This week Beth & I surprised the kids with a trip to the beach.
We took them to Bethany Beach, DE and stayed in a nice bed &
breakfast called The Cedar Breeze.
They had a 2-room suite which worked out great, and they were nice
enough to make extra pancakes for the girls to have at breakfast on the
2nd day. They provided beach towels, chairs, and umbrellas, so we were
able to pack lighter. Very nice place to stay - we recommend it!
The girls really liked seeing the Chesapeake Bay as we crossed the
bay bridge. Although as we were going higher and higher, Anna asked me
to get to the other side because she was scared. It reminded me of when
we lived in Florida in the early 80's - I remember crossing a very tall
bridge over Tampa Bay, and you could look down through the road. Plus
one of the two spans clearly had collapsed, so that didn't help (I was
excited to have recently been watching a show on the History Channel,
maybe called Engineering Disasters or something, that actually had a segment about what had happened; I never actually knew till then).
Anyway, the last time we had gone to the beach was when Kylie was
visiting - she was 6 at the time, and she was scared of the waves,
which, to be fair, were bigger than her, and they were even knocking me
around. This time, she enjoyed playing in the waves, and the bay bridge
wasn't as big as she remembered (kind of like how huge the Christmas
tree seemed when we were little, but now it's so disappointing to
realize it wasn't as magnificent as you remember).
When we went to the beach the first evening, we walked the girls
right up to where you could see the waves crashing. They took a little
getting used to all the sand in their feet at first. And when we saw
the ocean, Anna was a bit scared and covered her ears. Cara was fine,
and Anna was fine after I explained the ocean would stay over there.
The girls had big fun playing in the biggest sandbox ever.
We saved going into the water for the next day. For most of the day,
Cara was content just playing in the sand and didn't want to venture
near the water. Anna was over her fear of the waves and wanted to walk
into the water as long as I would hold her hand. She laughed, screamed
(with delight), and giggled when the water would rush over her feet and
legs, then would quickly retreat, washing sand over her feet. Cara
eventually came down to the water, too, and also had big fun, until a
big wave proved to be too much for her after sweeping her off her feet.
Then she was content to just play in the sand nearby. The weather was
cloudy and only about 80 degrees, so it was a little cool, but it didn't
matter. The girls insisted they weren't cold and wanted to stay more
even though their hands and lips were purple.
It was a short trip, and the girls are ready to go back to the
ocean. On the way home, their stuffed animals were talking about going
on a surprise trip. Pics are on my Facebook page or in the picture gallery under Vacations and Trips -> 2009 Bethany Beach. Maybe next year we'll try staying for a week.
menendez.us
A journal of life's happenings in our family
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Andrews Air Force Base 2009
I felt like a little boy at a monster truck rally today, only I don't
care about monster trucks; I went to the 2009 Joint Service Open
House/Air Show at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, DC, and anyone
who knows my love for aviation will understand how exciting it must have
been. The last big air show I remember going to that featured very
cool military aircraft was in Chicago. I don't remember all the planes
we saw then, but the stealth bomber and Harrier jet (the one that can
hover) stick out in my memory. But as cool as that show was, this one
was even better.
I think one of the reasons was that in Chicago, everyone is basically gathered along the shoreline of Lake Michigan waiting for the planes to arrive and do their thing. Today's event took place right on the airfield at Andrews AFB, and the first thing you saw as your shuttle (from FedEx Field) pulled in were the HUGE transport planes used by the Air Force to transport tanks & such, including a C-130 Hercules (the one where the front nose opens up). You got to walk right up to the planes, walk inside, and talk to the pilots, and in some cases go into the cockpit.
It turns out there were just tons of military aircraft parked for you to come and see and get inside. Everything from the huge transport planes to the B-52 Stratofortress bomber to the F35 Joint Strike Fighter to Blackhawk and Apache helicopters. They even had the B-17 Flying Fortress that was used in the film Memphis Belle.
One unexpected treat that those who came today got to see was that President Obama was departing in the morning from Andrews AFB to South Bend, IN, to speak at the Notre Dame graduation ceremonies. They announced that this was going to happen, and we saw the three Marine helicopters come in (the President is always on one of the three, but very few actually know which one, exactly). Then he boarded Air Force One and we got to see it take off. Very neat.
