Merry Christmas!

With about six inches of new snow arriving yesterday, it has made today a spectacular Christmas Eve! We're looking forward to Grandma Sharon arriving soon, and then there will be church services, dinner, and opening presents.

We hope that everyone who is reading this is also having a safe and joyous day. Merry Christmas!

Kris, Katie, Sarah, Grace, Emma, and Anne

Feelin' a Little Swedish

Today Sarah was mentioning how one of her classmates was "so Swedish" that she celebrated St. Lucia's Day at home. I grant that this can make you seem awfully Swedish, but I pointed out to Sarah that we are also part Swedish.

"How much?" she asked.

Well, allow me to elaborate. First, I will be the first to admit that, until 2002, I had no idea that I was part Swedish. I thought I was Finnish and German/Polish, and with a strange but meaningless last name. Fortunately, this all changed when I went to Finland for two weeks. There, armed with the scant knowledge that my ancestors were from somewhere in Finland and used to be named Kouri, I had a conversation with someone who told me that, apparently, my great-great grandfather must have decided to use his Swedish name upon emigrating to the U.S.

"Swedish last name?" I asked, perplexed.

"Of course," the friendly Finn replied. "Layon is Swedish. It should be spelled Lejon. It means lion."

Lion!

Since then, other things I've learned:

- The Göta Lejon was a ship in the Swedish Navy until - interestingly - 1971, when I was born.
- Försäkrings AB Göta Lejon is the city of Göteborg's (Sweden) insurance company. Göteborg (Gothenburg in English) is named for the river Göta, which empties into the North Sea at this location.
- Saab's logo incorporates a griffin, a mythical creature that is part lion and part eagle. "The heraldic griffin's head - derived from the coats of arms of the Skåne and Östergotland counties in southern Sweden - traditionally symbolises vigilance."

And at the time that the Lejon-Kouri situation was explained to me, I also observed that western Finland was bilingual and bicultural, so I just happen to fit that mold perfectly. For example, the city where my friend Vesa lives is called Turku in Finnish and Abo in Swedish. (photo of a Finnish train bound for Turku/Abo). My ancestors are from Tornio and Kemi, right on the border with Sweden.

So I went from having a family name and history that I thought meant nothing, to this, in a matter of minutes.

All Kinds (of Beautiful)

Today is Katie's birthday. And as I was driving to work, I started playing Dan Wilson's wonderful new CD "Free Life". The timing couldn't have been more perfect: thinking about Katie, driving past the beautiful shimmering water toward the Minneapolis skyline (Dan lives just up the chain of lakes from us), and listening to "All Kinds". The song is lovely, and says a lot of the same things I would say about Katie and our girls.

A lovely Minneapolis autumn morning...and a great way to start a birthday for my most beautiful wife.

• Listen to "All Kinds" on Dan Wilson's MySpace page
• Email katielayon at hotmail.com to say happy birthday (37!)

Nearly Halloween

This evening we got ready for Halloween. It was about as perfect of a fall day as one could hope for, starting with raking leaves, carving pumpkins, eating German food for dinner, and having a campfire with smores.

More photos here.

Tsunamis

Sarah had a report due this week, and decided to do it about tsunamis. She also decided to do the report in iMovie.

She had never used iMovie before. And except for answering a few minor timing/editing questions for her, all I did was format the final draft for both web and DVD. She spent about one week working on the project.

( note: I spent an entire semester in graduate school taking a digital video course... *sigh* )

After the initial sound effect, the voice track is not very loud, so you may need to crank up your volume setting.

5 Things I Want My Daughters to Know

My good friend Pastor Eric tagged me to come up with these:

1. You are four of the greatest gifts I have ever been given (the fifth is your mother).

2. I also suspect that you will be the four best gifts I ever had a part in giving to the world. You make me feel very humble about everything else that I do, and have ever done; nothing else matters as much as being your father.

3. I think that you are here to bring much love, joy, laughter, and good will to the world. You do this already, and there is nothing else as important or as precious as that.

4. Being with you teaches me new things about the world, and how it can be seen and experienced. I think I've learned that this is a central part of love, for being with people you love...and who love you...changes your relationship to the world. It is very exciting, and I thank you for this!

5. More than anything, I wish your Grandpa Roger could have met you, and you him. He would have loved being your grandfather.

First Day of School 2007

Today was Anne's first day in daycare, Emma's first day (of her last year) of preschool, Grace's first day of second grade, and Sarah's first day of fifth grade.

3,560 Miles

Yesterday we returned from a grand summer odyssey: driving 3,560 miles to destinations in Idaho, Washington, and South Dakota. We were gone two weeks, and it was a fabulous vacation. The map above shows the route in most of its detail (click to enlarge).

A photo slideshow from our trip.

See Grace Canoe!

