Author Archives: Peter

Tent-acular!

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We have a camping trip coming up, and wanted to get a new tent to give the four of us plenty of room to sleep and caravan storage Melbourne, play, get dressed, etc. We wanted one that was not too expensive, but had more room than our previous four-person dome tent (which was barely big enough for us when it was just Rebecca, Catherine and I camping). So we did some research, and ended up buying this Coleman WeatherMaster Screened 6 Tent. Luckily it was on sale for cheaper than it’s listed now, and we had a number of Amazon gift cards to redeem!

The tent arrived earlier this week, and we set it up in our backyard last night! Here is a photo of the tent mostly set up (without the rain fly):

The Tent

The Tent

One great thing about this tent is that, due to its “cabin” design, there is plenty of head room inside. I can actually stand upright and walk through the whole tent! It also has a room divider so we can have two separate rooms for sleeping. And it has a screen porch so that we can sit in the sun with a little bit of protection from flies. It also has a cool rigid, hinged door that opens and closes easily for quick entry/exit.

We are looking forward to putting it through its paces on our camping trip! You can see some more photos of the setup process in the New Tent gallery.

Father’s Day Weekend

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It’s been a great but exhausting Father’s Day weekend! I have spent a ton of quality time with my family, doing all sorts of things!

Friday, after I got home from work, I went out and got some Thai food for dinner (Siam Delight, of course). After eating dinner, we drove up to Rockport to visit Halibut Point State Park. We had a nice, tiring time hiking around there and seeing the beautiful scenery.

The Girls

The Girls

You can view more photos of our adventure in the Halibut Point gallery.

On Saturday, after heroically rescuing Mama who had suffered a flat tire on her bike ride, Catherine and I went out to Home Depot and picked up some supplies I needed for a few projects around the house. One of the gutters had some spikes that had popped out, and I got a set of gutter screws and ferrules to replace them and create a better hold for the gutter. I also got a strip of metal to make a nice transition between the flooring in our laundry area and the flooring in our new family closet. When I got home, I worked on these projects (both successful) while the girls worked on making some strawberry jam and a strawberry rhubarb pie.

Saturday night, we ate dinner at Qdoba. They had provided a BOGO coupon for Father’s Day weekend, and while we’re much bigger fans of Chipotle, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for one free entree. At home we enjoyed the strawberry rhubarb pie that Rebecca had made. Mmmm… delicious.

Sunday morning, I received some great Father’s Day gifts! I got a Nikon DSLR Mode Dial decal for my MacBook Pro (by Suzie Automatic):

DSLR Decal

DSLR Decal

I also got a new tin of shaving soap (by Ethically Engineered):

Shaving Soap

Shaving Soap

And I got another book in the series of attempts to build up a library of children’s books that refer to fathers as “Papa:” “I Love You, Papa, In All Kinds Of Weather.” I have the sweetest and most thoughtful wife and kids! 🙂

Also in the “Papa” vein, I received a picture frame with “Papa’s Pride and Joy” printed on it, to be filled with a favorite photo of my favorite girls.

On Sunday after church, we drove up to Portsmouth, NH. We had lunch at Dos Amigos Burritos, a favorite of Rebecca’s from when she worked at Strawbery Banke. After lunch, we boarded the M/V Thomas Laighton of the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company for a Father’s Day cruise! The cruise lasted three hours, and took us around Portsmouth Harbor, and then nine miles out to sea to the Isles of Shoals, a group of small islands on the border of Maine and New Hampshire. We hadn’t been out to the Isles of Shoals before, so it was a very cool experience. The boat was somewhat similar to the Island Queen which we occasionally take to Martha’s Vineyard.

Isles of Shoals Lighthouse

Isles of Shoals Lighthouse

Of particular interest to me was Star Island, which is owned by the Star Island Corporation (which, frankly, sounds like something out of LOST or some other science fiction series). The corporation runs a conference center, mainly catering to religious groups such as the UCC and UU churches, but also open to other conferences (in particular, I noticed a digital photography workshop scheduled there later this year… hmm…).

You can see all of the photos from Portsmouth and the Isles of Shoals cruise.

It’s hard to believe, but this is my fifth Father’s Day! This has been the best one so far. I am so fortunate to have two great girls – funny, clever, creative, loving, caring. And to have a wife who is also a great mother and very supportive of my fathering. I’m looking forward to many more Father’s Days, and many more days, weeks, months and years with my family! I love you girls!

Papa, Catherine (and Esme!!)

Papa, Catherine (and Esme!!)

Memorial Day and Catherine’s Birthday

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Over Memorial Day weekend, we visited Martha’s Vineyard and celebrated Catherine’s birthday. Rebecca’s parents have a cottage on the Vineyard, and having a celebration of Catherine’s birthday there has become a tradition.

