Being the Oldest - is it the best?

Lately I've been struggling with what I'm seeing as favoritism - even though I'm trying to be rationale about it. Perhaps it comes from being the third of four children and never getting to "do" something first, but I've found that I'm worrying about this with our children. It seems that the oldest child always gets everything first. I'm not worried about normal experiences, but the big ones in life: like getting to go to Papa's cabin. Sophie first went three years ago - all by herself with Dave. She got to go because she was 1) over five years old (Papa's rule) and 2) could read chapter books (Dave's rule). So for two years she went and and experienced cabin life all by herself with Dave and Papa. Lucy got to go this year because she met all the requirements - but she didn't get to be all by herself and have the same experience as Sophie. It's not that I think her experience would be the same, I know it wouldn't be. But she'd have the feeling of being the only child with Papa and Dave. I wondered about this before the trip but during the trip I saw that it was fine - she was excited and happy to be there and have Sophie show her around the island.

I've been having the same thoughts during the past few days - this time about the Harry Potter phenomena. My rule is that the kids can start reading the books, if interested, the summer before third grade. My reasoning is by that time they are proficient readers and mature enough to handle the plot and theme. I know a lot of parents who read the books aloud to their children, but I'm not comfortable with doing that just yet. So, already, I've been telling myself that next summer when Lucy starts reading the books I should go back and start them over again so we can talk about them the same way Sophie and I did. And then, when it's John's turn, do the same. That's fine, I'll enjoy doing it, but what about the release party and all they hype that went with it?

I seriously considered not taking Sophie because I knew that Lucy and John wouldn't ever be able to experience the same thing - that there won't ever be any more release parties for a new Harry Potter book. But then again, why deprive Sophie of the release party? You know what I chose in the end (see previous entry), and I'm glad I did. There was so much fun and joy on that night - it was wonderful to sit back and watch how excited she and Grace were about the Harry Potter books - it's a memory I won't ever forget. But will Lucy and John be able to enjoy this same type of hype, this love for a character and his adventures? Should I save all the newspaper clippings, the Internet articles, the memorabilia and try to recreate it for them when they're older? I know that would be rather silly and I try to tell myself that something like this will come along for them as they're older. But then again, I'm not so sure we'll ever have another J.K. Rowling in our lifetimes.

But maybe I need to console myself with the thought that each of us goes through life generating our own love and excitement - for Sophie it just happens to be reading. For Lucy it might be something else, and John something entirely different from both of them. So maybe I should quit worrying about this - we all do the best we can and the best Dave and I can do is nurture the kids and their interests. Maybe Lucy won't even want to read Harry Potter but will turn to historical fiction or a hobby entirely different from reading - maybe gardening. John the same thing - at this point all we see and hear from him are pirates and hockey. There we go - I guess it is just best to take each day at a time and not worry about the future because each of us will make our way. In the meantime, I watch Lucy and John and see how happy they are with what they have - the knowledge that sooner or later they'll get to read the Harry Potter books and watch the movies and, for now, they've got some great Harry Potter glasses.

Magical Midnight

Yes - you guessed it - Sophie and I attended a release party for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Out of the three parties in town we chose the one at Barnes and Noble for two reasons:

1) Marie, the organizer, is a wonderful person and always such a big help to me when I order books for the RRVWP and 2) it started at 9 pm vs. 10 pm and I thought maybe we'd be home in bed by 10 or so. I was wrong by 2 1/2 hours.

Early on Friday Sophie's friend Grace came over and they made plans for the big event - Sophie decided that she even though she'd like to dress as Hermoine, she looked more like Professor McGonegal and Grace decided to spray her blonde hair red and be Ron. They raided the Halloween costume box, came up with wands and there we were. At one point Sophie was even digging through the drawers in our bedroom looking for something for me to wear but I put a stop to that rather quickly.

We arrived at the party at 9:10 and it was already full of muggles - there were some wizards scattered around and one dementer, but mostly muggles. Yvette, Grace's mom, joined us shortly after and we chased after the girls as they went from year to year completing the activities and shouting out answers to the trivia questions that periodically sounded from the PA system. Around Year 5, we ran into Juliette and Oliver and from then on Juliette, Grace and Sophie were a team, trying to find the Snitch and following around Snape to see what he was up to. In the meantime, Yvette, Laurie, and I drank our butterbeers and chatted in the Great Hall.

