Wednesday, February 27, 2008

think you better slow your mustang down

More fun in Grandma and Grandpa's basement as Owen discovers Daddy's old pedal car.

owen cruises in mustang pedal car

He insisted this photo be taken to document the missing hubcap.

mustang pedal car 2

Go, Speed Racer, Go!

owen cruises in mustang pedal car 2

Sunday, February 24, 2008

it all started with a chair

On a recent visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house the boys enjoyed "hanging" out in Grandma's special chair.

logan in hammock portrait 2

Logan hones his modeling skills just in time for the spring catalogs.



We are seriously considering changing Owen's middle name to "if brother can do it, then so can I". We think that has a nice ring to it.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

i'm mister cold miser

The subarctic temperatures finally warmed up enough to play in the snow. Here the boys are waiting for their sled-dad to start pulling.



Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho, it's off to work we go.



Logan flings a shovel full of snow.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

out on the weekend

Tracy had to work all day on Sunday so the kids and I headed to both the zoo and the aquarium.

Favorite zoo animals this trip included:
  • The tropical bird who would not speak while we stood in front of it, but emitted an eloquently spoken "Pretty Bird" every time we started to leave.
  • The kinkajou (the only member of the Genus Potos) attempting to break a land speed record running back and forth on its favorite tree branch.
  • The abnormally animated sloth who even left his tree for an extremely rare walk on solid ground.

The aquarium visit was short but included:

  • Owen touching the lava.
  • Finding places on the huge globe.
  • Watching people feed fish in the big tank.
  • Answering questions on the Wheel of Knowledge.
  • Sitting in the beaver lodge for underwater otter viewing.
  • Playing with ships in the Great Lakes water table.

All in all, not a bad way to spend the morning.

Monday, February 18, 2008

california stars

So just about one week ago I boarded a return flight from LAX after an extended weekend with Brad and Amy in Orange County. Although it was hard to leave the family I had an absolutely wonderful time.

Friday
As soon as I saw Brad waiting in the pickup lane at the airport, I was instantly reminded of how many times he picked me up during the Grateful Dead years - red eye flights to Arizona at 3am and Brad would be waiting in the lobby. After a harrowing bus ride from Des Moines to St. Louis (quite possibly one of the worst experiences of my life) there's Brad at the station waiting as I climb off the bus.

Anyway, Brad is where he's supposed to be and we are off to tour LA before heading south to Irvine. First stop Laser Blazer, the video and comic book store owned by Kevin Smith. The comic section is smaller than I expected but there are props from his movies (Ben Affleck's wings from Dogma) and I commemorate the pilgrimage with a t-shirt purchase.

Next we drive through a "fancy" neighborhood where I'm sure famous people live but we choose not to buy a star map from any of the 3000 people selling them nearby. We head up Sunset Strip to view all of the famous rock clubs, and finally park near Mann's/Grauman's Chinese Theater to check out the stars in the sidewalk and the costumed perfomers in front.

Ended the night walking around the Santa Monica promenade where musical highlights included a guy playing a Chapman Stick (cool guitar-like instrument played entirely by tapping) and an eight year old girl singing "Beat It" as if her life depended on it.



Saturday
The next morning is a 3.5 mile Valentine's Day race. Brad is nursing an injury and can't run so Amy and I pair up and win our age group. This may have been slightly more impressive if we weren't the only ones in our age group. Brad and I then lounge at the pool before touring a bunch of beach towns and hiking a canyon trail in a state park. Later we pick up Amy and have dinner in Long Beach at a place called Baucheef Bistro, grab a drink at Legends Sports Bar, and then explore the Queen Mary cruise ship, now a hotel permanently docked in the harbor.

Sunday
Wake up and hit the pool before heading to the Aliso and Woods Canyon Wilderness Park for a hike to the Top of the World. This extremely scenic trail runs up through the canyon with mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. After the hike we hit the beach for sun, salt water, and body surfing. Amy makes an awesome vegetarian pasta dish for dinner and we end the night watching the Grammy's.



Monday
We wake up and realize Brad's surf board will actually fit in the rental car with some creative seat placement. We're off to San Clemente to surf and swim. The water is kind of rough so we head up to Huntington Beach for better water. This was my first time on a board and it was awesome. I got up on one knee pretty quickly but we had to return the rental car before I was able to stand up completely. Stopped for a turkey burger at T.K. Burger to complete the surf experience. Amy joined us for dinner at Chipotles and we ended the night by walking around an open-air entertainment complex/shopping mall.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

book lovers

Thank goodness mom works at the book store as the kids just love to read.

After reciting books from memory for years, Logan has started reading and now often reads Owen a bedtime story. Magnetic poetry on the fridge has been a fun way to learn as we leave each other sentences every day.


Owen will sit and listen to books for hours and is extremely happy to point and name his favorite things on each page.

Friday, February 15, 2008

we're with the band

Photos from the latest family jam. Grab an instrument, belly up to the microphone, and let her rip.

Bongos, piano, and mandolin. Oh, my!





Thursday, February 14, 2008

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

inaugural blog

Hello friends and family! Welcome to our new and greatly improved web presence. Some of you may remember our old website last updated a mere 737 days ago. At least Logan had three years of web stardom – Owen is making his first appearance today. Hope you enjoy the photos. Send emails and/or leave comments as we would love to hear from you.

The children's museum has a new visiting exhibit called Little Builders. This house is a favorite.

Really have no choice but to call this one goofy glasses.