First Day of School!

Getting ready to go this morning. He helped pack his lunch and we put erasers on his pencils.

Evelyn, of course, had to pack her lunch too. We ate it at home after we dropped Finley off.

We aren't so sure about this sending Brother off to school business!

The Kindergarten parents and kids all met in the gym first and had a bit of an orientation. I think it was designed to make parting easier. Instead of us all going to their classrooms the kids were sorted out to which class they were in and then they got in line with their teachers and filed out to their classes and then parents were invited to come have coffee and muffins and meet each other and sign up for PTA of course! I went back in to see how Finley was doing and I wanted to see his classroom since we missed Kindergarten Roundup last May. He was having a tough time and so was I! We both settled down and he went off with the boys for their tour of the washroom and where to wash their hands and get a drink in the classroom. While he was busy with this, Evelyn and I left. She cried all the way home, asking "Finley? Finley?" I only broke down a few times during the day, but I sure watched the clock a lot.

It was much more fun to go pick him up than drop him off. Even though I know the staff are very caring and wonderful people it was a very emotional day! There was another little boy who was having a worse time than Finley and his mother and I formed our own little support group! I learned later when I picked him up that Finley had had a melt down after I'd left in the morning for about 1o minutes and then he was fine the rest of the day. He never mentioned this to me and said he really liked Kindergarten and told me all the fun things they did. He was exhausted though and so am I!

Evelyn's face says it all. These precious little people, all so nervous and excited but not sure about everything. Thank goodness there were lots of caring staff to help out. Stay tuned for more adventures with Kindergarten! Evelyn starts her pre-school class on Friday but we get to go together. Much more fun!

Finley Going to School Tomorrow

Tonight is Finley's last night before he goes to school! Wow. I didn't think I'd have such a hard time with this. I'm so excited for him but also fearful of the unknown myself. It has been a bit more anxiety ridden with the Kent School District teachers's strike. We support the teachers but we don't have any information about Finley's class, who his teacher is, bus riding information, etc. I guess we'll know everything tomorrow!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Todd and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary today. It has gone by so fast. A few moments here and there seemed longer... :) Todd planned a picnic dinner tomorrow evening without the kids so we can have a little date. I remember one of our first dates was a picnic dinner at one of the Woodland Park Zoo Concerts. I hardly remember the music because we were too much into our own groove...

My Poor Neglected Blog...

Wow. Has it really been that long? Well, you all have enough other stuff to read in your life anyway, right? So much has happened and yet so much the same. Stay tuned for more pictures and updates:

Finley's happy last days in preschool
A new nephew!
My friend Jan's 60th birthday party in West Seattle, Lincoln Park
Spontaneous trip to Woodland Park Zoo
First harvest of radishes from our garden
Spring and early summer pics of our perennial garden
Brother Peter's birthday party at Volunteer Park
Saturday farmer's market in Issaquah
Weekend at Lake Quinault Lodge and Neilton WA
Fun outdoor model railroad in Renton on Father's Day
Trip to Science Center with friend Grace and Aunt Erica
Independence Day at Samish Island at Grandma Cleo's and family
Visit with Mark and Penny at Samish
Whistler B.C. with my old friends Leah, Chris and Colleen and Nathan and Benjamin
Playing music at the Issaquah Train Depot
Chapman family reunion at Crow Butte on the Columbia River in wine country
Riding the Yakima trolley

So that's what we've been doing all summer! Thank goodness for cameras and a diary. It's all a blur sometimes...

Finley Goes Fishing for the First Time

Having fun at "Bill's Fishing Hole" in Orting, Washington. Last week we went with Finley's pre-school class on a field trip where he caught his first fish! The kids each got to catch two each, rainbow trout. I had left my camera in the car so I missed the actual fishing, but friends took pictures for me. I only have hard copies of those so I will see if I can get them digitally soon. I always have mixed feelings about fishing. Fun, but also not so fun to kill something. Sorry, all you hunter types. I just don't see the thrill. If I'm going to eat it, sure. I'll do what has to be done. Finley was fascinated and repulsed at the same time. By the second try he was really into it though. He even learned how to do a nice casting with the rod. I was impressed! He liked everything but the fish blood when they took the hooks out. Fortunately, he didn't have to see them gutted! We went home with eight trout on ice! We grilled some up last week and they were very tasty! Evelyn thought it was all really interesting too! She enjoyed looking at all the other animals roaming around; goats and peacocks and cats and rabbits. There was even a gentle horse that was shod while we watched. Fun day!

