Working Hard

We're working so hard with our Ingrid this year.  She is blossoming and reaching new academic niveaus each and every day.  Her efforts are paying off.  It's such a blessing to look and see her pick out chapter books to read and enjoy herself.  Math pages are no longer a great struggle and school is once again fun while simultaneously challenging.  Ingrid is embracing her new standing.

Today we got a head start of her weekly homework pack.  She wasn't struggling, but moreso doing a little drama as she worked through a page of subtraction.   Her expressions are priceless. 

 

 

 

 

Hamilton Invitational Track and Field Meet

This evening we had the pleasure of watching Morgan participate in one of her last junior high track meets before Regionals.  She did a great job today and qualified for Regionals in two events: 800 meter and 4 x 400 relay.  We are so proud.  Today Morgan took second in the 800 m.

She was formally asked to the 8th grade semi-formal dance this weekend.  Her date is Miles, one of her track team members.  She's excited, to say the least.

New Perspective - The Teen Years

It was not Morgan's best night last night, that's for sure.  The night sleep did not bring a reprieve and the typical as well as atypical sassiness continued in the morning.  No one was in good form.

What was a planned church, tacos, home, change, and back out kind of day turned into kitchen cleaning, homework and slowly working our way out the door.  We forced ourselves to change moods to prepare to go back to church in the afternoon.

Last week I volunteered our family to chaperone the confirmation class on a scavenger hunt at the Phoenix zoo.  Not knowing what to expect, we agreed to transport up to two extra kids and then take them into the zoo to meet up with the group.

When I re-looked at our Keeper's Club membership it said 10 kids ages 3-18 can be included in our family.  With four Chung kiddos, that meant we could take six extra youth with us.  As we met up at the zoo, we decided to take all of the youth with us, because they cost more, leaving only two children to go with Pastor Scott and the other chaperones.

We made our way forward through the walk way to the entrance - that's 12 of us if you're counting.  Two adults, 10 kids.  As part of the ten kids we had Joey and Jack.  Both Joey and Jack are seventh graders by age but are very special needs kids.  We weren't even sure if they could walk into the zoo without their moms, who had to stay back in line and pay for an adult ticket as chaperones.  We went ahead to get the entire group in under our membership which saved quite a bit for the youth group.  The group started to immediately separate and I could see the stress on Woody's eyes trying to keep count of our kids amongst all the others on the wide bridge entrance.  Jack got ahead and Woody was in the back.  I was with Joey.  I quickly asked each one of the other youth, including Morgan to take responsibility for Erik, Ingrid and Annika to walk to the entrance.  I told Woody to run up and walk with Jack and I stayed with Joey.  For this small time we were worried if we could handle the group or any perceived issues with the other two.

We approached the entrance and Woody announced our group was the 10 kids and handed our membership card.  We were ushered in and then had to wait for the other chaperones and the two younger kids who were paying to get in.  This was a long wait.  I glanced over and the group stayed together.  Joey and Jack and I chatted then Jack and Woody started talking - about anything really, just to keep them calm.  They were nervous without their mothers.  We had them people watch to keep a look our for their families.

In all of this, the rest of the group was calm, collected and very helpful to us.  It was so refreshing.  After the group gathered together, we split into scavenger hunt groups.  We had three girls and two boys, plus the younger Chung kiddos - eight kids.  Jack and Joey went with their moms.  Pastor Scott got to roam between the groups but mostly stayed with Jack and Joey.

Our teens so impressed us with their politeness and their calmness.  Everyone stayed together, no whining, no teenager antics.  It was a very nice afternoon.  We felt so blessed, both of us, to be around youth and enjoy ourselves.   We bought everyone ice cream and then extra water for one girl who was showing signs of dehydration.  The entire group stopped and waited for us to get her cooled off and hydrated.  We saw animals and talked.

This was the first time we were able to use our membership to its fullest extent, including the 10 kids entrance and the discounts on ice cream and sodas for Woody and me.

We got the group back to the the church as 4:30.  Everything was fine and the Chung gang decided we should celebrate with Sunday dinner at Red Robin.  One block out from the church parking lot, Erik threw up all over himself and the car seat.  What?????

We pulled over in a physician parking lot and got out.  It stunk.  I was happy that I decided just this once to pack an entire set of extra clothes for Erik.  Just because.  He's almost five so it's not something I do every trip.  I was so happy it was THIS trip that I did.   We cleaned the car seat as much as possible with wipes and stripped Erik in the parking lot and got him changed.  The smell mostly subsided and Erik decided he felt great.  Cautiously we continued on with our evening plans, still feeling the natural high of hanging out with GOOD TEENS.  We felt restored.

