Schlitterbath: an OTO experience

August 7, 2009 by

IMG_2765There are events you want to experience over and over again. There are others that either stand as singularly special by magnitude of worth or mistake. Heading to the waterpark with the kids on the last weekend of summer vacation was most certainly the last of these. I therefore brand it OTO: One Time Only. Schlitterbahn is a great park. It’s step-childIMG_2764 in Galveston has the unmistakable sensation of being a fenced in parking lot pool. Just as Walt Disney winced at seeing the outside world from Disneyland’s Matterhorn, I felt like a caged human when surveying the totality of the park from atop one of the rides.

The kids had a great time, but all agreed: Splashtown is a better deal because it has better (and more) rides. I bit my tongue rather than telling them it also had more lines. I love lines. For the record, next time I want an up-close and personal water experience with that many folk, I’ll go on a cruise ship and hope for an iceberg.

Filed Under: Monkey Troop Memories

Wordsmithing with Kate

August 5, 2009 by

IMG_2750When Wizard Academy announced a second Young Writer’s workshop, I jumped at the chance to take Kate. Peter Nevland exceeded all expectations with a program that opened up young writers, encouraging them to follow where their pen takes them.

Kate blew me away with her economy of verse and potency of image. Her gift is a breathtaking gift and seeing her realize it was a blessing to witness. I couldn’t be more proud of Kate. If you’d like to see what she wrote, you’ll have to ask her.

I can’t wait to see what she does next. After all, she’s already a published poet. One of the last tasks:  outlining a complete book project. Here’s our class photo (Ask Kate the meaning of our class nickname, The Volunteers):

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Filed Under: Kate, Monkey Troop Memories

Revising five years without getting Orwellian about it

August 3, 2009 by

Welcome to the new home of Driving with DaddyMom. While the content is all still here, it’s the digital equivalent of boxes on the front lawn awaiting placement in the appropriate rooms.

What’s the dang deal with the new look?

I’ve recently been in the process of moving all my blogs off TypePad to a self-hosted Word Press engine. If that doesn’t mean anything to you, just skip to the next paragraph now. I’m fixin’ to get all geeky: TypePad was an ideal incubator for my efforts, but is far more restrictive in the end than I’m willing to abide. WordPress provides a variety of plug-ins and creative control not available with TypePad. I still recommend TypePad to beginners–along with WordPress.com. There comes a time, though, when a server just ain’t big enough for a managed service and a publisher.

What’s going on with the pictures and stories?

I was able to move everything to this new framework easily. Getting them to look right? That’s another matter all together. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be tweaking and editing to get things ship shape.

The whole idea of this site has been to allow family and friends to access our adventures easily across the many miles that separate us. The new WordPress engine will allow me to do that even better.

Please note, if you were an RSS subscriber to the old site, you’ll need to sign up again. The old feed has been discontinued.

Is it 1984 again, already?

It’s so tempting in reformatting things to revise what was written then to align with what came to pass in the time since. I’m resisting that urge and leaving it stand as it has; a record of the roads traveled on our journey to the family we’re becoming.

Filed Under: DaddyMom's travels

Stella comes home

July 24, 2009 by

IMG_2709It didn’t seem that long ago that Stella and I planned her Summer Girl Scout Camp activities. Two weeks of fun: one at Misty Meadows, one at Agnes Arnold. Her BFF’s folks handled the transportation on week one. So, this week it was my turn to deliver and fetch them after. There’s a certain sadness to dropping kids at camp; a foreshadowing of future departures. They hit especially close to home for me. On the plus side, their returning home is a savory treat. Stella and Kerry; inseparable friends. Enjoy the full amplitude of the pick up experience by watching this:

Filed Under: Stella Bella

What a difference ten years makes

July 18, 2009 by

Parenting surprises fall snowflake light in unexpected moments. Dropping Stella at Camp Agnes Arnold for her second Girl Scout camp experience, I turned to snap a shot of her with Kate.

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They’re adorable, each in their own way. I didn’t give the shot a second thought–until I got home and was going through some old photos. I came across this one:

FAM-Stella&Kate_'99_DDMIt’s about ten years earlier, same two girls. Left me a tad misty-eyed thinking of the many twists in our road since then. And yet, the same sparkle lives on in their eyes. Proud moment for the DaddyMom.

Filed Under: Monkey Troop Memories
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