Daddy Day!

A little while back the Little Scoot and I had a much anticipated Daddy Day.  We were going to the Science Museum.  On the bicycle.  The Little Scoot loves the Science Museum, and loves riding on the back of the bicycle, a perfect combination.  The Coffee Queen was spending the day with her mom, and so off the Little Scoot and I went into downtown Saint Paul.

The Science Museum was closed.  Apparently they close every year after Labor Day for cleaning and maintenance, and this was the one Saturday of the year they weren't open.  Little Scoot was very disappointed.  Backup plan: the Children's Museum, also in downtown Saint Paul.

And it turned out to be the perfect day.  The highlight was the pretend street filled with everything from a grocery store, to a doctor's office, to a music studio.  And how the Little Scoot loved that!  The stage has a blue wall in back, so that on TV you can watch yourself perform in front of different backgrounds.  The Little Scoot was in his element.  He danced to song after song, either playing a pretend guitar or singing into the toy microphone (yeah, definitely the child of two actors).  I've never seen such joy.

Little Scoot's performance debut

Eventually the stage became crowded with so many other kids it was time to move on (I'm not sure I ever would have pulled the Little Scoot away otherwise).  This exhibit also had a make-believe post office complete with postal uniforms.  So the Little Scoot dressed up and delivered mail to the other stores and houses (each had its own mailbox, how clever is that?).

Is that cute or what?

Really, a wonderful day, if a hot bike ride back home (no, Daddy, can't answer your question right now, he's trying not to die biking up this big, big hill).  And what Daddy Day would be complete without an ice cream treat?

Ice cream!

The Last Days of Summer

While the weather has still been wonderful these past few weeks, something's changed.  There's a nip in the morning air, the light is fading early in the evening.  Yes, it's fall in Minnesota.

The State Fair is considered here to herald the end of summer, one last hurrah before we all start to prepare for the long, inevitable winter we've all tried so hard to ignore.  The Coffee Queen, the Little Scoot, and I made our annual trip to the Fair on one of the hottest days of the year.  We biked there while it was still cool, which allowed us to skip the hassles of traffic and parking, but it warmed up fast.  We ate ourselves silly, as usual, which included the obligatory cheese curds.

The Coffee Queen and the Little Scoot eating cheese curds

We also spent time in the animal barns.  The rabbits and sheep are always favorites, as is the Big Pig.  It's a really big pig.  Little Scoot also requested a ride on the SkyTram and loved the view from up high.  We headed home after lunch when the heat became too much.  And thus it became official: the State Fair (for us) was over, and fall was upon us.

The Coffee Queen and the Little Scoot: Up, up, and away!

We've seen a lot of monarch butterflies in our backyard this year, thanks to the Coffee Queen planting zinnias next to the vegetables.  The monarchs love the flowers.  I suppose they are fueling up for their long migration south.  Little Scoot enjoyed watching them... for about five seconds, and then couldn't understand why Dad kept snapping pictures.  We need something to remember these last moments of summer, to remember that the warmth will come again, even when we're buried under three feet of snow.  By then the monarchs will be in Mexico.  I think they have the right idea.

The monarch butterflies in our backyard

Rainy Monday

It's a drizzly, grey Monday here in Saint Paul.  Not such a bad thing after all the warm, dry weather we've been having.  It does, however, thin out the crowd in the motorcycle parking.

The Zuma 125 that lives near me was still there, as was a Kymco maxiscooter, a Harley, and a Yamaha motorcycle.  I found it a pleasant, cool ride this morning, although it did hit home that fall is here, which means winter is just around the corner.

My car was stolen

So, my car was stolen.

It started with a call from the Coffee Queen.

"Where did you park your car?"

"In front, like I always do."

"Because it's not there."

And it wasn't.  We both thought we were losing our minds at first.  It must be there, right?  I mean, who steals a 15-year old Honda Civic?

But no, it really was gone.  I reported it to the the police and a very kind officer came to the house and even flashed the police lights for the Little Scoot.  But he didn't hold out much hope for the car's recovery.  Apparently Civics of this era are prime targets to be chopped up for parts.  So I called the insurance company and assumed the car was a lost.

To be honest what sentimental attachment I had to this, the first (and so far only) car I ever purchased has mostly faded.  Perhaps it's the draw of my scooter, perhaps it's that the Civic is simply old.  It's been a great car, but for me a car is purely a utilitarian object and this one had served its purpose well.  Besides, we'd been talking about going down to one car anyway.  Here was the perfect opportunity to try that out.

Two days later, however, the police call.  My car has been found a whopping three miles away.  The next day I'm able to take a look at it in the impound lot.  It won't start, but the thieves broke the hood latch and so there's no way for me to determine why.  So I authorize the insurance company to tow it for repairs.  There the shop determines the problem: the battery has been removed.  And again, all I can say is really?  There's value in car battery at least 6 or 7 years old?

