The second epic road trip begins!
Mileage: 118454
First destination: Asheville, North Carolina
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
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.
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
Secret Lives
Sarah’s out of town. I’ve been solo dad for the weekend. It’s been good. But despite best intentions, I do occasionally lose track of my progeny and have to track them down. Today I documented two unexpected incidents.
Aerial Snooze
Maggie was down for a rest. I rested for a while too. Griffin was awfully quiet. I went to investigate.
Griffin is sleeping on a bit of lumber about four feet off the ground. (He rigged the precarious “bridge” earlier to create an easier method for Maggie to get into the climbing tree.)
Dumpster Diving
Later, after Maggie woke up, they slipped out the side gate while I was mowing the back lawn. Upon my successful pursuit:
Nothing is cooler than the neighbor’s giant red dumpster. (Yesterday, Griffin asked for my help deciphering all of the warning stickers, then proceeded to ignore them.)
Yellow Cabin
Perfect weather for time out on the water. We couldn’t believe how warm the water was already—the kids loved it.
Some of Griffin’s favorite things at the cabin this weekend:
- Finding agates
- Swimming
- When I was in the front of the canoe doing the driving.
- Having butterscotch candy from the candy jar
- Kayaking with Mama and seeing lots of turtles. We found a log with ten turtles on it. We called it turtleland.
- Seeing pictures of the flying squirrels
- Going to the dock and balancing on the edge
- Snuggling with Mama and Daddy in the loft when we woke up
Some of Maggie’s favorite things at the cabin this weekend:
- Finding special rocks
- Finding some shells with Mommy while you guys going somewhere [Griffin and I dropped Sarah and Maggie off to do some beach-combing while we continued canoeing around the lake.]
- Having jellybeans
- Going up in the high high bunk bed
- Seeing baby squirrels [in addition to the baby flying squirrels, which the kids didn’t get to see, we uncovered a red squirrel nest in the pump box for the well]
- Reading books with Mama and Daddy and Griffin
Flying Squirrel Nest
Sarah was startled by a bat in the outhouse tonight. Or she thought it was a bat. Then she discovered a nest in the corner with four baby northern flying squirrels! This is cool, of course, but we’re also sad that we have disturbed the nest. Our best guess, based on Internet research, is that they are around 20 days old — thick fur, but eyes not open yet. We’re hoping they can survive this disruption.
Update: We were relieved to find that mama squirrel took her kiddos to a safer nest overnight. The outhouse is no place to raise a family.
Review: Butterick’s Practical Typography
Butterick’s Practical Typography
by Matthew Butterick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Loved everything about this on-line book. I’ve been mildly interested in typography for years, but only as a dabbler: I love a proper em dash, end sentences with only a single space, keep an eye out for attractive layouts to emulate, and, of course, avoid comic sans. This book helps crystalize things I’ve mused about, and explains why some design decisions work and others don’t. It also gives me a great foundation to use as a teacher whose students do most of their work via keyboard. (Eighth grade ain’t too early to start getting it right.)
Butterick definitely practices what he preaches—the book is gorgeous and the writing is sharp and witty. A sample:
For those who want to get right to the heart of it, he includes a Typography in ten minutes chapter and a Summary of key rules.
My only regret is that many of his suggestions can’t be implemented in Google Docs which is my primary word processor these days. But I still keep full-featured word processors around for work that requires precise design, and Google may evolve to be more design-friendly in time.
Circus Boy!
We are very lucky to have a variety of activities for our kids here in the Twin Cities, and one of them is an amazing circus school, Circus Juventas. Now that Griffin is a little older, we thought he might enjoy a structured physical activity that would emphasize gross motor control, teamwork, and wasn’t too competitive. Having heard amazing things about the circus program, we thought it would be worth a try this winter. Turns out he loved it, and he loves performing!
We were truly not prepared for how these kids would blow us away this weekend! The school is ages 3-18, and every single one of the kids we saw at the performance strutted their stuff and showed off their hard work. I can’t tell you the number of times I uttered, “WOW!” during the nearly three hour performance!
Here are some video highlights from Griffin’s performance. The first is his dress rehearsal. The second is a highlight from the actual performance on Saturday as he and his friend, Gabe, performed on the German Wheel.
I’ve also included a clip from the unicycles act, just to give you a taste of the older kids, as well as several still shots of the many other acts we witnessed! Enjoy!
Globes
Bungee Trapeze
Bungee Trapeze
Triple Trapeze
Straps
Straps
Mexican Cloud Swing
Watercolor Birthday
Early on Maggie’s birthday, while I was blearily making my breakfast in the kitchen, Griffin quietly padded downstairs and hunkered down at the art table. In less than an hour, he produced a series of eight surprise paintings as a gift for his sister. After drying them on the radiator, he kept them in a secret pile until we opened presents in the evening. He presented each one to Maggie with a title and a short explanation.
