Measurements

Yesterday was the semi-annual semi-accurate measuring of height day.

Venice is 56" - she grew 1 1/4 inches since January

Casey is almost 56" (I call it 56)...he and Venice are almost equal, he is delighted, proud and happy.  He grew 1 3/4 inches

Xander is 50 inches - he grew 1 1/2 inches.  He is slightly taller than Casey was when Casey was 7 1/2.  So Xander is very proud.

Teiya tried several times to stand on her tippy toes....I caught her each time.  She was laughing as she did this.  She is 47 3/4 inches.  Almost 4 feet tall....She grew 1 inch.

Granny

Outing Part: Granny and Jiichan

Granny: The kids couldn't decide whether to go bowling or to putters. Venice slightly wanted to go bowling and Xander to putters. I said okay, how will we decide this?  Xander said, since we might fight, he wanted to not go anywhere...Venice was easily persuaded. Venice was reading, so I got some 'magic cards' and Xander and I practiced magic tricks.  He did some that he already knew and asked if I was impressed - before I answered he told me Casey was impressed.  I said I was impressed...I asked him if my being impressed or Casey's being impressed was better.  He chose Casey...sad Granny, can't compete. lol.

Jiichan: It's fun to watch the kids decide as a group and resolve so no one feels their input isn't considered - When all 4 are present Casey almost always says "he doesn't care..." and often Xander will follow suit - It matters a lot to Venice and Teiya where we go, and whose place is chosen to go to - After a number of weeks when this took a very long time to decide, it now doesn't take too long and mainly it's Venice and Teiya who make the decision - Then, it's who rides with whom that needs to be decided - Again it doesn't matter to Casey who he rides with, and mostly all 3 others want to ride with Casey so it's decision time again with who rides with him on the way and who on the way home....Like with the decision on destination, Venice and Teiya have come to be the deciders, and they've worked out between them so that one of them rides with Casey out and the other on the way in - Xander also wants to ride with Casey, and he does get his turn, tho I'm not exactly clear how he gets a turn - recently Venice and Teiya since Casey and Teiya were going to be gone over the next 2 weeks decided that Venice would ride one way with Teiya and one with Casey, and Xander would also ride one way with Casey and on the return with Teiya, this way they could each "say goodbye" to their cousins - Very sweet...!

Granny: Xander went out with Jiichan to throw the ball up against the garage. Venice and I worked on her blanket.  I gave Venice a piece of knitting to just learn on and practice knitting.  I cast on the stitches for the blanket and began to knit away.  Then Xander and Jiichan started playing with water so Venice was lured outside.  She watered plants and Xander shot the water into the sky...to see how far it would go.  

Jiichan: Xander had discovered throwing the ball against the garage door a couple of weeks ago when we chose to stay at home instead of going out - He loves doing this, and throws himself into it, and figures out whether the ball will come back to him depending on where he throws it - Literally throws himself into it, and the look on his face as he chases to ball down is priceless....This time, as he had done once before, threw the ball a little too high and it hit on the roof and settled into the drain - He looked at me and said we need to get the ladder - Yes, Xander, we do, and the look of anticipation on his face is again priceless - I get the ladder, hold it as he climbs up and plucks the ball out of the drain, and climbs down again - I say we'll leave the ladder against the outside of the garage in case this happens again - Xander loves this - I'd gotten a bit winded from throwing the ball and chasing it down, so sat down with a bag of chips in the shade and Xander came and sat down in the other Maurie Jacob's chair and foar a good 10 minutes we sat there and chatted - Mainly Xander chatted about being excited and can't wait to get home, and when I asked why he said he was waiting for package containing "Portal 2" which is supposed to come today - I asked how he knew and he said because he'd checked in the morning and it was "in Springfield this morning" so should be here this afternoon - He described to me about what the game was, and because I'd asked him since this was Portal 2 did he already have Portal 1, but he said no, as it was only for PCs, and Portal 2 was for both PCs and MACs - Oh....As for the water part, he wanted to wet the driveway down and proceeded to do so, working meticulously to cover it all - by this time Venice came out, so he gave her a turn with the hose, and even directed her to cover some of the driveway that was still somewhat dry - Venice completed this, and then with a twinkle in her eye started spraying the stream closer and closer to my feet, which I'd stuck out in front of me as I reclined in my Jiichan Maurie Jacob's chair - she was teasing me that she was going to wet my feet, and started spraying my socks - they got awfully wet, but I didn't move them - She continued til they were soaking wet, and then I got up slowly and started chasing her, grabbed the hose and started wetting her bare legs - of course she screamed, and said this wasn't fair as she only set my socks - I teased her that it was pay-back time, and she screamed and ran across the lawn....Later she got the hose back and said she wanted to fool Granny into thinking it was raining, and directed the stream onto the living room window where Granny was sitting inside knitting....Did I say my socks were soaking wet...?

