Trip to Shenandoah

Enjoyed a nice day hiking in Shenandoah. Dylan is certainly comfortable in his back pack. Ended the hike with a little drop of red, which Dylan seemed to approve off, fun was had by all.

Sharing the Love

Look who learned how to smootch...look out girls!

"Kelty Pathfinder" Dylan Transport Device

My sister Patti found a great child carrier at a church picnic silent auction - she thought of us and we asked her to place a bid...the bid won and we've been waiting to try it out. Now that Dylan is sitting up without too much assistance we thought we'd do a test run at a local park. It worked great. Kelty makes a full range of camping and treking gear and the experience shows: the Pathfinder model has an excellent waste belt, great weight distribution and just the right support harnesses to keep the little man in place without stressing him. He loved it...we loved it...and we'll be back out exploring his growing world soon.

Perserverance

Stand-up Paddle-Surfing is an emerging water-sport with ancient Polynesian roots. As the name implies you stand up on a surfboard...with a paddle (a big paddle). Michelle has tried it in Florida and Hawaii and loved the all-body workout (balance is key...harder than it looks). So, with a surfboard gathering dust in the Maryland workshed we ordered a big paddle and she gave it a try on the (fresh)water lake near home...she gave an hour but just couldn't make it work - we need a bigger board - Big Blue sits too low in the fresh water. Nice try though.

Speed Racer

...and the Checkered Flag goes to... my lead-foot wife who managed to get 2 speeding tickets in 26 hours...with 2 different cars!!

Sitting up

Dylan is now sitting up at least with some assistance. We are having lots of fun playing and he has also become a chatter-box, I guess he takes after his Dad on that one.

Concert Season Part 3: For the ladies

It was now my turn to go to a concert. Les unexpectedly got 4 tickets to the Paul McCartney concert, he thought it would be a nice idea if I had a Ladies night out and he would look after Dylan. So off to the concert it was for me, Diana, Debbie and Elizabeth. I must say it was pretty good to see a Beatle, McCartney was very impressive. A great time was had by all, thanks Les.

Trying out for the All Blacks

We are starting Dylan out early getting him ready for the New Zealand "All Blacks" (Rugby) tryouts. He is going to have to make some decisions when he gets older: Rugby, AFL (Australian Rules) or American Football!

First Food

It was time for Dylan to try a taste of real food. Of course we started with the rice cereal and made quite a mess, however it was lots of fun. We have now ventured to such gourmet treats as carrot and potato, apples, peaches and even gave avocado a try, although that was not Dylan's favorite.

Concert Season Part 2: Green Day

Shifting gears a bit Les and Doug Richards caught the Green Day show at the Verizon Center (Washington DC). Awesome show although the last minute decision to leave the families behind on a school night left us in the "nose-bleed" seats - good thing sound travels...'cause those guys were rockin'! Here's what I would've seen had I been down in the mosh-pit: [ video ].

Concert Season Part 1: The Bob Dylan Show

Made it to a few concerts over the past couple weeks.

The "Bob Dylan Show" was a 4-band production. Charlie, Amanda and Les caught the last couple songs of the "Wiyos" a crazy throw-back 1920's Jug Band. They were followed by Willie Nelson, opening with "Whiskey River" as a giant Texas flag unfurled behind him. After a few songs Willie was driven off stage by an impressive thunderstorm, which cleared up after 40 minutes as John Mellencamp took the stage for a set of his Top-40 favorites. After all that the build-up Dylan took the stage with a backup band that wasn't messin' around (these guys looked...I don't know...all business). It was a great set, second time I've seen him live - he didn't disapoint. Here's a good retrospective.

Dylan's Summer concert

Even Dylan has enjoyed a summer concert this year. We were able to have a family outing to Tarara wineries were they have local bands playing in the summer. Each with our beverages of choice.

Hangin Out

Relaxing Saturday afternoon in the back yard.

First Day at Day Care

Just back from the big New Zealand-Aussie trip and Michelle has to go back to work. It was the first day of day care for the little man, and although we were a bit apprehensive he seems to really enjoy it. Aussie friends note the Kiwi shirt...

Washington Monument

Before leaving on her trip Michelle booked tickets for us to go up in the Washington Monument - great views of the Mall (and the White House) - everyone should see DC and when they get here...take a ride to the top of this big stone tower thing.