Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas! After nine holiday seasons here with no snow, one would think I’d get used to it and could find the spirit of the season some other way. Alas, no! It just doesn’t feel like Christmas!!! A snow trip is in order, don't cha think? Those of you in snowy climes need to build a snowman just for me! And while you do that, I'll jot down some highlights of our year!

Our house no longer has any believers—at least not in the secular sense of the word! I think that means I’m old? Yet, even though I have two old enough to drive, neither one of them does. Luckily, their friends do, and, equally lucky, I only drop off/pick up at two schools this year instead of four. It’s so liberating!!! After getting my children to school, I head to their former elementary school where I’m the librarian. It’s just 20 hours a week this year, for 1000 students, but it’s still a job I love. While Christmas shopping for the first time yesterday, I ran into three of “my” little ones. The adulation is so sweet!!! Likely, everything else that keeps me busy is the same sort of activities and tasks that keep you dashing.

Greg loves his dog and his job—not a lot of new there. Via Liesl, he and the boys have discovered Dr. Who episodes this year, though. That’s new. And he’s had a couple "promotions" (with no raises :( ) this past year which means a lot more travel. He did get to go to some new places, such as scenic Amarillo, TX, and he has more opportunities to learn about different parts of the nuclear weapon complex. He also got to go to Germany this year. Without me, naturally. No fair! When he first told me he was going, I was excited for him. When he mentioned it again, I said, "Now, you're just taunting." One of his trips necessitated Rhiannon playing “father” to Ralph at back-to-school night since Ralph had familiar teachers and Hans didn’t. Just now, Greg walked Champ to the door to show him that no one was there and his baying was misplaced. Greg’s a very indulgent dog owner!

Liesl graduated!!! She’s now a student at a local, highly regarded community college while she decides what she really wants to be when she grows up. She doesn’t like her dad’s uptick in travel since that means a two-hour train+bus commute to school instead of a 30-minute ride with him plus a short bus leg. So she’s been practicing her driving skills in a local high school parking lot with us. Just gotta find the right incentive!!! The days she’s not at school, she nannies two adorable little boys. And she makes lots of money house-sitting. She and her best friend just attended the San Francisco Ballet’s “Nutcracker” performance in the best non-box seats, followed by a fancy dinner in the city, and dressed to the 9s. They’ve been planning it for a year and had as much fun preparing as attending!

Rhiannon’s in the midst of that grueling junior year with two zero period classes, one seventh period class, plus four AP and French 3 classes in between. Luckily, choir is a highlight of each day! And while it has no official homework, there are so many performances!!! Since she wants to miss no part of the high school experience, she spends what spare time she has dating (finally 16!), attending sporting events, playing Powder Puff football, and hanging with friends. Plus, she still loves singing. She was Belle for her school’s Beauty and the Beast production and is part of the Modesto opera’s chorus. “He_ _ Week” for The Mikado is next month—which is also rehearsals for the school musical, two family birthdays, a trip to see West Side Story, and rehearsals and performance for honor choir—but that’s nothing compared to “he_ _ week” for Carmen which is during AP testing this May. Niiiiice. Not.

Ralph came in to read this and thought I’d misspelled “nice” in that last sentence. He’s the mathematician/scientist in the family and likes things just so in some regards. When one of his siblings was complaining about math, Ralph asked how anyone could hate it, how anyone could miss the beauty of always knowing when an answer was right! The rest of the time, he’s on cruise control. He is the stereotypical California beach kid (who only sees a beach once each summer) with his bright blond curls and his mad soccer skills. His team is ranked top 20 in Northern California and has climbed levels steadily over the years from bronze to silver to gold and now to premiere. It’s been fun watching these boys grow up together. Right now, he’s trying to decide which high school to attend next year. Older friends (and siblings) are, naturally, lobbying for their schools . . .

