Darcy, as regular readers of this blog know, goes through phases. And they seem to be cyclical. She started her obsessive loves with the Wright Brothers, moved onto fish, then fairies, then back to the Wright Brothers. We went through another fairy-phase and we are now firmly in the grasp of the ocean again.
We read book after book about sharks, whales, dolphins, and the ocean. She could probably recite The Blue Planet -- a documentary series narrated by Richard Attenborough. One of her shark books rates sharks according to their dangerousness on a scale of zero to five jaws. Darcy likes this concept. Before we headed off to the Aquarium of the Pacific, Darcy made a shark chart so we could all be aware:
Although not to scale (the smallest shark, seen almost riding the great white in the top right, is actually a whale shark -- zero jaws of dangerousness and the largest shark in the world) and with perhaps slightly exaggerated lower jaws, this is a great tool if you ever encounter a tiger shark, blue shart, basking shark, whale shark, or great white.
Darcy's other great love is, apparently, sun bathing. Michael was gone for a week at Lava Beds National Monument (Darcy's principal asked her if he took his lava pillow with him). While he was gone, Darcy's after-school teachers told me that she was really tired one day when I picked her up. So tired, they said, that she had lain down on the pavement in the playground. I was surprised, because I knew she had had two great nights of sleep. When we got home, Michael called to say hi. What was your favorite part of the day, he asked. Darcy said, "Oh, Dad. I lay down on the ground in the sun!" So much for being so tired. And it's not a one-time thing. Here she is lying on our driveway in the sun:
It's a little hard to see her, but she's just across the shade/sun line to the left of the truck. It's a hobby.
On the last weekday of spring break, Darcy and I drove past the beach. It was a beautiful day and there were lots of people there. Darcy asked, "Why are so many people at the beach today?" I guessed out loud that it was because it was so nice and the last weekday of spring break. She said, "Last day of spring break?!! You mean, on Monday I have to go to school?" Yes, I said. "But I thought spring break lasted ALL spring!"
A minute of silence. Then, "Does summer break only last for a week, too??" Only when you're an adult, my small child.
Here are some highlights of Darcy's spring so far:
We visited Grandmother and Aunt Jo (Darcy's great-grandmother and great-auntie) at their new digs and Darcy explored the trees in their backyard.
Darcy and Hank shared a blue bath on April Fool's Day. They had a great time and probably got at least a little clean, too. Our spring break trip to Simi Valley gave Darcy and Hank a whole lot of cousin-time. They had a sleep-over, a trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific, and a bunch of play dates. And, obviously, a bath.
Easter brought a good egg hunt for Darcy. She had already followed her rhyming clues to the basket that E. Bunny brought. This egg hunt involved sock-filled eggs and a leap-frog game in an egg. Very, very fancy. Just like Darcy in her new halter-top dress!
Darcy has also started t-ball! She's on the Storm -- named for a minor league team somewhere in San Bernadino County, maybe? Somewhere in that direction, anyway. You can just barely see that Darcy's hair is now long enough for pig-tails. More or less, anyway, and she wants them for every game. There have just been two so far (the one we were going to when this picture was taken was cancelled), but we'll have games every Friday and Saturday from now until June! All very weather-dependent, of course.
And it has finally arrived. Willy Wonka had it's official opening tonight and Michael was AMAZING. I'm just bursting with pride and wish all of you could come see him perform. You can get a small taste of the show in this pre-opening article in our local paper. It's got a great picture of Michael in costume. More to come!
Yeah. I could've just added this picture to the previous post, but here's our girl in all her glory:
I know that we're not the only people who are busy, so it might not be the best excuse for not blogging in over two months, but a) it's the only excuse I've got and b) we are busier than we usually are.
One thing that's keeping us busier than usual is the addition of Willy Wonka to our lives. Michael rehearses four nights a week. Up until a couple of weeks ago, rehearsals were a manageable 7 to 9pm. But then they started stretching until 10 and this week, with the first performances coming up on Thursday, they'll be starting at 6:30 and going at least until 10, probably later. All in all, it's a good thing to be busy with, but it puts a rush on our evenings. Darcy occasionally goes to see part of the rehearsal. You can see her creeping up closer and closer to the stage on the right. She started out sitting on the bottom step and miraculously ended up sitting on the stage She is fascinated. Hopefully, she is fascinated enough to sit through the whole musical on Friday night!
