Sun River Ski Trip

The family ventured into Central Oregon for a post TRB week of skiing, hiking, and relaxing. It was the first vacation we can remember where there was no list of things to see or clear plans for each day. We spent 3 days on the slopes of Mt. Bachelor and the rest around the town. I blogged about the latter on my professional site.
Skiing is still relatively new for the kids so there is a bit of exploration there. They enjoyed three days of the bunny hill with the exception of a trip down Home Run and one spectactular challenge (for Abby and I) of getting across the mountain on a different lift.

Amelia's Spelling Test - 1st Grade

I am proud to say she is following in her big sister's spelling prowess.

Father's Day from Amelia

I recovered this from the art bin and thought it was worth saving. Note the colors of the bikes.

Skiing with the kids at Bachelor

 We had another great day of skiing on Mt. Bachelor. It was a warm one with the high reaching nearly 50 degrees. That was a bit surprising given that when we left the condominium in Sunriver it was 15 and there was frost on the windshield and it was frigid. The kids were ready to go when we got to the parking lot and it seemed like it was going to be a good day.

 Amelia wanted to ski with Dad in the morning and so I was backwards for most of the time helping Amelia get started down the hill. I was lucky to have the old hockey skating experience to be able to do that in a reasonable way. After a bit, I got her to say "Pass" when she was going to fly by her dear old Dad! Once she did pass me, it was hard to catch up. She was moving down the mountain at a screaming pace.  There wasn't that many times that we were all together, so I was glad to get all three of the girls in the same photo.
 This picture was from the top of the run called Home Run, which was the one that Ameila wanted to stay on the entire day. Abby was a little more adventurous today then on Saturday, so she did Milky Way which was adjacent to the Home Run.

The sun was obviously out and we were really lucky to have such wonderful weather as a part of the visit. It wasn't all perfect skiing though as  Abby demonstrates in this fun photo. Susan is enjoying the moment laughing at her oldest daughter in a wicked sort of way :)
 Amelia dominated the time with Dad and Abby and Susan enjoyed the time together crusing the hill alternating between the two runs. I love taking pictures of the kids in front of the signs as they get ready for the trip down. There's obviously a sense of accomplishment as they make it up and down the hill throughout the day.
The girls were so fast down the hill at the end of the day it seemed like we were on the lift more than we were skiing. The good news with that on a day like today was that the weather was perfect, almost too warm.

Martin Luther King Jr Week Homework Assignments

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday and his I had a Dream speech, Amelia's Teacher asked her to list dream for her family - I was hoping for something brilliant and of course, she wants dragons to come alive! For the world, she dreams for "No polluting on Earth". She had a nice picture of herself. 

Amelia is doing well in school and in violin. She's doing the advanced words for the spelling tests and last week got individual and species correct. This week, the challenge word is probably measurement and healthy. 

Abby had to tell a story about a dream that she had for making the world a better place.

I'm telling you about my dream for the world. I would like to have stricter laws about hunting endangered species. I think this because in a million years we might be the only animal on the planet. I also think that trophy hunting should be illegal. Those are some of the ideas I had for making the world a better place!

in talking to her more about the topic (sometimes that's the easiest way to get anything out of her), she mentioned that the hunting she was thinking about was for the Chinese Tiger, especially. Going online to Wikipedia we found information about the South China Tiger which is dubbed Critically endangered. She says she  learned about the tigers in the Zoobooks magazine. She says that they are targeted because they are huge, elegant, beautiful creatures. The tigers are also just decimated by the lack of room, they have been impacted by losing habitat. She mentioned Quetzals as another animal that she was thinking about when she wrote her story as well. 

Okay, off to math, we're learning fractions and how to give an amount of cat food based on the weight of a cat. Fun Stuff!

2012 Christmas Card

 

Cyclocross at PIR - Peanut Butter Mud

November is not known for beautiful weather in Portland, but that's just a function of what you're hoping for. We have had some rain, but not a ton.... until now.

The forecast was for 3" of rain in three days which makes for cyclocross a different type of course than normal. Some people enjoy this and I will say that this was fun if you like to spin your wheels!

Susan was very strong on the course, pushing through her field and finishing in the top half. She was crashed into once and didn't fall on her own.

 I am not sure how she does that!

Crystal Mountain Trip

Amelia and Dad taking a swim in a secluded lake near Mt. Rainier.

Amelia with a tree just her size.

Halloween Costumes 2012

Abigail looks spooky as a Vampire!

 

Amelia as native American. This costume resulted in a lot of questions for me,
wanting to use the choice of the costume as a teaching moment about the
importance of culture in our society. It is always a challenge being a parent, so
many opportunities to share and pass along and be a better society.  The interesting
part of this is that she got the inspiration for the costume from the boots which were her
sisters, which are from the Gap, so probably about the least authentic article of clothing
possible. A vampire probably would have been easier to explain.

