Up the Creek.....

Well, I certainly hope the Duxbury Bay Maritime school actually give the kids paddles during kayak paddling camp. I think this will be an interesting activity for the kids. Especially if the poor weather conditions keep up. Cold, wet, and rough seas. Not exactly a recipe for success. But....the kids are going to get wet anyway. I think the kids will dig being in their own kayak and fending for themselves. This is one of the many reasons that I love living where we do. Where else to you send kids to paddling camp, 5 minutes away from home? It's an easy thing to take for granted but I try hard not to. I impress upon the kids that this is an opportunity that not all kids have. I think they get the point.

Summer Hoops

Caz is doing a summer basketball camp this week. I am glad he decided to do it. I remember spending a lot of summers playing basketball and attending basketball camps. This camp is actually run by my old high school basketball coach. He was taken aback that in his 20th year of running the camp, he finally had a child of one of his former players attending camp. It said it made him feel old. That makes two of us. It's an erie coincidence that Caz is scoring well in his evaluations in rebounding and defense, the trademark strengths of his old man. Those areas of the game were my bread and butter. He received a comment that his coach appreciated his energy, especially on defense. Somewhere I am sure there is an evaluation from my old camps that says the same thing.

Reading Challenge - Update 4

Coco is on to book 4 - The Goblet of Fire. This is the book that transitions the series to the more adult audience. The boys have seen the movie, and we had this talk at the time it came out. I felt the need to reiterate this to Coco. We talked about how there were bad things that happened and that it was just a story. But if Coco was bothered by any of it, had questions, even questions about some of the vocabulary, that he should write it down and we would discuss it. Coco had a list of words ready when I came home tonight. Apparently the talk sunk in. Another one of those moments that seem to indicate that I might be doing something right with my parenting.

Reading Challenge - Update 3

Coco has finished book 3 and decided to go back and read Sorcerer's Stone. He's been so good with the books that I let him use my hard copy of the book. We had a slight incident with Gizmo and a paperback version of Chamber of Secrets that got left on the floor. Not that Gizmo wasn't too blame but not a good idea to tempt fate. This kid is cruising in his reading endeavors. I am very impressed with him.

Fireworks

We spent the night tonight out at Marshfield beach, watching the local fireworks display. This annual event was a tradition when I was growing up. It is amusing that the tradition is carrying on to this generation and my kids. It's very much Americana at it's finest. The Flag. Apple Pie. It's all good. The boys really enjoyed themselves this year. Caz was not digging the loud Booms last year, but all but dismissed them this year. It's really impressive, this amateur display. These folks must have spent a small fortune on fireworks. The crowd was well behaved this year. This probably was due to the extreme high tide, hitting at 9:35. Not much beach for the seedier element to wander around on. I told the boys that the celebration was in honor of their new cousin coming home today. I don't think they were buying it. But they got to stay up to 11:30 PM, so they were ready to humor the old man.

Coming Home

My brother and sister in-law bring my niece home today. It's always exciting, that first trip home with the new baby. I remember putting the car seat in the back of my old, been around the block (OK, quite a few blocks) silver Buick Century. I checked and re-checked the set up to make sure it was by the book. And then I checked it again. I drove like a first time driver right after getting that learner's permit. I checked my rearview and sideview mirrors before starting the car. I flashed my turn signal very early. I probably put it on when I was even thinking about turning. I drove exactly the speed limit. I remember pulling into the driveway. It was sort of like crossing the threshold, the first time as a married couple. Honestly, it was a bit better with the baby. That may have had a lot to do with not being 2 AM after a long night of celebrating and knowing I had to get up in a few hours to leave for the airport. I hope little brother finds it just as exciting.

Rain in the Summertime - Again

It is hard to believe it's summer. We just complete the month of June with 4 days, over the course of the month that didn't rain. 4! Can you believe that? And through it all, there was talk in the local paper that the town Selectmen were considering a voluntary water ban. I have set a sprinkler all of once. The day I put down fertilizer, I put out the sprinkler to wet down the lawn and soak it. To this point, I have still not put in the window AC units.