Switched

Eva is my wave swimming, in the ocean, over her head, without a fear, girl. Since she could crawl she would just head right for the nearest body of water and go in. Waves, no problem. So I asked her if she would like to surf at the conference(showing her pictures of the last conference surf lesson). Surprise...the answer was a resounding "No." Okay, fine...and in pipes Elias, "I want to."

What? My son who spends all his time building and digging on the shore. Who rarely can be coaxed into the waves at all. Elias wants a surfing lesson. "You sure?" Yes, he was sure. We signed him and Craig up for the lesson. Up until a couple minutes into the lesson I was pretty sure he wouldn't do much with it. Maybe go out a few feet and sit on the board while the waves lapped at him. Stand on the sand.

Kids love twisting your world around. I love that they do!

Heading out.

Heading in. Upright and happy.

I asked how he liked his lesson. His response, "It is the most awesome thing ever!" His smile muscles were sore. Love this life!

Time Out

Being at a conference with lots of other parents and kids for five days is amazing! It can also be a bit overwhelming. We decided we needed to take a break and spend a couple hours at the beach.

We think it was a good decision.

Community and Ideas

Part of the reason we go to a conference is to meet up with others doing the same types of things we are doing. I think as the kids get older this view of other kids, in other places, with similar life leanings will give them a broader sense of community.

Another reason we go is to share and explore the ideas and inspiration that other people bring into their lives. This art room was full of that needed inspiration and my kids spent quite a bit of time in here painting, drawing, and exploring with friends and on their own. I really appreciated this room as it gave me ideas as well.

Ocean Observations

It is hard to pick just one picture of the beach. We take hundreds on every trip there and the kids have so much fun they are all great! This picture reminds me of some of the "moments" that happen. We just were able to stop and focus on what was going on around us. Love these moments.

Stack 'em Up

Sometimes things in life just balance themselves out and line up for your viewing pleasure. We took great photos of the kids at Birch Aquarium, sometimes they pose perfectly. Sometimes the fish do!

Domino Tower

Elias has always liked to build. He built numerous domino trains with his grandma and after becoming frustrated that they kept falling over, before he was done, he switched to building towers. These were a bit more stable. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of some of the more elaborate ones.

I find that these moments are flashes of his personality and growth. In previous times the frustration would have led to a huge meltdown. He had several outbursts, but then figured out he could switch to something different that was less likely to cause frustration. I can't wait to see what eight looks like.

Angry Bird

Okay, not the best picture I've taken. I find Elias with a different stuffy on different days. He isn't necessarily attached to any of them and sometimes they make an appearance for weeks at a time, sometimes for a day. Quite often there isn't one about at all.

This particular creature came from his Tatik. She brought each of the kids a bird from the Angry Birds iPod game that has been such a hit. He calls it his bomb birds and they have been role playing Angry Birds all week. Thanks for the fun, Cheryl!

Atom Bits

Our molecular kit came in and Elias was all over it. We started with a water molecule and discussed a bit more, deciding we want to find a good book of molecules and how we use those molecules. Water is obvious! So now I'm on the search for a kid friendly (with adult help) organic chem book.

He quickly shifted from chemistry to Minecraft and began to create molecular structures with all sorts of bonds...he made up new molecule names and figured out exactly what they would do and how he would use them in his world. Always going, this kid!

My Three

There they are, all three of them: Maeve (1), Eva (4) and Elias (7.5)

Trying to get a picture where are three are looking at the camera AND smiling is close to impossible. I do like this picture; it has all sorts of interesting things in it. Maeve is trying to figure out what her siblings are doing. Elias and Eva are almost holding hands. Eva, as usual, is wearing a big grin and, as usual, has chocolate around that grin. Elias is looking at the pond where he will quickly go when this photo shoot is done. None of them possess combed hair. Amazingly, they are in relatively clean clothes and there is an incredible lack of scabs and bruises. They are lovely.