For Reals This Time

After a couple of false starts, I'm really back to regular blogging. For two reasons:

1) It's the best way to record our family's stories, which I had been doing quite reliably via emails since August 2005, and then on the blog while in Europe. Since falling off the wagon I have written exactly NOTHING about either our family or my personal life, and
2) I am going back to grad school sometime during the next two years, and my research of the application process has revealed that most Lit and Writing programs no longer require the GRE. What they require instead is a gigantic body of written work. So the big NOTHING in all caps above has to somehow be replaced with a great big impressive SOMETHING.  I need to get myself back into the habit of writing... So two birds with one stone.

Speaking of Stone, let's start with him. During the past five months, Stone:

-Has developed a mini version of Erik's musculature, due to his constant climbing on our garage climbing wall, ropes and zipline.
-Turned five years old.
-Lost his first tooth (surprisingly, naturally. Not knocked out.)
-Finished preschool.
-Got hooked on Magic Treehouse Books
-Forgot that he likes to write and draw (he learned to love it in Spain, when there was nothing else to do. Given the choice between the pool and above mentioned garage and perfecting his pincer grasp on a writing instrument, the choice is easy. It is PAINFUL to get him to sit and work on fine motor).
-Started Soccer camp with his buddy Vaughn. When asked how it went today, he described he it was fun to "kick the ball wherever I want to." But then he described a drill where you had to kick the ball down a runway between lines of cones. He tellingly complained, "they don't let you imagine anything with the cones. They don't even let you touch them to see if they're hard or soft." Our boy wants to experience and experiment hands-on. When he sees rows of cones, he doesn't think "kick within the lines," he thinks "look at all those hats/megaphones/dinosaur spikes!"
-Went from kicking and screaming when forced to go to the beach to kicking and screaming when forced to leave.

Sophie:
 -Went through an emotional rollercoaster (which in hindsight was probably the way she was adjusting to the move, but because the onset was somewhat delayed, it caught us off-guard)... but then she emerged so wise, with so many healthy coping skills, we daily shake our heads in amazement at her maturity.
-Made friends with a wonderful group of girls at school
-Lost a bunch of teeth
-Started Piano lessons and LOVES to practice
-Is our most willing Spanish speaker (the older girls are shy about it)
-Turned seven years old
-Loves to observe animals and bugs and snails, swim, jump on the trampoline, play with friends and her best buddy Stone

Lucy:
-Turned ten years old
-Was shocked to receive the birthday present of her dreams - a mini moped Razor electric scooter thing like her friend Kelly has. After charging it up overnight, she woke up early to get all her chores done so she could ride it before leaving for her first day of Chef Camp. We all gathered in the street to cheer for her maiden voyage, and sent her off in a blaze of glory. She rode to the end of the street (three houses down), then turned around and was riding back towards us when she started getting silly and show-offy. She made a tough girl face and then - to my horror - started swerving her handlebars back and forth like she was some sort of Evil Knievel expert. In nightmarish slow motion, her motorcycle fishtailed and threw her through the air and skidding onto the asphalt - first bare elbow, then uncovered knee, then (OH NO!!!! LUCY!!!!) I saw her face smash the street. She stood up and I ran to her, expecting her face to be a flattened hamburger patty. I was shocked to see just a mild scrape on her forehead.... and one front chipped tooth. Her helmet was broken and scraped, and was a powerful lesson about why we strap those to our noggins before riding. We went straight to the dentist and got her tooth re-built in a jiffy - she cried off and on for awhile (mostly, she told me, because she felt so stupid) but still made it to cooking class on time!
-Will be starting her last hear of elementary school this Fall
-Tried out for her Dance Studio's Performing Company... and made it in both genres she auditioned for: Ballet and Jazz. This will mean more one-on-one attention and more time commitment, both of which she says she's excited about. I love watching that girl dance.
-Wanted so badly to be cast as Ginny Weaseley in their drama camp's production of Harry Potter... and she got the part! You really should hear her British accent. It's perfect. (She can also do Irish, Scottish, Indian... you name it!)


