December 29, 2010: A Frozen Potomac

The Potomac has been freezing at night lately.  On the other side of the bridge it's frozen more solidly, but here, just off of the Mall, it's only been freezing at night.  The result is pretty cool, and the water this time of year is about as clear as you'll see it, so I thought it made an interesting picture.

December 19, 2010: A Shaved Mutt

The dog got his Christmas early, part of which was traumatic for the poor boy--a very close shave, a new bed, and a festive green sweater to keep him warm now that he's nearly bald.

December 17, 2010: Of Nativity Scenes and a Fat Man in a Red Suit

The kids took part in a pretty well-done Nativity play at the church Christmas party tonight.  Bubba didn't like sitting on Santa's lap much, so Santa invited ME to sit on his lap with the baby.  Evidence of that spectacle is, unfortunately, held hostage for the time being on the missus' misbehaving phone.  I'll add it here when I get it.

December 16, 2010: The Office Holiday Party

No crazy hi-jinks from me at the office party.  This is me heading for the door.  Good food and good peeps, but the egg nog cheesecake did me in, and I wanted to get home to see my little sis, who arrived earlier in the day for a very short visit.  How do you like the Santa in training look with the candy cane tie?  Very festive, isn't it?

December 12, 2010: A Festive Metro Station

In the picture, it looks a bit like a giant fish tank, but it's actually the station manager's post at the Metro stop near my office. A particularly jolly manager decorated it her little office with lights and even put ribbons, bows, and wreaths on the railings. One morning, she even had Christmas music blaring. I haven't heard it since. I wonder if a scrooge complained about everybody enjoying a holiday he or she doesn't like.

December 11, 2010: The Climber

We have a new climbing pro in our house. The little guy has been climbing onto anything he can. Stairs, tables, chairs, stools, the possibilities for fun, and stitches, are endless.

December 10, 2010: There's a Sleeping Kid in There Somewhere

My 4 year old daughter has been sleeping under her covers, as in all the way under. I guess she's not claustrophobic, eh? I wouldn't be able to stand it.

December 9, 2010: Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Unfortunately, no. It's my primary means of transportation for a while unless I finally get a stronger battery for the motorcycle--a battery that doesn't mind cold.

December 8, 2010: At Least Metro Isn't Crowded At Night

I worked a bit late tonight, and had to take Metro again, because I left the bike at home to suffer in the cold without me on it.  I snapped this with my phone on my way to the platform.

December 7, 2010: A Cold December Night

I gave up on the motorcycle the past couple of days. It's just too cold, and I'm not adequately equipped yet. As with everything, there's just too much additional gear involved. If the forecast predicts temps above 40, however, I'll hope to ride. The first items on the gear list are a stronger battery for cold starts and some better gloves.

December 4, 2010: Christmas Lights at the Mormon Temple

We went with some friends to the Washington, DC Mormon temple so the kids could see the lights.  Skeeter was more interested in his bottle than the lights, but at least he didn't turn into an ankle biting popsicle. 
He looks a lot more innocent bundled in his stroller than he did earlier in the day sitting on the dog's head.  We're lucky to have the world's most tolerant dog.  Captain Hook received his first torture at the hands of our first boy when we let the kid name him.  (If you're taking notes, don't let a 3 year old name dog, or you too might end up with a dog with a ridiculous name like "Captain Hook.")  Few days have passed since then when the boy didn't torture the dog in some way.  Unfortunately for Captain, he has another boy to contend with now, a one year old who has taken to treating the dog like a much more fun and interactive version of one of his teddy bears.

Yes, I park my bike in the master bedroom.

December 3, 2010: From the My Wife is Crazy File...

She invited 17 kids to come watch The Polar Express in their pajamas, complete with a hot chocolate bar.  I thought she was nuts to want to do that, but the kids had fun, they weren't nearly as obnoxious as I thought they'd be, and they had a great time. OK, fine, I'll admit it--the kids were actually incredibly well behaved considering the fact that there were 17 of them hopped up on sugar.

December 1, 2010: A Kid and Her Dog; A Kid and Her Ornaments

We woke up to a raging rain storm this morning, but our basement was spared the flooding it suffered last spring. We got lucky--I haven't cleaned out the stairwell where the drain was clogged with leaves in floods past. The kids must have grabbed my phone and snapped this one of my little girl and the mangy dog. We decorated our tree that night.

November 25, 2010: Happy Thanksgiving!

It occurred to me today that gluttony is an odd way to express gratitude. But I'm not complaining.

November 24, 2010: The Other Tooth is Gone

But the kid doesn't know when he lost it--again.

November 17, 2010: Fall Colors in DC

I rode in early to work this morning.  The sun shone almost straight down Pennsylvania Avenue and really lit up this tree. 

November 12, 2011: Flag Football Season One is Done

L's flag football team had their end-of-season party at a local pizza joint. All in all, it was a pretty awesome first football experience. The boy was one of only two first graders on a team of second graders. He wasn't the fastest, but by the end of the season, he figured out that he could read the offense by just watching kids' eyes. That strategy helped him get four "tackles" for a loss in the last game. He was pretty proud of himself, and his older teammates really made him feel good about himself. Could football displace baseball as his favorite sport? Time will tell.