Since we already had a book coming in the mail early Saturday morning (Thanks Jodi the mail carrier!) I thought we would get out of there before midnight, but Sophie convinced me otherwise because she thought maybe Harry Potter himself would show up and pass out the books. That didn't happen and by 12:30, we were in the car, yawning and reliving the favorite parts of the night.

Now it's Monday and neither one of us is done with the book - we're taking turns reading it. Sophie reads two chapters and then gives it to me so I can read two chapters, etc... But as she is such an early riser, she gets a huge headstart on me in the mornings and is only pages away from finishing; me, I'm only on chapter 15. But I'll get there - maybe even by tonight.

Back Trouble

Ahhhh, basements and house projects - they've finally succeeded in trashing my back. Friday morning, forty-five minutes after waking I realized I was in serious trouble as I couldn't move without crying out in pain. It was the morning after I finished pulling up the basement carpet and tried to scrape carpet glue off the floor, it was the day after Dave left me alone with the kids while he traveled to Estonia and it was four days before my workshop for the Red River Valley Writing Project, Authors as Mentors, was to start. We survived the day - I took Advil and tylenol and wrapped packs of ice around my back. We went to Bernadette's and as the kids played in the pool, I sat in the jacuzzi tub with hot, hot water and jets blowing on my back.

We survived Saturday too - starting with a giant get well card from the kids and with more Advil and ice packs. By afternoon I switched to my leftover pain pills from my foot surgery. Michelle picked up some groceries for me. Still lots of pain - but we survived. I figured it had to be better by Sunday morning.

By Sunday morning when I still wasn't any better I called my mother-in-law to see if she could watch the kids. She said yes, that she'd be there as soon as she could. I hung up the phone and burst into tears. My babysitter for the week cancelled because of an unexpected death in her family. Bev took the kids, I got some muscle relaxants from my doctor, and Kim took all my stuff and said she'd do the first day of the workshop - not to worry. I slept and slept.

Monday I got out of bed in 10 minutes versus the 30 minutes from Sunday and the 45+ from Saturday. Carmyn and Pam brought me pizza and filled me in on the morning workshop. Theresa took the kids for the entire day and I rested. Nicole came through for babysitting - I'm set for the rest of the week.

Now it's Tuesday and I'm a little better; I didn't even time how long it took me to get out of bed into a standing position but know it was less than ten minutes. I taught the workshop this morning (even on the muscle relaxants) and came home and slept while the kids watched Scooby Doo. Dave is back in the states - and should be home in a couple hours. I plan on resting, resting, resting. Thank goodness for family and friends - thank you everyone.

DeSmet, South Dakota - 9 hours of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Our first stop on the Laura Ingalls Wilder tour was to DeSmet - home to Laura and her family in the books On the Shores of Silver Lake and The Long Winter. After lunch at the local DQ, the kids changed into their outfits and we started our guided tour with The Surveyor's House. It was actually owned by the railrooad but the Ingalls family stayed in it each winter, in exchange for keeping careful watch over the railroad tools.

When Laura first saw this house she thought it was the largest house she ever saw - it just goes to show how much we take for granted nowadays. The part they lived in was probably a two-story version of our kitchen and breakfast nook area - on the main floor it included a room that held the stove, a rocking chair, and a table and chairs. Off that room was a pantry the size of a small rectangular walk-in closet, the attic stairway, and Ma and Pa's bedroom they shared with Carrie. The upstairs was one big room the same size as the main floor; that's where Mary and Laura slept. At times Ma rented out sleeping space for men at $0.25 a night (meals were an extra $0.25) and up to 20 men sometimes slept in the main living area. I can't imagine the noise and smell in the house on those nights.

From the Surveyor's House, we walked a few steps to a replica of a one-room school house and then to the real school house which is still being restored after serving as a private home for many years. The kids enjoyed being the teacher and looking for clues about the past on the partially restored chalkboard.

They were so good on the tour - listening so very carfefully to the leader as she told about the house and life on the prairie. In retrospect, we should have got into the car and drove the few blocks to the later home of Charles, Caroline, Mary, Grace and Carrie - they were in such a listening and "taking it all in" mode. Instead, we had them run over to the Discover Laura Center. They loved everything in this place - from the old fashioned stove and food center, to the quill pens and slates, to the old fashioned sewing machine and to the braille station where they made their names out of a braille guide, glue and split peas. Everything was completely hands-on and they were excited. The curator of the museum also came and had them make butter out of cream and a whole lot of shaking. They had a great snack of saltines and hand-shook butter.

