The Duck Brown Blog

2011 Christmas Letter

2011-12-18T18:43:00.001-05:00

The yearly Christmas letter brings with it the challenge of summarizing a year in a way that might be considered somewhat interesting by some percentage of the people who actually read it. But what if it didn't? What if I did not bother to tell you the kids are doing fine in 4th and 2nd grade, that work goes well for both Shelley and me, that we got a new kitten and a new puppy? Those that care probably know these things anyway.

Now that my 41st Christmas is upon me, I've realized that a wonderful and fascinating part of Christmas is that every Christmas links back through the years to a wealth of special memories from Christmases of the past. This connection seems to go beyond nostalgia, tradition, gifts, and common memory and has a unique power that makes this time of year stand out in ways I don't really understand.

In that light, I'd like to present some random moments from Christmas Past. Some of you might remember some of these with me. Some of you will wish I had instead provided more details about the new puppy. Some of you probably gave up on this letter somewhere in the first paragraph. For those still with me, here they are:

- My dad tripping on the stairs in the front of the church during the Christmas Eve service and how quickly some old guy was at his side.

- Attending A Christmas Carol in Raleigh, NC with my fiancé Shelley and how we did not get any of the inside jokes

- Seeing the lights on High Street the first time each year.

- Staying up late putting together a train table because sometimes Santa does not assemble the gifts for you

- Trying to cajole a four month old Golden Retriever puppy and two cats to pose for the annual Christmas photo

- Attending A Christmas Carol on a fifth grade class field trip and being amazed at how the stage rotated.

- Hearing my friend Ross sing "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas" as part of the Beaver Hall Christmas Tape (I wish I could forget this one)
- Being forced to wear an elf costume for the 2nd grade Christmas play that, lets face it, was a dress

- Taking the kids to feed the ducks in Baker Park on Christmas Eve

- Unwrapping gifts from my mom that she had prepared before she died

- The smell of the new guitar Shelley surprised me with

- Being at home with my mom and chicken pox on Christmas Eve while my dad slid the Plymouth Horizon down an icy hill into another car

- Taking jelly cookies each year to an old man who lived nearby

- The various family photo combinations that were always part of Prizer Christmas with my cousins, back when we all lived relatively close by.

- Riding in the firetruck with my grandfather as part of the Fireman's Christmas party

- The new traditions of smoked turkey, lobster tail, and wearing paper crowns from Christmas crackers

- Forcing the kids to wait upstairs for a picture before coming down on Christmas morning

Thank you for indulging me with me this trip through the years. My wish for you is that this Christmas season brings with it happy memories that will be unlocked for you in Christmases yet to come.

Letters To Santa 2011

2011-12-18T10:09:00.000-05:00

I wasn't sure if they would continue the tradition this year, but just as they did in in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 the kids have made an effort to be informative and persuasive in letters to Santa.

Letter To Santa 12\13\11

Dear Santa,

For Christmas I would like some new books, a big track Jr., a nerf shield,some new arrows, and a suprise gift(If you have time). I deserve all this because A:I've gotten good grades. B:I've saved a bunch of Ella's stuff from the dog. C: I got 0 think sheets.D: I've saved the cat from the dog.

From,

Alex

Dear santa,
For Christmas I would like a blue rubber iPod case. Also I would like some nail polish. May I have Christmas tree earrings for Christmas.

I should get these things because I take care of the dog. Also I was good because I practiced my songs. One more reason is because I get good grades at school. Thank you for all off the things you gave me.
love,
ella
P.S. can you bring mitten a new collar?

Charlie

2011-04-18T18:04:00.001-04:00

It was a bright, crisp October Saturday in 1999 when we drove the Paseo to North Raleigh, NC to pick up our puppy. It had been a long two weeks since we had last been there to choose which one we wanted. Of the three females in the litter, one was bold and could climb the steps. One was so laid back and did not even try. One gave it a good effort but could not quite make it.

We chose the third one.

At the time Charlie joined us we were still newlyweds enjoying the life of a young married couple with no kids. She saw all that change when first one, then another baby joined the family. These were mixed blessings since they moved her out of the spotlight, but also became good sources of food and love. She was with us for two moves to eventually wind up in Maryland where she got to know a whole new set of people, and she loved them all. She survived two cats and left a kitten behind. She saw the Paseo replaced by a station wagon which was then replaced by a minivan.

Through all the changes, she was a constant source of companionship and love. It has been two weeks since she's been gone and no one here has totally gotten used to her absence. I doubt we will anytime soon.

When I started on this overly sentimental video my plan was to make it just look at her life. By the time I was done I realized that it was actually a look at all our lives through these past 11 years. This shows how much of a friend she was.

Letters To Santa 2010

2010-12-23T13:13:00.001-05:00

As they did in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 the kids are making their cases to the man up north. This year they did their own typing.

Dear Santa.
For Christmas I would like a stuff dog and a barby doll. Could you please get mind flex for me and my borther Alex. Can you get me a pack of fake finger nails. Also can you get me a nekalas for chirstmas. This is why I should get any presents this year. I was a good girl in ALASkA even though some of it was very boring. I got a wonderful report card at school. I got hamsters and I am taking very good care of them. Most peaple think they are just going to die. But not in my house. I love animals so much that I went to the carnival and won a gold fish in June and yet she is still alive P.S. It is a girl! From Ella!

12\17\10
Dear Santa,
For Christmas I would like Minatourus lego game, Mind flex, ipet and an interesting book. I deseve all this becuase A: I've been very helpful this year.
B: I've behaved around other adults.And C:I've gotten along with other kids.
(Apart from my sister.)

From,
Alex

2010 Christmas Letter

2010-12-20T20:45:00.001-05:00

It was midnight and the sun was shining when I thought to myself 'This would make a great opening sentence for the Christmas letter'. It's not every year that I start working on the letter in July or in Alaska, but then 2010 was not just any old year.

Sure it started out calmly enough with New Year's Day finding us sharing our house with 20 of our closest friends. The resounding quiet after they left lasted into February when we got all the snow that we could ever want, then got it all again a week later.

It only took a few weeks to dig out, then Shelley and I made a long weekend visit to New Orleans. We got to meet my favorite trumpet player, Leroy Jones, and learn how to make gumbo and jambalyaya. We got back in time to take the kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Pennsylvania in May for Alex's eighth birthday.

Our big adventure of the year was a cruise and tour through the Pacific Northwest with 13 Roths, courtesy of my dad (thanks, Dad!). We traveled by ship from Vancouver to Skagaway, then on a variety of trains, busses, and assorted watercraft through the Yukon and Alaska. This was such a once in a 39-year experience (for me at least). You can read about it in more detail and see pictures here.

In August Alex (3rd grade) and Ella (1st grade) started at a new school. They both adjusted well and enjoy their new situations. Sadly, Shelley has not adjusted as well nor does she enjoy the new minivan that carpooling to the new school necessitates.

Not sure if it is because of some latent migratory instinct, but when Ella turned seven in October, back to Pennsylvania we went - this time to make some bears and other assorted creatures in Gettysburg. Luckily in November, my friend Joe brought his football team to Maryland to save us from going to PA one more time.

Along with these events, the year contained the regular ebbs and flows of life in the 21st century. Shelley continues to work at Westat, and will be going back to full time in January. Though she is not yet ready to give up her day job, she has become a recording artist and you can listen to some of her stylings here. Meanwhile, I continue with GetGlue where things have been going well and normal people have started hearing about us.

You can take a look at the virtual version of our 2010 photobook, or better yet, come visit us, see it in person, and maybe even make into the 2011 version.

Best wishes to all of our dear family and friends for the holidays and in the coming year!

Alaska Adventure - Day 9, 10, & 11 - July 10-12, 2010

2010-09-05T10:04:00.002-04:00

Previously: [Day 1] [Day 2] [Day 3] [Day 4] [Day 5] [Day 6] [Day 7] [Day 8]

All my trip photos

"Bags Out" at 6:00 came all too soon, but it was well worth it when we boarded the McKinley Explorer bound for Denali National Park and Preserve. The only train ride I've ever had that comes close to the awe-inspiring scenery of this trip was years ago in Switzlerland (though the Amtrak through New Jersey is nice, too). Breakfast in the diner car was fun and tasty - the best salmon breakfast burrito I've ever had on a train. For the rest of the four hour trip we alternated between looking out the windows in the top deck of the dome car, and standing on the outdoor platform with the wind in our hair.

Random Observation: As the trip progressed it seems all the other members of the Mighty 7A Tour Group were slowly and completely replacing their wardrobes with clothing acquired along the way that advertised all the places we'd been.

Once at our destination, we grabbed lunch with my dad at a special Denali sandwhich place called Subway then visited a couple shops to gather supplies for our trek into the park. On the deck in front of one of the stores we saw a coin. When we went to pick it up (all the day to have good luck) we discovered it was permanently affixed. A good trick.

At 2:00 we boarded a modified school bus for the Denali Natural History Tour. Yes, it was a school bus, but part of what helps preserve the Preserve is they don't allow private vehicles into the park, so these school busses are actually a great way to go. Indeed we went up and down all through the town, but it was worth it.

Before the trip I predicted that Denali would be one of my favorite parts of the trip and we weren't too far into the park before I was congratulating myself on my prognostication skills. Even after many, many days of experiencing views that I could hardly imagine, Denali was something special. I wished I'd had eight more eyes to see all there was to see. The five hour tour was at least a week too short.

After the tour we returned to the Village Of Shops where we discovered Prospector's Pizza - a pizza place with 49 beers on tap. I did not make it through all 49, but the ones I did try were all wise choices, and the food and atmosphere were great too. It was definitely one of my favorite meals of the trip.

We only had a short time to spend in Denali the next morning, and it was raining, so we went to the visitor's center where the kids earned their second Junior Ranger badges of the trip. Sadly we had to be back on the train and gone for the trip to Anchorage. Maybe we had finally seen enough scenery, or maybe we were just tired and depressed becuase it was the end of the trip, but that train ride was not very memorable.

I could say the same thing about Anchorage, though we basically spent just one night there. In the morning we were up and on our way to the airport before I had time to notice. The flight back via Utah (another new state!) was fine, though I now have a theory that Mormons always recline their seats on airplane, which I don't like.

As I write this it is nearly 2 months later, and still I keep thinking about Alaska, the Yukon, and the things we saw and did on our odyssey. The scenes we experienced are burned into my brain and will continue to provide a backdrop to my dreams for a very long time. We feel very lucky to have made this trip, and very grateful to my dad for making it all possible.

All that is left now is to answer the question that has been repeatedly asked by my kids and by my soul: When will we go back?

Alaska Adventure - Day 8 - July 9, 2010

2010-08-14T10:50:00.001-04:00

Previously: [Day 1] [Day 2] [Day 3] [Day 4] [Day 5] [Day 6] [Day 7]

All my trip photos (so far)

Another day in Fairbanks. This day in Fairbanks however was not actually spent in Fairbanks. Instead we met our new coach commander who commanded a slightly less comfortable coach, and bussed on out to the Riverboat Discovery. I discovered that this is a vessel designed to take tourists up and down the river while an ex-DJ narrates your trip in a way that most tourists seem to enjoy.

The "highlight" of this trip, according to them is a visit to a fake Chena Indian Village which may or may not also be a fake Athabascan fish camp. I guess these learning opportunities are not my cup of tea, because for me the highlights of the trip were spotting some beavers in the river, and the tasty salmon spread samples the boat people severed on the way back.

After some requisite time in the gift shop, our new Coach Commander, who lets call Mike, drove us to visit Gold Dredge #8 which apparently is "just the ticket for an authentic look at mining life in early Fairbanks". I cannot confrim this because after the tasty lunch they serverd us (beef stew and biscuits FTW!), instead of going on the tour I took an authentic look at a nice cold authentic Alaskan beer in the shade and some authentic Alaskan ice cream.

In case that did not cure our gold fever, the next stop was up in them thar hills at a gold mine where we got to mine for our own gold. After only an hour of touring the mine, watching a sluicing demonstation, and actual sluicing some pay-dirt of our very own, I had discovered gold flakes worth approximately $16. For an additional $30 I could have had these put these in to a keepsake locket in their giftshop.

Next up was my least favorite stop of the entire trip. It was a visit to the Alaskan Oil Pipeline. In case you've never seen one, picture a big line of pipe that carries oil. I was even able to touch it, and you will never guess what it felt like (wait for it...) a big pipe. I understand the connection between oil and money, and realize there was some amount of fine engineering in building the thing, but to me it just looked like a big scar across an otherwise scenic landscape.

Luckily they managed to somehow keep the pipeline stop to under an hour, so we made it back to the hotel in time to head out on an optional excursion - the inaccurately named yet still quite enjoyable Midnight Sun River Float. Our guide, who lets call John Zahn because he was a cross between John Denver and Steve Zahn picked us up in a really nice van and took us to dinner. The eight people on this tour (4 Roths and 4 not-Roths) accounted for 100% of the dining room customers in the restaurant. Not sure why though because the food was quite tasty. Best salmon I'd had since that morning.

We then traveled to the river for the midnight sun part of the adventure, though it was actually about 9:00. At least it was sunny. Well, sunny for the first 5 minutes or so, then we experienced enough of a downpour to get plenty wet. We probably would not have signed up for it if it was called The Late Evening Get Rained On Float Trip.

I'm glad it wasn't though, because even with the rain we had a really good time and enjoyed some relaxing time floating down the beautiful river. We also enjoyed the part where John Zahn left the raft to speak words to some guys who were shooting guns across the beautiful river.

Random Observation: The longer someone has lived in Alaska, the more compelled they are to tell you how long they have lived in Alaska.

When we got back to the Westmark, though very tired, we stayed up to see the actual midnight sun. Such a strange experience. Half my brain said "It is very late, you should be asleep." and the other half said "It is the middle of the evening - time to find some ice cream."

Next: [Days 9, 10, 11]

Alaska Adventure - Day 7 - July 8, 2010

2010-07-27T22:32:00.002-04:00

Previously: [Day 1] [Day 2] [Day 3] [Day 4] [Day 5] [Day 6]

All my trip photos (so far)

All too soon in was time to leave Beaver Creek. From there it was not too many kilometers before the neutral zone (which actually exists) and then the Alaskan border.

