Alex and his tricycle

We recently got a Keller tricycle at the Goodwill store (saw it as we were dropping off some furniture) on Saturday for $3.99. $4 of stainless steel screws at the hardware store to fix a few things and we were in business! I'm guessing this bike is 25+ years old - definitely an older style, and it's stamped with "Made in W. Germany". Colors are green frame (steel), purple seat and a bright yellow bucket in the rear.

In any case, he is now familiar with how to keep his feet on the pedals as we push him around. He is also getting pretty good at steering. Turns out he can steer around things really well if he sees the need to go around something. So, the lessons are actually on making him realize that going in a straight line is a good idea. He is quickly getting the hang of it. Now the challenge will be to get him to realize he needs to go somewhere, or should avoid something.

Turns out the bucket is perfectly sized for a mop. This saves a lot of wear and tear on the backs of the older folks who push Alex around. This is a good thing, since Alex bee-lines to the tricycle when we get home from work/daycare, and says "ride bike, ride bike" several times.

Definitely a happy kid on the trike!

Kingfishers

A few pictures of the kingfishers in our pond:

A walk in the park

Turtle Lake Park is pretty close to our home - it's a little under a mile to walk there. During the summer, I often take Alex over there to play. There is a nice playground that is shaded - I appreciate that during the hot and humid days. Plus, there is a beach that is very "kid-friendly". By this I mean the water is warm, and it doesn't get deep very fast.

We were there recently, and Alex found a nerf football. He really enjoyed tossing it to me, and was actually doing pretty well insofar as accuracy is concerned:


After we got done playing catch (and put the ball back where we found it), he wanted to walk down to the lake. So we did:


We got down to the beach pretty quickly:

And then looked for ducks. Alex really likes ducks. Though, in fairness to other waterfowl, I think he interprets "duck" as "bird". Since there a lot of ducks around here, he is right more often than wrong. It's cute, though, to hear other toddlers correct him when he calls a goose a duck.



Little moments like these help to make the summer very special.

Little Eyes

I came across this in a co-workers office, and it really hit home:

Little Eyes Upon You
By: Author Unknown

There are little eyes upon you
and they're watching night and day.

There are little ears that quickly
take in every word you say.

There are little hands all eager
to do anything you do;

And a little boy who's dreaming
of the day he'll be like you.

You're the little fellow's idol,
you're the wisest of the wise.

In his little mind about you
no suspicions ever rise.

He believes in you devoutly,
holds all you say and do;

He will say and do, in your way
when he's grown up just like you.

There's a wide-eyed little fellow
who believes you're always right;
and his eyes are always opened,
and he watches day and night.

You are setting an example
every day in all you do;

For the little boy who's waiting
to grow up to be like you.

Me in a kayak...

Here is a picture Dave took of me kayaking in the Apostle Islands a few weeks ago. I'm pleased with how much my kayaking philosophy has changed since I first started paddling. Much less stuff on the front deck is probably the biggest thing. I did realize last week when I was out practicing rolls that my approach to securing a paddle float and pump inside the boat was somewhat flawed, since they came loose during a wet exit. On the plus side, not having them on the rear deck made it possible to simply hop up and plop myself back in the boat (something I learned during the pool sessions last winter). Other improvements are the Camelback hydration system attached to the PFD (much, much easier to stay hydrated) and the cool looking knife on the front deck (in addition to looking cool, I have also used it to spread peanut butter).

4th of July Weekend

I had a very enjoyable 4th of July weekend in New England. The weekend was spent traveling and participating in a family reunion (my mom's side of the family). Pretty good turnout - about 60+ people showed up, traveling from places like FL, CA and OR (not to mention MN):



My first time on the Amtrak system. My cousin (Daina) and I paid the extra $8 for "Business Class", and found it to be a worthwhile investment. Very relaxing trip. About 2 hours long, but the seating was as nice (if not better) than what I recall in Business Class when I flew to India a few years ago.

At the reunion, it was cool re-connecting with cousins that I have not seen in 10 years (since the last reunion). We did a number of fun things as teams, including building a sandcastle:


Full list of pictures can be found at:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=16ah43nr.8kywpz4n&x=0&y=wmxg50&localeid=en_US

stick 'em up

We were chatting with our neighbors (Chris and Lorna) last night when Chris took Alex over to their front yard to play with an orange soccer ball. This picture gives a whole new meaning to "stick 'em up"!

Synchronized Greenland Kayaking Team

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to get out for some paddling in the Apostle Islands. It was great to finally get out for a while and get my boat wet. I came across the world famous Synchronized Greenland Paddle Kayaking Team, which is made up of four of the folks I was paddling with: Ron, Dave, Tom, and Kathy.