a walk in the park ...

... the amusement park that is !

i am not sure if you have ever been to tipton, pa
but for a family that prides itself
on its marinara sauces
the del grosso clan sure delivers the family fun

what better way to kick off the 4th of july weekend
than a spin under the stars & stripes

on a no-foolin, hand-painted, wooden-horsed carousel

dad even hopped on for a turn
and managed to capture this action shot
between his bouts of giggling and spurring

the highlight of the outing was most certainly
our series of trips on the train

it was so much fun that i asked for "more"

but after three rides ...

mom & dad took enough corny photos
of them waving at each other and we were done

so we moved on to the boats

where dad imparted some of his nautical wisdom

after which i was able to captain my craft with confidence

and i even managed to take the bell-ringing
to a whole new level

in summation
i think good times were had by all ...

... except for maybe this guy

for the artsy crowd ...

compare ...
contrast ...
enjoy

Ingres' Grande Odalisque - 1814

for dad's friends @ the park ...

count it ...

i am pleased to announce a new entry
in my modeling look book ...

please leave a comment
if you have a name for this one
all suggestions are greatly appreciated

cracker jacks, hold the peanuts ...

as you are surely aware
spikes season is in full swing

oh yeah ... that's right
we have moved from culinary word play
to sporting puns

wow ... there is no pleasing some people

let's just look beyond your discriminating taste
in web-based humor and move on the photos ...

it is a good thing we caught the nookie monster before the game
because the auburn defense [or was it the state college offense ?]
kept him off the field during the game*

a few innings into the contest dad and i took a stroll
to see if we could spot the aforementioned monster
doing whatever he does behind that outfield fence
sadly ... the over-grown muppet hid from our gaze

insert you own "stadium jail" joke here

i give up trying to satisfy you geniuses of jocularity

* aside from when he stumbled out to claim his free car wash

i am normally a ranch man ...

... but how about a little catch-up ?
catch-up ... ketchup ... anyone ?
come on people !
that is classic condiment humor

so it's been a while since i typed at ya
here are a few things that went down
since the last time ...

i took the time to smell some flowers

caught up on some reading

put some new spins on some old songs

holla'd at my boys

taught dad how to use a fork

& worked on some new recipes

i got game ...

if i were you ...
i would just grab some pine
because you can't guard this

and just in case you think this is fake ...

that i am using trick photography
relying on out-of-frame assistance
or other performance enhancers

i offer the following evidence that
there is absolutely nothing ...

... up my sleeve