COMING SOON...GRISWOLD 2008

On August 15, we'll be taking off on our latest summer adventure. "Griswold 2008 - Griswolds Go To Washington" will take us down the Eastern Seaboard, where the kids will gain 6 new states on their traveling list, bring their total to 40 states visited. On this trip, they'll gain Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia. Here's a rough map of our planned trip, which will begin with a number of days in the Baltimore/Washington D. C area, before we move south.

Follow us here as we post updates from the road, a Griswold first. (For those who aren't aware, our Griswold references refer to the series of National Lampoon's "Vacation" movies, featuring Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo as Clark and Ellen Griswold and a revolving cast of characters as their children Rusty and Audrey Griswold. Clark Griswold is a very enthusiastic vacation planner and taker, often trying the patience of his family and leading them through a number of mishaps and adventures.)

REBECCA'S 16TH BIRTHDAY

On July 17th, Rebecca celebrated her 16th birthday.

Her cake included a PT Cruiser and a rough approximation of her learner's permit, which she'd earned earlier that day.

Needless to say, when you begin driving, maps are essential! (Even with today's mostly accurate GPS units, you still need a good map!)

PASSED!

Today, Rebecca took and passed the test for her Massachusetts Learner's Permit. She is now officially licensed to learn!

Happy 16th Birthday Rebecca...and CONGRATULATIONS!

Zoo-ing and Golfing

On Saturday, we took a stroll at the small, local, Stone Zoo, to check out their new Black Bear exhibit. We always enjoy a leisurely walk through the zoo and this day was no exception. In addition to checking out the bears, we saw a mountain lion, a jaguar and a host of other animals.

We really enjoyed the new show on birds of prey, which included some very impressive birds like this barn owl...

...and this magnificent bald eagle.


After the show, we worked our way back to the front of the zoo, passing this coyote.

We left the zoo and headed to Hago Harrington's, also in Stoneham, for a spirited match of Mini-Golf. It was a close battle the whole way and even though Steve finished with a hole-in-one on the 18th, he didn't prevail.


The final tally:

Anne - 47
Erik - 47
Steve - 46
Rebecca - 45

As we got into our car to leave, a car that had just parked next to ours was unloading. Getting out of this vehicle was former olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan (who grew up in Stoneham and now lives in nearby Lynnfield), her husband and their children. I guess even the rich and famous can't resist a good game of mini-golf now and then.

BRINGING HOME THE BACON!

On Friday, Rebecca received her first ever paycheck. Even though the amount withheld was pretty low, it was certainly eye-opening to see the money withheld for taxes and such. We immediately took this check down to the bank and deposited it in her recently opened bank account.

A Big Day For Rebecca

Today was a big day for Rebecca. First of all, we picked up our THIRD family car, a 2001 PT Cruiser, (Just under 28,000 miles...literally driven by a little old couple.) which is mostly aimed at our soon-to-be third driver. Rebecca will be getting her Learner's Permit on or around her 16th birthday (July 17) and then she can get her Driver's License 6 months later. This car is an automatic transmission car, so it will be Rebecca's primary practice car and then the car she'll drive when she gets her license.

In addition to all of the car excitement, Rebecca began her first paying job today, working as a "Staff" person for the Summer Camp at the Melrose YMCA. This is certainly good timing, as someone has got to pay for the gas in this new car!
The PT Cruiser is a fun little car and we have no doubt that Rebecca will look great behind the wheel. How is Dad going to look in the passenger seat? Probably a little scared and a lot proud!

Still On Patrol!

The Praying Mantis hatchlings that we released into the yard recently are still on patrol. They've turned from a kind of light beige color to more of a brown color and they're on the hunt for food amongst the flowers and vegetables in our garden.

All you need to do is stand still for a while and observe. Eventually, they'll catch your eye.

They're still pretty small, but hopefully a lot of them will make it to adulthood, because of feeding on garden pests.

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