paranoid, or just libertarian?

A conversation that took place this morning... I just had to get it down.

Josiah asked me where Daddy was hunting today. "He's down near Olympia." I said.

"Olympia!?" he stared at me. "Isn't that where the GOVERNMENT is?! He's gonna get killed!"

"What?" I say, "Why on earth would he get killed?"

"Well they're gonna shoot 'im!"

Naomi overhears and comes over to set things straight. "Josiah. Don't you know that the president in Olympia is a LADY? Can you really imagine a LADY shooting a gun at a big man like dad? Pshaw."

"Naomi, you must mean the governor, not the president. The governor of Washington," I say.

"Oh, yeah that is what I meant," says Naomi.

"Her name is Christine Gregoire," I add.

Josiah gasps... "Aahhhh! I know that name! Chris-Teen-Greg-Wah. When we were out on the boat and I wanted to keep shrimping, SHE was the one who said we couldn't get any more shrimp!! Dad said so!"

if you were looking...

Josiah, Bo and I took a walk together the other day in search of some small salal plants to dig up and take home. We found a few on the road side that looked small enough to remove, and started digging. He told me that daddy taught him the best way to dig, and made a circle around the desired plant with his shovel blade to define the digging area. We poked our fingers into the dirt, looking around for the plants roots as to carefully remove them.  We chatted about dirt, planting, and the mysteries of living and growing things. I took the liberty of reformatting one of his little "imaginings" into poetic form, as it seemed suited. In his usual helpful spirit, he kindly told me;

"If you were looking,

for what was beneath-

if I were a worm,

I would pop up and tell you!

But just if I knew

that you were looking."

jokes and such

A little snapshot of current "funnies" at our house...

Eva is obsessed with "The Phantom of the Opera" and can often be found singing at the top of her lungs, "COME TO ME ANGEL OF MUSIC!!!! I AM YOUR ANGEL OF MUSIC!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!" It's quite intense. The other day she was switching it up though with little snippets of quiet "Beck" thrown in there too. "COME TO ME ANGEL OF MUSIC!!!! See the Vegetable Maaann in the Vegetable Vaaaan..." Oh, and then there is a little "It's a Wonderful Life" in the mix, too. "COME TO ME... We'll have a wonderful life if I! Have! You!" It would be more bizarre if you could hear it, but believe me, it is quite the cornacopia of sound coming from a powerful nine-year-old!

All the kids are into telling jokes, and making up their own. It is pretty hard to get it right, though- make up a joke that is funny, and then tell it correctly. So Naomi gave it a half-hearted try this morning.
"Mom, wanna hear my joke? It's not really funny though." 
"OK Nomes."
"OK. What do you get if you have a dog, and you live in a house made of dog treats?"
"Ummmm- not sure."
"You have no house, and a dead dog. (pause) See- I told you it wasn't really funny." 

And last, Josiah had some personal objections to cleaning his room today. "Mom, I really don't think I should do that. My New Year's revolution was to stop doing my chores, so...." Gotta respect the strategy there, but this "revolution" is not going to happen.

wouldn't it be nice

Today was crisp and cool, a lovely day to be outdoors. The girls, dog and I went up to the Lake Youngs Trail; I ran, Bo ran, they rode bikes. It is quite a hilly trail, and muddy this time of year, which makes it challenging. After riding about four miles, Naomi spent some time contemplating who was doing work. Eva was up ahead riding hard, I was running with Bo's leash in one and and the other hand firmly pressing Naomi's back to give her some extra momentum on the hills. She was pumping her tired legs hard as she could, and looking at her drink holder. "We are like a machine, mom, all of us working to move together. Except my water bottle. Wouldn't it be kinda nice to be a water bottle, except alive? Just sittin' there, in your container, not doin' anything, but not gettin' thirsty or hungry. Just seems like it would be nice."

the arts and the outdoors

Well, I only have a few more days to blog if I am going to post anything at all for December. Neglecting my blog as I have gives the impression that we haven't done much for the past few months, when quite the opposite is true. Too much to tell, in fact! But the pictures will show a little of what we've been doing. I am having a lot of trouble arranging them the way I want, but this will have to do.

