Greenwood Car Show

We spent a LONG time at the car show today.  It was fun, but it would've been more fun if I wasn't somewhat sick.  Yesterday I came down with something that ended with a night of fever, aches, and chills, and today I feel...not great.  Oh well.  I'm glad I got to go see Drew play.

There were SO MANY people there!  Holy cow.  I had no idea it was such a huge event!  There were tons of classic cars, too.

And I got some video of the SoR kids playing.  To be honest, Drew's really unhappy with himself.  He thinks he didn't do very well.  In his partial defense, there was one rehearsal for the 5 songs he was in (4 of which were brand new to him), and in that rehearsal each song was run through one time.  Still, as part of the house band he's supposed to be able jump into these situations.  He'll learn, I guess.

This is the one song he knew already.

And these are a couple of the new ones.

Thursday

Today is one of those days when having a blog feels almost deceitful, because if I were to talk honestly about what's on my mind, I'd regret it later.  Sigh.  

I do have this nice picture.  Baylee and I often go to a Starbucks across the street while we're waiting for Drew to finish his guitar lesson.

Oh, and I have a little story about something nice that happened to Zach yesterday.  His bike broke down on his way home from work, and he was pretty discouraged about what it was potentially going to cost in time and money to fix.  Our friends, the James', were over at the time, and Todd offered to run Zach over to the bike shop where Zach used to work to see what they could do.  It turns out the shop was closed, but they opened it just for Zach and fixed his bike for free!  It was a neat lesson in how making connections with people can sometimes lead to positive things down the road.

Wednesday 2

This makes me laugh.  Everyone in our family, including the animals, is very used to living with a lot of noise.  It's so constant you can almost ignore it.

Wednesday

Yesterday I made dinner, and it involved corned beef.  I have a couple recipes that call for corned beef (Why do they call it "corned beef?") so I've had to open a few of those cans in my day.  Here's the thing about corned beef in a can:  It's impossible to open.  Apparently you're supposed to be able to twist that key thingie, and it peels back a strip of metal, making the bottom of the can neatly come off.  This has NEVER worked for me.  Ever.  And I can't just use a regular can opener, because the shape of the can is wrong.  So (after trying in vain with that stupid key) I always end up using a bottle opener.  I just keep punching holes with it until I can bend back a mutilated section and dig out the beef.* 

Basically, I create a deadly weapon.

Here's a picture I took in Baylee's swim practice this morning.  Today they worked on breast stroke. 

We're having overnight guests tonight.  Our friends the James' are coming, because Todd and Brian (their son that's about Drew's age) are going on  missions trip to the Philippines, and they're leaving very early tomorrow morning.  It makes much more sense for them to go to the Seattle airport from our house than from theirs, since they live hours away in Leavenworth.  Kellie and Bryce (their son that's about Baylee's age) are coming, too, as moral support and to drive.  We're excited to see them all!

Drew has a fairly big event coming up this weekend.  He'll be playing several songs at a car show in Greenwood.  It's not a house band thing per se, because all the shows (the ones that just wrapped up) will be playing a couple songs in it.  Drew will be playing "No Quarter" with the other Led Zep kids.  It is a house band thing in a way, though, because they're using house band members to plug in the gaps where regular kids are on vacation.  So Drew will be stepping into other groups and playing brand-new-to-him music.  I'm nervous for him!

*I never imagined myself saying "and dig out the beef" before.  That may be a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

Summertime!

Swim Team Day 1

Baylee had a great first practice for swim team!  I think I heard that there are over 100 kids on the team, but they don't all have the same practice time.  There are four different practice sessions every day, and Baylee is signed up for the 9am one.  There were about 25 or so other kids there at that time, ages 5-12.  The coaches split them up according to age, and Baylee was with the 11-12 year olds...3 girls and 4 boys.  The other two girls were AMAZING.  They've been doing this for years and it shows.  They were fast and their form was incredible.  Baylee wasn't at their level, but she was faster and better than all 4 boys!  lol  One cool thing:  Recently she figured out what she was doing wrong with the butterfly stroke*, and now she's got it.

*She was breathing on every stroke, instead of every other.

Sunday

Baylee and I took our monthly turn teaching the 4's and 5's class at church.  Here are three different conversations that happened today:

Little Girl:  "Teacher!  The boys are cooking the babies in the oven!  [Translation:  The boys are putting the dolls in the oven of the play kitchen.]  Would you please tell them that's not appropriate?"

