Fall has fully arrived

Until two years ago, I had never bought Cindy a present that she truly liked. I tried jewelry, gadgets, kitchen appliances, clothes, car accessories, music…you name it. They’re all “just fine” but not great. That was until the Gas Leaf Blower of 2007. Immediately her face lit up, as if she had just received the winning lottery ticket. She studied it as if it was a fine watch handed down from four generations past.

She looks for opportunities to blow in the off-season. I’ve seen her blow water off our deck, grass clippings off the lawn, and debris out of the garage…but in reality, it is a tool for Fall. So she waits. First the leaves turn color, then the ritual begins. The winds begin to blow, the leaves reach critical mass. She dons the silencing headphones and rubber boots and becomes completely immune to the world around her as she blows. No kid can find her (too dangerous to be near that machine that is both powerful and noisy). She can’t carry the phone because she might lose it in the grass. She is on her own remote island of silence. Starting in one corner of the three-acre yard, she pushes the fallen leaves in consecutive invisible lines, restoring order to the grass below. Hours and hours of leaf blowing. Alas, it’s clean. But she can only enjoy the pristine green for a short while, until the inevitable disturbing winds start the process all over again. About every two weeks she feels the call.

That is until this year. The full-time job  is seriously disturbing the holy blowing ritual. I come home every day, noticing the piling leaves, but dare not say anything. I know she sees it too and the abstinence will only last so long.

Today was the day: Day 3 of a 4-day weekend. At first opportunity, she bolted. Hours and hours. Eventually she had to run out of leaves. Finally, I heard the front door open. Wait, wait…where is she?

Seriously…on the roof blowing pine needles? Oh well, like skiers and snow, you gotta enjoy the season.

Flu

I have to admit, I think they’re extra cute when sick.

Mason has been battling the flu for a couple of days now. Think it hit on the way home from Thanksgiving dinner, and he was out flat all day yesterday. He’s on the mend today. His appetite is back and he’s more vertical than horizontal.

Kenzie also likes him sick. In a sappy-sweet tone she said, “I hope you don’t mind if I baby him just a little bit,” as she returned from the 20th trip upstairs to check on him. She tends to his every need, and he acts just as she wishes he did all the time: sweet and obedient. He takes the water she brings to him. He tried to eat the roll she brought him. And he snuggles.

Today as he is getting his spunk back. Everything else is also returning to normal as they struggled to each gain control of the shared blanket.

Turkey day iPhones

We went over to Mike and Mary’s new house, which is the house that I grew up in. It was the first time that I’ve been there in a while (other than to walk through it was a rental). The house is beautiful, they’ve completely remodeled it. We had a delicious dinner.

It was nice to have my kids in that house. I didn’t think we’d ever get to have Thanksgiving there as a family again. Kenzie immediately wanted to see “my room.” Since I lived there when I was her age, it was fun walking around with her. Mason asked me if the vacuum cleaner used to be mine.

Funny how sentimental we can become over a house. I only lived there about six years, which is less time than Cindy and I lived in West Seattle. We walked away from West Seattle easily, but I still have a fond place in my heart for the Gig Harbor house, so I’m happy it’s still in the family.

The “kids” (including Donald, Michelle and Jackie) showed that some of the Thanksgiving rituals may be changing. Here they are will all accessible iPhones, with the two youngest in the drivers’ seats.

Thanksgiving demand

Kenzie drew this in the car on the way home. She slipped it over my shoulder as if it was a ransom note. It only said, “I want Cheyenne & Lane and A.J. back! RIGHT NOW!” then she asked for it back and added the “Right this minut!” (And later said, “I gotta learn how to spell minute.)

Report card

It’s report card time for MacKenzie. She did fabulous, with 3s and 4s across the board. (A 3 is “meets grade level” and a 4 is “above grade level.”) In the reading and writing, she pulled all 4s with nice comments like, “has sophisticated reading skills and is able to comprehend complex reading texts.”

All 3s and 4s. Except one. She got a 2 in “Respects the rights and feelings of others; cooperates.” After we praised for the great results, I asked her if she had any idea why DW would signify her as a 2 in that one area. She said, “well, probably because of the fights on the playground.”

Fights?

“Okay, just one,” she said. And she proceeded to tell me a story I had heard before about Emma wanting to play on the parallel bar, but Kenzie was there first. Emma got upset, called DW, and Kenzie felt like she got the short end of the stick. Having talked to her before about trying to see the other side, we talked about what Emma might have seen. I thought she got it. She said, “Emma always played on that bar and I could see why she didn’t want me on it.”

