Fall 2014

At first I thought this fall was going to be a bummer.  The color change seemed to get off to a slow, dull, start. But then the temperatures must have hit the prime color zone and things got wild around here.  I know that I have a habit of exclaiming about the beauty of my home town, but this fall things got a little ridiculous.  And throughout October, the weather collaborated, making it a perfect month for bike commuting.  My route changed daily- I turned corners and ventured down streets and alleys if I spotted a tree worth biking by.  There were a lot of them.  Some corners were positively Dr. Suessian in their glory.  There was one corner in Tangletown that combined a deliciously bright blue house, with the fabulous green lawn and red, yellow, and orange trees- all of them hitting peak at the same time.  It was truly out of this world.  I really felt bad for all of the people who don't live in climates that include seasonal change.  And then all the trees lost all their leaves, November came in cold and gray and icy, and I didn't feel quite as bad about those others anymore.  But I feel like our October was like getting an advance of some sort- we should have known this November was coming.  Despite the artic chill descending so early this year, I still think October was worth it.

Edits

The other day Theo mentioned that he had a paper to write for school.  I asked if he needed me to look it over.  And then added, "because you know, there is nothing I like more than working on writing with my boys."  Theo didn't seem to hear, but then I heard him mutter under his breath, after a moment of contemplation:"That's sad."

The Crow Abides

Our youngest continues to be attracked to shiny things.  He consistenly picks up household items, fiddles with them, and deposits them in his room.  It's a mess in there, and once something goes in, it's quite a while before it resurfaces.  At least, over the years, we've gotten smarter, and when we can't find something, we do look there first.  Usually it's limited to kitchen gadgets and tools.  Can't find the parmesean grater?  Check Theo's radiator.  Looking for a spatula or pliers?  How about his desk?  But his eye seems to be casting a wider net lately, and things don't need to be shiny to disappear.  The other day I was looking for toothpicks.  Couldn't find them anywhere.  But then I ventured through Theo's room to open his curtains, and there, stuck into his rug, was the entire box of toothpicks.  He had made some kind of picket fence down the length of a carpet stripe.  The next day the fence was down, but there was a stick on his floor that was transformed into some kind of homemade mace, with toothpicks poking out from all over.  It actually looked a little deadly.  As I type this, Jon is searching for his phone.  Surely it is somewhere in the nest of our dear crow.

And he's off

Mid-October this year we ventured back up to DuNord for an autumn adventure.  We rented Thor's and invited 14 of our pals along with us.  The weather did not cooperate, with highs in the 20s and stuff that seemed an awful lot like snow falling from the sky.  But it did not stop us from getting out.  We had a couple lovely hikes, some chilly games of ultimate, and several hot hot saunas capped off by jumps into the 38 degree lake.

One morning I declared I was going to go for a run and asked if anyone wanted to join me.  Siena did.  And so did Eli.  What?  I've asked this a lot, and only once did he come with me, about a year ago. That time, we ended up having to run a block, walk a block, and not because of this old lady.  Not this time.  The three of us did start off together, and we were chatting away. Well, at least Eli was chatting.  I was too out of breath.  And then he started picking up his pace and moving out ahead.  He just kind of took off, never looking back.  I bet he was talking to me for quite awhile before he realized I could no longer hear him.

I can't believe I missed the entire 'running with' window.  He went directly from kind of slow and not very interested to way too fast.  But I did enjoy watching his tall lean form take off in to the woods in front of me.

Spririted Child

Theo adores his school.  He is full up on school spirit.  Too bad Open doesn't have any pep fests or homecoming games where Theo can show off this pride.  But they did have a last minute spirit week.  Theo took it very seriously.  For dress up day he sported the full suit, plus suspenders and a bow tie.  He might have even combed his hair that morning.  He looked good.  Then there was the day where each class was too wear a certain color.  7th graders got yellow.  Theo talked me in to taking him to Ragstock to look for something fun to wear.  He came so close to purchasing a long-sleeved, long-legged, golden lycra jumpsuit.  Tried it on at the store and let me see it on him.  It was ridiculously hilarious.  And he would have bought it and wore it to school if I hadn't intervened.  I just couldn't let it happen- something I know regret, as I think he could have pulled it off.  In the end, he bought a horrible yellow fur hat.  At least that is warm and he can wear it through the winter.  The jump suit had limited options for use.  But I do appreciate his spirit.

