The menu now has a tab for the Outer Banks, 2017. These are some photos of our annual trek to North Carolina. This year we had a full house with five kids, two parents, a cat and a dog!
Finally, Photos from our Summer Vacation!
Better late than never, or so they say. We finally have some photos up from our Summer Vacation to the Outer Banks. Click on the Menu Bar above for Outer Banks 2016 pics.
This year there were so many photographs it was hard to know where to start. And as of this writing we haven’t figured out where to end either. There are still more photos being added. Hopefully within a week or two the page will be complete. Then we can catch up with some other activities and memories we’ve been making as 2016 ended and 2017 got under way.
Thank you for visiting. We hope you enjoy seeing our fun!
Spring, Early Summer 2016
Spring is underway. Farima and Carl have now been married for five years. Farima just graduated with her Bachelor’s degree from George Mason University. She’s been accepted into the Master’s program in the fall, and she will have a busy summer with her gardening, taxi service for the kids, and her latest project… a puppy
For Mother’s Day she got herself a terrier beagle mix who appears to also be mostly coon dog. Her name is Dakota. Add you can see her and Fuzz-bucket (aka Tiger-Lilly”) have their moments when they get along.
Our dog Buddy passed away a month or so ago, so it was a sad time. It has been very wet and cooler than normal so far this spring. And our kids keep growing.
Nathan is in Florida. He had his hand injured on the job so he’s had to go through a couple of surgeries trying to fix it up. Hopefully he will mend fast.
Paul’s playing baseball… He is really good at it. Mary runs in track and cross country. She is very good at that. And John has been playing Rugby this spring. As I wrote this he is at the nationals in North Carolina. He is very good at Rugby. They won the nationals in his team’s category.
Rochelle was here for a short while between apartments but she is out again. She has a nice place near Georgetown. Rochelle had really matured and grown into a beautiful young lady.
Carl’s daughter Tina has been fighting a health battle with what has some symptoms similar to MS, although the doctors aren’t certain yet exactly what’s going on with her. She’s been hanging in there… And she finished up her college year even with the difficulties of doctors appointments and undergoing a regimen of PT and meds. Carl is really proud of her and her family for their support and care. Tina’s husband Jeff is a great example of what a husband should be. Her boys are tops too.
Carl’s son David has also been through the wringer with his medical disabilities. Thankfully he figured out the maze within the Veterans Administration and they have been treating him and helping figure out how to get through the beginning stages of red tape. David is engaged to a wonderful young lady named Tracey who it’s just what the doc ordered for David.
As for Carl, his work has continually pushed him along into new areas off learning. Lately a lot of effort has been going into preparation for the next TV repack. There is also an effort underway in the broadcast industry to revitalize AM radio. Most of the actual applications a Carl is preparing for clients the last few months have been for what are called FM Translators. These are relatively low power systems on the FM radio band that can have a big audience when they ate engineered properly in densely populated areas.
So far the beginning of summer has been a winding down of sorts. Finishing up a year of school and thinking about days ahead at the beach. This year we are once again planning to head to the outer banks in North Carolina for a week in a beach house. Farima is doing her gardening again… so it’s time to go water. Later….
Outer Banks Trip
It’s that time of the year again. We took our annual beach vacation in Duck, NC on the Outer Banks. This year we are took our dog Buddy along with our 3 youngest kids (John, Mary Rose and Paul) on vacation. There are a bunch of photos we collected mostly with cell phone cameras on the Page listed above, Outer Banks 2015. There was lots of sun and surf, day trips, and nights trying different restaurants. The highlight was probably the night we had dinner, a back stage tour, and watched the production at the Lost Colony outdoor Theater in Manteo.
Farima’s Flowers
Farima definitely has a Green Thumb! And the first 6 months of 2015 have brought some 30 inches of precipitation to Northern Virginia. This is a short collection of Photos that show Farima’s garden, yard, and flowers.
Her yard is always interesting and pretty to see. This year has included some tree trimming, and Farima is building a new patio in the middle of the back yard using pavers. It is hard work, a lot of digging and cutting roots, and then there is the leveling! What a job!
Anyway, here are several shots taken around the house… Enjoy.
It is always fun to go out in the early morning and see how the sky is painted.
Carl says weeding is a real trip because he thinks anything that grows outside of the flower bed or across the border of the sidewalk is a weed and must be trimmed or removed. Of course he’s learned from Farima that many of the “weeds” he would banish are actually flower plants, herbs, or plants that enhance the beauty of the yard. But, if it grows up and onto the house, it’s his! That is where he draws the line!
Virginia’s wet, humid and sunny climate is ideal for gardening. Of course the bugs and birds like all the flowers too.
Farima loves sitting out back on the deck or working in the yard. Its the perfect place for a morning cup of coffee or a relaxing evening glass of wine.
