

100 parks
My wife a few years ago introduced me to the idea of 1000 hours outside . The concept in basic terms is making it an annual goal to spend...

A family tragedy
At the end of August tragedy struck the family on my father's side. My dad, 'Papa' to the kids, is in his mid 60s now. One of his younger...

Backslide and near despair
I've written twice this year already about our daughter. One of these detailed how she's becoming a handful, thinking she's a princess ...

Where we're supposed to be
We moved back to Minnesota in November 2021 and I was very conflicted at the time (see: Leaving home , Leaving home part II , and The...

Rapidly reading
Kindergarten, and 'real school,' is when most kids truly start learning to read. It's a crazy process to watch, and one that's certainly...

The stubborn princess
'She's SO cute!' Everywhere we go, our daughter, our youngest and kid #3, gets this response. The comments used to focus almost...

Getting older
In the past year I've started to feel old. Not elderly, or frail, to be clear, but I think there's a difference from not that long ago....

Starting an allowance
Our eldest is motivated to make money. Or, I guess I should say, he's motivated to spend money. We don't buy many extra toys, outside...

Potty training take 3 (or: ditching diapers)
On Friday we embarked on potty training round three, always a trial by fire, with our nearly two and a half year old little girl. For...

Before you've left them
Life doesn't ever slow down once you have kids, or at least it hasn't for us. In fact it seems to constantly be accelerating. While life...

When naps are gone
For boy #2 we're in a period of transitioning away from naps. Remember, this is the one I once named ' the baby tornado , ' an apt...

First real busy summer
Time flew the fastest this summer and I'm both kinda sad it's over and glad for it. Prior to this year we'd travel a little bit and...

Brain fog
I don't often get sick, and when I do it's not often all that bad or for all that long. Most of the time when I sense a bad headache or a...

Big travel and big emotions
Last week we were in Alaska again and, while it's always a good trip, it brings some challenges both physical and emotional. From MSP...

Accepting reality
As a kid I was relayed the old wives' tale that men inherit their hair from their maternal grandfather and, since mine was completely...

Learning about myself through my son
I'm sure I've said in the past how kid #1, our son, is basically my Mini-Me. It's not a reference to how he looks, it's that he generally...

I'm her person
The first year with a kid can be a challenge for a dad. It's hard to connect with a little baby like a mother does, we don't have the...

Cooking (mis)adventures
Not too long ago I was toying with writing a 'cooking as therapy' post. Over the last few years I've been taking over more and more of...

Re-learning how to eat
I haven't always been good about going to the doctor for routine, preventative visits, but I have made it in twice in the last two years....




















