School Carnival

Sean and Aly's school had a fundraising carnival at their school on Friday.  I am sure I'd mentioned this before, but their elementary school is AMAZING!  First off, their building is only three years old and has the aesthetically pleasing and practical design through out.  I like their resource room which is the neatest and the most organized room of its kind.  It makes things so much easier for teachers and volunteers to get their jobs done since they are always well stocked and neatly organized.  I get very annoyed when I volunteer at Noah's school because their resource room is a mess!  We are very lucky to send my kids to awesome schools regardless of a small resource room hunch at Noah's.  They are top rated schools in a top rated school district in the State!  We got lucky considering we didn't research anything about schools when buying our house eight and half years ago. 

Where was I?  Yes, the school carnival.  It's one of the biggest events at school and the one that involves the most preparation.  There were about 20 games run by parent volunteers, ruffle drawings for big prizes, food trucks, cake walks, it was a chaotic but fun event for everyone.  I volunteered to run the ball tossing game and I tried to be as fun and cheerful as possible.  I think the kids had lots of fun at my game :-).   My kids were all over the place and seemed to be having a very good time.  I just didn't see them very much.  Mr. Reimergartin was wearing a tutu and a tiny hat on his head.  He looked very cute and told him he should keep the hat. 

The school is ending very soon and I feel sad a little since I worked very closely with the teachers this year.  It's touching to be able to see my children, their students, grow and learn the new skills together.  Sean struggled this year with his inattention and anxiety and Mr. Reimergartin and I worked as a team.  We talked about his week, what worked, what didn't, the progress he made and how he was rewarded etc... and I am just very thankful for the sincere concern and effort he put in for Sean.  This year was very special to me and was an eye opening year to see first hand how a successful school is run by both teachers and parents working together.   It's another proof, it always takes effort to create something marvelous! 

Good-bye Training Wheels ~ Alyson

May was a bike to school/work month in Bellevue (maybe elsewhere, too) so kids have been riding their bikes to school whenever they can.  Alyson, seeing her classmates ride their bikes without training wheels, was gaining a little courage everyday to ditch her training wheels.  She started practicing riding sans training wheels since last week on our driveway.  When we bought this house eight and half years ago, this type of activity was what we imagined doing on our long driveway.  It makes me smile to see my little girl with an over-sized pink helmet and tutu focusing so intently to master her big girl bike skill. 

I was very impressed with Sean because he was so sweet and patient with her.  He cheered her on saying "Aly, you are doing it!  Good job!!" and did demonstrations for her.  He watched her patiently on the lawn while she practiced and gave her advice when she was having a trouble.  I could not be happier seeing him so gentle and being very brotherly towards his sister.  Maybe neurotypical big brothers are often like that but for Sean, it was like a gift.  It was so special and I will always remember it.  I think Alyson will also. 

Now Aly is a big girl bike rider!  She only fell once or twice and she can now circle around the driveway for a long time.  When Sean learned how to bike without training wheels, he wanted to keep riding forever.  Alyson also felt the same way and wanted to keep on going if it wasn't dinner time.  I am very proud of her new achievement!  She is blossoming in America despite my initial worry when she returned from Japan.  Hooray for Alyson!

Sean's First Camping Trip

 

 

Sean and I went on a camping trip to Hood Canal on Memorial Day weekend with friends.  I've been wanting to take the kids to camping but for a girl who only went camping a few times back in college days, it was a long leap to conquer.  When my friend, Jen, asked me if we wanted to join them on a camping trip, I knew it was my best chance to break into the big wide world of camping.  Jen is an avid camper and has tons of experience camping solo and camping with kids.  I had a tent, but that was about it.  I made a list of all other gears I need for the trip and in the frenzy, went to REI flagship store in Seattle, Sports Authority and Costco.  Surprisingly, I made most of my purchases at Costco.  They sold better quality things at cheaper price.  Perfect! The food was another big item I had to plan and prepare.  When I was all packed up, I had a big international sized suitcase full of things, Sean had his carry-on style suitcase with his things, an ice chest with food and drinks, and a Rubbermaid tub with snacks, dry foods and cooking tools.  Mike's little CRV was fully loaded and Sean sat squished on the backseat.  The good thing was that the camp site wasn't too far, only an hour and half southwest of Bellevue.  The weather forecast wasn't in our favor with chance of rain, but we were all excited to have the best time anyway.

The camp ground was crowded and it was a bit different from what I was used to in Idaho.  It was not very private, but in a way it felt safer.  It was right on the Hood Canal and we could see the canal from our camp site.  There were relatively clean bathrooms and showers close by, so it was convenient.  We set up the tents first and got our sleeping situation squared away.  My tent is a 4 person tent and is super easy to set up, so even I could do it by myself.  I hauled in my huge suitcase which probably took over one third of the space in the tent and inflated my airbed.  Jen and Kevin were busy setting up their big 10 person two room tent and their two queen air beds.  In the meanwhile, the boys collected some firewood for the fire.  In many ways, I was so glad Jen and Kevin were experts at camping.  They swiftly made fire and set up the cooking station for us to make dinner.  Jen made a yummy hamburger and it tasted so good to eat outdoor under the tall pine trees.  The boys were having so much fun running around being boys, pretending they are Ninjas or treasure hunters.  Sean exclaimed "I just found a piece of history!" and we all laughed.  Kevin's special s'mores were delish as he is very particular about the marshmallows.  They have to be golden colored and sagging from the skewers!   I've always burnt mine and thought that was the way. 

We were cold the first night and I was uncomfortable as Sean kept pushing me towards the edge.  The second night was much better as we were dressed warmer and knocked out from the fatigue.  Jen and I were busy most of the time preparing for the next meal or taking care of the boys, but we found some time to sit around the campfire and talk.  It was blissful watching the fire dance and listening to the wood crackle.  I think I know why avid campers are addicted to camping.  There is something about it that is mind cleansing.  Sean had a really good time hanging out with his best buddy.  Now that I have done it with one kid, I think I will take the girls with me the next time.  I think I need to buy a bigger tent to fit two queen size mattresses.  What a healthy dose of fun!  Washington is a beautiful state and we have so much to explore.