Posts in Category: events
Cubing Competition!
Practicing
Speed cubing!
Hanging with the cubers. This part was the most fun for Sam, I think, just hanging out with other cubers and trying different puzzles.
Abbey Road!
Abbey Road, anyone? The boys are off to the third and fourth grade talent show!
Sam is solving a Rubik’s cube relay with his principal, Sheryl Belt, assisting in the act. Ben is providing accompaniment on the ukulele. It was a wonderful show and took quite a bit of coordination by the principal to preview all the acts and ensure there was high quality. Sam did a very good job – very business-like, not rattled at all by solving in front of 200 people, and made sure his brother came with him at the right time to arrive at the stage entrance on cue. This was a third and fourth grade show, so some older students were asking Ben what he was doing with an uke, and did he really know how to play it. Well…see for yourself 🙂 It was a great show! (I was soooo relieved it went off ok!)
I’ve got a controller!
We went for a nice walk today because the sun was out (!) and Ben found a rock on the beach which seemed to work as a good controller. He made Daddy and Sam do many (MANY) kinds of walks: left, right, up, jump, split toe walk, beard walk, run, skip, etc. You get the idea. Daddy was very cooperative. It was so funny we were laughing out loud. Here’s a smattering of pictures.
Sam doing basketball on skates! It was really funny.
Ben entered an art contest. His work was all original – he really loves to draw. Many of the other contestants entered what they had made in art class. I told Ben artists don’t draw to win. They draw to share. Good for him.
Some sun sneaked out today!
Ben beginning his work with the “controller” he found on the beach.
Little guy loves to control big daddy!
It was so funny!
What does this face say? This woman is the mother of my children. I love her. Because I must. Or maybe I really do.
A new generation of hockey players is born
We started out by watching the 1980 Miracle on Ice game – original footage. Then we went to Big 5 where they were very tolerant as we got some gear. This is a great store. Always good to us.
We had a lot of fun picking out skates, sticks and pads. I think I accidentally got two-left shooting sticks, but that may be a good thing as Ben does shoot left. I am not sure which way Sam will want to shoot, so we may be back at Big 5 tomorrow! I have a right-shooting stick for me, thank goodness! We called Uncle Doug on our way back home to get some pointers. He and Uncle Tim both played ice and roller hockey, so this seems like a family tradition!
At Wilkes – first time on blades! We learned a few things at orientation last week – no skates, just sticks and balls – and were hooked! Time to get comfortable on skates so that when the team starts up, we can play. Ben is a year too young but Sam is the right age.
The boys picked it up really quick. I thought I’d be a human crane, holding them up, but I wasn’t at all. Ben insisted on getting these Heely shoes with wheels in the heels. Turns out they were much harder than I think blades would be for him, so we may be back to Big 5 for those, too, tomorrow. Ha!
Ben is showing us how to cradle properly. He’s quite good at it – if you click through to the album you’ll find a video demo 🙂
Terrific game!
Thanks to big Nate G. for snagging this awesome picture of Sam in action.
Sam did an awesome job “under the boards” (rebounding) and making some key passes to our high scorers. Awesome awesome game, guys! You really did it! 29-31 – so close to winning!
Valentine’s Day wood shop
Burnishing our carved valentines. Sam is making a rope bracelet.
Sam is now burnishing his carved valentines. One set of initials for each person in the class.
Cutting each carving with a new coping saw.
Working with friend Kai to create some interesting Valentines. We went to the hardware store for inspiration. It came down to soldering metal or carving wood. Both seemed interesting to me but the boys chose wood carving. We made one set of carved initials for everyone in the class and one for the teacher. The table was a mess when were done, and you can imagine the dust on the floor! Good thing Daddy was in JAPAN…
Happy Valentine’s Day to all!! We love you!
A big weekend!
On a tour of the stadium where the Seahawks won their AFC title and advanced to the Super Bowl!
Having a lot of fun in the snow!
Watching the dough rise
My dressage instructor has a colleague who created a video for husbands regarding dressage. It describes several analogies for watching someone practice the discipline of dressage – one of them resonated with me because it pertained to dough. Well – here’s the latest installment from Emmy’s owner, Steve, who graciously comes to lessons with me and manages to film the good, the bad and the ugly. This is a shorter one so I’ll post it. You can find other ones at Steve’s channel if you REALLY like watching the dough rise 🙂 Seriously – there is a lot of good learning going on and I can’t wait to work on it some more. It’s fun being “off leash” as my dear husband calls it (not on the longe line) but it is also much more challenging. I’m working on rein aids but I can feel my seat falling apart under me. More saddle time… Thanks to Steve for filming (and the great horse!) and Janet for her excellent instruction.
