Best Gift Ever From the Wife!

This year my wife really outdid herself. No, I did not get at 72" HDTV. Instead she got me two tickets to Mission of Burma. This is the equivalent of me buying her tickets to the ballet. Talk about getting exactly what you like-- a night of live/ great music.

I got my haircut now give me my lollipop!

Shaggy gets a new 'do

Friday Pizza Tsunami

The Family checks out the Macys Thanksgiving Day parade

This wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We took the train to 57th street. We exited on 55th street and it was fairly crowded. We cut over to 54th street and was able to get within 40 feet of the street. We couldn't see the marching bands, but to be hones the only things that caught the kids attention were the balloons and Santa Claus.

Out of their shell

The Yellow Storm finishes their season

Yellow Storm Season ends and Dylan received his "3rd" trophy and is looking forward to next spring.

Not Man United but the rather The Yellow Storm

Treats are good- The Boys would agree!

America's Tribute to Search and Rescue Dogs- Proof I need to get out of the house more often

The Next Generation getting ready to watch V

A Long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... Actually Last Night Halloween 2009

Anakin, Luke, and R2-D2-- Luckily no one chopped off anyone's hands.














Someone asked why I wasn't Luke Skywalker. I told them that it would have been a little creepy-- After all Han got the girl and the girl turned out to be Luke's sister. I can't imagine what kind of Jedi counseling Luke had to go through after Leia planted a big one on him in the Empire Strikes Back!














Han, Luke, Leia, Anakin and R2-D2-- What to be next year?

Sunday

Talk about starting early-- The Wife got up with Dylan and they went to his 8am game followed by CCD. At 10 am the whole family piled into the family transport and headed off to Shannon's Florist. They had a blow up castle and a grumpy ol man who just would not get out of the way. Ten minutes and a $19 pumpkin later we sped off to the Cortelyou farmers market. An hour of play made for some very hungry kids. Since we were within sight of San Remo's we pikced up a sausage roll, two slices and veggie pizza. We headed home where Dylan started his book report, Alexander got his fix, and Ryan and I played in the backyard. Eventually Dylan scored a playdate with the kid from around the block. This evening it is off to Dylan's "new girlfriends" house for dinner/ bbq. Thank god the weekend is almost over I am getting tired.

Ikea - Friday Night!

Patricia told the wife that she was going to IKEA since they have free dinner for the kids. Since we are in the market for a new couch for the family room we thought we would check it out. After all, they also have 45 minutes of free babysitting. So, we headed down to Red Hook for a quick visit that quickly turned into three hours.

We dropped the kids off at Ikea babysitting. Alexander opted out for 10 minutes then wanted to go and we obliged. We were able to check out the empty IKEA, scope out leather (or pleather) couches, and didn't have to entertain the kids for almost an hour.

The store is like every other IKEA in the world, but there is something about the experience when the store is virtually empty. We bought a couple of new beer mugs and new beer glasses. Checked out some sofas. Decided on some throwaway silverware. All I can say is 45 minutes goes by fast.

Dinner at Ikea is ... lets just say stick with the meatballs. I got pasta, sauce, and meatballs. The meatballs were good but the pasta sucked and the sauce was ketchup with oregano. The kids said the Mac and Cheese was gross and concurred on the pasta. The apple juice and chocolate milk passed muster. We ended up buying 2 hot dogs and a pretzel to fill up their empty stomachs. The wife liked her meatballs and mashed potatoes.

We then went through the store again with the kids doing all the things kids do:

- Jump on all furniture

- Touch everything that is fragile

- not listen

- Ask multiple times when we are going home and then running away before you can answer

At the end of the night I was impressed that we burned through 3 hours painlessly, the kids did not watch TV or play video games, and the wife and I were relatively calm. I think I found a place to go on cold winter nights.

Dylan of the Apes

Model Student

Dylan doing homework

Post Blood Test Trip to Dunkin' Donuts

Girls Gone Wild!

Tracking UFO's at Twilight

Go Atlanta!

Rugby & Ditmas 9am

Mr. Conductor Cartelli and Mr. Conductor Reddish

Posessed to Skate

John Wayne - Ryan Opted for the Full Sized Horse _PPS Block Party

Hop Along Cassidy - PPS Blcok Party

Dylan Landscaped - Whatcha Talkin' About Daddy!

Dylan waiting to get his haircut at Leon's

View from Party Deck @ Keyspan, but very chilly

Air Alexander

Nothing but Air in this shot!