Just before our food arrived, Ingrid turns and her nose combusts with blood.  What??????  She soaked through a couple of napkins and still had to sit back after her food arrived.

I shake my head this evening.  All is well and four Chungs are in bed.

What's That All About?

Erik has taken up reading labels at mealtime.  Anything on the table is fair game.  He reads cereal boxes, salad dressings, juice containers, etc.  We eat a lot of wholesome and/or organic foods so it's common to read foods with "one hundred percent" this-or-that.  Erik calls those items "one hundred percent."  As in, "Mom, pass me the one hundred per-cent please." Which really means pass me the Hunts 100% natural ketchup.  Has he noticed that he keeps calling everything 100%?  No.  We think he likes noticing the percent sign and saying "PERRR-cent".

This morning he yelled out, "Wait a minute!!!  Dad, this is one per-cent!!!!  What's that all about??"

The rest of us couldn't contain our laughter.  Erik was reading the milk bottle.

Cereal Fairy

I cringed when I saw the assignment and made an instant calculation of how much of my weekend would be lost.  Ingrid brought home another one of the school's infamous "craft" book reports.  You know the ones, "Design a Robot with each appendage as a part of the book summary." or "Make a kite using one of the characters in your book." or the always-favorite "Design a book diorama in a shoebox".

These projects ALWAYS require parental help and parental cash.  I'm sure the school response would be something like, "We do it so the parent spends TIME with their kids." As if they are the ones dictating and monitoring the quality of parent/child/familial  interaction outside of school.  I think you get my perversion.

So with that mindset, I came to the table Saturday afternoon, silently kicking and screaming, and sat with Ingrid as she selected her book and begin to design her project.  And what devilish waste of my time book report craft project did they pick?  Design a cereal box for your book report.  Include your cereal name and a front picture, side panels with character descriptions and setting and summary and a back game that relates to your book.  The top should contain your bibliography.  And finally, create a 2 minute commercial about your cereal and present to the class.

Ingrid picked the book, "Alice the Tennis Fairy" by Daisy Meadows.  Easy enough.  The entire cereal box could have a tennis theme.

I though maybe we could get through this.  We printed pictures of Alice to add to the front.  We used the Silhouette to make a rainbow bowl and stamped with paint the "fairy-o" cereal.  For the side panel I downloaded a template from a real federal nutrition label and edited it in Adobe Illustrator.  We even wrote "Serving size: 1 book"  We started having a bit of fun.  For the back we found a maze generator and decided the game was for Alice to go through the maze to find her magic tennis racket.

The Silhouette came in handy to make all of the labels for the cereal which Ingrid glued onto a wrapped box of Cheerios.  Finally, Sunday evening (yes two days), we were done.  I was tired.

Ingrid's commercial contained references to tennis vocabulary.  Her dad and Annika helped with some of the puns, like "You will LOVE-40 eating Tennis Fairy-O's" and "Start your day with an ADVANTAGE."  It was comical and Ingrid performed well.  She practiced several times before turning in her assignment.

The final grade?  95% for the writing and A+ for her commercial.  Awesome job, Ingrid.  You ACE'D it!

Matchbox and Hotwheels

Monday is our designated no-electronics and somewhat no-TV day.  We aren't strict on either, but we do try.  With Ingrid gone to tutoring and Annika and Morgan doing homework, I was left as Erik's playmate.  I didn't want him gravitating toward a handheld electronic.  He wasn't interested today in Legos, Lincoln Logs or blocks.  But when I mentioned cars, he mentioned orange track and the fun was on.

Our living room is void of furniture.  There's no need to buy when the kids are young and we do most of our entertaining in the family room and kitchen (like everyone else these days).  It's a vast space of openess.  Perfect for a long track run with a double loop.  To get the slope necessary to build up the needed speed to complete the loop, we added a chair to the dining room and the short wall provided a great car line up.

Erik did some of the designing.  He's figuring out how long the rise over run has to be to make the car do the loop and not fall off.  (The free fall drop proved that point rather fast).  Erik was delighted that his favorite Batman (vintage Corgi Jr) made the cut.  He ranked the cars by how well they performed and how much he liked them.   A direct correlation, perhaps???

No Hotwheels story is complete without a picture of Erik's beloved Fed Ex truck.  This is the truck he used to hold in his hand to fall asleep - starting around 12 months.  I wish I had recorded how Erik would say "Fed Ex" as a 15 month old baby.  It was so cute.

