Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Testing for Gold Belt


Testing for Gold Belt
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Working on the next level and getting closer to being able to kick my ass. They test for the belt today but will get it at a ceremony on Saturday.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Duckpin Bowling


Duckpin Bowling
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

In Baltimore doing a little duckpin bowling which is pretty unique to charm city. Dont know of any duckpin lanes outside of Maryland. Off to dinner in a bit

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Turkey Run Hike with Flat Stanley

With a day off tomorrow for President's Day it seemed more like a Saturday than a Sunday. We started the day with a 2.5 mile hike at Turkey Run, along the Potomac above Georgetown with Cousin Finn's Flat Stanley. It's a flat little dude that was sent to the boys to decorate and take around town. Stanley hiked with us then stopped at the Iwo Jima Memorial for a visit before playing basketball at the park. Flat Stanley will be heading back to Minnesota with a few pictures on Tuesday so Finn can bring him into school.
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Turkey Run Hike

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Valentines Dinner


Valentines Dinner
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The three boys took Nicole out for a valentines dinner tonight. Two of the boys wore ties and jackets, I went with a sweater.

Bike accident


Bike accident
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Dylan just about lost his pants in a bike wipeout a while ago. His leg has to be cold.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Tech Envy


Tech Envy
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Adam gave Nicole and I kindles last year for her birthday (not sure how I lucked out getting a present on her birthday) and I have enjoyed using it to read the new York times, Washington post and a couple books over the past 10 months. Amazon just launched kindle 2.0 and I already have tech envy. It's insane since the one in front of me works really well and was a fantastic gift but the 2.0 is new and pretty. I need to get a grip.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Yes, I do exist

I rarely add pictures of myself on this blog but I'm feeling the need to show that it's actually me taking all those pictures of hikes, birthdays, holidays and martinis. Nicole is now using her new little pink camera I gave her for the holidays and got a few of me on our hike at Hidden Pond on Sunday. It was nice to get outside and tramp around the woods a bit. Work as taken a busy turn and I think it will be that way until the next board meeting in March. That seems to be the cycle, manic work until Spring Board meeting, a little breather, then manic work until the Fall Board meeting. Oh yeah, little spikes before the winter and summer board meetings.

We also got a bunch of pictures of the boys that you can find by following this link....
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Sunday, February 08, 2009

Really

This is too funny and really easy to share from the Saturday Night Live site.

Hidden Pond Hike



We got up and had breakfast at iHop and then went a short distance to a little nature preserve about 6 miles away for a quick 2 mile hike. It's in the high 60's today and the sun is brilliant. We took a trail down by a stream and at one point decided to cross it by climbing up a tree that had fallen over it and then I dropped the boys on a sand bar. It was pretty tricky but it was a good exercise in create problem solving.

Hidden Pond park also has a nature center with a whole load of snakes, turtles and frogs. The Ranger Ricks got a couple snake out for the boys to touch but I kept my distance. Not real fond of the snakes. Per usual, I took a bunch of photos that I will post later. I need a nap now.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

The Hokey Pokey


I'd rather film it than do it.

Friday, February 06, 2009

Elementary School Dance


Elementary School Dance
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Before it becomes a torturous experience for most kids. I always liked them but then again, I am quite a dancer.

Two Tough Customers

They told me people wanted their autographs today at school. Off to a school dance tonight. They want to wear sport coats for that event.
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Thursday, February 05, 2009

Jimmy and James Dean


Tomorrow is Movie Star day at school and the boys are going as the twin brothers, Jimmy and James Dean. I convinced them that James Dean has a twin brother named Jimmy and they seem happy. The outfit consists of a t-shirt, collar up shirt, jean jacket and rolled up jeans. They have been practicing the cool walk and look all night. Sam seems a little darker of the two, Dylan can't seem to help but look kinda cute and boy like. Maybe I should give them each a pack of smokes and see how that flies?

Monday, February 02, 2009

Morning cartoons


Morning cartoons
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Found the boys all snug this morning watching cartoons before Blanca showed up. It was a typical Monday at work but felt I got some good work done. Board and committee meetings coming up in March which will be here sooner than I think.

