Friday, December 26, 2014

2014 Christmas Eve

Google pulled together a sweet little video from some of the footage I took during our Christmas Eve outing to Dad & Denise's.

Between the food, fun, and family, a great time was had by all! Merry Christmas!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGwuwFIv85k

Thursday, May 22, 2014

The Disney Trip of EPIC Proportions!!!

This is more of a teaser than anything else. We went to Disney! The experience is unparalleled by any I've had to date. We ate in Belle's palace, met countless Disney princesses, watched captain IO (Michael Jackson) defeat some 80's baddies, had dinner on Mars, and oh so much more!!!

A few of the stories that ABSOLUTELY must be told:

  1. Disney's scariest ride (no, it's not a thrill ride... there aren't even seatbelts)
  2. Raging Japanese robot
  3. Crazy birds (not the least bit angry)
  4. No lines!? (Cheryl is the god of park planning. We pretty much never waited in a line over 15m, stay tuned for how she did it)
  5. Human Flight
  6. Our Brush with Customs (Oops!!)
  7. $800 off per ticket when flying over Spring Break
Stay tuned over the next few weeks for these and others (photos totally included)!!

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Beer - My Favorites

My favorite brewers from absolute most favorite, to slightly less incredibly favorite along with my favorite brew(s) from each:

  1. Stone (Imperial Russian Stout, Smoked Porter)
  2. Guinness (Draught)
  3. Rohrbach (Scotch Ale)
  4. Wolaver (Pumpkin Ale, Oatmeal Stout)
  5. Leinenkugel (Orange Shandy, Hoppin Helles)
  6. Messenger Brewing (whatever's on tap)

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Marble Madness

Props to Brianna for calling out the fact that it's been over a year since I posted out here!

The kids have been growing at an unfathomable rate! Annabelle is now the one that reads the bedtime stories. She can ride a bike, make a mean smoothie and loves playing computer games with dad. :-)
Isaac is three. Sooo three... His explanations of actions, desires, motivations and the magic of things are heart-warming and feel like a daily revelation!

One of our more regular all-together playtime activities (outside of jumping on the trampoline, going for adventure walks(aka: hikes), watching movies and making/flying paper airplanes), involves a set of blocks that I used to use when I was a kid. (Props to "Grandpa-with-the-motorcycle" for passing them along!)

I love the communication and creativity the kids exhibit while putting the towers together!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3QsMVa39oQ


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFBtXQ05MSI


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMnDRMlMSQ0

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Fireworks and fun

Dry wear T shirts do not count as surf wear... My chest will strongly attest to that fact as it is chaffed as can be. While my dry wear shirt didn't pan out well, my $45 wetsuit is all aces!

We spent the morning on the beach, the afternoon napping, and the evening skim boarding! The kids are remarkably good with the skim board. I toss it out for them, and they jump right on for a 10 to 15 foot ride. As for me, I can only make it a few feet. XD

Isaac and Belle seem yo be magnetically attracted to the lazy river. :-)  If we stay in the room for more than a few minutes, the natives get restless and start clamoring for yet another trip to the slowly winding river of extreme adventure. Be wary though... you never know what you may encounter, be it a pirate, sea serpent, or zippy motorboat race. What a great vacation!

P.S. As to the title, I'm watching a firework show explode on the beach just outside my room. Carazy!

Fun Travels

Traveling with kiddos is a great adventure. There are lots of questions about when we'll be there, why can't we find a potty, and what snacks can we buy at our rest stops. :-)

Some of my favorite moments include chasing grasshoppers at a tourist information center, playing alligator at a McDonalds, annd  watching the kids do a team climbing experiment at chik-fil-a. :-)

Equally notable was a bizarre roadside rest stop. We were an hour into a very, very remote stretch of Virginia roadway, and then kids had been asking for a bathroom for the last ten minutes. We searched for anything with a bathroom, but there was just nothing... so, we settled for the side of the road. Cheryl hopped out, grabbed the portable toilet, and pantsed the bub. A second later, she was doing a mad, stomping dance. Ow ow ouch! We had managed to run over a red ant nest, and they were no making quick work of her feet. Ouch! Needless to say, we made that stop in record time and made a blitz for the next available antless pull over.

When we checked in on Saturday, the view from our porch was breathtaking. Literally. The beach is gorgeous, and the twelfth story view blew my mind!