Category Archives: Family

On the river

Adventure, Family, Fun, WV, , ,

We got a canoe many years ago, shortly after we were married.  At that time, graduate school left us with very little free time so we didn’t use the canoe much.  Then we started having babies and, though I tried to work out a safe way of buckling a car seat into the canoe, we decided not to take wee little kids on the river in a canoe.  Since we moved back to WV, we have been itching to get on the river with our canoe.

I grew up near the Allegheny river and we canoed on it quite a bit.  My hometown was very rural.  In fact, if you drive up to the edge of the Earth and then turn left and go 25 miles, you’ll get there.  Anyhow, we did lots of outdoorsy stuff and I had missed that in Nashville.  Now that we are in WV, we have more opportunity to be in Nature.

So, when we got the call to go canoeing with Emily’s aunt and uncle, we jumped.  They canoe often so showed us a fun launch on the Little Coal River (it’s WV…there is lots of coal here, of course).  The river was up some and moving pretty quickly from recent rains.  As we looked on the river, Isaac said, “Uh…I am not comfortable with this!”  Abigail quickly came down with an upset stomache as well.  They were both so funny and cautious (a definite good thing!).

We finally got the kids in the canoes and got ourselves launched and had a wonderful time coasting down the river.  There were few distractions and the lack of sound actually made my ears ring a little.  It was wonderful.  The kids settled down and we just coasted…and relaxed…and talked.  I loved being back in Nature (with a capital N for its importance!) and hearing birds and the water gurgling.  I loved hearing my kids chatter about the river and their thoughts.  I loved to see my son take his turn in the front seat, paddling pretty well.

(You’re kidding, right?)


So, we’ll get back on the river soon.  We’ll look for chances to slow down and relax together.  We’ll fish and drink too much pop and eat too many marshmallows and we’ll enjoy life the way it is supposed to be!

He hugged me

Family, Thoughts,

My son is very much like me…we don’t do people.  I mean, I would rather do 1,000,000 deep knee bends than hug a person.  Some folks I know are huggers…they want to greet me in the morning with a hug.  I always respond, “I don’t hug my wife and kids, I d@#n sure am not going to hug you!”  Usually that calls off the attack.  I don’t like to shake hands or even bump into someone else.  I am not sure what my parents did to me as a child but it’s how I am.

Now honestly, I do hug my wife and kids (and I enjoy that) and I will shake hands in a pinch or where social norms demand it, but I am not a free-toucher.  Isaac is just like me…except he barely hugs us either.

So, you may be wondering what this has to do with anything.  You may remember, this week I am going on about simple pleasures.  Uh…ok…so what’s my point?  Well, last night Isaac willingly hugged me and kissed me on the cheek!  I’ll say it again, Isaac hugged me and kissed my cheek…without coercion!


My boy loves to read and he reads at a high school level in 3rd 4th grade.  He just finished the Star Wars book that parallels the third Star Wars movie (the one where Darth Vader is made).  Until now, we have not let the kids see that movie.  I don’t know that it is all that bad really, but so many parents around us have banned their kids from seeing it.  I guess we decided to follow their lead.  Anyhow, since he finished the book, I decided to let him watch the movie.  We’ve been trying to work out a time to see it and finally last night was the night to start the show.  When he got the news, he was so excited that he gave me  a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek!  That one thing, truly, made my week!  I am a little less tired because of it!

Symphony Sunday

Family, Fun, WV, ,


The WV Symphony is based here in Charleston and is really first class.  As a part of their community outreach, they hold Symphony Sunday each year at the University of Charleston.  The university is situated on a beautiful campus along the Kanawha River directly across the WV State Capitol.

(Note my artistic shadow on the poster…uh…I meant to do that)

The symphony sets up on a stage at one end of the green the rest of the area fills with people and vendors (classy stuff mostly) and activities for the kids.  Symphony Sunday is really an all day event where local children’s orchestras and community ensembles get an opportunity to perform. There are kids’ activities all day long and it’s a great family affair.  They have special dinners and brunches and so on leading up to the event.

