lisamikeplus365

Jan. 7, 2008 -- Day 135 of 365

2008-01-14T19:03:00.000-08:00

On Dec. 31 the Virginia Lottery selected four $1 million winners. One of the tickets was purchased at this Newport News shop. But so far, the ticket remains unclaimed.

Jan. 6, 2008 -- Day 134 of 365

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Jan. 5, 2008 -- Day 133 of 365

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Jan. 4, 2008 -- Day 132 of 365

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Jan. 3, 2008 -- Day 131 of 365

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Jan. 2, 2008 -- Day 130 of 365

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Monty's hasn't had curb service in more than a decade.

Jan. 1, 2007 -- Day 129 of 365

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New Years' dinner at the Green Leafe Cafe in Williamsburg. I'll be posting a review on my food blog here very soon.

Dec. 31, 2007 -- Day 128 of 365

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Happy New Year (taken in Colonial Williamsburg).

Dec. 30, 2007 -- Day 127 of 365

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For something to do, we took the kids to Bass Pro in Hampton to watch the fish, climb on the boats and check out all the other stuff. Other people there thought it was cute that Gregory calls all fish "Nemos."

Dec. 29, 2007 -- Day 126 of 365

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Lena picked this flower off the bush in the backyard. She wanted to give it to Grandma Phyllis, but since she's in Ohio taking care of her mother and sister, we took this picture to send to her instead.

Dec. 28, 2007 -- Day 125 of 365

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My parents came to visit, and since I didn't know when they would arrive, I made soup for dinner. For the recipe, check out my food blog here.

Dec. 27, 2007 -- Day 124 of 365

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All three kids got cameras for Christmas this year. It's interesting to see life from their perspective.

Dec. 26, 2007 -- Day 123 of 365

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Dec. 25, 2007 -- Day 122 of 365

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'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

This was how our tree looked before the first round of Christmas. We do it in rounds here: In the morning is gifts from Santa and mom and dad. In the afternoon it's gifts from friends and extended family. And the stockings wait until New Years Day, when Santa's brother Father Frost comes all the way from Russia to fill them.

Dec. 24, 2007 -- Day 121 of 365

2007-12-28T20:32:00.000-08:00

One more in my series of photos of orphans on the adoption registry. This one is Artem, the 10-year-old Mike sponsors. He's living in the Saligalich orphanage in Kostroma.

Dec. 23, 2007 -- Day 120 of 365

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Daddy teaches the kids to play with fire (to see the image at full size, click on the picture).

Dec. 22, 2007 -- Day 119 of 365

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Santa sees what it's like to be with twins and a little guy -- you never know which way to look.

Dec. 21, 2007 -- Day 118 of 365

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Niko and Lena pose at the fountain inside Yankee Candle in Williamsburg.

Dec. 20, 2007 -- Day 117 of 365

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Hello. My name is Lisa. And I'm addicted to Christmas tree ornaments. I bought these carved, wooden churches in Moscow'e Ismilova market. They were among the 30 or so new ornaments I added to the tree this year!

Dec. 19, 2007 -- Day 116 of 365

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Niko's turn at art.

Dec 18, 2007 -- Day 115 of 365

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In kindergarten, they have been working on modern art.

Dec. 17, 2007 -- Day 114 of 365

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This is Kristina. She was the first kid I met at the Saligalich Orphanage in the Kostroma region. We played together the whole time we were in the orphanage. I actually went looking for her. Before we left for Russia a woman who had adopted Kristina's sister asked me to check on her. And I liked her right away!

Dec. 16, 2007 -- Day 113 of 365

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Registry photo on top. My photo comes next.

Dec. 15, 2007 -- Day 112 of 365

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Registry photo on top. My photo below. Same girl?

Dec. 14, 2007 -- Day 111 of 365

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Here's another one I found -- the photo on top is from the registry, the lower photo is one I took. What do you think?

Dec. 13, 2007 -- Day 110 of 365

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I was online the other day, browsing through the pages and pages of photos of Russian children on the adoption database. Even though I was going through kids living in orphanages in Kirov, one of the regions we visited back in March, I never imagined I would recognize some of the faces there. I mean with more than 700,000 orphans living in state care in Russia, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. So imagine my surprise when I saw this face staring at me. And she wasn't the only one I immediately recognized. So stay tuned. I'll post more...

Dec. 12, 2007 -- Day 109 of 365

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Every Wednesday my friend Jen and I go to the gym and workout together and then go to the local pizza joint for a salad and a slice. These are our two favorite pizza guys.

