Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Sunny Hills
Last year Laramie's garden digging created two big mounds of dirt in front of our fence, which grew dandelions. Alex called them "The Sunny Hills," and climbed them every time we walked next door.
Today, while he was riding his bike in our driveway, Alex noticed the piles were gone. "Where are the sunny hills?" he asked, tears wobbling in his eyes. I explained to him that the sewer company had trucked them away last month, so we could park in that spot again. I tried to joke him out of it, but he just stood there, mouth drooping, then put his bike away and went inside, purportedly to do puzzles, probably to recover.
May the much-loved sunny hills live on, if only in memory. If only on this page.
Today, while he was riding his bike in our driveway, Alex noticed the piles were gone. "Where are the sunny hills?" he asked, tears wobbling in his eyes. I explained to him that the sewer company had trucked them away last month, so we could park in that spot again. I tried to joke him out of it, but he just stood there, mouth drooping, then put his bike away and went inside, purportedly to do puzzles, probably to recover.
May the much-loved sunny hills live on, if only in memory. If only on this page.
Katherine's song
"Dive 'neath the cloak of the old gray ghost."
Sing to tune of "Glory, Glory Hallelujah"
Katherine says "the old gray ghost is fog."
Sing to tune of "Glory, Glory Hallelujah"
Katherine says "the old gray ghost is fog."
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Book of Mormon excitement
Think the Book of Mormon battle scenes are boring? Try acting them out with Bolivian finger puppets!
Camping
Alex and I went camping late in the day to Talapus Lake. I thought that we would get to the trailhead parking lot at dark... Not so; it turns out that the road is washed out two miles below the trailhead. So, starting at 9pm, we hiked 4.5 miles in the dark, and setup camp at midnight.
For breakfast we ate hot cocoa, cooked on a WhisperLight, and oatmeal cereal. Alex kept wanting to go higher, but I didn't think that he would make it very well, so we headed out at noon, and hitched a ride from the parking lot down to our car.
Note to self: The matches didn't work, so I had to borrow a lighter from some helpful scouts. Next time, pack a lighter. Also, I was thinking, on those times when a root would reach out in the dark, that a first aid kit would also be a good thing to pack.
Friday, June 26, 2009
By Definition
In Alex's words:
"It floats down deep."
"You have a tripod with one leg!"
"It's a double cherry with one pit."
"It floats down deep."
"You have a tripod with one leg!"
"It's a double cherry with one pit."
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Candy Experiments, Illustrated
Katherine was so excited about candy experiments this morning she decided to document it her own way. Here's her illustration, done in Microsoft Paint.
Famous
Since Family Fun magazine will be publishing a piece on our candy experiments in their October issue, we spent this afternoon getting photographed. Two photographers came to our house, (arriving early, before I'd changed and applied makeup--greeting the photographers in my clean-up clothes felt as weird as wearing pants to church). They lugged in all sorts of gear and spent half an hour just setting up light screens and positioning everything. Then they asked how long they'd have to photograph the kids--would their attention spans last more than half an hour? Ha, I wanted to say. You just watch.
Even though it turned out my job was pretty much to stay out of the way, I'm still recovering from the strain. Were Katherine and Alex listening to instructions to move closer together, stir their bowls, look at the camera (no, no, and no). Would I ruin a potentially brilliant shot if I ducked in to pour more water, lay out more bowls, wipe up spilled candy-water? Would I miss an important scientific discovery that I couldn't see from across the room? Would they ever get the lighting right? (The first half-hour of photos seemed to be discovery after discovery that the light was too dim). Would any of the shots work? Would they all work? Would they be so brilliant that my children's faces would be splashed across the web forevermore? Would this be a bad thing? Not to mention unquenchable concerns about the number of dishes I'd have to wash!
After an hour and a half of experiments (Alex managed to ruin my crowning achievement, a five-color density rainbow, by "helping" to pour), the experiments had been duly recorded and the photographers were ready to shoot a family photo. Photographing a herd of monkeys would have been easier! After so much prolonged concentration, my kids were ready to split, with Alex racing away after baseballs and Katherine hiding behind Laramie's back and in the wisteria. You would have thought they'd been eating all the candy they'd dissolved, they were that crazy. As for me, all those seasons watching America's Next Top Model helped me not at all--I could feel my smile straining (especially since I was wrestling to keep Rebecca in the picture). To top it off, it started to rain. Ah, Seattle. Maybe they can do one of those photo collages and paste our faces onto the bodies of people who are actually holding still.
At last it was all over. With Mom's help (she raced to the store for another pack of Skittles and stirred frantically while we were all posing for the family photo), Lar poured two more density rainbows with clear enough color striation that the photographer got a few pictures. ("Look, your tripod only has one leg," said Alex). Then they were gone.
