Everett and Chris aspire to leave the house each school day morning by 7:30am. On the days we are able to achieve this we very likely have more fun getting to school than anyone else. Reason 1: the zoo interchange construction project is a monstrosity that is now reaching full size. Over the next 4 or five years it will affect roads ranging in size from interstates to small secondary roads. Already we have had several road closures in our neighborhood. To make matters worse, the entrance ramp to Interstate 94 near our house will be closed for about a year, as well as the entrance to Route 45. And the local roads that provide detours are partially or completely closed as well (Swan Blvd, Harwood Ave, Harmonee Ave). So it’s rough trying to get anywhere in the car. Fortunately it doesn’t affect us on the bike, which relates to Reason 2: we continue to have bike adventures on the way to school as time allows. Lately we have been taking different trails around the reservoir, and we have invented a bus stop game where Everett hops off the bike, hikes for a bit, and then he gets picked up on the “bus” and pays his fare in rocks. He is very generous with the rocks, and we have amassed quite a collection in the bike.

Chris tries to offload these when he thinks of it, but Everett is pretty diligent about collecting more.

This weekend we attended Dan & Michelle’s wedding in Cleveland. We left Friday night, drove to Toledo and then made it to Cleveland by midday on Saturday for lunch at Tommy’s. In the afternoon we rested and got ready, and around 5pm Chris’ former colleague Angela came by with her daughter Erin to watch Everett for the evening at their house. The wedding ceremony was in the Japanese Garden at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens, followed by an outdoor reception and dinner in the banquet hall. It went beautifully and we were very thankful to be a part of it. The twins joined us and behaved very well. We held them during the ceremony, and they spent the rest of the evening being held by friends or resting in their bassinets. Chris wanted to take pictures during the ceremony. However, it turns out that photography is considerably more difficult with three children compared to one.

The next day we went to the post-wedding brunch at Dan & Michelle’s house where we got to see some of our good friends and their children: Aaron, Michelle & Minna; Walter, Marcy, Augie and Louie.





We left for home around noon, but before doing so we told Everett that if he wanted to we could stop in South Bend to visit his best friend Mary. He answered an emphatic yes, and for the next four hours he asked how much longer until we got there. He and Mary had a few hours to make soup in a bucket from acorns, dirt, crabapples, leaves, grass and whatever else they could find.

The McVeighs hosted us for dinner, then loaded us up with about a bushel and a half of fresh vegetables. The departure was much lower drama than we expected between Everett and Mary.

During this trip Everett was the great traveler that he always is. We got home after 10pm and he was in bed by around 10:30. However, the next morning he had a really rough time waking up and was even slower than usual getting ready. Alas, this was not a morning with time for any adventures. A few blocks from home he told Chris that he forgot his backpack and lunch. When Chris mentioned this to Everett’s teacher Ms. Tierra, she explained that the arrival of the twins is a major transition, that they have been expecting to see some behavior changes as a result, and that now is the time for patience. She is not the first person to mention the need for patience and the possibility of some regression in behavior. The challenge for us as parents is to achieve more patience with less sleep. Fortunately we have many friends and family who either are or have been in similar situations, and it is strangely therapeutic to share our experiences with them.