At school your class was doing a unit on peacemakers like Martin Luther King and Gandhi. Everyone was asked to think about and draw their "peaceful place." After some thought you decided it was the beach house. You said "Oh, it's really peaceful at night."
Age limits on boxes? (“recommended for ages 9-12”)
Ignore them and conquer.
Hundreds of tiny colored plastic pieces begging for unity, coordination and organization?
Keep calm, take it one step at a time.
Multiple instruction manuals that seem to go on forever?
Read, pay attention and the pathway to success becomes clear.
Sets you’ve never seen before?
New = a fun challenge.
You are Camden, the Lego King. Nothing can stop you.
Like the weather – gray and a little chilly – we stumbled into our second 3 Musketeers Day of 2013 in funky moods and hesitant tones.
We visited Young’s restaurant on Main Street to kick off our day (in usual fashion) with a nice breakfast… but no one waited on us and it seemed better suited for an old crowd… it was boring and quiet. Definitely not for kids. We climbed back into the Youk and headed to a favorite old haunt from my college days, the UNH Dairy Barn. I showed you around the old train station and you looked at the old photos.
When I went to school there, a building across the street featured a big collection of insects. We checked it out, but the entomology department is no longer there. I felt like a silenced cricket. We crawled away like centipeds as we headed to the Field House where I was hoping to show you the indoor pool and track. Ugh. The former was locked and the track was occupied. We were able to walk through the basketball gym which looks big when the bleachers aren’t down. They weren’t….so at least that worked out!
Onto Cowell Stadium where the Wildcats play football. We looked down at the field then walked down the steps to the field. I wanted to run with you on the track that surrounds the field, but we found out this isn’t permitted anymore! Geez… I used to run on that track several times a week. Well at least Emma thought the stadium was cool. Ben, you were dragging your heels – I asked what was wrong and you said:
I’m bored
I brought you through the tunnel connecting the Field House with Lot A and yelled what I yelled everytime I went through it as a nineteen and twenty year old:
hell-low BAY-BEEEE, dis is da Big Bopper speakin!
My booming voice echoed like the old days; I don’t think you were very impressed. But you had fun when we all yelled together to make our own echoes! Next up… something that would hopefully BE THERE… the Wildcat statue. It was!
Across the street was the Memorial Union Building (also known as the “MUB”). This was my number one hangout from college days. My plan was to bring you bowling and play video games. Ugh, the bowling alley isn’t there anymore and the video games are now private seating areas that require reservations.
Onto the bookstore… where I wanted to buy new UNH hockey sticks for the rec room. You guys love playing hockey. Good news? The bookstore was OPEN. Hooray! The bad news? No more hockey sticks like we wanted. Ben, you couldn’t find any kids books and couldn’t understand why…
it’s a bookstore but it doesn’t have any kids books!
What could I say… I bought you notepads and pens instead. You seemed a little excited, especially Emma.
Our typical 3M Karma (good vibes, good luck, happy moods) still wasn’t kicking into gear. Where was it? Why wouldn’t it show up?
Before leaving the MUB, I showed you where I used to spend a lot of time: WUNH Radio. Ben took a picture of me in front of the neon side. I used to have a radio show called “Yes We Can” and was News Director there. Lots of fun memories! 
When I worked there we played “albums” and the CD and MP3 digital music hadn’t been invented!
Everyone still felt like the weather… gray and dreary. It was time to kick things into a higher gear. Maybe a hike at the Great Bay Discovery Center in Stratham would do the trick. We’ve been there before, but it’s been awhile. We entered the main building expecting to get the usual “hunt and find” maps. and pencils. The woman behind the desk said:
Hello. We’re not officially open yet… it’s still early in the season. You can walk the trail but this building is closed except for reserved groups.
We were on a bad streak, unable to find our groove. Our karma was still cold.
