Category Archives: Family Entertainment

Solidifying Our Friendship With Trees

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This weekend we became Friends of Trees. I think we were already pretty close with trees and loved meeting them at the park to play, or nodding hello as we passed on the street but today we solidified the friendship. We aren’t just Facebook friends that quietly stalk each other online and occasionally LIKE a funny status update Trees  makes about birds and the frustration of getting poop stains off birch bark. This weekend we became such good friends of trees that we helped nine of them move to new homes around North East Portland. Everyone knows that’s a true friend right there: one that helps you move.

Beautiful, the boys, and I rallied with a couple hundred other friends to get instructions and break into groups. We were group X, which pleased the boys to no end as they referred to themselves as X-men the rest of the day. What a couple of dorks. We drove to the first house and learned how to plant a tree from our team leader. While others stood by to observe the process the boys got in and got their hands dirty exposing the roots and scarring the hole for maximum success. Sure they were in the way at times but mostly they were the ones leading the charge to get the tree planted.

After planting seven trees and having another group plant our other two trees, we met back up at the rally point and shared a meal with all our new friends. Not the trees of course, they had to stay and unpack at the their new homes and enjoyed some cold water while we ate our warm soups. It was a great community building event and we felt so “Portland” for taking part. I was proud of the boys and the way they dug right in and worked hard while others seemed to be there to bring some karmic balance for past sins against nature. I would recommend getting out and volunteering together as a family adventure, we had a great time on ours and felt like we did some good as well.

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He’s got a ticket to ride and he don’t care

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Last year, as a birthday present, I was given the board game Ticket To Ride by my Sister and Brother in Law. We played the European version while on summer vacation the year before and I loved the game. It is an easy to learn strategy game that can be played with two to five people and depending on the way the cards fall anyone can win. Those with the better strategies do better in the long run but the same person doesn’t win every game. After getting the game for my birthday we hadn’t had a chance to play it until this Christmas when we dusted off the box and taught my family how to play. Over the week that my brother and his family were here we played ten to fifteen games. Beautiful won more than anyone else but everyone had at least one win to call their own. After the holidays ended Primo asked to play the game that we were all having so much fun with so I set up a modified version of the game to play with both boys.

Segundo does not have the patience to play even a toddlered down version of the game so we let him do his own thing, placing trains down willy nilly. Primo on the other hand took to the game like daddy takes to a fresh hop IPA. He was quickly able to figure out where he needed to go to get his trains from Duluth to El Paso, and after a couple of games even started to pick up some secondary strategy. He knew to grab cards he would need later if the card he needed now wasn’t available. Ticket To Ride turns out to be a great game, with some minor rule changes, for a five and half-year old to pick up some critical thinking in a fun environment. I worked it so he won his first couple of games but as he got better I started to play it straight up, trying to win. There are still times when he comes out on top but we no longer let him win. He threw a fit last night when I beat him pretty bad but we took the opportunity to talk about sportsmanship, winning and losing, and playing the game for the fun of it and not just to win. He rallied and we played again today he was much better when he lost. He told me that he knew that my Seattle to New york route is what won the game for me and he was right. I’m under no misgivings that my kid is super smart but I love seeing these clear signs of his development as he picks up strategy and cause and effect. Soon I will get him working on card counting and keeping a poker face for our father son trips to the casino.

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Sunny day activities on Rainy Day afternoons

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Frank has had a good effect on all of us early in the New year. We have been getting out and exercising a bit more that we normally do in the dead of Portland winter. That may have more to do with the unseasonably sunny days than his relentless passion for lifting things over his head and chanting at us, but either way it has been a nice winter. I write this  sitting in a coffee shop with a miserable cold sideways rain that makes umbrellas and previous plans silly, but the last week has been lovely. We have done the bike rides to the library, the play dates outside at friend’s houses, and explored some parks off the beaten trail while bundled against the cold but dry. It is almost disorienting how nice it has been here in Portland this winter. I feel like I don’t enough seasonal reasoning for my mild depression and might have to look into the issue as personal thing and not a reaction to outside forces. That’s just silly, we all know I’m the picture of confidence and mental health so it must be the boys that are causing it.

