School's back for the summer!

The kids had a great last few days of summer-- but I'm so glad they're back in school for the structure and mental stimulation for them, which doesn't all fall on us parents (our kids tend to be kind of bored at home, despite lots of things to build, draw, read, and play with!).

A pickleball court opened at the new BMX park in McKinleyville.  We still prefer the Carlson courts, but this one is five minutes from our house.

Niall and I took an afternoon walk at Clam Beach Overlook, where a pod of seals usually hangs out. We had some lovely sunny weather and counted dozens of seals sunning themselves!

Iver started middle school in Arcata on Tuesday, which is really exciting, although a bit stressful as it is a different school district and much larger than his little elementary program. We felt pretty in the dark about a lot of the school's processes, activities, drop-offs, etc., until just this week, and the kids-at-different-schools complicates a lot for us parents who like to plan ahead.  

Kelvin scoped our the situation and found that there's a school bus from a stop near Niall's elementary school that goes to the schools in the district, so Iver got to ride the bus for the first time yesterday! Several of his former fifth grade friends also joined, as some have siblings in elementary school also! 

He said the school day went really well-- he'll have a couple of classes (in immersion Spanish) with the Spanish and social studies teacher, who is also the soccer coach, and even has his own locker (so he had to figure out how to use a combination lock for the first time!) !  We found on on Monday that team soccer tryouts were this week, and Iver made the school team after his first day, about which he is pumped, but which means we now have added weekday games to finagle (in addition to both kids doing recreational soccer and having two practices each per week and Saturday games). Yikes! 

Niall started third grade today, and drop off was easy and familiar, given that we've been with this school since 2020 for one or both kids! He was excited to wear his new blue shoes! 

(Kelvin's mom requested a photo "not by that ugly fence that you always use for the backdrop!" so here it is, Thao:)

I'm happy to have some quiet times at home when kids are learning to catch up some projects (particularly my ancestry one I'm still organizing)!

Dai Dai

We were listening to a lot of songs and playlists on our recent Slovenia road trip, particularly Shakira. Have you heard of the song, "Dai Dai" (music video here)? I hadn't, but it's catchy. 

The kids decided to recreate the cover (and sing along) upon our return. Cute photos!

Orthodontia begins!

Iver just got braces! After a couple of consults with local office (Century), it was recommended that he undergo an 18-month (ish) treatment to correct some overbite and rotation of his teeth. I thought age 11 seemed early for braces, but Iver informed me that several kids in elementary school last year (and even a couple of second graders!) had started their orthodontic journeys. As long as he is reliable with a retainer, this should be a *one and done,* treatment, not requiring future courses braces, like I had! (I had braces for the second time when I was college aged. Kelvin never did. He says that in Vietnam, no one can afford orthodontic treatment so Asians just use their tongues to push out their teeth to straighten them :)).

Iver was offered either braces or Invisalign (at the same cost/treatment duration estimate). Invisalign requires faithful wearing of the aligners up to 22 hours per day, and to keep track of them, and brush frequently including at school, which seemed hard to me!  Braces seem to have less user error and the more conventional approach, although Iver knew friends with both. 

He and Kelvin queried AI about the benefits and risks of both approaches. It also provided a photo :))  

For fun, Niall's AI-generated photos with braces on!

Iver (wisely, in my opinion), chose braces but opted to wait until after our travels to get them on.  Early on Monday, we went to the orthodontist and here is the result (he chose blue rings for the brackets).

Before/after

He's definitely had some soreness adjusting to the treatment, managed with tylenol, and is getting used to the careful brushing/flossing process with the brackets on. We go back every 6-8 weeks for adjustments and hope for a good result in about a year and a half!

Summer Morning at the Sequoia Park Zoo

This week, we've enjoyed sunny, summery for us (~66 degrees!) weather and the kids have only half-day (PM) tennis camp this week so they (and Kelvin/I alternating) took mornings off to watch them.  Today, we took advantage of our Sequoia Zoo Membership and headed to Eureka to see the animals!

Iver wanted to take a picture with my phone of Every. Animal.! (He said I could delete them from my phone once I've blogged).

Northern Spotted Owl

Beautiful Bald Eagle

neighbor (slightly hidden) Porcupine

The three American Brown Bears are some of the park's hits. 

Caterpillar near the bears' enclosure

Bear viewed from the famous Redwood Skywalk.

Donkeys!

In the Barnyard: 

Ponies

Bunny

Guinea pig

Raccoon

Rhea

"Saffron"  the red panda, who loves to nap, got up to walk around on his branches.

Chacoan Peccaries

The Aviary

Scarlet ibis 

Patagonian Cavies

We saw some kids (including a couple of girls we know!) attending "Zoo Camp." 

Niall tried to photobomb or sabotage all the kid-with-flamingo pics we took.

A friendly guest offered to take a photo of us three and Niall cooperated/smiled!

We had a nice (1.5h) visit to our little redwood neighborhood zoo and want to keep supporting it!

Graduación y mas

On Tuesday, Fuente Celebrated La Graduación de la Clase de Quinto Grado (5th grade) from elementary school.  I can't believe we have a soon-to-be-middle schooler!

The ceremony was a school-wide event, starting at 10:15. Even school parents whose kids weren't graduating attended, which was special! 

Each class gifted the fifth graders something (a song, a flower, a bookmark, a poem, etc)!

Segundo Grado (N)

Directora Angela honored the teachers who are moving on to other places/spaces.

4th grade poem

his booty!

Maestra Cat, a wonderful teacher who Iver's class lucked out to have for second and fifth grade, gave a wonderful speech commemorating this class's achievements. These are the kids who, six years ago, started their bilingual education via a zoom screen back in 2020, which still makes me tear up  (here's my letter to Iver as he started kinder).  She reminded us how much a gift it is to have and know a second language, as being culturally sensitive and able to communicate with people of different backgrounds/heritages is a huge blessing and an amazing life skill. These kids are on el sendero to biliteracy, which is so incredible. The kids were each described in a few adjectives-- Iver was talented, athletic, intelligent, and responsible.

Posing with the diploma!

The kids exited to Madre Tierra (Oye),  an extremely catchy song celebrating the beauty and honor in this life. Listen if you haven't-- it's been on repeat in our house!

The fifth grade families enjoyed a post-ceremony potluck. I made a large pot of black beans to go with the taco bar and hope I didn't poison anyone! In the background was a slide show featuring baby-to-big-kid photos of the graduates!

Arte in Leavey Hall 

La familia

con Directora Angela (who was the school's English teacher for many years)

Here's our growing boy!

The fifth graders and families had an afternoon park day (good but windy weather) at a new park (Da' Yas) in Eureka, where they played futsal, hung out with their friends, and adults mingled.

Today was the last day of school-- here are my rising sixth and third graders! 

First and last school days at FN for this big kid!