Washington Avenue Extension

On Vox: Halloween begins!

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Originally posted on palmer.vox.com

On Vox: Return to Walden Pond

Since the weather continues to be unseasonably warm we decided to go back to Walden Pond and go swimming (make that wading) and have a picnic lunch.  We stopped by Thoreau's house and got a picture of the man himself.  It was a warm, wonderful August day in October.

Look at my hand!

Hey Birdman, check out my loons!

Even the water was pretty warm

But Jay still had a warm up station

Totally content

My autumnal wife

Laurie & Carson on the beach

So happy

Originally posted on palmer.vox.com

Happy 5 Month Birthday Little Boy!

On Vox: Halibut Point

On Sunday, Laurie and I took the boys to another place we had never been:  Halibut Point State Park.  Unlike the Head of the Charles, we had never even heard of Halibut Point until I read about it on Yelp (although I can't find the same link for it tonight).  Halibut Point was formerly a granite quarry next to the ocean in Rockport, but now the quarry is filled with fresh water.  Sadly no swimming is allowed, but the landscape is breathtaking.  We enjoyed the trip, although the abundance of life threatening cliffs put a damper on Jay's fun since we had to hold his hand with an iron grip at times.

The quarry

Laurie with the educational center in the background

Dad and a restrained Jay

Laurie on the ocean side

Carson in a sun hat

Jay ponders a cliff dive

Originally posted on palmer.vox.com

On Vox: At the Head of the Charles

We walked down to the Larz Anderson Memorial Bridge to watch the races during the Head of the Charles on Saturday.  Even though Laurie and I have lived only a mile from the river for eight years we had never made the trip before.  And, to be frank, we weren't missing much.  I'm sure a dedicated sculling fan would fervently disagree, but for us it was a lot of boats rowing by really fast.  I couldn't tell if they were time trials or if they were racing head to head.  Head to head races would be a lot more fun, especially if they included water balloons and super soakers as part of the game.

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Originally posted on palmer.vox.com

Guaranteed No Lead Paint

My father hand crafted a set of blocks for Jason for his birthday, which are now known in our household as "Grandpa Blocks."  Jason is lucky to be the beneficiary of such beautifully rendered pieces.  Given the concern over lead paint in children's toys these days, perhaps this is a cottage industry for my father that could prove more lucrative than "Rick's Sticks."

And while I'm on the subject of harmful substances, after researching the subject and consulting our pediatrician, we have decided to get rid of all of the polycarbonate baby bottles, sippy cups and other liquid containers (Brita pitcher, Nalgene bottles, etc.) we own due to the presence of bisphenol A, a potentially dangerous chemical.  Instead of using Avent bottles for Carson as we did with Jason, we expect to use a mixture of glass bottles and plastic bottles without BPA once I am back at work.  Farewell polycarbonate containers!

On Vox: Happy One Year Birthday Camden!!!

Camden, ever the observer, waits for his turn to be a rock thrower.

Originally posted on palmer.vox.com

Pumpkin Picking

On one of those aberrant 80 degree days we had recently, we went to Mahoney's Farm Stand in Winchester to pick out a pumpkin for Jason to decorate.  I've only posted two photos, but I could post about a dozen, as moments after he picked out one pumpkin, he would promptly cast it aside in favor of a better pumpkin.  It's anyone's guess as to what criteria he used to judge the relative quality of the pumpkins as the one he finally settled on was pretty dirty and had to be washed when we got it home.

Elm Bank times two

A few weeks ago, my father introduced me to a hidden gem (well, hidden to me) in Wellesley named Elm Bank Reservation .  He is writing a story about the children's garden at Elm Bank for People, Places and Plants magazine and he needed to photograph a kid frolicking about, so I offered up Jason as a subject.  We returned again a week later to show Bob around, and he was suitably impressed.  The following pictures were taken during our two trips.  We plan to return again on October 13th for Weezie's Garden Fall Family Fling .

A view of some of the gardens:

Jason spies some fish:

Carson's initial impression of the gardens:

Jason works the pump:

Carson and Bob lounge on the big red chair:

Jason's version of lounging in the big red chair:

A lovely place to sit:

Happy mother and baby:

Looking for someone to play soccer with:

Ahoy Matey!

Jen Cantwell gave this darling outfit to us, though I don't recall if Chris ever wore it.  I think I could pass Carson off as a girl in this get-up.  It's as close as I can get since Bob won't let me do this to Carson.