Family Forays

Hey everybody!
This week, I was supposed to be sailing aboard Friendship to Halifax, Nova Scotia as part of this year's tall ship races. However, thanks to the shipbuilder straying from the plans, Friendship's stem was improperly built and is rotting out. So, she's still in drydock and I got 2 weeks off to spend as I please. It's all good though, as it gave me some time to get away from the stresses of the office, even if I continued to check emails and work from home.

Our main objective of this time off was to take a jaunt down through NY and PA to visit family. Here are the results. We visited the Bronx Zoo (a zoo trip is a required stopover during any trip anywhere) and took a ride on the Strausburg Railroad through Amish Country. It was a great trip on all accounts. Shea got to play around with gorillas (he gave one a high-five through the glass) and his cousins (who are monkies in their own right). It was great to see the kids playing with each other and to see Shea bond with the grandparents again. I hope you enjoy the latest update!
Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea

Everybody had a great time riding the train, honestly. Eventually Brooke did smile (see below).

Yes, I did try to grow a beard while I'm off. It's a yearly ritual just to see if it's possible. This year, it didn't come out too badly. Still have it to this day...but it may not last much longer.

This is my favorite picture of Brooke ever!
I really should become a photographer one of these days. Shawn, can I be your protégé?

Screamin' down the tracks at 35 miles per hour sets our hair a flowin'.
Shea was really interested in the smoke from the old coal-fired steam engine.

Chillin' with PopPop.

"Trees are much more interesting from the inside!"

Seizing an opportunity, Shea steals Grandpa's cane, leaving him helpless to escape from the prarie dog enclosure.

"Hey, what's the hold-up? Is there an accident ahead or what?"

Note the look of determination on Shea's face as he races the kid beside him riding the panda.

Trips Into Boston

Hey everybody!
We've been trying to take advantage of good weather over the past few weekends by taking Shea out to explore this area. We've gone to Fort Independence, Boston Commons, and locally around Salem. Here are a few shots I hope you'll enjoy.
Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea

Fort Independence in South Boston across from Logan Airport. It's a great park - beach, playground, fort, and planes flying overhead every 20-30 seconds. What more could you ask for?

We walked around Boston this weekend while the tall ships were in town.
"I can't stand these crowds! I could strangle that slow lady that keeps stopping in front of me!!!"

Boston Commons has a playground with, as Shea calls it, a "waterfall" (sprinkler).
Needless to say, he ran right in, literally.

The frog statues sprayed water if you press certain buttons. Shea pressed them a lot.
So did other kids when Shea wasn't prepared.

Gotta love this picture. Luckily, we were prepared with extra clothes.

Ready to Take Over for Kim Jong Il

Hey everybody!
Here are a few random pictures that seemed to fit in with current events. I'm a political junkie and actually watch those politically-charged round-table talk shows on Sunday mornings. As you may have heard, Kim Jong Il is not doing so well physically and reportedly selected his 25-year old son to succeed him in charge of North Korea. I think Shea should make a play to replace him. Here's Shea's application for the job. Tell me what you think.
Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea

Representation of "Lil' Kim" from the movie "Team America." I think it's INEVITABLE that Shea will replace him as leader of North Korea!

Actual picture of Kim Jong Il.

Tell me he's not a dead ringer for "Lil' Kim" thanks to some photo editing software. At times, he not only looks the part, but he acts the part. See below for examples.

"See, I can even look down on the people I beat down and repress!"

Here is Shea's version of Chinese finger torture. Shea takes it to another level by incorporating the entire hand and wrist and by using paper towel rolls. I think that qualifies him to be an evil dictator.

Shea is also skilled in sleep deprivation torture. They say it's a common practice among state-sponsored interrogation activities. This will serve him well when he's in charge of a 3rd-world communist regime. Here's a sample of what he looks like and what we see after he cries for several hours at 1 in the morning and then wakes up at 4:30.

