DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!

Dan read an article in Time Magazine about the book The Dangerous Book for Boys by Hal Iggulden and had to have it. The book is chalk full of fun things boys love to do and fun facts to learn. Some of the subjects included are the 50 state capitals, building your own go cart, Rugby rules (Dan especially appreciated the inclusion of this subject), famous battles, great adventure stories, and SO much more. I love the list he has at the back of the book, Books Every Boy Should Read. GREAT! Needless to say Dan didn't waste any time before sharing this book with his little boy. Every father of a boy must have this book!

Up To No Good

Jackson has become very good at low crawling to get himself around. He is a quick little bugger and it doesn't take him long to get into something. For example, this package of Kleenexes. Honestly, I turned away for all of a minute and this is what I find. Our lives have really changed since entering the mobile child phase! It's a good thing he is cute!

Arlington Cemetery

We are quickly realizing our time here in the Washington D.C. area is possibly drawing to a close and we have yet to go into the city and do any of the tourist things. SO, we hopped on the Metro on a Saturday morning and headed into DC. We decided to spend the afternoon at Arlington Cemetery and the Iwo Jima Memorial. It was an absolutely gorgeous fall day. The humidity and heat have subsided for the most part so being outdoors has FINALLY become tolerable. We visitied the tomb of the Unknown Solider, where I could not help but tear up as I read the inscription.

We then headed over to the Marine Memorial or the Iwo Jima Memorial. I was not prepared for how HUGE the monument actually was. What an amazing site! A must see if you are ever in the DC area! Here are the pictures! ENJOY!

I am sure there will be many more trips into DC before the year is over, stay tuned for our future adventures!

Pumpkin Patch

Dan had a three day weekend for Columbus Day, so we took advantage of Military Appreciation Day at the local Pumpkin Patch. I have fond memories of going to the Venetucci Farm on a cool crisp fall day to pick out a pumpkin. Needless to say searching for a pumpkin in 90 degree heat was not too reminiscent of my childhood experiences.

The heat aside, we had a good time getting lost in the HUGE Maize Maze. Jackson was not sure what to make of the maze, but seemed to enjoy his ride on Dad's back.

We headed out on the hay ride to the pumpkin patch to find Jackson a pumpkin. We found one just his size. Of course I couldn't help snapping a couple of pictures while we were out there.

All in all it was a good day despite the blazing heat. Good News! Cooler weather is headed in this week! IT IS ABOUT TIME IT STARTED TO FEEL LIKE FALL!

A Lot Of Catching Up To Do

So I have failed miserably at updating this blog. Things have really picked up here in VA and we have become really busy. Here is a little of what has been going on...

Dan went to the field for a week about two weeks ago. They will go to the field about 4 more times before the end of TBS. During their time in the field the 2nd Lt all take turns executing an attack order they wrote. Dan was first up out of all the 2nd Lt and he did great. His scores came back stating he was above average and executed well. It was a big ego booster for him. It is coming down to the time for to choose his MOS (Military Operational Specialty) or in civilian terms, job. The order changes everyday, but here was the top five as of last I knew: Ground Intelligence, Infantry, Tracks, Tanks, Combat Engineers. Each different possibility could take us to a number of places at the end of TBS. It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

I have joined two different Bible studies, one through Women of the Chapel (a base organization) and one through the church we have been attending. Jackson loves spending time with the other kids while I am in class. But along with other kids comes other germs. We have both been fighting off a little cold the past week.

Other than the cold Jackson is growing like a weed. It is fun to watch him learn new things every day. His favorite word is "Yah". In fact, he says it so much the girls in childcare thought he should be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle for Halloween. Here are a few pictures I took this morning. He still isn't crawling, however he can get himself where he wants to go by rolling and doing a modified Marine crawl. No teeth yet either.

We have a new addition to our extended family. My cousin Ted and his wife Lara had a little girl on Saturday. Her name is Ellery Trellis Moore. She weighed 8 lbs 9 oz! She has experienced some seizure activity and has been transferred to another hospital in Chicago. After an MRI they discovered she has a small brain bleed. It is unknown at this time what permanent affects this will have on her. Please pray for her! Lara is still at the hospital where she delivered and has been unable to see Ellery in two days. My heart hurts with them as I remember what it is like to have a little one in the NICU.

I know this probably doesn't go into as much depth as you would like about our life here. I am rededicating myself to updating this more often.

Lobster Anyone?

Here are some pictures Marilyn took of Jackson and the Lobster. It is a cape tradition to have a lobster and champagne brunch the morning after the big bake. Jackson wanted in on the fun so we introduced him to one of our lobster friends.

