Please pardon this excessive blog entry & photos. It’s what happens when I leave my blog blank for an entire year.
Spring Break in San Francisco
In March we
headed West to California for Spring Break.
A vacation in San Francisco seemed great to us…a chance to meet up with
my oldest sister Cristy and her family, a weather warm-up compared to
Minneapolis, a combination of the city and beaches, etc. We knew we wanted to rent a house rather than
stay in a hotel, but we weren’t sure exactly which part of the city to call
home for our week. After scouring AirBNB
and finding a few neighborhoods that appealed to us, we landed on this amazing
place https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1353028
For anyone
headed to San Francisco, I highly recommend this house! It was so welcoming, calm, beautifully
designed. Right on Golden Gate Park, a
quick drive to several different beaches, easy to get downtown SF and just as
easy to head out to Napa.
Our vacation
consisted of hanging out at our rental house (there was a trampoline! In a
fenced in backyard!! That the kitchen overlooked!!!) and exploring the city and
beaches.
Around the city
we visited The Exploratorium, Wharf, Ferry Building, Chinatown and the Academy
of Sciences – among other sites & landmarks. My sister Jamie joined us from Minneapolis
and my sister Cristy and her family came to the city for our 1st
weekend there and then we visited them in Napa later in the week. We got the chance to meet up with my friend
Lauren from high school and her two sons – all the kids became fast friends and
enjoyed playing and jumping in the trampoline!
We hit up several
beaches within San Francisco, including Crissy Field at the Presidio, China
Beach and Ocean Beach, as well as San Gregorio State Beach down Hwy 1 past Half
Moon Bay. Of course it’s not that warm
in northern California, particularly in March, but that didn’t stop Joe and I
from enjoying ourselves (what’s cozier than fleece and windbreakers along the
ocean; except possibly UGGs and warm woolens in snowy Minnesota!), or the kids
from stripping down to their skivvies and running wild in the water. The beaches were all unique and equally
exciting.
The front of our rental home
Backyard Trampoline
Inside Rental House
Hyde Pier
Riding the Cable Car
Outside the Fortune Cookie Factory in Chinatown
Ocean Beach
Walking through the caves at Ocean Beach at low tide
San Gregorio State Beach tidal pools
Building with driftwood at San Gregorio State Beach
San Gregorio State Beach - storm approaching
Golden Gate Park Windmill
Early Birthday celebration for Cousin Lily at her house in Napa
Auntie Jamie with the kids looking out over the ocean
Giant rocks to climb on, mansions to ogle and views of the Bridge at China Beach
China Beach
The greatest slide ever! Dolores Park
Crissy Field at the Presidio
The Great Outdoors
When
I asked the kids where they found joy and happiness this year, they were pretty
decisive. It was riding their new big
bikes from Grandma and Papa, camping, swimming and jumping off the diving board
at Grandma and Papa’s pool, going to the Boundary Waters, playing at the park,
etc. Not too surprising (lots of studies
have found that people are happiest when they’re outside), they rattled off the
fun they have in the Great Outdoors.
Here’s to a mild yet snowy winter that keeps us outside til an early
Spring comes!
One weekend we took the training wheels off Otto's tiny bike...
...And the next weekend Otto was on bike with wheels the size of his previous tiny bike
Biking the trails (because the sidewalks were so boring;) shortly after getting their new bikes (that have gears and hand brakes!)
Joe and his friend John have taken each of their oldest kids to the Boundary Waters (BWCA) for the past couple years. This year they had gorgeous weather, the kids had a better idea what to do when in came to canoeing, portaging, fishing, etc. One of the greatest times joy found me this year was when Joe and John got drunk one night and wound up going on and on about how awesome their BWCA trip with the kids was. Looking forward to having the moms and 2nd oldest kids join in...hopefully this coming summer.
Fishing was plentiful this BWCA trip!
Back at Camp
Otto is a fish and our family's resident pool-boy. If he's not in the water he's cleaning the water and taking care of the pool. For Thanksgiving he was thankful for "jumping off the diving board and swimming without a life jacket at my papa's pool."
