ROGUE-ALICIOUS

Dane just ran...

2011-12-23T20:48:00.000-08:00

Dane just ran through the house wearing his Incredibles costume from five years ago, yelling "I'm Dash! I'm Dash!" -- and let me just say, once you see Dash with a camel toe and booty thong zipping round the Christmas tree you will truly feel the joy and peace of Christmas.

Time to Trim

2011-11-29T17:13:00.001-08:00

The furniture's rearranged, the tree's in its stand, pink candy cane pudding is made, the hot chocolate mix is out, and the eggnog's waiting to become a latte. Now I just need 3:45 to roll around so my two favorite pipsqueaks can dig into the ornament box and help me start Christmas.

Ready for The Imaginary Invalid

2011-10-23T11:02:00.000-07:00

We're headed to OSF today to see "The Imaginary Invalid." I just read the Wikipedia synopsis to Aubrey and it sounds hilarious.

I bought our tickets last May through the "family day" special -- where every seat in the house is $15 on this day -- and we've got A+ seats this time! We took our kids to see "Pirates of Penzance" earlier this year -- we had balcony seats then -- and that was a hilarious time, too.

I think my new favorite thing about going to plays is sitting next to Dane and Aubrey and seeing what makes them laugh. At "Pirates," Aubrey was on the edge of her seat giggling most of the time.

We'll see what happens today.

Man, we love this kid...

2011-10-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

Happy 11th Birthday, Dane!

It's too baaaaad he isn't any weirder.

After Apple Picking

2011-10-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

Three hours into juicing apples in our back yard -- and after lots of chatter from Aubrey about how much fun it is to pick your own free apples, how cool it is to operate the juicer, how great the juice tastes, and how maybe even sometime we could sell our juice -- she says, "This is probably the best thing that's ever happened to our family!!!"

Funny update 1: When I teased Aubrey about her comment, she changed it to "This is probably the best thing that's ever happened to our family -- in the back yard!"

Yeah, that clears things up. So cute.

Update 2: I listened. I heard that she wanted to try to make some money. So we set up the juicer in the front yard on Tuesday after school, along with some signs and some mighty yelling, and the kids made $12 selling a cup of fresh squeezed apple juice for a buck apiece. And each cup was soooo tasty -- people were astounded.

Rock Science

2011-09-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

Amethyst geode.

After a half-hour in the school bus with Aubrey's class today, we ended up at Crater Rock Museum in White City.

It's this completely unassuming building on the outskirts of dumpy little White City -- and it's amazing.

A donor recently provided over $1 million to add room after room to the once-little museum, and other donors have provided millions of dollars' worth of rocks, crystals, petrified wood, and fossils.

A rickety little volunteer provided us with a slide show and commentary, as well as semi-crotchety nudges from room to room through the museum. To her credit, perhaps she was only crotchety because the information she had to share was way cool and she wanted those wiggly little third and fourth graders to hear it all.

She wanted them to hear that every geode in one particular display case was worth $10,000, and that one of the geodes hadn't even been given its spot in the display before a buyer offered $70,000 for it. (That rock's still in the museum -- and it's this huge red crystal coming out of a mound of shiny black jagged crystals.) She wanted them to hear that there was amber imbedded with creatures 40 million years old, and that the thunderegg is Oregon's state rock, plain on the outside, but when cut open it conveys a wide range of colors that look like liquid when polished.

And here's the other cool thing: those wiggly kids may have been missing some of the volunteer's lectures -- but only because they were riveted by the gigantic colorful sparkly crystals, the real saber tooth tiger skull, the mineral atoms dancing under black lights in a special dark room, the huge fake raptor, and the real fossilized raptor dung, lying right where'd you think it should be under the raptor.

Who could compete with that?

Aubrey Plans a 2012 Yard Sale

2011-09-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

As Aubrey and I walked Sharkles today, she informed me she'd like to hold a yard sale. Today.

After I told her I'd already cleaned out the place and took big loads to the Good Will this month, she was disappointed. So I suggested we start planning one for next summer, setting aside a big box to put things in all year.

"That sounds great," she said. "I'm gonna be the manager."

Then she got to the heart of the issue: "And I'm gonna need a fanny pack."

At least she's got the important stuff figured out.

First Week of School Catch-up

2011-09-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

Day 1: Grade 5, Grade 4

When you get an email from Grammy requesting an update because blog posts have been few and far between, you know you'd better write back. You also know that the other two people who read this blog might want to know what's the what, too. So here's what I wrote Grammy:

Dane's in Fall Ball, which means practice from 3:30-6 on Thursday nights and two weekend tournaments this fall. He's also doing a pitching clinic that's from 4:30-5:15 2x a week for 4 weeks, and has started a basic skills clinic that's 1x a week for the next 5 weeks. This might sound like a lot, but it's really kind of like having 2-3 practices a week with an occasional game.

Aubrey started gymnastics again and has it 2x a week for an hour and 45 minutes each time. She loves it. She comes back all sweaty and happy. She also has 2 birthday slumber parties coming up and keeps getting invited to her girlfriends' houses after school, so she's nice and busy.

Each kid has homework and they usually do that after dinner and dishes, and then they basically get ready for bed and read there for half an hour.

I've been busy with PTO meetings, a meeting with the principal (for site council), a meeting with the librarian to get started with Battle of the Books, and an order at our local book store, Bookwagon, for 4 copies of each BOB book (at a 30% discount and PTO is paying -- isn't that exciting?) to go straight to Walker's library in about a week. Somewhere in there I've been cleaning/sorting all the stuff I took out of the kids' bedroom, which is piled in the spare room. It looked like a hoarder's room for a while. Well, actually it still does. RCC starts in a week and a half, so I'm also putting together my syllabus. Oh, and I started working out at the Y 3x a week in addition to running Sharkles every other day.

Mick's working away full-time and still gets home around 6:45 every night. Last night he went to the MARA ski club fundraising meeting, and found out he'll be expected to do that every Wednesday night until November! It's the Auction committee, and it meets right by his office, so it works out ok. It's our biggest fundraiser. We also recently got news from MARA that the club's been running at a deficit and they have to raise prices to actual cost. Kids will now have to pay $600 each. Yikes! Hopefully we'll find a creative way (raffles, more auction $, etc.) to actually offset it a little. Mick's currently reading a book called The Long Emergency. I haven't read it, but it looks like it analyzes economical and environmental situations and impacts in America and the world.

Oh, and last night Dane and Aubrey and I went to a rain barrel workshop. We can't wait to analyze our property and set up a couple rain barrels to harvest water! I'm going to see if the kids will document how they help me -- as a Science Fair project -- building it with me, taking notes on how they did it, notes on how it fills throughout the year, etc. It would take extra work, but I could see it being really great.

The dream barrel set-up.

Ok, hopefully that gets you up to speed for now. What have you been up to?

Bouncing with the B-52s

2011-09-10T07:58:00.000-07:00


Kate Piersen's still got it! What amazing vocals - and so much fun to watch on the stage.

I was all set to head to the B-52s with a bunch of girlfriends, but when my kids got wind of it they begged to join us. They love that 80s band -- thanks to Mick's playlist on their iPods. So what started as girls night out turned into family fest (including Mick, who loves 'em too) and it was so much fun! The B-52s have such a great sound you can't even help but jump up and dance.

We attempted beehives - but oops they were mini!

With my pals Lisa, Kerry, and Aubs.

Nic! (Ducky?)

These kids started off with a bang, dancing like crazy to Men Without Hats and Human League, the opening bands in all their 80s glory.

Sawyer and Nic.

Dane and Nic.

Dane tearin it up.

Love Shack!

Rock Lobster

These chicks are so good!

I got me a Chrysler / it's as big as a whale / and it's about to set sail!

Loaded

2011-09-08T11:49:00.000-07:00

Loaded up with perennials -- and a couple of kids.

Reunited!

2011-09-07T20:50:00.000-07:00

Early in August I got an email from my Aunt Laurie that an impromptu family reunion would be happening in a few days up in Tacoma. I'd already been thinking of heading up there, to divide up a bunch of my mom's amazing perennials for my in-progress little back yard, but decided not to make the drive up there because I only had a two-day window.

The pull to see family I hadn't seen in years was strong though. I did some soul-searching and some creative thinking, and canceled a Thursday night obligation so I could leave Thursday morning and stay through Sunday.

I'm so glad I did! Mick had to stay and work on such short notice, but the kids and I headed up there excited as could be.

We stopped at the Roseburg Museum of History and Natural History, a museum Aubrey and I had stopped at in May on another trip north. Aubrey said we had to go back with Dane because of its cool pioneer history, as well as its wildlife displays.

Here we are at the museum, a couple hours into our 8-hour drive.

Aubs finds a special book with a goodie inside -- which happens to be bear scat!

She's not touching it, but I swear she gets that inclination to push the envelope from her Dad.

Mr. Sincere.

Archaeologists headed out to dig through layers to reveal Oregon history.

At Spooners Market in Puyallup. He, um, asked me to take this picture...

And again.

Aubs in Mema's back yard with the Shasta daisies.

Practicing golf with Poppa's club.

Some of the perennials Mom and I spent 5 hours digging up.

More perennials.

Another view of it.

And the mini-reunion: the reason we came! Our Texas cousins had to stay in Texas, but their parents, my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Lorren were in town in their motor home, post-retirement. It was so exciting for all of the PNW Coopers to meet up with them.

Patrick and Peggy's son Zac shows some catwalk moves he learned at modeling school.

