Getting down to "business"

Here you see pics of Kenan (7 months) and Dawson (2+ yrs.) who were our charge for the week. For the most part, they were really a joy to watch. When Kenan wasn't being fed, he would like to play with some toys or play in his Johnny-jump-up or exersaucer. (I will show pics later.) You see that Dawson enjoyed riding his locomotive in the hallways, but mostly he enjoyed playing in the sand of the never-used volleyball court.

Getting there

We stopped for some pizza at Gino's before our last leg of the trip to Morgantown. I watched Dawson after eating, and we went for a little walk. I had to be quick on the trigger to get the shot of him by the fire hydrant. He didn't stay there long. You see the Pierpont Apt. building. We stayed on the 5th floor, which gave us a bit of a view of the area.

Mount Pilot

Here is a view from the south side of Pilot Mountain (on top) and the lower pic shows the view from I-77 in VA.

Babysitting

I know some of you may have wondered where in the world I have been for the past week, and I am just about to bring you up to speed. Here we are on our way to Morgantown, WV to work as babysitters for Brett and Sheri, two medical missionaries finishing up their final two weeks of study of jungle medicine before heading across the big pond to Mali, West Africa. These two little boys, Dawson and Kenan, kept us on our toes most of the time, but they were a joy to be around. I will be posting more pics of our week later. Sorry that bottom pic is a little fuzzy, but I hate to throw it out just now.

We went to Raleigh

We went to Raleigh yesterday and saw Kenan, Zachary and Dawson (as well as their parents.) We had a little bit of training on how to do the babysitting thing properly. It has been a while since we had little boys. We will be in WV all week taking care of Dawson and Kenan. Say a little prayer.

Zachary Sliding Down

Zachary is sliding down a wood chip pile on a board.

Inchworm

Kenan and Dawson

We finally get to meet Kenan after 7.5 months (he's the one in the green.) It was good to get a visit from the MacLeans on their way to Raleigh from WV, even though it was a short one. We are looking forward to seeing more of them on Saturday (in Raleigh) and then spending a week with them in WV. Dawson (in blue) is seen here playing on the bed, and on the mower. I have posted more pics of the MacLeans on my Flickr page.

On the way to Salem Lake

Here are a couple shots of Queen Anne's Lace which line the path (shown in the next pic) down to the lake from the area where I park. The fourth shot shows a beautiful driveway lined with evergreens; this is near that same parking lot.

Hanes Park Gardens

I know I have shown the top two back in May, (5-2 and 5-3 to be a bit more precise,) but the third pic shows what that same area looks like today. And I just threw in that last one for good measure since it is close to the corner garden at Hanes Park (corner of Northwest Blvd. and Reynolda Road.) If it seems I am posting a bit more than usual, it may because I will be extremely limited next week in my internet access.

Frame

In the top pic here you can see what one of the frames looked like in late June, and in the bottom two you can see what it looks like today, at least for a little while. Most of this is vacant floor space now.

L & M

Here is a before and after shot of the L &M building which is being renovated for offices. The top pic was taken in February and the one below, today.

Old Office

Here you can see a pic of my old office as it was in early May, and then again later in May, and then what it looks like today. It probably won't be long until the studs come down.

Zachary

Here are a few shots I took when Zachary came back by (along with his parents) on Thursday on their way back to Raleigh. His first word out of the car was "Tennis." (He wanted to play Wii Tennis.) You may be able to tell that he also enjoyed dropping from the slide right on his bottom, as well as driving a child's car. (Please note that you can now click on "My Flickr" on the right side and get to my personal Flickr photos.)

Hanes Dye Plants

Here I have shown some plants around the Hanes Dye Plant. One I think particularly beautiful this time of year is the Crepe Myrtle shown here with the name of the plant in the background. The other "plant" which was close by is actually a tree, and I believe that it is a River Birch.

Cycling

I went once around Salem Lake today; it was really a perfect day: perfect temp/humidity, and the path wasn't muddy at all. You can see that my time isn't any record, even for me, but I can say that I am just coming off of week of being a little under the weather. I must have had an unusual intestinal bug, but that is enough of that. I am sure you don't want any more details. I met a really nice guy named Tony at the end of my ride. He was just putting his red Schwinn S20 up on top of his car, and I commented that it looked like a nice bike to ride around the lake. He said that he really enjoyed it, having a front and rear suspension, and it wasn't too heavy. He mentioned a time (going around the lake,) and it was 31 something. I said, "My best time is 32:51, thinking that I was somewhere in his league. Later on he mentioned that he starts his watch at the top of the hill (from the parking lot) and stops it after climbing back up. Its only 1/4 mile, but its all downhill at the beginning, and of course when you finish, its all wrong. That kinda took the wind outa my sails. I hope that I have a chance to watch him ride sometime. I might have the pleasure of seeing his tail lights disappear.

Wii Golf

Last night Patrick and I enjoyed a couple of 9-hole games of Wii Golf, and on the second game I was able to set a new personal record. As you can see from the pic, Patrick was able to set a personal record for himself too. It was really great to finish strong with an eagle on 9. Keep swinging folks!

Squirrel Foiled

I think we have finally come up with the solution for this one Super-Squirrel. So far, he has just grabbed hold of the bottom of the post; he must be thinking to himself, "Now what do I do?" Of course I thought we had the solution last time with two lengths of aluminum pipe. If this doesn't work, I will have to resort to squirrel hunting or convert it into a squirrel feeder. I am curious as to what the Duke thinks about this setup.

One Determined Squirrel

I hesitate to show this video, because it only proves the Duke was right about the squirrel. And when I say squirrel, I do say THE squirrel, because it seems that there is this one young squirrel that can outperform all the rest. He has more brown than grey, and we think he is more adolescent than the others. We did have several weeks of success, and even in this video there is some degree of success for us as we watch him struggle. Oh, and many thanks and credit goes to my seminary student son, Ben who has provided necessary expertise required for this production. In any case, watch and enjoy this.

Here are few shots taken with the webcam, and the bottom two have some special effects added. In one, Zachary looks like he is ready for a haircut, and in the other we see a two-headed Zachary. I have always heard that two heads are better than one, but that seems to work best when each one has its own body. Feel free to check out more pics here.