Granny: Then inside for ice cream, rootbeer floats oreos...We played a few games of spoons.  Very funny as when one time it was my turn to deal, the others quietly stole the spoons.  I didn't notice and started to play and they all laughed and laughed.  


Jiichan: This was sooooo funny - When Granny finally got what was happening, her hysterical laffter was funnier than the trick we'd played on her - Took her a while go compose herself she was laffing so hard...! 




Granny: They tried the same trick on Jiichan almost got him. Then Xander and I started a card game of war.  Venice decided that she and Jiichan should play and that the two winners would then play each other.  Xander and I played and played, altho I was heroic, he beat me..

Venice and Jiichan played and she won.  

Jiichan: She beat me pretty handily...!

Granny: Then she and Xander began to play...they were in high hilarity.  Xander couldn't get over mixing two decks of cards, Venice devised a system of laying out her cards in a preplan method of playing them.  Xander copied her and then when Venice had a huge line of cards, she shouted out, "This is really fun"....Xander got all excited and they moved into an imaginary game of war using the cards.  Jiichan was sitting and nodding and nodding, 

Jiichan: Well, I was checking something on my not-so-smart phone and was nodding in agreement at what I saw - well, actually I didn't really see what was on my phone's face as my eyes kept closing - embarrassing...

Granny: so I pointed to him and Venice finally looked and then Xander...but as soon as they got quiet, Jiichan woke up...go figure.

Jiichan: It was the "sound of silence" that woke me up...

Granny: It was a few minutes before going, and Venice asked if she could play minecraft...then a few minutes later at 4:55 Xander asked to play also....so we said...it is very late and your mom will be here soon....they said okay....

Diana came, the day was over, they were great.

- Granny

Jiichan: It was a great day...

Jiichan... 

Morro Bay Memories

Yesterday, on one of his rest periods sitting on the bench beside me at the park, Xander and I discussed Morro Bay. He felt it was a good place to go, but sometimes boring. Then he asked me if I thot it was boring and I said sometimes, people ran out of things to talk about and it was boring. Then he said he liked the beach. I said there are several beaches, one where the water is quiet and the other part where the water is rough and I reminded him that he likes to run in the waves...then he said he remembered fishing with Jiichan. He knew they hadn't caught any, but he liked it...then he said it was a good thing we have a firepit because you could cook the fish, if you caught any. Then, he leaned over me and spoke to Gordon. He said, do you remember fishing with me Jiichan? I remember fishing with you (he sounded like an old man remembering his past)....Jiichan said he remembered, and Xander relaxed back and smiled. He was so happy.
Granny

Xander Chats

Not only have the kids discovered email, but the chat option that goes with it. Here is a chat with Xander on July 4th:

Xander: hi

10:05 AM i love you

hhhhhhhhh

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!

ug

What Xander feels like emailing to mom:

ug

"rit now venice is being anoing."

Are you a Nerd or a Geek?

