Family Portrait

You are probably wondering how the above photo is a family portrait.  However, take a closer look to see if you can figure it out.

Stone Bridge Basketball Camp

Sam had fun at Stone Bridge Basketball Camp this week.  This was his second basketball camp this summer, the earlier one being at Broad Run.

Sam was pleased to be on the team that won the camp championship.  The other players on his team were:
Ashton
Caylem
Jeremy
Jack
Naren
Colin
Collin
Ben

As his championship prize, Sam received a Blow Pop and Capri Sun.

Given the size of his team, perhaps it would have been easier to list the campers who were not on the team.

Chicago Trip 2014 - Final Day

The last day of the July 2014 Chicago vacation started in Heath, Ohio.  At breakfast, Dad's phone recommended a trip to Dawes Arboretum.  So they headed there before the drive home.  It did not disappoint.

Once again, the recommendation was spot on for dinner at Da Vinci's Pizza in Cumberland, MD.

They got back into town just in time to go to Broad Run Band spirit night at Sweet Swirls.

Chicago Trip 2014 - Day 7

Monday began with a visit to Navy Pier.  The rain did not dampen anyone's spirits.  They were used to it, as it had rained off and on for most of the time in Chicago.

After getting off the bus, they did a walking tour of the Navy Pier area.

The Funhouse was enjoyed by all, followed by spirited games of Time Freak and Atomic Rush (which could also be called "Button Push Freak" and "Atomic Button Push").

Pete bought a "jumper", and Sam some Chicago pajama pants.  Dad found an indoor geocache.

The car needed to be moved from the miraculous parking space by 4pm, so it was time to leave Chicago and begin the long trip home.  Dinner was Chipotle in Indianapolis, and the evening's lodging was in Heath, Ohio.

Chicago Trip 2014 - Day 6

Today the group headed out to the beach.  Specifically 41.9139092,-87.6238724.  Lake Michigan.  Probably the first beach anyone had been to that was not on the Atlantic Ocean.

The water was frigid.  Sam went out with Uncle Steve to do the "Polar Plunge".  Then he convinced Dad and Pete to do it as well.  It was a sensation they will not soon forget.

After grabbing some lunch at Castaways, the boys played in the sand.  Sam built a castle and helped to bury Pete.  Dad made a ball tunnel roundabout and a beach ball golf hole.

On the way home, they stopped again at Taste of Chicago (after walking through what seemed like half of the city).  Sam played some Madden in the video game booth, while everyone got tickets and ate some tasty Chicago foods.

Chicago Trip 2014 - Day 5

Everyone enjoyed some waffles at a restaurant called "Waffles".  Then they hopped on a series of buses to the Lincoln Park Zoo.  They found a few geocaches at the zoo and then one more in Roosevelt Park on the way home.  The evening included babysitting for Payton and having dinner at the condo, followed by some fireworks on the Navy Pier, visible from Shedd Aquarium.

Mom, Dad, and Pete went to the fireworks.  It was raining pretty hard as they walked to the Shedd aquarium, so they turned back.  Sure enough, the fireworks started so they watched them from the 11th Street bridge.

Chicago Trip 2014 - Day 4

Day 4 was a driving day.  After checking out of the hotel, they made the 5-hour drive to Chicago, with a brief stop in Indiana for lunch and a geocache.

After settling in at Uncle Steve and Sabrina's condo, and securing a parking spot, they took Isabella for a rainy walk and to get some free July 11th Slurpees.  Dad, Pete, and Sam went over with Peyton and Uncle Steve to "Taste of Chicago" while Mom and Sabrina went to get a Reflexology massage.  Pete got a good taste of Chicago, with a Fire Grilled Steak Taco, Windy City Hot Dog, and Rib Tips.  Sam got Connie's deep dish pizza.  Then of course there were enough tickets saved up for Rainbow Cones and Dream Cups.  Topped off by a turkey leg to bring back to the condo.

Chicago Trip 2014 - Day 3

Dad and Pete got up at 7:30am, grabbed the buffet breakfast at Mango Mike's in Castaway Bay, and then Mom dropped them off at the Park at 8:45 for the early entry admission.  Mom stayed back at the hotel with Sam, and ended up going by herself to the buffet.  She was ultimately able to get Sam out of the hotel and into the park to meet Dad and Pete at Dodgem around 10:30.

These were the rides they did on the second day in the park:

• Millennium Force
• Magnum XL-200
• Top Thrill Dragster
• Dodgem
• Iron Dragon
• Mantis
• Sky Ride
• Witches Wheel
• Wave Swinger
• SkyHawk
• Mean Streak

(went back to the hotel for a few hours.  Dad deployed a few Munzees and found a geocache.)

• Maxair
• Windseeker
• Sir Rub-a-Dubs Tubs (again, pictured below)
• Maverick
• Skyhawk (again)
• Top Thrill Dragster (again)

When leaving the park, Dad consulted with his app to see where the car was parked.  It thought it was parked at the exit to the Dragster.  That 120 miles per hour ride convinced the app that they had done some more driving.

Some very cool pictures that Pete took on his phone at Cedar Point:

Chicago Trip 2014 - Day 2

Departure time was 9am from Piittsburgh for the drive to Sandusky, Ohio.  After a brief stop at Wendy's, they arrived at the Breakers Express hotel around 1pm, checked in, and went over to the Cedar Point amusement park.

These were the rides they did on the first day in the park:

• Ocean Motion
• Raptor
• Blue Streak
• Power Tower (pictured below)
• Gemini
• Pipe Scream
• Corkscrew
• All Wheels Extreme stunt show
• Giant Wheel (pictured below)
• Wicked Twister
• Sir Rub-a-Dubs Tubs
• Gatekeeper

Sam's cool new sunglasses:

Chicago Trip 2014 - Day 1

Everyone headed out around 6:30pm for the first leg of the trip.  They stopped at Redbox to pick up "21 Jump Street" and "Non-Stop".  After almost running out of gas, they grabbed a snack at a rest area on the PA turnpike (Famiglia's Pizzeria) and arrived at the Junkers residence around 11:00pm.  This left enough time for a "quick" League of Legends game with Eric and the a few hours of sleep.

The Rivah

The family went down again this year for a weekend to the Markowitz's vacation house on the Potomac River in Heathsville, Va.

Activities included the following:

- Hedbanz

- Fishing (In addition to lots of Croakers, Pete caught one of Ethan's old crocs, and Sam caught an eel!)

- Boat ride

- Riding around in Dune Buggy / Go Kart

- Walking the condemned dock in Snail Creek

- Steak dinner

- Second boat ride with adventure rafting

- Swimming in the river

- Kayaking (Mom/Dad/Pete) with a stop at "B" Beach

- Bonfire / S'mores

- Walking around the neighborhood

- Crafts

Everyone said they had a great time.  Can't wait to go back again next time!