The highlights of the show were seeing an authentic Russian MiG flying, as well as the F18-F Super Hornet, the A-10 tank killer (which is surprisingly quiet), and the new F-22 Raptor. It's simply amazing what the F-22 can do, and after seeing the demo, I can see why everyone thinks that anyone flying against this guy doesn't have a chance. It was also fun being right on the front row at show center and watching these planes taxi right by. Then, of course, there were the Air Force Thunderbirds, a group of six F-15's flying in formation and doing dangerous head-on maneuvers at crazy speeds. And the helicopter that could somehow do loops and fly upside down, which should be impossible.
I had a crappy little camera that did no good for most of the live demo shots - I would probably need an SLR camera with good zoom to get good shots of the live action. Plus it ran out of battery relatively quickly, so I didn't get any shots of the A-10, P-51, or the F-15s flying around. But I did get a bunch of shots from the many aircraft we were able to explore and a couple short videos of some of the live stuff. They're in our photo gallery under Day-to-Day, 2009 Spring, Andrews AFB Airshow, and also on my Facebook page.
What little boy wouldn't get excited to climb into planes you only see in the movies or on TV, or to watch a jet zoom by silently only to be followed a couple seconds later by its sound, or have his eardrums blown out by the intense crackling and bright glow of full-on afterburners zooming by again and again, or watch a jet zoom by just under Mach 1 only to abruptly go vertical and shoot 2 miles straight up into the sky? The answer is no little boy would not get excited by that, and this little boy/pilot had BIG fun today in aviation heaven.
I think one of the reasons was that in Chicago, everyone is basically gathered along the shoreline of Lake Michigan waiting for the planes to arrive and do their thing. Today's event took place right on the airfield at Andrews AFB, and the first thing you saw as your shuttle (from FedEx Field) pulled in were the HUGE transport planes used by the Air Force to transport tanks & such, including a C-130 Hercules (the one where the front nose opens up). You got to walk right up to the planes, walk inside, and talk to the pilots, and in some cases go into the cockpit.
It turns out there were just tons of military aircraft parked for you to come and see and get inside. Everything from the huge transport planes to the B-52 Stratofortress bomber to the F35 Joint Strike Fighter to Blackhawk and Apache helicopters. They even had the B-17 Flying Fortress that was used in the film Memphis Belle.
One unexpected treat that those who came today got to see was that President Obama was departing in the morning from Andrews AFB to South Bend, IN, to speak at the Notre Dame graduation ceremonies. They announced that this was going to happen, and we saw the three Marine helicopters come in (the President is always on one of the three, but very few actually know which one, exactly). Then he boarded Air Force One and we got to see it take off. Very neat.
The highlights of the show were seeing an authentic Russian MiG flying, as well as the F18-F Super Hornet, the A-10 tank killer (which is surprisingly quiet), and the new F-22 Raptor. It's simply amazing what the F-22 can do, and after seeing the demo, I can see why everyone thinks that anyone flying against this guy doesn't have a chance. It was also fun being right on the front row at show center and watching these planes taxi right by. Then, of course, there were the Air Force Thunderbirds, a group of six F-15's flying in formation and doing dangerous head-on maneuvers at crazy speeds. And the helicopter that could somehow do loops and fly upside down, which should be impossible.
I had a crappy little camera that did no good for most of the live demo shots - I would probably need an SLR camera with good zoom to get good shots of the live action. Plus it ran out of battery relatively quickly, so I didn't get any shots of the A-10, P-51, or the F-15s flying around. But I did get a bunch of shots from the many aircraft we were able to explore and a couple short videos of some of the live stuff. They're in our photo gallery under Day-to-Day, 2009 Spring, Andrews AFB Airshow, and also on my Facebook page.
