opportunity

Andy and I talk about how, as parents and homeschoolers, we want to be the kind of people that seize an interesting moment when we see one.  We want to embrace life’s opportunities full on.  We want to give our children every crack at seeing what this wide world has to offer.  We want to be people who pack up on the spur of the moment to join friends for a camping overnight in the middle of the week.

Our life provides a fair bit of accessibility for this kind of lifestyle.  But getting our minds wrapped around it can be another matter.  It’s so easy to feel like packing all the camping gear up at 4PM (after work) and driving an hour, then hiking in 3/4 of a mile to the campsite for one night, is too much hassle.  It’s easy to worry that the pigs will get out, or the chickens will be too hot in their coop, or the tent will be too crowded and sandy and buggy and hot (4 people and a dog in a 4 man tent is hot).  It’s easy to stay home, where the ordinary is not so much work.

But, then we go and we see why we want to say “yes” more than we say “no”.  Because a long hike in carrying your own pack the whole way when you are five is a big deal.  Because swimming and playing on the beach until dusk is important work.  Because staying up til after dark to roast marshmallows with your buddies and then crawling into your sandy sleeping bag with marshmallow in your hair and falling asleep to the grown-ups talking in the dark breeze by the lake is good.  So good.

Hope your week is full of found opportunity too.

the big lake again

Last week found us again on the shores of one of our most favorite places. Lake Superior.

It’s such a magical place. Since our trip last summer Iris has talked and talked of this big lake, so it was pretty special to take the girls back again. It was just as enchanting this time.

Biking, tenting, campfire cooking, hiking, rock collecting, minnow and tadpole catching, a night with dear friends and a whole lotta fresh air, big water and sunshine. 6 nights and 7 days of sleeping, eating and playing outdoors. It hardly seemed like enough. But, we came home once again with pockets full of sand and rocks (agates this time!) and hearts full of the beautiful north shore and each other. Back in this lush valley we call home, the tomatoes are popping and the corn is ripe. Good work comes after good rest and good fun.

Happy last of August everyone.

summer celebrations

Saturday night we packed a summer solstice party and father’s day celebration all together with a camp-out in the yard (can’t get much closer to the house than that!) and s’mores around the fire. The idea was to stay up to see the fireflies and watch the fire glowing on a long summer evening.

It was really hard to get everyone out of the tent.

But the pull of the fire and the lure (and novelty!) of gooey chocolate and marshmallows won them over.

And here’s my pop.
King of silly faces and the perfectly flamed (o.k. burnt to a crisp) on the outside, seriously liquid on the inside, marshmallow. The man who taught me how to build a sturdy fire that will light on the first try. The guy who made a ceremony of setting up the tent. The one who sang silly songs and told stories around the campfire and then eagerly toughed out the hard ground to camp in the yard with me. I owe a lot to this guy. From him I’ve learned:
to think decisions through thoroughly before jumping to a conclusion
to take pride in my work
to keep my sock and underware drawer tidy
to question everything
to stand up for what I believe in and take action when necessary
to check and change my oil religiously
to spend wisely (or not at all)
to seek greater knowledge insatiably
to put a hide-a-key somewhere outside my car (where is that one?)
to give generously of my time and vegetables
to persevere in the face of hardship (or if all else fails, just take a nap)
and to always, always make work fun (and take LOTS of breaks).

That, of course, is the short list. But now he’s passing on all that (or at least the marshmallow roasting tricks and silly faces) to Iris. What with a Grampy and a Papa that are SO fun, she is just over the moon lucky. Too bad she didn’t make it to see the moon, or the fireflies for that matter. The tent called her back before the long summer nights end. But what a night it was.

Here’s wishing all of you a most happy summer solstice and father’s day too. We have a bit of vacation this week but I hope to be back next week with some ideas for less is more.

up north

Last weekend we headed north for our 2nd annual Gorrill family camp-out. (Last year we all met in Lanesboro MN for camping in the city park and biking on the fabulous bike trail-just the ticket for small kids, pregnant moms and grandparents). This year we were even more adventuresome- we camped in Nina and Poppy’s back yard! Hey, since last summer we have added 3 NEW wee ones (and two are still very wee) to the mix so we cut ourselves some slack in the adventure camping category. Needless to say, we had a blast.

Loving the lake (o.k the pool, but play along!)

The wild woods

S’mores round the fire

and maybe best of all….brushing teeth with all the cousins (no outhouse required).