Hans is adjusting to the middle school better than I even hoped! The 6th grade GATE teacher beloved by Liesl, Rhiannon, and Ralph retired this summer, so the new teacher was a complete unknown. Since Hans is unencumbered by a need to please authority figures unless he really, really, really likes them, this was a huge concern. Thankfully, he loves his new teacher; gratefully, so do Greg and I. Hans is enjoying his new band teacher, too, and has actually learned to play his drum this year. And he’s started to like P.E. and Scouts as well. Better yet, he just signed up for the drama club, so his passionate side will get an appropriate venue. Leo and Ohotnik (“hunter” in Russian since he’s a Russian gray), our two new cats, are his constant companions.

Other highlights of the year? Touring three national parks this summer (Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef), spending 24 hours on a working farm—complete with horseback riding—with a dear college roomie and her family, enjoying the Lion King in Vegas, celebrating another Carlson family reunion in Spanish Fork Canyon, visiting with family and friends while in SLC, and attending the last (sob, sniffle, sigh) Harry Potter midnight IMAX premiere with our California “family.” No glorious trips abroad, no shopping sprees, no honors or awards—just life in general. The lowlight? Greg’s losing almost all of my photos from the southern Utah portion of our trip. You know me. I cried. And cried.

Luckily, those were pretty much my only tears of the year, so my blessings have been duly noted and appreciated. You all—and our experiences together even now—are definitely on my thankful list. I hope you are happy—enough—and healthy—enough. If Facebook is any indication, you are. It’s such a treat to keep up throughout the year with many of you. Please come visit any time you’re in the San Francisco Bay area. That would be such a delightful treat! Until then, may your Christmas be merry and your New Year happy!!! With all my love to you and yours!

Christmas at the Archbolds!

Just thought I'd share some photos from our Christmas season! Click on the first photo to see more.

Merry Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas! My fondest wish is that this letter finds you happy and healthy, loved and laughing, peaceful and prosperous. Unfortunately, I can’t claim that those blissful states describe my family; fortunately, I can say there are glimpses of heaven. Admittedly, those times are rare, but they do occur. For those moments, I’m indeed grateful. And, I have to confess, although the unorthodox events in our family life can be painful and frustrating, they’re also—strangely—amusing and “character-building.”

As usual, we’ve enjoyed the together events like vacations home to Utah. The highlight was definitely Greg’s niece’s wedding, but other perks were our annual jaunt to the Kamas pool (that technology hasn’t yet made it to California) and the never-long-enough visits with family and friends. Other than that, our year really does revolve around the Harry Potter premier with our dearest Tracy friends who are practically family now. After July 2011, things are looking bleak!

Hans, nearly 11, is in his last year of elementary school. Gasp. My baby’s growing up! I was never one of those moms who cried (unless they were tears of joy) when her children went to Kindergarten. But I just might cry on Hans’ last day of fifth grade. Often prickly, sometimes charming, always creative, Hans is an enigma to me. His computer skills are phenomenal; honed by his daily fan-fiction writing—Sonic and Phineas & Ferb are faves. He has lots of followers and is currently writing a novel. Hans’ other passion is still Legos. Anytime he closets himself in his room for hours, Greg and I know we’ll soon be summoned to view a new diorama. Incredible! His color of choice is black, his length of hair is long, and his overall look is “emo.” Or so I’m told. Hans tolerates—with varying degrees of grace—the lesser of life’s activities: taking showers, going to school, playing drums, attending Scouts. Swimming, luckily, is still a bonding experience with his dad.

Ralph, almost 13, has yet to experience the awkwardness of middle school. Oddly enough, I’m hoping it appears soon. Better now than in high school, eh? With a golden boy demeanor, life is pretty smooth sailing for him. Teachers, leaders, girls, guys, parents, grandparents, team mates, classmates, and family friends alike seem to enjoy Ralph’s company. None of his competitors, though, on the soccer field do. We marvel that he’s never had a yellow card. He’s aggressive, but clean. School and trumpet and Scouting are fun, but soccer is a passion. Alarms were set at ungodly hours this summer so Ralph and Greg could wake for world cup soccer games—even while on vacation!!! When his beloved (because they’re orange like his team is orange) Dutch team lost, he was crushed. There was much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth! At church, turning 12 meant he’d be able to pass the sacrament to our congregation. That he does so with such reverence is both humbling and thrilling to me.