Cape Cod 2007

What an incredible adventure! We had so much fun at Cape Cod this weekend!

Let me first give you a little background on where we were and to the best of my ability the history of the Cape house.

The Cape House is located the the upper cape area of Cape Cod. If you look at the map the house is located just south of the Pocasset. It sits on Handy Point in the Red Brook Harbor. The house was build in 1928 by the Allen Family. How are they related to the Jernigan's you ask? Good question! Here is what I can gather. The house was build by Talbott Allen. Talbot's sister is Jean Jernigan, Dan's paternal grandmother. Talbott passed away last year and his son Langdon and his family are the caretaker's of the property. SO Langdon is Dan's dad's cousin. So there are lots of cousins involved, so many in fact, I cannot keep straight the relationships. So I think I have the lineage right, but please correct me if I am wrong.

The house is located on a large plot of land that faces Red Brook Harbor. There is a large grass area the leads into a sandy beach then right into the harbor. What a beautiful setting.

The house is still in it original 1928 splendor, so with age comes some quirks. The most noticeable is the bathroom flushing habit one must adopt when staying at the cape house. The house has a very small and very old septic system which must be treated with tender love and care. This tenderness includes not over loading the system which translates into not flushing as often. So the saying goes "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown flush it down." When staying at the cape house one must also become accustom to showering in the great outdoors and learn to do so with Daddy Long-leg spiders looking on. This makes for a refreshing and QUICK shower. But all the quirks are worth the relaxation and great memories made with family.

The whole weekend is centered on The Bake. The preparations begin several days before and end in LOTS of food! I will take you through the steps of a traditional Calm Bake.

Step One:

Dig a HUGE hole in the beach and line it with rocks

Step Two:

The night before the bake collect garbage bags full of kelp. Dan's Uncle Bruce was the Kelp Master and I do have to say he did a mighty fine job determining exactly how much kelp was needed for the bake. Way to go Bruce! Don't think this sounds like a hard job? It is! Uncle Bruce had to determine exactly how mush kelp would be needed because if it came time to lay the bake and there was not enough kelp the whole bake is ruined! So hats off to Uncle Bruce and his minions who collected the kelp.

Step Three:

The morning of the Bake, light a HUGE, HOT fire. Langdon is the Bake Master and is in charge of the fire and the rest of the actual bake. He piled on wood, charcoal, kindling, and LOTS of lighter fluid into the rock lined pit and lit it up! The fire is kept going for several hours as it heats the rocks in preparation for the bake.

Step Four:

The corn must be gathered and set adrift in the water. Brady was the one deemed responsible for the corn. He carefully tied up the burlap bags of corn and drug them out into the water and assured the anchor was secure. Securing the anchor is an important step, one that was forgotten one year and the corn was found floating several hundred feet off shore in the middle of the harbor. Good Job Brady!!

Step Five:

The steamers must now be prepared. They are wrapped in a gauze like material and tied in bundles to be put in the bake. Great Job Dan!

Step Six:

When the fire has reached the peak temperature as determined by the Bake Master and the appropriate gear has been gathered (kelp, lobsters, corn, clams, canvas, & tarps), the bake is ready to be laid.

FIRST LAYER - Kelp - the kelp immediately begins to pop ans sizzle when it is thrown into the hot rocks. The water pockets of the kelp are what heat up to create the steam that steams the lobsters, corn, & steamers.

SECOND LAYER - Lobsters - 65 Lobsters were thrown on the bake. Having never cooked a Lobster before I was a little taken aback when they were STILL MOVING!!!

THIRD LAYER - Kelp - More kelp is thrown down covering the STILL MOVING lobsters.

FOURTH LAYER - Corn & Steamers- The sea water soaked corn is piled onto the bake along with the bundles of steamers

FIFTH LAYER - Kelp - The pile is completely covered with kelp.

SIXTH LAYER - Canvas & Tarp - The whole pile is the sealed with a canvas and a tarp.

Step Seven:

After the appropriate cooking time as passed, again the cook time is determined by the bake master, the layers of kelp are scraped away and the corn, steamers, & lobster are removed. I believe the Bake Master determined an hour and a half was a sufficient cook time for this particular bake. When the lobsters are removed they were passed to the cutters (Dan and his brother Michael) to be sliced from chest to tail then plated for all guest to enjoy.

So there you have it the ingredients to a Cape Cod Clam Bake. We truly enjoyed our time in Cape Cod and look forward to going back. Enjoy the pictures! There will more pictures I am sure once I get the ones from other family. There are some pictures of Jackson with a lobster Marilyn got that she said were adorable. So look for more to follow.