Summertime!

Wow! What an eventful 2 days. Quinn finished kindergarten yesterday. His report card was wonderful. His actual birthday, of course, was today. He took Papa Jack and Grandma Freddie's birthday money, combined it with some other money he had saved, and bought himself two really great gifts. The sprinkler car wash (depicted in the baby butt photo) was a big hit with Jack, too. Quinn also marked his 6th birthday in a big way.

He lost his first tooth while enjoying his birthday McDonald's cheeseburger! It had been loose for at least 10 days or so and it was only a matter of time.

The boys are looking forward to the arrival of their cousin Travis who will be flying in next Tuesday. Their dad is anxiously awaiting his first vacation in 2 years. We all leave on July 5. No worries, though. I hope to post vacation pics while we're in Ocean City.

The Morning After (Party Hangover)

By popular demand, here are videos of the bouncy house (VIPs only for the pre-party) and the master carnival worker perfecting his craft. Check out his one handed technique. Brilliant!

The Birthday Post (continued)

The Most Awesomest Bestest Craziest Birthday Ever!

Whew! We're beat but it was a great day. Everyone was impressed (including the parents) with the goodies. Fresh cotton candy made by yours truly, snow cones made to order and a huge birthday cake Cindy spent a total of 3-4 hours making. We had the bouncy house, limbo and the sprinkler. The weather was perfect.

By my count, there were 6 injuries. One was a little worrisome (beanbag in the eye from our beanbag toss game), one involved only hurt feelings and the other 4 were pretty much what you'd expect including Quinn's temporarily debilitating ankle sprain. After sitting inside the bouncy house for 10 minutes, though, wouldn't you know it? He was fine.

"Meema" Jeanne and Papa Jeff were a big help. Most parents felt compelled to help too because they realized the danger of letting soaking wet kids jump in the bouncy house. Letting them all feel a little afraid for their children was a great way to get everyone to chip in. Way to go team!

Quinn made out very well with his haul of presents. We'll be getting into them tomorrow for sure.

Update about next update - The next website update will be late Saturday or Sunday ... Right after Quinn's big birthday party. It will be chaos

Daily Occurrence

5:30 p.m. -- fury from above has become a daily routine here

Father's Day (the boys have to do what I want)

This morning, I took the boys on a "nature walk". There's a great little trail for kids only 5 miles or so from here that leads to a waterfall. This time of year, the waterfall has pretty much run its course (it's fueled primarily by snowmelt and spring rain but will persist with some rain). They enjoyed every part of it including Quinn's splinter, the tick scare and of course, Jack's need for an "au naturel" diaper change in the woods. Now I know what Jack and bears have in common.

Day at the Kids' Museum

The boys went to the local Children's Museum today. We got a sneek peak of the new Mastodon exhibit. The first photo shows Quinn standing next to it. The skeleton was initially found by a little girl digging in her backyard right here in Hyde Park, NY in 1999. The formal visit will be ready for the public in the fall.

Other photos -- Jack in a fire engine --- Railroad trestle just north of the Mid Hudson Bridge which, by August 2009, will be converted into a walkway / bikepath approximately 2oo feet above the Hudson River --- "hall of mirrors" type photo --- video of boys making superbubbles.

Power on means more posts!

Power returned at 3 p.m. yesterday (18 hour outage for us). There are still some people without it and some schools in the area have been closed for the last two days. Not Highland though! The field day must go on!

Yesterday, I took the day off from work to go to the kindergarten picnic and watch the races. Here is one pic and one video of Quinn in action. The other is of Jack and Quinn in a post-race lounge act.

Wednesday 1:45 pm - Bryan's contact at power company says everything should be back to normal by 6:00 pm. Fridge contents emptied into coolers.

Power still out! Vivid t-storms knocked power went out at 9:15 pm Tuesday. It is now 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. A..M. Radio keeping morale high.

Blackout strikes Highland! Oppressive heat fuels big t-storms! Lamb cooked Saturday eaten!

Let's eat the sacrificial lamb!

Our neighbors are Greek diner owners. They were celebrating a graduation today in style. A freshly killed lamb was set for slow cooking on a spit. Quinn enjoyed watching the gutting from afar. He was a little concerned when we went for a closer look and noticed its eyeballs and jaw still intact --- mostly. Can't wait to eat it!

My name is ... My name is ... (not Slim Shady)

This is fun.

Highland United Soccer Club

Like all 5 year olds, Quinn is a two-sport athlete. Here is in his Highland United soccer gear. Pictured with Quinn in one of the photos is his friend and classmate Calen Sullivan (nephew to my friend from college, Chris Ryan). The video is of the blooper variety. Sorry lady.