End of the Season

End of the Season
Originally uploaded by homerclees.
Fire season that is. Got one last fire going while Sam watched some vampire movie last night. It did get down into the low 40's but all indications are that we will not have a fire temp night for 5 months or so. The boys won their baseball game yesterday 6-5 but lost in soccer by a bunch. The soccer team has issues but the baseball team has good pitching, hitting and pretty good fielding. Sam had a single and a walk while Dylan struck out twice. Dylan did have some nice plays in the field and we hit the batting cage today to get his hitting back in form. More game this week and an overlapping soccer and baseball game on saturday. We will have to split the kids for that one.

Slime

Slime
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

It's bring your child to work day and the first experiment is all about making slime.

YouTube Presents Counting Crows

 A produced You Tube video.  Cool stuff.

Homerun!!

Homerun!!
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Here's Sam getting some aluminum on the ball. He hit his second career home run today with a shot the right field corner and some suspect fielding got him home in a sliding flurry. It was very exciting stuff. The Iron Birds won 10-8 with Sam hitting the big one plus getting a single and a base on balls. Dylan struck out twice and walked but he made some really nice cuts at the ball. They both did well in the field as well.

Dylan did provide the only goal in a 1-3 loss in soccer. Sam played well but couldn't connect for a goal but stopped a few shots when he played goalie in the 4th quarter. We have a couple days off then another baseball game Tuesday. The double sports season has arrived.

Goal!!

Goal!!
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Dylan getting past the last defender to score his first goal of the young season.

A Crush

Sam told Nicole yesterday and me today that he has a crush on a girl named Mia. There is a big dance tomorrow night and he let her know that he was going and told her he hopes she goes. As we were driving to baseball practice, Sam told me he had a crush and said he may need me to help him with girls. I think I still have some skills in that department.

East Village

East Village
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

I didn't partake in the astrology but had a beer in this funky little place on East 5th. Had great sushi at Bond Street for dinner. Looking forward to heading home tomorrow.

Reading Along

With James and Dolly Madison at Montpelier. Sunday had  perfect weather for a visit to another Presidents house in Virginia.  I will post some more pictures in a couple days. 

Ice Cream

Ice Cream
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

An after dinner treat in old town.

Hat Trick

Hat Trick
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Sam had 3 goals in today's 6-3 loss and Dylan had some good opportunities but a hot goal tender denied him. He looks a little salty because of it. They did pass pretty well and the team looks alright. Maybe next week.

Picture Day

Picture Day
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The iron birds start their attack.

Paris 2012

IMG_2895
Originally uploaded by homerclees.
The boys wanted us to kiss for their cameras so we we hooked them up. It was Paris after all. I found a 100 shots that seemed pretty good so they are up on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/homerclees/sets/72157629788291915/

London 2012

IMG_2544
Originally uploaded by homerclees.
I uploaded a bunch of photos from the London leg of our trip. We took over 1,700 photos total with three cameras and 4 iphones but I only uploaded a 108 of London. Enjoy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/homerclees/sets/72157629770612737/

Egg Hunt

Sam saw the people at the church behind us dropping Easter Eggs on the ground in the cemetery and considered the possibility that the Easter Bunny was fake.  That all went out the window when Nicole came back from a run and our yard had eggs all over it.  They ran around the yard at full speed like usual looking for every egg they could find at top speed. 

Home

This was our view from the apartment in Paris.  Today, we woke up to pink and white trees and blooming flowers all over the place.  We are home.  We had a very uneventful and early flight back and border control and customs was pretty quick.  We had a great time in Europe but it is nice to back.  Time to start planning the next trip. 

Last Dinner in Paris

Last Dinner in Paris
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Italian in st. Germaine.

Sam at the Tour

Sam at the Tour
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Sam faking a sad face because the elevator was broken.

Dylan at the Tour

Dylan at the Tour
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The Tour Eiffel was packed this morning because they only had one elevator working. The boys were afraid of going to the top and when I saw the 2+ hour wait time, I became afraid too. They were relieved that we decided to forgo the trip to the top this trip. We did the Les Invalides military museum, Napoleon's tomb and the Louvre instead.

On Top of the Arc

On Top of the Arc
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

After a nice afternoon break back at the very lovely apartment, we hiked through the Tuileries Garden, past the Place de la Concorde and up the Champs Élysées where we climbed the 15 stories of steps to the top of the L Arc de Triomphe. It was a nice view up there and I needed to sit for a little while to rest the knee and catch my breath. It was a good workout.

After that it was back on the metro to the Latin Quarter for yet another Italian dinner (the boys like Italian). Time to get some sleep so we can hit the tower early tomorrow.

Strolling Cimetiere du Montparnasse

Strolling Cimetiere du Montparnasse
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

A walk through a quiet Paris Cemetery.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

We got up fairly early and walked a couple blocks to Notre Dame for a quick look around then we hopped on Metro to get to the Catacombs. That didn't Work out out because the que was quite long and waiting an hour or so for a 45 minute tour seemed like a bad idea. We went into an old Cemetary instead and headed o a sorts store so the boys could spend the 35 euros that grandma C gave them on football jerseys. Sam got a French league jersey, Dylan got the Spanish international jersey.

We got bread and some pastry and are in the flat now.

Sam

Sam
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Sam likes Paris but misses London

River Emergency

River Emergency
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

This guy dropped off two paramedics and hovered. The heart attack victim left by actual road based ambulance and seemed to be ok.

Seine Cruise

Seine Cruise
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Dylan with the American Church and the Eiffel Tower. My first time in Paris I stayed at the American Church which was pretty ideal, considering it was free. My mother went to school with the pastors wife and they hooked me up. The cruise ran a little late tonight because someone had a heart attack on the lower deck. We had ambulance boats pull up and handle
the scene. The victim was alive when he left the boat.

Big Boys

Big Boys
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Getting ready to leave London. Now on to Paris.

London at Dusk

London at Dusk
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Went to Victoria station for dinner and the Monday night football game, Manchester united vs Blackburn. It was a nice way to finish our time in England. Tomorrow, the Eurostar to Paris.

St. James

St. James
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The boys are sporting their new football jerseys in St. James Park. Dylan has a Hotspurs jersey, Sam has one from Liverpool.

Queen's Horse Guard

Queen's Horse Guard
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

We started the day watching the horse guard change and then we took a stroll in St. James Park to visit Buckingham Palace.

Football

Football
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

We walked down High Street for a while after the game looking for a taxi to take us to a tube station. The Victoria line was shut down yesterday so we had to cab it to the Piccadilly line which was further away. Nice section of town, Totteham.

Kensington Gardens

Kensington Gardens
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

We spent the morning walking Hyde Park and taking a bunch of pictures on a brilliant day. The boys are taking some shots of Queen Victoria in front of Kensington Palace. We took the trip up to White Hart Lane for the Tottenham v. Swansea City football game after that and just got home after a nice dinner near Waterloo station. The seats were very good and we had box owners lounge passes where we saw the coach of the Hotspur and the striker that scored two goals in the game. The lounge passes and great seats, like the Wicked tickets came by way of Adam and CAA.

Btw, the Tottenham Hotspurs won 3-1 which made the boys very happy.