Time to Trim

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.

Wakey Wakey 2011

 

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

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

Baseball Fever

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!

A Good Long Full Day

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.

Word Nreds

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.

Valentine Update

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

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?

Quote of the Day - Medical Advice

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.

Kids and Cameras

 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.

RUNNER KIDS

I need to post something quick just to step back into the blogosphere. Just a little something.

So here goes: I've got two new running pals! Dane and Aubrey love to run.

I should've seen this coming, since they're fun and active and they like to root for me when I get off my fanny to run, but they've taken their running to new levels just in the past months.

As I wrote earlier, they placed 2nd and 3rd overall for the Siskiyou Challenge One-Mile Fun Run. That was exciting -- I also think it's what gave them the bug.

Next, the school lap-a-thon fundraiser took place. Aubs ran 11 laps, which was high or average for girls in her third grade class. Good job, Aubs. Then Dane... Wait, he needs his own paragraph.

Dane ran 26 laps and set a school record! He just set out, on fire, and kept going -- for 6 -1/2 miles! (That's what 26 laps equals, in case it's been a while since you were on a track.) Dane reflected after school that day that it was weird to have people high-fiving him and smiling at him all day after that (a dose of fame?), and the next morning he crawled his weary body out of his room, moaning (without a hint of a smile) because his legs were so sore. He'd played an hour of soccer the night of the run, too.

So Dane and Aubs have got the running bug.

And Aubrey just won her first little competition -- at the Halloween Monster Dash.

Dane and Aubs and I decided to do the 5k (instead of the 1-mile). Aubs and I chose to stick together, but Dane took off like a rocket. He kept his pace (maybe a 9-minute mile?) and finished 62nd overall, 6th of 11 in his age group (10-12 years, I think).

Aubs and I kept a steady clip while holding hands -- she in Miss Piggy ears and nose, me in a curly purple wig and gown -- and happily crossed the finish line together averaging about a 12-minute mile. We got a phone call a couple days later, though, instructing Aubrey to come pick up her award: sunglasses, a free movie pass, and a certficate saying she'd won her division. Ages 0-8. :) Good job, Aubs.

Okay, post finished. I'm up and running.

First Annual Siskiyou Challenge Fun Run

Ready to run Saturday morning.

Coming 'round the corner at station #2 - in 2nd place!

Coming 'round the corner at station #2 - in 3rd place!

These two maintained their standings and finished in 2nd and 3rd! And it was a middle-schooler who took 1st.

Mick, Sharkles and I were super proud of our runners. They finished a mile (+) in 12:15 and 12:30. Way to go, guys!

Hours and Hours of Driving Made Easy

We've been in the car A LOT in the past two weeks. This weekend we drove to San Jose and back for a wedding (7 hours each way) and the previous weekend we drove home from Seattle (9 hours).


But it was great - especially because of THIS book:

We listened to all 7 cds of The Story of the World, Vol. 1 - and we'd listen again.

This is an amazing book, providing an amazing literary and historical base for 9-12 year-olds in terms of a classical education. This book focuses on "The Ancients," basically the beginning of civilization to the fall of the Roman Empire. Greek gods, Old Testament, Christianity, Pyramids and Pharoahs, ancient China, the Americas, and so on.

The idea is that if kids this age are introduced to these major stories and events in narrative form, when they're introduced later in actual text or reference, their minds will already have a grasp on them.

Dane and Aubrey now know the story of Remus and Romulus, of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (one of the world's seven wonders), how mouse hair was used for the finest calligraphy brushes in ancient China, how Greek and Roman gods correlate, and how the tribes of Israel formed.

I'm so excited about this introductory book for my kids. We'll definitely listen again (and perhaps again?) - and I'm already scheming about how to get my hands on the rest of them: Volume 2 The Middle Ages, Volume 3 Early Modern Times, and Volume 4 The Modern Age.

And finally:
The narrator sounds like Jon Lovitz.
Drawback or Bonus? You decide.

Tucked In

Aubrey: When I hug Mommy I get sleepy.
Dane: Me, too...

Lights out.

Enterpreneurs

The kids are into setting up shop on the sidewalk across the street these days. They've got a big beach umbrella over their heads, an old bench from the front yard as their table, and a stool and a high chair for their seats.

Dane's at "Animate It" camp at ScienceWorks today 'til 1, but Aubrey and Kimmi (neighbor) are selling ears of corn and frozen Otter Pops.

Yesterday it was 95 degrees out and all the neighborhood kids were at the table with Dane and Aubrey, knitting scarves to sell with the warm lemonade.

A Year In Books

For the past fifteen years I've kept a journal of books I've read. Today I just picked it up to see what I've read in the past twelve months. Here's the list:

9/09 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Steig Larsson - a gripping, page-turning, brutal but well-written murder mystery suspense novel published posthumously. Two more in the series have been released by this smart Scandinavian novelist. Note: this book is not for everyone, nor is the movie. However, I'll say that the movie is one of those rareties, in the sense that it follows the book amazingly well.

10/09 Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson. This is excellent, inspiring nonfiction. Read it.

10/09 Cannery Row, John Steinbeck. Such good writing, such a good story. Steinbeck was a master.

11/09 The Pilot's Wife, Anita Shreve. Oprah's Book Club stuff. I read it in a day. A page-turner, but not necessarily satiating.

11/09 The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula LeGuin. Science Fiction. A book club selection. Ursula LeGuin's so prolific and smart. I'm glad I read this, even if I didn't just love it.

11/09 Gods Behaving Badly. Can't even drum up the writer's name. Awful. Couldn't stand it. A book club selection. A story of modern gods living in London. Blah, blah, blah.

