Getting ready...

So this weekend we are moving into our new house - "ready or not here I come" comes to mind. Lots going on right now and it is busy busy busy, so updates from here on in are probably going to be light.

But in all seriousness, go and have a look at the new house Mahogany Reef and keep in mind that our email addresses will be changing sometime in the future too. We will let you know what theya re as soon as I set them up.   

Doing some light reading...

Sebastian doing some light reading this past weekend...   

Spirit of Bermuda Arrives

The Bemuda Sloop Foundation's sail training vessel made it's way to Hamilton Harbour yesterday - followed by a flotilla of small & large vessels. This is a project that hopefully will soar to great heights in rescueing some of Bermuda's youths. Costing almost $7m to build - Megan, Sebastian and I are heading to Dockyard to catch a closer look later today. Our friend Carola sailed down on it and says it is "really nice" downstairs.   

Sold!

All good things come to an end... here's to new beginnings. We have closed the deal on the sale of Star Cottage, and have until Nov 1st to vacate the premises!

Very exciting as our new abode is being finished off and we should be moving stuff over about mid October.   

Hurricane Florence Pictures

All good things happen in the end - I have uploaded the photos to the September gallery for Hurricane Florence. Also in there is a bit of beach volley ball, and Sebastian's activites in the "food chair".   More...

The "Big" Piano Man

  

NYC & the IOD Worlds

This past weekend saw the Kempe clan in NY... last week, before Hurricane Florence arrived, I took off to the IOD Worlds in NY. Megan & Sebastian followed on the Wednesday and hung out in Rye NY until the Worlds ended on the Friday. We came 7th out of 10 in a fleet that was punishing if you made a slight error. It was easy to find yourself at the tail end of the fleet and spend the remainder of the race scraping back to the top. Anyway after that was all done we travelled back into the city limits and stayed right on Central Park at Trump International Hotel... good deals are a mouse click away on Travelocity; and fortunately I didn't have to call up the gnome to sort anything out... the hotel was great in all regards. We shall stay there again there ever is a deal that brings the rates to our stratosphere again...

With such a great location there was lots to do. We went to the Childrens Museum of Manhattan... a MUST see if you have children... it is like a big playground for kids, and lots of learning. After that we stopped at a post office to send a little gift to Emily who is in Zurich until January... And then onto FAO Swartz where Sebastian got to play on the piano out of the "Big". Pretty cool, but with a price tag of a quarter million, I don't think Sebastian can expect to see anything like it in his new room!

On the Saturday evening we went to the shops at Columbus circle and ended up getting some food from a local deli and ate in the hotel room - a little picnic on the bed so to speak...

Sunday morning we went back into the park and to the Central Park Zoo, and then onto the childrens zoo. On par with the Toronto childrens zoo, so Sebastian had a great time. And after all that we had to fly home.

Psoted some pictures in the September gallery.   

I'll Huff and I'll Puff

So last year was a record year for hurricanes, made even more sensational because practically every single hurricane ran right into the American media machine.
In my case when you live with a catastrophe model analyst - you get the added benefit of having someone know the latest up-to-date info on the hurricane season and the latest threat.

Our latest offering is Hurricane Florence - still just a tropical storm far far away, but seems to have a lot of computer models shaking in their mainframes. Predicted to pass pretty close to Bermuda sometime Sunday/Monday - this is the first real excitement since Fabian. Stay tuned...   More...

Lions Tiger and Bears!

We just got back from a wonderful trip to see the family in Toronto - and also go to the Toronto Zoo.

Seba had lots of fun at the zoo, seeing all sorts of animals including Elephants, Snakes,
Bears, Giraffes, Tigers, Moose, etc etc... a long day at the zoo was fun!   

Fever Time

Who knew that a kid could be so happy with Cheerios?
This past weekend Seba got a fever (which we are sure was from his recent MMR vaccination shot). On top of this there was the IOD North American's regatta - which Uncle ConnMan was sailing in with Coop's brother Patrick, and Uncle Jesse, Auntie Laura - all organised by Uncle Craig. Family affair? :)

Anyway it was blowing dogs off chains all weekend, and it came down to a tiebreak since the two top boats (Patrick & the boat from San Fransisco) had the exact same scoreline. Partick & Co won the final race (San Fran came 2nd) so they took the title!

I posted some photos of the action at the IOD website located here: http://www.iodfleet.bm/ and some other Seba photos in the August Gallery.   More...

Cup Match Weekend

Another Cup Match weekend came and went. This year I took off the Wednesday before Cup Match so it ended up being a nice long weekend.

Thursday we all went out on Addiction and sailed in the Heineken Round de Island race. This was obviously followed by Heineken and some burgers at the RBYC - not a good combination if you are planning on going to a kiddie birthday party later that afternoon. But we survived and after a small BBQ at Jesse's house that evening we were recovered for Friday.

