A Halloween Ditty

Jack spontaneously started singing a song he learned in school this week. We sing along with him and it produces moments like this.




In other news, the Walkway Over The Hudson opened for business on October 3, 2009. It is the world's highest and I believe longest elevated pedestrian walkway and it connects the two sprawling metropolises Highland, NY (hey! that's our town!) and Poughkeepsie, NY. It is a converted train trestle which has been out of operation for about 33 years. It is impressive and has been very popular in its opening weeks. Grandma Jeanne did a quick tour before she had to - ahem - go. Uncle Kevin will get the full tour this weekend with Papa Jeff getting his next month.

Jack is thriving in school and he hasn't been the same since it started. His brain is mushrooming and it is a cause for celebration and, yes, new challenges for Mommy and Daddy.

Quinn has achieved perfect scores on all of his spelling tests thus far which include words like appreciated, people and other surprising hard words for 7 year olds.

One more go 'round in Hershey Park

Hershey is a nice town and a great park. Note to Papa Jeff - I went on two coasters unlike anything I've ever been on before. One of them was genuinely heartstopping. There were 4 others I just didn't get the chance to ride, one of which could've been crazier than the two I did.

Speaking of coasters, I'm proud to report that BOTH boys rode their first coaster - The Trailblazer. There were several tight turns with definite g-forces which Quinn loved and Jack was very uncertain about - until the end when we rallied around him and told him he did it! Then he thought he was cool. The coaster was just Cindy's speed.

Chocolate World was a whirlwind. We didn't go on the actual factory tour ($) but we did go on the "experience" which was much more kid friendly and free. And yes, they did give away free samples (2 kisses each).

The water park which is right inside the amusement park was a much bigger hit with Quinn than Jack. Quinn has become supremely confident in the water and he loved the wave pool. Jack was okay with it but didn't mind when it was over.

Jack loved lots of other rides. Quinn managed to take one blurry photo of the parents - nearly accidentally smashing the camera thereafter.

We will definitely return. It wasn't too far although the 3.5 hour ride at times did take on a neverending feel with the boys' behavior deteriorating with every passing mile.

Chocolate World

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From Bryan's handheld

The Schneiders & Weinsteins go to Hershey Park

Oh, the fun that is traveling with little kids. In the park, the boys are great (mostly)! In the car, hotel, restaurants, gas stations ... They are our kids!

The wave pool was a big hit, the Kissing Tower was fun & $10 lightsabers were a bargain.

Better pics will come to the site when we get home.

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From Bryan's handheld

Summer Breeze

This weekend. we re-created a trip we took Quinn on 4 years ago. We took both boys for a ride on the ol' timey Delaware & Ulster Railroad in the heart of the Catskills. That smilin' boy you see in the photo is genuine proof of the joy that accompanies riding a train for the first time (whistle and all). That was taken just as we departed the station.

The photo of both boys was taken in a place very familiar to the Schneider side of the family -- 156 feet below ground in Howe Caverns where it's always a cool 52 degrees (which was one of the reasons we went yesterday). Riding the River Styx (the actual name of the underground tributary) was fun for them too. Who knew geology could be so exciting?

The sunflower photo is a testament to the single greatest botanical achievement of the summer. Our lavendar bush or whatever did real well too but Cindy finally got her sunflowers. Notice the the bricklaying job framing out the garden. Not bad for someone who doesn't know anything about gardening, building, fixing or making anything.

Enter The Dragon

After 5 months of diligent attendance (and occasional practice at home), Quinn obtained his first color belt. His performance at his last evaluation was impressive. He really knows his "forms" and is very respectful of his Master. Note to Grandmas - double click the photo to enlarge the size.

Summer is breezing by. Quinn is a stronger swimmer and Jack really knows how to scream loud. Our lawn is sufficiently horrendous but our sunflowers are really looking good. I am trying to flush out the large snake living under our air conditioning unit with moth balls.

Cindy's Book

Cindy recently began the process of contacting literary agents to represent her and her manuscript. It is a challenging process. That is why we were all very excited Cindy received a positive response from one of the first two agents in New York she contacted. The response invited her to send in a substantial part of the book for the agent's reading. This invitation came after Cindy sent a "query letter" which is a concise, persuasive letter that basically sells the book in one page.

This of course is just the beginning. There are many steps on the path to becoming a published author. We are all celebrating this positive first response nonetheless.

