May 2024

Here's what we were up to in May. Last month we had and eclipse and earthquake. This month we had a solar magnetic storm and an aurora borealis that was mostly hidden behind clouds here. Who knows what next month will bring.  Anyway, all photos and videos from May are linked here.

Outings

Rob: Here are some of the local places we visited that you may see in the photos. Becky took a trip to the Hartford Connecticut temple on a Saturday early in the month with some other women from the ward. Meanwhile, me and Alex ventured out to Bear Mountain State Park, where we have been many times, but this time we visited the "zoo" there for the first time. It's less of a zoo and more like a little sanctuary for some animals, but they have a couple bears which is neat. Later in the month, we all went to Walkway Over the Hudson State Park, which is another place we go to often. Alex loves to ride his scooter on the bridge over the Hudson and then take the new elevator down the other park below. We also stopped by the Orange County Arboretum to see what was in bloom, and the wisteria vines were in peak form. This month we also checked out a place in Poughkeepsie we have passed by many times but never visited before called Locust Grove. It's basically a huge historic estate with beautiful gardens, an old mansion that has tours, and some really nice hiking trails overlooking the Hudson Valley that we explored. This place is a gem to visit, and it reminds us that there is still much we haven't explored in the Hudson Valley. Also this month, we have our babysitter Ciara back for the summer. So she has been coming on Mondays while Becky and I go over to the local park to get in some pickleball. We enjoyed some additional outings over Memorial Day weekend (see below).

Memorial Day Weekend

Rob: We had no major plans for the 3-day weekend, so we looked for some fun things to do locally. On Saturday, we went to Circleville Park, which has a sandy beach by the lake for swimming and some paddleboats too. We did both of those things. While swimming we were joined by a couple water snakes that seemed ignorant of the humans that scurried out of their way as they made their way through the water and onto the beach. Alex was excited about the paddleboats because when we visited that park during colder months, the paddleboats were closed and he was bummed that he couldn't ride them then. He was also pretty excited about getting his feet wet and eventually getting all the way in the water. On Sunday, we went to Minnewaska State Park and did our usual little hike to Awosting Falls. Since it was warm, we took our shoes off and walked in the water a ways, which Alex was really excited about. On Monday, Becky and Alex went to play games and run around at the Poughkeepsie mall while I got things done around the house. Then our babysitter came over and we tried to play some pickleball in the rain but eventually went to the local ice cream shop for a bite and treat.

Visit from Becky's Mom and Recovery

Rob: For the past couple years, Becky has had issues with intrauterine fibroids, which led to her finally getting a treatment done at the end of the month called intrauterine fibroid embolization. The procedure itself was not terribly invasive, although she did have to stay overnight at the hospital. The worst part for this procedure is the recovery. She had some severe pain for a couple days following the procedure, and other weird discomforts after that too. But so far she seems to be recovering. Fortunately, Becky's mom came to visit that week and helped out with getting Alex to and from school, and just being there with Becky. It was nice for us just to have a visitor too, and she also helped us celebrate my 45th birthday. We weren't able to take her out to as many fun places in the area as we would have liked to, but hopefully we can do that another time.

What Else Is New

Rob: Earlier this year, I wrote a story for Scenic Hudson's magazine on the topic of recycling and how to do it better. It was just published, and you can read it here. My eagle project was basically collecting milk jugs and 2-liter bottles for recycling in my neighborhood back in the 90s, when plastic recycling was a new concept. So I've had a continued interest in the topic, although I realize that a combination of problems makes plastic recycling a bit of a pipe dream these days. But there are still ways we can do better at keeping plastic and other more recyclable things out of the landfills.

Alex : It's always a challenge to get Alex to wear new shoes, because he doesn't trust new things. But he was pretty good about letting us put on a new pair of Pumas this month that are pretty rad (Dad wants a matching pair). And even more impressive, is that was willing to wear a new pair of slider flip flops too, which we took out swimming and walking in the river.  Also this month Alex got a new computer for watching his bedtime videos. Becky's very old laptop that we've always used for that purpose was just getting malfunctional too often so we found a cheap replacement that was similar in appearance, because Alex is very perceptive to changes in his routine. He still put up a big fuss about us trying to swap in a new computer the first night, but by the second night he was cool with it and we are back to our usual routine of him zonking out after watching Pixar or whatever for 10 or 15 minutes in his bed with the lights out. In other news, Alex lost a front tooth as you'll see in some photos.

Becky: I forgot to mention last month that I got new glasses to help with reading, which has become a bit of a strain in the past several months. I haven't needed glasses before except for brief time when I was young.  I enjoyed trying on pairs and finding some that I like, and they are helpful.