 

 

 

Natural Egg Dyes

Easter Egg decorating was made fun by some food science using natural egg dyes to make colors.  We are in love with the muted tones and non-chemical hues made by long soaks in foods we found around the house.  I used mason jars and boiling water to combine tumeric, paprika, coffee grounds, grape juice, boiled and blended parsley, beet juice, and boiled red cabbage into egg dyes.  The results were fantastic.  We did have to infuse the eggs overnight to get the most saturation.  We can't wait until next year to try a few additonal items and perhaps to try some combinations.  Tumeric was the best, followed by the red cabbage.  The yellow and surprisingly blue eggs took the most color on the shells.

 

 

 

Afternoon Treat

It's Good Friday and a two-thirds work for me.  I arrived home to find out Woody has spent the better part of the mid day with a plumber at the house working on the upstairs bathtub drain.  Totally clogged.

I took the opportunity to go pick up Erik from preschool.  The girls had the day off from school.  I picked up Erik and the two of us headed to the Sun Lakes area McDonalds.  I bought him a chocolate milk - what a treat and we shared a bag of french fries while watching the trucks speed across Riggs Road.  It was a fun conversation and a chance to freeze time - just for the moment - it was so special. 

We need to learn to slow down, and have these moments.  Time really doesn't freeze.  It's there to enjoy, for that moment. P.S. He's getting big, isn't he?

Mid Week What-Nots

Erik loves his Delaney Kindergarten workbook.  This is the fourth night he has completed more than a dozen pages in the prep book.  At this rate, he'll be done with the entire book in about two weeks.  This book is called the Delaney book because we got it from the Hall family and it's been in our cupboard all this time.  Delaney completed about one page of the colorful worksheets.  It's a book of skills needed to successfully complete in kindergarten.  Erik is smoking through the book (forgive the pun).  He is great with all of his phonics, word blends, reading and math.  He doesn't really like writing and practicing his handwriting if he's only copying letters.  He likes writing words.  He doesn't like slowing down to color.  He's more "get-it-done" at this point.  The best part is his ability to read the instructions and know exactly how to complete the page with almost no explanation.  I love it.  Kindergarten - here comes Erik Chung in a few more months!

Santan Stormin' Scholar

She's taking the world by storm.  Bad pun, but it's true!  Morgan may take as many different paths as are out there, but she is getting there and we couldn't be any more proud of our eldest daughter.  Save for one B plus in seventh grade, Morgan has had all A's for the last two years.  She is being honored at a Scholar banquet next month as a reward for her hard work.  We can't wait to go.

 

Update: To the mad scheduler at Santan - how it is that track regionals and the banquet fall on the same night??  Apparently track stars are not scholars?  Scholars are not track stars?  Morgan has a good shot at EVC regionals in the 800 meters.  When I asked her how she wanted to handle it, she replied with a lot of wisdom.  "I can be a scholar again in high school, it's just a spaghetti dinner.  My teammates need me.  That's where my commitment is set.  I can always pick up the Stormin' Scholar certificate in the office."

So there it is.  We won't be going to the Scholar banquet.  Instead we will be sweating in the stands cheering on a true Stormin' Scholar.

Going to the Airport

We made the decision to wake all of the kids up early this morning to take Harmony back to the airport.  Her flight was at 8:35.  So around 6 AM we got the kiddos in the car and off we went.  And we certainly were glad for the early start.   Our plan was to arrive and get breakfast together before seeing Harmony through security.  But, as we looked, it seemed that the TSA lines were growing bigger, even at that early hour.  Our meal together was scrapped and we said our goodbyes.  Now at 645 AM we were wondering what to do.  We decided to get muffins and juice and relax and people watch at the airport.  The relaxed atmosphere was nice.  After filling our bellies with coffee, tea, juice and shared blueberry muffins, we made our way to the airport monorail shuttle.  This free connection to the east economy lot and the light rail station near the airport looked like a fun ride.  The view was great of all the coming and going planes, the gates and the surrounding area.

What we didn't expect was how fast the "train" travels.  It's quite fast climbing well up over the airport and roads and landing in less than 2 minutes at the parking garage for East Economy before taking off for the Washington Street lightrail station.  And then the train reverses and heads back in the same direction.  The kids loved it.  If we didn't have the car parked in über-expensive short term parking, we'd continue hanging out at the airport.  

The parking damage for our hour and a half of family fun?  $6.00.  Totally worth it.  We were back home by 8:30 and had the entire day ahead of us.

 

 

Dentist Day

Erik and Woody had their six month check ups today.  For the first time ever, their appointments were at the same time.  Erik was in one room and Woody was in the other room.  Erik had a perfect check up and was complimented numerous times.  He was looking forward to going to the dentist, loved his free toothbrush (Monsters Inc. this time) and the goody bag.  He carefully unpacked and inspected everything, including the dental floss, and was so happy to show everything to Harmony who came with to the dentist office.

