Guitar Devil

Pete and Sam have been greatly enjoying Guitar Hero 2 (Dad's Father's Day present) and Guitar Hero 3 (Nana and Poppy's house, pictured).

Based on the picture, Sam is presumably playing "Shout at the Devil".

Pete has surpassed Dad in ability on GH 2, which Dad is bittersweet about. Pete has completed every song on Easy and Medium, skipped Hard, and is now working through songs on the "Expert" level.

Sam is also doing great - he has recently finished a number of songs on Easy level - using only his thumb for all notes on the fret.

Like a Hole in the Head

One day Sam fell on to the carpet in the family room and felt a sharp pain. Apparently, he had crashed directly on to a jack that was lying stealthily, point up, in the carpet.



Dad told Sam that he had a hole in his head, which Sam did not believe. So Dad had to take a picture to show him:

The good news is that it does not appear that any of his brain came out.

Towel Test

Mom seemed to like the towel she got for her birthday. Pete and Sam were willing to take a break from dessert to test it out also.

Fireworks at Mount Trashmore

Pete and Sam enjoyed going to see fireworks on July 4 with the Orlowskis near "Mount Trashmore" in Virginia Beach.

We arrived several hours before dark, so there were various activities to fill the time.

Finally, the fireworks started.

Red Rock Wilderness Overlook

On Father's Day, we had a nice family hike in Red Rock Wilderness Overlook Regional Park.

Peaceful Playground

One hot afternoon, Sam and Dad enjoyed the surreal experience of being the only people at Dinosaur Park.

Can you spot Sam in the picture?

True Story

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,

A tale of a fateful trip

That started from Virginia Beach

With a drive to Poppy's ship.

The mates were Sarah, Pete, and Sam,

The skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day

For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.

The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew

2 ME's would be lost, 2 ME's would be lost.

The ship set ground on a sandbar,

100 feet from the dock,

With Pete

Sam too,

Dad, without his wife,

Sarah,

The professor too,

Here on Hampton Isle.

So this is the tale of the castways,

Stuck there for a long, long time,
They had to make the best of things,

It was an an uphill climb.

The first mate and the Skipper too,

Did their very best,

To throw some rope to some guys on shore,

In the tropic island nest.

They tugged with all their might,

And pulled the boat away,

Thanks to their Cub Scout skills,

A tight knot had saved the day.

That is the end of the tale my friends,

We hope you had a smile,

From five stranded castways,

Here on Pete and Sam's Isle.

Three Years

Today marks the three year anniversary of this blog, started on July 22, 2005.

Challenge: see if you can guess which picture is from July 2005 and which is from July 2008.

Skateboard Camp

Contratulations to Pete for making it through two Skateboarding Camps this summer with no major injuries. The first camp was for a week at Crittenden Park, and the second was a week at Claude Moore.

Pete started in the lowest group of the first camp, and moved up to the highest group in the second camp, where they do the vert ramps and all of the tricks. One of the instructors at Crittenden broke his ankle on the last day of camp.

Mark of the Beast

The above picture, captured in Winchester VA, should eliminate any doubt that Sam is the devil incarnate. Observe the rare double chicken McNugget, which creates a perfect triumvirate of evil along with Sam’s shirt and the expression on his face.

Movie Night

Pete and Sam watched a movie with Caleb, Brandon, and Nick, a final event before Caleb's move to North Carolina.

As you can see, they are watching the 3-D version of Sharkboy and Lavagirl.

Too Early

Pete greets Sam after waking up:

Pete: Sam, how did you sleep?

Sam: Good

Nana: Pete, that was a nice question to ask your brother

Pete: It's too early - I don't have the energy to fight with him yet.

What Smells Like Soap

Conversation between Sam and Dad in the bathroom:

Sam: What smells like soap?

Dad: I don't know.

Sam: Maybe soap.

Bear Scout Informal Crossover Ceremony

After the formal Crossover Ceremony, Pete's den had a second gathering to get their new books, neckerchiefs, and slides.

Dad helped Pete get his new neckerchief together:

Then everyone had ice cream (I think this picture was taken before the ice cream):

Sam was up to his usual hijinks on a hammock:

They also got their flints at this event, so if you see Pete approaching you with some kindling - look out!

Bear Scout Formal Crossover Ceremony

Pete crossed over to Bear scout at a ceremony in Algonkian Park.

After the main ceremony, there was another ceremony where they burned flags that were ready to be retired.

Pete and Dad were the last people to leave the event, about an hour after everything was torn down and the last of the leaders had left.