Summer 2022, Week 2

This week was all about making stuff— a genius base for our badminton net thanks to Opa, a lemonade stand, and coding small machines at camp.

Winding back July

Here’s what will hopefully be the second in three-part series of “round ups” this summer. (I hate publicly committing to future writing that may or may not happen but that’s my goal.) You can find June’s here.

July’s routine was all about work, workouts, kid drop-offs, and day camps. All good stuff. However, there were a couple special things highlighted below.

Getting Organized

Kicking off the month, we were visited by a professional organizer, y’all!

This angel of bins, labels, and “like with like" helped us rein in the growing chaos in the kids’ playroom and bedroom. The issue was that they weren’t fully using the toys and clothes they have because they couldn’t see or find anything but what was on the surface. More importantly (and who are we kidding?), the mess was stressing me out. So something had to change.

In a couple “before” pictures below, you can see how their stuff was stuffed. Everywhere.

Just when I hit a breaking point, I found out a friend and colleague helps people get organized on the side. And, she’s amazing at it. Here’s how she worked…

After some preliminary discussion and sharing of pictures and goals, we decided she would come to our house two days in a row. Day 1 would be dedicated to the purge. Day 2 was putting the stuff we were keeping into its new home- with all its friends.

She started with a very short, interactive “lesson” for the kids on how to think about using a space, the benefits of being able to find the stuff you want, and how to think about organizing it all. She had them at, “use this sharpie to write on the wall (on paper).” We then dove into the grouping, sorting, and purging. Some went to the trash, the rest to a curbside give-a-way with one big thrift store drop off.

On Day 2, we put it all back together. A couple of things that were great about this for me…

• Having another adult with both the process and the willingness to roll-up her sleeves was super helpful. She’s kind, not judge-y at all, and great with kids. These qualities were just a bonus. I loved the results so much I would have taken a surly grouch. Please direct message me if you’d like an introduction.

• It’s also helpful to have the time block set aside. This project was something I’d previously tried to tackle a bit at a time with no real progress.

• Having a couple of new things- some new rugs, pillows, a throw, and bins just made the end result all the more satisfying. More stuff!!!

Ahhhhh…..

Lighting Up the Neighborhood

We celebrated the 4th with friends and illegal fireworks. What’s considered tame just about everywhere else is off limits here in Falls Church. Taking a calculated risk, Brian and Linc hit up the stand in our neighboring county (.4 miles away). We then pooled our stuff with our friends for a decent show.

Opening Up Shop

Next up, Baya opened an Etsy shop called, The Brightest Night. She makes really lovely, beaded bracelets inspired by the dragons in her favorite book series, Wings of Fire. I’ve been so impressed with her diligence and craftsmanship. The shop is open for business. And be on the look out for a more formal launch soon!

Fixing Food & Friends

Of course, last but not least… we’ve spent lots of time cooking, baking, smoking meat (Brian), catching lightening bugs, playing soccer in the rain, floating at the pool, and just hanging out with friends. Bring it, August!

Our garden is thriving this year thanks to more planning and attention and doubling the depth of our beds. Thanks Mom and Dad!!!

Eat, Run, Play & Repeat

Whoever “they” are say most New Year’s Resolutions fall away after the second week in February. I’m beating that average.

One of my vaguer goals for 2021 was to write more on the blog. I’d decided to half-ass it even more than normal by posting bulleted lists with a couple of pictures. After all, the intent behind the blog is to provide evidence to my future self and kids that we did some stuff. This was my attempt to lower the bar basically to the ground. As a master listed, I figured this shouldn’t be too hard.

Well. I’m at exactly zero posts for January.

And that’s fine. Sort of.

These posts aren’t due to anyone else- which is precisely the problem. I deliver on anything with someone else expecting it on the other end. This is not that. So many of my ideas get stowed in a black hole of a bucket called “maybe someday.”

I rationalize not writing by reciting my wishful thinking that I should be able to write as fast as I can type (I would have crushed in the secretarial pool.) Because writing feels slow, it also feels indulgent- an emotion that’s hard to add to the pile of other stuff I already feel guilty about.

So here I am on a quiet, snowy morning. All the “have to dos” are pretty much done so, here I go restarting my resolution to write bullet-y, picture-y posts on the blog.

