Asher's Poem

dinosaur dinosaur

I wish you were home
I love you

she thinks she's taller than me but no. she says think what you think. mine is better. that's what I say. we have a little fight about it.

the stars explode when you come near.

trees and flowers that grow
the great sun
wait in the sun
a trick to get out
they disappear
it was done growing but one thing was wrong
it wanted to grow more but it could never do it
it could get bigger if it waits
before they knew it, the trees were everywhere
a human being walked outside and he saw the beautiful stuff outside
she said what lovely things in my backyard

the end, is that a good story

Asher's Bestiary

Mom is a mouse who is very cuddly and small. Dad is a jaguar because he's fast. Elliot is an eagle. I am half dinosaur, half bear and half squirrel because I'm cute and can kill anything. I'm invincible.

Amy and I have a problem. When we go outside she's taller. When we go inside I'm taller. Something different is going on.

Poladroids

Ashersaurus and the Dinosaurs

Asher now has 15 dinosaur books and can identify at least 50 dinosaurs. Last year when he became obsessed with dinos, unfortunately I taught him the incorrect way to pronounce nearly all of his favorite theropod dinosaurs (actually pretty much all dinosaurs). Now that we have a textbook size Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and use the Internet to research - we are re-learning the correct way to pronounce. For him, it's no sweat, he picks up the new sound so fast. But it's taking me a while to remember to say kar-kar-o-DON-tuh-SAWR-us instead kar-char-odontosaurs....CARCHARODONTOSAURUS.

Deinonychus: Pronunciation: dye-NON-ick-us


Giganotosaurus: Pronunciation: JYE-ga-NO-toe-SORE-us

The audio file at DinoDictionary is my friend.

Asher's To Do List:

1. Go fishing - Get me a net
2. Relax
3. Play catch with you
4. Have a party with a gluten free cake
5. Look for creatures in the woods
6. Learn how to read
7. Help mom clean up the toys
8. Go to California because I haven't seen Grandma Judy in a little while
9. Go to a baseball park where we can play baseball
10. Run into your arms and hug you - isn't that the cutest idea? Do you like it?

Now that's enough of ideas, Mom. No more ideas. No more ideas. I don't want ideas. No more ideas.

Asher the Biker

Asher decided last week that it was about time for him to start riding Elliot's old bike. After we finally got around to lowering the seat, all he needed was a push and off he went. Excellent balance that boy. A week later and he's an old pro, turning around in the driveway and racing down the block. Whooopeeee!

Puerto Vallarta 2009

President Obama

This morning the kids and I watched the inauguration until it was time for school. Asher ignored the ceremony and read his Sea Monsters book instead, but Elliot was fully involved. He decided he didn't want to be President anymore because it looked like a really hard job. At least he's realistic.

McSweeney's and 826 Valencia asked kids to submit advice to President Obama and compiled it in this book: Thanks and Have Fun Running The Country.

Here is Elliot's advice to President Obama:

"Don't let anything get in your way. Always be nice to your guards because they're protecting you and will give their lives for you. And if you like Star Wars, 'May the force be with you.'"

One of my favorite letters to the President from the book:

Dear Barack Obama,

I have a great idea for you: you should set up a special phone, a special place just for kids to call the president if they find things that are dangerous and can affect people, like someone smoking. This would be a special place for kids to talk to Barack Obama and let him know what's going on.

Another important thing that I want to talk to you about is cars and buses. There is a bus called the Galactic Wizard which runs on biofuel or vegetable oil. I think, instead of polluting the environment, scientists should work on those buses. You should make it so that everyone turns off any light whenever they are not in the room—that way we can save the environment and also pay less on our electricity. We can't just use up the environment until we have nothing, or we will starve to death. Nobody wants that, do they? I want to tell you, Barack Obama, if one day I could travel around the world and help people, I would definitely do it.

Dhamaril Nunez, age 9
Boston

Little House on the Prairie Dinner

For the past few months Elliot and I have been reading the Little House series of books. I watched the TV show as a kid, but somehow missed the books. Lucky for me, Elliot really loves the stories. We both fell for Laura's crisp and direct descriptions of prairie life, her curious nature and honest voice come through loud and clear. The Ingalls's adventures with outdoor dining, random fires, locusts, screaming prairie grasses, ruthless blizzards and endless snows, encounters with friendly and unfriendly native Americans appeal to his seven year old's notion of excitement. Life can rough, disappointing and unpredictable, but if you keep your wits, persistence and hard work will pull you through.

We just finished On the Banks of Plum Creek and celebrated with a Little House Candlelight Dinner. The menu designed by Elliot included pan fried steak, corn bread, corn, milk, and carrots. I bought my first steak ever. The boys were not terribly impressed with steak and the corn bread wasn't ready until dinner was long over, but the corn was a hit.