The boys are wearing their pajamas inside out tonight in hopes we will get a ton of snow. They also flushed ice cubes down the toilet. They learned these tricks at school today. Let's see if it works. The weather report is pointing to no.

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Snow biking


Snow biking
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

It's almost 60 degrees out there today, so the boys and I rode up to the park and had a light saber battle. They love to ride on the grass and dirt and now a little snow is an extra benefit. Getting ready to eat a lot and watch some football. Last game until September.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Brothers

We just watched Hancock which wasn't that bad, actually pretty entertaining. When we went upstairs to check on the boys we found this scene. They often climb into bed together but I don't think I've ever seen them holding hands while sleeping. You gotta figure they like to be close considering they were the same egg at one point. Yet, they beat on each other during the day. Odd...
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

First snow


First snow
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

It wasn't much but we got our first and probably last snow of the season today. Got to use the snow button on the car for probably the first time since I got it a year ago. The button locks it into all wheel drive mode, very exciting.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Back from Fort Worth


Back from Fort Worth
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Business trips are important but it's hard to miss the family and then just have a few hours on Sunday to hang with them. I learned a lot about ACS and had some great conversations with board members, staff and voluteers.

I was the first person to use room 845 at the brand new Omni Fort Worth (it opened last week) and it was a lovely hotel but it can't beat the boys on my lap in front of the fireplace.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Ft.Worth


Ft.Worth
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

This is cowboy country as shown by the cowboy hat store I ran across
in fort worth today.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Looking Forward

Here it is Tuesday and the work week starts tomorrow. We had a great time hanging out at home, watching a little football, visiting the National Marine Corp Museum and watching some of the Inauguration hubbub. The Marine Corp Museum was great and only 20 or so miles away. Had no idea it was so well put together. The plus was that it was the opposite direction from DC and didn't come with the gridlock the district had to offer.

I think the boys appreciated part of the ceremonies today as we tried to explain the uniqueness of an orderly transfer of power. They really don't get it but can say they saw this one anyway. I'm guessing they will see a number of significant transfers of power in their lifetime. It is a cool process and it's good that the Bush days are over. Let's hope Obamarama turns into some positive governing in the coming years. We have some issues to deal with.

As we wind down the weekend we took Sam to the Dr. to find out that he has the flu and Dylan appears to be right behind him. Nicole shoud be back with the Tamaflu soon and hopefully, it won't be that bad. Check out the shots from Quantico on Flickr.
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Saturday, January 17, 2009

Morning Tae Kwon Do


Morning Tae Kwon Do
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

It's cold outside so indoor a** kicking will burn some energy. They will be testing for a gold belt soon. Off to buy a new dish washer after this. Gotta get money moving in this economy, besides our current one doesn't clean that well anymore.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Another Tooth

Sam is stating to lose his front teeth which will make it difficult for some of you when trying to figure out who's who. Dylan has been free of front teeth for a couple years now due to the Halloween incident but now Sam's are falling out. I hope the new ones grow back soon, and straight.

It's bloody cold here. Not as cold as Minnesota but cold for Virginia. We are headed to a low of around 5 which only happens once a decade around here. Staying close to the fire tonight...
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Thursday, January 15, 2009

Metallica


Metallica
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

At the Verizon Center, DC.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Feeling Better

While I still have a cough and don't feel a 100%, I'm definitely feeling better. Whatever I had was some heavy duty illness that I hope I don't get again. Nicole still has some symptoms and is hitting the doctor on Friday to see what it is. Work has been heating up again after the typical holiday break from serious business.

A couple more days and we have a nice mid-January 4 day weekend to look forward too thanks to MLK and our Presidential election system. Don't have a lot of plans for the weekend except to avoid the district like the plague. All the bridges from Virginia to the District will be shut down on Inauguration day anyway, first time since Lincoln tried to keep Lee out of the District in 1861. Makes me feel real welcome to the party, not that I ever had a desire to attend in the first place. I'll be happy when Government gets back to the same old same old. Just instead of Cheney's motorcade getting in the way of my commute to work, it will be Bidens. I guess that will be a little easier to swallow.

