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This is a very large movie, but i like it just as it is, so i’m going to post it anyway. It’s Fiona swinging and laughing in the backyard last week on one of the first really beautiful days of spring here. Click on the picture to get it, then go for a cup of coffee - it’s 48mb and will take a while to download and play.

Finally, with the second winter storm of the week, the timing was right and schools closed for the day today, giving both Ella and Malte their very first snow day ever! The bulk of the snow fell yesterday (about 8-10″), but the city was still catching up this morning, and it was still snowing though much lighter than yesterday. This was all on top of the 12+” of snow we got last Sunday.

Yesterday i (Bill) stayed home as my office closed for the day, but Ella and Malte were still in school all day. I did a lot of shoveling, but we didn’t play much yesterday because it was really windy and hard to see well. Autumn and i did get out for a short bike ride in the snow before it got too dark.

I was working today, but Autumn and the kids got out to play today, including Malte’s first time snowshoeing.

It was a perfect day for snowshoeing, with a good 2 feet of fresh powdery snow and plenty of snow piles to climb. Here’s a picture of the driveway and back of the house after it was shoveled last. The fence is about 4 feet tall, and the snow pile next to the fence is now over 5 feet tall.

They stopped to visit our friend Sonja, then headed to a local field for some trailblazing. Malte got a good workout by running laps around the field, leaving a spray of snow in his wake. You can see him and the rest of the snowshoe crew in action in the Snow day movie that Autumn just finished.

We have lots more pictures in the picture gallery, including a couple of shots of the dog bite Autumn got while running two weeks ago (big bruise, no puncture), and the Tri-U-Mah indoor triathlon that Autumn and her mom did last month.

My photos are online already, and I’m writing this up a little late, but backdating somewhat to keep the journal more intact, date-wise. It’s a long post, so click the link to read it all.

The short version: it was a fantastic trip, perfect weather, excellent fishing, great food and a great time hanging out with my dad and brothers.

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we just got home from a camping trip to afton state park. we all had a wonderful time and were blessed with fabulous weather (aside from during the early hours this morning, when there was a little rain and gusting winds that shook our whole tent). this was a weekend of firsts - our first camping trip of the year, autumn’s first trip not carrying fiona in a child carrier on her back (and getting to use her new backpack), and therefore, fi’s first trip hiking on her own (aside from a few piggy back rides). apart from the girls (and greta) doing so well on all the hikes, and the glorious weather, the most amazing thing was watching spring unfold before us. when we arrived, you could spot a few trees ever 200 yards or so that were starting to leaf out. by the time we left this morning, the whole forest was filled with the misty green of spring. it was like having front seats to a secret show, just beautiful. The buds in the picture below tripled in size during the two days we were there.

on friday morning, we had a class about eggs at como zoo. we biked there and back and it was a wonderful day for riding. it was tough to pick between spending the weekend on the bikes or in the woods. there was also a kids’ music night at the coffee shop friday night, so another reason to stay in town. when asked what she wasnted to do friday night, ella said ‘camp! i want to camp BOTH nights!’. that’s our girl! so, at lunch we were lucky to have the easter bunny stop by and had an egg and basket hunt in the backyard (and hence had plenty of goodies to dole out on the trail). in the afternoon we finished packing up our camping gear and planning our meals. after a quick stop to get ella some new running shoes (her old trail runners, which she uses for hiking too, were getting too small), we headed out for afton. we arrived at the park and started hiking the mile or so to our campsit. it was just before dusk and owls were hooting deep in the woods. there was an amazing sunset painting the sky as we arrived at our camp site.

sunset …………………………………………………………………..sunrise
in the morning, there was an equally gorgeous sunrise. fi was up bright and early (as usual), despite a tough night of sleep. she woke up a couple of times and was very confused about where she was. we had some pancakes, hot cocoa, and VERY hot coffee for breakfast. ella found a cooled chunk of charcoal next to the fire pit and drew on some of the fire wood. fiona thought it looked like fun, so she joined in. after that, we went for a day hike around the park. we hiked through the old farm and saw the old stone gate and abandoned harrow. the girls took a rest in one of the log shelters on the trail. once we were down to the river, the girls took turns throwing sticks into the water for greta to fetch. she’s not much of a retriever on land, but she could swim for hours chasing sticks. once back at camp we made tabouli and hummus for lunch, played go fish and su doku, and read stories. fi practiced the fine art of squating, spending most of the afternoon diaperless, and ella perfected her ability to pee standing up (sorry, no pictures, but trust us - she CAN do it!). the girls helped collect and carry firewood and water at the solar powered water pump. autumn went for a short trail run. on friday night, there were folks in most of the site close to us, but by the end of the day, it was pretty obvious that we were some of the only folks left at the camp ground. we hiked around to see if any of the other site were occupied. while we were hiking we saw a huge grouping of hawks, at least 2 bald eagles, but just one other site with campers. we figured people had headed home because of the holiday, but wondered if they knew something we didn’t - like if a big storm was headed our way. we knew there was a chance of rain for saturday night, but we weren’t too worried. we headed back to camp and hoped for the best. we had a camp fire, read more stories, and headed to bed.

