Thar she blows!

On Wednesday I celebrated my birthday by going whale watching at Cape Cod with my parents and Katie. We hopped on a boat near Barnstable, rode for about an hour, and then saw lots o' whales! They were all over the place and swam all around the boat. It was a really cool experience and something I think we'll all remember for a long time.

They were easy to spot because they would blow air/water into the air and then dive down with their tales in the air. Most of the whales we saw were humpbacks. My mom was lucky enough to see a whale breach (jump out of the water). Some whales would briefly swim along the surface, scooping up fish along the way.

The whole process was fascinating. The whales would start by making bubbles below the surface to scare and trap the fish. That would turn the sea water a light green color so you could tell where the whales were about to pounce. The birds knew what the bubbles were for too and would flock to the area for leftovers. Somehow the fish are the only ones that didn't know what was about to happen. Maybe it's better that way.

The whales eat at Cape Cod and then go to the Caribbean to breed. Sounds like a Jimmy Buffet song.

During the trip, a naturalist would talk over the intercom and pass on interesting info. She was able to identify the whales by the markings on their dorsal fin. Each whale has a unique marking and they've been cataloging them for 35 years. In fact, the first whale they cataloged made an appearance. His name is Salt and he was first identified in 1976.

Here's a video of some of the highlights of our trip.



Katie waits for a whale.


Katie with my parents during a short lull in the action.


My Dad snaps a whale of a photo.


A nice whale tail.


A whale swims along with his mouth open.

Peter's Baptism

Last weekend Peter was baptized on Cape Cod. We were lucky enough to have his grandparents there and his godparents, Sara and Paul. His Aunt Sue, cousin Theo, and sister Katie were also there. He was baptized in the same gown that his mother, aunts, and grandmother wore.

The mass before the baptism was all about St. Peter, which seemed appropriate. Our Peter did great during the baptism and didn't cry. Then we all went and had a great lunch at Chapin's to celebrate. We were very glad that we could share this experience with our family but sorry we couldn't share it with more of you.

More photos are here.

Fair Weather

So far in August Katie and Peter have gone to the National Night Out cookout in our neighborhood, the Arlington County Fair, and the Calder Exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery.

The Arlington County Fair was a lot of fun especially because it was nearby (10 minutes away) and small enough that we could go through it with Katie without it taking all day or costing a small fortune. We went on a Thursday night and then went again the next day for a long lunch.

Katie had a great time and surprised us by wanting to ride things by herself, which was fine with me because it's hard for me to fit in some of those rides. According to the "you must be this tall" rulers, she's 43 inches tall. Most rides required her to be 42 inches tall, so she barely made it (good thing she didn't get her hair cut that week).

She started by riding the kiddy roller coaster, rode a spinny thing with her Dad, rode on a swing thing, played some games with her Mom, drove a Jeep, and rode a spinning teacup ride. And then, for her grand finale, she did some sort of bungee-cord trampoline thing that let her jump way up in the air. We couldn't believe she wasn't freaked out by it. Or maybe she was and it will come out in counseling later. Then we watched some pigs race and called it a day. Oh, we also stuffed our faces with pizza, hot dogs, cotton candy, and other goodies.

Photos and videos are below. More photos are here.


Peter likes the police motorcycle at the National Night Out. Katie didn't want to go anywhere near it.


Katie played hopscotch.


And then did a balloon toss with her Mom.


Peter plays his favorite game -- Grab Anything on Katie's Face.


Cuddling on the couch.


One day Katie insisted on finding and wearing her old Halloween costume. It was way too small and she couldn't even lift her head all the way, but she insisted on wearing it anyway. Here she is when it fit a little better, 3 years ago.


Katie took this picture and even managed to get Rusty in the photo.


Katie used chopsticks with her Chinese food by holding them together with a fork but letting the fork do all the work.


Peter is excited to go to his first county fair.


Katie surprised us by riding the roller coaster by herself.


But she saved the spinny-ride for her Dad.


Katie loves to swing but this one was a little different than the one on the playground.


Katie and her Mom try their luck.


Katie got to pick out her prize. She wanted a necklace but I pointed out the toy trumpet that looked like more fun. She agreed. It took only one loud toot and a look from Nancy to realize that I made a big mistake.


Katie and her bear Abby at the fair.


Katie spins in the teacup.


Katie and her Jeep.


I don't think this is how you're supposed to do it.


Video of Katie on the Bungee-jump thing.


Katie on the spinning teacups.


Pig races at the Arlington County Fair. The 3rd race featured a water obstacle but unfortunately I had stopped filming by that point.

Skatie Redux

Katie has come a long way since her first time ice skating 2.5 years ago (watch it here). She's been taking lessons at Kettler Iceplex and is doing great. She started off with learning how to fall correctly (and get up) and has progressed quickly through marching, gliding, flamingo (one-leg), backwards marching, hopping, swizzles, and rocking-horse (going forwards and then backwards). We're amazed at how well she's doing. She gets more and more comfortable on the ice every time. She said her goal is to be able to skate so fast that her cousins will say, "Was that a rocket ship that zoomed by?" and we'll say, "No! That was Katie!"

Last Saturday we went to the rink for "Recess at the Rink". They have lots of activities for kids including soft hockey pucks and buckets for riding on and pushing (which helps with balance). Katie was interested in skating with her Dad, sitting on the bucket while being pushed, and pushing the bucket herself.

Here's a video of her skating while pushing the bucket for balance. She picked out the music in the video herself ("Mazurka" from Swan Lake).