Our first hike

We took our first real hike as a family today. Although we have been to various parks and taken short walks on wooded paths, we haven't been upstate hiking with the kids until today. We took an hour drive up to Harriman State Park and set off from the Anthony Wayne Recreation area. We started out slow, exploring the paved path and picnic area. For awhile, it seemed like we'd never leave the picnic area, since the kids were having fun running around. and climbing on the small boulders.



At some point, Robert declared that he was hungry, so Bob trudged back to the car to get the food bag. While the kids ate sandwiches, Bob cooked up chicken and rice on the camp stove.



After lunch the kids expressed (a little) interest in hiking further, so we found our way to a trail head and began hiking uphill. There were all sorts of rocks and logs to keep their attention.





The kids did surprisingly well looking for the trail markers. We made a game out of it by asking them to call out where they saw the marker and walk toward it. We encountered a few other groups of hikers, most looking significantly better prepared than we did. It was a beautiful day, with temperatures in the upper 50s notwithstanding the fact it is January. So it was easy to overheat and become thirsty. We eventually made it to the top, or what we called the top in order to get the kids to turn around.



On the way down, we stopped for a sip of water and to make a family picture.







It was, to say the least, a delightful day. It was nice to get out of our immediate surroundings to an area unfamiliar to us and do a little exploring as a family. The kids handled the experience well, probably better than the parents, since they were unaware of all the hazards. They had fun and that's what is important.

Our Christmas

Here is some footage from Christmas Day. The kids really enjoyed the day. Thanks to everyone who sent cards and gifts.

Scenes from Christmas Day

Robert being a little silly with a Santa hat a couple of days before Christmas day. We put other pictures on our Flickr page, which you can get to here.

There are videos on this page! Each blog post has either a picture or video at the top of it. If you don't see it, refresh the page in your browser; sometimes it takes a moment for the video to appear.

Merry Christmas

We are wrapping up a wonderful Christmas. It has been a long day, particularly for Donna and Bob, who were up past 3:00 am (2:46 for Bob and 3:30 for Donna) this morning preparing gifts for the kids. We are both exhausted, but in a good way. There is something peculiarly satisfying about staying up late to put out gifts for your kids. This is the first year that Samantha and Robert understand the holiday.

The house has been decorated for a couple of weeks now. It's the earliest we've ever decorated; usually, we wait until the very last minute. This year we bought lights for the outside of the house and hung them the first weekend of December.

That same week, we took the kids to see Santa at Macy's New York City. It was a miserable, rainy day but we made the best of it. Macy's does a spectacular job keeping the line moving. It took us longer to get to Santa using the elevators than it did to wait on line for the pictures!

You may notice that Sam is wearing boots in the video. That's because she lost a shoe between the platform and train at Penn Station. Luckily Donna packed a spare set of shoes.

Enjoy the film. We'll have some footage from today up soon. Please excuse the grainy footage with Santa. It was nearly pitch black in the room with Santa, and the camera struggled to find the correct exposure.

To our friends and family everywhere, we wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Cheers

Chopsticks

It's hard to believe it has been so many months since we updated the blog. Good thing we don't rely on this for income. It's been very hectic with the new house and the kids getting bigger. You can't put them in a car seat and ride them around in the minivan for three hours for a nap anymore. They actually want to do stuff!

And that's a good thing.

Earlier this week, we made our first visit to Benihana Restaurant. We have never eaten there as a family because, quite frankly, the environment isn't really conducive to little kids. But we gave it a try, mainly to introduce some new foods. The kids are so fussy when it comes to eating out; there's only so much Mac 'n Cheese and pizza you can eat in a week.

Much to our delight, Robert and Samantha thoroughly enjoyed the food and the experience. They donned their chef hats when the chef arrived, and watched attentively as he prepared the meal. When it was time to eat, they knew exactly what to do with the chopsticks and required very little coaching.

Robert, who is not normally a big eater, attacked his food with particular vengeance. When we arrived home, he took out the left-overs and announced, "Let's have dinner again!"

It was a hit. Too bad each visit is about $110, so it won't be in our regular rotation of dining establishments. The experience, however, was priceless and it makes one wonder if the food takes differently when consumed with chopsticks. It sure looks like fun.

Home Sweet Home

We haven't posted in awhile because we have been very busy moving from our apartment to a new home. New to us, not newly constructed. It has been quite an experience to say the least and the kids are adapting well. They each have their own bedroom now, painted in their favorite colors. The house is located on a lovely, quiet street with several young families and lots of small kids for Robert and Samantha to meet.

Here is Robert in the new living room, getting ready for T time.

We finally have a nice backyard for the kids to play in. Here they are playing on a slide donated by one of our new neighbors. Neighbors...we like that word. People who own their own property, care for it and are invested in the neighborhood. That's new for us, having spent the last 20-something years in rentals.

The house has an assortment of "older home" issues that we have been sorting out over the past four weeks. So far, we've met the local painter, electrician, sewer service and basement humidity contractors. Each of them have been very gracious while draining our bank account. The last big project for the initial move-in phase was the windows and siding-original 1951 windows, many of which haven't opened in years. The window contractor was scheduled for this Monday, but a certain Hurricane swept into the area over the weekend.

Irene arrived Saturday night, the worst of it hitting after the kids went to bed. Many parts of our town sustained significant damage and flooding but, thankfully, our neighborhood was spared. We lost power for about 16 hours but that's about it. Bob used his backpacking stove to cook breakfast outside the front door as the kids watched.

The window and siding contractors showed up Monday morning, as if nothing happened the previous two days. They set to work pulling out the ancient windows and ripping the old gutters off the building. By the end of the day Monday, all of the new windows were in place.

The siding goes on today, then a new garage door and gutters.

It has been a tumultuous month, but we have accomplished a lot in a short time period. With a little bit of luck, we'll be able to get away for 2 or 3 days for a vacation so the kids can have some fun before pre-school starts next week.

Busy Summer

It has been a busy summer, even though we are just a few days into the season. The kids have had a couple of "graduations" over the past few weeks. We are finally moving into our own home after too many years of renting apartments. In anticipation of that auspicious event, we graduated the kids out of their cribs and into little-people beds. Here Robert is helping Bob assemble his bed.






Sammy took to the bed immediately. In fact, she picked them out at the store a couple of weeks earlier by hopping into the display bed and cuddling under its sheets.





Robert and Samantha graduated, "Moved Up" as they say, from daycare on Wednesday and we took them for their first visit to the Bronx Zoo.











Aunt Deana and cousins Matthew and Emily are visiting today from Arizona and we hope to go out and enjoy the summer sunshine. That's it for now. Stay healthy.