Let me take an aside here. Traveling with anyone can put a strain on a relationship. This is especially true when traveling with your kids, even more so when there are time zone changes, late nights, early mornings, and too much AIS (Bottom In Seat) time. Add to this (perhaps unrealistically) high expectations about your children's ability to cooperate, behave, and not annoy other people, and you may get to the point where you want to leave your kids in the previous country.

That is what happened here when Ella did not want me to take her picture crossing the border, which was right after we yelled at her for playing in the giant Welcome to Alaska pile of dirt.

Some more yelling and pleading and threats that she would never ever get a hamster finally got her to cooperate.

We had miles to go before we slept, but we did still make a few stops. One was for lunch at some place I don't recall - but I do recall there was reindeer sausage, two kinds of fish and an ear shaped piece of cornbread all served in an iron skillet. Not too shabby. We later stopped at Rika's Roadhouse which had some picturesque grounds, but more importantly - ice cream.

We stopped at North Pole, AK where the presence of Santa in his giant giftshop forced me to fabricate some story about how he spends his summers in Alaska so that good girls and boys can visit him.

When we finally found Fairbanks we were free to find some food and some fun. I don't have too much to say about Fairbanks. Even though we stayed there two nights, we really did not see much of Fairbanks. Either that, or there just wasn't too much of Fairbanks to see. But I digress.

We settled on dinner at Some Greek Place after not finding anywhere more compelling that was open. Little known fact - Greek children like very spicy ham on their pizza. I learned this when the pizza my kids were splitting had some very spicy ham on it. My kids are not Greek. Luckily they had previously consumed 2/3 of my steamed clam appetizer so they would survive.

We explored more of Fairbanks, including a walk along the river on the river walk. We also got to a enticing fudge store just after they closed, but the Fudgiers were cool enough to sell us some tasty fudge anyway.

Next: [Day 8] [Days 9, 10, 11]

Alaska Adventure - Day 6 - July 7, 2010

2010-07-25T18:28:00.004-04:00

Previously: [Day 1] [Day 2] [Day 3] [Day 4] [Day 5]

All my trip photos (so far)

We were determined to have a better day Wednesay, and as we rode out of Whitehorse, Wednesday seemed to be cooperating. The weather was sunny and bright, and remember the bald eagle I didn't see from Day 5? On the morning of Day 6 the bird had not flown and was waiting for me by the side of the road. I spy with my little eye something from my bucket list. Isn't it good?

Our first post-eagle stop was Uncommon Journeys which provides dog sledding adventures in Canada's Yukon, among other things. Since we were there during the one month with no snow, we did not have a dogsled adventure, but we did get to hear all about it and meet the team. Also, there were cookies. It was a very good stop, and somewhere I would not mind coming back to someday.

We continued along the Alaskan Highway until we reached Kluane where we were able to enjoy the sunhine while we lunched on sandwiches. Soon said sandwiches were gone, so Shelley and I sojourned to a more scenic view on other side of the street. I was glad we did, not just for the photo opportunities but also because we discovered a bakery that had delicious ice cream.

After more bump-diddy-bumping along the ALCAN highway, we stopped at Skipping Stone Lake. Note, this is not the actual name of the lake, nor is it a name I made up. It was actually made up by Coach Commander Parker Anderson, which made me appreciate Parker that much more. Even though this was yet another gorgeous lake with a breathtaking mountain background, the effect was just as intense as the first.

Our final stop for the night was Beaver Creek (population 100) which is Canada's westernmost community. As we approached, we were told that there was no toliet paper in Beaver Creek. In a seemingly unrelated tour bus activity, we were asked to compose a song about Beaver Creek. One of the lines (that we did not use) included the phrase "You'll be asked to spare a square or supply a ply". Other lines were worse than that, and by worse I mean way better. The whole toilet paper thing turned out to be a fabrication however. I can only assume it was meant as some tour group bonding exercise.

Shortly after arriving we were treated to some dinner theater, Yukon style. (By the use of the word "treated" you should not assume that any part of this was complimentary nor should you assume that it was much of a treat). Leave it to Beaver Creek to show us that kind of good time. While the rest of us "enjoyed" the "show", Shelley ducked out and took pictures of blue, sunny skies at 11:00 PM.

Next: [Day 7] [Day 8] [Days 9, 10, 11]

Alaska Adventure - Day 5 - July 6, 2010

2010-07-22T23:12:00.002-04:00

Previously: [Day 1] [Day 2] [Day 3] [Day 4]

All my trip photos (so far)

The disappointing weather in Juneau followed us to Skagway while we slept. After our last breakfast at sea, we met the rest of our tour group - The Mighty 7A - in the Vista Lounge. Our tour guide Rosyln ($4 per person per day expected gratuity) guided us to a bus for an unnecessary 2 minute bus ride to downtown Skagway.

The town was booming in 1898 because of the Klondike Gold Rush where gold was separated from the wilderness. The town was also booming in 2010 where gold was separated from tourists. There was a National Historic Park in town so the kids were able to earn their first Junior Ranger badges in Alaska (2nd overall).

After grabbing lunch at the Red Onion Saloon (where the waitresses were both hotter and cheaper than the food) we all aboarded the White Pass-Yukon Railroad and took off for a trip up and over the Great White (North) Pass. It's the beauty way to go. If the weather had cooperated the views would have been something as we climbed almost 3000 feet in just 20 miles to Fraser, Canada. Even with the clouds and fog, however, it will still a worthwhile trip.

In Fraser we met our coach and it's intrepid Commander, Parker Anderson ($4 per person per day expected gratuity) and we lit off a grinnin' to the Yukon, more specifically to the booming metropolis of Whitehorse. Though traveling by bus is not glamorous, it did provide us with opportunities to see and experience many things that we could not have done from the ship. The scenery along the way continued to be so stunning that I constantly could not believe it was real.

One stop we made was at Emerald Lake, the intense green color of which is hard to describe or capture. Another stop was at Carcross, Yukon (population 431, not counting tourists) which was less stunning but had really good ice cream.

In addition to the scenery, we also spotted some wildlife. Shortly after boarding the coach we saw a brown bear. On the way into Whitehorse everyone but me saw a bald eagle except. Since seeing a bald eagle in the wild is on my bucket list, I was quite disappointed.

What can I say about Whitehorse that has not already been said? It is a two Westmark town, and sadly ours was the one that was further away from downtown. Perhaps that is why of the 13 Roths that set out for dinner, only 4 made it to the Italian Restaurant in town. Since both kids were far past tired, the extra long wait for our food was especially enjoyable, and gave me ample time to feel sorry for myself for missing the bald eagle.

Next: [Day 6] [Day 7] [Day 8]

Alaska Adventure - Day 4 - July 5, 2010

2010-07-20T20:55:00.003-04:00

Previously: [Day 1] [Day 2] [Day 3]

All my trip photos (so far)

Alex's arm shook me awake at 4:00 am in the morning to tell me we had arrived in Tracy Arm. This is an fjord with stunning mountains, long waterfalls, and car sized chunks of floating blue ice. Or it would have been if that was where we actually were. Instead we were still a few nautical hours away from Tracy Arm. Even so, basked in the magic warm light of sunrise, wherever we were was still quite worthwhile.

A short time later while we were still not in Tracy Arm we traveled through what must have been a pod of whales. While a cool thing to see, it was not a life changing experience for me, and probably not for the whales, either. We went back to sleep. I don't know what the whales did.

When we woke a couple hours later, we could tell by looking out the window that now, finally, we were not quite there yet. After breakfast on the Lido Deck however, guess where we were. Yup, Tracy Arm.

The morning was cool and rainy but that did not stop us from going around the various decks taking pictures of all the scenery we were cruising past. The ship even did a 180 in a tight spot, which was a nifty trick. The place was unlike anywhere I'd ever been.

We soon arrived in Juneau which is the only capital city in the U.S. that you can't drive to, not counting Honolulu. We were very excited to be in Juneau because from there we were going on the Taku Lodge excursion. This began with a floatplane trip past the ship, up the Taku River, and over, above and around some glaciers. Despite the rain and fog we saw amazing views of mountains, rivers, and blue ice and glaciers.

When we arrived at the Taku Lodge I was able to check-off one of the animals from my Animals I Hope to See list - a bear. A relatively small black bear was situated in a tree, ready to pounce on a tourist. Of course I shot it. It wasn't long before several more black bears came around, so of course I shot them too. I think they were attracted to the site because they sensed in me a kindred spirit. Either that or they smelled the fresh caught salmon that was cooking over an alder fire.

The salmon dinner with the various fixins was so tasty. If you ever find yourself at Taku Lodge, I highly recommend it. The lodge itself was also quite interesting. It's a log cabin, the walls of which are lined with various dead animals from the area. While we ate we got the requisite local history talk, but for once it was quite interesting. Also the ice cubes were from a nearby glacier.

After dinner we went on a short hike, saw some more bears, then float planed back to Juneau. The flight back had even worse weather and therefore worse views than the flight out. This was a disappointment, but even so the excursion was the highlight of our trip thus far.

Next: [Day 5] [Day 6] [Day 7] [Day 8]

Alaska Adventure - Day 3 - July 4, 2010

2010-07-18T14:48:00.002-04:00

Previously:
[Day 1] [Day 2]

Since we always spend Canada Day in the USA, it seemed only fair that we should spend an Independence Day in Canada, or at least traveling along the coast of it. This was what the sailors call a "Day At Sea" which is the nautical term for Cruise-a-palooza.

We spent the day availing ourselves of the shipboard activities. For the kids this meant spending time in Club Hal (doggie day care, but for kids), swimming, eating, and fighting with each other. For us it meant patting ourselves on the backs for leaving the kids in Club Hal, sitting around, eating, and taking a few pictures of the inner passage (including Shelley's lighthouse picture above)

Luckily they were offering a Fourth of July special - a bottomless mug of Alaskan Amber draft beer from noon to 2:30. I could not pass up an opportunity for what could be a worthwhile bargain on cruise ship. These are few and far between. Getting my moneys worth was hard work, which is probably why I then nook a 2+ hour nap - the longest nap I've had this century.

It was "Formal Night" for dinner which is nautical for "You Are Supposed to Wear a Tie" I have not worn a tie in nearly three years and was not about to break my streak for filet and prawns. I don't think they were really enforcing it, but still felt quite clever for picking up Ella and using her as human shield to hide my unensconced neck.

We ended the evening by attending the song and dance show in the Vista Lounge. Even the complimenty champagne did not make the show anything more than laughable. This was no more true than when the did their rendition of Clang Clang Went the Trolley. Perhaps it was a parody show of cruise ship song and dance shows. Nah.

Next: [Day 4] [Day 5] [Day 6] [Day 7] [Day 8]

Alaska Adventure - Day 2 - July 3, 2010

2010-07-17T13:56:00.005-04:00

Timeline:
[Day 1]

I could not face another day like yesterday, and luckily, so far today, I've not had to. This morning, based on a tip from yesterday's shuttle driver, we walked across the bridge to Granville Island. A brisk 30 minute scenic walk was just what we needed.

Delicious pastries and hot beverages were also just what we needed. We spent the right amount of time browsing and sampling the wonders of the Public Market and wishing we had something like it back in our zip code. A quick ferry ride took us back to the hotel where me made the final preparations before heading to the ship.

The first and only cruise I was on was 13 years ago. Though it was not unpleasant, I've had no strong desire to cruise again during the past bakers dozen years. Not to say I was not excited about this cruise, but I tend to prefer less structured ways of traveling. My opinion of cruising has improved during the time we've spent on the Zuiderdam.

Not sure if it because the ship and location are different or because I am, but we are having a great time on the ship. Other than losing at taxi bingo getting to the port, getting on the ship was a smooth and easy process. We went right to the Lido deck to begin the process of gaining 7-14 pounds.

Before long we were able to check into our cabin. Luckily someone cancelled thier reservation for a suite so we were able to snag it at a discount. Definitely money well spent, not only for the extra space but also for the veranda. After we explored the suite we then explored the ship until we discovered the pool, then the kids spent most of the afternoon exploring that. We did our lifeboat drill then set sail and bid au reviour to Vancouver.

Next: [Day 3] [Day 4] [Day 5] [Day 6] [Day 7] [Day 8]

Alaska Adventure - Day 1 - July 2, 2010

2010-07-15T22:55:00.006-04:00

The beginning of a journey holds a special kind of magic. The waiting is over and all the possibilities are still ahead. We set out this morning for the biggest vacation we are taking together as a family. Our eventual destination is the 49th state - Alaska. This leg of the trip takes us from BWI airport to the Emerald City - Seattle.

I am very excited about this trip because we will be visiting a part of the world I've not yet explored. I am hoping to see and shoot (with my camera) lots of wildlife including bear, moose, elk, and the bonus animal - wolf. It will also be cool to make this trip with 12 other Roths - my wife, my son, my daughter, my dad, my brother, my other brother, my sisters-in-law Jennifer, 3 nieces, and 1 nephew. Talk about wildlife. But seriously, the seeds for this trip were planted by my mom years ago, so I'm sure she'll be with us, too.

The first surprise occurred as we boarded the plane. Who should be on the plane but The Traveling Roths from Mebane, NC? OK, this was not actually a surprise for Shelley or me, but it was for the kids. Not that you could tell from their reactions. I guess in their world it is a common thing to run into your cousins, aunt, and uncle anywhere you go.

We are currently 36,000 feet over the Midwest. From this altitude it sure does look flat. Any moment now my complimentary juice will arrive, so I will sign off for now...

Much Later That Same Day

As travel days go, today has not been terrible. Even so, the last thing you want to do after a 5 hour flight is endure a 5 hour bus ride. Especailly when it should only take 3 hours and especially when your traveling companions have had more than enough traveling.

We arrived at the hotel at 8:30 PM PDT low on steam but even lower on fuel. We met up with 4 more Roths and found a pizza place nearby. I don't know it's actual name, so let's call it At Least It Was Close. Then it was back to the "Quality" Hotel to fight with kids until they gave up and went to sleep.

