The One With the End of Summer Vacation

 

It is upon us again. Another end of the summer vacation day...the eve before the first meetings at school. Looking back on the summer, I have to admit this may have been the most amazing summer we've had in quite some time.

 Here is a look at some of the things we did...

 

Get-Aways

Gloucester Beach

Cape Cod

Canada, including Halifax overnight  

 

Projects

Painted the living room

Painted the kitchen

Rearranged the living room  

Built the gazebo 

Got Rogue fixed

Got pool fixed

Redid upstairs bathroom

Kiff did filming for movie 

 

Fun Stuff

Went to two concerts on common

Saw Pirates, Witches, Murders exhibit at PEM

Went to Citadel in Halifax

Went to Maritime Museum in Halifax

Finally got to food trucks for supper 

Saw original local version of Declaration of Independence 

 

Movies

Spider Man

The Odyssey

End of Oak Street

Young Washington

 

Neat Stuff

Played cards with Tony

Visited with Rob

Watched George and Mandy Season 1 and 2 

Made pottery in Beverly

Horribles Parade on 250th anniversary of US

Went to Aroma Joes for the first time

Went down by Wareham for first time in long time 

Bri worked at a summer camp and Kiff filmed for DCAT 

 

It was a fabulous summer...one of the best!!! 

 

 

  

  

 

The One With The Odyssey

 

 

 

Last night, we went to AMC for opening night of The Odyssey. Kiff had been ardently waiting for this to arrive movie for nearly a year...so much so that he refused to watch any clips or hear to much about the original story.

Overall, it was quite an experience. Because it was filmed in IMAX, Kiff wanted to make sure we saw it in IMAX (although the seat numbers in that particular theater are confusing). However, we made sure to arrive a few minutes before preview time to find our way to the seat.

The movie did not disappoint. It has a cast of brilliant actors who performed well (Kiff and Bri were more mesmerized by them than Emmie and me). The story had to be edited slightly because IMAX movies cannot run longer than three hours...so instead of having many cyclopes...there is only one. But, those edits did little to ruin the spectacle on the screen.

While I found the acting enticing, I have to admit that the use of sound was amazing. For example, when they are sailing past the Sirens, the crew puts wax in their ears...and we get to experience what they did with muffled sound. During times of high tension, different loud noises are heard...often as if the Olympian gods, who manipulated the affair in Homer's tale, were involved. There were also several jump moments which were effectively woven in.

All and all, a great movie experience. 

 

The One With the 250th Birthday of the U.S.

 

 

Today is July 4, 2026. In essence, the 250th anniversary of the United States. Throughout the year, leading up to this anniversary, I tried to make sure students I had were aware of this. We tried to impress upon them the importance of the Declaration of Independence, studying several times and even participating in the Icivics competition to have students at as many middle schools as possible read the Declaration of Independence to commemorate the occasion.

Our video is here.

 

Along with that, we have spent the past three days trying to remember the 250th anniversary. We went to the movie Young Washington on July 2 (the actual day of independence).  We watched the Disney 250th celebration of America on July 3 and 4th. We saw the Horribles parade this morning - which had a huge flag and the Danvers Minutemen. We watched Jonny Tremain earlier today. We are currently watching Ken Burn's American Revolution documentary (episode 1) as I type this!!!

Happy 250th Birthday America

 

 

The One With An Amazing Father's Day

 

 

 

 

Another Amazing Father's Day happened this year. On June 21, we did some incredible things and, for the third year in a row, I had my "best" Father's Day.

My day actually began one day earlier by watching the Bonanza episode, "The Legacy" about Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe trying to avenge what they thought was the death of their father. Of course, they realize in the end revenge was not what they were looking for...as was evidenced by the time they got home and saw Pa.  

We began by doing the tour of the house with different decorations and notes left for me. Always fun. We then followed up by getting some food from Nick and Andy's. Yum!!!

We then went into the Museum of Science. This year, several of the spots that were closed last year were open this year. Yay!!! We  got a chance to see the Music Across America movie at Imax and even got a chance to see the Lightning Exhibit, which is now open...and updated again.

 Following that, we went to Jimmy's for supper. I had my chicken parm....which I love there.

Then, we came home. has dessert and watched Silverado.

Truly a beautiful Father's Day!!! 

The One With Disclosure Day

 

 

Tonight, the four of us went off to see Disclosure Day, the latest movie by Steven Spielberg. It was an ambitious project and one that represents the fifth look at "aliens" through the lens of the great director.

Clearly, Spielberg has a fascination with the paranormal, as evidenced by the Indiana Jones movies and the fact he wrote Poltergeist. And, this is yet another quixotic look at the unknown.

Overall, it is a good movie. It is a bit stocky in spots - moving a little bit slow - but its methodical pace helps underlie the big mystery at the end of the movie...which really isn't that much of a mystery. The acting is solid, though enigmatic at times. But, in the end, it was an entertaining movie.  

The One With DHS Graduation

 

 

Today was graduation day at DHS. And, for Kiff, who is a junior, it was a memorable day. First, it marked the final time that he would perform with band at graduation. And, because he is top twenty in his class, he was asked to be an usher for the graduation.

As a result, Emmie and I decided to attend the graduation. It was a fantastic ceremony. Not only was it fun to see Kiff perform in it for the last time, it was great to cheer on the two dozen or so kids we know who were moving onto college. 

 Overall, the speeches were good. They did the standard have the four officers talk about the different stages of school - elementary, middle, high school and looking toward the future. And, the three student speeches were interesting as well. 

It is hard to believe we have one more of these to go and then we are graduating ourselves as DHS parents. 

The One With the Big Bang

 

 

 

 

At 2:12 PM this afternoon, something strange happened. A large boom penetrated the air above Danvers. As I sat at the Elm and Maple Street light, the sound shook the car and caught me off guard. I looked at the driver next to me, in the lane outside of Berry Tavern, and she was looking around. We caught our eyes and rolled down our windows, "Did you hear that?" we both asked. We had not clue what it was.

I turned right onto Elm Street to head home and I noticed a tree down. I wondered if that made the noise. But, as I got closer to home, I noticed other people outside looking up. Clearly, other people heard the noise, too.

As I walked it in, I asked Emmie if she heard the noise. She had...and was going to call me about it. A few moments later, police raced down the street. Was it an explosion? We both wondered. Then, we looked at the Danvers Facebook page. Other people all over town heard it. But, then we soon found out online, the sound was heard elsewhere - Melrose, Woburn, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, on the Connecticut border, and Maine. Tony came over for dinner and he heard it.

It took a while to figure out what happened. However, a the GOES-19 satellite that tracks lightning strikes detected a huge flash in the sky. Jeff - our custodian at school - corroborate that story. And soon, it became clear. The big boom was actually a meteor - of the bolide variety - causing a fireball as it broke up over the atmosphere and the large boom we heard. It is definitely the first fireball I've ever heard.