2002

here’s a place in Houghton called Chutes and Ladders. It’s an awesome playground we take the kids to sometimes. It has a nice little beach where the you can see Gabe enjoying himself. Charlie looks like he’s ready to leave though. That’s the Ranger in the background coming back from a trip to Isle Royale. What you can’t see unfortunately is the huge slide structure that is the basis for the place’s name. It’s a huge towering set of ladders climbing to the top of 3 or 4 long slides. It’s well worth the climb. The beach is a good cooling off break after sliding for a while on a hot day. ...

Another favorite trip when we’re up in Bootjack, is driving somewhere on the northern shore. There are lots of great rock beaches for agate picking. The black flies tend to be much worse, but you just have to stay alert. Those suckers will take a pint of blood without you even knowing. Here Gabe is having some fun by the waterfalls. Walking up and down the beaches is always fun. Everyone tries to find agates, or at least very cool looking rocks. It’s hard to resist the impulse to do the Yooper jig, and Valri is no exception. ...

Well it’s that time of year to be in Bootjack again. It sure is a welcome site to see Charlotte (senior) in her black outfit and colorful hat. There’s always a bunch of new things around camp that you have to be briefed on. I suppose Valri is getting the latest scoop on one of the many gardens. I guess this family of geese has yet to learn that the Multer and Peyser kids are in town. For their own safety, it’s best for them to find a new location to lounge around for the next month. I’m sure Joey is admiring the beauty of these living creatures, or maybe something else. ...

Griffin was Nick’s pet bird. He was a cute blue parakeet that Nick loved carrying around on his shoulder. We didn’t have Griffin for very long, only a few months. A friend of Nick bought the bird and was looking for a new home for him. Nick has always loved Valri’s bird Toodles and had been lobbying for a bird of his own for some time. Griffin was a nice bird, but wasn’t quite in love with Nick the same way Toodles is. ...

Charlotte’s green thumb is really starting to show. This year’s garden is kickin some booty. We’ll be hauling in a huge number of tomatoes any day now.

Monica loves her new American doll we got in Chicago. She’s decided to call her Samantha, or Sammy for short. Here she is modeling her many adorable outfits. First up is her ice skating ensemble. Next is her urban outfit for trekking in the big city. Then she moves into her tennis outfit so she can meet up with the other American girls at the club. Finally she gets into her pajamas and it’s time for bed. ...

Gabe has been doing so great with his swimming lessons. Here he is learning to swim on his back in the Scotts Valley pool. He always has a lot of fun with this instructor. It’s also really tough to ever get those swim goggles off him. But he sure is having fun. Monica and I sit on the sidelines while Gabe has all the fun. Monica’s pretty entertained with Samantha and her matching sweatsuit outfit. What a pair they make. ...

We decided to do a boat lunch cruise around Chicago for our last day. Scott got us a reservation on a fine ship called The Duck. In spite of the name, she was a fine ship. Annabel certainly liked the taste of her. After lunch, they held a variety of contests for the kids. The moment we heard the hula hoop was to be an event, the prize was as good as ours. Monica works those hips effortlessly and crushes the competition. ...

We started the day with a very big event for the girls. Lynda arranged for breakfast at the American Girl store downtown. We had a great breakfast that felt a lot like a little girl tea party. This of course was followed by an intense session of doll shopping for both Monica and Rachael. Monica made off with a new doll and a pile of new outfits, including a matching sweatsuit for herself. As you can see, she’s literally eating it up. ...

Lynda gives me a call and suggests we meet in Chicago for Rachael’s birthday. Good chance for a trip to see Annabel and Monica loves to travel. How can I say no. We managed to pack quite a few events into our short trip, including this visit to the Field Museum. I think this is the T-Rex that Johnny Cash wrote a sing about, or maybe that was a man names Sue. The last two shots are a glimpse into what it was probably like for our early ancestors in the Stone Age. Notice the prominent brow ridges. ...