Tag Archives: Maggie
Valentine’s Day

We had planned another jaunt to the cabin for the long weekend, but wind chill is -25° here in Saint Paul at nearly noon and quite a bit lower than that in Duluth. With the road to the cabin potentially blocked with snow (requiring some significant hiking with heavy gear and children) we decided to stay put. Had a fabulous breakfast at the Birchwood (pork belly steamed bun with egg and kimchi was outstanding) and then came home to make some Valentine’s Day cookies. Coming up this afternoon, Griffin has circus school, and then we’re going to the East Side Freedom Library to hear Claire O’Connor, one of the six Minnesota freedom riders, tell her story. Pretty good day!
Skating
Honesty
On the way to the cabin, we stop at Mount Royal Market in Duluth. Sarah runs in to pick up a few jugs of water.
Maggie: “I don’t like it when Mama goes. I like it when Daddy goes.”
Griffin: “I think Maggie likes Mama better than she likes you, Daddy.”
Maggie: “Yeah!!!”
Little Falls Park
We had plans today to head downtown to see museums and monuments on the national mall, but it was a poor sleep night and a bunch of us were fighting colds, so we decided to stay closer to home. We walked down to Brookeway Drive, the street Dave and I lived on as kids in the ’70s. At the end of the cul-de-sac is a path up to the old railway tracks, now repaved as part of the Capital Crescent Trail. (I remember trains going by, and often put coins on the tracks for flattening.) The kids had a blast in and around the creek for a couple of hours, though I didn’t get the camera out for the epic meltdowns they had after one too many daring maneuvers led to cold, wet feet (and a butt, in Griffin’s case).
Christmas 2014
We spent Christmas in Bethesda with Grummy and Grandpa Stape, and all the Roy cousins. Fourteen people under one roof! Wonderful mayhem.
Arctic Bocce
We didn’t let a little snow and frigid temperatures interfere with our Thanksgiving Bocce game. Grandpa Jeff got out the snow blower and made us a court. The teams:
- Griffin, Nik, Alli, Pam
- Maggie, Andrew, Sarah, Jeff
We played to 11, and it was close to the very end. In the final round, 10-9, team 2 landed the clinching point. They simply had superior mastery of snow-braking techniques.
On the Roy side, the bocce tradition began at a rental house in Fort Bragg, California, on the Mendocino coast. We used to rent the place for Thanksgiving in the early 2000s, inviting friends and family for feast and fun. Here are two pictures from that era (with a slightly different climate!):


Shooting Love
Going on in our house right now:
<Maggie, pointing a stick-like object at Andrew>: “SHOOT YOU!!”
Me: “Honey, please don’t shoot your daddy.”
Griffin: “But Mom, she’s shooting love!”
Maggie: “No I’m not.”
First D&D Game



A week before heading up to the cabin, Griffin and I walked to our local comic shop to pick up a new graphic novel (he chose Journey to the Center of the Earth). While browsing, I noticed that the latest (fifth) edition of Dungeons and Dragons was out. I couldn’t resist picking up the Player’s Handbook and the introductory boxed set. I wanted to read over the new rules, and I rationalized that I’d use them when the D&D activity gets going again at my school this winter. (Also, the fourth edition was garbage, so I hoped the fifth would do better.) Of course I didn’t have time to read them during the week, so I tossed them into my reading bag for the cabin. It wasn’t until we got there that it occurred to me that Griffin might be old enough to get into it. Sarah was game, so after our hike on Saturday, I opened the boxed set and had them choose from the five pre-generated characters. For posterity, here’s the group for our first ever family D&D game:
- Griffin played an elf wizard named… Griffin!
- Sarah played a halfling rogue named Sarafina.
- Maggie played a human fighter named Maggie. (Armed with a two-handed sword, no less.)
- Andrew, besides being the dungeon master, played a dwarf cleric named Amber. (Those who gamed with me in ages past may recall my appreciation for dwarf clerics.)
A bunch of goblins, some wolves, and a bugbear later and everyone gained a level. Griffin’s first request when we got home was, “Can we play some more D&D today?” (The answer was no, but the request warmed my heart.)
It was neat seeing how Griffin’s five-year-old mind grappled with the complexities of the game. His favorite part was definitely rolling the dice: at one point the group rescued a kidnapped knight and he offered to tell the story of his capture; Griffin responded with, “Can I roll the 20-sided die?” But he definitely followed the story, and has a remarkable memory for detail. He instantly grasped some fairly complicated mechanics around how often he can cast his spells, and a week later he can explain the overall quest and the names of the characters and places in the story. (Including a number of details that I had forgotten!)
Maggie, naturally, had only a loose grasp of things, but also enjoyed rolling the dice and paging through the rulebooks to see the pictures.
With Sarah gone this weekend, we haven’t had a chance for a followup game, but this adds a great new activity to our family menu, especially when the snows blow in. (I always hear Ned Stark… “Winter is coming…”)
Oh, and in case any gamers stumble on this post, my first impression of 5th edition is overwhelmingly positive. The core rules are elegant with an emphasis on flexibility, role-playing, and imaginative fun. The writers captured the spirit of what made the original AD&D so compelling, while streamlining the rules and updating them for the current generation.
Escape to the Cabin
After our glorious summer, the school year feels like we’re barely hanging on to a runaway train. On Friday, we fled the crazy for another taste of summer (with a dash of autumn).
The yellow cabin delivered big time. Not only was the weather outstanding, but the kids were 100% engaged, Â hiking with gusto, begging to get out on the water in the kayaks, and playing together relatively peacefully during down time. We also enjoyed some unexpected firsts: Griffin’s first time fishing, and our first family D&D game (more on that in an upcoming post). It felt like we were away for far longer than a weekend.
Enjoy the gallery below. Remember, they look best if you click on one to engage the full-screen slide show. (Also, don’t miss the postscript below for a glimpse backstage.)
PS: The last picture looks idyllic, and it was, but the picture misses a few telling details. As I floated in my kayak, taking in the stunning colors, Griffin, far behind me in the center of the lake, decided to start playing “echo” across the water. The echoes were, indeed, spectacular, so he proceeded to yell louder and louder, until his tremendous battle cries reverberated across the lake, drowning out all other sound. He was far enough away, and focused enough on his bellowing, that he couldn’t hear our fierce, whisper-shouted admonishments to cool it. As he continued ramping up, I wondered if any of our well-armed neighbors would take things into their own hands. Fortunately, and I’m not naming names, one of us channeled the voice of Thor, delivering the following carefully considered advice at 150 decibels:
“GRIFFIN . . . SHUT . . . UP!!!!”
As the echoes faded, we were aware that this sonic event was not only permanently etched into the minds of the Spring Lake community, but that scientists of the future will be able to see evidence of the interchange in tree rings and sediment cores.
Yup. That’s how it’s done at the Yellow Cabin.