Dec. 11, 2007 -- Day 108 of 365

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I know it's December, but I really did take these photos yesterday (12/10). Temperatures hit 78 F., shattering a 20-year-old record for the hottest Dec. 10.

Dec. 10, 2007 -- Day 107 of 365

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After 15 years, for the first time this year I actually attended the Daily Press Christmas party. And it was nice. First we were able to go through the "Celebration in Lights," the city's holiday light show through the park. And then the kids got to visit Santa. Gregory kept going back so he could get more candy canes.

Dec. 9, 2007 -- Day 106 of 365

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This is Mike's photo. He and Gavin have been walking the Noland Trail since we brought the twins home and he was home on leave for three months. These days he can only go on the weekends, but they still go regularly.

Dec. 8, 2007 -- Day 105 of 365

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Sometimes I wish I could read his mind...

Dec. 7, 2007 -- Day 104 of 365

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Niko is doing so well at school that he earns ice cream for everyone every week. This week everyone wanted to play Trouble at Monty's. And it was Trouble.

Dec. 6, 2007 -- Day 103 of 365

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I pass by this sign at our favorite greasy spoon every day. And it makes me smile. Here it is almost Christmas and they're still advertising their summer hours.

Dec. 5, 2007 -- Day 102 of 365

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Before... and after. Popovers! (for the recipe, go here).

Dec. 4, 2007 -- Day 101 of 365

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I admit it. I'm addicted. This is only one of the 30 or so ornaments I bought over the last 12 months. I just can't help myself. But of all the things in this world to be addicted to, I think this one is pretty tame.

Dec. 3, 2007 -- Day 100 of 365

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Last year at the after Christmas sale I bought a cookie press. When I was growing up my mom always made spritz cookies at Christmas. Today I made my first batch. For the recipe and more, go here.

Dec. 2, 2007 -- Day 99 of 365

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Now this is depressing. A new mechanic at the shop up the street can make almost as much as I earn after 15 years with the paper.

Dec. 1, 2007 -- Day 98 of 365

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Gregory figured that if it was his 3rd birthday, he could eat icing with his fingers.

Nov. 30, 2007 -- Day 97 of 365

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I'm late at posting this one. It was taken at 5:45 the morning after Thanksgiving. I stopped to take this photo out front before getting in line all the way around the back of the store.

Nov. 29, 2007 -- Day 96 of 365

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Today Gregory shared his birthday -- complete with green cupcakes -- with his preschool class.

Nov. 28, 2007 -- Day 95 of 365

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This one speaks for itself.

Nov. 27, 2007 -- Day 94 of 365

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The York River and the Coleman Bridge.

Nov. 26, 2007 -- Day 93 of 365

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Gregory's class took a field trip to a neighbor's pond. The kids followed Mrs. Fletcher everywhere and had a great time exploring.

Nov. 25, 2007 -- Day 92 of 365

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Sorry for the hiatus. I'm back, and I don't plan to take any days off again. My computer was in the shop. But thankfully I finally have it back and I'm picking up where I left off.

All the reports said the fall colors this year wouldn't be all that good because of the prolonged drought. And still there are some trees -- like this one in Hilton Village -- that are absolutely beautiful.

Nov. 16, 2007 -- Day 91 of 365

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Mike was only half kidding when he said he wanted to buy Bush Neck Farm, where we picked apples. Of course, then he'd have to learn how to fly this plane...

Nov. 15, 2007 -- Day 90 of 365

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This turtle -- at Sandy Bottom Nature Park -- wouldn't stop looking at me.

Nov. 14, 2007 -- Day 89 of 365

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Gregory likes to take these tiles out of one of the twins' games and "spell my name." He gets a few too many letters, but it's almost eerie how close he comes. Oh, and the "F" is no mistake -- our last name is Finneran.

13 Nov., 2007 -- Day 88 of 365

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First a shirtless, shackled stranger knocked on the door at 10:30 at night. Then police swarmed into the neighborhood and combed our backyard. For the full story, check out my family blog here.

12 Nov., 2007 -- Day 87 of 365

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All three kids are suddenly into apples. They'll each eat as many as three a day. So today before grandma and grandpa headed home, we took Gregory apple picking. Some made it into the bag, while others made it into his mouth.

11 Nov., 2007 -- Day 86 of 365

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Even grandma and grandpa have fun at the park!

10 Nov., 2007 -- Day 85 of 365

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You just can't pass up an ice cream cone when you go to Doumar's in Norfolk, the inventor of the ice cream cone.

