Jack's recently discovered the Magic Tree House series. I'd heard these were great books, but we didn't bother with them yet because they're a little beyond Jack's reading ability on his own at this point. Since we've been back, our favorite spot has been our local library. We've gone several times and usually spend several hours enjoying their amazing selection and reading all that we can fit in. I thought it would be fun to get some new stories we could listen to in the car, since our current ones we have just about worn out. I found the Magic Tree House series on CD, books 1-8. I didn't know what to expect, since I'd never personally read them. Sunday morning, Jack woke up earlier than Jeff and I wanted to, and poked his head in to ask if it was okay if he started listening to his new CDs without me. What was I going to say? OF COURSE!
After we had slept a little more, gotten out of bed, showered, dressed, and eaten breakfast, we realized we hadn't even seen Jack yet. He was in his room on book #3. We didn't have to leave for church until 10:30, so he kept listening. After church, and a snack, he rushed into his room and closed his door (luckily, allowing Jane inside to play as well), and we didn't see him until he finished book #8. Occasionally, we would go back to check on him and ask him a question, only to see him with glazed eyes, sitting very still as he listened. His attempts at responding to our questions generally tapered before we understood what he was saying!
Our boy has always loved stories, books, and now reading himself, but honestly, we've NEVER seen him this involved in a storyline before! It was comical to watch him go from a complete daze as he finished up a CD, to an enthusiastic boy who can hardly get all the words out to share all the cool details of Jack and Annie's latest adventure.
Have any of your kids fallen in love with this series? Do they continue to be as "amazing" as they start out?
Are there any other series out there that are about this same reading level that would be fun for him?
21 January 2009
20 January 2009
Our home... at last!
We moved out of our Bangkok apartment on December 11th. Where have we been since then? Five days in a Bangkok hotel (after our stuff was all packed up), three nights in Tokyo, four nights in San Francisco, two nights at the Hillmans', two nights at the Rich's, and how many nights in a downtown Salt Lake hotel? Oh yes, three weeks! Honestly, we love staying in hotels, especially ones like where we stayed in Salt Lake, but how long does that really last? Even with their amazing breakfasts and great staff, Jeff and I could barely even EAT that last meal there! A fact we both felt terrible about since the sweet breakfast lady had made us a special meal for our last morning. We did our best and paid for it the rest of the day, but how could we have said "no" after all the effort she had put in? The grand total of our hotel stays is roughly five weeks! To say the least, we were feeling ready to be in OUR home once again.
When we first walked in our home after the renters had left, it didn't feel like ours. It was cold, bare, had random things strewn about, a hole in the pantry door (which luckily was the only permanent damage), and it was VERY dirty. It's a well known fact that people generally don't take care of rental properties like they would their own homes, but it was a little sad to be on this end of it. People had been living in our house! We knew we needed to make it ours once again.
The last couple weeks have been spent cleaning, spackling, texturing, painting, and yes, more cleaning. We got all new carpet, and if we weren't sure replacing the carpet was a good choice before, after seeing the under side of it, we were positive. How could someone own a dog and let it "go" all over the house? Having new carpet (or any carpet at all!) has been a little piece of heaven. With each hour spent, the house has become more and more ours. Thanks to all the help we've received, which has been significant, the work has been fun and very effective.
We're happy to announce we are now no longer homeless, and we are all moved in! Until our stuff from Bangkok actually arrives, then we'll have a whole other round of unpacking and reorganizing. But, that day will feel like Christmas, so who's complaining? (VERY off topic, but since we've been back, I've noticed a lot of interesting English. One being the word "nother", as in "we'll have a whole nother round of unpacking". Do you say this? Is this a Utah thing? Take note, and share your opinion, please.) So, our sea shipment isn't here for a couple more weeks. In the meantime, the kids are camping out in the sleeping bags Santa so cleverly brought for them, and we continue to live out of our suitcases.
We've called four hotels "home" (our kids are quick to catch on to wherever we're calling home at the moment, thank goodness!), in the last month, and as much as I'll miss not having to clean my bathrooms, I can honestly say we are HAPPY to be HOME!
We built this home four and a half years ago and I don't think I've ever loved it so much. It's not big, it's not fancy, it's not our dream home, but somehow it still feels just right for us. It's been interesting to be here now with two children running around and no baby (does anyone else feel the urge to check on their child when the child is INSIDE them?). When we left, Jane wasn't walking (she was the baby!), and Jack was just three. Now they can both sit up at the bar for breakfast together (my favorite, especially since we don't have our table yet!). Who wouldn't love to see these two silly faces staring at them first thing in the morning?
I also am in LOVE with my GIGANTIC washer and dryer. Like I said earlier, things are just big here, and when it comes to this, I love it. Those Japanese models we had were fancy, but they didn't hold much, and it took at least 90 minutes to dry a load of laundry. I'll take my old, basic,
Whirlpool any day!
We painted a wall in our bedroom RED and we're loving it. Jane's in love with her green room, although I don't know if I dare seperate them into their seperate rooms, they've become such good roommates! We'll have to wait and see what this baby is, then make a decision. Any guesses? FYI, I have no idea what Jane was doing in this picture.
Jack's anxious for his bunkbeds to get here to put in his blue room.
I now have a DISHWASHER!
And the best part about our house... it's ours! We absolutely loved our high-rise apartment as it had LOTS of space (bigger than our finished square footage on our house right now!),and was new and felt fancy to us. It was in a perfect location for us, and the office staff took care of everything, and we'll DEFINITELY miss that pool. But like I said before, it makes a difference when it's yours, and we've definitely felt that. Our house isn't fancy or big, but it's home, and we love it!