My cousin Deric chats with my mom, his sweet Aunt Sharen.

Deric's wife April, whom I finally met!, points somewhere while Dani and her birth-daughter Rachel look on and Patrick gropes Peggy.

Me with my sweet Peggy.

My cousin Patrick with our adorable Aunt Debbie.

Peg joins the kids with a kartwheel.

Then she tries a bridge.

I surprise myself, able to do it!

Aubsie does a back walkover easily.

My Peggy and my Dani.

I love my cousins!

Dani and her daughter Rachel. It was amazing to meet Rachel.

Hard to keep a dry eye seeing Patrick bring Gram in from recovery. She's been in assisted living for a year, but had a heart attack earlier in the week and was still in recovery. She got to come to the BBQ though.

Nic hugs G.G.

Gram with Uncle Lorren, her only son.

Dane can't stop giggling.

Aubs played a smart game of hide-n-seek that day: she sat under me at the grownups table while the seekers looked in vegetation, nooks, crannies, and pretty much everywhere but with the adults.

Everybody's chuckling about pictures of Aunt Sharen. Her cousin once referred to her as a Mack truck. Poor Big Share! She's come a long way!

Our beloved Coopers.

Fishtail Chatter

2011-09-07T06:36:00.000-07:00

Aubrey's homework is to put 3 things in a paper bag so she can use them to write an essay. Right now she's fishtailing my hair so we can photograph it for the bag. Her chatter's cracking me up: She considers fishtailing one of her talents and is excited she figured out how to do it all by herself. She also says my friend Kerry Zook would look good in fishtails because Kerry looks good in any sort of hair-do. She also wonders what my favorite kind of texture is; she really likes silk -- and felt.

They Wore Feathers in their Hair

2011-08-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

Aubrey and her pal Ruby got feathers in their hair yesterday.

Then they went swimming at Ruby's grandparents' place -- and didn't want the chlorine to fade their feather colors.

They put on Ruby's Grandma's shower caps.

And they wore them in the pool... for about 5 minutes! Then they decided it was just too much of a hassle for all the goofing off they wanted to do -- and threw them poolside. In case you're worried, the feathers didn't fade, perhaps because it's mostly a saltwater pool with very little chlorine, or perhaps because they're actually magical feathers and they'll never ever go away. Ha!

Vaccinate Vaccinate Vaccinate

2011-08-17T14:32:00.000-07:00

Kaliah Dailyn Holly Jeffery

Yesterday a high school friend's niece lost a 26-day-old baby to whooping cough. It's tragic, heartbreaking, and needn't have happened.

Infants can't be immunized for Pertussis -- and all it takes is one cough from an infected unimmunized person and that baby's got the fight of their short little life ahead of them.

I have friends who don't believe in immunizing -- and for unscientific, not very convincing reasons. Quite honestly, they make me furious, and I'm someone who usually tries to respect personal choices. But this life-ending bacterial disease could be wiped out -- like small pox has been (at least in the wild) -- if people wouldn't be so selfish or ignorant. When they choose not to vaccinate their of-age child, they run the risk of ending another life. Wow.

I'm posting this in memory of little Kaliah Jeffery, and thinking of her heartbroken young parents today.

My friend's family is trying to raise money for the grieving parents, and I just found out I can send money to an account to help them pay her medical expenses. I'll be doing that today. Here's the info if you'd like to help, too:

A Wells Fargo account has been opened.

Kash for Kaliah
Routing number: 125008547
account number: 2171652304

You can directly deposit ANY funds from your own bank to Wells Fargo or Wachovia Banks all around the country, or just directly go to the branch.

-Anjie

Birdiom

2011-08-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

Last night I told Mick I'd killed a couple birds with one stone.

Dane overheard and shouted out, "Wow! Could you teach me to do that?"

Oh, lordy, we're goin' sporty

2011-07-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

Picture this truck, except not so shiny and with primer at the tailgate. It's a 1993 Nissan King Cab 4x4 SE. That's what we bought last night.

Now, picture Mick loading it up with this little baby so he doesn't have to ride around in peoples' yards anymore.*

Yes, congratulations, Mick. Now you have everything you've ever dreamed of and you'll never want anything again. Right? Right?

Your ever-lovin' love,
Anj

*He doesn't really ride around in peoples' yards, but he did once, above, at his friend Dave's -- in Dave's nice little neighborhood in Sammamish.

Wakey Wakey 2011

2011-07-20T22:06:00.000-07:00

Dane and Aubrey spent one of their first weeks of summer with the Lanes - at Wakeboarding Camp. Cole, Dane, Aubrey, and Regan (pictured above) got up every morning at 6 a.m., ate a bagel, bundled up in fleece hats and sweatshirts, and zipped off down the hill to Camp Sambica. There, they headed out on the the water with about 6 kids to a boat and wakeboarded for the next hour and a half. After that, they headed in for a quick breakfast and a quick goodbye.

Most days it was overcast; one day it rained; one day it was sorta sunny. Aubrey actually only wakeboarded two days and sat in the boat freezing and cheering the hard cores on. She says she liked it a lot, but wouldn't mind trying something new next summer if she had to choose. Dane says he'd absolutely do it again!

When the kids got home from camp, they pretty much played like crazy until bedtime. Here's Dane getting into mischief with the youngest Lane kid, Kai.

One day while the kids played hard, I met up with my mom in Puyallup. After we went to see my grandma in her new home, my mom and I did our naked spa day body scrub. It was so nice and relaxing, especially for mom, who's recovering from rotator cuff surgery. Oh, who am I kidding? It was especially nice for me, too, since the last time I went to the spa was probably 500 days ago.

Another night, I hung with my pal Karen for dinner on the Ballard waterfront where we watched stand-up paddle boarders, a sport neither of us could imagine doing.

Wednesday night Mick flew in to spend the last few days with us, and Friday night we all went to the Ms game at Safeco Field. We met up with Karen and Mike and Jan there, too (Happy Father's Day, Mike!), and cheered and snacked and had -- you guessed it -- a ball.

Front Lawn or Bust

2011-07-15T18:32:00.001-07:00

Just got handed a note: "Dear mom, come to the front Lawn. PICNIC."

ABBA concert at the Britt!

2011-07-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

A summer ride between Fish Lake and Lake of the Woods - 7.10.11

2011-07-12T08:21:00.000-07:00

With my little pal, Aubs, ready for the 7 mile ride.

Uncle Kai and his little toughies.

Dane hustling up a hill.

Through the lava beds. One of the "islands of trees" that survived a lava flow.

Aubs.

Mick!

Aubs and Dane. Mick's up round the bend.

Attempt at family photo but camera was fuzzy. Too interested in riding to sort it out.

Storks in Lake of the Woods.


Into mosquito territory - with no repellant! Lots of bites to scratch this week...

Self portrait. Not recommended. Almost landed in a heap in some bushes.


At Lake of the Woods for burgers, soft drinks and Mirror Ponds.

Happy boy.

Magic for Muggles and the Fourth of July parade

2011-07-11T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hermione with Sirius Black

Petrify!

Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy

Li'tle Tiny 'Arry Po'er

Under the invisibility cloak.

Little League

Little League float.

ScienceWorks Magic for Muggles.

Baseball Fever

2011-07-10T20:54:00.000-07:00

Aubs with teammates Julia and Annie.

Dane gets ready to catch.

Our buddy Eli pitches against us.

Grubby Hubby shows up after his Poker Run (motorcycle ride). He worked the Snack Shack like this. Of course.

End of season softball party.


Coach Colette made a team DVD for each girl. It was played over and over and over in our home for weeks to come!

What to do with this kid

2011-07-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

Klamath Happiness

2011-07-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

Along with 35 other people, 14 other boats, and Fred the Wonder Dog, Mick and Dane and Aubrey and I powered through Class III rapids -- with names like "Schoolhouse," "Wave Runner" and "Devil's Binky"* -- on the Klamath River last weekend in rented tandem inflatable kayaks.

In between our two runs, we camped in the shadows at Tree of Heaven along the river's bank, where we replenished our energy at night with a massive spaghetti feed (complete with 96 meatballs), gourmet green salads, and s'mores. Ultimately, the adults imbibed in Baja Fogs and hand blended pomegranate margaritas while the kids captured flags and tagged each other with flashlight beams.

*I have no idea where "Devil's Binky" is, but Aubrey named this one.

A Good Long Full Day

2011-06-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

We just finished up Day 2 at ScienceWorks' Read It! Write It! Draw It! Do It! camp.

June 27 – July 1 (1 – 4 pm), ages 7 – 10
Read it! Write it! Draw it! Do it!
Anjie Reynolds
The tale is in the details. We’ll use alliteration, rhyme, and stark lines to create word-image poems like Shel Silverstein; we’ll blast dry ice like Doyle and Fossey, Science Detectives; and we’ll assemble homemade batteries that could light up a dragon’s lair (or at least a squirrel’s nest!). The world of literature will inspire our art, math and science endeavors as we read it, write it, draw it, and do it!

My students (ages 7-10) are amazing in that they're totally engaged, super good listeners, curious story buffs, and creative artists and scientists. I seriously couldn't ask for a better crowd.

Today we read Shel Silverstein's Runny Babbit, wrote our own Runny-Babbit-style story, and made our own Dry Ice Blasters based on a Doyle and Fossey Science Detective Mystery, learning about carbon dioxide and the process of sublimation (solid straight to gas). Along the way, we drew, sculpted, and played in the museum.

