almost home

the beautiful weight of a sleeping child

airport adventures

in the airport shuttle train, Schuyler kicks back

Charlie charms the wait staff at the pseudo-Taco Bell at the airport... note to self: If you are a father of two who had a terrible stomach bug for two days, don't order Mexican food as your first real meal on recovery.

The Apple iNeglect makes another travelling appearance.

nice wheels... I'm sure the box didn't say ages 2 and up

fun, chaos & cupcakes

Finn turns out to be a lot lighter than Schuyler as Jonathan overestimates the lift needed...

Linden and Schuyler contemplate Gramp's cupcakes.

Gramps inspects his handiwork...

...as the parents awaiting the sugar jolt to the little systems all around them...

play with your food

from tormentor to playfellow

For a while there, it was asking for trouble to leave these two alone - especially if the boy was strapped in and unable even to roll out of the way of his sisters heavy handed play style. Now, most of the time, they are lovely to watch together as she gets that he's kind of a fun toy and she gets that she is a lot less likely to harm him. Like the remora and the shark, they have found a nice symbiosis with one another.

water park

We thought the combination of water and danger would provoke a response of unadulterated joy in our little girl cub but generally it engendered deep fear. She warmed up a bit after her Dad valiantly strode through the recycled heavily chlorinated water with Schuyler in arms. She was terribly excited... just not that into running through the water itself. She and Finn shrieked on the sidelines and stared at distant dolphins in the harbour. A darn good day.

the babysitter

But who will babysit the babysitter?

newsworthy

Charlie is torn: On the one hand, the Libyan rebels are victims being crushed by a totalitarian ruler; on the other hand, there should be limits on the degree to which foreign countries should meddle in domestic affairs they don't fully understand. It's a toughie, Charlie.

Reis isn't sure about whether the RIM playbook really offers a realistic competitor to the iPad: On the one hand, Apple has a strong first mover advantage and a name now synonymous with the tablet market; on the other hand, RIM offers secure email features attractive to business and a loyal existing fan base. How will buyers react in the long run?

kids of all sizes

A typical day in Sebastian at Greta and Scott's house... a noisy, hectic, wonderful chaos which largely involved feeding and sloppy drinking. Oh, and on top of that we had to deal with the kids.

make yourself at home

journey to the centre of florida

well... more across Florida than to the centre but we cut through it somewhere around Okeechobee. This may qualify as the longest car trip our kids have ever taken (around 4 hours) and concurrently qualifies as (a) the longest nap Charlie has taken and (b) the longest stretch of perfect behaviour (largely iPad induced) Schuyler has had in over a year. We got to pass through some towns which made us feel lucky in every way not to have to live there and even got to stop at a gas station named Stuckey's which sold inter alia alligator heads and sequined ceramic dragons. We passed eateries selling "swamp cabbage n fish" and "boiled p-nuts [sic]". We passed farm-type things with gigantic entrance gates guarded by large brass stallions. The farm sold "wet sod". We passed tree farms and lots of cows. We passed towns which seemed to share a tooth between them. And we were ever so grateful to end our journey on Arega Street in Sebastian, greeted by Aunt Greta and little infant Reis and cousin Finn.