We had quite a discussion on nerds and geeks while the four kids were building marshmellow buildings and such.
I asked what is a nerd. Venice said, a smart but weird person. the rest more or less agreed. I asked if anyone knew a nerd, they all said yes. I asked if any of them was a nerd. Casey, with a hearty laugh...said - I am a nerd...I am weird....they all laughed. So then I asked what is a geek...hard to define. Venice said - smart and weird...I said that is a nerd...so are a geek and a nerd the same. No, she didn't think so. Finally after much struggle, she came up with a geek and a nerd are similar but a geek is more mature....so I asked Casey, was he a geek or a nerd.....much laughter...then it was decided he is a geek. I asked Xander if he was a nerd or a geek...he just laughed. They had a lot of fun laughing and trying to figure this all out.

I had bought some large marshmellows and some tiny ones. So I brought them out on the table after Teiya, Xander, and Venice had their fill of rice. I also included toothpicks and choc chips. They had a great time building structures. Casey built robots, dumb bells and other stuff. Xander did buildings, dumb bells and snow men. Teiya did buildings, a choc chip holder, and what I thot was a wagon. Venice built buildings and made smores. They had a lot of fun while building and eating. They also ate some strawberries and Teiya and Casey ate tangerines.

On the outing (which is secret)....Xander finished his project first, so I wandered around with him and the owner took us back in the deep recesses of the place. He was fascinated.
Granny

My Eyes Water

I read Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, by William Steig, to Xander. When I got to the point where Sylvester turns back into a donkey and he and his parents are celebrating with hugs, Xander says to me, "This makes my eyes water." I asked him if he was happy or sad. He replied, "It just makes my eyes water. We read this in class too." I ask, "Did your eyes water then too?" "Yes," he says.

A few days later, we try watching The Tales of Despereaux together. When the mouse is in the "gladiator" ring and cornered by the cat, Xander looked to me and said, "Can we go downstairs, this is making my eyes water."

Too cute.

How Cement is Made

On the way to school this morning, Xander announces he knows how cement is made. I ask him to tell me how and he said, "You take a pile of dirt, magma and squishers." And with such confidence!

Job Choices

Xander and Teiya (especially Teiya) have talked about what they want to be when they grow up. Recently their choice has been to be firemen with Gibson and Xander adds the job of science experimenter

Last week, they informed us that that plan is no more. They were very very clear...they are not going to be firemen. In fact, they kept saying they didn't know what they were going to be....

So I suggested several jobs....doctor, scientist, teacher, nurse, etc.....Teiya suddenly piped up...and said she wanted to be a teacher....I asked what kind and she said a swimming teacher...then she thot about it and realized to her dismay that she couldn't be a swimming teacher because she didn't have the correct goggles. I said that sometimes when people choose careers, other people help them out. I said that Jiichan and I could give her some goggles if that is what she needed for her career as a swim teacher. She is thinking it over.....

Granny

Xander Speaks the Truth

Was explaining next biz trip (planning next features, etc) to my 4 yr old, & he said, "Daaaad, you just want to make more money" - true dat

- Chris

Outing report...

Hey,

At Putter's we started out as a whole group, 6 of us - the regs say only 5 in a group playing the course, but the woman said since there weren't many people we could go as a group....This didn't last more than the first hole, as it took all 6 of us a very long time to play the hole - was always confusing who was to put next....Of course, the first thing to decide was whether we use the rules of play, or use our own modified rules - Venice was clear, we use our modified rules...

So - starting on the 2nd hole, I went with Casey and Venice, and Granny played with Xander & Teiya....this moved things along much faster, at least for my group - by the time we played the 9th hole, half way thru the course, we were so far ahead the trailing group had played maybe 5 holes - Granny and I switched anyway, and Venice was "disappointed" - Why do we get Granny now...? - I said that she and I had discussed it, and felt that it was to the benefit of everyone to experience being with Granny and with me - oh, but with a sour sort of face - while she didn't say it, Venice felt it was "unfair"...

