Summer

The weather has been great and the pace of life has been great, too! The World Cup is over so we have time to do other things.

Time for a two-sided jigsaw puzzle. The other side has political stamps.

Time for a picnic and Shakespeare under the stars.

Two of us tried a group ukulele lesson.
The person who plays the cello picked it up very quickly!

photos from Getty Images
And two movies!

Not shown - swimming, cycling, and watching the Tour de France.  Also not shown, summer homework and summer research. Wish you were here!

More summer days

A. and a friend were bored and decided to make lemonade with the friend's lemons.  The friend's mom suggested a lemonade stand the idea took off.  They made a sign, bought ice and cups, and filled the wagon to make the trip to the market in town.

I am amazed how generous people are!  The kids charged fifty cents, which some people told them was too low.  Some people gave them money but passed on the lemonade.  Others bought a cup for themselves and several other people.

A. answered honestly when asked what he would do with the money (no, not charity - he is saving for a video game system - play station something).  His friend said he wasn't sure what he would do with it.

After covering costs for the ice and cups the pay per hour wasn't great, but A. said it was fun and it did pass a lot of time.  He is also doing some childcare and is available for dog walking, even in the warm weather.

Only fifty-seven days until school starts.

Summer, younger kid

The younger one has squeezed in a lot already including a half-day art and science camp where everyone made spears.  They didn't use these to catch fish but did get to help the scientists at the Bernard Field Station dissect fish to learn what they had been eating (crayfish).

Next up was a part-day cello camp (same as described here).  It may not be a favorite activity, but it is fun to be part of a two-hundred plus group of cello players.  It was also exciting to hear the cello orchestra and Little Bridges organist playing the world premier of a piece written by a Harvey Mudd music professor.



A couple other half-day camps will fill some of the time along with earning some money (child care, dog care) and hanging out at the pool.  Big events include the same soccer camp as last year and a trip to visit grandparents in Ohio.  Toss in some reading, a lemonade stand, and probably some soccer games and the time will zip by.

Solstice

According to an internet search summer begins in seventeen minutes.  It seemed like a perfect time to visit the new sundial, although this solstice always makes me sad.  The days are getting shorter and even though I don't feel the sense of impending doom of winter, is it a little melancholy.

Vacation

Even though we did not sign the dotted line when we were offered a time share in Hawaii, we were invited again to enjoy a discounted stay at a resort and receive two tickets to Legoland.  After all our separate trips it was time to spend time together.

We borrowed books, read websites, and looked at maps, but still we ended up at Crystal Cove.  A. likes the tide pools and low tide was about twenty minutes after we arrived.

Next up was Balboa Park.  One day was not enough, but we explored the science museum, met up with a high school friend, and split up to enjoy the natural history museum, automotive museum, and Museum of Photographic Arts.  D. and A. also spoke Danish while visiting the International Cottages.  I was sorry to miss the bonsai exhibit and wish I could have photographed every building!

Daughter and mother at the Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.

A penny farthing is on D.'s wish list.

For dinner we headed the the village of Carlsbad.  Through the magic of the internet I found a vegetarian-friendly restaurant and then we had a chance to wander the main drag and visit the beach.

After talking with the timeshare salesman (three guesses what we told him) we headed to Legoland for our last day of vacation.

One fabulous surprise was finding that The Lego Movie set is now housed at Legoland.

Here is the double-decker couch!

The water park was better for young kids,
but since we aren't usually there in the summer it was fun to try it out.

And back to Claremont.  We played Rubberneckers the whole way and arrived home with a bit of time to unwind before heading back to school.

p.s.  We drove past this three times and I finally remembered to take a picture on the way home.

We decided these pumpkins were all the how-much-does-it-weigh variety.

College Life

Last week all other family members were staying in a residence hall!

You may remember that R. is at Smith College.  Non-academic highlights have included field trips to Hancock Shaker Village, New York City, and Six Flags New England (f.k.a. Riverside Amusement Park).

Shaker Village, with solar panels

D. was at a Gordon Research Conference at the University of New England's Maine campus along the Saco River and the Atlantic Ocean coast.

I know he accomplished a lot, but he also had time to cycle to the ocean.

A. was at soccer camp at Cal State Channel Islands.  It is not on an island and you can't see the coast from the campus, but that didn't dampen his enthusiasm.

They worked him on the field, but he also enjoyed swimming after the second training session, playing in the game room, and eating in the dining hall.

