Category Archives: Maggie

Family Talk

Packed in our car are two bags of surprise gifts for the kids. They’re not secret, but they are wrapped so that the kids don’t know what they are. They only get to open one on days when we drive a long distance; they get very excited about this. Some of the gifts are intended for them individually, others are for the whole family.

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The first family gift that we opened was a set of little cards called Family Talk. It’s like The Book of Questions and similar products that include a bunch of random questions to get interesting conversations started. I’ve used things like this in my classes and advisory groups to generate discussion and writing prompts. Works great on a road trip too.

The first time we played, I whipped out a pad of paper and scribbled down some notes to capture the contrast between the minds of our three- and six-year-old. This all comes from my scrawled notes from the first three questions, so quotes are not exact, but I’ve tried to reconstruct things as accurately as possible.

Describe your dream bike.

Griffin: “My dream bike would have a rocket booster, an invisible candy machine, and sticky sticky wheels that can go up walls or trees or upside-down.”

Maggie: “Pink!”

<pause, before continuing with gusto>

“Ice cream machine with a pink ball and it was blue and it had a pretend tree on it and it was YUM!”

What does this have to do with a bike? We have no freaking clue.

If you could change one thing about your school, what would it be?

Griffin: “Make an experiment room. Putting water into one thing and then adding something else like orange juice and vinegar and then what was that stuff that makes it explode? Baking soda!”

Maggie: “Get a pool! Pond! We can’t go in because ducks might bite you. Go to the park. Get a coloring book. Get stickers. Actually I do want to do music and experiments. And I would build legos. And go under the fort if there’s thunder. And I’ll do music in there so the rain and thunder and lightning will stop.”

Once again, we thought she was done, but then she dove back in:

“And I would get a pretend moon and a pretend orange juice and a pretend trees and a pretend hat and a pretend glasses and a pretend shoes and a pretend napkins and a pretend…”

This went on for so long that I couldn’t write it all down. She was mostly describing things that she could see in the car (or through the windows). Eventually, she settled down and we moved on to the next question.

What are some qualities of good friends?

Griffin: “They like playing together!” <pauses to consider other qualities>

Maggie: “And a pretend light and pretend grass and pretend seats!”

Griffin: “Help you if you need help. Helping you read.”

Maggie: “And I have another thing! A pretend car and pretend clouds and pretend mountains!”

Griffin: Maggie! That’s the wrong question!”

Maggie: “I want Griffin to stop talking because I want to talk. And also I got one more thing! Pretend stripes and real stripes.”

Griffin: <glaring at Maggie> “Good friends treat you with respect and treat you with kindness.”

Maggie: “That’s a LOT of things!”

Charlottesville

Two glorious days in Charlottesville, Virginia, with Kate, Paul, Sam, and Toby. Heat wave made outdoor activities difficult at times, and the kids were not on their best behavior (see below), but the company couldn’t have been better. Sipping wine with old friends after the kids have gone to bed, talking about whatever comes to mind, is a solid 10 on my scale of favorite things.

Click on any image to see a larger slide-show version.

Challenges

Meltdown about too much sunscreen.
Meltdown about too much sunscreen.

Despite enjoying this visit as adults, it was clear that our kids haven’t adapted as well to this trip as they did last summer. They’ve just been off—crying over small stuff, bickering more than usual, an uptick in meanness and defiance. We think it’s a combination of sleep deprivation (not excessive, but later bedtimes have added up), too much driving in the first few days, and transition stress for Griffin leaving Kindergarten. We’re hopeful that a low-key week with their grandparents in Bethesda (our next stop) will help reset things.

 

Hungry Mother

On Thursday we left North Carolina and headed into Virginia. We stopped for lunch at a rest stop with the iconic Virginia slogan, “Virginia is for Lovers.” (It’s hard for me to believe that this 1969 campaign wasn’t referencing the 1967 Loving v. Virginia decision, but a quick on-line investigation wasn’t conclusive. If anyone has good sources on this, I’m interested in learning more about it.)

We stopped in the early afternoon at Hungry Mother State Park; it came recommended as a family-friendly spot not far from the highway. It’s a great park with trails, swimming, boating, and lots of other fun activities. Definitely aimed at families, there are plenty of things intended specifically for kids. We loved, for example, a nature scavenger hunt brochure that had Griffin and Maggie hunting for mushrooms, wildflowers, and other features of the region. We had nothing but positive interactions with park staff and a super-friendly ranger.