Now that the weather looks to be returning to normal I wondering how well our goal to get out and about is going to go. We have rain gear and the mud puddles have their own allure so it’s just a matter of overcoming the initial inertia and getting out of the house. These things seem to go much better when planned instead of being left to day of decision-making. Making plans with others make the problem of getting started a bit easier since it is harder to let someone else down then it is for me to just spin it with the boys. So anyone in Portland want to schedule a play date next week where we explore a trail or jump in some puddles?

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Frank The Exercise Nut

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Guess which one is Frank

I wrote about the creative ailments that Segundo has suffered through and his story telling prowess but in the last couple of days he has come up with a whole new schtick that raises the bar of three-year old comedy. He no longer wants to be called his given name and would instead like to be called Frank. “Daddy my name is Frank now so that’s what you should call me!” He informed us of the name change on Sunday and since then he has really been fleshing out this new character. When we dropped Primo off at school on Monday morning he was still Segundo but once we got home he informed me that he was now Frank and needed to go change. He put on a t-shirt and shorts and came running out  of his room to pose in an action shot stance and tell me that “Frank loves to exercise!” He then started running laps around the house and asked me to keep track of them. We got up to twenty before he took a break and told me that Frank needs some water in order to exercise more. Then he went around the house picking up the things he could and lifting them up over his head chanting “Ex-er-cise, ex-er-cise, ex-er-cise”

I was nearly wetting my pants from laughter watching him transform into this crazy character apparently channeling the ghost Jack Lalane. His whole face changes into this new person and the glint in his eye is hilarious. He has put on a show for Beautiful and my Dad when they both got home for work and had them cracking up too. We learned that Frank has the same parents but is not the same person as Segundo, the way you can tell them apart is that “Frank just loves to exercise, and Segundo just likes to play.” I don’t know how we continue to encourage this creative expression but I want to make sure that I do everything I can. Right now he good for a post a week on this blog and I can always use the content.

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Coastal Characters

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Spelling ROHL on the dunes

Over Christmas break my brother, his wife, and their two-year old were up from Arizona for some holiday time in the NorthWest. When ever we get folks in from out-of-town we get to head out to all sight-seeing spots and remember why we love our region. The day after Christmas we headed out to the coast to get some time on the beach despite the 30 degree temps and heavy mist.

Most of our group had lunch in the car as we parked by the sea, while my brother and I climbed the cliff above the shore and listened to the thunder cracks of waves breaking about 200 yards out in the ocean. We walked around Seaside, where we lived before moving to California when I was 12, and spent too much money at the arcade. My dad, Brother, and I had a couple shoot outs at the basketball game and we all collected tickets playing skeet ball with the little boys. Turning in tickets for candy we took a ride on the carousel before heading to the long stretch of beach where you can drive your car.

Primo got behind the wheel and ping ponged us from shore to dunes always threatening to get us stuck in one or the other. We stopped and ran around like crazy people and generally had a silly time acting like kids. After a couple of pictures we loaded everyone back up in the car sans wet clothes and trekked the hour drive back to my parents house. It was a great time at the coast and quiet car ride home as sleepy folks cozied up to each other and napped solidly. While the surroundings were lovely it was really the people who made the trip so great. We all forgot about the cold wet weather and just found the adventure in each stop, and experienced the trip like our kids did. We ran around the beach, chased birds, and drove like drunken weebles laughing all the time. For me the best part is that look in Primo’s eyes as I got out and chased him down the beach while the car was still moving. His pure joy and wonder was all pouring out of him and looked at me like he couldn’t believe that was really happening. I often feel like I don’t go all in like that with the boys so it’s nice to let loose and be goofy when I can.