12th man on our land
Boys with our neighbor and friend, Kai.
The boys were playing hoops and football before the BIG GAME and look who our “12th man” fan is? RACCOONS! THREE OF THEM!
Ben out chopping with me. He is SUCH good company. I love that little guy. Such a hard worker.
Such a great game for the Seahawks fans! I was the only Broncos fan around as far as I could tell, but you know – I was won over by Russell Wilson’s remarks after the game. He’s a class act as well. Soooo…we may be playing hooky on Wed for the victory parade… 🙂 When in Rome…We missed school for the Eddie Aikau surf competition in Hawai’i, so it is a family tradition to honor certain celebrations and events when in one’s hometown. All the January pictures are up if you care to surf on over to the album…including Sam’s flag football party. Here’s a link to that.
Sam’s 9th Birthday
Dave looks like the intense coach on the sidelines, but he’s having to deal with myriad issues at work and managed to sneak out to be there for Sam despite it all. THANK YOU, Dave.
Ref Nate!
Blowing out the candles and singing! Look at that cake!
Ben and his buddy Eli played soccer the whole time. They are loving the cupcakes!
Well, it was a great time but completely nuts! Our volunteer ref and friend, Nate (5th grade) actually taped up a dark shirt with masking tape to look like a referee. That is my hiking whistle he’s using. Love the mustache! Nice touch. He really worked hard out there. Lots of tough calls, and you would not believe all the yelling and screaming on both teams – very vigorously-expressed opinions! I tried to do a “last shall be first and the first shall be last” approach to picking teams so those who usually aren’t first got picked first. That worked with ok with my pre-defined NFL draft pick roster, until about double the number of kids showed up! Word apparently got out that I’d invited the whole school. Maybe next time I will – and get several more coaches and refs! 🙂 All said they had a great time. To wind it all down, I tied an old beat-up base drum around my waist with a bike tire inner tube and one of the other moms beat on it as we marched down the field. It was very funny! Alma has some rhythm! Sam said it was probably the best birthday yet. That is what REALLY matters at the end of the day. The birthday boy felt celebrated by his friends and had fun with them. THANK YOU to Brie for being photojournalist. She snapped 94 shots before her poor hands froze off. And thank you to Vicki for the pom poms for the cheerleaders (the girls), and to all the guys and gals for coming out to play! That was a ton of fun!
Trail time!
Sam watching a 3D printer make Lego gears! I did not believe these existed – this is the first time I have seen one! I am mentoring in Robotics club on Wednesdays now as Sam wanted to join, and they needed a volunteer. So I am trying to learn, but mostly I help with fetching, pulling parts apart, and trying to impart a bit of systematic thinking (the scientific process) as the children experiment, observe and record (at least, that is what we hope they do!). Mostly I encourage and support, and try to understand gears. I am hopeless in that area.
I decided to take a jog on a new trail today, called the Whiskey 40 I think, and along the way spotted this nice girl. I love cows! Don’t you WANT one?
A ride on Sugar, a Tennessee Walker, was a wonderful way to break up the day. It was sunny and nearly 50 today – totally balmy, like summer. Cool, crisp air that feels warm on you when you stand in the sun. Makes you spellbound in January.
Ben started indoor soccer today. He is so thrilled. They both love their sports so much that they make SURE we are always on time for practice and games. A good quality. Ben has a cold, and had already played football for about 90 minutes, but he gave his all to practice.
After playing at Wilkes for nearly two hours (it was sunny out!), then indoor soccer, we were starving when we headed to get Sam, who had gone to a neighbor’s house for a couple hours. On our way home (Sam on bike, me in car behind with flashers on after repairing a bike chain that had come off) we were trying to reach Dave…”Honey? Are you bringing home Taco Bell? Please? We are so hungry. Please feed us. Please? When are you getting home?” Pooooor Dave. Seriously. Little did I know that he was being hammered with calls from work, too. I started getting them at home. “Hello? Is Mr. Krug available?” I said “No, I’m looking for him, too. I think he’s in his phone.” HUH? I should just recognize when I am really NOT RIGHT in the head and SHUT UP! Or at least not answer the fone. Phone. I was BONKING.