Next: [Day 2] [Day 3] [Day 4] [Day 5] [Day 6] [Day 7] [Day 8]

Letters to Santa 2009

2009-12-22T14:28:00.002-05:00

As they did in 2006, 2007, and 2008 the kids have once again composed letters to that jolly old, red-suited, beard-faced man.

Dear Santa-

I have been very good this year. I hope you've had a good year and here is what I want. I want D-Rex, an Air Hog Switch Blade, a Raider CS-35 dart gun, a Nerf N-Force long sword, a DSi, a Republic Heroes DSi game and a Battlefront Elite Squadron DSi game.

I have helped my friends with their work when they were stuck and cheered them up. I have gotten good grades in school and good report cards. I'm sure I've done a lot of other good things this year, but that is all I can remember.

Thank you.

Alex Roth

Dear Santa-

Can I please have a puppy dog (I mean a stuffed animal puppy dog), Barbie dolls, more Littlest Pet Shop guys and then a DS, and some Legos, a D-Rex and a Nerf sword to fight my brother (when he tries to fight me, but he doesn't know that). Can I also have ice skates so I can ice skate. And one more thing - a doggie DS game.

I was very very good because I didn't hurt my brother too much this year. I helped my mommy do Christmas cards and I helped my dad pop bubble-wrap.

Love, Ella

2009 Christmas Letter

2009-12-16T15:52:00.018-05:00

For those of you who missed reading our Christmas letter for the last few years, you will be happy to know that it is back. For those of you who figured we were done with Christmas letters, we're sorry to disappoint you.

Summing up a year in a few paragraphs is always an interesting challenge. Who is to say what should be included and what should be left out? Well, I am, since I am the one writing this. So there you go.

Since you are probably most interested to hear what the kids have been up to, I'll start by talking about myself. There is not much to say. I continue to work at a Web 2.0 startup, which is challenging and exciting. You can see what it is all about by looking at my profile on the site. Beyond work, I've been making an effort to become an awesome guitarist. I tell you this not because I am anywhere close to being successful at this goal, but because it makes it seem like I'm not spending all my time working.

But enough about me - what about those kids? Let me first tell you about Shelley. She continues to do statistical stuff that I don't understand. Beyond that she runs (another half marathon in May), teaches piano, sings with the NIH Chamber Singers, takes awesome pictures, write poems that sometimes rhyme, and has also discovered that she can draw.

Now for the kids. Ella started Kindergarten in August and turned 6 in October. She loves school and is not yet feeling any pressure about getting into a good college. She has a flair for fashion and can put together outfits that normal people could not even imagine.

Meanwhile, second grader Alex likes to read and play video games, but not usually at the same time. He has started taking piano lessons from the best piano teacher in the house, and is also working on his beat box skills. Basketball has just started, but I won't say anything about it so as not to jinx it.

We hope you have wonderful holidays and a brilliant 2010. We'll leave you with some random pictures from 2009.

Dear Santa - 2008 Edition

2008-12-13T13:43:00.003-05:00

As they did in 2006 and 2007, the kids have once again composed a letter to their favorite fat guy.

Dear Santa-

Santa Claus, could you please bring me a princess bobble-head. And, Santa, could you please bring me some princess coloring books, too? And Santa, some feet pajamas, please. I would also like a furry i-Dog that is pink, please. A trumpet, please. I really want some more bath toys please. A box of M&M's that I'll share with Daddy. A hidden Mickey book for Daddy.

I have been very nice to my brother, Alex, this year. One time I gave Alex the controller to play Lego Batman even know I wanted to play it, but I just wanted to be nice. I love my dog better than any other dog in the whole wide world.

My house number is 2823. I love you, Santa Claus.

The end.

Love, Ella

Dear Santa-
May I please have a AT-TE Lego Walker thingee, an AT-AP, or Anikan's Starfighter for Christmas? May I please have an Imperial Walker and a General Grevious action figure that comes with his fighter? May I please have a green plastic light sabre with a hookey thing?

I have been very good this year. I helped my sister learn to read even though we didn't get very far because we needed to leave (it was a crazy Thursday or Wednesday). I also didn't bother my sister while she was writing her letter to you. I also gave her my hot chocolate when she spilled hers.

From, Alex

An A-maize-ing Time

2008-10-12T12:40:00.002-04:00

Everybody should have a friend who runs a corn maze. One of our favorite fall traditions is to visit the Maize Quest Corn Maze, which is owned and operated by our fine friend Hugh. There are so many different attractions and other fun things to do that it is basically what Disney World would be like if it were on a farm in Pennsylvania. Our favorites this year were the Bamboo Maze, the Corn Box, the Pumkin express, and the Super Slide (I may be making these names up). We had more success with the actual corn maze this year, but ran out of time to finish. Maybe next time.

In addition to all the fun things to do, and the great weather (thanks be to Dave), it is also great to see a bunch of our friends, and their offspring. It is quite a group we've put together.

So thanks to Janie and Hugh for hosting what I would say is the best Corn Maze visit yet!

Here are some more shots. Click through for bigger versions.

A Parade, A Carnival, and a Sandwich

2008-06-20T21:23:00.003-04:00

It is the time of year again when Adamstownians thoughts turn toward the Carroll Manor Fire Company Carnival. It is hard for me to believe that this is now the 5th year in a row that we've enjoyed the festivities. (See the reports for 2006 and 2007)

This year we went on parade night. The parade consists mainly of various shapes, sizes, and colors of fire trucks from Frederick and surrounding counties. The kids love the parade for the same reason they love Halloween - free candy from strangers. I think the parade is sorely lacking a marching band or three. I'm almost tempted to dust off the old saxophone and organizing a band. Maybe next year.

It was then down to the carnival itself. It was mostly the same rides from years past. The kids branched out a bit though, and went down the big slide thing that is named "Slide". They also rode some old favorites including the carousel and the bugs.

As for the sandwich, well, my favorite part of the carnival is officially the pit beef sandwich. Love me the pit beef.

Wordle Cloud

2008-06-12T14:20:00.004-04:00

This is how all the tags from my Flickr photostream look in a Wordle. The bigger the font, the more the tag was used.

Click through to the picture for links to instructions on how to make your own.

Life in a Tent

2008-06-02T22:31:00.004-04:00

Back in the day there was a Memorial Day camping tradition, the stories from which have grown into legends. Now many, many years and a week later, I found myself once again sleeping in a tent in the woods.

This time the cast of characters included we four Roths along with two neighbor families, totalling six adults and eight kids. The venue was Cunningham Falls State Park. On Friday night, we loaded our Outback to the brim, and made the short drive north on Route 15 to begin our adventure.

Despite nearly a decade in its bag, I was glad to discover my REI tent was complete and intact, as was my memory of how to set it up. It was not long before we were all settled around the campfire, roasting some dogs, and washing them down with some beer.

Saturday morning dawned with signs of ominous weather. I know this because I was awakened well before said dawn by my light sleeping son who was more anxious than I to begin the day. By the time the bacon was sizzling over the fire, it was clear the weather was not going to cooperate with our plans of outdoor fun and adventure.

We managed to wait out most of the storm in nearby Gettysburg, PA enjoying the adventure of Indiana Jones. It was then back to the campground where the last hour of the storm we spent in The Kingdom of the Crowded Tent - which was more than enough time.

Luckily, the weather broke, and we were able to hike up to the falls which were overflowing with water from the rains and rednecks from our campground. The kids enjoyed the hike, and the boy especially enjoyed the challenge of the river.

After this hike, one of the two families we were camping with, whose tent had not done so well at keeping the outside out, bugged out. The rest of us stuck around for another tasty meal cooked over the campfire. Then the other family also decided to call it a trip, leaving the Mighty Roths as the sole survivors of the expedition. We decided to stay the night, and so I was able to once again see the dawn, thanks to that same son I mentioned a couple paragraphs ago.

We struck camp, reloaded the Outback, and said goodbye to campsite 73. We stopped off at the lake to play for a bit, then headed back home. All in all, it was a good trip.

Previously...

2008-05-29T17:26:00.002-04:00

So my grand intentions to keep this more up-to-date lasted about 1 week. Here are some of the things that have happened since last we left you:

On May 17-18 we were in Pennsylvania for a family reunion, an AED dedication in memory of my mom at her church, and a wedding reception for my cousin in Philly.
On May 24-26 we were in North Carolina for my brother's third annual Pig Pickin'. The traffic getting to and from NC was terrible, but the food more than made up for it. We even got bonus BBQ at Bullock's in Durham.
Last night, Shelley and I saw Ben Folds in concert. It was a great show, and one of the best concert experiences I've ever had.
If I take a good picture today, it will be 150 in a row for my photo-a-day odyssey.

So there is your brief synopsis of the last couple weeks. You can see some photos of some of these over on Flickr.

Let's Talk About Six

2008-05-12T17:18:00.003-04:00

Another Saturday, another birthday. This time it was Alex celebrating the sixth anniversary of his birth (as my dad would say). Some number of kindergartners descended on our house for this Star Wars themed palooza. We armed each kid with a lightsaber, and surprisingly, no one was injured. I heard that Darth Vader even made an appearance, but I was not around at the time to verify this.

A good time seemed to be had by all, and since nothing was destroyed, we'll consider the force to have been with us.

Thirty Six, Twenty Six...

2008-05-05T17:34:00.003-04:00

You may remember a year ago that Shelley celebrated her 35th birthday by running a half marathon. For a normal person, that would be enough. Not so for Shelley.

For this year's Shellebration, she decided to run a full marathon (that's 26.2 miles for those of you not up on the lingo). Despite her advancing years, she ran a good strong race and finished in the top third in her bracket. Here she is crossing the finish line:

So I guess the big question now is, when she turns 37, will she run 39.2 miles or 52.4?

What do Green and Yellow Make?

2008-03-02T16:39:00.002-05:00

Wrapping up the final two weeks of the Color Theory Challenge, I present to you Green and Yellow:

The First 50

2008-02-20T14:40:00.001-05:00

Here is an overview of the first 50 days of my photo a day odyssey sorted by awesomeness:

Beyond learning to spell "odyssey", this exercise has been a good challenge for me. I hope that forcing my self to shoot a good picture everyday, no matter what, is making me into a better photographer. I guess we'll see where things stand 316 days from now.

Thanks to everyone who has been following along, and especially to the two people who have left comments. Also thanks to my fine friends at Zooomr for providing inspiration and feedback.

Week O' Blue

2008-02-17T11:42:00.002-05:00

Continuing the Color Theory Challenge for the month of February, this past week's color was blue:

Seeing Red

2008-02-09T17:39:00.000-05:00

Trevor Carpenter, over at PhotoChallenge.org is have a Color Theory Challenge for the month of February. The idea is that:

What is Color Theory? Well, for our purposes it is basically making a concerted
effort to capture an image with one single color overwhelming the majority of
the image. Basically, your photo should be primarily one color. Be creative
though, I’d love to see photos that capture a color in a new and unorthodox way.

Since one the challenges I am finding in trying to shoot a good photo-a-day (going strong after 40 days) is finding ideas for subject matter, this challenge is a boon to my muse.
Here are my favorite three for the Week of Red:

Roth 365

2008-01-10T21:48:00.000-05:00

Every day of our lives is precious in that each one will never come again. There should be at least one thing everyday that is worth seeing and worth remembering. Too often we don't see these things because we are too busy with other things or because we are simply not looking.

A few months ago, Thomas Hawk published his Principles and Guidelines for the Modern Photowalker. In this post Thomas said

I see more of the world when I have my camera with me. I notice things that I wouldn't otherwise. People's expressions, architecture, the sky...When I am out walking my eyes are open. I see the world in color. In all its splendor and
beauty. People are more real, more alive. The world is a far, far, more
beautiful place.

The second of his principles was "Shoot every day. You eat every day. You drink water every day. You breath every day don't you? So shoot every day too." Based on this advice, I've decided to take this challenge and shoot a good picture every day - no matter what.

I have two goals for doing this. The first is to improve my photography. I have to hope that putting time and effort into something every day will make me better at it. The second reason is that I want to change the way I see the world. I want to notice what would otherwise go unnoticed and appreciate it.

I'm only ten days into this odyssey, but so far so good. You can see and follow this effort at Roth365. Please visit when you have the chance, and if you feel compelled, leave me some comments for encouragement.

Fake New Year's Eve

2007-12-31T13:32:00.000-05:00

Continuing a tradition that may be in its 16th year, a group of old friends got together to celebrate the new year. This time, New Park, PA was the venue, and for various reasons, we celebrated early, and in shifts.

As usual, much fun was had by all. It was also quite nice that Penn State scheduled its bowl win to coincide with the festivities, as did the New England Patriots and their record-breaking-palooza.

Special thanks to Janine and Hugh for taking good care of us and letting us stay in what I still think is the coolest house ever.

Here are some pictures (the complete set, now spanning 2 of the 16 years, can be found on Zooomr.

Dear Santa - 2007

2007-12-21T16:17:00.000-05:00

Just like last year, the kids have written to the jolliest man at the North Pole to share their thoughts and requests.

Dear Santa-
Hello. How are you doing Santa Clause? I have been nice to Alex this year. I let other people eat the food I don’t like. I give my dog Charlie bones. I help my Daddy.

Could I please have a Princess kitchen? I’d also like a pink or purple MP3 player to listen to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (please say “Hi” to Rudolph for me). I’d also like an i-Dog that taps his paw. A Princess Jasmine doll and dress would be nice too. I want a bunch more stuff. I also want a princess movie without any little shows like my other two.

You know how to find our house because you’ve been here a hundred times. I’ll leave some of my toys that I don’t like so you can take them to poor children that don’t have toys.

Good-bye Santa Claus.
-Ella

Dear Santa-
I’ve been a good boy. I’ve let Charlie out. I help get movies started again because they are all messed up and paused in the middle. That’s a lot! I help clean the house. I help my mom and dad.