But the kids weren't done yet. Katherine embarked on art projects, painting flowers onto paper towel with M&M color, while Alex (unwatched) dumped candy into his biggest bowl until the water level reached the top. There must be two pounds of M&Ms, Runts, Milky Ways, Snickers, Sweet Tarts, and Laffy Taffy still in there (he wouldn't let me dump it out). He calls it "candy soup." Goodbye, candy stash.
My dining room table is still sticky after three scrubs, I'm running my second load of dishes, entropy is overtaking my recently-spotless living room, and the rest of the house is a mess. But now we're famous. And I've learned a valuable lesson: I was never meant to be a model.
Even though it turned out my job was pretty much to stay out of the way, I'm still recovering from the strain. Were Katherine and Alex listening to instructions to move closer together, stir their bowls, look at the camera (no, no, and no). Would I ruin a potentially brilliant shot if I ducked in to pour more water, lay out more bowls, wipe up spilled candy-water? Would I miss an important scientific discovery that I couldn't see from across the room? Would they ever get the lighting right? (The first half-hour of photos seemed to be discovery after discovery that the light was too dim). Would any of the shots work? Would they all work? Would they be so brilliant that my children's faces would be splashed across the web forevermore? Would this be a bad thing? Not to mention unquenchable concerns about the number of dishes I'd have to wash!
After an hour and a half of experiments (Alex managed to ruin my crowning achievement, a five-color density rainbow, by "helping" to pour), the experiments had been duly recorded and the photographers were ready to shoot a family photo. Photographing a herd of monkeys would have been easier! After so much prolonged concentration, my kids were ready to split, with Alex racing away after baseballs and Katherine hiding behind Laramie's back and in the wisteria. You would have thought they'd been eating all the candy they'd dissolved, they were that crazy. As for me, all those seasons watching America's Next Top Model helped me not at all--I could feel my smile straining (especially since I was wrestling to keep Rebecca in the picture). To top it off, it started to rain. Ah, Seattle. Maybe they can do one of those photo collages and paste our faces onto the bodies of people who are actually holding still.
At last it was all over. With Mom's help (she raced to the store for another pack of Skittles and stirred frantically while we were all posing for the family photo), Lar poured two more density rainbows with clear enough color striation that the photographer got a few pictures. ("Look, your tripod only has one leg," said Alex). Then they were gone.
But the kids weren't done yet. Katherine embarked on art projects, painting flowers onto paper towel with M&M color, while Alex (unwatched) dumped candy into his biggest bowl until the water level reached the top. There must be two pounds of M&Ms, Runts, Milky Ways, Snickers, Sweet Tarts, and Laffy Taffy still in there (he wouldn't let me dump it out). He calls it "candy soup." Goodbye, candy stash.
My dining room table is still sticky after three scrubs, I'm running my second load of dishes, entropy is overtaking my recently-spotless living room, and the rest of the house is a mess. But now we're famous. And I've learned a valuable lesson: I was never meant to be a model.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Polite
Today when Mom was handing Becca french fries, she swears Becca said "thank you" (at least "da-doo"). She heard it three times. We're sticking to this story, because not only does it mean we have a very polite baby, but it shows that we're a very polite family!
Three reasons to keep your legs shaved
1. You might be surprised by a record-breaking heat wave--28 days without rain.
2. You might end up slip-n-sliding at the Ensign Ranch when you thought you were going to be driving around clammy Boston.
3. You might be summoned to the summer's lowest low tide with only minutes to spare.
2. You might end up slip-n-sliding at the Ensign Ranch when you thought you were going to be driving around clammy Boston.
3. You might be summoned to the summer's lowest low tide with only minutes to spare.
Vacuum Cleaner Saga
Problem: 11-year-old cheap vacuum starts smelling of burnt rubber.
Plan 1: Have Laramie research and buy me a new vacuum.
Reality: Life happens, but not vacuum shopping.
Plan 2: Have Laramie fix old vacuum.
Reality: Forget to update Laramie on the urgency of the situation. Life happens, but not vacuum repair.
Plan 3: Research and buy vacuum myself.
Reality: Consumer reports rates 73 vacuums; even their highly recommended vacuums have user feedback detailing major flaws. Give up in confusion and information overload.
Plan 4: Have vacuum cleaner repair store diagnose problem, decide if it's worth the money to fix it.
Reality: Vacuum repair store says that diagnosing any problem will take at least a week.
Plan 5: Fix vacuum myself.
