Day 353 - 02/09/2008

What a busy day. M started swimming this morning so I N and I hit the road for a boatload of errands. I had promised him we'd head to the train stores to see what we can find. He's been itching for a train set (HO scale type train set) ever since he's been old enough to understand what they were and I think this is the year D and I get him one. Of course, he changes his mind with regard to what he wants on a somewhat weekly basis, so even if we got him what he wants, he'd probably want something else next month.

Anyway, that was stop numbers one and two. Fortunately, the second train store is located in the same shopping center as the uniform store, so we were able to kill two birds with one parking spot (and believe me, the parking lot at Fair City Mall is a pain in the asssssss to negotiate and find a spot...it is always full up like a tick).

Afterwards, we headed up 29 to the Merrifield Post Office, stopping for lunch at Tippy's Tacos. I haven't eaten there in I don't know how many years. I wasn't in the mood for a taco (like I usually got), but the salsa (hot sauce, really) hadn't changed a bit. N ate a cheese quesadilla and had a small Coke Coca-Cola (his correction, not mine). From there we hit the post office to drop off Super Bad and then hit Unique in hopes of scoring a costume for next weekend's party.

Unique is just that: a thrift store in an old Marlo (?) warehouse. It's got tons of used stuff and is dirt cheap. I didn't find what I was hoping to find, but I was able to put something together with what I did find. On the way home from there, we stopped by another thrift store where I finished my costume.

Since it's supposed to turn nasty tomorrow, I went out for a run (~4 miles) and felt good. I was surprised I didn't have any knee issues after Thursday's run. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come!

After bowling we hit the post-bowl party for a bit before heading home to relieve the babysitters. Had they not been in 6th and 7th grade, we would've stayed out a bit later, but seeing as they're just a few years older than M, we decided to make it an early evening.

I wasn't as success

Day 284 - 12/01/2007

The early start didn't happen. As a matter of fact, it was a late start.

We ended up hitting the road at 950a CT. By 1030a we were on 64 and heading east. We originally thought about staying the night in Charleston, WV, (a bit over halfway) but decided against it out of concern for the weather. Like on the way out, we tried not to stop (actually, we ended up stopping four times -- one more time than on the way out) and it showed in the time it took for us to get home: 12 hours and 10 minutes. That confirms it: we'll go the southern route from now on.

After getting the kids to bed and unloading the van (well, starting the unloading process, all of M's school stuff still needs to be taken care of), I said good night to D and went to the basement to (hopefully) find some football on TV as I was too hopped up on coffee to even think about sleeping. I was rewarded with the Hawaii-Washington game and watched it until about 2a, when I realized that if I didn't get to sleep then, I'd be paying for it in the morning. Even with the caffeine still coursing through my system, I fell asleep soon after hitting the pillow.

Here's the data generated by Claire during the trip home:
Total Mileage: Average Speed: Moving Average: Maximum Speed: Total Time: Moving Time: Stopped Time:	763.66 miles 64.3 mph 68.6 mph 80.9 mph 11h 52m 11h 07m 44m 30s

It's quite a difference! We will now be taking the Southern route from now on (unless we stop by Alpha on the way out or back). Of course, the big difference is the time spent moving vs. stopping. On the way back, we ate lunch in the car and the only time we stopped for any length of time was in Tamarack when we had dinner (about 20-25 minutes). Of course, how much of the time stopped on the way out was due to traffic getting to I-70? Going the Southern route, we're on I-66 in less than 10 minutes and going against the flow of rush hour traffic. It'll be interesting to see what happens next time.

Day 281 - 11/28/2007

We hit the road this morning for the trip out to Illinois for Gramma Elie's funeral. We were hoping to leave by 830a, but ended up getting on the road about 910a ET. Traffic on 28 was heavy near the toll road, but we were soon heading out West without any problems.

I'll have to post the numbers Claire reported via GPS. For some reason it took us almost 13 hours to get there (arriving at 910p CT). Seeing as we only made three stops (one for lunch, one for gas and one for dinner and gas), I'm surprised it took us so long. Here's a shot of where we stopped for gas. You might wonder why we didn't eat there as well, considering what they were offering but we passed. (Well, D and I passed, the kids got ice cream.)

I plan on taking the southern route on the way home and doing a comparison based on what Claire tracks. (According to Google, the northern route is 2 miles longer than the southern route.) Below is the route we took, including stops (the white dots along the route). It may look similar to the route we took this summer, except for that it doesn't stop by Alpha.