FYI - the agency showing early interest represents the author of the "True Blood" vampire series currently running on HBO.

Quinn turns 7

Quinn's birthday party was at a local amusement / arcade center. We've had rain 20 out of the last 23 days so it was a wise choice. The weather that day was lousy but spirits were not dampened in the least. We learned the value of having his parties before the school year ends, before kids and families get outta Dodge for summer vacation.

Quinn chose 8 friends (that was the limit set by Mom and Dad) but many more would have come. He is very popular with boys and girls. Pizza, cake, sugar out of a bag -- the kids loved it. They played games and "mined" for gems. Jack's eyes were big as saucers playing air hockey (we put him on a stool).

We're doing the family birthday dinner on Friday 6/26 which is his actual birthday. He did great in first grade having just finished the school year today.

The other video is of Jack playing Wii boxing. It's amusing.

Field Day 2009

What do New York State teachers do with their students as the school year winds down and they have grown tired of herding? Why, have them run relay races, of course! Parents are welcome and the grill gets fired up. The kids love it.

Trip to Vermont

We enjoyed our 3 days in Vermont with Gramma Jeanne and Papa Jeff. We went swimming (indoor pool - Lake Champlain was an invigorating 47 degrees), rode the bike trail, went to ECHO (an aquarium focused almost exclusively on Lake Champlain - see the video for one of the new exhibits - it's funny) and played the Wii with Gramma! They live in a quaint Vermont town and people are friendly there, for sure.

Jack followed their cats around, repeating one of his favorite Kansas activities. Quinn didn't want to leave. He stayed with Gramma and Papa overnight too. He excelled at Papa Jeff''s dazzling number of computer pinball games.

We can't wait to see them again soon.

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From Bryan's handheld

On our way to Papa Jeff & Gramma Jeanne

Here are the boys on the Lake Champlain Ferry. This is the 400th anniversary of the Lake's discovery by Europeans. There are going to be celebrations all summer long including up & down the Hudson River where we live. Samuel de Champlain traveled the river & found the lake.

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From Bryan's handheld

It's Elementary! This kicks ---!

Ok, ok. I know what you're thinking. "Two posts of Bryan in a row? I thought this blog was dedicated to the boys. His ego is really getting to be too much!" Hey, I didn't ask the butterfly to land on my head. Nor did I ask our friend to draw me in historical context.

Long story short - one of Cindy's friends had a matter that required my assistance. I took care of it on a courtesy basis (free of charge). Her husband, Alan Dingman, is an exceptional artist having completely illustrated a Stephen King children's book (yes, he wrote one) and painted a portrait of Tiger Woods for Golf Digest (Tiger personally approved it). Alan has sold many of his works.

She aked if I would like Alan to sketch / draw me as a token of their appreciation. I was flattered and naturally didn't think much of it until he personally followed up with me and requested a photo. I directed him to my Facebook / LinkedIn profiles because we were visiting Kansas at the time and those were readily available pics of me. Cindy always told me how talented he was but I never had the opportunity to see any of his work. Until tonight. After laying his gift on me, he showed me numerous other works. They are all very impressive.

For those who can, compare my Facebook photo to the drawing. The face is identical. The Sherlock Holmes theme was my response to his request for a character or historical figure to model the drawing after.

Da Bronx Zoo #2

A cool video (if I do say so myself). There are technical difficulties preventing me from posting more pics of the day right now. I'll do so later or tomorrow.

Da Bronx Zoo

The Bronx Zoo is still an impressive place to spend the day. I'm going to put up a couple of posts to show all of the good photos and movies.

The Butterfly House was hands down the best attraction of the day. They are everywhere! A monarch butterfly landed on my head. I was a popular guy for that 5 minutes. Unfortunately, the reduced size of the movies will not do justice to the exhibit.

Quinn took the opportunity to live among prairie dogs in their den. See the photo of him in the plexiglass enclosure on the hill. Some of the babies were so tiny.

Jack befriended - and then was scared of - a peacock who joined us for lunch --- really really close.

The polar bear and tiger exhibits were obviously awesome. The photos are good but cannot bring them to life the way we saw them. The same can be said of the urinating baboons who also favored us with another of their "hairy palm" activities. There are no photos of either activity.