The new patio she is building will be finished soon… and then it will be home to a firepit and lawn furniture. The back yard is shady enough, and the soil is poor enough in places, that it hasn’t been the best place for grass to grow. Instead it is an interesting playground for the squirrels, chipmunks and birds as immediately behind our yard is a large, wooded area with a small creek that drains through it.
As noted earlier, this year 2015 is a very wet year here in Virginia. Generally speaking by this time of the year it is necessary to water the plants and flowers continually to keep everything in tip top shape. But with all the rain this year watering hasn’t been a problem.
Thanks for Stopping By! Soon we should update the site with photos from our Beach Vacation.
Baltimore, Spring 2015
In mid-May 2015 we took a quick mini-vacation to Baltimore (just an over-nighter). Carl had an appointment at John’s Hopkins Medical Center so we decided to go up a day early and visit the National 
Aquarium. It turned out to be a great day to go becuase overall the crowds were thin and the weather was pleasant. We stayed at a hotel not far from the Inner Harbor (within walking distance) so getting to and from the aquarium didn’t require driving. Despite the recent national news about unrest in Baltimore it was actually a
great place to visit; clean, polite, and interesting. The aquarium is quite large, and there is definitely a lot of interesting things to see. There are several sections, and indeed several “elevations” from which you can explore the shallows or the depths of the ocean.
In addition to fish and turtles there we jellies, exotic birds, and even monkeys to see. Paul, Mary Rose, and John all got their exercise hiking up and down the ramps, stairs, and escalators. You could touch stingrays and various sea animals. At one point we sat in a dolphin feeding arena and watched the staff feed the fish. Our of political correctness and concern for the fish they no longer call them “shows”. Following are some more photos we took while we were there.
Spring in Virginia!
Spring in Virginia is never boring. Everything that had gone dormant during the winter months, (including most people), comes back to life with a vigor. After the crocus come the tulips. And by then mowing the yard is a major activity every weekend. Of course this means school is almost done and summer is almost here.
Farima is finishing her junior year of college and has been accepted in her field to start the year into her graduation. The kids are thinking about summer break, and all of us are turning our thoughts toward warm evenings and fun adventures! Stay tuned…
New Year 2015
Nathan, Paul, Rochelle, John & Mary on New Year’s 2015
Christmas 2014
Well, we made it through another year: Christmas 2014 has passed and now we are preparing for 2015. This year went very well. I remember our first year together in this old house after blending my new step-family into a new setting. Christmas that year didn’t play according to the traditions of my new children or my own ways from previous years. We charted into new territory. And my youngest son summed it up best that year with his honest outburst: “This is the worst Christmas ever!” Although we had some laughs and it actually worked out pretty well that year it still left an impact that we had some work to do to find a new path.
This year, 4 years later, my youngest son exclaimed “This is the BEST Christmas ever!” I must say my heart melted and I felt like we have, in fact, found our way into new traditions and truly we are family. This is true is many ways other than Christmas traditions. Routine, bedtime, discipline, tending to each other… it seems so many areas in our world have changed… have improved. The kids are doing well, I have changed as much as anyone getting used to not having a predictable routine (plans are a joke with 7 kids and 5 grand-kids). Most importantly we have learned that “step” is no longer necessary with children and family. They are our kids. My sons, my daughters, each with their own personalities, gifts, talents, and ways of expression. Each of them are my favorite child.
Of course this is Carl writing… and this site is Carl & Farima’s site so I won’t pretend to put words in her mouth or express her feelings. Nonetheless as we two have become one I suspect her writings would be quite similar to my own if she enjoyed spending time playing on websites and the internet. She’s a doll, and I love her more and more as time passes and we walk our journey hand-in-hand.
So Merry Christmas to us all! And yes, this was the BEST Christmas ever. Hopefully each year to come will create new, good, memories and we will bond closer and closer caring and tending to each other’s needs and growth. Today I know having new years and living forward in no way diminishes the past years or memories – there is no competition or reason to forget or replace what has gone before. Each day is a new day, a new opportunity to grow the love with family and friends. And so it goes.
The Holidays
With the first frost comes the orange colors of fall and the ghosts and goblins of Halloween. The routine in our home has adapted to the routine of homework most nights, taxi service here and there for the kids (church, basketball, baseball, school activities, etc.), and hours of sunlight that get shorter each day.
Farima is in her Junior year of college (graduates in 18 months!). Rochelle and Nathan are working. John’s a 9th grader, Mary an 8th grader, and Paul is in the 5th grade this year. Paul is finishing up his baseball season and Mary is beginning her basketball season. John is trying to figure out rockets. And I am continuing to learn more about computers and software.
I notice it is difficult now to keep my mind in today. Halloween… Thanksgiving… Christmas… New Years Day. We are still putting stuff away from last year’s holiday season! And I’m pretty sure there is a box under the bed or in the corner with a gift from last year we’ve never put into service yet. <sigh>
Maybe we can just wrap up some things from previous years and give them again? That would save money. But, I’m afraid we can’t recycle last year’s Thanksgiving Dinner. Oh well, some things are better left to their traditional way.