In Memorium

In honor of the now-defunct Duluth-Superior Dukes Northern League baseball team (1993-2002), I named my Fantasy Baseball team the Duluth Dukes (the full name was too long to be an option in the yahoo league in which I am playing).  To my surprise they are tearing up the league and recently overtook the Sandlot Bullies to claim the #1 spot at the All-Star Break.  I attribute my success to (a) dumb luck, and (b) focusing on pitchers (rather than hitters) in the draft.  Here's to a good 2nd half.

PS--the Duluth-Superior Dukes franchise is still in existence, only as the Kansas City T-Bones.  

More Indy Weekend Photos

Most of Friday was spent lounging around the yard & pool.
Billy the Kidney's arrival was not met with glee by all (see Maxime weeping below--and James was so scared out of his mind that he had to be physically separated from Billy at all times).
Henry wears the Billy the Kidney cowboy hot.
Sophie & James at breakfast.
Mamie Pat & Sophie at breakfast.
Smilin' Max.

A Very Kidney Birthday

Just got back from a great weekend in Indianapolis, where the Hellmanites all gathered to celebrate my Dad's 65th birthday!

Amongst the highlights:

1. An outstanding cake developed by my sister Susie, in which a giant marzapan Rick Hellman, complete with banjo and his faithful samoyed Zeus, was featured as the centerpiece.

2. This cool hollowed-out watermelon fruit dish, once again by Susie.

3. Grandchildren up the yin-yang.

4. In order to really do things right, I arranged to deliver a happy birthday wish in the impressive form of Billy the Kidney--the human-sized kidney mascot from the National Kidney Foundation of Indiana. Thanks, NKF! You'll hear more from Billy the Kidney in next year's Holiday Greetings card...I started early for once.

French-Fried Vacation Photos

A few pics from Claire, Sophie, & Max's vacation in LaBaule, France last month!

Purgatory Chasm

Great walk yesterday at Purgatory Chasm, about an hour or so drive from Boston. They have several hikes there including a short but rocky one in which walkers navigate a series of interesting rock formations in a gorge probably resulting from ancient glacial migrations. We were pretty tired after such a full day that we opted against staying up past everybody's bedtime to watch the Boston fireworks. Some pictures from the day.

Here's a shot of a rock formation called "Fat Man's Misery".

Nate navigating "Fat Man's Misery"--obviously not one we could take the kids to see.

Chestnut defends hot dog title with record 68

Chestnut defends hot dog title with record 68

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I've covered this on Nate's Blog in the past...Joey Chestnut helps keep the "America" in "July 4th" by winning his 3rd straight Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Competition with a record 68 dogs eaten in a span of 10 minutes.

Max & Sophie Making Each Other Laugh

Return of the Family! They arrived safe & sound on Thursday afternoon. Everybody's doing great.

Max woke up at 4:30 am (and therefore so did I) due to the time difference. Hopefully he'll get back on schedule. He's also grown in several more blonde hairs since the last time I saw him.

Here's a video of Sophie & Max making each other laugh.