The Swarrell Life

Viva Espana!

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Sat, 06 Nov 2021 14:52:00 +0000

Sunday afternoon we landed in the Central Time Zone, having just been in Central European Time not that long before. We had just traveled for about 14 hours, but arrived only 8 hours after we started. It's a funny world that we live in.

10 days prior, we had traveled approximately 14 hours, arriving 21 hours after we started. Guess what else? I've already been through daylight savings. And in another week I'll experience it again. What the heck? Why is daylight savings different in Europe than in the United States? I recently heard that daylight savings was changed. Who gets to decide that? Who do they consult? But I digress.

We just returned from a fantastic trip to Spain! If this is as far as you read, the main takeaway is that, if you like to travel, southern Spain (Andalusia, or Andalucia) should be on your shortlist of places to visit!

For me, it's tied with Morocco as my favorite place to have traveled. The combination of culture and geography are just wonderful! This is the first of a short series to document our experience. My goal is for us as a family to be able to look back and for a moment be transported back to Spain. Hopefully you can come too!

I remember the first trip Autumn and I took together to Germany in 2005, gelato was always on the menu! In this case, we're in what has been called the prettiest town in Andalusia, a small whitewashed village built into the hillside overlooking the Mediterranean Sea called Frigiliana. This is about 15 minutes from where we were staying, a pleasant drive to break up the afternoon and see the surrounding countryside. I'll circle back later with more about our lodging.

Frigiliana is beautiful, but steep! The narrow streets were so fun to explore, so different than anywhere I've lived! That's probably part of the charm for me.

One of the places to visit is La Fuente Vieja, a somewhat underwhelming fountain in the hill above town. It's not grand, but the fact that it has been flowing for 500 years is certainly impressive!

Frigiliana is really about just being there, the attraction is the town itself and not any one site. It's small, so an afternoon is plenty to take it in and enjoy just one small part of Spain and its history.

We were still adjusting to the time change and the cultural shift in mealtimes, so we ended up having dinner in the plaza overlooking the canyons and sea. The kids entertained themselves at a local park and also with what would become their go to when waiting for dinner: rock, paper, scissors, pinch. You can imagine how that plays out! Surprisingly these sessions ended every time with very rosy cheeks and smiles!

Our dinner venue!

One of my favorite pictures of the kids from this trip!

That's it for now, next up is our first few days in Spain (of which Frigiliana was a part). Until then, here's a peek at that experience:

Beer > Chafing

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 03:45:00 +0000

I'd always seen people on this path beside highway 62 as it crosses the Minnesota River...Loud!

I remember a few years ago, I won a trip to New York City to see John Legend perform a short set in front of maybe 200 people. It was sponsored by Stella Artois and was some sort of stunt involving exploratory data sent back from space that incorporated the "sounds" of stars. Great performance, by the way! It was a whirlwind trip that lasted about 42 hours total. I'd never been, so we packed as much into our time as possible. In addition to the concert, we ended up as extras on Good Morning America in Times Square, got off the subway because of delays (a very New York thing to do, I'm told), had lunch in Greenwich Village, toured the Guggenheim Museum, walked through Central Park.

Our hotel room was paid for and it was a few blocks from Times Square. I remember riding the elevator down on the way to the event. Autumn and I rode down with two ladies and what still stands out in my mind is the bright pink high heels one of them was wearing. At the time I noticed them and Autumn and I may have even mentioned them in passing. At the pre-party we ended up connecting with the other contest winner and her friend, who ended up being the owner of those pink shoes!

We ended up spending the rest of the event with our new friends (who, for the record, had Twitter-stalked me to see who the other winner was). At the end of the event we ended up keeping the fun going and end up meeting new friends of friends and shutting down a night club in Brooklyn at 2am. I think our airport shuttle came at 3:45am, but we were able to squeeze in 20 minutes of sleep before coming back to the real world. Whew!

Why the ramble? Well, the kids went to camp this weekend and, just like that trip to NYC, we had about 40-something hours kid-free. How to make the most of our adult time? So many fun things to do! With some socializing on Friday, we decided that Saturday would be best spent just the two of us. Autumn suggested a longer bike ride, which I was all for!

One of the things we talk about since moving to Minnesota is making sure we do things here that are unique to the area, so that we make the most of our time here. We don't know what the future holds, and while we have no plans to move, we didn't plan on leaving Oregon either. You can see how that ended up.

First of many stops, first sweaty couple picture! One of us is sweatier than the other...

We opted to ride the Mississippi River Trail from the south end of Woodbury in to Minneapolis and then back. It was an ambitious goal to be sure. Autumn is only a couple of weeks past her 150 mile MS150 ride from Duluth to the Cities, so her fitness would be fine, but I've only been riding once or twice a week. Hmm, she'd take it easy on me, right?

She wouldn't leave me collapsed on the side of the road...would she?

But the chance to spend uninterrupted time with my wife is rare, so we ride! Ultimately, the ride itself that eventful. What eventful was all the fun things to see along the way. We stopped on bridges, overlooks, the Guthrie Theatre. we wandered through the University of Minnesota campus and ended up at Surly Brewing for a beer and pizza.

World's Longest Escalator?

At that point (about 30 miles in) I'll admit that a second beer, more pizza and a wheelchair accessible Uber were fully in play. But it didn't seem quite right to NOT finish the loop because of a little discomfort. So we saddled up and struck out for the second half of the ride.

Note: Beer > Chafing

There was a moment when I got a little grumpy, and that was when we headed south just past Saint Paul. The wind was blowing into our faces and I was chaffed, sweaty and frankly a bit of a whiny baby. My wife is a saint. Then we opted to hop a concrete barrier that very clearly indicated a closed trail. How bad could it be?

The trail really was damaged!

But we survived. Barely. Walking up and down stairs the next day was less fun than I remember. But what an adventure! We ended up riding about 52 miles, give or take. That's a pretty good day's work if you ask me! It was a nice reminder that we still know how to make the most of a day! Next time I think I might train a little first though...

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Sun, 26 Aug 2018 19:33:00 +0000

Oh where do I start? I think that I may have written a blog post within the past 12 months, but it has been erratic enough that I'd have to look and honestly, if I do that there is a good chance that, I'll end up distracted and and before you know it, no blog post. So I'm not even going to look. As I side note, I took a creative writing in the spring and one of the main criticisms of my writing is that it's too loose. I use too many words. Wait, where was I?

Maybe that's because the teacher is a poet she tends to focus on shorter pieces. What happens though, is that I tend to lose my literary voice when I do too much editing, mostly because I don't do it very often. So in order to sound like me when I write, it comes across more...conversational and less precise. So it goes.

But I like that idea and I think that my writing is just fine the way it is for this format. If I really want to do more with my writing, I'll have to refine my craft. But really this isn't the time or place for practicing that. I think that if I get better, it will trickle down and it'll be obvious...or maybe not.

Life for the Harrell family has been, in a word, busy! For the record, I did go back and look to see the last time I posted. It was in March. I guess that it's been 6 months. That's a life time with young kids. The funny part (mostly funny) is that winter wasn't even close to over, since it dumped over a foot of wet, heavy snow in mid April. We'd been shoveling the fluffy white stuff all season, but it wasn't until that last dump in April that I considered buying a snow blower. That stuff weighed a TON!

Speaking of weight, this boy needs some meat on his bones!

He knows the pose!

Handy, because if knew a tornado was coming, I'm pretty sure I'd need a bathroom...

To date, my biggest complaint about Minnesota is the lack of Adam's peanut butter. Fortunately I have an awesome wife who supports my habit. You'd be surprised how fast we go through this much peanut butter. Okay, you'd be surprised how fast I go through it.

I think I may mention the kids and how they can be a challenge, but really they're pretty awesome.

Dreaming of the day! #goaliegoals

Pregame hair session before the big performance! I am pretty sure that she is more excited about the rice crispy treat!

She was so excited for the spring show!

So that's a start. There's more to come, since I just went through April pictures. Now if I can just stay focused!

Too Much Information...and some advice from what I've learned

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 05:54:00 +0000

Hey Folks! I used to update this regularly. Not so much anymore. Since it's been so long since I've written here, I struggle with how to approach an update. Do I just update with the latest? Do I try to summarize since I last posted? It's a tough thing to figure out! Fortunately I have a fantastic wife who is always ready with an idea for me!

As many of you know, I am in residential real estate appraisal. It's not glamorous or extraordinarily exciting, but I enjoy the work and I get to see a lot of houses. I get to see a wide variety of houses. In varying condition. It's...interesting sometimes. So occasionally I will regale Autumn with an anecdote about my day to either a) impress her (nope, doesn't work), b) make her laugh (more success here) or c) gross her out (easy!). It's funny because she's in medicine and enjoys assisting in surgery. The cutting, sawing, drilling, scraping, sewing, twisting, wrenching and other various manipulations of the human body don't seem to bother her. But nasty houses do, and I've seen my share of those!

But back to my point: after I had told Autumn about today's latest appraisal tale, she said that it sounded like a good blog post. Side note: she's been trying to get me to blog for months. Since I haven't written in a while and this was as funny a story as I'd told in a while, I thought I'd give it a go. I have half a dozen half-written posts that will never see the light of day because I get a ways in and either lose interest or fall asleep on my keyboard, so the odds are against me actually finishing this. We'll see.

So here's my premise: I'll regale you with a few oddities observed in my daily appraisaling (no, not really a word, but it should be!) and thrown in a few observations about things I've learned since moving to Minnesota. I'll do that, you act interested, and we'll all go home happy! But where to start? Oh, I know. Here:

It never occurred to me that a person could say something as benign as "golf" and encounter something as horrifically different than expected as the scene you see above. Needless to say, it's a Minnesota thing.

Yes, I'm a material girl. Living in a material world.

For all the talk about how cold it is here, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to chill a pot of soup.

I will say this: we're all adjusting to our new life here in the upper midwest. But there's nothing like seeing a good friend once in a while!

