Brooktondale Baby Birthday Bash

Wow, it's been awhile. Gonna try to get back into this. I feel like it's a better way to communicate long form, but more so, I enjoy the journaling. Anyway, I have some pictures to post.

Last weekend, July 12-15, Mom and Dad and Simon joined us for the usual... food, festivities, and some hiking.

Simon and Abe got along marvelously and played and played and played and then... played some more.  Check out those tongues.  Hot dogs!

The main festivity was the third annual Brooktondale Babies Birthday Bash.  It was held at the B-dale community center.  I grilled, the kids played, and everyone seemed to have a good time.  Lots of people thanked me for grilling, but it's mostly a selfish act.  I am fond of saying that it's better for both parties when there is a fire between me and the rest of the world.

Emmett and Willa mostly playing nice at the tetherball.

Sarah and Emmett, and Margaret and Willa swinging together.

Dad is most comfortable seated above the fray.  We should have given him a whistle.

We had a good crowd and great weather.  The kids really played a lot.  When we finished, we cleaned up and headed home.

Of course we had to hit the farmers market.  On Sunday we planned to go get some breakfast at the market and then go to Havana Glen Park to swim at the Eagle Cliff Waterfall.

"Hmmm.  What are you guys having?  Can I have some of that, too?"

Sarah found this waterfall for us when she went to a friend's daughter's graduation party at the park earlier this year.  The park is a traditional style with baseball fields up front, a big playground and lots of pavilions.  There were a bunch of people in the park, but when we got there, there was almost no one in the swimming hole.  It was so fun, and great to go to a new place.

Sorting it all out.

Vinnie rolled in Sunday afternoon and we grilled some shrimp and corn and Sarah made some sautéed squash.  We had a great dinner together at the picnic table and hung out and chatted into the evening.  On Monday morning, Sarah and Emmett went to work, Vinnie and I packed, and Mom and Dad headed to Syracuse.  

Jackie sent some brownies with the resupply shipment for our trip.  We decided to share them out.  They were good.

Emmett got several tiger themed gifts for his birthday.  This one is a real stand out.

Next up, canoeing inside the blue line.

Emily & Nakoa come for a visit

Our friends Emily and Nakoa came up for a visit the first weekend of February.  Emily's been up a few times, and this was Nakoa's first trip.  They rented a little cabin out in Treman Park, which was nice.  We could hang as long as we wanted, but then they could retire to a place that didn't sound like Bedlam all night.

One evening we went to Atlas for some food and to roll.  We all had a good time.  Emmett loved watching the bowling balls roll back up the line.

As you can see, we had chilly beautiful weather.  The sun was out and blinding off the snow.  It was perfect for bird watching, so we headed to the Ornithology Lab for a little bit.  These chairs always give me a hankering for mint juleps.

Brrrr.... "Maybe we should have headed south with the rest of the gang!"

This is the cabin that E and N rented.  I would totally live in it.  There were tracks from some kind of a wild cat in the side yard!  Probably a bobcat.  The inside is very cabiny with lots of knotty pine and a loft bed.  It's small, but totally functional for a couple or even a couple with a kid.

One really cool thing about the cabin is that you can walk right out the door and into Treman park!  Which we did.  The waterfalls were all icey and impressive.

We're getting more and more use out of the pack.  Despite the look on his face here, most of the time is spent babbling and cooing and oohing at the trees.  He has started to pat me on the back of the head, which may develop into an annoyance, but for now is pretty cute and lets me know that he is still breathing.

Spontaneous shot

Posed shot.

Family shot.

Lucifer Falls.

We worked up a hunger from all the hiking and retired to the cabin where Nakoa prepared a pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon and roasted local Brussels sprouts and carrots.  We ate and had a little bourbon and chatted into the evening.  It was a very good time and we look forward to seeing them again soon.

Sarah and I both got some new kicks.  Sarah got some hiking shoes and I finally gave in and bought new hiking boots.  I like them alright for modern materials, but there is still something I love about the heavy, leaky, creaky, leather boots.  I appreciated the new ones, though, when my foot went through the ice and my foot stayed warm and dry.

Then, we said goodbye to our friends, the week got under way, and Emmett went back to school.  Dude did a little Yoga.... I guess.

Having a great weekend

Emily and Sarah found a pretty cool spot to check out at Watkins Glen State Park.

 

Sarah looking into another beautiful abyss at Watkins Glen State Park

 My new toy.  Picked it up for a couple bucks at an antique store.  Something about it just really appeals to me.  It now has a happy spot on our increasingly (some would say ludicrously) congested bookshelf.

Went to see Driftwood at the Haunt.  Had a lot of fun.  Then went home and had even more fun playing music off the i-pod with just my couple friends and dancing without bumping into anybody.

Artsy shot of the knobby thing. The sound guy seriously only uses like 6 of these.  The rest are just there for cred, I'm convinced.

This is a bird's nest made of moss on a ledge covered in moss.  Sarah spotted it!  Ole eagle eye.