A Chilly Fall Day

River striking a pose just before scoping out the neighborhood for tomorrow night's Trick-Or-Treating.  Note the iPod and headphones. 

River's First Jack-O-Lantern

River designed her first Jack-O-Lantern.  She drew it and I carved it for her.  Thankfully, she kept it simple.  I love the traditional look. 

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall..

.. River is the cutest of them all.

Dressing up for her Halloween Party at School. 

My Little Pumpkin

Waiting for The Great Pumpkin! 

River the Explorer

"Daddy.  Can we go camping like Dora?"

"What?"

"I want us to go camping like Dora.  We can eat popcorn and candy and marshmallows and we can sleep wrapped up in big blankets with our toes sticking out!  That sounds like fun doesn't it?"

"Well.. it does sound like fun but I don't think your mommy would like sleeping outside very much.  She doesn't like being that close to spiders."

"We need a tent.  Dora has a tent.  A blue tent.  We need to get a blue tent and then we can leave the spiders outside.  I won't let them in and then mommy will have fun!"       


So, a few days later, I took River's request to the Mommy Lady and was shocked that she was all for it.  Later that same day we purchased..

A BLUE TENT!!!!

We waited for River to take her mid-day nap and then snuck outside to put it up.  We also picked up some popcorn, candy and marshmallows. 

When she woke up.. wow..  



TOTALLY SURPRISED!!


River helped line the tent with big fluffy blankets.  We put batteries in the new flashlight, charged up the portable dvd player and, after dark, popped the popcorn and lit the citronella lantern.  

We started out strong.  Plenty of snacks.. Toy Story spinning in the dvd player.  River was all smiles sitting between us and chomping away on popcorn.  She didn't seem to notice that it was 9:30pm and still in the mid 80's with no breeze at all. 

But Jo and I noticed.  What were we thinking?  The tent had the same effect on Jo and I as one of those giant plastic cooking bags that you use to cook a chicken or a pot roast. We were ill prepared to say the least.

We managed to make it to 3am.  River was snoozing happily and I had finally dozed off in what can only be described as a heat-induced mini-coma.  I dreamt of tumble weeds and laughing cacti.  I think I seem to recall a flaming clown chasing me with a blow torch.  My tortured sleep was interrupted by a crazy-haired, sweaty Jo saying, "ENOUGH! Let's go inside. I can't take this anymore" and so we made the long journey of 4 feet to the front door and spent the rest of the night indoors.  Ahhhh, wonderful chilly cold air conditioning.  Up yours, Dora! I discovered the next day, while taking the tent down, that besides the same conditions I was attempting to endure, Jo was also sleeping atop a sizable pile of hardened deer droppings.  What a trooper.  That couldn't have been comfortable. 

River didn't seem to mind waking up in the house.  She still had a blast and looks forward to doing it again.  The next time we will wait for cooler weather and we will have an air mattress. 

Don't Worry, Grandparents..

.. yours are already framed and ready for you.


Summer Portrait - 2011



POP

I don't like fireworks.  I think I used to once but I've never been as into it as most folks are this time of year.  The grownup in me just sees money going up in flames.  Don't get me wrong; I'm NOT Mr. Frugal (just ask Jo) but, come on!!  Why buy something that is going to last just a few seconds, possibly blow your fingers off and potentially set your roof on fire?  Then, of course, there is all the debris scattered across your yard the next day.  Funny how your neighbor can't wait to show off the truckload of illegal Chinese mortars they picked up from "that guy in Indiana/Tennessee" but he won't make eye contact with you 24 hours later when your yard/roof looks like Times Square at 12:30am on January 1st. 

Yep.  Good times.

Little ones pose a special problem.  I didn't want to ruin River's holiday by airing my disdain for fireworks so I keep that to myself but I knew at some point she would want more of a hands on experience.  Flash forward a few weeks; that time is now.  I shot down her request for sparklers but tried to ease the blow with a few packs of that ol' safe standby..

Snap-n-pops!!!

I think we found a happy medium.  For now.

A Day in the Park

A few photos of River at Riverfront Park in Warsaw, KY...



Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

"As parents, we can have no joy, knowing that this government is not sufficiently lasting to ensure any thing which we may bequeath to posterity: And by a plain method of argument, as we are running the next generation into debt, we ought to do the work of it, otherwise we use them meanly and pitifully. In order to discover the line of our duty rightly, we should take our children in our hand, and fix our station a few years farther into life; that eminence will present a prospect, which a few present fears and prejudices conceal from our sight."  - Thomas Paine

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." - Ronald Reagan

Father's Day 2011

River

Birds singing

completely beautifully

feeling like a king

touching waters wetness

cool, warm waters

the feel of wellness

calm fathers

- Bethany Williams

(Thanks to Cathy)

River Collier: Improvisation Musician

Some musicians refuse to conform to the constraints of mundane music.  Trivial things such as melody and playing in tune only slow River down. 


Serious Guitar Slinger Attitude



Rocking out with the Martin Backpacker.

Strawberries and Flowers

A few times a year we will make our way to Bray Orchards to enjoy whatever is in season at the time.  Mid May through mid June is Strawberry time!  My favorite! 

The first time we brought River here for Strawberry season was two years ago.  She was 18 months old and nearly wiped out all the strawberries we purchased on the way home.  When we pulled into the driveway, she was sound asleep with a mouth and hands stained pink with juice and a content smile on he face.

She still loves the strawberries.

Bray Orchards & Roadside Market
2580 Hwy 42 West
Bedford, KY 40006

502.255.3607



Anticipation.



Exploring the lily pad pond.

Like a honeybee, River did her best to visit every flower in the greenhouse.

She sniffed and sniffed..

.. and sniffed some more.

Taking a break to de-pebble a shoe.

This photo reminds me of Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird.



River tried her best to fix "the broken flowers".



Enjoying some strawberry ice cream made at the Orchard.

Bray Orchards have been in business since 1910..

.. and much is just as it was 101 years ago.

Sweet and tangy.  (This looks like tangy.)

This part will go on for hours.  All weekend actually.

Strawberries can get heavy.

Time to head home for some strawberry shortcake!

We'll be back in six weeks for Peach Season!!!

 

You Know it's Spring..

.. when the bumblebees come out. 

Using Child Labor (Part Deux)

Here is a video of River installing the new slate tile.  Easter is coming and she has to earn that basket o' goodies!

Using Child Labor

Thanks to her inheriting her mother's sense of self-reliance and maybe a little inspiration from Handy Manny, River has proven to be quite helpful with the remodel project in the master bathroom. 

River took "Being in charge" of the screws very seriously.



She really wanted to use the power drill.



Adventures in The Hundred Acre Wood

"Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day."
 - Winnie the Pooh,  Pooh's Little Instruction Book





"Always watch where you are going. Otherwise, you may step on a piece of the Forest that was left out by mistake." - Winnie the Pooh, Pooh's Little Instruction Book

"Pooh, promise me you won't forget about me, ever. Not even when I am a hundred."
Pooh thought for a little.
"How old shall I be then?"
"Ninety-nine."
Pooh nodded. "I promise," he said.

Winnie the Pooh
The House at Pooh Corner