Boy oh boy, these boys...
...and this girl. Who's at an age, and has a personality, that doesn't have much fear. Need to keep a life jacket on her because jumping and water are perhaps her two favorite things.
Swimming and Playing at the parks
Fall camping. It's the best kind of camping. Bugs gone. Warm days, cool nights. Early sunsets, later sunrises. Max who decides at 6:45pm, as soon as the sun set and it was dark, that we was "going to make the smart choice (maturity, 1st grade!!) and go to bed now." And then proceed to sleep til after 7am. So much better camping in the Fall than Summer with 10pm sunsets and 6am sunrises.
Pitching the tent, collecting fire wood
Gone Fishin'
Summer Road Trip through Michigan
For our summer vacation this year the kids talked us into renting an RV to go on a little road trip. We drove to Green Bay to visit my dad, and that's also where we picked up our RV. With the RV towed behind my car, we drove through Upper Michigan and down into Lower Michigan (taking the ferry to Mackinac Island for half a day) to a few little towns (Petosky, Harbor Springs, etc) and camping at Sleeping Bear Dunes. The novelty of the RV did not wear off over the course of the week, and we've also been tent camping post-RV trip, so hopefully the kids haven't been "spoiled" and will still want to tent camp!
Our week was spent exploring small towns throughout Michigan and playing in the Lake, Dunes and Playgrounds. One afternoon while at the playground overlooking the Dunes, our family of five was swinging on the big 6-person swing set...one seat open. As I took in this sight I suddenly and immediately had "mother's intuition." I was nearly certain that the empty 6th swing wouldn't be vacant next time we visited this park. I was right, and what our hearts always wanted, my mind and body is getting used to...a 4th baby to complete our family in 2015. I'm just entering my third trimester, and have plenty of thoughts and mental notes I've been keeping track of about this pregnancy and the final addition to our family. I'll dedicate a future blog post to sharing so many more baby details...
Visiting the NEW Zoo, with Papa Mark, outside Green Bay
Going to pick up our RV rental
Slide races in Manistique in Upper Michigan
Exploring the Pier and Light House in Manistique, Michigan
Playing with Max's new boomerang on Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island Bridge behind us
One night in this wide-open campsite (it felt like what I imagine the infield of a NASCAR race would be), and then we got to move to a more wooded one. Although the campsites weren't the prettiest we've been to, the access to Lake Michigan and Sleeping Bear Dunes was unbelievable!
Sleeping Bear Dunes, Empire, Michigan
Lake Michigan & Sleeping Bear Dunes
Beach Babes
H2Otto
Typical tourists...shopping for Lake Michigan gear
Final leg of the road trip. Whatever it takes...we're almost home.
Our Blue Door
We’ve been in
our house over 13 years. Throughout this time we’ve almost always had a pretty
sizeable project in the works. And of
course, by we, I mean mostly Joe. Sure,
I do lots of the vision and design work, but Joe makes.it.happen. Every.time. I still don’t know how!! Turning our attached garage into a remodeled
kitchen, building a new garage in the alley, front and back yard landscaping,
designing nurseries and putting in new windows and doors and crown molding and
base boards. Finishing off the
basement. Building furniture for nearly
every room in the house.
We’re damn near out of projects – and room - in our house and yet we can’t get ourselves to make a “rash” decision (exactly what I’d call 13 years and counting in our “3-5 year starter home”…) on what to do (add-on, build up, buy a house to tear down and build from scratch, move, etc). We love our house. We love our neighbors and neighborhood. It’s filled with memories that never seem to slow up. Our house has always been new-enough and big-enough to us, probably partly because of the constant state of flux it’s been in. But I sure could use a mud room and laundry room (not to mention a 2nd bathroom that’s off limits to anyone under 4’ tall).
We’re damn near out of projects – and room - in our house and yet we can’t get ourselves to make a “rash” decision (exactly what I’d call 13 years and counting in our “3-5 year starter home”…) on what to do (add-on, build up, buy a house to tear down and build from scratch, move, etc). We love our house. We love our neighbors and neighborhood. It’s filled with memories that never seem to slow up. Our house has always been new-enough and big-enough to us, probably partly because of the constant state of flux it’s been in. But I sure could use a mud room and laundry room (not to mention a 2nd bathroom that’s off limits to anyone under 4’ tall).
