And Then There Were Four...

Oh Christmas Tree

2011-12-10T10:49:00.001-06:00

Cut out own tree this year!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Beacon Dr,Phoenixville,United States

Mini Mechanics

2011-11-26T13:16:00.001-06:00

Brandon & Laedyn helped Grandpa Art fix the rotor on our car today.

Brandon's method was somewhat unorthodox.

Of course the fix is not going to be as simple as we thought.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Lake Rd W,Ashtabula,United States

2011-11-13T11:41:00.000-06:00

Valley Forge National Historic Park

Winter Encampment Site for the Continental Army in 1777-1778.

We took Mom and Dad for a drive through Valley Forge while they were visiting at the beginning of the month. It was a beautiful sunny day and there were lovely fall colors to be found.

Soldier's Cabin

I loved this huge old birch tree.

Much of Valley Forge is rolling hills and meadows.

Mamo & Laedyn took a rest on the bench at the base of the Memorial Arch.

The Memorial Arch was built by the Masonic Order. It sits on a slight hill overlooking meadows all around. Brandon read about a room up in the top of the arch and always looks for a secret entrance.

As I was walking near General Washington's headquarters, I ran across this soldier. For a minute I thought he might be a ghost.

General Washington lived in this house, known as Washington's Headquarters, during the winter encampment at Valley Forge.

Mamo & Laedyn walked back to the car by way of some soldier cabins and a little spring house.

2011-10-05T08:44:00.000-05:00

Fall Fun

Laedyn and I joined her friend, Olivia, at a nearby garden center yesterday morning for some fall fun. Colonial Garndens has a free kids area set up with hay bales, slides, face-in-hole cutouts and fun decorations. They offered a hayride, corn maze, and haunted castle as well, but we passed on those activities this visit although the cost wasn't terrible.

We spent alot of time at the slide.

The girls loved landing in the generous pile of loose hay at the bottom of the slide. They scooped armloads of it onto the slide for each other before going down. The dramatic belly flops at the bottom were entertaining for all.

Goofy ghosts were haunting a creepy mansion. Oh my!

Watch out for Halloween mummies!!

There were lots of pumpkins to choose from outside. We just took a few minutes to pose for pictures.

2011-09-29T11:42:00.000-05:00

Dress Up Show

Laedyn spent the afternoon playing dress up for me the other day.

This pirate girl was very intimidating with her steely one-eyed gaze!

Strike a pose!

Silly eyed ducky princess ... or something.

Monkey girl and her trusty pony

Princess Laedyn arrived on the scene with her winged unicorn.

A fairy pageant puppy?

Laedyn and her companion were very scary.

2011-09-11T11:10:00.000-05:00

Looking Back - June 2011

We kept busy all summer - from beginning to end. Here are a few pictures from our June adventures.

Nick took a business trip to China, where he visited Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Shanghai. This is a shot of the Shanghai skyline from The Bund. The Bund is an historic waterfront area, very different from the view across the river.

When my parents came to visit, we all went down to Philadelphia for a day. It was our first time down there, so we took a bus tour. Later we went to Independence National Historic Park, and saw the Liberty Bell. Brandon discovered that the park rangers carry trading cards with various historic people and places on them. In order to earn trading cards, he had to answer questions posed by the rangers. He collected quite a stack that day, and learned some history in the process.

Laedyn celebrated her 4th birthday on June 7. She requested a Tinker Bell cake. I managed to work Tinker Bell into a caterpillar cake I'd been wanting to make. The caterpillar cake was baked in a specialty mini cake pan from William Sonoma, which I'd been looking for the perfect time to use.

One weekend, we stumbled upon Daniel Boone's homestead. He lived on this property until he was 16 years old. The building in this picture is a barn, added by later owners in a style seen frequently in this area.

Later owners of the property dammed the steam and ran a sawmill. It looked like they run sawmill demonstartions on the site. We might need to go back to see that sometime!

The kids and I took a trip to Ashtabula to visit my parents. While we were there I was roped into helping run a massive garage sale in Mom's backyard. Brandon said he loved the garage sale because it was a great place to "buy stuff you don't need."

While in Ashtabula, we spent an afternoon at the beach. The lake was still pretty chilly, so most of the day was spent playing in the sand and hunting for beach glass.

We also went to the river out at my grandmother's farm. The water was just right for the kids to collect crayfish, tadpoles and minnows in their buckets.

Back at home, I finished organizing my studio space. Mom found wooden CD racks at IKEA which are perfect for holding the smaller sheets of glass that I use in my glass fusing projects.

The kids started swimming lesson at the YMCA in June and continued those throughout the summer. Lessons were four days a week in two week sessions. The both progressed significantly.

2011-09-10T15:52:00.002-05:00

Views from the Garden

Gerbara Daisy

unripened cherry tomato

I let this grow and grow because it was such an interesting weed. I have no idea what it is.

tomato blossom

volunteer watermelon

This is a weed the bugs really liked!

An herb that supposedly makes your salad taste like cucumber.
I haven't tried it yet.

The zuchinni plant that produces giants!

Marigold? I think...

Removing the Sea Grass Rug

2010-05-01T13:07:00.001-05:00

Removing the sea grass rug that Romeo destroyed is almost as bad as moving.

-- Post From My iPhone

Hard at work

2010-04-11T15:53:00.001-05:00

I guess we all got tired of digging up monkey grass. Nick is working on building the playset.

Mark and I took out the rest of the viney fence & he's been weed wacking & clearing behind the fence.

I've been cutting up the viney fence sections & large brush and helping Nick as needed. Fun!

-- Post From My iPhone

Tree removal

2010-04-10T13:00:00.001-05:00

With the help of Matt, a friend from work, the tree is down. Now we're another step closer to getting the kids new playset built.

I knew that the tree was not a solid trunk at the bottom, but I had no idea it was seriously rotten most of the way up.

As a result of the rot, the tree didn't fall as expected, it splintered & fell to the side taking out the corner of Nick's table. He seems to be taking it rather well.

Guess we'll be adding table repair to the to-do list.... Poor table.

-- Post From My iPhone

2010-03-27T10:49:00.005-05:00

Brandon's 6th Birthday Bash was a space theme. He told me he wanted a solar system cake. It turned out pretty well & in the process I learned to paint on fondant - so did Jamie & Mom. Nick made a couple of photo cut outs. I chose a couple clip art pictures & he projected them onto large foam core boards and traced them. He also added little handles to the backs so the kids fingers wouldn't show when we took the pictures. They turned out great!Laedyn, our little hooligan, had a great time making silly faces at me... I had mark blow up a bunch of balloons and stuff a high bounce ball in each one - we called them comets... The kids had to try to throw them thru the hoola hoops. The balls inside the ballons made them fly in unpredictable patterns. The kids had a great time.Brandon decorated a piece of PVC pipe to look like a rocket for a ring toss game. We used glow in the dark bracelets for the rings, and then the kids got to keep the bracelets.I made an earth pinata. It didn't take long for the kids to destroy it. Lesson learned about pinatas? Don't use a teeball bat and don't forget a blindfold! It only took four hits. I don't think anyone was too horribly disappointed beacause there were a ton of goodies in that thing.

Some Proper Snow!

2010-02-08T10:16:00.001-06:00

The snow is coming down pretty heavily - especially for Central Arkansas! It was a complete surprise to wake up to this morning when the school district called with the snow day announcement.

Brandon says this is the biggest snowball in the world.

The kids have never gotten dressed and out the door so fast in the morning. They didn't even eat breakfast first. Sounds like the snow will linger all day too, so they'll have lots of opportunity to enjoy it.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Pearl Ave,Little Rock,United States

Disgusting digestive science

2010-01-30T14:56:00.001-06:00

Brandon got a "disgusting science" kit from Nick for Christmas. They did their first scientific demonstration today - digestion...

If you take a balloon (stomach), add a little vegetable oil to prevent sticking, tear up (chew) some bread to stuff in (swallow) the balloon, add some vinegar (stomach acid) and mush it up in the balloon til squishy (digested)....

... When you squeeze it out you have ... Gross. Perfectly disgusting science for silly little boys.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Ice day

2010-01-29T09:28:00.001-06:00

Lots of frozen precipitation on the roads today so it's a day home from work & school. The kids spent time exploring their inner artists.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

An Afternoon Walk

2010-01-18T18:23:00.001-06:00

The trail has a few of these big decorative circles that the kids like to run around & around.

We climbed up some abandoned stairs and and up a wooded path to find a pretty little stream.

Nick went off trail for a bit, but says he didn't find anything interesting.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:North Little Rock

2009-11-29T07:59:00.004-06:00

Nick will be 40 on Christmas day. His friend and running partner, Rich, turned 40 in September. In an effort to surprise the guys with a 40th birthday bash, Regina and I chose to celebrate their big 40 somewhere in between. It worked perfectly. Best of all, Nick's Mom and Art came down for the party & Nick didn't know they were there until he walked into the party & saw them! My parents also came down to help celebrate. Regina ordered a cake from Blue Cake Company and asked for a running theme. They did the rest & it turned out wonderfully. It was also delicious!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICK & RICH!!!

Jennifer & Damon came to celebrate.My friend Jamie was a huge help. She orchestrated the set up while Regina & I went to gather the guys and lure them to the party. She also helped me transport an obscene number of helium balloons that continually came unclipped.

Thanks to everyone who came to help us celebrate this milestone. We had a great time!

2009-11-28T08:34:00.010-06:00

HILLCREST PUMPKIN ROLL 2009

The folks in Hillcrest came up with a great way to dispose of your pumpkins post-Halloween - enter them in a contest to see which one could roll the farthest down one of the steep streets in the neighborhood. Some made it more than 3 blocks - all the way to Lee Street! Each pumpkin entered into the roll had to pay a small fee, which went to charity. We met Townley & her parents there and watched pumpkins roll for more than an hour.

The really big ones generally disintegrated before making it halfway down the first block.

Occasionally a medium sized one made it as far as the second block & everyone had to jump out of the way. Alot of the medium-sized ones that reached our corner would hit the curb and explode. Laedyn got splashed with pumpkin guts and was not happy about it. Brandon & Townley enjoyed examining the interior.Small bagel size/shape ones seemed to do the best. The kids really enjoyed themselves.

Next year I'll be choosing my pumpkins carefully with the thought of the Pumpkin Roll in mind.

2009-11-22T15:18:00.002-06:00

Halloween 2009 - Brandon wanted to be Spongebob this year. I had a hard time choosing for Laedyn, so when Brandon said he wanted to chase Jellyfish with a net just like Spongebob does on TV, I thought she would be a perfect little jellyfish.Laedyn really liked the idea of trick-or-treating. Her favorite thing of the evening was these ghost decorations. They made her laugh & laugh. Brandon had a little difficulty maneuvering as Spongebob. He could see fine out of the eyes (they're privacy screen painted white), but steps and narrow porches gave him some trouble. The quote of the night? "Mommy, it's not easy being Spongebob."
Last year Laedyn was terrified of this spider and kept her distance. This year, she thought it was kind of funny. YUCK!

2009-10-17T16:13:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox postcard

2009-08-23T12:47:00.010-05:00

It was such a beautiful day yesterday we decided to go to the zoo for a little while - it turned out to be half the day. It wasn't too crowded when we arrived around 10, so in addition to the perfect weather, we didn't have to deal with any kind of crowds.The Little Rock Zoo has been making all kinds of changes and improvements, and for the first time in all the years we've been going, you can finally get a good look at the Rhinos.Laedyn would have been happy watching the Rhino indefinately - Nick, not so much. When the Rhino turned her back to us, we moved on to the next exhibit.The new viewing areas for the rhinos also give a different perspective on the giraffes. These two were all tangled up together every time we looked over at them, bumping each other and leaning on one another. We kept expecting them to twine their necks together.Next stop was the bear area. Too bad most of the bears were hiding in their dens. We saw a Malayan Sun Bear way at the back of his exhibit, a sloth bear taking a nap and a grizzly bear lounging next to the viewing window with her back to us. Not the best day for bear viewing. I did learn a few bits of trivia however. Sloth bears have no front teeth because they eat insects and teeth would get in the way of suction necessary for slurping up termites and the like. And the sun bears are named for the white patch of fur on their chest that resembles a rising sun.Before heading out, we took a quick turn around the small cats/carnivores area - the only active cat was a caracal who had lovely black pointy ears. He hissed at us. We also saw a red fox napping in his enclosure, and learned a little trivia about what foxes like to eat. Ready for this? They like to eat earthworms! Who would ever guess that???