Can I please have an MP3 player? Can I please have an i-Dog? I would also like a Nintendo DS. I want some Star Wars toys – those things are cool – especially droids.

You can get to my house by looking at my house number which is 2823. I have nine wreaths on my house. There are some green decorations around my porch posts and they might light up when you come.

Love, Alex

Poetry In Motion?

2007-12-05T09:55:00.000-05:00

The year was 1993. I was living in Altoona, PA. I had too much time on my hands in the evenings after work and I had a VHS-C camcorder that I'd received the previous Christmas. This is the result:

Mr. Roth Goes to Washington

2007-09-16T22:08:00.001-04:00

(and Mrs. Roth, too)

A break was definitely needed. A respite from work, from kids, from dishes, from the dog, from laundry. Two days with no agenda and no screen time. Yes, a break was needed, and a break we had.

Thanks to my folks, Shelley and I were able to leave our real-lives behind and visit Washington D.C. as tourists for the weekend. A fairly short drive to Shady Grove followed by a fairly short Metro ride to Dupont Circle (doors open right side), topped off with a fairly short walk had us to our hotel in plenty of time to visit the Brickskeller for a beer before taking advantage of the complimentary wine.

The gentle rain did not detract from a photowalking expedition to some monuments and memorials. Washington and Lincoln were nice, but the World War II memorial was just fantastic. Here are some shots from that night.

We dinnered at Al Tiramisu, where judging by the photos on the wall, is as popular with famous folk as is Bullock's BBQ in Durham, NC. Despite the fact that they did not ask me to pose, it was still a very good dinner.

On Saturday morning, we walked to Georgetown, stopping along the way for breakfast at Bread and Chocolate European Bakery, where I had both in the form of Pfannkuchen and hot chocolate.

We headed to the Capitol on Saturday afternoon to see where the magic happens. There were many strange and interesting protesters on the scene, exercising their rights.

There were also soft-pretzel vendors working the crowd, exercising their rights to make money off people exercising their rights. What could be more American? Not dinner, since we ate at The Dubliner Irish pub. It was then back to the Mall for some more nighttime photowalking. All together it was a great and much needed respite. More photos on Zooomr (and Shelley's Zooomr too).

One To Three

2007-09-12T10:59:00.000-04:00

Today, Ella began three-year old pre-school at the Onica Prall Child Development Laboratory at Hood College. What is a lab school? It is a place where college students who are considering becoming teachers go to learn that maybe they should pursue a different career path.

Ella was a bit nervous in the days leading up to this milestone, but just after leaving the house this morning, she calmed down, felt ready, and handled it all like a champ. She just got home, and said her favorite part was playing with her new "bestest friend" whose name she can't remember

Only 2,339 Days To Go

2007-08-27T16:43:00.000-04:00

Today Alex started kindergarten. This is of course a big milestone in a child's life, not to mention a day that makes parents feel old and wonder where the time went.

He left this morning very excited with his Spider-Man backpack full of supplies and his lunch box full of lunch. I think he was just a tiny bit more nervous than he was letting on. He arrived home this afternoon tired, but proud to have completed this rite of passage. The first thing he told me when running home from the bus stop was "Dad, I wasn't even bored very much!" All in all, a good first day. We can only hope that the next 2,339 days are so interesting.

Andy Simpson

2007-08-13T23:07:00.000-04:00

So, this is what I would look like if I were part of the Simpson's universe. Now before all you clever people say something to be witty, let me take care of that for you:

"Hmm, don't see much difference"

"You mean that's not an actual photo of you?"

"You wish your goatee was that thick"

"You wish your eyes were that small"

"I always thought you were rather two dimmensional"

"Its spelled 'dimensional' with just one m, Genius"

"If I looked like that, I wouldn't be smiling"

"Doh!"

So, you got anything else?

If you'd like to create your own Simpson-you, you can visit the Simponize web site

A Dog Days Night

2007-08-04T22:14:00.001-04:00

On the first Saturday of every month, the town of Frederick MD hosts a First Saturday Gallery Walk. Because Sirius, the dog star, is prominent in the summer, The August Gallery Walk is held in honor of the Dog Days. Popularly believed to be an evil time "when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies" (from Brady’s Clavis Calendarium, 1813)." Frederick decided to play down the boiling seas angle and instead made it a day where dogs were welcome in downtown shops and restaurants.

We loaded Charlie into the Subaru, headed into town, met with Grammy and Grandad, and enjoyed the sights and tastes of the town. Dinner at La Paz was muy bien, dessert at Ben & Jerry's muy biener, and I got two free stickers from Two Paws Up (since I had no cash and they did not want to bother with my credit card - I told them I would return another day to buy something, and give them a bonus mention on my blog, like that is worth something.)

The best part of the night, however, was the dogs. We saw them in all shapes and sizes. The kids felt obliged to pet every dog they met (add dogs to the list of things the kids cannot just walk past), but I only took pictures of a few. These were some of my favorites:

For whatever reason, my most favorite dog only made it into one shot, along with my most favorite daughter:

All in all, it was a great outing for both man and beast. And, as far as I know, there were no burning fevers, hysterics, or phrensies.

A Week In West Virginia

2007-08-04T22:12:00.001-04:00

Last week, 14 Roths from Pennsylvania, Illinois, North Carolina, and Maryland converged in Canaan Valley, West Virginia for our annual family vacation. The focus of the week was relaxation for the older generations, and running around, swimming, and singing variations of the Underdog theme song for the younger generation.

Rather than go into details, I'll instead share some pictures of the trip. You can see the whole set (and more if Dave tags his the same way) on Zooomr.

Awesomeness on Zooomr

2007-07-25T11:43:00.000-04:00

I am a heavy user and big fan of Zooomr for all my photo sharing needs. One cool new feature they have is the ability to sort photos by "awesomeness". The secret sauce algorithm is, well, secret, but probably has at least a little to do with how many views the shot has, how many people have called it a favorite, and the number of comments on it.

Just for fun, I share with you a screen shot of my most awesome photos, as determined by Zooomr:

The Police in Hershey

2007-07-21T20:51:00.000-04:00

Thanks to some much needed and much appreciated overnight babysitting from Grammy and Grandad, Shelley and I were able to travel to Hershey, PA to see Andy Summers, Stewart Copeland, and a fellow with the unlikely name of Sting - better known as together as The Police. This was a concert I never thought I would see given that they broke-up just before I was the concert going age. I've seen Sting at least 4 times since then, but to see them all together was a whole different ball of wax.

But before I talk about The Police, let me first say a little about another trio with another Sumner on bass and vocals - namely Fiction Plane. This hard driving trio from London, led by Joe Sumner opened the show, and let me say I went from "Who are these guys?" to "Hey, that guy looks like Sting!" to "We need to buy their CD!" (Left Side of the Brain) They were quite good and had the energy and agnst that The Police had back in the 70's. Shelley said that Joe sounds just like his dad, and though I did not hear it, she knows more about this kind of stuff than I do, so there you go.

But on to the main act. When the Police finally took the stage, my first impressions were:

1) Sting looks not too different and way better than I expect to at that age.

2) Stewart looks like an older, wrinklier version of Stewart Copeland.

3) Andy Summer's hands (especailly on close-up) looked as wrinkled as though he just got out of the tub, but he still has his chops.

They kicked off the show with Message in a Bottle, then went right into Synchonicity II. Of course they did Roxanne, Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, and Every Breath You Take. I was more surprised and pleased to hear songs like Voices Inside My Head, Truth Hits Everybody, The Beds Too Big Without You, and Next to You. I was also suprised that the songs were as similar to the recorded versions as they were, and I should know since I've been listening to these songs on records, cassettes, CD's, and MP3's for 20+ years. That being said, they were still able to bring a freshness and energy to the songs that made it all worthwhile.

So what impressed me most about the show? Two words, Stewart Copeland. Sting was fine, even if he lowered the key or lowered his part on many of the songs., Andy was great too, though it often felt like he was not aware he was at a concert. But it was simply stunning how much energy Stewart has, but he manages to channel it all into something that sounds more like music than anything I've heard from a drummer. This really stood out on Walking in Your Footsteps and Wrapped Around Your Finger, on both of which Stewart played all kinds of hanging junk that I can't even guess the names of. I should have known Stewart would steal the show when he kicked off the concert with a big gong blast.

A great concert and a great concert experience. Here is the set list as well as I can reconstruct it:
Message in a Bottle
Synchronicity II
Voices Inside My Head / When the World Is Running Down
Don't Stand So Close to Me
Driven to Tears
Walking on the Moon
Truth Hits Everybody
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Wrapped Around Your Finger
The Bed's Too Big Without
De Do Do Do De Da Da Da
Invisible Sun
Walking in Your Footsteps
Can't Stand Losing You
Roxanne
First encore:
King of Pain
So Lonely
Second encore:
Every Breath You Take
Third encore:
Next to You

39 Down, 11 To Go

2007-07-20T11:58:00.001-04:00

Another life goal is to visit all 50 states. I have 11 left that include some gems like Hawaii and Alaska, and some others to drive through quickly like Mississippi and Alabama.

create your own visited states map

11 Down, 14 To Go

2007-07-20T11:42:00.000-04:00

One of my life goals is to visit at least 25 countires. So far, I have visited 11:

United States
Canada
Mexico
Virgin Islands
France
Bahamas
United Kingdom (but only England)
Germany
Austria
Italy
Switzerland

create your own visited countries map

So, what's next? We don't have any trips outside of the U.S. planned, but new some countries near the top of my to-visit list would include:

Spain
Ireland
Scotland (though part of the UK so I don't know if that counts)
Iceland
Costa Rica
Australia
New Zealand
Japan

A Little Trip

2007-07-02T20:24:00.000-04:00

If the mind starts to go, could the body be far behind?

The four of us and Charlie journeyed to PA this past weekend. Friday night we visited with the Lamberts and the Flickingers for some burgers, dogs and remember whens. The thing I did not remember was to bring along a memory card for my camera, thus no pictures. Even so, we had a great time catching up with our old friends and their young children.

On Saturday morning, we took the short drive to St. Peter's Village. I recalled many an adventure I had as a youth jumping on the big rocks across the creek. What I did not recall was how much more slippery these rocks are when wet. Ella was attempting to cross between a rock and another hard place when she started to slip. Trying to save her, I slipped too. We both got wet, but for me, that was not all. As I smashed my knee into a very hard rock, I realized my Super Hero days might be behind me.

Before this learning experience, we took some shots:

The adventure continued with a visit to Great Mom's, and a stop at Zern's. At the former, the power went out for about 30 minutes, and at the latter we learned you can no longer buy boxes of purple Swedish fish. Saturday night we left the kids and the dog with Oma and Opa and saw Knocked Up then had a fairly decent dinner at Ludwigs Inn & Oyster Bar.

All in all it was a pretty good trip

Duck Brown Goes to San Francisco

2007-06-25T12:25:00.000-04:00

Duck Brown and I spent most of last week in San Francisco for a business trip. I managed to keep waking up in EDT, so had a few chances to shoot some pictures in the morning before getting busy with work.

So, here are some of the shots. Click through for bigger versions and some explanations of what they are.

Here Comes The Big Parade

2007-06-15T16:22:00.000-04:00

The 53 Annual Carroll Manor Fire Company Carnival kicked off yesterday with the yearly parade through the streets of Adamstown. The parade is a big hit with the kids since they love them some candy. Here are some shots. Click through for larger versions.

Pictures From NC

2007-06-08T22:56:00.000-04:00

I realize it is two weeks later, but here are some shots from our Memorial Day trip to North Carolina. To read more about the actual Pig Pickin', read Dave's post. Don't blog like my brother.

The cousins pose on the porch on Sunday morning.

A rare shot where Alex's head seems small.

Ella and Thomas - her all time favorite fur-friend of the week.

Seeing Spider-Man 3 made Alex want to climb.

Dave was more than half-lit in this shot.

Why not play some golf at the baseball game?

I blame Dave Hill for this picture.

Unlike Alex, Zoe has crazy good climbing skills

Pig, Bull, and Chicken

2007-05-30T22:57:00.001-04:00

We spent a long Memorial Day weekend in North Carolina attending the Second Annual Pig Pickin. Read Dave's blog for more details on what is involved with turning a 72 pound pig body into a delicious meal. I will tell you that he has the knack, and as they say in Charolette's Web, that was some pig.

We also did some other fun stuff in NC, including visiting downtown Mebane for some good pizza, seeing Spider-Man 3 in Durham, and attending a Durham Bull's game. I'll do another post with pictures from the weekend once Zooomr is back online.

On Monday night, aka Going Home Eve, I noticed some suspicious red spots on my shoulder. I would have written them off as bug bites had our neighbor back in Adamstown not informed us that her daughter and constant friend and playmate of Alex and Ella had the pox. The Chicken Pox that is.

To cut to the chase, I don't have the pox, since I had them a few decades ago. My doctor says I either have shingles or bug bites. Ella, on the other hand, definitely has Chicken Pox, and it seems Alex may have them, too. Looks like we'll all be speding some more time together over the next few days.

So, if any of the 60 or so people at the Pig Pickin or the 10,000 people at the Bull's game get some red dots on themselves, I apologize.

Robot Redux

2007-05-21T09:54:00.000-04:00

Despite what I said, maybe I don't want a robot after all.

Hi, Five.

2007-05-10T19:36:00.000-04:00

fiveDay Hosted on Zooomr

Today Alex turned five. He says that being five "feels good because I am bigger, faster, and have more toys." His favorite new toy was a Blue Lightning Storm McQueen:

Pixar Cars Lightning Storm McQueen

Anyway, look for a follow-up post after Sunday when he is having his party. In the meantime, read the first comment for the previously unpublished and unfinished story of the the days leading up to his birth.

Thirty Five, and a Half

2007-05-07T23:51:00.000-04:00

finsih Hosted on Zooomr

Yesterday was a big day for Shelley. She started the day by racing in the Frederick half-marathon. She ran the 13.1 mile race in under two hours, which is better than a 9 minute per mile pace, for those of you keeping score at home.

