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.

Wicked

Wicked
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Wicked was a really nice show and had some good music. It wasn't my favorite of all time but I was definitely entertained. Sam liked it a lot, as did Nicole. Dylan was not that impressed with the show but he was really impressed with the chicken he had for dinner at The Queen's Arms.

Thanks to Adam and CAA for getting us hooked up with house seats. Right in the middle section about 10 rows back. We had this fire breathing dragon over our head the whole show.

Tower Guards

Tower Guards
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The boys getting their turn at guarding the prisoners.

Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

We spent all morning at the Tower of London where we had a nice tour and wondered around a bit. We crossed back to Southwark over the Tower Bridge and stopped by Borough Market before heading home for rest and some snacks. Off to see Wicked tonight in the East End.

Big Eye

Big Eye
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

We had a really nice walk lat night from soho to our apartment that took us thru Trafalgar Square and over the Hungerford Bridge. The pubs were all bursting at the seams with the warm night bringing everyone out for a long happy hour. We even caught the end of a chocolate festival near Waterloo where we picked up some dessert.

The picture is a little dark of the boys but shows Big Ben on one side of the Themes and the Eye on the other. Off to the Tower this morning.

The Tube

The Tube
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The boys first underground ride on our way to Piccadilly Circus. We all got a little football gear at Lillywhites and had a nice dinner on Soho.

Top of he Eye

Top of he Eye
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Some of us got sleep last night while others (everyone but Sam) was having issues. My time zones are all mixed up having been in San Diego for 5 day then a day in dc then here. Dylan just couldn't sleep for some reason, new place issues I think and he kept Nicole up while Sam passed out when he hit the pillow and woke up after 7 hours.

Anyway, we picked up a few things at the market this morning, had breakfast at Mama's and headed to the London Eye. Fun trip around the ginormous ferris wheel type thing. We then spent two hours at the Imperial War Museum. We have been back at the apartment for a little while now and will be heading to dinner in Soho soon. We are off to a great start.

Heathrow

Heathrow
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Safely in our apartment and ready for bed. It's actually nice to travel all day instead of overnight to get here. We are tired at the right time.

London Bound

London Bound
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The boys are a little nervous but excited to be off.

Life in the Gas Lamp

Life in the Gas Lamp
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

I guy on my team at ACS designed the theme of this national meeting and they are hanging his work all over town. Shawn did a great job with this and it shows how our web work is driving design of non web stuff. Can't wait to see what the team comes up with for Philly in August.

Stay Classy San Diego

Stay Classy San Diego
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

It's actually a steak house but it reminded me of Ron Burgandy from Anchor Man. I am not eating here tonight.

Two Players

Two Players
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Dylan joined the soccer team and now they both have a two sport season going. This is going to make Saturdays interesting. He lives his new shoes.

Batting Cage

Cy Young

Cy Young
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Sam tried his hand at pitching during baseball try outs today. He actually had some nice throws. He may have a role in the pitching staff this year.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Off to baseball try outs at Pioneer League. We switched from CSLL to Pioneer and it is way more convenient. It's about a mile away opposed to the 20 minute drive we used to have. No Irish bars for me today. Just baseball, basketball games and ob odyssey of the mind party.

Brain Pop

Brain Pop
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Dylan is learning about Nazi Germany using Brain Pop on the iPad. Btw, he also wants to play soccer like his brother now. I think it's because he wants new soccer shoes.

First Soccer Practice

First Soccer Practice
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Sam is playing soccer and baseball this spring. Dylan is wisely focusing on baseball alone. Tryouts for baseball are Saturday and I would bet practices for that will start soon after.

Lonely Boy

Here's some video of the Black Keys show on Friday.  I've had these tunes in my head for the last four days.

Bracketology

Bracketology
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Dylan is following the NCAA Tournament seeding feeling pretty confident he is gong to win the Durpenters pool.

Odyssey of the Mind

Odyssey of the Mind
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The boys clowning around together before the big competition. The
girls were off somewhere else. They did well today and we will find
out later if we won any awards.

Black Keys

Black Keys
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Good stuff.

Cavaliers

Cavaliers
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

It was a tough season with as many loses as wins and a couple heartbreaking losses that could have gone the other way. The boys did have a good time and it's always great to have coach Lance calling the shots. He really loves the game and wants the boys to do well. Everyone had a great time at the end of season party, including the parents and look to next season for a championship ring.

We have almost a month off before baseball and soccer start. That's the longest break between sports in a long time. We are counting down to the European trip and hopefully seeing a little soccer in London.

Eleven Years

Eleven Years
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

I didn't take this picture but I like it a lot. Had a nice dinner in old town and the boys loved hanging out with Nicole's friend Jessica. It was a good start to the 12th year.

Basketball Cake

Basketball Cake
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Nicole finished this today for the end of season party tomorrow. We are off to dinner in a bit to celebrate 11 years.

Almost 11 Years

Almost 11 Years
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The day before our 11th Anniversary with a bottle of Caymus Zin open. Picked this up last summer at the vineyard with a couple of cabs that need to sit in the cellar for another couple years. We have some baby sitting issues but the plan is to go out for dinner without the boys tomorrow.