Hi Folks,
I haven't posted to this blog in a long time because now I am mostly posting stuff to Facebook. If you want to see pics of the fam and other stuff, invite me to be your friend on Facebook.
Thanks!
Friday, April 24, 2009
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Happy Birthday Solomon!
Eli, Avery and Emily love a party - especially a birthday party. So when they found out it was Solomon's birthday on Monday (Oct 6th), they wanted to throw him a party. They planned it all by themselves (that day) and it turned out to be a great success. Solomon and his family came, as did the Le Donnas and Olivia and Willow (and Kai helped with the cake).
Eli took charge of making the cake - a delicious two-layer chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting. It was very cute to watch how he managed Kai and Dante (our two 6-year-old neighbors) as his helpers. Eli is quite the cook and especially loves decorating cakes (as you can see below with the creative use of the chocolate sauce).
We had a fun night with great food - dancing, singing, piano playing, running around and dog piling on the couch. Good times!
I love how generous, caring, and thoughtful my children are with their friends and family.
Eli took charge of making the cake - a delicious two-layer chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting. It was very cute to watch how he managed Kai and Dante (our two 6-year-old neighbors) as his helpers. Eli is quite the cook and especially loves decorating cakes (as you can see below with the creative use of the chocolate sauce).
We had a fun night with great food - dancing, singing, piano playing, running around and dog piling on the couch. Good times!
I love how generous, caring, and thoughtful my children are with their friends and family.
Busy, Busy, Busy
Hi Friends,
It has been called to my attention that I haven't posted to our blog in over a month. Ooops! I guess that shows just how busy we have been this fall. So here is an update on what we have been up to.
Soccer
Mike is coaching Eli and Avery's soccer team again this year and they are having a great time. They are playing rec soccer with 11 or 12 other 5th/6th graders from Port Townsend. Even though Avery is only 8, he is playing on Eli's team and keeps up with the older kids just fine. Both he and Eli are actually quite good, and they enjoying playing all different positions, including goalie, forwards and defense. They just want to be on the field most of the game! Their team is undefeated so far.
And one of the coolest things is that they practice at Fort Worden twice a week, and I am just so appreciative that we live in such a beautiful piece of the world. What could be better than soccer practice by the beach? Awesome setting!
Gymnastics
Eli and Avery are taking their first gymnastics class with a few other homeschooling boys and love it. They go for 1 hour each week and they are always excited to go. It really is a great workout!
Sleepovers and Art Class with Sidonie
Emily and Sophia play together every day, and Emily has taken to having sleepovers with Sophia and her other (also homeschooling) friend, Willow. It is very sweet. They are all taking an art class with our good friend, Sidonie, which is held at the Port Townsend Youth Hostel at Fort Worden. They love Sidonie and can't wait to go to her class, where they tell stories, sing songs, have tea parties, draw, paint, and dress up. It is very sweet!
Here they are helping clean up after class - cleaning paint brushes, etc.
Rock Climbing
Homeschool rock climbing has begun again in Bremerton and all the kids are enjoying being back on the wall. We can now climb two days a month if we want to, and of course they do.
Nature Awareness
In September our family spent four days at a local 35-acre farm (Frog Hill), participating in a workshop entitled The Sacred Hunt: Hunt for the Sacred with Randall Eaton and Jon Young. The kids loved camping and really enjoyed the various activities, including archery, slaughtering and field dressing two lambs, village style living, scavenger hunts, tracking games, campfires and stories, baking bread in a clay oven, etc. We had an awesome time and what came out of it is a nature awareness class for homeschoolers. So now all three kids and Mike participate in a weekly nature awareness class with 15 other local homeschoolers. They are learning how to make fire, build shelters, identify edible and medicinal plants, and how to find their way in nature. It is really fun!
Here are some pics from the Sacred Hunt weekend and the class, which is also at Frog Hill Farm.
Honey
The boys and Mike helped our neighbor Kees (over at the PT Ecovillage) harvest about 40 pounds of honey from our Rosewind bees. The honey is so delicious! The kids have helped harvest honey for the past 2 or 3 years and are becoming quiet good at it!
Art
Emily spends lots of time drawing and painting, often with Sophie and sometimes alone. She really seems to enjoy artistic expression and she has quite the eye for design and color. Here she is explaining how she created new colors by mixing two colors together. She asked me if I knew how she had done it, and I said no, so then she created one sheet with the two colors and the new color to show me how she did it. I thought that was quite impressive. :-)
Friends
Emily and Sophia spend a lot of time together and really enjoy having a "sister" close by. Nicole (Sophia's mom) and I are also very close and we love watching the two little ones together. Here are some pics of some recent fun times with the girls.
Outing to Seattle to buy Sadie (Sophia's older sister) her first pointe shoes. Of course, the girls had to get a new ballet outfit, too.