And while we're on the subject of cold...okay we weren't, but we are now! Here's cold: when your cat won't put his paws on the cold concrete of the garage floor, instead eating from his bed. Cold!

Thing seen on the job, picture #1. I'm not sure who the four guys are that are around him, but I'm pretty sure I know the guy in the center. Well, I don't actually know him. You know what I meant! This was in someone's dining room. Admittedly this was around Halloween last year, but those pictures are framed and everything. I just hope they were seasonal.

Nothing significant here, just some cute antics to get your mind off of mass murderers.

Trin's funny about stuff, rarely really wanting anything specific. She likes all kinds of things, but she rarely fixates on it. It was different this year with the Barbie car. She spent her own money to buy it, which is not something she would usually do. Not earth shattering, but it was cute and notable.

Nothing say happy like little boys with big weapons. Smiles for days I tell ya!

Surprise! Didn't see that one coming did you?

One thing about living in a metro area: it's not as easy (or at least as appropriate) to stop and pee on the side of the road. In the middle of a fantastic snow storm, Teagan had a potty emergency. Good thing I knew where a park and ride was. Also, good thing no one was there!

Nice view huh?

And speaking of my awesome wife, thanks to her I got to demo a fat bike in the snow. Another activity that is very Minnesotan. Yeah, they're everywhere now, but they started here.

Something's fishy in this picture...

Something else is fishy. This is a bathroom of a house I went into recently. Yes, that's a bathroom. Yes, that's red shag carpet. Yes, it's on the walls. Yes, that is absolutely disgusting.

More cuteness to get the appraisaling picture out of your head.

We didn't really know we had family around here. But we do! This is the kids' great great uncle John. He passed away about week after this picture, which was at his 90th birthday. I'm so glad we were here to meet him!

I take bad pictures sometimes. Surprised? If this picture is any indicator, I am too!

Teagan has joined, with our blessing, the statewide cult of hockey. It's been really fun to watch him work hard and see results from it. Another benefit has been the coaching. It's hard to see in this picture, but Teagan has a glove off. That's because his coach always has the boys take they're glove off when they shake hands or high five their opponents. Respect and sportsmanship, good stuff!

Observation: This picture was taken at a local church just before a forum on race and culture, specifically about race and culture here in Minnesota. I'll admit that the snarky side of me thought about the irony of a bunch of white folks talking about race, but I'm so glad we have the opportunity to attend events like this, especially with the kids. Another tidbit is this: I might have been one of the only adults that didn't have gray hair. Okay I have a few, but you have to look closely. Throw kids into the mix and the Harrell's are bringing the average age in the room WAY down!

And now we come to the end, for now anyway. And as an appraiser, I am going to leave you with a piece of advice that I really want you to take to heart. Here it is:

If you ever have an appraisal done on your house for lending purposes, the appraiser will call ahead and schedule an appointment. There will be pleasantries exchanged, probably by phone, but occasionally via email. Sometimes while trying to set an appointment, you may or may not have specific reasons for needing the appointment delayed or set at a specific time or day. That's to be expected, so feel free to express that. You can also, if you wish, tell the appraiser why you need it at a certain time, or why you are available when you might not normally be. That's great, the more information the better.

After the appointment is set, the day will come that the appraiser knocks on your door. If you have a dog, we usually appreciate some effort on your part to keep the dog from interfering with our work. The usual way they might do that is to jump up, or bark or lick the appraiser. Not a big deal, but if it can be avoided, it's appreciated. Another is to make sure all rooms are accessible for viewing. That includes bedrooms, so if you have sleeping children, the appraiser will appreciate foreknowledge of this so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Personally I prefer morning appointments at 8 am, so during the summer, kids are often still sleeping and I have to work around it. No big deal, as a parent, I deal with snoring and drool all the time.

Another thing you can do is offer the appraiser a cup of coffee. He or she will likely refuse, but appreciate the gesture. We do like coffee, but we also like to get in and out in a timely manner. Coffee does not help in this regard. What does help though, is to have as much information as you can about your house that might not be obvious. If you've made some changes, let us know. It may not change anything in regards to the appraisal, but the more information, the better. We like details! But here's the thing: there are limits to even that. Let me explain.

There is a situation where details should not be revealed. For example, if you are home during the day on a Wednesday. Feel free to tell the appraiser that you are not normally home mid morning on a weekday, but because you just had surgery the previous week, you are still recovering. That's great, the appraiser will appreciate that your schedule is flexible. He or she will also likely extend a kind word in regards to a speedy recovery from your procedure. What a nice conversation you two are having. But it does become a slippery slope, so please restrain yourself.

For instance, if you happen to mention that you thought you would be back to work a couple of days ago, that's fine. But you don't have to mention that it's because you're still sore. You can, but it's really unnecessary and starts to cross the line in what has been up to now a cordial and professional interaction. Most appraisers enjoy, as I do, the occasional chit chat. It can help smooth out a potentially awkward interaction that involves a stranger walking through your house taking pictures. But please be careful. And do not, I repeat, DO NOT, under any circumstances, no matter how friendly the appraiser is, or how interested the appraiser seems to be in your post-op recovery soreness, go on to tell the appraiser than you just had hemorrhoid surgery. I'm telling you, it's just too much information.

I Love S'mores!

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Sat, 21 Oct 2017 17:29:00 +0000

I grew up camping with my family. Well, if you've ever seen a Datsun B210 hatchback, you'll know that it was more like backpacking than camping! We graduated to a Volkswagen bus with a pop top, which indeed was an upgrade, except when it came to speed...but that's another story. It was a huge upgrade in sleeping accommodations as well as cargo capacity. It changed the quality of camping in Western Washington, where rain, like tomorrow, it only a day away. I've backpacked on and off since I was 9, sometimes sleeping in a tube tent. Ever heard of that? The point is that I've been camping all my life, and while it's taken different forms.

over the years, there's always been one constant: s'mores. Whether we carried them on our backs or in the trunk, graham crackers, Hershey milk chocolate bars (in all of their bland glory) and jet-puffed sugar always found a way to our campsite. They still do, especially now that we have children of our own.

I'm sitting poolside (indoors because it's October in northern Minnesota) while the kids swim and play. It's a rough life and I can feel your sympathy from here, so I appreciate that. When we came up for a long weekend in August to the north shore of Lake Superior, the place we stayed was on the beach and had a campfire every night and offered s'more supplies at the front desk. Marshmallows and sticks were free, chocolate and graham crackers were one dollar. Three nights of sugary goodness kept the outdoors alive well past sunset. We're here in Duluth and while it's much less remote, the hotel still offers outdoor fires and s'mores for all of the guests. Love me some Minnesota!

We'd had some late nights with the kids this week, so I'll admit that I was somewhat reticent to let the kids have yet more sugar at 8:00 pm. But I rarely win when the vote is 3 to 1, so the kids get marshmallows and we put off rest one more day! I often say that I can sleep when I'm dead, but the reality is that I sleep more than I used to. But that too is another story. Where were we? O yes, s'mores.

It turns out that Autumn and I are very different people (surprise!) but one thing we both enjoy is the movie Hudson Hawk. It's a very cheesy movie with Bruce Willis that I hear he regrets making. But I enjoy the heck out of it and it turns out that my awesome wife also suffers from the same affliction. We refer to this as a neurotic lock, something in our brains that connect on a level that doesn't make sense to anyone else but us. What does this have to do with s'mores? Well, follow me down that path as I tell you that Autumn and I both grew up in households that didn't have stuff like marshmallows around the house, EXCEPT for s'mores and ONLY for camping. Needless to say, it made their deliciousness all that more memorable, in fact it would follow us into adulthood.

Autumn isn't much of a sweets person, but she will only rarely pass on a s'more. I'm a bit different in that I can pass on a s'more, but when I do have them, I wonder why I EVER pass on them. It's a bit more complicated than it needs to be really. So it goes. And still, I sit here next to the pool writing this, nursing a burnt lip, watching the kids swim and play. Yes, feel sorry for me. Please. Just kidding, I'm good. Except for the lip, it does hurt a bit.

As you read my rambling thoughts here you might see a few threads starting to emerge and you may see where this is all going. No, we're not going camping. We're not going to watch a movie either. But hang in there, we're almost done. Well, maybe. I'm never sure when these things are going to end. Maybe at s'mores? I hope so, I love them, almost as much as I love bacon. But that too is another story. The hotel here has bowls of graham crackers, chocolate bars and marshmallows. There are tables with long metal roasting sticks and everyone just helps themselves to supplies and heads to the patio where there are two gas-fired roasting fires to gather around.

As I mentioned before, it's October and getting cool at night, so gathering around a fire comes easy to folks and there's usually a couple of families out there well before the s'mores. After the kids went to bed, Autumn and I came down to make s'mores. Yep, a sugar date! We gathered supplies and proceeded to roast marshmallows. Now, for me it's important to avoid open flame when roasting anything, but a gas-fired roasting demands that you use the flame, not just hot coals. That means a learning curve because I have a harder time gauging heat. Also, I prefer my jet-puffed treats cooked to a nice brown color, heated all the way through so that they slide off the stick and onto its sweet bed of chocolate graham goodness without much ado. That's hard enough to do with coals, much less open flame.

I loaded my marshmallows onto the double roaster, since I like efficiency. I tentatively lowered my marshmallows over the flames and rotated them slowly. I really thought that I was being conservative, but was proven wrong when not one, but both marshmallows blackened and burst into flame. I quickly blew out the flames, but not before noticing that the longer roasting sticks make it hard to get the sticky treats close enough to extinguish the flames quickly.

A bit more wary now, I start the process again. This time, I lower the marshmallows at a excruciatingly slow pace. At least that's how it felt. I was wrong again. Maybe marshmallows ignite easier once they have burned. Maybe my eyesight simply isn't what it used to be. Maybe a rogue flame leaped out like an Olympic pole vaulter and embraced my already-charred treasure. Doesn't matter I suppose, because whatever the cause, one marshmallow burst into flame again. I suppose my roasting technique had improved slightly the second time around since only one caught fire, but what hadn't improved was my ability to navigate the long roasting stick.