The kids were pretty good on the way out, especially since we had limited stops. M did some of her homework, but for the most part, they watched the world go by and watched movies. (If it had been left up to them, they would've watched movies the entire trip.)

Here's the data generated by Claire during the trip to Olney:
Total Mileage: Average Speed: Moving Average: Maximum Speed: Total Time: Moving Time: Stopped Time:	753.75 miles 59.3 mph 66.6 mph 83 mph 12h 43m 11h 18m 1h 24m

Day 236 - 10/14/2007

Even though we left on time, I was still late to Evan's baptism. I dropped D and the kids off and parked the car. I stopped by the bathroom before heading into the church and found the ceremony already starting. (I thought it was for 1145a vs. right after 1030a Mass). Fortunately I didn't miss much. Evan was pretty good during the ceremony. Well, until he got hungry and started exercising his lungs asking for a bottle. Afterwards, we went over to The Sunken Well for lunch.

The Sunken Well is a place near Stephen and Stacey's house that they frequent quite a bit. The nice thing about it is that it's within walking distance from their house (five minutes, tops), so it appears it's become a neighborhood hangout. That's a nice amenity to have and one thing I don't like about living in suburbia. Sure, there's community built within the confines of the neighborhood, but there's really nothing within walking distance. I could ride my bike, but most people simply get in their car and drive. If there was something within walking distance, it would allow people to get out into the streetscape and provide them with the opportunity to meet their neighbors vs. stuck inside 2000+ pounds of steel while driving from point to point.

Oh well, as we discussed with Peg and Michael (Evan's Godparents), there's a lot of quality in our lives from the choices we've made. They're right, we're fortunate to have the life we do. I wouldn't call it lucky as it didn't just fall into our laps, we worked hard to get where we are, giving up on some other things in order to obtain what we feel is important.

After lunch we headed over to Doug and Nancy's house for her to pack before we headed back home. D asked Nancy to come up for a few days until she was back on her feet in order to help her out around the house while I'm at work. We hit the road and were greeted with a backup on Route 3 in order to get on 95. Traffic was at a standstill heading south, but even northbound appeared to be stopped. With that in mind, we headed up 17 to 29 to take the back way.

I checked out my Fantasy Football team when I got home expecting to see some great points, but I was disappointed. I had high hopes after seeing Brett Favre play a terrible game against the 'Skins (scoring only 5 points) and hoping Kurt Warner tossing the ball about would prove my coaching genius (I had started Warner over Favre). As I said, I was disappointed. Warner was injured in the second series of the game and scored -1 points. It also looks like he's out for the season. I also lost Sammy Morris and Ron Dayne to injuries. Oh well, at least my decision on which kicker to start paid off (11 points with Ramsey vs. 8 with Graham). That being said, my other decision (to pick up Dayne vs. Wright) cost me 12 points. That wouldn't have won the game for me anyway as the Drew Brees of last year showed up to play against Seattle and pretty cemented the outcome. Unless Plaxico Burress has a phenomenal game Monday night, the game is all but lost. Oh well, at least I'm still above .500 and my starting QB (Peyton) is back next week (in addition to the Pats D playing the Dolphins). Hopefully I'll start a new winning streak next Sunday.

After dinner and getting the kids to bed, I hit the basement to play guitar. I haven't gotten as much playing time as I had hoped over the past week due to one reason or another, but I was able to figure out "Lookin' Out My Back Door" after only 20 minutes of trying. I still need to figure out the bridge between the third and fourth verse, but if I skip over that, I'm golden! (And it actually sounds right!)

Day 227 - 10/05/2007

We were up bright and early and ready to hit the road for our sibling weekend. I dropped the kids off at school and we were out of the house around 9a. After a quick stop at Starbucks for coffee, we were on the road.

Our first event is at 130p, so we were cutting it short and it didn't appear that we'd have much time to stop for lunch. After hearing from Nina that they were late getting out of the house and wouldn't make it to the first event, we decided not to kill ourselves getting there and stopped by Pierce's for lunch. As I've said before (or, if I haven't, I'll say it now), Pierce's is a must-stop place if you're driving on I-64 in Williamsburg. Their barbecue is tops and the sauce has just the right amount of kick to it. Even better (IMO) are the green beans. People who haven't tried them before are taken aback at them, but once you taste them, you too will be converted.