This carousel, known as the Arkansas Carousel, is a fairly recent addition to the zoo. It made its first appearance at the State Fair in 1924. It's not just any old carousel either, it's an "over the jumps" carousel and this is the only remaining fully operational one in the world! The manufacterer of this carousel only ever made four of them. It used to be used at the fair as a midway ride, and was fully transportable. Now it's permanently ensconced at the Little Rock Zoo and has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. When it was on the midway, it cost five cents to ride. Now it costs two dollars! Laedyn loves the horsies ... when the ride came to an end she screeched, yelled "no no no - I ride horsey" then proceeded to cry. I told Nick he was lucky she wasn't kicking. Last time I took her on it the end of ride tantrum was much worse!

2009-08-22T15:14:00.004-05:00

Brandon is officially a big boy now that he's gone off to Kindergarten. We took pictures on the way out the door his first day (Wednesday). He was really excited. His school requires uniforms - blue, black, red, or white polos with blue, black, or tan shorts/pants. They are required to wear a belt if the pants have loops. I was advised that you can avoid this rule by cutting off the belt loops! Brandon doesn't seem to have trouble with the belt however, so the loops remain. I thought he looked very handsome for his first day.Laedyn is also growing up, and she graduated into the preschool room on Wednesday. She'll be starting to learn all the things you need to know before starting Kindergarten these days. It has been an exciting week for everyone!Nick astually ASKED to be in a picture:-)Brandon had a great first week of school. In fact, when I went to pick him up he didn't want to leave - all three days! We had homework Wednesday and Thursday nights, but have the weekend off. Looks like we're all going to making some adjustments to this new schedule. Laedyn had an excellent start in her preschool room as well, and has been singing the ABCs endlessly. She gets about half way through before it get muddled.

2009-08-08T08:34:00.008-05:00

Jennifer married Damon Willis at Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs on June 21. It was a lovely ceremony in a unique location. We were honored to be included, as it was a very small gathering - mostly family.In order to get to the chapel, you have to drive up a wooded mountain and then walk a forest path to the entrance. It was a lovely location & a beautiful day for a wedding.Nobody seemd to be in the mood for a family shot despite my best efforts. Luckily Laedyn behaved during the ceremony!Couldn't help but include this one! Audrey bought her this dress last year. It was too cute!The wedding cake decorated in Tiffany blue. It was very tasty.Just before they left the reception, we got a quick picture of Jennifer with the kids. She made a lovely bride.
I'll post more pictures of our trip to Eureka Springs soon!

2009-08-01T11:45:00.010-05:00

Nick and I hosted a Coming of Age Anniversary Party at US Pizza in honor of our first date which was 21 years ago (1988)- we can now legally drink as a couple! With the input and instigation of some friends (you know who you are), we went all out with an 80's theme. It was great fun hunting down outfits for everyone. Well - not quite everyone. Nick is wearing his own original t-shirt & jeans from the day. Crazy! I put single-use cameras out for everyone to use, but I think mostly the kids used them. It will be interesting to see what the party looked like from the point of view of the youngest generation. At one point Brandon dropped a camera off the balcony. He said it flashed when it hit the ground, and it still worked when we retreived it. I can't wait to see that one! Took a lickin' ... Jamie and Fran were, like, totally, fabulously 80's

I ordered a special cake from The Blue Cake Company for the occassion. They did a wonderful job - it looked great and tasted amazing. The top two layers were white cake with raspberry filling (just like our wedding cake in 1995) and the bottom layer was chocolate with chocolate filling. The pictures on the wires are from our 80's days (junior & senior prom, homecoming, twirp dance), along with the cover of a Guns & Roses album, the Who Framed Roger Rabbit movie, and the Bye-Bye Birdie musical. For a quick history lesson on Val & Nick ... Sweet Child O' Mine was our song, we saw Roger Rabbit on our first date, and we met doing the pit orchestra for Bye-Bye Birdie at the Straw Hat Theater (Ashtabulas Arts Center)
It was a shame to cut the cake - but we did it anyway... and everyone was glad we did. It was delicious!THANK YOU to everyone who came and made our celebration such a fun evening. Nick, Brandon, Laedyn & I all had a wonderful time & hope all of our guests did too.

2009-07-06T10:55:00.002-05:00

Nova did some filming in Nick's lab a couple months ago. The show is airing on July 14th. Below is a link to a brief video called "Aiding Aging Muscles." Nick appears briefly. Check it out!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/0403/03.html

2009-07-05T12:29:00.012-05:00

We went for a hike at Cane Creek Lake at the end of May. It was an interesteing park, but the mosquitos were AWFUL!!! It was also very hot & muggy. Not the most comfortable day for a hike. I think I set a record pace just to get away from the bugs. The mosquitos were explained by the small slow creeks criss-crossing the trail. I think there were nine foot bridges to cross in the 2.5 mile trail.

See how far ahead of the family I was? They kept stopping to look at mushrooms, plants & bugs. I never slowed down except to take a couple pictures. Most of the trail looked like this:We finished our hike just ahead of the storm rolling in, & decided we had time to get a closer look at the lake from a little fishing pier. Cane Creek Lake is interesting to look at with all the dead trees sticking out of it.

There's a little cove on the other side of the pier. Not visible in this picture is a boat launch ramp and a pavilion with a sand volleyball court. The pavilions at this park are enclosed and have air conditioning! NICE! The park also has an RV camping area, including a permanent RV you can rent.Self-timer pic of the day... I should have set the flash to go off. In order to even see any features, I had to crop in close & radically change tinting, saturation and contrast... oh well.While we were enjoying the view from the pier and taking pictures, the storm arrived. It was a real frog strangler, and showed no signs of letting up. See that car off in the distance? Yep - that's ours.

Nick ran all the way over to get the car in the pouring rain & then came down to get Laedyn. Brandon and I made a run for it next. Luckily we had a couple towels in the car - I have no idea why. We don't usually have towels on hand but it sure was nice to have them that day! On the drive back to Little Rock, we saw a sign for a place called Tar Camp Park. It's an Army Corps campground, and according to the link above was voted one of the top 100 family campgrounds in the country! They sure did have a nice playground. When Brandon saw the rock wall he insisted that we stop so he could get out & play.Laedyn, who had been fast asleep in her carseat, must have sensed the fun to be had. She woke up and just had to check out the swings. We weren't there for more than 15 minute though before the rain we'd left behind at Cane Creek caught up to us and forced us to call it quits for the day.

Tar Camp Park is about 32 miles from our house in Little Rock - it takes about 45 minutes to get there.

2009-07-04T08:35:00.016-05:00

My parents came for a visit in May and we took them to Petit Jean for a day. I got one self-time group shot that day. We rented a minivan rather than drive two cars. Brandon loved the minivan and was sad we couldn't keep it. It was nice to have space for everyone!

Our first stop (after the picnic which I took no pictures of...) was Cedar Falls.

Laedyn hitched a ride for a little while.

After we looked at Cader Falls, we went to look at Mather Lodge. There's a restaurant, gift shop, lodge rooms and cabins. This is view from behind Mather LodgeAfter Mather Lodge, we went to the Bear Cave trail. The rock crevices are pretty interesting.

Papa took over backpack duty for awhile.

With Papa on backpack duty, Nick got to climb the wall. He & Mark disappeared for quite awhile. I don't know how they got back down.

After Bear Cave Trail, we drove a scenic loop and stopped at a few overlooks. Mark the daredevil went out on a precipice. It was scarier than it appears in the picture.

All of the exploration, in addition to the kid's energy, wore Papa out and he snuck in a quick catnap. Brandon & Nick thought Papa's idea had merit, and made themselves comfortable on a rock ledge too.

Brandon spotted a pretty yellow butterfly in a parking lot. Unfortunately it had a broken wing.At the top of Petit Jean Mountain there is an old building that used to be used at a camp. We spent awhile climbing around in it exploring. Mom & I both took lots of pictures - I wonder how different her pictures are from my pictures??At the back of the structure, there was a deep hole with an exterior door opening but no obvious way to get down in. There was water trickling out from under the structure (a spring?). I wonder if it was a cold celler to store food? We saw a snake sitting down there, so no one went down to investigate further.

The view from the top of Petit Jean ... & Mark. I let Nick take Brandon off the trail to get a better view although all these heights make me extremely nervous about the kids.The last thing we saw on this trip was the gravesite of Petit Jean. After that we loaded back into the minivan for the drive back to Little Rock. Just in time too - the rain began just as we were looking at the gravesite!

2009-07-03T20:03:00.003-05:00

Easter - that was a ways back - but I took some pictures!

The Easter Bunny brought Laedyn some cool sunglasses.It was rainy on Easter, so the easter egg hunt took place indoors. Brandon was very successful.
He was also very good about letting Laedyn find some - even helping her to do so.

2009-07-03T19:54:00.004-05:00

I'm going to try to catch up a little on what we've been up to. I've been very busy with work and haven't had any spare time to keep up with this, with Facebook, with Flickr, with ANYTHING! I did, however, manage to take some pictures!

Brandon played t-ball this spring. Here are a couple of pictures from a game back in April. His team was the Orioles.

2009-05-23T16:46:00.004-05:00

Brandon's preschool "graduation" was on Thursday. These five will be moving on to kindergarten in the fall.Ms. Linnie teaches Brandon's class. She's been at his daycare for 18 years. The kids all LOVE her. She really is great.

Brandon's best friend at school is Townley - they've been at daycare together almost since they were babies. We're sad they won't be going to the same kindergarten. Hopefully we'll keep in touch and have occasional playdates.Each of the kids got to choose a song to sing. Brandon chose "On Top of Spaghetti" which was by far the longest of the solos. He did a great job!

2009-03-22T20:47:00.004-05:00

Brandon turned 5 on March 10th. I made this "cake" for him to take to daycare. It's really a big pan of brownies. He was really happy with the Spiderman! He was worried Laedyn would touch it and mess it up.

When Brandon chose his birthday dinner - he chose Chuck E. Cheese. I invited some of his friends to join us. It wasn't really a party -- no cake or anything -- just dinner & games. We all had lots of fun! The Lombeida family joined us -- Tori is Brandon's age, and Abby is 2 years younger (I think).Brandon, Townley and Jackson on a wave runner. Jennifer came to help celebrate.

Brandon & Kaleb were in daycare together from the infant one room until Kaleb left last fall to go to public preschool. We still get together for socializing, and they are on the same t-ball team this season. Brandon really misses having Kaleb at daycare with him.

We did not have a birthday party this year. I offered Brandon the choice between a party or a trip to Dallas to go to the zoo & aquarium. He chose the trip. I'll post pictures from that soon.

2009-03-19T21:01:00.004-05:00

March 4th was our wedding anniversary. Nick & I got dressed up a bit and went out for dinner. Jennifer came over to babysit for us. It was a very nice evening. Compared to us in 1995 at our wedding - 14 years ago ...

...and then again in 1989 when we'd only been dating for a year - 20 years ago (are you kidding me???)

(Don't know why this is sideways or ow to fix it. It's not like this on my hard drive...)

2009-03-01T18:09:00.001-06:00

Puppet Show - Nick entertained the kids with one of the puppets Laedyn got for Chirstmas. This one is a fuzzy pink muppet monster. They LOVED it.Laedyn gave it a try too.

2009-02-26T21:07:00.007-06:00

SNOWY DAYS...
While we were home (Ashtabula, Ohio) for the holidays, we got some snow. Being in the snowbelt it shouldn't be a surprise, but in recent years our holiday trips home haven't been big in the snow department. This was the first time Brandon experienced any significant amount of snow. Laedyn too, of course. Laedyn, Nick, and my brother, Eric, are watching Brandon play. Laedyn was not as thrilled about the snow experience as Brandon was. It actually scared her a bit.Even having Uncle Eric pick her up was not going to make her happy...

There's so much snow you can't even tell where the road is! When I was growing up there were two huge trees just past where Brandon is standing. The city had them cut down recently. It just looks weird and bare now.Uncle Eric dug around in the garage until he found an old plastic sled. He then tied on a nice sturdy rope so we could pull Brandon around in the snow.