early sunday morning, the wind was really blowing, making our whole tent shake. the rain fell hard for a while, but then diminished to a light sprinkle, and when we finally got out of the tent, we only felt occational drops. the girls both helped pack up out stuff, with a break for apples and clif bars for breakfast. the hike out was quite enjoyable, with all of us still in awe at how much green had spread through the forest during our short stay. it was also nice to both have such light loads on the hike out. we heard frogs or toads croaking and saw some wild turkeys, a woodpecker, some canada geese, and some more hawks on the hike out.

this was really a great trip. the weather was wonderful. the girls were both GREAT hikers. ella carried her own pack (with her clothes, 2 books, sandals, and pillow). fi carried her own little back pack for a little ways, which was more than we expected of her, but amazed us with all the hiking she did. greta was also in great shape during this trip, especially considering that on our last trip in the fall, we had to wheel her out of camp in a wheelbarrow because her old acl injury was hurting her so. on this trip, we left her pack behind. she hiked, swam, slept on the cold cold ground, and still had energy left this morning to chase some squirels. bill and i also had a wonderful time, especially since both our loads were lightened. i used to carry fiona on my back, and some of the camping gear. since i wasn’t carrying fi, i was able to carry more of the gear. so, bill’s load was light, but my overall load was also still lighter. we basically dropped 35 lbs of weigh from our overall load. it was a great time.

this weekend was a busy one. on saturday, ella and i both raced at the autumn woods classic. it was a cold day for a race, but still pretty (much like our wedding day - cold, but clear and sunny, leaves changing). i ran the 10k with a personal best of 55:53, despite slacking on the training lately. last year my time for the same race was 1:02:44; my personal best at a 10k was at the get in gear back in april with a time of 56:19. we met up with some triathlon friends there who were running either the 5k or the 10k. some were doing their first 10k and everyone else also set personal bests. ella did the kids dash and declared that she ‘won’ after she received her finishers ribbon. we have no idea if she was first or not. she said she wanted to run by herself, but we chased after her with a ‘go ella go!’ sign and the camera…but could not catch up to her! she is a very good runner. she had a great time at the race, as did fiona. its a very family friendly event. after the race, we headed to a bday party for one of ella’s good friends. it was a full, but good, day.

on sunday, it was bill’s turn! we got up and had a relaxed morning since, unlike my races which start at the crack of dawn or shortly there after, bill’s race didn’t start until 11am. we had tea and waffles, read the paper, etc. finally we headed out and got to lake rebecca park with just enough time to spare to allow bill to preview a bit of the course and for us to hike out to a good spot to watch. if you are unfamiliar with what cyclocross is, the easiest way to explain it is riding mountain bike type paths on a road bike with slightly fatter tires…and with obstacles (logs, water, fences, etc.). sounds, fun, no? we found a nice spot in the sun just off a straight, clear part of course, close to the start/finish. nearby there were trumpeter swans in lake rebecca and the girls had a treat seeing and listening to them. it was fun being the spectator for a change, and even better to see how happy bill was while racing. it had been over 10 years since he had done a cyclocross race and about 8 years since his last mountain bike race. we did a duathlon together this past spring, but that was as a team. anyway, he did a great job and looked very much in his element. he is hoping to do at least one more cyclocross race yet this fall. after bill’s 4th (?) lap, ella yelled after him ‘go papa! I LOVE YOU!’ which bill barely heard, but all the other dads waiting around for the next race asked ella to cheer for them too, since their kids were at home. on the way out, ella amazed us by figuring out a way to hitch a ride on bill’s bike. she stood on one of his very small clipless pedals and held on to the top tube…and rode that way for at least a half-mile. after that, we came home so bill could clean up, had some lunch, then headed to the bike shop so i could take advantage of my store credit (the reimburse for some of the races each team member does). we also asked about a cycling team for bill to join so that he could hear about more races and also get some discounts/credits with the shop. after that, groceries, home for dinner, walked greta, baths, and early to bed since its a school night!

ella heads back for her second week at school tomorrow, riding the bus there for the first time. bill or i will still pick her up at noon, until we know that she feels confident taking the bus. if it all goes well, she may start taking the bus home as well (EEK!). going to school is an adjustment, and she confessed that she misses some of her regular play mates, so we’ll need to set up afternoon dates with them. other than that, thing seem to be going really well.

fi is her usual self, although she’s been up more at night lately. we suspect her 2 year molars are the culprit. she is ever silly and mischievous, keeping us on our toes. she is a great cheerleader. she has mastered ‘go mama go’, ‘go ewwa go’, and now ‘ go papa go’. next weekend we’ll be shouting ‘go fiona go!’ as she does her very first race. its a very non-competitive, very short kids fun run which bill will do with her, but she LOVES to run with ella and wants to do everything ella does. ella was 3 when she did her first race, so fi’s a bit young, but then again she can’t be kept on the sidelines much longer.

up next: big woods half-marathon trail run for me on saturday, kids races for ella and fi while i’m out slogging on the trails, more cyclocross for bill on sunday. if the events and/or race fees don’t kill us first, we’ll be living to a healthy, happy, ripe old age with all this exercise and time in the fresh, open air.