The Best Day Ever.

After the last camp-out in April, the girls finally decided it was time to learn how to ride bikes.  We took the training wheels off a long time ago, but they never really tried to ride their bikes.  They had no real reason to want to learn.  They rode their scooters or Skitters and that was good enough.  When we camped in Temecula though, the "road" was terrible for their scooters and we rode miles.  Actually, I rode my long-board Skate board.  It's a fun ride.  

Anyway, Grace took a good digger and super-manned off her scooter at one point.  They were both exhausted at the end of the day.  When we drove home from the camp-out, I asked if they wanted to learn how to ride their bikes.  That way they could ride their bikes at the camp-out in June.  The next weekend Sarah wanted to practice riding.  I got really sick, so Tracey practiced with her out front.  Sarah was so excited to learn.  Monday I didn't feel much better, but on Tuesday I went outside to help her learn.  Tracey was funny because she was holding Sarah up the whole time and wouldn't let go.  As Tracey put it, "teaching them how to ride is more of a Dad thing."  This didn't make any sense to mean until I saw Tracey trying to teach Sarah how to ride. There was no way Tracey was going to let go of Sarah's back.  Which is just how Sarah wanted it.  So when I finally got out there to help, I realized that I needed to let go of Sarah.  The first thing she said to me was "Don't let go Dad." I replied "I have to" and she said "NO, DON'T LET GO!"  "Ok" I lied.  Once we started going and she had good balance, I let go.  Sometimes, you have to tell people what they need to hear even when it may not be the exact truth.  I didn't let go at the beginning.   Once Sarah started riding a few feet on her own, her confidence increased.  Then all of a sudden she was riding her bike.  The stopping part was a whole other obstacle.  

In the midst of all this practice, Grace was watching and then she started trying to ride.  Tracey had her hand firmly attached to Grace's back too.  The same routine worked with Grace and they both learned to ride on the same day.  They were both so excited.

The following Monday I had an early day and picked up the twins from GJ's house.  I had decided that it would be really fun to ride to Cherry of Top.  This is a frozen yogurt place that is more than a mile from our house.  The girls were bursting at the seams when I asked if they wanted to ride their bikes to Cherry on Top.  You would have thought I asked them if they wanted to buy them a puppy.  Keep in mind that they had only ridden their bikes three times up to this point.  I wish I had kept this in mind.  The whole time we were driving home they were saying "I can't believe that we are going to ride our bikes to Cherry on Top, this is the best day ever!"  While getting on their helmets "This is the best day ever!" I asked them before we left home "Are you sure you want to ride ALL the way to Cherry on Top?"  "YES" they screamed excitedly.  Riding through the neighborhood everything was good.  Crossing the crosswalk we were okay.  Then I made the fateful decision to go down Buena Vista.  This street doesn't have the widest sidewalk and it has small rolling hills.  This freaked the girls out.  Looking down the street, all Sarah could see was a looming downhill slope.  This is a little daunting when braking involves putting your feet down, instead of stepping back on the pedal.

This is when the tears started. "I can't go down the hill, I'm going to go too fast."  "I can't stop."  "Slowdown Dad." All of this, while cars are whizzing by.  Then I've got two girls that are starting to spread out along the ridiculously narrow sidewalk.  This just went from "The best day ever" to "The worst idea of the week."  The whole time I'm worried about rookie bike riders that can't steer in a straight line, and panic when they need to stop.  Both Grace and Sarah cried on two separate occasions.  Then thirty seconds later one of them would say "I can't believe we are riding our bikes to Cherry on Top."

We eventually made it.  It was the best frozen yogurt ever, and we came back home riding down Alta Vista.  Huge sidewalk.  Less hills.  Should have gone this way in the first place. When we finally got home they both said "It was the best day ever."

I scared the pee out of her.

I was laying on the couch in the front room, reading a book, when Mia started messing with me.  She ran down the hallway and then came back and "scared" me.  I acted surprised and jumped up.  Mia thought this was hilarious, so she did it a couple of times. The third time she ran down the hall, I hid against the wall and waited.  When she passed me I jumped out and said "Boo."  I really scared her good......then she peed on the ground.  She got that look on her face like "Uh, oh I'm gonna pee," there was nothing I could do. I scooped her up mid stream and plopped her on the fireplace.  Then we both laughed.  I've never scared the pee out of anyone until now.