Dad (aka Papa) did a good amount of the pulling.

He even played a little "King of the Mountain" with Brandon on the roadside snow banks. They were kind enough to pause in their game so I could take a picture.Nick even got to have a ride in the sled! Yes - they are playing in the middle of the road ... there was not a soul in site and the packed down snow was slide-ier than the snow in the yard.Our next stop was Walnut Beach for some real sledding action. The hill next to the library wasn't being used, so we decided to break it in.I couldn't resist - I had to take a turn too.

OK - so I took more than one turn. It was fabulous fun! Nick was a little more adventurous than I was!

My little snow angel ... The abomidable snow-daddy?This is the view from where we were starting to sled down the hill. You can't sled from the top because farther up is a bunch of stairs. Off in the distance you can see Lake Erie.

We walked back to the house after we got done sledding. Brandon was too tired to walk - apparently he was too tired to even sit upright in the sled. Don't worry - we loaded the giggly thing back into the sled and went home for some hot chocolate!

2009-02-24T21:23:00.014-06:00

Sunday we went for a hike at Cadron Settlement Park near Conway. Cadron was a small settlement along the Arkansas River early on in Arkansas' history. Cadron served as a riverboat stop and was also a stopping point along the Trail of Tears. Many of the displaced native americans died from cholera, and some were buried at Cadron.

*** *** *** *** ***

This building, called the blockhouse, was used as a fortification against the native population across the river. It was also a meeting and gathering place for the locals. At some point it served as a private residence. The actual blockhouse is long gone - the one seen here is a reproduction.The trail at the park was a loop the followed along the river bluffs for awhile and then moved inland. Many of the river overlooks were quite nice. The trail through the woods wasn't very wide, but the whole thing was graveled. There were numerous mountain bike trails criss-crossing the foot trail the whole time. We did not see any bikers however. We did meet a family with a funny little dog named Chilly Willy. Brandon was obsessed with the name of that dog and repeatedly asked where it got it's name and why.Toward the end of the trail Brandon decided he needed a lift, literally. Nick, great Daddy that he is, carried both kids for awhile. This was Laedyn's favorit part of the whole excursion -- having her hero, Brandon, up top with her was the highlight of her day!

Before we started out on the hike, Brandon said he wanted to see the sunset. We assured him we would not be there that long ... we were wrong!He was pleased to sit on a stone bench and watch the beautiful light from the sunset reflecting on the river ... until his hands got too cold and the lure of the cookie waiting in the car got the better of him.Back at the parking lot we stopped to admire the sunset sky once more. It was fabulous!We ended the day with another self-timer portrait. Laedyn loves the beeping followed by the click and flash. She laughs and laughs ... who knew it would be so easy to get her to look at the camera and smile!!!

2009-02-19T20:15:00.024-06:00

Last weekend Nick planned a Valentine's Day excursion to Petit Jean State Park. Petit Jean was the first state park in Arkansas, established in 1923. Nick packed a picnic, and we put on our hiking shoes & headed to the park. It was a bit on the chilly side - especially for the picnic, but we had a great time. Petit Jean is full of amazing things to explore. On our first trail we went down a big rocky hill & took a family portrait with the self timer.The hillside is covered with mounds that look like giant turtles - you can see a good example to the right of Brandon. The patterns eroded into the rock surface by rainwater are similar to the patterns seen on turtle shells. These are actually called Turtle Rocks.Brandon remembered this trail from a daytrip he and Nick took to Petit Jean last spring. He was pretty excited to show me this narrow path between the rocks. Our first destination was Rock House Cave (click on the link for an AETN video) It has been used as shelter by many over the years, and is rather large, although not terribly deep.

Along the back wall are pictographs. Some of them were a combination of petroglyph and pictograph. A pictograph is a painting made with pigments. A petroglyph involves poking holes in the rock surface to create the image. According to the signs at Rock House Cave, most pictographs are red, although some are yellow or black. The ones we could find were red(ish) and I couldn't see any of the holes of a petroglyph.Brandon and Laedyn sitting on a big boulder in Rock House Cave. Laedyn is reaching for her pacifier. She thought it was funny that Nick pulled it out of her mouth. After Rock House Cave, we drove along a loop road that had several overlooks. The road was narrow and unpaved. At some points I couldn't look out the window. I was having some serious height anxiety! There were birds gliding at eye level all along the mountainside. When we got to the first overlook, I wasn't even sure I wanted to get out - or let the kids get out for that matter. But I managed to give it a try and was well rewarded by the view. It was pretty impressive. Nick, not having any of the heigh anxiety I have, wandered over to the edge to get a better view. It was a sheer drop with no guard rails or anything. SCARY! We found a nice picnic area for our picnic, and got everything set up. Apparently we were the only souls hardy enough to eat out in the elements that day. It was rather chilly. In fact, Nick and I didn't bother to sit down at all. It was more comfortable to keep moving. Nick bought a few gourment cheeses (ala The Monk's cheeseboard...), triscuits, lunch meats, strawberries and a lovely Markko Vinyard wine that Eric gave us at Christmas. It was fabulous!Brandon was too cold to stay outside, so we cleared out the back of the Highlander and the kids had their very own tailgate picnic. With no wind blowing on them, they were very comfy and had a great time.After the picnic, we headed to the Cedar Falls overlook boardwalk. Brandon told me that the picture on the sign wasn't anything like the real waterfall. This is the overlook of Cedar Falls. Nick thought the view was much better in winter with no leaves obstructing the view. He took Brandon to Petit Jean last spring, but this was my first trip. I can't believe, in the years we've lived in Arkansas,that this was the first time I made the trip! It was just over an hour drive from Little Rock. Here's a zoom in on the falls. If you look closely there are two people down on the cliff to the left of the falls. It give a good perspective on how truly impressive the falls are. (If you look really really closely in the above picture, you can make out the blue of the peoples jackets too.) Pictures never can quite convey the scope of what you experience in person. Here's a view of Cedar Falls from the far end of the overlook trail.

The texture and pattern in the rock along the top of the ridge was really interesting. It's sandstone - created from sand deposited millions of years ago when the area was an ocean. The sand compressed and became sandstone. Then, over time, water seeped into the stone depositing iron. As rain and wind have eroded the rock away, with the sandstone and the iron deposits eroding at different rates, patterns developed in the rock which are called carpet rocks.

We checked out "Bear Cave." Once upon a time a bear wintered in this little cave. It was along a fairly narrow trail on the side of mounain. Nick could barely stand up straight in there - especially with Laedyn in the backpack! There wass a maze of huge rocky crevices to wander through. I'm glad I didn't start thinking about whether chunks fall off until after we were done exploring! The rock formations were huge. I even gave up my camera for awhile so I could climb around. This was a crevice Nick was precluded from exploring because he had Laedyn in the backpack and was off balance. We finally had to call it a day when Nick and the kids were so cold their fingers were becoming numb. Besides it was getting too dark to take any more pictures...

2009-02-04T15:49:00.003-06:00

TAGGED by Amy ... I've been so busy I haven't been looking at everyone else's blogs. When I was going back through Amy's today, I discovered she had tagged me in a game. So here's the 4th picture from the 4th folder on the computer I'm sitting at right now: This was taken at Valentine's Day last year. Laedyn had pulled out her present - these two adorable little unicorns. She's watching Jennifer examine a ball that Brandon got. It was one of those ones you squish flat so it's a flying disc, but when you catch it or it hits the ground it pops back into the shape of a ball.

Now, in order to continue the game.... I tag the following people: Mom, Robin, The Barton Family, and Josh & Jenny

Here's what you are supposed to do:

1. Go to your fourth folder where you store your photos.

2. Select the 4th photo (no exceptions)

3. Post the pic with an explanation and a link back to your tagger.

4. Tag 4 people to do the same!

2009-01-17T19:22:00.007-06:00

Mid-December we were in Dallas for the White Rock marathon. Nick and Jennifer did the half together. On the way to registration, we found this amazing sculpture garden with an entire LIFE SIZE cattle drive complete with a river to cross and cowboys on horseback herding the cattle. It was pretty amazing - and very extensive. Laedyn wasn't quite sure what to think ... there's a little bit of fear lurking in her expression I think. It would be scary if the cattle were real! Brandon, on the other hand, wanted to climb on the cattle like some of the other bigger kids who were wandering around the herd.We found a nice flat rock for them to sit on for a sibling pose, but it had a steep angle and they kept sliding down it and laughing at me. Eventually I caught a decent shot!Later we met up with Amy, Eric & Aubrey Cate for some kid time fun at a nearby playground.

Laedyn took to Amy right away, which isn't usually like her. Laedyn and AC kept us busy on the big curving slide for quite awhile. The kids all had a good time until we had to leave ... can you believe tears were shed???

After the playground, we went in search of dinner. We started at the Old Monk for a cheese and cracker board appetizer. Our waitress left something to be desired, so we moved on to the Blackfriar Pub, another place owned by the same people. It was a warm evening so we were able to sit on the patio. We had a really great time!! Aubrey Cate and Brandon were going strong to the very end.
Laedyn was out of the game as soon as we left the Old Monk, and she slept through the rest of the evening.

2009-01-17T19:09:00.004-06:00

There's a little park in North Little Rock behind Pulaski Tech called Emerald Park. Nick was itching to check it out, so one day at the end of November that's what we did. This is taken from the top of the cliffs over the quarry. We've been to the quarry many times via the NLR River Trail. It was fun to see the same view from a different perspective.

2009-01-17T18:35:00.002-06:00

Nick found this yard full of yellow leaves one day & thought I'd like to take some pictures. I had Brandon pose for me and he was happy to oblige, as usual. Nick wasn't the only one who thought this yard needed to be photographed. There were two other people there taking pictures when we showed up! One of them was taking a bunch of close ups of the leaves on the ground. I wondered why until I got close enough to take a look. You'd never guess the leaves were such an unusual shape & the water droplets made it even more amazing.

2009-01-16T19:20:00.005-06:00

An old friend, Heather, from Ohio was passing through Little Rock Thanksgiving weekend. We all went out to dinner and then had a nice visit at the house. Heather's parents are friends with Nick's parents and were friends with my grandmother when she was still with us. This picture is another successful use of the automatic timer!Heather lives outside Dallas now and is finishing up her french horn studies. She brought her horn in to show the kids. Brandon thought it was really neat & had fun trying it out. Brandon enjoyed his first french horn lesson. Thanks for sharing your horn, and some tips on how to make it work, with him Heather!

2009-01-16T15:31:00.010-06:00

TIME TO CATCH UP!! That's my blogging goal for the weekend anyways. We're unpacked from the trip to Ohio & everything is put away, all the laundry is caught up, the tree is down ... and we've only been home for 2 weeks!!! Now maybe there will be some breathing room. So ... let's look back to mid-November!

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Nick, while out on a long Sunday morning run, discovered a little park off of Crystal Hill Road in North Little Rock. We decided to check it out. It's a lovely piece of property right on the river, but it's not much more than a big back yard. The house that is there is now used as a rental space for small private parties.

There were some large boulders that the kids had fun climbing on. Self portrait with Laedyn. I'm not so good at framing these shots...

I guess Nick was in the mood to pose for the camera that day. He and Brandon found a big fallen tree to climb around on. There was a white fence all around the property borders and Nick suggested setting the camera on it to get a whole family shot using the automatic timer. What a great idea! I framed up a shot as best I could, set the timer & rushed over to get into position. Considering it's the first time I ever tried the timer, it turned out pretty well!

Silly boy!After freezing our tails off in the cold and wind we headed back up the hill to get a closer look at the house. The look of this road going up a hill reminded me very strongly of Breakheart Reservation in Massachusetts. Nick & I used to walk the paths and trails there 3-4 times a week when we lived in Malden. We both got a little nostalgic...

On the hill behind the house was a little paved patio area - perfect for a portrait, and a second use of the automatic timer. I think I'd better stash my tripod in the car - I doubt I'll always be able to find a suitable flat surface for the camera!

2008-12-23T14:58:00.005-06:00

Uncle Mark and Jennifer gave the kids their presents before we left for Ohio. All the gifts were a big hit! The kids gave Uncle Mark a frog mug for his collection.