Before class, Dane and Aubrey went to our friends' Jim and Linda's to take part in a little 3-family summer camp session. (Jim and Linda, my friend Lisa, and I have arranged nine separate sessions divided evenly between our families for extended learning for our kids throughout the summer.)

Today Linda, a high-risk pregnancy obstetrician, taught the kids from 9-noon. First, she taught them about the digestive system. They had some homework to do beforehand, regarding a cup of corn, some asparagus, and drinking lots of water. (I'll let you do the deducing there.) She also had them bring a stuffed animal with a hole in it and taught them to do sutures -- yes, with the actual tools, and by their actual names! Needless to say, it was pretty sweet. Their kids Eli (going into 3rd, like Aubrey) and Sam (going into 2nd) were there, while their oldest daughter Alex had to miss out because she got into a cool 3-week summer camp in Chicago at a university. (Alex is in Dane's grade, going into 5th.)

After ScienceWorks camp today, we got a drop-in visit from my friend Colette. She swung by the camp to give Dane an All-Star cap her husband Drew had made for him. Drew was the All-Star coach this year, which Dane was selected for but couldn't join due to wakeboarding camp. Dane practiced with the team, though, for a full week before wakeboarding camp just because... well, because he loves baseball. Ike, Drew and Colette's son, gave the cap to Dane, saying in his husky little voice with total sincerity, "Even though you couldn't be on the team, we wanted to thank you for coming out to practice with us, and we wished you were at our games."

On our way home, Dane adjusted his new ball cap and said today was an amazing day. He also said it was one of those days that lasted a long time, but was the best kind of day because it lasted a long time and it was awesome every step of the way.

My American Girl...

2011-06-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

magazine reader.

Two more reasons to love Dane:
1 - This morning he got up and read Aubrey's American Girl magazine for thirty minutes, and
2 - He's now made her a tent for said doll and wants me to buy him a zipper so he can sew the doll a sleeping bag.

Aubrey Does Plasticine

2011-06-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hi I'm Aubrey. This is a project that our class did. We watched a children's book illustrator, Barbara Reid, make a book page using plasticine clay. She taught us that we spread plasticine in the back ground, and how to make little clouds and a mouse. Above is a drawing I did first of what I wanted to do with clay. Below is my final product. It took me the whole time before lunchtime.

This is the first one I ever did and I like it a lot because it is a bunny in the sunset, and it was really really fun to make. It took me a really long time but it was worth it.

Now I want to make another one! And I get to at ScienceWorks Camp next week because my mom is teaching a camp called Read it Write it Draw it Do it. She's going to read a book called The Subway Mouse and our class is going to make a bunch of little creatures in big scenes.

The Spirit of Little League

2011-06-09T06:02:00.000-07:00

After an intense playoff game resulting in a Cubs loss to the Phillies, we get down to what's really important about baseball.

Box R Brrrrr....

2011-06-02T11:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Uncle Garth, for capturing this crazy cold

unforgettable moment in the life of a Box R Ranch 4th grader.

The Table Rock Album

2011-05-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

A Nice Love Letter

2011-05-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning I found out my essay, "The Same Sky," has been accepted at The Dos Passos Review and will be published in their Fall 2011 issue.

Look Who Got The Game Ball

2011-05-28T04:54:00.000-07:00

Aubrey begged Coach Colette to let her play short stop Thursday night. Colette told her she could, but Aubs had to make sure she'd be tough and let nothing get past her.

So when a hard grounder was hit to her, she ran up on the ball, snagged it in her glove, kept her head on straight, and threw it directly and accurately to first base.

The runner managed to beat the ball to the bag, but I was up and cheering like crazy watching that kind of cool on the field from my kid.

Coach Colette obviously felt the same way, too, signing the ball with "Great Snag, Aubrey!"

Aubrey went to sleep that night so happy, which was especially nice because she'd been really sad to leave Box R on our visit Thursday. She'd wanted to skip her game, but understood her team was counting on her to play that night. So proud of her that day for many reasons.

Box R or Bust

2011-05-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

The 4th graders had a blast.

Mick and Dane's friend Memmo's dad, Dave.

They balanced and jumped and hung and fell their way through the obstacle course. They rode the hanging oil drum "bucking bronco," they shot arrows at the archery range. They also ziplined, rowed, and swam at a lake while the temperature outside was 50 degrees. They gathered sticks and made dream catchers, hiked in rain and hail, slept in tipis, took turns at KP, howled like wolves, and roasted marshmallows round the fire.

And if they were Dane, they also roasted wet socks. And "accidently" burned them.

Those 27 fourth-graders came back today grimy, dragging, and happy. They were a little queasy from the bus ride home, but you could tell it didn't matter. Their teacher set them up with an awesome adventure.

When I asked Dane at dinner what the highlight of his trip was, he said, "Being with Dad."

Dane and Dad.

Mick said he loved being there for Dane, too, even though it was cold and a lot of work. He also said one of his highlights was that our niece, Indi, came and sat on his lap the first night at campfire.

Indi.

Such a great time.

Dane and Nic.

Dane and Aubs when Aubs and I dropped in for a couple hours.

Our friend Linda and her daughter Alex.

Linda and Alex.

Dane and me. Dane says, "Creepy smile Dane."

Mick, Aubs, and Indi.

KP duty.

4th Grade Box R Campout

2011-05-26T07:44:00.000-07:00

Dane's class is spending two nights and three days at Box R Ranch out the Green Springs road. Mick took the time off and is chaperoning.

Dane's teacher invited Aubrey and me to join them for some of the activities, so Aubrey's taking a state writing assessment at school this morning, and then we'll head out to join them for a couple hours.

What we wonder:
*What's it like in the tipis???
*Did it snow there this week?
*Is it rainy?
*What have they been doing???

Will try to report back in a timely manner.

Bottle Sounds

2011-05-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

For this year's Science Fair, Aubrey got curious about sounds bottles make when they a) have different water levels, and b) are tapped on or blown into.

She started out with identical bottles with different levels of water (which of course had to be a snazzy color).

She then got out her keyboard and tried to find a note that matched the sound the bottles made, first when blown into, and secondly, when tapped. Finding the notes was hard, and she needed some help from me, but she thought it was really fun to do this experiment.

What she found out:

*Taps sounds go lower in pitch as the water rises -- because the tap vibrations get bigger with more liquid.

*Blows go higher in pitch as water rises -- because the air vibrations have less space to fill when there's more liquid, which means the vibrations go faster and higher.

After many long week night and weekend hours, she had her "What I Wondered" and "What I Found Out" sections laid out on her board. Below, she tells one of the judges (her teacher, Debi) about her experiment and its implications.

Way to go, Aubrey!

Electric Info: Electricity -- and How Different Types Work

2011-05-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

After thumbing through The Dangerous Book for Boys and Totally Irresponsible Science, Dane decided he wanted to demonstrate how electricity works. So, this year, he and his buddy Nic teamed up for their Science Fair project. They made up separate boards for their presentations, but their boards were both focused on the three types of electricity. That means they did their experiments/demonstrations together, but then made sense of them on their own.

One project was about static electricity, demonstrated with salt and pepper in a pie tin. Each kid then rubbed a plastic spoon in their hair or against a wool sock, and the charged spoon attracted the pepper.

For their second type of electricity, they demonstrated the DC of AC/DC familiarity. For this, they created a battery cell where a direct current briefly lit up a tiny light bulb as the copper wires, quarters, blotting paper, foil, vinegar, and salt worked their science. (I was going to write 'magic' there, but that could be a little misleading.)

For the final part of their project, the boys put a blue box together and demonstrated how electricity with Alternating Current would work when plugged into a wall and a power source.

After hours and hours of evening and weekend work, the board was done. Dane particularly liked drawing and diagramming and doing the layout.

Above, Dane meets with one of the judges (his teacher, Nancy!) and discusses different aspects of his project with her. It was exciting to listen to his main points and to hear what he'd learned about his topic.

Ode to Scrappy

2011-04-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

"Mama, wouldn't it be great if we all lived in our van?" --Aubrey, age 9

(That's my girl!)

The Shrimpiest Shrimp Plays A Game

2011-04-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

Aubs with her pal Ruby.

Aubrey's first softball game was so much fun.

We arrived Tuesday night in Gold Hill, about 25 minutes north of Ashland, to play the Gold Hill Marlins. Like our team, they are ages 9-11; however, we learned that they're mostly 11.

For the record, Aubrey was the shrimpiest shrimp out there.

She and the other Grizzle girls held their own, though.

Although we looked little and lanky, our few 11-year-olds were good leaders and our new players stepped up and played with heart!

We lost the game 7-12, but the girls had great attitudes. They got walked plenty of times, we witnessed numerous errors, they stole some bases, and it was an overall jumble of awesome softball learning and effort.

Miss Aubs hit the ball her first at-bat. She was last in the lineup, but she was the first to actually hit the ball! She told me later she was scared when she got to the plate (see post below), but that she was ready to give it her best. Mick and Dane and I were all there, yelling and cheering as she ran those little legs down the first base line to beat the throw to first.

She sat out the first inning, but played center field the second inning. No action out there for her, but those of us who watched her from the grandstands laughed and chuckled as she bounced around in the outfield with this visible giddiness and "I'm ready!" attitude. She might not have been doing kartwheels out there this year, but you could tell kartwheels were in her heart.

Later, she played second base and was equally ready then: leaning over, mitt hanging between her bent knees, still bouncing. She got a chance to bauble the ball a few times, and it was just pure joy to watch all that learning and effort going on.