I used the time on my own to earn a swim cap by going to every team practice,
including our weekly unofficial bonus swim on Friday mornings.

I got a few things done, but trying to balance goofing off and being productive was a challenge.  May that be my biggest problem!

What to do?

Read book recommended by Catherine Newman.

Invite friend into room.

Not shown - cups of water with string taped to both cup and inside of cabinet.
Not shown - video of people shouting after getting doused.

Be sure to hide this before unsuspecting victim turns on the water.

Buy balloons.

Fill and invite friend over.

Enjoy grandparents' pool.

Ah, summer vacation!

Extended Summer

R. said that she didn't need to go to the beach twice, but was sad that she had not gone to the beach even once.  Fighting our natural planning instincts we spontaneously went to the beach yesterday afternoon.

We weren't quite to the beach but we could see the skywriting -
win 1000 cash skytypers.com
You might not win, but the video is fun to watch.

The weather was great, the parking was easy, and the view was fantastic.

Not very many people were on the beach.

The water was warm enough for swimming and the low tide was about an hour after we arrived.

starfish

exploring the tide pools

small mussels?

I miss apple picking and fall colors, but this is pretty good, too!

School

How can I write about school during summer?  Until a few hours ago, school is what R. had been doing.

She decided that it might not be pleasant but it would allow her to take an elective during the school year, so she chose to take a full year of phys ed during summer school.  One session ran 8-11 and the second was from 11:30-2:30 (an aside - in Denmark and maybe other places they don't bother with the a.m. and p.m. because they figure you are smart enough to figure out that the class would be morning and midday without being told - unless it a movie time or train schedule and then they use the 24-hour clock).

Six hours of gym seemed like a lot, but the people running it had a good routine.  They had the kids stretch, run one session and walk the other, play badminton and volleyball inside, and use the weight room.  R. never complained, which is probably a sign that they were doing things well.  I was most impressed with the teacher when R. explained she would miss two hours of class and he said to make up the time on her own over the weekend and bring in a note from a parent.  How reasonable!  I love that he focused on the goal (encouraging activity) instead of being punitive.  Maybe that is how he got to be coach of the week.

R. was going to miss two hours of class because she was taking a pre-calc challenge test.  She started studying once a week with my father-in-law in the spring and when school ended they met more often.  Using the year-long syllabus they went through the regular and extra textbooks.  I was impressed with her willingness to do a bit of work on it each day.  She showed up for the two-hour test and was so happy to learn they provided a formula sheet!  She didn't learn her exact score, but she passed!  Up next is Calc AB in the fall (The fall!  Ha!  I really mean late August.).

Each summer there are assignments (for only the honors classes?  I am not sure).  The history assignment was completed on time and the English assignment was turned into today, a few days early.  Hooray!  It is a fantastic feeling to have all that in the past.  All that is left is volunteering in the stop motion animation class a couple hours a day, but that is a pleasure.

I am so lucky to have a kid who motivates herself, gets herself places, and gets herself there on time.  Not to mention that she tried two new recipes this past weekend.  Definitely a keeper!

Summer vacation

So far, so good!

Three young teenagers saving up for camera equipment and overseas travel organized a small camp and taught the kids how to program computer games using Scratch.  It meant I was without my laptop for a few hours, but that is good for me.  I even had a little extra time to myself because A. could ride his bike to and from their house.

After lunch at home A. changed his clothing and rode his bike over to the Pomona College fields and spent the afternoon at a soccer camp run by the Pomona Pitzer soccer coach.  They even had a quick dip in the pool each day.  Who could ask for anything more?

last bit of camp spent watching the big kids on the field

Two sleepovers are scheduled for the weekend so all is good.  He isn't even complaining about doing a bit of cello, ten minutes of language arts, and ten minutes of math.

The older one had a great extended birthday celebration that started with flourless chocolate cake with friends and a showing of the 2009 Star Trek at the Pomona College planetarium, to which the summer students (and profs) were invited.

R. has this poster in her room

The week had a quiet start with plenty of time to study for the pre-calc challenge test and figure out the summer assignments for history and English classes.  Now summer phys. ed. has started, which is six hours a day!  But it is with Coach Collins, who is known not for winning football games but for the way he treats his players and encourages them to do well off the field (e.g., no foul language!).  Only nineteen more days to go.

Stay tuned for National Cello Institute, hosting a dog, and maybe Ciclavia.