Category Archives: Photo

Andrew, Griffin, Maggie, Oliver, Photo, Sarah

Igloo

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Ever since building our modest Ice Castle four years ago, we’ve wanted to build a more proper ice-brick igloo. We’ve steadily filled the garage with half-gallon and quart cartons in the intervening years. This winter, with plenty of arctic chill, seemed like the perfect time to tackle the project. Despite some pictures of me working on the project, this was spearheaded by Sarah, who did the lion’s share of the work with some help from Griffin and Maggie. (Oliver was an active observer.) The color in the blocks comes from some drops of food coloring added while we poured the water into the molds.

Proud builders
Early courses
Griffin was engaged throughout the process.
The mortar is a snow/water slurry.
Injuries on the job: note Oliver’s goose egg from when he tried to smash an ice brick with his forehead.
After a snowstorm.
An arch formed the basis of the final roofing.
It is complete!
The ceiling from within
Wall from inside
Igloo entrance
Igloo backlit

 

 

Oliver, Photo

Walking

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Knee x-ray, annotated to indicate the fracture site.
Tibia, similarly annotated.

On the last day of our wonderful December trip to Bethesda to visit Andrew’s family, Oliver tumbled down the stairs and broke his left tibia. This was obviously traumatic on many levels, and we (parents) felt pretty terrible. Although Oliver rapidly adapted to his new cast, it was frustrating because he had just been learning how to walk. Crawling had remained his preferred mode of rapid transport, but he had been taking more and more bipedal steps every day. Now, he was saddled with a cast that he couldn’t even hobble on.

The cast finally came off on January 31, and Oliver spent the first few weeks developing strength in his left leg and relearning the mechanics of standing and walking. A few weeks later, and he rampages around on two feet most of the time.

 

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

Oliver’s First Flight

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Travel with three is definitely harder with three than with two. Even though Griffin and Maggie are great travelers at this point, they still need a fair amount of guidance and support, especially around luggage handling: “Don’t run over that lady’s toes!” “Your bag is tipping over!” “Your coat is dragging on the floor.” And then, of course, they simply don’t have the muscle power yet to get bags onto shuttles or sometimes even escalators. Add Oliver to the mix and at least one parent is relatively hamstrung. He comes with additional supplies too. We ended up traveling “light” with merely five suitcases, five backpacks and diaper bags, two booster seats, one full car seat, and the seemingly infinite writhing tentacles of our winter coats. There were a few moments when we were entirely beholden to the kindness of strangers.

But we made it, unscathed, and the flight itself was largely peaceful. Let the mayhem of a seven cousin holiday begin!

Ninja diaper change complete!
Self-occupied throughout the flight, but oh-so-loud.
Awaiting the rental car with our array of bags.
Oliver, Photo

Oliver’s First Birthday

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Oliver’s birthday landed two days after Thanksgiving this year. Pam and Jeff were able to join us for the day. Sarah had been pummeled by a rough case of strep earlier in the week, but everyone was healthy by the weekend. We went for a walk around Lake Como, ate cake, and enjoyed more Thanksgiving leftovers.

We began the day with Oliver’s presents.
Breakfast from PJ Murphy’s (who also baked the cake)
Suited up for a chilly walk around Lake Como.
The never-to-be-topped “Amazing Lotus Flower Birthday Exciting Candle” (which may have slightly traumatized the birthday boy).
In case we run out of birthday cake… we have a whole cheesecake!

 

Andrew, Griffin, Photo

Pike Island

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Despite its proximity to our neighborhood, we’ve been here in Saint Paul for seven years without visiting Pike Island. The island lies at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, visible from many of the roads and bridges on the nearby bluffs. Sarah and the two older kids finally visited it a few weeks ago with some other friends. She gave it great reviews, so we planned a family outing for today. Alas, the fates were arrayed against us, and both Oliver and Maggie were sick. Griffin and I decided to face the cold north winds on our own and had a great time.

It’s about a three mile loop, and we decided to start on the north edge of the island.  The wind was blowing down the Mississippi, so it was mostly at our backs. The return trek, along the Minnesota at sunset, was less windy because the trees on the island acted as a windbreak. This was fortunate, because it would have been a cold walk with the wind in our faces. Highlights of the walk included hollow trees (big enough to climb into), a huge paper wasp nest, trees taken down by beavers, conversations about why there aren’t any three-eyed monsters in real life, and a monument showing how deep the river has been during flood stages over the past 150 years.

Griffin at the tip of Pike island where the Minnesota meets the Mississippi. Moments after shooting this picture, Griffins boots sank so rapidly in the mud that it looked like he would fall backward into the icy river. A close call!