Two down-sides for us, that don’t reflect on the park at all:

  1. Hot and humid—it was tough getting to sleep with all of us in a steamy tent together. We ended up taking off the rain fly even though there was a decent chance of rain. Even so, the tent was uncomfortable. So between the thunderstorm in Illinois and the heat in Virginia, we’ve not done well with sleep while camping yet.
  2. Aggressive wasps—Sarah was stung on Friday morning outside the tent. Then Maggie and I were both stung (Maggie twice!) crossing a bridge by the lake. In a totally bizarre turn of events, Griffin was stung in downtown Charlottesville on Saturday—this is more stings in 24 hours than I’ve dealt with in my entire life. Fortunately, none of us have allergies to stings yet.

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Virginia is for Lovers

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Tent pads on steroids at Hungry Mother State Park

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Exploring

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Tree hugger (shortly before being stung by an angry yellow jacket)

 

Asheville

Two nights and lots of fun in Asheville, North Carolina, while visiting our friends, Sue and Chris, and their three dogs, one cat, and six chickens. (Sadly, two chickens were nabbed by a raccoon on our second night, so now there are four, in a newly reinforced coop.)

Asheville has a lot to recommend it and we enjoyed a great tour with Chris while Sue was at work. Naturally, some of my best memories are dominated by food. Had some spectacular barbecue at 12 Bones, which is apparently President Obama’s top choice in town. Then, on our way out, we stopped for breakfast at Biscuit Head, which is in the running for my favorite breakfast restaurant in the world.

Below are an assortment of phone shots from our Asheville stint.

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Carrier Park with an awesome play structure reminiscent of one of our favorites in Saint Paul

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Griffin throwing a ball with Streak and Ruff

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Beautiful optical effect on the shadow of a leaf floating in a brook. (What causes this?)

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Maggie on the grounds of the Biltmore Estate

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Posed group at Biltmore

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The Stocco Roys (and Quaker) at Biltmore

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Awesome breakfast at Biscuit Head (Maggie had the biscuit with sausage patty)

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Brisket biscuit at Biscuit Head

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Another happy customer

 

Chicago and Icees

We survived the night, dry and free of unwanted atmospheric voltage. Not a great night’s rest, alas, but we’re thankful for our new, more spacious tent.

Two quotes from our journey thus far:

Monday, 4:30 PM:

Maggie: “Griffin, laugh when I say ‘Chicago.'”
Griffin: “Why do I have to laugh?!”
M: “Chi–Ca–GO!!”
G: <no laughing>
M: “Laugh Griffin!!”
G: “I don’t want to laugh. Chicago!”
M <yelling>: “NO! I want to talk about ME!!!”
G: “Chicago. Chicago. Chicago.”
M <yelling>: “NOOOOOOO!”

Tuesday, 8:30 AM:

Sarah: “Ok guys we’re going to stop here because I need some coffee and Daddy needs to go to the bathroom–”
Griffin: “–and I need an Icee!”


Maggie car seat
“I want to talk about me.”
Griffin carseat
“I’ll have an Icee for breakfast please.”

Thunderous Beginning

Midsize thunderstorm on our first night, as we camp by a river that’s four feet over flood stage. Luckily, the deluge held off until after dinner and the weather reports suggest that it will be short-lived.  (But wow is it coming down right now!)

Radar screenshot
 Some trepidation about the lightning, from all of us, but the kids were remarkably brave.

Griffin: “I really, really like thunderstorms but I’m a tiny bit scared of them.”

New tent is keeping us dry thus far.  

Cozy despite the weather

  

Froggy’s New Shoes and Poison

Griffin and Sarah had to go run some errands this evening, so I’m home alone with Maggie. She’s been more interested in stories lately and occasionally launches into one at the dinner table. On a lark, I asked her if she wanted to make up a story together tonight and she said yes. Here’s the result.

Original story and artwork by Maggie. Typing, scanning, and shoe-outlining assistance from Daddy.


Froggy’s New Shoes and Poison

Froggy
Froggy

Once upon a time, a frog was getting new shoes. The frog made new shoes. The shoes were pink and green and purple and yellow. He put his shoes on and he walk walk walk and he found his friends and his friends said, “You got new shoes!”

The frog got poisoned by an elf. He goed to the elf and he got poisoned. Then he go to a doctor and the doctor fixed him and he got green again.

Froggy's Friends
Froggy’s friends

Then he go back to home with his friends. Then them go to his little bed and go to sleep. His bed is pink like his shoes and soft.

The he got to our home. He dropped his shoes and he broke them. Then he couldn’t make some more. Then he was sad. Then he couldn’t make new shoes. Then Daddy fixed his shoes up in Mama’s sewing room and he got them fixed and the frog put them on and he go back to his home.

The End

Froggy's Shoe -- it's pink and green and purple and yellow
Froggy’s shoe — it’s pink and green and purple and yellow