Another photo

Here I am with the boys at mile #2. Unfortunately, I'm still too busy to type up the whole story. Stay tuned, though.

We Finished!

More to come later. Too tired right now :D

Quick Post of Ridge's Race

Just a quickie to share some photos from today's kids' run. This event was done in conjunction with the Rock -n- Roll Marathon happening tomorrow and mimicked the real thing down to the staggered start! Very cute! The race was not timed and all the participants got medals. Many kids, including Ridge, had participated in a "training" plan wherein the spent 10 weeks running a little bit at a time (during PE class). This race represented the 26th mile for their own "marathon". Very fun! Ridge had a blast!

Photos of Bootanical Garden Fest and another Kid-ism

A fourth-grade student with whom I'm working, who shall of course remain nameless, has been studying the brain during Science. He has a tendency to be VERY literal, despite having an outrageously high IQ. While reading his handout on the parts of the brain and their jobs, he periodically called out with questions such as, "what is the hypothalamus? What are hormones?" I, being the good teacher that I am, encouraged him to keep reading to find the answers. Then it happened....

"What's puberty?"

Gulp. Gasp. Choke. Think, Michelle! Think quickly!

"Well, it's when your body goes from being a boy to a man."

"Oh."
Long Pause, then, said in a somewhat quiet voice to himself, "Geez! That must be AWFUL!"

Someone later pointed out to me that I probably gave him a mental image of puberty being sort of like the Hulk's transformation. Wimpy man to bulging green creature...could be scary for sure...but not as scary as puberty!
We went to the Botanical Garden for the Halloween Festival (Bootanical..get it?). They currently have an installation of some fantastic, giant insect sculptures made of wood. Check 'em out:

Driving Mr. Holt

Hmmm...maybe I should have titled this one, "Driving Mommy". Hard to pick out good titles, you know? Sometimes that's the worst part about writing a blog entry.

So, last weekend, while Ridge was at Japanese school, Holt and I ran errands. One of these involved the traditonal pre-marathon trip to Goodwill. What in the world does Goodwill have to do with running 26.2 miles, you say? Glad you asked! It is not unusual for the temperature on the morning of a race to be something less than comfortable when one is only clothed in running shorts and a sleeveless top. Rather than shiver uncomforablely (though you'd think that 30,000 people would generate a lot of heat), a person has three choices: (1) wear whatever you usual wear on a cold-weather run and then have to keep track of it for hours on end, (2) wear a trashbag (cheap, but unattractive), or, my favorite, (3) buy some cheap running pants and a hoodie at Goodwill. These inexpensive clothes can then be ditched just before the race begins. Race organizers then, as advertised, pick up the dropped clothing and donate it to homeless people. Sort of a full circle, if you ask me.

As the cashier rang up my whopping $3.22, I handed the car keys to Holt. In the past, I've made jokes about driving the car, but usually the boys just roll their eyes at me. Ridge will actually become actively annoyed when I do that. But today was different:

Me: Holt, would you mind driving, please?
Holt: Of course. I always drive. You always sit in the back. (said with a TOTALLY straight face)
Cashier: (straight face) Oh, do you drive often?
Holt: Sure, all the time.
Cashier: Well, make sure you buckle up.
Holt: of course! (grinned)

I thought I would die laughing!

Pathetic

Wow. What does it say about me as a blogger that I had to try about twenty times to log on because I forgot my username and password? Eeek! I don't even know if anyone looks at this thing anymore. I mean, who in their right mind would keep checking a blog that hasn't had a new post since JUNE?

Well, hopefully I'll stop being a slacker and write more. After all, it's the best way to keep track of what the boys do and say - I'm waaaay too lazy to keep an actual journal. In fact, if I write anything by hand for more than a few mintues without stopping, my hand cramps. Again - pathetic.

So - kid quote of the day:

Ridge: "Daddy, what's it like when a booger burns? Does it burn green??"

Response from Anah (Aaron's mother) via text ('cause you know I had to share this nugget with everyone in my address book): "It shrivels. It's mostly mucous" and "It does emit smoke!!"

I can never be accused of having a dull life.

Thanks, Anah! He loved the answer!

Finished!

Hooray! I finished my second marathon today! It was a blast and I really enjoyed every minute of it. Well, almost - the hill at mile 26 was not my friend. I finally gave up on caring about my time - best move ever! In fact, since I had been sick and wondered how I would feel, I didn't even wear my watch. So, I just ran a comfortable pace and really enjoyed the views. I'll have a few funny stories to share afterwards. I've decided to have a positive outlook on my race time - it's simple a new PR (personal record - that's running slang - makes me look cool, don't you think?). It's just that this PR is for my SLOWEST time ever - five and half hours. I don't care though, because I really had fun and it was a gorgeous day. We're off to meet a friend and ride the ferry. Must keep moving some so I don't sieze up - my quads are super mad at me right now!

Hanging out the day before the race

Just a few shots from the day:

Walking at Seward Park...

Chilin' at Pioneer Square (I think we are getting better at taking photos of ourselves!)

oh...and it's the money you could be saving with Geico...staring at us from across the way.