She and her Grizzlies play the Marlins again tomorrow night here in Ashland. That'll be my first night as Base Ump (I was scorekeeper Tuesday night), so there'll be two of us out there a little nervous. If anything, though, we know this sport is character-building and we're up for it.

Teeny Tiny Big Thoughts

2011-04-12T15:36:00.000-07:00

This is what Aubrey just wrote in her little tiny book with her little tiny pencil:

4-12-11
Today is my first baseball game. I'm scared and happy at the same time! the end

Go Ski Racers

2011-04-12T14:17:00.000-07:00

The kids had fun up on the slopes yet again this year. They're turning into amazing, competent, slick little skiers, thanks to the Mt. Ashland Racing Association and six hours of instruction with accomplished instructors every week for 12 weeks.

They each raced in one race this year.

Dane earned his best times, meeting his goal to come in under a minute on each run. In fact, I think he got like 50 seconds each run, missing 3rd place by a second, and first place by only a few. It was super exciting.

Aubrey had one solid run with a little over a minute, and then one run that took her quite a bit longer than she'd hoped. She had a great attitude, though, and knew it was just part of the experience.

Aubs there in the black mittens, waiting to race.

Dane tired, and tired of waiting.

Aubs out the gates.

Aubs headed down the hill.

Aubs earning her participant ribbon.

I didn't get a good picture of Dane coming down the hill, because I waited at the bottom both times and was beside myself as I watched him just cruise. Didn't take a good picture, but loved reveling in the moment!

Birthday Bashes

2011-04-12T13:35:00.000-07:00

This'll be a random update post.

Above is a "frog" drawn for the Traditional Reynolds Family Birthday Party Pictionary game. The frog was drawn in February at one of Aubrey's parties.

The following photos are of her 3rd grade girl slumber party and her cousin/family birthday party. Again, random order. Will have to fill in comments occasionally.

Haven't posted for a very long time and have several others to do.Might skimp.

Dressing up.

Cleared out the living room, hung a blanket over the door windows, and spread sleeping bags across the floor. A tight fit but worked out ok.

Ready for cousins to come and dip mini cupcakes in frosting and decorate.

Pass the gift and unwrap a layer when the music stops -- a musical chairs game of sorts.

Pictionary.

Barritt laughs/cries about the "Barritt's Boyfriend" drawing -- an old joke we share.

Yup, ferris wheel.

Wart hog by Mick, not at all the creature he was supposed to draw.

Jude drew this camera and his 4-year-old brother Weston figured it out immediately!

Woof! - National Poetry Month

2011-04-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

I took Sharkles on a walk to the library with me yesterday to pick up two more Hardy Boys books on tape (the kids' new passion).

It's National Poetry Month, so when we left the library this gray-haired lady with a hemp purse stopped and asked if she could read me a poem. "I've got one about dogs!" she said, rustling around in her messy bag.

"Here it is!" she sang. Then she composed herself to read.

I was in a hurry (for no other reason than that Dane was home with a cough, waiting), but Sharkles sat next to me, and we listened to the poem:

Percy and Books (Eight)
by Mary Oliver

Percy does not like it when I read a book.
He puts his face over the top of it and moans.
He rolls his eyes, sometimes he sneezes.
The sun is up, he says, and the wind is down.
The tide is out and the neighbor's dogs are playing.
But Percy, I say, Ideas! The elegance of language!
The insights, the funniness, the beautiful stories
that rise and fall and turn into strength, or courage.
Books? says Percy. I ate one once, and it was enough.
Let's go.

The poem is from Oliver's collection, Red Bird (2008)

And, on that note, my happy, sniffing, panting, gazing-up-at-me-adoringly dog and I jogged home.

Word Nreds

2011-03-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

I teased Dane the other day, so he turned to me and tried to make a menacing face as he said, "Do you want to feel the warth of Dane?"

"What was that?"

He cracked a smile and said, "Um, do you want to feel the, um, warth? of Dane?"

"You got that from a book, didn't you?"

"Um, yeah..."

"Nice try, buddy, but it's wrath!" I said, and we had a good laugh.

Later that day, I brought Aubrey home from softball practice and told her the story. She laughed, too. Then she said, "What a trud."

Oh my gosh. That gril kills me.

Dane Gets Fit

2011-03-09T07:05:00.000-08:00

Dane: Today at recess, me and Nic ran around the playground 2 times and then did 15 pushups. Then we ran around it again and did 15 more pushups. Then we ran around it 2 more times and did knuckle pushups. We're going to do that every day.

Me: Wow. That's impressive. What made you decide to do all that?

Dane: Zoe P. beat me at arm wrestling.

Class Writing Prompt Gets Personal -- Warning: This Ends with an Obituary

2011-03-07T10:51:00.000-08:00

Today I subbed for my friend Beth. I met with her Writing 115 class and started by reading them "The Masked Marvel's Last Toe-hold" by Richard Selzer.

It's a narrative essay depicting Dr. Richard Selzer's experience of amputating former wrestler Elihu Koontz's legs. It's an excellent story of power and the loss or exchange of it, of shifted roles, of love and compassion. It's one of my favorite essays ever and Beth's students analyzed it beautifully.

They analyzed for structure, use of details, language, repetition, and thesis.

Then I asked them to write. I asked them to take risks they might not usually take, but were inspired to by Selzer's piece. I asked them to think about their details, possible repetitions, the use of memories. Here's what we came up with as a prompt: Describe someone you knew in their prime and where they are now.

After 20 minutes of writing, here are some of the essay topics students wrote about:

*One man wrote about the uncle he adored throughout childhood. He wrote of following his uncle around as he fixed cars, played guitar, drew cartoons. He wrote of how his uncle joined the Air Force and came back in his uniform. The writer was a teenager by then, but still followed him around admiring every aspect of him. Then his uncle was diagnosed with cancer and ultimately succumbed to it. This writer tried not to show emotion as he shared his writing, but his words showed it. When he finished, he told me he'd be saving that piece of writing, as he's never written it out before.

*Another writer took another approach. She wrote about "The High School Slut," which we all laughed about. However, what she wrote was poignant. She wrote that this girl had had two babies in high school, one at 15 and one at 17. A medical emergency led to the removal of her uterus at age 20, though, and the "slut" realized she never would have had those children had she not had babies in her teens. She became grateful. In turn, she's now a grandmother of 12 and is a happy, solid family woman, and is one of the writer's dearest friends.

Those are just a couple examples.

I love how good writing inspires us to go deep, to push ourselves beyond what we would normally sit down to focus on in writing.

I wrote along with them. I didn't know this prompt was going to lead me to write about this, but it did. It's rough; it could use better details and imagery; it could show more and tell less. But I'll share it anyway. It makes me quite sad.

***

My friend Kevin S. killed himself last week. This has brought me great sadness.

In high school, Kevin was this vibrant, chatty, smiling, busy person. He used to ski with his pals and tease my friend Tracy that she was the only skier he knew who wore perfume and hair spray on the slopes. He also used to hug everybody. In fact, every time he came over to my house, my step-dad would say, "Why's that guy always hugging you?" We used to laugh about this, but the truth was it was fabulous to get hugs from Kevin. There was no threatening undercurrent of a sexual come-on. Really, it was just that Kevin had a lot of love to share and his hugs meant he really liked you. I don't think it got any simpler than that.

After high school, Kevin went on to college at WWU as did a lot of his high school friends. There, he kept close tabs on all his friends, bicycling, skiing, going to the movies, arranging crazy group events like In-N-Out runs to California or U2 concerts in Canada. He even drummed up The Rosebud Society, a weekly poetry-reading event by candlelight on his living room floor.

After Kevin and all his friends eventually graduated from college, he continued to live an interesting life. He bicycled across America. He took a long-awaited trip to Ireland with his mother, who was in the early stages of Alzheimer's. He got a job as a high school math teacher.

Somewhere in there, though, he started to isolate himself from friends and family and colleagues. For the next ten years, I hear he essentially stayed in his basement, stepping out rarely. It's said he used his computer round the clock, but without any interactions with his old friends. Old friends saw him occasionally. Mick and I even saw him 5 years ago right before we left for San Francisco and dental school. Kevin crawled out of his cave briefly, overweight and quieter, to join us in a little barbecue. We'd hoped his re-surfacing had meant he'd be engaging in a physical social life again. But that didn't happen.

A few weeks ago, some of his other good pals stopped by to see him. They said Kevin was obese, pizza boxes lay strewn everywhere, and his ankles and feet were ashen gray. One friend says, "I'm a counselor. Why didn't I see what was coming?"

Later that month, news spread over the phone and Facebook that Kevin S. was dead. I learned he had taken his own life.

You should've seen all the posts of sadness, of sweet memories, of mourning the loss of a person so special to so many.

In the aftermath of such news, I can't help but reflect on the joy and zest Kevin held for life in the years I was close to him. I can't help but wonder why he cut himself off from his friends and chose to live in seclusion. But I am sure intuitively that the mere fact that he lived in solitude in a basement meant he was no longer giving out hugs -- and that alone might have just made his heart shrivel up and ache to be done with it all.

Rest in peace, Kevin. Rosebud...

"Tree" Reviewed at THE NARRATIVE DRIVE

2011-03-02T13:06:00.000-08:00

What a treat to come across this today.