Friday morning we got some work done, and then headed West - to go to the game. Even though security was TIGHT we were still able to get through the gate with our trusty cooler on wheels - filled with Heineken officer! Won $90 at Crown & Anchor and was able to buy some lunch. Soon after that we decided to the leave the heat and crowds and headed to Mangrove Bay for a swim with the Simmons'. Nice afternoon was spent lounging in the water - we followed this up by going to Carola's house for another low key BBQ. Seba had no trouble falling asleep later that night!

Saturday morning we did some more work, and then organized ourselves for a quick swim with Rachel & D'Arcey before heading over to Jesse's for the afternoon/evening. We got Jesse's old Laser out of the bushes and rigged it up for some sweet sailing off the beach. Add to this Bill's potent Rum Swizzle - and not much can be remembered except sore heads and sunburnt backs!

Sunday was Fitted Dinghy racing in Granaway Deep, and the Non-Mariners Race in Mangrove Bay. Megan & Coop went to later after stopping by to watch a race. Another early nigth for Seba and a good end to another Cup Match weekend.   More...

Coops Big Party Weekend

Very busy weekend this past weekend with Captain Coop's 30th birthday bash out on the island. Seba played a bit of DJ, and enjoyed the quality swimming off the dock.
Sunday was followed up by recovery & some household chores - including a swim in the pool on the porch! Check out the picture Gallery in July for more.   More...

Down & Dirty

We had anothe fun packed weekend again. On Friday night we attended XL's summer party in Dockyard which was a fun night. Connolly babysat Sebastian for us, and crying was apparently minimal. The next day we headed to swimming lessons, and got on with a few more odds & ends around Star Cottage in preparation for selling. Saturday night we ordered indian and headed to Mark's house to introduce Connolly to Mark, since he will be housesitting for him for a few eeks starting in August.
Sunday morning we woke to a police blockade on Ord Rd; and apparently there was a shooting overnight down the street from us. Police aren't saying much about it, but needless to say we didn't get woken up by it. So we headed off to dinghy races were we captured 1-1-2 in Mangrove Bay and returned for more indian and a messy Sebastian during dinner outside on the porch.   

Want a kiss?

Sebastian and Megan on the lawn at the Hamilton Pricess while we watched the start of Wednesday Night Racing.


  

Video - Seba laughing...

A little bit of a blast from the past - Sebastian in a couple of clips that show he has a funny bone somewhere in his body.

  

Vroom Vroom

Source Denis Leary & edited for content:

Know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna get myself a 2006 Hyundai Tucson, mid silver, with Alloy Rims and all-leather cow interior and big halogen headlights... yeah! And I'm gonna drive around in that baby doing 22 miles an hour, getting 23 mile per gallon, suckin' down quarter pound cheeseburgers from Dorothy's in the old-fashioned non-biodegradable styrofoam containers... yeah! And when I'm done suckin' down those greaseball burgers I'm gonna toss the styrofoam containers right out the side (into a garbage can), and there ain't a goddamn thing anybody can do about it.

Yeah baby - we got a new car. Vroom Vroom.   

Sunday Night Dinner

Sunday evening, we put the finishing touches on another weekend at Star Cottage with family dinner. We had 9 people over - Jill, Stephen, Laura, Craig, Emily, Connolly, Megan, Sebastian, and I. Although the little ones went to sleep earlier than the rest, we didn't last too much longer.   More...

Joshua's Birthday Party

Saturday afternoo - after Grampa & Daddy painted Star Cottage - we went to my buddy Joshua's birthday party. It was great - there were lots of other kids there and the cake was yummy!   More...

Chicks dig me...

Nuff said.   

Wednesday Night Sailing

While Mommy was off at a business dinner, Daddy and Seba went on by the Hamilton Princess to watch the start of Wednesday Night Sailing. With a 5-10knots downwind start forecasted, Stinger sailed by ConnMan, did get off to a great start. I think they were probably the last boat to cross the start line; and played "catch-up" for the rest of the race - finishing 40th for the evening. I hope the beers were at least cold!

Pictures of the start in the July Gallery.   More...

Swimming Lessons

Must be summer time again! Because we are at swimming lessons again.
Seba is loving it even more than last year. Some pictures in the July photo page. Also a new video uploaded on the Video page - ReRe Takes a Video.   

Catching up

Getting caught up on the photos that were taken while I was away sailing the Newport-Bermuda Race. They have been sitting in the camera for a while now, and some of them were taken "before" I went away! Check out the June gallery.   More...

The World Cup

This comes from a daddy blogger with similar woes to my own - specifically in regards to the sippy cup. Click the link to find out more.   More...

