• 4 July 2009

    Here’s a couple take aways from my 4th.

    • Miguel makes an awesome steak on the grill, rivaling anything I’ve eaten… anywhere. If this is his first attempt in 15 years, his potential is scary.
    • Mike is not your average stuffy neurosurgeon. Granted, he’s the only one I know, but he defies my stereotype.
    • There’s a variety of water gun/cannon out there that’s very effective. You should be afraid… very afraid.
    • Adam had a great time.
    • When I take pictures, my camera naturally follows my kid, no matter how cool the other kids are.

    Phil gets Miguel Mike gets Adam Someone gets Adam Adam gets ideas

  • Rocket camp

    Lift OffBeth is enrolled in “college for kids,” a summer program run by a local college. She spends the mornings in a full immersion spanish class.

    Sounds like a blast right?

    No, that doesn’t come until the afternoon.

    Rocket camp.

    The teacher even refers to himself as “Captain.”

    O.K., I think that’s a little weird, but he seems like a nice guy, and he’s a really enthusiastic teacher.

    This evening we went to our first big launch event. All of the kids and their families were invited to see the rockets they’d built (so far) reach for the heavens. It was an hour or so before sunset and it had been cloudy/raining all day so it was nice and cool – a perfect evening to be outside (for summer anyway).

    I don’t think Beth could have been any happier. It was a great night to be a father… seeing my kid having such a good time… such a contrast to this last school year. I wish I could bottle this moment, when everything seems right in the world. Just a sip every now and again could do me a world of good.

  • It came in the mail

    I was in college when I got my first SLR camera. It was an inexpensive (re: free) Pentax. A gift in fact, something that wasn’t getting any use from it’s previous owner. I got it with three lenses: an awkward telephoto zoom, a 50mm and a 35mm. When it broke we bought a Canon Rebel with a kit lens, then a “super-zoom” digital camera, then our current Nikon – again with a kit lens (plus a zoom lens suited for shooting outdoor activities).

    Nothing was as fast as those lenses on the old Pentax, and I missed ’em.

    Until now.

    I’ve had the new Nikon 35mm f/1.8 on back order for a while now, and I found it on my doorstep this evening coming home from work with the kids. It couldn’t have come at at better time. Today was a rotten day.

    Here’s some of the first pics. I know it’s a little redundant, showing them in a post when they show up in my Flickr feed in the sidebar, but I can’t resist.
    Intimidating

    I love Adam’s look in this one. So serious… the lighting so sinister… my sweet child in his Mickey shirt.

    Cudly

    The first of several pics taken outside. It was raining and late in the day so the light wasn’t terribly bright.

    Innocent

    Pretty much sums up Adam… or as much as any one picture can.

    Silly

    Cheryl told Adam he could get an alligator from the Build-a-Bear store if he was good for dad while she was gone. He picked out the shirt himself, I swear.