This feat is all the more remarkable when you consider that she is now a year older than she was a few days ago. She celebrated her 35th birthday after the race by hosting a party for 50+ of her closest friends. If I am ever able to run that far that fast (which I can tell you now - not gonna happen), I am quite sure I would celebrate with some serious couch time. Not my bride. She was up and about and mingling with the guests well into the wee small hours, and was even spotted doing some dishes after everyone left. The fact that she went to bed at 9:30 tonight should in no way take away from any of that.

So, congratulations Shelley, on a race well run and 35 years well lived.

Soccer Night

2007-05-02T22:54:00.000-04:00

The U6 Soccer season continued tonight here in Adamstown, with the mighty Avalanche taking on the Navy Blue Team. Two differences about the game. First, Coach Chad was out of town, so coach Shelley stepped onto the pitch as acting head coach. Second, this was the Avalanche's first, and as far as I know only, night game.

Otherwise, it was a typical U6 soccer game, but worth photographing if for no other reason then the light is better at 6:30 PM then it is at 11:30 AM. So, here are two shots of Alex, either of which might make you think he knows what he is doing:

soccerNight1 Hosted on Zooomr

soccerNight2 Hosted on Zooomr

No More Teacher's Dirty Looks

2007-05-02T22:17:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow will be Alex's last day of pre-school. He started at the Onica Prall Lab School at Hood College back in September 2005, which looking back, seems like a long time ago.

Alex on his very first day in the three year old class - Sept 05

firstDay Hosted on Zooomr

Alex on his first day of four year old class - Sept 06

First Day For Fours Hosted on Zooomr

Alex today

lastday Hosted on Zooomr

Sleep Well, Cat Friends

2007-04-27T12:18:00.000-04:00

You did not have too much to offer us. That was not your way. Even so, you were with us through very interesting times of our lives. For good and for bad, we'll not be able to think back to those times without remembering you as well.

Forest, I appreciate that as old as you were, you still had antics. I hope that there are plenty of sunbeams where you've gone in which you can nap.

Duncan, you were a loyal brother to the end and your fate was most unfair. I will miss you curling up next to me on the couch.

Still we see you then remember again that you are gone. I did not expect to miss you.

Aquaduct Redux

2007-04-22T22:55:00.000-04:00

Not far from our house is the place where the Mighty Monocacy River meets the Powerful Potomac. Since there use to be a canal along the Potomac, an aqueduct was built to cross the Monocacy. We returned there today to let the dog have a swim and to help the kids develop some hiking skills. With the wonderful spring weather (finally!) we could not help but have a good time, especially Charlie.

giantSteps Hosted on Zooomr

lookingUp Hosted on Zooomr

ductSide07 Hosted on Zooomr

The Avalanche's U6 Season Continues

2007-04-21T22:36:00.000-04:00

Today was about the 4th game for the U6 Avalanche. The battled the Dark Blue team whose name I don't know. For the first half, it was a good thing (for the Avalanche) that score is not kept for U6 soccer. Things turned around a bit in the second half, and the mighty Avalanche managed to score a few.

Of all the players on the team, Alex is one of them. He prefers playing defense, but will play offensively as well. He has mastered the finer skills of the game such as putting on his shin guard up-side-up and generally knowing which goal he is defending.

Here are some shots, courtesy of my (new to me) Minolta 70-210 F4 lens, aka "The Beer Can"

cornerKicker Hosted on Zooomr

crazyLegs Hosted on Zooomr

Sights Unseen

2007-04-19T15:50:00.000-04:00

I've been using Zooomr to archive and share all the photos that I take that are worth sharing. One nice feature of Zooomr is the ability to create "Smart Sets" which allow you to filter your collection on one or more criteria. For example, I have a kids set and a birthday set. There is even a set of my attempts at artistic photography.

I've also created some sets based on number of times the photo has been viewed. I'm not world famous yet, so right now my "hall of fame" sets are 50+ views and 100+ views.

Today for fun, I also created a set for pictures that have been viewed less than 5 times. Of my 366 photos, 33 have less than 5 views. You can see a screen shot of these to the left.

Looking over these shots, some trends stand out. Logically, newly posted photos are likely to be included (5 of these shots were posted in the last few days). Another trend is [REDACTED]

What surprises me are some of the cool pictures in this set that have been posted for a while and [REDACTED]. The "Chicken on the Can" shot? Who wouldn't want to look at that? The Klingon holding Duck Brown? Not something you see every day. The one with me in Vegas? Come on, I'm not in many of my own shots, so you should look at the ones I'm in.

Anyway, I hope you all take the time to follow the link to this set, then view some of the shots in it so they can get out of the club. I figure if everyone who regularly reads this blog clicks on a given shot, it will only take 3 or 4 additional views to get it over 5.

Busy Saturday

2007-04-02T11:16:00.000-04:00

I arose early Saturday morning to catch the sunrise on an old stone spring house that I've been wanting to photograph for a while. It was near enough to bike, and had it not been cloudy, I would have arrived just in time. Even so, I got some half decent shots:

springHouse Hosted on Zooomr

On the ride back, I stopped at another unused old building - this time a barn across from my neighborhood. Just photographing some of this stuff made me feel like I need a tetanus shot.

Next up was the opening day of U6 Soccer - Our Avalanche (now in white) vs the Yellow Wildcats. Both teams showed improvements, and the game was much closer than when these two teams met opening day in the fall (or it would have been had score been kept). Here are some shot of Alex in the "Big Kick" defense:

alexSoccer3 Hosted on Zooomr

alexSoccer2 Hosted on Zooomr

It was then back to the house for a quick lunch, before heading for the Shady Grove Metro station to take the subway into DC. The main reason for this trip was so that Shelley could pick up her packet for Sunday's Cherry Blossom 10 Mile race. (She finished the race in under 90 minutes which is quite impressive for a woman her age). While Shelley was off getting her stuff, the kids and I went to the Air and Space Musuem. The highlight of this was Digital Dome hi-def planetarium show.

It was then time for some hot dogs, popcorn, and requisite carousel rides in the mall before dragging our tired selves back to metro and back home.

familyMall Hosted on Zooomr

ellaMallPicnic Hosted on Zooomr

carousella07 Hosted on Zooomr

alexMall Hosted on Zooomr

determined Hosted on Zooomr

From Big Blue To Little Blue

2007-02-28T14:59:00.000-05:00

Back in the fall of 1997 I was a single man, living in an apartment in Chapel Hill, NC, and working at IBM. I decided to leave IBM to go work for Rational Software.

Five years later, I was married, living in a house in Raleigh along with two step-cats, a dog, and a baby boy. While I was out back chain-sawing trees that had fallen during an ice storm into our yard and onto our house, Shelley called out to me the news that Rational had just been acquired by IBM.

Fast forward four more years, two more moves and one daughter. In that time I've continued to work for IBM, but now remotely from my home office. That is, until today. Today, after more than nine years, I am leaving IBM (again). There was no party, and there were no songs because everyone I work with is somewhere else. That's OK.

I left not because I was unhappy with IBM, but instead because an opportunity knocked on my door in the form of a company called
AdaptiveBlue. This is a Web 2.0 company that provides a plug-in that promises to "make your browser smarter". Though I'll still be involved in testing and quality, this will be a big change for me because AdaptiveBlue is small and agile in the exact way that IBM is not. Also, as one of just five employees, I'll have a chance to make a real impact.

So, goodbye Rational and IBM. Thanks for the experiences.

Badging Out Hosted on Zooomr

Rockin' The Suburbs

2007-02-12T22:50:00.000-05:00

We've lived in this house for over three years now, and though we enjoy most aspects of it, one thing we don't like is that it feels very generic to us. Maybe it was too much dry wall and boring white trim. Maybe it was the fact that 3 of the other 8 houses on our street are the same model. Whatever the reason, it was time for a change.

This change came via the fine craftsmen at Poole's Stone & Garden in the form of a stone fireplace and rough hewn wooden mantle. Here are some shots showing the progession and the end result.

Stone Fireplace 1 Hosted on Zooomr

This is how the new fireplace looked after 1 day of work. Notice the outline of the old mantle.

Stone Fireplace 2 Hosted on Zooomr

After day 2, the wall looked much more stoned, and so did Alex.

Stone Fireplace 3 Hosted on Zooomr

And finally, 4.5 workdays later, here is the finished product.

Rough Hewn Mantle Hosted on Zooomr

Here is a closer shot of the mantle. It is a 150 year old piece of chestnut from a bank barn in Westminster, MD.

Disney Day 7

2007-02-11T23:56:00.000-05:00

Friday 26 January 2007

Going-home day had arrived, and a bit to my surprise, I found myself wanting to stay longer. I guess that this is a sign of a good trip. We did not need to catch the Magic Bus back to airport until noon, so we had a somewhat leisurely morning. We packed our stuff and ate most of the food in the cabin for breakfast. What we could not finish (including much of the previous night’s pizza) we golf-carted over to the RV (refrigerated vehicle). We said farewell to Oma and Opa, and left to continue on their Florida Adventure.

Our next stop was the (previous site of the) Fort Wilderness petting zoo. All that was there were some lonely goats that were too shy to let us pet them. Behind the empty pens was the horse barn where some of the horses that work in the various parks live. We said hi to the horses, then headed for the playground and beach. Here I left the other three to play while I carted the suitcases to be checked-in for the flight home.

When I returned, it was time to gather the family and return our trusty steed, O’ 444 back to the Bike Barn. While there we rented 2 rustic fishing poles (long sticks fishing line and hooks) and went to catch some fish. Maybe it was our lack of fishing skills, our lack of bait, or the absence of any fish, but we had no luck finding Nemo or anyone else to impale themselves on our hooks. If nothing else though, we were able to check one last thing off our list.

The rest of the trip involved a bus, a train, a plane, a shuttle, and a drive that got us all safely back home. We were all a bit sad that the trip was over, and were already talking about when we would go back (Ella has it in her mind that we will go back when she is 7 so she will be tall enough to ride Soarin’. Alex thinks we are going back for his birthday in May.)

Looking back, I am pleased with what we were able to do, and what we chose to miss. I’m glad we did not try to take the kids when they were any younger than they now are. It might have been a bit better if Ella were a little older, but she was a champ. The nice thing about taking the kids at this age is that the magic is very real to them, and since they are not yet worried about being cool, they were able to let themselves be completely captivated and immersed. It was definitely wonderful for Shelley and me to see everything through their eyes.

Disney Day 6

2007-02-06T16:28:00.000-05:00

Thursday morning dawned cold and rainy, but we were still on the boat to Magic Kingdom before 8:00 because we had an 8:55 date with some princesses. Though we were in a hurry, the kids still took the time to walk through a deep puddle in order to get their feet totally soaked.

We actually got to the park early enough to take advantage of the extra magic hour during which only Disney resort guests can enter. Between the cold, the rain, and the Extra Magic, the place was deserted and we were able to walk on to Buzz Light Year, Dumbo, and Winnie the Pooh.

It was then time for breakfast inside Cinderella’s castle. We waited in the first floor waiting area until the castle’s namesake princess arrived. There was a short queue until we had our turn. Ella was resplendent in her wet blue sweat jacket topped with her worn out Cinderella pajamas.

The next stop was the Royal Dining Room (I may be making that name up) for the breakfast part of the breakfast. For the Lords and Ladies there was sausage, bacon, eggs, and a fruit-topped stuffed French toast thing. The princes and princesses were served bacon, eggs, and French toast sticks. It was all you care to enjoy too, and I enjoyed it all, especially the bacon and the French toast thing.

During this meal, each table was visited by Belle, Snow Wine, Fairy Godmother, and Jasmine. It was during this stage of the meal that Alex’s #1 thrill of the trip occurred in the bare midriff form of Princess Jasmine. First was the standard autograph signing and picture posing:

Next he went in for the BIG HUG, nearly knocking Jasmine over, and not letting go for an embarrassingly long time.

When he finally disengaged, she called him back to tell him a secret. The secret she delivered was a big smackeroo on his cheek that left him with a giant grin and a bright red badge of honor.

It had stopped raining by the time breakfast was done, but there were still no crowds to speak of. We caught a show of Mickey’s Philharmagic, which in my opinion is the best of the 3-D movies. Next we walked onto to first Peter Pan and then Small World. The latter of these has not aged well, and one can only remember that it was a big deal for people at 1964 World’s Fair, but 43 years later I think the only reason it is still running is for nostalgia.

It was then off to Adventureland where we met up with Oma, Opa, and Captain Jack Sparrow. Cap’n Jack and one of his henchmen put on a sidewalk show in which Alex was chosen to learn to sword fight. This was a fun bonus diversion, especially since the guy who played Jack was so authentic he could have been Johnny Depp.

Of course we then had to on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, since the Yo Ho Yo Ho song was now fresh in our minds. Next up was two spins on the Magic Carpet ride (I can’t believe it is not Dumbo) followed some stair work at the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. The final attraction in Adventureland was the Jungle Cruise which seemed especially lame after the Safari in Animal Kingdom. Even the kids could tell the animals were fake.

Tommorrowland was next. For me, no trip to Disney is complete without a spin around the Carousel of Progress, and since rumor has it that this ride will soon be dismantled, I did not want to miss this chance. I realize this ride is not as awe inspiring as it once was, and the 2000ish scene is a mix between an outdated past (laser discs and 4x3 TV’s) and a future that will never be (voice controlled ovens)but I enjoy it nonetheless. I have grand plans in my own mind about how it should be updated (change it to show 1900, 1950, 2000, and 2050), but I’ll save this topic for a SoapBox. Even so, we all left the theater singing about a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.

After Opa armed Alex with a Space Ranger ray gun, Tomorrowland Transit Authority was our next diversion. I remember this ride vividly from 1977 because, while we were on it, my brother Tom told me it was actually Space Mountain, which terrified me. It was less scary this time, and I resisted the urge to play the same trick on my kids. From the TTA we spotted the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, so that was up next, and then it was on to Mickey’s Toontown Fair to ride The Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm. At this point in the trip, a roller coaster hardly even phased the kids , though Shelley reported getting jostled a good bit (I generously gave my spot to Opa so I could take pictures). Opa and Oma bought Ella the Minnie Mouse she’d had her eyes on for a while, then we parted ways and left them to their own devices.