So, “the event” is the evening performance of the WV Symphony followed by a fireworks show.  This year, the theme of the event was “A Pirate’s Symphony”.  Mostly, the performance was comprised of music that sounds like it would be good in a pirate movie…you know eerie stuff that shivers yer timbers and makes you yell “Arrrrrgh”. Indeed, I had a strange craving for rum all evening.  Anyhow, there was one funny song that made me laugh when it began.  They started the song, “Holding out for a Hero“.  Emily asked what movie it came from and I said, “Footloose”.  The kids both immediately chimed in, “Shrek”.  Huh…yup, I guess so.  But I knew the real right answer!

Anyhow, the kids got some ice cream and completely enjoyed the frozen joy from ear to ear!  We sat along the river eating ice cream and talking and listening to the music.  A regular armada of boats anchored in the river and also enjoyed the music.  We dreamed about pirates and the looming attack from all the “ships” waiting to send their crew to land.  It was a perfect night and we had a tremendous time.

Finally, at around 10 o’clock, the barge from which they launch the fireworks moved to the middle of the river as the final songs started.  We watched and waited, not sure which point in the final number would signal the launch.  We had an unimpeded view of the men in the cage on the barge controlling the launch.  As “Stars and Stripes” got midway through, the fireworks kicked off and we were delighted by the sight!  It was magnificent!

So, summer is officially here and we are ready!  Do you have some similar event that you enjoy that signals summer at your place?

Original Gangsters

Family, Fun,

We went to PA last weekend to visit my family and it was actually warm there. It’s rare that we go to PA and not find snow…regardless of the season. Anyhow, we went and my Mom had bought a few squirt guns for the kids. I’ll mostly let the pictures speak for themselves…but notice that Isaac is often on the run from his sister…that’s gonna haunt him later!


(Is she bad a$$ or what?!)


(the only time they worked together was to refill…and to attack me!)


(this one scares me a little)


(yeah…I am hit!)

Of course, back in WV is raining cats and dogs…and cows and sheep and goats.  We’ve had so much rain and so many bad floods nearby that I think we are due a little more squirt gun sort of weather!

Race car bed

Family, Thoughts,


Several years ago when we still lived in TN, I built a race car bed for Isaac. It took me many nights to do all of the cutting and shaping. I inhaled at least one lung-full of dust, even through the mask I wore. No doubt, the house still had sawdust in it when we sold it to the next people.

Anyhow, I worked and worked to build Isaac a race car bed that he would love and enjoy sleeping in. It weighs just short of one ton and we moved it from TN to the top floor of our house here in WV. It seems, though, that its time is done. We have extra beds in the guest room and he has expressed an interest in one of those. The race car bed has run its race and is headed to the big garage in the sky.

Before we bid it adieu, I thought it would be fun to share some pictures of it and to talk about growing up. Isaac is nine and a half and starting to shed so much of his little-kid-ness. We bought him new shoes last night and he now wears a men’s size 9. I wear a 9.5-10 so we can almost share shoes (though fear not, we are males and will not share shoes!) He comes to my shoulder and reads books from the teen area of the book store. He gets my jokes now and Emily and I can no longer safely use sarcasm to communicate with each other. He is starting to close the door when he goes into the bathroom (though not always) and he is tired of his race car bed.

So, this weekend, we’ll take down the race car and give him a more adult looking bed frame. I’ll try to give him a big hug as we work, but he won’t let me. Still, I’ll smile inside as my baby boy grows up just a little more.

Flat in WV!

Family, WV,

When we lived in Nashville, TN, we had a beautiful flat piece of land on a flat, dead-end road with 5 houses.  We played outside all the time.  We messed around in the yard and we rode bikes.  We rode bikes constantly. 

Isaac started riding his little Red Flyer tricycle there and graduated to a two-wheeler with training wheels.  He was briliant on a bike.  He got better and better and quickly was able to ride without training wheels.  In fact, he was so good that I took his training wheels off one day and he jumped right on his bike and rode off.  He never has wrecked since that day.

Charleston, WV is not flat space.  We moved here when Abigail was 3.  She had just started to ride bikes in TN so moving here definitely stunted her bike riding ability.  I suppose my brother and I were born on bicycles.  Not sure how my Mom worked that out and I sort of hope we keep it that way.  Anyhow, we were always on bikes and I need for my kids to be that way too.  It’s been tough here though since we have no flat space to ride.

