Another day at A-B Summer Camp

Mason, Nathan, Kenzie, Josh, Nick, Lane & Cheyenne...all enrolled in the A-B summer camp here at the "Secret Place" in Sycamore.

Blackberry tours

Lane and Nick lost a couple of plastic balls in the blackberry bushes the other day. Cindy told them to "fetch," and they ended up breaking an ants maze of paths throughout the entire fenced area. Nick came over again today and they offered tours. They told Mason that he had to get dressed with gloves, long sleeves and a hat. He looks ridiculous, but complied.

Handstand

Kenzie has moved on from the cartwheel to the handstand. It still gives her a bit of a challenge, but she's eager to practice!

Checking the list

Cindy asked Cheyenne and Lane to make a list of the top things that they want to do this summer. Lane's top picks included: swimming, camping, bowling, go to the park, go to the beach, go to the art store. Cheyenne had a few more, including: go to concert (free Issaquah concert at the community center), and go to an instrument store to look at musical instruments. Innocently, I asked Kenzie what hers were. She said, "go to Disneyland, get a swimming pool, go paragliding, have a play date with all of my friends, and go to Hawaii. Again. Oh, and don't forget camping."

Well, we're working through Lane and Cheyenne's list. We went to Kelli and Jeff's on Saturday to go swimming in their pool. Lane stayed and had a sleepover with Nick. Then today after church we all met at Rattlesnake Lake with a plethora of their kayaks and other small boats, then went back to their house for another round of swimming and a barbecue.

While at the lake Mason and I decided to go for a ride in an inflatable kayak. I figured I would do most all of the paddling. When we got out there he wanted to paddle, so I handed it over. He did a surprisingly good job and went for a really long time. We floated all around, went in a few circles, saw a couple of fish jump. I took this picture when he was sitting in front of me, just working hard at taking us on a tour. It was so cute having my little dude take me around the lake!!

Alki

Cindy, Casey and Sandy took their collective clan of 9 kids to Alki for a very low tide. Weather was a bit blustery, but it didn't stop them from going in the water. Or, finding yet another critter.

Ramblings

Mason just came in. He said, "Mom, sorry for the bad news, but Daisy Froghopper has gone missing." One down, four to go...

Earlier in the day Lane, Kenzie and I went for a bike ride into Issaquah. We stopped along the way and got our friend Jim who lives in a nursing home on the way. He has a battery-operated wheelchair, so we thought he would like to go for a ride with us. He went as fast as he could, but those of us on bikes had to go rather slow. Lane understood that, but Ms. MacSensitive said, who is now a bike-riding expert because she took the training wheels off a week ago said, "geez, mom, why can't Jim go just a little bit faster?"

Best buds

I can't even keep track of which kids will be here on which day anymore. We're just calling it Camp Bolam, and the doors are open. Today with Nick and Emilie the kids went to The Secret Place again, played basketball, and tried out the new pitching machine. (Did somebody say "new pitching machine?" Oh yes...loads of fun to come with that.)

And Kenzie got to pal around with her best bud Emilie.

Daisy the Tadfrog

One of the tadpoles, Daisy, has almost turned into a frog. She can jump, but still has a tail. We're keeping her a bit longer, then will release her in our wetlands to be with her friends that she hasn't yet met.

The secret place

In our neighborhood is a place that the kids call "The Secret Place." It's a park on the creek, fairly well hidden. The clan of kids, that now includes Josh a few days a week, rode their bikes/scooted/ran over there today.

Kenzie went out on a log, spotted a frog, and grabbed it. Yeesh, that kid loves the critters. I love the look on the frog's face...he looks like he's saying, "you gotta be kiddin' me."

We also have an aquarium set up. We have five tadpoles, courtesy of our friend Corrin. Kenzie tends to them every day. And by tending, I do mean both feeding and petting.

Weekend with Aunt Carol

Carol was brave enough to take the munchkins this weekend from Saturday morning through Sunday evening. They hit the zoo on Saturday afternoon. We heard lots of reports of critters and fun.

I asked Mason to tell me about it. He said, "oh, it was really fun. You heard that I bit sister? And I saw a real tiger. It walked. And it was so cute because it was rolling around in the grass. I saw a ball in the water. And I saw two real monkeys and a porcupine in the same cage. He reached out because he wanted some food. The man was holding food but he didn't see him reaching out for some, but then he reached in to give him some food and he just eats it. And when he eats it he smacks. I heard it. And I saw him smacking."

Okay, so back to the biting. I called Carol's cell just after the "incident." Mason bit his sister so hard that the back of her arm is quite black. Carol didn't see her provoke him, at least this time. She talks circles around him and lately his only good defense is a good offense. Other than that, they had a fabulous weekend in Gig Harbor!



Mason made a movie:

Happy birthday Ama

Kenzie made this birthday card for Cindy's birthday. It says, "Dear Ama, I will ALWAYS love you. I know Miss B has been a good teacher, but you are better! Thank you being my Mother! Love Kenzaroonie." That's about the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Summer!

Yesterday was Kenzie's last day of school for the summer! This is her teacher, Miss B. She was so fabulous for Kenzie. She had a strong emphasis on learning within a structure that really worked for Kenzie. We saw Kenzie grow a lot this year, both academically and personally.

Here she is with her "boys" (plus friend Morgan)...Cameron, Carter and Jasper. These are her buds. Carter is moving to Chicago in a couple of weeks. Jasper is her bike riding buddy.

Cameron is someone we hear a lot about. He's a bit older than the other kids and she really likes hanging out with him.

Gymnastics skills

Kenzie's first gymnastics semester is over. They had their skills demonstration and awards tonight. The video is longer than average...but if you think 3-1/2 minutes, just remember that the rest of us got to sit through the entire hour presentation. She did great...except perhaps the final dismount!