While we were staying on the Vineyard, I did a lot of reading, Rebecca did a lot of bicycling, and Catherine and Esme did a lot of playing. I took the girls to the playground a few times, Rebecca and I went out for lunch at the Plane View Restaurant, we had some delicious home-cooked meals and enjoyed great hospitality thanks to Ken and Dianne.

The highlight of the weekend was Catherine’s birthday party on Sunday afternoon. We had some friends from the campground come over. There were balloon animals, rocket balloons, bubble wands and bubble guns, butterfly cake, and many laughs.

Catherine at her party

I also enjoyed a ‘digital vacation’ of sorts, thanks to inspiration from Leo Babauta of mnmlist.com. I didn’t access the internet at all while I was away, from Saturday morning through Monday evening. It made the weekend much more enjoyable – gave me more time to think, more time to take in my surroundings, and more time to relax and slow down. I’d definitely consider doing it again. I had decided to take this ‘digital vacation’ in advance of our trip, but it didn’t hurt that it just so happened the internet connectivity at the Lowes’ cottage wasn’t working while we were there…

To see all of the photos from our weekend, check out the gallery.

Four Years?

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My, how time has flown. As of four years ago, Facebook was only available to college and high school students and Twitter hadn’t yet been opened to the public. We were still living in a basement apartment in downtown Beverly, MA, and we were wondering when we were going to have our baby. And then, Catherine came along. Things haven’t been the same since! Here is a photo montage of her first four years:

Watching her grow up has been the most amazing experience. She went from a little tiny thing who didn’t do much more than lay there to a girl who can ride a tricycle like lightning down the sidewalk. She is constantly dazzling us with her observations about the world, her memory of people, events, and places, her ability to read, her wide range of emotions and facial expressions, and her ability to love her friends and family. If you haven’t met Catherine, you’re really missing out on a treat!

We’re glad to be her parents, and we are looking forward to whatever the future holds for her! Happy fourth birthday, Catherine!

Touch a Truck

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On our way home from church today, we noticed that “Touch a Truck” was going on outside of the Cummings Center! We pulled a hard right, parked, and spent a half hour walking around and exploring the various large trucks that were parked for all to see. It’s a fun event for everyone, especially little kids. Catherine may have been the only kid who looked for and buckled the seat belt on every truck she got into.

Catherine in the driver's seat

Catherine in the driver's seat

You can see all of the Touch a Truck photos in our gallery.

Purgatory Chasm

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I wanted to go on an adventure this weekend. Rebecca did some research and came up with Purgatory Chasm State Reservation. It’s just over an hour away from Danvers in Sutton, MA. There is an incredible geological formation, a chasm with walls up to 70 feet high. Its floor is filled with a mish-mash of rocks and boulders. The trail through it is only a half mile long, but you must scramble up and down and around rocks the entire way through.

Chasm

Chasm

Before we hit the Chasm, however, we met our friends Becky and Derek and their kids Sarah and Nathan at the playground which is also a part of the park. We had lunch and the older girls played in the playground. One of the craziest features of this playground was a sort of overgrown merry-go-round, which Catherine dubbed “the roundabout.” It had a huge pole in the middle, and a rope net surrounding it in a cone shape, so that riders could climb up the inside or outside. So basically a few dozen kids would pile inside, a few crazy adults would get the thing going, and the kids would scream their lungs out while enjoying the ride. Catherine loved it, even after a couple of rough falls. Here’s a photo of the contraption:

The "Roundabout"

The "Roundabout"

So we ended up spending a bit more time at the playground than I’d originally expected… but eventually we made it over to the Chasm itself. Esme had the best seat in the house as the other three of us scrambled up and down the rocks.

Mama and Esme

Mama and Esme

Catherine was a wee bit tired and insisted on being carried through various parts of the Chasm. We didn’t end up hiking through the whole length of it, but we did get to see quite a few of the rock formations, and saw several rock climbers rappelling down some of the cliff walls.

Rock Climber

Rock Climber

The park itself was pretty well laid out, with a good visitor center, picnic areas, parking, and trails. I’d recommend it as a good day trip for folks in Massachusetts… roughly an hour drive from the Boston area. Come well rested and ready for the hiking and scrambling, and for the playing in the playground if you have young ones.

You can see all of our photos from Purgatory Chasm in our gallery.

Changes for PRWPHOTO

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A little less than a year ago, I had the idea to start a photography business. I jumped into things enthusiastically, set up a website, contacted prospective clients, and even did a few photo shoots. However, I’ve found that over the past year, I simply haven’t had the time or the energy to build up the business. I have a full time job that requires a lot of energy and creativity, and leaves me feeling mentally exhausted every day when I get home. I have two kids who I spend a lot of time with. I have a wife to love and support. I have work to do around the house and other personal and family matters to tend to. There simply isn’t enough of me left over to engage in a business venture.