Headin' to Seattle

After escaping the strange stomach illness that swept through the Felker/Garis household like an angry tornado, Aaron and I recovered and had uneventful trip to Seattle. He is feeling fine, I'm slowly getting back up to speed. We have no idea where the "bug" came from (had to explain to Ridge that when we said it must be a 'little bug' that we weren't actually referring to a critter with legs), and Ridge seems to be the only one who escaped the 24-hour unhappiness. I'm crossing my fingers that a little more rest will put me right and I'll be able to run on Saturday without any trouble.

After arriving in Seattle, Aaron and I somewhat successfully navigated public transportation (a novelty to us Texas, I know) and made our way to our hotel. I say "somewhat" because, while we managed to get to our final destination safely, we didn't do it together. At my confused urging, Aaron and I moved to get off the bus, but I wasn't fast enough and the bus left. My last image was of Aaron banging on the window, standing on the roadside with the suitcase (though, of course, my running clothes never left my hands). The other folks on the bus were kindly shocked. One young boy asked me, "was that your boyfriend?" I smiled, said he was my husband, and he became even more upset on my behalf. "You should complain!" he exclaimed. I was grateful for the sympathy of the other passengers because it made me feel a little less stupid. We navigated Japan for two years - surely we could handle Seattle for three days!

Fortunately, we were shortly reunited at the next bus stop, which turned out to be the correct one, and quickly located the hotel. The remainder of the afternoon was spent poking around the South Downtown area and enjoying the Seattle Aquarium. Tomorrow we will go out for an early jaunt to the Seward Park, which reportedly consists of old growth forest in the heart of the city. My plan is to go for a final, short run and enjoy the views. Afterwards Aaron will check out a local Brazilian Jiu Jistu school while I go to the expo. Here's a few shots from today of the Aquarium and our fantastic view of Safeco Field. Too bad we aren't baseball fans.

Nemo and Dori say "hi"

Aaron measures up next to a six-gilled shark...

...and Michelle gets mauled by an octopus..

..but not the real one, thank goodness. I wouldn't want this bad boy to get mad at me! You can't tell from the photo, but it's head/body is about 3 ft from top to bottom.

The Long Awaited Tree House

It's been non-stop excitement here at the Felker/Garis house. Summer vacation is in full swing, no doubt about it. Ridge is thrilled to be attending his Junior Naturalist camp at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens. Each day they seem to be using solar ovens they made to cook afternoon snack. Yesterday it was S'mores, today was gooey trail mix, and tomorrow will be pizza. He is so amazingly excited!

While Ridge is at camp, Holt and I have been getting in some quality Holt-Mommy time. This morning we bonded while pulling nails from old wood. He was quite the hard worker. Tomorrow we will go see a movie and then go the the rarely visited but often requested Incredible Pizza. He is thrilled. I'm thrilled to not spend another morning pulling nails!

On Saturday, Dad and I will make a showing at a local 1/2 marathon relay with quite possibly the most eclectic group out there. Two men - both dad's age, me (late 30's), and my running bud (mid 20's). Should be a blast. Later in the evening, my running friends will be giving me my official "send off for the Seattle Marathon. Aaron and I leave next Thursday, and I'll be running my second marathon on the 27th!

Marathons, summer camp, and Incredible Pizza, however, all pale in comparison to the most recent construction project: the Long Awaited Tree House. Last Sunday saw us completing stage one: tearing apart the front deck (it needed to go, anyway) so we can use the wood, dig through rock to make four post holes, and construct the base for the platform. The night before we began, Ridge nagged Grandpa about what time would he (my dad) be ready to get up and work. Ridge informed Dad that he would be up at five if that's what Grandpa wanted. It wasn't.

The boys both toiled with us as we worked through the day. They have already begun to play on it, even though it's only a framework. It promises to be provide hours of endless fun, I believe.

Michael's Birthday Cake

Even though we were told not to make a big deal out of Michael's 40th birthday (ha...lots of luck with that)...I couldn't resist the excuse to make a cake. I'd been dying to play with a funky cake pan my mom has, and here is the result. Just don't ask me how long it took. It was fun, so it doesn't matter.

Pool Party

As a consolation for not having big birthday parties, Ridge and Holt have a pool party to celebrate the end of school and beginning of summer vacation. It's pretty low key, with a few friends, cupcakes, and a pinata.

Kids Say the Darndest Things...

A couple of Holt's kidisms:
After Mom gave someone a card which sings the tune "Age of Aquarius," Holt could be heard walking around the house singing to himself, "...the Age of Aquarium, age of aquarium, aquariuuuuuum..."

As he is throwing something across the pool: "Fire and a Hole!!"

Upon being told his mask was on upside down, he crossed his eyes to see they nose bit of his swimming mask was indeed on his forehead, he proclaimed, "Oh, of course, now everything in the pool looks upside down!"

Moving on to Ridge:
As we prepared to leave for a movie, Holt gathered some of his allowance money with which to buy a soda. Ridge declined to take his money, so Holt offered to buy him a drink. Ridge responded, "No thanks, cause I don't really want one anyway, and I don't want you to waste your money. That's really generous of you to offer though, and you are a really thoughtful little brother even if sometimes I don't want you."

