First day of Third Grade

Kenzie started third grade today! Her teacher’s name is Ms. Grage. It’s her second year of teaching, and her second year at Clark.

Yesterday was rough. Kenzie learned that her Big Crush (from last year) Cameron had transferred out to another school. She came home from “Meet your Teacher” crying…sobbing…confining herself in her room. Cindy went in to console her and heard, “Mom, you know that song, ‘First Love is the Deepest’?”

Well, first, it’s “First Cut is the Deepest,” and second, you’re in the third grade.

So, luckily, today, a full 24 hours after finding out he’s gone, she seems to be fully recovered and “LOVED, LOVED, LOVED school today.” She doesn’t really have any of her friends from last year, but we are hoping that she will make some new ones and settle in quickly. The teacher seems great and Kenzie is very excited for the year ahead.

circus act

Liz and Casey took all four kids to the circus today. What a feat, and I’m not quite sure why they wanted to do this, except that they were planning to take Grammy and Grampy too before Grammy took a spill. But it made for lively conversation this evening.

Mason wants to join the circus as one of the motorcycle riders that spin in a steel ball. I told Casey that if he joins the circus I’m holding her personally responsible. She quickly deflected and pointed out that my folks had taken them the past couple of years.

don’t get any ideas, boys

boys

Grammy’s little helper

Grammy asked if Kenzie could come down to help her with small errands. She has been down there since Wednesday morning and refused to come home tonight, insisting that she wants to stay and help Grammy some more. She makes tea, brings her snacks, fetches her medicine and pushes her wheelchair to the bathroom. She promised to do everything the first time she was asked, and as far as I can tell, that’s what she’s done. Even when Grammy got a shard of glass in her foot, Kenzie reached down and pulled it out, then cleaned up the blood from the floor. Tonight I said to her, “Honey you’ve been working so hard I’m going to pay you.” She immediately said, “Mom, I don’t want your money. I want to be here with Grammy.” She loves her Grammy. Oh, and the kittens.

We’re only a few days into this it’s pretty hard on my mom. She’s in a lot of pain and is frustrated because not only is her pelvis broken in two places, her left arm is broken and useless too. So, she can’t maneuver too much. Luckily Carol has spent the week down with them during the day. This just feels like such a setback for my mom who just recovered from her back surgery. Hopefully the doctor on Monday will tell her she doesn’t need surgery and we can count down the days to a six week recovery.

Pixel and Hoot

A couple of weeks ago Grammy and Grampy adopted two kittens. Their names from the shelter were Pixie and Twinkle, but thankfully they were renamed to Pixel and Hoot. They are very sweet and good companions, especially now that Grammy is wheelchair bound for six weeks.

Coach Grandpa

Grandpa Bob played on our church softball team again this year. We didn’t get a picture of him playing in the field, but this one shows him at his favorite position. He was a good sport, even playing catcher for a few games. His daughter was the coach and she was a bit of a driver. We were glad he didn’t get hurt this year! (Last year he rounded third base and face-planted near the dugout.)

Bear

Sary-Jo and the boys came over today, just in time for our annual "Bear in our Yard" afternoon play date with the kids.

Darwin in the kitchen

Last month our cat Zeke attempted double homicide on the frogs by tipping over their entire aquarium onto the hardwood floor. We found the frogs and saved them. We duct taped the lid onto the base of the aquarium. Then we bought a cute little beta fish and put it in the tank with the frogs. Even though the pet store lady told us they would all live harmoniously, the fish was super aggressive and made the frogs live in terror. They burrowed under the rocks and wouldn’t even come out to eat. So, we rescued the frogs by taking the beta and putting him in a vase. An uncovered vase. This morning I came out to find the vase completely tipped over and the frog completely dried out. This is truly Survival of the Fittest around here.

