July 4th at the Lake

Holy Cow!! My wife got me good. My 40th birthday was July 3rd and my wife really pulled the wool over my eyes. She threw a surprise birthday party for me and I did not have a clue. I could not believe I did not figure this out. Now that I know how sneaky Kathleen can be, I am really scared (just kidding). What a wonderful wife she is to do all that work to get all those people together to celebrate little ol' me.

We traveled to the lake on Friday, July 3rd and met my parents and other family there. After putting the boat in the water and getting things ready, we decided to go eat at our favorite restaurant in Boydton. Well, it's actually the only restaurant in Boydton, but it is really good. As we drive by, I tell Kathleen that the place is packed and we might not be able to find a seat for all of us Newtons. So Kathleen slyly says, 'Well, we may have to get it to go'. So, we walk in the door and 35 people yell 'Surprise'. I could feel my face turning red with embarrassment. I did not suspect a thing. No wonder the place was so packed, they were there for the party. Duh!! As I looked around the room at the faces of our friends from the lake as well as a bunch that traveled 2 hours from Richmond, I thought how truly blessed I was with wonderful family and friends. I could not have asked for a better birthday. Thanks for making it awesome.

The rest of the weekend was spent enjoying the awesome weather. We fished, boated, swam and enjoyed a great picnic with the neighbors. Ernie and company caught a 10 lb, 20 lb, and a couple of 2 lb catfish. We decided to let them go to fight another day. We did some extreme tubing, we wakeboarded and cruised the lake. It was a great weekend. A great way to celebrate this wonderful country we live in. God Bless the USA.

Ricky Pollock's High School Graduation

June 13th - A day of celebration. Ricky graduated with honors from Kechotan High School. We are so proud. He has completed one phase of his life and is ready to embark on another. Ricky has joined the Marine Reserves and will go to boot camp on June 28. After boot camp, he will do some additional Marine training and will finish in December. He has also been accepted to Old Dominion University for the spring semester and plans to start college following his training.

What a man he has become. We are so proud of all he has accomplished and thankful that he has decided to serve this great county.

Segway Tour of Richmond

On Sunday, June 7, Kathleen and I went on an amazing trip around Richmond. We took a Segway Tour and it was one of the neatest things I have ever done. Riding on the Segway was so easy, it only took a few minutes to get the idea and feel comfortable.

The tour started at the visitors center, at the Richmond Center, and went all over Richmond. A neat 2+ hour tour. The tour guide was very informative and also let us ride and have fun. A great way to see Richmond. We had a blast.

Memorial Day at the Lake

Memorial Day Weekend, 2009 found us at Buggs Island Lake. We spent a fun weekend with my sister and her family. It was strange not to have Mom and Dad there, but Mom was recuperating from her broken leg.

We spent a lot of time at the water. Usually Memorial weekend is a little chilly for swimming, but this year the water was fantastic. We did a lot of boating and water sports. My nephew, JW, is an accomplished wakeboarder and I am just learning. We had a great time tubing and enjoying the great weather. Our neighbor had his usual picnic and we reconnected with folks we hadn't seen since last summer. The fishing was a little lean. My brother in law, Ernie, only caught 2 catfish.

It was a great kick off to the summer and we had a great time.

Gettysburg

On Saturday, May 16 through Monday, May 18, Kathleen and I went on our anniversary celebration trip to Gettysburg, PA and Thurmont, MD. We stayed at a neat little place in Thurmont called The Cozy Inn. A old inn that not only had great rooms, but had a restaurant that served terrific food. But before we checked in, we went to the battlefield at Gettysburg.

Gettysburg. A place to reflect on our country's great struggle. The battlefield is truly holy ground. So many men fought and died there. It takes your breath away. The museum, movies, and tour are a great way to discover what happened on those 3 days in July, 1863. Kathleen and I spent 2 wonderful days learning about all the nuances that made this huge battle all that it was. Saturday was spent going through the museum exhibits and viewing the movie and the cyclorama at the museum. Sat evening we started the auto tour using a very well done CD audio tour that describes all the places on the auto tour.

On Sunday morning we finished up the auto tour and that afternoon we headed for Cunningham Falls State Park to climb Cunningham Falls. Well, it sounds impressive, but it was really a 1/2 mile hike up a very moderate grade to a beautiful set of falls. My type of mountain climbing.


On Monday we went to Catoctin Animal Preserve and Zoo. A very nice small zoo that had lots of animals very close. A great way to spend the morning.

9 Wonderful Years

April 29. Our 9th wedding anniversary. What a great time it has been.

We celebrated by going to this cute little restaurant in Carytown. Zeus Gallery Cafe is a quaint little place with lots of flair. The menu is gourmet but the feel is relaxing. The food was delicious. I had a perfectly prepared NY Strip steak with prosciutto mash potatoes and Kathleen had braised veal shank in a morel mushroom and black truffle sauce over pappardelle pasta.

We finished our celebration by watching our wedding video and reliving all the memories. It was amazing to see how the faces have aged (a little) and a little sad to see some of the faces that are no longer with us. What a trip down memory lane. We have been truly blessed.

