Destination Imagination

5 months of preparations came together this weekend for this DIsasters Team! They chose from 6 challenges and opted to tackle the Medical Mystery category. They had certain requirements they had to fulfill, including coming up with an 8-minute or shorter presentation to explain a medical situation, a diagnosis, and build a Sympt-o-matic. They did the research, wrote the script, built the set and props--including a hologram (who knew you could make one at home!)--and performed their final product in front of about 100 people.

Their score from that, as well as from an Instant Challenge they did earlier in the day, was high enough to get 3rd place and send them to the state competition in April! We're so proud of all the work they put into this, even though it wasn't always easy (or even fun at times).

Here's their performance:

Fairyland Date

While the big kids played at blacksmithing, Peanut got to cash in on a Christmas present from 2017, haha. We are terrible at giving coupons for activities, or sometimes actual gifts, and then taking forever to make it happen. This one was for a trip to Fairyland in Oakland. He may have enjoyed it more a year ago, but we still had a good time. Running around the Wild West and the train ride there were his favorite parts. He's pretty much at the upper age limit for a lot of the stuff.

We explored the different fairytales and stories, watched a puppet show, and then went to IKEA for lunch, which ended up not being the most brilliant idea because holiday weekend + IKEA = crazy. And they didn't have any of the glasses that I wanted to buy, so it really ended up being a wasted trip. As Daddy-o said, we can probably find the same glasses at Target and pay less than lunch costs at IKEA. :)

Either way, it was fun to spend a few hours with just our little guy.

And while we were in Berkeley, we also looked up the house that Daddy-o's grandparents lived in when his dad was born. It's fun to track down old family sites.

Fire in the Forge

Sometimes I'm a little jealous of the awesome things these kids get to do. They both had so much fun doing a blacksmithing class last year that they were begging to go back again, so they spent Presidents' Day in the forge, making bracelets, forks, and knives. So cool.

This Week

This week has been full of rainbows. Lots of rain, but lots of beautiful skies right afterwards, too. And I'll be honest, the rain is welcome. Not only do we need it, but I need a few weeks of CA winter. I don't want it to be cold, but I love a reason to stay home more, slow down a little, cancel some plans, and not feel guilty at all. When the weather is beautiful all winter, I feel an obligation to keep going hard, with lots of outdoor activities, just like we do the rest of the year, but at the same time, I'm usually longing for time snuggled on the couch, reading a good book, or baking with the kids.

Some of that baking meant scones and sugar cookies for a Poetry Tea Time Wednesday afternoon. 

And all that home time meant we actually got to finish a full game of Monopoly. It only took a little over a week. And we squeezed in a few rounds of  some other games as well. All made possible by a couple rainy weekends.

We still had our normal school and activity obligations, but somehow, there just seems to be more time for indoor hygge when it's wet and chilly out.

Brotherly Love

I wanted to highlight the one of my favorite moments from Valentine's Day. Peanut has been feeling a little off this week and had missed school on Wed. Any time he misses school, especially if he isn't feeling great, it's hard to get him to go the next day, and as expected, he was complaining that he didn't want to go, wasn't sure he was better, etc. . .

Bug was so sad for him that he might miss his first Valentine's Day in an actual elementary school and wanted to help him to get excited about going to school so while I was trying to encourage Peanut, Bug made him a special Valentine's Day lunch--heart shaped mozzarella and tomato salad and heart cookies. He was so sweet about it and genuinely sad at the thought of Peanut not experiencing classroom valentine's and all that goes with it in second grade.

In the end, we weren't able to convince him that he was well enough to go, but Peanut was cheered up by his big brother doing something special for him. And I was inspired by the thoughtfulness. I love seeing those moments when my kids get it and see with their hearts how someone else is feeling. We could all do more of that.

Bravewriter and Poetry

We've been taking a Bravewriter Poetry class this last month--mostly Bug and I, but the other two kids have also sat in on a couple lessons and written a couple poems.

This is Bug's first online class and it has been a great experience, which I'm hoping makes him more openminded about doing these in the future. I've loved the extra support and the chance to change things up a little and delve into a subject more deeply than I probably would on my own.

(Peanut's shape poem:

The cake

is cooking

in the oven

The tea is on the

stove. The water is

rushing faster and 

faster in the fridge.

You are cutting the carrots,

celery and pineapple.

I get my friends that were

helping me cook and have a big feast

with                 them.)

(And his acrostic:

Tiny pinecones falling off   

Really tall                            

Every animal can live there

Excellent trunks                  

Something falls down.           

Bean's shape poem: Where the tent travels

A new world of nature

Cool mountain rivers chill your feet.

Ocean wind blows into your lungs giving you life.

The redwood trees hide secrets waiting to be discovered.

The busy modern world is left behind.

Only the earth's true form exists now.

The rocks call for you to climb them.

The rugged path whispers your name.

The sky shows you its' stars for you to lay back and stare at the endless sky of fireflies.

The world is a canvas you are just beginning to travel across,

painting pictures of the sights and sounds as you go.

You lie at night in your tent, allowing the woodland crickets to sing you a lullaby.

