Christmas Break Sledding

After the big blizzard of '09, the boys headed over to the hill behind Old Bridge Elementary, where they go to school, for sledding:

William catches some air.

William gets ready for another run.

From right: William, Myles, Max and their good friend, Noah.

Max catches some air.

Max hits the hill.

Myles -- Mr. Nonchalant. "Look, Ma! No hands!"

Myles "chills" out on the snow after a morning full of sledding.

Myles at it again.

The Boys and the Blizzard of '09

Max, Myles and William couldn't wait to get outside in the snow:

The Blizzard of '09

Wow! More than 17" of snow around here in the Lake Ridge area of Prince William County, Va. Myles and I jumped into the Jeep and headed out to see what we could see:

"Bat Cave Road" (also known as Tanyard Hill Road, which leads into Occoquan.

Along the Occoquan River.

As you can tell from the snow on the ducks' backs, it was coming down pretty heavy.

Wizards vs. Bucks, Dec. 2

Senator Kohl of Wisconsin was kind enough to pass along some tickets to the Wizards-Bucks game tonight. Great seats, fun game and a wonderful time. We started off with dinner at the Monocle restaurant on Capital Hill, then walked over to Union Station to take the Metro over to Verizon Center. The boys really got into the game:

It's a Wizard 101 thing ... an online game the boys play. They noticed the score and made me take a photo of it.

The Wizards won, 104-102. The Bucks tied it up with 10 seconds to go on a 3-pointer at 102-102, but the Wizards got the ball to Boykins on the inbound, who drove to the basket, went up for a shot and got fouled, then sank both of his free throws to win the game.

First Snow of the Season

William tries to build his first snowman of the season.

William watches the flakes drift down ...

Max packs a snowball and takes aim.

A frosty Thomas wants to join in on the fun. 

Some pretty maple leaves in the snow.

Christmas Eve, 2008

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads ...

Myles and His Cub Scout Trip

Both Max and Myles have joined the Cub Scouts, and yesterday, Saturday, April 19, Myles' Den visited a local TV station -- WRC Channel 4, an NBC affiliate in Northwest D.C.


Myles and his Den got a tour of the facility, and the weather man for the station came out to talk to the boys and explain the weather forecasting.


While he was there, he saw himself on the monitor as he passed the spot in the newsroom where the station does its newsroom updates. While he was sitting the chair, he heard a voice come over the system, which said, "Hey ... will the reporter with the yellow shirt who was just on camera come back to the news anchor chair." Which Myles did.


"Show me how old you are with your fingers," said the voice. Myles held up 6 fingers. "You qualify!" said the voice. "You're hired. Please report to personnel and fill out the paperwork. You may begin immediately." Which got a big smile from both Myles and dad.


The boys had a great time, and visited the control room during the live broadcast. The director spoke to Myles and explained how she directed the live show.


We also went into the studio to watch the newscast. The anchors were very gracious and the boys had a blast. After the trip, Myles was starving, and we stopped into Georgetown for a bite to eat.


Myles checked out the menu from the street at Nathans (he had no idea this was mom's hangout in her younger years) and we went in to grab some lunch. Myles saw the bar and the stools and went straight for them, insisting we sit there to eat. Hmmm ... We had a good lunch -- Myles had a burger and fries (and quite a few muffins as a pre-meal appetizer). A fun trip!

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