Misty over Mockingbird

2011-03-02T12:41:00.000-08:00

OSF's production of "To Kill A Mockingbird" was so good. The three child actors who played Scout, Jem, and Dill were outstanding, even if Dill's voice wasn't always carefully projected. I was impressed by how well they handled the show resting on their small shoulders. They were almost always on stage, with lots of lines and actions.

The actors who played Atticus, Calpernia, and Tom Robinson were lovely, amazing, well-cast. I loved trusting them in their roles in this tried and true story. (Below: Tom Robinson and Atticus with Sheriff Tate. Calpernia not shown.)

I'm not sure what I thought of Boo Radley's actor, but the character of Boo Radley is set up so perfectly in the story, climaxing with such perfection, that perhaps anyone could've played him and tugged so fully at my heart. Which is what happened last night.

I tried to tell Dane and Aubrey about the story on our walk to school today. I described the setting, the characters, the racial tension. I tried to tell them how it's about doing the right thing even if people hate you or threaten you, and how it's about understanding who you are in the world -- and I didn't even get to the subplot of Boo Radley. I think the best way to give them all that stuff is to just dive into the book with them.

I told them that if they're interested, I'd read it out loud with them this summer. I read it to myself in 7th grade. They'll only be entering 4th and 5th, but this is a different world, and they're different kids. If they're interested, I'll walk alongside them.

I think Atticus might do that, too.

---

This is interesting: After I wrote the above thoughts, I found a review published in today's Ashland Tidings about last night's performance. So, before you read it, let me add three more thoughts I had that I didn't articulate above:

1 - I thought the courtroom scene was long. Mr. Ewell, was played by a deaf man. I've seen this actor in other shows and have adored his presence. In the courtroom, though, to have his daughter Mayella have to sign everything to him and interpret everything was cumbersome. I felt like it slowed the pace too much. I told Mick this morning that I probably wasn't tolerant enough, that I'm not very p.c. or evolved -- but it slowed the story too much for me. And it really didn't make sense when his testimony said he heard Mayella screaming. Huh?

2 - I thought the simple stagework was spot on. I focused on the acting and words.

3 - I thought the narration at the end of the play seemed trite and cliche. I told Mick I wanted to re-read Harper Lee's book ending, because I thought the play's ending had the wrong tone and didn't seem right.

So, given my three opinions here and my many opinions in the first section, read the following and see how our reviews compare. That writer's the professional reviewer, and I don't claim to be an expert, but we have some obvious differences of opinion (and some surprising similarities).

By Roberta Kent

for the Tidings

Posted: 2:00 AM March 02, 2011

I am a bit at a loss as to why OSF chose to present this theatrical adaptation of Harper Lee's iconic novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird." Yes, it examines the themes of truth, justice and compassion and is a good counterbalance to "Measure for Measure." But, unfortunately, the playwright, Christopher Sergel, has not given us a very well-written play.

There is always a danger when the playwright, the director, the actors and the audience are in awe of the material. "To Kill a Mockingbird" is mythic in American literature and culture and an adaptor of Harper Lee's iconic 1960 novel does so at his peril.

This production is directed by Marion McClinton, an award-winning director new to OSF this season. His artistic conception is flawless and he really does make the best of this weak adaptation. I look forward to seeing what he can do with material worthy of his skill.

Sergel's script consists of well-known anecdotes from the novel strung together by narration that quotes verbatim great swaths of Harper Lee's prose. Neither the characters nor the action propel the story. It is painstakingly explained to us by the adult Jean Louise Finch (Scout), played by Festival veteran Dee Maaske as she meanders around the stage while the actors fill in her narration with little bits of dialogue.

To be sure, Mark Murphey does a smooth job as Atticus Finch. With his unruly forelock and wire-rimmed glasses, Murphey evokes the look and the spirit of Gregory Peck from the movie version. But this play never allows him to truly come alive as Atticus. He says all the right things, has all the right moves and is a predictable two-dimensional figure.

The same can be said for Isabell Monk O'Connor playing the housekeeper/nanny Calpurnia. She does a fine workmanlike job with a stereotyped role.

Unfortunately, the children playing the key roles of Scout (Kaya Van Dyke), her brother Jem (Braden Day) and their friend Dill (Leo Pierotti) are merely adequate. They avoid being too cute and remember their lines — even if they don't project them very well. A lot of their key banter about the elusive Boo Radley is completely lost to the audience.

If the rest of "To Kill a Mockingbird" was as good as its courtroom scene, it would be a powerful piece of theater, indeed. Michael Hume's dry, no-nonsense Judge Taylor, Howie Seago as Bob Ewell with his inexpressible rage against Finch, Susannah Flood as his diffident daughter and Peter Macon as the falsely accused Tom Robinson light up the stage. It is the only time that actual dramatic events drive the play.

It's been said about badly written material that sometimes you come out of the theater humming the scenery. This is the case with "To Kill a Mockingbird." Designer David Gallo has given us a stark proscenium arch with marvelous projections (courtesy of Lynn Jeffries) and spare props to evoke the small-town Southern milieu. Likewise, Deborah M. Dryden's costumes, Dawn Chiang's spectacular lighting and original music by Michael Bodeen and Rob Milburn take this production above and beyond its flaws.

Sergel was the president of Dramatic Publishing from 1970 to his death in 1993. It's a company known for publishing adaptations of classics from other mediums and licensing them to community theaters and schools. It is telling that he wrote this adaptation in 1970 and it wasn't produced by any theater until 1990. It is my guess that Dramatic Publishing has the rights to the Harper Lee novel and there are no other adaptations out there. Pity.

"To Kill a Mockingbird" runs through July 8 in the Bowmer Theatre.

Roberta Kent is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Reach her at rbkent@mind.net.

Love in the Time of Rejection

2011-03-01T16:46:00.000-08:00

For the record, I've had FOUR rejections since December 7th and NO acceptances. Three were for essays and one was for flash fiction.

Here's who I was trying to get a date with:
Edge, a Tahoe publication
The Pedastal, an online magazine
Catholic Digest
Apple Valley Review

NINE other potential loves still have my number.

I'll just be waiting here by the phone -- oh, and trying to line up other dates.

I Am Eleanor Roosevelt

2011-02-27T14:16:00.000-08:00

Aubrey's 3rd grade Biography assignment* was so much fun. She was supposed to read the biography of an important person in history, write a report on their life, and present that person to the class along with a homemade puppet.

Here's paper mache Eleanor and her handler, Aubrey!

Aubs did all the mache work, the painting, the sewing, the designing, the hot gluing, the wig-work, the Good Will glasses purchase, the dental work...

I've grown quite fond of Eleanor, too!

Aubrey's pal Jasmine came over a few times and made paper mache Amelia Earhart.

Here's Aubrey presenting Eleanor to the class -- well, actually, this is Eleanor presenting herself to the class and mentioning Aubrey briefly.

Eleanor spoke in a squeaky, quavering voice, explaining that she was known for having a weak voice when speaking in public, but that she worked very hard on it to ultimately become a notable, effective public speaker.

Eleanor also pointed out that she was well aware that most people thought she was unattractive -- even her own mother -- but she learned early on that "to receive love, she must give love."

Some of the most impressive information was that Eleanor was First Lady of the United States for the 12 years her husband was in office, but after he died she stayed in the public eye and became even more influential as the US representative to the United Nations, where she headed the drafting of the world's first Human Rights Declaration.

What an amazing woman. I'm so glad Aubrey got to "meet" her!

*Dane got to "meet" George Washington last year if you want to check that out.

Four Generations and a Sweet Surprise

2011-02-26T17:45:00.000-08:00

Oh, I'm so behind on posting. I'm going to attempt to pump out several updates, though, so my kids won't wonder what happened to February of 2011 when they're reading this in 2050. Whoa, they'll be 50 and 48 then. I'll be 80. Okay,Time Warp Time: Anj, Mick, Dane, Aubrey -- if you're reading this now and it's 2050, "Hello, and love love."

Moving on.

In January we took a whirlwind weekend trip to the Tacoma area. Since Jan wasn't able to cruise with us at Christmas and was taking a long while healing from infection, we decided to show up with some mojo, aka Grandkid love. It was great.

The kids stayed with her and Mike a couple nights; Mick and I stayed the whole time with my parents in Puyallup. The kids stayed there with us, too, for half the time. I think they liked the mojo as well; we hadn't seen them since September.

Our visit was just a couple weeks shy of Aubrey's 9th birthday, and since grandparents and great-grandparents and Karen! weren't going to be down to Ashland for that event, we threw Aubs a little surprise party in Puyallup. She was truly surprised.

My parents, Mick's parents, my mom's mom (G.G. = Great Grandma) and Don's parents (Vi and Gran) all came, as did Karen and my Aunt Laurie (Aubrey's Great Aunt Laurie).

Little Aubs was in rare form. She visited with everybody and let her brother help her organize and open her presents. After each gift, she looked for the giver and then went and gave them hugs and told them what she liked best about the gift. I couldn't have told her to do that any better!

Here are some photos that almost got left in the warehouse:

Karen brought the flower cake I'd sent her for her birthday a few days before. There's mom with Socksy.

Jan, Mike, G.G., Mema, Great Grandma Vi

Oh, that cat got a lot of attention that weekend.

Aubs, Socks, and Vi.

Great Grandpa Gran with Dane.

GrandDad and Freaky.

GrandDad and Birthday Girl.

The Great Grandmas, Vi and G.G.

Dane and Poppa and the squishies.

Grammy's elaborate gift.

A Grammy-assembled art kit with everything in it a kid could want. The older cousins and her bro have them; it was Aubsie's turn!

