Little Boy Hugh Turns Two!

Happy birthday to the best little boy in the whole world. Sir Hugh of Dutton is two years old. Sam turned two on the 23rd and I know what you are thinking....why hasn't he blogged it yet? Well, the intuituve reader will notice that I blogged about the beach on the 23rd which was the day after we got back. Having spent a wonderfully exhausting week at Myrtle Beach, we thought it would be better to wait. We decided to postpone the birthday festivities until we had time to recuperate and pick up supplies. Another reason for postponing was Tiffy's parents would be able to attend the party. Bonus!

The plan was to have themed cookout but the weather forced a change of venue. Instead of the great outdoor patio, we celebrated in the dining room. There were decorations a plenty with plates, balloons, and....what's that? Wait, it couldn't be?!

Look up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Superman. Yes, the Man Of Steel was able to drop by to wish Sam a happy birthday. It's not everyday that his number one fan turns two.

Sam is just a little obsessed right now with Superman (of course I had nothing to do with it...wink, wink.) He is also totally into the flag at this point. But I digress. This year's cake was also themed. Tiffy bought the cupcake pan that produces icecream cone stylized cupcakes. The icing serves then as the "ice cream." I'd had never had one, but I was looking forward to it as was Hugh. Of course, no B-Day would be complete without gifts. Sam go all kinds of things including a Superman lunch box for carrying snacks, books, crayons, finger paints, a basketball goal for little ones, etc. But Sam wasn't the only one who was celebrating. Grandma Karen had a B-Day about two weeks ago. She received some nice cosmetics and a new bag. Grandpa Calvin celebrates his B-Day on July 1 so he got a Harley Davidson hat to go along with the new Harley he just bought. And just so we wouldn't feel left out...Tiffy got a new Williams Sonoma cutting board and I got a new bass guitar....Happy B-Day indeeeed!!! We love you Sam.

Duttons of the Bluegrass: At Land's End

The Duttons and guests (more on that later) just spent the last week at North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and had a wonderful time. It was Sam's first trip to the "big, big, big, big water" as he called it upon viewing. We weren't sure how he would take to the waves crashing around him. We thought he may be scared as some 2-year-olds are when they go to the beach. We were wrong. The kid couldn't have had a better time which made our trip very enjoyable.We started the trip on Sunday morning at 5 am when we left Rancho Duttonero. We were joined by my sister Regina and her husband Steve (Gene Genes and Stevie as Sam calls them.) They rode along with us in the Ascender which did an admirable job of holding 5 people and all of their luggage. The trip down was not too bad. It ran pretty smoothly with one exception. We stopped in South Carolina at around 1:30 to grab a late/quick lunch at McDonald's. Huge mistake! Here's why...first it took forever to get our food, second most of it was RAW, & third did I mention the food was RAW? I ordered two "grilled" chicken snack wraps and Tiffy ordered an Asian "grilled" chicken salad. Notice I emphasized grilled. While Tiffy took the time to inspect her food and found the the chicken was uncooked, she avoided making my mistake. Unfortunately, I had already enjoyed the first of my snack wraps without considering the possible salmonella poisoning. Sure enough my chicken wasn't cooked either. Tiffy had a field day. She lives for this kind of stuff. It is the reason I call her the queen of the "comp." To top things off, the lady behind the counter was not very nice about the whole thing. Tiffy became somewhat infamous before we left as people left the store saying "that's the women who got the raw chicken." As for me, that which does not kill me only pisses me off.

We arrived at our hotel, The Beach Cove Resort, at around 5 pm and went about hauling everything to our room. We were extremely impressed with the accomodations. The hotel had 5 pools, 1 kiddie pool, a lazy river, exercise room, restaurant, etc. It was great and we highly recommend it to anyone going there for vacation. As for our vacation, the fun was just beginning. It was the first time that the Duttons had been on a vacation in about 3 years with Sir Hugh being born and the move to Kentucky. It was also the first time that Regina had seen the ocean.

After the initial excitement that evening, we just kind of crashed. We were all tired and I was starting to feel the effects of my lunch. Sam went to sleep early that evening and didn't wake up for 13 hours. When he did wake up on Monday morning, he was impressed with what he saw. He couldn't wait to get to the "big, big, big, big water" so we took he down to the beach to play. He ran right in with his mother on dude duty. He splashed and played and got so tired that he had to nap for 3 hours afterward.

