Hole in 1!

We took Owen to play mini-golf this morning. It was his first time and would you believe he got a hole-in-one on the first hole? Needless to say, he enjoyed the outing and wants to go again soon!

See Grandpa? There's still hope!

Breakfast with Sea T

Whit got to sleep in a little this morning, so Owen and I had breakfast with Sea T while he played on his Pooh computer. He was very concerned about whether it was September, or still August.

Last day of soccer

It was a good week at soccer (or as I like to call it, "everybody crowd around the ball and try to kick it"), thanks again to Coach Steve. I think he will remain interested in playing but we will have to wait and see.

Yes, that's a real lion!

Visit to the Syracuse Zoo today with Owen's pal Sammy. The lion was sitting right next to the glass, so Owen got an up-close look at her!

Soccer

Whit has signed Owen up for several camps this summer and soccer camp is the final one. It's only an hour a day, from 11-12 this week. Coach Steve and Coach Zach are leading this one too and Owen seems pretty interested in soccer. When I got home last night he wanted to show me his new ball and play. We took out his little orange cones and made an obstacle course, dribbling through the cones for at least 10 mins. That's a record for him. Now if I can just get him to stop picking the ball up in his hands we'll be in business...

Turtle Friend

We went kayaking on Boughton Pond this morning. It was a beautiful, quiet paddle and we spotted a painted turtle sunning itself on a log. We quietly glided up to it, inching closer and closer and expecting him to slide into the water at any moment. Owen was so quiet and we moved so slowly (and the turtle was so brave) that we were able to come within a foot of it! We could see its green, yellow and red markings, see it breathing in and out before it plunked into the pond. It bobbed up to look at us a few times before we paddled away. Owen named it Rhino Turtle.

"Mummies"

Owen is really interested in planing things, which is great. I'm excited about this since it's something we can all do together. Of course, there are some drawbacks, like everything takes twice as long with Owen helping. (Owen wait, that's not a weed!)

I can remember tending the garden with my Mom when I was a kid. I don't think I enjoyed it at the time but I definitely look back fondly on it now. I do remember that I loved apple and berry picking (more eating than picking I'm sure). So I'm always trying to get Owen interested in those activities too.

Anyway, he was planting mums with Whit (whom he calls "Mummy") and was very excited about the whole production. When they finished he said, "Can we go get some more mummies so I can plant them?" Very cute.

T-Ball

Owen had T-ball camp with Coach Steve last week. He learned to run the bases, throw the ball, swing a bat (sort of) and generally had fun. Hard to believe that he could stay interested in something for an entire hour for five days straight, but Coach Steve has the patience of a saint and an amazing knack for holding the attention of four year olds...

Visiting Uncle Jeff

Here is Uncle Jeff's beautiful new house!

Wild Animal!

A visit to the zoo today. Note the bandaid on his forehead.

Rhino's Birthday

Yesterday was Wenkinz Rhino's birthday. I know this because I had to wait until he unwrapped all his presents before bath time last night. The presents were random Legos from a bucket. I asked how we knew it was Rhino's birthday and he tells me, "Because Rhino told me."  Silly me.

Dancing

I get a real kick out of Owen's dancing. Yesterday he and Whit had lunch at Great Northern. He likes to sit outside where there's a speaker so he can hear the music. In the middle of lunch he gets up and starts swinging his hips, smiling that sly smile and laughing the whole time. It's hysterical - I'll try to get some video soon.

August Vacation

Here are some photos from our August trip to NH, Maine and Boston. We stopped in Keene, NH to visit our friends Chris, Jeanine, Claire and Natalie.

Then a quick stop in Freeport on the way to Blue Hill. The weather was terrific all week.

We got to test out Nana and Grampy's new boat and took advantage of an amazingly clear day for a visit to the top of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge.

On the way home we stopped at LL Bean again to see the Big Boot and have some lunch. We spent the night in Medway, MA and got to see Uncle Jeff's new house. Jeff and Brie kindly watched Owen that night so Whit and I could go to the Sox game. It was a 12 inning win for the Sox, and we actually got to see Jackie and Adrianne there too.

Overall, quite a trip and a nice way to wind-down the summer. School starts soon!

Uncle Rodney

Whit was away last weekend with her Mum, so Owen and I had some time to ourselves. We went kayaking in our new kayak and saw some trout and a blue herron. Saturday afternoon we went to the waterpark, even though it was pretty cold (Owen didn't mind).

When we got home there was a message from Uncle Rod asking if he could fly up for a visit on Sunday! Owen is very fond of my cousin Brian, so we invited him to come along and visit the waterpark too. After a picnic at the lake we went to the waterpark to cool off. Brian was great with Owen, letting him choose the activities. Owen and I did OK, but Brian definitely won the water balloon war!

Welcome

Hi All,

Welcome to the inaugural blog post for Owen's new blog. We'll be posting photos, videos and general musings on Owen's activities so you can keep up with what's going on in his world. Enjoy!