The Week in Review

I know, I know, it's been a while. The kids got out of school (finally) on Tuesday, June 19. Owen is cleaning his desk with shaving cream in preparation for the "Summer Birthdays" ice cream party in which he was an honoree. Owen will be seven years old tomorrow - unbelievable!

On Saturday, June 23rd, the kids had their first swim meet of the season. Five Oaks trounced Waugh Chapel 288-194. It was a fantastic meet for the boys!

Evan came in 4th in backstroke, 5th in breaststroke and 8th in freestyle. This is pretty good since he is swimming against a lot of 12 year olds.

Finn won his heat for freestyle (but didn't place) and came in 8th in breaststroke. Not bad for his first 9-10 events. There are A LOT of fast 10 year olds this year.

Owen (drumroll please...) won his heat in backstroke AND came in FIRST PLACE! He also came in 5th place in freestyle. He actually missed his event (not his fault though) and swam against the 8 year olds. I think that threw him off a bit, but he did a great job. Owen is lucky to still be in 6&U, so he will more than likely dominate this year.

The heat winners

After the swim meet, we travelled to Philadelphia with the Ebels for an overnight trip to view the King Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute. It was really awesome and informative.

Finn and Owen are at the top, Evan is bending over, poking King Tut in the eye, Lizzie is in pink and Kate is in the red shirt.

We got headset tours for all of the kids - a good idea. This was the last photo spot.

Afterwards, we explored the Sports Connection exhibit. It was very enjoyable. Then, Finn and Owen made a sheet of paper, we found the obligatory souvenir flat penny machine, we ate lunch and came home. We plan to return when Craig comes home. The Franklin Institute is a wonderful museum & we still haven't seen the Liberty Bell.

Finn on the rock climbing wall

Owen hanging 10

The kids are on their way down to see Foucault's Pendulum.

What A Busy Weekend

We had a very busy weekend. I'll start with what we did last. These pictures were taken at the Patapsco Female Institute in Ellicott City. We went there to see the Chesapeake Theatre Company's production of Henry V on Sunday evening. Luckily, there was face painting because the first half got a little long for our troops. Evan seemed to enjoy the play. We left at intermission, so we missed the fight scenes.

Finn and Owen shared a ribbon on the May Pole. At first, all the participants were girls, but Owen was the first to break the gender barrier after a slight hesitation and the boys came tumbling onstage. Way to go, O!

We spent Saturday afternoon at a grand estate on the Chesapeake Bay. Friends of ours are moving to India and friends of theirs had a going away party for them. It was a terrific time for the kids.

Saturday morning was spent at a neighboring pool for time trials. Here is Evan psyching himself up to swim freestyle - he's on the block at the far end.

Here is Finn on his way into his first ever flip turn for the 50 free.

Here is Owen giving a battlecry (no lie) before the freestyle. Look at his fists, ready to go.

That's about it. Happy Father's Day to all the dads and granddads who might be reading!

News and Notes

It has been hotter than hot here. So to kill two birds with one stone, I let the kids cool off while watering the lawn. Finn is getting an aquatic wedgie - hurts so good??? I finally rained Wednesday and Thursday and it's rather cool. We are back in long pants, at least I am!

Owen lost his EIGHTH tooth earlier this week! All four top and bottom front teeth have evacuated his mouth. This just amazes me because his brothers were just starting to lose teeth just before their 7th birthday. The tooth fairy did not visit our house that evening though because there were some questions about her actual existence and her feelings were probably hurt. I guess she noticed a change of heart in the tooth-loser because she visited the next night.

A picture of Evan and his long hair. This picture actually doesn't do it justice. He practically has an afro when it's very messy. A trip to the barber is planned SOON!

Finn and I at his 3rd grade picnic on Flag Day. Another family brought their new Siberian Husky pup, so I spent most of the picnic chatting with other abandoned moms. In Finn's defense, it was a very adorable puppy.

I have just returned from Owen's First Grade Author Extravaganza. His class wrote and illustrated a story and then sent completed manuscripts to be published. The books were modelled after author Jan Brett's books The Mitten et al. Owen's book is titled The Stuffed Bag. He is pictured with Grandmom and Pop Henneberry and his best girlfriend, Lydia. (They chose a friend from another homeroom to share their book with.)