The next stop was the Ingalls home I previously mentioned - as the kids were so used to touching everything, this was a little harder. They were, by now, out of listening mode and into exploration. Needless, to say, we didn't stay too long here.

By this time, it was 5 pm and the pageant (play) didn't start until 9 - so we decided to drive around a bit. We ended up at a place we didn't even know about - the Homestead - and stayed there until it closed at 9 pm. This was a huge hit - total exploration and discovery for the kids. They experienced everything from pumping well water, carrying it up the hill, washing clothes, making rope and corn cob dolls (like Laura's Susan), and riding in a covered wagon to a school house for a short lesson. I think they could have stayed there even longer, except they closed at 9.

It'd been a long day so we decided to skip the pageant (after explaining to Evie and Sophie that we already had tickets for Saturday's pageant and there was no way we'd change our minds or miss it) and headed back to the DQ for some supper and ice cream. What a wonderful, but exhausting, day... the next stop on Saturday, Walnut Grove.

Cousins

There's something so very wonderful about seeing our kids playing with their cousins - Sophie, Lucy and John get positively giddy whenever they know we're going to be with cousins. This goes for them all - from Ashleigh, Amy and Katie who are in college down to Gracie and Nate who are three and one. The neat thing is there are so many cousins (24) and the kids have memories of each in their own way - some have stayed with us for a week at a time and there are the "going to bed" and "waking up" with one another memories while others we just plain see more often because of proximity.

Whenever we visit relatives with kids, it's absolutely guaranteed we won't see our children until toward the end of the stay. They give the proper hugs and kisses to aunts and uncles but then immediately grab the hand of one of the cousins and take off outdoors or to the playrooms. As a general rule, there's no fighting and usually, yes just usually, they don't get into trouble. There was that one episode with a disposable camera - when Dave picked up the pictures from developing he was mortified to discover the kids in suggestive poses, and thankful they didn't ask any questions. But, as I said, there usually isn't any trouble.

So, here we are in Brookings, Sourth Dakota - Laura Ingalls Wilder land - with Roxy, Evie, Jesse and Betsy. Roxy made prairie dresses, complete with aprons and bonnets for the girls and I made some knickers (by cutting off Goodwill pants and putting elastic in them) and got shirts, suspenders and straw hats for the boys. We're pretty excited for our four day adventure with Roxy and our cousins. In fact, Sophie summed it all up right before we left Grand Forks to meet up with Roxy and the kids. It'd been hectic getting to the car and there was some bickering. Once we were in the car Sophie said, "Don't worry Mom, we never fight when we're with Evie, Jesse and Betsy." The best thing is - she's right.

Procrastination, continued (or How Not to Sew...)

This picture illustrates all the sewing projects I, with the help of the kids on the quilt, have finished since yesterday at 8 am. Because the rest of the house is so trashed you'll notice there aren't any pictures of any rooms in the house. In fact to find clean space on the floor on which to lay out the sewing projects so I could take a picture, I had to move from the dining room to the living room. But, the good news is I got much more comfortable with my sewing machine. Here's a summary of the various sewing "happenings" at our house in the last 24 hours.

Project 1: Baby Doll Quilt (or you can call it a pillow if you'd prefer)
Lucy picked out the fabric from 10-year old leftover pieces and Sophie and Lucy created the design on the floor. I then used the mat and cutter to cut the 30 5" squares and then taught Sophie and Lucy to sew the individual pieces together. When we got a row down, they started on the next, etc... Then I sewed the rows together to form the "face" of the quilt. Lucy picked out the back fabric and we cut it out, along with the batting. I then put the "right sides" of the front and back together and sewed all four sides, leaving a small opening in which to draw it through. My thought was we could then handsew the opening.

Unfortunately, I sewed the batting to the "face" of the quilt, so that when it got pulled through there was a nice plaid backing and batting for the fact of the quilt. Oops - I called it quits for a few hours and then got out the seam ripper and went to town on tearing out all four sides of the quilt.