Ridge: Mommy, did you hear there was a 16 year old girl who had a baby?
Me: oh, really?
Ridge: Yeah, and she wasn't even married!!
Me: Well, you don't have to be married to have a baby.
Ridge: (incredulous) Really?!?!
Me: Uh...yeah. Bears aren't married. Chickens aren't married. They have babies.
Ridge: Yeah, but I was just thinking about wondering why the baby came out so early.

At this point in the conversation, we arrived at our destination and I could aviod the rest of the topic. Eeek. Why do they have to grow up?

Teaching English in Japan

In response to an inquiry regarding teaching English overseas: here's a link which might be of use to you.

http://www.jetprogramme.org/

Pig Flu and Photos

Life has been rolling along here at the pig-flu-free Felker/Garis house. Much to the boys' disappointment, their unexpected holiday will end several days earlier than expected. Last week, we received a 5:30 a.m. phone call from Comal ISD letting us know that the schools would be closing until May 11th. Fortunately, my friend had sent me a text the night before, so we were not caught unaware. Just a few minutes ago, we got another automated phone call letting us know the schools would open again on Thursday. My own employer, North East ISD refused to succumb to the "let's close the schools" theory, stating they needed at 12% absenteeism two days in a row to close a school. Middle and High School students quickly accepted the challenge and mounted an email/blog/twitter/facebook/MySpace campaign to get their friends to all stay home "sick". Unfortunately for them, it didn't work. So, life is slowly returning to normal and we are all counting the days until summer break.

Aaron and I had a wonderful weekend celebrating our 11th anniversary with a kid-free trip to Austin. They boys are really growing up; when we left on Friday, I had to actually ask Ridge for a hug, and Holt didn't run out the door in tears. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not! Last night we watched a video from our first year in Japan. It included Ridge's fifth birthday and Holt's third. It was a lot of fun watching it with them. They seem so huge now! Holt giggled a lot when we pointed out to him that he once liked chocolate. "See! There you are on film eating chocolate cake!" It must be a little surreal for them to see themselves so young.

I try to use this blog to record funny things the kids do so I won't forget them. Lately it's just been the usual stuff: Holt hiding his dinner salad in the bathroom trash...the funniest part is that he had done this before, according to my father, who failed to let me know. Ridge has been reading like crazy and has decided he loves reading Beverly Cleary and Judy Bloom, all the while trying to talk me into letting him have a Nintendo DS ("no"), AND asking me periodically when he will be able to have his own cell phone ("when you are around me less and have more of your own life"). He continues to go to Japanese school to keep up his vocabulary. Tonight I was working on reading an email from my friend Chihiro. Ridge had just gone to bed, but I couldn't resist calling out to his darkened bedroom for a translation of a particular work, which he helpfully supplied. Holt has recently taken to dancing and singing to himself. It's cute, but it also means he is constantly getting "lost". While helping me carry groceries in today, he started dancing and balancing on the garden hose, following its loops and curves while I stood at the door waiting for him to open it; he had completely forgotten that he was holding groceries. He'll be attending a local children's theater group summer camp for two weeks. Should be perfect for him.

On that note, here's a

couple of photos, one of which is from Ridge's Jiu Jitsu tournament.

Happy Easter

Hope all of you had a nice Easter weekend. Ridge and Holt were thrilled that the Easter Bunny visited again. The morning began quite rainy, and the boys were deep in conversation with each other regarding our hoppity little friend. They kept muttering "I don't think he came. I didn't see any eggs, did you?" Back and forth it went. Finally, unable to stop myself, I informed them that the Easter Bunny is not like Santa. For one thing, the Easter Bunny only visits American (maybe Canadian?) children, and is not subject to the same "all-the-houses-in-one-night" rule. The Easter Bunny takes his time and waits for just the right conditions. So, while they might not see any eggs yet, it's possible that he just hasn't made it here yet. This explanation seemed to satisfy them. With Ridge being 8 and Holt 6, I wonder how many more years we have?

My cousin Stephanie and her boyfriend, Larry, snuck over and did the hippity hoppity honors while the boys were distracted dying eggs. When everything was ready, we turned them loose on the front yard and it was a sight to see! They darted all around, jumping, leaping, and screaming with excitement. Ridge finally sat on the porch to let Holt have the last few, dripping with sweat and practically cackling.

I've also included a photo of some yummy bread Aunt Donna brought over from Great Harvest. It was cleverly shaped like a bunny, and was delicious!

Belly Buttons: necessity or purely asthetic?

Stay tuned. I'll write something interesting soon. Or, maybe I'll write something not so interesting.

Ridge was hyper today and couldn't stop talking. He blurted out, while examining his stomach, "Mommy, what would my tummy look like without a belly buton? Can you remove a belly button?"

My answer was, "Smooth", but I like my friend Amy's answer better. She said, "tell him that if it wasn't there, all the stuff inside would come oozing out. After all, something has to hold it in."

Nice.