Mia the little cleaner

Mia at three years old is already naturally neater than her older sisters.  She does lots of little things that demonstrate this all the time.  For example, the other night she was eating strawberries by her self in the kitchen and when she was done she threw away her napkin in the trash can and then went back and put her bowl in the sink.  She usually cleans up after herself or is the one kid who says "Okay, dad" when you tell her she needs to pick something up.  

Of course our house is usually a disaster because all the girls go from thing to thing.  As I sit on the computer there are paints, papers, brushes, etc. strewn all about the kitchen table, and there are blocks and construction paper in piles in the front room.  At least the breakfast stuff was put away. :)

Three Kinds of Clouds

The other night, out of the blue, Sarah asked "Dad, what are the three kinds of clouds?"  I quickly answered "Cirrus, cumulus, and ....."  I couldn't think of the third type of cloud.  Neither could she.  So she said "I know I'll look it up on Google."  When she says Google, she actually pronounces it "Google E."  It's really cute.  So sure enough she went to the computer and typed in "Three kinds of clouds."  We then found out the one we couldn't think of - stratus.  

I love her natural curiosity. Her intelligence and her ability to solve problems.  She didn't know the answer, but she knew how to find it.  She is also a leader in the classroom.  Granted its first grade, but she wants to learn and models good behavior in the classroom.  Apparently all the boys like her too.  

Mrs. Chadez, her first grade teacher, said that at lunch all the boys eat lunch with her.  Tracey has been told by other moms that their son talks about Sarah ALL the time.  It's going to be a long 12 years with the boys.

Grandma Anderson

Today in church I saw an older lady that reminded me of my Grandma Anderson.  It wasn't so much how she looked but it was her countenance.  Grandma always had that sense of peace, wisdom, and inner strength.  At least that's how I remember her.  

Some of my earliest memories include going to Friends church.  She was a Sunday school teacher.  I remember being in her class and doing different activities.  She used to have bible characters made of felt that stuck to a board.  I also remember going to VBS at Friends in the summer. 

She always had a garden when I was a kid.  Fresh green beans and corn remind me of my Grandma.  There are all kinds of food memories.  Black-eyed peas, rice with gravy, Grandpa using chop sticks, chocolate chip cookies, Amos and Matt licking the top of the ice-cream before putting it in the freezer, Hot Cocoa, maple walnut cake, cauliflower, fig jam, canned everything, fresh lemonade, rectangular boxed ice cream from Stater Brothers, hot dogs split down the middle and cooked in a skillet, fluffy omelets with Jack cheese.

I remember her picking me up from Park View elementary in her Blue VW Bus.  The smell of that VW bus was so distinctive.  A part of me would love to own a VW Bus.  That smell sticks with you, the pinging of the motor, the sliding of the side door, and the Jesus sticker on the back window.

I loved to listen to her tell stories about the family.  All the boys and the trouble that they would get into or the adventures they would have.  She would always go through the list of "the boys" names: Carey, Tim, Kevin, Matthew, Amos, until she got to the right one.  I only have three girls and I do the same thing now. 

Christmas day at her house was always great.  When I was a kid the big long socks had the best stocking gifts.  Usually lots of practical items plus some cool random gadgets.

The birthday songs were always fun.  The Andersons had a second birthday song that they sang "For it's a happy happy birthday to you."  This has spread to my mom's side of the family.  It always put a smile on my face to hear them sing this too.

Grandma was always a great listener and always knew what to say.  She would break into song when it fit the moment.  She was a rock.  The Anderson foundation.  My dad and uncles are and were so unique. The influence of my grandparents was evident in their lives.  Grandpa Anderson was always great with me, but I know that he was hard on my uncles when they were growing up.  Grandma was the yin to his yang.  

I will always miss my Grandma and will forever be grateful for her love in my life.

Soccer

This past Fall the girls played soccer again.  Their team was called "The Lightning", but only one girl on their team fit that description, Kendra. Kendra had wheels.  As a former track coach, that would be my phrase to describe her speed.  Someday she should run track...at least that's what I told her parents. : )  It's in my blood.  I can't help it. When I watch sporting events I visualize athletes competing in a track event or running cross country.  Whether it's a six year old or one of the high school students at my school I have a tendency to see them competing in a sport that I coached.

        Tracey asked me to coach soccer this past year.  I chose not to because I was finishing up my thesis and working as the WASC coordinator at school, but next soccer season I'm sure I will volunteer as the girls coach.  It's hard to sit back and just watch.  The girls coach, Derek, did a good job.  All the girls improved.  It is just six year olds, but they still learn as they play.  It's not really just about soccer anyway.  It turns out that sports are usually more than just the game itself.  Like learning how to work with other people towards a common goal.  In our case, the  common goal was losing.  As Derek put it "We were a defensive team."  In other words, we didn't have any consistently aggressive players on offensive.  The theme on offense was dribble to the half way mark and then kick it down the field.  Then get back on defense.  Grace and Sarah were good defensive players.  