I am going to see Metallica at the Verizon Center tomorrow with Modean, Donkey and Jr. That is an event worth braving the bridges and metro to attend.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Mason Neck Bike Hike

Mason Neck Bike Hike

Widget powered by EveryTrail: GPS Geotagging

Sam, Dylan and I did 6 miles on the bikes this morning at Mason Neck State Park. We have hiked there many times but they have a few miles of paved bike path in the woods as well and the boys did some good riding. It was a little cold, about 39 with a 10mph wind near the river but being from Minnesota, it was nothin. The stuff above is from Everytrail, an iphone application that tracks your trail progress. It's pretty cool but it eats the battery like nobody's business. I don't think we could have gone 10 miles and still had power. Home now watching football and getting warmed up by the fire.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Christmas Cousins

I took quite a few shots of the kids in front of the fireplace and this one seemed the best. I only brought my portable camera to Mn for the holiday and you just don't get that same crispness my DSLR gets. Anyway, I finally uploaded what I got over the 6 days in Minnesota on flickr. I've had a cold for the past couple weeks and I stayed home from work today and started antibiotics because it was only getting worse. I'm already starting to see some improvement but I'm heading up for another 9 hour nap in a few minutes. Not much going on this weekend but work is starting to heat up again after a couple weeks of low activity. It's a new year.
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Sunday, January 04, 2009

Kate and the Boys

Julie, Kate and Damon left this morning after a nice visit. I think they had a good time anyway, we did and the boys loved playing with Kate who loves trains as much as Dylan. The boys and I went on a bike hike this morning and got 3 or 4 miles in. I found a cool dirt trail along some railroad tracks not far from home. The benefit of this track was seeing an Amtrak and two frieght trains during the ride. On the way back from the ride Sam informed me that he was debating two career choices. He either wants to be a hip-hop dancer or a dirt bike rider. I told him he could probably do both. Dylan just wants to be a karate master. Today they are Vikings and we are getting ready to watch those crazy vikes win or lose to Philly. Go Vikes.
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Saturday, January 03, 2009

New Helmets


New Helmets
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Went to the bike store today and got some better fitting helmets. Also looked at new bikes for the boys, mamma and papa. That's going to be a couple grand in the spring. I better keep my job.

Friday, January 02, 2009

Happy New Year

Wow, New Years eve and day came and went quick. I forgot to put up some photos and in fact, need to post the Christmas pictures to flickr soon. Julie, Damon and Kate came up from Texas and joined Jr. Modean and us for new years eve and we pretty much did a lot of nothing on new years day. I'm working from home today, trying to get over this nagging cough while the group went downtown to some museums. Set up a Skype account for video conferencing for anyone who wants to call a couple days ago. The boys love it and talked to Finn and Rachel last night before bed. It's lot of sticking out the tongue and stuff like that but I'm sure they will settle down eventually and have semi-real conversations. Maybe Nicole will use her new camera and get some shots of the trip downtown today.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Frozen Lake

Part of our last day in Minnesota fun was the boys first walk on a frozen lake. This is Long Lake and my sisters house is off to the left there somewhere. Friday was a little drizelly and nearly 40 degrees but it was about 20 degrees in this picture with a little wind and 5 degrees when we left MSP this moring at 6am. The boys loved the idea of walking on water but as you can tell from their faces, it was a little cold. Back to Alexandria and 65 degree weather when we landed at noon. We got out on the yard and put the boys new baseball bats to work. I kinda miss winter.
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Saturday, December 27, 2008

Peef the Christmas Bear


Peef the Christmas Bear
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Saw a lovely production by some taleted children at the hopkins art center yesterday. The plays are only 50 minutes long and perfect for the kids. Went out with my high school buddies last night. Good times.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas

All the best from Sam, Finn and Dylan.
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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Tracks in the snow


Tracks in the snow
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Today it didn't get out of the single digits and sledding was much colder. Once the face got numb we were fine. We also hit the big hills at Orono golf coarse, getting some serious speed going. Hope everyone has a very happy Christmas.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Sledding


Sledding
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Got out in the fresh snow this afternoon and did some sledding. Trudging up and down the hill really wears out the boys but I got to stay at the top and give them a little shove towards the jump half way down.

