Category Archives: Sarah

Seattle Children’s Theater

Last week a good friend called with a fun proposal; she had tickets to see Wizard of Oz, performed at the Seattle Children’s Theater, but wasn’t going to be able to attend the show. She wondered if we would like to use her tickets.

Wow! What a generous offer. I was delighted to have the opportunity and promised to call her back right away. There were six tickets available. Tim was busy on Saturday and didn’t have time to spend several hours at the theater. Rachel had plans to go to Olympia with some friends. Joshua said, “no thank you,” before I even explained the offer. Hmmm. Life becomes a bit complicated as the children get older.

sarah, rachel and jenny

Rachel and her “sisters by another mother.”

I called one friend to see if she was interested in joining me at the show. She had already seen it.

“It’s wonderful! You’ll love it,” she enthused.

Nice to have an endorsement, but I still needed a decision/plan for the day. I figured I had three options:

1) Head to Seattle with the kids by myself (no other adult)
2) Forget the whole thing and give the tickets to someone else
3) Find another friend to join us

As it turns out my sweet friend, Julee, was thrilled to have the opportunity to go to the theater. She decided to bring her two daughters which left me with two tickets for my crew. I thought David (7) and Sarah (6) would probably enjoy the show the most. Joshua seemed a bit too old, Rachel was busy ice skating, and Daniel was eager to join the girls at the rink.

It was a wonderful, fantastic show! David and Sarah dressed up, of course. Sarah can never resist a chance to don her finery. We drove up to Seattle with Julee and her girls. Our seats were perfect – nice and close with a great view. The production was amazing! Julee and I were both very impressed with the way the theater handled the magic/mystical parts of the story. The songs were fun and the kids watched with wonder.

sarah my pretty

During intermission David said, “This is WAY better than I thought it was going to be.”

You have to wonder what exactly he thought it would be like seeing as 1) he’s never seen the movie or live version or 2) been to the theater before.

Ah, who knows what preconceived notions lies wrapped up in the children’s minds.

I’m so sorry Pam and her family weren’t able to take advantage of this delightful performance, but I’m very thankful she thought of me and gave us the opportunity for a very special Saturday adventure. Thank you, Pam!!

a day at the theater

My camera died right as we got to the theater, but I did manage a picture or two first.

After this experience, I can see I really must make the children’s theater a priority in our plans next year. I can’t wait to see what they have lined up for next season.

Kathy
Coming up – my new Bosch, Nutrimill and recipes!

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Birthday Bash

Today we celebrated Kathy’s birthday, and also Sarah’s birthday. This year Sarah showed her colors as a birthday ‘player’ — aware that the day is personally special and able to anticipate it, days in advance. On the first of July, she woke up early and tip-toed around the house, turning all the wall calendars to July, giggling happily. She even snuck into the boys’ room as they slept, and turned their calendar forward from June.

Sarah received a number of delightful presents, and was overjoyed to receive each and every one. She is a very satisfying gift recipient, gasping and wide-eyed with wonder almost before she knows what it is.

[slideshow=kathysarahbirthday2008]

Kathy has been hinting for quite a while that she would really like to have a set of patio furniture.

“I’d really like a set of patio furniture. Here’s the specific one; I clipped the ad from Fred Meyer (they’re open until 9), and here are your keys,” she hinted. She’s always been a little coy and hard to read about these kind of things. Choosing patio furniture can be a little overwhelming because there are several material types and hundreds or possibly thousands of styles made from those materials. The type of materials that you choose should depend on your personal preference but also on the climate where you live, whether your patio is covered or uncovered, your budget and several other factors. Furniture in the modern home comprises items of furniture, usually relatively small in comparison with the other pieces furnishing a room, which can be used on occasion when required. Such items need not be placed in a permanent position, but can be moved around according to its needs. It is not optional, but usually comprises useful items such as coffee tables and side tables. Click here if you want to know more about the antique table furniture.

“Hmmmm. Are you sure we really need it?” My first line of defense is usually to pretend that I didn’t hear her, but I could sense that wouldn’t work in this case. “That’s an awful lot of money … what would Dave Ramsey say?”

Kathy was unimpressed by my attempt to name-drop. “Dave who? So, anyway, wouldn’t a new set of patio furniture be a better use for that money you’ve been hoarding, than for some stupid computer?”

This was the crux of the matter. I earned about $600 recently doing some side work for a friend, and I’ve been, for lack of a better word, hoarding it to buy a new computer. Our newest computer is almost three years old, which is shameful for a person in my line of work. Besides, there are a lot of games I can’t play with my current setup.

Kathy and her girls

“There is no way I’m giving up that new computer! I’ve scrimped and hoarded at least three or four times, and each time, something more important comes up. Not this time!” The children had gathered as I bellowed, admiring my example of selfless sacrifice. Undaunted, I was firm in my resolve: nothing was going to stop me from buying that new computer.

Several weeks later, I stood in the garden department of a Fred Meyer, across town. My stonewalling had produced one effect: the stores near me had all gleefully sold out of the patio furniture Kathy wanted. “Curses!” I groused. With the help of a friendly clerk, I found one remaining set of patio furniture in a store in the next city over. Using a borrowed van, I bought it and thoughtfully stored the roomful of boxes in a friend’s living room. “It’ll be great,” I enthused, ignoring the way the boxed furniture hid the couch. “You’ll hardly even notice its there, har har.” Later, I heard that my friend’s children used the boxes to make a big fort, so maybe it was OK.

