Our first week at camp together

We miss Jack!

Sierra at Camp Treetops

Sierra loves the garden. She first focused on raspberries, an old favorite. It's early in berry season, so you have to learn where to look. Sierra knows that the bushes with red gold are near the cows.



She also likes the peas. She eats them raw, in the pod.




It's great to let her run wild at camp, free from the usual worries of parenthood like strangers and cars. Strangers and cars are two things that don't fit camp.

Now she wants to ride the horses.

Fire in the Forge!

Jay's latest thing at camp is making iron things with an old fashioned forge. Alex the counselor helped him master the ancient arts. Soon he'll be making swords and rings of power.

Dad's new CD

JIM SMART: Seven Fathoms His string tinged rock music lets your brain wander the fine line balance between the pain of old timey musicals and the foolish pleasures of acoustic punk rock, with power pop nods to artists like the Kinks, the Decemberists, Wilco, and Nick Drake.

Arrival at Treetops

Shari, Sierra, and I are now at camp. We are staying in the same rooms in Cascade House. Instead of George and David Turner, we live with 4 gigantic dogs. 2 belong to Julia, and 2 to Bill L.

George is doing well, and Senior Camp has a nice tone. The kids are a biit more innocent than last year in general.

Jay seems to be thriving as a Super. He is more interested in socializing with them than us, though he likes a hug a couple of times a day. He has a guitar which has mostly stayed in his tent so far.

We heard that the Supers did a funny but very long skit at the bonfire based on Bob and George. It had something to do with George having to fill big shoes. Ergo, Jay played the part of George, and he wore very very big shoes, or slippers, or something. Anyway, you'd best ask someone who was there if you want to know about it.

Yesterday was the Ironman, with the usual fun scene out at the street. I thought of Lindsay's year. Shari and Sierra were too tired to get up for breakfast, so there's no way she would have made it to the start like that year.

photos of Mammoth Summer

Click Here:

http://web.mac.com/jimsmart1/iWeb/Site/Mammoth%20Summer.html

July 2006 - Sierra and Jim came to Mammoth for a week of fun. Kayaks at Lake Mary, mountain biking and hiking, fabulous flowers, and a gig with friends and their kids. Perfecto!

Dad's new CD

Check it out:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/smart2

Mammoth!

Sierra is in Mammoth, noticing that her name is on a lot of the buildings and signs around here.



We hiked around Lake George. These 4 year old girls were troupers; the adults were challenged, but the girls loved it!



Jay and Jim fight back against the only child syndrome.



Grampa Jim and Sierra have lots of fun sneaking up on people with snowballs and reading stories.



A chatty dinner for three girls who are almost exactly the same age: Ruby, Sierra, Devon, at the Cole's house.

Sierra at Disneyland

Sierra and Dad went to Disneyland with Gramma Jackie. Since we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel for 2 nights, we were able to hit the park at 8:00 and do all the rides for 4 year olds in the morning with no waiting, no lines. It was a blast. Then it was hot and crowded, so we napped in the AC of our hotel room before charging the other park, California Disney Adventure:



That park had no lines, so we did all the shows and rides with no waiting again. Sierra loved the Electric Light Parade, resurrected from the 70s, and the Soaring ride where you fly all over California. That park closes at 10:00, so we went back to Disneyland until midnight, then back to the hotel.

Some strange changes were made to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Johnny Depp has been added in three places, peeking out behind barrels or gloating on a pile of treasure:

Shari's update

While I'm waiting for my photos to upload let me tell you about the last few days. The Neushul's were in town until Sunday morning. We played at the beach a lot. I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted to, but what I got was cute. The adults (Cathy, Peter, Steven, Suzanne, Jim and Shari) had a great dinner at Roy's the night before they all left. On Sunday morning, while they were heading to the airport, I got a little gurglie in the gut. After six hours laying on the bathroom floor with "bowl" disease (you know, the one where you can't decide whether to sit on or in front of the toilet...) Jim finally decided to take me to the ER. I felt like I had been hit by a truck. Today my gut is funky but I'm finally vertical again. I went to work and ate food, and now I'm practicing my new iWeb skills. Here are some photos of the Nesuhul's when they were here last week.

http://web.mac.com/jimsmart1/iWeb/Site/Neushuls.html

Love and Hershey Squirts to all,
Share Bear the Boring

Kona Scuba

Jim & Jay went to Kona with family friend Dave Hoffman for an outrageous SCUBA adventure. We made new friends with a Mammoth guy called Karl Lizza, who took the time to dive with us with Konaquatica, set us up for a killer dinner at the Kona Inn, and play the violin for us. What a guy! We travelled on go! airlines, the new kid on the block, for $39, and stayed at the King Kam Hotel.

More photos:

Molokai camping

Brother Jay,

The boys and I just finished an outrageous camp trip that you would have loved:

http://web.mac.com/jimsmart1/iWeb/Site/paddleMolokai2006.html

Aside from the great scenery and fun nature to explore, you would have liked the spirit of creativity we had. Because once you start this trip, you can't go back, and you have to make do with what you brought in the kayak. Jay figured out a way to turn his rain poncho into a pretty cool sail, for example. We had to improvise things like wind shelters and river dams. Ya shouldda been there!