---------------------------------

Me:  Don't mix the play-doh colors, everyone.
Little Guy:  Okay, but I've already done it.

---------------------------------

Me:  Don't eat the play-doh, okay?  It's not food.  Plus it's got germs in it from people's hands.
Same Little Guy:  That's the best part!


All in all, it was a bit of a crazy morning at church.  lol

PS:  I think I mentioned here before that one of our kids (cough...Zach...cough) was known for eating play-doh in the 2's and 3's class at church.  He loved the stuff.  His teachers used to say, "Can you please try to get him to stop eating the play-doh?"  And so we'd talk to him, and his response was, "Play-doh is delicious!"  He said that about ants, too, though, so you couldn't really trust his judgment.

PPS:  Yes, he would eat black ants that he found outside.

PPPS:  Another one of my kids, when she was a baby who could only crawl, LOVED eating cat food.  We had to watch her carefully, or she'd be over there by the cat's bowl, chowing down.  In fact, sometimes she'd see us coming to stop her, so she'd stuff her cheeks full as fast as she could, and then she'd try to crawl away so we couldn't catch her. 

The other night Drew set himself up in our tiny, cramped laundry room, in order to play x-box live with some friends from the SoR.  He said the internet connection is best in there.

Baylee's at the movie theater with her friend, Lily.  I dropped them off at the door and they handled everything themselves with their own money.  They'll call when they're ready to be picked up.  I want her to grow up and be responsible and all that, and she is ready, but a big part of me wants to tie her back up in my apron strings and leave her there until she's about 27. 

Friday

Look at these Shoreline Gators swim team suits!

To be honest, I didn't expect them to be so cool.  I was picturing something green with a big alligator on the front.  lol  Baylee will be going to a butterfly/breaststroke clinic tomorrow, then on Monday she starts actual swim team practices.  Her first meet is the 2nd weekend in July, I think.

Summer break has officially started, but it doesn't quite feel like it, because both Baylee and Drew are finishing up a couple subjects.  The nice thing is that there isn't much left for them to do, so we're being pretty laid back about it.

Zach's still enjoying his job.  He came home the other day especially happy, because he learned to read blueprints for gears.

I'm not sure if I mentioned that it was Mike and my 21st anniversary yesterday.  We figured out that Mike has been married for half his life now.  lol  Since I'm 11 months older than him, I won't be able to say that until next year.  The most important thing is that we're still in love...and we still really like each other! 

 

Lip-Synching Kid

This is what happens when you send Baylee into your bedroom with strict instructions to work on her history assignment.

This is It. I Promise!

Okay, I know this is getting kinda old at this point, but I just have a couple more pieces of the show to share.  There were so many good parts!

Here's another little bit of "Whole Lotta Love."  Before you watch it, though, fair warning:  the lyrics aren't great.  Let's put it this way:  Sandi Patti wouldn't sing it.  I'm sure there are people out there who feel it's wrong for us to let our kid be involved in the SoR, exactly for that reason, and if they were to ever confront me on it I'd say, "You're right.  It has its downsides." 

All that said, I really like this little bit of the song for a couple reasons.  For one thing, the kids play and sing their hearts out.  And I like it because I can't help but get a kick out of how obvious that drummer's cues are.  lol  He's totally on top of making sure everyone knows what's going on. 

And here's the entire "Rock and Roll" song.  I like the whole thing.  One interesting side note about this one is that both the drummer and the guitarist to the right of Drew (our right) are fresh out of Rock 101.  That's the school's pre-performance program, for kids who aren't ready to be on stage.  In other words, those two are brand new to this and this is their first show.  They did a good job!  The little guitarist is still at that frozen-in-place stage, which is sort of heartwarming.  It reminds me of when Drew did that rock band camp at the Seattle Drum School when he was 12.

Last night Drew went to his first "real" rehearsal for the house band.  Last week's doesn't really count, because there was a parent meeting that took up part of it, and then they spent the rest of the time mapping out songs.  (That's what they call taking songs apart and really understanding them.)  Anyway, so yesterday was the first legit practice.  Drew said every kid there came with every song completely learned.  Now it's just a matter of polishing them up.  Also, they're expected to learn each other's parts within the same instrument.  That is, all guitarists must learn all other guitarist's parts.  That way if anyone is absent, anyone else can jump in.