Where have we been?

It would seem that nothing has happended in two weeks, but in reality - lots has.
Jennifer & Julian are now with us in Bermuda following the Newport-Bermuda race. More to follow when we get a chance to catch up.   

Birthday Madness

It was Megan's birthday yesterday - if you forgot, then consider yourself a bad, bad person...   

Prepare to be...

...washed out! It may look like Sebastian and I are trying to fluch out a garden snake, ROUS, or squirrel or something - but in fact it was just us cleaning out the cooler in preparation for our painting party at Mahogany Reef. Sebastian was a great help. You can read more about the painting progress at Mahogany Reef.   More...

Emily's Big Birthday Bash

We went to Emily's 1st birthday party last Friday evening - and there were cupcakes, toys, food. A nice little birthday party!
More photos in the Gallery.   More...

May 24th sailing

It's been a while since we last updated the web site - but the mid week holiday last week threw us off a bit I think.
Anyway on May 24th the family went to St. Georges harbour for fitted dinghy racing aboard Contest III. You can read more about the days racing and see some sailing photos when you click more...   More...

Sebastian visits the beach

We went to the beach last weekend - and took some short video. I added them to the Video page.   More...

Over the weekend

We had a busy weekend at Star Cottage - as usual!
Saturday Daddy went sailing and came home with three first place finishes - which will do wonders for the teams Worlds Qualifying hopes this year. Seba and Mommy spent the day running errands and met us at the club later for a few drinks.

Later in the evening we had a few friends over for a little BBQ and some Mojitos using fresh mint from the garden.

Sunday morning started early as Daddy went off to Regiment and rehearse the upcoming CO's passing out parade. Meanwhile Seba & Mommy visited the aquarium with some friends. They had a great time in the kids playground area, some pictures have been added for you to enjoy.
Sunday afternoon Mommy and Seba went to a wedding shower for Cousin Doug's future bride, Kat, while Daddy went over to Mahogany Reef to comtinue priming the walls and ceilings.
That evening we got to all go online and chat to Gramma J in Toronto - she was making funny faces at us over messenger...
  

Mothers Day Rocks

Mothers Day was a great day - the first day back for Megan, and Sebastian had gone out the day before and bought mommy some flowers and a new pair of shades. She liked them, and we spent the day together in the beautiful sunshine.   More...

For my mommy...

I uploaded some pictures of me for my mommy this morning... Seba

UPDATED!   More...

Snow & Morman's in Colorado

This morning I woke in lovely Colorado Springs and the place was covered in snow. It was really pretty. A few hours later the sun has come out and the snow has all melted...oh well, it was nice while it lastest.

The hotel is really nice. It reminds me VERY much of the hotel in The Shining. A little creepy actually!

We went hiking yesterday where I got Sebastian the best presents...Rocks :) He loves finding rocks in the garden and eating them...so I found him two little ones, I've cleaned them off and they are all ready to go straight into his mouth :)

I also saw a real live Morman family (or at least what I thought were real live Mormans). There were about 8 kids all dressed the same and the Mom's were dressed the same too.

That is about it from Me. My lunch break is just about over so I am back to work.   

Party Party Party

Sebastian's "One Fish, Red Fish, Two Fish, Blue Fish" birthday party was a huge success! The fishing game went off without a hitch and some little fisherman were fishing long into the night. Sebastian got to devour a cupcake with icing, and alot of little friends had a great time. See more photos in the gallery.   More...

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to me! I am 1 years old today. Daddy placed some pictures in the May photo album from my Birthday breakfast this morning.
Seba   More...

New moves...

Sebastian's new way of crawling around the yard... is this a sign that daddy needs to mow the lawn?   

Simple & Cheap

So last week as you are all probably aware, Megan was away on a conference, so in essence the coaching/referee/distraction/parenting team was cut in half at Star Cottage. It was during this time that I really started to notice how much Sebastian likes to crawl/slither/drag himself around the house and get into everything. He also likes to spend time in the kitchen while you are cleaning the dishes/bottles/bibbs/food chair. He is fascinted at this time with doors. Any doors really, but the cupboard doors in the kitchen he has taken a particular fancy to, probably since he can reach the little handles rather nicely when standing. As I said, it is not something I wasn't fully aware of because he was doing it before Megan was away, but now it was magnified as I was constantly trying to distract Sebastian from opening the cupboard doors and emptying the contents all over the floor...
Now all you parents are aware that there are of course nifty inventions that a daddy can install on the cupboard doors that involve magnets, drills, and a bunch of time consuming hoooey. I came up with a simpler and much cheaper way to fix Sebastian's urge to open and empty the contents of the cupboards - bungie cord. Works well, and I even got it in an attractive blue color too! So strike one up for the parents on this one - $1 at PS's gets you three feet of blue bungie cord, and a couple snips with the scissors, and a few knots, gives you secured cupboard doors and a pot/pan/tupperware/garbage free kitchen floor.   