Rhiannon, 15 and a sophomore, lives to sing. She turned down a position she earned at the rival high school to sing at Kimball and has never regretted it. This fall, she spent Tuesday and Wednesday nights rehearsing her role as Wendy in the school’s Peter Pan musical, Thursdays traveling to Modesto and singing with the Townsend Opera Players (as their youngest member), Fridays performing a few songs with her former P.E. teacher’s (from 4th and 5th grade) rock band, and Sundays practicing with the church choir. And this spring, she’ll perform—along with her chorus role in the Gallo Center’s Romeo and Juliet—as her high school’s only participant in the regional honor choir. At first glance, Rhiannon seems synonymous with sing, sing, sing. Except that she’s also obsessed with boys, boys, boys. Since she’s one day shy of 9 months too young to date, that whole boy thing is a frustration to us all. It’s also a source of great amusement. A couple weeks ago, she asked me if any of my friends had any “hot” sons. So if your sons fall into that category, let’s introduce them—in another decade!!!

Liesl, a 17-year-old senior, can hardly wait to enter the adult world of “after high school.” She has no idea what a culture shock that will be. She’s a brilliant young woman who doesn’t yet have any real inkling of what or who she wants to be—aside from Cutty (a hospital administrator) in Fox’s House series. She loves trivia, cool websites, friends, parties, cooking, friends, TV/computers, decorating, friends, clothes, movies, friends, swimming, music, and friends—especially guy friends since they come with no drama attached. So our house, on bio night (and many others), is filled with her bright male friends. A self-professed music geek and techno nerd, Liesl—in her role as choir TA—has impressed her school’s book keeper so much the book keeper is begging Liesl to let her write a letter of recommendation for her. Strong-willed, independent, social, highly organized, computer savvy, Liesl will be an asset to some company, somewhere, sometime.

Greg (as you can tell, we go in age order and my sweetie NEVER lets me forget that I’m “older”) is a happy man. He has his trusty sidekick, Champ; his USNA football wins over Notre Dame and Army; his cool job where he’s paid to blow things up; his 20-year-reunion trip to Annapolis; and his Wii online soccer. What more could he ask for (besides dinner on the table--ever)? Unfortunately, he’s had no overseas trips this year; fortunately (for me—I’m writing this!), he’s had no overseas trips this year. He did go “over 20” this year in his naval career and so is officially retired as a Commander. He’s also the Webelos leader in Scouts and teaches those same 10-year-old boys in Sunday School where he’s continually amused by Hans’ long locks/black shirt combo and the others’ missionary (#2 on top; #1 on sides) haircuts and white shirts. Believe you me, Greg instigates every havoc-wreaking episode during sharing time—like pulling all the popsicle sticks (used to fairly apportion turn-taking) and replacing them all with Hans’ and his classmates’ names. Sigh.

Me? I’m thrilled because a seed I planted at the local library last year paid off on Thursday. Even though I’m too busy with my family and school librarian position to substitute at the city library anymore, I asked my old boss to let me know when they were disposing of an encyclopedia set. The call came Tuesday and my school now gets to trade up 20 years (!) from a 1986 version to a 2006 one—for free!!! In my 3 years at an elementary school for 1000 K-5 students (90 percent qualify for free or reduced lunch), I’ve had a budget of zero. Free is SWEET! So are the hugs I get all over town from “my kids.” My other kids, the four at home, keep me busy doing what your kids keep you busy doing: driving, cleaning, chatting, lecturing, driving, chuckling, clothes-washing, paper-editing, driving, mentoring, loving, cheering, teeth-grinding, waiting, driving, praying, crying, laughing, driving. As you can imagine, the parenting break Greg and I relished in Annapolis was all-too-brief. Happily, it was a triple reunion and included get-togethers with our Annapolis church friends, Greg’s naval academy classmates and their wives (who I cherish), and our Pasadena (submarine) buddies. Sadly, there wasn’t time to include so many other friends. Next time . . .

Loving you, missing you, and wishing you the merriest of Christmases, the happiest of New Years. Tschüss!

Annual News for 2009!

Click on the photo above to view picture highlights of our 2009 year!