Uncle Mark gave Brandon a set of Star Wars Legos - Brandon's most wished for toy this year. He was thrilled.

Laedyn got a set of My Little Pony toys. She too was thrilled.

Jennifer gave Brandon a train he can build and paint. He wanted to do it right then and there. Having to leave it behind to do when our travels are over was rather traumatic for him. Laedyn got a cute little purse with a duck in it. She huged and kissed the duck. I don't think she's quite knows what to do with the purse yet!

2008-12-16T15:55:00.004-06:00

Atashi came to visit us a few weeks back. It was a short visit but we had a great time hanging out. Unfortunately it rained most of the time she was here, so we couldn't take her out to see much, but we did make it out to Pinnacle Mountain where we walked up to the overlook.Some serious conversation.... followed by the fine art of chocolate martini making.

Then we played Dance Dance Revolution late into the night. Nick crashed about 2 am, while Atashi and I continued to dance and laugh until around 3:30... Are we getting too old for this???? Nah ... !! They were unstoppable!Atashi's visit overlapped Mom & Dad being here by one evening. Brandon was disappointed Mamo & Papa weren't going to be at the campground where they could have a bonfire and toast marshmallows, so Papa rigged up a "firepit" for Brandon's toasted marshmallow craving. He took an old kitchen pot and drilled some holes in it. Then he got some metal mesh and hung it on some hooks inside the pot. He built the fire under the mesh with some newspaper and kindling -- just enough blaze for marshmallows. When we were done, the lid snuffed out the flame. Pretty cleverly done Papa! Brandon was thrilled...

2008-12-16T15:38:00.002-06:00

The last couple of pictures from the family visiting ... Papa did some reading with Laedyn. She's all about sitting and reading these days. Art & Nick crawled under the house to clear out loose lumber. Our termite control people wouldn't certify us this yezar until it was completed. Yuck! Look at all the junk they found under the house. An old mantle, pieces of an old radio flyer wagon, rusty paint cans....not to mention all the fallen insulation. Hmmm - I guess that's a job for another day!

2008-12-09T21:09:00.016-06:00

Last month while all the various family members were visiting, we decided to go to the Rebsamen Park soccer fields and fly a kite. It turned out to be a beautiful day - clear and windy - perfect for our objective. It was also quite COLD!!! We had a veritable crowd for the expedition ... left to right, Audrey (Nick's Mom), Art, Mark and my Mom [aka Mamo]. My Dad [aka Papa] & Brandon are in the background building the kite. Papa set up shop on the perimeter wall and began the kite assembly process.

While Papa was working on the kite, Nick and Laedyn were out on the soccer fields running off some pre-kite flight steam. Laedyn was pretty pleased with herself for having gained possession of the "moon & star" ball.This shot was just too cute to pass up (in my humble & unbiased opinion...)Mamo settled into a bagchair with her Nikon and a warm jacket to observe. It was pretty darn chilly down by the river that afternoon & the wind, although great for our planned activities, made it extra shivery.Brandon waited impatiently as the grown up male folk decided the best method of getting the kite aloft. Laedyn wasn't quite sure what everyone was doing, but was interested none the less. She always wants to be in the middle of everything. Nick made the first attempt at flying the kite. Not bad! Everybody stepped back to give Brandon some room to fly solo. Much higher than Daddy!
Brandon quickly figured it all out and made it look easy! The kite made two escape attempts. The first time the string broke, Nick chased it to it's landing area at the far end of the soccer fields. Dad & I reeled the string back in, unknotted some the tangled mess it had become, and tied some hefty knots in it before reattaching it to the kite. Alas - our knotting was to no avail. The minute the kite got some good altitude going the string snapped again. This time, the kite had some serious escape plans. Nick had to go on the other side of a tall chain link fence and trek through dense underbrush to make a recovery.

In the end Nick saved the kite ... yeah Nick! Brandon was disappointed he couldn't join Nick on the other side of the fence, but was happy to get his kite back.

2008-12-08T21:34:00.003-06:00

Our obsession with Mariocart Wii has seriously cut into any spare time I might have otherwise devoted to updating this blog... So - here's a little evidence of our addiction!

While Nick was playing, Brandon helped me put out Christmas decorations. This is the ONLY picture I took of any decorating we did. I'll take some completed pictures later, but otherwise - that's it.

2008-11-16T20:55:00.002-06:00

My parents arrived in Little Rock two days after Audrey & Art arrived. We all went out to U.S. Pizza for dinner. Mom & Dad were impressed with the new location that just opened in Hillcrest.
Our end of the table was in high good spirits...
Brandon was all about the cheese dip.

At the other end of the table, Art & Dad appear to have been having a very serious conversation.

Audrey was next to Laedyn & enjoyed watching her antics- she behaved very well really.

As long as the crackers and corn chips are flowing freely, she's content. The pizza - she's not so interested in. Weird!

2008-11-16T20:50:00.002-06:00

Election night candid. Audrey & Art were here for a week visiting & it happened to fall during the election. That's also my excuse for such a late breaking post! We've had a deluge of visitors that sarted on election night. Things are finally getting back to normal.

2008-11-02T12:16:00.005-06:00

A current comparison of Laedyn with Brandon when he was the same age.

2008-11-01T21:54:00.007-05:00

Another Fall Festival - this time at Calvary Baptist Church. Our friends, the Lombeidas, invited us to join them and we had a great time. Juan and Heather have 3 little girls. The oldest is Brandon's age and the youngest is 6 months. Nick and Juan know each other from UAMS. After spending some time watching Brandon and the girls play various carnival type games, Nick took charge of Laedyn and spent a good amount of time in the toddler area.

How appropriate is this background??? There was a bucket full of bugs and the kids were supposed to throw them at the spider web. If the kids got one to stick, they got a piece of candy.

Master fisherman Spider-Brandon He caught a Hot Wheels car, much to his delight! There was a "hay wagon" set up for photo opportunities. Brandon rarely turns down one of those!

Brandon also got his face painted - with a spider of course...

Other attractions included mini golf putting, ring toss, tennis, bounce houses, bowling, balloon animals, cotton candy and a cake walk. I participated in the cake walk (my very first one) and actually won a cake. I let Brandon choose and he picked out a plate containing four star shaped banana breads. They were delicious.

2008-11-01T21:33:00.010-05:00

Nick and I undertook pumpkin carving for the first time this year if you can believe that! I've always purchased pumpkins to carve & somehow we would never get around to it. It's amazing what gets done when a 4 year old is persistent in begging for it! Here's Brandon's first look at pumpkin innards. He thought it was gross - especially after touching it. I removed alot by hand and then Nick followed up with a big spoon.

The first cut using one of the carving tools that came with the pattern book.Laedyn wanted to get started on pumpkin #2. She tried so hard to pick it up & was very frustrated that the pumpkin was so terribly heavy...

Jack o'lantern chosen by Brandon out of a pattern book. Figures he'd choose something so detailed for Nick's first year carving! Great job Nick!!! jack o'lantern designed by Brandon:

When we were at the Wildwood harvest festival, Brandon got a mini pumpkin. He wanted to carve it, but I convinced him it was better to paint Lilliputian pumpkins... I was surprised he didn't put a face on it, just made it very colorful. I'm calling it the "patchwork pumpkin."

2008-10-28T21:24:00.032-05:00

Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts held a Fall Festival this year with local musicians, local food & beverage, activities for the kids & a wonderful setting on a lake in the woods. We'd never been out to the property, so we decided this was a good opportunity to check it out. Comedy & Tragedy got into the spirit of the season...One of the local elementary schools built this recycle sculpure. Brandon was obviously impressed.Outside of the theater, there was a peaceful little garden with benches. I hoped to get a lovely picture of well behaved, serenely smiling, decorous siblings ... this was the best of the bunch. At least they are happy! Brandon got to do some crafts on "Pumpkin Hill." First he made a hobo sack on a stick which had a delicious Jolly Rancher inside.

After the hobo sack project, Brandon got to be more creative and use markers, glue and construction paper to create a paper bag puppet. This is the scarecrow he made. After doing the crafts, he told us "the Fall Festival wasn't so boring after all" ... yes he did say it just like that too.While Brandon was busy crafting, Laedyn checked out the pumpkins. She was excited to be able to touch and carry them around.Climbing on haybales wasn't bad either... An unusual moment of introspection!

Brandon made a new friend - Daisy the Scarecrow. We ran into her several times during our visit & Brandon didn't ever want to let her continue her wanderings. He REALLY liked Daisy & had to be pried away from her on several occasions.See ... I let Nick have the camera from time to time! This little canopy is near the performance stage. Performers were amplified, but the lake really allowed the music to reach every corner of the property in an unobtrusive manner. I look forward to going back again just for the music and ambiance!After wandering around the Wildwood grounds and seeing all that the Fall Festival had to offer, we took over a deck with a table and let the kids play. It was very relaxing. The weather was beautiful, the music surrounded us as it echoed over the lake, and the kids were content. Music soothes the savage beasts??? At the far end of the lake is a little pavilion where people can sit and enjoy the view. It had stairs that lead directly into the water - I guess you can dangle your feet into the lake if you want. We preferred to simply watch the schools of little fish darting around under the surface. On our way out we stopped near the entrance where they had a tractor set up for people to climb on and have their pictures taken. Brandon climbed up all by himself and refused to let us help him...

He didn't mind having Laedyn come up and join him for a picture once he'd had a few moments up there all by himself. She was pretty excited by the experience too, and cried when it was time to get down & head home.

2008-10-27T23:38:00.003-05:00

Brandon was getting really shaggy, so we took him to a new kids salon in west Little Rock. Check out the cool cutting "chair."While getting his hair cut, Brandon was entertained by a flatscreen TV playing Bee Movie, bubbles and his choice of animal crackers or a sucker.Before disembarking, Brandon gave the propeller a good spin. Doesn't he look much better with a nice short haircut???

2008-10-16T15:20:00.008-05:00

Sunday morning Laedyn saw a squirrel in the backyard. She got SO excited that we decided we just had to take the kids to the zoo. Check out this giant turtle! I think she liked the petting zoo area best even though the petting part is temporarily shut down. This goose was just randomly hanging out in a pen alone, I don't think he really belonged there. Laedyn seemed to resent me trying to get her to look at the camera...she was much more interested in the goose.
She deperately wanted to pet this billy goat. He wasn't so sure about her though.
I like the ponys and donkeys. They weren't as fascinating to Laedyn as the goats, goose and sheep. I wonder why?
Brandon got all excited about the photo op cut outs & wanted his picture taken with all of them.

Laedyn wanted to participate in the cut-out photo op too, I'm not so sure about Nick...
A far as Laedyn was concerned ALL animal, real or not, were amazing. She was so excited to see this lion and kept turning around to make sure I was following.
Sitting on a bench to have her picture taken was not Laedyn's idea of fun. I had hoped for a good shot for the holiday cards, but it wasn't meant to be that day!
Little Rock Zoo upgraded the bear exhibit so you really get up close & personal with the bears. I'm always amazed at how long their claws are. Someone needs to trim those suckers! Sometimes they rear up and put their feet on the wall - it's rather intimidating, but they didn't even seem to notice we were there that day.
The zoo is ramping up for Boo at the Zoo. Brandon loves the pumpkins ... they're just about the only Halloween decoration they had pulled out so far.This lizard was at Laedyn's level - she thought that was pretty cool.
When we went to the Rainbow Lorikeet exhibit, she didn't quite know what to think of a bird on Daddy's shoulder. I really think the birds freaked her out.
We happened to be there during feeding time and you can buy little cups of necter to feed the birds yourself. Of course we got one for Brandon, but the birds made him nervous flying around is head. I wound up feeding most of it to the birds myself.
By the time we had spent 5 minutes in the Lorikeet Exhibit, Laedyn was done in. Brandon took my camera while I was feeding the birds, and he captured this shot. Nick took Laedyn out of the building and let her roam free until Brandon & I were ready to leave. Then we went home and BOTH kids crashed for 3 hours ... it was beautiful!

