more fall photos

Just a few images from a recent ride, see if you can spot the trail ... I was the first one riding this section in some time, thus for a while, I was simply riding riding where I thought the trail should be.  At other times, the trail reminded me where it was.

Cheers!

A few images

As evidenced slightly in the web album (link), I have been able to get some riding in, at times without dragging the kids around ...

We have achieved pity

Now, not normally would pity be something I necessarily want to "achieve" as far as things parenting go ... in this case today the milestone wasn't pity an emotional respect ... it was her first attempt at "please?"

As usual I am feeding and entertaining her while he sleeps in.  This morning she went through her usual routine of going to each of the locations of the variations of sugar that we have.  The two "cubes" in the pantry that contain sweet tarts and cookie bears, then over to the actual cookie jars to ask for the specific cookie in the large container.  After another shake of the head and gentle "no" from me she moved to her last resort, the brownie tray ... all to no avail as I was not dispensing any sugar this morning.

She finally conceded, "balabla?", pointing to the bananas ... 

I replied, "yes, can you say balabla please?"

"BALABLA BALABLA" jumping jumping jumping ... one of her earliest forms of "yes, you finally are correct" based communication was jumping.  Funny.

Anywho, she had her balabla and some cheerios and went about her morning of placing the cheerios in places that I won't find for a while.  I was finding some of them when I heard "pitee" "PITEE"

She was back at the snack area ready for "clitchs" (chips) ...

"You would like chips?"

"clitchs pitee"

:)

We have achieved "please" ... tiny battle, big war.

Jeff

Levitation and lit chansaws

Ha, this photo has been in my queue for a while, unpublished ... so here!

Well not quite Derry anymore

Greetings,

I am contemplating a complete re-work of "blogs" and photos, so pardon a few lapses in updating, etc.

We are in residence a mile or so off of the W&OD rail to trail line, in Ashburn, Virginia.  Rail to trail lines are pathways that are used by cyclists, runners, walkers and equestrians ... effectively no motorized (gas/electric?) vehicles on paths that rail lines used to run on.  The W&OD line is around 45 miles and ends near DC, so theoretically with a decent tailwind I'm just over an hour from DC on a bike as I enter the trail around mile 28.7354 something.  Of course heading back into the wind ...

The home is a part of a larger community so there are mini parks and a pool we can access.  The biggest "perk" is the tiny (for us) commute to and from work and or the "big" airport (Dulles) of about fifteen minutes in traffic.  So as a unit we'll be getting time back for a while.

For the most part packing, and unpacking while chasing the 4 and nearly 2 year old, is distracting at best.  Thanks to all who helped during the transition!

The kids have settled into the house, making things fairly easy as far as moves go with wee ones.  Play dates have begun for Stone, and Sora isn't too far behind.

I managed to drag them in the bike trailer on an exploratory ride, on the line mentioned earlier, and it was well received by the kids.  I only had to "stop this bike and open that trailer" once as Sora was out of fluid and was demanding Stone's ... so after topping her bottle off we proceeded North toward Purcellville VA (the end of the line to the North).  

I hadn't expected to make it all the way, as it was quite warm and only the trees / tree lined sections provided cover.  As Stone was on the side being hit by the energy from the sun he was a bit done after a few miles.  Thus, we turned around to head back.  Within a few moments all was quiet.

I had noted the locations of certain parks and pubs (hooray) along the route as there are lots of businesses catering to the trail users.  I thought that on the way back Stone would explain just how many parks I was passing ... but not a peep.  Sora started making some noise and we chatted for a while, I asked Stone a question, and heard "brodur sweepy".  Sure enough as I had thought, his head was resting against the side of the carrier, sound asleep.

I pulled over as I wanted to see the "quarry view" (which is near our turn off from the bike highway).  At the overlook / picnic area, Sora and I looked over the cliff to see a working quarry with loaders and diggers and rock sorters and crushers and lifters ... and quite noisy even at the distant range we were from any action ... and he slept and slept until we woke him to go into the house.

Until the next time,

Jeff

Ahem ...

Yes, still here.  New locale, so maybe a "refresh" to the entire blog o thingy soon.

Cheers,

or Greetings from Ashburn ...

Jeff

2015 first group ride

There is enough snow melt and warmish temperature to tempt me to drag the kids around behind me on the bike.  Thus I got to take the first official NH ride of 2015 (for me).