Normally, I would have cut a roasting stick from a tree branch and whittled the end to a point. The stick is usually long enough to stay out of the blistering heat of the fire but still short enough to easily manipulate with one hand. The metal sticks so kindly provided by the hotel were a bit longer than I normally use and heavier since they were metal instead of wood. This, along with my haste to extinguish the flames conspired to land me in the aforementioned chair beside the aforementioned pool in the suffering state that I am whining so much about. How? Simply put, it's physics.

My haste meant greater velocity for the marshmallow. I wasn't used to the stick (excuse) and so I wasn't ready for said velocity. What does it all mean? Ultimately, it means that I flipped a flaming marshmallow at my face. It wouldn't have been so bad, except that I was already leaning into it so that I could blow out the flames. The good news is that the flames were already out by the time the marshmallow was to my face. The bad news is that a was-just-on-fire marshmallow collided with my lips. Did I mention how much I love s'mores?

Read this if you want, but it probably won't make sense...

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Fri, 21 Jul 2017 02:58:00 +0000

Trust me, this post makes way more sense to me tha to you. Maybe. Either way it will be like chasing a rabbit through a brier, minus the stickers. Well, minus the physical stings anyway.

We landed in Stillwater, Minnesota about a week and a half ago. Autumn flew out first, I drove out a week later and the kids flew out a couple of days after I did. We I drove in, the moving trailers (literally) met me at the door so I could sign for them. Oy! This would be the third time moving this particular set of boxes, so I was ready to be done! Update: I'm still not done moving many of these boxes, as many of them are still in the garage! This time we did hire some help and a couple of guys came and helped empty the trailers. Oy!

But enough about boxes, how about that elephant tied around Teagan's head? Silly kid is always up to something.

Yeah, safe to say that Teagan has a fan. No, this isn't Minnesota. This is one of the kids that Teagan used to go to daycare with. Rachel is about the sweetest little girl, just loves Teagan and Trinity!

Are you still with me? Yeah, it's a selfie with a cat. I think we were both a little punchy after driving for 12 hours and then not much sleep. At least the cat took a few, here it comes, CAT NAPS. Get it?

You only get so many years when they want to be close. Don't take them for granted!

We went and picked a bunch of blueberries the other day. Let me tell you, they don't grow like this back home! We picked 7 pounds and that was only one side of two bushes. Crazy berries!!!

Oh hey there Baker City! It's a Swiger-Harrell selfie on the way to breakfast. The Plymouth makes it classy!

Goofy picture with another group of our favorites on the 4th of July! We miss these faces and hope to see them again soon! Thanks Irvines for all the memories!

Wisconsin confuses me

I mainly took this picture to make my mother-in-law nervous. Sorry Lorna!

Mom said there was a frog in here!!!

This girl's been my main project partner for the last week. Her heart for helping is pretty stinkin' awesome!!!

That's really it, no real point other than to take you on a journey through my brain and our picture archives. But the show's over, so GO HOME!

It's Not Easy (Breaking Your Heart)

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 05:31:00 +0000

This post is certainly bittersweet, a term I find myself using quite a bit nowadays. Autumn has had a connection to and affinity for music over the past months as we have begun our journey from Baker to (now) Stillwater, Minnesota. We were talking not too long ago and she was talking about how she identifies certain songs with certain places that she stayed. She will hear songs and then make playlists for me or the kids. It's been fun and has provided a connection for us when we are not all together.

All of this leads to the title of this post. One of the songs on one of those playlists was a song called "It's Not Easy" and the chorus follows with the line "Breaking Your Heart". Of the half a dozen discs that have been cycling through our cd player in the car, that song, which I hadn't really latched on to previously, all of a sudden started standing out as I finalized our move from Bozeman.

The song itself as a metaphor for a stage in our journey breaks down quickly but it still speaks with a simplicity that seems to matter as I go about pulling up anchor and saying my goodbyes. And that's it: it's not easy saying goodbye. As Autumn, the kids and I say good by to friends and end relationships, at least in their current form, it's quite a process that hurts, no matter how excited we are about the future.

But it's not just about personal relationships, but groups and organizations that have taken us in and become an integral part of our lives. We went from place to place, at same time going about our routines but also saying our goodbyes. And man, it's not easy breaking my heart either. But it's not all sad, and maybe that's why it's not easy.

We visited the library, Trin's school, our apartment and we spent a few evenings with Mike, Melissa and Torben as we transitioned from our apartment and packed up the trailer. But that's not where it ends either. We then made the trek back to Baker to load up the bulk of our household goods to be shipped to Minnesota. Then it happens again; we start the same process of reuniting with friends and starting the process of leaving here too. And let me tell you it's not easy. But it's not easy because the people and groups are so great!

Here are a few pictures of people and places that make our life so great:

Melissa, Mike and Torben Knutson

This special group of educators has provided such a terrific environment for Trin!

Friends with puppies!

Melody has been such a great force in the kids' lives, so much more than a childcare provider. She has been and continues to be a huge influence on this entire community!

And then there's family! Obviously this is just part of ours!

The Big Announcement!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Mon, 22 May 2017 04:58:00 +0000

How do you talk about the awesome things that are coming without the talking about the the things that have shaped you? There's no easy way to do it. I think it becomes even harder when the place you come from has so much value. It does. Where you come from matters. The story changes though when there is a large difference between where you are coming from and where you are going to. But let me back up, because no story is simple..

For the purposes of this post, our story started in 2008 when we found out Autumn was pregnant. It continues later that year when Autumn went through an amazing process called child birth that many have gone through. I won't pretend it was any more special than any other birth, but it was very special to us! Having child is certainly one of the most memorable events that people go through and it was no different for us. Our beautiful little Trinity came and charmed us with her winning smile.

Fast forward nine more months and I am walking across the parking lot that separated my work from the hospital, wondering if I am going to outlive my child. I know it happens, but I don't know how a person recovers from that. As it turned out, on that Friday afternoon in late August, Trinity would not wake up properly from her nap. As the story goes, and it has been well documented here on this blog, it was then that Trinity would suffer an anoxic brain injury. What happened? God only knows, literally. But she would live through it, through six weeks of blindness (brain related, not eye related) and ultimately end up a healthy and happy little girl, full of sugar and spice and everything nice.

Fast forward six more years and, while she is still brimming with sugar and spice, learning and academics have begun to be a noticeable struggle. She is a hard worker and rarely complains, but it's obvious that school is beginning to move faster than she is able. She appears to be able to learn what is being taught, but often fails to retain it long term, meaning that she has to relearn things repeatedly. As parents we don't know what to do.

On a recommendation from a friend we enrolled Trin at a learning center in Portland for two months in the spring and summer of last year and it changed everything. Maybe it was the learning tools and techniques that she was being taught, maybe it was 20 hours of one on one instruction every week, maybe it was neither and maybe it was both. The cause is not what matters, but the changes did matter. All of a sudden Trin was just more aware. She was curious about things, she chatted about things, she was just a little bit, well, more. She was still our Trin and she wasn't suddenly able to put all of her struggles behind her, but something certainly was different. Ultimately I think that what this time gave us was hope that we could give Trinity the best opportunity to lead the fullest life possible.

Fast forward another year, give or take, and I am living with the kids in Bozeman. Autumn has been working her tail in both Minnesota and Montana, seeing what could be the best fit. The kids are both thriving in school and both have had great experiences with extracurricular activities and are starting to form valuable friendships. But we're struggling with Montana. Bozeman has been a great transition and gave us a peak into what is possible for Trinity. The big surprise is also how good it has been for Teagan! But still we struggle. I wanted to like Bozeman; I think that part of me even wanted Bozeman to be THE PLACE where we end up. And yet, we have struggled to see how that happens.

My running joke is that if Bend and Baker City had a baby, it would look a lot like Bozeman. It has flavors of both places. But I think that for me the problem lies in what it doesn't have that both of those other places do have: the lifestyle of Baker City and the Economy of Bend. It's growing fast, but jobs just have not kept pace with the overall cost of living. And then there's Minnesota.

You were waiting for this part, weren't you? You've been reading this monologue, hoping that somewhere, earlier rather than later, there is a snippet about where the heck we're going to be next year. And here it is: Minnesota. I could say Minneapolis, but we will not be in the city proper. We'll be a bit east of there. And then there's the why, which is actually really easy for me to write about.

First thing is that Minnesota as a state has a highly rated education system and I can already see that from the school visits and many conversations I have had with districts surrounding the city. The resources appear to be really good. This fact bodes well for both of our kids, which Autumn and I are extremely excited about.

The second attraction is jobs. The Mineapolis metro area has a solid economy with, you guessed it, jobs! Autumn has been working there for almost six months now and is very happy with her job there. I have been recently interviewing out there and guess what? I got a job! I have to be honest that it feels strange to have real employment after the last couple of years. It's not to say that I haven't enjoyed the real estate work that I have been doing, but I don't think I ever intended to try it full time. The hours just don't mesh with parenting very well and that's always been a focus. I admire those who pull this off!

The third piece is housing. Minneapolis has actual inventory to choose from! It's more expensive than Baker City, but pretty even (maybe even a bit lower priced per square foot) with Bozeman. It has been fun to look and check out what's possible there! In fact, we have an offer in on a house as we speak, Nothing final, but things are moving in the right direction.

Number four (and I'll admit this one surprised me a bit, although maybe it shouldn't have): Healthcare resources. Trin's teachers brought up the possibility of some visual processing issues and thought there was a chance she could benefit from some vision therapy. In the process of evaluation, we were connected to Ophthalmologist in Minnesota so that we could (if needed) continue any services that Trin might start here in Bozeman. Well, in the process of contacting these referred providers, we actually stumbled upon a pediatric brain injury program. I should really highlight, bold or capitalize that because I didn't even know that those existed! It means that Trin could go to one place and have access to just about any specialist related to brain injuries that you can think of. Comprehensive care! Autumn and I are pretty excited to think that there are people out there that have been dealing with brain injuries and can help guide through Trin's care. I can't tell you how excited we are to see what this can mean for Trin!

