Things I've learned since last Thursday

1. Brackett Park in Minneapolis may have become our new favorite park in the Metro. With a super-cool modern playground, a fenced in wading pool, clean bathrooms, a fair amount of shade, and even a skatepark Brackett is hard to beat. Follow the link and read about the rocket.

2. The most direct route to Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park from St. Paul according to the DNR map online is not the best route. Turns out many "County Roads" are, in fact, gravel roads... and those gravel roads lead to a bridge closed to automobiles about 1 mile from our destination.

3. Digging for fossils can be a very fun activity provided you avoid the Wild Parsnip and you don't fall down the cliff of loose limestone. Amazingly we avoided both and found one good fossil. Some other little girl found a nice sized cephalopod fossil. I was jealous. Q was more interested in getting back to the campsite to "make fire".

4. Bringing a pack of 6 Cheddar Brats for the two of us left me with a comfortable margin of error that the slight pitch of the cooking grate took full advantage of.

5. Avoiding horse poop on the shared hiking trails turned a 3 mile hike into a 5 mile hike.

6. Q is not a big fan of bats.

7. Watching hundreds of fireflies just outside the tent window with a three year old is awesome.

Happy belated 4th of July

Another Independence Day celebrated/survived at the lake without need of major medical intervention... though K8 and I damn near sunk the Hobie-Cat.

This one's for you Grandma Sally!

Hilton Head

All Paris Hilton Blowjob jokes aside, our family trip to Hilton Head for K8's firm's "Family Weekend" was a lot of fun. Not being golfers we would have never gone there on our own and will most likely not return. All the stuff the Marriott had set up for all of the children was amazing and Q had a blast. We stayed a few extra days to go to Charleston to visit some friends and to tour Savannah before flying home.

Highlights of the trip:
Q peeing on K8's leg on the beach.
Q peeing on the plants right in front of the beach towel booth.
Q peeing into the packed kiddie pool.
Q not peeing in his pants!
Pizza at Mellow Mushroom.
Two (tipsy) nighttime walks on the beach, just K8 and I.
County Road 17.
Wandering beautiful Charleston with our friends Bill, Ana, Will, and Izzy.
Shopping in ShopSCAD and Cherub in Savannah.
Eating two of the best damn cupcakes I've ever had.
The 70% of the time in the air that Ozzi wasn't screaming as though a confederate flag was being branded into his side.

Children's Book: Rome Antics by David Macaulay

Rome Antics by David Macaulay was my valentines gift from K8. She ordered it after we watched Macaulay's video on Ted.com. Once again, she managed to give me the most thoughtful gift I could imagine. K8 and I love Rome and look forward to bringing the boys there someday. Until then, Rome Antics can fill that void. I can't think of a better concept for a children's book tour of Rome than Macaulay's pigeon taking the scenic route. Flying over, through, and into many of Rome's greatest sights, the reader gets a beautifully illustrated pigeon's eye view of the eternal city.

London 2006

In the summer of 2006 we took Q to London for a week and loved it. Outside of the cost it was a great trip and we would love to go back again.

The highlights of the trip were:
The Princess Diana Memorial Playground. A must for anyone with kids. By far the coolest playground I have ever seen. Worth the tip by itself.

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Q and I getting kicked out of Westminster Abby. Long story and it's getting late so I'll have to tell that one some other time. I'll just leave you with the little montage of pictures from the trip I put together. Enjoy!