Schoolhouse Rock

Merry Christmas Joan.

2010-12-12T16:17:00.000-08:00

Parc de Sceaux.

2010-04-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the we joined some new friends for a journey to the outskirts of Paris to a magical land known as Parc de Sceaux. This was the day of the Japanese cherry blossom festival. We took the RER to Sceaux and walked to the Parc. Sceaux is a nice little town that would have you paying 10 Euros for a bunch of grapes ($13.37) if you're not careful. Our travel partner found the same grapes for 4 Euros. Once we entered the park we were just amazed at the size, age and beauty of everything. The landscaping and architecture were like nothing any of us (well the Scuglia's) had encountered before. Unfathomable.

When we got to the meadow where the blossoms were in bloom there were loads of people picnicking in the grass playing frisbee and football(soccer), loads of badminton and volleyball.

As one would expect there were many children running around which means the girls had their share of fun in the sun. I don't think they really appreciated that they were frolicking in the grass among the blossoming trees (and bitchin seersucker pantsuit) in the massive gardens of some centuries old French chateau. Awesome.

It was such a short train ride. I can't wait for our next visit to Parc de Sceaux.

Morning Commute

2010-04-02T05:36:00.000-07:00

The girls go to school on the Ile of St. Louis to the Ecole Maternelle Poulletier in what is really the oldest part of Paris. I thought it would be neat to chronicle their (our) morning commute to school to show you a part of our Parisian experience.
This is our stairway just outside of our apartment door. The girls take turns. One gets to open our door while the other gets to turn on the light in the stairway.
This is the door to our building on rue du Vert Bois.
Here Vivien is hovering on the way to the Metro station. We call her 'Crazy Legs' for a reason.
This is where we get on the Metro at the Arts et Metiers. This is our station.

The Arts et Metiers station is one of the coolest in all of Paris. Next stop Chatelet station.
Here we transfer from the 11 to the 7 and will exit at Pont-Marie.

We will then cross the Quai de Celestins and cross the Siene on the Pont-Marie.

This is the view of the Siene in the morning from the Pont-Marie. We will walk along that row of buildings and take the first right (where the stairs to the Siene are) to school.

Once we hang up Izzy's coat we'll head up to her classroom....
...and drop her off.
Then upstairs to Viviens classroom to drop her off. I think next we'll document our trip back home.

Square du Temple.

2010-03-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

While Erin was running laps at Square du Temple the kids and I hit the playground. It was a very cold Parisian morning. I rarely get to grace this blog so I just had to post this photo. Maybe we can get a photo of both Erin and me with the kids someday before they're in high school.

'En Francais'

2009-12-25T02:05:00.000-08:00

I've included here some photos taken during my stay in Paris the two weeks leading up to Christmas. First you'll see the girls' school Christmas program which took place the day after my arrival. I escorted them by myself so it was truly a trial by fire seeing as I was the only person around without a working knowledge of the French language. We've been trekking through the 3rd so there are some random photos of the 'hood. Also you will see us putting our mark on the Pont des Arts with the lock I've engraved. On the foot bridge there are hundreds of locks scribed upon by couples hoping to seal their love. You can see the Pont Neuf in the background which is the oldest standing bridge on the Seine. 'Pont Neuf' translates to 'New Bridge'. Ironic don't you think? We had Isadora's ears pierced so there's that and we took a trip to the Eiffel Tower. It had been snowing in Paris and the two upper levels of the tower were closed due to ice so we opted to go up another time. I'll be posting more photos of this expedition so be sure to check back. Thanks and Happy Day!

Nöel 2009.

2009-12-25T01:36:00.000-08:00

Totally Rocking Out.

2009-11-18T07:14:00.000-08:00

http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid168.photobucket.com/albums/u163/hogsjaw/HPIM3171.flv

Travis Berg.

2009-11-09T20:21:00.001-08:00

Photo Dump 1

2009-10-06T05:54:00.000-07:00

Photos taken on Chris Oakes' phone.

Livin' La Vie de Dingue.

2009-09-26T06:59:00.000-07:00

The girls have made a friend in Annabella.

Vivian's Fifth Birthday Party in Boise Before Her Actual Birthday in Paris.

2009-09-15T08:34:00.001-07:00

Summer Fun at the Fair.