Avalon on the March

This fall, Avalon happened in to a micro 15 minutes of fame.  Well, the fame was limited to certain circles, but withing a couple weeks we were mentioned in the Huffington Post, the New York Times, US News and World Report, as well as several newly published books.  Seems as if "Teacher Powered Schools" were the flavor of the moment.  Too bad that moment seems to have passed.  I like to think we have the endurance of a lasting flavor like peppermint bonbon and we will rise again.  Time will tell!

He Writes

In late August Eli started writing a novel.  He is extremely dedicated.  I think he puts 2-4 hours in a day.  Every day.  And the beautiful thing is that he has shared his novel with me through google drive.  Whenever I have some spare time, I open it up and can make editing suggestions and comments.  Within 24 hours he makes my suggested changes, or he doesn't, and he responds to my questions/comments.  It's a lovely discourse, even if it's not happening in real time.  The fact that he considers my suggestions warms my English teacher heart.
He is now officially to the end of the story, 110,000 words after starting.  It is a great read, even if it is not my favorite genre.  Now he's back into it, editing.  Turns out that his writing style improved over the course of 3 months of intense writing and he has to go back to the start and tighten the first chapters up.  This could become a never ending cycle.  But I am happy to be along for the ride.

He Drives

My eldest got his permit late this summer.  I think I handled it well.  Except for maybe that first time we pulled away from the curb.  Neither of us were ready for it- he took his foot of the brake and wasn't prepared that the car would go forward, even without his foot on the gas...we nearly clipped our neighbors car exactly 2 seconds into his first drive.  I only shrieked really loudly once.  Then I got it under control.

Early in his driving career, I had to consistently nudge him to go faster.  But then we pulled out on to the River Road, where there are no stop signs and little traffic.  He settled in, his shoulders relaxed, and he mumbled, "Huh.  I wonder how fast this little thing can go."  Not something he should say in front of his mother.  Luckily he is behind the wheel of a Prius.

Perspective

One glorious day this summer we ventured out to Valley Fair with our friends the NeskeMoens and Johnstons.  An added bonus was that Sam and Delaney came over to join for a few hours.  We lucked in to perfect conditions- early rains kept the crowds at bay, but the sun came out just as we pulled up.  I don't love the rides as much as I love watching my boys on the rides.  It's so nice to see them carefree and feeling confident.  Somehow I raised two kids who will go on anything.

The day was progressing so nicely.  Until Eli put his arm around me as we walked from one ride to the next and said, "Wow. You are so small.  It's like I'm walking around with a wizened little elf."  Ouch.

Censored

One weekend afternoon I went downstairs on some errand only to come across my two boys playing a game while listening, to all things, the song "I Need a Hero" from the Footloose soundtrack.  I couldn't just walk by.  I had to break in to dance.  And once I started dancing, I really couldn't stop.  The boys were relatively unfazed.  They did pause their game long enough for Eli to say, "Mom, I far prefer that you just state your piece and move on."  I did not let that take the wind out of my dancing sails.  Too bad for all of us that it happened to be the extended play version of the song.

Lucky Grandkids

Once again this past summer, my parents wrangled up the energy to disappear into the northland with two of their grandchildren.  It was Eli and Sammi's turn, made more important as the two of them missed hanging out together in Yellowstone when Eli skipped the trip to go to National History Day.  In August, they picked the two of them up to head up to some favorite haunts on the north shore.  They stayed in Sea Villa C-5, a place we have been visiting since I was Theo's age.  They roasted marshmellows on the shore, looked for agates, hiked along the river, did a little bouldering, and even got up the nerve to cliff jump.  I loved the picture of my dad, Eli, and Sam, all in flight, plunging toward the Temperance River.  It is so lovely that my parents are up for this, giving the cousins the time and space to really get to know each other each year.

