Geoff's chess phase was followed by an intense Inuit phase. Maybe others can chime in on some of the earlier phases? (I'm just glad the Carol phase is ongoing...!)

Chess

Shortly after Ivy was born, Geoff went through his chess phase. We have dozens of chess books and chess boards, a chess clock, travel chess and digital chess to prove it. When Ivy learns how to play, Geoff will even have a chess partner.

Geoff the Jokester

Geoff was the first person to make Ivy laugh. She laughed again and again, we laughed again and again. We got up at night again and again, we cried again and again, she screamed, we screamed. And then she laughed again and again. Hmm. Still much of the same.

Child Labor

As a father, Geoff was quick to find the loopholes in Vermont's lax child labor laws.

Being married to that special someone has allowed Geoff to come into his own.

From Gregg and Sam

Favorite Thing...
Whether he's conversing with adults, playing with children, or rolling around with a dog, he gives everyone the same amount of attention and consideration, has the same interest in their happiness, expresses the same continuous smile, and tells the same dumb jokes.

Most memorable moment...
Summer of '97 with Geoff, Carol, and Ted (my Bernese Mountain Dog puppy). Traveling through Colorado together for a month or so. Especially...parking our vehicles on a cliff in the San Miguel Mountain range, loading our packs for waht seemed like a week's worth of travels, and setting out for a 3 or 4 hour hike over a snow packed mounatin down into Telluride for a Fourth of July celebration. Enjoying tracking through several feet of snow, heading down a wonderful bowl, on a wonderful day, with wonderful friends.

Then...10 hours later...still hiking, bitching about all the snow, how ridiculously steep this bowl actually is, how a few squiggly lines on a map can actually be so far, and how annoying each of us can actually be...arriving at top of a lip where we can finally see Telluride, only to realize we have to cross an ice-melt river, with swollen bare feet, dragging a leashed exhausted 90 lb 8 month-old puppy who was afraid of water, just to get to the trail that continues for another few hours down a never ending switchback to the bottom, just in time to watch some fireworks (who cares...) and fall asleep. Then, spending the next day, crashed out in 95+ degree heat, taking care of said puppy (picking him up every few hours so he could pee because he could not walk - "I broke my dog") as I wait for Geoff and Carol to hike/hitchhike back to our vehicles and return. I have never worn a backpack since.

Happpy 40th Birthday Geoff

From Cindy

There's a great guy by the name of Geoff
Who lives near a town known as Jeff'

He's a tree-hugger, root-plucker, wow pizza-baker

and

around dawn his fine rooster'll wake 'yer.

"We're going on a big adventure, and we don't know what's in store..."

I like Geoff for all of the reasons we've all stated. Plus, I think he's cute.

Geoff not only does most of the cooking, he grows most of our food. Without Geoff I would still be subsisting on english muffin pizza, canned soup, and dinner-in-a-box.