Mom with her sister, my Auntie Laurie, aka Auntie Sugar.

Boys Behaving Beautifully

2011-02-20T21:01:00.000-08:00

Dane's buddy Nic is spending the night. They spent a good part of the evening working on their electricity experiments for the Science Fair (a post yet to come).

Now they're watching How to Train Your Dragon.

This is what I heard earlier when they were deciding to watch the movie:

Dane: You wanna watch How to Train Your Dragon?

Nic: Sure, I've seen it before, but I like that movie.

Dane: I know, I love that movie. You know how it's, well, kind of touching?

[Folks, I kid you not.]

Nic: Yeah... I know what you mean. There are parts when he's with the dragon that really give me a sense of longing.

[Again, I kid you not!]

Dane: Yeah, there are parts that really get me. Even though I might see them like eight times, they just always get me.

And scene.

It kind of reminds me of this post a few years ago. I hope some things never change.

Valentine Update

2011-02-14T15:19:00.000-08:00

We put a lot of hours and hard work into creating those personalized "you are" and "what I like about you" Valentines.

At one point, Dane said, "Um, it's easier to think up the stuff that annoys me about some of these people" and "Next year I kinda just want to write the To and From part on the Valentine."

Then he lined all of them up on the table and re-read them, smiling.

Happy Valentines Day to you from me.

What I LIke About You

2011-02-11T11:05:00.000-08:00

The other night we discussed what Valentines Day is supposed to be about: showing love and appreciation. With that, the kids decided to try a new approach to classroom Valentine cards this year: they're going to write one thing on each card that they like about the recipient. It'll take a little more work, but it'll be worth it.

Check out how cutie-patootie they are so far:

With some photocopying savvy, we printed these suckers up for $2.22! or, as Dane put it, "'one eleven' for me and 'one eleven' for Aubs."

Then there was much joy to be had in using the paper cutter to slice and divide.

When we finished that, Aubrey colored hers in while Dane was at a batting clinic. She modeled hers after "I am" poems her class had done earlier in the week. Hers are "You are" poems, and the one above is to her teacher, Debi.

It says: to: Debi - you are a teacher who makes me want to learn.

Other cards:

to: Autumn - you are an excellent artest. I love your Drawings.

to: Sissy - you are a funny girl and I like your laugh.

to: Bodhi - you are wound up and full of Energy, + lots of fun.

to: Corbin - you are funny, play full and nice.

to: Felicity - you are sweet and creative. Your Halloween costumes are great.

and on and on with comments about skiing/singing/writing abilities, being hilarious, athletic, and funny.

Dane has colored his running dogs red, but that one above is a special card for his pal, Nic. It's a fox. I can't wait to see what Dane writes. He started one last night for a girl in his class. It reads: To: Chloe. You're a good friend and so good at drawing.

Wouldn't you like to get a card like that?

Ray Bradbury and the Art of Parenting

2011-02-09T13:45:00.000-08:00

Since I’m participating in this year’s Write 1 Sub 1 challenge – a writing commitment inspired by Ray Bradbury’s early career goal to write and submit a story every week, and where Write 1 Sub 1 writers write one piece and submit it either every week or every month for a year – I think it’s only fitting to re-visit something I wrote a few years ago, the second time I read Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing.

I think it was 2007, which means Dane and Aubrey were probably 6 and 5.

Here’s what I wrote:

I’m re-reading and re-loving Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing. I love the full sense Bradbury has of himself as a human being (and how he’s had it since birth – he says he remembers being circumcised at four days old!), and I love how this sense of himself as a human being has given him a full sense of himself as a writer.

He learned early on to embrace his passions, which he says he did at age 9 after a month of misery in the aftermath of destroying all of his Buck Rogers collection because his friends had ridiculed him. When he recognized he’d cut off and betrayed a huge part of himself in doing that, he decided those people weren’t his friends – they were actually his enemies – and went back to passionately collecting, daydreaming, and embracing his loves.

That all made me appreciate Ray Bradbury. I appreciate his insights for myself as a writer with lofty goals and an inexplicable desire to write. His words remind me to commit to whatever I want, regardless of the opposition, and to just do it over and over and over again because I love it and want to get better.

That’s obvious, though. I definitely should’ve gotten that from a book on writing.

However, it surprised me to realize that I also appreciate his perspective because I’m a parent.

Acknowledging that we should embrace our passions, regardless of outside opinion, makes me appreciate my children’s loves. Dane loves dinosaurs, Star Wars and Pokemon. He loves drawing them, dreaming about them, talking about them. Aubrey loves princesses, flowers, fairies, and anything pretty.

In the same ways I’m moved to write, my children are moved by their passions.

I think of Dane and his Pokemon fixation – how he’s only seen a movie of them once, but he collects books and sits and draws image after image after image and has a shoe box full of his miniature drawings – and I want him to keep going with those goofy little creatures that half his classmates think are stupid. (The other half loves them. I think Dane’s already decided: live and let live.)

And I think of Aubrey with her back porch fairy notes, weighted with tiny daisies and pebbles, and how she lives for the notes they (I) leave her on a misty night. How she curls her letters and numbers like they do, spending hours on her elbows, writing and clipping and designing, and telling them she likes to think of them feasting under foxgloves.

It’s easy to get annoyed by obsessions, or not respect the time and energy they take from the obsessor. It’s also not bad to introduce kids to new things so they diversity their learning, but there is time to acknowledge a groove, to feed a passion, to relish an obsession. That’s how you gain the role of expert – even if it’s self-appointed.

It's also how you learn to live your life with the confidence to pursue whatever you want.

Ray Bradbury’s book is called Zen in the Art of Writing, but it seems to me he could’ve just as easily called it Zen in the Art of Parenting.

Aubrey's Minis

2011-02-04T16:04:00.000-08:00

Aubrey made mini-cupcakes from scratch last night for her class and decorated them herself. She baked them for her 9th birthday, but perhaps she was promoting Breast Cancer Awareness, too?

Sick of Sick

2011-01-10T10:40:00.000-08:00

Dane's missing another day of school due to sickness. He and Aubrey have missed a lot of school again this year -- I"m afraid to count how many days. Anyway, Thursday he was diagnosed with an ear infection. He's got a cough and sore throat, too. He's been on antibiotics since then and he's not contagious, but he's still dragging, so it's another day home.

Here's the kicker: When I called the school today, the secretary said there are 14 kids out from Dane's class today with the Flu! That's half his class! And his teacher's out, too! Dane doesn't even have the Flu (he was swabbed for Flu and Strep on Thursday and came up negative), but wow.

The nurse also said she had 2 pages of names of kids out for some reason or other today.

What's the scoop in your area? Are kids getting sick, too? Do they all have the same symptoms? Sheesh.

Write 1 Sub 1 - early January progress report

2011-01-07T13:22:00.000-08:00

Done:
Okay, I've submitted flash fiction to The Coachella Review and The Pedastal Magazine.

To Do:
I also have a personal essay I plan to print and snail mail to THEMA, but first I have to add ink to my printer and buy some envelopes. Should happen by early next week.

I've also written a bunch, as resolved, but none of it is turning itself into anything -- no essay, no poem, no short story, no nothin. Yet. I'll probably end up eking something out on the last day of January. That's okay. I'll play the game.

FYI:
I'm still embracing rejections. I'll submit like crazy and collect rejections as if they're love letters.

Quote of the Day - Medical Advice

2011-01-05T11:20:00.000-08:00

On our cruise, Dane had an ear infection and was given his first-ever pill-form antibiotics. He kept trying, but couldn't get one down.

Aubrey, who's never taken a pill, advised: Just pretend like you're swallowing your gum.

Dane: gulp.

Not only can he swallow pills now, but he can do it without water.

Not so sure how proud to be of this.

First Port of Call: Cape Canaveral (aka Orlando and Harry Potter!)

2011-01-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

7 AM -- dolphins frolicking in the morning sun as we stood on our cabin deck and watched. Coming from the PNW, we just don't experience that. It was adorable, awesome, delightful.

8 AM -- sitting in the rental car with Mick, Dane, Aubs and Mick's cousin Andrew, headed toward Orlando.

9-something AM -- dropped off at Universal Studios, Islands of Something, headed with the kids toward Harry Potter's Wizarding World, as were thousands of other excited people. (Ca-rowded!) Mick and Andrew headed to Orlando Watersports Complex to wakeboard among tens of other excited people.

10 AM to 4 PM -- while Mick and Andrew braved the chilly waters -- and the ab workout -- at the complex, the kids and I did this:

Waited in line for the Pteranodon Flyers.

Oh, wait, let me elaborate: the ride has a new rule that one person above a certain height and one person below a certain height (and no singles) could go on this ride. So, the kids decided to ride together and got whisked in a line away from me -- where I couldn't even see them! -- for 75 minutes at Universal Studios. And there were multiple routes they could take out of it when they got off. It was nerve-racking and frustrating. I tried to stay chill on a rock, again, for 75 minutes!, and updated my cell phone addresses, but I had no idea where they were or when they'd show up again. Not fun.

When they finally came off, in different areas, they said it was a total bust (bust, not blast): 75 minutes of waiting for an 80-second kiddie ride. Aaargh!

But we decided to embrace the experience and use it as a way to approach future rides: gauge wait time and thrill before getting in line. Lesson learned. Went okay after that.

Besides, we had an 11:20 time slot for Harry Potter, which was right next to Jurassic Park.

Pteranodon Flyer - bust

Jurassic Park was worth this shot.