Well, I guess that's all for an update. We have been enjoying wonderful sunny, warm weather here in Port Townsend for the past month, but the seasons are definitely changing, as it is colder and crisp out lately, though still beautiful. We have seen lots of deer around lately, which is always fun. The kids continue to enjoy playing with friends outside on the commons and beating new levels on MarioKart and Guitar Hero.
Last night we had a fun time with Sadie, Lennon, and Sophie down at the common house playing Scrabble, card games, dancing and acting "British". Sadie and Mike are quite good at it and had everyone cracking up.
Life is good and we are having fun! Hope you are too!
It has been called to my attention that I haven't posted to our blog in over a month. Ooops! I guess that shows just how busy we have been this fall. So here is an update on what we have been up to.
Soccer
Mike is coaching Eli and Avery's soccer team again this year and they are having a great time. They are playing rec soccer with 11 or 12 other 5th/6th graders from Port Townsend. Even though Avery is only 8, he is playing on Eli's team and keeps up with the older kids just fine. Both he and Eli are actually quite good, and they enjoying playing all different positions, including goalie, forwards and defense. They just want to be on the field most of the game! Their team is undefeated so far.
And one of the coolest things is that they practice at Fort Worden twice a week, and I am just so appreciative that we live in such a beautiful piece of the world. What could be better than soccer practice by the beach? Awesome setting!
Gymnastics
Eli and Avery are taking their first gymnastics class with a few other homeschooling boys and love it. They go for 1 hour each week and they are always excited to go. It really is a great workout!
Sleepovers and Art Class with Sidonie
Emily and Sophia play together every day, and Emily has taken to having sleepovers with Sophia and her other (also homeschooling) friend, Willow. It is very sweet. They are all taking an art class with our good friend, Sidonie, which is held at the Port Townsend Youth Hostel at Fort Worden. They love Sidonie and can't wait to go to her class, where they tell stories, sing songs, have tea parties, draw, paint, and dress up. It is very sweet!
Here they are helping clean up after class - cleaning paint brushes, etc.
Rock Climbing
Homeschool rock climbing has begun again in Bremerton and all the kids are enjoying being back on the wall. We can now climb two days a month if we want to, and of course they do.
Nature Awareness
In September our family spent four days at a local 35-acre farm (Frog Hill), participating in a workshop entitled The Sacred Hunt: Hunt for the Sacred with Randall Eaton and Jon Young. The kids loved camping and really enjoyed the various activities, including archery, slaughtering and field dressing two lambs, village style living, scavenger hunts, tracking games, campfires and stories, baking bread in a clay oven, etc. We had an awesome time and what came out of it is a nature awareness class for homeschoolers. So now all three kids and Mike participate in a weekly nature awareness class with 15 other local homeschoolers. They are learning how to make fire, build shelters, identify edible and medicinal plants, and how to find their way in nature. It is really fun!
Here are some pics from the Sacred Hunt weekend and the class, which is also at Frog Hill Farm.
Honey
The boys and Mike helped our neighbor Kees (over at the PT Ecovillage) harvest about 40 pounds of honey from our Rosewind bees. The honey is so delicious! The kids have helped harvest honey for the past 2 or 3 years and are becoming quiet good at it!
Art
Emily spends lots of time drawing and painting, often with Sophie and sometimes alone. She really seems to enjoy artistic expression and she has quite the eye for design and color. Here she is explaining how she created new colors by mixing two colors together. She asked me if I knew how she had done it, and I said no, so then she created one sheet with the two colors and the new color to show me how she did it. I thought that was quite impressive. :-)
Friends
Emily and Sophia spend a lot of time together and really enjoy having a "sister" close by. Nicole (Sophia's mom) and I are also very close and we love watching the two little ones together. Here are some pics of some recent fun times with the girls.
Outing to Seattle to buy Sadie (Sophia's older sister) her first pointe shoes. Of course, the girls had to get a new ballet outfit, too.
Well, I guess that's all for an update. We have been enjoying wonderful sunny, warm weather here in Port Townsend for the past month, but the seasons are definitely changing, as it is colder and crisp out lately, though still beautiful. We have seen lots of deer around lately, which is always fun. The kids continue to enjoy playing with friends outside on the commons and beating new levels on MarioKart and Guitar Hero.
Last night we had a fun time with Sadie, Lennon, and Sophie down at the common house playing Scrabble, card games, dancing and acting "British". Sadie and Mike are quite good at it and had everyone cracking up.
Life is good and we are having fun! Hope you are too!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Me
The other day my good friend Clea introduced me to www.pandora.com, a website where you can make your own internet radio stations based on your favorite artists and songs. I was just listening to my Sheryl Crow station and Paula Cole's song Me came on.
My good friend (and awesome singer), Beth Noelle, sang this song for me at my birthday party last year and it blew me away. I had never heard the song before, but I really liked it, and it was super special being sung to by beautiful Beth!
