Franklin Elementary Chinese immersion

This year we have had the fortunate opportunity to enroll Max into the Chinese immersion program starting in our school district. This is the first year of the program and children must start in the Kindergarten year. There was a waiting list so from February till August last year we crossed our fingers that Max would get in!

He attends a school in our school district but not the one Cooper and Eddie go to. Luckily there is another boy in our neighborhood that goes to the same class so we carpool with them.

Now let me tell you about the first day of school...

You see, I didn't put Max in preschool last year because I just needed that sweet little boy with me for one more year. I didn't know at that time that he would be going to all-day Kindergarten so now I'm REALLY happy I kept him with me as long as I could. As the start of the school year approached I was really excited for him and for this cool program, but I also knew I would miss him soooo much. With a very heavy heart I drove him to school on his first day and walked him into his new classroom. I walked back to the car and just cried and cried. I'm always a little sad when my little 5 yr olds start school, but usually they are only gone for half the day. I cried in the car for 20 minutes or so and then drove home. What a quiet house it is without Max talking nonstop like he does.

I'm used to it now and I volunteer in his classroom on Friday mornings. His teacher Hu Hsin-yi is the greatest teacher ever!!! We, the parents, just love her so much. She is doing an amazing job and is the sweetest lady! The kids have learned so much Chinese already. This year is mostly about learning the language. They learn math and science and the other subjects as they are learning the language too. Their teacher only speaks English when she has to tell them rules and stuff, but for the most part they just hear Mandarin all day long! The only time they are taught in English is when they go to other classes like P.E. or library or something else like that. It's amazing.

At home Max tells us the things he learns and we try to remember some words and stuff but there is no way we can keep up when he is hearing it all day long. We have fun with it though and for Charly's birthday (Nov. 9th) we all sang "happy birthday" to her in Mandarin. It was cool. She is also catching on a little. She doesn't know the English word for cat, but DOES know it in Mandarin. (mao) Cute.

Ride up Mount Bachelor

So Alex and I have taken a few trips to Bend and love going there, just the two of us. We have two Bed & Breakfasts that we have gone to and love! We like to take our bikes and ride a bit while we are there. Another couple, friends of ours, came with us this year. We left Vancouver around 9:30 in the morning or so, our kids being left in the hands of my cousin, Adrian and his wife. They were thrilled! It takes about 3 hours to drive to Bend and it was POURING rain that morning, so we figured our ride that we had planned might have to wait until Monday or something. But, as we got closer and closer to Bend and later in the morning, it started to clear up. Things were looking good! So when we pulled into town around 12:30 or so we decided to get this big ride out of the way and relax the rest of the weekend. Up for a good challenge, we planned to follow the bike course for the Pacific Crest Triathlon which is 56 miles up and down Mount Bachelor! Before you get too excited, we started 10 miles in, which turned out to be a good choice for us. So we pulled over, changed our clothes in the trees on the side of the road and got our bikes down ready to go. Felt a little groggy after driving for three+ hours.
It was amazing riding up a mountain like that. I don't know how many times I said, "I don't think I can do it." and then just kept riding cuz there was no one around me to hear me anyway. We just kept going and going. The longest ride I'd ever done. The air was thin since we started at 3600 feet. It made me kinda nauseous at first. Then I think I got used to it. Brian, our friend, just zoomed right up. Being ten years younger than me and 14 than Alex...well.
We just kept going up and up and up. I remember going around corners and wondering what I would see and just seeing more and more uphill road! It was unbelievable. We rode 28 miles up that mountain, climbing 2800 feet! We saw beautiful scenery. What a feeling when we reached to top! It was a great accomplishment. Then...it was time to head DOWN!
18 miles downhill! I was more sore from this the next day in my upper body than my legs were! Alex reached speeds of 52 miles per hour! UH...not me. I did not like this part so much. There were huge gusts of wind and it was scary! I got up to 40mph but kept it around 30 (by riding my brakes the whole time) It was tense and it seemed to take forever.

Once back down into town I felt like my legs couldn't go another mile. It was great. 46 miles. We spent the rest of the weekend hot tubbing, playing Frisbee golf, eating good food, staying up all night playing cards, and sleeping in!! Wonderful!

4th of July at the Nesbitt Ranch!

We made the trip down to Ola, Idaho for the Nesbitt family reunion. It's an eight hour trip for us with the last hour on a curvy gravel road. All the NON-DRIVERS in my family decided we should leave in the middle of the night so they could all sleep and we could arrive earlier in the day. Easy decision for them!! So, off we went at 2am... ...and actually is was the greatest four and a half hours of pure silence I can ever remember!!
I reallly enjoyed watching the sunrise! After only 3 or 4 wrong turns we made our way down into the beautiful valley that we so fondly remember from years past, and we were instantly transformed into cowboys! (or so we like to think) :) Grandma and Grandpa were there to greet us. We hadn't seen them in so long but after a few short minutes it was like no time had past at all!
The next day the 4th of July festivities commenced! Included: cattle drives, roping, calf branding, tagging, inoculations,and castrating! "I know! Now you REALLY feel that you missed out!"

We rode all around the area on horseback and 4-wheeler. People got to try things they hadn't ever done and go places they've waited their whole lives to go. It is a beautiful place that, at times, feels and looks like Heaven on Earth. To cool off from the blistering heat and wash the sweaty dirt off our bodies, there was the ever popular swimming hole that I just can't believe is still there! Nothing changes at the Ranch. When we are there we feel like we've stepped into another world. Many fond memories for me from spending time out there as a kid; now hoping to create some of those kinds of memories for my children.

We all went to Cannon Beach for the day. We left at 10-somthing and so we got there around noon. It was 52 degrees, windy, and overcast. Well, that's what the Oregon Coast is! So... we put on our coats and unloaded everything and set up camp. As soon as we dropped everything Alex was all, "okay, are we ready to go home?" and then he just started cracking up!! He said, "Why would anyone do this on purpose??" It was so funny, but kinda true.


Summer doesn't really like the cold beaches either so she was kind-of a party pooper. She napped in a rolled up blanket much of the time. She was skipping school to be there with us and she did say, "I think I would rather be at school." LOL!



But, as the day went on it got a little warmer and a little sunnier and despite Alex and Summer, the rest of us had a lot of fun. We flew our kite, BBQed hot dogs, fed the sea gulls...





Isn't that awesome?? They did this forever!

They also did a lot of ....

... RUNNING! Patches also loves to run on the beach. So then Alex gets this bright idea to sprint up this steep dune eight times for a workout. He MADE Summer do it. Nicole and I were willing participants. In fact Nicole did it 10 times. Summer and I did it 9 times and Alex never reached his number 8. He collapsed at the bottom and just layed there forever. Poor Alex. He is 41, you know. :(
By the time it was 5pm it was sunny and warm and everyone was having such a ball, that we just couldn't imagine making them leave. We stayed another hour or so and then packed up, stopped at the taffy store on the way out, stopped to eat at DQ, and headed home! All were exhausted as was the plan. And we created some more memories for our family!