2008-10-15T15:55:00.012-05:00

It's Arkansas State Fair time... We took Brandon & Tyrus on Saturday. Nick & Tyrus took off to the big rides, while Brandon and I stayed in "Family Land." Brandon & Tyrus both got unlimited ride bands. Nick and I were passive observes holding onto everyone's drinks...
While Brandon was riding things, we ran into the Dennis Family. Brandon was thrilled to have his friend Jackson to ride with! The boys were a bit too big for this ride really. The minimum height on it was 24 inches...later Brandon told me it was really HOT in the helicopter and his legs didn't fit.
This race car ride just goes in a loop, but it really whips around the corners. The boys loved that! They liked it last year too. Brandon loved the roller coasters. He was barely tall enought to ride alone, but was very pleased he didn't need Mommy or Daddy to ride with him. Enlarge this picture if you can and check out the tiny baby in the car behind Brandon...YIKES!!!
Brandon told me his favorite thing at the fair was "everything." I finally got him to specify that he liked the rides best, and we narrowd it down further by asking, "if you could have only one of the rides in the back yard, which one would it be?" He chose this roller coaster. It reminded me of the Mousetrap ride at Cedar Point, and it reminded Mark of the Mine Ride. (Mark & I took Brandon back to the Fair on Monday - kids rode free from 10-12, admission was free, and parking was only $1 - what a deal!)There was a Demolition Derby scheduled at the Fair later in the evening of the night we were there. We saw several Monster Trucks. This was the only one you could really get a close look at - it was HUGE, or as Brandon would say - GINORMOUS!
It was pretty amazing that Brandon fit inside the tire! He thought it was pretty cool - of course!In the Hall of Industry, they had all kinds of exhibits. The Farm Bureau (I think) had this cow set up for milking. Brandon gave it a try and told us it was pretty hard to do. We found a mural kids could color and spent a few minutes there while Brandon contributed.The Arkansas Game & Fish Commission has this huge tank full of local water dwelling creatures. I think it's interesting. Brandon wasn't so fascintated and had no interest in having his picture taken with the alligator snapping turtle (aka loggerhead turtle) swimming around in the background. I don't think he even looked at it!

What an expression -- He told us we were BORING!!!! Hmmm - when did we become the grown ups who want to look at stuff instead of ride rides??? Laedyn stayed home with Uncle Mark while we were at the fair. She was in our thoughts though. I bought her this cute little Kimono dress ... what an odd thing to find at the fair!

2008-10-06T21:12:00.004-05:00

Jennifer's birthday celebration was 2 weeks ago Friday and I'm finally getting around to posting pictures. Amazingly enough I'm IN some of them. We started out at Bonefish Grill for dinner. Nick & I shared bacon wrapped scallops; then I had Coho Salmon Rockefeller and Nick had Shrimp Diablo.Jennifer loves frogs. I found this set of kissing frog salt & pepper shakers. A little magnet locks their lips - how cute...After dinner we went to the bar under Willie D's - it's called Deep. The drinks were disappointingly weak. I enjoyed the people watching. We saw 3 girls come in and each was dressed in a different era - 70's, 80's and 90's - I don't think it was intentional either!

2008-10-03T09:12:00.005-05:00

We recently took the kids to Two Rivers park for a bit of exercise. Brandon rode his bike and I walked with him. He kept me at a brisk pace for the most part! Nick ran with Laedyn in the jogging stroller.
The Pebbles hairstyle didn't last through the outing. It never does. I'm lucky if she leaves it in for 5 minutes!Brandon showing of his big boy bike.
Brandon & I stopped to take a quick break at the turn around point - there's a really nice view of the river and I-430 bridge. Brandon sat for about 2 seconds (long enought for me to take the previous shot) and then ran back and forth on the grass.

Eventually we met back up with Nick & Laedyn. Laedyn had no interest in a family picture - she wanted to get down and walk after her long ride in the stroller..
Unfortunately she refused to walk in the correct direction regardless of how much Nick tried to get her to turn around. Finally he had to pick her up and carry her back our way - much fuss (interpret as sreaming) ensued...
There was a tree down across the path, but we managed just fine - even with the stroller.

2008-09-21T21:12:00.002-05:00

Our little lady ... with her foot on the highchair tray! She never just lets her legs dangle down, they're always up on the seat with her - occassionally she puts them up on the tray for some reason. She was really hamming it up for me this afternoon!

2008-09-16T13:28:00.004-05:00

I'm officially a "Soccer Mom" now. Brandon has team practice every Tuesday, skills training every Wednesday and a game every Saturday! He's been enjoying it. I like the small team format for practices - it's a better opportunity for us to get to know the other parents since there are only 6 kids per team. On Saturday the kids play actual games, unlike the group we had him in last year. It's fun to cheer the kids on and they have fun competing. This is Brandon's team with Coach Dave. Brandon loves coach Dave.
During the games, each team only plays 3 kids at a time. There are no goalies as the kids seem to have enough trouble getting the ball into the goal as it is! Most of the time they miss the mark and chase the ball AROUND the goal!Brandon cheers on his teammates from the sidelines...and has a snack.
Laedyn took over Nick's chair and insisted on holding Brandon's ball. I guess we need to get her a chair of her own now!

2008-09-15T09:45:00.008-05:00

RAZORBACK TAILGATING

at War Memorial Golf Course in Little RockAs usual, I'm a bit behind...but we went tailgating on the 6th with Nick's friend, Rich. Brandon gamely tried on a snout, but didn't like it. I was lucky to get evidence.
Mark came along too.
Rich entertained Brandon by playing catch with him for awhile. Steelers football??? BOOOO! (Sorry Rich, beings Cleveland area natives requires some animosity to the Steelers - we have to cheer the Browns!)
I think someone needs a little guidance on football throwing technique...
We brought along some toys for Laedyn. Looks like she was fully engaged doesn't it? Well that lasted about 5 minutes - then she was off and about and into everything! As usual...
Eventually Rich's son, Jackson, arrived. The boys had fun playing together the rest of the time we were there. The boys thought it was great fun to be way up on top of the truck & Laedyn was happy under the pickup cover for awhile. What an adventure!
Rich's truck didn't have a cover & he moved all the kids into the truckbed. Great containment option for kids & no danger of falling from up high.
There were cupcakes to eat, so the boys had to do some begging for everyone's amusement!
As people started filtering away to go watch the game, there was a little more open space for the boys to play. A valient effort by both boys.
Laedyn wanted to play too.
We all had alot of fun. Thanks for the invite Rich - we're looking forward to the next game in Little Rock! All that running (not to mention the walk to the party) tired everyone out.

2008-09-03T14:36:00.004-05:00

Before all this torrential rain came down on us, we spent an evening in the back yard letting the kids literally run off some steam after a long afternoon of errands. Brandon has excellent running form - he'll do his Daddy proud! Laedyn's still a little wobbly, but she's getting the hang of it pretty quickly. She has to in order to keep up with her big brother!
Nick and Brandon face off before the chase begins...
Oops! Brandon got caught. Laedyn's hoping to get caught too...
She's hoping for a turn at the swing too.
Laedyn was so happy to get to swing with Daddy. Listen to her happy little noises when her Daddy starts to swing her. She gets content really quickly and almost decides to doze off. Bedtime was not long in coming!

2008-08-27T10:25:00.002-05:00

Soccer started again last night, but we've moved to a new group. The group we did last season met in Burns Park. This group meets down across from Alltel (in the Riverdale area). It's much more convenient for us. Hopefully it will be far less muddy than Burns Park too! Brandon had a great time. This group is far more casual than his previous group. There's only 5 kids per "team" so it's alot more one on one. His previous group had about 30 kids in it.
That's his coach - Dave. Coach Dave says Brandon has great protential. Brandon guided the ball around the cones like a pro. He was very pleased with himself.
There are 3 girls and 1 other boy on Brandon's "team." Brandon sat on his ball to wait on his turn to run the ball around the cones. These girls lined up right behind him and sat on their balls too. They were practically on top of Brandon - it was cute.Jennifer came along to watch. It was her last day of vacation. I don't think she'll be able to come to our Tuesday night practices from now on since we meet at 4:30... What a crazy time! I have to leave to get Brandon at 3:30 in order to be on time. We'll also have skills training on Wednesdays at 6 and games on Saturday mornings. Whew. And Nick's talking about getting Brandon in T-ball too!
I brought drinks for all of us. Laedyn wanted Daddy's drink or Brandon's drink or my drink - never her own.

2008-08-22T10:58:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday we decided to get out of the house for awhile. We've been pretty dull lately - nothing fun. Nick suggested we go to Lorance Creek and see if it had changed. I think Brandon was about Laedyn's age last time we drove out there. The water was pretty low which surprised me considering all the rain we've been having this year. We were also sad to discover they had taken out the tree frog machine. You used to be able to push a button to hear tree frog calls. It's gone...
Lovely expression on Laedyn isn't it??? I couldn't get all three of them to cooperate at the same time. This was the best of the bunch.

Nick was going to carry Laedyn - she's so spoiled! I insisted on the stroller - Brandon was happy. He practically rode the whole time which made Laedyn very happy.
He wasn't really playing peek-a-boo with her - he was hiding from the camera. Laedyn was entertained regardless.OHHHH! A laugh caught on camera. Brandon helped with this one. Thanks B!Brandon asked us to read all the informational signes out loud to him. Once he noticed all the spiderwebs though, he was anxious to get moving. I'm afraid I've passed on my spider-phobia. I tried not to, but apparently I've failed.
The entry into the cypress swamp.
Midway into the swamp there's a large open platform and another boardwalk going deeper in.
TONS of dragonflies buzzing about. This one was kind enought to rest patiently on a branch so I could get a good picture. There were others there that had blue/green irridescent bodies & black wings. They were all too far away to get a good picture.

2008-08-01T15:30:00.002-05:00

The love of swinging must be innate. We only have one place to hang a swing, so we have to take down the baby swing when Brandon's swinging. Laedyn wasn't interested in waiting for a turn. Maybe she thought it could swing on the ground. She even knows where the restraint is supposed to be...Hmmm ... why isn't this thing moving? I'm ready to go!!! Daddy? Daddy!! SWING ME NOW!!!! (much high pitched piercing screaming ensued at this point...she knows what she wants & is VERY demanding)
Ahhhh - much better. (See the chains for Brandon's big boy swing to the sides? We just hang the baby swing from the big kid swing links...)

2008-07-31T10:21:00.002-05:00

Nick bought an "outdoor screened room" so he could work on his table without bugs and leaves getting into the wet resin. Brandon was pretty excited to be able to help put it together.Brandon was an old pro at hooking the poles together. He certainly didn't need any help (God forbid...).
Guiding the poles thru their sheaths was a little more challenging, but they managed to get it done. VOILA! Pretty nice huh? Brandon immediately identified the tent as a "boys only" location! Who knew that started so early...

2008-07-23T14:52:00.006-05:00

Where's Jennifer? Why running the Big Dam Bridge 5K of course! See her there in her pink shirt? Once all the runners had passed us by, Brandon moped along down the center of the road wishing he could run the whole 5K too.

We decided to wait for the runners under this lovely sign. Unfortunately there was an unpleasant sewer smell there too. Brandon & I moved to the other side of the road .. Nick, Laedyn & Mark toughed it out.
Brandon and I chose this non-smelly sign to stand next to...Brandon gave the runners high 5 as they passed by. Alot of them thanked him & then he'd ask me why they thanked him. People seemed to really like the encouragement. Nick says you usually only see people doing that at marathons!
Between groups of runners Brandon was hamming it up for the camera - one of his favorite pastimes.Here's Jennifer looking stong with very little distance until the finish line. WAY TO GO GIRL!!!!

2008-07-18T11:36:00.016-05:00

IN MEMORY OF JEWEL & JEMA

For those of you who haven't heard, Jema died on the 4th of July weekend. She had a rapid decline - similar to what happened to Jewel over a year ago. We miss both of them very much. They were our friends & companions for a long long time. Jewel came to us in the fall of 1993, and Jema joined us about a year later. Jema actually followed Nick home for the corner market and stuck around til we took her in.