We finally arrived in Cape Charles about 3p. We stopped by the festival headquarters and then by the hotel to get the house keys. We unloaded and waited for the rest of the crew to arrive, which they finally did around 4p. They announced their arrival by dropping the lasagna dish on the ground, whereupon it shattered and infused dinner with tiny shards of glass. Fortunately the lasagna was frozen so the glass was easily brushed off. Well, maybe not easily, but it was salvageable none-the-less.

After dinner we played some games before calling it quits for the night. We have to get up early tomorrow to get to the Run for the Birds 5k race.

Day 184 - 08/23/2007

We went to the beach today. Just for the day. We traded six hours in the car for six hours in the sand. Overall, I think it was worth it. The kids had a great time and were surprised when D and I spilled the beans this morning.

Since we weren't able to get our regular rental this summer, we punted on going to the beach in favor of our trip to Illinois and Williamsburg. I was hoping to get a couple of days in, but as the summer wound down, it turned out even a couple wasn't going to be easy. We had originally planned on going Tuesday, but the weather wasn't cooperative, so we postponed it until today. (Even still, the weather was overcast and on the cool side, although that wasn't so bad as we weren't baking in the heat and having to worry about sunburn.)

We left the house about 845a, just in time to beat most of the backup inside the Beltway on 66. We cut through the city and hooked up with 395 by the Jefferson Memorial and then linked up with 295 before getting on 50 on the other side of the city. Although it took us about an hour to make it to this point, the only portion where traffic was bad was on 66 outside the Beltway. The rest of the trip was smooth sailing (save for a couple points where construction caused us to have to slow it down). Our estimated time of arrival (according to Claire) was 1205p, which we pretty much hit right on the button.

After parking, we carted our stuff down to the beach and set up camp. After a quick bite of lunch, we did beach stuff. You know, played in the surf, built sand castles, etc. Not being satisfied with the sand castle, I built a sand anchor that I had to protect from wandering toddlers on more than one occasion. I was able to successfully protect it from the tykes, but not from the rogue wave. Right after I finished the body, a wave came up and smoothed it out for me.

Argh.

But then, after looking at it, found that it looked even better than the way I had carved it! The rough edges had been smoothed out by the water and it looked more like a sculpture than a sand anchor.

Hurray!

After collecting a bucket of shells, we headed back to the car, where we changed out of our wet suits and into street clothes before hitting the stores for a whirlwind shopping trip and dinner. Afterwards, we stopped by TCBY for a cool treat and headed back to the car.

We arrived home about 9p, just over 12 hours after we left this morning. All in all, it was a great day. The kids enjoyed it (for the most part, save for the time spent in the car), as did D and I. Some might say that a trip to the beach for the day is a bit much, but if you're lucky enough not to hit traffic (like we were), it's worth the escape, if only for the day.

Day 180 - 08/19/2007

Since I haven't been as active as I'd like to be, I decided I'd go for a ride this morning and ended up going for twenty miles. I headed up the Parkway towards Reston, with the intent of heading to Route 7 before turning around, but at Baron Cameron, I changed my mind and took that back home instead. Baron Cameron turns into Elden Street in Herndon, which turns into Centreville Road between Herndon and Chantilly and that then turns into Walney Road in Chantilly. It was a pretty good ride as the weather was pretty cool and the sky was overcast, doing a good job keeping the sun from beating down.

That afternoon we went down to Fredericksburg to visit with D's aunts and uncles who were visiting from Illinois. It was a nice visit and after spending some time at the house, we headed over to Stephen and Stacey's for the out-of-towners to see their house and visit with them. Since we were right there, we decided to leave from downtown Fred (vs. driving back out to Doug and Nancy's) and hit the road.

As usual, traffic wasn't looking too good on 95, so we went 17. I wanted to avoid the 29/66 interchange, so took the back roads, talking Elk Lick Road to 28. It was much better than last week (since last week Claire was set for "shortest distance" and this week she was set for "fastest time"), although we got stuck behind an old truck barely pushing 40 on 28. (The speed limit is 45.) Other than that, the ride was nice. I much prefer going the back way over 95 (even if it takes a little longer. I typically arrive relaxed and rested vs. stressed out and tired, plus the scenery is much better. The only downside of going the back route is getting stuck behind slow(er) moving vehicles, especially if I can't see around/through them. If there's something I can't stand, it's being stuck behind a minivan, truck or other large vehicle with darkened windows. I want to see what's ahead of me, not look at black glass.

Day 173 - 08/12/2007

We took the kids down to Fredericksburg today to spend a few days at Camp Nanny and PopPop. They (both the kids and Nanny and PopPop) have been asking about when we could arrange such a trip so we put it on the calender. D will pick them up on Wednesday.

