Hank turns nine on the nine

Hank - 9 months old

Hank's first Birthday

Camping Trip with the family

Hank tooling around

SCUBA Bath Time

Getting dirty is a boy's job

Hugging in the park

New Jersey visit

The Family Tree

Commando Hank

Having cake with my family

Happy 9th Hank!

Feeling quite unsettled

I have been feeling quite unsettled these past few weeks.  Life has also become busy so my intended writing is suffering.  For some, the photos of the family may be worth more than my writing, either way; it’s nice to be able to see how we are coming along in our everyday life.

Here is a photo of my birthday celebration this past Friday night.

More of my Journey

83 street 1966

Me 83Street 1967

Me and Joseph 83 Street 1968

Atlantis Water Park, Dania Florida 1985

Pompano Beach, Florida 1985

Hard Rock Cafe, New York City 1989

Bar in Hollywood, Florida 1988

Easter Sunday with Dad, Brooklyn 1971

My family Hollywood, Florida 2008

Look Back Friday - Today's my birthday!

48 years ago tonight, at 10:30 pm, I was born in a small Brooklyn hospital to my parents Joey and Barbara.  That day marked the beginning of my life's journey and what a journey it was.  It’s no small wonder how I became the man I am today.

My Parents, Joey and Barbara on their wedding day. Oct. 1955

Me, Nov. 4 1962

Me and my mom, Barbara at my Aunt Antoinette house

Me and my dog, Doddi

Upstate New York

Me, 83rd Street

School photo

Mom and I, 37st Street

Judith and I on our wedding day, Nov. 9th 2002

Judith, Echo and I

Soar like an eagle

"One can never consent to crawl when one feels an impulse to soar." - Helen Keller

Lights out Tuesday was enjoyable

Lights out Tuesday was very enjoyable and fun. I came home from work and with the help of the children, started the camp fire in the back yard fire pit. Once the wood burned down to coals I put up some turkey sausage and had a good meal and a good time with the wife and kids. 

Bird on bread

50 Yard Hatchet Dash

Martha Stewart would be proud

The Master Cook

Cooking sausage over an open flame

Relaxing by the grill

Dinner Time

Hungry by the light

We never did get to the games but we did tell stories to the kids about how we grew up in Brooklyn and Michigan while we sat around the camp fire.  The biggest problem was that I kept falling asleep once the sun went down, which seems like a no brainer, cool breeze, raging camp fire … old guy in the dark. 

All in all, it was nice; I would recommend it to anyone. We waste so much time buried in electronics and life that we tend to lose focus on what’s really important; each other.

After Judith put the kids to bed we slowly eased out of no lights but we did sit together in the dark and talk basically about the lack of light.  Only kidding, we did have some alone time just discussing things.

In closing I would like to know how come when you watch Little House on the Prairie and they are eating dinner with their one lantern it gives off enough light to perform a small operation but even with our two lanterns dark was dark. 

Lights out Tuesday

Sometime back I read about a family that would turn off their electricity once a week for one evening and try to connect as a family without the trappings of today’s modern society. That means no computer, no TV, no video games and most of all … no lights.  Our plans are to tell stories, play games and read to the kids.

Mind you, living in Florida we will maintain electricity for the A/C and the fridge.  We could cook on the stove because its gas or I could make a fire in our fire pit and use the grill top.  No matter what it should be fun esp. towards the end of the night, candles can be so romantic.  I guess we can hum Johnny Mathis songs.

Above is a photo of us in the dark

Highlights of yesterday's evening in the park

Beautiful Elise

Never ending smiles from Silas

Mama's little ones

Pink scary stuff and ice cream on Girly's face

Nursing in the park

My little brother, Emerson

Riding in the dark with an ice cream cone

Hank on his cool red bike 

In motion Josiah

Waiting for the ride home

Nostalgia

We took the kids to T-Y Park tonight so they could ride their bicycles without the worry of being ran down by a speeding car.  While the older boys and Echo’s friend Sebastian went off on their own Judith and I walked Baby Emerson in the stroller.  As we strolled down the path, Silas was on his two wheeler with training wheels and Girly was on her scooter, I spotted a Mr. Softee ice cream truck.

Boy did that trunk bring back memories of being a kid in Brooklyn, hot summer nights yelling out of excitement for my mom to give me a quarter for a cone.  I would always buy a chocolate cone with chocolate sprinkles, best quarter I ever spent unless of course if the Good Humor man came around first or Bungalow Bar or Eddie Spaghetti or King Kong.  My mother would have gone broke if I patronized each and every trunk that came around each and every day.

So back to the park, I joyfully ordered a vanilla cone with chocolate sprinkles for me, because it seems chocolate ice cream seems to spoil very quickly down here in the arm pit of America so they don’t sell it, a cup of vanilla ice cream with pink scary stuff on it that Judith and Girly were going to share because Girly wanted something pink and an ice cream sandwich for Silas.

Eight bucks! No wonder none of us want to let go of the past.

When I was kid, I never wanted my top to stop.

Re-blogged via http://piccole.rispostesenzadomanda.com/post/1224268386/buonanotte

Look Back Friday - Echo

Our oldest son Echo

From the beginning, only seconds old.

Judith and Echo in Dania Beach , Florida

Our first photo Session

Echo and Judith,

His loving touch.

Echo's first canoe trip

Mud-Boy

North Carolina family reunion  

Davie Rodeo with Dad

Echo vs. Monster Truck

Echo and Dad in the wild