So that's really it. We're going to Minnesota. It feels really good to know that we'll be together as a family again in a couple of months. The best part for me, and I know Autumn feels similarly, is that this all happened in a manner that has been counter intuitive. Throughout this process Autumn and I have both done a lot of research. We've made a lot of phone calls. We have done a lot of praying. Heck, we've even spread our family halfway across the country. But what we haven't done is force things or try to make any one situation work.The hardest part has been not jumping the gun. I think that part is a bit easier for me than Autumn, with her being the A type of the two of us. But at times it has been hard to just sit and wait. But boy has it been worth it.

We've been getting questions about where we're going for the better part of a year now and I think that our path has been hard on many people in our lives. Let me tell you this: things just got a little more simple. The distance won't make things easier, but at least no one has to guess anymore. You're welcome!!!

Since we last spoke...

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Fri, 12 May 2017 04:28:00 +0000

Seems like it's been a while since we spoke. Well, it's been a while since I spoke. You could have been talking up a storm for all I know! I like storms! But I'm off track already. Here's a little of what's going on. There will be a more comprehensive update at some point, probably. For now you get a smattering of cuteness and vague references to what's actually going on in our lives. Enjoy!

Yep, second self-extracted tooth, this time at school!

When your eight year old gets your phone. There were 35 of these that I deleted.

Last week I was in Minnesota, where, among other things, I went for a run!

Also, I visited the 32nd floor of a very shiny building. Job interview. Result: inconclusive.

In Stillwater, Minnesota I was lucky enough to stumble across this little beauty!

Back to Bozeman: Spring has sprung and bike rides become the order of the day!

Teagan is playing soccer and t-ball. He always does a nice job of looking the part!

Autumn was back in town and we went for a hike, look at the wildlife I found!

Back in April (sooo long ago...two weeks?) we ran up a volcano...

Then wisely ran back down!

There were grandparent visits

There was beauty

Did I mention we went for a hike?

We went on a date!

Did I mention we went on a hike?

Teagan went for a run...

Did I mention we went on a hike?

I hope y'all are living it up!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid...and his wife and two children!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 06:30:00 +0000

I think that I read an article a while back about how kids just wish parents would stop posting pictures of them. Ha, sorry guys!

For those of you that don't know, March 20th was the first day of Spring. More importantly, Dairy Queen also gives out free ice cream cones all day. Win!

This is a small piece that I like to call "The Natural Progression of a Tired Child":

This first photo captures the dramatic display of pain and suffering...

...Followed by a cookie...

...And a picture with Mogul Mouse! Another parenting win? Possibly, although more out of luck and bribery than anything else!

The other tired child was way more into posing for a picture. She gets so excited to share her experiences! Go Trin!

Trin loves cats. The End...

Did I mention she loves cats? In contrast, Teagan had a light saber painted on his face...

...and had his picture taken with Princess Leia...

...and the thing he was most eager to share with his mom was how Wolverine was more Fierce than Hulk!

Also this weekend, Teagan had his first carving session. He wanted to sharpen the hockey stick he built out of wood, but we decided that learning on a stick was best. In case you're wondering, there were band aids involved. Funny story (but true): we went to bandage a small cut and I asked Teagan if he wanted a red band aid or one of his new Avengers' Band Aids. Surprise of the day: No, Avengers Band Aids are only for wounds NOT involving blood.

Sweetheart award: Trinity and Teagan both built boxes at the home show this weekend. Trinity really wanted to give it to our upstairs neighbor. The store don't have flowers yet, so we went with cacti instead. Trin potted them and gave them to Caroline upstairs...she loves to give!!!

Pump tracktime!!!

Faceplant time!!! Sometimes I feel bad for wanting to catch incidents such as this on film (so to speak). Actually I didn't even know that I had until after the incident. This was certainly one of the better wrecks Teagan has had. He had been popping wheelies off this bump without incident about 10 times in a row. Really what I was trying to capture was Trin and Teagan together. Either way, it was a good one!!!

He lost a bit of skin on that one, but showed some grit and was back out there without prompting about three minutes later. He even hit the same line again!!!

Of course Trin has never attacked the pump track like Teagan has, but she usually gives it a go. She tried a couple of runs and ended up with a minor wreck and a shin scrape. A few minutes later though, she showed me the site of the "incident" and then did a few laps on foot. Not long after she wanted to give it a go with me to assist at the top of the hump that had stymied her before. The first run I gave her a little boost, but the second I encouraged her to pedal harder. The great part was that, not only did she make it all on her own, she continued to ride for another 15-20 minutes!

I know these photos are fewer than they ought to be. Really though, this is what makes me such a lucky dude! Hint: NOT the beverage.

Pizza night!

Ski day!

Yep, occasionally we're all together!!!

Feeling that BC Love!

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 16:26:00 +0000

Hello Baker City!!! We swept into town late last week and have been feeling the Baker City love ever since. The reality of having left hit me harder this trip than any of the previous visits. Trinity and I left for Bozeman in September but have been back four times since. The first three visits we different I think because Teagan and Autumn were both still (mostly) living here. This fourth trip marks the first time we've all been back since Teagan came to Bozeman and Autumn started working in Minneapolis. It's been great to visit and see so many people in such a short time!

Getting lotsa love at the Young Life auction. I really appreciate how much the kids are loved!

Me and Charlie, just before I showed him how to play darts...

Another family that is so awesome!!!

Our kids have had the privilege of having some really great teachers!!!

Not just great teachers, great friends too!

Just like old times: the kids had lunch and recess at their old school. The were really treated like celebrities by their old classmates.

Love these smiles!

Usually we have trouble getting both kids to smile at the same time, but not this day!

More teacher love!

More friends at the park!

Ice cream all around!!!

Ah the memories...and a little heartache...

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Mon, 02 Jan 2017 06:51:00 +0000

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

For those that do not already know, Trinity have been living in Bozeman, Montana for the last three months. Trinity is attending a fantastic little school and we are getting settled in, except we have a problem. Half of our family is still in Oregon! Well, this holiday season has brought us one step closer to resolving that.

We traveled back to Baker City for Christmas and when the dust had settled, I drove back to Bozeman with TWO kids! Arguably this is bittersweet as we left behind a wife and mother that we all miss terribly. The good news on that front is that Autumn is also moving forward as well, starting a new job in Minneapolis this week. Like I said, bittersweet for sure.

But I didn't start this post to depress you or garner sympathy. We chose this path and are both content in the process. Sometimes the day to day stuff gets hard, but we expected that as well. No, this post is more about regular stuff. (No, not poop. That'd be gross!)

After Christmas was over, the kids and I left Boise and headed home. I have taken two routes on this journey; during the summer the route has been through West Yellowstone and during the winter months I have stuck to the freeways. Both routes take us through Idaho Falls. This time I had pulled off in Idaho Falls for an Eggnog Latte. I do not stop for coffee much anymore, gas station fare is the usual preference since it's much more efficient to fuel up, empty your bladder and quench one's thirst all in one stop (and gas station coffee is usually gross). But Autumn had reminded me that Eggnog is seasonal and that I should take advantage while I could. I married a sharp lady, I think I'll keep her!

We pulled off the freeway and I grabbed my cup of coffee. We were pulling out of the parking lot when I realized that we were right next to Walmart. Now, I understand that the previous sentence likely evoked a wide range of reactions that range from excited to disgusted (much like this years presidential election!), but for me the reaction was more like a flashback. I was transported momentarily (and thank goodness it was momentary because I was driving on ice and snow) to September 17th of last year (weird to think of 2016 as last year already) when Trin and I stopped at that exact Walmart, parked the pickup and trailer and slept in a Walmart parking lot. I know she won't remember much about it, but it was then that I realized that our family really was on an adventure!

The rest of the trip was excruciatingly long, but largely uneventful which is really nothing short of a miracle given that I, with our two kids, 6 and 8 years old, drove 590 miles over 11 hours through all kinds of weather. But it really wasn't too bad, just long. Really long. Wait, I said that already. Onward!

This last week we put the kids in a ski camp up a Bridger Bowl. It was a trial of sorts to see if they were ready for the youth ski league. Spoiler: they're not really ready this year. But that's not the point of all this. The point is that we went up there and I watched, essentially for the first time, my kids go ski with someone other than family or friends for an extended period of time. They were on their own. My heart does a little flip just thinking about it. I suppose that it was like seeing them ride the bus to school for the first time, only that was never that big a deal for me. This was and it surprised me. I watched them get in the lift line with the other littles and get on the big lift by themselves, snapped a couple of pictures with my phone and then turned to go. It was hard and not altogether comfortable. Maybe a growing up moment? Likely, but more for me than them!

Now, for your enjoyment (okay, mostly my enjoyment), here is a picture of Dad and Sue taking a selfie with one of two new smartphones (a first for them). Ah, if you could have heard the conversation! For everything else, there's Mastercard!

Also, it turns out that our apartment came with a built in climbing wall at no extra charge! I am particularly impressed a) that the helmet was his idea b) how badly he REALLY wants a piece of rope, which I know because he has only told me a BILLION TRILLION times, and c) with his idea to use chairs as both scaffold and landing pad. Ah, kids! And yes, that's a bungee cord hooked to a heat vent as well. Safety first!

Using Words

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Mon, 26 Dec 2016 06:15:00 +0000

So, I happen to think this is a funny picture.

But I really would rather talk about words today. Ha, thought you'd just get off easy with a few cute pictures didn't you? Well, you get that, but maybe a little more

It is amazing how simple things
bring so much jo

Words are really powerful. Even I, as a self-proclaimed wordsmith, do not appreciate the power of expressed language. As we travel our chosen path, both Autumn are discovering the power of the words that we use to talk to those around us as well as ourselves.

