A nice day out.

Recently we had a nice weather weekend and decided to drive down to Lake Constance, which is about an hour away. This is the lake that borders Germany, Switzerland and Austria. A very nice spot to visit with lots of lakeside action.

First thing we did after driving down was stop and have a packed lunch in the park. This was followed up with an ice cream dessert. Can you tell that we never have any eating issues with Liam when ice cream is involved?
Since it was a nice sunny day, we then rented a paddle boat for a little tour out on the lake. Liam always enjoys some boat action and he got to sit between us and steer. Well, he mostly steered towards bigger boats and we had to take over, but he thinks he was doing a good job.
Then we had a walk along the waterfront to just generally enjoy the nice weather. I made Claudia and Liam stand under this tree so I could take a nice photo of them.
For the drive back, we decided to give Liam even more big fun and ride the ferry across the lake from Konstanz to Meersburg. A boat that you drove the car on was a huge novelty for Liam. Here is the beloved Mini-auto parked in its spot on the boat.
Liam was out of the car like a rocket and off to explore the huge ferry.All in all it was a fine day out. nice weather and a nice little day trip.

Canadian Delicacy - Poutine

There were a few foods that I wanted to eat on my trip to Toronto, and honestly I did not get most of them, but the one thing I did enjoy was a nice big Poutine.

For those of you not in the know, Poutine is a yummy dish from the health loving folks in French Canada. It consists of french fries, which then have cheese curds added to the top and then are smothered in gravy, melting it all into a big mess.

As you eat it, you can sometime hear your arteries hardening.

Anyway, it is definitely not an everyday treat, and I think the last time I had is was about 2001, so I thought I could indulge in a treat.

like most snack food of this nature, I like to think the best place to get it is from street vendors. And the more run down and grubby looking the booth, the better the food tends to taste. Those vendors who waste all their time cleaning and worrying about the board of health should be devoting themselves to perfecting their dishes and coming up with clever banter.

Right in front of Toronto City hall, there is always a long row of food wagons, I was walking along Queen st anyway, so it was a good spot. There were a few choices, but since I saw the "Bavarian Bratwurst Wagon co" I was won over. Not only was it Bavarian (like my wife) but according to the name, this was not just a wagon, but a whole corporation. That seems to indicate quality to me.
I took a closer look and saw that this wagon had a LOT to offer. Open 24/7. Bavarian #1, a wide selection of sausages and other treats. Their selection of condiments for hotdogs and the like was also very complete. A very good indication of a fine establishment.
I was not here for a sausage though, I wanted scrumptious poutine. So I ordered up a small one for $3, a very reasonable price. It took a few moments, but then I was able to reap this wonderful greasy reward.It was every bit as fine as I remembered. Nice gooey melty cheese, scaldingly hot gravy and chunky fries. Sooo good.

Now I am all set until 2015 when I am allowed to eat Poutine again.

pooped

Sometimes playing can be more than a boy can handle, and he needs to stop right in the middle of a busy construction session and just catch a few zzzs. I sympathize a great deal with him and would often like to do this in the middle of meetings at work, however at this moment, we dont have any big long cushions in the conference rooms that I can haul out and collapse on.



I particularly like that he fell asleep clutching a CD.

Happy Birthday Ryan

Oh Yeah, I should make a nice post.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

If you google image search "happy birthday" for extra large images. This is what you get. Overall, I am tremendously satisfied.

Best News !

I just read the news! Futurama will return with 13 new episodes!

Link

This is one of my all time favorite shows.

Soccer Debut

While I was in Canada, I had the chance to go and see the first soccer game of the "Bradford Screaming Eagles"

This was a real treat, since my nephew Adam is #11 on the yellow team. I was expecting the highest caliber of age6-8 play.

First the yellow team took to the field and warmed up a bit. Showing fine game day form.Here is action Adam receiving a pass in the warm ups.
And then challenging a defender with his sweet moves.
The game got started and like most sports for little kids, it is essentially a ball in the field with a pack of 10 kids around it. They have still not really figured out to kick the ball to the OPEN areas of the field or to go AROUND the opposing players.

Pretty much they all just move up and down in a big pack, and the biggest kid tends to break out with the ball now and then. Unfortunately, Adam is still on the low end of the age scale here and therefore not one of the biggest kids.

Number 11 did manage to get quite a few touches of the ball though and he put in a strong enthusiastic effort. Look at this power:
Adam was also on the field for the first goal of the year, putting his side up 1-0. Look at the celebrating little screaming eagles.
I saw Adam playing mostly in the backfield on defense, I think he will need to get a little bigger and faster before he is up front pounding in the goals. But as far as the backfield goes, looks pretty safe with this guy guarding it.
The good guys were up 4-1 at one point in the game, but the greenish-blue team tryed to stage a late game comeback, and beat our poor ginger-haired goalie on a couple of shots.
The yellow team did manage to hang on though, and took home a win with a score of 4-3. All in all a fine first game, despite being rather cold damn and blackfly filled. I received more than a few bites.

The end game handshake.
So, I need to call Canada now and see how the 2 next games have gone since I saw this display of awesomeness.

New Bike

So, Liam got his BIG birthday present a couple of weeks early...

He was very very interested in getting a new bike, and we took him over to the bike store last weekend. He right away wanted a blue one (although initially he wanted a blue and green one,) and gravitated to this particular bike.

He also insisted on getting a bike with training wheels, no doubt since it is so much easier for him to ride. We really wanted him to not have any, but we caved and got them for him. He was rocketing around the store and when we got home, he has asked to go ride his bike pretty much constantly since getting in the front door.

Here is the maiden voyage around the block.

The initial departure out past the "mini-auto"The reverse angle as he gets underway on the sidewalk.
Of course, it would not be a Liam experience if there was not at least one aspect where he behaved like a freak. Due to his great bravery, Liam does not like to go fast on anything. This translates into not wanting to ride the bike down hills.

We live on a hill. so he gets off and walks the bike down the hill, then gets back on and pedals back up. This seems contrary to about every other cyclist I have ever met. Going down hills is the good bit.

If it is a long gradual hill, he just rides the brakes the whole way down, coming to a total stop every 5 metres or so. Then he starts up again. Going up the hills, he is like a rocket...
The longish flat stretch on the street behind our house is about the favorite part of his ride at the moment.
After two days, he was announcing to anyone who would listen that he does not want training wheels anymore and that "Mama and Papa and Liam will all do a bike tour together." I have explained that he needs to bike faster than we walk before a bike tour will occur.

I am very pleased that he remains enthusiastic about the bike though. I look forward to the practice.