that time again ...

i'm fresh out of things
borrowed and blue
but i got you covered
in the old and new categories

yeah i know ...
wedding humor
pretty lame
but i am working with
a limited vocabulary here

let's just get on with the photos ...

representing the OLD
or at least the familiar
i offer you the 9 month crown shoot






and in the NEW corner
we have my latest trick

if the last image above
does not do it for you ...
check out the following clip

say what ...

who you callin' a hipsta ?

finally ...

that's my dad !

and ...

to the fauna portion
of our cliff-hanger ...

after several days of
piscatorial successes
a truce was established
with the panfish of long lake
[more on that later]
freeing up some time
for more cerebral pursuits

to the milwaukee public museum !

highlights of our visit included
african and oceanic art,
a stroll through old town,
antique arms, dinosaurs,
pre-historic fish, live insects
and a rotating pow-wow display









































i know what you are thinking ...
i have yet to deliver the
aforementioned marsupial

have no fear my friends
the racine zoo has your back
they also have playful meerkats
exotic bovines, giraffes
and an orangutan named max
i kid you not

as promised ...

kudos to you
for your patience

you have exhibited restraint
of monastic proportions

and now it is time for you
to receive your reward

i promised you a pink swing
so without further ado ...




and as an added bonus
just so you know how much
i appreciate your self control
and continued patronage ...

you can keep your pink swing
and if you scroll down
before this posts ends
i will throw in
an alf life jacket for free
that's right people ... alf

hold on tight ...

it appears that i have again run out
of time and literary juice

and before i was able to deliver
any of the show stoppers
i promised last night

perhaps i can wrap up the cliff hanger
in tomorrow's posts

until then ... as a show of good faith
i offer you the following digression
from our vacation theme

we have all heard of
the seefood diet
in a similar vein i offer you
the play-food diet
it has worked wonders for me
i have lost at least two rolls
from my thighs and half a chin !

have we met ...

one of the best parts of vacation
is the anonymity of the road

there is something so refreshing
about meeting strangers

interactions with new friends
allow one valuable opportunities
to reinvent themselves

while some individuals prefer that
their reputation precede them
i relish the chance to make
positive first impressions

and if i am being completely honest here
perhaps what i like best about
being in a place where everybody
does not know your name
is the security to try
daring new eyewear

just like home ...

regular readers of these pages
are aware of the lifestyle
to which i've become accustomed

i'm not talking about the garage sale duds
and internet freebies here people
but rather the plethora of playthings
in which i find myself on a daily basis

well ... as the image below proves
i did not miss a beat on vacation

the graham-parents went all out
stocking the homestead
with a collection of toys and books
that rivaled FAO Schwarz' finest display

signing off ...

that is enough for one sitting

i wish you all a pleasant evening
and i leave you with the following
teaser of posts to come ...

a pink swing, a kangaroo and
dad in a hideous flowered shirt

me and my ladies ...

pictured below we see
some of my lovely co-stars
in our photo-safari

aunt julie [top] and i
were able to share a few calm moments
between her fantasy football fueled outbursts

grammy jan and i
flipped our way through the pages
of some of my favorite books

aunt beth [bottom] and i
spent some quality time discussing
the pitfalls of social media
and the logistics of long-distance romance
in the digital age
that ... and i showed her how to
upstage someone in a photograph
by making a goofy face

road trippin' ...

fear not faithful readers
i have not forgotten about you

while it is true that we at the gallery
have been on a posting hiatus of late
it is only because of our travels

ok ... the use of the plural form
is not exactly warranted
as we took only 1 trip ... but it was a big 1
a good 1 and 1 that should spur
a fresh post or three

so without further ado ...
we hope you enjoy the following chronicle
of lake week 2010

game time ...

it is a boys' night in
at the casa del cooper
mom is at yoga class
leaving dad and me alone

methinks i will take it easy on him
give the "try to stand by pulling on
everything in reach" act a rest
and just enjoy the first night of

COLLEGE FOOTBALL