Lindsay
-Turned 12-Graduated from our church's children's program (The Primary) and joined the youth program (ages 12-18). It was super weird the first time we saw her in that teenage context. Our girl had been grouped with the 3-11 year olds.... and then suddenly our same girl was sitting with the girls heading for college. Cue tears.-Started piano lessons back up, with fluctuating enthusiasm but mostly a good attitude-Was hoping to be cast as Hermione in the Harry Potter play, but was doubled-over-laughing-good-natured when she saw her name on the list next to her role: Albus Dumbledore. (Not enough boys in Theater Camp.)
-Still consumes books faster than I can keep them coming in the door (I'm always on the hunt for recommendations! Please!)

Erik
-Works at home, usually wearing a swimsuit -Goes to Crossfit every day. He misses his Spain Crossfit buddies-Almost sat on a rattlesnake in the mountains during a long run with Amy (we discovered AMAZING trails in the mountains not too far from Stone's preschool - we would drop him off, then drive up into a National Park and run for a good two hours, then pick him up and dance to dub step in the car on the way home)-Loves Manventures with his Northern California friends-May punch through a wall the next time he's trying to have a conversation with his peers and the only thing they talk about is surfing-Is still my favorite person in the whole entire world


Amy
-Roadtripped with all her sisters to Palm Desert to meet their Mom for three amazing days in Palm Desert. Talking, laughing, crying, hugging, laughing, eating, hiking, laughing, running. Joy.
-Cried the whole way up to Los Altos and the whole way home and several times during, and thought maybe going up there so often isn't helping the transition. Then she planned another trip up there (See you on Tuesday, guys! Woot Woot!)-Loves being home with her family in her pajama pants by 7:00 every night-Loves loves LOVES running around the hills, but especially through the mountains with Erik. Hurt her Achilles tendon last month and had a hard few weeks not being able to run. Lifting weights and swimming feel like a chore.-Loves loves LOVES when friends and family come to visit. To all of you who have already come to see us, thank you for making the drive!! Those days have been the highlights of our time here. To all of you who haven't visited yet, you are always welcome!-Will always remember her parents volunteering - out of the blue - to come watch the kids so we could go on a trip together (and they could spend time with their grandchildren). Erik and I had a really special, unforgettable trip in Mexico City, and we returned home to find our kids head over heels for my parents. Thank you, Mom and Dad!
My phone got erased last month, and I lost all my photos from March, April, May and June. :( Here are some from July:

The Stouts came to visit, and the girls continued their tradition of making a mystery movie. this one was set at a hotel in the 1930's.

Sophie's first piano lesson at Miss Annette's house

Lucy's 10th birthday party - swimming and slip'n'sliding in the back yard

The pseudo-cousins the Stouts

I love having time for adventure with my little ones all to myself

Rocket pops = Summer

I decided to take my phone around the house after dinner one evening and just snap photos of the fam in action. Erik and Lindsay had picked up some herbs to plant in our courtyard (notice the Spanish tiles from Triana on our wall! Just like the street signs in Seville. The fountain in the courtyard also very Spanish)

Happy chaos left from painting in the Art Room

Defying Gravity after planting herbs

It was Erik's night to put the kids to bed (we trade off nights) so I tied on my runners and headed into the hills above our house. This is our neighborhood from above

And on the way home. The colors were 10x as bright as that looks, but you get the idea

Sophie and Lucy are saving their chore money for pet birds

Grammy and Grandpa's Birthday party at our house, with Erik's brother Christiaan and his family

Handsome Allebest men

We took the kids to San Diego on Saturday to tour the USS Midway, an aircraft carrier that was in service from 1945-1994. It was fascinating! Then onto the worst Mexican food we'd ever eaten (San Diego has some great Mexican food, but don't eat in the touristy Old Town -we laughed it was so bad), then an incredible old hacienda from 1820, then tacos at the famous Lucha Libre taquería, then we picked up donuts and headed home to watch Back to the Future in our pj's.

I LOVE MY FAMILY! It's been a great five months. (And it won't be that long again.)