2 x 1st place!

Sebastian ran the most laps of anyone in the school during the annual Fun Run for the Arts - 25 laps in 30 minutes. The principal gave him a shout-out in her email newsletter and then called him up to be recognized and awarded a medal during the end-of-year school assembly. He was so proud, and so were we.

Fun Run 2018 Wrap Up Thank you to all of our Forest Park students who ran their hearts out to raise more than $18,401 for the arts! Theater trips, symphony, artist in resident programs for the 2018-19 school year are all possible. Congratulations to top runner Sebastian Raab who ran 25 laps - that's just over 4 miles!  With 24 laps each, our second place runners are Grayson Qualls and Christian Ranalli. Team 1st grade raised the most money followed closely by Team 3rd Grade! Thank you again for your participation and support.  If you haven't already, please remember to ask your employers to match your donations.

And then this week, he's been at a sports camp - all sports, all day, every day, with friends. Heavenly. At the end of each week, there's a Camp Olympics competition in which they earn points at six different stations (volleyball, basketball free throws, soccer kicks, catching, throwing, obstacle course). He came in first today in his age group, winning the gold medal. His friends Frances and Wyatt won silver and bronze, for a FPE sweep. They were all pretty stoked.

creek exploration

Liesl and Nora have been at an Engineering for Kids: Minecraft camp this week. It's only in the mornings, so Elena and I have taken turns picking up both girls and keeping them all afternoon.

The camp has been a mixed bag - Liesl has never played any video games before, and never explored a virtual world, and she's been enjoying learning how to do things and make things and find out about the various creatures. But she also says that there's too much screen time and not enough recess play time, and too much violence in the game. Since I have no familiarity with Minecraft, I've been learning a lot about it from her, with the curiosity of the truly uninformed. So I've learned that there are hatchets and knives, and lava flows, and nobody goes to sleep at nighttime, and horses just appear out of nowhere, and there are spiders and dragons. She says that it’s kind of confusing, but she and Nora keep finding each other in the game to hang out in the cabin they built ... except that Liesl accidentally killed Nora once. (Oops. She reappeared a few seconds later.) Liesl drowned one day because she jumped into the ocean and got too deep. She built a bunk bed and bookshelves - she had to find wood, get enough of it, go to a crafting screen to build it, then collect puffballs for the mattress. Anyway - it's been an experiment in pushing the girls to try something different, and by that measure a success.

Both of the afternoons that I've had the girls, we've taken a picnic lunch to Jackie park and gone exploring in the forest and along the creek. The girls have been pretending and storytelling in a way that is familiar to me and utterly magical - their ongoing story combines various elements from various book series (Upside Down Magic, Boxcar Children, and Zoey and Sassafras). There is magic in their world, they are sisters, they are orphaned, there is a boxcar in the forest, they have to find food and shelter, they can transform into animals and talk to magical creatures - so much exploration and creation. And also getting dirty and muddy and wet and playing with whatever they find. The antidote to Minecraft, in my mind. :)

Lucky Jasper has also gotten to explore the forest and creek, to his great delight. We played fetch into the creek and he splashed around, always choosing to get super close to me before shaking off all the water.

summer fun

We finally went to Skyline Diner, the old-fashioned restaurant at the corner of Skyline and Cornell (i.e., about 2 miles from our house). We had cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, milkshakes... it was not amazing, but we had a delightful time anyway.

Advanced hopscotch.

Nora came over for an evening playdate - dinner with us and then playing until we walked her home at bedtime.

Another current obsession: downball. It's like foursquare, but with a tiny ball.

Summertime is so delightful. We have been outside as much as possible, playing games on our street and at the school field - baseball and soccer and tennis - and riding bikes and scooters and taking walks with Jasper - and the kids running around with neighborhood friends until 9.

happy Sunday

We had a delightfully busy Sunday. Liesl and I met up with friends Elizabeth and Naomi for a climbing session at Planet Granite. Liz and I took turns belaying the girls and climbing ourselves -- when not climbing, they bouldered, read books, chattered away, and were generally very happy. It was a magical little morning and very sweet.