A Thought

My intent was to post something completely different than what I am about to type. I am watching TV, PBS actually, and a series called America at a Crossroads was just on. Tonight's story was called Kansas to Kandahar and was about Bravo Company, a Chinook helicopter unit from an army base in Kansas which was stationed in Afghanistan. It was so good, it made me cry my eyes out, the first time I've really sobbed since Craig left. I am not crying for us though, but for those families whose significant other is gone for much longer periods of time. I think they were gone a year. We are so lucky to have people like them and like my husband who want to make a difference, even if it is their job, it's a big JOB to have.

I think George Bush and his cabinet should be forced to watch this episode at least 10 times at one sitting and I think things might change. What can this president be thinking?

I promise a more upbeat post next time.

Swim Team Begins

The Five Oaks Barracudas are in the water although our pool is not yet open due to repairs. We are practicing at a nearby pool, Crosby Crossing. They have been very generous. Here is a good shot of Evan actually looking like he is enjoying swim team. I asked to put him up into the 13+ age group (he's 11) because he wasn't motivated to swim well/faster while practicing with the younger group and my request is doing it's job. Evan is getting a workout for sure! Also, Finn is in the 9-12 group which pretty much always ends up an issue and a distraction for one or both of them. Finn's strokes are looking great. Owen is working so hard and he is the happiest of all to be in the pool. The 8 and unders are divided into groups (know strokes swimmers, can stay afloat swimmers, need a kickboard for now swimmers) and Owen made the top group (!) but he is definitely on the slower end. It's nice he has one more year to do 6 & under to build confidence - the birthday cut-off is the end of May.

Owen wouldn't stay still long enough to snap a photo and Finn's age group was not practicing this day. The weather has been VERY HOT which makes the kids eager to jump in. It is supposed to be around 100 degrees today - can you believe it?!! The weather is just helping to fry our brains even a little more. We are all so ready for school to be over.

An iPod is a Mom's Best Friend

Have you ever had just one of those days when the vocal frequency and intensity of your soon-to-be seven year old son's voice just puts you over the edge? Well, it's been that sort of afternoon. The "I wants" and "Can I haves" and "I'm ____" (fill-in the blank) and "You're so means" and the never-ending sound effects are driving me nuts. So at dinner time tonight, I plugged my iPod into my head, put it on a medium setting and had a pleasant meal with my children because I was able to ignore the comments I didn't want to hear by just singing in my head. They couldn't get the response (positive/negative) they were looking for so they were forced to talk to one another and it was so nice. They ate all of their dinner (swim team practice helped in that respect) and they even got dessert right after dinner. I swear it was better than a glass (or two, or three) of wine.

So as I am listening to music and being generally anti-social-like, I hear one of my favorite "songs" from my most favorite movie ever - If I Were the King of the Forest by the Cowardly Lion. He is my favorite character, being a Leo and all. But also because he is so funny in being a self-proclaimed coward who has so much strength when it's important. We all have that strength in us. Sometimes we all need a push.

What makes a king out of a slave? Courage.

What makes a flag on the mast to wave? Courage.

What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist or the dusky dusk? Courage.

What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage.

What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage.

What makes the dawn come up like THUNDER?!! Courage.

What makes the hottentot so hot? What puts the ape in apricot?

What do they got that I ain't got? Courage.

End of School Activities

Howdy all! Today was the Volunteer Tea at school and most classes do a short production for the parents. The entire first grade (100 kids) did a "Hats Off to the Volunteers" skit. Owen has a ringmaster's hat on and he's in the middle.

Finn's teacher opted out on the production. I don't blame her.

This is a picture of Finn's cylinder bird. His is the one with the green tail, blue body and orange head. It is hanging in the big display case in front of the art room and is smack-dab in the middle of the showcase. Congratulations, Finn!

I am very bummed out because I took two awesome pictures of Evan at his piano recital and they did not download properly. My camera was in the midst of battery failure, so that was probably why. He did a super fantastic job and flew through his piece without his music, with no mistakes and a wonderful rythym. It was nice to see that he can show his talent when it is called upon. It was also evident that he has been taking lessons for a while. Now it is time to step up to the more difficult pieces. He had a huge grin on his face at the end because he knew he nailed it!