summer fun

Not much blogging recently because I've been busy in the real world, having fun with my family.

Friday night Gerald took the boys to a Red Wings ball game, which was followed by an RPO concert and fireworks. (My stepfather plays cello for the RPO, and provided free tickets for all of us.) He took some photos on his cameraphone, but he hasn't configured it yet to email me the images, so I can't put them here (maybe later tonight). The Red Wings won (after 12 innings!), and they had a great time.

Saturday I took Alex to the last few hours of the local airshow. I've never been to one, and after watching the Blue Angels practicing outside my office window on Friday, I really wanted to see the whole show. They were spectacular, but even better was the Red Baron Pizza Squadron, a group of four biplanes that do spectacular aerobatics, including the creation of the lovely midair heart shown below. (I've got some other nice photos of the squadron on Flickr.)

Saturday night we farmed the boys out to friends and relatives, and went to Weez's birthday party, where we had a lovely time. It made me appreciate how lucky I am to have friends I enjoy so much, and for those friends to be colleagues, as well.

Sunday the boys had music lessons with my stepfather (Lane's a budding cellist, and Alex has just taken up the viola.) After that, we headed to the county fair for over four hours of eating unhealthy (but delicious) food, and riding the midway rides. The boys finally worked up their nerve to go beyond their favorite rides, like the Dragon rollercoaster (very small, but fast):

Alex agreed to go on the Cliff Hanger if I went as well...so we did it. And it turned out to be great fun--it spins, but on an angle, so you swoop up into the air and then back down again. It does feel like flying!

So today I'm back in the office, trying to focus on getting some work done. Not too successfully, alas. With luck, tomorrow will be better.