East or West, Home Is Best: March 2012

Sunday, March 18, 2012

A not-so-St-Patrick's-Day weekend

We were glad to have celebrated our Irish heritage last weekend, since yesterday was a special day for Gavin's dojo. To commemorate the birthday of Grand Master Griffin (founder of kajukenbo, a certain strain of karate), all the students gathered for a two-hour workout. Gavin got to see some great moves from the more advanced students, as well as from his Professor. Afterwards, we all gathered at a local Chinese buffet for lunch. The all-you-can-eat format was seventh heaven for Gavin (the dessert section managed to capture his particular attention).

Although we had to skip the St. Patrick's Day parade, Gavin and Arwen didn't let us forget appropriate attire for the day. Arwen insisted we dig through boxes of outgrown clothes to concoct a fitting outfit. We also painted her nails green.

Today we celebrated the unseasonably warm weather with a drive through the countryside enroute to the open house of a recently returned missionary in our ward. The kids (all three of them!) had a great time selecting and skipping rocks on the pond.

After we returned home, Gavin and Arwen unleashed their creativity on their backyard fort. It's great to have them playing outside again. Hope to see - and feel - more of the sun this week!

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Getting on our blarney

Yesterday we joined several other families from the neighborhood for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration and kids fun run organized by yours truly with lots of help. The community center was all decked out for the holiday. We enjoyed performances by two 7-year-old step dancers from a local dance academy, then both learned about and listened to performances on the bagpipes by a local musician. I threw in a brief history of St. Patrick’s Day. After the entertainment the kids took to the streets, running a half-mile loop around the neighborhood. Gavin was the only one to take on the full mile version. They all came back to medals, cupcakes, and their own individual pots of gold. I think it’s safe to say a good time was had by all. I, for one, was glad when it was over!

Photo courtesy of The Day (our local newspaper). My apologies to the grandparents - I was too busy running things to snap any of our own.

In other news this week, Gavin has spent two hours each morning this week taking CMTs (Connecticut Mastery Test). His comment, “It’s cool because we get a whole bunch of stuff – gum and candy and extra recess.” This will go on for the next two weeks, then the kids get a little break.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Pinewood Derby

Gavin had a great time working on his Pinewood Derby car last weekend. The experience was made even more fun when two of his friends came over with their dad to work on their cars, and only one fingernail was sacrificed to the project. (Gavin was lucky it wasn't his . . . . )

The night of the race came, and Gavin excitedly placed his car on the track, then ran to the finish line to see how his gold and silver wonder would run.