There is a neat area in Charleston called Kanawha City that has neat homes and flat back streets right along the river.  Typically, there isn’t much gunfire, during the day at least, so we were able to ride pretty freely this weekend.  Several of the back streets are very bike friendly.  Cars typically are aware of bikes so it’s an ideal situation.  Our only barrier until now was how to get all of our bikes to Kanawha City.  We have a bike carrier but none of us was smart enough to figure out how to use it.  This weekend, after 3 years of holding out (seriously), I caved in and finally read the instructions.  We hooked it all up and made it to flat ground in WV!  We rode bikes like when I was a kid (i.e. with abandon!) and had a blast and will definitely be back!  The best part is that my bike has a speedometer so Isaac and I had fun watching our speed (the speed limit in Kanawha City is 25…I can say no more for fear of the repercussions).  We were careful to obey most of the rules of the road!


(Isaac’s first bike!)

Were you a “biker” when you were a kid?  If not, what did you do when you played outside?

It’s zoonotic!

Family

We have had our old cat Madeline for 13 years and she has only ever had a few problems.  If we don’t feed her the right food (which we can only get at the vet’s office) she gets urinary tract infections within 2 weeks.  So, it’s not a huge additional expense to buy special food and she is worth it to us, but it’s not the same as buying meow mix either.  She also got bit by a brown recluse once in TN which was unpleasant for all of us and was also expensive.  Still, as critters go, she’s been pretty easy.

 Madeline

While in TN, we also found an all black cat in front of a Baptist church (so we called him Baptist).  He had been hit by a car sometime earlier in his history so had a badly messed up leg.  We took him to the vet figuring they would find all sorts of issues with him.  Instead, we ended up having his one back leg removed and he was fine…except he was never fine.  After that surgery, he became the meanest cat on Earth!  He used to bite and scratch us all the time.  Finally, as part of his contraryness, he decided to start pooping on the floor…everywhere.  We were about to move into a new house and decided that his behavior was not going to fly there.  So, he didn’t make the move with us.  Still, as you can imagine, he was incredibly expensive to get “fixed” just so he could turn into the cat-devil!

 Mohinder

Fast forward a few years and now we have Mohinder.  He also was a stray and is jet black.  He just walked right into our house one day (after hanging around for many days prior…along with the 10 other strays that hang around us).  He has all 4 legs but is missing most of his tail.  I guess we just can’t have a normal black cat.  I was leary at first remembering the pain and expense of our last black cat.  We all decided he was sweet and worth taking in (and we were right!)  

Anyhow, he was expensive to get fixed and declawed, etc.  Other than that, he has been healthy and fine…until this week.  He developed a case of “leaky butt” and started throwing up all over the house.  He stopped eating and became lethargic.  Most of that doesn’t bother me too much, but you can imagine a case of “leaky butt” causes problems.  We took him to the vet and $400 later, we find that he has campylobacter and clostridia.  The best part about campylobacter is that it is zoonotic.  That means that if we aren’t careful, we could also end up with “leaky butt” and vomiting.

 

They gave us some (apparently) nasty tasting medicine to treat Mohinder and it seems to be working pretty well.  Here’s to hoping that we all keep “normal butt”!

What about you all…do you go all out for your pets?

Derby Day

Family, Fun,

We moved to Kentucky right after we got married.  Our first place was a 450 sq ft or so apartment into which we pack 900 sq ft of furniture.  We had no money (but I still had my motorcycle then!),  but were too young to know any better.   Anyhow, we made some really fantastic friends and had a really great time in KY.  One of our favorite things about KY was how everyone turned out for University of Kentucky basketball and for the Kentucky Derby.  It was, somehow, more important than Groundhog Day even.  Emily’s family here in WV also enjoyed watching the KY derby.  

Now that we are back, we get to enjoy the family time and share a few traditions with the gang!  Most importantly, we always eat KFC chicken in anticipation of the Derby.  Someone grabs a huge bucket of chicken and all the sides to boot.  We eat too much and sit around commenting on the different horses.  We place our “bets” and get all the back stories on the jockies or trainers.  Mostly we laugh at the women in their crazy hats in the stands.  I always laugh at their attempts to look elegant while holding one-too-many mint juleps.