It’s unfortunate that it’s taken me this long to figure that out, because I’ve spent too much time worrying about how I could get some more clients, how I was going to have enough time to do marketing, advertising, and planning, and when I was going to fit these photo sessions in, should they come along. So, as of right now, I’ve decided to shut down Peter R. Wood Photography as a business. When I made the decision earlier today, I felt a great sense of relief and freedom, knowing that I could devote more of my thoughts and emotions to the more important things in life.

I am also excited because I now feel free to go back to enjoying photography. I’d love to revive http://prwphoto.net/ as a personal photography site. A place where I can talk about photographic technique and camera gear, show off photos I’ve taken, and share my love for the art. But I’m not going to worry too much about when or how I’ll get that online. You’ll still see my newest photos here on the blog, or on SmugMug, Flickr, or linked on Twitter or Facebook.

And I’ll still be more than happy to take photos for you, but I’m not going to spend any time or money marketing it, and I’m not going to charge anything for it. I’ll do it because you’re my friends or family, or a really cool or interesting person, and because I love taking photos. If you want me to take photos for you, just let me know!

Wood Family Round-up

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Here’s what’s been going on with the Wood family recently!

If you haven’t been following Rebecca Rides, head over and check it out. Rebecca has been stepping up her training rides for the Pan-Mass Challenge. I’ve been pitching in, too, taking charge of the girls while Mama is out on her rides. Sometimes we go out and do fun things, like go to the playground down the street or to the lovely Lynch Park. I’m happy to be able to help, and excited to see Rebecca enjoying her rides and becoming more confident.

This past week was Bring Your Child To Work day. I brought both Catherine and Esme for a few hours on Thursday morning. I gave them a brief tour around the warehouse and then they hung out with some of our designers and drew on the whiteboard. I appreciate my co-workers for putting up with the girls for a little while. The girls definitely enjoyed it… Catherine had been talking about coming to work with me practically since last year. 🙂

Catherine with co-workers

Catherine with co-workers

In the photography department, I’m working on some new ideas for Peter R. Wood Photography, and hopefully you’ll be hearing about them soon. I also recently attended a photography seminar and learned a few things that will help me with the photography biz.

One of Esme’s favorite things recently is sitting in the little adirondack rocking chair in our living room, rocking and playing with a toy phone. She also likes to grab books and bring them over to us to read. She loves helping clean things up and put them away, almost as much as she loves taking them out. Catherine is loving reading, too, and is showing us her ability to read more and more every day. She’s even started writing (via dictation) and reading emails. So if you want to email her, please do! She’ll read it (with some help from Mama and Papa) and write back! You can contact her via our contact page, or via her email address which, if you know Rebecca’s or mine, is exactly what you’d expect.

Want more? I’m guessing most of our readers are friends on Facebook as well, but if not, you can friend me or Rebecca for lots more updates. I also post frequently on Twitter.

Easter

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I’ve been trying to write about Easter Sunday, but I think I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. They are worth a thousand words, after all!

Prelude to Easter

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Rebecca, Catherine, Esme and I are out in Townsend, Massachusetts for the weekend. We’re staying at Rebecca’s parents’ house and spending Easter with them. It’s always great to get away for a little bit and be with people who mean a lot to you. Today, after a brief shopping trip around the North Shore, we headed up to Townsend. Our first order of business was coloring some Easter eggs. This year we had a batch of incredible colors. Just look!

Easter eggs

Easter eggs

After coloring the eggs, we all drove out to Ashby to visit Trap Falls. It’s always been a favorite spot of ours. There’s a little picnic area, a rushing stream, sunlight pleasantly filtering through pine trees, a short hiking trail and rocks to climb, and of course, the Falls. Here you can see Catherine and Grandpa sitting up above the falls.

Catherine and Grandpa at the Falls

Catherine and Grandpa at the Falls

After our trip to the falls, we made a quick stop at home to do a quick bit of net fishing in the pond behind the house. We didn’t come up with much except a few salamanders!

Salamander

Salamander

We then headed out to dinner at Griffing’s Side Trax, formerly known as the Riverside, a restaurant just across the border in Brookline, New Hampshire. Good service, very kind friendly, delicious food. Catherine ordered exactly what she wanted (mashed potatoes and apple sauce) and had no complaints. Esme had no complaints about the pork loin Nonni shared with her! We all headed home stuffed and ready for bed.

You can see all the photos from the day in the gallery.

Tomorrow will be church at TCCUCC, then Easter dinner here at the Lowes’ house. Corey and Vicky will be coming out tomorrow, too!

For those of you who celebrate Easter, I hope that you’re able to enjoy the day, and that it will be one of rest, peace, and remembrance of the miracle of Christ’s resurrection.