June 16, 2013

For Father’s Day, I asked Andrea, Grant, and Lori to each write down three words that come to mind when they think of me. This is what they said. What a gift.

Comments (View)
June 1, 2013
Note from Grant on Flickr.Thanks, Grant, for taking the initiative to mow the lawn!

Note from Grant on Flickr.

Thanks, Grant, for taking the initiative to mow the lawn!

Comments (View)
May 25, 2013
What better activity for a rainy, chilly, and gray day than running a 5K where the 8,000 runners are sprayed with a variety of colors — enough to choke a washing machine?  Actually, I can think of a few better choices. But this nationwide event, called The Color Vibe 5K, has been on Andrea’s calendar for months. So the inclement weather and massive traffic jams were not reasons to back out. I chauffeured our team (Erin, Jess, Andrea, Will, and Grant in the above photo, and we have no clue who the photo bomber is) to and from the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. Here are a few additional shots from the day, which was quite the adventure.

What better activity for a rainy, chilly, and gray day than running a 5K where the 8,000 runners are sprayed with a variety of colors — enough to choke a washing machine? 

Actually, I can think of a few better choices. But this nationwide event, called The Color Vibe 5K, has been on Andrea’s calendar for months. So the inclement weather and massive traffic jams were not reasons to back out.

I chauffeured our team (Erin, Jess, Andrea, Will, and Grant in the above photo, and we have no clue who the photo bomber is) to and from the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. Here are a few additional shots from the day, which was quite the adventure.

Comments (View)
May 18, 2013
Junior Prom on Flickr. Grant and Naomi, in matching colors, before the junior prom. A rush to get dressed and coiffed, then the mandatory photos at each parents’ home and possibly the park, then to the prom, and afterwards a late snack or early breakfast at Denny’s. Oh, the youth and innocence!

Junior Prom on Flickr.

Grant and Naomi, in matching colors, before the junior prom.

A rush to get dressed and coiffed, then the mandatory photos at each parents’ home and possibly the park, then to the prom, and afterwards a late snack or early breakfast at Denny’s.

Oh, the youth and innocence!

Comments (View)
May 16, 2013
Grant had an opportunity to shoot some photos with three STI owners this week. He was so excited to be able to combine his passion for cars — the STI in particular — with a growing interest in photography. This motion shot is one of his favorites from over 400 photos. Uncle Stan added a bit of graphics, and the result is pretty cool. 

Grant had an opportunity to shoot some photos with three STI owners this week. He was so excited to be able to combine his passion for cars — the STI in particular — with a growing interest in photography.

This motion shot is one of his favorites from over 400 photos. Uncle Stan added a bit of graphics, and the result is pretty cool. 

Comments (View)
May 12, 2013
While planting flowers in the back yard this afternoon, I noticed that the dogwood seemed to be glowing in the sunlight. Fetching the camera, I shot this view of the blooms and green leaves against the blue sky and a few wispy clouds. A perfect spring afternoon, which I hope the photo conveys.

While planting flowers in the back yard this afternoon, I noticed that the dogwood seemed to be glowing in the sunlight. Fetching the camera, I shot this view of the blooms and green leaves against the blue sky and a few wispy clouds.

A perfect spring afternoon, which I hope the photo conveys.

Comments (View)
May 11, 2013

Weekend trip to Pennsylvania

image

Photo by Grant: Will with his brother, Dad, and Mom following his graduation from Penn State.

Last weekend we attended Will’s graduation from Penn State; Will is Andrea’s beau. He received dual degrees in Biology and Toxicology and will start graduate school at the University of Maryland in the fall. Impressive!

Back to last weekend: we flew into Pittsburgh on Friday afternoon, just in time to join rush hour traffic and make it even worse. Due to the influx of people attending the multitude of Penn State graduation ceremonies — and the dearth of hotel rooms for miles — we spent the night in Latrobe, which is about an hour from Pittsburgh (if you’re not driving during rush hour) and two hours from State College, where Penn State is located. 

Saturday morning, we were up and on the road early, allowing time to find a seat in the auditorium before Will’s graduation started at 9:00. By 10:30 he was official, allowing plenty of time to tour the campus, sample the school’s homemade ice cream at the Berkey Creamery, have lunch (in a nearby town, since open restaurants with seating were hard to find), and drive back to Latrobe (birthplace of Arnold Palmer and childhood home of Mr. Rogers).

Sunday morning we retraced our route to the Pittsburgh airport, with a slight detour to make a 30 minute stop at Carnegie Mellon (another school with an Industrial Design program).

It was a fun weekend. Additional highlights for me were seeing the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside, with rolling hills and grand vistas. And strangely enough, I enjoyed driving through Altoona, simply because Altoona is a place I’ve heard mentioned from time to time during my life, and I’ve never really been sure that it actually exists. It does. And it would be a nice place to spend some time exploring, along with Latrobe.

Who knows if that will ever happen; so I’m thankful for the brief encounters last weekend.

You can peruse many more graduation photos here.

Comments (View)

Grant took these delightful photos of Andrea while we were at Penn State last Saturday, attending Will’s graduation.

Comments (View)
April 28, 2013

Today was a special day of celebration, as the sophomores accepted to Wheelock College’s Child Life program were recognized with the seniors and graduate students at the 6th annual pinning ceremony.

Photos, top to bottom: 1) Andrea with her friends Jess and Erin — all accepted to the program; 2) Andrea with department chair Paul Thayer; 3) Andrea with Claire White, professor and coordinator of the undergraduate Child Life program; 4) Andrea with Jess, Erin, Maura (her roommate next year), and Caelin — sophomores accepted to the program; and 5) Andrea with her proud mama.

Comments (View)
April 26, 2013

College and Barbeque Tour

For spring break we flew south to Charlotte to begin a 700 mile road trip touring the Industrial Design programs at Virginia Tech, Appalachian State University, and North Carolina State University.

Here are a few of the memories we captured on “film.” You’ll find the individual photos here.

Comments (View)