Last year I had to carry Sam up after each ride down because he had a full leg cast. That was exausting and the leg thing was a little scary at the time.

Plenty of snow


Plenty of snow
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Here in Minnesota. Plenty cold too but are expecting a heat wave this week. Hello low 20's.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Happy Hanukkah

We spent the day today down at the Capitol and US Botanic Gardens and riding bikes in Virginia. It's getting cold around here and we got ice last night but the sun was out and it felt good to be outdoors. I have picture from the trip downtown and I'll post them later.

Here they are http://www.flickr.com/photos/homerclees/sets/72157611503633328/

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Saturday, December 20, 2008

Class Photo

Dylan brought home a class photo yesterday and said he really likes the girl next to him. He, like Sam really likes school and look forward to it daily. I don't remember those days. I did choose to go to college and grad school, I guess I didn't have to do that but I don't remember getting up in the morning and running out the door to get there.
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Thursday, December 18, 2008

Jail Bird


Jail Bird
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Found Santa jailed on the street last night. Bad Santa.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Long Week

This week has been dragging a little and I think it's just the anticipation of Christmas and the New Year. I still have work to do but somehow it's easier to get distracted with an article on Washington Post.com or by typing out a blog posting. I'm pretty much out all next week and in for a few office cleaning and organizing days between the Christmas and New Years. I know their is a ton of stuff I should be working on but the overwhelming desire to build a fire and do nothing is tearing at my concentration. I did call the firewood guy and have another couple cords coming my way soon. Hmmmm, Fire..

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Wheels to the world


Wheels to the world
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

I finally got around to taking the training wheels off the boys bikes today and much to my surprise it took them all of 2 minutes to be riding circles in the school parking lot. Sam was all about giving it a try and got going right away while Dylan protested that he couldn't do it but picked of up as quickly as Sam after I forced him to try. I'm proud of them both.

I remember the freedom of having a bike when I was a kid. It opens up so much more of the world. I would ride hundreds of miles during the summer going to friends houses, movies, the beach and dairy queen. The boys world got a little bigger today and they got a little further out from under our wings.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The tree


The tree
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

I do like this time of the year. The house smells good, the boys are a
little more excited and the extra long nights make me want to stay
close to home. Time for a long winters nap.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Obi Wan and Luke

The boys went to a Star Wars themed birthday party on Saturday after noon and cam back with some funky outfits. They didn't get to bring these weapons with them but the whole party had smaller balloon light sabers. All they wanted to do today is play star wars even though it was about 38 degrees with a 25 mph wind. Chilly... We managed to get up on Saturday and attend the Alexandria Scottish Walk. It is always a good time and we saw many men with skirts including Willard Scott, this years Grand Marshall. Check out the picture here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/homerclees/sets/72157610813548915/

Today was Christmas tree day and we got a little bit bigger one this year. It still fits in the traditional spot without moving furniture but feels much bigger than the small ones we've gotten in the past. The boys loved decorating it and only broke a couple ornaments in the process.

I finally finished uploading the Thanksgiving and Napa photos and posted them to flickr. I got a few good ones but nothing spectacular.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/homerclees/sets/72157610806671577/
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Thursday, December 04, 2008

The BIG Game



Finally got another set up pictures up from our Thanksgiving trip west. The Cal-Stanford game was fun and the weather was perfect. Oh yeah, and the Bears won.

Gingerbread


Gingerbread
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The ritz carlton pentagon city had a real full size gingerbread house set up. If you like the smell of gingerbread you couldn't get any better experience than being inside it.

Had all day board meetings at the hotel but it's closer to home than my office which was nice.