DuNord 2014

We undertook our 12th annual summer pilgrimage to Camp DuNord this past season.  If you were to add all of the Fall, Winter, Spring trips in to the tally, we'd be topping 20 visits, for sure.  Hard to believe that at one point we had never heard of this magical little place and now it's such a big part of our life.  This past summer's trip was with our biggest group.  We camped in the main part of camp this time, with Amy and Jessica's families in the cabin tents nearby.  The Dutch went for a cabin just down the road, and then Wally and Jen came mid-week and pitched a tent nearby.  All in all I think we had 24 people, 13 of them kids and 12 of those kids being boys.  Hats off to Kyra for her ability to tolerate such a testosterone overload.

Highlights this year included the novelty of being in the main part of camp.  This eliminated the need to keep our eyes on watches in order to catch shuttles.  It also severely cut down on the number of times we visited the DuGa pit, but we did get over there once in a while.  I became a fan of the 'real' sauna and wondered how we survived with the imitation barrel sauna for so long.  I think the saunas start a bit late and had real trouble staying up til midnight, but in the end, it was always worth it.  This year the Dutch brought along a Chinese version of hackysack that involved a brightly feathered shuttle cock.  We were captivated for hours, even playing through rain, and one time a bit of hail.

It was fun to see some of the kids we have come to know through homestays as staff members.  Allan from Scotland and Lukas from Germany both gave us shout outs when we'd happen by.  We continually giggled over Allan calling out the name of his group with his thick accent...the teen group became something altogether different when Allan yelled for the 'Sexteens to Eighteens over here!".  One would think that would get old, but nope, it didn't.  Lukas presented us with a german card game that became a favorite pasttime.  But it too had a lewd name....not in German, but in an American accent it became awkward when someone asked where I had been and I responded, "I've been up playing Sex Nymph with a bunch of the kids in the Trading Post."  For the record, it's "6 Nimmit" but that's not how it sounds.  And then there was the lovely LDP Tim, our very own Dutch boy.  He played it cool and never gave his parents the gushing welcomes they were looking for, but he looked to be having a great time and doing his job well.

Overall, it was a joy to be outside for an entire week.  Sure, we ventured in for dinner, and maybe for a shower on the odd day, but really, we lived outside for the entire week.  The bugs, which were dreaded and sure to be beyond tolerance, were surprisingly limited- it could have been that we kept a fire going all week long, but I think the bug gods smiled upon this summer.  Dunord 2014 is going to be a hard one to top.

Widji magic

In Mid-July, fresh off the heels of cardboard shenanigans, we went Theo off for his first Widji trip.  I was only about 70% sure the kid was going to get on the bus.  He hadn't taken the previous summer off of overnight camp after experiencing some homesickness the prior year.  He had been vibrating at an unusually high speed for the days leading up to the bus departure- most of it in excitement, but mixed with that chaser of dread that is just maybe necessary for a solid growth experience.  But on the bus he went, armed with a duffle of clothes and a garbage sack filled with his sleeping bag and pillow.  We found ourselves to be the only widji parents who sent their kid off with a garbage bag as luggage.  Whoops.

Our friends Wally and Jen happened to be dropping their son at Widji that same day for his epic 30+ day adventure, and we asked them to check on Theo's spirits as he arrived.  They sent photos documenting his chagrin at carrying a garbage bag, but other than that he seemed to be in a good place.

10 days passed with me keeping a careful eye on Ely's weather.  I thought I knew when he would be out on his 7 day BWCA trip, but wasn't sure.  Maybe he was still on trail during the epic storm with crazy winds, maybe not.

As my brother Pete happened to be at DuNord during Theo's end of session banquet, I decided to make the trek northward to stay with Pete for the night and catch Theo's first impressions as he got off trail and began processing his trip.