Scout is a trusty sleeping
companion

A post or two ago was titled "yes" and I still use that as a regular answer to questions about our journey. I also use it in response to our journey directly. It seems to me that so much of how our lives appears depends highly upon how we frame it. Autumn and I were talking about a book that she had listened to on her drive out to Minneapolis. I am not sure about who the author is but the gist of our discussion centered around the power that we have to define our narrative and even possibly our lives through the words that we tell ourselves. The illustration given is like a ticker that you might see on a news channel, flashing different stock prices across the bottom of the screen. The point is that you can't read them all at once, only one at a time. Life is like that a little, in that things are happening to us all the time and we can really only choose to attach meaning and influence to one thing at a time. Now, that's a bit black and white and the metaphor fails pretty quickly, but bear with me one moment. If the words "yes" and "no" flash across the screen, or maybe "happy" and "sad", you can't choose both at the same time. But we do choose one or the other. And the one that we choose then influences so much about how we feel.

First family photo in a while!

Take a load off!

How we feel influences what we say, but what we say also influences how we feel. Let me rephrase that. What we say is able to define the primary attitude we have. I don't for an instant believe that we only feel one thing at a time. My guess is that we go through life consciously and unconsciously deciding which emotions to act on. My guess is that positive people choose more consciously than the rest of us. I say that because for me it is so easy to choose the negative, particularly about myself. So where is this all going? The takeaway for me is that I need to choose the positive, because it is always there. I may not always see it and frankly it seems like sometimes I don't want to see it. But it's there. It's important because I am part of a family that is highly influenced by my moods and attitudes. So I need to be choosing yes.

Christmas Pinata!

Where would we be with out
grandparents?

It doesn't mean that I ignore hard or painful feelings. Instead it means that I acknowledge the reality of those things without giving them control over my attitude. Easier said than done. Maybe this post is more about preaching to myself. Maybe it's admission that what we're doing as a family is really hard but there is not only good in the goals that we have set but in the journey to achieve them.

We said goodbye to a lot of really awesome, generous, funny, sweet, loving and caring people over the last week. It was difficult to do but it was so apparent that the pain stems from the fact that we have some really great relationships with some really special people. So yes this is really hard and sad and uncomfortable. But it's also really great to share this journey with people that care about and love us, that we love and care about. Yes the end result is uncertain and could mean failure. But it's a path worth walking and we are going to meet some great people and have a grand adventure along the way!

Batter up!

Even when things are going bad,
there is always time to relax!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Transition Year

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 19:01:00 +0000

Cutest mother of the three little pigs EVER!

What the heck are we doing? Not sure if we can answer that question sometimes, so I'm open to suggestions! As things sit we are a family in two states, soon to be three. We knew going in that it would be an unusual year, but I don't know that we predicted this!

Hard to argue with that smile!

You'll forgive me if some of this sounds like a summary, because it is. There are two reasons for that. First it's to make sure that the actual plan is out there. We might be using the word "plan" a bit loosely as it is more of a direction with options than a set plan. The format of our transition looks (and sometimes feels) messy. I can only imagine what this can look like to someone not involved in the process. Sorry about all that! The second reason is much more selfish. Logistically speaking, it's just easier to put it out there in this format so that we (primarily Autumn at this point because I've been gone for three months now!) don't have to rehash the story over and over. It's not that we mind talking to people, but the reality of trying to tell the extended version to everyone individually is not logistically possible, even if we wanted to.

It sort of sounds coarse when I type that out, but the truth is always better and the truth is that I want as many people as possible to know what we're doing and why. What that does is allow for better conversations since everyone is more or less on the same page. I hope that makes sense.

The story up to now is this:

Ornaments on display!

Autumn and I have found two schools that we think make sense for Trinity. One is in Bozeman, Montana and the other is in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I probably didn't have to put the states in there, but I am bad a geography and I assume that I'm not the only one. So you're welcome! By the way, why couldn't any of the schools been somewhere warm? Seriously!

We visited both places (a third possibility in Wisconsin as well) and did not a small amount of research into jobs and housing as well. While Trin's education has taken the lead on this journey, the rest of us have to be there too. So why are we in two (maybe three) states again? For unification! Okay, maybe not. Don't worry though, I'm getting to that soon.

My girls, so beautiful!

Autumn has a great job in Baker. Jobs in Bozeman are not as great. Jobs in Minneapolis are almost as great. My friend Mike jokes about the "Bozeman Tax". You see, there are pretty decent jobs in Montana, but the vast majority are everywhere except Bozeman. There are lots of folks that seem to be moving here for the lifestyle, not the paycheck (or private elementary schools)! So it goes. It's more expensive to live in Bozeman (housing) than Minneapolis, but the jobs pay a lot less. I checked into employment at Montana State University and the same job I had at Blue Mountain Community College in Baker payed 30% more than the same job at the university here. Ouch.

Wait, where was I? Oh yeah, I'm in Bozeman. With Trinity. Autumn and Teagan, as of right now, are in Baker. No, that's not true. Teagan is in Baker right now. Autumn is on her way to Minneapolis for a conference by way of Bozeman. Update: Autumn is here in Bozeman and by Friday afternoon should be in North Dakota.

Miss Mel is so awesome!

So why all of kerfuffle? The long and short of it is that we don't know where the best fit is going to be. So in the meantime, Autumn has a great job waiting for her in Minneapolis early next year that will allow us to be together about half the time. That may not sound like much, but it's a step in the right direction! Are we going to stay in Bozeman beyond this school year? We don't know. Are we moving to Minneapolis? I don't know. That's what this year is all about: transition. So bear with us while we confuse everyone else!

In the meantime, enjoy these nuggets from Trinity's art walk and Holiday program at Cottonwood Day School here in Bozeman:

Best family picture in a while, well, partial family!

Before & After

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Sat, 12 Nov 2016 06:16:00 +0000

It is now November and Trin and I have been here almost two months. Crazy! It's certainly been an adventure, one that we won't forget. But more than that, there is a dreamlike quality to it, as if I am going to wake up back in Baker City. But no such thing will happen.

The first couple of weeks were spent living in our travel trailer and it became clear that winter would be a miserable experience with two young children. One thing led to another and we had decided on an apartment to rent. We'd been on and off Craiglist and the local classifieds for weeks but hadn't really committed to a budget or location. I had checked out elementary schools in hopes that would help me decide location (Teagan will be attending public school here, where enrollment is shaped by geography). With Autumn's help I contacted several people about places to stay and eventually set up times to see two different apartments.

The first was a basement apartment in a downtown neighborhood, the second was a condo on the western edge of town, both south of main street. I'd been using the library to work, so I had become partial to downtown and all the close amenities. It also feels a bit like downtown Baker City, which was also appealing. I visited the basement apartment first.

Note: I was going to go into a detailed description of the apartments. That was a week ago when I started this post. Surprise! I changed my mind! Haha! However, I will summarize!

It came down to this: one was a small, cramped apartment in a great neighborhood. The other was an open, light and airy condo with a garage and new hickory floors. One was twice the cost of the other. One was twice the adventure. Hmm...

I know you're holding your breath, just wondering which I chose. Actually I think you already know. If was to choose the comfy condo with lots of space, it really wouldn't make that great of a story, would it? So yeah, I chose the basement apartment, which has a ceiling height of 82" at it's highest. The floor isn't even flat, it has waves. But that's the one we now call home. Trin and I moved in on the first of October. We really didn't bring much with us initially since we were living in the travel trailer, so when we moved in, it was pretty sparse! Here is our living room, day 1:

A couple of weeks into the our first month in the apartment, we packed up and went back to Baker to get our household moved into storage. After we accomplished that (and what a week it was!) Trin and I returned to Bozeman with a U-haul trailer full of furniture. Good thing it was only a trailer, we just don't have that much room! Here's part of one room:

Then I spend a week spinning in circles, trying to get things organized. Then my wife visits and in one day makes it all better:

I'd like to say I had a point to all of this. Wait, I think I remember. Maybe it was this: things don't happen overnight (except when they do). Or maybe it's this: my wife is way better at organizing than me! Or maybe it's this: everything is in a state of transition, so don't get to worried if everything isn't perfect today. There's always tomorrow. Or maybe it's this: small apartments make for WAY better stories. Except for this one, this one wasn't better than anything.

To make up for the lame post. I have thrown in a few cute picture of my kids (you're welcome!)

YES

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Tue, 04 Oct 2016 05:35:00 +0000

Turns out Trin can use the camera...

Just to be clear, this is not a blog post. This is series of ramblings that have not been edited since I first typed them. that means that they're random. Oh yeah, they were written over the course of about two weeks, with little thought given to connecting any of them. But it's me, so they're connected...sort of. Consider yourself warned.

Yes

A lot has happened in the last two months, even by our standards. We’ve decided, researched, planned a move so that Trinity can have the best opportunities that we can provide. This has entailed a great deal of thought, discussion and work. Autumn and I have spent hours, days even, weighing the options and trying to figure out the best path for our family. And now that plan, that path, is unfolding. Time to walk the path.

Yes

Occasionally the weight of the decision that we have made threatens to weigh me down. Are we making the right decision? Now that we have made the decision, how to we choose from the available options? What if we choose wrong? Questions like these are always just around the corner, waiting to ambush me. But…

Yes

It's the hipster Teagan

August 21^st, 2009. I remember the day that Trinity was injured. I remember receiving the phone call at work. It was a friend of ours who worked with Autumn at the hospital. She said Trinity wouldn’t wake up properly from her nap. Then something about an ambulance and Autumn was on her way back to the hospital. I left the office and began to walk across the parking lot to the loading dock at the back of the hospital. It was a route I took frequently, usually as a shortcut to visit Autumn at work. I remember one thought in particular. It was this: a parent should never have to outlive their child.