When we first walked in our home after the renters had left, it didn't feel like ours. It was cold, bare, had random things strewn about, a hole in the pantry door (which luckily was the only permanent damage), and it was VERY dirty. It's a well known fact that people generally don't take care of rental properties like they would their own homes, but it was a little sad to be on this end of it. People had been living in our house! We knew we needed to make it ours once again.
The last couple weeks have been spent cleaning, spackling, texturing, painting, and yes, more cleaning. We got all new carpet, and if we weren't sure replacing the carpet was a good choice before, after seeing the under side of it, we were positive. How could someone own a dog and let it "go" all over the house? Having new carpet (or any carpet at all!) has been a little piece of heaven. With each hour spent, the house has become more and more ours. Thanks to all the help we've received, which has been significant, the work has been fun and very effective.
We're happy to announce we are now no longer homeless, and we are all moved in! Until our stuff from Bangkok actually arrives, then we'll have a whole other round of unpacking and reorganizing. But, that day will feel like Christmas, so who's complaining? (VERY off topic, but since we've been back, I've noticed a lot of interesting English. One being the word "nother", as in "we'll have a whole nother round of unpacking". Do you say this? Is this a Utah thing? Take note, and share your opinion, please.) So, our sea shipment isn't here for a couple more weeks. In the meantime, the kids are camping out in the sleeping bags Santa so cleverly brought for them, and we continue to live out of our suitcases.
We've called four hotels "home" (our kids are quick to catch on to wherever we're calling home at the moment, thank goodness!), in the last month, and as much as I'll miss not having to clean my bathrooms, I can honestly say we are HAPPY to be HOME!
We built this home four and a half years ago and I don't think I've ever loved it so much. It's not big, it's not fancy, it's not our dream home, but somehow it still feels just right for us. It's been interesting to be here now with two children running around and no baby (does anyone else feel the urge to check on their child when the child is INSIDE them?). When we left, Jane wasn't walking (she was the baby!), and Jack was just three. Now they can both sit up at the bar for breakfast together (my favorite, especially since we don't have our table yet!). Who wouldn't love to see these two silly faces staring at them first thing in the morning?
I also am in LOVE with my GIGANTIC washer and dryer. Like I said earlier, things are just big here, and when it comes to this, I love it. Those Japanese models we had were fancy, but they didn't hold much, and it took at least 90 minutes to dry a load of laundry. I'll take my old, basic,
Whirlpool any day!
We painted a wall in our bedroom RED and we're loving it. Jane's in love with her green room, although I don't know if I dare seperate them into their seperate rooms, they've become such good roommates! We'll have to wait and see what this baby is, then make a decision. Any guesses? FYI, I have no idea what Jane was doing in this picture.
Jack's anxious for his bunkbeds to get here to put in his blue room.
I now have a DISHWASHER!
And the best part about our house... it's ours! We absolutely loved our high-rise apartment as it had LOTS of space (bigger than our finished square footage on our house right now!),and was new and felt fancy to us. It was in a perfect location for us, and the office staff took care of everything, and we'll DEFINITELY miss that pool. But like I said before, it makes a difference when it's yours, and we've definitely felt that. Our house isn't fancy or big, but it's home, and we love it!
10 January 2009
My Kindergartener
Jack started school this week. I took him to register on Monday, which consisted of filling out a few sheets and showing his immunization records. I wasn't completely prepared, considering his baby shots records are somewhere crossing the Pacific ocean, and it took Jeff and I a while to find his Social Security number, but honestly, the whole process seemed a little too easy! What? I don't pay any money? No registration fee, or deposit? I even got the track, teacher, and time I requested. This American schooling experience is as new for me as it is for Jack!
I have been hesitant about sending Jack to a public school after having such small classes (his last class had nine students) with LOTS of supervision (usually one or two nannies to assist the actual teacher), AND Kindergarten is much shorter here. So, I was hesitant. Did I need to be? Jack certainly wasn't!
He marched right in there, a little girl we knew showed him where to hang his coat and bag, and once he caught sight of all the kids, the book shelf, and that GIGANTIC classroom, he was right at home. He even forgot to kiss me goodbye. I let it slide... just this once.
So, one week down, and now Jack can hardly wait to get to school in the morning. He tells me about the books he's read, his new best friend, a cute little blonde girl, and the cool game he played in gym class. It's much too short of a day as far as he's concerned, but I'm enjoying having him with me in the afternoons, and who knows? Maybe once we get moved in, we can actually do some fun things with our time instead of cleaning our house!
Thank you for good teachers that make transitions easy and school fun! And, I'm especially grateful for a very social five-year-old. How could he have handled all these changes with any other personality? Oh, the blessings!
I have been hesitant about sending Jack to a public school after having such small classes (his last class had nine students) with LOTS of supervision (usually one or two nannies to assist the actual teacher), AND Kindergarten is much shorter here. So, I was hesitant. Did I need to be? Jack certainly wasn't! He marched right in there, a little girl we knew showed him where to hang his coat and bag, and once he caught sight of all the kids, the book shelf, and that GIGANTIC classroom, he was right at home. He even forgot to kiss me goodbye. I let it slide... just this once.
So, one week down, and now Jack can hardly wait to get to school in the morning. He tells me about the books he's read, his new best friend, a cute little blonde girl, and the cool game he played in gym class. It's much too short of a day as far as he's concerned, but I'm enjoying having him with me in the afternoons, and who knows? Maybe once we get moved in, we can actually do some fun things with our time instead of cleaning our house!
Thank you for good teachers that make transitions easy and school fun! And, I'm especially grateful for a very social five-year-old. How could he have handled all these changes with any other personality? Oh, the blessings!
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