What little boy wouldn't get excited to climb into planes you only see in the movies or on TV, or to watch a jet zoom by silently only to be followed a couple seconds later by its sound, or have his eardrums blown out by the intense crackling and bright glow of full-on afterburners zooming by again and again, or watch a jet zoom by just under Mach 1 only to abruptly go vertical and shoot 2 miles straight up into the sky? The answer is no little boy would not get excited by that, and this little boy/pilot had BIG fun today in aviation heaven.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Hosecara!
Well, as life's gotten busier I've been very bad keeping this blog
updated, but Cara said something today we had to put into the blog and
not lose, so I'll catch up on a couple anecdotes. Today was Palm
Sunday, so Anna was telling us what she learned in Sunday School, about
all the people shouting "Hosanna, Hosanna!" Cara added that they also
shouted, "HoseCara! HoseCara!"
The other day there was a spider on the floor, and when I got home Cara kept telling me about the "speeder" in the other room and how they need to just look at the "speeder" and don't touch the "speeder." I ended up putting the "speeder" down the toilet.
Anna is a very good helper with Eddie. She loves being the mommy. It's apparent when she's talking, though, that she believes that one day she'll grow big enough to be the real mommy, and by that time, mommy and daddy will have shrunk down to be the babies that need to be taken care of.
Anna and Cara really like fried rice, just like daddy, so I get two boxes now everytime. After I give everyone rice from the first box, and start to get seconds, Anna clearly gets nervous. "Don't take too much from the box, daddy!" But if I ask if she's afraid it will be all gone, she assures me she's not afraid of that. But then she'll need to make sure that there's another box in the bag. But don't worry, she's cool, nothing to worry about.
And finally, the last one I can remember for now… Beth was telling me in code that she thought Anna was sick. But Anna gets upset if you say that, so she spelled it out - "I think Anna is S-I-C-K." But that still upset Anna - she protested, "No, I'm not! I'm A-N-N-A!"
The other day there was a spider on the floor, and when I got home Cara kept telling me about the "speeder" in the other room and how they need to just look at the "speeder" and don't touch the "speeder." I ended up putting the "speeder" down the toilet.
Anna is a very good helper with Eddie. She loves being the mommy. It's apparent when she's talking, though, that she believes that one day she'll grow big enough to be the real mommy, and by that time, mommy and daddy will have shrunk down to be the babies that need to be taken care of.
Anna and Cara really like fried rice, just like daddy, so I get two boxes now everytime. After I give everyone rice from the first box, and start to get seconds, Anna clearly gets nervous. "Don't take too much from the box, daddy!" But if I ask if she's afraid it will be all gone, she assures me she's not afraid of that. But then she'll need to make sure that there's another box in the bag. But don't worry, she's cool, nothing to worry about.
And finally, the last one I can remember for now… Beth was telling me in code that she thought Anna was sick. But Anna gets upset if you say that, so she spelled it out - "I think Anna is S-I-C-K." But that still upset Anna - she protested, "No, I'm not! I'm A-N-N-A!"
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Firetruck Santa 2008
Every year the volunteer fire company in our little town drives
around in their firetrucks & ambulances with lights flashing and
sirens blaring, giving Santa a ride through the neighborhoods as he
waves to the kids and his "elves" pass out candy canes. This year we
went to a friend's house and made a small donation to the fire company
to have Firetruck Santa make a personal visit to the kids.
When we got to the friend's house, Anna and Cara kept looking up in the sky asking if we saw Santa yet. After playing with their friends for awhile (there are 3 girls in the other family right around the same age), we heard the sirens. All the kids piled by the front door to see the firetruck pull up with lights flashing, and Santa stepped out. There was MUCH excitement!
He passed out candy canes to all the girls (most of which got broken before we left), and each one took a turn on his lap. Anna talked to Santa so quietly I couldn't really hear what she was saying. Cara didn't really care to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas; instead, she introduced him to everyone in the room: "that's my sister; that's my daddy; that's my mommy; that's Lauren," etc. I'm sure Santa was enthralled!
When we got to the friend's house, Anna and Cara kept looking up in the sky asking if we saw Santa yet. After playing with their friends for awhile (there are 3 girls in the other family right around the same age), we heard the sirens. All the kids piled by the front door to see the firetruck pull up with lights flashing, and Santa stepped out. There was MUCH excitement!