Grammy

On Monday afternoon, Grammy tripped over her hose while watering plants, broke her hip in two places and her left arm. So, basically three out of her four limbs are useless at the moment. She’s a good sport but it’s going to be a long six weeks as she can’t do much for herself with only her right arm.

Today Kenzie went down there to be her assistant. She fetches tea or whatever Grammy needs.

She made this card for her on the right and Mason made the card on the left.

cheap canoes

although we have two couches…

Boys Club at the zoo

Last week when Kenzie was at Grammy and Grampy’s, Cindy and Casey took the boys to the zoo.

“sure, we can go to the creek, just stay dry”

Lake Washington

Last weekend we went out with some friends who rented a boat…and lucked out that it was about 90 degrees out! Kenzie and Mason love the water and were in every chance they got. Kenzie almost got up on a wakeboard! She only got to try once because we were running out of time, but I’m sure with just a bit more time she would be up. But she did get to captain the boat!

kindergartner

About half way through school at the Children’s Garden last year Mason’s teacher asked that we considered bringing him back there part-time next year and just enrolling him in part-time kindergarten at his public school, Clark. This seemed like a fabulous idea. For one, we didn’t like the kindergarten teacher at Clark. But, more importantly, he has been so well taught and so well loved at the Garden, we were happy to keep him there as long as we could.

So, at the end of last school year, we explained to Mason that he was going to be returning to the Garden. This was hard for him because all of his friends were going to full-time kindergarten. But, he was the youngest in his class and we thought he would warm up to the idea when he met the younger class. We took him to the “four’s class” last year, but he wasn’t thrilled. Still, we thought he would adjust.

We recently received a phone call from Mason’s public school asking if we would consider putting him in full-day kindergarten. At first we dismissed it entirely because we love the Garden so much and were looking forward to another year with Mason at the Garden. He has been so well taught and loved. But, the conversation was open so we wanted to give a thoughtful response. (And, they got a new full-day kindergarten teacher.)   

After much deliberation, we think he is ready and it is what he wants. He has matured a lot since this idea first came up last winter. His attention span has grown and he is more interested in academics. He’s reading full sentences now. In a few weeks he’ll turn six, and he is really excited about going to the same school as his sister. He has been clear with us since the end of last school year that he felt he was ready for full-day kindergarten. It was tough for him to understand why all his friends were moving on from the Garden but he was coming back. We explained it many times, telling him that he was going to kindergarten AND to Children’s Garden, so he gets the best of both worlds, that he loves all his teachers, and that he will get to do the sleepover again! All of those were compelling to him, and each time we were able to move the conversation forward, but he continually revisited it with us, somehow unconvinced.

While Mason felt he was ready to move on, we really wanted him to have another year before he’s a full-time school kid! At the Garden they understand him and appreciate him. The teacher to student ratio is awesome and something that our public schools can’t offer. He has learned a lot and grown. This was a very strong pull for us. So, as we continued to talk, we reached out to those around us. Those who know Mason best said, “he’s ready.” And, to top it off, Ed asked Mason what he wanted, Mason replied, “I’ve been trying to tell them ALL ALONG that I want to go to Clark full-time.”

So, as hard as this is, we have decided to enroll him full-day in kindergarten at Clark Elementary. It’s not without reservations and a sense of loss for the Garden. We thought we had another year! We missed graduation this year, thinking we had plenty of time. But, in the end, while we might not be ready to have our baby in full-day kindergarten, he is and that’s what he really wants.

is there a doctor in the house?

No, so I guess a mom will have to do. No more stitches! Kenzie brought him her favorite rug and pillow, then he laid down and we were done in just a few minutes.

Earlier though he told Grammy and Grampy that he didn’t want me to do it because he didn’t want me to “ruin his cute little face.” Evidently he’s not that attached to it because I was able to bribe him with ice cream.

