Category Archives: Andrew

Andrew, Griffin, Maggie, Oliver, Photo, Sarah, Travel

Road Trip, Day 2

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We left the Day’s Inn bright and early and headed west across Montana. We found a wonderful campsite in the Langohr Campground in Gallatin National Forest south of Bozeman. It was an ideal day without too much driving. We arrived early enough to set up camp, cook a delicious dinner (pasta with sausages), and get to bed on time. We pitched our tents next to a turbulent brook that cooled the air and made it especially easy to sleep.

Griffin befriended a neighboring camper from North Carolina who was an avid fisher. He and Griffin spent a lot of time in the evening and morning fishing, whether wading in the brook, standing on the bridge, or walking along the bank. Although they didn’t manage to catch any fish, they had a great time trying. (Griffin points out that they didn’t have any worms, which may have had something to do with it.)

Thrilled to find a beautiful campground.
Oliver happy to be at his first camp site ever.
Rushing river made the best white noise ever.
Our site’s personal wading area!
Cool rock face across the river.
Slept like a rock in his first night in the tent.
Portable crib worked great.
Maggie and Griffin slept in their own tent for the first time ever.
Toasty warm.
Daddy sleeping in.
Mama with Griffin
Maggie and her brother.
Mama with Maggie
Coffee
Loved this site.
Glendive to the campground, south of Bozeman
Andrew, Griffin, Maggie, Oliver, Photo, Sarah, Travel

Road Trip, Day 1

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This is the first post in a series about our summer road trip from Minnesota to Washington and Oregon, passing through the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

Starting odometer: 144,354

We aimed to depart at 9:00 AM and were under way by 9:45—this was amazingly good timing for us. With young kids in the car, our general goal was to drive for only six-ish hours per day, leaving room for plenty of pit stops, slow starts, and time in the evening to set up camp and explore before bed. On the first day, however, we decided to shoot for Theodore Roosevelt National Park, a little over eight hours away. We loved camping at this relatively obscure park during our 2014 road trip to California, and we figured that we could push hard on our first day.

Imagine our surprise when we rolled into the park to discover that the campground, largely empty in 2014, was entirely booked! Not only that, but every nearby campground was also booked. Apparently there was a wildly popular vintage car show going on over the weekend. Doh! [Note for our next road trip: camping reservations are a good idea.]

We looked ahead on the map and found Makoshika State Park in Montana. This would get us a few hours ahead and the park looked incredible. We went for it, racing to get there before sunset. The park was as beautiful as advertised and the campgrounds were fantastic. Campsites were spread out around gorgeous canyons with plenty of privacy. Alas, even this 11,000 acre park was fully occupied. We enjoyed watching the magnificent sunset from the bluffs and then accepted defeat, tucking our tails between our legs and “camping” at the Days Inn in Glendive. Dinner consisted of granola bars since we couldn’t use our camp stove to cook a proper meal.

It was not the best start. On the bright side, all three kids were awesome in the car for a very long driving day. Admittedly, the older two watched movies for most of the day, but Oliver was surprisingly easy going about being strapped into his carseat for 10+ hours. The driving felt relatively easy, even though it ran long and ended in disappointment.

A few innovations we implemented for this trip:

  • We gave the kids their snacks each morning and let them decide when to eat them throughout the day. Seems like such a simple thing, but on past trips we would centrally manage the food and it was a constant source of conflict. This time they each had a labeled ziplock with all of their options. Sarah even organized things so that they could refill the bag each morning from the big food bin in the rear. They had a list of things that they should put in (e.g., 2 Lara bars, 1 popcorn, 2 trail mixes, etc.). They loved it and we avoided all of the arguments and cries of imminent starvation.
  • Sarah purchased small items as daily gifts. Each was wrapped and the kids looked forward to receiving them. Examples included fidget spinners, card games, activity books, etc. (Technically, Sarah came up with this idea for the 2014 trip and we continued it this time.)
  • Storage baskets for Griffin and Maggie mounted on the seats in front of them. They held books, art supplies, etc. (Despite this, however, the back seats were usually an appalling mess by the end of the day.)
Kids are ready to go!
Kitchen supplies ready!
Custom activity baskets will never look this neat again.
Oliver, road trip champion.
The whole gang on the open road.
Making the best of our first “camp.”
Griffin’s message to Sarah using his secret decoder.
Day one route; note that we intended to stop before Montana, but the campgrounds were all full.

 

Andrew, Griffin, Maggie, Oliver, Photo, Sarah

Memorial Day at the Cabin

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We enjoyed a few days with away from the end-of-school rush at the cabin over Memorial Day weekend. Our friends Jess, Murray, and Olive joined us. (Sadly, Kevin couldn’t make it this year.)

The trip included a number of notable events:

  • Oliver’s first trip to the cabin, including relatively long drives, unfamiliar sleeping arrangements, and a wacky schedule. He was quite flexible, though he did complain that we were letting him freeze during the first night (temps dropped steeply after dark). We nailed it on the second night.
  • Oliver’s first kayak trip.
  • Maggie’s first time paddling the canoe and sitting on a proper bench.
  • Griffin and Murray’s first time being largely independent in the kayaks. This was not exactly our intent, but they got them in the water before the rest of us were ready and before we knew it they were across the lake, exploring the island. (Definitely wearing life jackets!)
  • Griffin caught a frog.
  • Relatively close encounter with a pileated woodpecker on a birch by the cabin. The photos, at the end of the set below, are blurry phone pics, but this sucker was huge.
  • Two new eggs in the loon nest. We weren’t sure if they would use the same nest site for a second year running. Last year one egg did not hatch. We’ll be checking back on the nest at our next visit.
  • Thunderstorms and hail kept us inside on Sunday afternoon, which allowed for a smashing D&D game. (Griffin’s elf wizard was nearly killed by an evil skeleton, but Maggie gave him one of her healing potions.)
Oliver enjoying the view from the porch.
Oliver’s first time out in a kayak.
Maggie’s first time paddling (occasionally) the canoe.
Griffin and Murray zipped all over the lake.
Two fresh loon eggs in the same nest that we found last summer.
Oliver working on some teething issues (and boosting his immune system).
Bedtime reading with Jess.
Pileated woodpecker is on the trunk of the tree above the cluster of green leaves. (This was the maximum zoom with my phone… alas I didn’t have time to get the telephoto on my camera.)
Profile of the pileated woodpecker on the large branch to the left.
Andrew, Maggie