9 Nov., 2007 -- Day 84 of 365

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Grandma and Grandpa came to town, so while the twins went to school on Friday, we took Gregory for a tour of the local fire station. My mom noticed the wheel on the truck was bigger than our nearly 3-year-old peanut.

8 Nov., 2007 -- Day 83 of 365

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At first Gregory was a little hesitant to climb up this massive indoor blowup slide. But then he tried it and we almost couldn't get him to stop.

7 Nov., 2007 -- Day 82 of 365

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As a result of the drought we haven't had as much color as usual. So that when you do see a yellow leaf, it sticks out.

6 Nov., 2007 -- Day 81 of 365

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Election day 2007.

5 Nov., 2007 -- Day 80 of 365

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Posing on a walk around the neighborhood.

4 Nov., 2007 -- Day 79 of 365

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We talked to Gregory's teacher for our first conference. She called him "bright." We take no credit, but we knew that. He won't be three for another few weeks and the other day he looked at a sign and said "N. O. Mommy. That says no." And it took me more time to make this matching game than it took him to master it.

3 Nov., 2007 -- Day 78 of 365

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Our neighbor -- the mother of four boys and a teacher at the preschool -- knows Gregory loves green. So when her family was getting rid of this bike, they thought of the little guy. He doesn't quite have the pedaling figured out yet. But he's trying.

2 Nov., 2007 -- Day 77 of 365

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The twins' elementary school is an old fallout shelter. About 15 years ago I wrote a story about old fallout shelters and what was still in them (and was it even edible). I may have to do that story again one of these days. For some reason it fascinates me.

1 Nov., 2007 -- Day 76 of 365

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On Tuesdays and Thursdays Gregory and I have about a half an hour to waste before I can drop him off at school. So I taught him how to play Pooh sticks. I remember playing when I was a kid. If you haven't read the book, all you need is some sticks, a bridge and some water. On the count of three you drop the sticks in the water on one side of the bridge and run to the other side of the bridge to see whose stick comes through first. Gregory loves it. And I love sharing something I remember from my childhood with him. So I guess in the end, we aren't really "wasting" time.

31 Oct., 2007 -- Day 75 of 365

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Happy Halloween! Three power rangers, a jedi knight and a diva. Gregory was very happy to be green!

Oct. 30, 2007 -- Day 74 of 365

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Happy Halloween! Today was Gregory's parade at preschool. Sadly they don't do parades and costumes in kindergarten any more. The teachers say they don't have the time if they are going to be able to get the kids ready to pass Standards of Learning tests, which they don't take until 3rd grade.

29 Oct., 2007 -- Day 73 of 365

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Here's my entry from ArkAngels for Russian Orphans 1st annual Russian art contest!

As the president of ArkAngels I am not eligible to win. But you and your kids are. So please enter!

I’m really excited about this and can’t wait to see (and share) artwork kids and adults create of Russia. The rules follow, but basically we’re holding an art contest for kids adopted from Russia and the people who love them (aka everyone). Artwork must be of something Russian. Winner will be selected by an online poll, so be sure to tell everyone you know to vote!

ArkAngels for Russian Orphans is a non-profit raising money to improve the living conditions and educational opportunities for children living in orphanages in Russia.

Here are the rules and official stuff:
Entry fee: $5 per picture (you may enter more than one picture, but you have to pay the entry fee for every piece of artwork submitted). To make a donation, go to www.arkangels.org and click on “make a donation” (on the right under the blue box).
Eligibility: Anyone who was adopted from Russia or loves someone who was (in other words, anyone).
Age groups: Artwork will be judged in the following four age categories: 6 and under, 7 to 13, 14 to 21, 21 and over (when artwork was completed). There must be at least five entries in a category for a prize to be awarded in that age group.
Entry requirements: Artwork must be two dimensional 8”x10” or smaller and must be of something Russian. Any medium is allowed, including (but not limited to) crayons, pencils, paint, photography, collage, etc. In addition to original artwork, please include: name, age, region adopted from (if applicable, or if parent, or other family/friend member, region child or relative/friend adopted from), e-mail address (for contact purposes only. E-mail addresses will not be made public, shared or sold).
Deadline: Digital version (either scan or original) of artwork must be e-mailed to arkangels@arkangels.org by midnight, Nov. 30, 2007.
Winners: Will be selected in an online poll at http://1millionheroes.blogspot.com. Participants may vote just once in each category. Polling will be available by Dec. 3 and continue until midnight Dec. 7 onlile at http://lisamikeplus3.blogspot.com.

