4th of July 2016 

Maryland gathering of Grandmother, Grandfather, Uncle Stick, Aunt Jen and most importantly - Cassie!!!

Fireworks, paddling (Cassie's first canoe ride), fishing, drinking, 2nd annual air hockey tournament and the pool.  Great weekend.

Zach Mentioned in Ornithological Dispatches

Zach occasionally joins the local Southern Maryland Audubon Society for bird watching trips.  He is valued for not only his sharp young eyes and ears but also his reputation as a young man who knows his birds.  

We made a trip to NAS Patuxent River for an early Spring bird trip.  The base offers lots of prime bird habitat for both waterfowl and forest dwellers.   We even saw some Arctic Swans.

As usual Zach was popular with his fellow birders and had numerous "good calls" which was pointed out in the club's The Osprey newsletter. 

Updates Coming In

The blog has been too long out of date.  The last three years have been a tad busy, but that means lots to report on!  

Just a few of the topics

-Three grades and two schools for the boys
-A CO/XO tour
-A six month deployment to Central America and the Western Pacific
-A new job for Kim
-A new house in Maryland
-Trips to Maine, Texas, the Virgin Islands, New Hampshire, all over Europe and Maine again!
-Everything in-betwen

Stay tuned, posts starting to come in.

Zach' Science Fair Project Video

Zach and a buddy hypothesized that different types of food in our backyard would attract different types of animals.  They tried vegetables, eggs and leftover deli meat.  Their hypothesis was proven correct.  Zach used a wildlife camera to capture all the different species and learned iMovie to make a video.  

For their efforts they won a "Sparkle Award" which was received as a bag of skittles.

White House Easter Egg Roll

We got word in St. Johns that we had were picked through a lottery at work to attend the White House Easter Egg Roll.  We felt so honored to be among the President's closest 30,000 friends.  I took the day off from the office, figuring an invite from the President was sufficient excuse. 

We were given an afternoon slot, well after the President and First Lady had dropped by.  The line for security was enormous, but moved really well.

There were tons of activities and shows for the kids.  They also got a commemorative White House Easter wooden Easter Egg.  Very classy affair.

 

 

 

Boys on the starting line of the Easter Egg Roll.  You push the egg down a small hill with a wooden spoon.  Kids used to do this on Capital Hill, but Congress passed a law to forbid the activity in 1876.  Good ol' Prez Hayes then invited children to roll eggs on the White House lawn and the tradition was born.

 

Epic Snow Days!

Big snow on Kim's Birthday!  Too much fun all around the neighborhood.  My Mom and Dad were here which was great.  

Started snowing the night of the 4th and continued all through the 5th.  Everything was a winter wonderland.  First major snow the boys can remember. 

A walk back down through the woods to the lower end of the neighborhood.  Beautiful!

Out on the dock- Bay partially frozen 

A nasty fish kill!  Neighbor called the state biologist and they said it was because the fish got too cold.  Brilliant!

Next day was bright and clear.  Great for snowmen and sledding on the golf course!