Another new addition to our lives is Girl Scouting. I have become a Girl Scout leader so that Darcy can be a Daisy Scout. Her troop is eight girls strong and they are cookie-selling entrepreneurs these days. More on this another time.
Even with these extras, we are still finding time to enjoy our corner of the world whenever we can. Today found us sliding/monster-jumping/running down an inland sand dune after walking through ankle-deep mud and streams. On the way back, we just walked straight through a temporary (?) arm of a lake to avoid the worst of the mud. It was shallow enough to be sun-warmed and even tempted Darcy off Michael's shoulders and into the water. Michael and Darcy also spent part of a day going to see a couple of recent shipwrecks, documented in this vivid photo:
I can still remember buying that rain jacket. Even though we've been here almost two and a half years now, Darcy is still wearing a raincoat we bought for her before we left the Cima desert. It wasn't super-cheap, but it's lined, and therefore somewhat warmer than the average raincoast, and after debating about it, we decided to spend the money to get her the right gear for our soon-to-be home. It's still going strong and it looks so great in this picture, that whatever we spent on it back then, we've gotten our money's worth.
We have been very fortunate in the past year, despite some blips here and there, and we ended the year with the great fortune to spend the night with good friends in an absolutely beautiful spot. Our friends who own the beautiful Requa Inn brought us all together in a wonderful house further up Requa Hill. It is rented out to guests as a sort-of extension of the Inn. The views are unbelievable. We saw only a glimpse of the splendor last night, as we drove to Klamath while the sun was setting, giving us only a little light to see the view as we unloaded the car.
All of the children involved tend to be early risers, but they had had so much fun and stayed up so late before falling asleep on a strata of blankets laid on the floor of the (empty) master bedroom walk-in closet, that they slept in a bit later than usual. Our child was the first to rise and stay risen, climbing into our bed just before 6:30. We had turned out our light around 1:30, so this felt too early. As it turns out, it was worth it. We got to witness the full glory of the sunrise, viewed in one direction up the Klamath River and eventually, in the other direction where the Klamath meets the Pacific. Here's a poor copy of the real deal -- the colors in the reflection on the window are closer to reality:
I'll provide a better photo of the mouth, not quite seen here next to the house, with the white line of surf crashing on the spit, another time. Now I need to wake up my sleeping beauty who fell asleep sitting up on the couch because she was Just Too Tired. Michael is busy felling trees with two of his fellow rangers. Hopefully, the all end the day completely intact, with loads of firewood for everyone.
Happy New Year to you all. I hope the beginning of your year was as magical as ours. I have a hard time beating this location as a place to wake up and start a new year -- I'm not sure how we'll face the end of 2012.
And this month, Darcy's the Student of the Month for her class! Yay Darcy Jo! Darcy's school does a great job of acknowledging student achievement and each month, all the teachers choose one of their students as Student of the Month for their class. At the monthly assembly, the principal calls them up one at a time, puts her arm around them, and reads what their teachers wrote about them in the nomination.
This is what Darcy's teacher wrote about her:
"Darcy's enthusiasm and energy make her a force to be reckoned with in kindergarten and everywhere else she goes! Darcy is a curious, creative learner always full of questions and the desire to know more. Darcy already reads first grade books with fluency, accuracy and wonderful expression. She is a focused student who can block out anything when she is concentrating on a task. Watch out world, Darcy is on her way, and nothing is going to stop this girl!"
Earlier in the week, I got an even bigger (in my mind) compliment. I was waiting with Darcy at her school for their PTO-sponsored December Gift Shop to open. A teacher I didn't recognize came over and introduced herself as one of the special education teachers and told me that she wanted to let me know that Darcy is always welcoming and friendly and inclusive to her special ed students. She was so sweet and told me how much she appreciates students who treat her kids as they do everyone else and that Darcy really stands out in this regard. Go Darcy Jo! Michael was bursting with so much pride over this report that he broke the no-dessert-on-school-nights rule and busted out a special dessert for her.
