The all new Apple iPaul...

When I was Paul’s age (back in the day), the coolest electronic gadget was probably the Atari. When you went to the music store you bought cassette tapes, until they invented the Compact Disc, which surprisingly has been around quite a while now. I seem to remember my sister getting a stereo with a CD player sometime in the early nineties (and listening to the same Garth Brooks songs over and over again). I can only imagine what life will be like when Paul is my age now. The iPhone is absolutely incredible (and unfortunately still expensive), but by the time Paul is 25, it will be a useless antique. I don’t have an iPhone, but I do have the lesser model iPod that just plays music, and Paul thinks highly of it.

But looking at these photos of him checking it out now is kind of funny, because someday he might come across these and laugh at the "technology" of 2009.

He loves music, and he's been working on his dance moves lately. He also loved the keyboard I had, so maybe he’ll play an instrument someday. I’m thinking we’ll start with a drum set when he turns four. Get him going early. But he also likes football on TV and throwing around whatever other ball he can find. So maybe he’ll go that route. And if not, I guess we’ll sign him up for ballet lessons… or figure skating!

I guess he could just be a model. He seems to have that down.

Either way, he's a piece of work.

And finally... Part III

Sorry for the delay with the rest of these photos, but I had to go back to school (unfortunately). Here is the last set of pictures from our spring break in DC. There were too many to fit in one post, so I made a slideshow this time. Basically we traveled around downtown, stopped in the Smithsonian for a while, visited the monuments, and went to an aquarium in Baltimore. Check out the pics:

Definately a fun week, but over too fast. Now the final countdown is on, as I have less than 6 weeks of class left. Here we go...

As Promised: Part II

On the second day of our trip we went to George Washington’s house at Mount Vernon. I had no idea he was as filthy rich as he was, but at one time he had 8,000 acres and just under 400 slaves. The house was situated on the banks of the Potomac River in Virginia, and had an incredible view looking across to Maryland. It also had an assortment of animals, including these sheep, some cows, and man-eating chickens.

Uncle Ted almost became entangled in a fight to the death with a rooster on the farm. Thankfully, no one else was around to witness the four of us running for our lives through the farm yard with the chicken hot on our heels. We escaped unharmed, and now we will think of that stupid bird every time we eat chick wings. Mmmm, make mine with Buffalo sauce.

The water was probably just a little cold, so we just stayed on the bank of the river.


Yeah, this Florida born child was not too thrilled with the freezing temperature, and especially not too excited about the cold ears and runny nose that came with it.


After walking around the area we ventured to the big house. The servant’s quarters alone were bigger than most of the farm houses in Virginia at the time. So George had some money.


The only bad thing about this trip was the herd of middle school kids that arrived in about four school buses. I imagine this place gets its fair share of running and screaming kids every year. The only place I ever got to go on a field trip to was Fort Fizzle. Not quite as exciting.

I think the main house had seven bedrooms or something, but unfortunately no bathrooms. You had to walk about a hundred yards away from the house to the "Necessary" as they called it. Probably not a lot of fun at 2AM when the temperature fell well below freezing.


After checking out the house where all kinds of famous events occurred, we went to the museum and learned all sorts of interesting things we never knew that we never knew about George Washington. In all, I’d give it two thumbs up and say it was worth checking out. Still more photos to come!

Spring Break in D.C. Part I

Well, our trip to the capitol was fantastic and we made it back just fine, even though the drive was very, very long. But it’s good to be home, and now I have to go through all of these pictures to find a few to post. I was going to make a big slideshow, but I really don’t feel like doing that again at the moment. So instead, I’m going to put these pictures up over several posts. So here is Part I of our trip to Obamatown.

I saw this place on the map, and it was just a short drive off the interstate, so we had to stop. Who knew the land of our people was South Carolina. Paul may be the only southern born Sellers, but apparently it’s in his blood.

We stopped at the town hall and I put my name on the ballot to run for mayor in the next election. I’ve gotta be a shoe-in with a name like this. Unfortunately, this vibrant community is home to only a run down market store, this town hall, and a few farm houses. Not exactly a burgeoning metropolis. But if its serenity and humidity you desire, then catch the next train to Sellers, SC!

