Out to the Ball Game

I have been promising Clara for eons that I would take her to the mall (Nooooo!!!!  Anything but the mallllllll!!!!!!!!!), so today was the day. Girly stuff.  

And to make the mall excursion seem even girlier, the boys spent the day at the Giants' game. :)P.S.  The mall trip wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be.  We did a bit of browsing, a bit of lip balm purchasing, some coffee drinking (me, not her), and continued the (unfruitful) search for a pair of shorts that neither hide her knees, nor reveal her derriere.  Someone needs to teach clothing designers about the concept of the happy medium.

Cruising the streets

Well, that didn't take long.

After just a few days of practice, Trev can ride (accompanied) on the street.  Awesome.
His chaperone is quite the awesome bike rider as well.  :)

It's Almost Scrapbook Journal Time!

Way back in 2006, Clara kept a "scrapbook journal" which chronicled all of the goings-on that summer.  The book is an absolute treasure to her now (and to me!), since it was created during that magical phonetic time right before she started Kindergarten.We went to Prince Edward Island.  We took a ferry from Nova Scotia.  We went to see Anne of Green Gables.  I loved the dancing and I liked all of the songs.  Nana and I watched "What Not to Wear".  We went to the beach and went swimming in our clothes.  There was red sand.  We went to the Atlantic Ocean.
Somehow, 2007, 2008 and 2009 managed to slip by unjournaled (oops!), but we are ready this time! The books are labeled and the excitement is building.

I guess we'd better have some fun!

Open House

I missed out on the kids' Open House this year, because I was at my own Open House.  Rats. Luckily, Chad took pictures of a few highlights.  Here's Clara in front of her desk:

And Clara in front of her "Seven Wonders of our City" project (which were: 1. Chili's 2. Our House 3. Jamba Juice 4. The Public Library 5. The School 6. The Soccer Field 7. Target):

Trevor posed with a sunflower plant (very kindergarteny):

And, the most talked-about bit of his classroom, the "clip-up chart".  Personally, I try to stay away from using these types of behavior systems in the classroom unless absolutely necessary, but Trevi is extremely proud of the fact that he is one of the only kids in the class who has never clipped down.  How could you clip this guy down?

Spa Day

I came home from work to find that, hooray, the living room had been converted into a spa! I was treated to a foot soak and scrub, followed by a back massage, all for two bucks.  And since I was the only paying customer, the two proprietors also got to be each others' clients.  I'm hoping that tomorrow, the kitchen will have been converted into a P.F. Chang's.

Socceramento

It was a ridiculously early morning today, since Clara had to be in Sacramento at 7am for an 8:00 game.  Yawn.  We have to be grateful for this cool weather, though.  It was downright freezing in the morning.  Now I know why everyone buys those fleece blankets with soccer ball designs all over them.

The only pic I got today was of Trevor and his buddy playing travel chess, a scene which I just found kind of funny and photographable.

Note to self:  Remember to charge the camera battery before soccer tournaments.

He rides!!!!

Trevor rode his bike all by himself today!!!!!  Yay!!!!!  It was so darn cute, and he was so proud of himself.

Clara did a phenomenal job of being supportive, especially since it can't have been easy for her to watch Trevor hit this milestone before her (even the bribe of getting her ears pierced hasn't been enough to coax her back onto a bike after a wipeout last summer).

She'll get there, though.  I predict we'll be a bike-riding family before the end of June....

Congratulations, Manny!

Appreciation!

With Teacher Appreciation Week coming up, the kids threw themselves into all kinds of special projects to let their teachers know how much they are loved.  This has been an amazing year. Clara knows she's a valued and respected member of her class, and her effort and dedication is constantly validated by her nurturing teacher.  Trevor loves going to school every day, and his teacher appreciates his earnest enthusiasm and endless curiosity.  He is excited about learning, and is always putting knowledge into practice.  We are so fortunate. School is a wonderful thing, isn't it?

Chess Men

I love coming home to this scene.

Summer Reading

I will be clocking a lot of hours this summer reading up for my new job, so that I might actually know what I'm talking about when I step into a class full of middle schoolers. But I couldn't help myself.  The two books that have been calling to me for months (and that my class gave me for Teacher Appreciation Week!  Yay!) really deserved a spot on the top of the pile.  :)

Creepy Things

Our family has grown.
Ew and double ew.  Against my better judgement, I gave in and let Clara get silkworms again this year.  And they are just so yucky.  The little poop balls and all that.  But we are 50% cocooned at this point, so as long as we don't collect the moth eggs and put them in the fridge, as suggested by the Science teacher (are you KIDDING me????? There will be NO insect eggs lying dormant in my fridge for the next year, thank you very much...), I think I will be okay. These two, by the way, are named "Munchy" and "Eaty", and no, I don't know which one is in the cocoon and which one is still larval.

And as if that weren't creepy enough, we also have sea monkeys now.

Yep, like the ones advertised in the back of every comic book you ever read as a kid, and you were always curious about what they were, but your mom never let you send in the little order form and your five bucks.  Well, now they sell them at Target.  And Trevi got some for his birthday.  I have to admit that they're actually somewhat fun to watch, and truly fascinating creatures. Naturally, I googled them when I felt the urgent need to learn more, and I found a site that has the 411.  Someone has too much time on their hands.

I keep expecting to wake up one morning to find that the sea monkeys have all gone to sea monkey heaven, but so far they are proving to be rather hearty little things.  The gag factor just basically has to do with the bulging egg sacs (yucko!  TMI, you monkeys!), and the fact that the bottom of the "tank" is littered with sea monkey feces, previously-molted exoskeletons, and at least a few carcasses.  This is not a pet for the faint of heart.

Lardville

The first soccer tourney of the year was held today, in the unfortunately-named city of Manteca. I never tire of watching this girl charge around the field with such confidence, and I hope she loves soccer forever.I should add, though, that it wasn't 110 degrees out today, and Trevor was at Grammy and Grampy's, so it was just me relaxing in my chair in the warm sunshine, drinking my coffee, chatting with the moms, and cheering on my little defender.  Ask me again how I feel about soccer when I'm attacking everyone with sunscreen and huddling under an umbrella in the dog days of August.  :)

Um, more inventions and reading

It's completely impossible to avoid blogging about Trevor's inventions and Clara's books.  It is what it is. Our life is full of these two elements every single day.  

I'll start with Clara.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is brain candy for pre-tweens.  I find the books pretty darn funny, actually, and they've given Clara writer's itch.  Which is neat, because that's the exact same thing that happens to me when I read a book that feels smooth and easy. They just make me want to write and write.  I hope Clara picks up her pen and dives in.

Today's invention is super cool, but also super hard to describe. It's a Hot Wheels track that goes under a scaffold of Tinkertoys, with a sort of pendulum hanging down.  When the car races down the track, it hits the pendulum just so, which knocks a second car down onto the track. This one involved great amounts of fiddling with physics.

Nature + Nurture = Children who are freakishly like us, only smarter and cuter.