Scuba Trip in California

On July 19th Quayde and his very best friend Zack got to go to Catalina Island with their boy scout troop to finish their scuba requirements!

After driving and a little sight seeing in the area they boarded the Sand Dollar!

Michael had called and said that there were 11 of them in an area the size of our closet. I did not believe him until I saw the picture.

Here is the group completely excited about the all the amazing things that they were able to get to experience.

Quayde kept calling the gulls, penguins....silly boy. They were throwing food out to them and the birds were loving it.

Jumping in!

Ready, set and go down

The cheap underwater camera really did not take very good pictures but Michael got some of him down under.

This boy of mine completely loves the ocean but wasn't so thrilled with the kelp.

They were able to do about four dives in the couple of days they were on the boat.

There was lots of swimming and snorkeling too!

Quayde and the crew were able to tour lots of military bases and they went to see the Queen Mary.

There was even some just plain old beach time on Coronado.

This was one of those trip of a lifetime things. Quayde wants to purchase his own boat someday. He already has plans to buy his own gear and continue everything that he learned.  It was a week long adventure. I am so grateful for everyone that really worked hard so these young men could experience scuba and learn new skills. It took a lot of planning and work for this trip and the boys truly loved being out on the ocean.

Relatives!

Michael's sister Lori and her husband Wayne drove out from Ohio to visit with us! They arrived on Saturday afternoon and we all went down to the square to play tourist.

I love Lori's face as her coin is sailing through the air in the hopes of landing inside one of the levels of the fountain so her wish will come true.

The Mile High Square Dancers were all do-si-doeing all over the place.

We strolled along Whiskey Row and peaked in the store window's that were all ready closed.

There were pictures of old town Prescott and advertisements from way back when that caught their attention.

Lori made sure to make a small video of the children saying hi to their cousin and nana back home.

Thayne tried to get through this door and was threatened to be thrown in jail if he did not behave.

It was really nice having them here for a few days and getting to know them better. We stayed up late discussing all kinds of 'important' things and really enjoyed each other's company. They had to leave this morning and I wished they could have had a longer visit.

Make a Splash party

The end of our library's summer reading program was on Saturday morning. We started out the party by entertainment with a fantastic musical group called Sticks and Tones.

Thayne was chosen to be one of the 'instruments'. Maria would bop them on the head and they each had to make their special sound.

We then headed outside for some splash fun. The librarians got to sit under a special machine that had a large water balloon hanging above their head. Then the children threw balls at the target. Mr. Steve had stayed completely dry until Lydia got there. Doesn't he look silly as the water is hitting his head?

Amadee is a good sport as she was completely soaked most of the morning. Thayne was going to get her even more so.

Splashy treats were fruit bars and goldfish crackers.

It was so much fun and believe it or not Thayne did not get wet at all.

We love our librarians and everything they do for us!

Hidden places

On Friday, I was at the Prescott Art Docents site looking for information about the class Lydia took this summer in June. I noticed a picture of an art installation that is at the college. Under the picture it talked about the artists having more installations at Stricklin park. I have lived in this town for a very long time and had no idea where this park was. I had never even heard of Stricklin park before. The parks and recreation web site was very helpful in finding directions to this elusive place.

So the littles and I headed out for a small adventure. Small is right. It is not really a park but a few reserved acres for the start of a hiking/biking trail. The bridge that starts the trail is tiny and the weeds are over Lydia's head.

There was not any sign but I believe this circle of stones is one of the installations. The littles had so much fun running around and around inside the circle. Thayne even did some mini rock climbing.

Lydia is contemplating if she can actually get on top of the rock like Thayne.

We were having a pretty good time and then thunder and rain caught us a little bit by surprise.

Raindrops were falling on his head. So we ran back to the van and ate our snack of pretzels and bananas until we needed to journey back home.

It was fun discovering a place we did not know was there before but...there is not much there for us to go back anytime soon.

Planning for Quayde

As I am planning and prepare for our school year, once again I am coming to Eric Fairman's work with delight. His Path of Discovery books are so filled with verses, information and ideas. They are worth more than what he charges. Quayde will be doing a combo year of eight and ninth and I am loving how Fairman reemphasises that children this age need experiential learning and movement in their lessons. In his eight grade curriculum he has this wonderful list that we are going to take and implement some of these activities.

*Work and develop a herb garden

*Research and produce a herbal soap

*Research and produce a healthy sunscreen or lotion

*Build and manage a weather station

*Water watch - monitor toxins in a river or creek

*Research and produce an environmentally friendly/efficient bio-diesel fuel

*Convert a diesel engine to run on bio-diesel

*Create a frog pond to preserve frog species

*Design and build a solar windmill to generate electricity to charge a battery

*Design and produce functional articles from wood

*Design and produce more involved items of clothing

*Build a straw/mudbrick/rammed earth construction

*Design and build a cob oven

*Cooking classes

*Shakespeare play

There are many, many more things on his list! I am going to take the merit badge requirements for Boy Scouts and match them with Quayde's curriculum this year. I think this is going to be a very full year of wonderful creative things for Quayde.

QOTD

I went out to check on the littles in the backyard and Lydia says,"Look Mom! We're out here making a paradise!"

Confession

My fifth grade teacher was old. Mrs. Clark knew how to knit and she was determined everyone in her class was going to learn and make a hat. I can not recall a finished hat memory! I remember the round needles and learning.