Rest in Peace sweet kitties - Jema (aka Hotlips Hoola Pooh or just Pooh) and Jewel (aka Jewella Deville)

They moved with us from Cleveland to Boston to Little Rock. The picture above was taken on our move from Boston to Little Rock when we stopped in Ashtabula for a lay over. They sure did like that big window door! Below is from our days in Boston. They loved cuddling up together on the futon.
Jema was always in the middle of everything hoping for some lovin'
She was rarely out of petting range.
Such a sweet girl - she loved everyone.
It doesn't look like Jema was too fond of Brandon's bird costume. Honestly he wasn't either once we had the feather covered body of the costume on him...
Jewel was always up for a good nap on my lap. She was the princess and Jema had to find a less prime sleeping spot. Poor Romeo - no place left for him!
Look at them vying for lap space. Crazy cats!
Looking VERY content! But she didn't mind sharing with our newest family member.
Mom was doing a photoshoot of Nick & Brandon. Jema had to inject herself into it too...as usual.
Not a care in the world
If she slept here she always had a good view of us no matter were we were.
Romeo started training Laedyn on the proper way to treat a cat very early on. Jema wasn't so insistent at that point, but she was once Laedyn started reaching for her. Nothing like a box to make for a happy cat
The approach...
The disdainful settling in
The true and loving Jema!
Not another cat in sight, but Jema was no dummy. Stay close & you're sure to get petted eventually. "Quit taking my picture & pet me!" Jema was always very vocal in what she wanted. She was a huge fan of the black & white cookie or just plain iced sugar cookies. She'd cry & beg for some and drool on us in her excitement. She also liked bread and would eat through bread bags to get some. Our breadbox always had to be barricaded against her - she could open it if there wasn't something to hold the door tightly shut! Must have been from her dumpster diving Dairy Mart days... These two have been SO good with Brandon ( & Laedyn too). When Jema started feeling poorly, she would curl up with Brandon on the couch and purr happily.
I guess I'm not the only good body to nap upon! Such a pretty cat

Funny how cats don't mind if they don't fit in their chosen spot - they stick to their decision and make the best of it. I don't think this looks terribly comfortable, but she slept like this anyway. Larry the Lobster from my days at the Peabody - he went home for the evening with someone from the Delphi training session. I don't remeber why I had him, but Jema took a shine to him. In our Boston apartment - I never could figure out how she got in there! Silly cat.
When she did this we called her undercover kitty. Jewel & Jema loved getting into our luggage. I guess they didn't want us to go. This must have been while I was pregnant with Brandon - I see the body pillow on the bed.
Jewel never missed a chance to plop herself on our luggage. See the crazy wallpaper from our bedroom in Boston?
Jewel loved sleeping on the beer box. This was one of her favorite spots - go figure!
The cats watching Brandon when he was brand new. I had nothing to do with them being on those stools. I remember Jewel climbing up on them. She couldn't jump that high so she would jump, cling with her claws - her body swingling wildly and drag herself up with sheer strength and determination. It was pretty funny to watch.
Romeo & Jewel - they were always cuddling up together. We got Romeo from the pound and he was so lonely, we had to get Jewel to keep him company. They were best buddies.

They even shared window space regularly.
Jewel was so funny. Any kind of bag that got put down within her reach she'd curl up on - no matter how uncomfortable it looked.
Family nap....

2008-07-17T16:17:00.005-05:00

Friday night we went to Dickey-Stephens Ballpark for a Travelers game. Thanks to Jennifer, we had a luxurious experience. The Peabody has a suite, and she managed to get permission for us to use is! Wow - what a treat. Looking straight off the suite balcony, here's the view we had. Fabulous! Much heartfelt THANKS to The Peabody for the generosity. We asked one of the guys from the neighboring suite to take a group picture of us. Back row, left to right - Lorielle, Jennifer, Nick, Rich, Mark. Middle row, left to right - Emily, Valerie, Laedyn, Regina. Down front - Brandon & Jackson.
Brandon wasn't being cooperative, so not a great picture of him. What a stinker!

Very nice evening for a game. It was fairly muggy, but with the air conditioned suite to retreat to it was PERFECT!!!
The lofty view from above...
Batter up! I don't think you could have much better seats.

See the foam hand Jackson is holding? It was a casualty of the evening. Rough treatment from the boys caused the finger to be amputated - OUCH! Jackson also lost his hat somewhere in the course of the evening. Maybe over the balcony? Maybe in the trash can? We have no idea... sorry Jackson!

Looks like the ballpark does good business. Lots of full seats.
You can't really see the scoreboard from this shot, but believe me - it was a sad situation for the Travs that night.
Emily is a great sport when it comes to babies. She took over watching Laedyn and feeding her snacks all night. She's an old hand - her little brother is two-ish, and not as easy to manage any more.

Jackson & Brandon joined in to play with Laedyn for a little while. It really didn't last long though - the boys had too much energy to sit and play with a BABY!!! They were a bit rambunctious to put it mildly.
Lorielle and Jennifer watched most, if not all, of the action from the viewing bar INSIDE the suite. Seriously - a suite is definately the way to go in the heat of the summer - or anytime for that matter. Especially with kids.

There was a comfy couch, a chair, a sink & ice machine, a refridgerator, and a neat warming table for hot food items and delivery service. Before the game I called and ordered food & drinks, so it was fully stocked when we arrived.

After the game, the Travs allowed kids to run the bases! Nick and Emily escorted Brandon down so he could participate. I don't have pictures because I forgot my camera. I took all these with Mark's camera and he left before the game was over! Rich, Regina, Jackson & Jennifer left before the running of the bases too. Brandon enjoyed being on the field- and he got a coupon for free mini-golf out of the deal to boot.

2008-07-01T10:34:00.003-05:00

Jennifer invited us for a day at her parents pool on Sunday. It was a beautiful day - the pool was fantastic and they even grilled hotdogs & burgers for us! What a treat - THANKS Mr. & Mrs. Grantham!!! Brandon was excited to find giant water guns to play with.Laedyn was fearless. She LOVED being in the water and sat in the little baby boat for hours. She really got excited when we propelled her around the pool. She wanted to go faster & faster. She was also amused when we played "bumper boat" and made her run into people. Nick enjoyed paddling around too - even though he swears he doesn't know how to swim. He was had the most fun when Jennifer brought out a scuba mask. We all had fun diving for rings with the mask!
Laedyn got very hungry after about an hour in the water. I put her on a towel with some peanut butter cookies & she didn't move an inch until she'd devoured all of them. The she drank an entire sippy cup of juice water! After that she was ready to get back in her boat...Jennifer soaking up some sun and staying cool in the pool :-)Do you know how irrisitable it is to flip people over when they're floating so peacefully on a raft????
Mark was there too ... he swam alot - I just didn't happen to get a good shot of him in the pool. I guess he was under water diving for rings too much of the time.
The Granthams have invited us to come back on the 4th! I can't wait!!!

2008-06-30T14:08:00.002-05:00

A glimpse of The Frown! She can really get those brows furrowed - it cracks us up. Here she's riding a tiny rocking horse that was Nick's when he was little. His name is painted on the other side - Nicky... Obviously Brandon still like to play on it too.
Laedyn also likes the bigger rocking horse that was mine (& my brothers') when we were little. It seems to have lost it's handles...hmmm. See her little tongue sticking out while she's concentrating on trying to get on the horse? Nick does the exact same thing!
I just had to include this because I loved her expression. She was playing with Brandon's bike helmet.
We needed a new picture with Jema. She's not doing so well any more and spends the majority of her time sleeping under this chair. She never objects to some ear scratching from anyone and is very fond of Brandon. She always climbs up on to the couch to cuddle with him when he's watching TV.

2008-06-27T10:54:00.003-05:00

CAR WASH - really it was more of a detailing day. Washing 3 cars with soap and water took about 1/4 of the time it took to do the interior of Highlander alone. We took EVERYTHING out of both cars and gave them both a thorough cleaning. This picture just shows the contents of Highlander. It was a MESS! I don't think we had ever cleaned it out before, so there was alot of accumulation. I found hospital discharge paperwork from some scans I had while pregnant with Laedyn. That wasn't even the oldest of the stuff...Nick brought out the heavy equipment - who ever heard of vaccuuming the floors of the car like this??? I guess it's just because he loves his new Dyson. When the dry part of the cleaning was done, we put Laedyn in her bathing suit and set up her "Puddle." She was happy to play in there while the rest of us washed the cars.
Brandon was thrilled to be able to use the hose. He wasn't very choosey about where he sprayed either. Nick and I kept getting doused. Sometimes on purpose - most of the time not so much.
He was happy to use the giant car wash sponges I bought.
What a team!
Laedyn finally got tired of playing in her puddle. She was tuckered out & went inside for a nap.
After Highlander & Honda were clean & Laedyn was asleep, Nick took a break. It lasted about 5 minutes before he couldn't stand sitting still any longer. While Nick took his break Mark decided to wash his car too since there was plenty of soapy water left. Brandon helped him and then decided to wash his red tricycle while he was at it.Brandon didn't want to give up the hose even though all the car washing was done so he took over the "Puddle" and I let him keep playing with the hose - on the condition that no grown-ups got sprayed!

2008-06-20T15:29:00.002-05:00

Laedyn seems to like the idea of a hat. The thing she is holding is part of Brandon's pool, but it's just the right size to fit on her head. She was highly amused by it for a good 10 minutes... It kept sliding off.

Woo Hoo!!! It stayed on!!!
We were at Toys R Us to get Brandon a big boy bike with training wheels - a gift from Mamo & Papa. As we were wandering around waiting for the torrential rains to abate, Laedyn found this silly leprechaun hat. On & off, on & off ... No - it did NOT go home with us.
Brandon wouldn't be left out & insisted on trying it on too. His head was way too big. It doesn't even really look like it's on his head here - what a strange picture.Laedyn's frown is too funny (she learned it from Brandon...). This is a fairly mild version, but she really was mad that we'd let Brandon try the hat on for a minute. I think she was daring us to do it again...

2008-06-13T15:22:00.010-05:00

The last of the Chicago pictures finally...This was taken outside of the Shedd Aquarium. Chicago's harbor was very pretty full of boats with the cityscape in the background. It was a beautiful day. We walked all the way to the buildings in the background to get to Millenium Park where they have several interesting sculptures. Keep in mind - we did not have a stroller, so Nick carried Laedyn almost the whole time - & this was after touring the Aquarium. He'd run the Sunburst Marathon the day before too...talk about Super Dad!!!There are several adjacent walking/biking paths along the edge of the Harbor. We followed those along for awhile, and eventually crossed a road to get to what seemed like a string of city parks. Apparently it's just one long park called Grant Park. The park was built on fill created by debris pushed into the lake after a fire in 1871.

In the first park area we ran across this impressive fountain called the Clarence Buckingham Fountain. It was modeled after a fountain called the Bassin de Latone at Versailles near Paris, France. It sure is reminiscent of the grandeur of old world Europe. Brandon & I walked all around it so I could take bunches of pictures. Laedyn had fallen asleep over Nick's shoulder, so they sat at a bench waiting for us.
A slightly closer view from a different angle.
Brandon was having fun ducking in and out of the perimeter fence. I think he felt like he was getting away with something by entering the fountain grounds...
I liked the visual line of the fence and the shadows it cast on the gravel. It looks like many countless people have leaned on that fence!After our close examination of the fence, Brandon and I got everyone ice cream from a little coffee shop/ice cream parlor. It was homemade, hand dipped and really yummy. I had a rootbeer float, Nick had mint chocolate chip and Brandon had chocolate. Laedyn had a little bit of each! By the time we got done with our ice cream treats, the fountain had begun shooting up this tall plume of water. The plume shoots up as much as 150 feet. Nick and Laedyn came over for a closer look this time. When we moved further around the fountain it even created a rainbow for our viewing enjoyment!
Further along in our tour, we found a lovely flower garden leading into Millenium Park. The garden is called the Lurie Garden and it covers 2 1/2 acres. Brandon enjoyed playing with his new binoculars there while I took pictures. That was his choice of souvenir from the Aquarium. He showed them to many people we met on our walk through Chicago...
There's a huge performance venue in the middle of the park. The pavilion was designed by Frank Gehry and is called the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. It can accomodate 11,000 people between the actual seats and the lawn seating. Looks like it was almost to capacity on this day for the Chicago Gospel Music Festival. It was PACKED as you can see. We didn't stay long, but were able to enjoy the music as we continued on our walk.
See? Nick didn't have to carry Laedyn all day, sometimes he had to carry Brandon!