Fortunately I didn't give up like I usually do at this point; I even laughed out loud. OK, you're right - first I let go with a string of expletives (all quietly muttered) and then laughed. This morning I finished up the quilt - this time I gave up on the idea of sewing the batting in. Rather, I sewed all around the quilt, left a small opening and then stuffed the batting in. Then I taught Lucy how to hand sew the opening shut - but we didn't get very far before I decided we'd use the sewing machine to finish the job. Finally, I used embroidery thread and pulled it through to hold the batting in place. Voila! A quilt, or pillow, for baby dolls and the girls have a hunger for sewing.

Project 2,3,4: Bags for Sophie, Lucy and John
While I was drinking my coffee this morning, Sophie (all by herself) made a small purse for Lucy (pic on left) and I thought - "Hey, she's on to something." So I then took a turn at it. This time, I carefully thought it through and did lots of somewhat-straight line sewing to make some handy-dandy bags. After John saw Sophie and Lucy's he wanted one so I made one for him - unfortunately, he thinks it looks a rather lot like a purse and was a little disappointed. We'll see if he chooses to take it to our SD car trip with him.

You know I'm unmotivated when...

1. a Lucky Charm "anchor" has sat in the little spot between the fridge and the wall since the last week in May
2. coffe ground leftovers mark the front of the garbage can door and have been there since sometime in May
3. weeds have become the new type of flower in our garden
4. the desk looks as though the mischievious "paper fairy" arrived in the night and threw the papers all around
5. you just expect to step on some playmobil knight or pirate when you say good-night to John
6. the 9 roll toilet paper pack has sat in front of the bathroom sink instead of inside the cupboard for the past few days
7. the kids' bathroom sinks are a strange mixture of orange (grapefruit scented handsoap) and blue (toothpaste)

BUT... instead of taking care of this messy house today Lucy, Sophie and I started sewing a quilt for the baby dolls. If you know me, sewing in itself is highly uncharacteristic but to actually attempt a project instead of a simple button...well, I definitely must be procrastinating... and I am. There's always tomorrow for cleaning, right?!

Hanging out at Big Owl Road

Today was full of total relaxation – the plan was to complete a short hike at Alberta Falls, attend a nature seminar put on by a Rocky Mountain National Park ranger, and turn in the kids' Jr. Ranger books. Instead, we stayed at the mountain cabin until 3 pm at which time we drove into Estes Park and Sophie and I shopped for her birthday present – a pair of hiking boots for this wonder hiker.

Dave and I pretty much had a “read around” all over the cabin – taking turns sitting in scenic, comfortable chairs and reading while the kids played in the pond most of the day. They made up a game called “Going to Market” where John sat on the pond bridge “fishing” while Sophie took buckets from John and filleted the fish, and Lucy then sold the fish to make-believe customers. Another time when I looked up from my perch from the porch they were scrubbing down the bench, cleaning off the moss.

We’re pretty darn lucky – even though they fight at times and get snappy with one another, overall they do an excellent job of playing together. There wasn’t a single tear or tattle in 7 hours of all-out playing – and this companionship lasted far into the night, through a restaurant dinner with Don and Eunice and through Lego playtime back at the Wilbur’s. While we were enjoying a drink in the living room, the kids were making a Lego town in the basement and Eunice said, “Kids? Do you even have kids?” We took that as a real compliment. Unfortunately, we stayed 10 minutes too late and there was an “angry eyes” look from Sophie and tears from John. All in all though – I don’t think you could ask for three better travelers under the age of 10.

Ouzel Falls – the big hike

We were well prepared for this hike – all 5.4 miles of it. The kids were forewarned of its length and climb (1,000 feet), Dave and I each carried a backpack filled with 4 bottles of water, a first aid kit, oranges and muffins, and I had extra batteries for the camera. It was beautiful – absolutely worth every step. Although the temperature was in the mid 80’s we were, for the most part, cool enough thanks to the rapids and shady overgrowth. The first third of the hike was pretty level – with lots of wildflowers and some nice views of rapids.
The next part, up to the Calypso Cascades was more of a climb but the view of the cascades at the top was so worth it. We stopped there and camped out on a big rock in the shade and ate our oranges and smushed up muffins – and Dave got a chance to stretch his neck and back (see him in the corner of the picture?!). While there we also decided if we should continue on – we could turn back and have completed a 3.6 mile hike or we could go the next .9 mile and get to the falls. John, understandably, was ready to turn back, Lucy wasn’t too sure but when Dave told her he’d carry her Jr. Ranger book and sweatshirt, she was up for the challenge. It was decided – and we set off.