That night we went out for dinner at the Great American Steak & Buffet. Two wonderful things steak and buffet. I was happy, Stevie and Gene Genes were happy, and Sam was happy. So happy that he had two desserts.

Tuesday we played in the sand some more. Sam really enjoyed letting the waves splash around him. It was a really cool thing to watch him play on the beach.

That night we went out for fondue at The Melting Pot. We had a great dinner to say the least.

Two days in and Sam was really having a great time. He was not at all scared of the water or Tiffy's choice of beach hats.

Wednesday we went to the local outlet mall. It was a good choice on our part as it did rain that afternoon. That doesn't make for good beach time, but it did make for good shopping time. I fed my addiction and bought some shoes for work. Skechers of course as I am still under contract with them unofficially. Sam got to enjoy the food court and the Dr. Seuss car..don't ask.

Thursday saw us out on the beach again. More time for Sam to play and play and play and play. He only stopped for food and napping.

One of our traditions about the beach is that one night dinner must be seafood. It just so happens that our last night was spent at the Giant Crab Seafood Shack. Two words....crab legs...and lots of them. I am not sure whether Stevie ate more of them than I did, but Tiffy seems to think that they will raise the price of their dinner buffet after our visit. It was good food for a good price. At last, a place that lives up to its name....the Giant Crab.We spent Thursday evening playing cards. We taught Tiffy how to play Rook. Stevie and I really took the girls to school as we won every game we played.

Friday morning we got up and began the journey home. Sam was unamused at the idea of no more swimming in the "big, big, big, big water." The trip home was good. No raw chicken helped quite a bit. We arrived back at Rancho Duttonero around 8 pm. It was a great trip, relaxing vacation, and memorable occasion. Sam really enjoyed it...the nap on the way home helped quite a bit.

The DC Reunited

Last week the Duttons travelled back to the greater Washington area. It was the first time that Sam and Tiffy had made the trek back. Tiffy went for business. She actually had to go into the office two of the five days. It was the first time in more than a year with her new job that she has had to get dressed up in a suit and "go" to work. We were QUICKLY reminded that traffic in the area is just insane. There is no other way to put it...INSANE. Tiffy just has to travel across the room to get to work. I suppose working at home must have its perks...that would be one of them.

Of course, it wasn't all business for Tiffy. Here we see her logging some quality "honorary auntie" time with Sir Luke de Margenau.

Sam went for Dr. appointments. Nothing major. We just really liked his docs at Children's and didn't want to migrate from them to docs in Lexington...not yet anyway.

Everything was fine and the little dude checked out great. Sam fell in love with the hot air balloons in the lobby and needed to see them frequently. He also felt that the Mickey Mouse would be better served if he pulled on his nose...don't ask me...he is almost 2.

I went basically as the driver for the other two Duttons. I did have several chances to reunite with some buddies from the Northern VA area...Andy, Lorelei, Lisa, Kendra & Abby.

On the Sunday after we arrived, we attended the annual science department meeting at the Wargos. It was great to get to see the Margenaus, the Wargos, the Robertsons/Fratantonios, Rivers, & Griffing. I even got to dole out a few "awards" in an honorary capacity. It was fun.

Sam and I even spent some time at Sandburg on Tuesday. I got to see my former students in Kyle's classes. Sam got to "rearrange" Kyle's desk. A fun time for everyone.

Memorial Memories

This past Memorial Day we travelled to Beckley to visit the Meadows. It was the first time we had seen Chucky, Marlena, David, Alana, and Grandpa Calvin since Giftmas (yikes)! We were surprised to see how much Alana had grown (the last time we saw her she was only about 3 months old.) Sam really enjoyed spending time with her or maybe he just really enjoyed the swingset that Uncle Chucky (whom Sam refers to as Uncle Sucky) has in his front yard.

Either way, it was a happy time. David even chimed in with a smile for the camera.

On Saturday night, Sucky had made reservations at Fugiyama (the local Japenese Restaurant) for everyone in the clan. It was a great time with great food and great company. The chef performed the standard habachi tricks and kept everyone in suspense as to whether or not he would eventually trick Grandpa Calvin into eating some meat.

Those who know me, know that I do not toss these words around lightly. It was some of the best food I have ever had. Outstanding from the sushi appetizer to the filet finale!!

On Monday, Tiffy went with her mom and aunts Pammy and Nancy to place fresh flowers on Grandpa Gene's (Tiffy's Grandpa) grave.

It was a great weekend with lots to do and a great deal of catching up. Of course at the end of the visit, Sam was in need of a little cat nap.