This sculpture is the main reason Nick wanted to come to Chicago & it was really neat! I could have stayed there all day taking pictures. What an interesting and unusual thing to build. It's called the Cloud Gate, but I guess mostly people call it The Bean. The Bean is 66 feet long, 33 feet high, and weighs 110 tons!!! The arch that you walk under is 12 feet high. It's made of polished stainless steel plates and was designed by Anish Kapoor, a British guy. The Bean from another angle.
Brandon & Nick reflected on The Bean...
Family portrait on The Bean!
Brandon took the exploration of The Bean reather seriously. Honestly, this made me a little nervous! What if it moved somehow???
As I said ... The Bean presents many opportunities for interesting pictures.

Here's another sculpture / fountain / wading pool / reflecting pool called the Crown Fountain. It's made of glass blocks and stands 50 feet tall. The faces change periodically, and are just random Chicagoans. There were lots of kids playing in the water. Brandon was terribly disappointed that we didn't let him pay in the water too. There's another pillar just like this at the far end of the reflecting pool. All around the perimeter is a disappearing edge over which the water drains. I don't think it was more than a couple inches deep anywhere.
I guess the wading pool needed some refilling. Isn't that funny??? Apparently the spitting water is meant to give homage to gargoyles of old. True gargoyles had open mouths that spit water in a similar manner to assist in draining rain runoff from rooftops. "Gargoyles" that are purely ornamental and do not function as waterspouts are actually called grotesques or chimaras. You learn something new every day I guess!!!
Brandon isn't in this shot because he was still mad we didn't let him play in the wading pool / fountain!
This is what makes Nick a true Super Dad. He carried both of them like this for quite awhile - this was about 6 hours into the day and it was the day after he ran a full marathon. WOW! I told Brandon I would keep this picture for display when he graduates from high school. He was terribly grumpy by this time. We were all tired, but I imagine Nick was more so than the rest of us. After this we drove for about 5 hours...

2008-06-09T13:28:00.005-05:00

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY LAEDYN!!!

Romeo thought something in this toy box smelled intriguing. He kept sticking his head way inside of it. Crazy cat!
Brandon chose this Hello Kitty plush bag with a matching blanket. Laedyn seemed most excited by this present. She squeeled in delight and gave it a big hug. I think that pleased Brandon.

Yes - she got a whole bunch of new toys... alot of them were musically oriented. She loves to "dance" whenever she hears music, so we all obliged her by getting music generating toys. It's likely to drive us crazy, but she's excited. On Sunday we had a "Playdate with Cake" and invited some of Brandon's friends to come over and play with him in his pool. The only catch was they had to sing happy birthday to Laedyn and eat some birthday cake ... I set up the water table for the little ones. Laedyn LOVES to splash in the water.
We also cut up a watermelon. Laedyn sat on her picnic blanket and was eating it happily.
Kade came over to see what Laedyn was doing and kept leaning over and taking bites out of her watermelon. It was TOO funny. Laedyn would just look at him, frown a little, and then eat some more herself. Kade is Kaleb's baby brother and is in Laedyn's class at daycare.
Laedyn and Kade playing in the water. Kade is more than a month younger then Laedyn.

The big kids in the pool are Kaleb, Joylyn, Townley and Brandon (barely visible behind Townley). Laedyn really wanted to be a big kid. All the splashing and spraying didn't phase her at all. I kept worrying she'd tip over headfirst into the pool. She never did...

Brandon was convinced that Laedyn had to have a flower cake for her first birthday. Here's the result. I think it turned out really well! The cake is lemon and Brandon helped make it by stirring the batter.
I figured I'd better provide some chocolate too, so we made very colorful cupcakes. Brandon decorated about half of them for me.
All the kids got to wear little party hats.
She LOVED her cupcake!

After she finished the cupcake I gave her a little bit of the lemon cake. She loved that too. Then she was reaching for one of the plates and pointing at it. When I gave it to her, she tried to eat it too. I think she thought it was just another cupcake - a really really big one!

Lovely. There was blue icing up her nose, in her ear and all around the back of her head.
There were chocolate and lemon crumbs all inside her bathing suit. The only solution to getting it all off was to hose her down. She thought it was great fun & giggled at us!
Tyrus came to help eat cake. Can you believe how tall he is? He's 13 now.
Later, after we were all alone, Laedyn kept trying to get in the big kid pool. I suddenly remembered I had a pool just her size. Mark blew it up and we filled it with water. She was thrilled! Brandon even sat in it and played with her for awhile.

At the end of the day, after dinner and baths, both kids were almost instantly asleep. Imagine that! We need to have cake and pool time every day!!!

2008-06-06T10:55:00.004-05:00

While we were in Chicago we went to the Shedd Aquarium. This is a man and fish statue outside the front entrance.Nick carried Laedyn the whole day because we forgot to make sure the umbrella stroller was in the car. Shedd Aquarium does not rent strollers!
I think the penguins were Laedyn's favorite.

Or maybe it was the baluga whales! They had cool underwater viewing areas for the balugas and the dolphins. I would have been happy sitting and watching there for hours...
You could also view the balugas and dolphins from above. We passed by fairly quickly as they were getting ready for a demonstration.
This was the other vantage point from which to see the dolphins. Thousands of people could sit on these stairs and all have a great view. Out the big windows is Lake Michigan.
Every few minutes we'd get to see the dolphins come up for air. Personally, I like the underwater viewing better.
The aquarium had a special exhibit of lizards going on while we were there.

Check out the spiny tail on this guy!
The Komodo Dragon was the star of the show. He was huge and didn't move much while we were watching. If he wanted to though, he could run about 10 miles per hour. I don't think you'd want him chasing you if it came right down to it!
There was a great shark tank. I really liked watching there too.
It took awhile, but we finally found the tank of clownfish.

2008-06-03T16:51:00.002-05:00

YUM ... OREOS!!!
What a Mess! Laedyn is going to rival Aubrey Cate in the messy eating department....

2008-06-03T13:54:00.007-05:00

We drove to South Bend, Indiana over the weekend so Nick could run the Sunburst Marathon. The marathon finish line is on the 50 yard line at Notre Dame Stadium. Nick's friend Ted attended Notre Dame for awhile and was really excited to do this marathon. There was plenty of close up seating to watch the runners crossing the finish line. Laedyn even had room to crawl around. Brandon kept a close watch out for Daddy.

Nick's Mom and Art came to watch too. Phil came too, but he's off doing his own viewing... They hadn't seen Laedyn & Brandon since last AUGUST! It was fun for them to be able to have the kids all to themselves for a couple days. We all stayed in the same hotel too. It was fun!
Ted & Nick coming into the finish - they looked strong & said they felt good.
Only runners were allowed on the field, so we had to watch from afar as Nick & Ted met up with their other running friends and cooled down a bit. Brandon was not happy to be stuck up in the bleechers while Nick was down on the field.
Ted, Nick & Brandon - eating a popsicle meant for someone who ran a marathon. Little begger.
Laedyn and Grandpa Art - he's good with the kids. Laedyn was a little wary at first but warmed up pretty quickly. Grandpa Art carried her all over the stadium. (While I was holding her she was wiggling like mad & crying...) She likes to have things identified now. She points and makes a little "huh?" sound, expecting an instant answer.

Nick, Brandon, Scott, Summer, Sandra and Ted. Scott and Summer live in Atlanta but came up to participate in the marathon. They, along with Sandra (Ted's wife), did the half marathon. We saw Sandra come in, but not Scott and Summer.
Leaving the stadium and heading for the car.
After getting back to the hotel and showering, everyone (yes - all the kids and grownups) took a nap. Then we headed out to eat. Ted and Sandra were supposed to join us, but Ted wasn't feeling up to it, so we decided to find a place that served steak. The lady at the hotel recommended a place called Doc Pierce's.

There were tiffany lamps all over the place & they were all for sale. The one over our table had a $2000 price tag! The walls had all kinds of backlit stained glass windows (not for sale).

Laedyn and Phil at dinner. There she goes ... pointing again!

Outside the restaurant - it was an interesting place & the waitress was really nice. Look at that girl - always pointing these days!

2008-05-27T15:27:00.003-05:00

Brandon's new Booster Seat!

Brandon has officially moved out of all his car seats and is using booster seats in both cars. We gave him a no-back "Cars" themed booster for his birthday. He loved the idea of it, but found it uncomfortable to sleep in because there are no headrests. I bought him a kids neck pillow, but he didn't like that either. So here's the solution - a high backed booster seat. He still gets to use the car seatbelt, but there's a high back on the booster with headrests and activity lights! He'll be able to have little lights on back there at night. We'll see how that works out on our upcoming roadtrip to South Bend, Indiana! The cats wondered what the heck Nick was doing...
The whole process tired Nick out - the cats & Brandon too. Laedyn? She's ALWAYS on the go...
Laedyn has graduated into regular forward facing car seats now too. That's part of the reason Brandon got to upgrade. Laedyn inherited his old "good" car seat for the Honda. The cheap one in there was in terrible shape. We bought her a flowery one of her own for the Highlander since that's the primary car for the family.
He's pretty pleased with his new seat!

2008-05-27T15:19:00.003-05:00

Hanging out in the back yard. Laedyn wanted to read my book ... actually she wants to grab anything anyone else shows any interest in.Nick and Brandon were playing catch. Brandon's aim leaves something to be desired. In fact - he doesn't really aim at all so it's impossible to catch anything he lobs in your general direction. Nick was trying to explain where to aim when playing catch.
So pretty ... I just love this dress!!!Just a cute picture of Brandon - talking as usual. I can just hear him ... "but, Daddy? ... why....? how ... ? when ...?"

2008-05-22T09:46:00.003-05:00

We attended a Birthday Party at Burns Park on Saturday for one of Brandon's KidCo friends. It was a beautiful day & Laedyn enjoyed watching all the kids playing. She also like the cake & cheese puffs! Brandon being goofy...he wanted to go play on the jungle gym set....
so we went to play on the jungle gym set.
The party was at the picnic area right next to the big yellow caboose. Brandon is always excited to be able to climb around on it.

The little girl is the birthday child - Townley. Her Mom always has the best ideas for gifts. For Townley's party she had everyone bring a wrapped book. Then at the end everyone took a book from the box home with them. What fun! The little boy in the hat is Brandon's friend Kaleb. We're sad Kaleb will be leaving Kidco in the fall to go to public school pre-K. The little blond boy is Garrett. Brandon says Garrett always makes him laugh. A future class clown perhaps?
Daddy and his little princess. I took her while he was eating cake. She cried and reached for her Daddy...or was she after the cake???
Brandon loved the merry-go-round. He also enjoyed pushing it for the other kids.
Townley & Brandon on the big slide. We spent alot of time watching the kids slide. It's a really fast slick slide - a little scary at first.

2008-05-21T11:57:00.002-05:00

SPOTLIGHT ON LAEDYN!!!

Laedyn has begun eating regular food. Here she's having her first taste of rice pilaf. She really enjoyed it and ate most of what I gave her.

She really wanted me to try it too...
I just love this hat...the dress too!
She's so interested in Brandon's things. Here she's checking out his coloring/craft table. It drives Brandon crazy - he hates when she's anywhere near his things. We're trying to work on his attitude, but it's not easy...
Finally - sort of a smile...
Yum - french toast sticks. She kept begging them from Nick - he ran out before he got enought to eat himself.
See the mosquito bite near her ear and another huge one near her elbow on the arm that she's holding the french toast with? I'm feeling itchy just looking at them in the picture! I'm considering calling some mosquito exteminators to spray our yard. It's really bad out there.

2008-05-21T10:50:00.001-05:00

Just a quick shot of Laedyn from this morning. She crawled out on the back porch to look out the door while we were getting ready to leave for the day.

2008-05-21T10:38:00.003-05:00

We drove to the Promenade on Kavanaugh last night after Brandon & Laedyn had dinner. From there we walked to Cajun Sno for some shaved ice - YUM!Brandon had cherry. He thought the red tongue was pretty funny.

Mark has "tiger's blood" it too was red...

Nick declined having any. Laedyn LOVED it and wanted to have a full spoon ready for her at all times. I should have brought a bib - she had red ice all over her front by the time we were done.
We closed the place down and then headed back to the car.

