3 boys in pj's

Dear Lead Cousin Hannah:

Here we are in our pj's, sitting on the couch in Gma Jill & Gpappy Larry's living room last night. We had a hard time posing without you here to get us lined up. We miss you and can't wait to see you at the end of March!

Love,
Baby Cousins Owen and Ethan and Assistant Lead Cousin Miles

In the news

Everywhere I turn recently, Dad/Larry/Paco/Grandpappy's name (his real one) is being dropped. Campus websites, the former Yellow Sheet, emails from relatives and friends, and conversations with co-workers, family, and friends..Larry Potts is one talked-about guy! Here is the blurb about Dad/Larry/Paco/Grandpappy's teaching award from the this week's Inside Gustavus (formerly The Yellow Sheet):

Larry Potts (chemistry, emeritus) is the 2010 recipient of the prestigious J. Calvin Giddings Award for Excellence in Education presented annually by the American Chemical Society. Award recipients are honored for enhancing the personal and professional development of students in the study of analytical chemistry. Potts taught in the Department of Chemistry at Gustavus from 1972 until his retirement in 2008 and continues as a research professor in the department. He will receive the award at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society on Aug. 22-26 in Boston.

Congratulations, Dad/Larry/Paco/Grandpappy!

Weekend

This has been a lovely February weekend. Yes, the snow is still higher than an apple pie on the 4th of July (huh?) and the garage floor is a wet sand pit, but the sun came out yesterday and is peeking out again today. Sun plus the gas stove plus an electric heater have turned the room into a vacation spot.

Here are some pics of Busy Boy Miles from his visit yesterday. Annie and Tanner were here, too, after staying overnight with Grandma Doreen and Grandpa Dave.

Miles, the chef, partly obscured by bamboo

Taking a snooze break with Rosie and Beachballelephant

Nice closeup of Milford

"Cheese!"

Lifting the dumptruck

Making hot coffee for Grandpappy

Some days it's a crazy, upside down world, Miles.Annie took all of the pics with my camera, so I'm claiming ownership.
Thanks, Annie!

This morning we skyped with Hannah, who sang "Te quiero yo, y tu a mi" (think purple dinosaur) and other delightful tunes while eating waffles and frutas. She wished Grandpappy congratulations on his teaching award, and he told her he got a sticker for it. She can relate to that (or to a lollipop, as Elisabeth pointed out).

Charlie and Angie, we're happy you had a good trip to Duluth and that the Wilco concert was fun. The babies must have all sorts of tales to tell about their stay with Grandma Dar and Grandpa Dean [Ethan and Owen, keep some secrets to reveal to your parents when they grow up. Parents tend to be more forgiving of their kids' dubious antics if they learn about them 20 years later. Just ask us--we have first-hand experience!].

Minnesota cookout

Tonight Dad/Larry/Paco/Grandpappy cooked a steak for our dinner on the outdoor grill. The temperature was 13 degrees, the wind was blowing strong enough for a wind chill temperature of 5 degrees, and snow fell while he grilled. To help compensate for the cold air, we cut the meat into three pieces so it would cook faster. But Dad did not compensate for the snowfall, so while it looks as if he sprinkled an absurd amount of salt on the plate before adding the cooked steaks, it's actually snow. In other parts of the country, people warm the serving plate, but not here in Minnesota! The steak tasted great, by the way.

February fun

We had a busy Friday and Saturday, with lots of baby and toddler fun. Charlie had an Alumni Board meeting at Gustavus last night and today through mid-afternoon, so he, Angie, Ethan, and Owen came yesterday mid-afternoon. Late in the afternoon, Hannah decided she wanted to call, but didn't know the babies were already here, so when she found that out, we had a great Skype-and-Dine session. Hannah had to work hard to get a word in because the little boys were so happy to see her they talked the entire time. In VERY loud and cute voices!

On Saturday around lunch time, Miles arrived with his mommy and daddy right in the middle of another Skype session with Hannah, this time so she could see Owen crawl. Owen showed off his crawling, Ethan grinned from ear to ear, and then they enjoyed bottles while everyone else talked.

As always, the time went too fast, and we miss everyone from North Carolina to Richfield to O-Town. Here are some highlights:

Ethan performs his magic sock removal trick!

Grandpappy and Miles talk about police cars and prop planes.

Miles teaches Owen the fine art of French cooking. Hannah, your help is needed!


Owen shows off his blue eyes and his duck-fluff hair.
Owen administers first aid to Ethan after a wrestling match.
Apparently Grandpappy said something controversial.
Ethan uses his brother's derriere as a foot rest.

Grandpappy entertains the little boys
while waiting for a Skype call from Cousin Hannah.

First day

I changed everything from what I'd picked yesterday for the start of the semester.

The students are nice, based on first impressions, but I've decided I don't want to be here. What I wish I had for my three objects are (1) an invisibility cloak; (2) Samantha Stevens' "Bewitched" nose-twitch to make myself disappear; and/or (3) a multi-million dollar winning lottery ticket.

Final semester

Back in September I wrote about this being my last year of teaching at Gustavus.It's February, and half of my time has run out; only one semester remains. Again I have to decide upon three objects to bring to class the first day --tomorrow--that represent where I am in my life. This time it's the last time, and I feel good that it's the last time. Here's my plan:

1. My incomplete Seven Stories Project. This is a writing project my students have done nearly every semester. It started as family stories and now it is the answer to the question, "If you had to tell about your life in only seven stories, what would those stories be?" It's an impossible task for me to complete with only seven stories, but I'm going to try to have it in some form of "finished" by May 18. It's not too hard to figure out that the project is supposed to be symbolic of my life, but I don't like to follow rules, so there will be more than seven stories and they will be about lots more than just me!

2. A rock that has Remember carved into it. Two friends gave it to me after Grandma Bene died. Right now it sits in the living room in front of the photo I have of Molly on the beach. My memories of eleven years teaching at Gustavus are mostly good ones. Well that's a lie. I might have to make up something to work this one in.

3. I haven't decided on the third item yet. I'm leaning toward a book I have called If... which is filled with "what if" types of questions. You know... "If you had to choose a room in your house to live in that you could never leave, which room would it be?" or "If dogs could make peanut butter sandwiches, would you eat one?" This book makes me realize there are many ideas I've never thought about thinking about, much less doing, like eating a peanut butter sandwich made by a dog, for one. Sounds messy. If I choose the book, it will represent the what-ifs waiting out there after the spring semester is over, my office is cleaned out, and I have no income. Maybe my third item should be a bottle of booze instead!

As much I love teaching and as much as I'll miss it, I'm not feeling sentimental about tomorrow being "the last first day" (thank you, Mary, for that phrase). There are reasons to be done with this job that would sound cranky and not very kind-hearted if I were to describe them here, so I won't. Even though I'm not misty-eyed, I do have butterflies in my stomach, the same as I've had the night before every first day of every semester since I've been at Gustavus, and every first day of my teaching career. It still feels new.