It was clear that Xander and Teiya needed a lot of help and tips on how to strike the ball - I'd watched Granny working very hard with the 2 of them, so I continued the "training" helping with their stance, the way they addressed the ball (as in, "how do you do, ball..." - just kidding), holding the putter, and how hard to hit the ball....Well, it was like trying to stand up a piece of cooked spaghetti - each time they'd "forget" the instructions....Teiya kept coming at the ball from the left-hand side, tho she admitted she was right-handed - after awhile, she got into the swing of it (hahaha) but kept just tapping the ball and it would dribble a couple of feet down the fairway and stop - I'd have her do it over again, then she'd hit it harder and it would be fine - but, on the next hole, we'd go thru the same routine....Xander was better at it, but he also had a hard time getting the club face to be in the right direction....About the 11th hole, Teiya asked if we could "skip" this hole as she was tired - but, she was ready to take on the next hole....Then around hole 16 she said again that she was tired, and could we skip this hole - I said fine, but Xander didn't want to skip it, so Teiya skipped it, and Xander played the hole....Atone point Xander while waiting his turn stuck the putter's head in a crack between a couple of bricks lining the edge of the green, and it got stuck - I hadn't noticed this, but all of a sudden here he comes over to me tears streaming down his face and silently crying - I hugged him, and asked what had happened - he showed me his putter stuck in the crack between the bricks, and he tugged on it and it wouldn't come out - more tears....I grabbed the handle and jiggled it back and forth and after some effort it came loose - Xander took the club, and wiping tears moved on to take his turn - he was fine after that, and didn't stick the putter into any cracks around the course...

Xander found a white ball about mid-way around the course that someone had left there - I pocketed it, and said we'd return it at the end....Xander asked me who had won between him and Teiya, so I tallied it up - when I told the two that they'd both gotten a score of 79, they seemed fine with that...

As we were progressing thru the holes, Teiya asked me if she could hit her ball into the water hazards - I said no, not deliberately, and asked why she wanted to do that - she wanted to retrieve her ball with the nets provided at various of the water hazards - she accidentally hit one into the creek, so did have an opportunity to scoop it out with the net, and was a happy camper for it...

More as, or if, I remember it...

Jiichan...

Outings Discussions

On the way home from preschool, Xander saw a rainbow out the window...he pointed it out to Teiya and they discussed the colors, the brightness, etc. Then Teiya said it looks likes its moving, but it isn't....we are...she said Casey taught her that. She then added that she is an expert. I asked her an expert in what and she said...lots of things. Then Xander shared about his birthday party and how Diana is going to make him a cake shaped like...I don't know the name of those toys...he is very excited about it Bagugan...??? Teiya said her mom was going to make a cake in the shape of a hampster...for her birthday...a very big cake so all the kids could have some. I said it might be a small cake with lots of cupcakes so that everyone would get some cake....then I asked her if she was going to have people sing at her birthday party...she said of course, as if I had asked a stupid question. She said, I like singing and clapping....

The last couple of weeks Teiya has been announcing her new ambitions to be a fireman. She sees herself on a team with Xander and Gibson. Xander more or less agrees to this..but this week he added that he was going to be a scientist experimenter. Teiya told him he couldn't do both, but he insisted that he could.

On the way to Putters I started to sing...Xander, in the past, has asked me to please not do that as it annoys him. This time he found a different method to deal with me...he got Teiya to join him and they laughed and laughed hysterically. When I stopped singing they stopped laughing...when I started in again, they howled some more.....

On the way home with them, I said I thot I was the best Granny ever, what did they think. Xander very matter of factly said, no...I said why not...he said you can't play golf very well.... So a hidden requirement

Teiya said she was now sleeping in her own bed...she goes to sleep in her room and stays there all night....

A couple of conversations with Venice....one on the way to get the Christmas tree.....she confided in me that she had one thing she hadn't yet asked for for Christmas...and then said she wished she could go with Santa on his sleigh and help get the toys to the boys and girls...Her reason: so he could get home earlier and spend time with his family..... Then the other nite she read a book we have which is a compiliation of children's letters to Santa Claus. One of the letters asked Santa to bring all the toys to the poor children and she would be happy with any leftovers. Venice thot that was a very good letter and that the girl was a very nice girl.

