Word of the day for no particular reason whatever other than I like it is prestidigitation.

No, dude, I meant there's an ACTUAL millstone around my neck.

The Marvelous Toy.

My Mom sang it to me, I sang it to my boys, and tonight I had the pleasure of singing it to Merry. The years have gone by too quickly it seems.

Added some background to the story of Friday's trip.

First Friday

Because I have a part-time contract, finally I can have something I've wanted for ten years. I'm spending the summer with my kids. On Fridays. This Friday we took a 9-mile journey, them on bikes and me running. We decided to go straight down Nicollet Avenue, which is two blocks from our house, all the way to the Mississippi.

This bridge is the border between where we live, Richfield, and the City of Minneapolis. We made it a milestone.

I packed hot dogs and Gatorade which we stopped to eat.

The boys also packed their journals. Ezra is working on a story.

The next milestone was hitting downtown. This is 13th St. Where Nicollet Ave becomes Nicollet Mall. That's where the title sequence of Mary Tyler Moore takes place. There's a statue. Meanwhile I let the boys put Mountain Dew in their thermoses, which they are holding here. The caffeine helped us make this trip. The thermoses exploded, and then they closed them and blew them up again. Several times.

These people were promoting Cars 2. They gave us posters.

Here's Ezra on the foot bridge over the Mississippi. To the left is a giant lock and St. Anthony Falls. The spray was cool after that long trip.

There's the lock and the Falls.

This is a very Minneapolis picture. Modern mixed with flour. From right to left you have high-end condos, the Mill City Museum--built inside the ruins of an exploded Pillsbury plant--, the Gold Medal Flour sign, and the ultra-modern Guthrie theater with its bridge to nowhere, an observation deck overlooking the city.

This is Foxy, Foxy and "Foxeh" (which Ambrose says with a James Brown intonation) bungee jumping.

Did I mention it was Foxy's birthday?

Ezra listening to Run DMC.

I felt great after the 9-mile run when we stopped down by the river. Then I started running again. I made it about 5 blocks before my left knee and lower leg completely shit the bed. Ezra let me ride his bike all the way home, and he rode Ambrose's, carrying his brother on the pegs.

I saw Ambrose giving Ezra little Tuina treatments ("Gun Fa," which means rolling method) when he got tired while riding.

Ezra wanted me to take a picture of the boys looking their tiredest.

This is going to be one of those days the boys talk about for a long time. They've been talking about it since Friday, and planning what we'll do the next, and the next and the following. I'm going to pretend it will never end.

my lady did wedding flowers this weekend, the laundry room was converted to a workshop. i just took this picture for myself. i hope she posts some of the official photos. she wasn't thrilled with the flowers the bride wanted and yet she managed to make them look like this.

Stay at home dad today, spending as little time as possible actually at home

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Aaaand... Wednesday.

Tuesday

the traditional father son camping photo

(Ez and I took one in front of the same tent two years ago, i even had the same shirt on.)

a weekend away with my son. hiding from the rain, watching logs burn and smoke climb into a sky fraught with lightning. smelling earth, shooting arrows. making mini paddle boats out of wood and rubber bands. they don't work, but it doesn't matter. we were just making time, and every moment with my son is remade in the same way, anyway. eating white bread and potato chips and carrying an open bag of peanut butter cups. watching him from a distance wrestling with his friends, making poop jokes, still a little boy. little enough to lift him over my head and toss him in the water. noticing the sweet way he idolizes the camp counselors, calls them by their nicknames, asks for their attention. anticipating the way he always returns to me to hold my hand or lean against me.

happy fathers day to all the dads in the house.

Out-of-Office-Assistant (2)

I know you miss me, but I'm still not here. Ambrose and I went camping. I will return Sunday. Have a nice weekend.

Out-of-Office-Assistant

Thank you for visiting my blog. Ambrose and I went camping. I will return Sunday. Have a nice weekend.

That expression "everything happens in threes" is such bullshit. It's at least sixes.
Ambrose and I are going camping tomorrow. Good, I need to get out of here for a couple days.

Today's rating is Meh +

Suckage.

El Mariachi

The wedding reception this weekend was in a reception hall in a state park overlooking the beach of a lake with towering palms. the sky was dramatic low and the wind incessant and there were lights in the trees. then this band walked in and surprised everybody. it was pretty perfect.

Home again with the girls.

the couple

Deep in the heart of Texas.

We are in Laredo, Texas for the wedding of my long-time friend. The trip across South Dakota two weeks ago was foreshadowing for this. We took a 2-hour drive from St. Antonio through dusty scrubland, Border Patrol trucks crawling everywhere, other drivers wearing cowboy hats. Past cactus and palm trees. Laredo sits on the Mexican border and, in the town, most of the signs are in Spanish. We got lost and drove through a wealthy neighborhood with hacienda-style homes with courtyards and gates. There are palm trees everywhere and of course, it's hot. The wedding is tomorrow. My friend is very Christian, of the pure and fundamental, Bible-studying sort. He would be comfortable wearing simple robes with a rope belt. His beliefs are sincere. He is marrying a woman of Mexican descent; her family is also very religious. The ceremony will be in Spanish with translation. There are at least three pastors. We keep looking at each other, is this really happening? To say the experience is surreal is to speak the pure and perfect Truth.

Leaving Friday for Laredo, TX for the wedding of one of my oldest friends.

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Spring.

"And springþ þe wde nu,
Sing cuccu!
Awe bleteþ after lomb,
Lhouþ after calue cu.
Bulluc sterteþ, bucke uerteþ,
Murie sing cuccu!"

("And the wood springs anew,
Sing, Cuckoo!
The ewe bleats after the lamb
The cow lows after the calf.
The bullock stirs, the stag farts,
Merrily sing, Cuckoo!")

-Middle English folk song

It's Spring, and roots push heavenward and explode into bloom...

The Woodland Princesses embody the transition of seasons.

Children sprout moustaches and pick dandelions.

Male ducks duel for the affections of a lady duck on our roof.

Pagan rituals abound...

There are parades.

And drums.

And dancing.

Children climb stupidly high.

At last, life is in color.

Note: Those are actual lyrics in the quote. Sad that because it has the word "fart" in it, this is the only thing I remember from Early English Literature class.

My latest accomplishment.

Saturday I leaned way back to throw a toy parachute in the air and, stepping forward, wailed my toe, hard, into a stump. I brought the other foot down directly into a pile of dog shit.

More random shit you find along the road in the American midwest.

This was discovered just outside of Rapid City, SD. I don't know what it was for, it was in a field next to a gas station. Notice how whoever made these felt obliged to make one of Kennedy, but it's way off to the side.

It's Saturday fir chrissakes... Saturday! Go blog your own blog. I'm on my break. Ah who am I kidding. Get over here ya big lug.

More water

This post flows from the last one.

Dammed.

We came across this dam on the Missouri River. There's a spot where many people pull off the road to watch the place where the river comes venting through.

To me, it was a very obvious demonstration of what happens when you try to go against nature, or when one tries to go against one's nature. It will have its way. Independently, we were each thinking about the significance of what we saw. Driving away Elizabeth said she thought the dam was an example of people's ingenuity, how much thought and effort it takes to accomplish something like that, building a dam.

There is a certain power generated by opposites in balance.

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