Little Miss

Did you know that my favorite color is pink?

Color coordinators may try to match the colors that go with your skin tones, but they have it all wrong.

You need to coordinate your fashion colors to the "specific activity" that you are involved in.

As an example, Neutral colors are pretty good if you happen to be holding a baby that burps on you.

And of course, Earth colors are a necessity for changing a diaper. Trust me on this one!

Most importantly, Whites are not allowed to be worn until a child has become a teenager.

Ahh, see all the new things that I am learning!!

No Scotch

How much do we learn from the "big" kids? None of the big kids walked around. Every one stops at the top and quickly hops through.

They were not aware that they were being carefully watched and studied, by a very observant Ethan.

When the big kids had finished, he ran over and repeated everything they did.

I was amazed! It reminded me that "little eyes" are observing everything around them. We may never be fully aware of the impact that our actions have upon others. But it was a reminder that others look to us as examples and of the impact we have upon them.

Why We Wear Pants

Every part of the Navy uniform has a functional aspect to it. The pants can be tied at the ends and when they are wet, the wet fibers can retain air and help you stay afloat.

I did not know that the pants of a two year old were designed with the functionality to assist them in sliding down hills.

Are hills obstacles to climb up? Or are they sources of recreation to slide down? For a two year old there are no obstacles!

Repairing A Sink Hole

Crews from the city and the electric company arrived to assess the sink hole problem.

The hole was very deep and wide. The driver was very fortunate that the surface asphalt was strong enough to prevent more of her car from falling through.

Elderly drivers get blamed for everything, even for creating holes in the road!

Sink Hole

Earlier this week, the electric company NSTAR, was working on this street. Only not in this exact spot. Where they had worked was 15 yards further ahead. They had dug up the street and then repaved it.

Then today, an elderly woman was driving and the pavement gave way and part of her car fell through. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time! And now her car won't start!

I told her that the City will probably sue her for creating a hole in the road. She thought that would probably happen.

The Painter

The master painter has his palette of water base colors, his water dish and of course, a cookie.

If I remember correctly, I think Monet always had a chocolate chip cookie when he painted!

The Painter is changing and growing. I have a Blog Posting of him painting on March 22. At that point, he was holding the brush in his hand. Now he is holding the brush between his fingers. So much progress in so little time.

The Entrepreneur

What do you do if you are sitting for two hours in a train that isn't moving?

If you are this young man, you sneak off and go to a convenience store.

Then you buy 20 ice cream sandwiches and return to the train and sell them for $2 each to all of the hungry passengers.

Only on the commuter train folks!!

Tree Down on Track

Here I sit. There was a thunder storm and a large tree fell down on the tracks and is leaning against power lines.

It also appears that the mbta that operates the track will have to remove the tree and not the town. How do you say "collaboration"?

There is a real sad story here. My train was already 9 minutes late. It is an express. A guy got on thinking it was a local train. They never announced that it was an express train until the train was moving.

He can see his car from where we are sitting. We have been told not to leave the train. He has to go to the end if the line and then return.

They have sharpshooters!!

Sharing

We have experts that try to explain our social behavior and interaction with others. There are explanations for our human development and the psychology of our personality.

But I haven't seen the chapter that explains behavior that is motivated out of love and kindness for others.

Ethan is sharing some of his cookie with Buddy, who is watching Ethan paint.

I am learning so much from a little boy!

The Great Outdoors

The man of fashion and style will not allow the great outdoors to compromise his fashion sense.

Even inside a tent, there could be hidden paparazzi. He saw me and put the shades on.

This could be a new fashion trend for how to put shades on.

Put up your hands, stick out your elbows. Push out your tush and smile for the camera.

Lord of the Rings

What is the closest you have ever come to a World Series Ring? How about a Boston Red Sox World Series Ring? If you lived before World War I, then it wouldn't be so rare, but after then, forget about it!

The Red Sox had to wait 86 miserable years, until they won the World Series in 2004! But when they won, they celebrated in style.

The Red Sox Management, gave World Series Rings of 2004 not only to the players, but also to players of days gone by and also to individuals who had been with the organization many years. Our tour guide was one of the recipients of the Boston Red Sox 2004 World Series Ring.

Such a ring is quite rare and is priceless, but a Yankees World Series ring is fairly common and quite honestly, isn't worth as much.

I Can Be Centerfield

It was a great day to be in Fenway Park. Walking through Fenway is to walk with the legends of the game that have played right here in this stadium. They have all passed through here. Played here, and have left a part of themselves behind in this stadium, forever. The stories about their feats and accomplishments will forever be told by tour guides.

If you want to become immortal, all you have to do, is to become a sports legend in Boston. It is no secret that Bostonians worship their sports heroes.

The Not So Splendid Splinter

The Boston Red Sox play in Fenway Park, the oldest baseball stadium in the country. The seats in this particular section were installed in 1934. Because of their narrow width, there are more of these seats in a row, which result in more people per row and more revenue. These seats have never been upgraded, since they were installed in 1934.

If you sit in these seats you can't cross your legs without kicking the person in front of you. There may be a good chance that these are the same narrow seat designs that are used by the airline industry.

Ted Williams may have been known as the "Splendid Splinter", but these wooden seats are sure to give you a splinter.

