Storyland

A mess of pictures from our trip to North Conway, NH and Storyland theme park. We drove the new Mazda5 and it carried us all well and seems to get good gas mileage.

We drove up Friday afternoon and came back Sunday by way of Manchester, where we had dinner and Jake's Ice Cream with Joni's former co-workers Doc Jeff and his family.


Some views from the windows of the new car/wagon/mini-van




What chocolate donut?


Riding the tiger




Watch out for that giant chicken honey!!




My Alice at the entrance to the Tea Cup ride.












Which one is the Big Bad Wolf?


Don't make any sudden movements near the guards.


What exactly is going to happen here?






Hey, this is not so bad!




Weeeeee!!


Dizzy


The harmonica playing crow at the Pirate Lagoon ride. The boats are not on any tracks. The "captain" steers the boat around the lagoon. We had the WORST skipper. On the 2 trips we saw her at the helm, she ran up on the bank, got stuck in over-hanging trees twice, had to back up and make her dock approach again, AND broke a chunk out of the dockside gate with the bowsprit. Yo Ho Ho!!




Man the cannon! Giant swan attacking!


The balloon gondola ride.






The view from the gondola. Dr Loopy's Lab is on the right.


Inside Doctor Loopy's lab. The good doc created Henry's favorite place.


Various contraptions are fed foam balls by the kids and then shoot the balls around the room. There are cannons, this "lottery" style popcorn ball shooter, suspended cages that fill will balls and then dump a huge shower, and vacuums that suck the balls into rapid fire tubes.




All American Mustard shirt


Dr Loopy's assistant.




Cathedral Ledge at Echo Lake state park






- - - - - -
This week we had an ultrasound scan, and OB appointment, returned the new car to have the dealer installed options completed (heated leather seats and a bumper guard), and started the various tasks required for the closing on Ashland next Thursday.

The kitchen is now complete and I will post the final views soon. We have a kitchen table and love seat on order and we need to get bar chairs for the counter. Henry's framed painting should be ready soon too.

I broke in the oven and cook top this week, baking a spinach pie with jasmine rice. We also used the dish washer for the first time. Soooooo quiet. Also used the new sink and disposal. Ahhhh.

I will set up the small appliances in the pantry this weekend and make the first batch of coffee with the new coffee maker (Doc Jeff had the same model at their new house). Unfortunately the microwave I ordered arrived with a dent and needs to be returned.

Kitchening - Part XIV

These are photos from the 15th day of work on the new kitchen (Wednesday 7/11/07).

The granite is installed, the sink design is down the drain, and a blood sacrifice!

The granite people finally arrived. Based on our experiences with them (they never call us and seem surprised when we discuss our job with them as if they don't recall it) we were concerned that SOMETHING would be wrong with the work.

Turned out they got the double-bowl sink reversed. The small basin was supposed to be on the right and they cut the opening for the reverse configuration. We agreed to their conce$$ion as an alternative to having to get another slab, wait for the cut and finish, and go through the installation again.

As you can see in the pictures, the final result is GORGEOUS.

From the dining room. There will be counter stools in front of the island

.

The range top fits snugly into the island counter. The new faucet is in the box on the floor.

The big double-well sink - reversed.

Island Paradise.

The view coming into the kitchen from the living room.

The blood sacrifice occurred while putting the overhang counter top on the island. Our general contractor/electrician was using a power planer to level the pitch on the support wall when he sliced into his index finger, cutting through the nail and along the side of the finger. Off to the hospital. He and his co-worker were overseeing the granite installation and running the down-draft duct work under the range and out of the house.

After everything was cleaned up and the contractors and installers were gone, we went to Home Depot and picked out the faucet for the sink. The plumber is supposed to be coming Thursday to do the sink, faucet, disposal, dishwasher, toe-kick heater, and outside faucet. If the electrician is back, he will be installing the blower for the down-draft, the under cabinet task lights, the GFCI outlets, and a few other finish items.

You can see some of the original kitchen in this old posting.

Stay tuned for Kitchening - Part XV: All Done?

- - - - - - - - - -

We had the pre-delivery consult with the Vascular Anomalies group at Childrens' yesterday too. No surprises - all looks good. Joni has an OB appointment next week and we also have another diagnostic ultrasound visit.

Last night we also went to look at a replacement vehicle for me. The 9 year old Protege is just not going to cut it as a good kid-hauling vehicle now that we are going to be 4. Stay tuned for the previews of . . . the MAZDA5!!

Current Events

The granite people may come Saturday to install the counters and sink. And the old fridge should be leaving us for wherever old fridges go. The love seat and kitchen table are on order. There is still plenty of plumbing and electrical work to do to finish the kitchen after the counters and sink are in place.

Henry has started going for bike rides with me. I gave Joni a kid carrying seat for her bike (and gave her a bike too) for Christmas. I stole the seat and put it on my bike. I think he knows I like to bike and will take him out for a ride whenever he wants. He uses this to his advantage. He tells me he wants to go for a bike ride. We go to the garage to get the bike and our helmets and then his real agenda appears. "Wanna go hammock swing!" "Wanna play kids!" (that means he wants to play with the kids next door) "Wanna push lawn mower!" "Wanna go for a walk!" "Wanna play basketball!"

I cannot get him on the bike until these urges are satisfied. Clever boy.

We biked to the park on the 4th, had lunch, took a nap, played with the kids next door, had dinner and then went to the DQ for ice cream. The weather was changing to spitting rain as we got close to fire works time. We went up to the parking lot at Jordan's Furniture high above Reading and Wakefield. From there we could see the distant fireworks in Stoneham/Melrose, North Reading, and then the grand show over the lake in Wakefield. With the back flipped open on the Mitsu we were sheltered from the rain and had a great view.

Joni had a great idea to take a short vacation before the baby comes. We booked 2 nights at a hotel in North Conway NH near Storyland. It is a theme park geared toward families with kids from 1-1/2 to 'tweens. In adddition to the park there is outlet shopping galore, the Conway Scenic Railway mini golf, hiking, and of course the indoor and outdoor pools at the hotel.

We leave next Friday and come back Sunday.

DLBJ are somewhere in MA this week and we would like to see them. If you are reading this CALL US NOW!!

I got some disturbing news this week. I had a 6 month dental visit and after being subjected to the psycho hygienist (the long-time one that I like apparently left) I was told I need to have a cracked tooth crowned. First crown. Oh well.

The photos are from June 25th.







Some shots of the yard in Ashland. I signed the Purchase and Sale on Monday of this week. The closing is scheduled for the 26th.