Reality: Spent half an hour finding the right manual online, spent another half hour figuring out how to take the vacuum apart. Bought new belt and filter for $6. Installation successful.
Outcome: 11-year-old vacuum looking pretty good for now!
Plan 1: Have Laramie research and buy me a new vacuum.
Reality: Life happens, but not vacuum shopping.
Plan 2: Have Laramie fix old vacuum.
Reality: Forget to update Laramie on the urgency of the situation. Life happens, but not vacuum repair.
Plan 3: Research and buy vacuum myself.
Reality: Consumer reports rates 73 vacuums; even their highly recommended vacuums have user feedback detailing major flaws. Give up in confusion and information overload.
Plan 4: Have vacuum cleaner repair store diagnose problem, decide if it's worth the money to fix it.
Reality: Vacuum repair store says that diagnosing any problem will take at least a week.
Plan 5: Fix vacuum myself.
Reality: Spent half an hour finding the right manual online, spent another half hour figuring out how to take the vacuum apart. Bought new belt and filter for $6. Installation successful.
Outcome: 11-year-old vacuum looking pretty good for now!
Vacuum Cleaner Survey
Do you have a vacuum cleaner that you love? Tell me all about it--what kind, how heavy, how loud, does it do stairs? We're more than ready to upgrade.
What we did on our "trip to Boston"
Stood in line at the Seattle airport for 2 hours
Camped at Ensign Ranch
Took the ferry to Vashon Island
Camped at Ensign Ranch
Took the ferry to Vashon Island
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Writing
For anybody who's interested, here's a list of my latest publications in ParentMap magazine:
Riding the Rails (June)
This one was fun to research, although I spent more than half my earnings on train tickets! Laramie was able to ride in the steam engine at the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad, which he just loved.
Three Perfect Hikes for Kids (May)
This one was hard to research, since it rained so much in March. Luckily we had one sunny weekend, and rushed off to explore Wallace Falls. After this article came out, Mom walked into preschool and had people ask her "Did you know your husband was quoted in this magazine article?" She responded, "Yes, and my daughter wrote it!"
Why You Should Sing to your Baby (April)
I never stop singing, so the idea for this one was pretty obvious. I loved using my friends as sources; they have pretty impressive backgrounds. One thing I've learned from writing these articles is that almost anyone can be a source, and most of my acquaintances have expertise in something or other that I might find useful. So keep in touch, everybody--I may be calling you someday!
Riding the Rails (June)
This one was fun to research, although I spent more than half my earnings on train tickets! Laramie was able to ride in the steam engine at the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad, which he just loved.
Three Perfect Hikes for Kids (May)
This one was hard to research, since it rained so much in March. Luckily we had one sunny weekend, and rushed off to explore Wallace Falls. After this article came out, Mom walked into preschool and had people ask her "Did you know your husband was quoted in this magazine article?" She responded, "Yes, and my daughter wrote it!"
Why You Should Sing to your Baby (April)
I never stop singing, so the idea for this one was pretty obvious. I loved using my friends as sources; they have pretty impressive backgrounds. One thing I've learned from writing these articles is that almost anyone can be a source, and most of my acquaintances have expertise in something or other that I might find useful. So keep in touch, everybody--I may be calling you someday!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Kid Math
Katherine: "What's 100-64?"
Katherine: "What's one million minus two thousand?"
Katherine: "What's a house minus a box?"
Alex: "What's a house minus a mouse? Hey, it rhymes!"
Katherine: "What's one million minus two thousand?"
Katherine: "What's a house minus a box?"
Alex: "What's a house minus a mouse? Hey, it rhymes!"
Baby Words
"Hi!" That's what Rebecca started saying a week or two ago--at least it's close.
And her newest word: "up!"
And her newest word: "up!"
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Hot
We've just finished a week of temperatures in the high 90s, which made me better understand why Sarah says people don't cook as much in Arizona. I served salads all week. Yesterday's salad involved no cooking at all, so I felt jipped that it still took over half an hour to get dinner on the table!
To add injury to insult, when I was setting out dinner on the deck, I got stung by a wasp and had to bring it all in again. Turns out the wasps were building a nice new nest in the folds of a drop cloth I'd left draped over the railing. Oops. Lar ended up picking up the cloth with a broom handle, carrying it away, and stomping the nest to shreds--all without getting stung once. My hero.
To add injury to insult, when I was setting out dinner on the deck, I got stung by a wasp and had to bring it all in again. Turns out the wasps were building a nice new nest in the folds of a drop cloth I'd left draped over the railing. Oops. Lar ended up picking up the cloth with a broom handle, carrying it away, and stomping the nest to shreds--all without getting stung once. My hero.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)