Love is in the Air

Valentines Day. The day of love. A time to celebrate the love of your life. And a time to fight for reservations to your favorite restaurant. But not this year. With Valentines falling on a Saturday, we decided to go have lunch and beat the dinner crowd. We are so smart. We decided to try the Ipanema Grill, a fairly new Brazilian restaurant in the West End. The restaurant was beautiful, the meal was 1/2 price for lunch, and the restaurant was almost empty. But the food was wonderful. The gauchos brought us various meats on long skewers and cut it at our table. The salad and vegetable bar was delicious and the service great. We will be going back. We had a great time.

MLC opens on Broadway

Well, actually off, off, off Broadway. More like a variety show at Lakewood Manor Retirement Facility. But the More Like Christ (or Mid Life Crisis aka MLC) Bible Study Class rocked the house. The singing was beautiful, the skits hilarious, the talent was amazing. We had a blast.

Mark and Brenda Davis have been performing for Lakewood Manor for the past few years and they blessed us by allowing the whole Bible Study class to participate with them this year. We thank them for coordinating this event and I know the crowd enjoyed the show and much as we did performing.

Below are some pictures and links to some short videos.



Dave Yodel Man Video
http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=007c2a61b6e7432bbad4

Maura I Love to Laugh Video
http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=d350b4cd909bafd26540

Vik Singing Video
http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=e47de71be64a0fe36925

Caleb Rindercella Video
http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=327c9c0cd625d07a8b9d

Christmas 2008

Christmas time is here. Unbelievable. This year has flown by so fast. It truly has been a great year for us. Now we get to spend some time with the family. Christmas will get started with Christmas Eve service at West End Assembly of God and then at St. Edwards Catholic Church. Then Kath and I will open our presents to each other, YAAAY!! Kathleen's family will get together at her parents' house on Christmas Day and through the following weekend. My parents will travel to my sister's house before Christmas and the Newtons will do Christmas in January. In between, we will get together with our good friends and have another Christmas get together. So we have a lot of time to celebrate.

Christmas Day was a little quieter this year. James and John were the only Calpin siblings to make it on Christmas Day, so the only kids at the house were James' two delightful teenage (or almost teenage) girls. So there were not rowdy toddlers ripping packages and screaming with glee (or crying in despair). Dinner was nice and civilized with no food thrown. It was almost like being in the wrong house. However, the prime rib was perfect as always. Thanks, Mom and Dad for all your hard work to make Christmas so nice.

Friday was a little different. Peg showed up with her clan and things seemed a little more familiar. JJ and Will ripped open presents and stacked up their treasures. We almost needed more room. Patrick and his clan arrived and all the Calpins were accounted for. We are not sure how the mountain of presents will fit in the vehicles, but what a good problem to have. Apparently all the kids and grandkids were good this year, because Gram and Pop spoiled us all.

The rest of the weekend was spent watching football, shopping, returning, and playing with toys. Truly a great ending to a great Christmas.

On January 4th, we met Greg and Terri Mann and the Rands for Christmas part 2. The Mann's and Kath and I got the Rand boys the video game Guitar Hero (with 2 guitars) and I could not wait for them to open it. Although the food, conversation, and other gifts were good, the highlight was jamming on the guitars. We did let the kids play, but Dan and I did take our turns and we are now planning our world tour. But seriously, Kath and I are so thankful and truly blessed to have such great friends. The Kaufholds could not make it up, they are neck deep in their new adventure, owning a restaurant. But we will be making a trip to see them soon.

On January 11th, we had Newton Family Christmas. My sister and her family came up from Hampton and my parents, my sister in law and nephew came from Powhatan to have a day of celebration. My nephews brought the Wii and we had a blast playing Guitar Hero, Bowling, Hula Hoop, Ski Jumping, and Soccer. We laughed so hard watching each other play. It was a great day of food, gifts and fun. This was a great Christmas. We are truly blessed.

He truly was a Good Boy

Good Boy, Good Boy. I bet I have said those words a million times to our dog, Ranger. Unfortunately, today, December 12, was the last time I got to say that phrase to our "Ranger Boy". He tried to fight the cancer and the arthritis, but it got the best of him. It was sad to see him go, but it was time. All the joy and blessings he brought to Kathleen and I will be treasured forever.

We got him in the fall of 2004, at the ripe old age of 10, and we loved having him live with us. Even though he was not ours for his first 10 years, Ranger has been my buddy for almost half my life. My brother, Joe,and sister in law, Faye, rescued Ranger from someone giving away puppies in front of the Ukrops grocery store. We never really knew Ranger's pedigree. With his markings, we guessed maybe blue tick hound or some type of setter or spaniel or all the above. Ranger grew up on Joe and Faye's beautiful piece of land in the country and got to run wild. He loved it. When the softhearted Faye and my nephew, Joey, rescued about a dozen animals over a period of time, Ranger became the old man of the place. Meanwhile, Kathleen and I decided to get a dog and one day, half joking, I asked Joey if we could take Ranger. He thought about it a minute and said that would be great. The kittens and puppies were running him ragged and we soon started calling my house his "retirement home".

It took him a little while to get used to the new house, but soon it became his home, too. He loved his back yard, his new toys, soft beds and the peace and quiet. He really made me feel extra special, because he just followed me around like, well, a puppy dog. Whatever room I moved to, if he was not sleeping, he was soon to follow. He was my little buddy. It seems very odd not to hear the jingling of his dog tags or the clicking of his toenails on the hardwood floors. We are sad he is gone, but we are so thankful that God blessed us with him. His name probably should have been Saint, because he was so good. Ranger Boy really was the perfect pet. Good Boy, Ranger, Good Boy.