Benjamin Update

Benjamin was sick this past week. His temperature fluctuated between 99-102.5 and as a result we kept him home Monday thru Thursday. His fever broke Wednesday and as per daycare rules, he was fever free for 24 hours (Thursday) and went back to school Friday. Here he is yesterday catching up on his zzzzzz!

Despite this, we're enjoying the Summer.

Benjamin at a party

Benjamin was invited to a classmate's party today at a bounce place called Pump It Up. It is similar to where we had his third birthday party last October. While I took over 100 pictures of him and his friends, this one is my favorite. Love the smile. He's really enjoying himself.

It's tough taking pics at a kid's party where the main activities are run, jump and bounce but I got a few good ones and plan to put them on a disc for Benjamin's classmate to enjoy.

1969 Revisited

More summer reading about the year 1969.



President John F. Kennedy, addressing Congress on May 25, 1961 said "I believe that this nation, should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth."

On July 20, 1969, the goal was accomplished as Neil Armstrong was the first to set foot on the moon. This book is an account of that achievement. I wasn't even eight years old in 1969 but I remember sitting in our living room with the TV on watching the moon landing. Hard to believe it has been forty years have passed.

I also picked up another book about the 1969 Washington Senators. The expansion Washington Senators had never won more than 76 games in a season. They had a new owner in Bob Short and he did the impossible. He hired Hall of Famer Ted Williams to manage the team. Williams managed the Senators to their only winning record since 1952. This book recounts that 1969 season in-depth.



As I said in an earlier post about about another Senators book I picked up, I remember the trips to RFK Stadium but the games are a blur and this is a way to relive this.

Looking forward to reading these when we head to the beach.

4th of July Holiday Action

Mini golf, a parade and a back yard barbeque, Benjamin sure enjoyed his 4th of July weekend.

I'm Going To Miss This Guy

Sadly Billy Mays died yesterday.

I usually get up around 6:30 AM daily. As I'm getting dressed with the news on in the background, the first of many Billy Mays product pitch ads I'd see during my day would come on. For some reason I never really got tired of him. Maybe it was the voice. Maybe it was the great beard he had. I'd watch and yeah I'd always wonder to myself: Can it really do all that? I never found out as I'm not one to order stuff off TV. I'm more of an Amazon.com and MLB.com guy.

In the evening as we're unwinding I'd watch a little TV with Benjamin on PBS Kids Sprout or Noggin and bam, there's Billy Mays. I'd watch a ball game later, there's Billy again.

He was just 50 years old. Mr. Yell and Sell as he was often called was probably one of the greatest TV pitchmen ever.

My favorite was the office ad for ESPN360.com


For more on Billy Mays, go here

Hello, I Guess Its Been Awhile

Been awhile since the last post. Since then I had a nice Father's Day with Benjamin.

Took in a Nats-Red Sox game from Nats Park, renamed Fenway South for this series as I'd say 70 percent of the almost 42,000 fans there each night were Red Sox fans.

I got there early and took some batting and fielding practice pics. The Nats were finishing up and the place erupted when the Red Sox came out. I had tickets in section 308 but didn't like the wire that holds up the screen behind home plate obstructing my view so I moved to some empty seats in section 128 for half the game. Enjoy the shots.












Pitcher Jordan Zimmermann drops the bunt.


John Smoltz making his Boston debut. He's become one of my favorite ball players over the years. He's a hell of a pitcher and a scratch golfer who plays and bets with Tiger Woods a lot. He's shared his golf stories on various radio shows and if I could hang out with one baseball player for a day he's probably it right now though my golf game is awful.


Nats rookie Jordan Zimmermann, 7 IP 5 hits, a run, 6 strike outs. Nice!


I really like this shot.


Ryan Zimmerman


Too bad Dukes didn't make contact here. It would have been a cool pic if he had.


Fun game. If you click and enlarge the pic, you'll see the Battle of the Bard's. I think that was a nickname for Shakespeare.


This was for a long time family friend Tom K who passed away at the end of last year. He loved the Red Sox so I thought I'd honor him. Over the year's we would talk baseball and discuss the Orioles and Red Sox. One of my favorite stories of him was on my wedding day, September 7, 2002. I'm walking down the aisle and he sees me and says with a thumbs up "Hey, the Red Sox won 7-2 last night over Toronto". I took this cap with me when I moved down to the box seat area and left it there.

Then we went to Virginia Beach this weekend. Benjamin had fun as you can see.


Benjamin and Timber


Bean bag toss


Determination


Muscle man!


Video games with Uncle Marc


Classic video games

U.S. Open Golf

Today the U.S. Open starts at Bethpage Black. The Black as it is called, previously hosted the U.S. Open in 2002 (won by Tiger Woods). This year it is playing over 7,400yards long and par is 70. Throw in a couple days worth of rain and it's going to be a long course for these guys.

One has to like Tiger's chances as he's defending champion and he's won at the Black before. He also won his last start two weeks ago at The Memorial.

Some quotes I liked as I read some articles prior to the tournament:

“I haven’t really played much courses with warning signs,” Henrik Stenson said. “It’s more for the ski slopes, isn’t it?”

“When I practiced yesterday, (it was) the first time that I saw one of the more difficult golf courses in my life, probably because of the rain,” Eduardo Romero said Wednesday.

From tee to green, this golf course is all you want,” said Tiger Woods, the defending champion and the winner the last time the Open was played on Bethpage Black. “With the weather coming in here this week, it’s only going to get longer and harder and it’s going to be even more difficult.”

Follow the tournament here