On the way down, we stopped by Stephen and Stacey's to meet Evan. D and the kids had seen him when he was just a newborn, but I hadn't seen him yet. I can't imagine how little he must've been six weeks ago, because he's still a little thing. I guess that's what being four weeks early will do for you. We spent some time visiting with them before heading over to D's folks to drop the kids off.

Traffic on 95 was terrible, so we enlisted the services of Claire (remember Claire?) to avoid the traffic. However, in doing so, I forgot to change the setting from "least distance" to "fastest time" and we paid for it. I don't think we got home any faster, but we sure did discover some back roads of Stafford and Prince Williams counties on the way back home. (According to Google Maps, it should have taken us about 2 hours to go this route; in the end, it took about 90 minutes or so.) After looking at the map, there were a few places where I should have turned to hook up with 28, but kept on going with Claire.

At least D humored me and let me listen to part of the Big Broadcast on 88.5 WAMU. We were out of range for most of the previous show, but at 730p, we were close enough to not have too much static and were able to listen to Dragnet in its entirety.

Day 164 - 08/03/2007

The plan was to get up and head down to Chestertown first thing in the morning, except the plan changed when I checked in with the office. I was having issues configuring my box at work yesterday, but was able to work through them, so I buckled down and got a couple of hours of work done before hitting the road.

Before heading towards the Eastern Shore, I had to stop by the uniform store for some additional clothes for the kids before school starts later this month. (Better yet, since today was a tax-free shopping day, we saved money to boot!) It's been a while since I've been over to Fair City Mall, but one thing hasn't changed: the parking. It's terrible. Fortunately, I was able to find a spot pretty quickly (close in to boot!) and in I went. It's a good thing I had a list of what I needed to get, because I was lost. (It was also a good thing there were plenty of sales staff to help lost souls like myself!) I finally got my order filled and was finally on my way...but first, I had to stop for lunch.

Since Fair City Mall is on 236, I decided to take that to 395 and stop at the Arby's that's right there at 236 and 395. As I drove through Annandale, I was quite surprised as to how much has changed over the years. Most (if not all) of the signs were predominantly in Korean (with English subtitles). I had heard that Annandale had become a big Korean community, but didn't realize the extent. I guess this will be what Centreville looks like in a few years (Centreville is the new Annandale for the Koreans coming into the area -- it's more affordable.)

So after my stroll down memory lane, I finally got to Arby's where they proudly server America's Roast Beef, Yes Sir! Of course, once I got there and saw the Classic Italian sub, I changed my mind and got that (along with the required curley fries, natch). I was not disappointed. It was the bomb.

I continued my drive through Northern Virginia by taking Beauregard down to Seminary (as the light to get back to 236 was waaaaaay long. It's been ages since I was down that street as well and sort of forgot where it went. I almost missed the turn to Seminary, but was able to get over in time (vs. having to continue on to 7 to get to 395). I left Arby's at 203p and was out of DC by 230p. Traffic was slow at its normal points, but I took a few liberties here and there and was able to skirt most of it. (I finally found out where the road went to with the "Authorized Vehicles Only" sign on it by RFK.)

Once I was on 50, traffic moved quickly. There was a brief backup that slowed us down near the Severn River, but, other than that, it was light. When I got to the toll booth I decided to pay for the car behind me as well after seeing it was an elderly couple. I can't help but wonder how it made them feel, but I know that little act, which only cost me $2.50, made me feel good. It put me in a good mood as I continued my drive up and over the bridge.

I finally arrived at 4p and immediately went into vacation mode. The compound is nice and I can see why Betsy spends so much time there. It sits right on the Chester River and has not only river access (for swimming, fishing or boating), but also a pool and a hot tub. If I had that at my disposal, I'd spend a lot of time there as well.

Day 97 - 05/28/2007

Prior to heading down to Fredericksburg to pick up the kids, we swung by Merrifield to take another look at their trellises. We didn't see any we liked, so we went back to Betty's for another look at theirs and ended up buying a couple more (I'll have to return the ones in the garage to Lowe's at some point as we won't be using them anymore.) They're pretty tall, so we had to take them back home before finally getting back on the road to Fred.

On the way back, we stopped by Springfield to have a quick visit with my mom and Rudy. They were having a party for him, but we had other plans so our visit was a quick one. After getting home, M and I went to the pool for a while, while D and N stayed home. N was pretty much fried after the weekend and going to the pool probably wasn't the best thing for him to be doing.