So what did
2014 bring? Refreshingly, no big house
projects! Just a can of paint and a
couple hours of time. I had a whim to
paint our front door blue, so while on a date one night, Joe and I swung into
Home Depot and picked out a quart of paint. The next morning Joe painted our front door
and by sunset that evening we had a little extra curb appeal. Add in a new house number plate and I’ve got
a refreshed outlook on our house.
House in Summer
House in Fall
Moose Mountain Marathon
In early Spring Joe and I decided we wanted to run a
marathon in the Fall. Neither of us had run a full marathon the previous year
and we were itching to train for and run the longer distance again. We decided to challenge ourselves and choose
a trail race rather than a road race and picked the Moose Mountain Marathon on
the Superior Hiking Trail near Grand Marais, Minnesota (a familiar and favorite
family summer vacation spot).
My training started out well in mid-Spring. I had done
next.to.nothing during the winter – for some reason the extreme cold hit me
hard that winter - and I had some serious ground to make up in terms of
strength and endurance. I hit the
pavement, trails, hills, etc. It was fun
to train differently for this trail race.
One weekend, a couple months into training, Joe and I enjoyed the Afton
Alps 25K and ran a strong race. And the
next weekend I was down and out!
As I mentioned earlier, surprise!, I'm pregnant
with our fourth baby. I found myself
sick, tired and the most physically humbled of all my pregnancies. My training immediately stopped, and my search
for spice and vinegar started. Joe
continued to train, although minimally he says.
In my head I continued to think I could somehow still run the race in
lieu of training. I figured a good music
mix, good weather and a little determination could get me through a mountainous
marathon.
The night before race day Joe picked up his race
bib, and I picked up mine. I really
still thought I could do it. I’d walk it.
It’s OK if it took all day. I was doing it purely for enjoyment
anyway. But knowing there were only four
aid/water stops and limited cell service along the entire course (and knowing I was not trained), Joe began
talking sense into me. I should not
attempt the race this year. The morning
of the race I wrote “Did Not Start. Will Not Finish” on my bib and gave it to
Joe to hand into the race director letting them know I wouldn’t start, I
wouldn’t finish, and not to think I’d gone missing someplace along the course
when I didn’t cross the finish line later that afternoon.
Not running the race allowed me to cheer Joe on
while he ran. He had no idea what to
expect from the course and from himself.
He had a wide estimate on how long it would take to run the race, so
catching him at the spectator spots could be challenging. We got to the 1st stop (~ 8 miles
into the race) very early and, literally, right as we were walking up to the
stop we saw Joe running back into the woods and continuing on the course. I shouted so loud to make sure he knew we
caught a glimpse of him, and we got back in the car and headed to the next
spectator spot to get there very, very early to make sure we didn’t miss him
again.
The 2nd (and last) spectator spot was
about 7 miles from the finish line. When
Joe got there he said he was in rough shape; cramping big time, stung by a
dozen bees, shoes being suctioned into the muddy trail, etc. He still looked really strong, and I tried to
be optimistic – 7 miles is like running around the two closest lakes to our
house; he does it easy peasy all the time.
He continued running and we drove to the finish line.
When he crossed the finish line he looked great, he
did great! I was so thrilled for him. And you know what he said to me? …I know you wanted to do this. Next year I’ll
watch the kids so you can train, and I’ll run the race with you if you want to
run it.
I have no idea what races are in store for 2015, but I know Joe's who I want along side me.
26.2 miles of mountain behind him
Grandma, Papa & the kids on Lake Superior
They're getting so big!!! And there's a little on the way!!!
Max (6), Wren (3), Otto (4)...and Baby Brother due March 2015
* Christmas card illustrations designed by Bailey Sears www.BaileyTSears.com
* Christmas Tree Farm photos by Joe Dickie http://www.generationphotography.com
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