Chess Club

I've been meaning to post that shortly after school started, Brenna brought home several notices about school clubs she could join. Several of these meet after school (3-4 p.m.)which makes it pretty difficult for a working mom to allow her to participate since the daycare van only picks up right after school.

One club meets in the morning, before school, though they select their members by seniority (returning members) and then by a lottery (draw names.) Brenna expressed an interest, and I signed the permission form. She came home a few days later thrilled beyond belief because her name was chosen for the .... chess club!

Every Tuesday and Thursday she arrives at school before 7:30 in order to play chess with other members for thirty minutes. Apparently there is a "chess master" (volunteer) who goes around watching them play games, teaches them moves, and sometimes plays against a student. She's learned quite a bit and loves showing off her new strategies and skills.

Happy Halloween!!

Cameron & Brenna are enjoying another year of Trick or Treating in our neighborhood. We had to quell Brenna's desire for a scary, bloody, mask or frightening character. She settled on a Ninja costume, but we couldn't find one in her size. Then she discovered this Astrid costume (from the movie How to Train Your Dragon). In case you're unfamiliar with the movie, here's a picture of the character. She's a young viking girl who is tough, energetic, and beautiful with a strong and determined persona. Sound like anyone in this family?? Cameron chose the Mad Scientist idea several weeks ago, though we waited until the last minute to try and find a white lab coat. Ultimately we had to brave the crowds at Party City, but Bryan had gloves and safety goggles to complete the outfit. Cameron tried to make her hair wild and Bryan added the name tag "D. Mento, Scientist."

Bryan took them around the street for about 45 minutes and they returned with a few pounds of sugar. Any bets how long it will take for them to get in bed and settle down?

Brenna's school picture

We finally received Brenna's 3rd grade school photo. It took me by surprise to see that she looks so much older than her 2nd grade photo. I allowed Brenna to select the background color, though it surprised me she chose this one over the blue. She went to school with the outer shirt unbuttoned and opened so you could see her necklace and the "Dream Big" t-shirt underneath. I have no idea why she buttoned it up so high.

Cameron's school picture

How awesome is this?

Cameron's middle school takes their individual photo during the second week of school in order to add the image to the required student ID badge. Is it just a mother's bias or is she just that photogenic? I think she's gorgeous and I'm starting to see her "adult" face emerging out of her youthful childish one.

Happy Birthday Cameron!

Another year passes and Cameron is now 11. One of these days I'm going to wake up and she'll be graduating high school, turning 21, getting married, etc. I wonder if this is how my mom felt.

For her birthday we bought Cameron a desk for her bedroom, to create a personal space for her homework and studying; however, I try to have just a little something to open on her actual birthday. Earlier this summer I won a Twitter contest from MckMama and planned to give the prize to Cameron for her birthday, but it hadn't arrived! With perfect timing, the box showed up on the doorstep late this afternoon.

Cameron really likes the young Christian singing trio known as PureNRG and her gift was an autographed CD prize pack.

Happy Birthday Cameron!!

Cameron & the Cello

You may remember going into middle school and having to choose one elective. Last Spring when we read through all the options: Art, Theater Arts, Band, Orchestra, Choir, Cameron had a difficult time choosing just one. Just one. It's kind of like the Robert Frost poem - Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood, and sorry I could not travel both... So she waivered between Art, Theater Arts, and Music.

I pushed a little. I simply told her that if she's ever wanted to learn to play an instrument other than the piano...EVER... then she had to take either Band or Orchestra in sixth grade. She would never have this opportunity again, where if she takes a year of music and decides it's not her thing, she can move into another elective and know that she tried an instrument once. (For the record, in our personal middle school experiences Bryan took band/percussion and I took choir.)

Cameron chose Orchestra, specifically the Cello. It's a beautiful instrument.

Because she can't take the instrument on the school bus, we rent one from a family-owned violin shop in Pasadena for Cameron to practice at home. She uses a school instrument during class-time. Wednesday we brought it home for the first time.

Cameron had a long list of rules to tell us about handling the cello. First, always take the bow out of the case before removing the cello. It's also the last thing to be packed.

When you need to rest your cello, never stand it up and lean it against a chair or couch. You're supposed to lay it on the long side with the strings facing away from any walkway. You don't want to accidentally walk past and knock into the strings.

She has a block of rosin for the bow. I never knew that you used rosin for anything other than your dance shoes!

She showed us how to hold the bow and draw it across the strings. Brenna and I also learned the names of the strings. For some reason I expected the sound to be screechy, but Cameron played a recognizable "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" without any "feedback" sound.



I'm looking forward to... listening ... to her grow and learn more about music and this instrument.

Happy 8th Birthday Brenna!

As I drove Brenna to school this morning, I asked her how it felt to be eight years old. Just like her Daddy, she said to me, "But Mom, I'm won't be eight until this afternoon." (when she was born)

I surprised her during her school lunch to hand out chocolate-chocolate chip cookies for her classmates. After school, she excitedly told us that she was the first person in her class to get a "Birthday Bonus" of $10 Kubena cash, which is half of her weekly librarian earnings.

Despite an intense work week, Bryan surprised us by arriving home in time to join us for Brenna's special birthday dinner.

Brenna received her main birthday present last weekend: new blue bedding to replace her old pink Disney princess cover. I felt it was important that she have something small to open along with her card.

She loved getting new doll clothes for her Our Generation doll. This year Brenna chose Cafe Express for her birthday dinner. Immediately after this photo, she opened the door over her foot, scraping the top.

Papa and Nana called to sing their Happy Birthday wishes while we were at dinner. I'm not sure what they were saying (or singing) exactly, but Brenna laughed and laughed.


After dinner she couldn't decide between Baskin Robbins or iYougart. Bryan and Brenna flipped a coin (Heads I win, tails you lose) and Brenna wanted to be surprised at the answer. We were so busy chatting in the car that she didn't realize we were at Baskin Robbins until we got out!

After eating her "Birthday Cake" ice cream, she declared today to be her "Best Birthday Ever!"

Happy 8th Birthday Brenna Sue!