Catch Up - Monday (aka Birthday Day)

Monday was Alex's 8th birthday.  We had a good day.

Our plan was to go to Mystic, CT and have some pizza, which we did, and then go to the aquarium to see the fish, which we didn't do.  The kids were bummed but were good sports about it.  The reason we didn't go into the aquarium was the price of entrance.  $29 for adults and $19 for kids - sorry but for a couple hours at the aquarium, no thanks.  

After the disappointment at the aquarium we ventured out to see some lighthouses.  Here are some photos from that adventure.

Out front of the Mystic Pizza.  They should make a movie about this place.
Anchor's away - downtown Mystic, CT.
A schooner tied up along the Mystic River.
Looking up the Mystic River from the Mystic River Bridge.
Running across the Mystic River Bridge.

Then onto The Judith Light House
Alex in front of The Judith Light House.  We couldn't get to the lighthouse as it is currently occupied by the US Coast Guard.
Nathaniel after a sand removal from the shoes.
Checking out some wildlife.

The crew on a rock jetty we crossed.

A little caffeine for the ride home.

Let's Play Catch Up - Sunday

On Sunday we took a tour of the summer homes on the island.  These homes were built around 1900 and housed the wealthly for about 8 weeks during the summer when they would come up from the city for a little break.

The first house we visited was The Elms. This house was completed in 1901 for $1.4 million for Mr. and Mrs. Edward Julius Berwind.

Alex and I in one of the trees on the property.
This was my favorite statue on the grounds.

The next house we visited was The Marble House.  This house was completed in 1892 for Mr. and Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt. This house became the focal point for Mrs. Vanderbilt's political movement for women's right to vote.
Alex and I in front of our new summer home.
The Tea House on the grounds of the Marble House.  This has an amazing view of the bay behind it.  It also has one of my favorite features, a hidden tunnel from the main house to its basement for the servents to bring tea without being seen.
This is the view from the tea house.
Our awesome tour guide looking through the door of the Tea House at Marble House.

Next... Alex's Birthday

Office Nerf War

In honor of my sons love for Nerf...

Boston Photos

We really enjoyed our day downtown Boston.  We walked quite a ways along the Freedom Trail and saw some great sights.  The day started sunny and then the fog rolled in towards the end.  The kids were real troopers.

The one thing that I found amusing was the old guys standing outside of their businesses shooting the breeze.  Listening to them was a kick in the pants, especially the old Italian guys who I couldn't understand.

Some more pics...

A contrast of old and new.
Notice anything about the teapot?  We thought it was cool.
In this cemetery lies Benjamin Franklin and his parents, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, the victims of the Boston Massacre and many others.
Bell In Hand Tavern.  They claim to be the oldest in the country however their sign says 1795 and as we know from a previous post the White Horse Tavern also claims to be the oldest.  The White Horse sign says 1673... I'll let you decide.

The boy and I at the fountain in front of The Old North Church.
Statue of Paul Revere near the Old North Church.  This is were we began our walk along the Freedom Trail.
This is a memorial for the soldiers and civilians who have lost their lives in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars.  Each dogtag represents a life that was lost.

From the New England Holocaust Memorial downtown Boston.  These numbers represent the lives lost in the concentration camps during WWII.  Both memorials we say were very moving sights to see.

Today we toured a couple of the old summer homes built in the early part of last century.  More on those later.

For now I say Happy Birthday to my girly Brianna who is now 12 and is currently serving the Lord in Russia with her mom and grandma.  Tomorrow is Alex's 8th birthday.

I finally found something to match Alex's hair in size...

We had a great day in Boston.  More pics tomorrow.

Eat'n Right

Today I have ate:

Three pancakes

Two pieces of bacon

Two slices of pizza

One cannoli

Three cups of coffee

1/2 a beer - still working on it

and a handful of salt and vinegar chips

Gotta love vacation!

Friday in Rhode Island

Today was supposed to be rainy so we were going to see the mansions in the area.  Well God gave us some sunshine so we headed off for Newport, RI.  What a beautiful town.

We ventured off on foot after finding one of the last remaining parking spaces in town.  It was cool to know that I was walking streets that the earliest settlers and the founders of this country walked.  There is so much history here and many of the buildings reflect that.  This town has the most pre-revolutionary war houses than any in the country due the the fact that the island has never had a major fire. 

At some point I'll post pictures of the door project my sister got me started on.

For now here are pictures from today.

Shop windows downtown Newport

Alex saving the surfer

Portlander's aren't the only weird ones with their dogs

Pell Bridge from the Aquidneck Lobster Co.

Me and the boy

The oldest tavern in North America - The White Horse

George Washington and Benjamin Franklin spoke from these steps

Pell Bridge and a the light house on Goat Island

One of the natives discarded homes

Mt. Hope Bridge this evening when the fog rolled in

My hosts with the mosts

Rhode Island - Day 1

We are here!

I'm too tired to write so here are a couple photos from the trip so far.

Alex saying good by to Vic

A walk down to the water

Alex, Natalie and Mt. Hope Bridge

Jen and Aidan

Nathaniel

Start Vacation - NOW!!!