When we came to Waldorf two decades ago, I tried to be perfect. Perfect storyteller, perfect beeswax models, perfect blackboard drawings , perfect knitting etc.... It didn't work. If you are like me, reading all the great blogs....everyone is "perfect" at all of those things. Guess what? I still have fifth grade knitting skills. No matter how hard I try; I suck at knitting. I excel at other things though. Although blackboard drawings will never be perfect. Waldorf is about growing, not about being perfect. You can bring all your love to your lessons and your children will feel that. It's good enough. So be gentle with yourself.  I am sure that you probably can make a better washcloth. Even with all my uneven stitches, it is the process. My children watch me creating something that has a purpose and though it is not perfect, they still love to use it. I still love to use it. Bring what you can to the table and keep learning. Remember the process is healing and sometimes that is all it needs to be.

Boys of summer

All of Quayde's lovely locks had to be banished from his head for his scuba trip. His mask on the last dive was blocked by his long hair. It might take him a little while to get used to it. Doesn't he look thrilled?

Summer evenings are the best!

The boys had a rousing game of ball and when you play in our backyard apparently there are four strikes that you are allowed.

Thayne is growing up too fast.

The baseball game turned into sword play as the sun set with a brilliant glow.

Our evening is ending with an Enchanted family movie night.

I wish summer was longer.

A little bit of irony

Introducing Pierce and Honeycut!

Our new rats.

Oh yes, that is correct. They have recently joined our family, were formerly Chaiya's boyfriend Cayden's.

We now have a huge cage and the responsibility of pets.

I am thinking they may require a little more attention than our dearly beloved turtle Mac, who passed away awhile ago.  Several years ago we moved into this house, fleeing another that had wild rats running through the logs. Now we are welcoming pet rats into our home.

our garden is blooming

The simple act of placing the seed in soil , watering and waiting is sometimes an act of faith.

Those first little blossoms are such a triumph as the reach out to the sun.

The hope of delicious food to come.

This year we started all of our plants from seed. In the house, in little peat pots they first grew.

Next year I will plant double the amount and start at least a month earlier. I have been transplanting to bigger pots and then placing them in our boxes. The last successful garden we had, the seeds were planted straight in the garden plot first. We are at a higher elevation here and this spring was too cold for them to survive that way. My hope for this little garden is to continue to use the seeds from these for next year. We got all heirloom/organic ones to use for our crop. I am so excited to see our plants in bloom!

hmmmmmm

Today Chaiya went into the admissions office of one of our local colleges. She had finished all of the requirements for admissions online this week and had to bring them a copy of her drivers license. While there, she asked when she needed to take the reading/english placement tests. The sweet lady behind the desk told her that she had already passed because she was able to fill out all the forms online!

Oh what do you do in the Summertime?

Have a Lemonade Stand!

This afternoon Lydia was bitten by the self-employment bug. At 1:00 she and her neighborhood friend created a way to make a little cash. The infamous lemonade stand was erected in our front yard.

Now I am a firm believer in supporting small businesses but I honestly did not have much confidence in Lydia being very successful. We live on a far back street with not a great deal of traffic.

 Oh how wrong I was. Lydia and her friend sat out there for hours. A car stopped, a neighbor came by and then more neighbors!!! By the end of the afternoon they had served many cold (very strong) glasses of lemonade and made $6.50. Smiling and happy, these two little girls felt very successful. These little things are what make summer special!

dreaming

Oh I so want one of  THESE  and to live in a town where I can drive/ride it all over!

Our Fourth of July

Waiting for the fireworks is the best part of our family tradition. Every year we get a few tubes of bracelet glow sticks, they have 15 count in the package for $1, at Michael's craft. These can be made into all kinds of shapes with the connectors. We park in our favorite spot and let the fun begin.

This year, Cayden and Chaiya decided our families should get together to know each other better. The Webbs came over to our place to enjoy dinner before we headed out to our 'secret' spot.

This is Cayden moving his glow sticks back and forth. Cool huh?

The Webbs brought ice cream and we made brownies. Larry is giving the kids a spotlight with his flashlight.

A real firework! The show was not very impressive this year but we are grateful that at least our community chose to have some. Many towns in AZ can not risk the fire possibility.

Spinning around and around make the best colors!

My husband is an amazingly creative man. He never really has explored that side of him too much in the past and over the last several years it is really starting to blossom in him. When we got home he put together a tons of the glow bracelets and attached them to the ceiling fan in our bedroom. The above picture is how cool it looked spinning around above our heads.

We even took a little movie to show how much fun it was. Thayne thought it was "awesome".

Our evening was really enjoyable getting to know Tyson and Cayden's family better. I joked with Kathy about being sorry we didn't have another older daughter for their 16 yo. Then Lydia step up and played catch with Dallin most of the evening with the glow sticks, so I think he even had a great time. Food was great, our company was delightful and over all we had a wonderful time celebrating our Country's Independence day. Thank you to my sweet husband and all the other's who have sacrificed so much to ensure we can meet, eat and enjoy with so much freedom!

At the lake

Our Thursday afternoon retreat!

I need someone to push me please!!!

Big kids pushing little kids

Big kids pushing big kids

Little kids pushing big kids

Beautiful Maliea just hanging out

You never get too old to feed the ducks!

Thayne really would like to be in the lake but he behaved himself this time.

" No, I will never take off this hat!"

We have been aching to take a vacation that probably will not happen this summer. Quayde and Michael are headed to Catalina Island to scuba on the 19th so we are funneling our resources into that trip. Going up to the lake for the afternoon helped ease our wanting to 'escape'. We had a great picnic and enjoyed that breeze that flows through the top of the pines. I always feel renewed by just breathing in that sound.