It goes on

July 15, 2012 9:44 pm // 8 Comments

In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.
– Robert Frost

It’s been a month since we’ve returned from New Mexico, but I wanted to write an entry dedicated specifically to our time at the ranch in Springer, where my last surviving grandparent still lives.

Ellen at the ranch (Credit: Arthur Trujillo) A quiet moment with great grandmother Coppock An old manure spreader (which for many years served as the foundation for the pier at the pond)

I spent many a happy day with my grandparents at their ranch. I can’t imagine my childhood without them or the ranch. There were barns we could explore, irrigation ditches we could swim in, a  pond where we could fish, and a thicket of trees in which we could build forts. Read More →

Posted in: New Mexico, Personal, Pictures

Vacation 2012

June 25, 2012 12:29 am // Leave a Comment

This year we did something we’d been meaning to do for a while: on the way to New Mexico we stayed in Annapolis for a few days, where my cousin Desmond and his wife live.

At the marina in Annapolis Isabelle and her mother Irma Lunch in town with Irma and IsabelleDSC_2665.JPG At the mall in Annapolis Isabelle at the mall in Annapolis

Unfortunately Desmond was called away for work prior to our arrival, but we had a great time anyway. Irma is a great hostess (and an amazing cook — she made us Indonesian, Thai, and Japanese dishes, each one delicious) but she’s also just a lot of fun. It was great to have  a chance to get to know her better. Our visit was made even better because Isabelle and Ellen had a great time playing together. Long after we left, Ellen kept asking when we were going back to Isabelle’s house.

Isabelle and Ellen burn off some energy after eating ice cream DSC_2576.JPG DSC_2577.JPG

Desmond and Irma live in Annapolis because it’s near to Washington DC, where Desmond works. So we naturally felt like we had to go into DC and see the sights. And so we did. But there is no way to compare what we saw with what we would have seen had we not had two hot and sticky kids with us. We managed to see the World War II memorial and get a glimpse of the White House, and then we were more than ready to call it a day.

Dragging two kids into DC during 'Rolling Thunder' has a way of melting your brain Ellen at the National World War II Memorial At The White House

So, after a few days on the East Coast, we were ready to take the relatively short flight (four hours) to New Mexico, where we spent the rest of the vacation. Read More →

Posted in: Ellen, June, New Mexico, Personal, Pictures

Milestone 2012

May 27, 2012 3:15 am // 1 Comment

I’ve fallen behind on updating this blog.

One of the reasons is that, when I started this blog, I’d just moved to Denmark. Everything was new, and for a long time I could have written a blog entry every day. (And might have, had I not been having so much fun.) But now I’ve been living here for over six years. In that time I’ve become accustomed to many of the things that struck me initially, so I don’t even think about them much less write about them.

Another reason is that many blog entries were thinly disguised excuses to post pictures I’ve taken. But more and more, with a demanding job and two young kids at home, my photographic subjects have become almost exclusively my kids. And even though I don’t get tired of looking at pictures of them, I don’t want the blog to become solely a record of Ellen and June. Read More →

Posted in: Personal

June at four months

April 7, 2012 11:30 pm // 3 Comments

It’s not like we didn’t think June was cute before. We did.  But… maybe we just didn’t notice how cute June is until now. But now — now that June is getting more responsive and her personality is starting to come into focus… now, we think she is cute. Extremely cute.

Lisbeth and I don't remember Ellen being quite as eager to smile as June seems to be. The June-bug, making the most of those blue eyes (while they remain blue) The June-bug

But I remember going through this with Ellen. Each month I’d say, “Wow she’s cute — she just can’t get any cuter than this.” And the next month I’d look at pictures from last month and shrug, and say, “Yeah, she was cute I guess. But now she’s really cute.”

Posted in: June, Pictures

Spring has sprung

March 25, 2012 8:41 pm // 2 Comments

Winter is over! (And to celebrate, I’m shooting two stops overexposed.)

Lisbeth Ellen Ellen

I like to tease the Danes for their exuberance when the sun starts to spend more time in the sky. They act like they’re kids and Christmas has arrived without warning.