This last third, overall, wasn’t as pretty as the previous scenery – for it passed through a burned area full of gray logs and patches of plant regrowth. It was also pretty windy and much more of a climb – but once again we weren’t disappointed once we reached the falls. The cool air rushing past cooled us off and as we drank water in the shade we watched the water cascading down a rock precipice. Before too long we headed back down – this time Sophie, Lucy and I led – hopping down the path like jackrabbits. Total time: 2 hours up, one hour, twenty minutes down. Well done kids, well done!

"I thought we were going on a hike!"

…so said John as we started a 3.4 mile trail hike (The Pool) in Estes Park. Apparently he is used to Grama and Papa’s house in Sedona where a hike means rock climbing. His disappointment in the dirt trail didn’t last too long; within a few minutes he was looking for flowers and pointing out every time we spotted the stream and little waterfalls along the way. It was the perfect hike for us to start out with – not too strenuous but long enough for the kids to get a feel for the climbing and the unevenness of the path.

John and I turned back before Dave and the girls (I say they only hiked ½ mile more than us, but Dave wholeheartedly disagrees with me – could this be that competition thing we were just discussing last weekend with friends?!?! But I digress…) and stopped along the way back to take off our socks and shoes and dip our feet into the stream. From other hikers we learned the water temperature is a cool 25 degrees but it felt wonderful on our hot little feet. We stayed on “our” rock for about 10 minutes, alternately splashing our faces, sunning ourselves and dipping our feet. As we put on our shoes and continued on, John said, “This is the best hike ever.” I think it definitely rates right up there John – definitely right up there.

(Sidenote: My foot is tired and sore, but less sore than it would have been pre-surgery – definitely worth it! Now tomorrow after we do a 5 mile hike, I might be singing a different tune; let’s hope not.)

Boat Running on Big Owl Road

One fascinating thing about life here on Big Owl Road is the little mountain stream that travels from the mountain to the front of the cabin, underneath it and continues on down. The kids spent most of the morning running the boats from the pond all the way down to a dam of sorts – where two logs have been strategically placed to stop them from traveling all the way downstream. As Dave, Don and I enjoyed our conversation and coffee on the back patio the kids ran back and forth, using their sticks to prod the boats along when they got stuck. I think they could have done this all day long, but alas, the hiking trails called. They’re in bed now, and I’m sure thinking up new ways to get their boats down the run faster than they did this morning – oh, the power and beauty of kids and nature.

Big Owl Road

Dave and I, being true flatlanders, forgot about the sun setting behind mountains and aimed our arrival here in Allenspark/Estes Park to be during daylight. But if we’ve learned anything this trip, it’s that the best laid plans go awry – so as we traveled a canyon road and the sun set in the mountains, we opened the sunroof and all enjoyed the view (as Sophie exclaimed: “The sky is purple and pink and yellow and blue and red…”). By the time we got to the mountain cabin (as John calls it), it was too dark to see anything. Our hosts, Don and Eunice, left a light on so we could see the warm interior of the cabin and hear the stream that runs around it, but other than that it was pitch dark.

I felt at home immediately upon arrival – it has the feel of our old cabin on Lake Eunice but with it are owls. If you’ve been a blog reader from the beginning you know how my mom used to collect owls – they were scattered all through our house in the form of figurines, ceramics, paintings and wood carvings. This cabin, if possible, has even more owls – from my perch (HA!) in the living room, I can look around and see ten. They’re all different – one is the bottom of a lamp, one is macramé, three are pencil drawings, and the rest are figurines. There’s even an owl toilet seat in the bathroom. It’ll be interesting to see if we hear as many outside tonight – so far no luck. But then again, we’re on Big Owl Road, there must be some reason for the name – we’ll keep our eyes open and our heads turning.

Editor's Note: The top photo is the daytime view from the front windows - Meeker Peak.