At Harry Potter World, we met up with the cousins. An awesome group to experience the magic and wonder of this place with. We did the Forbidden Journey, which the kids LOVED in its 4D splendor (I had to close my eyes the whole time to keep from puking), and Dane and some of the other cousins did another thrilling ride a couple times, but Aubs was too short. Bummer. :(

She helped me grab Butterbeer for the gang, though, this delicious butterscotchy, cream soda-ish concoction straight out of the books.

Waiting in line for Forbidden Journey.

BB waits too just outside the castle.

In line.

The sorting hat spoke to us!

Their weapons of choice. Petrify! Stupefy!


A quick hot dog lunch before The Hulk ride, which apparently was the best ride ever. I'll sign off now because Blogger's acting up on me and I'm getting stuck with picture formats and layout and font in this size. Stupefy!

Cruise Quote of the Day

2011-01-02T08:56:00.000-08:00

Aubrey defines the ship's casino after a walk-through: "Oh, that's where the rich people go to smoke."

Let The New Year Begin!

2011-01-01T12:37:00.000-08:00

It's sunny, the kids and Mick are up skiing, and I've got my dog at my feet while I catch up on some writing. I'm missing some good snow and family time, sure, but, trust me, I'll make it up in the upcoming Saturdays. Today, though, I needed to be a writer again -- because the last three weeks (maybe three months!) haven't been so much about writing.

Last year, one of my goals was to publish something every month. I'm happy to report that this went swimmingly. For the first six months. As I wrote and revised and submitted like crazy ("I'll collect rejections like love letters!") I met that goal initially:

January: "Pedaling into a new way of life" was published in The Christian Science Monitor.
February: "A Story of Love and Teeth" was a finalist in a career change essay competition.
March: "Bar After Bar" was flash fiction accepted at Drunken Boat and published in August.
April: "Cop A Feel" was an essay accepted at Mom Egg and Underwired. I let Underwired publish it.
May: "Romancing the Poem" was a poem published at Chronology.
June: "Tree" was a short essay accepted at The Writer's Workshop Review and published in September.

But then summer and ScienceWorks and road trip and a Fall job teaching 9 credits at RCC hit and nothing got published. Nothing! I still submitted, but not so feverishly. Oh, and in September and October I participated in three 48-hour legs of a four-leg Flash Fiction writing contest at NYC Midnight -- productive and fun -- but nothing published from it. (Yet.)

Ultimately I met only half my goal.

But I'm okay with that! I'm excited about what I accomplished and learned.

So this year, I'm newly excited to take on an official challenge with other writers: the Write 1 Sub 1 for 2011 challenge. Similar to last year's goal, where I submitted like crazy, this year I promise to write something once a month and submit every month. Totally do-able.

I'll keep you posted on that.

As for other writing, teaching, parenting, etc., goals I'll keep writing them in my journal and pressing on.

Happy New Year to you. What's your goal?

Let The Cruising Begin - At Sea, Days 1 & 2

2010-12-31T17:36:00.000-08:00

It's difficult to know where to start with recounting the glory days of the cruise, if only because something very startling and scary happened the first night, and I just have to get it out of the way here.

GrandDad Mike had a diabetic sugar crash.

Without going into the details we all witnessed, because that's Mike's story, I'll say that the first night all 23 of us gathered for dinner in the center of the ship's restaurant, we witnessed what we thought was Mike having a stroke or a heart attack. Really, it was that dangerous-looking and it's what we thought could be the end to Mike.

Medics came and aided him; Kai and Mick and Mike's brothers knelt round him, calm and solemn and brave, providing information; the children and Mimi cried.

When it was assessed an hour later that indeed he'd had a diabetic seizure, it was a tremendous relief that Mike was still with us, and it was an enormous reality check as to the fragility of life. It may not have been stroke or heart attack, but it was just as dangerous.

That said, the rest of the cruise we (or just I?) spent some thought hoping all the diabetics kept sugar levels under control (there are 4 in the family at various stages), and keeping track of family in subtle ways. Keep in mind, we kept Jan, Grammy/Mike's wife, in our thoughts, too, as she'd had to remain home in Washington due to her own health challenges.

But we got that big scare out of the way the first night, and, sign of the cross, nothing else happened the rest of the cruise. So, here's a little of what the first two days at sea held for us:

Aubrey and Indi loved dressing up for dinner. Here they are the first night.

Aubs and Dub Dub.

Danielle and Cindy in the forefront; Danielle's friend Jenny with Mike in the background.

Big Boy Jude got all snazzied up: dress shirt, tie, and sweatpants "For Mimi."

Kai holds up family t-shirts from Tom.

Mick, in honor of Mimi's 95th birthday.

Mimi and her love bug, Jude.

Kai, Mimi, and Jude.

After the crash and the positive word from the infirmary some of us regained a little of our appetites and headed up to the Lido deck to decompress.

It may not have been warm (it was snowing in Baltimore when we left), but on day 2 (near North Carolina?) the kids hit the sea water pool.

Indi and Aubs playing slap-hands.

Jude, Aubs and Dane.

Mick with the newest little Reynolds (well, his last name is actually Clark!), Nathan.

Kai with Dub-Dub, who, the next day was stung by a jellyfish in that seawater pool! It was closed and drained after his screams and welts alerted the crew.

Waiting for kids' camp, which was a little bit of a bust -- but that's okay, the kids just roamed the ship like unruly pirates in search of soft-serve the rest of the trip.

Dana, Rod, Mimi, Mick and Kai.

Rod, Mimi, Kai, me, and Dana.

Dane gussied up.

Doing the girls' hair.

GrandDad. Woops, it's fuzzy.

My growing kids.

Mimi and her greats. (Where's Nathan?)

Kai and Jude.

With my fabulous sister-in-law.

The traditional matching Christmas Jammies from Auntie Dana.

Other than this, we explored the ship's various lounges, cafes, and decks, looking forward to our first day on land: for us, that meant the Orlando Watersports Complex and Harry Potter World. (Stay tuned...)

Post #701: Home Sweet Sharkles

2010-12-31T06:07:00.000-08:00

After an amazing two-week trip (post and pictures to come shortly) we made it home at 3 AM Wednesday. We were supposed to be in at midnight, but considering all the east coast craziness with blizzards and flight cancellations, we felt fortunate to have had no bumps and only a few delays out of Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Still, 3 AM is tough when you have to roust yourself out of bed three hours later -- TO GO TO WORK! Yes, Mick was my hero that day, because not only did he manage to function in spite of time changes and travel, but he got to work that morning and had 13 emergency cases to handle. (Apparently everyone had been waiting for that dentist office to open up!) I think 6-8 emergency cases from 8 AM to 9 is his usual bigger load. Then, after 13 of those cases, his regular appointments ALL started showing up at 9 (also a rarity.)

So, he wins the big toughie travel and work award.

I, on the other hand, slept a few hours later than that and then emptied suitcase after suitcase and did laundry load after laundry load. There are still huge piles of trinkets and papers and randomness on our bar counter. Putting that stuff away turns out to be the real pain.

The kids and Colleen of DogGoneFun with Sharly when we first got her.

In addition to unpacking and doing laundry, I picked up a few groceries and... SHARKLES!

Sharly got to come home from R&R Pet Resort where she'd spent the past 14 days. We were all so excited, wagging our tails, fetching squeaky bones, scratching our ears. :) It's been great.

What was your favorite (or most exhausting!) part of the holidays this year?

East Coast/Bahamas Update 3: More DC - Monuments and Memorials

2010-12-18T18:28:00.000-08:00

This is out of photo order, but Blogspot's annoying. Here we are at Ali Baba's in Newark, DE, after our final day in DC.

Back in DC's ChinaTown with Jason, who zipped over from Virginia to see us.

The Norwegian contribution to Christmas: display at DC's Union Station.

Trolley Tour in DC. Ready to check the place out some more.

In front of the Jefferson Memorial.

It's a little dark, but that's the really big Jefferson.

Part of the grounds of the FDR Memorial.

More FDR Memorial.

With our hero, Eleanore. My favorite Eleanore story is probably the Marian Anderson story. It was the 1930s and Marian Anderson had been singing concerts, recitals, and opera roles all over Europe. She was invited to sing at Constitution Hall, but when the Daughters of the Revolution figured out she was black, they dis-invited her. Eleanore got wind of it, thought it was awful, and, with the backing of the President, set up an even better venue for her: she set up the first outdoor concert to be held at the Lincoln Memorial. On Easter Sunday, 1939, Miriam Anderson sang for a crowd of 75,000 people and a radio audience of millions.

Dane, um, riding FDR's beloved dog.

Aubrey petting FDR's dog. BTW: Aubs really misses Sharly. She wants to phone her at the Pet Resort back home.

With FDR.

With the amazing Abraham Lincoln. Incidentally, our hotel was just a block away from the Ford Theater where the president was shot and killed.

Washington Monument. We also went to the Vietnam War Memorial here. It made all of us really sad. Dane cried halfway through and said, "Mom, can we leave this one now?"

Booty from the Air and Space Museum: a Lego Space Shuttle and NASA Barbie!

Dane took this picture of Mimi with Mick and Mike at Ali Baba's.

That's all for now. It's spendy to connect to the internet on the cruise ship. Will have to post when we get back.

So... Bon Voyage!

East Coast/Bahamas Update 2: DC and the Smithsonian!