After that, Liesl and I headed over to a local cafe to get "fairy hair" - thin silk strands that are tied to your actual hair. You can pick the color, and it stays in for a few months. She went for rainbow and I chose teal. :)

We came home to have lunch with our boys -- who had been working/reading and watching World Cup soccer - and then we brought out the Monopoly game. We recently inherited this vintage set from aunt Dianna and uncle Rick -- I still can't think of them without a pang of sadness, but I am so pleased to have their Monopoly board and to get to play with it. Sebastian and Liesl first played Monopoly when mom and dad were visiting two weeks ago; Sebastian was apparently a very enthusiastic and ruthless capitalist, and crushed everyone. We didn't get that far in today's game - it's awaiting our return tomorrow.

 

And then Liesl had soccer practice, and Sebastian then had baseball practice, and I squeezed in a bike ride along Skyline Boulevard, and we all arrived home, starving, at 7 pm. We had a classic American meal -- cheeseburgers, corn on the cob, salad, and watermelon. A good ending to a good day.

Activate Camp

Both Sebastian and Liesl spent this past week attending Activate!, a full-day summer camp run by a FPE teacher at our school. So convenient! And all their friends!! Sebastian came home after the first day so happy, saying "there is not one thing I don't like - it was so fun - I can't wait to go back tomorrow." Pretty amazing.

The camp has a different arts focus each week (photography, printmaking, architecture) and two field trip days. For this week, the focus was stop-motion animation - both kids collaborated with friends to make short films -- links below. On Tuesday they went to Wilson Pool and had a fabulous time swimming outside with camp friends; on Thursday they went to Blue Lake park and played in the splash pad, lake, and on a nature walk.





Sebastian is returning to this camp for another week in late July; Liesl is sad that I only signed her up for one week, but I'm guessing she'll like her other experiences just as much.

baseball tourney in Salem

I forgot to post these photos and video from Sebastian's baseball tournament in Salem, June 9/10. It was a miserably cold and rainy weekend - I couldn't believe that no games were cancelled - and they were playing in the Federal division of the tourney (the top division for 10 year old boys - there are three levels of play). But the boys played well - lost the first two, but then came back on Sunday and won the final game against a good team.

Sebastian pitching from B. Avery on Vimeo.

Liesl's dance recital

On Saturday, Liesl's dance studio had their end of year recital for all the ballet classes. They performed at Liberty High school on a proper stage, and it was really special. They had a dress rehearsal in the morning, and then two shows at 4 and 7 pm. Liesl was sparkling with excitement all day long.

This is my favorite shot - she was doing jetes down the empty hallways before dress rehearsal began.

Liesl's ballet recital 2018 from B. Avery on Vimeo.

All of the ballet students lined up for the final bow and applause - with a close-up of Liesl, looking proud. I love the way her shoulders are back, her head is up, and she is presenting herself with confidence.

In the dressing room before the show - Liesl getting her makeup applied by Courtney. She insisted (smart girl) that someone other than her mama put it on...

From left, Zara, Liesl, Nora, Nina, Campbell, and Gracyn - the six FPE girls in the ballet class.

Liesl and Nora, in the second year of their sweet and special friendship.

In between the shows, we took the girls to dinner at a Noodle shop - easy and quick - it was fun to see them all cuddled up at the kids' table (while we were able to eat a civilized meal at our own table...).

Elena, Nicola, and I were "room moms" for the second show, keeping the girls entertained and quiet in the dressing rooms, fixing hair and makeup, and shepherding them backstage at the appointed time.

It was fun to be backstage in the wings, watching the girls eagerly waiting for their turn to go on and perform. It made me nostalgic to be there, remembering my girlhood years performing with Alberta Ballet School.

Liesl was outstanding and lovely - she remembered her choreography and did the steps well, and she was clearly delighted to be performing and on stage. She had a wonderful presence and presentation and it was really fun to watch.

Beaverton 4v4 soccer

Sebastian and his LYS teammates played in the Beaverton Cup 4v4 soccer tournament this weekend - two games on Saturday and two on Sunday. The boys started off a little slow and they were down 3 goals early in the first half, but then came alive (with the help of the orange soccer ball in the photo, nicknamed 'the ball of redemption' by Errol) and came back to win 9-7. They won Saturday's second game easily, as well as their first game on Sunday.

Sebastian, Kellen, Errol, Cason, Charlie, Peyton

Coach John showing them some new strategies for field spacing between the games.

They played in the championship game on Sunday at 12:30 - it was their toughest match, both because the opponent was pretty good and because it was really hot and sunny - but they won 2-1 to take the gold medal for their age division. Big smiles all around (and the ball of redemption, still in the lineup).

Patient Liesl, post-rehearsal and pre-show, reading in the grass.