For dinner we had the traditional Memorial Day fare of pizza. Yes, I realize we're supposed to have burgers and dogs and potato salad and pasta salad and fruit salad and chips and dip and whatnot, but I was at the pool and D just didn't feel like heading back to the store. I don't blame her one bit. Whenever we head down to Fred and back again the same day, the last thing I want to be doing is sitting in the car again. Add to that the fact that (more than likely) the stock at the store was probably low due to the holiday and there's even more of a reason to exercise your digits and order pizza. After dinner the kids got washed up and I read them a chapter from Narnia. I wanted to get them to bed at a somewhat decent hour, what with them being up late over the weekend (M until midnight on Sunday!), so I only read them one chapter.

After getting them to bed, D and I settled into the couch to finish watching Lawrence of Arabia. Her outlook of it didn't change between the first three hours and the last hour.

Finally, with the movie over, I tuned in to Vs. to catch game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals. It was such a long break between the conference finals and the Stanley Cup that I thought I had missed the first game. Fortunately I didn't. I used the power of Tivo to flip between the game and The Sopranos (since we don't get HBO, I'm watching from the beginning on A&E). Finally, around 1130p, I called it quits and hit the sack. I should have hit the sack sooner, but I just didn't want the weekend to end.

Day 89 - 05/20/2007

Got a call from my mom bright and early that Rudy's party was being postponed until a later date. He took a fall Saturday evening and ended up with a concussion and had to go to the emergency room where he got some stitches. Apparently he lost his balance in the hallway and fell down, hitting his head against the wall. Hopefully he'll recover quickly and he'll be back to his old self. Right now, the party is scheduled for next weekend. Unfortunately, we won't be able to make it as we'll be out of town.

So, with the afternoon suddenly freed up, we no longer have to worry about making it to 1045a Mass. Instead, I suggested to M and N that we go for the bike ride we were supposed to go on yesterday (but were unable to due to everything else we squeezed in). M was excited about it, but N was not. He ran up to his room and started crying. After a few minutes of trying to calm him down, I was able to talk him into going. The three of us got ready to go, prepped our bikes and hit the road. I had planned on taking them to the end of the trail (by Fairfax County Parkway), but this changed not 10 minutes into the ride.

"Can we stop at the playground?" asked M.

"No, let's keep going." I replied. "Maybe we can stop on the way home."

"But my legs are tired!" cried M.

"We haven't even been riding for 10 minutes, M, your legs aren't tired."

Cry moan fuss.

Great, it's already started. I tried to calm her down, but it was no use. It continued for the rest of the ride. Finally, it got to a point where I couldn't take it anymore, so I told her that if she complained one more time, she'd spend the day in her room. That did the trick. She sped off ahead of N and I (who was enjoying himself to no end) and stayed ahead of us for the rest of the way home, save for when she stopped to wait for us before crossing Stringfellow. She finally acknowledged what was wrong with her behavior, but not until I had to talk it over with her. I tried to explain that we were out for a bike ride and that I was going to stop at the playground near Greenbriar Pool. However, since she started pouting, crying and generally acting like a pill once she didn't get her way, there was no way I was going to reward that behavior (that and the fact that we had to get back for 1230p Mass). I guess the discussion we had the other day just didn't sink in.

We finally got home and we all got ready for Mass. During Mass, M sat next to me and tried to make up for her behavior earlier by holding my hand, sitting as close as possible, etc. I find it hard to hold what could be called a grudge against her for too long, especially since she's still only eight and doesn't quite get it just yet. Well, that and the fact that she's my daughter and that tops everything. While I don't like her behavior at times, there's never a time when I don't love her.

One of the announcements that Father made at the end of Mass was to not forget to get the weekly bulletin -- it contained lots of interesting reading materials! That got a chuckle from the congregation and it seemed lots of people took him up on his advice, including us (not that we don't get a weekly bulletin anyway). Reading it in the car waiting to exit the parking lot, I noticed a blurb by Fr. Beres announcing that he was giving away an HO scale train set. That would be right up N's alley, seeing as he pretty much lives and breathes trains. (After calling him the next day, I found out that someone had already claimed it. The called Sunday morning. It was already gone by the time we read the announcement.)