Theo saw me as his group came out of the dining hall and gave me a hug, not a desperate one, one that was more on the embarrassed end of the spectrum, but then as I walked with his group through camp, he took my hand and started telling me tales.  My favorite quote was this:  "Oh man, my counselor had a totally tricked out spice kit- it was so awesome."  Seems as if Widji had worked its magic once again.

Cardboard Camp

I heard about Cardboard Camp through that mysterious parental grapevine.  I don't know who told me, or in what context it came up, but one random day while minding my own business, it drifted back through my mind.  So I looked it up, curious about what such a camp might be like.  And the videos on the website immediately convinced me that this was a camp made for my youngest child.  At this camp, Theo joined other kids, mostly boys, aged 8-15, over at Fort Snelling State Park.  They were organized into houses of like-minded souls. They did research before coming to camp about the different houses- what their main strategies were, what their banner look liked, their typical armor...Theo was drawn to the House of Tiburon.  As part of this house, they worked with their leader to design and build both personal cardboard armor as well as a giant siege arrapartus that took the form of a shark.  A giant cardboard shark on wheels.  They then created strategies and practiced their seige tactics.  They also practiced their skills in endless battles cardboard weaponized Capture the Flag- running around the paths at the state park in full battle armor, surely scaring picnicking families with their lustful battle cries.

One morning when I dropped Theo and a carful of pals off at the entrance, a small group of girls, apparently at a Little House on the Prairie type summer camp came walking by, dressed in bonnets and long flowered dresses, carrying baskets of wildflowers they had picked.  I thought it a lovely juxtaposition to the carload of cardboard warriors that were heading off to battle.

On the last day, parents were invited to watch the grand final battle.  There was a parade of houses with explanations of their special weapons and tactics, then the drums began beating, several houses took up positions inside the gigantic cardboard (3 story!) castle, while others awaited the signal to attack.  It was something to behold.  Theo will return to fight next summer.

Keeping up with the little cousin

Early last summer Cousin Dara came to town from California.  The boys look forward to this despite the age gap.  Dara is 5.  She keeps these boys on their toes.  One afternoon we took her to my aunt's pool.  I sat back in a deck chair and let the boys have it.  We had heard Dara could swim, but we weren't sure how strong her skills were, so I told the boys to stick close.  That was no easy task.  She delighted in running alongside the edge of the pool, calling out to one of the boys to catch her, and launching herself in.  It did not matter to her that the boys were nowhere near where she landed.  The two of them got a serious workout, trying to keep up, then catch, then escort her back to the side, just in time to have the whole cycle repeat itself.  It was a delight to watch.  And I was happy my name was not being called to do any catching, as I could not have kept up with that dynamo.

Fabulous at Fifty Years!

Fifty years they've been married.  Hard to conceptualize.  My parents are quite the team and worthy of celebration.  So the Sage clan headed to Yellowstone to toast the lovely couple.  Sad that Eli couldn't join us, but he was on his own adventure.  The week was spent at a lovely rented house right outside Gardiner and the Northern Gate (I think it was the north one....) of Yellowstone Park.  It was lovely that I got to start the week off on Father's Day with 5 of the most lovely fathers in the land: Jon, Rodg, Dave, Pete, and Jay. We passed the days by driving and hiking in the vast park.  I had no idea it was that big.  Evening were spent playing kickball on the banks of the Gardiner river.  Only once did Jon have to make a daring save of our ball before it was washed downstream.  And only once did we get surprised by the lawn sprinkler system.  When it was too windy or chilly for kickball, we played other games. I love that my nieces can be convinced to play a game at anytime.  I knew they were good kids.
The Sage-Martinsons continued our quest to visit national monuments and points of interest when they are not visible.  Old Faithful was swallowed up in a snow squall.  On Mid-Summer's day, no less.  It was literally a white-out- you couldn't see the geyser from right next to it.  Luckily, after an hour's hike we returned to sunny skies and saw it go off in all of its glory.  Overall, it was a lovely week spent celebrating a lovely couple!

