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Griffin, Maggie, Photo

Adventure Week

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Today is the first day of Adventure Week. This, as everyone knows, is a week when you don’t already have lots of summer plans, so you go on adventures every day. (Yes, I know that I call just about every outing an adventure, but the kids don’t yet roll their eyes at my hyperbole.)

Our adventure today was heading over to Como Town, a little amusement park not far from here. It’s popular, but not mobbed like a real amusement park; this one is aimed at a younger crowd. Griffin is now tall enough for almost all of the rides, and there are lots that work well for Maggie too. And they don’t charge for chaperones if you need to go on a ride with a younger kid. (Lots of places do… grrr… I love paying double for the tea-cup ride.)

The only fail was the Tilt-a-Whirl. Maggie basically screamed like she was dying the whole time, while Griffin howled with glee right next to her, and Sarah and I attempted to not throw up on both of them.  (In retrospect, I wish I’d pulled out my phone for a family selfie.) Maggie recovered quickly, though she may be burdened with a lifelong fear of spinning, lurching hemispheres.

 

Griffin, Maggie, Photo

Summer Fun at Grandma and Grandpa’s

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This weekend we went down to Courtland to celebrate Grandpa Jeff’s birthday and visit with  family friends. But I didn’t take many pictures of all that good stuff (oops). Instead, my camera usually came out when we were outside, playing in the sprinklers, checking out the nascent tree house, and, of course, riding around on the mini-ATV from Uncle Bruce.

As always, click on the pictures for an immersive slide-show.

Sprinkler Fun
More!
New tree house platform (Griffin is doing a happy dance).
Griffin was very generous about sharing his favorite ride.
Speed demons.
Idyllic day around the lake.
Many exciting sights (frogs, monarchs, geese, ducks, and many cool rocks to collect).
Laughter with grandma and grandpa.
Griffin, Maggie, Photo

Home Again

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We’re back!

Mileage: 105916 (Trip total: 4750 miles; about 92 hours of driving.)

It was a fantastic trip, but we’re happy to be back home. Some images from our first few days, with perfect summer weather:

Climbing trees
Up in a tree
Duck pond at St. Kate’s
Shoulder rides
Daddy’s head makes a great drum
Biking with Daddy
On top of the climbing rock
Maggies’s 1st time on the rock!
Swings, wonderful swings
Griffin, Maggie, Photo

San Diego 2014

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At the end of our California trip we flew from SF to San Diego to spend a few glorious days with our dear friends, Liz and Kevin, and their son, Gabe. (Plus adorable Buddy.) We hung out at the beach, went on leisurely walks around the neighborhood, spent a day at the zoo, and played with Buddy in the yard. Below are photos from many of these adventures. (The zoo photos were hum-drum, so we’ve left them out. It’s a great zoo though; you should go there.)

Kevin, among many other things, is a brilliant photographer. We always treasure the shots he takes on his camera. All of the photos below that are marked “-KM” are Kevin’s. The rest were taken by Sarah or Andrew.

Remember that you can click on a photo to see the set in a full window slide show — they look best big!

Sarah and Maggie. -KM
Big smile. -KM
Thoughtful Maggie. -KM
At Coronado beach. -KM
Griff loving the surf. -KM
More surf. -KM
Wave tag!
Liz and Maggie.
Maggie goes deep.
Griffin and Daddy go deep.
Waves.
Wet sand is good.
Dry sand is good.
Sleepy head.
Umbrella stroller. -KM
Throwing Buddy’s ball. -KM
Park fun. -KM
Griffin has good ideas.
Maggie at the park. -KM
Griff testing out new monkey bars. -KM
They work! – KM
Better than a Tesla. -KM
Maggie and Gabe. -KM
Griffin’s pirate ship.
Eyes. -KM
Griffin and Buddy.
DJ Maggie.
Bath time -KM
Story time with Kevin.
Gabe, composing haiku.
Liz and Kevin, composing haiku.
We’ll miss Buddy! -KM
Griffin, Maggie, Photo

Bodega Bay

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We were fortunate enough to rent a house in Bodega Bay that would accommodate all of the Roy Boys and their families, and at a time when everyone could make it! It was a sweet time to reconnect with Anthony, Gena, Dave, Nancy, and their kids. The cousins were non-stop playing from the moment we arrived until the moment we left! Highlights included trips to the beach, meals together, and a carnival put on by the kids. We have a lot of photos in this set, mostly of the adorable children. I have a feeling our kids will be talking about this trip for a long time to come!

