We flew to Bethesda to visit my parents for about a week around Christmas. A major blizzard and arctic chill was kicking off on the day we left, so we were lucky to make it with only a moderate delay. It was cold in the DC area too, but not nearly as bad as places further north. It was a fun trip, overlapping for a few days with Dave, Nancy, Raven, and Max.
Tag Archives: Maggie
Winter Break Begins
After a whirlwind of post-Thanksgiving school, we’re all on break again for the winter holidays. Griffin is at an all-day D&D game with some friends. Maggie and Oliver, meanwhile, are building an epic from-scratch gingerbread house with Sarah.
Update: See below for a few pictures of the construction process and final product.
Corn Maze
Awesome corn maze adventure.
Faculty Family Fun
Kudos to my colleagues Neil and Diane for organizing a faculty gathering at Afton State Park earlier this month. Families were welcome at a large group site. Some folks brought tents and stayed overnight. Many others stopped by to enjoy the fire for a portion of the evening.
Sarah was out of town, so I brought our three kids plus two extras. They basically ran off into the woods and only emerged occasionally for hot dogs and s’mores. Social gatherings like this have been few and far between since COVID struck, so the time felt quite special. We didn’t stay overnight, but had a lovely time spending the evening with a stellar group of people.
Maggie and Oliver’s First Day
Finally, the first day of school for these two big kids: 5th grade for Maggie and KINDERGARTEN for Oliver It’s a testament to their teachers, who they both know very well, and the school, that they were excited (and not at all nervous) to return!
Circus + Horses
In addition to her regular circus classes, Maggie has started taking equestrian circus classes. Today, she practiced standing on two horses at once!
Three Generations
Birthday Slumber Party Water Park Extravaganza
If that title makes you think we’ve gone entirely insane, you may be right. After two years of low-key COVID birthdays, we decided to pull out all the stops this year. Maggie and Griffin agreed to have a joint birthday party at the water park at Great Wolf Lodge. Yep. Sarah and I agreed to take our kids plus six of their friends to a hotel water park for an overnight birthday bash. (This is so out-of-character for us that I can’t even believe I’m typing it.)
Needless to say, it was tons of fun. Even for the grownups. And we were all worn out by the end of it. (Oliver and Griffin both fell asleep in the car on the way home.) Here’s a photographic sampling of their escapades.
Maggie’s Monthly Reflection
A glimpse into the work that Maggie is doing at school and the evolution of her handwriting over her fourth grade year. “Marsh” is the name of Maggie’s classroom. Click on the image to see a higher-resolution version.
Luminary Loppet 2022
The 2022 luminary loppet took place on Saturday, February 5. It was a lovely evening of mild weather after a long, cold week. (Temps in the teens rather than hovering around zero plus wind.)
We’ve attended the event most winters, though it doesn’t always make it into the blog (see 2011 and 2017). It features a beautiful ski/walk/snowshoe trail that winds around the surface of the Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis. The trail is lit entirely by ice luminaries (frozen columns, blocks, or spheres that contain candles). It’s otherworldly, to say the least.
Oliver wrote a book about the experience at school. Each page features an illustration and a caption (in the blue bar). I’ve added typed captions additionally in case you aren’t adept at reading Oliver’s calligraphy.