The snakes were scary. A 400 lb anaconda was the star of the show. There were an array of Egyptian cobras too. Yikes! The one that took the cake though was the green vinesnake. Even his tongue was green.

The boys held up well in what was easily the warmest day thus far. We won't be planning our trip to Disneyworld too soon though.

Quinn Lee! Keeeeeee-yahhhhhhh!

Quinn is enjoying a phenomenal week. Watch this feat of super judo strength. Keee-yah!

Look Ma! No hands! * (* ok, he used his hands but it's still great)

What an amazing day! After only several attempts, Quinn is now officially a member of the bicycling community. Cindy was floored at how quickly he did it. Daddy was too and had to see the first moments via choppy cell phone movie. We are very proud of Quinn. He continues to lose baby teeth like it's going out of style, read books well beyond his grade level, get great report cards and grow up in so many other ways we can't even keep track.

Kansas Re-rewind

More pics of the big trip out to the Heartland. Hey Freddie! Little Jack and I are going to get our bird feeders tomorrow.

Kansas Rewind

We had a nice visit with all of the Kansas family (even with Kim). All of the little ones are coming along just great and we're so proud of the Miller "kids". Papa Jack and "Gramma" Freddie certainly got a jolt of energy with little naked Jack running wild whenever he could. And boy, did Freddie spoil us with some real country cookin'! Quinn made fast friends with Jacob and was thrilled to watch cousin Caleb master computer games. Quinn literally cried on the way to the airport because he didn't want to leave.

This is the first post of some pics from the trip. I'll put up some more later in the week.

Happy Easter

The meaning of Easter? Why, don't you know? It's the holiday where the Easter Bunny leaves a bunch of eggs and a wind up bunny that poops jellybeans. That's what it says in the Bible anyway.

Just For Freddie

Freddie tells us she's our site's #1 fan. These photos from the plane are just for her (because she needs a fix!).

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From Bryan's Treo

Thatsa muh boy!

Marino, the old Italian barber (he will talk to you in Italian) pictured somewhat in the photo, was the first to cut Jack's hair without Mommy or Daddy in the chair. Jack hated the cape so we always had to dress him down for haircuts and wear the cape ourselves ... until today. Jack definitely wanted to do it like Quinn. Photo courtesy of Cindy's cellphone.

The Age of Innocence

It is with much love for Quinn that we share the card he made for Mommy & Daddy in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Naturally, Quinn could not know how delighted I was to see how supportive he is of man's plight in the world, nay, universe!!!!!!

Double click on the picture to enlarge it for easier reading.

Spring is ... kinda ... sorta ... well it was for a day ... in the air!

Saturday's nice weather required a trip to the playground to work out all of winter's remaining germs. Jack and I got a slight sunburn.

Mr. Miyagi - meet your next student - that gaptoothed kid!

Big doins' down at the dojo! Quinn is officially a student of the martial arts and loves it. There have been two classes thus far but Quinn was given his uniform tonight. Jack is very jealous and loves recreating the simple moves and combinations Quinn shows us when he gets home. Quinn has responded well to the class structure and obediently follows dojo rules requiring "yes sir" answers. It is rewarding to us as parents to see him like this. Naturally, we are confounded by his behavior at home which at times is far from the "yes sir" stuff .... moving on!

Sunday night, one of Quinn's top teeth fell out and the next one is not too far behind. As the photo with both boys shows, Quinn is starting to sprout straight up now.

Photos of Jack are included because he's damn cute.

Father Time is nipping at Daddy's heels

Before you scroll down for the main attraction, please celebrate with us! Our fish is still alive and thriving! After a bout of overfeeding and bulimia (we actually saw her do you know what), we changed out Betty's tank and put her on a diet. We look forward to years of ... her. Ok, now the main event.

First, it was the gray hair. Then came the required suit and tie. Now, it's the glasses which of course round out the lawyer look. I still have 20/20 vision but the strain my eyes felt at the end of the day made it impossible to do things like watch TV or read. So now I have the help I need. Quinn took the photo of me.

Welcome Class of 2024

Today we registered Jack at the nursery school he will attend starting in September. It is the same place Quinn attended with the same teachers. Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. C were happy to see Quinn. Jack will be in class with at least 2 little girlfriends (Sophie is the little blonde in the ponytail in the movie) he sees regularly and we are acquainted with several others. Not much has changed since Quinn was last there which made Jack's orientation easy for them both.