When we got home, I changed, ate my lunch and N and I took a trip to Lowe's (after another tantrum by M, this time over her lost government project). I wanted to get another hanging basket for the deck, as well as another shepherd's crook from which to hang the flowers. While we were there, I decided to get a few perennial flowers for the backyard to plant along the tree line. I picked out some Jethro Tull Tickseed for their bright color and am hoping they're deer resistant. (I later found out they are when a family of deer made their way through the backyard, stopping briefly by the plants, but passing them by for other greenery) N, seeing that I was picking out a plant, also wanted to pick out a plant of his own, so he picked one out too. His isn't nearly as colorful (at least at the moment), but we'll find out in time I suppose. After very little debate, he decided to pick out a Palace Purple Coral Bell (actually, I tried to offer alternatives from the flowering perennials, but he wouldn't change his mind).

On the way out to the parking lot, N saw a plane landing at Dulles and asked if we could go to the airport. Since Dulles is only 10 minutes up the road (and we had nothing better to do the rest of the afternoon), I pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the airport. After leaving 28, I found the toll road was a parking lot. Typically I'll make a few passes around the arrival/departure circle and then call it a day, but with the traffic, we were only able to make one pass. On the way back to 28, I decided to make a detour to see what the general aviation terminal held in store. Boy, were we in luck. No only could we see the planes (sort of) up close, we also saw two "Army" planes (I say "Army" as that's what N calls them because they had a camouflage paint scheme). Turning around, we made our way back to 28 and headed home. On a whim, I stopped off at the Air and Space Museum to see if we could see any planes landing up close and personal. (The entrance to the museum takes you just past the end of runway R36, so the planes are pretty low.) We didn't see any planes landing on the way in, so on the way back out, we paused for about 10 minutes at a stop sign and watched 4-5 smaller planes land. We rolled down the windows to hear the roar of the engines as the planes made their way towards the end of their flight.

On the way home we saw a few Canada geese goslings on the exit ramp to Westfield Boulevard. N was quite impressed with them (and even mentioned them later on at dinner). All in all it was a great outing. It's not that we did anything exciting, but just sharing in the wonders of the world around us made it all the more memorable.

When we got home, I planted the flowers, as well as N's plant before starting dinner. Since we were originally supposed to have gone to my mom's for dinner for Rudy's birthday, I didn't shop for anything for Sunday dinner. Once those plans were changed, I decided I was going to make dinner with what we had, regardless of what that was. As it turned out, there were a couple of steaks in the freezer from Christmas, as well as some stuffed baked potatoes (both thanks to D's brother). I cooked these, added some fruit salad and D made some corn on the cob. It was a good dinner for all (except for N, who had his standard CN, FF & K -- chicken nuggets, French fries and ketchup if you must know).

After dinner, since it was still somewhat early, I suggested a family bike ride. I meant it to be a quick trip around the block, but M had other plans. She was determined to make it to a playground and since she couldn't earlier, I agreed with her on this trip. Making the turn, however, N hit a rut and lost control of his bike. He wiped out and re-skinned his knee (the same one he skinned earlier when he imitated Jimmy and tried to ride his bike without hands while clapping at the same time). Not to worry, though, this is N. After hugs from D and I, he was back up and on his bike in no time. As I said earlier, he's not easily injured and, when he does wreck, will almost always get right back on and keep on going. This will probably give me an ulcer from worrying about him, but I guess that's what parents have to do as their children grow up and learn to navigate the world around them.

Day 75 - 05/06/2007

Hey! I just noticed that today is 5.6.7!

We spent the day in the car. Yet another weekend morning where I had to set the alarm. This morning we left the house at 815a for a trip down to Richmond for Josh's First Communion. We got there a bit early (about 10a) as traffic was pretty much non-existent. That's alright though, I'd much rather have been early than late, especially under the circumstances. When we arrived, 9a Mass was just letting out, so finding a spot took a little time. I dropped off D and the kids to use the facilities and went in search of a spot. After one lap I found a prime spot. It was in the shade and right on the street, which made for an easy exit after Mass

Afterwards we went to the Jefferson Hotel for their champagne brunch, which was fantastic. Not only was the food delicious, but plentiful. There was everything from eggs (cooked to order or as Eggs Jefferson -- sort of like Eggs Benedict, but w/ a biscuit vs. an English muffin), grits, potatoes, sausage and bacon to smoked salmon, prime rib, ham, oysters, shrimp and mussels to all kinds of lunch dishes and desserts. I think between the twelve of us, we tried everything that was offered. My favorites would have to be the Eggs Jefferson, the grits and the oysters, although from the look of my plates, nothing went to waist...er...uh...waste. (EVERYTHING went to my waist after that meal!)