Bike

Yes

Trinity was blind for almost six weeks. I recall coming home from the hospital in Boise. It felt a little like when we first brought Trin home when she was first born. We came home and I had that same feeling, like there was something I should be doing, something parental. But I had no idea what it was. The answer of course, was the same as it was when she was born: make sure she has food, sleeps and has a clean diaper. Side note: this is a highly subjective account, so please understand that I have a wonderful wife who is way a more capable person than I; when I use the singular, it is out of literary convenience and in no way reflects any lack on her part. In fact, she is largely responsible for keeping me grounded while also going through the same, very difficult, event.

Reading in the top bunk (crowded)

Yes

School has been a growing process. For Trinity and especially for me. It’s taken two year of preschool, kindergarten and first grade for me to pull my head out of my ass. Now I get it, how much help Trin needs. Now, I get how repetition, avoiding distraction and keeping her on task are vital. I mean, I understood it before, but now I get it. I thought that I spent the last four years advocating for her, but now I know how to advocate for her because I have seen techniques and environments that have really worked for Trin. Now we can really kick down some doors for her!

Yes

When in Rome...

The decision was made almost as soon as the need for decision presented itself. Autumn and I already talk about how easy of a decision it was. The consequences have not been insignificant. While most people have expressed support and encouragement along the way, there have been relationships that have strained as people distance themselves because they don’t agree. The painful part is that these are people I didn’t expect it from. I remember talking to a family friend who also has a child that has faced developmental challenges. She has told us numerous times how she admires us for pulling up the anchor and setting sail for uncharted waters. She has mentioned how having children with needs like this are different. Parenting them is different. I’ll agree and say that when a child is not developing like the majority of us do, it means that you can’t put it on cruise control and write off something as just another phase. There are “phases” that Trinity may have difficulty outgrowing without significant assistance. Her brain is different. She is different. It’s our job to notice and our job to do everything we can to mitigate the consequences of Trinity’s differences.

Awesome bugs!

Yes

One father, one daughter, one travel trailer and 600 miles. Now THAT is the recipe for an adventure! It is hard not being together with Autumn and Teagan though, no proper family adventure happens with us all split up! Between email and text though, Autumn and I have been able to keep in touch. It’s actually the one part of our communication that is still close to normal. Which is why evenings are probably the hardest, because that is one of the only times when we are all together as a family, having dinner and getting ready for bed. I suppose I will get used to it, but I hope I never do!

Built Ford tough...

Yes

I was reminded today why this is so important, what we are doing here. When I picked up Trin from her first day (first day BACK actually. She considers her first two test days as her first days. She was already here!), she is a little different. She’s not cranky. She’s more articulate. I remember picking her and Teagan up from school previously and all the tears on the ride home. I am sure that having Teagan there and feeling like she has to fight for what she wants also plays a part, but she’s just, well, more with it. Keep in mind that there have been big changes the last two days, driving 600 miles, camping in the trailer with no power, landing in a strange place. All that and she still comes away way more…functinal. At least so far. If this whole effort results in just a little change for the better, it will have been worth it. Wait. No. The act alone of trying something is and always will be worth it.

Yes

Morning yoga for Trin!

Time matters. I remember when Autumn and Trinity went to Portland. That first week was certainly a question mark in my mind. The whole thing was a gamble. $116 per hour is a gamble for ANYONE. But two or three days into the process, we noticed that something changed. It was as if, somewhere in the process of going to the learning center, a door had been opened a little bit. It’s not like it’s a flood and she is now just like all her peers. I’m not so delusional to think that will ever happen, and to be honest I hope it doesn’t ever happen. I don’t want my daughter to be anything other than who she is. This process is about giving her as many opportunities as possible to be and become the most awesome and best version of herself. That’s all I would hope for her, for anyone actually. I hope the same for Teagan. I can’t wait to see who he becomes and I want him to have all the opportunities in the world to do that.

Yep, Montana has Costo!

Yes

Here we are in Bozeman, about halfway through week two. So far so good, Trinity is a trooper for sure, she is likely adapting better than I am. Between tying up work stuff from Oregon, trying to figure out housing and single parenting, I think I may have spent a little too much time within myself. I need to start exploring Bozeman for me as well, not just for Trin.

Yes

Ham and cheese!

Trin’s school is pretty awesome, it has been fun getting to meet and know the teachers, students and fellow parents. It’s a small school, so I can see that it can become very much like a family there. I love that. We move into our new apartment this weekend, which will be nice since the weather is starting to turn and it won’t be as fun for Trin to play with her dolls outside. It sure is beautiful here! One great thing has been to have friends here to spend time with occasionally. I think that it’s been a saving grace for me to have a familiar adult to talk to face to face. It can be so easy to feel all alone here, even though we are not.

Sweet boy

Yes

Working on getting Teagan enrolled in school. Turns out it’s pretty crowded here. The preferred school is full, but not as full as others. We’ll see. The preferred one is just a few blocks from the apartment, so there’s that. The other one will be fine I am sure, but…

Hoping the houses close soon, so we can stop paying for three dwellings. That and I think it will be a huge relief for Autumn, who has been burdened with the ugly job of packing up the house now that I am gone. But so much is going right.

Outside Wins!

Yes

Trin and I settled into an apartment. Didn't realize how much of a home body I am. I guess I knew, but it's nice to have four real walls. Weird. Trailer life was pretty cool, but a full size kitchen sink is AWESOME!

Yes

Tested out a couple of churches with Trin. The first we both agreed was not our new church. Yesterday we visited another and both agreed that it was our new church. Funny thing is how opinionated she was on the topic. If she has been good with the first place we went, I would have stayed, but she was clear that she didn't want to go back. The opposite was true here, that she really did want to go back. Me too. That was nice.

Yes

He wakes up like me

First couple of days in the apartment have been pretty good, it's a process to get settled in, even though everything here came from the travel trailer. So yeah, lawn chairs in the living room. The landlord is a recent widow with two teenage boys. Easy to see it's been rough for her. To add to the weight, she's from Germany and her physical therapy education and training doesn't count here. Makes me remember how lucky I am to have a complete family.

Yes

I was pissed last week. I wasn't getting the reaction that I wanted. I let it get to me, let someone else's opinion really get to me. I think that's because it's an opinion that means a lot to me. Sunday I heard something that stuck with me and the gist was this: if I am too focused on what I don't have (that I want), then I will miss all that things in my life that I have to be grateful for. Gratitude over greed.

Yes

Have fun!

Bozeman Bound!

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 18:24:00 +0000

Hard to watch, hard to look away. Hard day for mom!

Day One

My boy

Saying goodbye to family and loved ones is never easy. Saying yes to an unknown future can also be a hard thing to do. And that’s exactly what Trinity and I did at 7:30am on Saturday, September 17^th, 2016. I hugged and kissed my wife and son goodbye. Trinity hugged and kissed her mom and brother goodbye. Then she and I set out into the unknown. These were not insignificant things. On the flip side though, it was the beginning of an adventure for the whole family!

I will spare you the minutiae and just say that day one was a long day in the saddle. We pulled out of Baker at 7:30am only to swing around the block because I forgot the towing mirrors for the pickup. Whoops! Then, at 7:33am we pulled away from the house again. Then at 7:35am we stopped for gas. Wait, I was summarizing, wasn’t I?

Room with a View!

We ended up pulling into our resting spot for the day around 8:00pm (Mountain Standard Time, so really it was 7:00pm local). That’s a long day. It didn’t help that I was fighting a cold (yes, a fully over-exaggerated case of the man-flu if you must know!) so I pulled into our spot in Idaho Falls, made up the beds and hit the sack, just 423 miles into our trip.

Day Two

Yep, still at Walmart!

Day two started out just fine. I got up and made some coffee in the stove top espresso maker (fancy!) and Trin and I scrounged up a quick breakfast from all the goodies that Autumn had packed for us. I opened the curtains to find that most of our overnight neighbors had already hit the road. Just a few slowpokes left to occupy an entire Walmart parking lot. Yep, Trin and I joined the many cheapskates that choose to save a few bucks by parking in the far reaches of a Walmart parking lot because they let you do that for free. Hey, I said it was an adventure, right?

Sorry!

After coffee, breakfast and a (not-so) quick game of SORRY! (I won, in case you were wondering. I was a very close game though!) we hit the road. I will take a moment hear to give a big shout out to a) my wife for packing enough snacks and food to get us through two days with just a cooler and some ice. Did I mention that the trailer had no electricity? and b) my daughter for putting with a sniffling and sniveling day for two long days of travel. She did awesome. The women in my life are saints, all of them.

I mustache you a question...

Midafternoon we rolled into Bozeman, Montana, our home for the time being. We pulled into the RV park (a real one this time, not a parking lot) and got a little more settled. Crazy that Trinity would start school the next day!

More to follow!

The Most Obvious Things Are Not Always the Right Things!

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 04:51:00 +0000

Let me start by saying that we have had a busy spring and summer. Really busy spring and summer. As I sit here typing this, our brand new car just went in for its second service appointment at the dealership because we hit 10,000 miles in less than three months. That’s a lot of driving! However, before I proceed to bore you with a mile-by-mile recap, let’s back up a bit and give you a bit of background. Warning: THIS IS A REALLY LONG READ!

The Bravest Little Girl I Know!

Autumn and I have a seven-year-old daughter, Trinity. When she was nine months old she received a brain injury. She was in intensive care for about two weeks, during which time she had seizures and ended up blind for about six weeks. After exhaustive testing it is still unknown what exactly happened. The short version is that somehow her brain was deprived of oxygen and/or blood flow for too long. She has fairly significant scarring in her brain, mostly in the back part. No I don’t know the medical term for that area. I could Google it but haven’t. The good part of all this is that, except for the brain injury itself, she’s a very healthy little girl with dozens of tests to prove it! Many of you already knew this, many of you didn’t. I don’t mention this to draw attention to the event itself. I bring it up because it has (eventually and rather circuitously) led us to where we are today, which is looking to relocate our family.