“Let’s go outside and hike the trail,” I said in an overly enthusiastic voice. We headed for the beach first, in search of their famous horseshoe crabs. Should have known… there weren’t any. You climbed on the rocks, threw some sticks and rocks into Great Bay, then we headed over to the boats. “Come on karma,” I said to myself, “descend upon us.”
As you played on, underneath and on top of the boats, our moods loosened up. Ben, you started messing around. Emma, you captained a boat. Camden… you insisted on posing with your head in your fist. Even though it was still gray outside, we were finding – or was it creating? – our own sunshine. 3M Karma was shifting fast as we headed onto the trail.
We checked out the Native American village, visited the railroad tracks (with lots of explanation and caution from Papa), looked at animal pelts, balanced on logs, climbed tree ladders, stopped for a snack, took photos in the marsh with the fake bird silhouette and ran back to the “Youk” with renewed energy and no sweatshirts.
As we headed north for lunch at Strafford Farms, our Karma shifted another 180 degrees as the sun came out bright and hot. Refreshed and ready to go, we headed to Hilltop Fun Center for an afternoon of miniature golf and arcade games that spit out lots of tickets.
Success! Together we had turned our day from gray to sunny and our moods from downbeat to upbeat. It just goes to show what can happen when you stick with it, never give up and remember to laugh along the way.
it was crazy times at 44 Waterloo today! Grammy and I bought all of you green beads, sparkly green hats and light-up leprechaun rings. We had green cupcakes and Grammy even made her famous dip green! The centerpiece on the kitchen table was a pot-o-gold filled with “leprechaun coins” – you guys loved playing with the gold. Molly and Ainsley joined in too, but as usual, they were too busy playing together to pose for a picture!
Our latest three musketeers adventure began at your house, with you showing us your new bedroom. It was built in the former attic - your bedroom on the right and a nice big playroom on the left. You could pick any color you wanted for your walls. That's Ben's favorite color too. You've got a special shelf bookcase for your Lego collection. I wish I had a bachelor pad like you!
“It’s time for a three musketeers adventure” I announced, “the first three musketeers adventure of 2013.”
You all looked at me, and in your own words, in your own time, you said:
“what are we going to do, where are we going to go, when are we going?”
“I’m not sure what we’ll do yet, but I can guarantee it’ll be something fun… and there will be something yummy,” I said.
“there’s always something yummy, are we going to that breakfast place we always go to?”
It was day two of school vacation – Tuesday, February 26 – a perfect time to get together again.
Sometimes you want me to tell you where we’re going before we go… other times, you like to play my riddle game. This time you were less patient:
“Just tell us what we’re going to do!”
… you all said excitedly from the rear of the “Youk” as I drove south toward Portsmouth.
“First stop: The Friendly Toast”
‘Yay! I’m going to get pancakes. Me too! Not me, I’m going to get french toast!”
“Second stop: the oldest house in New Hampshire.”
Uh, that one fell kinda flat.
“Third stop: a Fort where we’ll be able to play inside buildings and have a snowball fight.”
cool! a real fort? like a civil war fort?” Camden asked
I said, “it’s my favorite fort around here. You’re going to like it. It’s even better than Fort Constitution – the fort we saw last summer after the Gundalow ride.”
what’s after that?
“Fourth stop: the beach house!”
cool! we haven’t been there in a long time… can we play some board games? Ben asked
“Sure,” I said as we parked by Friendly Toast and prepared to get out. Here’s a photo of you guys when we first got there. See Goat Man? Ben and Camden like to make faces that make them look, well, not quite right. Funny!
Everyone ended up getting pancakes except me; Emma gave up on her french toast idea. I got two orders of crispy bacon for everyone to share. Ben loves the bacon, and so do I. Emma and Ben had orange juice and Camden got a vanilla shake. I ate a club sandwich and drank half of my chocolate shake. We were stuffed but ready for action.
