England Extras

Hell again folks,
Here are a few more photos from our trip to England.  Apart from Warwick Castle and Thomasland, we also spent some time in Liverpool, walked around St. Helens a bunch, and spent some great time with family in Rainford.  As I said before, it was an amazing trip.  It reinvigorated the travel bug in me.  I can't wait to go on the next trip.  I've been investigating Peru and an African safari, but either might be a bit much at Shea's age.  Oh, where to go with a 3 or 4 year old?  Is it too early for Disney???  Next year, I think we'll be headed to Georgia to spend a week on a private island with a friend from high school and his family.  He did a photo shoot for the owner and can get a great deal on the house.   Anyone else have any ideas, let us know.
Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea 

 The only decent photo from our first day in England walking around Liverpool.  The fatigue on Jess's face says it all.  Liverpool is an interesting city, but seems to have an identity crisis; they're not sure whether to be modern, or traditional and haven't seemed to blend the two styles very well. 

 Cousin Charlotte looking smashing, or smashed?  You decide.

She was amazing.  She took such great care of Shea, while Mike, Uncle Bill and I watched the St. Helens Saints rugby game on TV and Denise and Jess watched the same game from the game itself!

 Shea finally gets to see the family overseas - up close and personal!  I SEE YOU!

 This is one of my most favorite pictures.  It was so great to see Uncle Bill on this trip.  Despite all he's been through this summer, he still has that unmistakable twinkle in his eye and an amazing spirit.  I hope I have as much spark at his age.  I also had a blast hanging out with him and his mates at his favorite pub, the Derby Arms.   I must admit that I couldn't keep up with him and only lasted 2 beers and left the pub before him.  

 Cousins Mike and Denise were fantastic!  It was so much fun to see them again.  They not only got us tickets for the rugby and soccer games, but they also drove us all around Rainford and St. Helens, introduced us to John Smith's Extra Smooth bitter, took us to the Irish Sea, and taught us all about rugby and the Premier League.  We can't wait to go back!

No trip to Liverpool would be complete without experiencing something related to the Beatles.  OK, so I'm not a big fan, but I must admit I warmed up to them a bit while over there.  Who knows, I might just give them a closer listen. 

Constitution Cruise

Hey everyone,
Thanks to Jeremy on the Friendship, I was invited aboard the USS Constitution for one of the yearly turn-around cruises in Boston Harbor.  It was to thank the Friendship volunteers for training the Navy crew how to climb the rigging, haul on the lines, and furl sails aloft.  I helped out this summer, so I was invited.  What an opportunity!  The turn-around was scheduled for the 213th birthday of this ship (the day it was launched).  There was much pomp and formality, with all of the crew dressing in 1812 period clothing, even the Commander, as you will see below.  The dress for us was business casual, meaning they wouldn't be letting me climb the rigging, at least not on this trip.  It was a cold morning, and we had to be at the dock by 7 am.  That meant the 5:45 train into Boston, but that also meant we got to see a great sunrise though.

The trip was great!  They had a fireboat escort us the entire way, they fired a 21-gun salute at Fort Washington in South Boston and a 17-gun salute at the US Coast Guard Station in Boston (hopefully, my future office).  To sucker in people like me enraptured by the moment, they kept raising American flags for a few seconds, saluting them, and then selling them to passengers.  I fell for it and bought one.  I think I'll hang it in my office.  But, it did come with a certificate signed by the Commander that says it officially flew aboard the Constitution.  So, it's a rare souvenir that I will always cherish.  They also served grog laden with rum (supposedly rum "extracts" whatever that means).  We got go go wherever we wanted to go aboard ship, even into the bowels.  Unfortunately, I have been everywhere aboard her, so it wasn't so novel.  I took it for granted and didn't take much pictures.  So, I had to pirate some from others who were more prolific photographers.  I hope you enjoy these pics!
Doug

Me and the Commander of USS Constitution.

 Piping the officers aboard, including 2 former commanders.

 The ship as she looked that morning.  They're still uprigging her following substantial maintenance.

I guess that's why I couldn't climb!

 The Friendship crew with the Comander of the Constitution.

Me, John (1st mate on Friendship), and Gary (volunteer and Fame 1st mate) aboard Constitution.

School Shots

Hey everyone!
September is school picture time, even at the preschool level.  Shea was excited this year, as opposed to last 2 years when he was petrified of the camera.  This year, he wanted to pick out a special outfit and did so the night before.  I wished we would have given him a haircut before, but it turned out to make the pictures all that much more cute.  We were going to enter them into a GAP contest.  However, the contest rules mandated that all entries be wearing jeans and that the photos could not be taken by a professional.  We had a busy weekend and never got around to taking some additional shots at home, so we missed out on the contest.  That's ok though.  I still think these are some of the best pictures of our little man and think he would have won had we been able to enter him in the contest.  Check 'em out! 

We plan on going in for a family portrait soon and we'll post them once they're ready.  If anyone's interested in a print out of these, I'll upload them to Fotki and send you a copy.  Let me know. 
Love,
Doug, Jess, and our most handsome Shea

 If this doesn't scream GAP Kids, I don't know what does.

 Preppie, but with a casual demeanor.

 Look photographer, I can do cute human things with my hands.  

At least the photographer didn't make him take off his shoes for that extra bit of toddler cuteness.

Look at the size of that boy's head.  He's got a huge noggin!  It's a virtual planetoid!