Bull Run Mountain

Last weekend we took a hike up Bull Run mountain to check out the amazing fall color this year (cold snap really brought out the color!). The park is about 15 minutes from our house yet this was our first trip! It was a lot of fun, though we ended up with both boys in backpacks for most of the hike.

Memorial Day Weekend

This memorial day we went fishing....  Seems like we have been doing a lot of fishing lately!  It was a great trip, with Maranda outfishing me quite effortlessly.  We caught a total of 23 keeper size crappie, 8 bluegill, and 1 perch.  Kieran did a masterful job of fighting the perch, bluegill, and several crappie.  Maranda could be considered a show off after she hooked four crappie in under three minutes.  We were also accompanied by our friend Bruce from a church we have been joining fellowship with.  It was a fun time to swap tales and he kept the boys entertained while I ran to retrieve Maranda's frequent fish.

Here is Kieran proudly showing off our catch

A trophy bluegill

Our friend Bruce with Tristan

Weekend Fishing

Friday evening Maranda caught a nice red eared sunfish (Shell Cracker), about 3/4 pound.

Saturday I tried out my new spot and caught and released a wopper large mouth bass.  She was in full spawn, estimating she weighed 5 pounds!  Check out her fat belly. 

Weekend Survival

Sometimes we are just happy to have survived the weekend!  We had lots of plans for how we might spend this weekend, all the projects and things we could do, perhaps even heading into DC for the cherry blossoms.  Alas, this was not to be our fate...

To start things off, we have a new dog in our family (Duke), who is a big male from the first litter we raised close to three years ago.  The owners had to give him up and we had asked that all buyers look us up if there was a chance a dog would be given to a shelter or pound.  We agreed to take him in and have quickly found he is in need of a LOT of training.  

Along with the training, Duke and his mother have been having stand offs over who is the new pack leader.  She is 15-20 pound lighter than him, but fully undeterred.  Finally Saturday morning it reached a climax and they went full bore for several minutes.  When I finally headed down with gloves on to bring things up, they separated and Duke went scurrying toward the house, looking like the beaten dog.  Both dogs had bite wounds to their ears, but Duke was way worse and had a wound on his chest as well.  

SO, Maranda and I spent several hours midday Saturday cleaning dog wounds, flushing them, and applying antibacterial salve.  Maranda did the lion's share of the work, I did the restraining when the worst wounds were addressed.  We have continued to rinse and clean the wounds since, and antibiotics will be here tomorrow....wheeghh.

Today Kieran and I scampered away after church to try and put a hurt on the local bluegill population.  We had tried one spot with no success, and had relocated to a place that clearly had a MOTHERLODE of big bad blues...  Shortly into the afternoon, with only two decent fish on the stringer, I suddenly heard a big splash next to my elevated position near the shore.  Kieran had been playing with a stick in the water when his straw hat blew off in the wind into the pond.  

Instead of calling to me he had rushed into the pool and was up to his armpits in water.  I jumped down and fished him out, and then saved the hat.  He was rather distraught over the hat, and then became distraught over his soaked clothing.   So I stripped him down to his briefs, packed up, and headed home.

So hear I sit after burping a fussy baby for the last hour, with a late dinner in the oven, wondering where the weekend went!  I actually am thinking how nice it will be to ease into my cube tomorrow with a big cup of coffee.  I guess the one thing I can say is that all creatures in our home survived the weekend, everything will soon be fed, and tomorrow is another day....

Cell Phone Down Elevator Shaft

In a desperate attempt to upgrade to a new cell phone, Maranda "accidentally" dropped her Motorola Razor down a two story elevator shaft. She swears it is an accident, but given her rush to select an MP3 capable phone, I am more than a little suspcious! Kieran was there for the incident and thinks it was the coolest thing ever!

Amazingly the phone still worked, props to Motorola for a sturdy design!

First Couple Minutes of Christmas Morning

Here is a video clip of the first couple minutes of Christmas morning showing Kieran discovering and then opening his stocking.




And here is Kieran unwrapping the "big" present, which he exclaims "I hope it is a rocket, I always wanted a rocket" during the clip.

Welcome Baby Tristan!

Tristan Riley Tennyson was born on 11/01 today, December 16th. He was 7 lbs, 13 oz and 21 inches long. We are so excited to have this little boy join our family! Maranda and the baby are doing fantastic, thankfully labor went fairly smoothly (if such a thing can be said!). Our midwife was fantastic, a wonderful experience to be sure!





Baby Tristan at just over three hours old. Family friend Deanna is holding him at the start of the video clip.




Video of Kieran "helping" the nurse to move baby Tristan from the birthing room to the recovery room.

Belly n Boy Shots

The nice thing about a delayed birth is I am finally getting around to getting all the photo shoots in! Here are my favorite "tummy shots" of Kieran and Maranda.

Expectant

Peace Truck

So Kieran had been asking Maranda the other day what the words on the bumperstickers on our truck said. She explained that one of them talked about peace, and that peace means no fighting. The topic came up again this morning and here is the story Kieran relayed to me:

"Dad, since our truck has peace words on it, when a white truck comes and wants to fight, after a while it will go away because our truck does not want to fight."

Okay, so far so good, Daddy is nodding approvingly at Kieran's application of an important concept.

"But then, the white truck will find a different truck and they can fight!"

Note the itallicized words were said with much exuberance... Oh well....we got half way there :)

August Camping Trips

Well, we have a lot of fun camping in August, finally getting some time to put some pictures up. Our first trip was to Trout Pond in West Virginia, a small, family friendly campground in the rolling hills and hardwood forests of WV. Kieran had a fantastic time and was shaking with excitement as we unloaded the gear and setup the tent. This trip he got his FIRST SLEEPING BAG and was absolutely thrilled! It was a wonderful time with dear friends, although the three days went by far to quickly for me (as it always does).

Here are our best shots (our second camping trip is after these photos).

click on any image for larger image

The beach at the small lake, love the richness of the colors in this shot (hat tip to Maranda). Kieran is in the center.



Kieran straining to carry his load of water, his friend Mike in the background joining the cause.



More water carrying with his friend Keenan.



What used to be a sandcastle!



A boy pile, Kieran and the three Doan boys. Kieran's head is the bottom right. Looks like baby C.J. needed a snuggle!



Cute shot, kudo's again to Maranda.



Kieran and Keenan playing together.



Kieran and Ethan playing together in matching outfits!



Canoe time! From left to right, Sam, Keenan, Kieran, and Ethan.


Our second camping trip was to the Lake Erie shoreline in Marblehead, Ohio. We had a great time with friends Maggie, Schuyler, and their son Levi. Although Levi and Kieran had not seen each other for over 8 months, they instantly bonded over their mutual love of monster trucks! Levi even brough the ICE CRUSHER, which was a new one for Kieran and had him enraptured immediately. We were also able to attend our friends Joel and Kate's wedding which was a beautiful and meaningful affair.

Here are some of our best shots:



A happy boy watching the CARS movie on Daddy's iPod.









Oops, boy had a time out discussion with Daddy...



At the wedding reception.






Levi and Kieran just floatin' around.



Levi and Kieran attacking Ken.

Second Visit to the Fair

See our best shots, and a great short clip of the demolition derby at the bottom!

Eagle eye Kieran shot his way to a prize stuffed animal.



Could barely tear the boy away from the tractors....



Notice the hand on the gear shift....he is ready for some plowin'



Good lucking truck! Who is that hillbilly next to Kieran?



You can see Kieran cheering the cars on toward the end, lots of good impacts on a very fast, dry track!