What a big boy~

 

Frisbee Golf

With eight people in the house right now, we have to get creative to find activities that suit all three generations.  We hit the bullseye with today's ideas.  After brunch we drove to see some new model homes in the area from Fulton homes.  Just for kicks - and to get some great decorating ideas.  We've been looking at homes for years.  First while we were searching for a new home (and we ended up with the fabulous home we're in) and second for decorating and remodeling ideas.  Finally, for some entertainment.

The kids are done with the entertaining part.  We may or may not have worn them out of the idea a few years ago.  One too many models!

Woody's parents love one of the homes down near Sun Lakes.  Not sure if it will go anywhere at this time, but the floor plan is a perfect 2000ish square foot single story home.

We returned home from the two developments and watched an hour or so of Korean drama shows.  This one is a fun comedy - the older two kids can follow along with the subtitles.

Woody came up with the idea of frisbee golf to get everyone moving and try something different.  We played once before with a friend of Ingrid's and her family.  A nice outing just minutes from our house at Paseo Vista park.

We scrounged up around six frisbees and set off.  Morgan preferred to be the scout finding the next hole and mapping the way through the desert brush to the "pin" or chain basket.  There were other groups playing, some very serious.  But there was plenty of room to jump on the first hole as long as we stayed back.

Our day ended eating early pizza at Peter Piper Pizza and returning home to watch the movie Frozen with popcorn and comfy bean bag chairs.  A perfect family evening with grandparents.

Temporary Cell Phone Lot

 

This evening we went to pick up Harmony and Harabagee at the airport from the flight from Los Angeles.   As we arrived a sign quickly reminded me to tell Woody that the cell phone lot was moved to accommodate spring break visitors to the Valley of the Sun.  The temporary lot made us double back at the East Economy lot and turn back north over the entrance.  Where did we end up?  Next to the repair hanger and RIGHT NEXT TO THE RUNWAY.  The planes were landing right in front of us.  It was a great sight.  So we moved our car close to the fence and sat back and watched.  Fortunately for us, the plane was delayed.  (When have we ever been excited about a plane delay???).  The kids loved it.  Great views and a beautiful light breeze.  

Harmony and Harabagee finally arrived - we know because we watched their plane touch down!  Oh what a fun evening.  The cell phone lot is a free service.  I suggested to Woody to get take out lunch and bring Erik to eat and watch the planes.  Fun Fun!

 

Cleaning for Company

What rituals do you have while cleaning?  Do you wait for the weekend?  Do you hide things in certain rooms or closets?  Do you engage the whole family?  We do all of that.  And something that I enjoy while cleaning is good music.  So do the kids.  It was no surprise that our ten year old requested ABBA Dancing Queen while sweeping the kitchen.  This songs draws all of the Chungs, as you can see.

 

 

 

She Read an Entire Book

From It's good to note milestones as they happen.  While indeed Ingrid has read many books, I can't remember a time where she finished a junior chapter book in one setting.  Especially when that setting included a trip to a warehouse market.  Ingrid climbed into a shopping cart and continued reading.  Then I asked her to read outloud to me.  She comfortably used a box of chips as a desk and we wheeled around the store while she read to me.  Woody pushed another cart with the other kids collecting the needed food.   At one point we met up and he claimed he was jealous, pausing long enough to smile and listen to our budding reader.  We are so proud of you Ingrid!  And so thankful for Mrs. Cooper who has spent a year at our house making this milestone possible.  And so thankful to the unnamed author of the Rainbow Fairy series.  She's in love with your books!

But yes, she doesn't like her picture taken.

New Changes

I'm looking forward, more as a result of the lack of updates to this blog.  But changes are happening here at the Chung house and it's looking good!  

Room makeovers and preparations for Ingrid's summer birthday have been occupying my mind and my Pinterest boards lately.  And then a FB post popped up with a bed, desk, night stand and book shelves for sale.  $300.00  The set is painted grey with black knobs.  It included a number of Paris style accessories - perfect for a certain Ooh-la-la kind of girl in our house.  The bed set (minus the frilly deco) is perfect for Erik.  And Ingrid's room theme has been settled.  We bought all of it.   Now I have THREE rooms in progress for makeovers.  Morgan's London theme room, Ingrid's Paris theme room and Erik's vintage industrial room, now complete with a grown up bedroom set.

No pictures yet of the reveals, but I did take a few pictures of Erik on his last night with the youth bed.  It's been so sweet that my kids got to use their grandfather's childhood bed.  I'm near tears thinking we are all done with the bed.  Time to gently pack it away and save for our first grandchild.  (Is that not crazy sounding???).