Growing Things

Happy Birthday Todd!

We celebrated Todd's birthday in late April. Finley helped me decide to get an icecream cake instead of trying to bake one at home. Maybe next year I'll get one baked in time!

Seedlings Emerge!

I was amazed to go out to our veggie patch this morning and see that the radishes, carrots and lettuces have already sprouted! We had two nice warm days and then some cool rain today in the morning; just what they needed apparently.

Sabbath

Today we played hookie from church and caught up on the house and yard and each other. Todd got to work on his train, I did some more garden planning and wrote out our grocery list. The kids played out on the back deck while I folded laundry and cleaned up the kitchen. We went for a lovely walk this evening at Lake Wilderness and the trail that goes up to the Episcopal church's labyrinth park. (It is part of the Cedar River Trail). It was just a really great day to take a breath, take stock of the past week and gear up for the next couple weeks which will be hectic and busy. We have two retreats at Samish Island coming up: Fine Arts Retreat is next week and then the following weekend is actually the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Samish Island Campgrounds. I am really looking forward to both of these events but also dreading the prep! I'm doing children's crafts at the Fine Arts Retreat and also co-leading the Sunday morning celebration service. Then the next weekend, I'm doing a few things for the 50th celebration. I'll be really ready for a break on Mother's Day weekend!

Cousin Kaleb's First Birthday Party!

The birthday boy!

Kaleb liked watching the kids in the bouncer but he wasn't so sure about it when he actually got in there. Too squishy under the feet!

Makayla and Evelyn having fun on the bouncer.

"I like to move it, move it!"

Folks enjoying food, sunshine and each other.

Evelyn leans out to smile at Lauren and Jade's new puppy, Tucker. He is an adorable Chihuahua mix. So sweet with all the kids and totally worn out at the end of the party!

The mad dash for candy after the pinata broke open!

Jade, the keeper of the pinata!

Our friend, Jake, takes a swing!

Waiting (sort of patiently!) for their turn to hit the pinata.

Evelyn discovers four wheel drive! She had so much fun with this push button automated ride on. It was just her size! Too bad she never learned to steer!

Kaleb's big sister, Makayla, with Finley and their friend, MacKenzie, in the pink pants. It was really hard to get all of them in the shot when they are jumping!

On Saturday, after our gardening bit, we headed over to a birthday party for my niece, Lauren's, son's first birthday party! I can't believe he's one already! It was really fun, the weather was perfect and the food was excellent. Lauren's mother-in-law is from the Phillipines, and boy howdy, can she cook! I don't even know what each dish was called but it was all so yummy. They also had a roasted pig! Lauren had all sorts of fun activities for the little kids set up; a bouncer, sandbox and sandtoys, a big tent with a place for the babies to get out of the sun and play with toys in a clean setting and a pinata! It was a construction theme, all very cute! Lauren also made fun t-shirts for all the grandparents with a picture of Kaleb on the front.

Raised Beds and Raising Kids!

Filling our first raised bed on Saturday. This is our first attempt to really grow food. We've had strawberries and tomatoes in containers and had fun with them. This time we are going for carrots, corn, cabbage, peas, chives, basil, cilantro, mixed meslcun lettuces, bush beans, scarlet runner beans and pumpkins! In fact, we have decided to not only plant in these two raised beds, but also are going to take out a good section of lawn next to them and add more garden space. We may be too ambitious but it has been so fun so far. I've been reading as much as I can and asking people for vegetable growing advice based on their experiences with gardening in this area. It is amazing to tap into the passion and knowledge that surrounds vegetable gardening. People become very ingenious at raising temperatures around their gardens when they are told something won't grow in our climate. It is like a personal challenge to prove the gardening zoning books wrong. Some people even have hardy figs and banana trees in their gardens!

Evelyn playing in the backyard.

Finley jumping into the raised bed before we filled them up with dirt.