And what exactly did January 2021 look like ‘round here? I’ll say upfront that this is just the easy, light kid stuff. Streaming through the minds of all the adults involved were the politics and attacks on the Capitol, a hope-filled inauguration, and the ongoing mess of school reopening (or not, as is the case.)

We started with a big barn bang. We took a family horseback riding lesson at @TalbotRun in Mount Airy. It’s one a handful of activities that everyone enjoys equally. We left chatty, laughing, and smelling like horseshit. Joy, joy, joy.

We ate well. One of my goals for the year is to get the kids cooking more and expanding their tastes beyond syrup and anything in nugget form. My sister and her husband gave us a gift certificate to a super fancy restaurant in DC with this gorgeous winterized outdoor patio. The food was just amazing. Linc had a Sprite. Meanwhile, we sampled all the major meal delivery services- Home Chef, Blue Apron, and Hello Fresh. All were great. We have one more to try before deciding if we’ll keep this going.

Brian and I continued our training programs for the 50K trail ultra in March. Running and thinking about running now occupies the few brain cells leftover after kids, work, and what’s for dinner. Last week, I did my first marathon-distance training run—which just surprised me for reasons I might write down at some point. The key takeaway is that it feels good to do something you never thought you could or would—even if your legs feel like concrete pilings afterwards.

We celebrated Marin’s 10th birthday on January 24th. We were so fortunate to have use of a good friend’s spacious and comfy ski house at Deep Creek. Conditions were great. Like horseback riding, everyone loves skiing. This eliminates the need for Brian or me to cajole or bribe them into participating- so it’s more fun for all. The girls skied their first black diamond. Baya is an exceptional and fearless skier. What makes it (secretly) fun for us is seeing how much she enjoys being better than her siblings in this one sport.

And lastly- the hair ordeal of 2021. After several days of hot tubbing and hot shotting around the slopes, Baya developed a knot that felt (no kidding) like a dead squirrel attached to her head. It started below her right ear curved around her neck. After a lot of trying and tears, we took her to the Hair Cuttery. They were AMAZING- so patient and kind. What started as a job for one woman, turned into 3. They worked and worked on her for about an hour and finally were able to comb and cut most of it out. We all resolved to really, really this time be good about brushing and braiding each day. I see another trip back for a serious trim in our near future.

Anyway, that’s all for now. I hope to see me back here some time before 4th of July!

Alaska Day 7: "I promise to protect..."

We’re halfway through the trip. It feels both like we’ve seen so much and still have so much more.

Day 7 was all about protecting sea life, conservation, and the impacts of global warming. In the morning, we went to the Alaska SeaLife Center. It’s part aquarium, part interactive museum. It’s an active research center that was expanded in the 1990s with funding from the criminal settlement following the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. Their mission is to bring people in close contact with cutting-edge marine research. The kids loved this place. I was a bit surprised because it was inside (and, if I’m honest, required a lot of reading.)

In the afternoon, we went to Kenai Fjords National Park to hike the Exit Glacier. As you drive into the park, there are small signs with years on them—starting around 1815. You later learn these are markers for what used to be the end of the glacier. We all had a moment to reflect on global warming—and that I badgered everyone into overdressing. It was a gorgeous, sunshine-y day. Everyone shed a layer and we were off.

As we started, we had what’s becoming our standard conversation on what we’d do if we encountered a bear or a moose. The park is in impeccable condition. The very busy trail goes from paved, to packed gravel up to an overlook. We then went off the approved portion and did a longer rock scramble- with stretches that made my heart skip watching the kids pass through incredibly narrow ledges. Brian is supremely confident in their abilities and they follow his directions well- it just makes me nervous when we’re out that far and up so high.

That said, I’m really, really glad we did it. This was the only hike without frequent complaints. They just love climbing and scrambling over the rocks. We got much closer to the glacier and stopped for a water break. And in a completely unexpected turn of events, Marin pull out a top molar. Okay, then.

After safely making it back to the ranger station without any animal run-ins or falling off the face of the cliff, the kids all did the Junior Ranger booklet. Initially, Baya was the only one interested.

Once Linc and Marin saw her badge, they changed their minds. One by one, they then took their oath. “I promise to protect the park, our community, and the earth….”

Continuing our beer-tasting/brewery visit streak, we then went to the Seward Brewing Company where our sweet, sweet waitress was named Virginia. She had a map of the world tattooed on her leg—and made sure we noted that it wasn’t to scale. Got it.

