Welcome Noelle July 10, 2007

I haven’t yet written about the biggest news in my life of late: the birth of our daugher Noelle on June 22.

Her arrival was a long road with some crazy twists at the end, especially for my anesthesia-foreswearing wife.

But she is here and well loved by her family, especially her big sisters, as shown above. In fact, we have huge surpluses of love in our family and it will never be in short supply for her. Especially as she remains a little doll that actually moves, squeaks, and is alive!

Summertime Perfection June 18, 2007

Many of our friends and their kids camped out at Greenbrier State Park this weekend. With Noelle coming, we didn’t spend any nights there, but we were there from 10am to 8pm on Saturday.

What a day! Sunny, pleasant in the upper 80s.  Canoeing. Guitar and singing. Hanging out on the beach.

My best memory of it was heading across the lake on the canoe towards the end of the day. Breeze had died down and the water was smooth and glassy. The image of the mountains that ring the like was reflected in the water.

Awesome! I’ll take that one with me all week. And just 20 minutes from home. Thanks Frederick County!

Kid Camping May 25, 2007

On Mother’s Day weekend a number of other dads and I took all of our kids camping in a shelter on the Appalachian Trail in Frederick County.

It was great to be able to get the kids in the outdoors. And great to be able to do so so close to home.

And great, of course, to hang out by the fire after the kids went to bed.

Though it was a long night and a bleary morning.

Annie in Baltimore March 29, 2007

Our family and a bunch of Frederick other families went to the “big city” of Baltimore on Sunday night to see Annie.

It was awesome. Great musicals are magical experiences. And Evie and Lucie had memorized the soundtrack through the DVD and CD. And there eyes were huge throughout.

An experience like that at their age leaves a mark.