So the battery is replaced, the hood latch repaired, and finally I'm able to drive it home.  It has the date and time written on the windshield, as the police do when they tow an abandoned vehicle, looking like some kind of automotive scarlet letter.  I drive it a few times like that before the Coffee Queen is kind enough to scrub it off (Windex works).

So now the car is back, sitting in the driveway and waiting for me to get around to cleaning it, more from the latent dog hair than its ordeal.  And I'm still shaking my head at why anyone would bother to steal it in the first place.  I'm sure if it had been newer or worth more I'd have been more upset.

But a late 90s Civic with over 150,000 miles.  Really?

Constant Vigilance

As parents we quickly learn the importance of Constant Vigilance.  Turn away for a moment and the yogurt is everywhere.  Blink and a finger goes up the dog's nose.  And that quiet at nap time?  It can only mean that each and every diaper has been pulled out and spread all over his crib.  And let's not even talk about what happens when you go too long without potty time.

The Little Scoot when left to his own devices

So when the Little Scoot brought me a cup of water on a hot Sunday afternoon what did I do?  I drank it.  "What a thoughtful boy," I mused while lounging in the hammock.  After all, I'd seen him leaving the house not a minute before with the cup in hand.  Mommy must have sent him.

Then he refilled the cup in the kiddie pool.

"Did you just fill that up in the pool?" I asked.

"Yep."

Uh oh.  "Did the first glass come from the pool too?"

Silence.  Not good.

"Did the water Daddy drank come from the pool?" I persisted.

"Uh-huh."

Guess that sinking feeling in my stomach was dirty pool water.  At least the pool hadn't been used for potty time.  The Coffee Queen had a big laugh over that one.  Rookie mistake, Dad, rookie mistake.

Building a puppet theater

Just over a week ago the Coffee Queen, the Little Scoot and I went to the Guthrie Theater's 50th anniversary celebration.  We were invited by some new friends from church: Nathan, Amy, and their son Micah who are originally from Tasmania and are living here for a couple of years (Nathan is a post-doc at the U of M and you can read his perspective on American life here).  The Guthrie had all sorts of activities going on, including the opportunity to tour the backstage areas which we all enjoyed.

Outside the Open Eye Figure Theatre pup on a small puppet show for kids.  The show was somewhat lacking in anything resembling a storyline, but the Little Scoot loved it.  He was quite taken with the puppets (especially the skeleton) and decided he wanted a puppet theater.  Well, what are dads for if not to turn these dreams into reality?  He also spent the next week asking for a "Daddy Day" so on Saturday we went to the hardware store and came home with a pile of wood and assorted hardware that I turned into this:

The assembled framework of the puppet theater

The original plan was that the Little Scoot would "help."  He was very excited to get his own pair of safety glasses, and he watched from a safe distance while I cut the wood with the power saw, but after that he decided it was more fun to chase the dog around the yard.  Oh well, it probably went faster this way. :-)

The Little Scoot talked about the puppet theater all week and what kinds of puppets he wants.  He wants a skeleton as well as "Old Monster Zebedee" (which he came up with), and yesterday he created "Dr. Beaks" who is apparently a bird..  The theater is now ready for the decorating crew, a.k.a. Mom and Grammy, and the plan is to put some kind of proscenium arch over the middle section.  The Little Scoot and I will then see about coming up with a play.  Our neighbors are already asking when opening night is going to be!

I love that the Little Scoot is old enough to get excited about projects like this and I know we're going to have even more fun when he's old enough to actually help with the construction, under Dad's supervision of course.  Yes, somehow I have become the "responsible adult."  When did that happen?

The Coffee Queen and the Little Scoot outside the Guthrie

"The Wind in the Willows" in La Crosse

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to drive down to La Crosse, Wisconsin to see a production of my adaptation of The Wind in the Willows put on by the La Crosse Community Theatre.  This was a youth production comprising a total of 39 kids on and off stage, ranging in age from 8 to 16.  And they did a beautiful job.  LCT just recently moved into a new space and they made great use of it.  The sets, lights, and costumes were all gorgeous and really helped created the world.  The cast too did a wonderful job.  I was impressed with the level of acting they demonstrated, from the loyal faithful Rat to the menacing Chief Weasel (who had perhaps the coolest costume) to the younger forest animals who through their transitions between scenes created the bustling river community.

The director, Rebecca Seflow Hartzell, was recently hired on at LCT to further develop their youth program and is clearly doing a great job.  The kids were responsible for areas behind the scenes as well, stage managing and running the light board, for example.  I think whenever you given kids this kind of ownership over the production they will rise up to the responsibility  They all took their roles seriously and it paid off in a polished production.

Rebecca and the theater's executive director David Kilpatrick invited me to do a talkback with the cast, crew, and audience after the show.  The kids all asked great questions (sometimes better than the answers I could think of!) ranging from how the show differed from what I had envisioned to how long it had taken to write to how I started writing plays in the first place.  They were a fantastic group and I appreciated how welcome everyone made me felt.  So congrats to everyone involved for a job very well done.  I hope it will not be the last time my words are brought to life in this theatre.   It really was a treat to see my play in such good hands.