Liesl and Jasper

Just some photos from the last week or so of Jasper, Liesl, Liesl and Jasper, and spring.

 

The poor puppy after a gruelling week of running with me. We ran 5 miles, then 5 miles, then 8 miles, and then 4 miles, and he was just exhausted. I'll leave him home next time I do a long run.

What is the dog thinking here? He followed her to the tree and stayed very close by while she climbed around it. And when she went to climb another tree, he followed again. Does he think he'll catch her if she falls? Is he jealous that she gets to follow the squirrels?

Liesl eating a slice of bread, and Jasper staying very close by, hoping hoping hoping for a crumb. It's quite hard to focus on eating when you're being eyed so intently.

Liesl used a flexible building toy called Wikistix to make this amazing sculpture of her and a friend playing tetherball. I was so impressed by her ingenuity and creativity - she made this all on her own.

Jasper, decorated and not super happy about it.

Liesl and Nora enjoying a long, imaginary play-filled afternoon playdate.

the GS troop makes welcome boxes

Our GS troop decided to take all of our cookie-selling profits and channel it into a charitable cause. We decided to make welcome boxes for kids coming into foster care. The nonprofit group Embrace Oregon organizes and collects boxes with basic supplies - toothbrush and toothpaste, a nightlight, books and coloring materials, socks, snacks, hairbrush, small toys - and gives them to children when they first arrive at DHS offices to await their fate. So each of us went shopping with our girl to buy the materials for the box, and then we gathered on Friday afternoon to pack our boxes, write encouraging notes, and listen to a story about two foster children. The book was an outstanding and compassionate (and appropriately vague) exploration of different kinds of families and love. Anita read the book and talked about it with the girls -- all of whom had clearly had prior conversations about why foster care might be necessary, and how children might feel in those circumstances -- and then we put them all together. It was very sweet and felt meaningful to me -- these lucky girls, who have so much, giving just a little of their time and effort to help others. And I was proud to be part of this particular group of parents, with our priorities.

Fun Run

Today was the long-awaited, fiercely contested, most fun event of the school year: the Fun Run for the Arts! The weather was once again perfect and the kids all ran their hearts out. Sebastian looked terrific out there - cool as a cucumber, legs moving like he could have run all day. He ended up running 24 laps, probably the most in the school again, although we won't know for sure until next week. Liesl was also just fantastic out there, working so hard, running almost constantly, with her patented game face on. She's such a fierce competitor and ran 17 laps, almost to the point of making herself sick. I love her gumption.

Easter

After a whirlwind week, with the promise of more packed weeks to come, we enjoyed a very relaxing family Easter day. The kids enjoyed not one, not two, but three Easter egg hunts (same eggs, different locations). We had waffles and bacon, fried eggs, pineapple and strawberries for breakfast, and then the first hunt commenced around the house.

We composed a family haiku in honor of Easter.

Kids wake up to joy

Easter bunny came with eggs

Let the hunt begin!

The second hunt was in the back garden of the school. Lots more running and jumping there, but just as much joy.

Jasper did not let his inability to understand the game interfere with his enjoyment of the chase. :)

And then a third hunt, in the bushes and trees and flowers at the front of the school. There was a lot of opportunity for camouflaging eggs in the shrubbery here.

By then it was 10:30, and the kids were finally hunted out. So we went home for second breakfasts and to decorate our eggs. We usually dye Easter eggs on the Friday or Saturday, but we were so busy with school/work and activities that we didn't get around to it. No matter: we had a sweet time on Sunday creating our masterpieces.

I went for a long run in the afternoon with Jasper, on the muddy Wildwood. The kids watched a movie together, curled up on the couch with popcorn, and then played outside. We considered going through the motions of an appropriate Easter dinner, but no one really cared, and Steve has been sick with a chest cold all week and feeling awful, so we ordered a large pizza, made a salad, and had a sweetly lazy and untraditional family dinner. It was a happy day.