About Reese

She is a sweetie.
Out of our refrigerator magnets she wrote this Valentines poem for Rich and me.

We bought a new table (HOORAY!!!). We've had the same tiny table since Rich and I first got married and it was tight for four, now we have a family of five and so we searched and finally found one we liked. Anyways....Rich put it together and the carboard boxes were stacking up. Reese climbed in because she wanted to pretend she was a robot I bought. I forgot about it...and next thing I know she's sleeping in the box.

The flash woke her up so she had a smile for me....she is a cutie pie.

Pu Pu Point

Yesterday the girls and I hiked Pu Pu Point in Issaquah. I had done it once before and loved it so much. And seeing as how my goal is to get our family healthier, more active and happier...I decided to take the girls up there. It was a beautiful sunny morning! We totally lucked out in the weather department.

I wasn't sure if they would make it all the way up, seeing as how we haven't done too much hiking before...just the easier hikes at Mt. Rainier. But I let them take a lot of breaks. Halfway up we stopped, had some string cheese and took a few pics. Hikers coming down kept giving them encouragement....telling them they were doing awesome and could make it to the top. At one point Reese said, "I can't wait until we're the ones coming down!"

When we were really close to the top, but didn't know it...they started to get really tired and wondered if we would ever get there. I kept telling them it would be worth it when we reached the top! They were wanting to take breaks every minute...so I told them we would walk slow, but had to walk for at least 10 minutes before we took another break. This worked well, and we reached to top in no time.

And it was worth it. They really loved the view. We ate sandwiches and drank our drink. The girls had enough energy to even play tag. The top is where the parasailers jump off of tiger mountain down to Hobart-Issaquah road. There was one parasailer wanting to jump, but I guess the wind wasn't right because he packed up and left. Other jumpers/parasailers were carrying their packs and talking about the disappointing wind.

There are two jumping points...we went to the first. We decided that we'd go to the second next time, and if I remember right, it's about another 15 minutes of hiking past the first.

I was so proud of them. They had a great feeling of accomplishment and the way down went smoothly. Except - Ash had to find a place to use the bathroom. It was difficult because there was almost always someone on the trail. And with the trail full of switchbacks, even if there weren't people right by you, you never had much privacy. But we found a spot and she did it. It may have been the first time she had to pee in the wilderness. Which I find hard to believe but she needed a bit of instruction on how to not get wet ;)

Isn't it a beautiful view! I can't wait to do it again with them.....and I'm wondering if Josie can make it.

P.S. At the top of this post, you'll see the graph my garmin came up with for our hike. It took us 1 1/2 hours to get up and about an hour to get down. 1.75 miles up with a 1,600 ft elevation climb....I think :)

The talented Ashlynn

Ashlynn has been in Band this year, she's learning the flute and is really good at it. She picked it up pretty fast and has a great time playing. This pic is from their first concert.

She was also in this years Missoula Theater production about King Aurthur. She was Morgan LeFay and did an EXCELLENT job. She practiced her lines and delivered them so perfectly. She was easily the most animated and easily heard/understood girl up there....and I'm not prejudiced!!!!!

My sweet old man

Rich turned 40 in January. What a sweetie - putting up with all of my old man jokes.

Instead of cake he wanted Cinnamon Rolls. (Somehow I pieced together a recipe that turns out such delicious rolls - if I make them and there are leftovers, I'm sure to gain at least 3 pounds.)

We decorated the house in black. I'd left out some of my halloween decorations just for this purpose. There were skeletons and Over the Hill signs througout the downstairs. My family came over and we talked and ate and played games. We played charades, acting out phrases such as: one foot in the grave, older than dirt, knocking on deaths door, etc. The best was anytime the word was old, the actor would point at Rich and everyone would yell "OLD!"

The girls thought it was sad, having all the black and skeletons around, but Rich said it was one of the best birthdays he'd ever had.

Relax and be strong!

I am such a pansy when it comes to confrontations
And I hate to rock the boat
But....
Have you heard of Time For Kids Magazine (TFK)? It's supposed to be a news magazine for school age kids. But the more I read it the more I HATE IT!!!!
I'm thinking of sending the following e-mail. What I'm wondering is- do I just send it to the teacher so he knows how I feel? Or do I send it to the parents e-mail group, hoping there is some support but risking judgement of my daughter's friends' parents?
Why do I even want to raise a stink???? Because I don't think schools should teach our kids what to think.... but should give them both sides of an issue and let them learn to think!

My e-mail:
The more I read Time for Kids Magazine, the more I dislike it.

Even though there are allegations against the IPCC of fraudulent studies and exaggerated information (think of the e-mails that recently came into public view) TFK consistently pushes the problems of climate and environmental issues into their articles. There are numerous studies going on which support the fact that climate change may not be entirely man-caused, yet this never seems to be addressed in the magazine.

But it's not just the "hooray for hybrids!" and "what made you want to help the environment?" statements that bother me. Most recently, in the Jan. 29 issue, there is an article entitled, A Shift in the Senate, regarding Scott Brown's Senate seat. Most of the article seems informative, then there is this statement:

"This means that Democrats no longer hold a 60-seat Senate supermajority. Now, Republicans will be able to block legislation that the Democratic majority wants to pass, including a health-care bill."

This is the extent of the information given on the voting process. It's very one-sided and comes across as if Republican's are only in the Senate in order to thwart the health-care bill.

What is the purpose of reading TFK in class?
Surely there is a balanced news source out there for our children?
Is there ever any class discussion on the other side of the issues?
How many classes use TFK?
Is it really necessary?

I'd love your feedback!