Mom School 2011

This summer Daniel and David spent four mornings per week working on reading, writing, and math skills.  With David the goal was to retain what he learned in 2nd grade and begin 3rd grade strong.  With Daniel, however, the goal continues to be to catch him up so he can be at grade level.  Having started school later, he missed some of the foundational elements.  We worked diligently on:

  • comprehension of read material
  • writing and the writing process
  • spelling
  • adding and subtracting with carrying and borrowing
  • memorizing multiplication tables
  • began learning states and capitols

One huge celebration came when Daniel wrote his first fully correct sentence! We had been working on this for weeks.  A pre-written fragment is chosen out of a baggie.  Mom writes it on a white board.  The boys complete the sentence.  Daniel’s sense of humor came through as he used the fragment “usually true” and weaved his favorite word – chicken – into the sentence. He used a capital and a period and spelled everything correctly! (See pictures)

The boys were a bit surprised when we told them that their sisters had “Mom School” every summer too. Like last year, Mom school will continue throughout the year for Daniel and David,  though given the time constraints and regular school homework, it will be much less intense.

Great work, boys! Mom is really proud of you!

 

60th Anniversary / 80th Birthday

Recently, we went to Suncadia resort to celebrate Pat & Earl’s 60th Anniversary and Earl’s 80th birthday.  We rented a big house for the weekend.  All four siblings, plus Mom & Dad stayed there.  The weekend included bicycling, swimming, and plenty of conversation.  On Saturday, we had a great party with about 100 to 125 people in attendance.  Food was good and the company was great!  Thank you to all who came to make this weekend so special.  Click the picture to see more.

Lake Tapps

On the lake

A couple weeks ago, the boys were invited to a birthday party on Lake Tapps, complete with plenty of water activity.  This was their first opportunity to go “tubing” and they had a blast!  Click the picture above to see some more, and watch the video below.

Legends Baseball Clinic

On Friday, August 19, the boys attended a baseball clinic sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni association.  We learned of this event because Randy’s dad is one of the alumni asked to participate.  The clinic included various stations, such as fielding, base-running, hitting & throwing.  The boys had a great time meeting and learning from former MLB players, even though the only one they’d heard of is their grandpa.  Their cousin Mason was also there, and it was great to see all the boys having fun.  Click the photo above to see more pictures; watch the 5 minute video montage below.

Zoo with Karla & Boys

Sary-Jo and the boys met up with good friends Karla and boys. Randy and Joe were both working. The kids love being with each other, and they all enjoy the Point Defiance Zoo. Enjoy the pictures.

Water Polo & Swim Team

Daniel & David got to participate in the Puyallup H.S. water polo camp – four weeks on Mondays and Wednesdays to learn a new sport.  The camp was structured with basics of the game, drills, practice and scrimmage.  The last day was a full scrimmage with Daniel’s team edging out David’s for the win.  They both had a lot of fun, but we think David is a bit more serious about scoring than Daniel.  David can be quite aggressive for a little guy.  They are already asking to do it again next summer.  Click the photo to see a few more; watch the video.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays for the same four weeks, they had swim team camp.  Here they learned – first – that swimming can kick your tail even if you’re in good shape.  They received very good teaching and became much better swimmers in all aspects.  A swim meet was held on the last day of this camp, including individual and relay events in all strokes.  The electronic timing system was used, and they got the feel of swimming competitively.  Although the first week was rough, they’d like to do this one again next summer also.  Click the photo to see a few more and, of course, watch the video.

Swimming With Cousins

Mason & Kenzie came for a visit, and the four cousins went to open swim at the PHS pool (one of Daniel & David’s favorite activities this summer).  Sary-Jo was there, with the camera of course, and got some good pictures and video.  We selected the best pictures and edited the video down to provide just a sampling.  Click on the picture above to see more, and watch the video below.

Fourth of July

We returned from our vacation to Phoenix and Disneyland on July 3rd, so we weren’t really ready for a “big” 4th of July.  We didn’t make it out to our friends’ home on Lake Tapps, as we typically do.  Instead, we stayed home and had a relatively peaceful celebration of our wonderful country’s independence.  The boys spent a good portion of the day playing with their new remote-control cars, courtesy of Sarah and Kyle.

That night, we spent time with our neighbors.  They had enough explosives to defeat the British again, so we enjoyed the show.  Here are a few pictures.

Disneyland

After our trip to Phoenix, we went to Disneyland for four days.  It was so good to spend time with all of us together: Kyle & Sarah, with their exchange student Diana, and Ryan & Janel.  Daniel & David got a bit of bonding time with the rest of the family.  And, of course, it was Disneyland so you know we had to have a good time!

As far as the rides are concerned, Daniel is always ready and eager to head to the biggest, the fastest and the scariest!  David takes a bit of time to warm up to some of the rides, but then he jumps right on board as well.  At times, the stimulus-overload introduced some challenges as the whole experience can be a bit overwhelming.  Keep in mind that these boys are less than two years removed from their situation in Ethiopia.  But, all in all, we had a great time.

Click the photo above to see some of the favorites from our cameras.  Click the one below to see the photos taken by Disney photographers on Photopass.

Owen Beach – 7/24/11

Daniel & Randy in kayak

Daniel & Randy

The weather this year has been somewhat short (as in, the opposite) of fantastic.  However, we finally got a beautiful weekend so we decided to spend some time at Point Defiance / Owen Beach.  We rented a kayak and both Daniel and David enjoyed it quite a bit.  David went swimming in Puget Sound and personally discovered that the temperature in this deep, ocean-fed body of water stays in the low 50’s year-round!  Click on the picture above to see more, and enjoy the brief video.