If you’ve ever driven down 95 in either direction you may have heard of this South of the Border place. Yeah. Driving north there were (seriously) about a hundred billboard signs for this… uh, tourist destination. In some points there were billboards every 100 yards. The shear volume of advertising rivals Coca-Cola, so you’re bound to stop just to see what the heck is going on in this place. Well, don’t. They definitely put more time and creativity into the signs than the place itself. So just keep driving, that is, unless you like spending money on useless garbage you could find at any dollar store. There were some interesting photo opportunities though.

Not sure what a giant gorilla has to do with Mexican themed junk, or why a Mexican themed junk shopping center is located between the North and South Carolina borders, but it’s here anyway.

What's better than a giant gorilla? Well, a giant flamingo of course. Or the giant stereotypical Mexican guy with sombrero and poncho. They had a lot of those.

And there's a couple of them. I should have bought this hat. Too bad it wouldn’t fit in the car. Alright, I’ll actually post some pictures from DC tomorrow.

Break it up, Spring is here...

Spring Break is finally here, and it’s about time. I had a ridiculous ethics test this morning (which was a retake, because I’m naturally an unethical individual and unfit to practice law in any jurisdiction apparently… or maybe I just don’t have the time to memorize 1000 pages of ethics rules that really aren't even the law in many states). But the feeling of relief afterward was pretty incredible. Thankfully, I won’t have to retake it again until August. Actually I should be ok this time though because I answered every question with “(F) Cheat… cheat like crazy.” Tomorrow we’re loading up our stuff, and on Monday heading north. When we get back, the apartment will look pretty empty. All that will be left are broken pieces of furniture (the computer chair arm just broke in half yesterday while I was sitting in it), two beds without frames (it’s easier for Paul to get in and out now), and a bunch of discount appliances and Wal-Mart fine dishware. Yep, we’re living the good life. But when we get back it’s only eight weeks to go. But anyway, we took some photos today, so check it out.

Just lying around with his "Wheels"

Checking out how he looks sporting "The Mason"

Yes, he has been working on the railroad.

Well, well... what do we see in here?

Where's your goofy looking railroad hat, Dad?

Oh man, what will they make me do next? This wasn't in my contract.

Ah ha! Catch me if you can!

Don't hide behind me mom, it's about time you got your photo taken.


Alright, that's enough of this. I'm putting the cap on this thing.

Well, we're heading out early Monday to go to D.C., so hopefully next weekend we'll have loads of good photos to post!

To Atlanta and Back Again

Well we made it home safely from Atlanta last night, but not until around 2AM. It was a long, dark, and rainy drive home, but thankfully we made it safely. Our quick stay in Georgia’s biggest city was pretty exciting overall, and I think we both were relatively impressed with it. Definitely a lot different than Jacksonville, much bigger, and it actually had hills! And it looked like they experience winter up there (kind of) with the leaves actually falling off the trees. It would have been great to hang out for a while, but we made the best of our two days. On Friday we braved the downtown area and pouring rain to see the World of Coca-Cola. I guess it’s kind of annoying that they brag about how many billions of cans of Coke they sell a day, and then they charge you to get in to see how incredible they think they are. I’d still take a Mountain Dew any day. But it actually was really cool, and we got to sample 64 different products they produce world wide! The African drinks were awesome, the Europeans not so much. And everyone got a refreshing, newly bottled Coca-Cola on the way out! So it was worth it.

While I was taking the test and waiting to be interviewed, Becky and Paul went to the Georgia Aquarium, and apparently Paul was a fan. I guess he ran around and told everyone about the fish – as if they couldn’t see them for themselves. They had whale sharks, hammerheads, beluga whales, penguins, otters, spider crabs, screaming children, people with digital cameras, and all sorts of other things for him to gawk and point at. And after four hours, he was spent.

So, unlike my last post concerning the Florida Keys, I give the city of Atlanta two thumbs up. If you haven’t been, you should check it out. Maybe someday we’ll get to go back and stay a while longer. Coming next weekend for the Florida Sellers: Washington, D.C. and an 11 hours drive. So continues our well traveled year of 2009. By the end of the year we may have lived in four states and traveled to half a dozen others. Should be fun!