I found that bending over to pick up the golf ball was beginning to hurt my knee, so I asked Casey to pick it up for me...he was a wonderful helper thru the last nine holes...getting my gold ball out of the hole...

that's all I remember...there is probably more...

Granny

Xander and Crusts

He eats all around the crusts... and then eats the crusts. Whacky kid!

Xander is a Boy

In case we were wondering... Xander is a boy. He ran into the bathroom, where I was picking up after the kid's baths, and he said, "Mom, I have a big fart for you." He grunted and then said, "It's not coming." and he ran out. I went to tell Chris how funny this was and Xander then ran into Chris' office yelling, "Mom, I have a big fart for you!" He turned around and bent over, pointing his bum in our direction and ripped a big one. Then he ran out of the room.

Eye Bulbs

Xander still calls an eye, "eye bulb".

Xander's Solution

Xander has a hard time getting into pajamas these days. It's a struggle each night. He can physically do it fine, but he dawdles, cries, pouts, etc. and it can take up to 30 minutes to get it done.

So, he has figured out his own solution to the problem. For the past two days he's put his clothes over his pajamas. He said, "Now when it's night time, I can just take off my clothes and I'm already for bed!"

Other than running "hot" all day, it seems like a good idea!

Xander Spells and Tapes

Xander made a picture and said it was a picture of Africa. Then he asked how to spell it. I asked him to give it a try and he sounded it out and spelled it correctly! Smart boy!

He also used the computer to print out a banner that says, "I love you", taped it together himself and posted it up in the kitchen. Cute kid!

Xander's Caring

We were in the corn maze. Had been there a long time....we had been split into groups but now we were all walking the same trail...
big kids in front, then Paul and small kids...then Jiichan and me at the back....

But everytime the group turned and the head of the line got out of sight....Xander came trotting back to wave Jiichan and me on. He would run to us and beckon and say come on come on....

He did this for quite a long time...very sweet as he kept track of us and helped us not get lost....

Granny

Discussions with the Grandkids

Had a short discussion with Teiya and Xander about what a week is. First, however, as a lead in....Xander says my mom was gone a long long time to Vegas...Teiya said, "about a week?" He said, Yes. I asked him if he missed his mom....he said, yes, then quickly no...I asked if she called every night...he said yes....Then Teiya says, is a week 7 days? I said yes. We then named the days of the week....and counted them...Everyone was satisfied....

Had a longish discussion with Venice about cremation. We passed a cemetery (because I took a wrong turn)....the one at the top of the University, very old....Venice, said..."oh, there's a graveyard." I said yes. She then said, "I wonder if Satie's grandmother is buried there." I said I didn't think so as this was a very old graveyard and I thot that Satie's grandmother was buried somewhere else. Somehow she asked a question...I don't remember what....and the topic of cremation came up. I told she and Casey what cremation was...Just so you know all thru this conversation, Venice was very matter of fact and interested.....So then I said that sometimes people choose cremation because it doesn't use up land....and also, after a person is cremated the ashes can be scattered. I said sometimes people scatter them in the ocean and they know the person they love is always there...or they put the ashes on plants in their yard and the person is with them thru the plants. Venice was getting happier and happier...she loved these ideas!....then I said some people put the ashes in a vase with a lid...called and urn....and sometimes ashes are shared. So some go to different members of the family. She nearly flipped out with joy....she said can I have some of your ashes and Jiichan's....I said probably...then she said, "I will be a collector of ashes" I will get as many as I can....then when I die I will have my ashes mixed in and then give that to my children in my will. They will go on and on forever........ So then I asked Casey what he thot about all of this...was it good or bad...he basically said he didn't know...he spoke kind of tentatively...but wasn't sure what he thot........

then it was on to other topics...

Granny

Eyeballs

Xander still calls eyes "eyeballs".