Eight Years in the Maze of Life

On Silas' eighth birthday, we found ourselves at a Half Moon Bay pumpkin patch, on a school trip for Rosemary's preschool.

Meredith took the girls; Silas and I charged into the hay bale maze.

The maze was two acres in size and (we discovered) had secret doors within. 

Silas led the way.  To find out whether he solved the puzzle, see the extended birthday photos here.

 

Frank and Ellen flew out to the Bay Area and we were so happy to see them. 

They used to be our nearest relatives.  Now, as one of the sadder results of our move, they are among our farthest.

During their visit, we had a great family birthday party at the grandparent's house. 

Pictured here are Uncles Frank, Tsutomu, and Pete; Aunts Ellen, Hildie, and Theresa; Grandpa Ray and Grandma Charlotte; and cousin Liam.

Science Fair

The College of San Mateo had a science fair today, with college students on hand to teach kids about physics, chemistry, and biology.

Activities included creating slime in the chemistry lab,

playing the skull-guessing game,

and making new friends.

Student of the Week

As student of the week, Silas had to present a timeline of important life events.

I printed 14 photos and Silas selected the 6 he wanted to discuss.

On subsequent days, Silas had to bring in a prized possession (a book about Teslas), be interviewed by classmates, and talk about a person who had influenced him (his mother).

At week's end, Mrs. Murphy asked the class what they had learned about Silas, and wrote up the results (at left).

Students were particularly fascinated that Silas' first bed was a drawer and that
he had a lot of experience with snow.

Each classmate then wrote Silas a letter.

This one was a favorite:

"I didn't know that you had no pets.... I feel bad for you."

Return of the Grandparents

Since moving to the west coast, visits with grandparents have become so wonderfully common, we no longer blog every grandparental sighting.

That said, here are some quick takes from the most recent long weekend with the Grandparents Keithley.

Rosemary and Grandma made banana bread.

Grandpa walked Silas to school every morning they were here.

Mom brought this photo of her one-year-old self in 1940, and we think she bears a resemblance to Tess.

Saturday swim

Rosemary and Silas will be swimming each Saturday morning this fall.

Their lessons are at the College of San Mateo's beautiful outdoor pool.

Silas' crawl stroke is looking pretty good. 

The instructor asked what our goals for Silas were and I said, "If he falls off a boat, I want him to live."

Pre-K

When Silas began second grade in mid-August, Rosemary began asking every morning whether it was time for her school.

This chart solved the problem.

Rosemary's first day was today and she was thrilled to be back.

This is her second year at Transfiguration Nursery ("the Fig").

This morning as we drove to school, Rosemary said:

"Remember all the schools we visited last year?"

I said I did.

"Well you picked the best one!"

One photo too many.

We're happy to have our across-street neighbor and friend Chase in school with Rosemary this year.

Four-word sentence

Tess uttered her longest sentence ever yesterday.

Four words!

And they were:

"I want some chocolate."

Second Grader

San Mateo schools switched to a mid-August start date.

I think the idea is to increase retention of knowledge by lessening the summer break.

When every day of the year is basically a summer day, starting school on August 12 doesn't seem to register as a negative with the kids.

Silas was champing at the bit.  He is thrilled to be seeing his friends every day. 

Rosemary is desperate to get back to preschool, but much to her distress, her school is still on the post-Labor Day schedule.

Orcas Island

The last week of July, we joined the Grandparents Keithley and Blair's family on Orcas Island.

We got off the ferry and went straight to the beach, where we met Grandpa.

Silas in the Salish.

At low tide, the kids turned over rocks.

At high tide, they looked for shells.

We also celebrated Mom's 76th birthday -- with goody bags, of course (at Rosemary's request).

Dungeness dinner, with Aunt Lisa doing all the hard work.

The obligatory family photo.

More pictures of Orcas are here.