      Sarah found a kindred soul in Allie.  They had the same perspective.  "Let's hold hands and talk."  This really doesn't help when you are actually in a game.  She did have a lot of fun though.  When she was in the open field she could dribble the ball.  She also did a good job positioning herself on defense and kicking the ball away.  If there was a pack of bumblebee soccer players hovered around the ball she was good at following the pack.  Weighing ten pounds less than most of the other girls doesn't really help when you need to get in the middle and kick the ball away from everybody else.

      Then there is Grace.  She was a defensive star.  She really learned to play the angles.  Grace decided she wanted to be the goalie one game.  Of course half the team wanted to play goalie every week.  The first time she did this I cringed.  Too much pressure. Especially on our "defensive" team.  The goalie had a lot of action every game.  Gracie slid back and forth between the goal posts directly on top of the chalk line.  If you watch soccer, or know anything about the sport, this is not effective.  She stopped some shots, and she let some by.  She loved it anyway.  I asked her if she wanted to play in the goal again, and she said yes.  "Okay, then we need to practice," so that Friday we spent some time in the backyard learning about playing angles.  It reminded me of playing soccer with my sister Elizabeth when she was like 4 and I was 14.  She had to protect the door of the playhouse, while I took shots at her.  Elizabeth had to score past me, anywhere in the garden.  Elizabeth was fearless.  

     Grace learned a ton that day and it transferred to what she did the following day during the game.  She was awesome in the goal.  So much so, that Derek kept her in for two quarters.  Every week after that she played two quarters in the goal because she was so good at the position.  She would even direct the defenders where to go throughout the game.  Of course, it was still nerve wracking to watch, but she really did a great job.

     I'm sure this won't be the last time that they play soccer.  Having the girls involved is a great way to watch them grow as people and to discover their unique personalities.  Whether its soccer, dance, school events, or the Indian Princess program they get to experience life beyond the confines of our house.  One of the things that I enjoy is watching their friendships grow and develop.

"Are you going to ask Jason what aisle to go down?"

Yesterday, I went to the Ace Hardware store with Sarah and Grace to buy 1/4" waterline.  60 feet of 1/4" waterline to be exact.  This is not the standard length.  Home Depot didn't have this length.  They have the 25' variety.  I tried running the 25' line with connectors through the attic with moldy results.  I hate rats.  Why rats? Because those little pests ate through the original line.  I had the line replaced for $150 the first time it started leaking through the ceiling, because quite frankly I didn't want to crawl around the attic and step through the ceiling.

Needless to say I've been in the attic no less than 10 times since September.  It's December.  The day after the line was replaced by professionals it started leaking again.  Actually it was the same night.  That's when I discovered the teeth marks in the line.  Rat evidence.  I wasn't about to pay $150 to get the line fixed again, so I shut off the water filter until I caught some critters.  Did I mention it's December.  I haven't killed anything to my knowledge.  But, I have grown some mold.  

I was pretty proud of myself when I decided to run both the AC condensation line and water filtration line through some PVC pipe in order to protect them from rodent teeth.  If you can't kill the rats you better out smart them.  Since nothing longer than 25' waterline was available I just connected the line with compression fittings.  Apparently, I didn't tighten them enough or I tightened them too much.  Eventually there was evidence of a sloooooow leak in the ceiling of the pantry.  Then the mold started.  So I haven't killed anything, but I have created fungal life.  GREAT!  Now, I've got to fix this thing again.  And this time I'm going to find the right length line.  

That's where Ace Hardware comes in.  A week ago Sarah went with me to the hardware store and they had 100' waterline.  I was instantly happy.  Until we went to the box and they only had 40 feet left.  I asked Jason, the guy working there, if he could order some more.  He assured me that he would order some more.  So there I was a week later with the girls, walking into Ace when my brilliant daughter Sarah asks "Are you going to ask Jason what aisle to go down?"  A week ago he told me his name and Sarah remembers that its Jason.  I was floored.  When she first asked me the question it took me a second to realize that she remembered his name.

By the way, I fixed the line permanently... I think.  And on my 10th trip in the attic I put my foot right through the ceiling.  I love home repairs.