We put pea gravel on the bottom and then a layer of landscaping cloth to keep weeds down and improve drainage. Then we filled them up with the four way mix of topsoil from Palmer Coking Coal Company out in Black Diamond. They used to be a mining company and now they provide all sorts of landscaping materials and soils and gravels. I learned that they have the exclusive contract with Safeco Field for their ball field materials needs! In anycase, its good rich dirt with lots of compost mixed in. We also added veggie food, too. I can see that I will also need to put straw or some kind of mulching on top to keep the soil from compacting from the rain, too.

Todd testing out the beds! Little did he know just how much he'd need a bed after he got finished loading all that dirt in, one wheelbarrowful at a time! Nothing like hard, physical labor to make you appreciate what our ancestors must have gone through just to grow enough food to survive. And, gulp, what many people in the world still have to go through with subsistence farming. They don't have any one to bring in loads of good topsoil!

Finley's Special Day Back in February

Finley and Teacher Cindy on his day to be the Very Important Person, February 27, 2009.

When it is your turn to be the V.I.P. we sing a special song and you get to fill the Teddy Bear's belly full of little bits of information about yourself. As in your favorite color, what your favorite food is, what games do you like to play, are you afraid of anything, etc.

Finley's friends sitting and listening as the teacher read Finley's information cards. Teacher Barbara in the back. (Kids are Hamant, Trace, Gavin, Emily, Kyra, Ayden, Logan, Sidney and Jaedon.)

I forgot to get these pics on here in February. In Finley's pre-school each child got to have a day when they were the "Very Important Person." They got to wear a crown, write down some things about themselves to share with the class, be the line leader and have a favorite story read by a parent in class. When it was Finley's turn the teacher asked Todd and I to bring in our instruments to play for the kids. It was really fun! We played a few tunes and then let the kids take turns "playing" the instruments. I was a little apprehensive about having my violin in this situation, but we had the kids line up and they were all so gentle and respectful of the instruments. We actually held the instruments while the kids strummed or held the bow. We had the upright string bass, my violin, Todd's banjo and my guitar. Finley has a great time being the Very Important Person! It was a great exercise for the kids to learn about empathy as they listened to what was shared about the special person and then the teacher asked them what they remembered. They always remember everything the special person shared, like what vegetables they don't like to eat, or that they like to ride their bike, or play games, etc. I was amazed at how they have been such good listeners all year. So many times it seems like they are not paying attention at all but then they surprise me!

Has Spring Truly Arrived?????

Hippy Chick Evelyn, in her brother's rainboots, his old t-shirt and fun jeans from Auntie April!

I loved this Dagali design t-shirt. The company was so great at incorporating First Nations art (they were in British Columbia) into fun wearable art. (They went out of business a couple years ago. They actually made their t-shirts in North America and they couldn't compete with the Made In China label.) Finley had so many great memories in this shirt. I can't wait to see what Evelyn does in it!

Todd made this wonderful raised bed for me to grow some vegetables! He has one completed and we will do the other one this weekend. We placed it on the nice warm south side of our house. The shiny aluminum siding should help raise the temperatures a bit with its reflective surface too. I'm really excited! I've been reading a ton of information about growing vegetables in the Northwest. Seems like there is a wave of new veggie gardeners on the way. Lots of people are going back to growing their own produce. We'll give it a shot too!

Dirt arrived today for our raised beds. Very exciting! An early Mother's Day gift from Todd. Who knew dirt could be so romantic?????

What We Do When It's Still Snowing In April

It snowed at our house on April 1. A Fools Day Storm! The weather has been so cold and un-spring like and I'm itching to get gardening and be out in the yard. One evening we went down to the new Home Depot just to relieve the cabin fever. We walked around and dreamed about more projects. The kids like to ride in the fun Nascar shopping carts.
Hmmm. I'll take two shovels and an edger!

Field Trip to the Puyallup Fair Educational Fair

Finley's pre-school class went to the Puyallup Fair's Education Fair on March 31. I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids or the parents! I could read about farming and look at all the different chickens and livestock for hours! Mom watched Evelyn, so Finley and I were able to have some one on one time.





Learning about apiaries and bee keepers outfits!


Farming Propaganda! :)


Of course, Finley's favorite part of the whole day was playing with John Deere tractors!


Finley and Charlie, looking at vegetable magnets. There were several stations for the kids to learn about produce and where it comes from.


Finley and his friend, Trace, sorting animals at one of the educational stations at the Puyallup Education Fair, March 31.


Fiberglass draft horse and a Holstein cow were fun to look at for the kids.