Autumn Seattle 2008

Obama Cake + Barackoli

I was on the edge of my seat until the last minute, but Obama pulled it off. We won! Elliot masterminded our Obama victory party featuring a red, white and blue Obama cake and "browned barackoli." We invited our neighbors and Grandma and Grandpa to celebrate with us Wednesday night. Dinner was excellent, especially the broccoli. Yes We Did!

Halloween 2008

Asher wore his fantastic Fire Dragon costume that Grandma Judy made. He wore it four times before Halloween, so it saw a lot of use. Elliot wore his wizard costume twice and then decided on Halloween to be a Demon Ghoul. Good times. Take a look at the Obama mobile.

The Jaguars

Congratulations on finishing great fall season Jaguars!

What Sound Does a Zebra Make?

I've compiled a few questions the kids have asked me about recently that I've been promising to research for them.

Asher: "What sound does a zebra make?" I guessed that it might sound like horse's neigh, while Asher suggested that it made no sound at all. Answer: A cross between a donkey's bray and a small dog's bark.

Elliot: "How old is the world's oldest living person?" Answer: According to wikipedia, the oldest person is 115 year old Edna Parker of the United States. There is a Japanese man who is 120, but his age is not confirmed. The previous oldest living person record holder was Jeanne Calment, who died at age 122 and 164 days.

Elliot: "What makes storm clouds dark and white clouds white?" I looked up the answer on wikipedia, but the answer was a little too scientific for me. Here are the answers compiled from a few sources:

White clouds are white because: Clouds are illuminated by light from the sun, and light from the sun is seen as white by our eyes, a mix of all the colors of the rainbow - which produces white. Clouds are made up of many small water drops and ice crystals. Light reflects and scatters so many ways from and in a cloud that when illuminated directly it ends up looking bright white.

Dark clouds are dark because: Clouds can also look dark or gray due to perception by our eyes. A light gray cloud on a bright white background will look much darker than the same cloud on a dark or black background, in which case it might look white and bright. A cloud can also look dark or gray because it is partially transparent and the blue sky behind it can be seen through the cloud.

Good Sportsmanship

Elliot needed a few reminders at his soccer game on Saturday about the rules of good sportsmanship. Thought these were great pointers for cultivating a good attitude overall and playing sports with dignity and grace.

Sportsmanship is defined as:

• playing fair
• following the rules of the game
• respecting the judgment of referees and officials
• treating opponents with respect

Tips for practicing sportsmanship:

• Learn as much as you can about your sport. Play by its rules. Show up for practice, work hard, and realize that on a team, everyone deserves a chance to play.
• Talk politely and act courteously toward everyone before, during, and after games and events. That includes your teammates, your opponents, your coaches and their coaches, the officials presiding over the game, and even spectators (who can sometimes be loud about their opinions).
• Stay cool. Even if others are losing their tempers, it doesn't mean you have to. Remind yourself that no matter how hard you've practiced and played, it is, after all, just a game.
• Avoid settling disputes with violence. If you're in a difficult situation or someone's threatening you, seek help immediately from your coach or from an official. Remember, too, that if you respond with violence you could get penalized, which could hurt your chances of winning.
• Cheer your teammates on with positive statements — and avoid trash-talking the other team.
• Acknowledge and applaud good plays, even when someone on the other team makes them.
• When officials make a call, accept it gracefully even if it goes against you. Remember that referees may not be right every time — but they're people who are doing their best, just as you are.
• Whether you win or lose, congratulate your opponents on a game well played.

The Lemonhead

Elliot and I sat down to write a story, but soon enough he informed me, "Mom, we're not writing a whole story right now, we're writing a summary of the story for the back of the book."

Once there was a boy named Leonard who really liked lemonade. He made a club for all the kids who liked lemonade. The all liked it so much that they got sucked into a world of lemonade. They made a new friend whose head was shaped like a lemon. His name was Lemonhead. But the world of lemons is about to collapse. Everyone in the real world stopped drinking lemonade. It's up to the lemon club to save the world of lemons.

Ballard Sunday Market Photos

Boys wearing Chicago Cubs jersey shirts eating turkey dogs. Elliot snapped the other pics below. The raspberries are delicious!

Summertime Photos 2008

Here are some recent picture of our family for some people to view. They are, by and large, pictures of a trip to Discovery Park. Elliot got stung by a bee 15 feet from the completion of our sojourn. A couple of pictures are from a toy sale that Elliot instigated at 6:30 on a Wednesday.

Bubble Calendar

I know the boys would go nuts over this bubble calendar. Pop a bubble daily for a year. I bet they'd pop the whole year in one day actually. Cute idea.