Father's Day 2015

It's Father's Day! I'm so very lucky to be married to a man who is a wonderful father AND to have and a wonderful father myself. I thought I'd ask my kids some things about their dad.

Here are Maia's answers:
What makes Dad happy?
When we cuddle him
What is Dad's job?
A composer
What's something special about Dad?
He is kind and cute
How are you and Dad the same?
We're both picky eaters
How are you different?
I have blue eyes, dad has brown eyes
What is Dad's favorite thing about you?
I'm not sure. Well, I'm pretty sure it's loving
Where does Dad like to go?
Subway
If Dad was a cartoon character, who would he be?
Shining Armor
What does Dad like the most about Mom?
They're husband and wife
What's your favorite thing about Dad?
He loves us

And Ruby's:
What makes Daddy happy?
When he gives us some love
What is Daddy's job?
He works at WSU
What's something special about Daddy?
I don't know. When he roller skates with us.
How are you and Daddy the same?
Well we both have brown eyes.
How are you different?
I have curly hair, but I have love hair. Daddy has curly hair too, but shorter curly hair.
What is Daddy's favorite thing about you?
I don't know.
Where does Daddy like to go?
Starbucks
If Daddy was a cartoon character, who would he be?
Nothing. Or maybe he would be Night Shining, blah, blah.
What does Daddy like most about Mommy?
Because they're in love.
What's your favorite thing about Daddy?
He loves me.


And I thought I'd answer some about my dad:

What makes Dad happy?
When his children are happy and thriving, when he's watching tv specials about history, when he's singing in the Phoenix Symphony Chorale, when he's reading a good book, or when he's enjoying the Bay Area summer weather.
What is Dad job?
He helps people to worship God through music and care taking. He is also a handyman, cook, pool boy, and resident IT guy.
What's something special about Dad?
He can fix anything
How are you and Dad the same?
We are both seemingly logical and somewhat stoic, but are actually quite sensitive.
How are you different?
He has a never-ending faith in the church at large.
What is Dad's favorite thing about you?
This is a hard one. Maybe my independence and attitude about life?
Where does Dad like to go?
Anywhere that is a change of pace from day to day life. And it's especially great if family is there.
If Dad was a cartoon character, who would he be?
Batman. He's just a normal, handsome guy to most people, but those who know him well, know that he cares deeply about justice and keeping everyone safe.
What does Dad like most about Mom?
Her boobs. Just kidding. Sort of. I think he likes her partnership and everyday support.
What's your favorite thing about Dad?
I love what a good listener he is and his ability to be in the moment.

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there. Your children are grateful for all you do for us, physically and emotionally. Giving you all our love.

The start of summer: I'd give it a B+

It's been ages since I've sat down to write and life has been full during my online absence.

Once classes at the university were over, I immediately started painting. Judging from the paint cans in our basement (left by the previous owners) it's been 7 years since any room has been painted. Now that Aleks has tenure, it's time to take some ownership of this house and I'm hoping to paint the entire interior within this year. Summer is a good time to get a lot of it done.

I painted our bedroom in the fall and in the last month have completed the remaining upstairs bedrooms. We decided to move Ruby into the craft room and so for a week our house was in total chaos. My timing is really something. I finished putting together the two rooms the day I left for Washington.

The old craft room/color.

New color/Ruby's room.

Ruby's old room (with the old color) about 3 years ago before the big girl bed.

New color/craft room/office.

At the end of May I headed to the tri-cities in Washington to sing with the Mid Columbia Symphony. I got to sing my first Beethoven 9 and Bruckner Psalm 150. My friend Nick Wallin conducts the orchestra and does an amazing job getting a high quality performance with just a week of rehearsals. It was a thrilling experience to sit on stage in front of the orchestra and hear such a masterpiece in this way. Not only was it a rewarding musical experience, but I also met some extraordinarily warm and lovely people.

It also didn't hurt that there are some beautiful wineries and wine in the area.

The week I got back the girls attended princess camp, which was basically an introduction to ballet and tap classes, while learning to be princess-y. Or whatever. Obviously, because they are a typical 4 and 6 year old, they loved it.

Personally, I couldn't get enough of their leotards and buns.

The week ended in a coronation, so just FYI, Maia and Ruby are real princesses now.

And when everyone played freeze dance, they wasted no time finding each other to waltz together. It makes me so happy to know they will always have a dance partner.

Our transition into summer hasn't been seamless. The girls were absolute terrors the first two weeks: not listening, sassy, and disobedient. It wasn't fun. Thankfully, the past week has been much better. They've remembered how to play together and be respectful and find a rhythm in our less structured days. We've been able to spend some time at the pool and have made lots of trips to the library. Maia is devouring the Junie B. Jones books.

If you listen to the national news, I'm sure you've caught wind of the mess Kansas is in right now. I read this article, which I feel is easy to read and sums things up nicely. My emotional welfare is not usually affected by politics, but I've found myself feeling quite sad this past week.

On Thursday my grandfather was flown out on an honor flight to DC to be honored for his service in WWII. My aunt Annie was able to go with him and posted this on her instagram account:

I admit that I come from a long line of educators and may be biased, but my heart just breaks over the respect and treatment our teachers and schools receive here in Kansas. Not to mention the poor and lower middle class. Something has to change. I'm confident it won't be this way forever, but it sure doesn't make the humid midwest summer any easier to stomach.

A silver lining is that the girls and I are headed to Arizona next week to see my family and soak up some sun in the pool. Be warned: I'm sure my social media will be flooded with pictures of my girlies with their cousins. It's gonna be cute!

Here's hoping your summer is off to a great start!