tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23385917365313310052026-04-04T17:36:15.392-04:00Following the trail home to the mitten state where the lakes are great.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.comBlogger241125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-48844058994695004962021-01-03T16:55:00.006-05:002021-01-04T22:33:55.111-05:00

Happy 2021! I can't possibly say anything broad and meaningful about 2020 that hasn't already been said. The pandemic. The protests for justice. The election. A year for the history books, indeed. And yes, we are all exhausted.But it was also 365 days of our own small world - countless joys, inevitable challenges, the wonder of two small kids soaking up this life and two adults doing our best to

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-59111282434515165262019-12-28T13:12:00.001-05:002020-01-06T23:13:31.606-05:00

Happy New Year! Here's a link to the photo highlights of our eventful 2019 (the nutshell version). If you'd like the full tour of 2019, follow these links to the more detailed photo albums: Winter 2018-2019 We roadtrip to Georgia, play outside, prepare for a new baby, and Maya turns 5. Spring 2019   Lucia is born! Summer 2019 Camping, beach time, baby smiles,

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-35464854752638491912019-10-19T12:38:00.000-04:002019-12-28T12:39:59.892-05:00

Nick and Maya went on a two-week father-daughter adventure this fall to Switzerland. Nick's sister was stationed in Geneva for two months, and that was reason enough to choose this small, alpine country for a destination. They arrived with a train pass in hand and two convertible bike panniers that could also be worn as backpacks. They spent a couple nights in Geneva with Christina as they

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-5528333923258629442019-05-15T14:01:00.000-04:002019-12-21T14:03:28.947-05:00

Oh, poor neglected blog! I miss you. Although I'm not sure anyone reads blogs anymore, I still appreciate this form of chronicling the days, both momentous happenings and small details that would otherwise be forgotten. I've clearly veered toward only the most momentous in the past five years - births and deaths, mostly. Which brings me to something so momentous I surely can't NOT document it

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-68248599264947561542019-01-31T12:59:00.000-05:002019-12-28T13:01:45.099-05:00

We packed up Liza Jane, our camper van, and headed south on the day after Christmas to meet up with Nick's family for a holiday visit to Atlanta and Savannah, then meandered our way home via South and North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky. Find the photos here!

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-33082002440182296462018-12-30T23:11:00.000-05:002020-01-06T23:25:15.318-05:00

Blogging seems to have fallen by the wayside in 2018, but I do keep a fairly decent photo record over on Google photos, so if I take a picture of something we've been up to, it gets documented. If you're wondering what we've been up to, come peruse the albums!  Winter 2017-2018 Preparing the new camper van, maiden voyage roadtrip to New Orleans, snow fun, weekend at Burt Lake with

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-42467687042463905572017-11-13T22:45:00.002-05:002017-11-14T10:31:35.317-05:00

I turned 40 this year, after a decade marked by one momentous life change after another: long-distance move, house purchase, marriage, motherhood, transition away from full-time career, and all the accompanying shifts in identity. Through it all, there was one constant: Maisie, my ever-present and beloved golden retriever. This was the year I lost my loyal companion. We said

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-11062462704079075442017-10-28T22:53:00.000-04:002017-11-11T15:20:16.410-05:00

We are into the swing of our third school year. For Maya at age 3.5, it's both familiar and all new again. Same two mornings per week at the same school just a few blocks from our house. Same morning bike ride. But now she's moved from the toddler class up to the primary level. Her class includes ages 3-5, both preschoolers and kindergartners. She was apprehensive before school

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-43520340542025806622017-10-02T22:19:00.000-04:002017-10-22T12:16:39.721-04:00

All last summer, we searched every milkweed plant we saw for monarch caterpillars. We did the same this summer, for weeks. Maya became an expert at identifying milkweed from afar. I told her about raising monarchs when I was a kid: bringing them daily milkweed leaves, waiting for them to transform into butterflies, then setting them free. I wished for the same wondrous experience for her. But we

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-71960161753705433152017-04-04T12:53:00.000-04:002019-12-28T12:54:02.736-05:00

Maya is three! Here's a link to photos from her birthday celebration and the rest of her birthday month. She is full of joy and wonder, this one. We sure do love her!

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-82917702214365976002017-02-28T12:46:00.000-05:002019-12-28T12:47:26.151-05:00

While Papa was paragliding in Colombia, Mama and Maya took a trip to California. We flew into Los Angeles, spent time with my cousin Colby in Santa Monica, took the train north to Carmel Valley to see my aunt and uncle and cousin Tom and family, drove Tom and Deanne's vanagon to Mountain View and spent a night with them there, then rented a car and continued on to Oakland to see my college

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-4076753843186992462016-11-30T12:46:00.001-05:002016-11-30T12:49:51.132-05:00

In mid-September, we took a weekend trip to Midland. It's only about two hours away, but I'd never had occasion to visit before. Nick was attending the annual conference of the Michigan Arboricultural Society, so Maya and I tagged along. We took our bikes, which was a great way to get around. Maya and I spent a good part of the first day exploring Dow Gardens. I took so many pictures, and liked

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-70618901777192279332016-11-02T14:32:00.003-04:002016-11-30T12:03:01.879-05:00

At the beginning of September, Maya started her second year in the same toddler Montessori program she attended last year. It required much less adjustment (for her) and soul-searching (for me) this year, but it's still hard to believe she's old enough for school, let alone "back to school" already! With our routine for school mornings well established, we even managed a first-day-of-school