So tonight I apologized to Dave for being a really lame wife. I was supposed to get his car in for repair today, which was a little unrealistic as you can’t just drop a car off at an auto repair place and get it all done in one day. Not when it is a bearing, an axle, sticky windows, tail light, shocks, etc. A lot to check on. But I did at least go by a new place, talk to a guy, arrange a repair date, and tentatively plan to get a tail light fixed tonight before soccer. That was a fine plan, except that it was sunny out and I didn’t leave the playground in time to get that tail light fixed. It’s like in Hawaii when the surf is up. If the sun is out in January, all bets are off on Mrs. Krug sticking to a plan. Well, I could have, but I thought soccer started at 4:15. Turns out it was 4:30 so I really COULD have after all. Darn. I am just not tracking on some details because I’m processing a lot of other things that probably don’t need bandwidth, but they are consuming it anyway. This weekend’s lineup is basketball game tomorrow for Sam, Sunday church, then hoops for Ben, then Burns Night, and Monday is a big flag football game for Sam’s birthday. It will all be very fun, and everyone is excited, and I hope that Dave stays well and that the boys get over their colds soon, and that I can get a handle on my schedule! Ooops…better reschedule German club from Monday or I will be double booked!
Grammie and Grandpa’s visit to the homestead
Sam got the axe!
Ben doing some splitting. He is getting quite reliable, really. I had four kids out there splitting all at one time. Talk about high-intensity supervision. I was really bonking after that. Each had their own chopping block lined up along the driveway behind Ben. I had the great privilege of helping a neighbor girl chop her first piece of wood by herself.
Sam is annoyed that I have laid claim to this Ames axe. It is a good one. Thank you for the present, Doug! (This was a Christmas present – can you picture it arriving via mail?)
Ben is listening to “The Boss” while warming his hands. He loves Bruce. Nothing better than listening to The Boss while doing some manual labor.
Dad was busy making “pencils” for us – thank you for the supply, Dad! You really worked hard!
This was one GNARLY piece of wood! It took both of us to split it. Thank you, Dad, for being my buddy out there as I finally got my pile split!
Seattle with Grammie and Grandpa
Hi Grammie and Grandpa! What a beautiful day and so much fun visiting with you two. A week was just toooo short 🙁
The Chihuly Glass Museum was just unbelievable. Thank you, Grammie, for suggesting we go!
At the top of the Space Needle with Grammie and Grandpa!!!
Ben got a conference championship shirt for a little surprise on our way back to the ferry. He loves it!
Sam in his Seahawks jersey – a surprise we picked up for his birthday on the way back to the ferry. Doesn’t he look so handsome?! He looks so mature here, too. I was speechless when I saw this shot.
Grammie and Grandpa arrive from NJ!
Sam and Ben are very excited to see their Grammie and Grandpa! They have been looking forward to the visit and were beside themselves over dinner with excitement. We have a full weekend ahead of fun and relaxation – basketball game today for Sam, then Church, favorite baker, then hoops for Ben then Seahawks playoff game on Sunday, then Monday to Seattle for Chihully Glass, a model train village, Pike Market and Pioneer Square.
Welcome, Grammie and Grandpa! It is so fun having you here!
Emmy and I encountered a very loud and fast-moving street-sweeper which had its lights flashing. Emmy was pretty interested in it! I thought we might be in for some trouble, but knew we needed to soldier on. The operator graciously slowed down and turned off his engine as we got closer. We made it to the lesson just fine! Thanks so much for capturing the interesting stuff, Steve 🙂
Mindstorm Monday
Sam got into building a creation using Lego Mindstorms today – he began with a guy called Everstorm who seems to snore when you turn him on. A snoring robot? Really? (Wirklich? Yes, it was German Stammtisch today, too.) He really made great progress, then sweet Dave helped him build more after dinner. Dave was still in his work clothes when he dug in. Sam was darting back and forth from the build instructions fetching parts and lining them up for his dad who was using the iPad 3D modeling feature to check his assembly. They have 4 or 5 more “missions” for building then they can test the design. Pretty cool! Mom and Richard – we couldn’t do this without your hand-me-down amazing Vaio. Sam is just thrilled to have a computer with a bit bigger screen and which responds. He’s able to do his online homework and submit it, he’s tracking cubing times in Excel, and checking email. Unbelievable.
Meanwhile, I got to try out a Tennessee Walking horse today for the first time. Despite some YouTube introductions to the gaits, I remain a bit baffled. The fast walk (running walk?), the pace, the flat walk…I also got an introduction to the patterns used when riding a dressage test and how to interpret my trainer’s commands (crossing out of the circle, crossing through the circle, how to make a proper circle, all of which needs a lot of work for me). There is not a moment’s rest when riding dressage. You are thinking about your cues all the time. I am so lucky to have found a very good trainer who is intent on seeing growth with every lesson.
I’m also working on manuscripts and grants this week and volunteering in class…Here’s a picture of Sam and his Dad:
Sam and Dave working on a robot!