"Discovery"

Hey everybody!
Childhood is all about discovery. A child discovers that if he/she cries, either mommy or daddy is bound to come running to take care of their needs. They also discover their voice, how to use words, and what the objects are within their world and how they interact. However, one of the more fascinating discoveries is watching them exploring themselves. Whether it's realizing that they have hands, let alone that the left hand is distinct from the right, or first discovering what's hidden beneath the diaper, it's all fun to watch. Even though this later "discovery" happened some time ago, these pictures, taken a month or so ago, perfectly capture his expressions at the time. I always said I would not post any bath pictures given the ease with which information is available in our digital society. However, I had to share these. I hope you enjoy! I'll be posting more this weekend.
Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea

"What's this I feel down there? That's something new!"

"PE-nis! He, he, he..."

"No mama, I wasn't touchin' it again."

Marlboro Moments

Hey everybody!
I hope you enjoyed the video clip last week. I'm editing more for nother posting, so stay tuned. Here are some pics we took recently. Not much new to report lately. I survived a very stressful 2-day long meeting in Portland, but the Council finally made the decisions necessary after 2.5 years of debating this latest management action. So, I'm going to be spending the next 3 months intensely writing regulations. Hopefully, there will be fishermen left after we're all done with this. We'll see though. For now, enjoy these pictures.
Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea

"Music is my life; rhythm is my god."

"I rock big hair bigtime!"

"All you need is a good toke once in a while to ease the stress of the day."
(don't worry, it's the plunger from a medicine dropper)

"Cigarettes are bad for you? No kiddin'?"

"All that smoking is aging me before my time."

"Nah, it was just bad lighting! I'm still cute."

Beat Drum!

Hey everybody!

Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there! I hope you're all enjoying the beautiful summer-like weather we're experiencing up here in Salem...I kid, pun intended. ;} Anyway, here's the latest skinny on our happenings. Shea is getting his last tooth (at least we think based on the quick glimpses into the back of his mouth that we get now and again - we don't dare reach into that bear trap), so he's been a bit fussy. It figures, as he goes for his 18-month check-up tomorrow, so of course he's not eating too well. He's pretty solid though, so we're confident he'll at least be on the growth chart, if not above the bottom.

The basement playroom is finally done!!! I'll be taking some pictures and posting them soon. It looks great, if I do say so myself. We had a test run last night when Gemma and Scotia came over to play. Shea actually jumped on his trampoline and sat on his rocking horse now that we moved them downstairs and he had an audience.

We've been working a lot outside. We planted this year's garden. Let's hope it's more productive than last year. Unfortunately, too much rain last year made the tomatoes split. That can't possibly happen again this year, could it??? Around the raised beds, we put down weed barrier with pea gravel on top, so we might not have to take 4 hours to weed the garden area next spring. We also found out that the tree out front is a Norway maple which has poisonous roots that suck nutrients and water out of the soil, killing all other plants around. So, we got some more plants, transplanted those from the front into other areas, and hope they all survive. I'll post pics of the garden soon.

This week, we replaced the knob-and-tube wiring in the house. We needed to do that to blow insulation into the attic. With the tax refund and a $2,000 rebate from the electric company, we couldn't pass it up! Hopefully, the electric and heating bills will be lower and we can have more $ for vacations and such.

My left shoulder is shot. Shea is all about being held lately. He's such a jiggler that my shoulder is all out of whack and my tendons are strained. I went to the chiropractor last Friday and, after 4 hours of pain, walked out of there hoping my shoulder will get better. I hope so, otherwise I might miss the sail to Halifax. That may not happen for other reasons, but I was hoping that I could participate if it ever did occur.

Ok, this post is getting long, so I'll wrap it up here. I've uploaded a bit of the video of one of Shea's most favorite activities. It seems like the musical talent inherent in our families skipped a generation or two, but is alive and well in Brooke as well as Shea. I hope you can all download it and enjoy!

Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea

Funny Faces

Hey everybody,
I thought I'd post a few pictures of Shea making funny faces. We've got a few movie clips that we'll post one of these days. There's not much else to say and I'm kinda pooped. Enjoy!
Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea

"Hey, I can be funny, just watch!"

"Rambo ain't got nothin' on me!"

Peekaboo!