Happy Halloween

More Halloween photos are here.
Other recent photos are here.

Before I posted these photos, I saw this quote from Barack Obama, about John McCain:
"Just like every year, he's going as George W. Bush."
Scary, indeed.

Summer fun

School's Out!

Joseph and I had our last days of school for the year this week. Joseph had a good 6th grade year and he has finished his time in elementary school. In the fall he will start 7th grade at J.W. Poynter Middle School. He is excited to be moving on to middle school, and where he will begin learning to play the trumpet during his band class.

I finished my first year at Portland Community College, and my classes went well (I have a 3.92 GPA, so far). I am not taking classes during the summer, as I really need the break from the stress of finding time for home, school, and work. In the fall I will begin my practicum (student teaching) at the Child Development Center on the Sylvania PCC campus. I am looking forward to getting into the classroom, but I am really nervous at the same time. I have to put in 9 hours a week while I am practium, plus a 2 hour weekly practicum seminar. I will also be taking 7 other credits (4 classes in total), and I will probably continue working at my current job. It is going to be challenging, but I need to find a way to make it work. I don't want to reduce my school credits, and I can't really afford to work less than I already am, but I want to keep up the good grades that I have been getting.

Joseph has a fun filled summer planned. Here's what he is going to be up to:

• Week one: Zones day camp, Duck and Cover, which includes field trips to the beach, Laserport, a paintball range, and archery.
• Week two: Zones day camp, Artistic Adventures, where Joseph will learn about talking photographs and making movies.
• Week two-three: Joseph is going to New York from June 26th until July 1st to visit his uncle Nick. He will be flying there by himself and will have 4.5 days to explore the Big Apple.
• Week three: Joseph will be hanging out at our house until the 4th of July.
• Week four: Joseph will be traveling to Medford with his sister Emma, to visit his step mom's parents.
• Week five: Zones day camp, Waterlogged. This camp will include a trip to Wild Waves, canoeing, white water rafting, snorkeling, and games of Super Soaker tag.
• Week six: Zones day camp, Into the Wild, which includes horseback riding, a trip to Bullwinkles, overnight camping, fishing, and hiking.
• Week seven: Another week at our house. I am taking most of the week off from work, so we all will be able to spend some relaxing time together.
• Week eight: Wilderness Survival Camp at Opal Creek. This five day overnight camp is based in the historic 1930s mining town of Jawbone Flats. This ancient forest area is about 2 hours away from Portland, but it will feel like it is thousands of miles away. As far as I know, the camp does not have road access that goes right up to it, so you have to hike about 3 miles in to get to the camp. It is totally off the grid and will be a wonderful experience for Joseph.
• Week nine: Zones day camp, Adrenaline Rush, including a dodgeball tournament, a trip to Mt. Hood Ski Bowl, gladiator jousting, human foosball, and an obstacle course.
• Week ten: Joseph will be spending the week with his grandparents in Hillsboro (probably decompressing from the last few weeks of sheer excitement.
• Week eleven: Joseph will be spending the week with us again. I am trying to coordinate a short train trip to Vancouver BC. If this does not work out, we may take a trip to the coast or go camping for a few days.

Spring Break

In celebration of Joseph's Spring Break, and the fact that I was off from school for a week, I took the week off from work. Olivia came over for a couple of days at the beginning of week, and my friend's 8 year old daughter came over from Tuesday - Thursday. It was a mad house at times, but Oliver loved seeing all of the children. We had some nice weather, so everyone was able to play outside. Below you will see an improvised activity that Joseph, Oliver, Olivia, and Kaitlynn could not get enough of.

Rockin' out

Joseph and I went to the Wonder Ballroom last night to see a band from LA, Dengue Fever. This group mixes 60's style Cambodian pop music with psychedelic and surfer rock. Most of their songs are sung in Khmer by their lovely lead singer, Chhom Nimol. Some of their newer songs also feature English lyrics. Joseph insisted on being in the front "row", which turned out to be a wise choice because of the number of people in the crowd. The lead singer seemed to love seeing a child in the crowd (she said that it was "family style" tonight), and Joseph got a t-shirt from the band (thrown to him by the bass player, he was so excited).

Dengue fever performing their song, Tiger Phone Card.

Book Parade

Joseph's school had a book parade last week, with all of the classes creating floats based on a favorite book. Joseph's sixth grade class chose The Kid Who Became President by Dan Gutman. You can see him at the very end of the video. He is riding a small tricycle, wearing a helmet and dark glasses (he's part of the motorcade).

Joseph is on the tricycle, behind the flag.

Riding away.

Grandpa and the Grandkids