Pre-Vacation

Well, getting ready for the annual trip upstate so Mom, Dad, and the three boys can get a little closer. What do we have planned:

- A day trip to Bethel, CT to hang out with the Sage-Robison's for BBQ and Pool
- Up to Andes, NY for a couple of days to hang out at the in laws weekend house
- A quick trip to Lake George to Story Town aka The Great Escape ( a boyhood tradition of mine, which is being passed down to the next generation)
- On the way back to Andes a quick trip to Albany to visit Great Grandma Betty and some Orchard Pizza
- Clam bake at the Andes Hotel
- On the way back a stop at the Dutchess County Fair with the Chang's

An adventure awaits us...

Dad goes a little "too short" and gets compliments from everyone except the person that matters-- The Wife

Single A by the Ocean @ConeyIsland

The family cut short their day at the beach for an evening out in Coney Island-- Rides, Nathan's, and commencing with a Cyclones game against the Oneonta Tigers.

Number Three Son finally hit the golden "height" of riding by himself. As the Jaju would say-- "He is quite chuffed with himself."

In the wake of Tony Benarzard gettin the axe the Met's organization is taking an unusual approach to scouting and player development. They are now starting at the T-ball level. Unfortunately we didn't come away with any contracts or signing bonuses.

Summertime... Empty Park?

Two Years

It's been two years in the house and I like to think I avoided the second year blues. Here are a few upsides and downsides

Upside

- The greatest wife and kids a guy could ask for... (still topping my list after almost 11 years)
- Alexandra's Crusade to neuter every feral cat on the block!
- A great house in good condition (we managed to insulate the 3rd floor)
- Great Tenants Come and Go... Eduoard, Emily, Oliver and William are moving to NJ and Katy and Kaleb are moving in...
- Creative Lease Options... Our rider for Tory continues to work for all involved.
- Lots of space and we have not filled it up anymore in the last year.
- A brand spankin' new kitchen that still looks great.
- Mice decided not to Winter Vacation at the house..
- Mosquitos aren't a factor this year
- No air conditioning in our bedroom, but who cares this summer with no heat waves.

Downside
- Cat Poop... That cat is going on vacation
- Ryan throwing toys down the toilet... "Gone"


So at the end of the day only one cat and Ryan's habit of flushing toys down the toilet have encroached on my happiness. Living on Rugby Road!

Happy Brithday Alexander Jack!

Son No.2 turns 4 today. The boy opened his presents nice and early. Mom, Dad, and his brothers got him:

- Clone Trooper Helmet
- Clone Trooper Costume
- Power Rangers RPM Ranger Series Green Morpher
- Power Rangers RPM "Silly Gun Thingy"

Alexander impressed me because he actually shared the toys with his brothers. After breakfast the official treat of Alexander was enjoyed by All--

Ledge of Death!

Ryan decided to climb out on this 15 inch ledge. You can't tell by the picture but three is a 10 foot drop. Joe and I made a mad dash across the sand to get to Ryan. He thought is was pretty funny. Luckily the only damage was me stubbing my toe after jumping the railing.

The hole Dylan and I dug at the Beach

almost a month later the hole is still there...

Iranian hostage Dylan

Bandito Dylan

Dylan having some fun at a Mexican reastaurant in the Slope. Think he ate something?

The little (only) swimmers

The easy way - More Mini Golf

On the links... Is it summer yet?

Another non-summer like day. The beach club is pretty empty and it is a hair below 70 and breezy. Alexander and Ryan are taking in a round of mini golf.

Last day of soccer-- Record W- 4 L- 3 Ties- 2

Extended Coverage of the Boston Series

Cause it is imperative that we blow this out of proportion.

Seagulls waiting for dinner

I jumped into the frigid pool after a day up north with the Yonkers Maguires (John, Hannah, and Anne). We headed back to Brooklyn to pick up Mom and off to the Silver Gull. The pool was cold, the ocean not so much, but the kiddy pool was actually warm :). This is a picture of us trying to feed the gulls in front of the cabana.

Blowing in the Insulation

We decided to fifnish up the insulation on the third floor so it was cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. This is the crawl space that is at either end of our bedroom. 4 feet wide and 4 feet high. One day we will figure out what to do with this space. Walk in closet, space for dresser, etc.

They insulated the walls



Then they laid down a think coat of snow. They did this in the attic as well. The pictures weren't as great.






Since it was the third floor they had to blow the insulation in from the inside. Lots of patching and repainting. The clean up took about a day and about 95% of it was done by the wife. While the insulation costs a pretty penny, we ended up getting about 25% back from National Grid. We also might qualify for more if our heating bill goes down significantly.