Nothing in our lives has been particularly wonderful or wicked this year, just wild. Our Christmas tree was lit and decorated Sunday, December 20. There were few if any other decorations. Presents were stuffed in gift bags--untagged and untissued--on Christmas Eve. I could nobly say this was intentional--a quest to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas; alas, that would be a lie. Each year, I’m more firmly convinced that twenty-four hours just don't go as far for me as they seem to for everyone else. Sigh.

Hans, almost 10, is fence-sitting fourth grade. Doesn’t love it, doesn’t hate it, but is, unfortunately, closer to the latter than the former. He chose to play viola, but now refuses, so will be re-selecting another instrument after the holidays. His every waking moment—-aside from those detestable ones spent doing homework, chores and bathing—-is spent creating with Legos. He designs and builds Star Wars fighters, then takes them to school and trades them for clones and what-not. His creations are highly coveted.

Ralph, 12 (and a deacon!!!) at the end of January, has loved the transition to middle school/sixth grade. In large measure, that’s due to P.E. being daily. Every day, I ask how his day was; every day, he says it was great. Inevitably, the highlight happened in P.E. But he also loves the rest of his day—-especially because his guy and gal pals in his core classes are all competitive soccer players, too. Trumpet has recently become important to him. Last year, he never practiced; this year, he practices almost daily because he has to be graded—-in front of EVERYONE in the band—-every week. He’s gone from 5th chair to 2nd, so is learning—-no surprise to any parent anywhere—-that practice makes perfect!

Rhiannon, 14 and a freshman at the brand-new (and not-completed) Kimball High, loves the idea of high school. She’d been hoping for a challenge and bemoans the fact that it’s easier than her 8th grade year, but she’s still enjoying the social aspects, the French class, the well-stocked library, the volleyball team (and, hopefully, softball) plus the award-winning choir director. For the winter concert, she performed a solo of “On My Own” from Les Miserables and brought the house down. It was SO exciting! Here's a video link. She also plays violin in the Central Valley Youth Symphony. In honor of that accomplishment, Santa brought her a certificate for a violin of her own which she redeemed in San Francisco today. Ecstatic would be too tame a word for how she feels right now!

Liesl, 16, is a junior across town at the old, established Tracy High in their performing arts program. She has great pals and has loved the freedom that comes with friends who have licenses. For a multitude of reasons—-spelled no time or money—-we haven't yet signed her up for driver’s ed. For Liesl, high school is all social. Although no one doubts her placement in IB, both her parents and teachers alike have given up on convincing her that grades matter. She’ll have to figure it out on her own! Until then, we enjoy her literary insights, her brilliant piano playing, and her awesome cooking skills. She continues to enjoy swim team practice but not competitions. Oh, and texting! That’d be an A+ if it were graded.

Greg spent November (from Halloween day to pre-Thanksgiving day) gallivanting about--oops! I mean working ferociously in England. He’s traveled elsewhere, I’m sure, this year, but my psyche is too scarred from this last trip to remember. Oh, and he’s discovered “Screaming Monkeys” on Woot and orders them whenever available. They rank right up there with Mountain Dew as his safe addiction of choice. For anything additional, read last year’s entry.

I could say the same thing about myself—-except I’d add that having 4 children at 4 schools is killing me! I’m still an elementary school librarian although that status will almost certainly change once a quarter of our school district’s budget is slashed (after another quarter cut in the last 7 years) in the coming months. Whatever bad news you read about California is unfortunately true. This year, I proposed a somewhat radical trial to provide library visits weekly to all 47 classes at my school--by combining classes. I figured I could as easily read to 50 or 60 students as to 25 or 30. It’s successful for them but stressful for me. Still, since next year they may not have library at all, it seemed imperative to frontload as much as possible.

Hope your holiday season was filled with peace and harmony and love. I miss all of you and eagerly anticipated, then enjoyed, hearing from you. Thanks for keeping in touch! Happy 2010!

Merry Christmas!

Click on this photo to see more holiday photos! Happy New Year!

School Year!

Yes, our school district loves my children so much it has forced all four to go to four different schools. It's a carpooling nightmare!!! Luckily, all are happily ensconced, so . . .