2008-05-19T11:57:00.001-05:00

Mom requested a picture of Brandon carrying Romeo. He does this all the time and Romeo is very patient with the whole thing. He's such a good natured cat!

2008-05-19T09:47:00.004-05:00

Remember when I mentioned Nick ran the Ouachita Trail 50K? Well, here are some pictures from the finish line...
Brandon amused himself by throwing sticks into a puddle while waiting for Daddy to run into the finish. He wore a headband and running shirt so he could be like Nick. Jennifer and Mark came down to support the runners too.
Here they come down the final stretch.
Brandon ran over the finish line with Nick & Ted. When he went over it before them, he shouted "I win!!! I win!!!" Everyone thought he was really cute of course.

Nick & Ted got handmade ceramic medals for their finish. Brandon got to throw leaves in the air to celebrate his finish.
This is Ted, Nick's long time running partner, and Sandra,Ted's wife. She runs too, but not this race. Nick, Ted and Sandra are all running in the South Bend, Indiana marathon on May 31. The kids and I will tag along as the cheering section.
Brandon threw LOTS of leaves...
We wanted to picture of Nick & Brandon together, but Brandon refused to cooperate. In his defense, Nick WAS pretty sweaty & dirty after all that effort. Look at the mud on his shoes!

2008-04-28T13:35:00.002-05:00

Sunday Breakfast - Brandon was eating toast with cinnamon & sugar. It left a lovely mustache... He wanted me to take a picture of his big muscles. Laedyn is eating her favorite - animal crackers. Later we were in Brandon's room playing with his Kid K'Nex. Sara Claus left him the "Bucket of Buddies" because he did such a good job keeping his room picked up all week. Not only was he a good picker-upper last week, he was all around GOOD. For the past 2 weeks, Brandon has had a grand total of only 2 - yes TWO - timeouts. Amazing!

Brandon's not the only one who had fun playing with these things ;-)

2008-04-28T13:26:00.003-05:00

Brandon & Jake (a friend at soccer AND at preschool) during a "hydration break." Don't their shorts look like little skirts? These uniforms are way too big.Laedyn got fed up with sitting in the stroller, so we put her in the grass. She never complained again and proceeded to pull up as much of the grass that was within reach as possible. He hates the uniform when we get dressed for practice, but once he's there he's fine. Besides - all the other kids are wearing the exact same thing & it doesn't fit any of them either.

2008-04-28T13:02:00.003-05:00

Ate outdoors at McAllisters the other night. Just as we were finishing up it started to rain. We got packed up and to the car just in time.When we got home, we all hung out in Brandon's room playing for awhile before bedtime.Brandon has a variety of hand puppets that provide endless entertainment. Brandon's favorite is Piggie. Piggie squeels when Brandon pulls his curly tail. This time Nick decided to animate the Elephant (who does not have an official name). Laedyn loves when Nick makes them talk to her too!

2008-04-21T09:39:00.004-05:00

Brandon, Laedyn & I were on our own Saturday morning while Nick was participating in a trail run (more on that later). Brandon did the Saturday morning kid thing, watching cartoons while eating breakfast in his jammies.Laedyn, between watching TV with Brandon and trying to grab his food, finally figured out how to pull up. Since then all she wants to do is stand up...walking won't be far behind I'm sure.

2008-04-18T15:13:00.006-05:00

Last week, Brandon & I went to a Twisters football game with Jennifer & Mark. Jennifer had complimentary tickets!

As you can see in the background, it was a decent crowd.
We got the guys throwing stuff into the crowd to give a football to Brandon. He really wanted a white one, but finally got over it & was happy with blue...
At halftime they had all these motorcycles come in with the cheerleaders. It was pretty noisy.
Toward the end of the evening some Disney guy came over and asked Brandon to move into the "Twisters Kidzone" All the kids in the zone were given a "Stamp Out Smoking" t-shirt to put on and then the Jumbotron zoomed in on them. Brandon was intently watching for his appearance on the big screen.
Believe it or not I took all these pictures with my new Palm Centro PDA phone. The color in some of them is a little off, but overall I'm impressed with how they turned out!

2008-04-08T12:01:00.007-05:00

I met Nick for lunch yesterday. We went back to the Tin Fish since the food was good & it's right across from the convention center. One of the guys he worked with at Tufts happened by & joined us. Nick's all dressed up because he chaired a session that morning. That book he's looking at is the program for his conference - Experimental Biology. He was trying to decide what to attend in the afternoon. After lunch, I did a little shopping in the Gaslamp District and then headed over to Balboa Park. My first stop was the Botanical Gardens. The building is made of wood lath & is one of the largest of its kind in the world. It was built in 1915 and houses over 2000 plants both permanent and seasonal. Apparently there is a "carnivorous plant bog" in there, but I didn't see it...They had a large display of Easter Lilies right inside the front door.
Lots of iris and orchids all over the place.
I'm partial to the ferns. I think I was fascinated by the visual effect of this same kind of fern last time I was at the Balboa Park Botanical Garden.
These two plants seemed to have a nice contrast, both in shade of green and in texture.

This building houses some of Balboa Park's museums. All of the architecture is similarly ornate. It was originally built for an exposition celebrationg the completion of the Panama Canal in 1915-1916. Additional structures were added later at an exposition in the mid-1930's that was held in the hopes of alleviating some of the economic trouble of the Great Depression. The Balboa Park complex is massive. It includes more than a dozen museum, parks, gardens, performing arts venues and the famous San Diego Zoo.The museum of Photographic Arts is housed in this building.
Natural History Museum. I'm going to check out their special exhibit on Pompeii today.
I came across some more ferns in a little place called the Zoro Garden. They were just uncurling. I think it's pretty cool how they develop, so I spent a bunch of time taking pictures of them.

Here's one that's almost fully spread out.
When I was done at Balboa Park for the afternoon, I headed back toward the Convention Center to meet Nick. We went back to our room to change & get ready for a reception hosted by Tufts University for it's alumnai. There were quite a few of Nick's friends & colleagues there. Left to right - Sue, Dan, Sai, Nick, & Gaston. Sue was everyone's advisor, the rest were working on their PhDs together. It was a really nice reception & we both enjoyed seeing old friends.

(Sorry about the quality - my camera setting dial moved & I didn't notice!)

After the reception, Nick & I went to a restaurant around the corner from our hotel called the Indigo Grill for a bite to eat. Have you ever seen such massive servings??? It was really delicious & the restaurant had interesting decor. My dinner was a Pork Porterhouse with orange kiwi salad (spicy), grilled plantains, smashed potatoes and some kind of onion string things. Nick had grilled chicken with rice pilaf, a huge mixed green salad in a shell and black beans. It felt like we needed to be rolled to the door when we were done. It was so tasty it was hard to stop eating it all!

2008-04-07T13:16:00.002-05:00

After the late night with Jay on Saturday, Atashi & I lazed around all morning. Nick, on the other hand, got up and ran at 7am then went off to his meeting. Sean called around 1pm to let us know he was in town and we headed down to Seaport Village to meet him. He brought Michelle with him. They've been dating for a couple months. We had lunch in a restaurant on a pier. The salmon was yummy. Sean had it in a sandwich, I had it grilled with sauce & Michelle had it in a Caesar Salad...
After we finished eating we walked outside & these ships were passing by. What a contrast!
The building on the right is the restaurant where we ate.

Apparently I ignored my camera the rest of the day. Atashi headed back to Huntington Beach after lunch. The rest of us wandered back to the Gaslamp district where we landed at the Hard Rock. We hung out there for awhile and each had a beer. After that, Sean & Michelle dropped us off at the hotel & went back to Santa Monica. Nick and I relaxed at the hotel for awhile until it was time to go to the Hyatt for a reception hosted by one of his scientific suppliers - Cambridge Isotopes. He got to see some people he knew. After that we grabbed a nice dinner in Little Italy. I had a fabulous filet and Nick had pasta with italian sausage. It was an excellent dinner.

2008-04-06T20:00:00.003-05:00

Long time no see. Obviously Jay was happy to see Nick. Jay drove down from Huntington Beach yesterday around lunchtime. We took him up to the rooftop bar to check out since it was so cool & then went in search of coffee. There was a Starbucks at the Convention Center, so we grabbed some Joe & headed down to the waterfront. It was a beautiful day - sunny, cool and windy. There were lots of people flying kites.
We wandered closer to the water & stood along this fishing pier for awhile talking & watching the boats & people. What a perfect day!
There were tons of sailboats taking advantage of the brisk breeze.Here's a view of the city from where we drank our coffee.

The Convention Center is the short building with the row of blue/green windows running from left to right. The section with the white peaked roof is also part of the Convention Center. After our coffee, we went in search of a bar to wait for Atashi to get done with her meetings. We ended up at a place called Jimmy Loves. Eventually we got tired of waiting there & headed back to the Marriott to pick up our bags and check into our new digs - Hampton Inn. Atashi met us at the Marriott, we trekked over to the Hampton & headed into Little Italy for dinner. At the wine bar we chose to eat at, Jay, Nick & I all ordered BEER...hmmm. Jay is more of a ham for the camera than Brandon - that seems hard to believe doesn't it??? Maybe he was unsure about the rpospect of being blogged... Or maybe he was still disconcerted by his poor beer pouring skills....He said he was out of practice, but this is a little extreme!
Nick chose to order an Olive and crostiti plate for dinner. It was ALOT of olives. Apparently he didn't know there was a "too many olives" line that could be crossed. He found it last night... I had a Caprese panini which was huge & shared some of it with Nick. For dessert we all shared Strawberry tiramisu - YUMMY!!!

Are you wondering where Atashi is? She was sitting next to me - I guess I never got her in a picture last night...hmmm. Sorry Atashi!

After dinner we retired to our hotel. Jay hung out for a couple hours with us just talking like old times. I think he left around 1:30 in the morning. It was fabulous to see him again.

2008-04-06T13:56:00.007-05:00

San Diego - we started out our first full day by having an early lunch at a place called the Tin Fish. Nick had fish tacos & I had fish & chips. The restaurant is right across from the Convention Center and a good place for people watching. The food was good too.
After lunch we drove to Carlsbad to see a Botanical Garden - it turned out to be a field of flowers behind a garden center. However - Legoland was right next door. We got a shopping pass that allowed us to go into the park for free for an hour to buy stuff in the gift shops. It's pretty cool to see all the things they can build with Legos!

Nick thought about a light sabre clash with Darth Vader, but R2Dt convinced him it wouldn't be a fair fight...

They decided to just be friends :-)
On the way back from Carlsbad, we drove along the ocean. There were lots of Pelicans flying around. It was grey and windy and a bit chilly, but still fun to stop and look.

Check out this picture in a larger format ... the longish dark shape in the water is a dolphin. Pretty cool.

That's Nick - not as uncommon as the dolphin sighting...
Nick's tired of being in all the pictures, so I agreed to hand over the camera - briefly. Aren't the cliffs in the background interesting?
After our sightseeing, Nick & I met up with Chad, a former colleauge from UAMS. We went to the rooftop bar at our hotel to have a couple drinks while we waited for Atashi to join us for dinner.
The rooftop bar overlooks Petco Park - home of the Padres. For no cover charge and a cool atmosphere, you can watch the game from the roof while drinking overprices beverages. I paid $15 (including tip) for a top shelf martini! OUCH! Oh well - it was a pretty cool place to hang out. That evening the Padres were playing the Dodgers. I have no idea what the outcome of the game was.
After the rooftop bar, we all went to a place called Micky & Lou's for dinner. Nick had steak, I had salmon. It was all really good - so was the grey goose martini :-)

After dinner, Atashi & I just HAD to stop in a couple of shops that were still open (at 11pm!) Atashi bought that green shirt she's wearing. I bought the jewelry I'm wearing. Nick was very patient with the whole process...

Having had enough late night shopping for the evening, Nick found a comfy chair & surfed the web while we browsed this cool little shop.

2008-04-01T20:11:00.005-05:00

Pictures of the recent flooding (taken by Mark). This is on the North side of the River along the River Trail. Looks like you could get across the Big Dam Bridge, but nothing more. A couple days later, the water had receded from the trail but was still really high. It was ROILING at the dam. Very noisy. It reminded me of the roar of Lake Erie in the winter.