The brewery is on a old, touristy strip of Seward. So, of course, they have an ice cream/fudge shop next door where we stopped before heading home for dinner.

After a recommendation from a client, we’re all hooked on the show Alone. We’re watching Season 6 where they’re in the Arctic (on the Canadian side.) Their struggles to find, snare, catch, hunt, and trap food are eye-opening. We’ve all agreed that if we were going on the show, we’d pack a case of granola bars as one of our 10 items. I’m sure this is against show rules but no one in this family will be skinning a mouse any time soon.

Things I want to remember:

• Watching Linc push through a bit of fear on the hike and successfully cross the narrow ledge.

• Hearing them all take their oath to protect the earth.

• The near-constant gymnastics practice and Baya holding her handstand for a couple of seconds.

• Marin stopping multiple times on the hike to notice the beautiful view—and saying it out loud.

• Brian and I sharing a stunned laugh after hearing how much it’ll cost to ship 65 pounds of frozen fish (our haul from Homer.) Woah. Fish fry at our place when we get back!

Alaska Day 1: The 28-hour birthday.

I learned noon is our best departure time. Kicking off Day 1, we had a low-stress morning with plenty of time for Brian and I to run, cram more into the suitcases, and cook every last perishable item in a completely random breakfast buffet. Eggs, string beans, watermelon, and cake anyone? But there wasn’t too much time for us to get completely annoyed with the incessant questioning on when we were leaving.

Day 1 of this trip was Baya’s 8th birthday. Facing two long flights and a time change, we started pitching the benefit of getting 4 extra hours of birthday early and often. She shrugged each time before eventually responding with a full-on eye roll. She perked up seeing a bird flying through the airport waiting area. Then everything changed when the AMAZING Delta crew wished her a happy birthday on the intercom. She got a round of applause from the other passengers and a snack pack with her favorite chips. Wow!

Backing up a bit…

When this opportunity first hatched, Brian took my rough clay of an idea and formed it into an awesome itinerary with, like, reservations and everything. Even with all the anxiety, I was REALLY looking forward to this trip.

Why?

I felt so lucky to squeeze this in before school starts. Like everyone, we’d been in the house for 5 months and needed a serious change of scenery.

Also, I was born in Alaska. We left before I had any memories of my own. My concept of this last frontier was formed by my parents’ stories and pictures over the years. I had none of my own and really wanted to go back.

And there’s the reality that traveling anywhere for any length of time is challenging with packing, dogs, kids, work, the house- all of it.

Of course, the biggest thing on our minds was Covid. Alaska has an exceptionally low infection rate and wants to keep it that way. The state has strict expectations for testing and quarantine. Before we left, we had one test 5 days out and another 3 days out and limited our contact leading up to the flight. Upon arrival, we completed a declaration form with details on how to reach us for contact tracing, if needed.

My heart skipped a bit as we came off the plane- part relief, part surprise that we were really here. Everything from there was so smooth. We met a welcoming crew from the public health office then had an easy luggage pick-up, car rental, drive-through McDonald’s for extra happy kids, and finally a gorgeous drive to our first hotel.

We made it! Phew!

Good morning! $1 lemonade!

Procurement, manufacturing, pricing, marketing, sales, and customer service are all part of any simple lemonade stand. It’s an enduring, practical, and charming way to introduce kids to the basic concepts of business- if your business is backed by an angel investor who can drive to Giant and reach the sink.

When I pitched the idea as one of the Summer “Learn to Try” challenges, the kids enthusiastically agreed. Looking back, I realize they had no idea what they were signing up for. They heard lemonade (and because I’m ultra-stingy with juice) reflexively shouted “YES!”

Part of the deal was to donate the money raised to A is for Africa. They wanted to do this piece because they hear Grandma and Opa talk about Africa and the school there. The kids were especially interested in funding school lunch because…all kids like lunch.

So, that was the goal with this week’s Summer “Learn to Try” Challenge: 
•    learn a bit about business and
•    fund raise for a good cause. 

To start, we reserved the space in front of the Falls Church Community Center. The Center staff offer this fantastic opportunity to any kid with a homemade product raising money for a nonprofit. This space is strategically important because it’s close to the Farmer’s Market. There’s way more foot traffic than we’d get in front of our house.

