Garner State Park

Last month we made the trek across Texas and camped at Garner State Park. It's so popular that you have to make reservations a year in advance, and we found out why. There was so much to do. We hiked, biked, and played in the Frio River, which runs through the park. The river has a nice current, so you can float down it on tubes. We did this twice, and everyone had a great time. We also hiked the trails in the surrounding hills and "discovered" two small caves. Benjamin has been telling us every day since we got back that he wants to go camping again. We're already planning our reservations for next year.
I've posted some pictures of the trip here:

Garner State Park

And a few photos of us playing on the river here:

Frio River

Race Day video

Here is a video montage from this summer's visit to Cortland. There is a soundtrack, so make sure your speakers are on.

Swim Team highlights

This is my first new post in awhile.
Samuel has been participating in the local swim team. I have created a video with some highlights of the season. I'm having some trouble putting the video directly into the blog, but here is the link:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4905891523770214824

Note that there is sound as well, so make sure your speakers are on.

Spiderman discovers the climbing wall

During the holiday break, Kim and Samuel discovered a local climbing center. Samuel was hesitant when we introduced the idea to him. When he got there, though, his eyes lit up. "I didn't know it was going to be like this!" Climbers can go up to the painted line without a rope, but must hook in to go any higher. Kim was on belay as Samuel went up the walls again and again. He even zipped around the overhang and all the way up to the ceiling. On the way home he was already planning his next trip.

Jingle Bells

Benjamin loves to sing. During this holiday season, he developed his own version of Jingle Bells. This was recorded a few weeks ago. He has augmented the song with additional lines since that time, but the essence remains the same.

Christmas Day, part one

Well, we made it. Christmas Day. I got through the work week, Kim got all the packages mailed off, we got everything assembled and wrapped and packaged and baked. We managed to get it all done, and still had time to watch an episode of Battlestar Galactica on Christmas Eve. It was all busier than we wanted it to be, but less hectic than it might have been. We're slowly getting the "life spedometer" down where we'd like it to be. The trick is keeping it there for any length of time.

Samuel woke us at 0630 today -- not too bad. He didn't manage to spot Santa last night like he'd planned, even when Santa came into his room to put some treats in the small stocking we hang there. He took in in stride, though. Said he, "Even if I had remembered (to stay awake), it was too cold to poke my head out of the blankets to see him anyway." Spoken like a kid who reaches for a jacket when the mercury drops below 75 degrees.

Samuel also had some Christmas morning preparations to do. He had prepared some handmade gifts for the others in the family. Always alert to the overarching themes of the season, he observed, "I've got three gifts to give. Hey, I'm a wise man!" Indeed.

Benjamin got up around 0700 an retrieved from his stocking some candy and a small truck. The latter item proved to be the first of a fleet of trucks that came from under the tree. There are some counties with fewer trucks than my youngest son has. He certainly knows what he likes.

We had (and are still having) a wonderful Christmas. The best part was hanging around as a family for the past few days. Will post more later tonight, with some additional pictures.

Oh man, Bobby

Benjamin's favorite character right now is Bob the Builder. For reasons he keeps to himself, Benjamin calls him "Bobby". This week Benjamin learned a new expression, which we captured in this very brief audio clip.

The Need for Speed

After discovering that his friends in the neighborhood had taken off their training wheels, Samuel recently made a decision. It was time to ride. I took his training wheels off that night and worked with him for about 15 minutes. The next day, Kim started to work with him again. After she had taken 10 steps running alongside and holding the bike steady, Samuel said, "Let go mom, I've got it." And that was that.

The one-armed fist pump

Benjamin watched the Blue Man Group video...and learned. Here he demonstrates the Rock Concert Movement #2: The One-Armed Fist Pump. If you listen closely, you can hear the music in the background.

Halloween 2006

Unlike last year, we had excellent weather for this year's Halloween.

After toying with the idea of being Spiderman this year, Samuel settled on his favorite Star Wars character -- Darth Maul. He spent a lot of time planning the costume with Mommy, and even more time "breaking it in". He pretty much wanted to wear it every day the last two weeks of Halloween. The big day was the first time we did the makeup -- I think Mommy did a very nice freehand.



The neighbor boys also chose Star Wars costumes, making for a heavily-themed trio.


This was Benjamin's first trick-or-treat, since the rain kept him indoors last year. He selected his costume through a rigorous process of sitting still while we put it on him. Unexpectedly, he did not immediately try to take it off. In fact, he had a great time going up to front doors and getting candy in his pumpkin. Big brother took Benjamin under his wing and showed him the ropes.

Check out the whole album here:

Halloween 2006