I surprised him and picked him up from “Legos club” after school; he’s never seen my car waiting in the carpool lane at his school before, so I had to get out and wave at him before he’d walk my way. He talked all about something he built that spun […]
Author: dadcation
Netflix sent me another package, and my 9-year-old thinks it was her birthday present
It had a doll in it from Netflix’s new show, Project MC2, which is about smart girls who use their science skills to save the world (or their city…or something), but included in the box were little science experiments and a miniature lava lamp, which excited her greatly, because she […]
Pork and Persecution (with a side of Bourbon)
When I posted something about wanting folks to join me at the Atlanta BBQ festival on Facebook a couple months ago, and Doug (who lives in Ann Arbor) expressed interest in coming down, I thought for sure he was kidding. Turns out, he wasn’t, because a few hours before the […]
You should totally shoot the ‘hooch
Nearly 20 years ago when I first moved here, I was talking to a girl named Lori who worked with me at IBM, and she asked, “Have you had a chance to ‘shoot the hooch‘ yet?” and I had no idea what that meant. But, a few days ago, when […]
the Emerald Coast, Florida
“The Emerald Coast” is how self-proclaimed sophisticated people (or local travel agents) refer to the area of land in the Florida panhandle that touches the Gulf of Mexico. Part of it–Panama City–is often labeled the “Redneck Riviera,” but really all of the area could pretty much earn this moniker. It’s […]
What she misses while at the beach
The oldest child living in our house turned 9 on July 16th. She got to get a manicure and have a sushi lunch with her mom before coming home to bake cupcakes and open a wrapped Taylor Swift CD that she has not stopped listening to ever since. Right now, […]
our first family camping experience
One of our family’s favorite weekend activities is visiting estate or moving sales in our neighborhood. Last summer, we got a barely used tent for like $20, and it’s bothered me ever since then that we haven’t used it, so when we loaded up to visit my parents in north […]
Trains, Automobiles, and Planes: our family’s 3 days around Boston
We boarded our train at 7am at Penn Station and began the 4-hour Amtrak ride to the Back Bay Station in Boston, where our Pathfinder was waiting on us. We checked into a Courtyard and then dropped my bride off at a nail salon in Cambridge, so she could see […]
2 adults and 3 children do 2 days in New York City
Our end goal was my sister-in-law’s wedding near Boston, but I wanted the trip to be something to look forward to, and it’s hard to look forward to an in-law’s wedding where the only people you know will be the ones with wedding obligations. So, I cashed in a couple […]
The day I got my 1980 Buick stuck on a BMX track
The above is a picture of my first car; it was nicknamed “the digger” because of its proclivity to drive through yards and dig ditches. I’m 3rd from the right and am surrounded by some of my friends (all but one are still friends today). This is the story of […]