I'm not sure whether the kids loved the unlimited Belgian waffles (with all the sweet toppings), the desserts or the elevator the best (we were on the balcony overlooking the atrium). After about three or four plates of waffles and desserts, they were done eating (taking the elevator down and back up each time) they stopped eating and starting taking the elevator up and down just for the fun of it, although after a while, we had to put the kibosh on it as they were starting to get a little too rambunctious.

Brunch was a great idea. I'll not go into the details here, but suffice it to say that not all of us get along, so having it at a neutral location meant we didn't really have to spend one-on-one time and it allowed the conversation to flow unimpeded. It also confirmed the fact that getting an invitation to the new home won't be in the cards anytime soon: If there ever was a reason to invite us back to the house, this one was probably it.

We hit the road again and made the long slog north. It really wasn't that long, but after a big meal and not enough sleep, I was beginning to feel tired. We stopped off at Costco in Fred for some gas and I picked up an iced coffee at McD's (which took darn near forever). Fortunately traffic was pretty light (with the exception of a few spots) and we were home at a somewhat decent hour. The kids had some dinner, but D and I were still too full from brunch to even consider it.

Day 61 - 04/22/2007

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Yes, I realize it's April, and that Christmas is in December, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the playoffs. Multiple OTs, higher intensity play by all four lines (and even some questionable plays made by back up goalies on a certain team from Calgary): There's nothing quite like it.

Of course, since the Caps aren't playing (well, not playing hockey, that is, I'm sure they have their pick of tee times), I'm free to root for teams I normally wouldn't support.

Tonight's tilt comprises the Detroit vs. Calgary (the Red Wings are leading the series 3-2). So far, the team scoring first has won each game. We'll see if that continues tonight; Calgary just scored the first goal of the game. I won't mind if the Flames win tonight, as long as the Red Wings win the series. I'd love to see them play Buffalo (or Ottawa) in the finals (but, as I say every year, as long as the series are exciting, it doesn't much matter). Watching the playoffs on Tivo is even better. I'm able to start the game a little late and then catch up over the course of the game. Intermission isn't anywhere near the 20 minutes it is at the arena. Ah, the beauty of Tivo.

But that's what's going on this evening. Let's go back to this morning and catch up.

M and N were up late last night taking advantage of Britany babysitting. When we got home from bowling, N was still up and M had yet to fall into deep sleep. N woke up about normal time, but M didn't get up until about 930a. Since D was meeting Sheri and Janene for brunch, I decided we'd (M, N and I) would go for a bike ride. Down to Walney Pond. No, down the trail the other way to the Parkway. No, scratch that one, too: We would go to Burke Lake. After loading our bikes on the van (which was a pain as the bike rack didn't fit the van as it does a regular car -- the top straps had to be jerry-rigged to the roof rack vs. the top of the rear door) and loading snacks and drinks in the backpack (as well as M loading her backpack with snacks and drinks of her own), we made our way (gingerly, so as the bikes wouldn't fall off the rack) to Burke Lake. Upon arriving, we unloaded and mounted our bikes, only to stop every 20 yards or so to investigate something or another. After about a mile or so of this, we finally got going. It went much better than I expected, although some of the hills gave both M and N fits, forcing them off their bikes and walking up the hill.

During one of our stops, we saw a heron eating a frog for breakfast (brunch? lunch?). At another, we saw ants dragging away a rolypoly for a future meal (or so I would think). Later on, we saw people feeding Canada geese, completely oblivious to the sign right in front of them requesting that they please not feed the waterfowl. Oh, I get it, it's okay as long as you're doing it for the opportunity of getting a pic of your 3 year old daughter getting molested by half-dozen Canada geese because she's got a bag of popcorn and they want it. That makes it alright...I guess.

What I most enjoyed about the ride was the opportunity to teach them how to ride in a public environment. There were runners and bikers and walkers (and dogs) galore. Before heading out (as well as throughout the ride), I stressed the importance of riding in a courteous manner (e.g., keeping to the right, announcing when you pass, riding single file, etc.). For the most part, they both understood (or at least did as I asked them too), although it irked me when others on the trail didn't do the same, especially the kid on his bike passing us w/o announcing while we wee in the middle of two-way traffic. I gave him a verbal dose of what-for, but it probably fell on deaf ears; I noticed white wires coming from underneath his helmet as he rode away indicating that he probably wasn't deaf, but he definitely wasn't hearing what I had to say.