Maggie, with the friendly neighbor kitty, in front of the house.
Cousins! From left to right: Raven, Caleb, Julia, Griffin, Maggie, Max
Take two
Take three
The youngest kiddo, Caleb
Look at those cheeks!
Maggie contemplating
Our first excursion to the beach!
Dave surveys the dunes
Julia, Andrew, Gena, Anthony, and Caleb arrive.
It was chilly, but that didn’t seem to bother the kids!
Max
Griffin
Running Max
The coolest discovery ever: a driftwood fort!
The kids could have stayed here all day
Griffin checks out the construction
Maggie and Andrew arrive at the fort
Maggie enjoys the sea breeze
Ahoy! I think there be pirates!
Maggie, Sarah, and Griffin rock the stripes
Hot tubbing back at the house
A favorite kid activity at the house: running in and out of the doors
Running
Still running
Can we play, too?
Julia!
Julia, take two!
Julia and Maggie
Cracker conversations
Let’s give Caleb a cracker, too!
Caleb
Shall we see if we can break this?
Sweet Maggie
Sweet Raven
Sweet Max, Griffin, and Julia
The Roy Clan
The Roy Clan, take two
The Roy Clan, outtake
Maggie wants to be like her big cousin, Raven
How are those jokes, Maggie?
Beach day two
Maggie wanted to play chase with the waves, first with Daddy…
Then with Mama
Dave is planning something…
Max, the plan may involve you…
Buried!
Sand in the hair
Dave and Nancy
Cousins keeping cool
Beach day three
Will the waves get us?
Tide pooling
A sea star!
Caleb and Anthony
Griffin, Maggie, Photo

Bucks Lake, CA

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We made it to our Bucks Lake campsite on Friday and stayed through Sunday. We rendezvoused with a group of friends from the Bay Area. It was so great to catch up with old friends, make new friends, eat gourmet camp meals, and sit around the fire. It was a fitting culmination of the camping portion of our trip. Looking forward to a bed by the Pacific when we head to Bodega Bay next!

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One of our new friends was Ella, Noemi and Jen’s dog.
Maggie lounging.
Maggie lounging. This shot, as well as the featured image at the top of this post, are by Katie McCall. See her flickr album for more of her beautiful shots from this camping trip.
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Cool evenings demanded a roaring fire.
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Noam and Ely about to emerge.

The trip has exceeded our expectations in every way, but lest it appear unrealistically idyllic, I provide this evidence of woe (due, I think, to a stubbed toe):

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“But I don’t like wearing my shoes!”
Teaching

Nine Years Down

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It’s been another great year in the classroom, and I feel as engaged and motivated as I ever have. I’m definitely looking forward to the time off in the coming summer weeks, but I no longer fear the arrival of September, as I did when I first jumped into this new career.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a decade since I left my IT career. I would write “no regrets” but that sounds too pensive, like I really do have regrets but I’m trying to convince myself that I don’t. In this case it’s the opposite of regret—I am profoundly fortunate that I found a career that gives back more than I put into it. For those of you who know some of my background interests, consider that in addition to teaching a fantastic social studies course all year, I did the following in my classroom:

    • taught students how to design 3D models to print on a 3D printer
    • had a bocce ball tournament (well, we went outside for this)
    • blasted music during our weekly advisory musical chairs deathmatch
    • played dungeons and dragons (!)

It’s a very good fit.

My awesome advisory, 2013-2014
My awesome advisory, 2013-2014