disguised one as a harmful spirit and avoided harm from others.

It was also a harvest celebration and time to take stock of food stores for the winter. Livestock were slaughtered and the meat prepared for storage. It was the final harvest of the year and the crops were then stored for the winter. Celebrations included bonfires and tales of the family's ancestors.

It was a celebration of the dead and of the harvest.

Today we dress up in scary and not so scary costumes and masks and go door to door for candy or attend costume parties. It is a night for revelry, pranks and fun.

huntsman:

Mom and Dad were off taking Riley to her college in Massachusetts and his grandparents where taking care of Violet. Since he didn’t have much going he figured he would head to the Avengers Mansion for a workout and hanging out. Maybe he could even talk someone into letting him take a Quinjet for a ride. I would be nice if he could before he started up college himself.

avenging_legacy:

Independence Day was by far AJ's favorite holiday of all. It was about cookouts and great food and blowing things up. What more could be better? Sure Christmas was always good, but Independence Day was better than Christmas in AJ's book. He had been making fireworks for the past month. This year would be better than last and the Avengers would get a show they wouldn't forget.

AJ gathered his rather large stash of fireworks and headed upstairs to the lawn.

nextgen_holiday:

What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so,

He called it ... Dad