2009-09-15T08:23:00.000-07:00

This was our first time at the Idaho State Fair and the first ever fair for the girls. Very fun and exciting.

Pink Icing on the Cake.

2009-07-09T05:53:00.000-07:00

On the Fourth of July, while at the Bars & Stripes Alleycat after party at the Lift, Isadora broke her leg somehow. There was carpet. There were flip-flops. It's a mystery.

She's being a champ and should have her cast off in three weeks.

Love Those Girls.

2009-06-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

Big Plans.

2009-05-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

So you may or may not have heard that we've got some pretty big plans. Big life changing plans.

As soon as August Erin and the girls will be going to Paris to stay with Grandma Martine for a year. Erin will be training to certify as a pilates instructor and the girls will be in preschool and enjoying France. Dad will visit as often as he can starting with Vivian's birthday in September and will stay for a couple of weeks.

It will be tough to be apart for so long but in the end our family will be stronger for it. The girls will have been enriched by another culture and Erin and I will have worked hard toward achieving our career goals.

Scary AND Exciting.

Our Famous Idaho Potato.

2009-05-23T06:56:00.000-07:00

Super runner Mom ran the Famous Idaho Potato 1/2 Marathon and we're very proud of her.

She's up and out the door every morning at 6:30 regardless of weather. She's hard core.

Easter.

2009-04-23T07:31:00.003-07:00

Ketchup.

2009-04-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

Forward to spring time in Boise.

Holiday Blur.

2009-01-11T15:48:00.000-08:00

Blog,
Here we have photos from Thanksgiving and from Christmas tree hunting. I'd put up some pics of the tree, or of actual Christmas, but I don't have any. We have it on video which, unless I can make a little movie out of it, does you no good. I fail you.

Pre-Holiday Blur.

2009-01-11T15:05:00.000-08:00

Dear Blog,
I must once again apologize for not keeping you regularly fed with awesome photos and little blips of humorous stories. Sorry. I've got some catching up to do so I'll start with some photos from late fall before Thanksgiving. Here the girls had some fun with a big 'ol pile of leaves and Erin ran her first half marathon. She's currently training for her next halfy in April. Yay, Mom.

Isadora's Two! Part Two.

2008-11-25T08:22:00.001-08:00

Isadora's Two!

2008-11-25T08:14:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2008

2008-11-25T07:34:00.001-08:00

Vivian's Four Years Old!

2008-10-09T06:52:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed Vivian's fourth birthday at Chris' mom's in Star, ID. They rented a Princess Bounce House. There was cake. There were gifts. It was off the hook.

Pick-A-Pepper

2008-07-09T19:15:00.000-07:00

The kids and Erin have been gardening and the time has come to reap some of the benefits. Behold! Green peppers from the side of our house!

Super Biker Mom.

2008-07-09T19:02:00.000-07:00

Lately Erin's been doing her part to conserve fossil fuels by toting the kids around by bike. My first bike build project is going to be a Super Mom Bike with a nice custom stainless steel rack for hauling the groceries. Stay tuned for pics of that one.

Spring Into Summer

2008-05-19T18:50:00.000-07:00

I am sorry for neglecting to update our little blog

here. There is no excuse. I can promise, however, to

get my stuff together and make regular posts with plenty of photos and quirky antics.

Since Christmas the girls have gotten bigger, smarter and even more charming and cute. Erin has quit her job at the tattoo shop to spend more time with Vivian and Isadora before she goes to nursing school. It's really nice having Erin home full time and I'm in no hurry for her to be busy with school. I'm still at the bike shop only three days a week but have really

turned up the heat on doing metal fabrication out of my 10' x 20' shop out back. I've been keeping busy and the projects keep coming. It seems as I finish one job there are two more that take it's place which is great. I just want to build bike frames. But I'm getting closer to that goal every day.

The pictures that I've attached are only a few days old. The ones of Me and of Erin were taken by Vivian. She is an awesome little photographer.....and dancer and artist and singer/songwriter.

Izzy's been working on her vocabulary

and is great at saying "yeah" and "no"

In her pipsqueeky little voice. Super cute.

Girls rule.

Christmas...

2008-01-17T14:12:00.001-08:00

I know this post is a tad out of sequence but whatever. Here are some pics of Vivian and Isadora on Christmas day and some other ones thrown in for good measure.

...And a Bath

2008-01-17T06:23:00.000-08:00

New Years Day Ride.

