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.
Major cleaning and sorting in the basement uncovered my stash of former ID cards from high school and college, as well as my California driver’s licenses. The universal awfulness of the photos begs the question of why I didn’t shred them. Despite the cringe factor, it is kinda fun to see nearly 30 years in ID portraits.
1986 — 10th grade1987 — 11th grade1988 — 12th grade1989 — college freshmanc. 1990–1992 — later college1996 — California2000 — Californiac. 2005 — California
Family camp? This was a new concept to both Sarah and Andrew, but we had been hearing wonderful things about Camp du Nord from families we know in St. Paul for a few years, so this summer was our first time giving it a go. We are generally a do-it-yourself family vacation kind of family, so the idea of going somewhere where we could enjoy being on a lake AND having our days filled with activities we didn’t plan sounded kind of dreamy. We were not disappointed!
Camp du Nord is on Burntside Lake, at the south-central edge of the BWCAW.Griffin’s certificate for completing the polar bear plunge on five consecutive mornings.
Camp du Nord is a YMCA camp located near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in extreme northern Minnesota, mere miles from Canada. Andrew and Griffin kicked off every morning with the “polar bear plunge,” wherein the doughtiest members of the camp all run screaming into the chilly lake. (For anyone who has done a real polar plunge, into freezing water, this was not really that bad.) After breakfast, the kids spent every morning in age-level activities led by an incredible group of counselors. Sarah and Andrew were gloriously free from all responsibilities during this time. In the afternoons we engaged in full-family activities, which included a canoe paddle to a nearby smaller lake where Andrew succeeded at his first canoe portage, Voyageur Days where the kids tried log rolling, and an all-camp hunt for the counselors who were hiding in the woods. There are cabins available to rent, but we opted for a tent site right on the shore of the lake where we slept and had breakfast and lunch. We took the advice of families before us and joined the full camp for dinner in the dining hall. A couple of evenings, we took advantage of the traditional wood-heated Finnish sauna, which always concludes with a dip in the lake! And every night, we fell to sleep excited and exhausted, ready to see what adventures awaited us in the morning.
Like all family vacations, there were smatterings of tears, whining, and impatience, but overall, we all agreed that we loved family camp and look forward to returning in the future!
4th of July parade
At our camp site.
in the tent
A cool dip after the wood-fired sauna
handsome mustachios
Griffin’s map project
Maggie’s accoutrements during grownup day
reality
Maggie calls this a “lego plant” because the branches and segments pop off
Griffin and his new friend, Sam
Maggie captured a counselor!
bringing Laura to jail
pushing Laura into the lake
aquatic blob tag
beach construction
log rolling at voyageur day
big voyageur canoe
Griffin was a paddleboard champ
beach volleyball (aka, nuke ’em)
Griffin wearing his polar bear plunge shirt, earned after doing the dawn plunge every day for the full week
We didn’t take many pictures on this, our first summer trip to the cabin, but we had a great time. Jess, Kevin, Murray, and Olive joined us. Despite some rain and bugs, the kids spent most of their time outside, exploring the woods and shoreline.
Sarah was out of town for a wedding. The kids had been asking for another D&D game. We hadn’t played in ages, not since last summer. So, yes, totally, let’s play D&D! But let’s do it properly. We needed more players. I invited over some friends of theirs so that we could potentially have five players, but if the youngest two—Maggie and her friend, Olive—lost interest, they could entertain each other. Five kids while solo parenting… I was asking for it.
We had a great time. Maggie and Olive only played for a bit, but Griffin, Murray, and Miles invested a couple of hours into it. In the year and a half since our first game, the kids have developed quite a bit. Some observations and highlights:
Griffin is far more adept at arithmetic now, and loves doing it. He gets mad if I do any of the math during the game, wanting to calculate everybody’s hit points and bonuses and all of that.
Griffin is also better at reading and writing, though not quite as good as Murray, who is a year older. They loved writing things down and, when possible, reading things aloud. When they came to the ruins of a village, they could not have been more excited to read this scrawled note posted by the main road:
WARNING!
Plant monsters and zombies
KEEP OUT!
They acted like all they wanted to do was fight monsters, but in reality they tended to get a little bored during combat. They were most engaged when they were debating their plans and making decisions as a group.
They loved deciding whether to travel on the road or through the wilderness. Although crossing the wilderness was more direct, they elected to follow the road because they thought (correctly) that it would be less dangerous.
When they passed through a civilized town, they debated what kind of meal to have, and spent some time figuring out how much treasure they had and whether they could afford a fancy meal. They eventually elected to splurge on a princely feast.
This led to them being followed by a pickpocket. Much joy as they spotted him and then ambushed him, leading eventually to the moral quandary of what to do with their criminal prisoner. After some debate, they elected to “scare him” and then let him go, telling him not to try to steal from people anymore.
Honestly, my impression was that I could mostly dispense with the adventure plot, and simply give them opportunities to go shopping, explore the map, etc. I think they just loved getting to make the kinds of decisions that adults usually make for them. (Plus rolling dice, of course—lots of dice!)
The full group at the table, with Maggie wearing a sheep hat.Just the boys at this point, with my characteristic gesticulations.
Griffin and Maggie, turning seven and four respectively, agreed to have a joint birthday party this year. Each of them invited seven friends, and we all gathered at a local park for cupcakes and fun. It was a gorgeous day, and the whole event felt unusually relaxed. The kids rampaged around while the adults chatted, kept nominal watch, and guarded the cupcakes (my strategy: eat them).
Cupcakes, designed by Griffin and Maggie.
Maggie required some elements from Frozen.
Birthday sparklers… Griffin was nervous that they would be loud.
Griffin got me with two April Fool’s Day jokes already this morning: he told me he made me some brownies for a treat (which turned out to be brown E’s) and he handed me a shoe box and said he got me a new pair (which turned out to be a pear)! He was so delighted with himself, and so was I!
I finally have a pair of cross-country skis. One step closer to being a real Minnesotan. (Ice fishing next year?) We went out as a family on Tuesday, after our first real snow, and then I went again on Thursday morning on my own. It’s a short, easy trail at Highland golf course, but I’m an unsteady amateur, so it’s exactly what I need.
Beginners at work.
Skiers in action.
Maggie actually has some skis from a garage sale, but can’t make it on a real trail yet.
Arrived shortly after sunrise.
Like that spray tan? (Actually, just wind and exertion on a very cold morning.)
