Cars, Yards and Knitting

Some Summertime activities we've enjoyed:

Cat therapy

Admiring the cars at the show in town

Yes, indeed! We are now taller than [some rare] cars!

The kids are getting tennis lessons from Marc (and basketball!)

And now, pictures of our "landscaping" BEFORE:

DURING:

AFTER:

This is what we did on Thursday morning this week: We went to our neighbor's house and played our keyboard for them. It's a large house whose lower level is a very nice assisted living facility. These ladies were so welcoming and appreciative of our playing for them: we are looking forward to going back there soon. We played plenty of Classics: Chopin, Grieg, Granados, and a few modern pieces too, but I also played a hymn, and Marcella (between Amber and Luke) began to sing when I played "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine." I accidentally cut off Mrs. Jones in the picture. The kids felt very comfortable playing there! The caretakers and the facility owner and her little children also listened. We will come back soon with some of my students as well. 

Friday was Knitting Lessons with Aunt Ginger! Amber has been begging for knitting lessons, and when she got started Luke thought he'd better try too. I'd told him that knitting was OK for guys too, since Mr. McConnaughey the truck driver does it, and also lots of men in Scotland knit.

Aunt Ginger's patience was outstanding. She can undo many confusing problems! The kids had a great time.

"The Marathon"

THE MARATHON

By Jamin, age 8

June 14, 2012

1.

My Dad was training for a marathon. He had done a half-marathon a few weeks before and he hadn’t done too well, but he said that it was a mistake he made by starting out too fast. But he trained hard after that and I was sure that he would do well. We were planning that I would ride with Dad on my brother’s bike (mine had a flat tire) and wear Dad’s fuel pack (a little bag you could open up to put in water or sports drink, even your cell phone) so if Dad needed to get a drink while he was running he could just say “Water please!” Then I would slow down until we were side by side and then he would open the pack and take out the water he needed. We had it all figured out.

2.

The day of the race finally came! A light rain fell from dark gray clouds. My Dad drove me, my brother and my sister, my mom, and my grandma and grandpa from Belgium to the start of the race. The course went from Kent to Alki Beach in West Seattle, 26.2 miles. Dad went up to the back of a pickup and signed his name and checked in. A few minutes later people were lining up at the start. We got more and more excited. The organizer said into a megaphone, “One minute until the start!” One minute of stretching and hopping and waiting passed and the 198 runners and three dogs were on their way! We watched them disappear into the distance: The course first went two miles out and back so when Dad passed me I would start riding with him.

 3.

After all the runners had gone the people set up an aid station next to the start and poured Gatorade and water into cups on a little table. A few runners that were not running the race (this was a public trail) saw the aid station and got a few drinks. Finally we saw the marathon runners returning. I saw Dad running behind a guy in a green shirt. My family said goodbye and I was on my way.

4.

In the first few miles we had to cross a lot of roads but I didn’t feel like we were losing any time. Then I realized that my pack was loose and my Dad had to stop and tighten the straps. My mom was driving the van to the beach and she said she saw me when I was stopped there. After we passed the roads the path was surrounded with trees. It was really wet and there was a lot of puddles on the ground. I felt cold wind blowing on my arms and legs. I could hear my Dad breathing. One time I passed an aid station, rode up a little hill, turned the corner and I felt thirsty. So I reached down for my bottle to get a drink but since I wasn’t looking where I was going I didn’t see the sharp curve ahead of me. Suddenly I bumped off the path into grass and I fell onto the center bar on the bike. My feet slipped off the pedals and I crashed into a wire fence. Dad saw the situation and came up to me trying to help me get back on my bike. He helped me while I untangled myself and got back into position.

5.

The miles went by and we entered into a little park and went by a river. On the other side of the river was a train track. Suddenly I heard a roaring and a banging sound and a big fast train zoomed by. We went on further and we passed a light rail track. I knew I was close to the Sea-Tac airport. I saw two light rail trains going in opposite directions. We travelled further and were getting pretty tired. We went along parallel a noisy freeway then went a steep hill. It was hard enough that I had to dismount my bike. Dad was going really slow and had to walk a few times. I was glad when we reached the top of the hill. I knew we were over halfway. We passed the guy that we knew was in second place in the run, so Dad was in second place! We went through dirty streets and past old office buildings. Finally we turned onto the road that would take us to the beach. We were riding down the road when I saw Mom holding a video camera. She was on roller blades and she started taking videos of Dad running the last part of the race. I was glad because I knew we were close to the finish.

6.

“Go Dad, go! I see the finish! Every step counts!” I yelled. By now Dad was breathing extremely hard. He was so tired that he had to walk sometimes, but finally we made it to the end. I felt victorious. I saw a small crowd of people by the Alki bathouse and a man said he was going to take a picture of just Dad first, but then when Dad said that I was his helper, he wanted to take a picture of both of us. After that was all done we put the bike away, walked back to the beach and had a delicious lunch at Spuds, then had a wonderful time playing in the sand. I told Dad I wanted to be his helper on the bike again next year.