Yesterday was Earth Day. Rather than "celebrate" we had a quiet day at home. The boys let me sleep late... we got right into our schedule when I woke up and then we spent the afternoon at my folks' -- the boys are doing odd jobs to pay off a canoe my dad has offered to "sell" them.
Today was a good day. Schoolwork went well. Music practice went well. The boys chose to do extra chores -- Matthew did laundry, Grant did windows. We had a good SpiralScouts meeting. Grant had his horseback riding lesson today. Matthew played for several hours with other kids, and riding his bike.
My friend Jenny stopped by for dinner. We got to spend over an hour just talking and having a good time. Tom and Grant showed up just as she was leaving.
AND... the yellow iris began to bloom today. I didn't even remember I had planted irises there by the fishpond. It was a lovely surprise to look out after the rain left and see them swaying in the sunshine.
We went to the beach on April 10. Lovely day. Went to the Pacific Science Center and saw the "Space: A Journey to our Future" exhibit on the 12th (Monday) and 17th (Saturday). More Lovely Days...
The beach was wonderful. One of those rare days when the breeze at sea level was almost nil, the sun was on the sand all day long so it was warm by the time we got there at noon... There weren't that many people yet, so the boys could play in the water and the sand the whole time. Tom enjoyed playing with them. I enjoyed sitting next to a small shelter we built for Buffy and reading. Just before we left, the wind picked up enough for a few trials of the new dragon kite. Everyone was well pleased with the day.
The space exhibit was a good choice, too. Monday was a great day to go just because there weren't too many people... we were actually the first in the doors! We played around with a few of the regular exhibits before we went in to the Space exhibit, then had lunch, then watched the demonstration about "combustion" (a real good idea), and had time left to attend the planetarium show before we wended our way home.
The Space exhibit was huge -- the kids loved the interactive portions, of course, and Grant enjoyed reading a 1955 comic version of War of the Worlds. He started it on Monday and finished it Saturday. There were some excellent bits, and a few things that were so preparatory... I think they were designed to give people something to look at while they waited for the crowds to disperse from what were obviously designed to be the more popular parts of the exhibit. But really, neither time did we need to wait for the parts that interested us. Rather, most people seemed to want to attend just to get through it and move on, which was a shame. A few people made the mistake of bringing young (pre-reading) children along, invariably they were bored and disruptive. The parents would have stayed longer, looking and exploring, but really nothing was designed for anyone under second or third grade level.
A disappointment the last two weeks has been a real lack of communication with the teachers for Grant's horseback riding... he has missed three of his last four lessons, all of them because people didn't communicate. The last one, Grant was only a couple minutes late -- Tom says he saw the teacher driving out as they pulled in... he was so sad.
Overall, things have been really good. We have tried new things, enjoyed our projects, and learned a lot.
It has rained every day for at least a couple hours. The cloud cover has helped more than the precipitation, I think, the rain barely gets down below the last centimeter or so of the surface. The small white fir in the back yard is definitely dead and needs to come out. I will need to find something else to put in there to keep the rest of the grove healthy.
Tom and I are Uncle and Aunt again! Carol had her baby today in Chicago, and she and her new daughter are doing well by all accounts.
Can't wait to get some pictures of the newest member of our family...
Long day, tiring. Energy levels are fluctuating a lot these days, not sure why, but suspect hormones have a lot to do with it. However, I am definitely managing better and better, and getting outside in the garden daily has a lot to do with it.
The clocks are now off from the actual time, but for me it's a little easier to get up earlier -- not because of the clocks, but because it truly is lighter earlier, and my internal clock readjusts easily to the increasing light. If only we could adjust our work hours to suit our actual biological rhythms, rather than constantly trying to fit our own bodies into some mechanical model. How much healthier we might be, if we learned to listen to our bodies, respected our needs, and honored the cycles of life!
Matthew did so very well at the state geography bee. He didn't make it to the final round, but he was polite and answered all the questions he was given to the best of his ability, even when he knew he was doing it just for fun. Although he missed a couple of the "easier" questions, he answered the last one (hardest round) with no hesitation! What a kid! We are just bursting with pride at how well he did and even Grant is excited about participating next year.
Matthew has glasses now... He is really cute in them, too. They are very similar to Matt's glasses.
Speaking of Matt, he and Dave have a new puppy, Holly. She is a darling little black lab puppy. Max isn't too sure what to do with her -- but although he misses all the attention he was getting, I think once she grows up he'll enjoy having a packmate in his own home.