. . . and I thought to myself – it can’t be that easy.

But it turns out it was.

I (with my kids help and only a third of a year of Home Ec junior high training) was able to do this with Debbie not even in the home*. I recommend this for any dad. You need only the ingredients!

* Let me just add a bit more detail:  spray the pan first and put tin foil over it when you put it in – 350 degrees for 1.5 hours.

I was not planning it but my kids wanted to. I am not a Dad who is often going to turn down that request.

When we got home I checked and discovered that this is our earliest indoor Minnesota picnic.

It turned out to be quite fun and the kids got to stretch their legs a bit.

What’s that? You say you want proof? Well, . . . .

You’ll just have to take my word for it.

I recommend doing a total word count and a spiritual word count (including Bible Verses) and taking a percentage.

Bonus points for a smooth transition between “New about our Year” and the theological truths.

The Jamison Family, with a 6% Spiritual Content and a fairly awkward segue, has some room for growth in this area.

Debbie came outside on Saturday to where I working and said “I have a blog idea for you.”

Those are always good.

So here goes:

Dads, let’s say you’re celebrating your daughter Anna’s birthday and let us further suggest that you’ve made a cake for the celebration. Also you have a nearly two year old son.

Don’t let him alone with the cake. The following is an illustration of what might happen.

We enjoyed our 100th picnic at Island Lake Park with 4 other families (with 20 kids).

Want to see proof?

Some trivia:

Number of Locations :77
Number of Families Picnicked with:  13 – not including today, more or less, depending on how you count it.
Number of New Picnic Spots: 26
Picnic Spot most visited this year: Long Lake Park in New Brighton – 12 times

Yes, we’ll probably still go on more picnics whenever the weather is nice and we have some free time.

We had a good time and the kids all played along. At one point Adelyn, ready to kick at homeplate, expressed a nervousness about not doing well. And Debbie said, “Well, it’s just our family. Be thankful that it’s not a whole class of sixth grade boys.”

I’m thinking it’s possible that she speaks from personal experience.

That evening then I went over to Wordle and created this:

And then I printed it out and framed it. It’s all true.

I recommend this for your next present opportunity.

I wish I could say it was my idea, but it is in fact an idea borrowed from the Fathers Day gift that Debbie game me 11 months ago.

Dad: You know, while some might call me a ‘hero’ for making supper for all of us I think that’s going a little far. I mean sure, it was a helpful act that made life nicer for my entire family and was not self serving at all, but I think it stops short of being heroic.

Son 1 (11):  What is he saying?

Son 2 (12):  I have no idea.

==

Notes:

Hey, if Jessica can do it, so can I.

Menu for the evening: Popcorn*, Apples, Peanuts and Leftover Pizza.

Debbie was on the couch, sick.

And no, I didn’t make quotation marks with my fingers when I said ‘Hero’, but I wish now that I had.

* What do you want from me? We had tacos for lunch and French toast for breakfast, both of which I had at least a minor role of getting on the table.

* Maple syrup tapping might make one inexplicably wish that it weren’t quite so warm out.

* The average Twin Cities high temperature for this time of March is 39 degrees.

* One effective way to clean a real live lamb is to use Woolite (this data from the person who brought the lamb into Sunday School for an object lesson today)

* Our son Foster doesn’t really like to be in a swing of any kind.

* Stromboli made by my wife (new recipe) is really good.

* Putting pictures into a blog post is actually quite easy.

* The drill bit for making the hole in the tree to put the sap tap in was actually in my toolbox the whole time.

* My son Barrett won’t mind falling through the ice on Lake Vadnais if the water is only a foot and a half deep. In fact, he will treat it like an adventure.

March 7th, 2010, the JamFam actually supped outside. Debbie’s homemade beef stew. Want proof?

We had to walk through snow drifts to get here.

Do we look cold? I can assure you, we weren’t. When we got home, we found out that it was fifty.

But then we did something we’ve never done on a picnic, or on a 50 degree day – we went sledding.

From The Top Of Vadnais Heights

Perhaps the last winter adventure. But we’ll see.

Ready For The Train