The reason that we are looking to relocate is simple: Trinity, thanks to her past, learns differently than most people. She needs, more than anyone else I know, to have an education that is very specific to her needs. As parents, Autumn and I are fairly certain that this level of attention simply isn’t available in a public school setting. If we thought that there was a chance of that, we probably wouldn’t be looking to relocate. The fact is that we have been very happy with all of the teachers, aides, administrators, therapists and paraprofessionals that have been involved, whether it be directly or indirectly, in Trinity’s educational path. Haines Elementary and Baker School District faculty and staff have worked tirelessly to give Trinity the best education possible; that has been clear over the past years. But still Trinity has struggled in school.

This summer Trinity spent eight weeks in Portland at a learning center. She worked with instructors one on one for four hours a day, five days a week. But the crazy thing is that we noticed a difference within two or three days. Autumn was over there with Trin for the first week and mentioned how something was different about her. I started noticing it as well, even over the phone. She started speaking with more sophistication. She started asking follow-up questions. She read road signs. She wanted to know what they meant. All of these things were not really happening prior to Portland. It was as if this system that was being used at the learning center had opened a door in her mind, or flipped on a breaker that had been switched off long ago. Let me be clear, she’s still the same girl. She isn’t all better now. But we have hope that there is a path to follow and its end is undetermined. As Trinity’s parents, that has been an amazing gift to receive. But with that gift came a very serious question: what next?

About two weeks before the end of the Portland trip, we were talking with the folks at the learning center about next steps after we returned home. They had mapped out a plan for follow up in hopes of maintaining the tools that Trinity was now in possession of. But there’s a hitch here: the help that Trin was receiving wasn’t coming for free. Quite the opposite in fact. Let’s just say the well would run dry quickly if we were to continue in Portland too much longer. In fact, the cost of the follow up work, which was a fraction of the cost of the in person instruction, would pay for a very healthy private education. Which is exactly what we are looking to do.

We (mostly Autumn) have searched all over the country to find schools that might work for Trinity, that might give her the education and environment that will enable her to be as successful as she can be, to become the best and most capable Trinity possible. We have spoken with many schools all over the country and have learned a great deal about schools that specialize in teaching kids with learning differences. Even within this community there are many different types of schools and many of them are specific about the kinds of learning differences they are focusing on with their school. What we discovered is that kids with brain injuries fall outside of the parameters of many of these schools. Yes, each child with an autism spectrum disorder is unique, but the autism spectrum is a known quantity. Not so with brain injuries, since each one is caused by a specific (and different) event with a million different possible set of consequences. All that means, however, is that there are less schools out there than we thought. But in a way, that’s a good thing because we only have a few choices. Which brings us up to the present day, sort of.

There are other factors that have influenced our search as well. In the search for schools, we have found some of them that cost up to $60,000 per year. That’s simply out of our price range, no matter how good the school is. So that narrowed the search. Also, our family has four people in it, not just one. Sure Trinity is the main reason we are looking to relocate, but the move really has to work for the entire family. That means making sure that we are giving Teagan as good an education as possible also. Fortunately, his needs are not as specialized, but we recognize that he also needs opportunities to excel and explore. Of course job(s) play a big part as well, as does cost of living, etc. Which is why we were in Minneapolis, MN and Madison, WI over the weekend. Autumn and I visited three schools over there to see if they might be a good fit for Trin. The week before last we went to Bozeman, Montana for the same reason. Lucky for us, all three locations offer opportunities that could work for our family! And that folks, is where we are. Well, we’re still technically here in Baker City. For now.

Sadly, the decision has been made. Our family will be relocating to (insert location here) on (insert date here). Honestly though, we really don’t know which of the three locations we will choose or when we will be moving. It is bittersweet for us. Autumn and I love living in Baker and up until a few weeks ago had never thought about leaving at all. I thought we would retire here and live out our days picking mushrooms and huckleberries. And although that may happen someday, it will not be anytime soon. Even typing those words hurt. I think that I have already started to grieve the loss of Baker, at least for myself. But it goes deeper than that. Autumn talks a lot about the dreams that she had for the kids here, for our neighborhood. That all has to change now and it’s going to hurt. It does hurt.

As I talk about this to more and more people, I realize how many ties our family has to this town, to this community. If you’re reading this then we’re tied to you and that bond will stretch as we leave. Many ties will not just stretch, they will break. It’s a natural consequence of what we’re going through and it won’t be easy. But I know that those bonds have and will strengthen us and for that we are so grateful. I know I’m getting sappy and rambling a bit now. So it goes.

The title of this post has a little story behind it. Autumn and I were at the Minneapolis airport, waiting for our flight. Autumn was approached by an elderly lady who asked if maybe we knew the airport better than she did. Autumn answered no, but that she would help if she could. The lady was looking for a particular terminal and Autumn thought maybe it was to the right, because it looked as if the terminal ended to the left. The lady thanked her but also mentioned that she would ask a gate attendant, which she proceeded to do. A couple of minutes later, she came back over to us. She was smiling and said, “You know, the most obvious things are not always the right things!” and proceeded to tell us that the terminal she was looking for was indeed the opposite way we had thought. The lady hobbled off, telling us to have a wonderful life. I have to say that it was a peculiar experience.

After the lady walked off, Autumn and I looked at each other and laughed a little. What if God was speaking through this old lady, giving us a priceless piece of advice in the midst of such a monumental decision. Then we laughed again because none of the choices in the path before us was obvious. I think we were just hoping for a little help, for a little clarity. No such luck. So it goes.

So there you have it, the latest and greatest from the pages of the Swarrell Life. I’ll let you know if anything becomes obvious.

The Wrong Idea

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 05:24:00 +0000

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this post is worth five thousand words. Believe that? Me either. But in keeping with tradition, I do have a few words to add.

Pictures are great! Pictures are awesome! Pictures are deceptive. Pictures never ever ever tell the whole story. That's why, although pictures do contain an intrinsic narrative, they usually need some actual words to go along with them so that someone does not get the wrong idea. So that's what I am going to do; I am going to explain the photos. Wow, that sounds really boring. I'm actually amazed your still reading this. That was so boring I just fell asleep typing it. Snore.

WAKE UP!!!

Okay, now that I have your full and undivided attention (actually I am fully aware that you just tweeted six times in the time it took me to type that last sentence. I get it.), Let's take a look at a couple of photos. As background, let me start with the fact that our family has been skiing together for a couple of years now. This is Trinity's fourth and Teagan's second ski season. It is a waiting game for sure, a process that will test the patience of even the most laid back person in the world. But the kids are coming around, one chairlift ride at a time. Now, on to the photos!

Picture #1: Teagan

Picture #2: Trinity

Before you read on, please think about these two images. Compare them. Contrast them. See what I mean? You have NO IDEA what these pictures are about. Okay, yes. They're about my kids skiing. You got me there. But did you know, for instance, that picture #1 is Teagan in the meadow below the lodge at our local mountain (Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort) after a pretty successful run? Did you know that picture #2 is of Trinity right in the middle of a run, about halfway down the mountain? Ha! I thought not.

But here's the thing, unless you have been following me on social media, you would likely have the wrong idea. A child at the end of a successful run is likely to be happy. A child sitting in the snow smack dab in the middle of a run is likely to be frustrated. That's where you'd be dead wrong. It is interesting though (and maybe only to me) that they both have the same body position and posture, making it very hard to tell what the heck is going on.

In fact, Teagan made a pretty successful run down the mountain, with minimal crashing and not much assistance from me, only to unravel once the run was complete. He refused to move. He refused to get up. He refused to ask for help. It was a 10 minute standoff (with an audience I might add, we were in full view of the lodge. Thanks kid.) that ended with me taking his skis and walking back to the lodge alone, leaving him to make his own way into the warm lodge.

It all had started out so well...

On the flip side Trinity was skiing a harder run through powder, dodging small trees and the like. She was whooping and hollering most of the way. Picture #2 is actually her just taking a break because her legs were tired from skiing the "pow-pow". She was happy as a clam!

Some tracks are deeper than others...and more fun!

So there you have it, a good lesson about leaving too much unsaid. Come to think of it, I should apply that lesson to my marriage. Wait, that is DEFINITELY for another time. Mind your own business! Wait, I digress. Talk about your photos. Don't make me guess. I'm a horrible guesser with a vivid imagination. Bad combination to be sure. Just for fun though, I'll leave you with one more picture:

Yes, that's my wife shoveling snow in her running shorts. Yes, it was really cold. Yes, I took the photowhile sitting inside the warm house in my pajamas drinking what is likely my third cup of coffee. Don't judge though, I've never been much of a morning person...and she volunteered!

The Death of a Mermaid

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 04:25:00 +0000

Let's call this post mortem, for several reasons. The first is because, well, the mermaid died. At the hand of my wife. I'll remind you that she does know how to cut bodies open, and does so regularly. So yeah, professional operations happen here at our house. The second reason for the post mortem is so that we can all learn from this experience and be better prepared moving forward. Take notes.

Exhibit A: Young female, seven years of age. Mermaid amputee, age unknown. Both seem happy (although how either can be smiling considering the location of one right-hand index finger, I have no idea). Don't worry, it gets worse, much worse. As the story goes, said finger was being used to re-shape the mermaid's bosom from the inside. The procedure appears to have begun successfully, since the bosom appears to be convex, which is appropriate. There was a slight hiccup though in phase two, since, as is obvious, said finger is still in the mermaid. It's not quite clear how long the digit was stuck before parental reinforcement was requested.

Exhibit B: The first documented attempt at extraction. I believe that the subject is attempting to drown the mermaid in cold water, or at least make her cough and pop the finger out. Unsuccessful.

Exhibit C: Subject is described as tired. No that's not a black eye, although it looks like one.

Exhibit D: Drowning the mermaid was unsuccessful, as was vegetable oil. Subject is described as melancholy. That mermaid (and her blue twin) have been constant bathing companions for some time. The outlook is grim.

Exhibit E: Kitchen shears were tried but were ineffective because they were simply too big. Subject's finger is now a lovely shade of purple. No, that's not normal or good. I have to ask, was it really necessary to cut the mermaid's head off and lay it next to a seven year old girl? Moving on.