So, Cindy asked her, “what would you do differently next time?”

Kenzie said, “I’d say, ‘Oh, Emma, you can have the bar on the NEXT recess.’ There are two recesses every day.”

I do believe DW may have graded this one appropriately.

Although I might challenge the grading criteria. If they had one that was titled, “stands up for herself consistently” or “resists being pushed around,” I’m sure Kenzie would have gotten a 4.

Happy Thanksgiving

Oh a turkey knocked on my back door so I invited him in.
It was a chill November night Thursday so I invited him.
Won’t you come into my kitchen, my friend?
We’ll boil some water for tea.
We’ll chat, have a cookie, maybe two or three.
He answered, “no, no, no, I won’t come into your kitchen.”
I said, “no, no, no, no!!"
Cha cha cha!

Flying deer

Mason's school had their Harvest Festival today. Each kid got to choose their name. Mason was "Flying Deer." They then made stone soup and scooped it with shells.

this week's monkey lessons

Kenzie learned a new gymnastics move.

Mason's church song

All the kids sang "Jesus Loves the Little Children" today. Mason gave me a special concert tonight so that his video could be on the blog too!

Nude drawing

While Mason was bathing Kenzie pulled up a chair and drew a picture of him.

She wrote “to Grandma” on it, but her brother got so upset that she erased it and made a revision.

Surprise! Kind-of…

Aunt Kris made an impromptu visit up for June and Bob’s 50th anniversary, which is in less than a month. So, what better thing to do than throw a party! Last Tuesday we decided that four days was plenty of time to plan a surprise party for fifty of their closest friends and relatives. All was going well, until we told the kids. Mason said, “what’s your favorite color Grandma?” She said, “why,” and he sternly put his hands on his hips and said, “It’s a surprise! You’ll know tomorrow.” He then mentioned something later about their anniversary. It was okay, though, I think we still got ‘em. And it was a very lovely party.

All the pictures are here: http://kenziemason.smugmug.com/Family/Bob-and-June-50th/10324392_3vaTy#713754678_4pTCn

So Small

Kenzie sang "So Small" by Carrie Underwood today at church. She did us proud. That girl has nerves of steel. Both sets of grandparents plus neighbor Sandy joined for the special event. Mason enjoyed it...even if he looks a little bored.

5's news...by Mason

Ama's sister is coming tomorrow night from Oklahoma! I have never been there, but her kids Cheyenne and Laney came last summer. The kids are not coming this time. Cheyenne is really mad that she can't come. They have to stay at school.

Self Portrait

5's News...by Mason

I went to the barber shop with my mom and Lauren, a friend. She's a big friend. They spray it with water.

Second grade conference

We met with DW, Kenzie's teacher, for her conference. You may remember that DW moved up to second grade after teaching kindergarten two years ago, with MacKenzie in her class.

It was a great report. From an academic perspective, Kenzie is in the top of the class. Her reading level and comprehension is in the 98th percentile. She is in a special advanced reading group. DW said the biggest challenge is finding books that are both interesting and age appropriate for her. She is learning how to develop stories with plot twists. Her math is on par and she is very engaged in class. Socially, Kenzie is also doing great. She has friends, is a leader, and is able to work through issues. It was a definite proud-parent moment for us, with no issues other than that of keeping her challenged.

Round-off

Kenzie mastered the cartwheel a while ago now, but the lights went on last night for the round-off. Teacher Jessica pulled her aside and talked her through it. When we got home she described it to Cindy, then demonstrated for us.

Why kids shouldn't play with weights

he's fine...really...and we put the weights away.

Gymnastics

I got to watch Kenzie's gymnastic class last night.

First she shows of the "L-Sit":



and then the uneven bars:



finally her handstand (she is on the left in all black):

Basketball training

After a 15 year sabbatical, Cindy is again playing basketball! I am thrilled. First, she loves it and second, the kids get to see her play. I've taken each kid individually to see a game. Here was Mason's turn.

Mason reads at church

Mason had his first turn to "read" at church. Basically he lights the candle and leads the interactive reading. We were a little nervous...fire and a stage...but he did great! You can see that he successfully lit the candle, even without burning Pastor Dave. Took a minute to figure out where to stand, but he took it seriously and was oh so proud of himself!

class picture

 

The Children’s Garden 2009. Back row (from left): Connor, Teacher Cathy, Hayden, Teacher Bonnie, Teacher Debbie, Toby, Teacher Marsha, Ella, Teacher Donna. Front row (from left): Emma, Ryan, Miya, Arden, Jason, Brin, Maddie, and Mason!