A short train ride took us back to the front of the park. Here we accidently caught the Disney Dreams Come True Parade, which was one of the top two parades we’d seen on this trip. Ella was more interested in playing with Minnie Mouse while Alex concentrated on shooting all the bad guys and many of the other guests with his ray gun. The parade served as good farewell to theme park portion of the trip.

In the evening we watched the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the Fort Wilderness beach, which actually provides a fairly decent vantage point for the show. They even pipe in the music. The only downside was that the ducks (not Duck Brown) were aggressively trying to separate the kids from their jelly beans. We carted to the pizza place for some pizza to go, which we enjoyed back in the cabin.

Disney Day 5

2007-02-02T13:34:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 24 Jan 2007

We were up bright and early Wednesday morning to make it to our 8:05 breakfast reservations with some Playhouse Disney characters at Hollywood and Vine in MGM Studios. The highlights of this breakfast were the Mickey shaped waffles, and getting to meet Leo and June, two of the Little Einsteins. The kids are big fans of their work, and so were very excited about this. JoJo and Goliath were also there, but they were not interesting enough to take Alex away from his waffles.

The kind waitress also provided the kids with tatoos to match their shirts.

Breakfast was over about the same time the park opened, but even so, there were hardly any guests. The kids met Mickey (again) and Pluto at the base of the giant hat.

We then walked right on to the Great Movie Ride. I’d call it the Pretty Good Movie Ride, if for no other reason that it seems to hardly have changed since the first time I rode in many years ago. Speaking of attractions that could use an update, it was then on to Muppet Vision 3-D, which was a state of the art (for 1990) 3-D movie. The best part was still the old guys in the balcony. There were still no crowds, so we walked on to the Backlot Tour, which was a letdown. Maybe because there were only about 20 people on it, but the special effects people phoned in their parts, and the tram tour was abbreviated. Yawn.

Next we had to actually wait 15 minutes for the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, but only because we just missed the 11:30 show. The woman who played Ariel did a great job, and Ella really enjoyed it.

Next up was the coolest thing we saw in MGM. It was the world famous race car Lightning McQueen and his best buddy Mater. These were full size, drivable vehicles that looked totally authentic (considering the “real” versions of these were computer generated). From the moment they drove up to the moment they drove off, Alex was captivated. Other kids came and went, but Alex did not leave the side of 95. This was to be his second biggest thrill of the trip.

Wednesday night, we left the kids with my folks and headed back to Epcot. You might guess by the fact that this was our third visit there this trip, that this is our favorite park. Epcot was uncrowded enough that we were able to ride Soarin’ and Mission to Space with hardly any wait. Both rides were still very impressive.

It was then off to World Showcase, for what has become our traditional meal at the Rose and Crown Pub. We like this place because the food is tasty, the beer is superb, and it offers an excellent view of the fireworks extravaganza. Once again, the Rose and Crown did not let us down. We were also very thankful for some crucial time away from the kids.

Disney Day 4

2007-01-31T16:41:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 23 Jan 2007

The kids were very excited this day to continue our adventure. Perhaps this is why they were up and at 'em well before 6:00 AM in the morning. While working my way out of a milkshake induced coma and wondering why Shelley had all these children, I manged to contain the kids and their enthusiasm until nearly 7:00. Oma and Opa joined us for a pancake breakfast, then went back to their RV where I assume they went back to sleep.

We saddled up ol' Cart 444 and tooled our way to the bus stop, just in time to catch the Epcot bus. As an aside, on our previous two trips to Disney we were very disappointed by the the transportation service. I don't know if they've made improvements or if we've just been lucky, but on this trip I don't think we've had to wait more than 5 minutes for a bus, boat, or monorail.

Anyway, we went back to Epcot since on our first visit there we'd only managed to see a fraction of what we wanted to. Even though only two days had passed, we returned to Epcot older and wiser, and so this time rented a stroller. This was easily the best $18 we spent on the whole trip (the second best being the $18 we spent on 4 bananas at the Fort Wilderness Trading Post - just kidding, the bananas had some brown spots and could have been a bit sweeter).

We strollered back to Soarin', where Ella was still too short. She and I found a Kidcot Fun Stop while Shelley and Alex went on Soarin'. They had a surprise awaiting them in the queue. This year Disney is doing the Year of a Million Dreams where they award prizes such things as free vacations, a night in Cinderella's castle or a Dream Fast Pass which gets you on all the rides without waiting. Shelley and Alex were lucky enough to win 2 of the million dreams in the form of Dream Mouse Ears. What makes these special is that they cannot be bought, only won. OK, so not as good as a $20K Disney Vacation Club property or a trip to all the Disney parks around the world, but still fun to win.

With our ears donned, it was off to Mission Space for Alex and me while the ladies hit another Kidcot station. Shelley and Alex then rode Test Track (Alex did not mind the speed, but did mind being made hot and cold) while Ella and ate a yummy soft pretzel.

We wheeled our way to World Showcase, blew through Mexico, blew past China and Norway, and landed in Germany. Here we enjoyed lunch at the Bier Garten which consisted of brats and hot dogs and some delicious German beer (Lowenbrau for me and some weis beer for the Frau.)
It was in the German toy store that we then discovered the World Showcase version of the Kidcot Fun Stops. These stations allowed the kinder to create a mask in one country, then collect charms and stamps for it in all the other countries. These masks were brilliant since they gave the kids a reason to keep on going. While they were coloring their masks, I discovered a Spaten and Shelley discovered a Becks Dark, which were also brilliant since they gave us a reason to keep on going.

World Showcase also turned out to be a great place to collect autographs. Some of the best were Donald Duck, Goofy, Minnie Mouse, Jasmine, Aladin, Genie, Aurora, Belle, and Pooh. You can see the requisite photos of all these and more at zooomr. I'll share one here just to prove the Duck Brown was actually on this trip:

After seeing all that we wanted to see in Epcot, it was back to Fort Wilderness for a swim. This we did not because it was particularly warm, but because you should not miss a chance to swim outside in January.

Tuesday night dinner was hot dogs and marshmallows at the campfire where we were entertained by some campfire song singing lady, Chip and Dale, and a cartoon. The Fort Wilderness campfire was one of the few things I remembered from 1977, and not much has changed in the last 30 years. This is a good thing, and was a great way to end a (dare I say it?) magical day.

Chip Ahoy Hosted on Zooomr

Disney Day 3

2007-01-30T16:29:00.000-05:00

Monday 22 Jan 2007

Monday was Animal Kingdom day. We started off with the safari, which Shelley and I agreed was the best we'd ever seen it. I just don't know how those Disney Imagineers make those animals look so realistic. We then took a trek on the Pangani Exploration Trail, which was nice. We'd already seen enough wonders on this trip however, that the kids hardly broke stride to check out the gorillas along the way.

It was then on to Camp Minnie Mickey where the kids got to meet and greet The Mouse himself.

There was not enough time to queue for Minnie, Donald, or Goofy before the Festival of the Lion King began. The music, gymnastics, and fire tossing captivated Alex, but somehow made Ella hungry. We then learned in the Tree of Life that it is Tough To Be a Bug. We also learned that being sprayed with a foul smell is just as offensive in the Animal Kingdom as it was in Epcot.

By this point, the kids were falling apart. A pretzel and some popcorn rejuvenated them enough to tackle the Bone Yard. This is a dinosaur themed playground complete with places to get wet and a large sand/pebble pit where kids can dig up dinosaur bones while collecting stones in the hair and underwear. We'd spent what felt like an age in the Bone Yard when the rain started, and that was enough of an excuse to go back to the campground.

We ate lunch at the Trails End restaurant at Fort Wilderness which was an all you can eat buffet, including chocolate pudding. I love me the pudding. Long before I was hungry again it was time to take the boat to Wilderness Lodge where Oma and Opa had made us all dinner reservations at The Whispering Canyon.

The Whispering Canyon is adjacent to the impressive lobby of the lodge, and even by Disney standards, it is a restaurant with flair. This is never more apparent than when you ask your waitress for some ketchup.

You might think that this would have been the highlight of this meal. Or perhaps you would guess it was the wooden "pony express" ride all the kids took around the room. Either guess would be wrong. The actual highlight was the All You Care To Enjoy milkshakes. If you ask me, this is an innovation that is long past due. I very much enjoyed my first milkshake. I less enthusiastically enjoyed my second milkshake. When asked if I would enjoy a third milkshake, my mind and my stomach said "no-no" but my mouth said "Would I? Of course I would!" Stupid mouth. It took some doing, but I managed to adhere to my no milkshake left behind policy.

Disney Day 2

2007-01-29T16:53:00.000-05:00

Sunday 21 January 2007

The first night in the cabin was a bit rough, as first nights in new places often are. Even so, we set out fairly early Sunday morning to see what the new day would bring. The first stop was the RV for breakfast and hot chocolate with Oma and Opa. We then took the boat and two monorails to Epcot.

The first ride we wanted to go on was Soarin'. The height requirement for Soarin' is 40". The height of Ella in her low-heeled brown shoes is 39.75". She was denied entry. Bad news for Ella, and she was disappointed.

tooShort Hosted on Zooomr

Ella's misfortune was good news for me and Alex though since they gave us an immediate Fast Pass to make up for enforcing their rules. This allowed us to walk right on and bypass the 30 minute wait. Soarin' is a great ride, and would be among Alex's favorite activities of the week.

After rejoining the ladies, we rode Living With the Land. This was highlighted by the method in which they grow pumpkins. Instead of growing them on the ground like normal people would, they instead grow them suspended in the air, like my brother did.

Perhaps it was the Soarin disappointment, the sheer size of Epcot, or the residual exhaustion from the trip thus far, but we were quickly running out of steam. We managed to Journey Into Imagination with Figment (Ella loved it - Alex was offended when Figment turned into a skunk and sprayed us) and Nemo (better than the old Living Seas if for no other reason you get to sit down instead of having to ride the "elevator") before we needed to leave.

epcotBawl Hosted on Zooomr

It was back to the cabin then for lunch, naps, showers, and baths. This was almost enough to recharge our batteries for our evening plans at Downtown Disney. This is quite the destination for those seeking a giant toy store or an even bigger store selling every piece of Disney merchandise imaginable. It is not the place however to find thick soled sneakers for a 3 year old girl.

The main reason we went to Downtown Disney was to meet our friends, the Bankeys, for dinner. In real life they live three doors down from us, but since they happened to be in Orlando at the same time we were, we were compelled to meet them for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, which like the Bankeys, can also be found in Maryland. The best things about dinner were the light up drink glasses, the fake rainstorms, and the fake gorillas sitting behind us.

buzznUs Hosted on Zooomr

Duck Brown Goes To Disney - Day 1

2007-01-28T14:09:00.000-05:00

Saturday 20 January 2007
We realized a few months ago that if we wanted to take the kids to Disney World during the off-season without taking them out of school, this winter would be our last chance. After months of saving, planning, and preparation, the day was finally upon us.

Leaving home only 8 minutes after our planned departure time (which is a record) got us to our gate at Dulles airport in plenty of time. The only misstep was that Ella wore the wrong shoes. The brown shoes she put on were less comfortable than the sneakers she left behind, but more importantly, they were less thickly heeled. Later I'll reveal why this is important.

The flight was remarkably unremarkable, especially for Ella who chose to sleep for half the trip. We arrived in Orlando around 1:00 PM and made our way to meet the Disney Magical Express. The best part of this service is that we were able to check our bags at Dulles and not have to deal with them again until they (magically?) showed up in our room.

The magic bus took took us to our resort - Fort Wilderness. This would mark my fourth stay at the Fort, and I was very curious as to what this time would bring since the last three times were each marked by significant events:

1977: My first trip to Disney
1992: The Spring Break that changed history
1993: The "Storm of the Century" caused us to bug out a day early.

We checked in and made our way to our cabin. Now, I am big fan of tent camping, but there is also something to be said for camping in a climate-controlled building with a kitchen, a bathroom, and a separate bedroom. After getting settled, we walked to the Bike Barn and rented a golf cart. I'm not sure if this is what people do when camping in the actual wilderness, but hey, we're on vacation, and besides, it is fun.

We tooled over to the 700 loop and met up with my parents, hence forth referred to as Oma and Opa. Since they are knocking on 70, they are required by federal law to spend time each winter in the sunshine state. They'd trailered their RV from Pennsylvania to Florida over the previous few days and we were excited to be able to share this vacation with them. I was also excited that they had already parked the RV, so my help was not required.

After saying our hellos and spilling some of their food, we carted to the marina where we caught the boat to the Magic Kingdom. I'm no sailor, but I have to say that boating to the Magic Kingdom is much nicer than taking a bus, and not just because it is faster.

Once in the Kingdom, our first ride was the train since outside of a Zeppelin, we'd already taken every other form of transportation this day. The park was surprisingly crowded for January, but we managed to ride:

Haunted Mansion: Alex said this was too scary, but Ella did not think so
Cinderella's Carousel: Of all the carousels we've been on, this was one of them.
Dumbo: (girls) Ella was thrilled to drive the pink Dumbo all by herself. What is it about this ride?
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: (guys) It was a little scary, but Alex was brave and had a great time.

We met back up at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe in Frontierland which was disappointing food-wise, but happened to be along the route of the Spectra Magic parade. This was fairly decent as parades go, and we got to see a who's who of characters. After the parade all that was left to do was buy some cotton candy and ride the boat back to the Fort. It had been a good first day.

New Year's Eve Eve Party

2007-01-11T15:08:00.000-05:00

Click here for photos

Back in 1992, my fine friends Dave and Kristi thought it would be fun to get together and welcome in the new year. On that fateful night, I remember Dave saying , "How likely do you think it is that 14 years from now we'll still be doing this, but in Maryland, with a bunch of new people, and a bunch of kids?" to which I replied "I also imagine that we will arrive in flying cars and play video games that we control with our bodies." Kristi did not say anything because she was out in the front yard banging on pots and pans for reasons I still don't understand.

