We are so grateful to call N. Truro home for a few weeks every year!

We'd love to hear from you... it's easy to call camp and ask them to leave us a note on the camp message board. (They don't mind, truly.) 

That number (good from July 10th through the 20th or so) is 508/ 487-1191, and office hours are pretty much all day with the exception of meal breaks from noon-1pm and again from 6-7pm.

Even if you don't have a chance to send a message our way, we know we can count on you to send warm wishes and healing thoughts... right? And a special thanks to our fabulous neighbors, who are keeping watch on our little house until we get back.

(For a glimpse at previous years' adventures, 

see post-camp posts from 

2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2006.)

New Haircut

(When did he get so grown up?)

Freedom By the Ocean

Yes, it's that time of year again... we hear the ocean (and, in my case, a giant stack of library books) calling our names, and we are outta here! 

We would love it if you sent us snailmail at camp! (Last year we got a bunch of mail and it was SO GREAT.) If you're reading this between July 4th and July 12th or so, this is your big chance to make our day at camp.

Send a little note to:
Riendeau-Krause campers, site 35-C
c/o North of Highland Campground
52 Head of the Meadow Road
P.O. Box 297
North Truro, MA 02652-0297

If you'd prefer, you can call the camp and ask them to leave us a note on the camp message board, which is also a big thrill. That number (good from July 6th through the 17th or so) is 508/ 487-1191, and office hours are pretty much all day with the exception of meal breaks from noon-1pm and again from 6-7pm.

Even if you don't have a chance to send a message our way, we know we can count on you to send warm and sunny thoughts... right? And a special thanks to the excellent neighbors who are keeping watch on our little house until we get back.

Lessons From Camp 2013

When we tell people that our annual vacation tradition consists of two weeks of camping in the duneside scrub pine forests of Cape Cod, they sometimes have a difficult time imagining how truly decadent that ends up feeling. 

So here, once again, is our post-camp photo journal, along with some related lessons we learned (or, in some cases, re-learned) at camp this year. (Clicking on pictures will give you access to a larger version of the same image.) It certainly felt luxurious to us!

Live it up!

(Just because you're roughing it,

doesn't mean you can't splurge.)

No hands. Definitely.

Design your own golf course.

Bring a friend.

Rain brings new opportunities.

Honor your traditions.

Use your imagination.

(There wasn't any rope, but most cars slowed.)

Look up.

Look down.

Change your perspective.

Find great teachers.

Ride the waves all the way in.

Bring books, and a head lamp.

(Thanks so much to our camping partners Sassafras Mama + JT, 

and our camping neighbors Kathia, Marc, + Kosma,

as well as to Aunt Chelle, Mickie, Grammy + Grampy, Grandpa + Nana, 

Ryan Garcia, Steve Erickson, the Pattons, the Rawleys,

Lorraine, Mike, Ray, Deborah,

and everyone else who conspired to make

our time at camp especially wonderful this year.

More great pics are available over at Sassafras Mama

(in this post and in this one!)

and if you have the time, treat yourself to a look 

at how these boys have GROWN

by checking out the posts 

from 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2006.)

Auntie Camp

Doesn't look like a first meeting, does it?

Cousin C has a gift for making friends...

people, dogs, and, apparently... birds!

The girl has skills.

Hot summer day + pool + cousins = awesome.

Proud of these two.

Games For Change Festival 2013

Did we have a good time? Take a look at this and tell me what YOU think:

(Here's Miss T play-testing Privilege, the only tabletop game 

at the screen-dominated Festival.)

Miss T and I spent two days in NYC hobnobbing with folks who live at the intersection of games and learning... we had a GREAT time.

There were thought-provoking presentations 

about coordinated transmedia campaigns like Half the Sky.

Here's Miss T playing the extremely creepy Nevermind, which includes a biofeedback element as well as a faceless cat... she had to step away!

We loved Lindsay Grace's talk on the verbs of games.

Here's Miss T explaining some of the finer points of Quandary,

one of the demonstration games we liked the best.

The first night we caught the final preview performance

of Bureau of Missing Persons, which we really enjoyed.

Thanks to AirBnB, we were able to crash in the Village!

Day Two found Miss T checking out the amazing Blindside, a game which depends entirely on audio cues and motion-sensors for its game play. (Thus her closed eyes.) Later in the festival, Miss T had a lovely conversation with the co-creators of the game.

Jesse Schell's closing keynote, here featuring
a Dorothy Parker quote, was entitled
"Sheep, Goats, and the Future of Learning" (link is to his slidedeck);
it was one of my favorites.

No Special Day is complete without ice cream.

And here are your victorious travelers on the train ride home!

(If you're curious about the festival,

check out their site.)

Meet Django

We interrupt your regularly-scheduled haiku to bring you your first glimpse of our soon-to-be newest member of the family...

Mr. D has been waiting a long time for this. This dapper fellow is a Jardine parrot, and he'll likely be coming home to us sometime in early August. Until then we have to content ourselves with visits.

We think he's quite handsome and clever. But we're also clearly already biased. :-D

Winter Family Overnight

Winter Family Overnight is a Quaker gathering especially for families with children in grades K-5. As the PYM website describes it: "There is multigenerational activity for the whole family, a dinner together, free time to play, bedtime stories, Giant First Day School, worship, a chance for adults to spend time with other parents, and you'll be home in time to have the time on Sunday you need to prepare for the rest of the week! Family overnight is an intentional village for the purpose of being a family of Friends."

I went with Mr. D and his cousin C, who we got a little bit of a special dispensation for (although Quakers don't really do dispensations), since she's technically a sixth grader. The posted cheerful schedules helped set a great tone, as did the beautiful and peaceful setting of Camp Onas. 

Program Coordinator Ben Camp kept it all going, from early introductions...

to emergency fire-oxygenation techniques... 

to Variety Show wrangling.

When we found ourselves with a little too much leftover rice,

the awesome Rich invented a new dish on the spot.
(And Lisa and I volunteered to get messy with it.)

We were happy to spend some time with the Camp Onas donkeys...

... and even happier to settle in for some cozy time near the fire.

Icicles never stop being magical.

Bill's crokinole board was a huge hit.

And children were pleased to share all of their discoveries with new friends.

On First Day, Friend Tom Hoopes led us 

in a meditative reflection on the nature of expectations,

the power of language and of attachment, 

and the elements of awareness 

("attention with intention").

We surprised ourselves by becoming attached 

to stones we'd never seen before...

and then gave them back.

It was a lovely weekend.

(There's another one in the spring.)

Even Better Than Expected

We had a fantastic honeymoon/ 20th anniversary (depending on how you count) trip to CA and Hawai'i! Here are just a few glimpses into The Oahu portion of our trip (all photos mine unless otherwise noted).

 In the jacuzzi at the Aqua Bamboo.

 The beginning of the path to Manoa Falls.

 Manoa Falls

Looking back at the mountains (photo by DRK!).

Mr. D got some lessons on reading waves at Waikiki...

... and then proceeded to ride some! (Thanks, Kris!)

Former volcanic crater now turned coral reef...

...aka snorkeling heaven Hanauma Bay.

(Thanks to Flickr user Bemep for this photo.)

 Moonrise over Diamond Head

This trip really re-ignited my travel urge... we were just awestruck by the gorgeous scenery, perfect weather, and friendly people of Hawai'i.