Tech Trauma

Although Eli was warned to 'not be that kid', he was.  That kid who almost does not get his final movie burned before the plane leaves the gate. There is apparently always someone panicking in the airport as the Minnesota delegation heads toward the gates. Last year the bpys wound up burning their movie at the end of the year school picnic.  They traded off tossing frisbees and monitoring the progress on their laptop.  This year that was not a worry.  There was a new program that had other issues, but that burned movies in 5 minutes, rather than 5 hours.  So Eli used the week between the end of school and plane departure by putting on final touches to the movie, waiting until the last evening, after dinner, to start the burn process.  Everything had been fine for the state competition- the movie downloading and burning in a slick few minutes.  And all started out that way at 9pm the night before a 5:30 am airport shuttle.  And by shuttle I mean me.  9 became 10 became 11.  At that point Eli's fabulouso teacher Tim came over.  He's known Eli since Eli was 6 weeks old, but still, that is going above and beyond.  The two of them were strangely unstressed as they tried several workarounds.  It was one big puzzle that they enjoyed solving, despite Friday becoming Saturday and the departure time looming ever nearer.  By 1am, Tim went home to try Plan F on his home computer, while Eli and I holed up in his room devising plans G-Z.  We tried several.  Finally, by about 2:30 am, we found a solution.  I would like to proudly state that I had a hand in it.  I had no idea how or why it worked, I just found a solution online after screaming for help into the midnight netherworld of the internet.  Someone answered.  Disc got burned.  Eli and I got about 2 hours of sleep before we rose and headed for the airport.  We picked up a blurry-eyed Tim on the way, still in high spirits from the late-night high stakes adventure.  The two of them got out of my car, giggling away.  I was glad I didn't have to get on the plane with them- as I'm sure that they came down at some point!

Eli on to Nationals!

Eli and his crew of documentarians defended their state title and won a second chance to compete at Nationals in DC.  The only drawback was that we did not count on this, and had planned a trip to Yellowstone to celebrate my parent's 50th anniversary.  Although it was heartbreaking that Eli couldn't be with us, he deserved to represent his school and his state in DC, so we sent him off with his peers and his lovely teacher, our good friend Tim.  The boys had a great time in the capitol, making it once again to the final round of documentaries, and ending in 5th, 3 places above their finish last year.  Despite temps in the 100s, the crew had a great time site-seeing.  Tim figured out that it was necessary to bring a frisbee on all outings, and everytime a boy started lagging, he'd send them after the frisbee- he has them trained like dogs- they can not see a frisbee slicing through the air without chasing it down.  It got them to where they needed to be.  Although I know they had fun at the time, these outings were referred to as death marches in retrospect.

Eli and Sam finished up their stay by taking first place in the dorm room decorating competetion.  Their theme was crime scene, and the current resident of that particular dorm room is probably wondering about the permanent blood stain (really, its just red ink...) on the floor.  The HD staff enjoyed that the murder weapon was Eli's top-banana award (made bloody with aforementioned ink) that he won for helping out with tech issues during the competition.  Their crowning glory moment was when all the clues pointed toward Mr. History as the perp and they 'handcuffed' him by binding his wrists with ducttape.  Typical for teens, they did not think their plan through to the de-handcuffing stage and rumor has it that Mr. History's wrists may never be the same.  It may be their last trip to Nationals, regardless of project strength!  But they feel like they went out with a bang.

Tapas with Teens

Eli and two pals made it through the History Day guantlet once again and were heading out to DC for Nationals. The parents wanted to do something to celebrate the state championship, so we decided to take the young lads out to eat.  We chose Rincon 38, a Spanish tapas restaurant, in honor of their topic- the Spanish Civil War.  We had no idea how many tapas three teens could put away.  It's a dangerous place to go with hungry boys.  We just kept ordering new plates to share, the most recent dish disappearing before we could even make another choice.  I was impressed with the boys and their sense of adventure in eating- they tried everything placed in front of them.

Despite the price tag, it was a lovely evening spent celebrating the accompliments of three smart, sweet, friends.