We then made a trip to Giant for the ingredients and came back home to make a sign.

There was a little social media marketing on Facebook, and our friends in the neighborhood helped spread the word. Our neighbor Nate even offered to help. Yippee! Set up on Saturday morning was simple. Then, we hit the first roadblock. 

The kids wanted nothing to do with the actual selling. Drinking the lemonade, playing with the cups, and dumping out the straws took precedence. They hung-out behind the pillars- partly out of shyness and partly out of distraction from the Farmer’s Market activity.

Then, two things happened to change their outlook.

They got their first customers- a family of five. These weren't just any old customer. They were super fun, enthusiastic, and encouraging. When the dad handed over the $5, Marin looked at it for a second before stuffing it into our Ziplock “register.” I actually think a saw something click. Marin later told me that the best part of the day was making the customers happy and getting the money. A win!

Then, their friend Nate arrived, and it became less of chore and more of a game. All of the kids moved out in front of the stand shouting, “Good morning. $1 lemonade!” Baya told me she was scared to speak up the first time but it got easier throughout the morning. Another win! Marketing and selling are most difficult in the beginning. Then, you realize that some people will buy, some won’t, and nothing bad will happen either way.

Nate also immediately improved our process and started pre-pouring cups so there’d be no delay for our next customers. Unfortunately, Linc drank these before anyone else arrived but it was a good idea.

Over the next hour and a half, we had a steady stream of totally awesome people come by- including many friends and neighbors. Each person was there for the kids (ours or theirs), not so much the lemonade. They were upbeat, encouraging, and genuinely interested in hearing about A is for Africa. It made me love our Little City that much more. 

They also pretended not to notice the chaos that ensued after simply saying, “one lemonade, please.” There was sloshing and spilling. Some of the shortest members of the staff might have even been screaming and crying, “It’s my turn!” Every. Single. Time.

Lemonade stand staff on a donut break.

In retrospect, I should have worked out our order fulfillment process to avoid the confusion about who’s turn it was to pour, dole out stickers, and take the money. I would have also mentioned that most people don’t care to have ice handled directly by the server's grubby, bare hands.

So, I’d say this was another successful week of our Summer “Learn to Try” challenge. The kids raised $86 and got dad to make it an even $100. That’s enough to fund lunch for 900 kids for a day—pretty incredible! I also believe some entrepreneurial seeds were planted, as well as, a small lesson in overcoming your fears.

The kids counting their earnings.

What’s up next? Come back next week to find out! 

The kids and I closing up our lemonade stand. Success!

I left my stomach back there

There are some things I think I’ve never done but can’t say for sure. It’s one of the nice things about having a crappy memory. Riding in the front car of a roller coaster was one. Either way, I knew the girls hadn’t because their roller coaster riding experience is much more recent and I’ve been there for every click, click, click along the way.

So, that’s why we picked this as one of our summer “learn to try” challenges. And, I’m happy to report- SUCCESS- at least for 2 of us.

Here’s what happened.

Dutch Wonderland was the second stop on our week-long family driving vacation, “Tour of Kid-Friendly Spots in the Mid-Atlantic.” (The Travel Channel will probably be covering this exotic locale in an upcoming show very soon.)

2017 is our fourth year going, and we’ve progressively tried more challenging rides each visit. If you’ve ever been there, you might be scratching your head. It’s a tiny, totally adorable, and retro park geared towards little, little kids. There isn’t much there anyone would consider really daring.

However, there is one roller coaster, and we were determined to sit in the front row. Marin, Baya, and I headed over while Brian and Linc tackled the toddler bulldozers.

Unfortunately, Baya was too short—even with her hair puffed up. The teenage ride operator was stern and said “no exceptions to the rule.” Bummer. So, we quickly worked out a scheme for Baya to stay behind on the other side of the gate. (Sugar-filled promises were made.)

One of the great things about Dutch Wonderland is that there are never any lines. So, getting the top spot only required waiting for one spin around the track. Then, we were in!

Little did we know we’d be “in” for a while.

Boarding the car, two Boy Scouts in tie-die got a little jumpy, and one dropped his water bottle on the track. Our rule-following operator wouldn’t reach down and just grab it. Instead, she radioed maintenance per the standard procedure outlined in the manual she’d apparently memorized.

