Hoco 2024

Sophomore homecoming. 

Prep at Gaby's, photos, more photos, dinner at Joesfina, an "appearance" at the dance, pizza & games at Zach's 'til 12:29am... then a slumber party back home.

Beautiful, as always, E!

James J. Hill Days

Look who E & company ran into at JJH Days...

Flag Football

Wayzata added girls flag football to it's youth association offering this year, and it's been a hit. Late night games, on the turf, with a DJ and small-roster teams. The kids are all smiles all night long.

If this basketball thing doesn't work out, Sawyer's showing promise as a WR/DB!

Cat Cafe

M & E date night-ed in New Hope's new "cat cafe"...

Scoot-Scoot

Nightly post-dinner "walks" are usually done on some form of wheels, leading or lagging the rest of us, and speaking their own goofy language...

Jr All-Star

Sawyer's crew went 2-0 on the day, and got some good face time with Lindsay Whalen.

Always cool to see school ball and AAU rivals as teammates at these things...

MN State Fair

Just L and G'pa Tom were able to make the Great MN Get-Together this year...

Sabbatical

My "sabbatical" decision has proven to be invaluable on all counts... except the financial one, of course... ;-) 

I focused effort on slowing down, personal development, "self-care", re-grounding in old habits that fell off, exploring new "systems", being more intentional... and making time for the small things that make a difference.

(In short, I highly recommend)

8 months in, it's time to begin "what's next"... which, for now, is to start my own consultancy, helping organizations big and small solve problems and ready for the future. 

(Stay tuned)

First Day of School

8th and TENTH!  One on her final middle school lap... one a freakin' HS sophomore!

(Three of our street's 21 kids are in pre-school/daycare, one is now in elementary school, seven in middle, five in HS, four in college... and one is out in the real world)

D: What was your favorite thing from this summer?
E: Probably going to Fairmont with my friends. 
S: Trout Lake. 

D: What about 10th/8th grade are you most excited for?
E: Oh! Getting my license! 
S: Like about the school year? 8th grade party with the llamas.

D: Are you nervous about anything?
E: No.
S: Nope. 

D: Who's your best friend?
E: Annika slash Harper.
S: Gracyn or Elizabeth. 

D: What's your favorite book?
E: I don’t like read books.
S: Good Girls Guide to Murder.

D: What's your favorite food? 
E: Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Does that count as food? 
S: Pizza from Punch. 

D:What's your favorite thing to play?
E: Basketball.
S: Basketball. 

D: What's your favorite thing about yourself?
E: I get good grades (knock on wood).  
S: That I’m so lit. I’m just like that. I’m smart and athletic.

D: What's one thing that you really want to do this year?
E: Well, like I wanna go to Fiji, but that’s not gonna happen so that’s not gonna count. 
S: Goat yoga. JK. I wanna go Australia, but I know we’re not doing that.

D: What do you want to be when you grow up?
E: No idea. I don't like this.
S: A nurse, or something.

BWCA

After a 30+ year hiatus, and many, many years of wanting to return... I finally got back to the Boundary Waters Canoe area. 

So worth the wait, and so will not wait that long before my next trip.

Here's the journey's journal...

Night 1: My buddy Andy, his buddy BJ... and his buddy David crashed at the Clearwater Lodge, pit-stopping at Tobie's, Trailfitters, Castle Danger and the Gunflint Tavern en route.

Day 2: Put in on Clearwater in 50 degree, rainy, windy weather. Paddled for 4 hours, and portaged about a mile mid-way, to an island site on the far side of West Pike Lake. Set up camp, hung the hammocks, and got the fire and food rolling. Caught bass, saw eagles, otters, loons. Gorgeous views. Bug-free. Sleep was rough with temp in the 30s, but survived. 

Day 3: Slow morning spent mostly warming up and game-planning. Threw knives, made breakfast burritos, and packed up for a day trip to Goeboek Lake to fish. Caught nothing, but napped on the beach, saw loons, "enjoyed" a hilly and rocky portage. 55-60F all day. Spectacular stars that evening. Could see every constellation and galaxy, it seemed. Heard wolves howling not far away.

Day 4: Colder night yet, but sleeping in my coat, with hat and gloves did the trick. Became a hot coffee fan the next morning. Headed back to Clearwater to find a new site and portage to Moose Lake. But, sites were taken and our group separated, so ran out of time. Tried to save time with an overloaded portage and nearly collapsed (not really, but, man... it was a grind). Swam/bathed in Clearwater Lake at the end. Cold, but amazing feeling and view. Fished, cooked, set-up the rest of camp and drank "Old Fashioned"s (whiskey, Crystal Light powder, dried fruit from our trail mix) fireside til late. Slept without a rain tarp or bug net that night. Just me and the stars.

Day 5: Leftovers for breakfast (PB on tortillas), packed and paddled back to the Lodge trolling for trout along the way (and got one 100 yards from landing!). Bar hopped our way home, eating a week's worth of calories of cravings (burgers, pizza, wings, oh my!) stopping at Voyager, Northern Waters and Black Bear.

Next time, reminding myself... bring fire-friendly pots & pans, more hearty fruit and veg, less clothes, less lures, a sleeping bad for the hammock and a bigger axe. And, hopefully, my girls!