Above, Naomi is all ready for her first choir performance of the Christmas season. She "designed" her outfit herself, coming up with the idea of using my scarf as a sash for her black dress. Both of the girls sang beatifully, and also did a great job in the character roles in the Christmas musical.

Nomsi snuggling Bo by the Christmas tree.

Sarena and I took our girls to the Pacific NW Ballet Nutcracker. It was fun to see them enjoy it. Naomi and Eva enjoyed talking about the costumes afterwards, and little Anika could not help but dance in her chair during the most beautiful scenes.

Andrea and the boys had Josiah over while we attended the Nutcracker- he had about a million times more fun dressing alike in camo and elk with little Timmy and shoving popcorn in his mouth than he would have being quiet at the ballet. He also enjoyed a few games of checkers and Uno.

Here is Eva at her Christmas piano recital. This was a special one because she chose to play "White Christmas" from some sheet music that Grammy used to play. It was a little challenging to learn, but she did so well. She was pleased that Grammy came to hear her, too; that was a real honor.

Daddy was so proud of Eva's hard work.

We have been spending a lot of time outside- exercise and fresh air for me and the kids and the wild dog too. Here Josiah and and his friend Cole are suprised and then delighted as a tree they were climbing broke and sort of slowly crashed to the ground. After they took in what happened, they laughed hysterically for about five minutes.

Hiking around Peterson Lake- a new favorite spot.

Here is the scene at partially frozen Shadow Lake... Bo was entertaining us by jumping wildly onto the ice, sliding around, falling in the water, scrambling to get back onto the ice, and then ripping off chunks with his teeth so he could drag and shake them around. His enthusiasum for frigid water is astounding.

Our Christmas picture.

An attempted Christmas picture. It was later determined that Bo was not a subject suitable for "just so" photographs. Getting the three kids to "look at me!!" is hard enough. With the dog, it's just too much! I am pretty happy with that crazy picture above, though. It is reality, these days!

halloween at the woodmark

This year for Halloween we went to The Woodmark, where Nana lives, to visit with the ladies and pass out some candy. It was kind of a last minute plan amidst several busy days, so the costumes were created after the soccer games, and right before leaving. The girls wore "fairy" dresses, put some glitter on their faces, and made wands out of dowels and aluminum foil with ribbons taped on the end. Josiah- usually not one for costumes- just put his Jedi robe on over his clothes and called it good.

Nana and the other ladies were pleased to see the children, as usual, and enjoyed all the chocolate. All three of the kids are finally getting more comfortable at the Woodmark, and more understanding of the people who live there. Even Josiah patiently answered Marilyn, who asked him about four times, "What is your name?" "Josiah." She told him it was a good, strong name and he would go a long way with that name. He was even willing to hold her hand- a big development!! The kids also enjoyed playing with Aunt Leslie, who is a great liaison between them and the residents, as sometimes it is hard to know what to say or do with them... She knows them all well and can get through to them much better than we can.

Nana was tired, as she is becoming so more and more, but she still made us laugh with her silly faces and hand motions. She just loves to be a little clown now and then.

I won't pretend that the visit was completely pleasurable, because there is a lot of sadness there and it is so difficult to see. But the kids ended up feeling like they helped bring a few smiles to these ladies, and they had a good time overall as well.

bedtime?

Just went upstairs to tuck in the girls, who were supposed to be in bed with lights out... As I creaked up to the top I hear a scuffling, and see Naomi leaping onto the bed, saying "Oh no-the paparazzi!" The covers couldn't hide that, other than her pajamas, she was wearing rhinestone sunglasses, lots of bracelets, a backwards cap, and holding a plastic neon echo-microphone. Eva was lying in bed giggling, and had just put down a used up disposable camera; she, apparently, was permitted to photo the celebrity- I, however, was an unwelcome intruder. Guess she has an agenda other than sleep, that superstar.