So who knew we'd be so wrong about the flying cars? How about it, science? At least we got everything else right.

The fun started on the 29th with the arrival at our house of Kristi and Dave and their orchestra. Before I knew what happened Janine and Hugh, Marci and Rob, and Eric and Stacy also arrived, along with their respective orchestras. There were nuggets and waffle fries (thanks, Jen), pulled pork, lasagna and who knows what else. Somewhere around then Wendy and Russ arrived sans orchestra, not counting the child in Wendy's belly.

Not long after the food was gone, we turned on the Wii, and that is when things start to get fuzzy. Time passed and everyone went to bed - 20 people here and 2.5 people at a nearby hotel.

Saturday morning brought more chaos and Sue. It also brought some babysitters who allowed us to escape from the children. We went to downtown Fred City where we met up with Gretchen, Mike, and the forthcoming Lutz at Brewer's Alley.

Back home then to save the babysitters, as we went once more into the chaos. Again, more stuff happened, more Wii was played, and some Catch Phrase and we had our New Year's Eve Eve party. There was also some singing that I have to mention because it was Shelley's favorite part. My favorite part was the bacon which you will hear about in the next paragraph.

The morning of the 31st was, you guessed it, chaotic. Some people were leaving, some were staying, and I was making the last of the apple wood smoked bacon, left over from Christmas. Some people had already had enough fun. Bags in hand they went on their way. By the time things had settled down, there were 7 adults and 7 children remaining. Eventually we found ourselves at TGI Friday's for dinner, after which we saw Charlotte's Web. All the talk of killing Wilbur reminded me of that delicious bacon. Talk about some pig!

After the movie we said farewell to the McWettsone Four, and returned to the house for the lowest key New Year's Eve party in at least a year. Everyone else left the next morning, and so ended the festivities. The road to a friend is not long, especially when the uncanny likeness of that friend exists as a Mii to grace my TV screen when ever they want.

Thanks to all for a great time!

Click here for photos

Merry Christmas in Maryland

2007-01-10T15:56:00.000-05:00

This was our fourth Christmas in Maryland, and I think we are starting to get the hang of it. To me, Christmas is a time of family traditions, and we managed to keep most of the old ones and start a new one.

Traditions Kept

Wake up Christmas morning in our own beds
Brew-pub dinner on Christmas Eve
Watching It's A Wonderful Life while assembling presents

New Traditions

Lobster Tail Dinner Christmas Night

Traditions Lost

Drive-by gawking of crazy decorated house in Point of Rocks

My folks came down Christmas Eve, and were able to watch Alex sing as part of the kid's choir:

saidTheCow Hosted on Zooomr

They then took us to the "Skinny French Fry" restaurant (aka Brewer's Alley) for dinner, where Ella was being Ella:

ohElla Hosted on Zooomr

Christmas morning brought the chaos you'd expect, along with some delicious apple-wood smoked bacon. It was well worth however long it took off my life. Once it was gone and the presents were all opened, Oma and Opa hit the road back to PA.

The second round of presents arrived with Grammy and Grandad who managed to pack enough gifts into their Forrester to do Santa proud. They were rewarded with the joy of family and a surf and turf dinner courtesy of Omaha and Opaha Steaks.

Wassailation

2007-01-05T14:31:00.000-05:00

sleighride Hosted on Zooomr

December 22, 2006 - Adamstown, MD
Residents of the Green Hill Manor subdivision breathed a sigh of releif when the days rain lasted far enough into the evening hours to keep attendees of the Roth's (nearly) Annual Caroling Party indoors for the duration.

Though invitees included many people of all persuasions (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) who possess strong singing skills, there were also some who could not make this claim. Even more dangerously, some attendees, after enjoying too many holiday spirits thought themselves in the former group while more accurately being in the latter.

Despite being confined to staying indoors (or perhaps because of this), most guests seemed to have a good time.

Great Mom is 92!

2006-12-14T09:26:00.000-05:00

This weekend past, we traveled to PA to celebrate my grandmother's 92nd birthday. We had a hard time choosing a present for her since she is notoriously hard to shop for, and I figure if she has yet to acquire something in 92 years, she probably doesn't really need or want it.

Here are some party photos for your viewing enjoyment:

Kids Letter To Santa

2006-12-10T21:24:00.000-05:00

Hello Santa Claus-

I've been very good this year. I'd like a Mac the Truck for Christmas. I also hope you can bring me my own electric train.

Santa Claus, Merry Christmas! I hope you have a fun one. If the reindeer are nice, I will give them reindeer food sometime. Santa Claus, sometime can I have a ride in your sleigh?

Our house is in Adamstown, Maryland. It is a brick house. If you see a Christmas tree with Thomas on it, that means you are at the right house. We're going to get our Christmas train out today.

Merry Christmas Santa, Goodbye.
Alex

Dear Santa-
Happy Christmas!
I have been a good girl this year. I played with my Daddy, I played with my big brother, I played with my cars, I played with my Mommy, I played around, and I played with all my friends. That's all I did.
Can you please bring me a Dora kitchen, a Dora magic castle, and a Dora towel, a new computer (I don't have a computer), and maybe a kid remote. I'd also like a Sally. That will be a lot of stuff for Christmas - all that stuff! I want a kid spoon. I got too many stuff.
You can fly to our house. It is in Maryland. It's like this high. It's kind of grayish.
That's the end.
From Ella.

2006 Christmas Letter

2006-12-10T14:42:00.001-05:00

As those of you on "the list" know, in years past we sent out a letter each December chronicling the year's events. Given that we're six years into the twenty-first century, I figured it was time we started posting this letter online. Since this blog is where we've been reporting on our family all year, it seemed like the perfect place. So here we go.

As we end another year, I can't say that too much has changed for the Roth family. We have the same jobs, the same house, the same kids, the same pets and the same haircuts as we did last December. This year seems to have gone by more quickly than usual and I am unsure of the reason. Despite the fact that Alex and Ella have become more self-sufficient, that magical free time that I think I must have once had still eludes me, and my dream of a three hour Sunday afternoon nap in my family room easy chair remains unfulfilled. I also can't cope with the fact that Wake Forest is going to a better bowl game than Penn State.

So, what did we do this year?

It was a good year for Ella. She started the year in a crib, wearing diapers, and relying on a "huck". All those things are now a distant memory. She also finished a semester of kindermusik, saw her first movie, played a season of U4 soccer, and turned 3. She is showing signs that art talent can skip a generation, and has become an accomplished colorer. Ella plays a mean game of Uno and is becoming a master puzzle builder.

Alex turned 4 in May and through the year his interest has shifted from trains to cars, or more precisely Cars. After seeing this Pixar movie, he only wants to be Lightning McQueen. Ka-chow! Despite having the busy schedule of a world famous race car, he finished 3 year old school and is now half way through 4 year old school. He also plays soccer and sings in the church kid choir. He also served as ring bearer for his Uncle Dave and Aunt Kim without a hitch.

For Shelley, being a part-time statistician, a part-time stay at home mom, a gardener, and a laundress was apparently not enough, so this year she took on the additional roles of piano teacher, assistant soccer coach, and soccer coach. I imagine this keeps her very busy, and I plan to ask her about it next time I see her. As for me, I continue on as a "tele-tester" for IBM, and got to go to Las Vegas in May to tell people about it. I am also trying to answer the age old question of "If you write a blog and no one reads, are you wasting your time?"

So that was 2006. I need to finish writing now since we just mailed the Christmas cards containing the link to this. It is nice how technology allows the last minute to be later and later. We hope you all had a wonderful 2006, and wish you the best for 2007.

Not So Yummy Yummy

2006-11-16T11:18:00.000-05:00

Here is an excerpt from last night's dinner conversation:
Me: So, Alex, what did you do at school today?
Alex: We made fruit salad!
Me: That sounds like fun.
Alex: (excited) Then I started singing the fruit salad song (begins singing Fruit Salad by the Wiggles.)
Alex: Oooh! (giggling) Then one kid started singing "Poop salad.. yummy yummy!"
Me: Really? Which kid did that?
Alex: (pauses) It was me.
Me: Of course it was.

I no longer wonder why his teacher gives me funny looks when I drop him off for school.

Princess Party Palooza

2006-11-05T18:49:00.000-05:00

Though she turned 3 on October 28th, we just had Ella's party on Saturday. The theme, as required by law, was Princess. Guests came from as close as next door and from as far away as Virginia and Pennsylvania. A good time was had by some.

Making a Wish

A Wish Is Made

The cake takes the cake.

Alex realizes one of the main downsides of having a sister.

Fall Fest at Chevy Chase

2006-10-24T21:28:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, we attended another in the long string of fall festivals. This time, it was at Grammy and Granddad's church in Chevy Chase, MD. This is our third year at this particular festival, and each time is more fun than the last. Here are some pictures:

Both kids handled their steeds like old hands. The beasts did not seem off-put by the costumes.

Ella was unsure about cotton candy. She thought it might be fur. She gave it a go anyway. Alex had no hesitation.

A-Maize-Ing

2006-10-23T15:35:00.000-04:00

So my friend Hugh has a corn maze. Each year we have a get together with some friends at this corn maze. Each year it has rained, at least until now. This year it was partly sunny and crisp. A great day to get lost.

Here is ella making a corn angel in the Corn Box. I'll let you guess how many kernels stowed away in her underwear

Here is Alex in the actual maze. The half empty cob he is holding is the surprisingly effective means he used to ensure we would not get lost. We've learned that pieces of corn work better than bread crumbs

It was great to (finally) get to do all the attractions that Maize Quest has to offer, and also very nice to spend some time visiting with some friends. A good time was had by all.

Soccer "Skills" Fest

2006-10-22T22:55:00.000-04:00

Ella completed her U4 soccer season on Saturday with a clinic where the kids could show off their skills. Ella was happy to demonstrate her dribbling skills, and her passing skills, which were expected, and her fussing skills, and watching from the sideline skills which were not.

ellaPouts Hosted on Zooomr

Ella Refuses To Participate

watchingSkills Hosted on Zooomr

Ella checks her shoe instead of participating

trophyGirl Hosted on Zooomr

Ella gets a trophy anyway

Jack is Back

2006-10-18T15:33:00.000-04:00

Shelley and the kids transformed Alex's pumpkin from the pumpkin patch into a "scary" Jack-O-Lantern. Here is the play by play:

Scooping Out The Innards:

Carving the face:

Supervising Carving the Face:

Posing With Jack:

Who is This Goofball?

The Great Pumpkin Patch

2006-10-16T10:21:00.000-04:00

On Saturday we visited the local pumpkin patch. The hayride and the antique tractors (that you can climb on) were once again hits with the kids, along with the new Giant Pumpkin moon bounce (I've officially added moon bounces to the list of things the kids can't walk past. Puddles are also on this list).

The rule of pumpkin selection is that you must be able to lift the pumpkin you chose. Alex chose the biggest pumpkin that he could lift. Ella, iconoclast that she is, chose two small pumpkins.

This year's visit was bittersweet because it reminded me that I was again unsuccessful at growing my own pumpkins. I actually had a large orange pumpkin in my garden, but the problem was that it was ready in July. It did not make it through August, yet along to October. I'll try again next year.

Give Me Some Sugarloaf Mountain

2006-10-09T13:18:00.000-04:00

Sugarloaf Mountain is a few miles southeast of here, and according to the topographic map of Greater Adamstown that hangs on my wall, has an altitude of 1282 feet at its peak. Last year we took the west view trail (blue blaze) to the first lookout. On the way back to the car, both kids tripped and fell several times and were bruised and bloodied.

It was so much fun, that we decided to go back. We once again followed the blue blazes to the first lookout, and this time the kids didn't even break a sweat. Feeling bold, we switched to the red blaze trail which is a fairly steep ascent to the peak. The kids were troopers, and it we made it to top intact.

This is when we literally took a turn for the worse. Figuring the kids might have trouble descending the red trail, we instead set out on the blue tail which we would thought would be easier. I should point out that we did not have a trail map, and really lacked any information about the blue trail other than that it would eventually get us back to the first lookout and then to our car. Turns out the blue goes all the way down the wrong side of the mountain, then back up to the right side. Luckily, it wasn't long before we lost the trail or maybe it lost us. Either way, after some frustration and a fruit snack break, we made it back to the red trail. Going down it was not as bad as we thought, even with carrying Ella-who'd-had-enough-hiking. We got lost once more, but made it back to the big white car a bit tired, but perhaps also a bit wiser.

The Return Of Uncle Wiggily

2006-10-03T13:25:00.000-04:00

One of my earliest childhood memories was having Uncle Wiggily books read to me. These books by Howard R. Garis described the adventures of an old gentleman rabbit and his encounters with friends and foes and other curious animal folk.

I enjoyed these books so much that I preemptively inherited them to share with my own children. The three I could find in my parent's house were Uncle Wiggily's Adventures, Uncle Wiggily's Airship, and Uncle Wiggily's Fortune. My four year old son, Alex, shares my fondness for rabbits with rheumatism, and it wasn't long before we'd read through all three books several times.

When it got to the point that he could tell me what happened in a chapter before I read it, I knew it was time to expand the collection. Through some luck and sniping on eBay, I was able to add three more books to our collection: Uncle Wiggily's Automobile, Uncle Wiggly and the Littletails, and Uncle Wiggily on the Farm.

That's all for now. But, if the cuckoo clock does not wake up the overweight dog who pushes the cats out of second story window causing me to get a new basement, the next blog post will be about our annual trip to the Sugarloaf Mountain.

For It's Time For Four School

2006-09-13T15:20:00.000-04:00

Unlike a school in the summertime, Alex once again has class. He's back at the lab school at Hood College where students majoring in early childhood development get to experiment on him and test the theories they are learning about.

This year he is in Ms. Noggles 4 year old class. They meet 3 days a week for 2 hours a day, which coincidentally was the typical class load that I showed up for in college. I'm not sure what he'll be studying this year, but I can tell you that the flow of random art projects has already begun.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

2006-09-11T20:43:00.000-04:00

As the end of summer rapidly approaches, it is time once again or for soccer. Both kids are playing this time, Alex on a U6 team and Ella on a U4 team.

