20 years

Today is Cindy and my 20th anniversary. We had a fabulous weekend. Mike and Mary took Kenzie and Mason and a bunch of our friends treated us to a very special night on the town.

Before he went to bed tonight Mason came down with this card. He also took a treasure box of his, wrapped it up and gave it to us. He can be such a sweetheart.

Here’s a picture from the archives…

Gymnastics performance

Finally!

She finally lost her tooth. She was so proud. And worried. Worried that the tooth ferry wouldn’t come, that she would scare the cat, that she might think that Kenzie would wake up and get spooked herself, and that she might get confused because she lost the tooth over at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.

Luckily, the tooth fairy spotted the note that Kenzie left her. It says, “Dear Tooth Fairy, Please take very good care of my tooth. I tried very hard to get rid of it. Sincerely, MacKenzie. Look on back.”

Then on the back she wrote, “Write yes or no. Will I get $2.00? P.S., I lost my tooth at Grandmas. You are awesome. I promise I will sleep soundly at 12:00PM. No alarm clocks!”

Soft landing

Warning: This one hurts to watch. But it’s quick and worth seeing at least twice.

Karate class

Mason's karate class has finished up. He loves it. Here is his final performance.

His karate class meets at the Little Gym, same place as Kenzie's gymnastics. They had free play after the performances.

on the beam...


and the high bars...

Bedtime, by Mason

This came home from his school.

I go to bed at 8:30. My parents told me so when I was a baby so I know when to do it. I get ready by myself.Sometimes someone reads to me but I usually read to myself. It is hard for me to get to sleep. My night lights aren’t always on. I don’t dream. I stay in my own bed till morning when I tiptoe to Mommie’s bed. I get rats in my hair at night so it is hard to comb it out in the morning.

Top tooth

All of Kenzie's friends have lost about 8 teeth, she has lost 2. This third one has been loose for about a year. It looks like it won't be long now. She was worried tonight that she would lose it and the Tooth Fairy would scare her cat Izzy in the night. She said that she would leave a note...I think it was a request for the TF to be careful and quiet. (Nope, no control freaks here.)

Cat

Perhaps we need a pet psychic to explain why the cat, presumably George, sneaks into Mason’s closet (only Mason’s closet), fetches a pair of socks, and drops them into Jordan’s old water bowl. Every day I fish out a clean pair of socks.

Holland (Amsterdam!)…by Mason

(notes taken by Mason’s teachers)

We’re getting back on the plane again and this time it’s Mason who is our tour guide!

Hi, my name is Mason! I’m going to tell you a little bit about Amsterdam. It looks like it is little on the map, but it really is a big place! (Mason showed us on the globe.)

Most of our tulips come from there and I drew these tulips.

There are lots of windmills. I drew this picture. The windmill collects the wind and gives it to us.

I also drew a bicycle because they usually get around with bikes. You can rent a bike too!

This is a boat that rides on a canal, which is like a river. Right in Amsterdam!

The weather is cold like ours. They get a little bit of snow in the winter. It is really cold in the winter.

My mommy’s cousin lives in Amsterdam. I want to go there someday.

Amsterdam is the name of a city in a country called Holland or the Netherlands.

These are Amsterdam flags. Some my mom made at work. There is one for everyone in class.

They have a lot of water in Holland. These wooden shoes would not keep your feet very dry.

This is my clock that has a picture of a windmill on it.

This is Holland chocolate that I will be passing out too! Does anyone have a question?

Debbie: What language do they speak?
Mason: I don’t know, but I will find out.

Maddie: How did you make those flags?
Mason: I don’t know. I didn’t stay up as long as they did. [editor’s note: busted]

Bonnie: What happens to the windmill?
Mason: It collects wind and keeps it down here (in the base).

Bryn: Why are the tulips different colors?
Mason: Oh! There are lots of colors!

Bonnie: Is it flat or mountains?
Mason: I think it is fla.

Feedback…I like the tulips (Toby), I like the boat (Bryn), I like the windmill (Maddie) and I like how you speaked out. It was easy to hear. (Hayden)

Mason spoke so clearly and obviously took so much time with his poster and his drawings, nice work Mason! (Teachers)

bliss

Kenzie spent Saturday night with Grammy and Grampy, so Mason got special attention. At his request we went for ice cream. Big Surprise. Triple X burgers treated him right with the marshmallow sundae. Total Bliss.

Our first school project

Mason (yes, he’s in preschool) has his first school report due. Tomorrow he stands up in front of the entire class and reports on what he’s learned about Amsterdam.

We’re so proud of our, er, I mean his, work. This seems like bad precedence, but…all the parents are doing it. He drew the letters and pictures, and picked the photos. But he got sent to bed early and the rest of us finished it. It’s a one-time only deal, I swear. But I did have glimpses into what the future could look like as I yawned over my cup of tea gluing paper to sticks.

He has a container of tulips to give the teachers and a flag to give each student. It pays to have a teacher as a mom.

Chinese New Year Tiger

Kenzie went over to our friend Gloria’s house today to learn how to paint with water colors. This is one of her masterpieces. She had a great time..and I think all of them are beautiful. (The symbol says “tiger”.)

Gold grill

We spent New Year’s Eve serving dinner at Tent City, a homeless camp currently in Bellevue. Kenzie served pies. She took her job very seriously. I didn’t even have to check on her. This is her third or fourth dinner at Tent City, so I just knew she was doing what needed to be done.

This was Mason’s first time. We were a little nervous. Not him, however…Mr. Social was quite at ease. He stepped up to the front of the line, literally, and handed out silverware and napkins to each person as they approached. One of the first guys thanked him and, as he did, revealed a row of gold teeth. Mason casually and loudly, very loudly, said, “You have gold teeth. You eat too much sugar?” I was quite embarrassed, but luckily, the guy—and everyone else within shouting distance—were of good humor and enjoyed the five year old spunk.

Coffee-berry

I was all ready for work. Called the kids to say goodbye, as I stood at the bottom of the stairs waiting for them. Kenzie arrived first, gently hugged me, and wished me a good day. Mason was waiting on the fifth stair up. Rather than walking the rest of the way, he leaped like a bat on a high branch. Did I mention that I was holding both my Blackberry and a cup of coffee in my right hand? Somehow every drop of coffee flew out of the cup that I never lost grip of, completely drowning my phone, and rending it useless. He looked and said, “I’m sorry Mommy. I didn’t know that would happen.” I thought the same thing.

New trick

 

Mason’s news

I stayed up until 10 o’clock at night and watched four movies with my friends Luke and Josh for New Year’s. I yelled, “HAPPY NEW YEAR!” to the whole neighborhood! And I heard fireworks!

MacKenzie

When MacKenzie was six she was clever as clever,

Now that she’s seven, she’s smarter than ever.

She sings so well, she reads so well, her voice is so clear

That everyone listening is able to hear.

She’s thoughtful and helpful, she’s really just great.

I wonder what Kenzie will be like when she’s eight!

~ Dorothy White

(s)no(w) boarding

 

We went to Snoqualmie yesterday to go snowboarding. Lauren volunteered to teach Kenzie, Mason & me. We geared up, got in the car, drove up there and parked. Immediately people started warning us that conditions were horrible. It was a skating rink, not a fun way to begin. There was about a solid inch of ice on top of the snow. In this picture, Mason’s holding an iceberg in the parking lot.

We decided to go tubing instead.

No luck there either – they were sold out. So, we killed about half an hour in the parking lot, throwing ice cubes at each other and climbing the brown snow bank, trying to make the most of it. The ride home was not fun. The kids were completely annoying, so we called it a night and vowed to thoroughly check conditions before trying it again.