12/09 Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Surival in the Arctic, Jennifer Niven. I think I wrote about this on an earlier post. Fascinating story, decent nonfiction writing, brought about plenty of discussion at book club.

1/10 The Yiddish Policemen's Union, Michael Chabon. I love Michael Chabon. Not everyone will agree with me, but: He can do no wrong. He's the master of descriptive writing.

1/10 The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick. Graphic novel for YA or middle grade. This was a wonder-filled book. Loved it.

2/10 Shiloh, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Dane's class read this, so I did, too. Lovely story about a boy who saves a dog from an abusive owner. Set in 50's/60's south.

4/10 The Daykeeper's Grimoire, Christy Raedeke. I wrote about this in an earlier post; my friend Christy's debut YA novel. Read it!

5/10 Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen. I can't recall a thing about this. Not even a main character. Wait... Oh. The 16-year-old girl traveling to Bath with chaperones. Meets good boy, pursued by bad boy. Etc. Still not in love with Jane Austen. I'd like to be. Will keep reading her works.

5/10 The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan. The first in the series of five. Excellent middle grade reading.

5/10 Cheaper By The Dozen, Frank B. Gilbreth. Wrote about this on an earlier post. Didn't do much for me, in the long run, but it's a decent read. Besides, I had to read it for book club AND I was waiting for book 2 in Rick Riordan's series, since Dane and Aubrey and Mick were reading the only copy we own!

6/10 The Sea of Monsters, Rick Riordan. Book 2. Fabulous.

6/10 The Titan's Curse, Rick Riordan. Book 3. Fabulous.

6/10 The Battle of the Labyrinth, Rick Riordan. Book 4. Fabulous.

6/10 The Last Olympian, Rick Riordan. Book 5. Fabulous.

7/10 The Reader, Bernard Schlenk. I've wanted to read this since I saw a poster for the movie, starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes. Set post-Holocaust, and taking on difficult themes, this book was excellent. I read it in a day. I'd see the movie.

7/10 The Girl Who Played with Fire, Steig Larsson. Book 2 of 3. Brutal, but good writing. And I'll read the third.

7/10 Thirteen Reasons Why, Jay Asher. Young Adult literature. The premise caught my attention. A boy gets a box of cassette tapes after a girl's suicide, and listens to the 13 reasons she killed herself. Great premise, and the teens that read it probably love it. I just thought the girl felt objectified a few too many times. Possible - and even probable - in real life, but the way it was written made me not want to believe she had to see things the way she did. Which, of course, is part of the brilliant premise of it, right? We're supposed to believe suicidal cases -- the signs are there, and the reasons are real to the victim. (Anybody else read this and had thoughts about it???)

So that's all for my year. Twenty-one books. Looks like I read a lot of YA and Middle Grade novels this year. Some book club selections, too (which didn't always move me). Oh, and I read these three books all year long, whenever I felt like it: The Fourth Genre, Writing Life Stories, and The Eleventh Draft, among other essay and short story collections.

Upon reflection, I didn't really seek out good literature in the past twelve months the way I usually do. I think that'll be my goal in the next twelve: Keep something on hand at all times that I really want to sink my teeth into. (Help me out with that? Suggestions welcome.)

MICK
He's not here to put this together, but I'll throw in that Mick read the Lightning Thief series, too, some Michael Chabon, the Girl with the... series, and lots of David Foster Wallace (his new hero -- Mick loved the 3-inch thick novel, Infinite Jest).

DANE AND AUBREY
These two cats LOVE the Lightning Thief series (wait, they call it the Percy Jackson series). Dane's read it four times this summer -- yup, that's about 1500 pages each time, so 6000 pages total. Aubrey's on book 4 of her second reading. These guys can't get enough of Percy Jackson and Greek mythology.

They've also listened to books 1-5 on CD of The Ranger's Apprentice series. We're waiting for the audio CD of book 6, reserved at the library. I think we're hold 2 of 6...

**
Got a good book suggestion for me? Leave me a comment!

Our Lady of the Lake of the Woods

Me and my girl at our new favorite place. She and Dane and I have been there 5x in the last month. When it's too hot in Ashland (95ish) it's perfect at Lake of the Woods (85ish). We went there with my parents on Thursday and floated around on air mattresses and pedaled against some afternoon wind on a sparkly red paddle boat.

Now Dane's in Washington. My parents drove him north to stay with his other grandparents. He called today in the middle of a ping-pong tournament with Grand-dad.

Have fun, Dane-o. Smooches from all of us. xoxoxo

**
What did YOU love about summer as a kid?

Cowboy Clunkies

Here's what the cowpokes were singing (and it might help to tell you to sing it using only two or three different notes, kind of speak-singing):

In the wild west, there were cowboys who rode on horses.
On the prairie, they roasted hot dogs -- and marshmallows too-oo-oo.
In the wild west, there were cowboys who rode on horses.
On the prairie, the cowboys fought all night -- and all day.
In the wild west, in the wild west, in the wild, wild, wild, wi-i-i-ld west.

Last Day of School

Aubrey made this card for her teacher, Inge.
Inge's very stylish and pretty.

Dane made this card for his teacher.
Debi's very natural and outdoorsy -- and loves birds.

Throughout the year, I continually evaluate whether I think Dane and Aubrey are being pushed hard enough in school. I often wonder whether they're up to speed with what children their ages in other schools or states are learning -- in terms of spelling, math, and science.

But one thing I always notice is that they love their teachers, they love their peers, and they love going to Walker. For that reason, I'll continue to gauge their academic skills, and supplement a lot from home, but I'll keep sending them into that happy, healthy learning environment -- and remind myself that a child's developmental growth isn't only measured by academics.

Bye-bye, 2nd and 3rd grades! Hello 3rd and 4th!