Crusing and Snoozing

A quick picture from last weekend when Sebastian, Emily, Craig, Laura and i went out on Seawind (Seaweed) and cruised around the harbour and Great Sound. Of course Sebastian took this time to have a super nap.

Of course this past weekend's weather was nothign like the weekend before's! I went out sailing on Sunday for the first day of International Race Week with the Addiction J105 team. Shifty, flukey, wet, wet, wet day is the description. We had a couple of real big downpours while out on the course and at one point you couldn't see more than 50 yards it was raining so hard. Kinda spooky sailing around in the middle of the sound with lots of boats, and not being able to see any of them, let alone land! It was a shifty day and our results reflected it, but it was nice to go sailing with the old crowd again though.
So as I was sailing Megan and Sebastian were catchign up on lost time, now that she has returned from the 10 day conference. All seems to be back to normal at Star Cottage now...   

Egg in Kitty's Face

So this morning I was typing away at the computer while Seba was playing in the living room with all his toys. I noticed that he has gone over to his bag of easter eggs; they have things like macaroni in them, so they make cool sounds. So anyway, I noticed he picked up an egg and headed off at top speed into the kitchen. You can see the result of his plan. I'm guessing he thinks Kitty needs to have some egg in her diet. ;)   More...

Tired little guy...

On Sunday Seba and I went over to Adam & Debbie's so that Seba could "hang" with Lilly & Pheobe while I went to show Stinger to a prospective buyer. Seba had a great time, and I think both sides got extremely tired from the visit; because Seba ended up sleeping most of the afternoon! But the visit went well, and Seba even got some "boat" time - even though it was on the grass in the backyard...   More...

Sebastian in the news

So here is Seba helping daddy take measurements of the new Blokart!
Some additional random Seba photos in the April Gallery.   More...

More Photos....PLEEEEASE!

Well, day three is alomst over, 6 to go. We just got back from the Caves and we are getting right back into all the work.

Mommy DESPERATELY needs more photos. As much as I love Jes, Doug and Craig, I need pics of Seba!!!

Check ya. Meg/Mommy :)   

Reduced Windage

We finally made it to the weekend - and Saturday was promising to offer some great weather & sailing.
The sailing was spectacular and we ended up with a 1-2-1 for the day which was nice. Plus this week we also had beer for the ride back, unlike last week!
Then in the evening the gang all came over for a BBQ at Star Cottage. Somehow the hair clippers were brought out, and three people reduced their windage!
Today we are going to go out on Seawind in the afternoon - the weather is fabulous again.   More...

10 Days

So Megan has retreated to a local hotel for ten whole days - doing a global development training course. So that means that Seba and I are running free around here. Keeping the fort down so to speak. Of course Megan does have internet access, so, Hi Mommy!   

Blue Goodness

Just bought my first ticket through JetBlue today. Isn't the world a better place when you feel like you are not getting ripped off by the airline? For a one way ticket to Boston (via NYC) all told it came to $235.75
Plus you get DirectTV in your seat, with XM Radio as well. Increased legroom, and leather seats.
Sweet.
Check out their super simple online booking site here:   More...

Easter Dinner

Sunday was a busy busy day for us!
Of course we woke up early - as is the habit, and had a nice Easter Sunday breakfast. Grandma J stayed at Star Cottage while the rest of the gang went over to Mahogany Reef to paint some door frames. After that job was done we came back and had lunch and finished off the black board that I had been making for Seba.
That took most of the afternoon, and as soon as that was finished we had to go back over to Granny & Grandpa's house for Easter dinner.
Sebastian got to play with Emily and they both had lots of fun during the easter egg hunt. Well it was more like a crawl and the easter eggs weren't really hidden - they were spread out over the lawn.
Seba & Emily also got some fabulous Bermuda Cedar Adirondack chairs that Grandpa made for them, they even have name tags on the back!
See more in the photo gallery by clicking on the link!   More...

Good Friday Madness

With only the slightest breeze, Good Friday wasn't looking like it would be much of a kite flying day as in past years. But actually there were a lot of determined people at Doug's house to see a couple of kites up, and a couple of kites did actually go up, then down, then up again, then down...
Sebastian didn't seem to like kite flying too much unfortunately, and whenever a kite went up he screamed and cried... :(
The usual suspects were there, as was the usual food & drink... good hot cross buns and fish cakes! Yum.
Ony had two tragic losses - Jennifer/Jesse's kite took down Elizabeth's kite all the way into the bay grape tree - the bay grape tree won, and it looks like Jennifer & Jesse's kite will still be in it next year too...