The Park
It’s not a play park. It’s just a park that you can run around in.
Sunny Day on the Beach
It’s about a beach that’s blue and sunny. It’s always sunny. And it’s always fun to play at.
A Tree Losing its Leaf
“This a tree that lost its leaf when it was spring and it was just a little maple tree that didn’t have any other trees around it. It was in the middle of nowhere and no one gave water to it and it was just in the middle of nowhere.”
Funky World
“This unknown world that has a green sun and the houses look like hand prints. This funky world is like so funny.”
A Tree With No Leaves
“This tree is so new that it doesn’t even have its leaves yet. It’s just like a little baby tree and it is a maple tree.”
The Roller Coaster
“That’s a roller coaster that has only roller coasters in the fair.”
The Cave
“It’s a cave with all these teeth and some scary eyes and the purple line if you were wondering it is a spike in the cave.”
The Alien
“This alien lives in space and it’s always happy and it has one eye and this is a green eye and it’s always smiling unless if it’s mad.”
Birthday’s Eve
At dinner tonight, hours before Griffin’s 6th birthday, Sarah inaugurated the event by telling Griffin the story of his birth. (If you need a refresher, see one of our earliest posts on this blog: Birth Story.) It began with us simply reminiscing about what we were up to six years ago: watching Watchmen at the Grand Lake, wondering how the incredibly loud soundtrack would affect the as yet unnamed baby, hoping it might encourage him to come out. Sarah so uncomfortable at bedtime that she needed the bedroom to herself. Me reading A Midwife’s Tale on the couch. Both of us eager to meet Griffin.
As I listened to her retelling the story, I felt like I had slipped into the movie version of our lives. Of course it was real life, so there were plenty of un-cinematic interruptions, but fundamentally Griffin was mesmerized, and the whole experience felt exactly right. He asked questions, filled in details that he remembered from past conversations, and wanted to hear the story to the very end. He laughed in disbelief when I described seeing his crowning head, and then how he refused to proceed any further for hours.
When Sarah wrapped up, Maggie demanded, “Mama tell MY story!” Sarah told her she’d just have to wait for her birthday.
Pulp Cabin, Chapters I-III
Spring break = five epic days of adventure at the cabin.
(And time to serialize the experience!)
Chapter I — Crevasse
Our adventures began as we drove up the dirt road to the cabin and discovered a section covered with thick ice. The culvert under the road had frozen solid so a marshy stream began trickling over the road. In the course of the winter it produced a few feet of thick, glacier-like ice. (It had the same blue color associated with glacial ice.) This was only a mild obstacle due to loss of traction until we encountered the crevasse—water had cut a channel directly across the road, easily two feet deep. On our way in we didn’t spot it in time and jolted across it. If it had been any wider, it would have been bad news. As it was, it just gave the shocks a workout. (A neighboring cabin owner with sharper eyes turned back rather than trusting his car to make it.) On our way out on Monday we laid logs inside it to provide support for the tires.
Chapter II — Lake Ice
One of our main goals this trip was to cross Spring Lake and to continue exploring the trails on the south bank. (I would link to a post about our January skiing and snowshoeing adventures, but I haven’t posted it yet. Must remedy that soon.) Unfortunately, the lake ice was thinning and we weren’t brave enough to cross. We saw some ice fishermen out on our first day, so we assumed it was solid, but upon scouting we found too many dicey areas for comfort. Hearing the ice loudly crack beneath my feet sent me scurrying for shore. With the warming weather the lake remained vocal throughout the trip, providing a soundtrack of otherworldly groans, crystalline pops and cracks, and occasional booming detonations.
Spring Lake
Preparing to head out
Scouting the ice
Sarah demonstrating some ice safety techniques
By Sarah’s feet you can see one or our ski trails from January.
Contemplating an icy plunge.
Chapter III — Bushwhacking
Deciding to remain on the north shore, we went on some extended hikes, including one where we left the trail and bushwhacked for a few hours. We clambered over (and under) fallen trees, examined fairy doors on mossy tree trunks, debated the origin of animal spoor, and got remarkably confused about our location. (Google Maps, of course, sorted things out for us, but we were astonished at how quickly the unfamiliar landscape threw off our direction sense once we left the trail.) The pictures below, from a few different hikes, don’t do justice to the beauty. Click on any image to see a larger version with the option of viewing all of them as a slideshow.
North Bog
North Woods
Icy puddle
Maggie the Explorer
Griffin the Explorer
Bushwhackers
Deer blind (kinda Blair Witchy, isn’t it?)
Griffin on the ladder
Botanist
The full group
Grandpa
Grandma
Splashing in puddles