Remember when....

..... Mariah fell and hurt her arm but we didn't realize it was broken until a week later?

..... Dallin was toddler and walked right into Grandma Richards' pool?  Daddy had to jump in--clothes, shoes, cell phone, and all--to grab him as he sank?

..... we didn't realize we were starving the cat when we didn't fed him the whole first day we had him?  Then, when we finally realized he was likely hungry, he ate some food, curled up in a ball in his box, and sat there purring away for the first time?

..... Dallin got stung in the ear by a bee that flew into it and got stuck?

..... Grant used to play with his imaginary friends, Cha Cha, Crank, and Bum Bum?

..... Mom was pregnant with Kyle and her water broke at choir practice?

..... Karina used to cry so hard that she would pass out in a heap on the floor?

..... Kyle ate raw green onions from the garden--and liked them?

..... we thought a mouse died in the laundry room because it smelled so bad?  Then we discovered it was only a rotten potato---PEEEUW!

..... a punk teenager put a lighter bomb underneath our car at the skate park and Mom yelled at him and called the cops?

..... Dad broke his coccyx?

..... during a road trip Grant pushed Corn Nuts so far up his nose that Mom had to dig them out with tweezers?

..... Michael Jackson died and we consequently listened to his music every day for months and months and months and I never got sick of it?

.... the kids nicknamed a guy we know whose name is Larry, Larry the Platypus?  (We were watching a lot of Phineas and Pherb at the time.)  They still know to this day of whom I'm speaking when I say Larry the Platypus.

Integrity

This is integrity.  Illustrated.  Rewarded.

Date: Wednesday, June 12, 2013 5:20 PM

To: Rendell Frunk

Subject: Mariah Richards

Drear Mr. Frunk,

  Hello, this is Mariah Richards. I am contacting you concerning my grade. In power school you graded the June concert. My grade was a 4/4, this means I came and participated in the concert. Except, I did not make it to the June concert. Sadly, our family was very busy that day and I forgot about the concert until it was too late. The official grade should be a B because I missed the concert. Even though I wanted straight A's I feel it is honest to tell you about the misunderstanding. Please let me know what you decide.

Your Student, Mariah Richards 

Mariah, thank you so much for your honesty.  The attendance sheet had some errors and I was afraid that I would give someone an incorrect grade so I decided to give everyone full credit for the concert.  Your honesty is very encouraging and I really appreciate you contacting me.  Based on the inaccurate attendance record I have it would be unfair to single you out and reduce your grade so I will be leaving your grade as an "A".

Have a good summer. :)

Mr. Frunk

I'm proud of my girl for her decision to choose honesty in a difficult situation, and I'm grateful for the way she was rewarded.  I know not every honest decision she makes in the future will be rewarded or even recognized, but I hope this experience strengthens her to continue making good choices and to understand that good character is more important than good grades (or other things we think are important at the time).  

Doug Fir and Lenka

Jason took me to a fun little club in Portland called the Doug Fir and we spent the evening pretending to be cool, metro people.  It's always interesting to do something we don't normally do, although, I find it a bit awkward to try to fit in to a world in which I don't feel I belong.  My daily life is far, far away from this place.  Can others tell I'm an imposter?

The building and atmosphere of the restaurant and lounge was really fun and very Oregonian.  It had a lodge theme but with a modern, contemporary focus that was very well done.  I admire businesses like this that have a clear focus in everything they do--from the the food, the decor, the lighting, the bands performing there--they have a defined audience and market and they target it well.  As a business owner, I appreciate the incredible effort and focus it takes to maintain this definition.  It takes a lot to stay true to your identity!

After a yummy, yummy dinner (I went out on a limb and tried the bleu cheese stuffed chicken-yum!) we went downstairs to the concert lounge to see Lenka and the opening band, Satellite.  The stage and audience area is very, very small and intimate--it was like having a band play in your over-sized living room.  It made the experience much more enjoyable than seeing someone perform in a giant stadium with their music blasting in your ears.