Ellen The June-bug The June-bug

They all rush out at once, and stand in parks, on street corners, and on terraces, close their eyes, and bask in the sunlight. On the first warm day of the year, you can’t find a grumpy Dane in the whole of Denmark.

Happy June-bug DSC_1666.JPG Lisbeth

But I have to admit spring in Denmark is fantastic. It comes on so suddenly, and in such sharp contrast to the winter… each year I spend less time teasing and more time quietly soaking up the sunlight.

Posted in: Denmark, Ellen, June, Pictures

Quiet

March 4, 2012 9:56 am // Leave a Comment

The current price of thirty minutes of quiet? One piece of paper. (That’s a damn good deal.)

DSC_1616.JPG DSC_1634.JPG DSC_1639.JPG

Posted in: Ellen, Pictures

Ellen turns three

February 16, 2012 11:38 pm // 1 Comment

Ellen turns three today. We celebrated her birthday on Sunday, and, despite the fact that she looks a little sad in some of the pictures, she had a good day. Ellen’s cousin Marie also has a birthday in February (she turned 16 on the 9th), so there was plenty to celebrate.

 DSC_1071.JPG The table is set, the guests are on their way... and where are the gifts!? DSC_1119.JPG

This was the first birthday where she understood the concept. She talked about it for weeks in advance. She knew she was going from two to three, and she knew that gifts were going to be part of the deal.

DSC_1141.JPG DSC_1145.JPG DSC_1152.JPG

She also understood (due to the diligent repetition by her parents) Read More →

Posted in: Ellen, June, Personal, Pictures

Pay your taxes, loser

January 18, 2012 10:36 pm // 1 Comment

I’m sick and tired of hearing conservatives bitch and moan about having to pay taxes. It boils down to this: conservatives take all the credit for the success they have. To a conservative, if you’re poor, you’re a loser and you’ve gotten what you deserve. Likewise, if you’re rich, then you worked your way up, without any help from anyone, and you deserve to keep every dime you make.

This is, quite simply, bullshit. And the reason I know it’s bullshit is because of my own life.

I’ve done well for myself. I’ve exceeded expectations. I’ve worked hard, and I have a rewarding and interesting career. But I’d be the biggest most arrogant type of narcissistic asshole to claim that I’ve done it all on my own and that I deserve to keep every dime that I make.

Why? Read More →

Posted in: Politics, The US

June at one month

January 8, 2012 8:18 pm // Leave a Comment

It’s been a month of adjustment. Adjusting to scattered sleep schedules. Adjusting to not out-numbering our kids two to one. Adjusting to being a family of four (which still sounds a little weird to me.)

DSC_0839.JPG DSC_0850.JPG DSC_0827.JPG

Despite the fact that June looks so much like Ellen did at this age, there’s no confusing the two in other respects. When Ellen was a month old, she was getting Lisbeth up once a night for an hour at most. With June, Lisbeth is generally up four or five hours a night. Read More →

Posted in: June, Personal, Pictures

2012 360°

January 4, 2012 10:44 pm // Leave a Comment

Last New Year’s eve, we planned to return from our trip to the US, and spend a jet-lagged but pleasant evening looking out at the fireworks from our bedroom window on the eight floor. That didn’t work because our flight was delayed, so we welcomed the new year on a place over the Atlantic.

This year, with an infant, we opted to stay home, but now we live in a quiet residential quarter, with no view whatsover, so we didn’t think we’d see many fireworks. We were wrong.

DSC_0742.JPG DSC_0762.JPG DSC_0769.JPG

Apparently, in a country where guns are illegal and fireworks are allowed only once a year, you really need to get it all out of your system. For three days prior to New Year’s, there were random explosions around the neighborhood. This increased dramatically on the 31st, going on pretty much all day.

It picked up even more after dark. We thought that it was all the people who have kids that they want to put to bed later, lighting their fireworks now instead of waiting for midnight. Wrong again. Read More →

Posted in: Denmark, Pictures