Saturday was the first game for Alex's team which I think calls themselves The Avalance, but I call them the Gray Team. The U6 games are 3 on 3 with no goalies. At any given time about 4 kids know which goal they should be shooting at. The Gray team played the White team, and it's a good thing that they don't keep score. If they had, Gray would have lost many to zero.
An hour later and one field over, it was time for the second practice of Ella's U4 team. In U4 they don't play games, but instead work on learning skills. What I've learned is that anyone less than 3 is probably too young for organized sports. Ella seems to enjoy it though, except during the times that she is crying or throwing a fit. She does like wearing the shirt.

Delaware Redux

2006-09-10T19:40:00.000-04:00

In what seems to have become an annual trip, we again spent Labor Day week with the Brock side of the family at the Delaware seashore. Though the activities were basically the same as in years past, the kids ability to keep up and participate made a huge difference. Some highlights of the week include:

Getting knocked around by Ernesto fueled waves
A visit to Funland on the Rhehobath boardwalk
An Oreo milkshake at Applebees (which I realize is not that exotic, but hey, it was really good)
A tour of the Dogfish Head brewery in Milton, DE. (read about on my SoapBox)
Going on safari's at James Farm Ecological Preserve

There was a lot more good stuff, but to save a few thousand words, I'll just add some more pictures:

A Dutch Wonderful Day

2006-08-22T13:20:00.000-04:00

On the way back from the Poconos, we made a return visit to Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA. Just like last year, we had a great time. Unlike last year, we needed no stroller and no diapers. Here are some shots (more on Flickr)

Seeing The Hills in the Poconos

2006-08-21T23:01:00.000-04:00

On Thursday we went to Pocono Pines to visit with our friends, the Mighty Hills. I call them the Mighty Hills because they are mighty good friends and because each one, including the children can bench press at least 2000 pounds.

Much fun was had by all. Some highlights include swimming and canoeing in Lake Naomi, swimming and sliding in the pool, a secret room, a hidden fort, London Broil that was perfectly cooked and microwave popcorn that wasn't. There were playgrounds and hiking trails, deer and turkeys, and pizza and wings.

Here are some pictures:

Return Of The SoapBox

2006-08-11T16:35:00.000-04:00

Just when you thought it was safe to go onto the Internet.

I am once again writing Andy's SoapBox. You can find it here: http://duckbrown.wordpress.com/

The SoapBox dates back about 10 years or so, with new posts being added every time I had a good idea. I've seeded the new SoapBox with the best posts from the old SoapBox ("I'm a Dum-Dum", "World Improvement" to name 2) and selections from my long neglected epinions site (including "Get Out Of My Lap!"). I'm also paving the road to the new SoapBox with good intentions to update it frequently. My two latest posts are "Lucky Charms in a World Out Of Control" and "Andy Roth's Ukulele Museum".

Please check it out and leave comments (comments are a blogger's catnip). If you'd like to subscribe (it's free and worth every penny), click on the button of your choice below:

Feedburner Feed

Down The Shore

2006-07-30T20:13:00.000-04:00

We got back yesterday from a 7-day, 6-night visit to Avalon, NJ. We visited with both my parents, half my brothers, half my sisters-in-law, all my neices, and my only nephew. Also present were many French speaking Canadians and at least one skunk who may or not speak French.

We all stayed at Avalon Campground, with the Maryland Roth's sharing a one room cabin, with a fickle air conditioner. Luckily we were able to spend much of the time in my folks' 30 ft RV trailer with surround sound.

Highlights of the week were the zoo, the pool, the Brady Bunch, and the afore mentioned skunks, who I never actually saw, but everyone else did several times.

Here are a bunch of pictures. More can be found on Flickr.

Chicken On The Can

2006-07-17T11:21:00.000-04:00

It was a perfect storm. I had enough red-neckness in me from my years living in NC. I was inspired to cook entire animals on the grill by my recent attendance at my brother's pig pickin'. I'd somehow acquired a can of beer from the soccer game tailgate. I had a chicken.

A beer can chicken was inevitable.

Chef Google led me to this site for a recipe. I adapted the dry rub to use brown sugar, pretzel salt, Italian seasoning, garlic, paprika, and of course some Mort. I also used olive oil instead of vegetable oil.
I had to forgo using a smoker box because I hadn't soaked any woodchips, didn't actually have any woodchips, and don't have a smoker box.

Even with my modifications, the end result was delicious.

Technorati tags: beer BeerCanChicken andyroth

Would Be Hooligans

2006-07-16T10:22:00.000-04:00

Shelley and I attened the DC United Major Leauge Soccer game last night at RFK stadium. With this, I have now seen 3 professional sports in person (4 if you count hockey) The game was a blast (DC won 3-2) and even better was the pre-game tailgate. I don't understand why this sport is so less popular in the US than anywhere else in the world.

Technorati tags: dcunited mls andyroth

Went to a little get together with some old friends.

2006-07-10T12:26:00.000-04:00

The kids and I went to PA because Alex has been asking to go for a few weeks. Since Dave and the kids were there, and the Lamberts were having a cook-out, we decided this would a good time to go.

Our first stop on Saturday was the pool at French Creek State Park. It is a nice pool with a sloping entry, so the kids can gradually control their depth. I enjoyed it as well, at least until my back went out.

After a quick change at Oma and Opa's, the next stop was the super Wal-Mart for some cupcakes and Tylenol. We then went to the Lamberts, and were only an hour late.

Matt and Dawn represent 50% of my high school friends that I regularly keep in touch with (regularly = at least once a year). We always have a good time and enjoy the good food when we're at their house. Here are some shots of the kids on the hill:

We spent the night in the folk's driveway, which would have been uncomfortable had we not been in their RV. I slept soundly until 4:45 when I heard the Velcro sounds of Alex putting on his shoes. He'd waited as long as he could to go in and wake Oma so they could drink hot chocolate and watch the sunrise. I was able to persuade him to wait another 30 minutes before he went in. Don't feel too bad for my mom, since she was the one that told him he was an early-bird and promised him hot chocolate.

Head Shavin' Day

2006-06-21T16:18:00.000-04:00

To celebrate the solstice and welcome summer, Alex and I decided it would be a good idea to shave our heads. Alex was first, so I set trimmer to "1" and went to work. I post no pictures of my effort because Shelley could not bear to watch, yet alone photograph the experience., She was able to fix him up a bit after I was done:

Next it was my turn. They say that someone who represents himself in court has a fool for an attorney. Luckily, the same can't be said for barbers:

Here is a shot of the finished work:

Now the days will grow shorter as our hair grows longer. We'll enjoy the season without the need for a comb or brush, and with no worries about about bed-head or hat-head. By the equinox we may even be looking normal again.

Technorati tags: solstice WhatWasIThinking

Carnival (Adamstown Style)

2006-06-21T13:54:00.000-04:00

Last night we made our third annual trip to the Carrol Manor Fire Company's Annual Fire Company Carnival. This is the biggest event of the year in Adamstown, and we look forward to it each year. As the number of houses in the zip code grows, so too grows the carnival. It's not too hard to imagine a time in the not too distant future when this carnival could become medium sized.

The kids had a blast, even though their favorite ride was out of commission until just before we left. They made up for it by riding these other rides many times:

the carousel
the dinosaurs
the bugs
the race cars
the rocket ships

Though this carnival in no way compares to NC State Fair that we use to enjoy, they still had some tasty food. I got a pit beef sandwich, which was surprisingly delicious. My annual hankering for PA Dutch funnel cake was not upon me, so I skipped that fried dough delicacy this time.

Technorati tags: adamstownmd Carnival

Ella's First Movie

2006-06-20T10:38:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, we took the kids and their friend Caleigh to the cineplex to see the new Disney Pixar film Cars. This was an especially big day for Ella, because it was her first time to go the movie theater.

We were worried that her attention span might be exceeded, but thanks to an exciting and interesting movie along with a steady feed of popcorn, lemonade, and gummy bears, she made it through like a champ. The biggest problem was that she was not quite heavy enough to keep the folding seat from swallowing her from time to time, but she took it all in stride.

Technorati tags: carsmovie pixar

Bearer Of The Rings

2006-06-12T13:54:00.000-04:00

10-Jun-2006
We attended the wedding of my brother-in-law Dave to my now sister-in-law Kim. It was a great wedding (quick!) and the reception was a blast.

At the ceremony, Alex was the ring bearer. This was the second time he's had this position, so even though he is 4, he is a grizzled veteran. He did a fine job, and really hit it off with the flower girl. He's a ladies man in the exact way his father isn't. Ella's job at the wedding was to walk me down the isle, fuss and squirm, bonk her head on the pew, then be carried off and entertained elsewhere. She handled this brilliantly.

Technorati tags: andyroth duckbrown wedding

Trophy Boy

2006-06-09T16:23:00.000-04:00

3-June-06

Alex completed his U4 soccer season, and was awarded a trophy at the skills fest. Though every kid got one, he thinks that only the kids with skills got trophies, and the other kids got Popsicles. This is actually more accurate than what he first believed - that the trophies themselves were Popsicles.

Traveling to the Roths' First Annual Pig Pickin'

2006-06-06T20:48:00.000-04:00

28-May-06
Today we attended a pig pickin' in Mebane, NC. Read about it here: Traveling Roths: Traveling Roths' First Annual Pig Pickin'
Nothing like eating food from an animal that is still wearing its head. That's tasty.

This was part of our visit to NC where we got to visit our old stomping grounds. Each time we go back, we wonder why we ever left. It was great seeing old friends, our old house on Guerro Ct, and of course visiting with Dave, Jennifer, Tristan, and Zoe.

Here are some pictures from the trip:

Four Alex

2006-05-13T22:20:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday, Alex turned four. Today was the big party and around 10 of his best friends came to our house to celebrate. I say around 10 because the constant motion of kids that age make them hard to count (Heisenberg uncertainty principle for the science nerds).

The big gift - a bike

Maddie and Alex - taking a break

Ella, Cassie, and Alex enjoying themselves

Ella tries to pin the smokestack on Thomas

Shelley takes the cake

Technorati tags: andyroth duckbrown birthday

Exploring Strange New Worlds

2006-05-03T22:26:00.000-04:00

2-May-2006

The second and final day of the conference. At 10:45 I gave my “Can You Find Bugs in Your Pajamas?” talk. Like yesterday, this was well received by the 15 or so people that showed up. This number is disappointing, but typical for a conference at which there are only 130 people and 5 concurrent sessions. Also, since this was in Las Vegas, there were myriad distractions to compel people to play hooky.

Speaking of playing hooky, I decided to cancel the remainder of the conference, and be distracted. A short monorail ride took me to the Hilton - home of the Star Trek Experience. I went to Quark’s Bar & Restaurant and had a Hamborger with cheese (would that be a Cheeseborger?), and for reasons which I don’t understand, a Warp Core Breach.

This was the geekiest thing I did in Las Vegas. Oddly enough, it was also the most fun. Well, it was fun until about half way through the Warp Core Breach, when the matter/anti-matter ratio in my stomach got out of whack. Luckily it settled down without causing me to boldly go. I could not pass up the photo-op below:

After riding both rides, and spending too much time in the museum, it was back to the hotel because I was ready to call it a night. It was only 5:00 though, so when my friend and co-worker called me, I went to see him, and crashed the IBM conference he was attending at the Rio.

I got back from that after 8:00, so I didn’t have to feel bad about going to bed, especially since my flight out was early the next morning. I’ll be glad to leave Las Vegas, and I don’t expect that I’ll want to return anytime soon. Andy has left the building.

In The Hot Nevada Sun

2006-05-02T09:15:00.000-04:00

1-May-06

This was the first day of the conference. Knowing that no short people would wake me up to tell what they just did in the bathroom, I could sleep as late as I wanted. I got up at 5:10 AM. At least, that’s what time I thought it was, but more on that later. Registration and breakfast were not until 7:00, so I had some time to kill. I practiced my talk (actually, figured out what I was going to say), and read the magazines in my room to plan my off-time. When I was about ready to head down to breakfast, I discovered that my hotel room was 17 minutes into the future. I reset the clock to make it right, but realizing I was up before 5:00 AM made me sleepy. Stupid clock.

I won’t say too much about the conference, because I do realize how boring it would be to describe (it was no thrill ride to live through). I will tell you about a bad idea I had. During one of the morning talks, I watched the presenter pace back and forth to his laptop every time he needed to change slides. I realized I’d be very cool if I could do this wirelessly. I figured the 45 minute break before lunch would give me time to shop, and it was my only chance before today’s talk since I spoke right after lunch. I headed out on the strip, with a goal of buying a wireless mouse. I had a goal, but no map, and no plan. Turns out Las Vegas can get pretty hot. I hustled down through the hot Nevada sun in my Dockers, nerd-shirt, and IBM laptop back-pack. I soon decided I didn’t really need a wireless mouse. I think I saw Greg Wiggle. Nah, couldn’t be.

My talk went fine, and by sneaking a peak at the evaluation forms, it seems everyone really enjoyed it, except for one idiot who thought it was just OK. I got a standing ovation, as you can clearly see below:

Note: I will not tell you how I got the standing ovation, unless you ask.

After finishing with the conference for the day, I went back to my room only to find it was being cleaned. So instead, I pushed the R button in the elevator which took me to the roof. Talk about hot Nevada sun. There was a good view though.

My plan for dinner was Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas, but it is about a mile from the strip, and halfway there I decided I did not want to walk back in the dark. While looking for somewhere else, I checked out this place that sells half-place tickets and discovered that the Wiggles are playing here starting tomorrow, so I now I think that really was Greg. Damn.

I had dinner at Nine Fine Irishmen in NY, NY. It was fine and Irish, and I enjoyed a shepherd’s pie, a black and tan, and a “Smiddicks”. When I was walking across the pedestrian bridge over the strip on the way back, thousands of marchers walked below me. Someone said they were marching for immigration rights. This trip gets more unreal all the time, though I did not spot any Wiggles in the group. Maybe Australians don’t care about immigration.