School days

School has been in session now for almost a month, and I've been too busy to write anything about it. I think the kids are all having pretty good years. Caleb hasn't said much about school, but then again, he never does. This month he learned two new skills that are giving him lots of pleasure--bike riding and origami. Sierra is adjusting to kindergarten pretty well. She is a little stressed sometimes, but I think she's also having fun. I'm teaching pre-K at Madeline's school, and the teachers say Madeline is very easy and well-behaved. She particularly loves singing time.

I think things are finally settling down for me. It was quite the job getting my classroom set up and all the beginning of the year paperwork prepared and filed. I think I've got a pretty good class. Some of them have never been to school before and we have a lot of learning to get them ready for kindergarten in a year. I'm still coaching Caleb's Destination Imagination team, and this year I'm coordinating the DI teams at the elementary school. It has been really time intensive answering all the parents' questions and trying to find and train coaches and organize teams. We have more kids who want to participate than teams available, and I've been feeling the stress of trying to figure out how to place the kids when I don't have enough parent volunteers. I'll be glad when we have the teams going and I can get back to the fun part of DI again. Walking to school on the first day

Sierra and her kindergarten teacher Mrs. Spalding

Madeline waiting in my classroom before the first day of school begins

September 7, 1975

In honor of my 33rd birthday today, I thought it would be fun to list 33 random facts about me. Here they are in no particular order.

1. I'm the oldest of four children--one brother followed by two sisters. My dad has worked for IBM his whole career and my mom stayed home with the us. My mom became a high school English teacher just after I did, but she's stuck with it a lot longer!
2. I've been a vegetarian since I was 12-years-old, although strangely I have leather couches and leather shoes and have never liked animals enough to get any pet other than a fish.
3. I've won every hoola hoop contest I've been in--I even won one when I was six months pregnant with Sierra.
4. Of my children, I think Madeline is most like me in looks and personality.
5. I can make a schedule and stick to it rather rigorously, but when I don't have to be anywhere, I love staying at home and improvising creative activities with my kids.
6. Sometimes I wonder if my house is the least decorated and organized in all of Frisco.
7. I love to read and taught high school English, but you'll never see me pick up Shakespeare on my own. I prefer recent bestsellers and non-fiction to the classics. I eagerly await Newsweek and Time arriving in the mail each week, and my favorite book I've read this year was probably A Thousand Splendid Suns.
8. Jobs I've dreamed of having include writing children's books, giving tours in an art museum, and philanthropy work overseas.
9. I'm freaked out by seafood.
10. I've always loved fairy tales.
11. I could eat chocolate chip cookies and spaghetti my whole life and never miss another food.
12. I love to talk--especially on walks and at Starbucks.
13. Bargain hunting gives me a total rush. There's nothing like a great garage sale or thrift store find.
14. I enjoy exploring both sides of political arguments and usually have moderate opinions on controversial issues.
15. Unless I'm under pressure, I work and think slowly.
16. I draw so badly even my stick figures look pathetic.
17. When I got married, I didn't know how to cook much except spaghetti. One of my shower gifts was a book with recipes on how to cook hard boiled eggs, baked potatoes, and rice--and yes, I did refer to it.
18. Two trivial things that attracted me to Ted were that he could spell well and sing on key--traits I'd found sadly lacking in other guys I'd known.
19. I didn't have a middle name until after getting married when my maiden name "Cannon" became my middle name.
20. When I was in kindergarten, my biggest interest was dinosaurs. Sometimes when Sierra begs me for Barbies and tea sets and tiaras I wonder if we're related.
21. The place I'd most like to visit right now is probably the Greece/Turkey region.
22. I wish I had family nearby.
23. I think it's easier to drive on the left side of the road--in countries where that's legal, of course.
24. I get upset when someone tells me what to think.
25. I'm pretty bad with directions--Ted does all the navigating in our family.
26. Caleb and I love word plays, so when I make up bedtime stories for him I try to throw in some Amelia Bedelia-style double meaning jokes. I know I've told a good story when Caleb laughs so hard he cries.
27. I've been to every continent except Antarctica.
28. I find that as I get older I worry less about pleasing people.
29. I'm very particular about my physical comfort, especially with my shoes, my driver's seat, and sleeping conditions.
30. I enjoy exotic food and music.
31. I used to be on a synchronized swimming team, and I may be one of the few people in the world who thinks it's a real sport.
32. Halloween is my favorite holiday, especially in a place where there's a real fall.
33. Thirty-three years ago, my mom's plan was to ride her bicycle to the hospital when labor began. She and my dad didn't have a car and she says she didn't know having a baby really hurt. (I was her first.) When the contractions started, she quickly decided to ask a neighbor for a ride!

Lucky Day, We All Get Our Way

As with many married couples, Ted and I have different vacationing styles. One of the things we try to agree on is how to alot our money and energy on a vacation. I'm the type who will make PB&J sandwiches rather than going out to eat and be content reading a book instead of hitting a big attraction. Ted likes to try all the restaurants and spend his time in constant pursuit of adventure. Towards the end of our vacation, we stopped by a little party for guests at the timeshare. A couple minutes after our arrival, they had a drawing for a $60 dinner gift certificate and tickets to one of the most popular shows in Branson. Guess whose name was chosen? We all were excited to go out to eat, and in a generous gesture, Ted told me to take the kids to the illusionist and ventriloquist show since it ran too late for Madeline. Our favorite parts of the show were the illusionist making parrots appear from a handkerchief and fly over the audience and the ventriloquist having his own dummy hold him so that the man appeared to be the dummy. Caleb was so amazed with the ventriloquist that during intermission he snuck a how-to-be-a-ventiloquist book from the gift shop into the show. Since he was four Caleb has said he wanted to be a baker/food scientist or a magician, but he's now considering a new career path.