Prizes: First place winners will receive a matted and framed print of their artwork with recognition of their achievement. All entrants (and their families) are eligible to have their names listed among ArkAngels for Russian Orphans “1 Million Heroes” online at http://1millionheroes.blogspot.com.

Entering gives ArkAngels for Russian Orphans permission to use you (or your child’s) artwork, first name, age and region adopted from (if applicable) online and in print. Artwork may be used in future products for sale at ArkAngels, including, but not limited to, greeting cards, calendars, clothing, etc. If your (or your child’s) artwork is chosen for a product, you will receive one free item featuring your artwork.

28 Oct., 2007 -- Day 72 of 365

2007-10-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

I finally made some Halloween decorations for the house. I was inspired by a neighbor who made her own shrunken apple heads and spiders to hang from branches in a vase. I took some short cuts and hung a strand of skeleton lights ($6 at Target) from some bare branches. It's the best I could do. Sadly the photo doesn't do it justice.

Oct. 27, 2007 -- Day 71 of 365

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Saturday was the 90th anniversary open house at NASA. The kids loved the face -- and hand -- painting!

26 Oct., 2007 -- Day 70 of 365

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Friday was the Fall Festival at the twins' elementary school. Niko won this game, which is kind of like bobbing for apples, only using donuts in place of the apples and string in place of the water. I found it interesting they would allow these substitutions, being that now because of the obesity rates in kids they aren't even allowed to bring in cup cakes for their birthdays.

25 Oct., 2007 -- Day 69 of 365

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Gregory loves preschool. But his teacher says she has to make extra things -- like this jumping and counting game -- to keep him interested. Oh my. We're just two months into preschool -- and because of his birthday he'll be in preschool for three years.

24 Oct., 2007 -- Day 68 of 365

2007-10-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

Suddenly I can't keep apples around the house. Yesterday there were 15 apples in the basket on the counter. Today there are two, and Niko and Lena have already claimed them for their lunch for tomorrow. I guess I should count my blessings -- there are worse things the kids could be eating.

23 Oct., 2007 -- Day 67 of 365

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Gregory and mommy have a nice -- albeit unseasonably warm -- October morning. We actually broke a 60-year-old temperature record on Oct. 23 with a high temperature of 87!

22 Oct., 2007 -- Day 66 of 365

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More scarecrows for the season -- these from the pumpkin patch at Dean and Dons Farm Market in Newport News, Va.

21 Oct., 2007 -- Day 65 of 365

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We're lucky to have a greasy spoon breakfast and hot dog place just a few blocks away -- an easy walk or bike ride. We probably eat at the Monty Penguin once a week or so. Where else can all four of us walk away full after spending just $11.

20 Oct., 2007 -- Day 64 of 365

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At the soccer award ceremony each of the players got these.

19 Oct., 2007 -- Day 63 of 365

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More Halloween decorations spotted on a bike ride through the neighborhood.

18 Oct., 2007 -- Day 62 of 365

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Blue Bird Gap Farm in Hampton is a public park -- an a small working farm, which makes it unique. In addition to the cows and goats and horses and deer, they recently added two alpacas, which I learned are relatives of the llama and camel.

17 Oct., 2007 -- Day 61 of 365

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This one isn't mine... I'm posting it here to show what a professional photographer can capture "on film." When this photo was taken I thought the kids were going to throw one another off the dock. And yet, Anne C. managed to show the love we know they share.

16 Oct., 2007 -- Day 60 of 365

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This spider, seen in our neighborhood, is a bit too cheesy for me... but the kids think it's cool.

15 Oct., 2007 -- Day 59 of 365

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I read somewhere that Halloween is now second only to Christmas in sales of holiday decorations. Here is a pirate that greets visitors to HallowScream at Busch Gardens. I'd love to decorate for the season, but I don't know where to start. I may have to shop the after Halloween sales this year so I'm ready for next year.

14 Oct., 2007 -- Day 58 of 365

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The nice thing about having season tickets to Busch Gardens is we can go for a few hours and come home and not feel guilty about not spending more time there. On Sunday we checked out some rides we hadn't found on the other half-dozen or so trips we made this year. Gregory couldn't quite figure out how to keep his bumper car moving, but that didn't seem to upset him.

13 Oct., 2007 -- Day 57 of 365

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We've been going to the Belmont Farms pumpkin patch in Mathews County every October for four years now. This year they had some of the coolest scarecrows.