Mt. Rushmore

It’s hard to believe Dave and I are 40 years old and have lived in North Dakota for most of our lives but just visited Mt. Rushmore for the first time today. It was well worth the wait – and the excitement the kids felt at taking it all in was wonderful. On the way they all talked about their favorite president and we talked about why Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln were picked to be sculpted. John and Sophie’s favorite is Teddy Roosevelt (in large part because of the movie, Night at the Museum, but also because he had asthma as a child, just like John) and Lucy’s favorite is Lincoln – thanks to Mrs. Sherwood and her wonderful teaching. We bought a great book, Who Carved the Mountain? by a SD author Jean Patrick and picked up a DVD geared toward kids on national parks. They earned a Jr. Ranger badge by hugging a tree (ask Dave about that one!) and taking in lots of facts and trivia about Mt. Rushmore. Finally, we went on a hike before getting back into the car and heading off to Colorado. It was a great spot to visit – and very well done.

Editor’s Note: Apparently I have been to Mt. Rushmore – during one of our family trips when I was a kid. I don’t remember that trip though, unlike the trip to St. Louis where I put a lockhold on Dad’s neck and screamed the whole way up the St. Louis Arch.

Holed up in Hotel Spearfish

At 8 am this morning:
John: Mom, my tummy hurts.
Me: Do you have to go poop? Why don't you head to the bathroom?
John (as he heads to the bathroom): It really hurts.
He stops, coughs and BLACHHHHHHHHH!

Dave (yelling): Get to the bathroom John - go, Go, GO!
John (in the bathroom): Mom, my tummy really hurts.

So there it was, our second day of vacation and John and I spent most of the day here in the hotel room, using the Holiday Inn ice bucket for a throw up bucket. (Thank God for bucket liners - remember the days when they didn't have them and we'd scoop out the ice into our buckets and put the ice straight into our mouths? How gross!)

I stayed with sick boy and Dave took the girls to breakfast. Dave, always thinking, brought me coffee and some pancakes. I knew John was pretty sick when he came over for a bite of pancakes, looked at them, turned green and threw up again. As the day went on he got louder and louder during these episodes - what is it with kids and loud vomiting? Or maybe it's just our kids? I'm sure all the hotel neighbors were wondering what in the world was going on in our bathroom, but I give the kid credit - there were at least 10 bouts and only once did anything miss the bucket. I guess as parents we've done at least one thing right - taught our kids how to aim for the bucket.

In between bouts of vomiting, I got a lot of blogging done and Dave got some time with the girls on this Father's Day. They went for a scenic drive down Canyon Road and got to sit by some rapids. Even better, by 3 pm John was suddenly done with throwing up. I'm not sure if I should give the credit to a few sips of Pepsi (thanks for the tip Mom and Dad) or if the virus had just run its course. It just seems too coincidental for the Pepsi to have worked, but who knows... if Lucy happens to wake up vomiting tomorrow, I know the first thing I'll try.

P.S. Just so you're not freaked out about hotel room cleanliness, I told housekeeping about the virus and before we leave I'll leave a note telling them to sanitize the bucket.
P.S.S. When John missed it was on HIS mattress - not on any hotel property. (When we only get one hotel room during travels, we always have "car" pillows for the kids and a crib mattress. We then put the crib mattress on the floor where one of the kids sleeps on it. This trip, it's John's turn.)

Enchanted Highway Pics

I read about The Enchanted Highway in the North Dakota Horizons magazine a year or so ago. At the time, my thoughts were, "This would be a neat place to take the kids and see, but when will we ever get all the way over to Regent, ND?" So I was absolutely delighted when we came across the sign by chance and took our own journey on the enchanted highway. Enjoy the pics and if you ever are along I-94 by Dickinson, take a detour and enjoy.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

On our recent trip to Dad’s cabin I realized just how much I’m like Dad – there was the being able to fall asleep in two seconds flat, the love for our morning coffee (usually sitting on the deck soaking up our surroundings), the organization (as in the "cabin notebook"), the “do it now” instead of later personality, and the “Curious George” thinking as in always asking questions, whether they’re any of our business or not.

