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.

Tar and Feathered

Well, not really tar and feathered. More like deep fried without any feathers. This year we decided to deep fry the Thanksgiving turkey. Kathleen, Ranger and I left for Hampton since my sister, Carrie, was hosting Thanksgiving. We had decided a few days earlier to try the deep frying method and we both had done some research. Of course, we found all the horror stories online and talked to a few people with actual experience and heard some similar scary tales. So we hoped the bird would taste good, we just weren't sure if we would be eating the bird from the emergency room.

Well the time came for cookin' and my nephew, Joey, and I were the chefs du jour. We carefully located a safe location for the burner to set and we measured the oil. As we brought it to the correct temperature, we worked hard to get all the water off the bird. The stories were that the bird will splatter, spit, and explode if too much water goes in the hot oil. So needless to say we were a little apprehensive. We rigged up a pole to use to lower the bird into the cauldron. Thankfully, it worked without any serious injuries and now all we had to do was wait, and discuss all the things that could go wrong and burn the house down. As the rest of the men arrived, they all levitated to the bird. It was like the hot oil was calling to there inner caveman. One hour later and no visit by the fire department, we pulled the golden brown bird out. What a relief. High fives all around and now it's time to eat.

What a spread. We ate until uncomfortable, and then a little more. We enjoyed the food and each others company and basked in everyone telling us how good the turkey was. It's good to be the hero (well, in our eyes anyway). We also celebrated my nephew, JW, and Carrie's birthday. Just another thing to be thankful for.

Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom

On Saturday, our last day, we first ventured to the Animal Kingdom. We first rode the Expedition Everest, and then got right back on again. It truly is a great roller coaster. Next was the Safari and we saw all the amazing animals up close and personal. We then experienced the Dinosaur ride, the Lion King show, and the Flights of Wonder show. Terri Mann and I got to actually be in the Flights of Wonder show, we will be famous. We ended our stay by seeing the It's Tough to be a Bug 4D show. Kathleen is not quite so afraid of bugs anymore.
We then traveled to the Magic Kingdom to experience the real Disney World as Kathleen would say. We experienced the Buzz Lightyear ride, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain. Our heads were spinning after all those rides. We ended the day with the whole gang viewing the Spectromagic Light Parade followed by the best fireworks show in the world. We had premier seats and enjoyed seeing the fireworks explode over Cinderella's lit castle. We couldn't believe our journey was at the end, but what a time it was!! Thanks to the Manns, Rands, and Kaufholds for making our vacation so special. It truly was one of the best times of our lives.

Hollywood Studios and Epcot

Friday started with a quick bite at the resort and a bus ride to Disney's Hollywood Studios. We experienced Star Wars Tours, Jedi Training, Tower of Terror, Rock & Roll Roller coaster, Prince Caspian, and the incredible Stunt Car Show.


Kathleen and I then took the short ride over to Epcot and experienced all the countries in the World Showcase. We also experienced the Mission to Mars, Soarin', Nemo & Friends, and Turtle Talk with Crush. One of the highlights of the night, was seeing the space shuttle blast off. It was amazing to watch the fireball rise in the sky while everyone cheered. The night ended with a spectacular fireworks, laser, and fire show called IllimiNations. Another Magical day.

The End of the Cruise. Parks, Here We Come

Thursday brought us to the end of our cruise. We were all a little sad as we left the ship, but we were soon smiling again as we traveled west to Walt Disney World for 2 days of playing with Mickey and the gang. We arrived at the Pop Century Resort early afternoon and checked into our rooms. Kathleen, Terri, and the Kaufholds decided to go visit some of the other resorts while Greg, the Rands, and I played in the pool. Dinner at the resort was followed by a trip to Downtown Disney for more shopping. We then tucked ourselves in and dreamed about the adventures to come.

A Day at Sea

Wednesday was a day of rest and relaxation. With no port of call, we were able to schedule our own day. A day of swimming, lounging, hot tubbing, playing shuffleboard and of course eating. Kathleen took a tour of the ship's galley and was amazed at how they prepare tens of thousands of meals each day. Tonight's dinner was at Parrots Cay and it was just as wonderful as the rest. Dinner was followed by a spectacular show. Disney Dreams is rated the best show in the entire cruise industry and it was easy to see why. Unfortunately, the end of this day brought our cruise to an end. Now we had to pack and get ready to leave the next morning.

Castaway Cay, Disney's Slice of Heaven

While eating another wonderful breakfast on Tuesday, we arrived at Disney's island, Castaway Cay. There is no way to describe it other than, WOW! The sky and water were their own shade of brilliant blue. Kathleen and I started our day by going snorkeling on a reef just a little ways off the island. It was one of the most incredible things I have ever done. We saw thousands of bright, beautiful fish less than an arms length away. It was like swimming in a fish tank. After returning to the island, we had an incredible bbq lunch with the Rands and then it was off to the snow white beach. We parked ourselves on some lounge chairs under an umbrella and I had a nap. The cabana girl brought us some tropical drinks and we just relaxed in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

The evening found us back on the ship for another great dinner at Animators Palette. Following dinner was a Pirate Party on the Deck. Food, dancing and having fun was followed by the Pirates of the Carribean movie shown on the huge deck screen.