 

Kids Cross 2012 - Portland International Raceway

Amelia near the start navigating her way down a tough hill.
She's riding it and testing her luck. The boy to her right is walking his bike down.

Abby on the back stretch racing through the competition!

Amelia gets ready for the barrier.

 The kids cross course wasn't nearly as muddy as ours, so that was a good thing for us that have to clean them up!

2012 Cyclocross - Peter

 The family has started to enjoy cyclocross on Sundays at the Cross Crusade series. I got a Team S&M jersey  (Sellwood-Moreland, get your mind out of the gutter, sheesh) and have started to get a little faster out there on the course. It has made it more fun.

The courses that I have been out on are around the Portland area (Alpenrose Dairy was first and Heron Lakes at Portland International Raceway was second), so one of the things I like to do is bike to the event. The first course was pretty dry, but this last race was muddy and it made for a good time. The last time I raced at PIR, it seemed like I was falling a couple of times each lap. This time I think I only went down once and it wasn't a bad fall on the last lap when I was really very tired from giving it my all. I think that cost me about four slots in the standings and I finished 43rd.

The outcome is not pretty, but turned out pretty well overall as I finished in the top 20% for my age class. It helped that I started nearer to the front than normal.

A great sport if you like getting muddy.

2012 Cyclocross - Susan

 Susan had her day at the Portland International Raceway turn out a bit better than her earlier race at Alpenrose Dairy by not getting a flat tire.

Fall Thoughts from Abby

My favorite things to do in fall are baking delicious foods in the oven, cyclocross racing and going to the pumpkin patch. We bake turkey, golden crispy German pancakes, fluffy warm rolls, tasty scalloped potatoes, and sweet, golden pies.

At cyclocross races we bike in mud and dust. At muddy races I hear the sucking of mud. At dusty races I see the haziness of the dust as the sun shines through it. Fall is lots of fun!!!

2012: The Kids Schedule Returned

We're celebrating Susan Koonce Appreciation Week at the homestead. It is a every four year tradition (or something like that, at least we did it in 2008 and I am thinking that the Boston trip that they did to pick up the white pick up was about 2003 or so.

The 2008 version had me thinking through what and where the kids needed to be at any certain time. It's funny to look back at that version and laugh at how Susan thought she could control the behavior. I find myself thinking about how just to get along. Also, there was mention about walking to school and now we always bike. There isn't even a question with the kids, they would be shocked if we didn't.

Abby's Schedule
Monday: Take homework to school and complete Spelling Test.  Play Date with Eryn until 5:30 PM (pick up bike after)
Tuesday/ Friday: Abby has soccer practice at 5 - 6 PM 
Wednesday: Play Date with Brynna, Piano at Sellwood Community Center. 


Amelia's Schedule

Thursday: Amelia has soccer practice from 5 - 6 PM - I coach!

All in all, a busy week. 

We went to pick up Abby's bike after the play date and we biked with Annie running alongside. When we got to pick up the bikes, Abby told me she forgot her key. So when we started back home, the rain really set in! The kids wouldn't even put their rain jackets on tonight when we picked them up on bikes from their playdates and they were singing about being so happy in the rain. I just sorta of shook my head and laughed at how Oregonian that was of them. For 40 degrees - lobster gloves. Definitely helps to have the fingers stay together.

Sellwood Neighborhood Maps - Through the Kids' Illustrations

Amelia focused on the school and the homes near ours.

Abby had a class project to describe her neighborhood and name the streets around the house. A really good assignment for a fourth grader, who should know their address and how to get home from a few blocks away and from distinct landmarks and businesses, etc. We took the opportunity to do a little more than the class assignment and include Amelia into the fun.

 

Abby had a lot more to detail and scope of the project. She needed a little help with the street names, but was happy that she could draw the bike shop and her friend Chula (the dog that has a home away from home in the shop). The Sellwood pool and our neighbors were in there as well. Biking to school is prominently described here too.

 

Tiger Lillies Soccer - Abigail #8

Abby is in her fourth year of soccer as a Tiger Lilly.
Coach Tina Farley is still at the reins.

 

Both #8, our Saturdays this fall have been spent in the grass.

 

Abby likes to play goalie in the games. She took a goalkeeper's Camp this summer.

 

Blue Kangaroos Soccer - Amelia #8

Amelia is in her second year of soccer and this year, I am head coach of the team. We called this group the Blue Kangaroos in honor of our local coffee shop, which is a frequent reward post-game, especially if it was a tad wet out. This summer has hung on so long, we haven't had a hint of rain (well maybe a bit at the last game). 

Amelia chose #8 to be like her sister!

Lots of Amelia's friends on this team, including two from Lexington Street!

The team is mostly girls which is fun for Amelia. I guess that's what you get when you have a lot of friends new to soccer and a dad that jumps in to coach a "new" team of kids.

As I coach, I try to emphasize having a good time. We accomplish that sometimes as long as there isn't a request for special treatment too often.  Now, if only they looked this ferocious at the other team!

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