2010-12-18T17:57:00.000-08:00

We left Mimi's around 10 AM on Thursday after a full night's sleep and headed to DC. It was snowy and slow -- there were lots of accidents in front of us -- but our little FORD Edge powered through it. Oh, and it probably had something to do with Mick's expert driving, too.

Aubrey and Dane wrote stories in the car.

After we checked in at The Hotel Harrington, just blocks away from the White House, we met up with Mick's dad, Mike, at The Hard Rock Cafe. We ate a quick bite and headed out.

The Manager made a big show of going into another room and grabbing a guitar for me, so I had to make a bit of a show of it.

The kids took the camera around while we waited for our food.

Michael Jackson's famous jacket.

"A Michael Jackson Barbie!" -Dane

You'd think she hadn't just begged me to take her picture. A little Courtney Love coming from her?

Finally out and about in the chilly weather. (But it was fun! Sometime in here, GrandDad even did a face plant during a snowball fight. But I've already mentioned that on another post, haven't I?)

At the National Museum of Natural History at last!

Sea spiders. A photo taken just to scare Grammy.

A CROCHETED coral reef. Wow.

Dane and Aubrey thought it looked like a huge undertaking. You can read about it in last month's issue of The Smithsonian Magazine.

An Early Man exhibit was fully engaging. After we took the Early Man morph photos (photos to follow) Dane and Aubrey answered questions about what it means to be human. Dane's answer is that "In my back yard I play every day . I love to play."

Aubrey's answer is that to be human is to be able to draw.

The kids with Rexy!

GrandDad and kids and Rexy.

Air and Space Museum: at Amelia Earhart's plane. This just broke on the news TODAY (Dec 18): Three bones were found on a deserted South Pacific Island where Earhart's plane went down, and scientists are hoping the DNA matches hers so an old mystery can be solved.

The Air and Space Museum was the kids' favorite place.

Back at the Natural History Museum: Early Human Anj.

Early Human Aubs.

Early human Dane.

Early Human GrandDad.

And Early Human Mick.

East Coast/Bahamas Update 1: Medford, OR -> Philly, PA -> Newark, DE

2010-12-18T12:48:00.000-08:00

These posts are for everybody, but especially for Grammy/Mom/Janny Jan Jan, who was supposed to come on this trip but had to back out on her doctors' orders. We really really miss you, Jan -- particularly when we see things like a huge crocheted coral reef exhibit at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History, and when GrandDad falls flat on his face in the snow during a snowball fight on a lawn in Washington, D.C. (don't worry! he didn't get hurt!) -- but we trust you're healing the way you're supposed to. We love you.

So, to Jan and everybody else: we started in Medford at 5PM on Tuesday, flew all night with two layovers, and did Philadelphia when we landed.

In Philadelphia, we saw the Liberty Bell, visited Constitution Hall, witnessed the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new slave quarter site outside where the Bell is kept, and ate Philly Cheese Steaks.

In spite of all that fun and joy (and, really, it was), when I asked the kids what their favorite part of our travels had been at that point (Day 1) they said, "It's going to be going to Mimi's and seeing her." Seriously!

So, here you have it: the best part of the trip so far, according to Dane and Aubrey:

"Zilch" with Mimi.

Waiting at the Medford Airport.

Dane and Aubrey's entertainment on a layover in Portland.

Yeah, probably not very safe. Shhhh...

I'd like to mention that Dane was challenged to a race with an older gentleman that evening: Dane had to run against the current on the walkway and the older guy got to run on the parallel walkway with the current. They took off like bullets -- people were watching and howling, laughing -- and, get this: Dane won!

Third leg of the flight. Going on two hours of sleep (even though we flew through the night).

Learning the history of the pen in Penn. This fella's sign at Constitution Hall read "Questions Cheerfully Answered." He was good.

Former slave quarters recently dug up; the new exhibit honors African Americans and their slave ancestry.

Waiting in the chilly cold to see the Liberty Bell.

Countries of origin for slaves - part of the new exhibit.

Liberty Bell!

Supposedly the best Philly Cheese Steaks in Philly-town. We thought they were pretty good (but the kids liked the Cheesy Fries best!).

Finally. Mimi's. Aubs got out of the car and ran to her.

Tired Dane. Mimi's showing him into the house

Nap and a card game. Bliss.

If you've read this far, you must be family. Mom and Don, we'll miss YOU this holiday season, too. xoxoxo

Just In Case You Think Halloween Didn't Happen

2010-12-12T18:16:00.000-08:00

Kai and Dana threw a humongous Halloween party this year, complete with hay bails and marshmallow-roasting, a haunted house downstairs, and a multi-category costume contest. Above: Miss Piggy and her posse. (Dane the Clown lost his squeaky red nose in some forgotten corner that night.)

Aubs the Funky Cowgirl, came up with her costume herself.

Miss Piggy and her lovely sister the Geisha.

Everybody brought a spooky snack. We brought our skeleton cupcakes. One savvy person made a watermelon brain.

Here I am with my 70s Sister, Ava.

Kate and Mike Jack made their own amazing, awe-inspiring, spectacular costumes: hindu gods. They won Best Costume and Best Couple, I think. Deservedly so.

Although this duo ran a close second, giving the hindu gods a run for their money. Scott and Christy Raedeke (one of my writing pals) also made their own amazing, awe-inspiring, spectacular costumes -- and they get extra points for staying in full character all night long.

And here's SuperJulie (writing pal) and SuperMiles SuperInada.

Jennie the Pioneer (writing pal) with two of her brood.

Mick Piggy, as adorable as ever.

Me and my pioneer pal.

And here's the whole fam again, in case you missed it the first time.

An added note: Mick Piggy won prizes
in three of seven categories this year:

Scariest

Funniest

and, yes, you guessed it,

Sexiest.

Be very, very frightened.

Sacked Out and Satiated

2010-12-12T17:04:00.000-08:00

Sleeping under the Christmas tree used to be one of my favorite things to do. Now my kids feel that way. Here they are, one of the first nights the tree was up. They tucked their favorite Christmas stuffies round the stand and read through all the Christmas books I brought out in the plastic bin.

They love the books in the bin. The books range from funny (Olivia Helps With Christmas) to sentimental (journals they've written in every year for Santa) to old (a cracking Maurice Sendack version of The Nutcracker) to spiritual (The Shoebox, a story of a foster boy) to traditional (Jan Brett's troll and snow stories). I could go on. The books in that bin have been read and re-read every Christmas since the kids were born. There are a lot of reasons to love that box of books.

I recently read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever out loud to my kids. I acted in the "play" version of that book when I was in 3rd grade. It's the story of a ratty obnoxious family of kids, The Herdmans, who take over the church pageant, and, to everyone's surprise, make it mean something more than it's ever meant.

What are your favorite holiday traditions or memories?

Kids and Cameras

2010-12-11T14:58:00.000-08:00

So, this is what happens when my kids get hold of the camera....

I wonder what would happen if they got hold of my blog.

Of National Icons, Cruise Ships, and Legos

2010-12-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy three months. I taught 9 credits of writing at Rogue Community College this Fall, which made my life full, complex and wonderful. Not only did I meet students with stories that astounded, troubled, and inspired me as I graded their 66 papers every other week, but I earned enough money to pay for our upcoming family vacation! (That last part is important, only because we hadn't anticipated a big vacation this year.)

But that's right, we're going on a vacation. And that's the point of this post.

Last summer, Mick's Mimi (grandmother) invited her entire extended family to join her on a cruise to the Bahamas at Christmas. She generously offered us passage on the cruise if we could get ourselves there and enjoy it.

We said Yes! (We've done this before, two other times: once to The Caribbean, another to Alaska.)

Here's what we're hoping to do:

We'll head east several days before the cruise to explore on our own before we meet up with everybody. We'll land in Philadelphia and start there, seeing the Liberty Bell and eating Philly cheese steaks.

Dane surprised us yesterday with a few Lego renditions of American Symbols.
Here's the Liberty Bell, of course.

Then we'll spend some time at the magnificent Mimi's, where she'll whoop us once again at cards.

We'll also head to DC to spend a day at the Smithsonian, and another day on the Trolley Tour, visiting the White House, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial.


The White House. He hasn't figured out how to make the top rounded part yet.

We can hardly wait!

He threw in the Statue of Liberty for his cousin Indi who'll go to New York before the cruise.

But it doesn't end there, which is so hard to believe...

From there, we head on a cruise ship to The Bahamas with 23 other members of Mimi's/Mick's family, four generations of Reynolds. That alone is special.

What's also special is that in Orlando, the kids and I will hit up Harry Potter World while Mick will fulfill a dream of wakeboarding at a water park all day. I think his cousin Andrew will join him. (We would've joined him on that, but the kids' ages aren't quite right yet, and I have a feeling Harry Potter World might have won out anyway, since that's where their cousins will be!)

We'll also snorkel and play at the beach at two stops in The Bahamas.

*sigh*

I'm in the middle of packing right now. Now that we have to pay $25 a checked suitcase each way, complete with size and weight restrictions, I need to be efficient!

I've done it before and I can do it again, but if you have ANY suggestions or tips for me, leave a comment, please.

Any tips on how to pack most efficiently?
Any items I'll absolutely need to bring?
Any places in that itinerary that I should bust a rump to get to?
Any things I should look for?
Any ways to prep my kids other than reading books about the Revolution and American Symbols, or watching Night at the Museum?

Fire Away!

Fair Representation

2010-12-03T12:51:00.000-08:00

I turned 40 last month. Aubrey felt each year should be represented on my cake -- apparently there weren't enough candles in the house.