Bright Idea Outdoors Weblog

A Trip to the Waterpark

Leesburg's A.V. Symington Aquatic Center opened last summer, and my boys had been before, but it wasn't until yesterday that I went for the first time.  Man, I didn't know what I was missing!

Here are some tips you can use if you visit the waterpark this summer:

• If you're a town resident, go early. The park opens to town residents at 11 a.m. and everyone else at noon.
• If you have a kid aged two or under, take him now. Kids that age are free.
• Pack a lunch. You can buy food at the waterpark, but it's really expensive. You can't eat on the pool deck, but there's plenty of lawn area where you can, and:

Don't miss out on the waterslides.  Most of the time, there's a gang of kids lined up for these fun features of the facility, but if you're an adult, go during "break."  You can walk right up and slide right down.  You'll be glad you did!

A Bed and a Prayer

My youngest son's "big boy bed" sat in the hallway in pieces for months.  Even though he's a strapping nearly-three-year-old, we put off taking him out of the crib.  One reason was that we thought it would be difficult to make him stay in a regular bed.  The more important reason though was that I was too lazy to put the new bed together.

If there's an excuse to put off a home project, I've used it.  It takes me a long time to get anything done around the house.  I'm not proud of this, just being honest.

The crib was no different.  It didn't look like putting it together would be hard, just time consuming, tedious and--I could tell by looking at the parts--somewhat frustrating.  I put it off and put it off...

Then last week something swept over me, and I started getting things done.  I cleaned up the basement and reorganized my office.  I built canoe racks for my truck.  I pruned the trees in my front yard and installed three new light fixtures inside the house.

It may not sound like much, but each item took at least a whole evening.  The light fixture project started with a Home Depot Trip at around 3 p.m. Saturday and concluded as darkness fell just after 9:00.

I knew then that my son's bed was next on the list.  At midnight, just before I went to bed, I did something I've been doing off-and-on for nearly 10 years now: knelt beside the crib and prayed with my sleeping child.

Down on my knees, it occurred to me that I might be performing this particular ritual for the last time.

"No," I thought.  "He's not going to stay in this bed the first night we put him in it.  He'll keep getting up and coming in our room until we're forced to put him back in the crib.

"I may not pray many more times next to the crib, but this won't be the last."

For awhile yesterday , I thought the bed assembly might not get done.  I had setup duty at church; then we had friends over for lunch.  They left at around 2:30, and I really wanted to put those new racks on the truck and take my two oldest boys out in the canoe.

"I'll put the bed together when we get back," I said.

Realistically though, there was no way I was going to get it done after paddling for two hours in 100 degree heat.

"Can you come help me put it together now?" I asked Kim.

She and I, along with all three of our sons, got the bed put together in about an hour.  Kim went to get some sheets, and when she got back the big boys and I went canoing, returning home just before dark.

It took awhile, but I finally got Brett to go to sleep last night.  He had no intention of getting back in that crib, and I doubt he ever will.

My children's bedsides will continue to be among my favorite places to talk to God, but I guess my days of praying next to that crib are over.

A History Break on the Snickersville Turnpike

 
Every now and then for the last six years, my work has taken me to the Civil War monument on Snickersville Turnpike near Aldie, Virginia.

How this historical marker, which commemorates the June 17, 1863 Battle of Aldie, is related to my work is complicated, and I won't bore you with that now.  But I will say that every time I find myself out on Snickersville Turnpike in the middle of the day, I remember why I don't work in an office.

I'm also reminded of the historical significance of my childhood home of Aldie.  The bloody battle began in or near the village and later moved to the surrounding countryside, where the fiercest fighting took place at the monument site.

According to signs placed at this small roadside park, approx. 2/3 of the members of the 1st Massachussetts Cavalary 3rd Brigade were killed, wounded or captured in the fight against the Virginians.  The monument was first erected in 1883 to commemorate these fallen sons of Massachussetts. 

It was the first memorial to Union troops built in the South after the war.

Author's Note: I'm having some major problems posting pictures on this blog, and I can't seem to get the picture of the actual monument published.  Maybe later....

Now That's a Cool-Looking Truck

Working a Wedding

I had the honor over the weekend of helping my lovely wife photograph a wedding near Charlottesville, Virginia.  The ceremony and reception took place at King Family Vineyards in Crozet, as beautiful a venue as any bride and groom could ask for.

 
Being new to the wedding photography game, I'm a little bashful about sharing my pictures here.  I took over 500 shots, and my wife says some of them are good, but I'll let her pick out the closeups that are worth posting for her own blog. 
In the meantime, here are a couple basic pictures.

A Post I Didn't Post

I spent a lot of time Tuesdsay night working on a rambling blog post that ended with my dad walking out of the cornfield in the background of this picture.

But by the time I got a chance to put it online, I was out of the weird mood that inspired the post.  So instead, I'll just say that pictures are important and I'm lucky to live with someone who's really good at taking them.

I'm also lucky to be the father of some fine young athletes, and I'm not sure what to do with myself now that we've come to the end of a thrilling spring season of NFL Flag football and Little League baseball.  Maybe my dad's not going to walk out of that cornfield--not today anyway--but I know he was with his grandsons all spring and that he will continue to with us--on the diamond and the gridiron, on the water and in the woods--long after that corn is gone.

Bugging Out

Some day, I'll write a book on building a great business, and when I do Superior Pest Management will be featured in the first chapter.

In the meantime, I'll be working on building a business of my own, and for now will simply say "thank you" to the owners, management and staff at Superior for all they've done for me in the last year.

A Great Way to Kick Off the Summer

I'm a week late with this, but I wanted to publicly thank Bob and Leann for hosting their 5th annual Steak Cookoff.

Here I am putting my steak on the grill:

Here I am telling my lovely wife how to cook a great steak.

Unfortunately for me, my steak was not the winner this year.  But all the entries were delicious, and it was a great time way to get the summer started.

Own It

MLB umpire Jim Joyce manned up, admitted his mistake and apologized after his blown call cost Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game earlier this week.  Now he's being treated like a hero.

Imagine if the CEO of BP was half the man Joyce is.