2008-01-07T07:27:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone. On New Years Day Dad endured lack of sleep and hangover to join about 100 other riders for the annual ride. It was about 30 degrees out for the 30 mile "No Drop" ride which at times hauled along at "race pace". It was a fun introduction to 2008 and a demonstration of how out of shape I am going into a race season that starts in a month. I better start hurting myself. Big time!

Scuglia Bikes

2008-01-04T07:45:00.000-08:00

I (Chris) built this bike frame at a school in Ashland, Ore. in Oct. 2007. My plan is to build all sorts of bicycles for many, many people for a long, long time. Keep an eye out for a web site.

*Click photo to enlarge

Oh, Christmas Tree

2007-12-24T23:36:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago we took the family up past Idaho City to hunt for Christmas trees. We went with our neighbors who showed us the ropes. After our hunt we enjoyed mulled wine, hot buttered rum and hot chile back at the "Woop 'um Up" parking lot. And now, as I write this, the kids are asleep in their beds and Erin and I are awaiting the arrival of Santa. I'm really excited about making this holiday special and magical for the girls and can't wait to see their faces come morning. Merry Christmas everyone.

Oh, What a Weekend!

2007-11-27T20:23:00.000-08:00

So the Scuglia's have had the busiest weekend ever. Isadora's birthday was on the 21st (Wed.) but we decided to celebrate when everyone was together for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving day began with some bike polo at the school across the street(after a nutritious breakfast of course). It was a good opportunity to give the Erins a chance to get some cooking done and get the house all decorated for the holiday. It was fun and Vivian had a good time.

Disco Deana gave Isadora this asian outfit complete with magic cat hat. Supposedly if you wear this hat on you first birthday you'll have good luck for the REST OF YOUR LIFE! Sweet! Vivian wanted some good luck too and wore the the hat more than Izzy.

More...Oh, What a Weekend .

2007-11-27T19:48:00.000-08:00

Grandma Patti and Grandpa John came over and we all showered Isadora with gifts and cake. She got this walker thing and was excited to be trucking around.

Erin really outdid herself with the centerpiece and just a ton of beautiful food. The 25 pound turkey was cooked to perfection. That bird has provided us with sandwiches, a big pot of soup and, more recently, some turkey tetrazzini. Delicious.

After polo and dinner on Thursday (drink, eat, drink, football, drink, sleep, repeat) we had Patrick and Erin over again for soup on Saturday. On Sunday we took the kids to see some cyclocross racing at Eagle Island State Park. More fun for Dad, I'm sure. On Sunday Dad got to play more polo as Erin and the kids watched and played in the sand. Sunday night we had Patrick and Erin over again to try and finish some of beverages we had left over from Thursday. Luckily Paul Prestige stopped by with his new copy MASH SF a film about fixed gear bikes in San Francisco shot by dudes who typically do skateboard videos. It was nice. Pat thought he had lost his keys and after rummaging through the grass in the dark found, on Monday, that they were in his backpack the whole time. Oh, Patrick.
Now that we're totally exhausted we can relax on the couch and dream of what Christmas will bring. Good times.

Snuggle Time

2007-11-17T09:10:00.000-08:00

If cuteness was a guitar amp this pic would be turned up to eleven.

2007-11-10T12:51:00.000-08:00

Lately we've spending Sundays playing Bike Polo at Camels' Back Park. It's fun.

For more info check out the Boise Bike Polo blog.

http://www.208bikepolo.blogspot.com/

Or for other Boise bike whatnots check out the Warlocks' blog.

http://wbcboise.blogspot.com/

Almost a Year Ago.

2007-11-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

It's almost been a year since we brought Isadora home. Vivian still doesn't mind having her around. Geez, they sure are cute together.

Halloween 2007

2007-11-08T07:26:00.000-08:00

Some of you folks may not know where Idaho is geographically and may be surprised to find it nestled in the northern rockies between Washington and Oregon on one side and Montana and Wyoming on the other. It's above Nevada and Utah. Yep, it's right here in the west...Not the Mid-West. And Boise is in the southwest part of the state.
We've started this web log to chronicle our lives in this northwestern paradise and to share with family and friends stories and photos of our Girls, Vivian and Isadora, and ourselves. Enjoy and check back periodically for updates.

Please enjoy these photos from Halloween.