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Collecting Comics with the kids

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Beautiful wrote about our boys new-found obsession with superheros and that passion was rewarded this Christmas with all manner of swag. The boys got action figures, legos, jammies, and socks with different superheros on them and from all different sources. Even the wrapping paper from Grammie and Tom Tom had Green Lantern on it, making them highly valued. Beautiful made them capes and masks in different colors so the boys could dress up to their heart’s content.

Not being a superhero fan growing up this world is all new to me so when I saw that DC Comics was rebooting 52 of their story lines I thought it was a good time to get in on the ground floor  and share something with my boys. So together the boys and I made our first trip to the comic store September and picked out two comics to start with. This was early on in the superhero craze for the boys so they were a bit overwhelmed, as was I, with all the colors and books. Over the next couple of months our knowledge of the DC universe has increased and the boys are picking out comics that they know and are written for them, or for young kids that are already reading. Our first two comics have now turned into four comics that we are collecting and while these stories are not age appropriate for the boys I’m looking forward to sharing with them when they are. In the mean time I am loving these iconic characters with accessible entry points for me to get into and the monthly trip to the comic store is eagerly anticipated by all three of us. So far Beautiful hasn’t caught the bug, but we’re working on her.

 

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Outdoor Adventures: Beaver Falls

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While the ladies headed into town to do some shopping the boys headed out Beaver Falls to get some much-needed fresh air and adventure. My brother and his wife were here for Christmas and all of us were staying just up the river in Clatskanie. After a couple of days int he house we all needed some fresh air so my brother and I took our kids out to Beaver Falls to brave the high waters, muddy trails, slippery leaves, and creek crossings. We parked near the top of the falls and ran into a creek that was bisecting the trail. Since I was the only one with boots on I carried each of the kids over to the other side and then put my brother on my back to get him across. It was a funny scene and a lot of weight on slippery rocks but we made it across. We gingerly trekked over the wet leaves and muddy trail to the edge of the falls and drank in the thundering noise of the fast-moving water. I was nervous for the boys as they reached for rocks to throw in the water, but we were cautious and safe the whole time. Part of the adventure is learning how to do scary things in a safe way, and it’s an important lesson to teach our kids. Sheltering them from danger at all times doesn’t teach them how to handle scary situations. After throwing some rocks we climbed around further down the river and saw the whole length of the falls. Primo told me how uses branches to hold on to on his way down and shuffled his feet to keep from slipping. It was a great walk and just what we all needed before heading to the playground to kick the soccer ball around.

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Forgeries, or encouraging creativity

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There has been a good deal of coloring going on in this house lately. Whether markers, crayons, paints, or oil pastels the boys have been putting color on paper and creating their masterpieces at ab alarming rate. This period has seen some real growth in realism as Primo has a torso on his people now, not just arms and legs coming right out of the head. Segundo has started drawing cars that even have wheels on them, albeit right next to each other in the middle of the blob. It’s progress that comes from repetition and patience. I had an idea to find some pictures on the computer and have the boys recreate them on their papers and this has proven to be fun and really amazing to watch. They take a moment to decide if they are going to match the color or the design or both and then get started copying what they see in their own way. I hear this is how all great artist start, copying the greats. Segundo has little patience for it but Primo really gets into it and wants me to join in. He assigns me quadrants and checks my work at regular intervals. He’s a bit of a micromanager but hes cool with multiple coffee breaks so I can’t complain. In the pictures below you can see the original picture and the one that Primo and I made. This is a really fun way to incorporate art into play and I would highly recommend it for parents wanting to do something creative with their kids.

Original

Primo's Copy

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The Other F Word

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When Punk Rockers have kids something has to give, or does it. In the new Documentary from Rare Birds Films called The Other F Word Writer and Director Andrea Blaugrund Nevins digs into fatherhood through the eyes of a bunch of guys whose fathers were largely not there. The documentary is touching and funny and gives a great look at what fatherhood does to change us in so many ways while challenging us to be more. Reflecting on their own childhood a number of the musicians vow to be more than their fathers were and finding the balance between their old life, and this new family. Check out the preview below and find a theatre near you to watch this great movie.

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