Day 3: Reedsburg ... on a Sunday Afternoon

Sam was not fully prepared for the experience of playtime with Madelyn. She begged him to play in the sandbox. Then she begged him to play on the swings. Then she begged him to play in the basement of the Caseys' house in Reedsburg, Wis.

I think Sam had a tough time keeping up, if you can believe it. She's 3 years old, after all.

Daddy Dave and Daddy Nick helped out, ensuring that Madelyn didn't knock Sam over too much and that Sam didn't accidentally bury himself in the sand. Mommy Liz and Mommy Sarah had a few precious hours to catch up before we had to drive back to Platteville.

I haven't seen Sam much in situations when he could interact with other kids. From the looks of it, it seemed to do him some good having to keep up with someone else rather than just himself. Next time, maybe Sam will be old enough to go bicycling with his new girl-friend.

The Year That Was/Is

What a year!

And what an end to that what-a-year!

We snuck away from our "real lives" for a week last month to journey back to the Midwest for some (Liz) family time. A red-eye train ride to Washington, D.C. A two-day drive with Nathan and Kyle to Wisconsin. A day trip to see the Bittner clan in Prairie du Chien. An overnight trip to Oregon, Ill., to spend Christmas with the Putnam clan. And finally a Mexican restaurant outing with the Sarahs and their families.

And don't forget to ask Liz and Nathan about their impromptu performances in the Christmas Eve service's bell choir.

The train ride home, from Chicago to New Haven, made us glad to finally see the apartment again. We're still trying to work off the holiday pounds. Meanwhile, I passed into the new year on a midnight train to New Haven after a New Year's Eve shift at Fox News. Liz worked from home and then fell asleep on the couch.

A barrel of fun we are.

End note: We checked out the new movie "Doubt" yesterday. Absolutely wonderful! Kind of a literary thriller, packed with ambiguity, parallelism, motifs, well-drawn characters and foreboding. The English major in me rejoiced.

Greetings from Salem, Mass.

We are on a much needed mini-vacation in Salem, Mass., home of the Salem Witch Trials. I have always wanted to visit here because it's, yes, family history.

Ann Putnam was part of the circle of girls whose accusations of witchcraft sparked the trials and the deaths of 20. She was 12 at the time when she and a group of other girls around her age were diagnosed as victims of witchcraft. They then began pointing fingers at those who they claimed were the witches. Years later, Ann apologized, acknowledging that she was swept up in the hysteria.

Ann was a cousin once removed from Gen. Israel Putnam, a general in the American Revolution who commanded the troops at Bunker Hill. We believe my father is a seventh generation decendant of Israel. (One of the many things on my list of things to do is to prove this with birth and death certificates and try to become a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.)

On Sunday, we toured the Salem Witch Museum, learning about the trials. We also strolled the pedestrian-friendly downtown and ate fresh seafood at a restaurant along Salem Harbor.

We also watched the Bears defeat the Colts in a surprise upset!!!! GO BEARS!!!!!!!

Today, we are headed to Danvers, formerly part of Salem, to visit the Putnam House, where Israel was born and where twelve generations of Putnams have lived. The house is now owned by the Danvers Historical Society. We also plan to tour Nathaniel Hawthorne's House of the Seven Gables.

We hope to post photos later today.