As for the route, we needed to drop a few packages in the mail, so we took the route to school as the local USPS office is across the street from his school.

I fully expected to go slow and we did.  There were a few sections where the grade was in my favor and in one case I also had a tail wind.  As Stone tasted speed, he encouraged me "faster daddy, faster" ... 

I would apply a bit more pressure to the pedals ...

Him: "No daddy go Ten fast, go ElevenTEEN fast"

Me: "hhhhuuuuuhhhhh ffffeeewww hhhhuuuuuufffffeeewww" ... " that takes more than" .... hhhuuuhh fewfew hhuuuuhhhh" ... "energy than I have"

Him: "Faster daddy"

Her: "aahhhh ee aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhAAHAHAHA"

As we came around a corner and went up a hill, they were reminded that I was pulling them and things went by more slowly, so they got quiet and observed more around them as it took a while to pass by.  I would get a few questions from him, after time he understood it was hard to hear each other so he didn't persist with his latest inquisition.

One of the sounds other than car noise and wind and heavy breathing was a few varieties of birds.  Quite a few are milling about and the first few migratory fowl have started to arrive.  A nice change.

I had scouted most of the ride in a vehicle and the one section I didn't think to check was a side walk on the "busy" road on the final approach to the store.  As I made the right turn I saw that the paved section was still covered in snow so I took the "gutter" option next to the road.

I left some minor divots, and thought the return trip might get interesting as on the way back I would be going uphill in that area.  Nothing too steep, but considering the fact that their trailer might sink a bit I might have to hop off and hoof it to the left turn back onto pavement.

As I unloaded the items to be sent I was asked how we got there ... I had the packages, the kids and my bike helmet still on.  I guess that does not look too normal.  I mentioned we arrived on a bike.  He was then puzzled as to how the kids arrived, and I explained they had a separate trailer.  We thanked him for helping us and headed back to the family bike thingy.

As expected, as I got to the very top of the gutter section on the way up, things went very slippery and slow.  I didn't have to dismount, although I did make some slightly larger impressions on our way out.  Evidence of some of the nastiness can be seen on their screen / plastic protector of the trailer below.

Immediately after the slow, slushy, muddy uphill and left turn is the longest downhill section of the ride.  As I completed my roll up the next hill and started pedaling again I noticed it was fairly quiet behind me.

I didn't think too much about it as I was feeling better as I had been riding for a bit over thirty minutes, and typically it takes me 45-60 minutes to really "warm up" on a bike ride.

As we turned into our parking area, I went through the usual routine of garage door opening, bike walking in, garage door closing and kid removal.  

This is when I realized he had passed out.  He hasn't taken a nap during the day in over two years ... really ... less than 50 minutes in the trailer and your head falls over ... so I did the right thing and took pictures.

Cheers

An image update

As the snow melts, we have begun to venture outside.  Here is a link to the album and a few highlights below.

Cheers,

Jeff

A bit on her

Sora and I are starting to have a better conversation.  That is, she is finding that I can be quite useful at getting things that she can't reach, getting her clean pants and other basic services.  For a few weeks I was effectively commanded about the place with little attention being paid to any words I might be saying to her.  

Over the last few days she has started to show signs that perhaps listening to me might also be ok to do.  This morning she was doing her usual uncover the couch that is "peeling" and peel more of the faux stuff off, exposing the foam.  "Sora, no thank you please". She looks back at me, smiles.  I smile back and say "thank you".  She then covers up the couch and runs across the room to slam into my chest (I have no idea where she learned that).  I pick her up and she immediately points towards sugar containers on the counter, and smiles back at me ... with a very expectant look.

Speaking of counters and their tops.  She can now easily get to anything near the edge of a standard 3' countertop height.  Fun times.

She has quite the appetite for all things food.  To date, she seems to have no food allergies and the only thing thus far that she consistently does not care for is sweet potato.  I know when I have made a poor food decision as she will shake her head, make fists, close her eyes and insist you are trying poison her.  I know when I have made a good food decision as I will get grasping hands, big bright eyes and maybe even a "dankuuudahdah".  

That being said, she will still give me a few full throttle top of her current octave range bellows a day to remind me who is in control.

She loves water, any water ... thus we are keeping the bathroom doors closed as she does not quite clean the toilets despite the amount of water that she gets onto her own person.  Perhaps in a few years we can add cleaning those to her chore list.

Melt snow melt ...

