Tag Archives: Adventure

Christmas – the part with bruises

December 30, 2008Adventure, FamilyAdventure, Familywarren

So, yesterday, I mentioned that Isaac and I got Christmas presents that were bruise-causing. Awhile back, Isaac mentioned that he wanted to try skateboarding. A friend of mine is big into skateboarding so I consulted with him to find good starter skateboards and pads for Isaac and me. My friend skates with his sons and has a lot of fun. I figured that as Isaac and I age and we have our times where we don’t see eye-to-eye, we’ll need something to do to burn off some energy.

So, Isaac and I got set up with new equipment and headed to Cookskin Park’s skate area. It was 75 or so degrees and really beautiful so there were a number of people there to watch the noobs try not to break bones.

Everything started off pretty well. I got a somewhat effective set of sea-legs and was able to handle most of the ramps (read: I could skate down them without falling….no tricks of course). Isaac had a smarter approach. I asked him if he wanted to try a ramp. He said, “Dad, you know I am not a risk taker!” He tooled around on the flat surfaces learning to coast and balance…bright kid. Abigail surprised me though and grabbed her scooter and followed me on all of the ramps. Anyhow, I was starting to feel like quite the skater so I started talking with one of the teens there and he suggested a

different way of getting on the board to ride down the ramps. I had made 30 or so runs with no problem. Atop the highest ramp I had skated, I decided to try the new method.

Skating Lesson 1: Never take skating advice from a teenager.

Skating Lesson 2: Never ever try a new trick on the highest ramp around.

Skating Lesson 3: Always wear a helmet, knee and elbow pads, and wrist guards…absolutely no one else in the park had any safety equipment. Mind you, this safety equipment is partly for show as you will still get an awesome bruise…but you’ll look good when you hit the deck from 5 feet in the air!

Abigail was the only girl at the park which I thought would intimidate her. She was also the youngest. My fearless daughter was awesome though. She cruised around like an old pro! I think that scares me…a lot!

We surely had a lot of fun and I even earned this trophy! It’s actually much larger than it looks but I don’t think you could handle if I showed any more leg! It’s already turning a wonderful shade of yellow on the edges…sort of like a bag of Skittles exploded and tattooed my leg!

Adventure at the Clay Center

November 19, 2008Adventure, Family, Fun, WVAdventure, Family, Fun, WVwarren

We used to live in Nashville, TN before moving to WV. On a visit back to TN last year, we took a tour of the Adventure Science Center. We decided to buy a family membership which is good at many museums and centers across the country…including the Clay Center in WV. This weekend, we decided to head for the Clay Center to see what we could get into. We arrived at 11:45 or so on Sunday morning and basically had the place to ourselves. We took in a planetarium show which included the movie, “Space Oddities” as well as the typical tour of the constellations (which was excellent).

We exited out of the planetarium directly into the art gallery which had a special display of WV artists in addition to the gallery-owned pieces. We each picked our favorite pieces.

In particular, Abigail liked a modern piece and wanted a picture. Of course, we couldn’t take a picture so she is determined to write the artist a letter asking for a print of the piece. I suspect she will succeed. Anyhow, it was great to see them excited to pick their favorites (though they were ready to move on as soon as they had found their pieces). We ventured into two displays they had including Milton Gardener’s Earth City and Health Royale.

Earth City was a cool model of an old-timey road-side attraction where the kids could play with water to discover how it flows as well as see all sorts of gizmos to move water and soak unsuspecting bystanders. They had boots attached to a conveyor belt that the kids manually operated to fill a bin that occasionally dumped. We watched as water trickled down through all sorts of things and saw how steam (fog) travels through a valley.

In Health Royale, there were a number of games, but in particular the kids enjoyed a Hollywood-squares-esque game where various body parts helped the kids answer questions about oral hygeine. Isaac loved the talking brain especially.

Finally, we went to an exhibit called the Gizmo Factory that was all about fun with physics. The kids got to reflect lasers through fog via mirrors, pull themselves up in a chair with pulleys, see how a computer translated their dance into sounds, play a laser harp, and watch water and a ball defy gravity.

All told, we spent 3 full hours exploring the fun at the museum. The best part was that it was all free (aside from our membership which has already paid for itself).

The kids had a blast and would have stayed longer if we would have let them.

We’ll definitely go back and soon. Next week they decorate for Christmas which includes a display of model trains and trees decorated in various styles from around the world. I can’t wait to go back!

A-maze-ing

November 6, 2008Adventure, Family, WVAdventure, Family, WVwarren

Last weekend, the kids went with their Mommaw and Aunt to the corn maze a few towns over. I don’t think they had ever been to such an event but everyone was gung-ho. I have little doubt that Isaac, in particular, was full-throttle the entire time.

