Please take a moment and watch the following trailer. While I rarely post anything here that doesn’t have much to do with my son and our adventures, I make an exception in this case. And quite frankly, though I will not show this film to Caleb until he is older (only because some of the scenes are incredibly gruesome, NOT because I think he is too young to grasp the central premise/conflict), the issue is definitely one I will talk with him about right now.

I strongly encourage you to watch the documentary and talk about it with your children, friends and family. There are many issues covered that pertain to raising children such as health, visiting/supporting certain types of businesses (e.g. zoos, marine parks, etc.), and less directly, how our consumption directly impacts the world around us.

Learn more about the film by visiting thecovemovie.com.

We tried the below approach for our holiday card/update last year and it seemed to work well. So we’re trying it again — let us know what you think and remember to click through to the various links!

[W] Winter proved to be a very busy time for us. We enjoyed a vacation in Florida visiting Peter’s Aunt Linda and Uncle Vinnie, a vacation in Costa Rica for the wedding of Megan’s childhood friend Rachael, and a few trips to the White Mountains and the AMC Maine Lodges for winter hiking and cross-country skiing. We were joined on one such trip by Grandma and Grandpa Straughn and were able to introduce them to the wonderful destinations we have discovered through Megan’s job at AMC (and Megan climbed her first 4,000-footer!). By staying active and busy in the outdoors, we think we may have finally figured out how to make winter in the Northeast much more enjoyable!

[S] Spring was extremely enjoyable as we watched with bated breath as the daffodils, hyacinth, and tulips began blooming and the trees started turning green again. Caleb got so much joy out of pointing out the newly surfaced flowers. Megan spent a wonderful and relaxing long weekend in Santa Barbara with her college girl friends while Peter and Caleb took the opportunity to go camping and hiking in the White Mountains. They had magnificent weather – 20 degrees warmer than the coast of California! Peter also enjoyed a solo 3-day backpacking trip in the Pemigewassett wilderness that took him over the summits of 12 mountains.

[S] Summer absolutely flew by. Not only did Boston have the second rainiest summer on record, but between work trips to New Hampshire, Peter’s annual MBA reunion in California, and a visit to Minnesota, before we knew it, the leaves were starting to change. We also managed to squeeze in some time at the beach, blueberry picking in Western Mass, Caleb’s first 4,000-footer, a sort-of-first-backpacking-trip for Caleb, some more hiking, and a pirate party for Caleb’s 4th birthday. Other big news from the summer include a new position for Megan at AMC, working part of her old job in Development and now also assisting the Executive Director. The transition went really well and she is enjoying her new role at AMC. Another big change was that Caleb started attending a new school. A Pre-K program in Medford had an opening so we visited the school and decided to make the switch. Now Caleb is enjoying learning how to read, speak Spanish, and play organized sports like football and soccer. He also surprised us one day by blurting out our full address. It’s fun to see him soak up so much information! Also this summer, despite a weekend of festivities with his MBA friends Peter managed to climb two mountains while in CA (Mts. Brokeoff and Shasta) and returned home (mostly) unscathed, and we took Caleb on his first successful backpacking trip.

[F] Fall — we’ve had a wonderful fall with great weather and beautiful foliage. We enjoyed a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Straughn as well as Nonna and Boppa Begley. Megan again traveled to Maine and New Hampshire for work with Peter and Caleb accompanying her during a few of the trips. In November, to celebrate 7 years of marriage, we took Caleb to Disney World in Florida. We had a great time at the Magic Kingdom, and also playing mini golf, playing on the beach, and discovering the secret places that the Orlando area has to offer. Thanksgiving was spent in the White Mountains with Nonna and Boppa and we all hunkered down for a fantastic snowstorm that left us without power for 24 hours and downed countless trees in the area. We look forward to spending Christmas in Minnesota this year and ringing in the New Year at home.

We wish you and yours a healthy and happy holiday season and a wonderful and blessed 2010.

Love, Megan, Peter, Caleb & Nadine Begley

Megan, Caleb and I met up with my parents in Crawford Notch for Thanksgiving again this year. We stayed at the Highland Center and over the course of several days enjoyed autumn afternoon hikes, winter storms, falling trees, and awesome winter hikes. Click on the image below to see more photographs from our trip.

Below are some images from a wet and viewless solo hike to the north and south peaks of Hancock Mountain (11/14/09). Originally I planned to make my trip two days spending the first exploring the Hancocks, and the second a few other peaks. Unfortunately the weather didn’t get my memo for NO RAIN, and it rained throughout my first hike. Having spent the last few trips to the White Mountains hiking in the rain, I decided to skip day two and head home early. Yes, I still had a great time hiking in the rain, but I am very, very, very ready for the snow to start falling.

Click on the image below to see more photographs from my hike.

For our 7th wedding anniversary Megan and I decided that we should do something fun with Caleb. Disney World came up as a potential option, and after a short discussion with Caleb, our trip was decided. We hung out in the Orlando area for a few days (eh…fun?) spending one full day at Disney World, and the rest trying to figure out what else to do with ourselves. Caleb had a great time, and after a few days of searching, we even managed to find an independent restaurant nestled in among all of the chains (a very nice German place in a town called Sanford). The highlights for Caleb? 1) Driving a race car, 2) the Haunted Mansion, 3) Pirates of the Caribbean, 4) playing on the beach (Cocoa Beach), and 5) playing a round of golf at Pirate’s Cove.

Click on the image below to see more photographs from our trip.

Our trip this past Friday to the Plymouth Plantation and the Mayflower II. Click on the image below to see more photographs from our trip.

Caleb and I tagged along with Megan up to AMC’s Highland Center just above Crawford Notch (in New Hampshire’s flippin’ awesome White Mountains). Megan would be tied up for the whole weekend with AMC’s board retreat so Caleb and I brought a bunch of toys, books and games, and talked about what hikes we would try and get in while the weather played nice. He unfortunately got pretty sick the afternoon of our second day, but we managed to have a great time nonetheless. These photos are primarily from the two hikes we were able to sneak in before he got sick. Click on the image below to see more photographs from our trip.

Megan’s boss very generously gave us a few free passes to visit the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln. We picked a nice fall afternoon for our visit, and brought Miss Nadine along for the tour of the outdoor sculpture garden. Click on the photo below to see more images from our time at the museum.

Our delayed but eagerly anticipated backpacking trip in the White Mountains finally came to pass. We went this weekend after postponing due to a forecast of rain and lightning the weekend before. There was a forecast of rain (from a tropical storm, no less) for the weekend we ended up going, but whatever. It always seems to rain when we are in a tent. (Click on the photo to the right to see all the images from our trip.)

Our destination was the Naumann tent site, which is just below the Mizpah Spring Hut near the summit of Mt. Pierce. It is a great location (easy to get to, near a hut, great hikes nearby, etc.) and we are glad we chose it over a few other options. The hike up went quickly, we set up our tent, took a nap, and then tried to make ourselves busy for the remainder of the day. I ended up hiking to the summit on my own but Caleb had a great time playing with some new friends at the hut. We ate dinner in style (macaroni and cheese) and did our best to sleep through the noise of the rain. We woke up early and broke camp in a bit of a drizzle (a light rain, really) and then hiked the few miles down the mountain to our car in time to make it to the Highland Center for an awesome breakfast.

As anyone would expect a breakfast conversation to go the morning after a backpacking trip in New Hampshire, we decided to head to Vermont for a night to mix the trip up a bit. We drove through the rain to Burlington, explored a little, ate some great Thai food, and checked into a comfy hotel room. The next day we drove south and explored Middlebury and Woodstock before heading home.