Liesl, a junior at Tracy High, has a heavy load with 3 IB courses. She loves what she loves (History and Science) and hates what she hates (Math). Her time is spent doing homework, texting friends, and sleeping. She's lobbying for permission to cook all our dinners (30-60 minutes a day) instead of doing her chores (10 minutes tops). I'm still contemplating. Is there some catch here?

Rhiannon, a freshman at Tracy's newest high school--Kimball, is finding high school easier academically than middle school. Eeek! She's on the volleyball team and plays violin in the Central Valley Youth Symphony. Last week, she and a friend sang--in gorgeous two-part harmony--the Canadian National Anthem at a football game between her high school and a visiting team from the North!

Ralph is a sixth-grader at Williams Middle School. He's the third of our children to have the beloved Wes Huffman as a core teacher (4 classes), plus he plays trumpet in the band and absolutely LIVES for P.E. His teacher must be in heaven! Ralph keeps busy with Scouts and his competitive soccer team, the Lyones.

Hans is a fourth-grader at South/West Park Elementary this year. His teacher, Cynthia Angell, has now taught ALL of my children and each of them loves her dearly. Hans is learning viola this year at school; at home, he designs Star Wars Lego pieces and reads Harry Potter. His favorite reading spot is our ratty living room couch. It is forever bedraggled!

Autumn Memories

Finally! It's only taken 10 months to update this blog--and all I've done is change the background. If all goes well, I'll be adding a few new photos and maybe even some video. Wish me luck!

Merry Christmas 2008

What a wonderful Christmas it's been--despite no extended family and no white stuff! Last night, friends invited us over to enjoy a traditional English holiday feast complete with roast beef (which inevitably makes me think of the Grinch's roast beast), Yorkshire pudding, brussel sprouts, and roasted potatoes. Yum. The not-so-traditional part consisted of extras like grapes, salad, orange rolls--and the trifle for dessert. Double yum.

Between the two couples, we have eight children! So after dinner, they performed the nativity play for us. Hans played Joseph,

Ralph doubled as a sheep and as Herod,

Rhiannon provided the "three wise camels,"

Liesl served as videocamerawoman,

I snapped photos, and Greg hosted our friends' toy creche--courtesy of their youngest child.

What a sweet almost-end to the day! Once home, the kids rushed to open Aunt Margo's pajama packages--a beloved tradition now--then more or less scurried off to bed with few complaints. Our own Christmas miracle! Ralph woke us a few hours later, too excited to sleep any longer. Unfortunately for him, 7:00 was our pre-arranged, set-in-stone wake-up agreement time, so he suffered a wee bit. Oh, but it was worth it! Just check out Hans' face as he raced down the stairs this morning. In their own ways, his siblings' faces matched.

Everyone desperately needed long-sleeved shirts and Santa came through. Even Greg got some new shirts from all of us. I heard him telling his folks over the phone that it'll be a nice change from the trio of winter shirts he's worn these past 6 years. Hmmmm . . . Good thing he's a physicist. I'm deep in the middle of a fascinating book, memoirs of the last child born in MacBeth's castle, called "A Charmed Life."

Hans constructed Lego creations all day (he's determined to be a Lego designer when he grows up), Liesl's been loading Ralph's new iPod and Rhiannon's new iPod touch with music from their joint library (she got a camera), Ralph's been playing Wii (a year-old gift) games, and Greg's been helping everyone. Me? I've been talking on the phone with family, downloading photos, sending them, writing this, reading, and making the boys' blankets that should have been finished this morning. Luckily, they took it all in stride.

Christmas Newsletter 2008

Merry Christmas! Are you familiar with the opening stanza of "White Christmas;" the part that talks about the sun shining, the grass being green, the orange and palm trees swaying? I've been humming that song all day while writing Christmas cards. I SO need snow. Need it desperately to catch the spirit of this wondrous time of year. Don't misunderstand me. I know the "reason for the season" and believe it fervently. But I believe in my Savior 24-7-365 and don't need a holiday reminder. The Christmas spirit I'm dreaming of is cozy and warm and magical and jolly and breathtakingly beautiful. And, for me--a California girl born and bred, but a Utahn at heart--that spirit starts with the fluffy white stuff. Having a blooming bouganvillea framing my front door instead of bare, frosted branches is just plain wrong. After 6 (long) Christmases here, it still feels odd NOT to have snow. Sigh.

