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Tomorrow we are having a garage sale to unload some of our junk before we move to much smaller living conditions in California, so this evening we are moving are moving stuph out to the garage. I was amazed at some of the junk we've held onto: two broken printers, the girls broken TV, dumb books, broken toys, and the list goes on and on. My only fear is that we won't get rid of it all! Surprisingly, the girls have not tried to join in the action yet. Last month they >15 dollars selling things they made by the curb for $1 apiece. Of course, they advertised their wares as "money goes to Karns Elementary School" which precipitated a discussion from me about truth in advertising. But daaaaad, we were going to buy ice cream at lunch, so the money really does go to the school. This was Brittan, the same daughter who at 5 would tell me that the toys in the commercials on TV can't really do those things, they just do it so kids will buy them. I fear what they may try to sell me as teenagers...
| Because, as many have been kind enough to point out, I am "toooo fat", I have taken up running. It is, however, a dreadfully boring activity. So to compensate for this I have gotten an mp3 player to listen to lectures while I train. As motivation I also plan to run races. Today I ran in the first of these, the π-Mile Road Race at Georgia Tech. I finished the first mile with a pretty good time of 7:40, but slowed down thereafter. I had expected to be held by cardiovascular limitations, so I had done most of my training in this area. I did not anticipate my ankles swelling up as much as they did. I finished the second mile in 21:19 and the race in 37: 15, which was in the middle of the pack, but less than the 30 min time I thought I was capable of. I guess I need to do more actual running before my next race. Cara and Zara came to spectate, but unfortunately the picture she took of me crossing the finish line included a man with a large umbrella directly in front of me. Doh! So here I am at the starting line ------------> |
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 Sara Jordan and Zara attack the camera. |
No trip to Atlanta would be complete without seeing everybody possible, and this trip was no exception. Last night we came down and had dinner at my parents house where we were joined by Ray & Bev. There much wine was drunken. After lunch today we go to visit Casey & Donny Jordan, who's son Alex was born the same day as Maxwell, also at Northside Hospital. Casey is an old friend middle and high school, and has had a daughter since we moved up to Knoxville.
Tonight we go to Grandma's for dinner, where Nancy and Ken will also join us.
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So vat has Brad bin doink at skule? Ee has bin shtudying dee SVT at zee BaBar detector.
Yesterday we drove home from Geege's and, having done the Shenandoah Valley drive so many times before, we decided to take a couple hour detour through Ohio. Uncle Tim, who went to Notre Dame, warned us that "some people are proud never to have been to Ohio". Alas, we are no longer among them. I drove for awhile and then Cara started driving after we stopped at the Ohio border for lunch. 20 or 30 miles into the state she speeded past a cop sitting in the flat grassy median. Naturally, he pulled us over and gave her a ticket. I, who hadn't received a speeding ticket since I was a teenager, was quite disappointed and took over driving at the next rest area. When we got back on the road I admonished her on the proper way to avoid getting pulled over at speed traps: keep your eyes on the horizon, always use maximum deceleration when a speed trap is sighted, ... hey, what are those blue lights behind me? To make a long story short, together we are funding the state of Ohio. I do not think we will be visiting again anytime soon. We all got Slurpees to celebrate crossing the border into the safety of West Virginia.
Zara trys to see what's in Maxwell's basket while Joliet and Geege take a short rest.
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14 April 2006
Yesterday we journeyed to Maryland to visit Geege and the Kings for the Easter holiday. Along the way we stopped at Harper's Ferry to visit this historical town. While Cara fed Zara in the car, the rest of us went to check out the visitor's center where we met the rudest National Parks employee I have ever encountered. When I asked her what the kids might find interesting in the lower town, she said "Nothing. This is not an amusement park. This is a historical park." Never before have I met such disdain toward children in a National Park - and we've been to a few! Perhaps daily inhabiting that shrine to the violence of John Brown has led some of his meanness to wear off on her. Disappointed but undaunted we all took the stuttle down to the lower town after Zara was done eating. There we found plenty of amusement despite what the lady in the visitor's center had told us. There were museums, shops, and actors in period attire eager to answer all the girls' questions. I was amazed at how clear and unpolluted the waters of the two rivers were - we could see the bottom and fish swimming around several feet under water! We also walked across the old Baltimore & Ohio Railroad bridge (now owned and still in use by CSX), which Maxwell did not like because he could see the Potomac waters rushing by 50 feet below him between the slats. Having just been to Hilton Head he was also convinced, despite our explanations to the contrary, that there must be alligators somewhere in all this water. Alora and Brittan were just amazed that the B & O Railroad from Monopoly was real. |
 Across the B & O Railroad bridge on the Maryland side, Alora, Zara and I pose by the old C & O Canal. |
After returning to West Virginia we located the source of those ice cream cones we had seen people carrying around, which turned out actually to be frozen custard. (This was Cara's favorite part of the trip.) Then we got back in the car and continued on to Geege's, which was only a further 40 minutes down the road. There we were treated to Geege's famous chicken parmesan and caught up on what these Marylanders had been doing.
Overlooking the confluence of the Shenandoah and the Potomac.
Zara's new trick is waving. It is a delayed reaction effect though. When you wave at her you have to wait a good five seconds for her to process and respond.
| This week we're in Alpharetta because Mark Scherrens, my good friend from high school, is getting married. He and Jen have been dating almost as long as Cara and I have been married, so it's nice to see them finally tie the knot. As usual when we come to Alpharetta, we stayed at my parents house. |
I do not understand how the western suburbs of a city become the desirable place to live. Nature is certainly against it for anyone who commutes for a normal workday; the sun is in your face going to work and coming home! This is definitely my biggest beef with Knoxville, which has otherwise been a perfect place to live.
When the girls were younger I used to try and make them watch movies in Spanish. They soon learned that this was an option which could be changed and thereafter protested my every attempt. Even given the choice between no movie and watching a movie in Spanish they would invariably choose the former. Maxwell is, however, much more open, and apparently having Maxwell watch Bob the Builder in Spanish is rubbing off a little. The other day he asked Cara for "hot dog y ketchup y rice milk". Es buena, no?
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April 2nd, 2006 (April Fool's Weekend) This weekend Grammy came up with boxes so we could start packing up things to put in storage for a year. Papa and Emma also came down from Virginia to visit us for the first time at our house in Tennessee. Papa never ceases to amaze us with the things he undertakes, and this time was no exception as he joined the kids on the trampoline. We also got a good deal of packing done with Grammy acting as baby holder extrordinaire. The weekend was Gerbertastic! |
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Brittan, Alora and Grammy are becoming Barbie princesses.