Letting Go

Grampy did it! He jumped in and got wet. Ethan wouldn't go in the water. So Grampy jumped in, with his watch, wallet, shoes, socks and pants. It didn't matter, they could all dry out later, but this special moment could not be replaced.

And yes, that kid did throw the pail of water at me. And yes, the other kids had great fun shooting me with the water cannon. Just like being on the practice range when you try to hit the tractor that is scooping up the golf balls. They deliberately hit me and then politely said, "I'm sorry". And I didn't care! I just smiled because I knew that I would have done the same.

Letting go isn't easy...But I am learning!

My Little Chick A Dee

Darcy has this neat infant carrier that she is able to strap on. I bet any mother can beat any man in arm wrestling, there is just so much muscle strength from lifting up kids, carrying kids on your hip, back, shoulder, or chest.

The last time we were here, these chicks were still in their egg shells and were in an incubator. Now they have hatched and Janelle is fascinated with their fuzzy little feathers and their little "cheap", "cheap" sounds that they make. I did take it personally, I thought they were calling me cheap!

There may also have been some bonding with all of this Chick power.

Catch Me

The Davis Farm also has a splash park. What better way to cool off! Everyone is safe, in this water environment. Ethan had fun trying to find where the water would shoot up from or using the water cannons that they had. They have an entire water park play ground, that is really neat!

I think Jonathan might be having just as much fun as Ethan!

NASCAR

Ethan ran to the car and jumped in, just like a real race car driver.

Driving is so much a part of our culture and society that a two year old can drive before he can ride a bike.

All Eyes

Eric went to Davis Farm to see the farm animals. It is one thing to play with stuffed animals, but it is totally awesome to see real farm animals that you can interact with.

He was so excited that he dropped his "Binky"! While Eric watched the animals, Grampy was busy cleaning the "Binky".

Mr Blue Eyes was very busy watching all of the animals!

37 Years

A lot has happened since June 12, 1971! From the Great Lakes Naval Station to Clinton, Massachusetts. We have traveled the road together. I have come to learn that life is about sharing time and giving of time to others. I have been fortunate to be able to share my life with Faith.

I Love Lucy

Remember that episode where Lucy and Ethel are squashing grapes? Ethan and Aunt Debbie were having fun splashing in the cold pool water.

Ethan had so much fun that he took off his trunks and streaked around the yard and ran thru the pool screaming.

Eric was wishing he could run with Ethan and Grampy was wishing he was a kid.

Water Brigade

What do you do while waiting for the cold pool water to warm up? Scientific studies have shown that lowering the water level will allow the water to heat up faster.

I hope that is why Ethan is quickly removing the water that Grampy has just put in.

Eric is wondering why there is less water for him to play in.

Babes

Apparently, the park is the place to meet babes!!

Isn't this a cool see-saw?? Ethan met this little girl at the park and they had fun together.

But something new happened at the park. She told Ethan what to do! Ethan didn't know what to make of this, so he stopped and looked up to me for guidance.

I told him to get used to it, that he needs to learn to do whatever a woman tells him to do.

He didn't say a thing, but he had an expression of understanding.

Ladder of Success

Ethan successfully climbed the ladder and slid down the slide. He then did some rock climbing and swinging.

He's able to analyze problems and figure out solutions, which is very depressing.

So it was comforting when he went to cross swinging steps that he looked at the problem and then turned to me and said "Grampy".

Of course I let him hold on to my shoulder as he crossed the swinging steps!

Ice Cream

Eric discovers ice cream and finds that he likes it!! He couldn"t take his eyes off of the ice cream!

When he tasted it, he was all smiles!

The real reason that children put everything they touch into their mouths, is that they are hoping that this object will be the one that is ice cream.

Idle Threat

If you can read this sign, then you will have idled in excess of five minutes.

If you have to wait more than five minutes, can you say the excess time is due to an unforseeable period of time?

Of course this sign in nowhere near where people wait to pick up passengers.

Who has the time to stop and smell the roses when you have to stop and read so many signs.

Creative Parking

In the urban jungle you have to have the ability to adapt in order to survive. So, where do you park if you don't have a sticker? The creative commuter just parks wherever they want!

They know that they are concealed from the predators that roam the area looking to issue citations. And if the predators do catch them they are clever enough to escape their traps.

No sticker...No problem!

Fort McClary

This fort is in Kittery, Maine. It was designed to protect the coastline. When construction began on the fort it was already obsolete by military standards of the day. The turret style wooden gun house couldn't stand up to cannon balls. When the futility of the fort was finally recognized by the government, they stopped all funding. The quarry stonemasons not being paid, then walked off the job. this was about 1848. Consequently, there are tons of cut granite lying scattered all around the fort.

The fort is now the property of the state of Maine and it is a park. In the midst of all the private ocean front property, there is this beautiful park!

We were able to spend peaceful time watching the sailboats, blinking lighthouses and the ocean.

Two Balls, A Boy And A Dog

Ethan has been able to throw a ball for some time. But now he is able to throw it where he wants it to go. He throws one ball and as Buddy is bringing it back, he throws another one. Buddy drops one to go get the other.

Ethan is wiser than me. I did this with Buddy using tennis balls, but Buddy can hold 3 tennis balls in his mouth.

I hope Ethan can teach me how to make a golf ball go where I want it to go!!