Teacher Gifts

School is finally out for the winter summer!  The next time we head to the bus stop, I will have two youngsters getting on and heading off.  End of school year means teacher gifts and this year I think I came up with a fun one that doesn't break the bank.  We had a regular teacher, reading teacher, long-term substitute and bus driver to thank so it can add up.  We did a movie-night theme with 5 Redbox rentals, popcorn, Cracker jacks, Twizzlers and a thank you note.  In the past we have done magazine subscriptions or Barnes and Nobles gift cards.  Happy Summer Vacation!!

June Recap

I am anxious to get out of the recap only cycle, but this is not the month that it is going to happen.


Ben - Became a chief resident and got selected to advance to Major next year.  That's pretty cool.  The chief thing I could do without though because so far it has been a major source of stress and a time suck.  Which means Ben now has negative free time.  Which means so do I.

In fun extracurricular news, our team the 'Silverbacks', won league play for Saturday co-ed 18+ teams.  We went into playoffs tied for number one and: two games, one overtime, no subs and a round of penalty kicks later we ended up as rightful champs.

Avery -  Completed (graduated from?) second grade.  Attended a week long fiddle camp where she studied English, Old-time, French/Cajun and Medieval styles of violin/fiddle, crafts and dance.

Miles -  See 'Lynn' below.

Cruz -  See 'Lynn' below.

Lynn - I am full blown mothering mode these days with each at different ages with different needs (whatever mode I have been in the last 8 years seems like a cake walk) Although it is fulfilling and awesome and worth it, blah blah blah, the parasitic relationship leaves me with little to work with by days end (or mornings start), but regardless I still give myself new tasks and hobbies because that's what a modern woman does.  Putting food on the table is not enough.  Keeping house is not enough. Mere survival is not enough! Although it may be the number one accomplishment.  Just yesterday I caught Miles mid-ride on the garage door as it was going up.  Surely this was accidental...but no, Ben caught him doing the same thing the day before.  Within the same hour Avery was discovered trying her luck with a razor in the shower.  Her luck is good and her legs are free of that fine, nearly non-existent hair that plagued her.  And I don't need to list the death defying feats that Cruz performs everyday, all to satisfy his tooth (I would say 'sweet' tooth, but it's also salty, nutty, savory fruity...), but I am running out of hiding spots for treats.  

B.C. Weekend

As we enter the home stretch of our tenure in the Pacific Northwest, we are feeling desperate for two things: heat and seeing everything the area has to offer, at least once, if not twice.  The first thing we can't do anything about, but the second is fully in our control as long as the car cooperates.  So a long holiday weekend with nothing on the docket led us to flee the country by car, to the north.  We spent one night in the Richmond suburb of Vancouver, which might as well have been a suburb of Beijing and where 9 out of 10 cars were luxury vehicles (with the one out of ten drivers being non-Asian), and every regional taste of China represented (we hit up a little Shanghai cuisine).

Ben says that Vancouver is the prettiest city he has ever seen, knocking Seattle off the top of his list.  Stanley Park right in the middle of it is a stunner and we would love to spend more time there.

The next day we took the Sea to Sky drive to Whistler and were rewarded with scenery as beautiful as the name suggests.  We saw rock climbers hanging from the face of The Chief, scuba divers braving the freezing sound, lots of bicyclists, hikers and I'm now fairly convinced that B.C. Canadians do not spend any time watching TV. 

                                    

 We made it to Whistler and checked out the Olympic Village, which was just as you would imagine - lovely and overpriced.

 A lot of hiking never hurt anyone:

We've seen our share of slugs before, but never giant black slugs.

The hotel waterslide was a major hit, and where Miles can say he learned to swim.

Bonjour Canada.  We'll be back.

"If you don't bileve me, chek my mouth" or {Toothfairy - Round two}

check out that little nub hanging down.

The first one fell out in the middle of the night. This one came out while eating pizza and bounced around on the wood floor before it came to a stop. The first tooth earned 6 glittered quarters, the second earned a dollar bill with a slight dusting of the same glitter wrapped in dental floss (I sure hope the tooth fairy doesn't get locked up for defacing currency).  Although the second tooth was apparently less profitable, it did come with a note from the tooth fairy (for one of her bottom teeth she lost while we were in California last year she earned a whopping $7 and a goody bag.  so I suggest if you have any control over it, lose your teeth in California)* Since it's a little tough to read, and I'm sure you are dying to know what the tooth fairy had to say, I know I was, here is a transcription:

~
Dear Avery, 
I cannot believe you lost another tooth!  Thank you for your nice notes.  To answer your questions, there are millions of tooth fairies all over the world.  I was assigned to follow your family about three years ago.  I have watched you grow!
What do we do with the teeth you ask. We grind them up to build our fairy houses in the highest tree tops.  I will keep watching for more teeth.  It won't be long until I am collecting teeth from Miles. 
I will be watching you!
Tooth Fairy #29
~

Tooth Fairy #29 is male and I'm surprised that our family didn't get assigned Tooth Fairy #24 'Black Mamba', myself.

* Specifically, lose them at Uncle Brady and Aunt Theresa's house.  (While there, one blond tooth fairy slipped $5 under the pillow, not knowing that one spanish-speaking fairy was going to be delivering a goody bag with various treats and $2.  When blond tooth fairy went back to retrieve the fiver, the tooth loser, in her sleep, had already discovered it and had it gripped tightly in her paws.  

I hope the tooth fairy can read cursive...

Hallelujah!  One of the offending teeth has fallen out.  Literally, it just fell out in her sleep.  I told her that the tooth fairy came and pulled that sucker out she/he was so tired of waiting.  The next night Avery wrote her/him a letter to accompany the tooth which she proudly displayed in a velvet jewelry case.  After she wrote it she said, "I hope the tooth fairy can read cursive, because that's how I signed my name".  I hope the tooth fairy isn't as appalled by her spelling as her mother is (you might think it's not so bad, but had she not asked me how to spell a few words it would have been even worse, but her penmanship is nice)

May Recap

Phew, we survived May!  I'm not complaining, but it turned out to be way busier than I had envisioned, in the best kind of way - the traveling kind.  In other words I have been price-lining all over North America and unincorperated U.S. territories.  Ben and I escaped to Puerto Rico for a few days, which I highly recommend and will expound upon later.  Then a 4 day work/school holiday and no plans ended with us headed north to Canada (lest you think us un-American, we did make it back for Memorial Day).  My sister came to visit at the beginning of the month then my mom came to watch the kids so that we could pretend that we didn't have any.  Somewhere in there I made a whirlwind trip to Texas to visit with my former employers (at least I'm pretty sure this wasn't a dream and actually occurred, it was so quick)(and I'm not sure that they consider themselves to be my former employers, and I'm not sure that I didn't just pick up a second job). So, 3 red-eye flights and one semi-long road-trip later, here we are...in June (looks like March).

Ben - Turned 33.

Avery - Is now entering her third month with two front teeth so loose they have just gone ahead and died.  I wish they would go ahead and fall out already, either that or she's going to have to start some trend involving grey teeth.

Of other importance, Avery wants to know if she can have a quinceañera .  I told her sure, if she becomes fluent in Spanish.  So she has started getting lessons from her school friends at recess.

Miles - Learned how to really truly swim, a welcome graduation from a nerve-wracking doggie-paddle.  He learned when the hotel in Whistler had an awesome indoor waterslide .

Cruz - Everything bad he was doing last month...he's still doing (in the most adorable, heart squeezing way).

Me - I think I mentioned enough in the intro.  (and for the record, if I make it back to San Antonio for longer than 36 hours, I will visit the friends and family I have there!)