Anyhow, to be a part of the party, we also wear hats.  Everyone makes their own hat, the more ridiculous the better.  We recycle lots of things, but we never recycle our hats…every year sees a new creation!  Anyhow, this year I went with the first bright idea I had for my hat!


(We picked Mine that Bird all along, by the way…I even took a picture to prove it!)

Last year we made mint juleps which were interesting.  I think it must help the flavor to get a few of them in you before you comment.  I was not terribly impressed.  Of course, we didn’t use glacial ice or anything special.  Our ice came from the Muddy Elk River and the mint came from my back yard.  Anyhow, this year Emily’s mom made derby pie which, oh my goodness, you have to try…

Derby Pie

Ingredients
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, large
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick butter, melted
1 unbaked pie shell

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
Combine flour and sugar.
Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla and melted butter.
Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
Pour into pie shell and bake for 30-40 minutes.
Let cool to set.

We love Derby time and I always feel like it marks an important milestone in spring.  It’s great fun to So did you watch the derby?  Do you have any silly traditions that you hold for some event, Derby or otherwise?

There’s treasure in Jexico

Family, Thoughts,

 

I wonder if it is wrong for my 6-year old daughter to really like the “Pirates of the Carribean” movies?  I mean, they aren’t too bad, right?  Once Isaac sees anything, it isn’t long before Abigail does too.  Yeah, she’s seen them and she loves them!

Abigail’s class did a section on oceans recently in class so she has been fascinated by oceans and ocean life, islands and palm trees and coral reefs.  Actually, when I think of it, I could stay there in my imagination forever too.  Anyhow, she joined her interests in “Pirates” with islands and started working on a treasure map.  She name her mysterious island Jexico.  Emily and I had nothing to do with the naming but we surely got a laugh out of this toothless dinosaur shaped paradise.  Actually, it made us think of the James Taylor song ” Mexico” (below for your pleasure)

We saw James Taylor in concert in Nashville when we were first married.  Neither of us have ever been involved in drugs, but that night at the concert, we both surely must have gotten high.  There was weed aplenty at the concert but apparently a real shortage of rolling papers.  Ahhh…good times!

Anyhow, Abigail is releasing a series of maps to her friends.  One map in particular…her best work…is being reserved for Aunt Elizabeth (you know, Elizabeth Swann from the movie) so she can find the treasure and remain unbeholden to any man.  Abigail is watching out for her girls of course!  I am sort of proud of her for skipping the whole damsel in distress stuff and going straight for the treasure.  Maybe my girl is related to Elizabeth Swann somehow!

Our litter bug

Family, Nature,


Abigail’s class had an assignment to make a litterbug in preparation for Earth Day.  The litterbug was to be constructed from recyclable items found around the house.  Lucky for us, all our recycling was sitting in a huge pile in the kitchen rather than being taken out by the road.  Abigail decided to make a fly so she gathered pieces and laid it out so we could plan.

I did the spray painting but she did the hand-painting and hot gluing.  Initially, we had planned to give the fly rigid legs so he could stand, but we couldn’t find anything good in our junk pile.  Instead, we decided to make him flyable.  We had just emptied out some old cough syrup so the empty bottle made a perfect handle.  So we constructed her litterbug and she flew it to school.  It occurs to me know though…I wonder if her litterbug will ever be recycled now?  I suppose if he makes it home, he will find his way to the recycle bin during one of our seasonal “hoe outs” where we run the kids out and then throw away everything in their rooms (shhhh…don’t tell).

The other cool thing the school did was to take Abigail’s class (and others?) to the movie theater to see Earth, the new Disney movie.  Abigail gave it 2 thumbs up so I figure we’ll all see it soon.

All this got me to thinking about how we might celebrate Earth Day.  I am not one to go hold hands and dance around a tree.  Still, I see the day as a neat time to consider what we might do to lessen our impact on things.  We have already changed to using all CFLs rather than incandescent lightbulbs.  We recycle or compost much of our waste and I stopped using gas powered lawn equipment.  I don’t mean to try to sound like Captain Earth or something, but I wonder what other things we ought to be doing to lessen our impact and live more sustainable.  

What sorts of things do you do to live more sustainably?