Dream Car

I got to drive a Porsche today!!! Okay, so I didn't go above second gear and it was only in a parking lot, but still. I never thought the day would come. It was Aunt Lisa's friend, Lisa's boss' car. (If that wasn't confusing enough.) The kids sat in the front seat and I drove from the pool to Lisa's apartment. What a car. Someday, I hope I get to open one up on the freeway, but until then. . .

Swimming at Lisa's Part II

It was supposed to be 90 degrees today, which for here is pretty warm. We decided to meet at Lisa's house and go swimming. Everyone had fun, although Marin was a little disappointed that I would not let her do anything but stand in the water. At least it was cool in the pool. Andrew took a little break from swimming to peruse some gossip magazines till I told him he was too young for such a thing. Kids these days!!

Car Keys Fiasco

So I took the kids to Joann Fabric to find some fabric for pillow-making. Earlier in the year, the kids had wanted to make pillows using tape and fabric. At the time, I promised them that during summer vacation I would teach them how to sew a pillow. Today was the day to at least get some fabric. We were pretty successful and much of what we found was on sale. When we went to leave, arms full of fabric and filling, I could not find my keys. Now I am not one to lose my keys. In fact, I can't remember the last time I lost them. Well, I had a funny feeling that I had locked them in the car. Sure enough, we went out to the car and found not only the keys in the car, but the car still running. I could not believe I had done such a thing. How could I leave the car running and go into the store and not realize it. I am just thankful that my car was still there when we got out of Joann's. Kevin sped to our rescue and opened the car. All in all, it was a strange experience.

Swimming at Aunt Lisa's Pool

It was a nice summer day and Lisa invited us over to go swimming at her pool. The kids love swimming, especially with their cousin, Felipe. A fun day was had by all. The kids wore themselves out. I think the adults were worn out as well.

Summer Means Broken Arms

Marin has broken her arm again!!! We were at the playground, having lunch and chilling out. Marin was going across the monkey bars, which she loves to do. All of a sudden, Marin ran over to the picnic blanket holding her left arm and crying. She said she hurt her back. What I noticed was her holding her arm. I asked her if she could wiggle her fingers and bend her wrist. She said it hurt a little. When I asked if she could put any weight on it, she very gingerly leaned on it and then pulled it up. I immediately called our pediatrician's office and they told me to take her to the ER. When the first doctor looked at her, he said there was only a very slight chance of her having a broken arm. I told him that she has a very high pain tolerance (Marin rated her pain as a 4 out of 10). I relayed that she had broken her other arm previously and that it didn't swell and she didn't cry much. He sent her for x-rays and sure enough, Marin has a buckle fracture in her left wrist. Fortunately, they just splinted it instead of casting it. She only has to wear the splint for a week or two, till the pain is gone. The doctor said it should heal very quickly. The bad thing was she had just finished her first day of swimming lessons. So that is put on hold till later in the summer. At least she is pretty good about dealing with the discomfort. Marin didn't even want any pain relievers till right before bed. Hopefully it will heal well and we will be back to our regularly scheduled summer activities.

Father's Day Weekend

Norm's 60th Birthday and Father's Day were on the same day this year. We decided that we would do something big for his 60th. Everyone went out to Lincoln City, OR. We stayed in this newly renovated hotel that was fabulous. Each room had a flat panel tv. The fixtures were very modern. It looked like brand new carpet. You went down three flights of stairs and you were literally on the beach. The weather was sunny but very windy. In fact, Marin tried to fly her kite, and it was too windy for her to control it. In typical Oregon Coast fashion, we were bundled up. We played on the beach, went out to eat and had lots of fun.

Helvetia Half Marathon

Well, I did it. I ran a half marathon. My official time was 2:07:24. Not bad, not great. I felt pretty good the entire race, except for my left hip the last 3-4 miles. Kevin and Paul also ran. They were sub-2 hours. Kevin had a PR and this was Paul's first half as well. We all had fun. It was great weather, sunny and warm but not too warm. It is a big race, 2600 participants. I was 97/303 in my age group. I feel pretty decent about being in the top third of my age range considering it was my first half. I look forward to the next one.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my dad, John and my grandpas, John (BJ) and Myron. I am so thankful for the great father and grandfathers that I have in my life. They have taught me much about hard work, persistence, doing my best, the importance of education, and too many other things to list here. I am sorry that I live so far away and don't get to see much of them, especially Grandpa BJ. I hope you all know that I am thinking about you and wishing you each a wonderful Father's Day.

First Grade Graduation

Andrew officially graduated the first grade today. Now days, there seems to be a graduation from every grade, as if they don't expect the kids to graduate or something. Ms. S. put together a really cute program. The kids had written some thoughts about what first grade was to them. They pinned their writings to a tunnel. Each kid took a turn going through the tunnel, starting as a first grader and ending as a second grader. She had taken copious amounts of pictures and video through the year, at every activity. After all the kids tunneled through, she showed a really sweet video of all the activities. Each of them got to take a copy of it home. It is priceless to have that kind of a record of a year of school. She also made each of them a scrapbook that is individualized for that child. She was an incredible teacher. I only hope that she will be Marin's first grade teacher in two years. We loved her. Andrew really loved all the activities as well. I can't believe I am the parent of a soon-to-start second grader. Where does the time go? We are incredibly proud of Andrew, although we fully expected him to transition into second grade with no problems.

Blue Stripe

Andrew tested for his blue stripe in Taekwon do last week. It is quite a sight with all the different ranks doing their forms in sync. The black belts are incredible to watch as they do all their forms. Andrew tested with the same girl that he tested for his yellow belt with. He did really well. He didn't seem nearly as nervous as the previous times he has tested. He is officially a blue stripe. He is very excited to learn his new form. At the end of the test he said, "Mom that is the last time that Do san is my top form."

Ice Cream Social

Andrew's teacher has been incredible this year. She has crammed so many activities in that any kid would be dizzy thinking about it all. One of the last activities was making ice cream. She had them make vanilla and chocolate ice cream. The following day, the class had an ice cream social. Parents also provided additional ice cream in case the class' ice cream did not work out. I have to say that their vanilla was the hit of the day though. I wish my teachers had done such fun activities.

Preschool Graduation

It's hard to believe that my baby, Marin, has graduated from preschool. We have spent 4 wonderful years there between the two kids. They have taken such good care of our children and taught them so much. It is hard to see it all end. The program they do for graduation is really sweet. They have a slide show that includes all the pictures that Teacher Barb has taken over the course of the year. Then she introduces each child and interviews them. She asks them things like their favorite animal, color and such. The last question is what they want to be when they grow up. Marin answered that she wanted to be a policewoman. All the girls except for two wanted to be policewomen. Peer influence, alive and well in preschool. It is cute nonetheless. Marin didn't really want to sing the songs or do the hand motions. I guess she figures she is too mature for such things now. Each child is presented with a scrapbook of their time in preschool. Congratulations Marin. On to bigger and better things. Marin was trying to get graduation presents out of both myself and Kevin. As if it was unexpected that she was going to graduate. She is always working an angle. That's what I love about Marin.