Skyler is on a roll...

It's been a long time coming, but Skyler is on his bike and ready to roll. It is his favorite thing to do! Soon he will be hitting the dirt park with Kai and friends.

Kai Loves to Pogo!

Kai picked up a pogo stick and has fallen in love with it! He can jump off the deck, take a walk on Pearl Street, and make everything fun...

What I learned in 2nd Grade...

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This year Kai has blossomed into a reader, writer, book publisher, mathematician, poet, great friend, artist, dedicated gymnast, skier and a lover of all things fun and exciting. Kai studied heros [Sir Isaac Newton], weather, math/reading/writing and much, much more, but he came out with a love of poetry and reading.

The year wrapped up with Kai and his friend Caleb, on their own, deciding to hold a poetry cafe. They came up with this idea on their own, wrote invitations and told their parents it was going to happen. So a few days after graduation we gathered on Caleb's lawn with their teacher, Karen Halveson there to support them, and listened to our children recite the poetry they had worked on during the course of the year. Watching Kai and Caleb stand before us--all dressed up--was incredibly sweet and endearing. It was a day or two after the poetry cafe that Kai came running over to me and begged me to find his writing book from school because a poem just came to him and he wanted to write it down. My heart just soared...

A poem from Kai's poetry book, Secrets of the Earth.

Streams
Streams
Slither
down
mountains
valleys
and
gorges
like a clear snake
slithering
around the world.

And

Lightning
Lightening
shooting
like
a
bullet, flying, diving
down
from
its
birth place
in
the
clouds
even
before it
strikes
it is
50,000 degrees!

Adios Kindergarten

Skyler graduate from kindergarten! This year he joined Kai at Boulder Community School for Integrated Studies [BCSIS] where he made great connections with new friends and teachers. It really seemed like the perfect next step since he had literally grown up around BCSIS.

This year Skyler discovered soccer. He loved playing on his team and was very proud of their accomplishments. Practices and especially games were some of the most important moments of this year--it's like he found his place. He loved being a part of team. This year Skyler also started swimming and now floats on his back and dunks his head like it is nothing.

Skyler is a lover of soccer, his brother, play dates, camping, swimming, scootering & legos among other things...

On to 1st grade...

San Diego on Christmas & Legoland for Skyler's Birthday

We kept it a surprise that we were taking Kai + Skyler to Legoland on Christmas. It was for both of them, but we really wanted to make sure we were at Legoland for Skyler's birthday [12/26]. The discovered the plan on Christmas. Tucked in their new backpacks was a note that started a treasure hunt. They hunted around the house finding clues like plane tickets, admission tix to Legoland, and notes taking them all over the house. I think it was more than they could comprehend--we have never traveled when they did not know it was coming up. Were we really getting on an airplane in a few hours? Kai must have asked 3 or 4 times if we were REALLY going.

Well we forgot the camera at Legoland--which was great because the kids could ride any of the rides--they felt so empowered. And then we got to spend 3 days by the beach in La Jolla--early morning coffee and strolls on the beach were awesome. Devon and Kai got out to surf one day with Bo [the Esrey's clan met us] for a little beach time. I was reminded of the strength and beauty of the ocean--and why don't we live near this incredible area? Million dollar shacks might be one of the answers...

It was a great trip!

Kai's 1st Gymnastics Meet of the Season

Here is a short clip from Kai's floor routine at his first meet of the season. Floor is not one of his favorite/strongest events but he has been working hard on improving it... His favorite events at this tender age are rings, parallel bars and vault.