Ha Ha Doo Doo, Madeline

Madeline turned two while we were in Branson. To celebrate, we spent her birthday in Silver Dollar City. She was so worn out by the end of the day that I didn't think she was going to last through dinner, but she finally perked up and enjoyed the attention, cake, and presents. I made tacos with all the fixings, which everyone loved except the birthday girl. After dinner, we ate cake on the screened porch and gave her a princess chair that converts into a little bed and some Color Wonder fingerpaints which her siblings were only too happy to demonstrate for her.

Madeline's personality is emerging more every day. She loves Elmo, dancing to spunky music, magic markers, being the center of attention, her blankets, putting Sierra's dolly Penny to sleep (she's not nearly as interested in her own), naming the parts of her face, being done with car rides, and shouting"ME!" to crazy questions her siblings ask.

Caleb and Sierra--"Who wants to be eaten by a dragon?"
Madeline--ME!!!
Caleb and Sierra--"Who is going to eat a poisoned apple?"
Madeline--ME!!!

What would we do without Madeline for entertainment? Here's to another year filled with laughter and love!

Silver Dollar City

While I love the magic of Disney, I think Silver Dollar City may be climbing the ranks as my favorite amusement park. With two day passes for the price of one, we had plenty of time to take in all the shows, rides, and demonstrations at the Ozark-themed amusement park. The lovely grounds are heavily forested throughout, and the rides rise above the trees. Even though we were there in the summer, we were able to walk onto most of the rides until mid-day. We were treated to lots of regional music as well as two fantastic shows--a circus on ice and an illusionist act. With three different sized children and only one cell phone, it was a bit of a juggling act accomodating everyone's needs and figuring out when to meet up again. Caleb was a daredevil and wanted to ride all the fastest rides. Sierra surprised me by agreeing to endure one somewhat jolting roller coaster and howling with delight on the gentler water coaster rides. Madeline can't wait until she's tall enough to go on something wilder than the hopping frog ride. The kids also loved the 1880's craft demonstrations, where the artists took the time to answer all our questions. We were even able to hike down into Marvel Cave, situated below the entrance of the park. What a great combination of thrills, entertainment, nature, and educational activities! Geyser Gulch splash zone

I couldn't pull Caleb and Sierra away from the pottery wheel demonstration. They also really enjoyed glass blowing and basket making, but pottery was by far the fastest result.

The park was filled with the aroma of food cooked on enormous cast iron skillets

Marvel Cave

Ted was the only one both tall enough and adventurous to ride Wildfire. Unofrtunately, the ride was so fast he couldn't appreciate the beautiful scenery.

Madeline loved the hopping frogs

Caleb rode the Electro-Spin three times before convincing me to come along. The whirling ride goes up and down a huge arc. Here we are together before take-off joking about what I would do if I wanted off during the ride.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Homes

The Laura Ingalls Wilder books and TV series are two of my all-time favorites. I started reading Little House in the Big Woods when I was six-years-old after my eccentric tooth fairies Misty and Toothie brought me the book instead of money. I remember following my mom all over the house asking her what each unfamiliar word meant. I love the series as much now as I did when I was a child, and I've always looked forward to reading the books to my own daughter. Laura's Rocky Ridge Farm where she wrote the series wasn't far from Branson, so Ted and I decided to take the children for a day trip. I started reading the first book to the children in Branson and was delighted to see that they too enjoyed the series. Caleb snuck off with the book and finished it on his own before I was able to read chapter three out loud. Seeing Pa's fiddle, Mary's braille books and correspondence, and the handmade quilts and clothing really interested the children, although they were very sad to find out that Mary eventually lost her sight. I couldn't believe all the pieces of her past Laura had saved--her first stitching sampler, school essays, calling cards of friends, letters, and her writing slate. Many objects had quotes beside them from the books where they were mentioned. Even Ted is becoming a fan--he's almost finished with the first book!

Raising the next generation of Little House fans

Standing in front of the home Almanzo built for Laura

Laura's daughter Rose had this home built for her parents after Rose became the second highest paid writer in the US. It's a lovely home with all the modern conveniences of the time, but Laura and Almanzo missed their first home and eventually moved back.

Pa's famous fiddle

Titanic Museum

It sounded a little out of place to me having a Titanic Museum in Missouri, but I would highly recommend this museum to anyone who has a chance to go. When we entered the museum, which is built to look like the Titanic as it is about to hit the iceberg, we were greeted by actors in period dress who gave each of us the identity and biography of an actual passenger on board the ship. The museum features all kinds of fascinating and beautiful displays--third class and first class cabins, objects collected from the boat and passengers, stories and photos of the passengers, and a recreated life-size Grand Staircase. The children loved touching an artificial iceberg and putting their hands in water that was the same temperature as the ocean that night. They even got a chance to try to hold onto a deck at increasingly dangerous angles as the boat began to sink. At the end, we each looked up the names we had been given to see what happened to the person. Sierra and Caleb were genuinely relieved that they were first class passengers who survived the accident, although Ted and I were not so lucky.

The Grand Staircase

Outside the museum