It's been forever since i posted.  We are all well.  Gwen is 6 1/2 and Malcolm is 3 1/2.  Gwen is in the 1st grade and Malcolm is still in coop preschool.  Gwen is doing great in school and is reading at a 2nd grade level, hates math because she says it is too easy (she just blows through all of the curriculum), loves science, writing (is a "class reporter"), and continues to be the athlete.  She just finished a round of horseback riding lessons and now is taking the jr. climbing program at Stone Gardens rock climbing gym.  She and Malcolm continue to take gymnastics.  Both Gwen and Malcolm have soccer camps this summer too.  Malcolm is quite the handful being sweet and sour all at the same time.  More sour lately which is getting me a weekend away at the end of the month.  

I have been doing well.  We joined the local gym (and so have most of our friends) and I have dropped another 15 pounds since Jan and work out 3-4 times a week.  This is my year of transformation.  Already this year I have; lost weight, joined the gym (and go!), gone horseback riding, and have completed an art project.  Big for me! 

Hope you all have a great year too!

Date:	2007-02-12 01:12
Subject:	A Star is Born!
Security:	Public
Mood:	ecstatic

Gwen's school has a kid-led Talent's night and Gwen wanted to be in it.  She wanted to sing the song "Tomorrow" from the Annie Soundtrack.  I told her she would be up on a stage with lots of people watching her but she still wanted to do it.  

She signed up and two of her classmates wanted to sing with her...her best friend, Maia, and another school friend, Ciera.  The girls practiced on their school stage for three rehersals before the dress rehearsal at Eckstein Middle School.  (They had to move the Talents Night from AE2 to Ecksteing because it had become so poplular with the kids and they needed a bigger stage and auditorium.)

Unfortunately, on the night of the show her best friend Maia had come down with the flu.  And we hadn't seen Ciera and her family anywhere.  But Gwen wanted the show to go on and was prepared to sing by herself.  At the last minute, Ciera arrived so bvIn a crowd of 500+ people in a darkend auditorium with a full spotlight on them, these two little girls got up and sang their hearts out and ended with a thunderous applause from the audience.

Gwen was so proud of herself and said how much fun it was and how she just wants to do it again and again!  She said...."That was AMAZING!".  Broadway Bound Children's Theater here we come!

Date:	2007-02-12 00:14
Subject:	Diving Diva
Security:	Public
Mood:	good

Gwen has been taking a kinder diving class because she is an accomplished swimmer.  We have completed all the swim lessons for her age and cannot take youth lessons until she is 6 in Aug., so diving seemed like a good filler since she loves the deep end of the pool anyway.

Her diving her coach has been teaching them body posture, technique, and balance on the board.  They practice their jumping on dry ground before attempting it on the board.  So far Gwen has done many forward feet first jumps from the board but last week she was jumping backward (feet first) off the board.  They get to the end of the board and turn around and then inch thier way to the end so that their heels are just off the end of the board.  Then they put their hands up above their head and bouce the board a bit with their body weight.  Then they swing their arms forward and back over their head while jumping off, propelling their body backward away from the board so they don't hit their face.

Now the coach is beginning to teach them double jumping on dry ground to prepare them for when they "run" to almost the end of the board and stop and leap up to land on the very end of the board and then bounce off the end of the board into the water.  The coach is very disiplined and if the kids don't get it right he asks them to repeat it until they do.  Well Gwen got it down right away and the coach gave her a high-five!  He said she is a natural.  Next week they will be trying the above technique on the board.

They have also been practicing face first dives into the water but off of a mat while laying down.  They lay down and assume the proper hands forward position and the coach "dumps" them into the water. 

I am glad she is so in her skin and so confident to try new things.  I wish I had felt like that as a kid!

Date:	2007-01-01 23:55
Subject:	Happy New Year
Security:	Public
Mood:	pensive

I hope you all had a happy new year.  We had fun ...neighbors and friends (not that our neighbors aren't our friends :)) playing poker and kids were up until 1am!  It was miraculous that I got Gwen into bed by 8 this evening since she slept in so long today.   Both Gwen and Malcolm have school tomorrow and I have my xmas massage tomorrow night!  (See you there Michaela!)

 Janet took Gwen ice skating at the rink up the road and our neighbor Beth brought Lucius along too.  Gwen is solidly skating the rink on her own and it's only her second time skating...she can be quiet the athlete!

Wishing you all a healthy and happy year!

Date:	2006-12-30 21:28
Subject:	Children of Men
Security:	Public
Mood:	impressed

Janet and I saw "Chidlren of Men" last night and loved it.  Tense nail-biting horrifying fun.  Highly reccomend it.

Date:	2006-12-30 21:18
Subject:	The crawl
Security:	Public
Mood:	cheerful

Today Gwen passed the swim test at Meadowbrook doing the CRAWL stroke the whole way! She actually passed the test doing the crawl stroke at another pool when she was with Janet but I had yet to see it.

See, Meadowbrook Pool is more relaxed about the form in which one passes the test...as long as you can efficiently get across the pool and back they let you into the deep end.  So, that is how Gwen usually does it...mixing the technique...some breaststroke and some backstroke mostly and has been passing the swim test at that pool since she was 4 doing it in that manner.  But today she decided to challenge herself and (surprised me) did the crawl the whole way and back side-breathing the whole way.  When she got to one side of the pool she got claps and cheers from some women who were watching in wonder at this little girl doing the crawlstroke so carefully and with such good technique! Hearing their cheers spurred her on even more and she got a big smile and thumbs up from the lifeguard.  She was so proud of herself (and so was I)!

Date:	2006-12-29 01:36
Subject:	Happy Holidays Everyone!
Security:	Public
Mood:	content

I hope everyone had a happy holiday! We did. Lots of time spent with friends and family. Doing lots of fun activities...Everett Children's Museum, seeing the movies Charlottes Web and Happy Feet, going to Winterfest at the Seattle Center to ice skate & ride the carousel, and lots of swimming.

Gwen started kindergarten at Alternative Elementary #2 @ Decatur(AE2)this fall. She loves school! She is the youngest in her class but you would never know it...she is very mature and very confident and has made lots of friends. Her school activities include music, drama, art, and spanish. She also starts kinder diving lessons in mid January. She is such a talented swimmer...we are so proud of her! At the beginning of the summer she was placed into the K2 class (kinder lessons 1-4). Then she progressed so rapidly they skipped her to K4 which she just graduated from. Now there are no other lessons for us to take since the next ones are "youth" lessons for 6 year olds (she was 5 at the end of Aug.). So, she will be taking kinder diving lessons for 5 and 6 year olds since she loves the deep water...going off the diving board, rope swing, and water slides.

Gwen also got what she wished for from Santa...a junior drumset and junior electric guitar (along with a new acoustic guitar, bongo drums for Malcolm, and various other musical items). She wants to be a rockstar rodeo mom when she grow up and wants to have a girl band. So now we have the whole set up in our basement and she and her friends go down there and play and sing! (We have our turns too! :)) She also got a new skateboard and razor scooter and lots of books...she loves to read and be read to!

Malcolm is growing up so fast...he turned 2 in early November. He is in coop preschool at Gwens old preschool (Pre 3s) and is doing great despite being the youngest in his class. He has a huge vocabulary and is the funniest little kid...he is always joking around and we are always so surprised at the depth of his understanding for his age. Malcolm got lots of Diego/Dora for xmas as well as a hot wheels set and books. He loves all toys and you will find him playing with his cars/trains one moment and then playing with dolls the next. He is full of energy but is so sweet and compassionate. He LOVES his big sister.