May23

TRACK & FIELD

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Track season is almost over and I’ve yet to post anything. Sela and Nina have been doing very well so far and are having a great time! Nina is a bundle of nerves the day of the track meets. She worries all day and sometimes actually hopes the meet gets canceled, but when she gets there she does amazing. She called me today when I was driving preschool carpool and said she was so nervous. She said, “I’m trying not to be, but I can’t help it.” I told her maybe chewing some gum would help? I have no idea. My kids worry about not getting first, whereas when I run races, I worry about not getting last! She did just fine though!  Both girls run the 440 and relay. Nina does the triple jump for her field event and is unbeaten so far. Sela has done long jump and ball throw for her field events.

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Ahhhh, she can relax until next week!
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Triple Jump
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Mason also runs the 440. They cheer each other on and have had the same results in every meet.

Nina’s 440.
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Nina cheering Mason on! After getting elbowed, he came from behind to win.
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Hunter being very patient and letting Evan hang on him.
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Relay Fun!

Eleanor moving in last year and joining the cross country and track teams has been such a good thing for Sela. She’s become a better runner as they push each other so much. She and Eleanor went back and forth in cross country, and losing a couple actually helped Sela so much. She no longer stresses about the meets and the pressure is off. Plus, they’ve become great friends! They had a photo finish last week in the 440 and both got blue ribbons. This week, another very close finish. I honestly had no idea who won but Sela was given the blue ribbon.
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My favorite race of the season! They tied!

Today’s 440 finish where Sela barely eeked out a win.
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Ball Throw….yeah, it’s an actual event.
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Most of the 6th grade girls want to do long jump for their field event so they rotate each week. When not doing long jump, Sela does ball throw. Not her favorite but one week she did get a ribbon which was funny. It’s just not a very exciting event but good job Sela!

May22

MOTHER’S DAY TEA

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Nina’s Activity Day group from church held a Mother’s Day tea party. The girls made their fancy hats the week before and also made each of the mothers these really neat magnets. The tea party was so sweet. We went around the table sharing things we love about each other. They passed a daisy around and as each person shared something, they took a petal off. Nina was in a super silly mood all night as you will see in nearly all of her pictures. She and Emma and Molly were acting like “fancy grandmas,” or so they thought!
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The Girls
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Mothers & Daughters
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We were excited to find matching shawls!
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This was Nina’s chosen pose of the evening.
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Nina and Emma, two peas in a pod!

May22

FIELD & FOREST

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Next year when I’m homeschooling both Rollin and Nina, Mondays are going to be big hunker down and focus days. They will have Wilderness Awareness all day on Thursdays, Writing Class all day on Fridays and Co-op classes on Tuesday. This leaves us only a couple weekdays to do lots of math (they do math at co-op as well) and project learning. I found out about Field and Forest Preschool last year from a friend and they have a Monday only option which would give Evan somewhere to go while I work work with Rollin and Nina. 

The preschool is modeled after German outdoor forest Kindergartens. Whatever the weather, children are encouraged to play, explore and learn in the forest or natural environment. The adult supervision is meant to assist rather than lead. They are outside the entire 3 hours. There is a huge TiPi on site, but that’s it for shelter other than the trees. Evan is always wanting to stay with Rollin and Nina at their Wilderness school so now he will have something similar. I asked if he could attend the last six weeks of this year when he was admitted for next year and he’s had a great time. The parents are all so interesting and relaxed and the children are kind and curiuos.  Evan is the most reserved of our kids for sure and also a timid little adventurer in the outdoors. He’s made some friends and is looking forward to next year. He absolutely loves Mrs. Judy’s and will keep attending there as well.

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We visited for the last day of class and Evan showed Nina and I all around after singing and story time. As we were hiking down to the stream, he came right up upon 2 gardener snakes sunning themselves. He freaked out and started crying and shaking. I tried to explain to him how afraid they were of him and his big boots walking down the trail, but he would have none of it!  Rollin would have been so excited trying to grab the snakes or chase them off and this completely spoiled little Evan’s day. He didn’t recover and later even a caterpillar brought him to tears again. Yes, this boy needs Field and Forest!!

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There were two at first which made it look like one big snake!

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Hold me, Mommy!!!

May22

I REMEMBER

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Sela totally surprised me with this poem for Mother’s Day!  She did a beautiful job and I love the style and rhythm of her poem. It’s sweet and touching and something that really brought me such joy. Kids really are able to see the best and ignore their parents’ shortcomings. It’s so humbling to read this poem because I often don’t feel like I’m the parent I want to be, it’s quite a journey for sure.  I used to enjoy writing poetry when I was a few years older than Sela, but now finding uninterrupted time to form a complete thought, much less get it down on paper, is tough.  I even read my blog sometimes and just shudder. I have so many things I want to write about, but the best I can do right now is brief little updates. But I’ve learned to be okay with a good effort that comes up short right now because something is so much better than nothing. Anyway, thank you so much, Sela! I  think both the written word and music are such powerful vehicles for conveying feelings, and you do so well at both. More than any gift, I treasure these gifts from the heart.

I Remember
By Sela Serafin

You brought me into this world

Early December

You held me tight

I remember

You taught me to

Walk

You taught me to talk

I hope it wasn’t a shock

When I put on a sock

I remember

I started to grow

And before you know

I was going to school

Trying my hardest to be cool

I remember

When I would cry

You would wipe my eyes

And tell me that you care

Even when I was sad

And not very glad

You showed me you would always be there

I remember

The hugs I would wait for

When I came home from school

Turned my days around

I remember

When I would scream

And be so mean

Slam the doors

And Cry on the floor

You followed me and calmed me down

It was hard

You deserve a crown

I remember

I am growing taller

That, I know

Pretty soon

I’ll have to go

But when I am a mother

Picking up my kids clutter

I will remember you

And all that you do

I will do it to

You have taught me to be brave and strong

To find the place where I belong

You have been there

When no one else was

So this May

You deserve a wonderful Mother’s Day

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May18

Talent Show 2013

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The kids had very little notice or time to prepare for the talent show this year, but they still had a great time trying to pull an act together. This year Sela sang “Broken Road”, Nina played ukulele and did hula to “Somewhere over the Rainbow,”, and Rollin pogo sticked to “The Tigger Song.”

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I’m pretty sure I would not have been brave enough to sing a solo in front of my school at Sela’s age…or ever!

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Hula Girls!

Rollin’s pogo stick is almost out of bounce, but he hopped as best he could! The intention was to buy a new one before the talent show, but it was one of those crazy busy weeks and I just ran out of time. He’s put some major mileage on this pogo stick!

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May17

HEIDI!

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Our dear friends, Heidi and Riley, were our neighbors in Redmond about 10 years ago. While we have only moved around locally since that time, Riley’s job took them to Arizona and now Texas. They are definitely following the sun! Anyway, we had so much fun living near each other when we were all beginning our families. There was a group of families that were really close, and though we’ve dispersed quite a bit since then, we treasure the friendships we made during those years in Redmond. Riley had a conference in Seattle so we were so excited that Heidi came along to hang out for the long weekend. We spent several days catching up and it was so fun to reconnect. Yay for old friends!!

Ashley

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Evan quickly bonded with Heidi, which is no surprise! Heidi and Riley have twin boys Evan’s age and they are darling. Only Sela and Nina were born when they moved away and they were still so young. Time flies, yes it does! Come visit again soon!