Here you are after we had finished eating and you were fooling around (time to head out!):
Before leaving, you all made funny faces in the carnival mirror at the back of the restaurant. I think this is one of the best 3 Musketeers photos of all time!
Next up was the oldest house in New Hampshire, the Jackson House. I told you about the history, and pointed out the steep roof on the backside that almost touched the road. I tried to have you imagine what the land around it would have looked like over 300 years ago with no other buildings around. Hard to imagine now because the neighborhood is so built up. Here’s the Jackson House:
You were anxious to get to the fort- this was definitely what everyone was most excited about. Being the off season, it was closed when we got there, but we walked in and had the place to ourselves.
THIS PLACE IS AWESOME!!!!!!
you said as you ran ahead full speed.
I showed you around all the different structures: first the big mound behind which they mounted the cannons; the tunnel (flooded with ice and water; you could barely maneuver through it and Emma got soaked!!); the white blockhouse overlooking the ocean; the old gunpowder and munitions storage; a brick house without a roof and high stone walled areas.
After exploring, I started a snowball fight – me against the three of you. You hid in the brick building without a roof – I was outside, tossing snowballs over the walls. Then I’d charge the building and you’d fire away. One time I jumped through the door and we went at it, firing snowballs at each other point blank. Then we moved to the munitions storage building which was enclosed and a very neat place to hide. One time Ben ran around the back where I was hiding in a sneak-attack move. Emma joined my ranks at one point – she was getting cold from being soaked in the tunnel – and the battle continued.
Finished with the snowball fight we then played a game of target practice, snowing snowballs at targets on the brick walls.
After exploring the blockhouse area – with Ben and Camden sliding down the steep hill – we checked out the granite boulder field and then headed to the car, wet and tired but still laughing.
Next up was the final piece of the adventure – a quick trip to the beach house, now even more important because it would give us a way to dry wet clothes, turn up the heat, and bring everyone (especially Emma) back to normal. Ben reminded us about playing board games, selecting the game of Life and a sliding version of Sorry. You guys hadn’t visited the beach house since before Labor Day, so it was fun getting back. There was nothing to eat, so we passed out glasses of cold water which tasted great after our snow battles.
We would have enjoyed a walk on the beach, but alas, we ran out of time and headed home, satisfied and tired from one of our best adventures ever.
On the way home Camden said:
let’s have a three musketeers adventure every week!
it's a small piece of white paper with four words, handwritten, in black ink. Handwritten by you. Four simple words that bring tears to my eyes. I've kept this on my desk since you gave it to me on January 2. I can't think of a better way to start the New Year. I love you Camden.
I can't believe your hockey season is already over! It's still February! This year you played games at Jackson's Landing in Durham and at the Dover Ice Arena. Here you are, looking for action around the net, at the Dover rink where they divide up the rink into four sections. That makes for some fast hockey! Many games have scores like 18-12 or 16-13... lots of goals are scored! When I think back on your early skating days when you could barely stand up, I'm amazed at how much you've learned and the progress you've made. I'm proud of you Camden!
Last weekend we went up north with your family. We stayed together at a Red Jacket Inn condo in North Conway... which you have been known to call "my hotel." It was cold, but we went skiing almost all day Saturday - you, Ainsley, your Dad and me. I stayed with you most of the time as your Dad taught Ainsley how to ski. You both did amazingly well, I was so proud. Although you hadn't been for a couple years, there were no adjustment problems. It was obvious how your skating skills were transferable to skiing - balance, the ability to push your body forward, flexibility, knowing how to get up after a fall and being used to the cold. Once you got the hang of it, you were going straight down the bunny slope. I taught you how to turn and cut across the slope so you could control your speed. You caught on very quickly and soon we went a bit higher up the mountain. I expected Ainsley to ski for maybe 15 minutes, but she learned to love it and didn't want to stop. After skiing, we all went to the Kahuna Laguna Water Park at our hotel and went out to eat. The next day, we hit the water park again. It was a fun weekend!