Our little mini-break from school is over and we're back at it today.  This is our final week!

Weekend Wrap Up

Whew!  That was one busy weekend.  In fact, all of us are pretty worn out, so we (Baylee, Drew, and I) decided to take the day off of school.  We slept in, and now we're mostly relaxing.  Later I'll use the extra time to thoroughly clean the house, which got pretty messy over the last couple days.

One of the things we did this weekend was celebrate Zach's birthday, but that was easy-going, just like he is.  We had grilled hamburgers, cake, and ice cream.  (PS: Please ignore the way Drew looks in this picture.  This was the day after the show, and he was being a big, grouchy butt.  He was exhausted, I think.)

Zach got an awesome blanket from Patty.  She's been making these things and we all love them.   They're so soft!

More Led Zep

I've had a chance to go through the rest of what I've got on the camera, so here it is.

Drew played bass in a song called "How Many More Times."  I have a picture and a small video of that.  He said the reason they gave him the job is that it's the easiest bass part on earth.  LOL  Bass isn't really his thing; it's something he can play in a pinch.  Still, he did a good job!

And this is a song called "No Quarter."  I thought the girl who sang it did a beautiful job.

Finally, he was in a song called "Whole Lotta Love."  This one is fun because Drew has a really weird solo in part of it.  The sounds he makes on the guitar are cool and strange...you'll see what I mean.  You can't tell from the video, but the sound guy made his solo bounce all over the room from corner to corner.  It was neat!  I also like it because at the very end Drew and the drummer catch each other's eye and nod as a cue to start the song back up again.  It's cute.

The Led Zeppelin Show

That was fun!  Actually, this might be the best show of the three Drew's been in so far.  It was great!

The show was at a place downtown Seattle called the Crocodile.

In the window, along with lots of other artists, the School of Rock Led Zep poster was featured (bottom right).

 before the show...

Several friends came, but I didn't get pictures of everyone.  At least I got this one of Baylee with her friends Lily and Abby.

And this one of Zach and Bethany. 

This was my favorite part of the night.  For about 40 seconds, in the middle of a song called "Heartbreaker," Drew was the only one on the stage playing.  

A Birthday, a Scare, and Some Nerves

It's Zach's birthday!  He turned 19 today.  He (as usual) wants a low-key celebration:  just family and cake and maybe a couple presents.  We can do that! 

So I had a scare today after Baylee's swimming class.  We were in the locker room.  I was sitting on one of the benches, waiting for Baylee to get out of the shower, when an Asian woman ran up to me.  "Your daughter!  She collapsed!"  I jumped up and ran to the shower, visions of her sprawled out on the floor going through my head.  When I got there, though, she wasn't there.  "Where is she?!" I said to her friend from class, an Asian girl who's probably the daughter of the woman.

"She's in the bathroom!"

I turned around to where the stalls are and I could see Baylee sitting on the floor in one of them.  I walked over and looked in...she hadn't locked the door...and she was hanging over the toilet, throwing up pretty hard.  After 30 seconds or so she finished, and then she said, "Okay, wow.  I feel a lot better."  lol  Sheesh.  She'd worked too hard in that practice, I guess.  Anyway, she was fine at that point.  I, on the other hand, had just had a huge surge of adrenaline and felt more than a little ill myself.

Drew's walking around unloading all of his fears and nerves about the upcoming show tonight.  He's worried about a solo he has that needs very exact timing, he's worried about the amp setting, etc.  Honestly, he's making me nervous.

Hindenburg

I already posted today, but I have to post again to tell you about a completely unexpected and kind of embarrassing emotional breakdown I had this afternoon.  I was helping Drew study for a Small Gas Engines test on lawn equipment (I told you it was unexpected!) and I asked him about an explosive gas that can be given off by batteries.  He didn't know.  "Really?" I said.  "Haven't you ever heard of the Hindenburg?"  He hadn't.  Well!  All thoughts of lawn machinery were forgotten as I pulled out the iPad and found two videos about the Hindenburg explosion for us to watch.  One was a newsreel, and the other was the well-known live report from Herb Morrison.

the newsreel...

the one with the distraught reporter...

