More Vacation Pictures

Due to popular demand (ok it is really just Christina nagging me to put up more photos of Dillon) I will give you more pictures from out trip to Lake Almanor.



Someone wasn't very happy when Dad put on his life jacket.



What kid doesn't like to spend the week with grandparents that spoil him?



Uncle James enjoying "happy hour" also known as the good mood Dillon is in after eating.



Lock up your daughters.



Uncle James isn't quite as hip as Dillon.



Floating with Grandpa.



Seeing the sights.



Finally, proof Otis can swim though not very well.

To Bumpass Hell and Back

It was a good vacation, while it lasted. Now that I am back to the grind, I thought I would reflect a little on the previous week.



We arrived at our cabin, located in a nice country club, Saturday afternoon. The cabin had been pitched to us as a spacious house with a beautiful lake view and hot tub. Well, the hot tub didn't disappoint. The only thing spacious about the house was the basement, don't even ask me about the smallness of the kitchen. The lake view turned out to be a tiny sliver that could barely be seen through the trees. But we made the best of our situation throughout the week.



On Monday we rented a ski boat for half the day. James and I had some vicious tube wars, with James (a tube war veteran) being the victor the majority of the time. We even got Christina and Michelle to get on the inner tubes. Of course, they didn't trust James or I to be the driver because they were afraid of being thrown off. Party poopers.



The nights were spent playing Uno, holding Dillon, and spending time in the basement around the ping pong table. Michelle and Christina loved playing Uno. I did learn how to play Speed Uno, which makes the game much more enjoyable.



As for Dillon, he was very good. Before we left he had been sleeping through the night (which is a big deal for all you non-parents out there) but the disruption caused him to wake up at 4:30 every morning. Other than that Dillon did exceptionally well. Of course, Aunt Michelle and Grandma loved holding him.



Poor James. He tries so hard but he just can't beat me in table tennis. My ping pong skills are no match for mere mortals. James now knows how Ray Barone feels after playing Frank in ping pong.



We ended our vacation with a trip to Lassen National Park. We hiked into Bumpass Hell, which is a nice three mile round trip. (Before last year, Bumpass Hell would be the funniest name in Lassen National Park, but now Brokeoff Mountain takes the prize.) The picture below shows how close we could get to the scolding hot water. What the picture can't portray is the awful sulfuric stench emanating from the ground. The sights and sounds were breathtaking, figuratively and literally.

Vacation

Christina, Dillon, and I will be leaving tomorrow to go on vacation. We will be going to Lake Almanor with Mike, Ginni, Michelle and James. Going on vacation means disconnecting from the world, in other words no internet access. I will give you a few things to do to keep you busy while you eagerly await my next post.

Play games. This website is free to play and is run by one of James's groomsman.

Watch a TV show on DVD. The Simpsons and Seinfeld are always good bets but try out Six Feet Under. It truly is a great show with good character development. And for once the series finale episode is not a disappointment.

Watch the real life version of Grandpa Simpson.

Read a book. Actually it is the book I am reading on vacation.

Listen to a CD.

Enjoy the Dodgers sweeping the Giants again.

Finally, read through the archives on the side bar.

Got Milk (Review)?

As an avid shopper at Amazon.com, I often depend on reviews to make decisions to buy or not to buy products. Thankfully, I am now able to make an educated choice on my purchase of milk.

Apparently, a couple of guys with a website decided to start posting humorous comments on Amazon.com about Tuscan milk. Last Friday, the blog Boing Boing picked up on it and a new Internet phenomenon was born.

One of my favorites: "Unfortunately, after a terrible night's sleep, I have concluded that this product is not suitable for use a pillow."

And some soundly baseball advice: "One word of caution, Milk, even when frozen into a baseball-bat shape is nigh worthless as a baseball bat, merely shattering into cloudy fragments at the first strike of a baseball. And if one of said fragments happens to strike/splash (if it's a hot day) the umpire, be prepared to face his wrath. If not in that inning, then in a subsequent inning (especially on hot, humid days), after the milk has curdled and started to emit that gorge-raising stench."

(Via The New York Times)

Two months and counting

Tomorrow Dillon will be two months old. It seems like he was just born yesterday. (Soon I will be saying the same thing at his high school graduation.) Today, Dillon was scheduled for his two month checkup.

He weighed in at 11 pounds and measured 23.5 inches long. For all of you that don't have children, the two month visit is the one where they start their shots. This means that you have a fussy baby for the rest of the day.

I never understood the parents (mostly mothers) who cried when their babies got shots. Watching Dillon being poked with a needle was no big deal to me. Maybe I am just a cyborg lacking emotions, but it really was uneventful.

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Here are some pictures that I tried to post last night but was unable to due to some technical difficulties with Blogger.



Here is the little guy happy after his bath.



Obviously we have the smartest kid ever because he can play hide-and-seek at only 8 weeks old.



Christina, Dillon, Kristin, and Trevin in downtown Sonora.

The Woods came to visit us two weekends ago. Trevin is five months old and is a very happy (and chubby) baby. Christina hopes that Dillon puts on as much weight as Trevin because she has always had a thing for chubby babies.

Congrats

I'd like to welcome my newest cousin, Vonne, to this world. She was born this afternoon in Georgia and I am sure she is just as cute as her older brother.

Random Links - Lunchtime edition

I'll wet your appetite with a sport that I can do at home. All I need now is a laser pointer.

The main dish is a Stephen Colbert clip for all you Wikipedia lovers, namely Adam. What I love about The Colbert Report is Stephen's ability to deliver the comedy/satire in a manner that is funny to both Republicans and Democrats. (Via Monkey Bites .)


For dessert, here are some states that you should refuse to acknowledge as Midwestern and Arrested Development lives on... in syndication.