Off the Deep End

We've spent the last two days at the pool with Hailey and Alex. Adam had to work yesterday so he got there late, but he had fun with the kids until the torrential downpours started. The kids just love to play Monkey in the Middle with Daddy/Uncle Adam, and I don't think anyone even cried this time. I think the game had to end before anyone really got their feelings hurt.

Today, we went back for round two at the pool, and it was an absolutely gorgeous day! It was a little cool (and windy) for me to get in the pool, but that didn't stop anyone else. Alex did keep going in the bathroom to take hot showers when he got too cold, but he would wind up right back in the pool a little later. The highlight of both days was getting ice cream from the ice cream man. Figuring out which ice cream to get is a major life decision, apparently. Drew especially liked his "push me up popper" even though he managed to get it all over himself every time.

An Artist at Work

Serious lack of posting here.

We had a lovely Father's Day, although Adam worked (maybe that made it all the better). Dad, Melva, Andy, Carole and the kids came over for a cookout in the afternoon. We had a very nice time, but I didn't manage to take a single picture. I am really falling down in my blogging duties. I think I'm getting so excited by our vacation (next week!!!) that I'm having trouble concentrating on anything else.

Today, it was really hot (heat index of 100) so we tried to stay inside and stay cool. We went to the mall for a a while to enjoy their air conditioning, then later in the afternoon we came home and headed into the basement to play. Drew has been bugging us about painting since yesterday, so I promised him that he could have some painting time today. Adam avoids this activity like the plague -- he can't stand the mess, and he suspects that paint is going to be all over the walls and the furniture. It wasn't that bad even though Drew did decide that he needed to paint his hands and then the paper, but I prevented him from touching everything in the room as he kept trying to do.

We'll call this "Handprints in Multiple Hues" It reminds of a link that Sharon sent me a couple of years ago to a page named "I am better than your kids." I just googled it and found it again, but I'm not linking to it here because it contains some foul language. If you have a sick sense of humor like mine, feel free to check it out.

End of Year Celebration

Today was Drew's last day of school (until summer school), and Adam and I attended the End of Year Celebration. All of the preschool kids sang songs for the parents, and then we watched a slide show that the teachers prepared to show the kid's various activities throughout the school year. The pictures turned out a little fuzzy (and, surprisingly, Adam took them -- he usually has better luck), but I'm posting them anyway.


This afternoon, we went up to northern Baltimore County to take a ride on the North Central Rail Trail. We wound up doing a 20 mile ride, even though we had intended to do just a casual ride. It was a little chilly today, and we were pretty cold by the time we finally got back to the car. Drew was not thrilled by being on the back of the bike for hours again, and he started flailing around in his seat almost causing Adam to crash a few times. I think we'll have to cut down on our distance for a little while.

Tour Dem Parks, Hon!

Well, we did it! Twenty-two miles around the city of Baltimore, starting at Carroll Park then to Federal Hill Park where the picture below was taken, then through the Inner Harbor, Fells Point and Canton to Patterson Park. We had a rest there and then headed out past Johns Hopkins Hospital (Adam waved) up to Clifton Park. The ride up to and into Clifton Park just about killed us. By the end of the day, we decided that Baltimore is all uphill, no matter where you are. Of course, that isn't true, but it felt like it today. After Clifton Park, we headed around Lake Montebello and then past where the old Memorial Stadium used to be. It was really strange to see a YMCA and some apartment buildings where we used to see the Orioles play. Man, am I getting old!

We took another break just before heading into the Wyman Park Dell and then back through the middle of the city to get back to Carroll Park. Since we did the medium (20 mile) as opposed to the long (35 mile) ride, we missed a couple of the parks and had to do some real city riding. I was a little nervous being in traffic even though it's pretty light on a Sunday morning. Luckily, most people seemed to be heading to or from church and not looking to run down bicyclists. The ride was really a fascinating demographic exercise, as well. When you ride through the areas of the city that we did (and some people try never to drive through some of the areas we did), you really see the differences between the haves and the have nots. And the neighborhoods can change from one to the other with just one street in between.

Adam and I were absolutely exhausted when we got home, but Drew was ready to go since he got to ride in style the whole way. He didn't seem to understand that Mommy and Daddy were really tired, so we finally dragged ourselves back out of the house and walked around the mall for an hour this afternoon just to let him blow off some steam.

Next year, we're doing the long ride!

Healthy Living

On Tuesday, we decided to go to Larriland Farms to pick strawberries after Drew got home from school. He fell asleep on the way there as you can see in this picture, so he wasn't really enthused about traipsing around in the strawberry patch when we woke him up. He sat at the end of row and watched Adam and me do all the work. He did manage to eat quite a few after we got them home (is anyone reminded of The Little Red Hen?)

We're on a major fruit and vegetable kick around here. Adam keeps saying that I'm a meat and potatoes eater which I keep denying. I say that I hesitate to buy a lot of fresh produce at one time because it tends to go to waste (and I hate that!). Since I can recognize my own denial (sometimes), I have been making a real effort to strive for five. Of course, Drew is on the strive for none plan as usual. I actually got Adam to eat baby bok choy yesterday (he feared it, but he ate it).

We've continued training for our 20 mile ride coming up this Sunday. Wednesday, we road about 20 miles on the Baltimore and Annapolis Trail which is about the same distance as Sunday's ride, but doesn't have much in the way of elevation changes. I'm thinking that won't be true when we're riding around Baltimore.

On Friday morning, we headed back to the Grist Mill Trail in Patapsco State Park, and we managed to park legally this time so our bike ride didn't cost us $35. Drew was happy because he got to eat his snack outside (picnicking is very fun) and play on the purple playground again (all playgrounds must be identified by their predominate color - get with the program).

Let's Do Lunch

Carole was away at a trade show this weekend, so we got to spend time with Hailey and Alex on Friday and again today. Drew and Alex had a gourmet lunch prepared by Adam, and then Drew went off to school. Alex played very nicely (read: quietly) until it was time to get Hailey from the bus. Andy fixed his awesome hamburgers on the grill for dinner (he is the king of the grill), but Hailey complained that he fixes hamburgers ALL the time. Nuh uh! I guess everyone's a critic.

At least tonight we didn't have to make a trip to the emergency room after being at Andy and Carole's for dinner.