110/365...Family

We've recently become a family of Apple products. This started with my iPod. Then we moved to the iPhones. The iPad was next and, finally, my lovely bride's MacBook Pro. It's official, we're an Apple family.

Fun with...caterpillars, LOTS of caterpillars

Sunday excursions with the family Long have become quite the treat lately. Last week was a dog walking/kid energy release/photo/foot hate catharsis kind of excursion. That's one eventful Sunday, my friends. I think we're now determined to start making this much more our routine.

This past Sunday was no exception. Sunday afternoon typically means nap time for mama and papa Long. Of course, a nap is not, I repeat, NOT to be missed, so we headed out later in the afternoon to Philippe Park in Safety Harbor.

For the non-locals, Safety Harbor is about as close to small town Americana as you can get in the Tampa Bay area. There's definitely a quaint village-ish vibe with the town and it's a bit segregated from the rest of Clearwater. And, there's a kick-butt park on the north end of the city called Philippe Park. We've been there a few times and figured it to be a cool destination for one of our little fam trips.

One thing to know before we dig in to the adventure—the park has TONS of trees and really big ones at that. It's also, ummmm, Springtime in Florida, which means that its really more like fall and pollen season all wrapped in one leaf-showery, allergy-hell, yellow-dusted mess of a season. Little did we figure that it was also that lovely time of the year when caterpillars are FRACKING EVERYWHERE...especially when you're in the middle of tons of trees. Like in Philippe Park.

This was a shot of the bench that I actually sat on for about a minute before I realized I was sitting in nature. Needless to say, I moved and didn't really sit on any surfaces for the remainder of our little excursion.








Like I said, they were FRACKING EVERYWHERE.  On fence posts...

...hanging from the trees...

...and, finally, much to the amazement (he really was amazed...don't let his face fool you in the pic) of my 11 year old, they were on his stick and affectionately named Bobby and Darby...

...and his younger brother just didn't share the same level of wonder and excitement...

...not that any of us really did. 

We ended up high-tailing it through the "wildlife refuge" part of the park towards the beachy part of the park. See, I told you this place was kick-butt.

Here, things were much more tame and less cringe inducing.

So, we had a great time...albeit a bit too nature-ish and, umm, crunchy at times. Plus, it afforded me the chance to get some of my favorite kinds of shots...sunlight through the trees (and caterpillers and silk webs). Here's to more Long family adventures to come...

I resolve...

New Year's resolutions have never been that appealing to me. I don't blame anyone for making (or breaking) them, but I just haven't ever been a fan. I suppose if I had to narrow it down, my resolution list would look something like this: somehow, understand more of God's love for me as well as assure that my wife is loved more than ever and my children are confident that they are loved above all else. Nothing else really matters, does it?

Sure, there are other things that I want—those 30 pounds won't disappear on their own. I guess I should at least exert some sort of effort there. Organization, simplification, guitar playing...all noble quests indeed. You could argue that I should drop those pounds and pick up that guitar and pick up all the other crap I leave around the house, while I'm at it...and you'd be right. Here's what I say, "OK...I'll try."

But, my resolve? My resolution is simple—I resolve to be a God-child...and a husband...and a dad. Those three occupy my time, effort and focus in the next year or two or sixty. Anything else is just gravy. Mmm...gravy.