Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Ryan's birthday, part one

Birthdays always begin with presents. Everyone knows that you open the cards first.
James thinks that cards are boring.
Ryan isn't bored. He could do this all day.
Woo hoo! A pocket knife! This was Ryan's number one birthday request.
The last gift...
Holy moly that's a big Lego set!
James approves!
Sneaking in a little Lego time before school.
April 2010

Monday, April 26, 2010

The rats have taken over

Even Seth is playing with them now. Rockabye babies.
James and Basil.
Eek!
April 2010

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Bray girls

Colleen Jennifer
Erin
1971

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Blue Hill wrap up

Just a few more pictures from my 1994 trip to Unionville, Pennsylvania...
There really isn't a lot to do in Unionville, but Trish made sure I saw all the local attractions.
I bet you're jealous that you haven't seen all these amazing sites!
It was fun though, and every drive involved passing through scenery like this...and this. Beautiful!
1994

Friday, April 23, 2010

The B Word

Seth was going to the liquor store, so I asked him to buy me some beer. This is what he came home with: Do you think he's trying to tell me something?

Multi-tasking

The kids never just watch tv. They are always doing something with their hands. James likes Playdough and Silly Putty and all kinds of goopy substances... while Ryan prefers Lego. Look, it's another spaceship!
March 2010

Monday, April 19, 2010

My Blue Hill vacation, part three

We spent the night at Diana's house, and the next morning we headed out to Colt's Neck, New Jersey to see my friend Shelly.

Shelly had told me that she was staying in a pretty exclusive neighborhood, and she wasn't kidding. This is a picture of the main house on the property where Shelly lived.Shelly was staying in a cute little apartment over one of the outbuildings. She took care of the family's horses, as well as some of the neighbor's horses. This pinto gelding belonged to Bruce Springsteen.
Shelly and Arabesque.
We spent the morning in Colts Neck and then headed over to the Donovan's Reef in Sea Bright, New Jersey.
Shelly and I having way too much fun.Although Shelly and I lost track of each other for more than a decade, we have recently reconnected through Facebook. Hurray for Facebook! It's so wonderful to find old friends!
1994

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Drawing dragons

James likes dragons and lately he's decided that he wants to learn how to draw them. Using this book as a guide...James and I have been drawing dragons together.
Technically, James' dragon isn't a dragon at all. It doesn't have wings, so it's a drake.
This is my dragon.
April 2010

Sunday, April 11, 2010

My Blue Hill vacation, part two

Part one in this series was posted on my horse blog earlier today: http://braymere.blogspot.com/2010/04/my-blue-hill-vacation.html

Trish was able to get a little bit of time off, and we used that to go visit a couple of my other horsey friends who were both living in New Jersey.
This is Diana. I met her while I was working at Judy's Tack Shop. She had worked for one of Judy's main competitors, Quail Hollow Tack, and the two of us had spent many a hot summer afternoon comparing notes. I liked Diana very much so we kept in touch after she left the tack shop and took a job working on a small horse farm in rural New Jersey.
Diana loved her dogs as much I loved mine, and we tried very hard to take a picture of the three of them on this stone wall.
Unfortunately my goofy puppy refused to pose properly!
Gizmo, Diana, Penny, Jennifer and Abbie.
Trish and I on the wall.
Sharing a laugh. This was such a fun vacation--filled with friends, fun and beautiful horses!
September 1994

Sunday, April 4, 2010

James' tooth story

I'm not one hundred percent certain, but I think this is from the fall of 2008.

Another Wellington weekend

My house on Oakland Street is seventy five miles away from Trisha's farm in Wellington. That's a long commute and Trisha's schedule is very busy. Arranging visits can get pretty tricky, but it's definitely worth the effort. Here are some pictures from Cara and my Spring Break trip up to Wellington.

Trish was lunging her FEI dressage horse, Surprise, when we first arrived.
I love Surprise--he's so cute!
After Surprise was put up, we went for a ride. Trisha's mount was Cyrano.
I love Cyrano, too. He's one of those "so ugly he's cute" type of horses.
I rode Katie...
and Cara rode Austin (he's the one on the right).
Cara and I hung out for a little bit after our ride, but I wasn't kidding when I said that Trisha's schedule is full. Almost as soon as she climbed off Cyrano, she was right back to work helping a young student get ready for her riding lesson.
Hair everywhere! Seth says Abbie sheds too much, but I think Phoenix has her beat!
April 2010