Out to dinner with the whole family. I remember when we used to look for restaurants with a lot of people in them because you figured that meant they had good food. Now we hope instead that the place is empty so our kids can use it as a playground … Read More

Really not a lot going on lately. Grandparents are at the lake, aunts are back to work, cousins at school, and we’re plugging away on a few last projects (i.e. anything that requires internet) before we gather ourselves up and head back to the boat next week. We did get … Read More

Friends of ours came out to see us today with their three-year-old girl. We thought sure the two of them would hit it off and disappear all afternoon into the playhouse or bury themselves with stuffed animals in the toy room. Instead they just sort of stared at each other … Read More

My car, my beautiful car. The Porsche has been sitting in a garage up here the past couple of years while we’ve been off running around without her. But still, when I uncovered her today, unhooked the battery tender, and pumped the gas relentlessly, she started right up. She ran … Read More

One of these days I’m going to remember that any time we are invited to the family cabin for the weekend, it is a trap. Cabins are not restful places. They are neglected properties with a never-ending to-do list attached to the front door. Granted that’s not the case for … Read More

Today at the park we walked out to the end of a dock where three old local guys were standing around fishing; as they do every day I imagine. Right as we got there one of them said, “Oh, I got one. Come on over.” So we walked over as … Read More

We took the kids to a nearby farm today where the main goal I believe is to have you buy pumpkins, but outside are a bunch of goats and chickens milling about for anyone to go and have a poke at. That’s where I learned that it isn’t pumpkins they … Read More

Fall is a short season here in Minnesota so when we get days like today it is a good idea to get out and enjoy it. This morning Ouest and I went to a nearby park and wandered around through the woods for a while. She brought along a pink … Read More

Tartan High School class of 1992. Holy crap are we getting old. We had our twenty-year reunion last night which meant first and foremost that Ali and I were going out without the kids. Yeah, big deal. What we both would have probably really enjoyed doing with those few hours … Read More

The kids are getting big. Ouest is really easy these days. She plays good, is imaginative, talks and talks, says please and thank-you without prodding, and all sorts of things that make her seem less like my baby girl and more like my big girl. Today we went on a … Read More

Feeling overwhelmed lately. Our life sure looks carefree from the outside, but sometimes it feels like we just heap a ton of crap onto our “schedule.” Before we know what happened we’re cruising along on three or four hours of sleep a night, and not because the kids aren’t sleeping, … Read More