Other than that, we're all happy and healthy and heartily enjoying Christmas traditions and festivities galore. Today, December 22, is the first quiet day we've all--besides Greg--had in months. No lessons, no practices, no school, no work, no homework, no games, no place to be. It's picked up a bit this evening with Hans delivering some Christmas presents with Greg and Rhiannon attending a holiday party, but, overall, it's been a deliciously lazy day.

Liesl, as might be expected, is our social butterfly. The child who always craved noise and action and change still does. Instead of almost literally bouncing off walls, she now flits from one activity to another, either involved herself or supporting friends who are. She's got an awesome group of friends--boys and girls--who're largely interested in music, good grades, and more music. Liesl hosted a Christmas party here Friday night that started and ended with everyone gathered 'round the piano playing holiday songs or original compositions and singing. Combined with lots of laughing and playing, chatting and eating, the party was an excellent post-finals stress buster and a fabulous way for me to get to know her friends even better. Liesl's still in the dual piano-performance and pre-IB pathway at her high school and starts swim team practices in a couple weeks. Yes, folks, it's California!
Rhiannon, an eighth-grader who starts each day in a THS geometry class, desperately hopes the next half of the school year speeds by so she'll truly be a high schooler. The two of us spent spring break with her best friend and her bff's mom on a school-sponsored trip to Boston/NYC. While in Boston, she succumbed to the Harvard allure and is determined to enroll there someday. It's not the school I'd choose for her, but it's a fantastic and realistic goal, so why not dream? Rhiannon's still involved in soccer and softball, violin and choir, with some drama on the side. For the past two years, the city's musical director has chosen a play with Rhiannon in mind to sing the lead, but each time it falls through because of our vacation or girls camp schedule. Even so, Rhiannon's getting lots of chances to solo and is, finally, starting voice lessons in a few weeks. Her two choir directors have been playfully competing to teach her. And, like her sister, Rhiannon loves Twilight and the three of us attended a midnight premiere of the movie release.
Fifth-grader Ralph is still a sports fiend in both the actual and virtual worlds. American football is definitely numero uno, but since I won't let him play, he contents himself with baseball and soccer. For some reason, he's been unusually lucky with his soccer teams and coaches and has had one fantastic season after another. He's playing, again, on a competitive soccer team (until baseball starts up) and is one of three non-hispanic boys. His combination of speed and blond hair attract a lot of attention! Ralph loves school--especially plays, his friends, and his teacher. A new district music policy this year stipulated that percussion would not be taught until 6th grade, so Ralph's dream of drum-playing took a one-year hiatus while he strengthens his music-reading skills with the trumpet. And Ralph has just bridged into Scouting after earning his Arrow of Light.
Eight-year-old Hans has the worlds' most incredible teacher (and one of my best friends) who thinks he's a genius and who can finesse him out of temper tantrums, doldrums, grumpiness--whatever might be ailing him. And when he's on, he's on! Excitedly, he has a lead in the class play and will be playing one of the crooks who hoodwinks the Emperor with "new" clothes. Hans is considering taking up baseball again, although we're trying to guide him out of it and into something more his style--like swimming or martial arts or tumbling. For him, life revolves around Star Wars, friends, Legos, and artwork. Our house is overflowing with Hans' drawings, comic strips, and Lego inventions--constant evidence of his continually flowing creativity. Plus, he loves to sing and we love to listen.
Greg's still employed at Lawrence Livermore even though 500 others lost their jobs this year. At the lab, they say the physicists are king, so it wasn't a huge surprise, but it was a stressful time nonetheless. The love affair between Greg and his dog, Champ, is as intense as ever. They're a cute pair and communicate well with each other. We deliberately never spoke baby talk to our children, but Greg has no such qualms with Champ. It's like he's a kid with his first pet and it makes him even more loveable to me! At church, Greg's the Cubmaster AND gospel doctrine teacher and is a natural at both.