He passed out candy canes to all the girls (most of which got broken before we left), and each one took a turn on his lap. Anna talked to Santa so quietly I couldn't really hear what she was saying. Cara didn't really care to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas; instead, she introduced him to everyone in the room: "that's my sister; that's my daddy; that's my mommy; that's Lauren," etc. I'm sure Santa was enthralled!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Anecdote of the day
Today after playing at the park, we got some chicken Mcnuggets and
fries from McDonald's. As usual, I got some sweet & sour sauce to
use just in case the girls didn't finish their nuggets. We must have
played hard enough to make the girls hungry, because they both ate all
their nuggets, which is rare.
This time, though, Anna actually asked to have some of the sweet & sour sauce, which is a first, because she never tries anything new and has always just eaten her nuggets plain or with ketchup. She actually liked it, too, which surprised me. I asked if she liked it and said that it's called sweet and sour sauce, and she said "Yeah! It's apple sauce for your chicken!" Ok, I guess it's the right color…
I know it's been awhile since I've written anything - life's been very busy, work's been busy and frustrating. I plan to write some entries to catch up on what the girls have been up to the last couple of months. Today I uploaded a bunch of new pictures to our photo gallery for the last couple months, so you can enjoy those in the meantime. They're under Day-to-Day->2008 Summer, Day-to-Day->2008 Fall, and Vacations and Trips->2008 IndianaIllinois.
This time, though, Anna actually asked to have some of the sweet & sour sauce, which is a first, because she never tries anything new and has always just eaten her nuggets plain or with ketchup. She actually liked it, too, which surprised me. I asked if she liked it and said that it's called sweet and sour sauce, and she said "Yeah! It's apple sauce for your chicken!" Ok, I guess it's the right color…
I know it's been awhile since I've written anything - life's been very busy, work's been busy and frustrating. I plan to write some entries to catch up on what the girls have been up to the last couple of months. Today I uploaded a bunch of new pictures to our photo gallery for the last couple months, so you can enjoy those in the meantime. They're under Day-to-Day->2008 Summer, Day-to-Day->2008 Fall, and Vacations and Trips->2008 IndianaIllinois.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Montgomery County Fair 2008
Tonight we took the girls to the Montgomery County Fair. We haven't
been able to take them to any of the local carnivals this summer, so we
wanted to be sure to take them. Anna loved the ferris wheel last year
and had been talking about it for awhile. This time, Cara was able to
ride with us. She really liked the ferris wheel, too, and kept saying
she wanted to do it again. I can't remember without looking if Cara
rode the merry-go-round last year or not, but this year she really
enjoyed it, too. She had to sit out and watch Anna go on the "jet skis"
by herself, though, since she wasn't tall enough yet. The only drama we
had was when we were leaving. Nobody wanted to go home!
Montgomery County is the county south of us. I always thought the name of OUR county's fair was a little grandiose: "The Great Frederick Fair." I discovered that there must be a rivalry between counties regarding who has the best one, because down there, theirs is called "The Spectacular Montogmery County Fair."
More pics are in our photo gallery under Day-to-Day, 2008 Summer. Here are a few videos of the girls having fun at the fair:
Montgomery County is the county south of us. I always thought the name of OUR county's fair was a little grandiose: "The Great Frederick Fair." I discovered that there must be a rivalry between counties regarding who has the best one, because down there, theirs is called "The Spectacular Montogmery County Fair."
More pics are in our photo gallery under Day-to-Day, 2008 Summer. Here are a few videos of the girls having fun at the fair:
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Little shopper
There's a grocery store that Beth likes to use, when possible,
because they have little miniature shopping carts for kids to push
around. I think it's a great idea. Anna insists on having her cart,
and only her cart, loaded up with the groceries.
And completely unrelated to that, the other night Anna found my noise-cancelling headphones and tried them on. She was very pleased that they could make it so she couldn't hear the thunder, and said, "I love your ear muscles, daddy!"
And completely unrelated to that, the other night Anna found my noise-cancelling headphones and tried them on. She was very pleased that they could make it so she couldn't hear the thunder, and said, "I love your ear muscles, daddy!"
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