We are off.

Got the bags packed and are setting to load the pup up for his vacation with Mo (Thanks a ton Mo!).

First stop New Jersey, then on to Rhode Island.

I hope to post daily here and on Facebook.

The Girls Are Off

My ladies are traveling right now to Russia on a short term missions trip.  They left Portland bright and early this morning and will change planes in Washington DC to get to Moscow.

You can follow their adventures here.

Kathi's mom is also on the trip so there are three generations serving the Lord together on this little adventure.

Alex and I will take off to Rhode Island on Wednesday evening and you can follow us here and on Facebook.  I hope to post many photo's of our travels together as father and son.

Mouse War

Okay it really wasn't a war.  

Tonight Alex comes running down the stairs to let me know that two of the neighbor kids just kicked a dead mouse up on our porch.  I waited a few minutes and then went to verify the mouse attack.  It was true.  Hey! NO ONE throws a dead mouse on my porch and gets away with it.

I got a piece of paper out of the recycle bin, went out to the carcass, and scooped it up with the intention of paying the kids a visit with their discarded friend.  A small hoard of them were gathered on a neighboring lawn.  Eyes widened as I approached with the stiff.  The two instigators were cool customers.  

I asked them if they wanted it back and the two looked as if they had no idea what I was talking about.  One of the girls who is a friend of my daughters pointed out one of the boys I already knew was involved.  So I tossed the mouse carcass onto the lawn next to him and said to him that I didn't want it back.

When I got back in the house I went to put the boy to bed.  After I kissed him good night he said, "Dad, when you threw the mouse at them it was really cool."  Glad I could impress my kid.

Slurpee Season

Although it is raining today Alex and I walked to 7-11 and got Slurpees.  After they tried faking me out with banana flavor in a dispenser marked as Mountain Dew I ended up with a Coke flavored one while Alex stuck with the banana.  On our walk back it poured and the thunder started.  We got a little wet but the Slurpee is always worth it.

We found that Owen also enjoys the Slurpee.

Overheard when we got home:

"Dad, we should have got mom that thing we saw."

"We ARE NOT buying mom her Mother's Day gift at 7-11"

A Sunday Hike

Today we ventured out to Forest Park in NW Portland.  For those that don't know Forest Park is the largest, forested natural area within city limits in the United States.

Walking along the Wildwood Trail.

The kids at Stone House.

The boy on the wall at Stone House.

The girl after the two mile hike.

The sound of the stream next to the trail captivates me and takes me back to the backyard of the home I grew up in in Tigard.  We went into the Audubon Society and saw a couple of captive owls they have on display.  Having Owen on the hike with us made us feel like we fit in with the Portlanders a bit more.  I would say half or more of the hikers we passed on the trail had a dog with them.

It was a good day with the family.

Mt. Tabor

Today we hung out at Mt. Tabor Park in SE Portland.

We are doing our best to spend Sunday's as a family and trying new things and seeing new places.

We're trying to find a balance between work, school, church, and other things in life that keep us busy...

Before my lady and I...

Blow our tops.

What are the odds?

I call it Boy Floating in Grass

He's a Little Runaway

Yesterday I called home to talk to the family. My daughter answered the phone and all I heard was "Alex AHHHH, bah-WAH-HAWAH, he AHHHHHHHH-AGH WAHH-AAAHHH, Owen UHN-HAAAAAAAA!!!" So like a good dad I immediately hung up and called my wife's cell phone. She filled me in on why I got hysterics. READ EXPLANATION HERE.

All I could do was laugh. I did. Unapologetically laughed while my wife told the story. He packed his bag walked out because he doesn't like spelling or math. He packed a jacket and his blanket. No food, no water, no cash, no pocket knife, no tent or sleeping bag. He's never been a boy scout so maybe I need to work on his preparation skills. What made me laugh was the image of him standing there in the backyard with his backpack looking out into the woods, the great unknown ahead of him, his trusty dog under his arm - a dog who would be gone at the first sign of a squirrel - wondering what the heck he had just committed to.

The question I have is - what possesses young kids to run away. Where do they think they will go?

Mis-heard Lyrics

This weekend we had a chance to rock on Guitar Hero - Metallica at a friends house. It was a good time. My kids love Queen, so when "Stone Cold Crazy" showed up on the play list, since Metallica covered it on Garage Days, my kids wanted to play that song. After the song played Alex said "I thought it was 'Snow Cone Crazy'." We had a good laugh.

Last night I was playing Metallica from my iTunes and he asked me to play that song. When I laughed and said "you mean 'Snow Cone Crazy'"? He said, "I thought it was 'Don't Go Crazy' before I thought it was 'Snow Cone Crazy'".

Silver Falls

The sun came out so we decided to make a break for it. We ended up at Silver Falls. It is such a beautiful place.

There is Nothing Like a Powerful Testimony

Recently I've seen a few video testimonies linked on the web that are truly facinating and powerful.  They come from Iamsecond.com.

This one is very powerful.  Former guitarist for the band Korn, Brian "Head" Welch.

God is good. Stories like this one must be told.

Got a story?