12 Oct., 2007 -- Day 56 of 365

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Soccer picture day!

11 Oct., 2007 -- Day 55 of 365

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The kids have gotten into apples recently. So I made these Halloween apple "mouths" for everyone. It was a hit.

10 Oct., 2007 -- Day 54 of 365

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A rare photo of me -- at the park with the kids.

The optical view finder on the new camera broke on Monday and I sent it back to Canon Thursday. So we're back to using the old camera. Bummer.

Oct. 9, 2007 -- Day 53 of 365

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Sunset off our neighbor's pier. As fall turns to winter, the setting of the sun moves down river and eventually ends up just off our back yard.

Oct. 8, 2007 -- Day 52 of 365

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Gregory likes to run on the beach.

Oct. 7, 2007 -- Day 51 of 365

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Daddy works for the federal government, and they actually get Columbus Day off. So he and Gregory had Daddy day at the beach.

6 Oct., 2007 -- Day 50 of 365

2007-10-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

Mike said embattled Atlanta Falcon's quarterback, dog abuser and NN native Michael Vick was right behind me at the kids' soccer game on Saturday. I didn't believe him at first. But my how the mighty have fallen. After pleading guilty to dog fighting charges, I imagine there aren't many sporting events he can attend without being hounded by the media.

5 Oct. 2007 -- Day 49 of 365

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A heron, standing on a post in the James River, just off our back yard. I remember when we moved here, friends said we would get so used to the view off our back yard that we would eventually no longer really notice it. I told them they were crazy. But truth is I don't appreciat it like I used to.

4 Oct., 2007 -- Day 48 of 365

2007-10-07T18:06:00.001-07:00

One day after meeting Tatiana (pictured with her husband Il), who is from St. Petersburg and now lives just a few blocks away, Lena told me she wanted to learn some Russian words. Tatiana did try a few Russian words on Lena, but she was too shy to respond. Tatiana also said that if you like Moscow, you'll love St. Petersburg.

3 Oct., 2007 -- Day 47 of 365

2007-10-02T19:46:00.000-07:00

Domino took one small step closer to becoming an official member of our family this weekend -- she's now wearing a collar and a tag with our phone number on it.

2 Oct., 2007 -- Day 46 of 365

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Everyone found some favorites at the Neptune Festival.

1 Oct., 2007 -- Day 45 of 365

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Another shot (this one by Mike), this time of the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier.

30 Sept., 2007 -- Day 44 of 365

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Two more photos from the Neptune Festival -- the youth sand sculpture competition.

29 Sept., 2007 -- Day 43 of 365

2007-09-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

Mike noticed a trend on the boardwalk at the Neptune Festival today.

28 Sept., 2007 -- Day 42 of 365

2007-09-29T13:29:00.000-07:00

Elementary school cafeterias sure have changed from when I was a kid. Our entire class would sit at long tables that folded out of the wall in the auditorium. Back then we had to clean up after ourselves, putting our green divided trays (which, by the way, haven't changed), flatware and trash in the appropriate places. But now the cafeteria monitors do all that for them.

27 Sept., 2007 -- Day 41 of 365

2007-09-27T21:27:00.001-07:00

Playing with the new camera at the kids soccer practice tonight.

Flash on.

Flash off (my preference).

26 Sept., 2007 -- Day 40 of 365

2007-09-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

The kids have been interested in doing crafts recently. So today we made tie dyed shirts. Gregory, of course, wanted Green. So Niko and I made green ones too. But Lena preferred pink.

25 Sept., 2007 -- Day 39 of 365

2007-09-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

Years ago, when our friend Paul moved halfway across the country, he left with us a box of fireworks. In another lifetime, way back when we first met in 1996, we had a mini bottle rocket war going on between our two houses, which sat directly across the street from one another. In the years since kids the box wound up on the top shelf in the garage, and we forgot about it. That is, until recently.

24 Sept., 2007 -- Day 38 of 365

2007-09-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

New school means all new friends. Lena has become good friends with Grace, who lives just five doors away. They play together after school at least once a week.

23 Sept., 2007 -- Day 37 of 365

2007-09-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

Gregory loves taking Niko and Lena to kindergarten!

22 Sept., 2007 -- Day 36 of 365

2007-09-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

I love living 30 minutes from the Atlantic! We decided on a whim to take the kids to our favorite spot on the Cheseapeake Bay today. They had a blast (of course) and I thought Gregory's footprint was so cute...