This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
Aug
21
2012
Some of you may be thinking “Hey, we already had a round of vacation photos from 2012!”
You are correct, but we took another vacation so now you must endure another set of photos and recap.
I suppose you don’t have to, since you are free to browse to another blog instead of reading this one.
We drove to the Western Hemisphere’s longest suspension bridge:
Then we drove across it:
Aug
20
2012
A Letter to the Couple Who was Watching Us from a Window
I got the impression that you thought I overreacted. You saw my child start crying, then you saw me yank him over to our vehicle and start smacking him.
Yes, I really did do that.
You may have thought to yourself that I was a bit harsh on him, that I should realize that 3-year-olds just cry sometimes. Maybe you thought I should have relaxed, cut him some slack. Maybe you thought my nerves were fried or I didn’t get enough sleep the night before.
I don’t know what you were thinking, but I do know that you were watching us. You were right next to the window of a nearby building and I could see your expression. It wasn’t a full-fledged glare, but it did convey concern.
That concern is what I want to alleviate. You see, although you had a pretty good view of our situation, your view was not good enough – you couldn’t see the yellow jackets that were stinging my son.
Sincerely,
The Touristy-Looking Guy with the Floppy Wide-Brimmed Hat
And that’s how our Tuesday on vacation started. It was supposed to be a fun day – playing miniature golf, eating lunch at a restaurant, and visiting a museum.
(more…)
Jul
23
2012
Warning: vacation recap ahead.
Visit 2010’s recap of our trip to Maranatha for a refresher course, or to see how similar trips to Maranatha are. We want them to be similar, because kids need traditions.
I tried one new (new to me, at least) ice cream flavor at the sweet shop: Caramel Apple. It was slightly disappointing; I would not get it again. There was not much flavor. If I had read the full description on one of the posters I saw afterwards, I might not have tried it in the first place. The poster called it something like a “lightly-flavored” ice cream. In other words: bland. My favorite is still Royal Coconut, which they did not have there this year.
Now on to the photos:
Like all good vacation spots with kids’ programs, there was an opportunity for tie-dye T-shirts. As usual, Alpha was the only one of our children who wanted to participate.
Sep
26
2011
Continued from last week.
Our drive home took about as long as our drive there, because we stopped a few times again.
I’ve been calling this series “Bluegrass Vacation” because Kentucky is the Bluegrass State. I didn’t know how serious they were about that until we were on the freeway and I saw the blue grass that made Kentucky famous:
That was just south of Cincinnati. I think this next photo is in Cincinnati, as seen from the freeway:
Sep
20
2011
Continued from last week’s post.
Since I was up late, and since the kids had other people around to help them with breakfast when they awoke, I got to sleep in. I think it was close to 9am when I stumbled upstairs to the kitchen.
Our time at the vacation house involved swimming at the pool, playing games, and napping.
Whenever people were not swimming, their swimwear was drying on the fence. After a while, it was difficult to find a free spot on the fence for your stuff.
Sep
15
2011
Not bluegrass the music – bluegrass the state. We took a few days to go to Kentucky.
It’s about a 5 hour drive, but with a 2-month-old and a 2-year-old we couldn’t just drive straight there. So we left the house around 10:00am and got to our destination at 7:00pm – a total of 9 hours for a 5 hour drive.
Our first stop was at a rest area for lunch. That didn’t take too long, maybe 30-40 minutes.
It was a decent rest stop, and the kids enjoyed both the lunch and the time to run around.
They kicked a soccer ball around, and they followed a fuzzy green caterpillar.
Aug
1
2011
Warning: vacation recap ahead.
Visit last year’s recap of our trip to Maranatha for a refresher course, or to see how similar trips to Maranatha are. We want them to be similar, because kids need traditions.
Here’s a tip: if you like attention, take a 3-week-old baby to a place full of families. Everybody loves to see a newborn. I think Delta was the youngest one there, although I heard there was a 1-week-old there the next week.
That would be crazy – check out of the hospital, take a day to unpack, a day to settle in, a day to pack, and then leave on vacation.
The kids liked their programs (morning and evening each day). Beta wanted to go, but he had a fever the first two days, so he missed some of the sessions.
My wife took him to the nearby clinic, where they diagnosed a sinus infection and put him on antibiotics. Then he was good to go.
I tried a couple of new (new to me, at least) ice cream flavors at the sweet shop: Cake Batter and Royal Coconut. Cake Batter was okay, but I probably woudn’t get it again. Cake batter is inferior to cookie dough both in the baking and in ice cream. Royal Coconut, however, was delicious. It tasted like an Almond Joy (or Mounds) candy bar. I highly recommend it, unless you dislike coconut.
Now on to the photos:
Like all good vacation spots with kids’ programs, there was an opportunity for tie-dye T-shirts. Alpha was the only one of our children who wanted to participate.
About Me: 
