Cape Cod

We've enjoyed 3 beautiful days in Cape Cod so far and are ready for a full week of fun, sun, and tons of ice cream. Katie likes the sand and the water but doesn't like the cool wind so much. With the skies mostly overcast and the temperatures around 70 degrees, we haven't had to use her shade tent much. She doesn't really like to be isolated in there anyway when there are so many people that could be playing with her instead. She's really been able to improve her skills with rolling while she's here. We'll put her on the carpet and watch her roll across the room. She's going to be a terror in our living room when we return.

Our trip got off to a late start. My last day of work ended later than I had hoped and then we got stuck in traffic on I-66 on the way to the farm to drop off Rusty. Most of the traffic was for a concert at Nissan Pavilion. We played Guess-the-Concert based on what the other drivers looked like. I guessed Poison but it was Def Leppard. I think I should get partial credit. We didn't start heading north until 9pm. We were making such good time and our little princess was sound asleep so we kept driving. We arrived in Naugatuck at 4:30am. I went right to sleep but unfortunately Katie was wide awake so Nancy stayed up with her. Luckily Nancy got some sleep when we resumed our trip to the Cape a few hours later. Sue and her mom were waiting for us when we arrived. We had a nice dinner at the Wee Packet and then went to bed early.

So far we've mostly hung out at the beach and in the room. The temperature hasn't gotten above 75 degrees and it's been very windy. As odd as it is to put on a sweatshirt to go to the beach, it's very refreshing... especially after suffocating in the swamp-like DC heat and humidity for the last few weeks.

Sara and her boys arrived on Monday. We spent the day eating Pringles and daring each other to go in to the water. We finally did but it took a lot of coaxing. The boys and I threw the football on the beach and practiced our spectacular diving catches. It's all fun and games until you have to wash the sand out of your hair.

Here are some photos of our vacation so far. Enjoy! I'll try to post more photos later in the week.

Flash Slideshow

New Career

Last week I resigned from the Washington Post so that I can join the local consulting firm Definitive Logic as a Systems Architect. The new job opens up a lot of new opportunities for me including doing data analysis, data mining, and Six Sigma consulting. I'm very excited about it but it's sad to leave.

I enjoyed my five years at the Post as a developer, manager, Celebritology contributor, and sports contests developer but it was time to move on. I'm not moving far though. Definitive Logic is located across the street from the Post. My first project will be for FEMA in Crystal City, which is very close to our house. My 5 mile commute to the Post will be cut in half! I can even dust off my bike and ride into work some days.

I'll miss the fun times I had at the Post but I certainly won't miss being on-call. It'll be nice to not get woken up at 3am or interrupted when we're enjoying a night out. Nancy's happy about that too. I also won't miss the never-ending sense of urgency that comes with working for a major 24/7 news site. My new schedule will be a lot more regular (i.e. 9-5) which will be nice, especially as Katie gets older. I'm just not sure I'll be able to wake up so early every day though!

I realized I was getting older (and wiser) when I had an extended discussion with Definitive Logic over their health benefits. I wanted to know exactly what they were, who they were with, how much it cost, etc...etc... That's a far cry from my first job when I blindly signed up with the cheapest HMO option without giving it a second thought.

My last day at the Post is Friday and then we pack up the car and head for Cape Cod! We'll stop for the night at the Butler B&B in Naugatuck and then arrive at the Cape on Saturday. We'll get back in DC the following Sunday. It's going to be very busy when we get back. I have a hockey game on Sunday night (a few hours after we return), then my first day at work on Monday, and then another hockey game on Monday night. I'll need another vacation by Tuesday!

Unfortunately, we can't take Rusty with us to the Cape but he'll get an exciting week at the farm with his cousins, Chloe and Clyde, and his Uncle John. But Nancy's sisters, her mom, and her nephews are all going to the Cape so it should be a lot of fun. I need to quickly try to get in shape this week to keep up with the nephews.

I probably won't have internet access while we're away but I'll post all the photos and videos when we return. Ciao!

National Night Out

Katie and Jack, originally uploaded from flickr.com.

On Tuesday we walked down to Del Ray to enjoy the National Night Out festivities. There were hot dogs, hamburgers, popcorn, bands, water balloon tosses, and lots and lots of kids. Katie met her neighbor Jack and his parents Mike and Jen. They have a great blog with lots of amusing updates. We hadn't seen them since Katie was born so it was good to see them again.

Katie also saw several neighbors including James and Darcy and their 2 daughters, Liz Lucchesi and her family, and Jeff and Kathleen and their cute daughter Ellie who was born on 7/7/07.

It was a lot of fun but very, very hot. After walking up the big hill to get home, we were exhausted.

On Thursday we had some excitement in the neighborhood when there was a small kitchen fire across the street from us. Three firetrucks showed up and quickly took care of it. The best part was seeing our neighbor Cooper get all excited and wave to the firetrucks. They made his day by giving him a cute red plastic firefighter helmet. The next day we found out it doubles as a big-wheel helmet.

Katie Hill

Watch Katie's first five months in less than three minutes.

Dinner at Bugsy's

Dinner at Bugsy's, originally uploaded from flickr.

Sophie, Cooper, and Katie enjoyed a fun dinner at Bugsy's in Old Town. The rest of us tagged along to make sure they behaved themselves.

Katie's Rockin' World

Here's some new footage of Katie being silly this week. You can see her newest trick -- rolling over from her stomach to her back. It's not the most graceful maneuver in the world but it's a big step. In the video she also tries to befriend Rusty (much to his dismay) and sticks her foot in her mouth (much to her mom's dismay). The music is by the late great Joe Strummer. Some parts of the video have been drastically sped up to match the music but it may make her look like she's had too much sugar.

Twenty Things I've Learned in 3 Years of Marriage

20. We have 2 different sizes of forks. I never realized that until last week.
19. Not all bath towels are created equal. Some are only for hair.
18. I "put things up" even if they're going down.
17. When you go to the basement, you go "down cellar."
16. I snore. Supposedly.
15. There are a lot more varieties of flowers in the world than roses and dandelions.
14. There is no such thing as room temperature. It's different for everyone.
13. Mosquitoes love me more than Nancy.
12. There's no such thing as yellow paint. Instead, there are 2,921,253 varieties of yellow.
11. I'm woefully ill-equipped to pick out kitchen cabinets.
10. Clutter is in the eye of the beholder.
9. Gardening is hard and expensive.
8. To prevent embarrassing grooves, don't sit in the same spot every time on the couch.
7. Dog pee kills grass and flowers.
6. Corn, peas, and carrots aren't the only vegetables. There's stuff called asparagus, brussel sprouts, and squash.
5. There's a food called "fluff".
4. Some deprived people grew up without Chick-Fil-A, Krispy Kreme, and Waffle House.
3. Despite the bumper stickers that say otherwise, there's no such thing as the Cape Cod Tunnel.
2. Beware of nephews who innocently ask, "Which side were the good guys in the Civil War?"
1. If it weren't for Naugatuck, CT, we wouldn't have Naugahide, vulcanized rubber, or Nancy.