To say maintenance was slow getting there is an understatement. I’m not sure exactly how long it took, but I was bolted down with one nervous kid watching another on the other side of the gate with tears welling up (or looking like a little wacky.)

I should note that a super nice mom volunteered to stay with her until Brian arrived. (He did moments later and took her off to another ride.)

We then waited and waited and waited. It seemed like a long time.

The maintenance guy finally arrived and removed the bottle in less than a second. He then informed the teenager that she’d ruined his day and walked off. Now, I felt bad for her... but quickly got over it when she yelled at me to put my phone away.  

Then, off we went! I only caught the first couple moments in this video so I'll just tell you. (Yes, I was afraid of getting in trouble with someone driving on a learner's permit.)

From the front car, the clicks are louder, the hills steeper, and the ride is faster. We screamed and laughed the whole way. Pulling back into the station, Marin said, “I think I left my stomach back there,”- precisely the feeling I was going for.

Hands up on the next ride!

Eat like it's 1947

We’re doing a summer “learn to try” challenge with our family. In the ten weeks between me saying “I can’t believe it’s over” school-year edition and “I can’t believe it’s over” summertime edition, we have one new activity planned. 

These mini-stretch goals are supposed to be fun. Brian and I want everyone in our house to learn a process for how to try new things. (The things themselves weren’t as important) 

That simple process is:

1. Prep- learn what you can via a book or video 
2. Plan- figure out the first couple of steps to take (OMG, I just wrote “determine your approach” as if I was writing one of my federal project proposals without even thinking-bleh), and
3. Do- then, like Nike, just do it. 

We’ve also done a little post-challenge analysis to talk about what worked and didn’t and what we’d do differently next time. My hope is that the kids get into the practice of seeing new things not as intimidating and impenetrable but just like everything else- something you can try by breaking it down into a couple of do-able steps.

This was a really long lead-in to the preview of what we’re doing this week. We’re eating whole foods for a week- nothing processed. Another way to think about it is, we’re eating like it’s 1947. 

This time 70 years ago, all four of our kid’s great grandmothers had young families. By the time it was all said and done a couple years later, Connie, Frances, Emily, and Jesse would together have 27 children. Among them was MaryAnne, Ricky, Lynda, and Jimmie. 

What were these little kids eating? Of course, a lot of whole, unprocessed foods. There are a couple of reasons for this: fewer processed foods existed, money was tight, and all four of them had strong beliefs about right and wrong. Food was just one. 

Pretending it’s the summer of 1947, here’s our meal plan for the week.

Week 3, Summer "Lean to Try" Challenge, Eat Whole Foods

The idea is to make everything from scratch. Okay, okay. Not everything. Instead, the question I'm asking myself is this: would the kids’ great grandmothers recognize this as food? 

With that rule of thumb, here are the exceptions:

• Tortillas. Forgetting the regional differences, Connie in San Diego would have definitely seen these before. I'm buying 'em.
• Pasta. It might not have been popular at the time in Alabama or California, but Emily in New Jersey would have had boxes of dried pasta in her pantry. Jesse, being first generation from Italy, was still be making pasta by hand. We’re going with Emily on this one.
• Other exceptions to the no processed food rule include flour, sugar, peanut butter, jelly, and condiments, of course. Yes, that last one might be cheating, but I want my kids to enjoy this and not completely revolt. If a little hetchup helps me accomplish that goal, it’s in.

You’ll notice it’s just dinners. Luckily, the kids are all in camp or daycare serving breakfast and lunch each day. One of the reasons we love these programs is that they already provide whole foods for each meal. We’ll likely do this challenge again once school starts. Marin brought her lunch each day and what I packed gradually deteriorated into a lunchbox filled with little packages over the course of the year ☹

In addition to these meals, we’re going to try three new recipes to replace foods we often buy packaged: breakfast sausage, bread, and cheddar crackers (particularly the aquatic-shaped variety.)

So, I’ll be thinking about Connie, Frances, Emily, and Jessie this week. From what I remember and what I’ve heard from our parents, these women had many things in common. Like so many of their peer group, they were resourceful, worked really, really hard, and made things special for their families every chance they got.

As we kick-off our Week 3 summer “learn to try” challenge, I’m imagining them sitting together- each with a new pair of these awesome shoes and a glass of iced tea- looking down laughing, critiquing, and cheering us on.