So I am going to share the original Paula Cole video with you. See if you like it! Enjoy!
Paula Cole
This Fire (1996)
Me
i am not the person who is singing
i am the silent one inside
i am not the one who laughs at people's jokes
i just pacify their egos
i am not my house or my car or my songs
they are only just stops along my way
i am like winter
i'm a dark cold female
with a golden ring of wisdom in my cave
CHORUS:
and it is me who is my enemy
me who beats me up
me who makes the monsters
me who strips my confidence
i am carrying my voice
i am carrying my heart
i am carrying my rhythm
i am carrying my prayers
but you can't kill my spirit
it's soaring and it's strong
like a mountain
i go on and on
but when my wings are folded
the brightly colored moth
blends into the dirt into the ground
chorus
and it's me who's too weak
and it's me who's too shy
to ask for the thing i love
and it's me who's too weak
and it's me who's too shy
to ask for the thing i love
that i love (6 times)
i am walking on the bridge
i am over the water
and i'm scared as hell
but i know there's something better
yes i know there's something
yes i know, i know, yes i know
that i love (5 times overlapping chorus)
but it's me
and it's me
but it's me (4 times)
My good friend (and awesome singer), Beth Noelle, sang this song for me at my birthday party last year and it blew me away. I had never heard the song before, but I really liked it, and it was super special being sung to by beautiful Beth!
So I am going to share the original Paula Cole video with you. See if you like it! Enjoy!
Paula Cole
This Fire (1996)
Me
i am not the person who is singing
i am the silent one inside
i am not the one who laughs at people's jokes
i just pacify their egos
i am not my house or my car or my songs
they are only just stops along my way
i am like winter
i'm a dark cold female
with a golden ring of wisdom in my cave
CHORUS:
and it is me who is my enemy
me who beats me up
me who makes the monsters
me who strips my confidence
i am carrying my voice
i am carrying my heart
i am carrying my rhythm
i am carrying my prayers
but you can't kill my spirit
it's soaring and it's strong
like a mountain
i go on and on
but when my wings are folded
the brightly colored moth
blends into the dirt into the ground
chorus
and it's me who's too weak
and it's me who's too shy
to ask for the thing i love
and it's me who's too weak
and it's me who's too shy
to ask for the thing i love
that i love (6 times)
i am walking on the bridge
i am over the water
and i'm scared as hell
but i know there's something better
yes i know there's something
yes i know, i know, yes i know
that i love (5 times overlapping chorus)
but it's me
and it's me
but it's me (4 times)
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Your Kind Nature
Watching this Byron Katie video on YouTube today was a nice reminder, so I wanted to share it with you all here on our blog.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Family Walks
A few days ago we had our first family walk at Fort Worden. We are hoping to do this weekly, or at least pretty often, as a way to spend time with our friends out in nature.
Our family and our friends/cohousing neighbors the LeDonna's walked from North Beach, into Fort Worden, exploring bunkers and taking in amazing views of Mt. Baker and the Straits of San Juan de Fuca. It was a beautiful day and a great time with our friends. We ended up walking all the way home (leaving the car at the beach), and after a wonderful 2.5-hour hike, the kids still had energy for more playing on the commons!
Our family and our friends/cohousing neighbors the LeDonna's walked from North Beach, into Fort Worden, exploring bunkers and taking in amazing views of Mt. Baker and the Straits of San Juan de Fuca. It was a beautiful day and a great time with our friends. We ended up walking all the way home (leaving the car at the beach), and after a wonderful 2.5-hour hike, the kids still had energy for more playing on the commons!
Rosewind Kids
If you have been reading this blog, you probably know we live in a cohousing community in Port Townsend, Rosewind Cohousing. Compared to some cohousing communities, we don't have that many families with young kids; we mostly have retired folks. BUT, the kids we do have are great! Our kids enjoy playing with their neighbors Jasper, Kai, Sophia, and Dante, and they tend to do lots of things with them outside of just being neighbors, like BMX racing, soccer, skiing/snowboarding at Steven's Pass, going to the beach, and spending time out in the greater Port Townsend community - like at the Farmer's Market last Saturday.
Sophia and Dante's dad sells coffee at the Farmer's Market, and Jasper and Kai's mom sells her handmade glass bead jewelry, so we often meet up with everyone at the market.
This past Saturday they enjoyed playing at the rec center, making up their own mini-Olympic event - jumping over a hoop. It was fun to see all Rosewind kids playing together so happily.
Sophia and Dante's dad sells coffee at the Farmer's Market, and Jasper and Kai's mom sells her handmade glass bead jewelry, so we often meet up with everyone at the market.
This past Saturday they enjoyed playing at the rec center, making up their own mini-Olympic event - jumping over a hoop. It was fun to see all Rosewind kids playing together so happily.
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