Jeff

A bit more snow and some math lessons

While the snow season is winding down, we'll continue to get a few more rounds before we begin to thaw.  I am thinking I might have to mow the grass sometime in June.  Overnight we got a few more inches, as seen in the image below.  I should go move some of it ... yawn.

As with most humans, Stone likes certain things.  He likes new things, and he is continually reminding me of things he does not have.  I remind him he has too many things, and typically I'll get a hearty "daddy, I don't like your words".

We had discussed having him start to earn some money for things, and so it began recently.  Over the holiday break down south, he was introduced to the board game Candyland.  So as it remained all the way in TX, and we are all the way in NH he has made the game his first priority for spending his hardly earned at all money.

By the end of the first nearly halfway complete cleaning of the TV room he had earned $5, a generous sum.  He has to get all the way to $13 before he has enough money.  So as he earns more we are tracking it on the dry erase board.  In the image below you can also see one of his works in green, I caught him mid cough as he is day three into the latest head cold.  

I am sure by next year he'll be asking about credit and investment accounts ... so long as he is doing laundry and maybe using a vacuum I'll be a happy account manager.

A few thoughts

During our recent return trip home Sora's mantra and general comment for everything was "mahmahhhh" in varying levels of decibel and tone.  Mahmah would occasionally turn and "ssshhhh" her with a finger over her lips.  This was fun.  Sora picked it up quickly and surprisingly responded (sometimes) when you wanted her to quiet down a little, so as not to shatter a truck window.

Yesterday the kids and I were in a playroom.  Stone building lego things, and asking "why" consistently the moment I would take a breath in order to keep explaining things to answer his latest "why?".  Sora would play in an area, get up and move to another, play, and repeat the process around the room.  Rarely trying to get directly into her brother's space.  During her third or fourth lap Stone and I were discussing something and he didn't quite accept my answer, so he raised his voice gently:

him: "wwhhyy dahdeee?"

me:  "because words words explination and more words some of them are words, others are words; blah blah, more words ..." in a sort of also louder kinda voice

her: "sssshhhhh", this as she walks by putting her finger over her mouth, making eye contact with me, smiling and then jumping onto a pillow on the floor ...

I was just ssshh'd, appropriately, by my one year and two month old, ouch.

-

In the just over two years in being in NH, he has grown 8.5 inches (at just over 4 years 42 inches).  In her year plus two months of being here she has grown over 12 inches (now just over 32 inches).

-

Head colds have a surprisingly positive side effect: diaper changing is not nearly as terrible when changing those terrible diapers.

-

As earlier noted, he is now over 42" tall, and if I recall correctly (someone please fact check if bored at work) he is now tall enough to get on some "big roller coasters" that we were able to see during the road trip.  Don't tell him, as I'll have to explain you have to have a driver's license before riding as well ...

-

He will be excited as the snow currently falling is "wet-ish" snow, good for snow balls and sledding.

-

Road trips are still one of the best ways to appreciate the land we live on and the people that make up that landscape.  Yes, multiple days of mostly driving with this age group was not always so great.  Really good practice for them though.

-

He got to see an actual crop duster moving (taxiing).  There were two of them near the hanger as we passed.  He is a fan of the planes movies (featuring a crop duster as the lead).  He was surprised by how larger they were, and yellow, not orange like in the movie ... 

-

She is too fast for her age.  That is, I don't want her to be this fast yet.

Some snow

On our return trip home, we were discussing the land around us as we wiggled around the Appalachians and we considered the seasons and the usual tangents from there.  We left the south as the weather was the best it had been during our stay and were heading into a few feet of fresh powder surrounding the house.

We reminisced about the dozens of feet that fell during our time in Japan.  Perspective.

Stone was looking forward to the snow, naturally.  On our first outing into the drifts he hadn't eaten much and I wondered how long he would last.  The powder was indeed still that after falling a few days earlier.  So much so, that he would sink in the sled as opposed to gliding.  Which then made the climbing of the hill not so fun if you can't glide down.  

On the second or third trip up the hill he tried a snow angel, only to dig a couple of deep ruts and sink into the drift.  After a few extractions we made it to level ground where he proceeded to tackle me a few times, or at least really want to.  All in all, after about twenty minutes his tank was empty.  Snowballs would have to wait until the next day or so.

Sora has yet to get stuck in the snow, we'll need some warmer temps and less breeze ... brrr.

Jeff