We enjoyed the music.  Satellite had a rock band style, while Lenka was more indie "bubble" style, as Jason called it.  She has a cute, bubbly voice and sings lots of folksy, indie type music.  Some of it was a little too folksy for me and I had to roll my eyes when she brought out a finger puppet to sing with.  But, she had an amazing violinist who played with her and I enjoyed hearing the different sounds in her music from the typical guitar/drum/keyboard trio.

I would really enjoy seeing other bands here.  We learned that Cake performed there last month, which would have been AWESOME to see!!!  I imagine the crowd was likely much more intense and large for that concert.  Still, I'll be on the lookout for them to return.  Their music makes me happy.

It was a fun evening with Jason and we enjoyed moving out of our normal routine to experience something different.  It's probably something we'll do again!

Hotel Monaco

This hotel is what I imagine Elton John's house must be like.  

And while it's definitely NOT my style, it was fun to experience it.

Eclectic.

Artsy.

Different.

 The pictures don't really do it justice because while you're in the different rooms, 

the decor is actually appealing and fun.  

It was very visually stimulating--always something of interest to catch your eye.

But, if the inside of the building wasn't your cup of tea, you could always enjoy the view outside.

This was what I woke up to.  Beautiful.

A writer is born

It's always fun to see my children learn to read and write.  Suddenly, with these new skills, they are able to express themselves in ways that weren't available to them before.  It's a double-edged sword, sometimes, though.  With new abilities come new limits and boundaries that must be pushed (by the child) and set (by the parent).

Karina has been taught well in her kindergarten class to write.  She sounds out words she may not know how to spell and writes them down as she goes.  Now I find treasures of her expression in notes around the house.  Below are her latest forms of "expression."

"I like mariah because she has a doot fl swien soot."

Translation:  I like Mariah because she has a beautiful swimming suit.

"Did you no erve dude in my sool is a dut hed."

Translation:  Did you know every body in my school is a butt head?

Yeah.  She's pushing the boundaries here with her language.  Mom will set some boundaries!

And her last one I found after she had been sent to her room for being naughty.

It said, "You dot cer ubawt me.  And so it mad me sed to.  Me."

Translation:  You don't care about me.  And so it made me sad too.  Me.

It'll be interesting to see what other writings we find from Miss Karina!

I know it's summer when....

... I don't have to wear my slippers around the house anymore so my feet don't get cold.

... I don't have to wear my sweater every day to stay warm.  

... I don't have to argue with Jason to close the window at night because it makes me cold.  

... I can take a longer shower using lukewarm water instead of trying to warm up with blazing hot water.

Do you see a pattern here?

... It's still light outside when it's time for the kids to go to bed at 9pm.

... My cravings for hot chocolate are replaced with cravings for slushies.

... I want to sit outside and soak up vitamin D every chance I get.

... the kids complain when it's 75 degrees outside that it's too hot.

... I get my first sunburn of the season.  This year it was on my shins!

... "the daily fan routine" starts.  

In order to keep the house as cool as possible throughout the day, we have developed an intricate routine of windows closing, blinds and curtains being drawn during the day, windows reopened, fans powered on, air circulated throughout the house at night, repeat.

... smells of barbecued meat waft through the neighborhood on any given evening.

... mosquito bites abound.

Kitty Chronicles: Foosball anyone?

Guess who likes to play foosball? 

As I lay in bed one night trying to fall asleep, I heard a strange noise in the living room.  

It was Twig--playing a game of foosball with himself.

I was tired and went back to bed.

At least he didn't ask me to join him for a game or two.

I'm pretty sure I would've won.....

Secret mailbox

Karina came home with this nifty box.

We decided it would be our secret message mailbox.

Every day Karina reminds me, "Don't forget about the box, Mom!"

So, I write her a note and give her a treat for her to find when she comes home from school.

It has been a fun way to tell her I love her.