But instead of always being on the go, I like my downtime. That, too, I noticed at the cabin. Whereas I preferred to sit and read a book, Dad was always working on something. One night he yawned his way through supper and went to the loft for a quick nap – his snoring was heard within minutes. But as soon as he woke up (less than 30 minutes later), he was back at it – sanding away on the outside wall of the cabin and applying some kind of varnish to protect it from the elements.
Don’t get me wrong – Dad likes to relax too. But it isn’t the “go play a round of golf” or “head to Happy Hour with friends” type relaxing. It’s more the read a book, look at trade magazines, go out to the shop and fiddle around on a truck (note his "Still Plays with Trucks" sweatshirt), or play Solitaire on the computer. So, even there I guess Dad and I are alike – and that’s a wonderful thing for me. Happy Father’s Day Dad – I love you! Marci

To Dave

When I look at our three kids I often see glimpses of their cousins – Brooklyn in Sophie, Kylie and Ben in Lucy, and Gavin in John. But when I watch them, really watch them for any length of time, I see Dave and his “happy-go-lucky” attitude. Last night this was so very evident – there we were five hours into our roadtrip to Colorado and they were watching a movie. We made a sudden decision to detour on the Enchanted Highway and I told Sophie to pause the movie. They oohed and ahhed over the Geese in Flight sculpture right off I-94 but it was when we turned onto the two lane Enchanted Highway they really got excited – for there were curves and hills. All three of them, movie forgotten, arms raised and smiles galore giggled and laughed as we went up and down the hills. Dave and I, of course, joined in on the smiles.

The thing is, Dave had the whole drive planned – and the Enchanted Highway wasn’t part of it. We’d already left an hour later than planned and he was tired, but when I saw the sign I got all excited and asked just like a child, “Can we go? Can we go?” He gave a small sigh, turned off at the exit and said, “OK navigator, figure out how to get us to Highway 85.” And there we were – enjoying the wonderous metal sculptures set against a beautiful North Dakota prairie sky. Thanks Davey-baby – Happy Father’s Day!

I Hate Snakes

As a homeowner, I'm never surprised by what I might find - sometimes it's an old dishtowel stuffed in a wall to hold back a cold breeze while other times it might be a bra in the laundry chute. When we lived in Lakeville I investigated Dasher's barking and was shocked one rainy spring night to find a turtle standing almost upright against the sliding glass door - scratching and trying to get in. (I even videotaped it because I knew Dave, who was working the late shift at Applebees, would never believe me.)

The other night, (of course a dark and rainy one with Dave out of town) I looked through the window and saw it -a snake poised to strike, wrapped up in the vines and leaves that cover the chimney. My heart raced faster and faster and I peered closer and closer - knowing that at least there was glass in between us. And then I figured out - it wasn't a snake after all but a rather large vine twig that did, after all, have the appearance of a snake. Needless to say, I didn't videotape it for Dave, nor did I tell him. :)

Are you ever too old for a playdate?

What makes summer? My answer is cool treats and friends. We spent the late morning and early afternoon with a friend, Carrie, and her two daughters last week - the kids don't really know each other that well but as I told Lucy, she should feel a big connection with Carrie because when I was pregnant with her Carrie and I walked three miles almost every morning. The joke back then was that I couldn't walk straight; it was a good thing Carrie was quick on her feet because every few steps I weaved right toward her. Unfortunately with two kids at home and a husband that traveled quite a bit, we found it harder and harder to get together for our morning walks. Then as my life was settling down Carrie had Lydia and then Ella... and then they moved across town ( a whole 10 minutes away, but in Grand Forks that can seem like the other end of the earth).
So, it was a real treat to get together - Lucy and Lydia really hit if off after some initial shyness and even though Ella was quite quiet at first she warmed up to John. During snack he boasted to the other kids, "I heard Ella talk!" We even played outside in the warm drizzling rain for a bit. There's something heartwarming about sitting around with a good friend watching your kids become friends too - not much is better than that.

As we pulled out of the driveway, with Lydia, Ella and Carrie waving to us, Sophie asked, "When are you too old for playdates? I hope I'm never that old." I laughed and reassured her that one is never too old for playdates - as we get older we just call them by different names... coffee, dinner, golf, walk, etc...

Locks of Love

Sophie gave up her long hair today and we're sending off her ponytail to Locks of Love. She's different from a lot of kids as she just grew out her hair and then decided, upon Grandma's suggestion, to donate it to Locks of Love. After two years of fussing over brushing and snarls, I was only too happy with her decision - and it looks wonderful. Now we'll see more of her humid-weather curls and more of her sparkling eyes. Good job Sophie girl!