The good thing is, the maze is huge and basically walled in with corn. They nicknamed Isaac the streak at the maze, and not because he was garment-challenged. Anyhow, I don’t know what sort of corn they planted but it was super tall and the kids were curious what would happen if they got lost. I told them to shoot sparks from their wands just like Harry Potter. I guess they didn’t buy it though. Isaac had a plan how he would just run right through the corn if necessary.

In a very serious tone, he informed me he was “ready to do what he needed to to get out.” The maze is closed now for this year, but we will probably get back out to it next year (and we’ll remember our wands next time!)

Something fowl at Cookskin Park

September 25, 2008Adventure, Family, Nature, WVAdventure, Family, Nature, WVwarren

This past Sunday, we decided to clear our house of some extra bread that was going stale. Coonskin Park has a pond that we knew would have ducks and geese so we packed up the van for a ride. We grabbed a quick lunch and took a short turn on the playground near the lake. By the way, the Cookskin playground is pretty awesome. It has little or no wood (translate: little or no chance of splinters) and has tons of tunnels and bridges and things to climb and swing on. Anyhow, I got itchy to feed the ducks.

I felt a little like a target carrying around a bag full of killer geese treats. At first, the birds were pretty well spaced around the pond but the smell of bread brought them to us quickly. They came from all sides. A flight of ducks and geese came in from overhead, all the time dropping bombs (luckily, they missed!) before they landed. We were overrun with fowl at the park but we all had a lot of fun feeding them. One goose in particular kept sticking his tongue out at us. I fed him every time he did it so we trained each other a little I suppose.

Anyhow, it was an absolute blast to watch them interact and swim and fly.

We used to live in Bowling Green, KY and Emily and I would go to a nearby park a lot during the summer to walk and talk. There was a big pond there too and we used to feed the ducks frequently. We were so poor that it was a stretch to throw even stale bread to the birds.

Anyhow, this was before kids and I really enjoyed feeding the ducks. I have to tell you, as fun as that was then, it is so much more fun seeing the kids getting into it. They had favorites, but tried to be fair. Abigail talked to them like they were unruly children. It was an absolute blast! We’ll definitely go again!

Mohinder

September 22, 2008Adventure, Audio, FamilyAdventure, Audio, Familywarren

Emily and I watch very little tv (esp since we don’t have cable) but one show we typically watch is Heroes on nbc. I am typically even less likely to recommend a program than I am to watch one, but if you are prone to sci-fi, check out Heroes. Anyhow, one of the characters on the show is named Mohinder. He’s a scientist that holds the promise of saving humanity…you know, typical sci-fi fare. Anyhow, we really liked the name and decided that the next critter we got would be named Mohinder.

So, the next part of the story…We have a huge problem with stray cats on our hill and they seem to breed faster than rabbits. Another neighbor periodically gathers them all up and takes them to the humane society. Most are pretty wild and unfriendly but one was quite the opposite. We could always pick him out of the crowd as he is missing half of his tail. He is super loving and has a great purr. I am pretty sure the neighbor girls have tamed him and maybe even put him in a dress and makeup. Anyhow, on Friday evening, Emily brought him into the house. We spent vet-money on him over the weekend so he is our new inside-only cat. In Nashville, we had another all black cat named Baptist. He was missing his hind leg. I think we have a thing with parts-missing black cats.

Mo and Madeline (our other cat) aren’t exactly friends yet. In fact, if you look at the pic of our fat tabby, you can somewhat make out the silhouette of her middle finger, extended for me, as I took the picture.

I was able to record a short snippet of Mo’s purr. He is a champion loving, purring cat!

[audio:https://myhomeamongthehills.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/mohinderpurr092208.mp3]

Isaac Flying!

August 29, 2008Adventure, FamilyAdventure, Familywarren

Our cousin “B” took Isaac flying last week while he was visiting in PA. “B” was a pilot before he was a licensed driver and was absolutely great showing Isaac how everything worked and letting him really experience the flight. Last year, Isaac flew with “B” but would not sit in the front seat. This year when “B” offered, Isaac jumped at the chance to sit up front. In fact, Isaac was able to do a lot more that just sit up front.

Isaac likes to cut up a bit but Grandma said she had never seen him so serious as when he first touched the controls.

Once they got off the ground, the pilot and the “pilot” flew for about and hour and fifteen minutes and were able to see how the plane reacted to the controls. Grandma was even able to keep her eyes uncovered for the entire time!

Even through the haze, the views were fantastic. It surely is beautiful country, especially from the sky!

This is my favorite picture of the event! Isaac has his eye on where he wants to go

Back safely on the ground “B” gives Isaac his “wings”. “How old do you have to be to learn to fly Dad?” was the first thing I heard when we talked about his flight. I wonder that too…it’s about time we had another hobby, right Emily?

My Home Among The Hills

Life in WV!