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-47146055136320912832016-11-02T14:26:00.000-04:002016-11-30T12:17:23.981-05:00

Oh, here we go again. I'm a full season behind, but let's see if I can catch up in a hurry. Here are some highlights of our summer, mostly starring our favorite small person who eats it all up with such relish. Our fruit-hound kicks off the season with some June watermelon. Oh, and she's even dressed to match! Did I mention she's a fruit-hound? Roadside-stand strawberries made a day of

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-48709309401869853442016-09-20T12:12:00.000-04:002018-04-19T16:27:44.304-04:00

A few months ago, I started hearing a phrase from Maya that made me smile. "Mama made it," she'd say, noticing an item of clothing as I helped her get dressed or pointing it out to others as we went about our day. Handknit sweater, Oliver+S Tea Party dress, Made by Rae Big Butt Baby Pants It's true, her Mama does love sewing for her, At this point, a good amount of her wardrobe is

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-15196309069341254912016-05-13T23:37:00.000-04:002017-10-02T22:54:29.143-04:00

  We said goodbye to Bella-dog on the last day of April. She was fifteen, perhaps sixteen, give or take. A long, long life for a Labrador retriever, at any rate, and a good one. I knew Bella only in her latter years, but she has been part of Maya's world always, and Nick's companion and sidekick since he was in high school. She traveled with him from Wisconsin to Maine to Kansas and

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-86038984053236713142016-05-12T14:34:00.000-04:002016-05-13T00:29:07.025-04:00

Our girl turned TWO!  (Yes, back at the beginning of March. Two is an age of constant distractions. For said two-year-old and her parents alike. It took a while to finish this post.) As you can perhaps deduce from the photos, she has ideas. Lots of them. Also opinions, requests, orders, and demands. She is full of curiosity and energy and words. She flashes the best grins

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-20701283652896408372016-03-23T14:40:00.000-04:002016-07-12T15:07:33.711-04:00

Back in mid-March, we spent a fun afternoon in the sugar bush with our friends Todd, Elizabeth, and Grayson. The sap was running well, and it was fun to introduce Maya to the idea of collecting something edible from inside the trees. She was eager to help make the rounds and collect sap from each of the sugar maples they had tapped. Grayson was a cheerful bucket-hauler, too.

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-72444315792142515642016-03-22T14:06:00.000-04:002016-07-12T23:22:05.524-04:00

For more than three decades, the family cottage at Burt Lake has been the scene of countless summertime gatherings of my immediate and extended relatives. We've spent some time there in the winter, too, but far more of our cottage days have been the barefoot, lake-splashing, mosquito-slapping, drape-yourself-over-a-lawnchair summer kind. So it was wild to spend a weekend there in February this

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-11784472153209841162015-11-16T15:25:00.003-05:002016-04-05T14:37:38.669-04:00

One morning in mid-October, we woke up in need of a spontaneous family adventure. Nick was worn out from many long days of work, I was worn out from lots of solo toddler time and many nights of interrupted sleep, and we felt disgruntled and disconnected. So we packed up the car for a day trip to Hartwick Pines State Park, an outing we've been talking about for years but had never managed to

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-27158357500484649732015-11-14T00:11:00.000-05:002017-10-02T22:58:02.892-04:00

A little owl flew in for a visit at our house on Halloween! We had a fun day, and Maya obligingly wore her owl ensemble and hooted upon request. Although Maya's bird obsession has been diluted a bit as she's developed the ability to talk about other things, she still does love her birdies and has been particularly keen on "owl birdies" of late. She was spotting them everywhere - in books

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-78054128882380580702015-11-11T12:51:00.002-05:002016-04-05T14:41:57.365-04:00

Here is a thing I'm learning about living with a toddler who is in the exploding-vocabulary phase: It's a bit like living in another country and learning a new language myself. Some of Maya's words are perfectly clear to anyone we meet. Others are less obvious, and some are frankly baffling. For the past few months, I've had so many Maya-isms stuffed into my head that sometimes I have to

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-17346372498884275312015-10-01T23:43:00.000-04:002017-10-28T23:31:57.313-04:00

I spotted this leaf on a walk with Maya the other day. The first of the fall color, still showing some of its summer green but shot with the brilliant orange of autumn. Waxing metaphorical while we snailed along at toddler pace, examining every acorn and stick and sidewalk crack, I started thinking about how I am in a between-place now in my own life. One season passing, another beginning,

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-49936711036581178812015-04-23T14:15:00.000-04:002015-06-01T14:02:50.593-04:00

As usual, I'm a little behind on chronicling the happenings around here, but this milestone needs marking. Somebody special celebrated her first birthday at the beginning of March. From such a tiny bundle...                             to this delightful lively girl, in just one year. Maya on her Birth Day

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338591736531331005.post-91205724962245378542015-04-04T23:04:00.000-04:002015-04-05T17:39:53.663-04:00

This is Redbird. I sewed Redbird for Maya from some wool felt as an eye-catching and easy-to-hold toy for her early days. (I've now sewn a whole flock of them, actually - they've been a go-to baby gift lately, so most of her baby buddies have one as well.) Redbird has been a steadfast companion. It was the first object Maya reached for when she discovered how to make her hands move, and it

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00230024700121865093noreply@blogger.com0