November 11, 2011: The Boy Can't Walk, But He Can Climb

Baby C--Doing his best to hurt himself on a daily basis now.

November 9, 2010: One Tooth Down

The boy lost one of his front teeth at school today, but he doesn't know where it went. He wouldn't pull it for fear it would hurt.  I'm pretty sure the tooth fairy will find him anyway.

November 5, 2010: Fall has Fallen on Mason Neck

November 4, 2010: Rainy Days = Aggravation

Rainy days land me on the Metro, which isn't the first ingredient to a great day.  

November 3, 2010: Babies Can't Play Football

I took the two littlest rug rats to watch their big bro's flag football practice.  They were much more interested in participating than sitting in their seats to watch.  

October 29, 2010: Girl Pirate or....

Wench. I prefer to say "girl pirate," but I suppose "girl pirates" were known as wenches in their day. Is she cute or what? This is my baby girl's Halloween costume parade at her preschool.

October 24, 2010: El Templo

My cousin and her husband were in town for a conference.  She wanted to see the DC Mormon temple up close, so we stopped by on our way back to their hotel.  

October 21, 2010: A Beautiful Fall Morning

I often miss the peace I always found on top of mountains.  Every once in a while, if I'm there long before the crowds descend, I can find a little bit of that feeling on the Mall early in the morning.  So once again, and it probably won't be the last time, I'll say fall is the best of the four seasons in DC.

October 13, 2010: Fall in DC

This could become an annoying recurring theme: fall in the DC area is the best time of the year.

October 11, 2010: City Slickers Pay to Work

We took the kids apple picking in Maryland.  Yes, we paid grocery store prices for apples that we had to pick ourselves.  Could anything be more yuppie city slicker than that?  Probably not, but at least they were good apples.

October 8, 2010: A Non-Overnight Overnight Campout

Our church congregation organized a little one-night camping excursion in nearby Clifton, VA.  We weren't able to stay the night due to an early morning flag football game the next day, but we went to eat dinner and let the kids enjoy getting gooey with marshmallows by the fire.  The weather was perfect for it.  Too bad it isn't that pleasant in the summer when we usually do our camping thing.

October 5, 2010: Loving It

I'm in week 4 of my new program, I'm seeing progress... and now I think I'm getting sick.  Always something to derail progress at the gym (usually it's work).  I need to figure out how to just make about 16 weeks of focused effort happen for me.

October 2, 2010: Agritourism is Great For Farmers

I was introduced to a new experience today: agritourism.  I know it's been around for a while now, and I know that my family has gone without me plenty of times to these seasonal farm amusement parks, but this was my first time.  We went to Belvedere Plantation in Fredericksburg.  The guy in the picture is taking advantage of the deal on pumpkins that no bargain minded pumpkin picker can pass up--all you can carry for $25.  It was a spectacle.  And no, my first agritourism experience, as fun as it was, probably wasn't worth the $60 it cost me.  My little girl might disagree.

September 14, 2010: I Love the Blackened Harleys

But if I were actually in the market, I'd probably opt for the beefier and more unique Victory Hammer.

September 11, 2010: Nothing Like Little Kids and Ice Cream

September 7, 2010: New Digs at the Office & Day 1 of 1st Grade

Our big 1st Grader on his way out the door to the bus stop.

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I came back from vacation to a brand spankin' new office.  I have three times the desk space to mess up compared to my old office, and I'm loving it.  BIG improvement.

September 6, 2010: Some Peace

My first day in the woods this "fall."  I'm not posting the picture here that I liked best, a certain friend lounging 12 feet in the air in a plastic patio chair we took from an old campsite frequented by homeless people and underage drinkers.  This is the view from my own seat in the leaves.

September 5, 2010: Go Home!

The kids made sure we included a stop at Gravedigger's house on the way home.

September 4, 2010: This is Why We Didn't Want to Leave For the Storm

Weather on Saturday was perfect--much better than being home early due to Earl.

A little target practice too.

September 3, 2010: Earl Was a Girl

We decided to ride out the hurricane at the beach house.  I admit it would have proven a very stupid move if the hurricane had actually hit the OBX where we were with its full strength, but then again, I'd also bet that if there were a strong chance of that happening, they would have asked the locals to leave too.

We did our best to barricade the media room and set it up as our safe room in case we needed it.  We didn't.

There was a bit of flooding in low-lying areas, but this was the worst I saw.

And as fast as the storm came, it was gone.  The kids definitely didn't let Earl spoil their fun.

September 2, 2010: A Storm Brewing

September 1, 2010: Catching Sunrises But Not Waves

Hit the beach early to attempt some fishing.  I didn't catch anything, but it's always worth it to be on the beach at sunrise, and I got a great picture of Mr. McC.  I attempted surfing for my first time too.  I very nearly stood up on my first wave, but subsequent attempts were not even close to successful.  Just paddling out in the pre-hurricane currents was more than I could consistently accomplish.