(And my shape poem--seriously so much fun to actually do this class with them. Bug and I did every assignment together, which was probably one of his favorite parts. I wasn't trying to squeeze in dishes or other work while he wrote, but actually sat next to him, often taking longer than he did to get my words down. It was really fun for us both.)

Free

What would it be

To take to the skies

Free from the weight

Of everyday concerns

Where the people that fill every part of my short-sighted vision

Fade away

And the views become grandiose

Clear for miles

Full of sweeping vistas

Mountains, Oceans, Deserts

Through the wispy clouds

Rising further, until everything becomes clear

And it's impossible to remember why

Something so trivial

Filled so much space

When there is nothing but space

And I am

Before the Rain Returns

Bug and I snuck in a hike at Sycamore Grove Friday morning before the rain came back.

We had a lot that we could have been working on at home, but there's always stuff to do at home, and with all the storms that we have had lately, and are coming the next two weeks, I feel like we should get outside and hike any time the trails aren't too muddy. Plus, I didn't want to walk this guy in the rain later. I feel bad taking him for his normal 30 minutes if I do it too early in the day--that leaves him a really long afternoon on his own (and means his owners are coming home to a crazy dog--not what they are paying me for), but if I can take him for a few miles, then it doesn't really matter what time of day.

There's still snow in the distance to the south--so crazy that it stuck around all week!

Dandan is crazy, and so much fun. He was literally bouncing around the parking lot when we first got there. He tried to climb trees after Bug, leapt at every dog, squirrel, cow, and bird that went by. We always laugh more, and hike faster, when we bring him along.

Peanut's Day

Crazy hair day at the elementary school--I had flashbacks to some of the pictures we got his first year:

He always had the best crazy hair because he had so much of it!

As well as Crazy Hair Day, Wednesday was also their weekly morning meeting with the whole school where they hand out that week's Stingray Star Awards. Each teacher picks a student to be recognized for being Scholarly, Trustworthy, Accepting, or Responsible. Peanut got the award for his class this week for being trustworthy. He told me later that he did something the day before, but couldn't remember what it was, haha. Oh well. It was nice that he was recognized. :)

Almost, But Not Quite There

We saw the forecast for a chance of snow mixed with the rain this a.m. and I was SO hopeful--hoping for a miracle of an actual snow storm that would close down everything for today. Pretty much unheard of, but a girl can dream, right?

Instead, we got cold weather and snow-topped hills behind the green all around us. Beautiful, yes. But still a Tuesday that felt like a Monday because we were at the Monterey Bay Aquarium all day yesterday. Instead of a snow day, I've got one kid home sick, one off at the testing that he abhors, and one who was late to school and alternated claims that he hates himself for being late with the declaration that he would NOT be getting a late slip but would sneak in without anyone seeing him the whole way there. There's no big consequence for HIM for being late (I, on the other hand, will be getting a nasty letter this week because of his tardy/absent record, which isn't even that bad, but they are sticklers, apparently. But I'm a stickler for the value of fieldtrips and celebrating family occasions, so we'll just keep being absent here and there.)

And while it is seeming the most winter-like we've had this year, the trees are blooming like crazy--last week was most definitely spring-like weather. That's what we get for not having real winter--

bi-polar seasons.

Quick Trip to Monterey

We were able to get tickets to one of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Homeschool Days again, so we planned another overnight trip to one of my favorite cities. I wasn't really thinking when I got the tickets for the first Monday in February, meaning we were driving down Sunday afternoon in a race to get to the hotel before the Superbowl started. Daddy-o had no interest in doing anything except watching the game, so he, and Bean, who had been feeling pretty sick all weekend, stayed in the room to watch the game while the boys and I went to Point Pinos Lighthouse just down the street from our hotel.

It had rained on us the whole way down, but ended up being a beautiful afternoon once we got down there.

The lighthouse, even though it is still functioning, is set up as a small museum. It's fun to go back in time and see what it was like to oversee the light.

(We are so bad a family selfies. I'm bad at all selfies, but it's so much harder trying to fit 5 people and get something in the background that you actually want.)

(That's what we were trying to get in the background.)

We met up with friends at the aquarium and spent the day with a bunch of beautiful marine creatures. 

We got to watch the octopus moving around and changing color as it went.

We saw the underside of a bat star (and later watched him get knocked off the glass by a shark swimming by.)

We touched urchins,

watched the jellies,

found the sea turtles in the open ocean exhibit,

and found Nemo!

This girl was a trooper. Her fever had come down and she was feeling a lot better by Sunday night, so we figured she was fine to go with us to the aquarium the next day. But we pushed her too hard and by the end of the day, her calf muscles were cramping and ached worse than they ever had. I was pretty worried the next day when she could barely walk and did a little googling of symptoms--turns out that's a common symptom of influenza B. Poor girl was recovering from the flu and we dragged her around for a long day of sightseeing.

Under the tide as it came in--and at this point, I realized that I took almost no pictures of people on this trip. Here's proof that all 3 of our kids were there, but none of our friends. Oh, well. We all had fun--this is always a great field trip.

And to end our day, we saw a rainbow above the aquarium on our way to the car. We've seen a lot of rainbows lately--so much rain, and so many showers mixed with moments of sun.