Exhibit F: Surgical scissors to the rescue. Strangely enough we have surgical scissors at our house. For some reason the neurosurgeon that operated on Autumn's knee a couple of years ago thought we could use surgical scissors. Turns out he was right! Note the restoration of normal skin coloration, with the quaint addition of a stylish ring...

Exhibit G: Body parts and tools. Post mortem? I'd say! That mermaid was killed DEAD! Also, it's an important lesson moving forward: mermaids should really stay out of bath tubs and stick to the ocean so that incidents such as this can be avoided!

Life's Funny Like That!

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Mon, 28 Dec 2015 05:44:00 +0000

It's always funny to start with a picture of a toilet, I don't care WHAT you're writing! It seems like this year we have taken an all time low number of photographs. Blame it on the rain, whatever, we're not snapping like we used to. I also haven't posted much here either. Coincidence? Not likely. In all honesty though, we still take plenty of pictures, many of them blurry, many of them off center, too dark, too light, you name it. We also have our share of endearing shots as well. But I tried to not post any of those here. Mainly these are shots that make me say, "hmm, that's funny!". Please keep in mind that the word "funny" has many meanings, so don't criticize the photo that didn't make you laugh. Or do. Go on with your bad self!

Yeah, bathroom humor is the best! Outdoor bathroom humor is even better!

Take me to your leader!

Trinity was playing with a toy mermaid. She has two of them. She likes to play with them in the bath. At any given time, they are missing at least one arm. Maybe both. Trin really likes to play with them and it turns out that she had pulled the flipper (mermaid legs?) off of this poor maid and was trying to pop the -ahem- bosom area back out when she realized that she couldn't extract her finger. So, a bar of soap, lotion, fingernail clippers and finally a pair of sharp cooking shears later, here is the aftermath. Well, that and a really purple finger!

They really like each other, when they aren't driving each other mad!

Okay, not a funny picture. Just an good picture of my beautiful wife!

So, as a family we like to run. We frequently race to and fro. Funny huh? If you look closely, you'll notice that we'll race race almost any time and any place, in ANY footwear...ha!

Yeah, just funny faces!

Wanna know something sort of funny? I won a trip to New York. Really, it wasn't funny. It was AWESOME! But one funny thing was that we were walking through Times Square and ended up on Good Morning America!

What's funny is that we really DO like each other, you just can't tell in this picture.

There, that's better!

What was funny was that we had tickets to a small concert by John Legend and this Airstream was at the entrance. That's funny!

Yep, we were close.

Brooklyn Bridge shot taken from a taxi...yep, a little cliche!

Yeah, that's a real cookie!

Until next time!

Whoa, Another One?

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 05:34:00 +0000

This might be habit forming. After discovering that I can discover things while writing the last update, I decided to do it again. Writing that is. I am not sure about the discovering part. Speaking of discovering, I discovered over the last week exactly how grumpy I can get without meaning too (lose). I also discovered how great it can be to spend the holidays with family (win), how easy it is to hurt the people you love the most (lose) and also how easy it is to go to NYC (win-more on that at a later time). The nice thing is that I can learn and grow from each of those discoveries. Okay, that's probably a stretch on the trip to NYC.

It must be fall

It could be winter though, given all the snow. Time to warm up!

With Trin turning 7 last month, it was time for family photos. Ain't they cute?

The other two members of the family...

Notice anything missing? Me too! Where's that gal?

She's mowing the yard? Ha! Just kidding. This did happen in the fall though. How can you tell? She's not wearing shorts!

Seriously though, she was pretty excited to be mowing. The new grass had just came in, so to be able to mow meant that the new yard was doing well! As for the Santa picture above? I had the kids while Autumn was volunteering at the craft station. Teagan wouldn't sit on the big guy's lap, in fact wouldn't even be in the picture without me. So there you go. It ended up being a great photo, minus one really important person.

This life, this blog, those kids, none of it happens without her. She's the wind in our sails around here. Love her to the moon and back.

Seven: A Study in Contrast

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 05:10:00 +0000

Well, I think my last post was about Trinity's birthday and here we are again! I told Autumn that it had been a year, but looking at the date of the last post proves me wrong yet again! So here we are a year (sort of) later and a year wiser (maybe). Certainly I am a year older (I got one right!). But that also means that, you guessed it: my kids are also certainly a year older! Being that it is November, I suppose this post had better be about Trinity. So it is.

My little girl is seven years old?!?!?! I will say that each year the reality of how fast time flies by hits a little harder. I distinctly remember thinking about time when Trin was born, about how long 18 years seemed. Well, I blinked and seven of those blips have disappeared into folders of digital pictures that remind me that a) I didn't take enough pictures and b) I took too many pictures. You could add in c) I need to organize them and delete all the bad ones, but I'll leave that one out for the sake of brevity. Wait. Where was I? Oh, seven.

With seven has come first grade, birthday parties where there are no boys allowed and an independence that has come in the frustrating form of not liking any of the socks in her drawer. All good fun really, and all a new experience for this old man. Of course it's new for her too, something I often fail to remember. Actually I just realized that as I was typing it. Maybe I would be wiser if I typed more? Wait. Where was I? Oh, seven.

I'll admit that no boys allowed is a policy that I am just fine with. She can keep that one as long as she wants, if it means that she stays my little girl. Nope. But until she isn't, she IS my beautiful, funny, sweet, stubborn, loving little social butterfly. Fly, little girl, spread your beautiful wings and FLY!

This last weekend was a flurry parties, getting ready for parties and cleaning up after parties. There was a theme for sure. But I thought a good way to sum up the weekend was these two pictures:

Before

After

6

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 04:58:00 +0000

Hmm, if you were to tell me that I have a 6 year old daughter and a 4 year old son, I would, at any time 6.75 years ago and earlier, tell you that you are crazy. That you don't know what you're talking about. I would also have you escorted out by security. So it goes. And here I am. I have a daughter that just turned six. Okay, in all procrastinating fairness, her birthday was three months ago. I simply haven't written about it. Some of that is the day to day routine that seems to discourage creativity. Wait. That's an excuse. Sometimes the day to day routine allows me an excuse to not write about things that are important. That's better. Here's my daughter, my first child:

Trin is really about joy. Sure there's moments where that's not completely true. I know that. But when I zoom out and take it all in, there's not many people I know, adult or otherwise, who have lives that are as joy-filled as hers. The truth is that most of the joy simply comes from her, from somewhere inside. I am simply a recipient. I'll take it!

I love these pictures! The fact that Trin is missing four teeth seems only to add to the cuteness of it all. Of course by now she is growing a few of her adult teeth in (another weird though: my daughter as an adult), but in a way I think that growing up is simply one awkward moment to the next. Sometimes parents try to cover that up with photos, but if we're honest it's the unusual moments that help punctuate our lives. Think about it for a moment. It's not peeing in our pants, it's not talking gibberish, it's riding a two wheeled contraption, it's our teeth falling out, it's...all sorts of weirdness that we take notice of. It's not the everyday work of getting dirty or being a good listener that we remember. So this is how I choose to remember my daughter this year: full of smiles, not full of teeth. Full of confidence, not self consciousness. Full of beautiful, uncensored, carefree, cuteness that transcends all the weight that falls on us as we grow older. That's who I choose to remember. May we also remember ourselves that same beautiful way!

Happy belated birthday Trin!

Random Pictures from Fall 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Big Poppa) — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 06:10:00 +0000

How's that for a great title? I thought about writing on here again and found this jumble of photos. I don't think I had a them or anything for this, just wanted to document the Fall activities around Halloween and maybe a bit after that. Enjoy!

Teagan and his preschool class on a field trip to the corn maze and pumpkin patch!

Clean out pumpkins to carve. I love roasting the seeds!

I don't know, but it's a cute smile

Trick or Treat!

They picked out their own costumes this year, both were pretty happy. I think Teagan wore his the entire month leading up to the big event! Come to think of it, he STILL wears it whenever he gets the chance!

Candy

S'more sugar please!

Sticky sweetness, TWO TIMES!

Making the rounds

Filling those candy buckets!

Yup, more candy!

Posing for a picture with the dog. I do think Max is about to abscond with all the candy. He's got that sneaky look about him!

The kids just LOVE handing out candy at the door. I think they like it as much as they like getting candy!

Trin and Autumn helped deliver food boxes for those in need.

Not sure what this is. Well, I know it's a bad picture of me, but I'm not sure why it here.

The best thing about bike rides is that there's cupcakes! Okay, there's not always cupcakes. But there was this time!

She always knows the right way to go!

More meal delivery...

I think we were brewing beer while the kids played...

More fall bike riding...I'm pretty sure it was cold!

He LOVES his Spiderman sweatshirt!

Digging up our first ever sweet potatoes!

Just digging!

More digging!

Our first ever sweet potatoes! They look sad because we forgot to water them at the end of the season. The skin had split and they looked pretty bad. But inside they were great!

Slouch...

Pout...one of Teagan's many talents!

Pout, version 2.0

Not pouting anymore! Young Life breakfast!

Trinity at her school assembly (striped shirt, pink pants)

Musing: weird that our child rides one of these now.

Throwing snow...another of Teagan's many talents! Unfortunately he can't take it quite as well as he can dish it out right now. He'll have to get used to it though!

Landon and Teagan, partners in crime!

Bowling is nowhere near as fun as playing the arcade games!

Watching mommy bowl!

Love the ramp for the kids, it makes it a little more fun for everyone, as do the gutter rails!

Violence could ensue...

Fun picture! Landon was great company for both of the kids!

Maybe Thanksgiving dinner at church? I think that the best part was that the kids latched onto Liz and Anna at church, so I could actually eat!

Teagan was eating scoops of butter. Uh, yuck!

Trin and Ruby making snow angels!

I'm not sure what Trinity is doing but I can guarantee that Teagan is eating a cookie from the bakery.

I think that this was my first lunch with Trinity at school!

Whew! I made it through and hopefully so did you! See you soon!