As we were watching the second one I could feel myself getting more and more emotional, but I tried to hold it back.  I mean, it's embarrassing to cry when I'm supposed to be homeschooling!  (I have to admit, it happens a few times a year.  I'll be reading to the kids or we'll be talking about something, and I'll get all choked up.  The time before this was when Baylee and I were discussing what a great leader Winston Churchill was.)  It was useless, though.  Pretty soon tears were streaming down my face and, I kid you not, dripping onto the Small Gas Engines textbook.  What could I do, though?  The explosion of the Hindenburg was a terrible tragedy, and poor Herb is just beside himself in the video.  It's awful.  Finally it was over, and Drew and I were both quiet for awhile.  Then I said, as I mopped my face and blew my nose,  "Okay.  So.  Now you know.  It's hydrogen that's flammable," and we went back to studying for the test.

Friday

Man, that Roll of Thunder, Here My Cry book I was telling you about?  All kids from about 5th to 8th grade should read it.  It's wonderful...and painful.  It gives such a clear, heart-breaking look at what the Jim Crow laws did to the south.

Drew had a full dress rehearsal last night for Led Zep.  The show is tomorrow.

I did something out-of-character the other day:  I went to a complete stranger's house for free homeschooling stuff.  The stranger's mother-in-law, who's an acquaintance of mine, put on FB that her son and daughter-in-law are moving, and that they have a lot of homeschooling stuff they're giving away.  Their daughter has graduated and they don't want to lug it all to their new home.  Anyway, I emailed the woman, got her address, and Baylee and I went over there.  We came home with a whole basketful of things! 

Baylee has a dog-walking job a couple days a week, and the other day I got this picture of her doing it.  She and I have been walking together lately, because the weather is beautiful and her company is fun.  (And because there's been a spree of crime in our neighborhood...petty theft mostly...and I feel better walking with her.)

We've got a full weekend coming up.  It's Zach's birthday on Saturday; Baylee has two swimming classes on Saturday morning, her last competitive skills class and a free style/backstroke clinic; Drew has his Led Zeppelin show on Saturday evening; and Sunday is Father's Day.  It's gonna be a little bit crazy. 

Thursday

Is it weird that Baylee and I had this conversation?

Her:  Mom, what gender was our old car?
Me:  It was female.
Her:  Right!  But why do you think so?
Me:  Because it had high cheek bones.
Her:  Okay, yeah!  What gender is our new car?
Me:  It's a boy.
Her:  Yes!

Yesterday Baylee decided to knit while we read and discussed the 1960's for her history lesson.

We're often just a bit ahead in the textbook portion of Baylee's history (We use 2 "spines":  Landmark History of the American People and Children's Encyclopedia of American History.) compared to the novel portion.  Like I said, right now in the textbooks we're up to the 1960's, but in the books she's reading she's still back at the Great Depression.  She's reading a Newbery award winner having to do with the sadness and unfairness of discrimination, set in the 1930's south, called Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.  She's really enjoying it.

 
And she's reading Thimble Summer, also a Newbery winner.  This one is set during the depression in Wisconsin.

Writing Assignment

Baylee finished her writing course (Writing Strands) a week or so ago, but she still has the writing assignments in her English curriculum to complete.  This last chapter of English covers making notes to yourself, using those notes to make an outline, and then using the outline to write a 1-page composition.  Here's one she wrote today:

I was very excited when my yearly camping trip was coming up.  In fact, I counted down the days on an app I have on my iPod!  Every Memorial Day weekend I go with my friend Molly and her family to a campground by Lake Chelan.  It’s one of my favorite times of the whole year.

A couple of days before the trip, Molly’s family and I went to a store called Trader Joe’s and picked out a whole bunch of good food, and I had a  spectacular time doing that with them. Driving to the campsite was also fun. I watched a TV show called Lost on a laptop with my friend Molly in the backseat, and when the laptop died, Molly, her little a brother, Jojo, and I played a game. One thing about the drive is that without traffic, it’s four hours. With traffic, it’s six hours. It’s a very long drive, and there is very little space because the car is packed with all the luggage.  Whatever the case may be, we always have a good time on our way there.

Our time camping at Lake Chelan was absolutely wonderful! There was a milkshake place that Molly and I loved to go to, and there was also a shop with the world’s best ice cream.  Right by that shop was a playground that we liked to hang out at sometimes. Another thing we did was jump in the lake, and the lake was very cold! I never stayed in it for long, but Molly always swam around for awhile.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about Lake Chelan was the friends we made. There is a church who goes there the same time as we do, and the kids from that church are always at the playground. We got to know a bunch of them, and I hope we see them again someday.

