I like playing ping pong and I remember many matches played with Sox when we were on our Mexican cruise. I think she beat me every time. Perhaps this table would give her a challenge? The big question is, how many balls are used?
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The cousins all got along great and played well together. The food was excellent, and the weather was spotless. Sleep was a little lacking though. The first night there Sox and I headed to bed around 10. Sprout was still awake and started talking to us. We tried our best to ignore him and to convince him to go to sleep. We also tried our best to prevent any outbursts. He kept saying things like, Hi mama, What you doin? and my favorite Can’t see (by this time it was late and very dark). Every time I was about to nod off he would speak up. Ack. Then Beet woke us all up at 5:30. The sleep got better after that thankfully.
This trip brought back lots of memories for me. One of the few things I vividly recall about my parents is going camping. Especially to Rathtrevor. I loved it as a kid, and one of my great hopes as a father is to create some of these special times with my family. I don’t want to recreate what I did as a child, but I do want my children to some day reflect back on the fun times we had as a family.
Sox and I actually took two vehicles up there (long story) so this afforded me enough space to take my bike. I did get out for one ride, and apart from missing one really fun trail I had a great ride. On another ride I also towed Sprout in the trailer for a while and we ran into a couple that were out walking their two pointers.
We also went to the beach a few times, played bocce, badminton, volleyball, drank copious amounts of coffee, drank a few beer, and had campfires. Not sure what more you could want in a camp trip really.
In years to come we are going to have to really reconsider how to pack. Our CRV is great but with 2 kids, a dog, and all the gear, we are short on space. In the next year or two we will need to take bikes too. Maybe a utility trailer or even a tent trailer if the CRV can tow that.
The snail is still my favorite part of the tank. I love watching it motor around the tank and am constantly being surprised at the distances it travels between commercial breaks.
The increased sunlight of summertime brings increased algae growth so I have been cleaning the tank a little more often and a little more thoroughly.
Sprout has started helping me feed the fish too. He likes to give the Cory’s their pellet and can just reach above the rim of the thank to drop it in the water. In the next few months I will see if he wants to drop in the flake food too. I may not have to feed them all the time if my helper works out 🙂
I could actually use some new earphones for my iPod. These might just fit the bill. Nothing like stuffing pigs in your ears!
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Shooting fireworks can be easy and fun provided you have the right equipment. Start with a camera that has a bulb setting (ie the shutter stays open as long as you press the shutter button). Must, must, must have a sturdy tripod, and a cable release is pretty handy too.
With the camera pointed in the right direction, fix the aperture and focus then get ready to shoot. Try to anticipate when the big bursts are going to happen and mash the cable release button. Vary how long you keep the shutter open. Take lots of pictures.
I’m very happy with a number of my images, but of course I had over 75 to pick and choose from.
Can’t wait for next year. Hopefully I can make it out again.
Yoshi doesn’t like thunder.
Yoshi pushed his way upstairs through a baby gate.
Yoshi barged into my bedroom.
Yoshi made a lot of noise and kept nudging me with his nose. My back actually. It was warm and the duvet was down so he was nudging my bare back. At 12:30 in the morning. Cold, wet dog nose while I am trying to sleep.
Aaargh.
I had a great time at the game. I felt like I was running well, playing well, making good hard cuts. I caught a couple points and threw a couple points.
We were zoned a couple times which was an interesting tactic in calm weather, but we managed to march the disc up the field consistently, then unfortunately it would get thrown away or dropped near the end zone.
We were so close to winning for a while. We were down a few points, then managed to claw back to an 8-7 score.
During one point I was in the stack and one of my teammates made a cut and the throw to her was made. It sailed high and wide. I sprinted off after it, and managed to track it down to prevent the turnover.
Another point we were doing a lot of give and go’s right up the sideline. The score then was 2 points apart. I caught the disc and knew I was close to the line. I looked down and to my dismay my left foot (the one I landed on) was very close to the line and my right was even further out. I did a double take and called myself out. We were close to the end zone too.
Throughout the game we could see lightning in the distance and hear the occasional grumble of thunder. I was kind of hoping it would open up and pour on us, but that didn’t happen. 🙁 The fields are drying out quickly and tonight the ground was pretty hard.
Now I am home, needing a shower, then it will be time to hit the hay. I have to miss next weeks game, so in two weeks I will be out there again.
The forecast for today was a high of 24 and sunny, so I knew I wanted to be done before lunchtime. Add in that Sox had an appointment at 1 and I needed to look after Sprout, that meant riding early in the day. This suited me just fine since I wanted to beat the heat.
We started riding around 9:30, and the tour of the dump was just under 2 hours. I tried to find a route that took us on some good climbs but avoided some deadly descents. The route wasn’t perfect, but my buddy wasn’t afraid to walk 🙂 I really wished I had brought a camera with me though. It was so gorgeous out and there were lots of flowers and trail riding shots I could have snagged.
I felt great throughout the ride. The temps were perfect, traction was excellent, and technically I was riding very well. I love these kinds of rides. My cardio felt good too, even though we stopped a few times for quick breathers. I’m looking forward to getting out again.
I do need to get a new front tire for my Chameleon though. The 2.65 Kujo is getting low on tread and really isn’t needed on that bike. It is big, wide and heavy and I would like something new. Also the casing is coming apart in chunks. 🙁 I can fully justify spending money on a new tire 🙂
The fam is going camping soon, and I think I will be able to sneak in a ride up in Parksville, near to where we are staying. Yay.