Like last year's trip, this year's annual BWCA trip was another family milestone. Last year Sarah went for the first time (at age 8), and this year's trip was Grace's first, just a week before her 7th birthday. My father-in-law Kent also joined us--- I think this was our 6th canoe voyage together!

The weather was mostly fabulous; quite cool, with a bit of rain on Saturday, and then glorious sun and more cool breezes Sunday and Monday.

Grace did a great job canoeing and had a wonderful time, and as with any time that you do something with a child for the first time, it also made it extra special for me...but seeing something through Grace's eyes always does this for me!

A photo slideshow of our trip is here.

Another 26.2

Saturday I ran my second marathon, and like last year the conditions were extreme. Both the temperature and humidity at the start were in the mid-60s; by the finish, the temperature had climbed to the mid-80s. Not ideal running weather by any means!

Fortunately, I was not one of the 63 people needing IV fluids nor one of the 28 people requiring hospitalization. Instead, I beat last year's time by 6 minutes, finishing in 4:56:49.

More news here on my marathon blog.

In Defense of the Swimsuit Competition

To the people who argue that modern beauty contests should not include a swinsuit competition, I disagree and present the following evidence:

Rockgardening

A week ago, we went to visit my mom at the family cabin. It was a fun visit, especially for the girls: they got to pick rocks.

Rocks, you say? Yes, the highlight of this cabin's location is not close proximity to a beautiful lake where you can swim or fish (no such lake within miles). No significant body of water is nearby, in fact; and Silver Creek, which meanders through the property, is just that--- a creek. It's nice to look at, but that's about it.

No, one of the main highlights of this cabin is its close proximity to a gravel pit. Where you can pick rocks.

It's interesting to note that this part of the state is known for its agates, which are essentially a poor-man's gemstone. They can be very pretty. And they can be found quite easily, with just a bit of hunting and poking around this gravel pit.

So that's usually what I do (and I once found one with a rough outline of the state of MN in it: the state agate?). But our girls seem just as happy to pick up any old rocks, as long as they're sizable and smooth, so that they can paint them.

A few days later, their newest crop of rocks have become a new rock garden next to their playhouse in our backyard. And I have to say, the rocks do provide a nice alternative to agates. While they do not have the sensuous layers of silica, they possess a certain nature that is both quaint and mystical:

Belated Birthday Post

Anne turned one on April 4. It was quite a cake-fest, as these two photos attest.

Note that when Katie is not busy trying to save lives at the hospital, she is busy trying to fatten us up with her delicious cakes. Lately she has been into using fondant, which is frosting that can be rolled out, and is what gives this cake its smooth appearance.

Which Annie then demonstrates is not meant to be cherished for long!

Next Stop: Havana

We recently vacationed in Key West for the first time, and found it to be a fabulous place. Nearly everyone went (Anne got to stay with Grandma Marilyn and Grandpa Kent instead). Now that I'm finally taking some time to go through photos and get some printed, here's a classic, corny tourist shot of us standing at the southernmost point of the U.S.

Mind the Gap

Grace lost a major tooth today. Wow, what a picture!

Three-Year-Old Clarity Trumps Hazy Early-Morning Parenting

On the drive to Emma's school today:

Emma: Dad, I need a tissue. Can you give me a tissue?

Me: I'm sorry Emma, I don't have any up here. You knew your nose was running...you should have brought one with you.

Emma: Yeah.

Me: Maybe you can just wipe it on your mitten. It's kind of yucky, but sometimes you just have to do that when you don't have a tissue. It will dry up and be fine.

Emma: Ok.

The dilemma appears to pass, and then it is quiet for several minutes...

...interrupted by the sound of Emma loudly blowing her nose.

Me: Emma, did you just blow your nose into your mitten?

Emma: [laughing] No! I blew it on my mitten!

Note to self: You can't be explicit enough about directions to a three-year-old. That, and they appear to revel in their acute attention to prepositions.

My Blog Gets a Soundtrack!

So here's an interesting story. I heard and read great things about Tim O'Reagan's new album (formerly, drummer for The Jayhawks), and finally got around to buying the CD. Lo and behold...track 8 is called "Girl/World"!

Well, he didn't get the spelling quite right, but I still say that he was awfully nice to write and record a theme song for my blog. Thanks Tim! (and yes, I do love the album). A snippet of the song is below:

Is This a Good Idea?

After a few years of periodically climbing REI's indoor pinnacle and one YMCA climbing camp last summer, we decided to enroll Sarah in a serious climbing camp at Vertical Endeavors during Christmas break. It was two days of technical climbing and belaying training.

It was thrilling to watch, and she absolutely loves it. On the other hand, seeing her cling to a wall 4 stories above a concrete floor, with another 9-year-old belaying her, I couldn't help but begin to wonder whether encouraging this is really a good idea?...