Last Sunday we threw a hot dog party at an extraordinary new park on the north end of Lake Harriet. We invited everyone we knew who likes hot dogs, it was tasty fun. Especially popular is a sandy area with a water pump making mini rivers and water play possible.

My brother Josh came and took their play to the next level. Kids started bringing cups of water to a nearby hill on the backside of the park, creating a little waterway. Josh helped children to build dams with sticks and sand and leaves. Literally for hours they were all working so hard making damns, screaming out “there’s a leak!” or “we need some sand over here!” Mud made it’s way onto ears and foreheads and the rear end of pants turned dark black. It was the kind of fun that kids rarely have these days (I sound like an old man). But for real! Josh was chatting with me about how that’s the way it was when we were kids, we’d just found stuff to do.

At one point Josh came walking up the hill with a cooler to fill with water. “Call me Noah,” he said as he passed, smiling. Kids shrieked with giddy anticipation as he flooded the dams causing all kinds of chaos and gaping mouths. When we were leaving Art and Lewis realized they hadn’t even really played at the spectacular park. So they went on some slides and climbed a bit.

Si and his dad Jeff prepare for a flood.

Here’s an xray of my swollen hand from June. I’ve had pretty unbearable hand pain over the years with multiple surgeries and cortisone shots (with the help of my nice Pa I’m working on getting a better doctor, etc). Don’t you feel bad for me? It seems to get worse in the summer and better in the winter. Anyway, I’m posting this image cause it looks cool.

It took me a couple weeks to finally post these lovely photos. We (our family plus my brother Josh and his wife Ashley) met my father and step-mother Cynthia at the Wisconsin Dells (they drove over from Michigan where they had just finished a craft fair selling jewelry). We rented a little cabin along the Wisconsin River and went to one of those fancy water parks.
 

Cynthia, master storyteller.

Art and Lewis on the Wisconsin River.

We didn’t really take any photos at the waterpark, except for this. Arthur and Jessica were really proud that they were brave enough to do this super scary slide together that basically goes straight down and straight up.

Jessica taking the girls on a rain walk.

Ashley and Lewis.

Happy Anniversary, Ben! 10 years married, 15 years and two days since the fateful night we met at Riverside Park in New York City.  It wasn’t much of an anniversary for us today – we got a nice 45 minute conversation in while the boys watched TV, but other than that we were manning the fort and Ben was working to pay for the fort.  Anyway, here is a shout out to my teammate, my love, from our family blog Oct. 9, 2010 (one day after our third and fourth children were born):

“But as proud as I am of birthing these twins I must say I could not have done the great incubating I had done without Ben. Really. Ben made it possible for me to take a nap EVERY DAY, even if it meant being late to work or juggling kids or being super sleepy himself. He helped me eat a lot and made me lots of hard boiled eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches and protein shakes and even got me a family size gallon of ice cream so every shake could be amply spiked with ice cream. He got up with kids morning after morning so I could get more sleep, excused me of all night time cleaning up, emptied the dishwasher every time and cleaned the kitchen every night, brought laundry up and down–and anything else that I pointed at… He just gave me the space, the time and support so I could focus on growing big, healthy twins. And whenever I felt bad about him running himself ragged he reminded me that my job was to “grow those babies” and not to worry about it. I really don’t think they would have gotten so big and healthy or stayed in so long if they weren’t given all that extra focus allowed by Ben. Thank you so much, Ben. You are my teammate and my real love.”

An heres what Netta left of her apple. Even the Arthur and Lewis were impressed!

Realizing our boys were desperately needing time away from each other as well as time WITH us, the parents, we have started giving each of them a special night almost once a week.  A night when one boy gets to stay up later than the other to play games or trains or whatever.  The first week Art, Ben and I played Parcheezi.  It took us three Special Nights to finish the game. (I won!)  Lewis usually wants to make a train track with us and the night he first gave up his gackoo he had a special night with me.  We played crazy eights and he clobbered me.  Three in a row! 

Last night Art had his special night and went to The Saints game with Ben.  Minor league baseball – eleven innings!  He didn’t get home until 11pm!  I just LOVE this picture of them together that Ben sent from his phone.  That is love and mutual enthusiasm right there in a picture.  I love it.

My sister remembers that Art gave his cousin, Charlotte, his gackoo about a year or more ago and that he was bribed with the prize of a fancy talking dinosaur for giving it up.  True!  TRUE!  He went to sleep gackooless looking at the picture of that toy.  And let there be full disclosure that Lewis gave up his gackoo knowing full well there was a prize at the end of his struggle.  After he makes it through the week he will get a remote control car.