After (finally!) arriving back at the parking lot, we dropped off our backpacks and made our way over to the playground. N talked me into getting an ice cream cone for the three of us by agreeing to sample a fig newton. Yes, we have to bribe him to eat cookies (although in his defense, I didn't care all that much for them as a kid either). This was but another stop on the road to getting him to expand his palate. I got a race track set for him last summer in Illinois and was planning on giving it to him for Christmas. Christmas came and went and I completely forgot about it. Now that we've made progress in other areas (e.g., losing the training wheels, getting rid of his bed guard), I thought now would be a great time to make progress on the food front (although both the training wheels and the bed guard were his doing, so maybe we'll have to wait for his palate to expand on his schedule). So, I told him I'd give him his mystery gift once he started eating his fruits and vegetables. So what did he do? He negotiated with me to give him hints whenever he tried something new. So far, he's tried chocolate covered almonds (it's got wheels), honey nut cheerios (it's on a track) and this afternoon, fig newtons (no hint, he got an ice cream cone instead). This evening, we had canned peaches (from Illinois, not from Del Monte) for dinner. As always, I gave him a small piece and holy hell broke loose (the "as always" referred to both giving him a small piece as well as holy hell breaking loose).

Anyway, we were at Burke Lake, weren't we? Yes, sampling a fig newton in exchange for an ice cream cone. After licking our way to the bottom of our cones (and me helping N with getting his cone from melting all over his hand because he wasn't licking it fast enough), both N and M played on the play set for about 15 minutes while I sat back and watched the world go by.

On the way back home, I decided to go home via Clifton Road. It's not as short a route as 123 to the Parkway, but it's designated a Virginia Scenic Byway, which is much better than the regular way. Plus the houses back there are pretty impressive (which distracted the kids enough so that they weren't grousing about how long it was taking to get home). It's not often that I get in a Sunday drive (literally in this case) with the kids in the car; I'm glad they were busy looking at the scenery (and M didn't ask once about watching a DVD!).

We made it back home just in time to finish lunch (leftover pizza for them, a pork chop and egg noodles for me) before D got back from brunch. After a quick change, I went out and finished up the deck. I was able to finish the rest of the deck and the chairs just in time for the power washer to run out of gas.

Day 47 - 04/08/2007

Happy Easter!

We went to 9a Mass and after we got home, packed up the car and headed down to Fred for Easter Dinner at D's parents house. We drove separately since I had to work this week, so D and the kids went in the van and I drove by myself in the Altima. Since Lent was over, I was able to enjoy my hillbilly music shows that air on 88.5 on Sundays. As much as I like to listen to these shows on Sunday's, I don't always get my way. This time, I had over an hour of it. Oh Joy!

Dinner was excellent, as usual. Nancy made a ham, green beans and potatoes and sweet potatoes and Stacey brought cranberry stuff (her name, not mine). It would be great with a big ol' scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, especially if the cranberry stuff was as warm as it was at the dinner table. It was a medley of cranberries, apples and raisins topped with oats and then baked to perfections. It was good! For dessert I stuck with coffee. D and the kids made the Bunny Cake again this year, but seeing as I'm not a big fan of chocolate cake, I decided to pass. Anyway, I was too stuffed from my two plates full of food to want to eat anything else.

On the way home, 95 was moving along until just before the exit for 17. I decided not to take any chances and got on the exit ramp. It was a good thing I did as further up, I could see traffic stopped and three emergency vehicles driving up the shoulder of the highway. It was at that moment that I decided I would go 17 to 28 and in order to avoid Gainesville, but I would cut off of 17 on a back road that Stephen told me about that would put me on 28 just north of Catlett. I called him up for directions and was able to make good time until I got behind a couple of cars travelling just below the speed limit. It wouldn't have been so bad had the car directly in front of me not been a truck. If it were a small car, at least I could see around it, but it was a pickup truck with stuff in the back. The first chance I had, I passed both of them and was again the only car on the road.

The ride home on the back country roads was made better with what was on the radio. Sunday nights on 88.5 are filled with old time radio shows; tonight they had Jack Benny's Easter Parade, Gunsmoke and Dragnet. It made the trip much more enjoyable as it reminded me of what radio must have been like back when it was the main form of entertainment for the masses. It's interesting to listen as it gives you a sense of what was acceptable back then and how much society has changed over the years.

I got home in just over an hour and Butterfly was glad to see me. I fed her, turned on the TV and settled in to watch some Sopranos. No, it wasn't the season premiere of the 8th (and final) season, it was an episode from season two that had been Tivo'd. We don't subscribe to HBO, so the 8th season will have to wait a few years. That's alright, it'll wait.