My life has changed considerably since October when I became the new librarian at my boys' school. One of the former librarians retired and another chose a move "up" to one of the middle schools. So the two libraries, an upper school and a lower school one, were combined and I now care for 1,000 students--one-half bilingual, one-third socio-economically disadvantaged, and the rest GATE--and 20,000+ books. It's been enormously overwhelming, yet intensely rewarding. Luckily, my hours match the boys', so there are no carpool or daycare issues. And it's so much fun having Ralph or Hans open the door and wave or say hi! Of course, this could all change with the new school year--if not before--since budget cuts will force the most drastic changes ever in our school district. I still work as a substitute librarian at the city library, too. As you might imagine, I'm WAY behind on personal and home-making chores. Other people seem to handle changes like this with aplomb, but I'm not one of them. Be patient with me as I adjust . . .

And know that I--we--love and miss you! Despite my ever-more-feeble attempts at corresponding, I do think of you often and remember fondly all the wonderful, life-altering adventures we've shared. My friendship with you is cherished and treasured. Best wishes to all of you and yours in this new year. May you be filled with hope and strength, light and love.

Two Months Later . . .

. . . here's a summary of our summer.



Ralph and Hans have excelled at swimming lessons. In addition to conquering freestyle, Hans is a floater extraordinaire and Ralph has a mean backstroke. They love the lessons AND they love the free time in the outside pool afterward--Hans to play, Ralph to sun.


Liesl finished summer school yesterday. She enrolled in a PE class so that she could take French her Sophomore year. Two years of PE are mandatory in CA; two years of a foreign language are not. How's that for "educational" priorities? Of the five week class, two weeks were spent primarily indoors to escape the truly dangerous smoke (and particulate) levels and the triple-digit temps.


The first weekend in June, we participated in a Cub Scout Family Campout. Hans and Ralph overnighted with Greg in the small tent, Rhiannon squeezed with 2 friends into a pup tent, and I went home to stay with Liesl who had had a mandatory YW 3rd-year hike pack & swim test. Greg, as Cubmaster, was in charge of the fireside activities--including the requisite silly songs and skits and the less usual retiring of a flag. Very cool.

Chaos & Disappointment

After a tense, yet exciting 9 innings (2 of those were tiebreakers), Rhiannon's softball team lost their game. Highlights for Rhiannon? First run scored; single-handed double play; sportsmanlike behavior (as usual). Next games (if they don't lose again) are: Friday, 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m.

Ralph's team also lost. The Giants (2nd place) lost to the Diamondbacks (3rd place). Ralph didn't get on base, but he hit the ball both times he was at bat and it took great fielding to get him out. Greg watched the game from his post in the "Snack Shack." It was 95 degrees outside and considerably "warmer" inside. Ugh.

Liesl and Hans attended Rhiannon's game with me. They both watched some of the game but aren't fans, so . . . Liesl attended the middle school open house (Rhiannon's games are played at the school) to see her old teachers and Hans alternated between bleacher sitting, stick throwing, vine swinging, and fence climbing. Obviously, I did NOT attend the open house; luckily, Rhiannon has a 4.0 gpa. For fun, Liesl quizzed Rhiannon's teachers for me and heard nothing but compliments. At least the teachers know why we didn't show up!

Other Wednesday happenings? My regular subsitute librarian stint at the high school (every W and F), the kids' at school (no kidding), Ralph's group guitar lesson after school, Ralph's Webelos Scouts after the game (no, there was not a free moment for ANY homework); Rhiannon's violin lessons were rescheduled to yesterday and there was no YW (church youth group)for the girls because of the stake (like a diocese) beach trip on Saturday. Of course, that doesn't include getting kids to the games an hour before, carpooling kids to and from school, dinner (ha ha!), laundry, etc. Busy, busy, busy!

Mother's Day

For the big day, Hans made me a cake: yellow, with chocolate pudding frosting, 20+ candles--some in pyramid patterns, some spelling out "happy" and "day," tiny gingerbread man sprinkles, and mint-flavored "Blues Clues" decos (left over from his 2nd birthday party back in SLC). He was very proud! Liesl made me brownies, Ralph made me a couple Mother's Day cards/books, and Rhiannon gave me moral support while I created this blog.