Young Theologian

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I was helping settle Oliver into his crib when Maggie got up to get a drink of water. She got back into bed, then sat up and stated, matter-of-factly, “I don’t believe Jesus rose from the dead.”

“Um… what?”

She repeated herself, enunciating carefully, “I don’t believe that Jesus rose from the dead.”

“Ok honey. Goodnight.”

Andrew, Griffin, Maggie, Oliver, Photo, Sarah

Oliver Louis Stocco Roy

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Sarah’s water broke at 7:15 AM on November 25, 2016, and Oliver Louis Stocco Roy was born twelve and a half hours later, at 7:44 PM. He was 9 lbs 1 oz and 21 inches long. We’ll post more about his name later, but it should be noted that “Louis” is pronounced LOUee after his great grandfather, Louis Stocco.

Sarah’s labor was complicated by the fact that Oliver’s umbilical cord was both wrapped around his neck and fully knotted, cutting off oxygen during contractions. It was an emotionally intense experience for all of us, including the medical staff. Because of the urgency to get the baby out, it was also far more painful and physically traumatic for Sarah than we had anticipated.

Fortunately, moments after his rather dicey arrival, little Oliver loudly proclaimed his health and hunger. He was a rock star overnight, dividing his time between eating and sleeping. Today he got to meet two of his grandparents (the other two, we hope, in January), and his older sister and brother. They were very excited to meet and hold him.

Below are some pictures from Oliver’s first 24 hours. Click on any picture for a larger version.

Andrew

November 8, 2016

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I’m nowhere near ready to write about this, but feel that I should include a snippet of the outside world in this otherwise unapologetically navel-gazing blog. I hope it provides a historical anchor when we look back in years to come.

Election results as of Saturday morning.
Election results as of Saturday morning.

This is the week we thought we would be celebrating the election of our first woman president. A week when we could finally put this repulsive presidential campaign behind us. A week when we could tell our children that the American people hold themselves to a high standard, are welcoming toward immigrants, stand up for women’s rights, defend the religious freedoms enshrined in the Constitution, etc., etc., etc.

I have alternately felt shock, grief, and anger in the days since, but my overwhelming feeling every morning, as the reality dawns on me again, is shame. I am ashamed of my country and I’m ashamed of myself (for being party to this debacle, for being so naive as to think it was impossible, for drifting so far from so many other Americans, for having enough privilege that the storm will likely leave me unscathed). I know these aren’t particularly productive emotions. My fundamental optimism will reassert itself in time. I’ll be reinvigorated to continue my work as a passionate educator, believing, like Jefferson, that an educated citizenry is our best hope.

But for now, I’m profoundly sad.

How long will my daughter have to wait?
How long will my daughter have to wait?
Andrew, Griffin, Maggie, Photo, Sarah

Loft 2.0

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In preparation for Family 3.0, we decided it was time for a major upgrade to Griffin’s loft. Loft 2.0 is bigger, and is now a shared loft for both Maggie and Griffin — we always knew that Maggie deserved a special loft space too. Beneath the deck is an area for reading and building forts, with room, eventually, for a crib. We couldn’t have done it without expert assistance from Sarah’s parents.

Getting started. (This is what Loft 1.0 looked like.)
Griffin learned to use some new tools.
The sander was loud!
The whole family was involved.
It’s strong enough for bouncing!
Loft 2.0
A better look at the understory.

You may also enjoy looking at a post about the construction of the original loft, built a few months before Maggie was born, and photos of the construction of Griffin’s original room in Oakland, way back in the spring of 2009.

Andrew, Teaching

My Dubiously Relevant Subject

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Every year I begin my eighth grade social studies class by asking students to answer this question on an index card:

Why is social studies the most important class you will take this year?

It’s an absurd question, of course, and I learn a lot by seeing how each student tackles it. Most of them simply write out some reasons why social studies is important. Others add that other classes are equally important. A few argue that another subject trumps social studies altogether. Occasionally someone identifies it as a leading question and castigates me for pedagogic incompetence.

This year, however, I received an answer that had me laughing aloud at my desk after school:

I don’t know yet. Convince me.

Challenge accepted!

Andrew, Griffin, Maggie, Photo, Sarah

Yellow Cabin – Summer 2016

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Another lovely summer weekend at the cabin. The water was warm so we spent much of our time on or in the water. Many highlights of this trip escaped digital capture, including seeing young otters playing by the shore, a few sightings of a belted kingfisher, and a bizarre close encounter with a meditating cormorant (who remained standing on a sunken log unperturbed by Griffin approaching nearly within arm’s reach). Plus Daddy capsizing and emerging from the lake covered in muck. And a humongous man-eating water tarantula (that’s its scientific name) on the dock.

But we did manage to get a few shots. Click below for larger versions.