Jim

It's a movie! It's a Pillow Fight! It's a movie ABOUT a pillow fight!

Hi Dad,

Here's a short movie of the kids to brighten up your Father's Day:

http://web.mac.com/jimsmart1/iWeb/Site/Pillow%20Fight.html

Thanks for everything you've done for me in the last 42 years. The camp trips to Mexico, the car you got me in college, and all the various jackets and coats you've given me through the years. I always seem to be caught traveling without a coat!

I love you,

Jim

Easter Theatre

Hi folks,

Here's the latest movie from the home studio, about 3 minutes long:

http://web.mac.com/jimsmart1/iWeb/Site/Easter%2006.html

Enjoy!

Jim

The Mikado

Jack Smart. What a guy! He stars as Koko in the Punahou production of The Mikado, Gilbert and Sullivan uber alles!

We are so pround and happy for him. What a treat to be a dad and watch your son be successful and delight big audiences.



I loved it when Jack went out for a midnight meal with his co-stars after Saturday's show. I just feel so happy for him.

Dad

Big Apple, Big Friendships

I love these guys. We only childs gotta make up our own sibling situations. So I have my sister Jeanne, who is really my ex-step-sister, but a real sister in my heart.



And I have John, who along with Jay Cole and Simeon Spiegel, are my brothers.



Fun to see all these guys on the streets of New York!

Jim

The Big Apple

Click here to see our Big Apple photos:

http://web.mac.com/jimsmart1/iWeb/Site/NYCbest48.html

Excitement and thrills in new York City:

Jack, jumping up and down with excitement at the Color Purple, his first big Broadway show. His smile when he was able to get some of their autographs afterwards.

Jim, getting very very close to Ray Davies and Vincent Van Gogh (well, his paintings).

Bill, smiling at seeing his old school chum at breakfast, Jack O'Brien, who is the director of two current Broadway hits.

Today's our last day. One day more, one show more, and a 3:30 wake up call in the morning.

Jack was blown away by Wicked. We all were. The ultimate peak comes at the end of act 1, with Defying Gravity. It's easily the best, most powerful theatre moment I've ever been a part of.

It was cool when we got to do the "Behind the Emerald Curtain" tour the morning before the show. Two friendly, amazing cast members showed us how Wicked works behind the scenes. Very worth it.

I love walking around this city, staring at the lights in Times Square, getting purposely lost in Central Park, meeting friends, and drinking Guiness (a word I don't know the plural of) in Irish pubs.

We spent a lot of time at Ground Zero feeling the pain, checking out the latest plans for the Freedom Tower, and learning about September 11.

Upward!

Jim

college tour photos

Today we went into the scenic Hudson River Valley in upstate New York. Roosevelt territory, across the river from West Point.

Bard College is great and cool, but it didn't have the right vibe for Jack.

Vassar College, just down the river, is his favorite so far.

Tomorrow we enter New York City for more schools and a few Broadway shows. Jack is in heaven.























48 photos of our trip so far: http://web.mac.com/jimsmart1/

The Bershires

Hi all,

We've been driving around the lyrics of some old favorites. First we drove through Stockbridge and the Berkshires, mentioned in Sweet Baby James. We even played it on the car stereo via my iPod. Ditto for Barrytown and My Old School by Steely Dan as we neared Annandale-on-Hudson.

Oh yeah, and the colleges. Been a lot of fun seeing the wild student activists at Clark, the gothic beauty of Amherst, the stunning Boston-in-the-Adirondacks majesty of Williams, and the funky farmlands of Bennington.









Today we ate at two diners, both of them old metal tubes that look like motor homes or boat bubbles on a city lot. We stuffed our faces with good old American grub, and now I can barely lift my fingers to type this.



Tomorrow we go to Bard and Vassar before entering the Emerald City on Thursday.

Viva la Revolucion!

Jim, Jack, and Bill

Boston

Hi!

We are having fun on our Three German guys on an East Coast college search trip. Bill and I would like to go back to college instead of doing our jobs.

We started at Harvard on Sauturday, where we saw a student production of Chicago that was fun of fun and spirit.

It's really cold here, so Jack and I bought gloves and Harvard hats for strolling between the ivy colored walls with the squirrels.

Today we walked through BU and had a great visit at Emerson. We got some students talking about how they like the school, and they just went on and on about how great it is. Bunch of theatre/arts/English/creative types who are in heaven at the school. I think they got to Jack.

Bill and I are ready to enroll!

At night we enjoyed the spunky impossible-to-describe Blue Man Group, a show that makes you smile, makes you think, and then makes you talk a lot about what it all meant.

Onward!

Jim

Sunday surf tradition

Photos from early 2006

The two highlights of our year so far have been Sierra's 4th birthday and the Punahou Carnival. Jack is a junior, and they are the class that runs the carnival. That makes Jack and Shari very busy for months and months.

Enjoy more photos:

http://web.mac.com/jimsmart1/iWeb

vacation photos

Grampa Carter and Sierra:




Click here for 48 photos of the Smarts in Palm Desert, Mexico, and San Diego:

http://homepage.mac.com/jimsmart1/PhotoAlbum54.html