Old route

I Decided to drive into downtown Berkeley today. And took the route to my boys middle school which I drove for 5 years. The fall trees were stunning. Turning left though made me choke up. Such good memories. How is it I made it through two boys going through middle school and I enjoyed the whole experience. Rebellion or reckless behavior skipped my boys in middle school and for that I am grateful. 

Mother Son Dance

Was the annual mother / son dance at the boys high school last night. Both of them getting over mono meant they did not have as much energy as one would hope, but they went along. We danced the entire night. Music was fairly good but no music that made us jump up and down which I missed. 

Wellness Panel

Last night I was a parent on a panel filled with students and parents. The students spoke so honestly. They chocked me up. The first one said he did not care about school until his junior year when he fell in love with drama. Mr. Forte's son talked about not getting enough sleep and to be easier on himself. The 3rd talked about not being seen at home by his family and he is on his own. Last was Grace who talked about taking 2 ap's last year which were too much for her with her learning differences. So vulnerable. 

I felt I should not be on the panel. So I kept mine short and sweet. One question was asked of us what was our best parent king moment and our worst. The best that came to mind was after Riley was jumped. I was mad wanted to fix the situation. Wanted to cry. And when I sat down with Riley a calm came over me and I told Riley that as his mother I loved him more than anything. That I hated he had to go through this situation. But he had. He survived. And he was going to learn what to do if something even close to that ever happened again. 

The worst parenting. Wow manybut probably  whenever I felt so angry and had just lost my cool. 

First mobile attempt

Well actually the first attempt was lost. So second we try. 

My anxiety is high. Both the boys are home with what the doctor says is mono. And they are sick. So far Riley has missed about two weeks of school and Sawyer one. Riley seems a bit sicker to me but then I do not know how they feel inside. 

What they will remember

Yes, I know they will remember the skeleton at the castle. In fact, the older one said it had made the entire trip worth it.

Heading toward Italy

The drive from Germany to Italy was not as scary as I had thought it might be. In fact, I found driving in Europe was easy except for some very narrow old roads every once in awile. We only stopped for a few short minutes in Austria and headed toward our favorite destination of the trip which will take me several days to cover.

Nuremberg

Why this photo - because the boys so enjoyed seeing all the bugs aglow over the river. It was late in the evening while we were wondering around. It was warm and it the sun sets so late you do not realize that it is after 10:00pm.

Simple Day

Wonderful slow day - spent the morning walking to two libraries to sign up for summer reading programs with the younger one and then walking the afternoon walking to the pharmacy with the older one. Sunny cool day perfect for long walks.

Germany

Germany was our first stop on our European vacation. It was a nice entry into the first overseas trip for the boys. My goal for the trip was to give the boys a chance to see a place that is different than what they know. I know that Europe is not as different as much as the world but it is a start. They noticed the difference is language, food, architecture and age of much of the buildings. They thought there sure were a lot of old things. However, I made almost all out hotels reservations in the historic older part of town.

Got Snowed on in Bryce

We woke up to snow. I like that I was able to get the boys to play along with the "photo shoot".

Last day of school

Yep a broken leg the last day of school. What a way to spend your summer.

USS Hornet

A while back we went on a night tour of the USS Hornet. When I made the reservation I did not know that the USS Hornet is purported to be one of the most haunted places in the US. When we arrived we were given the option to have a haunted tour or a tour with history and a little haunting. We choose the later. There were only 4 of us on the tour. We were given meters that would indicate if there were paranormal activity around up.
It was interesting - we learned a lot - and it was fun! All the lights were out and we had to use flashlights to get around. Our tour ended after 11:00 pm.

Kids Sports

I only have photos of the young ones volleyball games. The older one's track experience I have not been allowed to photograph.

Volleyball has been a great experience. He feels more comfortable with the older students (he is the only 6th grader) and the team having only one more game is undefeated. Best part he is quite good so I can see some volleyball in the future.

6th Grade Dance Drama

Some drama as a result from his first dance made me surprise him with lunch on Monday. Went to his favorite burger place which has been there for years and years.
Surprising how even when you think a successful occasion has occurred - drama might unfold.

More Canyoneering

The only point in the trip that I was nervous was climbing out - no ropes. I kept falling since I did not have the correct shoes - the boys did better at this point. Also after six hours at this we were getting a bit tired. We were also wet and even though the water was very cold we did not seem to get too cold since the weather was nice and we were moving.

Spring Break

During Spring Break we went to Zion National Park. Amazingly beautiful. And we had incredible weather.

While there we went on a canyoneering trip. During the first rappel into the cavern I could tell the boys were a bit weary however, by the second rappel, which was about 7 stories in height - they loved it. It was my idea of heaven. Adventure, challenge and glorious scenery.

Leadership?

This one has been selected by staff and students in leadership in his school to become involved in leadership. He was fairly certain that there must have been a mistake made but I however, think they see qualities in him that he does not see in himself. I feel proud but even more so hopeful, hopeful that he will be able to meet a new challenge.

6th Grade Dance

I was very impressed with his wanting to go to the first sixth grade dance. Many private schools in the area all attend so his small class of 10 in a dance with 200 kids seems even smaller. He went by himself and danced the entire night. And most impressive slow danced with girls from other schools to the dismay of the girls in his class. Bravo!

Forgot to post Birthday Post

It was just a small celebration with old friends to mark the 12th birthday. Last year with only teenagers. First there was bowling and lunch. Then some dancing and shooting. A perfect birthday.

CAL Day

Went to Cal Day today. Went to a lecture about the adolescent brain - so fun to hear the adolescent talk about what he had learned during the lecture. Learned about bats and stem cell research. Also how birds coloring is partly due to what they eat. Enjoyed ourselves for hours until it became too crowded and time to leave.