My time at Lake Chelan was so much fun.  I can’t wait until next year when I go again!

Baylee
6/11/14
1-Page Composition Assignment

Misc.

Drew and Baylee started taking their standardized tests today.  Blah.

I took this picture yesterday morning.

Baylee is learning about pollution in her last chapter of science.  So far she's driven me slightly nuts with her constant questions and concerns regarding the state of our earth.  "Mom!  Do our cleaning products have phosphates in them?!"  Or, "The oceans are full of garbage!  What are we going to do about it?!"  I'm like a deer in the headlights every time she does that subject.

Drew had his first rehearsal for the house band last night.  First, though, there was a parent meeting where the director gave a run-down of expectations, information, etc.  I left that meeting feeling secretly, but completely, freaked out.  This is going to take a lot of time, and it taps into all my weird little fears:  meeting new people, driving to places I'm unfamiliar with, finding parking, etc.  Drew, on the other hand, left the 3-hr rehearsal that happened after the meeting feeling exhilarated.  He thinks he's going to love this.

Speaking of that, last night at that meeting I found out something I've always  wondered about:  What happens if a kid is sick on the day of a show and can't do it?  The answer is they call a member of the house band to fill in.  That person has a few hours to learn all the sick kid's music.  I guess one time a kid got sick at the show...he started throwing up...so they called two house band members to take over that kid's parts.  When they arrived the director handed them iPods with the songs on them and said "Learn these.  You have fifteen minutes."  They did it and they did a good job.

Different Things

Yesterday Baylee was walking around the house singing "Smooth Criminal," but instead of using the real lyrics she was singing the word "Buttafuoco" over and over again.  Like, "Butta butta butta fuoco!  Buttafuoco!  Buttafuoco!"

I stopped her.  "Baylee?  Where did you hear that word?"

"From one of the kids down the street.  Why?  What does it mean?"

"It's the name of a man.  Joey Buttafuoco.  He...uhh..."

"What about him?"

"Well, his wife cut his p***s off one night while he was sleeping."

"What?!  Why???"

"I don't know.  She was mad."

"Did he die?!"

"No, I think the hospital was able to...umm...sew it back on."

Horrified, Baylee walked away, probably scarred for life.  That's when I googled and found out that I totally had the wrong guy.  Joey Buttafuoco had women problems, yes, but they didn't involve amputation.  I was thinking of John Bobbitt.  Oops!

Baylee and Rachel made this silly video...

The neighbors, whose nanny got married a couple days ago, gave us a flower arrangement from the wedding.  They said they had so many left over that they didn't know what to do with them all.  We're lucky!

And last night Drew went to an organ recital at an Episcopal cathedral.  His friend, Nick, was playing in it and invited Drew to attend.  Nick is my favorite of Drew's friends.  He's polite, smart, and he laughs at my jokes.  He's also very talented musically, playing both the piano and the organ.

A Couple More College Pics

This was, I kid you not, my side of the dorm room during my freshman year.  I loved my roommate, but she was a complete slob.  Rather than let it drive me crazy, I decided to join her.

My sophomore year I had a different roommate, and she was the exact opposite.  I loved her, too, but she was a super clean freak.  Her boyfriend at the time used to do a hilarious impersonation of how she reacted the time during open dorms that he brought a piece of cake into our room and accidentally dropped it the floor.  (Spoiler:  She freaked out.)

And this was taken the summer between my freshman and sophomore years.  I spent that entire summer in Australia, and while I was there my mom sent me this picture in a letter.  It's my sister with her new little kitten, "Roxanne." 

 

College Days

The other day I was cleaning, and I found a box of pictures from my college days.  What a fun surprise!  I decided to scan a few to share with you.

Moving in, first day of freshman year in college.  That's my sister, Lindsey, and that's my dorm room.

At a bonfire during my freshman year.

On Christmas break, freshman year.  Apparently my brother, Eric, is beating me up.  LOL

Christmas break, freshman year.  That's my grandma and grandpa.  They're both gone now.

With my brother on summer break after my freshman year. 

 Sitting in the dorm hallway with friends sophomore year.

I started dating Mike at the beginning of my junior year.  Later that year we both had parts in the school play.

 We continued dating through my senior year.

 

 

With my mom at my graduation.

With Mike on that same day.

Mike and I were married a month after I graduated.  I love this picture that was taken during the wedding rehearsal.  It's my dad and I practicing the "walking me down the aisle" part.