This morning I quietly unloaded the seats from the van and retrieved the patio set from my friend’s house under cover of early-morning mist. I must have been rather convincing in my bluster about not buying the furniture, because Kathy seemed pretty surprised. Joshua and I spent a good bit of the day assembling it, but it seems to have been well-appreciated. We lined up the first four chairs as though they were the thrones at Cair Paravel, and there was much squabbling among the children about which seat was King Peter’s, or Lucy’s.

Kathy’s friend Michelle generously took her out for a pedicure and lunch at their favorite Thai restaurant, which rounded out the day nicely.

Later in the day a few of Kathy’s friends came over for a low-key garden party that I had secretly engineered via Evite. I served fruit and cookies, and Joshua officiated as a Viking waiter. We both agreed that his horned helmet lent a certain dignity to the proceedings.

let them eat cake

In the evening Kathy made us a delicious steak and potato dinner, and finished decorating a cake for Sarah. A good day was had by all.

Tim
Project 366, Day 198

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Mud Pies for All Ages

It seems you’re never too old for mud pies.

little girls

Sarah’s birthday is on Wednesday. She’ll be 6 years old. She’ll still be my princess and baby.

Won’t she?

let's make mud pies

A big pile of dirt just cries out for attention. Sometimes it says, “Play with me! Drive cars up and down my hills. Dig your toes in my dusty layers.”

But today it shouted: “Add water and get dirty!”

alison helps rachel lines up the pies

You’re never too old for mud pies.

Yum!

Can I place your order?

Kathy
Project 366 – Day 196

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A Break from Parenting

Before the older kids went to Norway, my parents were already talking about having all five of the kids come to their house for a weekend visit.

“Won’t you be tired of being around kids, after two weeks of traveling with Joshua and Rachel?” I cautioned.

“It’ll be fun,” they assured me. “We like to have time with all our grandchildren.”

So the night they flew back in from Norway, I had the other three kids packed. “You can take ‘em all straight home with you,” I chortled.

naughty girl

Who wouldn’t want this little princess in their home?

Okay, we did decide to let Grandma and Grandpa have a couple of weeks to recuperate. Last night we bundled the children all into my parents’ van and sent them off, dire warnings about obeying their grandparents ringing in their ears.

Kathy came home from a meeting at church before I went to bed, and we sat in the family room, savoring the silence. “Shhhhh!” I snapped, when she accidentally dropped her computer mouse, ruining a perfectly good five-second span of silence.

somebody help this girl

Sarah knows what to do with a free moment of silence.

I am a connoisseur of silences. I remember the deep black, textured silence of ’04, during the power outage, and the bright, blue-green silence of ’01, when everyone went to Fort Clark without me. Then there was the grey, melancholy silence of ’88, before I met Kathy, before my family was even a gleam in the eye, as they say. Silences are pretty rare, when there are five kids around the house, and you learn to attend to them when you get the chance.

This has not been a week with many silences, as my children would attest. “For crying out loud,” they’re probably thinking, “don’t get Dad started on another lecture!” I’m not sure if it is due to our tomato-staking project with Daniel, or because of the grey and rainy weather, but we’ve had many opportunities for parental intervention, correction and rebuke over the past week. I’ve been home for most of the week (I was sick on Monday, and decided to telecommute a few extra days) and so I’ve been present for much more of the bickering and general discontent than I usually witness.

“Kathy, will you just cool it, with all the bickering and discontentment,” I found myself snarling several times.

how she does carry on

And some people say Sarah is the spittin’ image of Kathy. Hmmm.

No, actually, the problem doesn’t seem to be Kathy. It turns out that my children are sinful. Who knew? After all Kathy’s careful reading of pregnancy books, healthy eating and excellent prenatal care, our children were still born with a sin nature! How exasperating! I’m guessing Kathy and I must’ve inherited it from somewhere or other … and passed it on to our dear little kids.

For now, though, the kids are away, and we can relax a little. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for giving us a needed break!
innocent as a dove

All she wanted was some Grandma and Grandpa time.

Hope everyone survives the weekend.
Tim

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Co-Op Ends

Hooray – the semester (and year) of our homeschooling co-op has come to a lovely finish!! I love being a part of such an amazing group. The board members are dedicated, passionate women who love the students and believe whole-heartedly in making our co-op excellent. The other families are composed of some of our dearest friends. The kids thrive in their different classes – Rachel and Daniel both scored in the top of their spelling class. I am constantly delighted in the work the students produce for me in my classes.

sarah sips her tea daintily

We had a tea party in our kindergarten class this morning.

All of that said, I am thrilled to shed the responsibility, stress and work of another year at co-op. Whew! In the meantime, I will try hard not to think about the THREE classes I have committed to teaching next semester. There are so many fun ideas I like to explore with the kids, I have a difficult time pacing myself.

Ah, but fall is a long time away and I plan to thoroughly enjoy the spring and summer.

girls love purses at any age

What’s a party without accessories?

Tim took over 300 pictures of our Friends and Family Night where the kindergarteners graduated, the choir performed, the older three took part in a mystery play, and the parents/teachers were honored.

let's get those cap and gowns

First grade here we come!

Hopefully at least one or two of the pictures turned out.

Kathy
Project 366 – Day 116

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