Not to be outdone, Greg played his harmonica to accompany Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man." Liesl cringes whenever he even SAYS harmonica, but he's actually good! Greg also helped Hans with the cake, made dinner, and bought me a dozen white roses (for the purity of his love) and a dozen red ones (and for the passion of it)--or something equally romantic like that. I was in my closet Saturday, fulfilling Rhiannon's last-minute request to search for a less geeky-looking pair of black pants that she could wear to her concert, when Greg gifted me with the roses. So I missed the fine points but got the big picture!Also in honor of Mother's Day, Hans' entire 2nd grade (all 10 classes) participated in a Mother's Day tea. The kids learned words and actions to "Hey, You Beautiful Doll" (or however it's punctuated) in English and "Eres Tu" in Spanish. Plus, they recited a darling poem, served us lemonade and cookies, then gifted us with paintings and flowers in classroom-decorated vases. SOOOO cute! Here's Hans with his painting and with his best buddy, Spencer.

Community Choir

Yesterday was the first day of Rhiannon's softball tournament (hence, her softball "do") AND two performances of her community choir in our newly restored Grand Theatre (On this same stage, during the Christmas concert, Rhiannon sang a "Sleigh Bells" solo.). See if you can picture her in the group photo (7th from the right in the green shirts row); in the telephoto shot it's a cinch.

Ralph's a Giant

Thanks to what Greg called a "tragically good" tryout, Ralph did NOT get another season in Minor A baseball, a Little League division. Instead, he was drafted up with the big boys and into the Majors. I was petrified and I know Ralph's coach sensed my hesitation and unhappiness when he first called. In fact, when I first told Ralph, he was bummed and thought (like I did) that he'd sit on the bench the whole season. Of course, once I told Ralph that he'd be playing on the Giants, he felt much better. Nothing like the home team to lift a boy's spirits.

Happily, Ralph usually starts, plays at least half of each game, and is not at the bottom of the batting order. Coach drafted him for his speed, so when Ralph can get on base, he's always a scoring threat. The other boys and their parents are extremely supportive, too, which makes it fun. In a league with 7th graders (he's in 4th) who double his weight and top him by a foot or more, Ralph's holding his own. What's more, because the coaches have been so positive and such great teachers, Ralph has thrived. Because of his size, it'd be so easy for him to walk every at-bat, but he WANTS to hit. If the pitch is close, he swings and often hits. He doesn't always get on base, but he's not an easy out. Plus, his speed makes him a natural in the outfield. At this level of play, he sees lots of action there. And the Giants are in 2nd place. What more could a kid ask for?

Liesl's Piano Recital

Liesl is one of four freshmen in the high school's performing arts program's 12-person advanced piano class (make sense?). At this recital, she played--masterfully--"100 Years." I had a "fly-on-the-wall" experience listening to the strangers in front of us oohing and aahing. Too bad the piano is past its prime. The pedals creaked louder (at some times for some students) than the notes sounded.

This is Rhiannon! :D Liesl ALWAYS plays this song, and is the BEST pianist EVER!!! I'm oh-so-supportive, aren't I? She plays it soo often at home that I ditched her concert to go to mutual (a weekly church youth group), but I don't think I missed much. At her concert she wore a pretty white shirt with a cool bow thing on the side and a brown skirt. She wore her awesome high heels which she usually (but not this time) takes off to play--kinda like Brooke White, for all you American Idol fans. :D

Rhiannon & Softball

Rhiannon's finishing up her 6th season of softball (not including a 1-season baseball stint when we lived in SLC). Naturally, as her parents, we think she's awesome! Just as naturally, her coaches do, too. Rhiannon has played first base all year and was recently "promoted" to lead-off batter because she's such a fantastic bunter (she hits well in general).

Rhiannon's team, the Hurricanes, finished the regular season in second place with a 12-3 record. In Saturday morn's first end-of-season tournament game, the Hurricanes won: 9-3. Next game? Wednesday night. Stay tuned.

The photos I've posted were from throughout the season.