Our Friend Finn

1/1/2004 (or thereabouts) - 10/8/2008.














He was a good dog (when he wasn't being a douche) and we miss him.

Prelude

We've just returned from -- depending who you ask -- either 6.5 weeks (Anna, Sam, Finn) or 4 (me) weeks on the road. We've covered a lot of ground, AS&F mainly in the form of circles around New England and me most dramatically from Key West to Lubec, Maine, a span that comprises the southernmost and northernmost points of the U.S. Atlantic coast (look it up).

Needless to say, it will take a some time to compile the stories and photos of our travels and travails, but in the interim, I give you this to tide you over: my new favorite picture of Sam.

Man Adventure

It's not really what you'd think. No cigars or hunting lodges. No drum circles or strip joints. Just a couple dudes and a camera hanging out on the Mall (as opposed to at the mall which would have provided a very different backdrop).

At least one of those guys was highly photogenic.





Of course there are more. To catch the rest, hop on over to Flickr .

El Gordo* en Mexico

* Nickname given Sam by security guard at Puerto Vallarta airport.

Mexico is so two months ago, but I gave my word that you'd see pictures so you're gonna see 'em, dammit.

Here we have Sam's first dip in a pool, complete with transition from, "hey, assholes, this bathtub is way too cold!"...


... to "OK, I guess the floating divan chair might not completely suck."



But really, he preferred his time out of the water.



There was also some quality time with Cousin Nico wherein Sam totally coveted Nico's hat...


Co-opted it briefly for his own...


And then nearly had his head bitten off.


Oh, and also, there was a wedding.



Congrats, Ben and Caddie. Let us know when you want baby training...

Choppers

We were a little concerned that we were going to have to start getting Sam fitted for baby dentures (apparently they do this in the Pillipines. Who knew?) But Sam came through.


What do you mean, you can't see them. Right there:


Someone was so obviously pleased with himself that it was time to move on to Cheerios.


OK, breakfast cereal remains a work in progress.

Sorry for the absurd delay in posting. April was a bit of a blur and I can't believe we missed the whole month. Soon, pix from Sam's first international sojourn.

Pachydermatitis

So, seriously. No lie. Elephants!



For those who are familiar with our 'hood, that big brick building is the gym directly across the street from our house. We could have had the elephants over for tea (G&T's for the clowns...)


Sam seemed less than impressed, but his mother and her road soda were having a grand old time.

And, as promised, there was a street sweeper.


Next week? Kangaroo boxing in our back alley. Really!

(Not really.)

Easter Egg Scrum

The White House's frilly-frocked egg-roll it ain't, but we did have quite a mad egg dash on Easter Saturday in our 'hood. Sam was a tad young to get a full sense of things, but he likes bright colors and seems to get extremely overstimulated in the presence of mobs of children, thus making him behave excellently for a time and then take lengthy naps. Win-win.

Anna has made much comedic hay out of pointing out that this was only a an Easter Egg "Hunt" in the same way that what Dick Cheney was doing when he shot his friend in the face could be considered "hunting." In reality it was more of a free-for-all with eggs strewn about in an open field thusly:


And then set upon by the madding hordes as such:


The whole ordeal left Sam a bit befuddled, though I did manage to score him a couple of plastic prizes before they could all be gobbled up by scabby-kneed, pointy-elbowed urchins.


This one was particularly grabby.


But who can blame him. When you're eight, free candy is free candy.

When you're 1/2, your parents get to eat your Tootsie Rolls.

Check back soon for highlights from Monday's Elephant Walk wherein a half-dozen pachyderms disembark from a train and parade right past our house. Followed, mercifully by a street sweeper...