1st Day of School

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Well today was Ike's first day at school where he will be going on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays when I start back to work next week. Ike did great and his note of the day from the teacher said that "he had an awesome first day and enjoyed meeting his new friends and teachers!". We are very lucky to have such a wonderful place to take Ike and his teacher Miss Terry is sent from heaven.

Mom on the other hand did not do so well- leaving my little guy was one of the toughest things I have done in my 30 years of life and I was a blubbering fool all day. I have the utmost respect for all working moms out there as you can never appreciate the emotions until you do it yourself. When I went to pick him up he saw me and smiled from ear to ear and I felt much better. My life is certainly forever changed.

Harcourt is in Chicago at the big boat show and Dad is coming up to keep Ike and I company until Sunday- yeah!!

Nilla keeps Ike company as he gets ready for school.

key west photos

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Thanks Wavelength Studios

Last off the dock...

Baby it's cold outside!

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Yesterday was SO very cold! The thermometer read 10 and with the wind chill it was -15! Only 1 more week of maternity leave (boo hoo) so Ike and I started our day with a fun visit with our friends Erin and Claire (6 wks)- it was fun to trade new mom stories of sleeping habits, pacifier choices and feeding schedules.

We then went to the local Irish establishment, Ceili's Pub, for Ike's first official 'kiddie cocktail hour'- no the kids aren't having the cocktails but they do take over the pub and it is a great way to get together with all of our friends on Friday's. It is funny to see the coloring books, sippy cups and peanut butter sandwiches on the tables in the bar. I am sure when they are older it will be a kick to hear them telling stories about "do you remember when we used to play at the pub!"

Ike all bundled up- 8.5 weeks

Ike and Claire hanging out.
Molly (10 mos.) and Whitney at the pub.
Dad's on duty- Matt & Molly and Pete with Wes and Quinn
Paige (14 mos.) finds her spot under the bar stools :-)

Key West

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Well we just got home from a two week whirl wind tour that got me as far south as Key West and Kerry, Ike and the dogs 2k miles round trip to Charleston. This was my 6th race week, and it turned out to be the best in many ways. The weather was true gentlemans sailing. 10-12knts and 80 degrees every day. The week was filled with more highs and lows than have been experienced on the 3 years I have been sailing with the Savasana team. We ended up a disapointing 4th out of 34 after being in the lead 3/4 the way through the week. Thus is life. One of the highlights of the week was that I rode my first mechanical bull. I am proud to say that I did not get tossed, but my bull hand is still sore. One of our crew did not fare as well and got trampled by the bull if you can picture that.

My quasi brother-in-law, Brad, preparing for his turn on the bull.


The most famous street in KW.
Irish Kevins. One of my top 5 favorites in the USA

J-105's off the starting line

We're Strolling

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Ike and I are continuing to have a GREAT time here in Charleston- he will be 7 weeks old tomorrow and he is starting to smile more which is so fun! Our friends Ashleigh and Ella Grey (13 wks) are here visiting from Wilmington and we have been strolling through the streets non-stop. Today we went to the shops on King Street and lunch at Vickerys- yum! Looks like the super warm weather - like high 70's- is ending and more seasonal temps are on the way.

Ike is starting to smile more and more:-)

Strolling with Ashleigh and Ella Grey

Gone to Carolina

Friday, January 12, 2007

We made it to Charleston in 13 hours on Wednesday- Ike and the dogs were good but lets just say we certainly glad to pull in the driveway at Mom & Dad's house. We have been enjoying time with family and we had dinner last night with 13 people including Aunt Linda and Uncle Butch from Michigan who are in town which is an extra treat. Today was in the mid-70's and I had my flops on and it is only going to get warmer :-)

Harcourt and Brad left for Key West this morning very early... Harcourt made it to the airport this morning after a last minute ride was needed from Dad at 4:45am when a message came in from John (his ride) that he had a "little run in with the law"- a speeding ticket. Everyone made it safe and sound and the partying starts now and the regatta starts on Monday.

We took Ike to the Folly Beach (aka 'The Edge of America') for his first trip to see the big ocean.

2 dogs and a baby in the Z71 in route to Charleston

Cousin Taylor gets to hold Baby Ike.

A few more good shots!

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Thanks to our friend Stacey Smith for some great shots from the Christmas Tree Burn!

Burn baby, Burn

Sunday, January 07, 2007

On Sat night we had everyone over to properly finish the Christmas holiday. This meant disposal of the trees. A nice crowd, nice fire, and a nice supply of really dry trees. Anyone who has never seen a Christmas tree burn, it is impressive to say the least. We were treated with a great night to be outside in January. The warmest January day on record., 65*. Pretty nice. I over heard a couple of good conversations around the fire. "Next year when I pick out my tree, the after xmas performance might be more important than how it looks in my house". The other good one was " I am going to leave it in a bucket of Kerosene for a week before the party". From the sounds of it we will probably have the tree burn again next year. Turk's tree gets the prize for the biggest burn, forcing the crowd to take several steps back from the fire. In other news we will be packing everyone up to drive to Charleston where Kerry, Ike, and the dogs will be spending some time while I keep going south to Key West for race week. I will be sailing on Savasana the J-105.

Big Hair

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

The end result after Nilla licks his head...

Sugarbush

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Happy New Year!!! We spent the a few days skiing with family and friends in VT over the New Years holiday. It was nice to see a wintery landscape after we have had such a mild winter here so far. Ike and Kerry spent quality time in the condo hanging out with Kyle. Thanks to the Schutz's for a great time!

A sparkling day in Vermont- Dana and Tom on the mountain.
The view from the top of the notorious F.I.S. atop Mt. Ellen at Sugarbush.
Coffee and Ike

The winter wonderland view from the back deck.
A good game of a!$hole at the condo.

[Ned, Molly, Robin, Harc, Tom and Dana]

Kyle in the kitchen after a hike with the ladies on the Beaver Trail.