Scout Watershed Conservation Project

In March, Beau's scout troop/crew went to Cape Cod to help with a watershed conservation project. Ultimate goal is to revive a saltwater marshland and restore herring spawning grounds. Our portion of the project, however, was brush removal. We cut and piled a swath about a football field in length.

Here you see the brush and the path we cut (plus two hard-working scouts!).

Crew returning to the transportation drop at the end of the day.

During the day, we had many interpretive talks. This is the watershed expert at the mouth of the river showing us the dam that keeps most of the sea water from flowing into the marshland.

Best of all, we got to stay in an old Coast Guard station, right on the beach in Eastham.

Here's the station.

Here's the view from the front porch.

Saturday night we had a campfire on the beach. And roasted marshmallows.

Birthday Party

We had a birthday party for Casey on the Sunday after his birthday. We finally wised up and paid for a venue, in this case the bowling alley. Kept 'em busy and they all seemed to have a good time.

Double Digits

My baby turned TEN years old today. We celebrated at breakfast because that's the only time during the day -- until 9 at night -- that we're all together. So, we ate cinnamon rolls, Casey opened presents, and he made it to school in time for morning announcements that included acknowledgment of his birthday.

February Vacation

Beau and Casey were out of school for February break this week.

The fun began on Sunday with a post-early-morning hockey game, Valentines Day breakfast at a cafe that Britt discovered using an iPhone app.

Next stop: South Station. Beau got to take the train on his own to New Haven to visit his buddy Jackson.

Mid-day on Monday, Casey left for a five-day ski trip with the family of his friend Freddie.

Tuesday, having met up in New Haven, Beau and I took the train into New York for the day. After arriving at Grand Central Station, we made our way to Madison Square Garden to see our neighbor's dog compete in the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. Homer came in second, so we didn't have to worry about going back that night for the group events.

After stopping for a slice of pizza, Beau and I went to the Rose Museum of Earth and Space.

Then we had a beautiful walk through Central Park in the snow.

We tramped through FAO Schwartz where we spied the largest ever stuffed dragon.

And finished up at Dylan's Candy Bar.

Other adventures included: a walking tour of Yale University and a visit to Boston's MFA (no pictures); some cooking adventures (see next post); and a fair amount of griping about the broadcast coverage of the Winter Olympix.

February Vacation - The Food Edition

Lamb kebabs, chimichurri sauce (thanks, Carrie!), carrot salad, roasted tomatoes:

fleur de sel caramels (thanks, Carrie!):

blue cheese pizza with pecans and spinach on a butternut squash base:

Xmas '09 - Just Photos

Slow Holiday Weekend

It was a slow holiday weekend.

Casey had TWO early morning hockey games -- 7 am game on Sat. and 6:50 am game on Sunday. Both games were about half an hour from home, and, of course, players need to be at the rink 30 minutes before game time. That meant getting up E-A-R-L-Y.

Yes, the clock says 5:12... A.M.

Casey was not too happy about waking and suiting up so early.

And, as you can see, it was pitch dark when he left the house.

Beau played hockey, too, but later in the day with a recreational league. Sorry, I forgot to take my camera to the rink.

Here he is at one with the gaming system.

The Christmas tree finally came down and went sadly to the curb.

We continued to slog away at thank-you notes.

Monday, Britt had the day off, which isn't usually the case for MLK Day. We hadn't made any advance plans, and the weather was soooo icky -- ice, sleet, wet snow falling from the sky well into mid-day -- that we mostly stayed in.

Britt made waffles for breakfast.

Casey beat us at Monopoly.

The "pretzels" that I made were tasty but blob-like.

The dog didn't care much for the weather.
He may look like he's sleeping,
but I think he's sulking about having to stay in.