When I look at this picture that Kenzie took, I’m not sure that’s a look of 100% trust…

Mid summer night’s guilt

I think Kenzie feels very guilty about slamming her door on her brother’s head and causing him to have an ER run. She has been very sweet to him. In this picture with Josh and Luke, they were listening to an outdoor concert and she pulled him back to lay on her. (Okay, but a few minutes later he came crying to me because she had hit him in his stitches, but that was another accident.) 

The night he got hurt she felt so bad that she started crying. He (not yet stitched) put his arm around her and said, “it’s okay Sister, it wasn’t your fault.” (Um, yah, it kind-of was.)

Regardless, she has been extra sweet to him. I think this was a bit of a reminder to her that we do need to be a little careful and, as Cindy always says, “Don’t Slam The Doors!”

captain canoe

Fishing cousins

We had our family reunion at Mike and Mary’s house today. It rained the entire time, but that didn’t slow the kids down from enjoying the lake. Daniel and David each caught a fish. Mason assisted with the net (before it got dropped in the lake). A few went swimming but we had to tell Mason “no” because he can’t soak his stitches. Kenzie was tempted but only went to her knees.

Mason fished quite literally the entire afternoon. He was soaked to his skivvies but never complained.

Saturday morning!

more stitches

I just checked and it’s been over a year since we’ve been to the emergency room! Well, except for today. Kenzie and Mason were playing. She ran ahead into her room, slammed the door and, as she put it, “Mom, I didn’t know he could run so fast behind me.”

He got eight stitches (we think). He was quite the trooper, especially after they gave him the meds to “relax him a bit.” He couldn’t stop giggling. Later when the doctor was stitching him up Mason was in very good spirits. He asked the doc, “how many stitches’ve you had?” The doc assured him he had many. “Got any scars?” And so the conversation went.

Coincidentally this cut is about an inch above the scar from when Kenzie hit him with the chair arm (two ER trips ago).

sleepy time

A peaceful airplane ride home! Mason crawled onto the floor and slept until I had to wake him up to land. We’ve been home for a couple of hours now and it is very quiet here. I think they both decided a little down-time was much needed. Me too. 

Janel and Ryan

Janel and Ryan’s wedding was beautiful. The entire week was so much fun. I had never been to a destination wedding before, and didn’t realize how great it would be to have an entire floor of a hotel room filled with friends and family. We had many impromptu meals, went swimming, camped out til the wee hours in various rooms, and got to know people better. The kids loved having all of Sary-Jo’s family’s kids around, as there was never a lack of something to do or someone to play with.

We didn’t take many pictures at the wedding (and none at the reception) because there were so many other photographers, but we did dance! Kenzie didn’t sit out an entire song and Mason only did when he was overheating. His shirt came off at one point when his entire head was sweaty. We closed the place down then went back and crashed for one more night’s sleep in a foreign bed until we return home to our own! What a vacation run this has been, but we are excited to return to our own form of normalcy.

Rocky beach

 

The Embarcadero

We took a wrong turn on the way to the Oakland hotel and ended up on the Embarcadero in downtown San Fran. After spending six bucks to cross the Bay Bridge, we decided to validate our investment by paying twenty bucks to park for a few hours. Turned out that wrong turn was one of the highlights of our trip. (Even though both kids fell asleep literally about a block before we could park.)

We walked on the boardwalk for a while. Mason chased every pigeon, and we just enjoyed the sights and sounds of Fisherman’s Wharf.

At one point Cindy heard a live show going on at the end of the pier, so we meandered over. There was a comedian/juggler performing and a couple hundred people gathered around. Just after we sat down he asked for a volunteer from the crowd. Immediately Kenzie’s hand shot straight up. He called her up on stage. She popped up and spent the next six minutes up with him. I edited the video down to just her “juggling performance.” It was pretty cool though and she was very, very proud. He played with her a bunch on stage and eventually made her a poodle balloon as a prize.

Mason got to go on the giant bungee jumping machine. First he got geared up, then he jumped and flipped.

 

And, of course, we posed in front of Alcatraz.