Cabes!

Dear Caleb,

Happy, happy birthday sweet boy!  I am in complete denial that you are already six.  SIX!  When did that happen?

I remember the day you were born.  Boy, that was a tough day.  Hard, hard, hard!  But in the end I got you, and it was all worth it!  When I was pregnant with you I did not know if I was going to have a boy or girl, but I'm sure you can guess that I wanted a girl really bad.  I prayed and prayed that when you were born, if you were a boy, that I would not be resentful or sad to have another boy.  Well, I knew the Lord heard my prayers because the moment I first saw your sweet little face and held all nearly 11 pounds of you in my arms, I was absolutely and completely smitten!   SMITTEN!   I knew I didn't want any girl - I wanted you!- That huge warm creamy chunk of a baby!   I was MADLY in love with that sweet baby in my arms - Caleb Bryce!  

I still am!

Smitten.

You look like your father, which is a great thing, because I love that man!  Lucky you.  But unlike your father, you have the deepest big brown eyes I have ever seen, that look so striking against your bright blond hair.  But it is your smile, Caleb, you terrific wide grin that really pulls at my heart strings.  What a grin!  Especially now with that big grown up tooth right in front, right next to it's neighbor baby tooth which is just dangling there, hanging on for dear life.  That is you Caleb - just like your teeth, half grown up and half baby boy, and I want the baby part to hang on for dear life.  But that baby tooth will fall out in just days, and you are already well on your way to being a big kid. (A BIG big kid!)

But as much as I want you to be my Cabey Baby forever, at the same time I LOVE watching you grow and grow.  You are learning and trying so many new things.  You are reading and writing, learning taekwando and piano, and you LOVE it all and just soak it all in.  I am amazed at how much you want to learn new things, and better yet, you like to try new things.  You are definitely a hands-on kind of learner.  You watch EVERYTHING I do, whether it is art, stamping, cooking... everything.  Then you HAVE to try it yourself.  You can't help yourself.  And you usually do a great job with whatever it is.  You are going to be quite handy, and artistic!  Super artistic.  You can't NOT doodle all over your homework and every scrap of paper you can find.

I love how you thrust your lips forward instead of purse them when you want to kiss me.  I love how you always say "Loud to (allowed to)" instead of  "can", as in "I'm loud to snap my fingers" meaning "I can snap my fingers."  And you certainly CAN snap your fingers.  You have really been practicing, and are the best snapper in the whole family!  You have also really been practicing writing your name in cursive, ever since you decided on your own that you needed a signature.  I've no doubt your signature will be valuable one day, so it is a good thing that you start practicing it now.  

I love that you still love your blankie, even if you have worn out two of them to shreds and are on your third.  You love robots, and building incredible things with your legos.  You have a fantastic imagination, and spend a lot of time thinking.  "You know what, Mom,..." you always say, then invite me into that wonderful world of your imagination.  You can be dead serious about silly things, and purely silly about serious things.  But you are never dull and always a joy to have around.

Sweet Caleb!  I love you so much!  I love just who you are right now on your very first day of being six!  I remember how excited I was to turn six, because in my head, it meant I was growing up.  Well, Cabes, just don't be yanking on that dangling baby tooth today.  Soon enough, sweet boy.  Soon enough.  Give your Mama a few more days before growing up, OK?  Just a few more days!

I love you!

Love, Mom

Lego My Legos!

Back in August we spent a weekend in Oceanside, which included a trip to Legoland.  Now, you must know that Legoland is not my favorite place in the world, but the twins won some two-for-one tickets at school, so we had to go.  It normally costs as much as Disneyland, but at half the price it was doable.  We had fun.

There was a long line at the new adventure ride, and we were in the very back when a pair of lego prize patrol folks came up to us and asked us a Lego trivia question.  Q: What to you call a single Lego piece? A: A Lego brick.  Correct.  We all got to go to the front of the line!  Nice.  I'm liking Legoland a bit more already.  

Luke and Caleb were so excited to really drive and get their own driver's licenses.  They talked about it all day!

A race to the top.  That was a LOT of work.  Whew!

Nate, Dylan, Caleb and I faced off against Dennis, Alex, Derek and Luke in  the fireman race.  The competition was flaming hot, but in the end our team got hosed!

We all got soaked on the pirate ship.

Sir Luke and Sir Caleb rode their royal steeds through the countryside.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

3D glasses are cool, Dude!

King Tut loves his mummy.

NYC, Mt. Rushmore, the Taj Mahal, and a little sneak peak at the Eiffel Tower, just weeks before we saw the real thing.  Nice, but the original was better.

Some of our favorite lego characters.  Dennis got a bit jealous over the way I was cuddling next to Indiana Jones.

Before we left, there was a contest to guess how many legos were in a Volvo - the prize was a new car.  He took over an HOUR counting, measuring, and doing the math while the boys ran in and out of the gift shop with serial numbers and brick counts on little slips of paper.  They had quite a system!.  But he was satisfied in the end that he had the exact number.  If he wins, they would certainly have earned it.  We'll see...

Overall we had a fun day.  I got my fill of  stuff made from plastic bricks to last me a long, long, long time.

We ended the day at the Claim Jumper.  This family of 8 loves their generous portions, even on the kids meals.  While we waited, the guys played checkers and Nathan learned that he is a hunk of BURNING love.  Good to know.

Cathcing Up...

While it was fun to post the entire France trip the way I did, I really got back logged on my blog with all of the stuff that has been going on before and since the trip, so I've got a lot of catching up to do!  Here are just some of the happenings of the last few months:

1.  While we were in France, the boys had their first day of school.  Happily Grandma was there to get them off on their first day, and even get some pictures for their absent parents.  What a year!  Two in middle school, three in elementary (NO kindergarten - hallelujah!), and one preschool.

2.  Upon our arrival home from our trip, we presented the boys with their surprise - that 5 lb. loaf of dense genuine French bread we packed home from the wonderful Poilane bread shop in Paris, and a huge tub of Nutella.  They were so excited, especially Nathan who had begged and begged us to bring some home to him!  They all gathered around and waited in gleeful anticipation for a thick slab slathered with the chocolaty Nutella.  But in the end, they mostly licked off the Nutella, and the heavenly crusty morsel of sourdough perfection pretty much ended up in the trash.  Kids.  Good thing we can get more Nutella at Costco, 'cause we won't be getting more of that bread.

3.  Our scouts took a long backpacking trip through the mountains a few weekends ago, hiking about 13 miles in two days.  The boys get all the credit because Dennis drove, and met them at the other end.  I stayed home and painted two bedrooms all by myself with 4 more kids underfoot.  Good times.

4.  We attended all the back-to-school nights, but Caleb was the only one to let us take pictures.  He combed and gelled up his hair himself for the occasion.  First grade is SO exciting, and Caleb proudly showed us all around his new classroom.  His teacher, Mrs. MacIntosh is super nice, and he was happy to run into his Kinder teacher from last year, Mrs. Cathcaart, who told us she just thinks he is the GREATEST kid ever (and she has had all of our boys.  Hmmm!)  He is pretty terrific!  It is going to be a great year for that boy, I think.

5.  Dennis was excited to attend the outdoor Suns/ Warriors exhibition game held here at the Indian Wells Tennis Gardens with his friend Jeff.  He borrowed my good camera with the zoom lens so he could get some great action shots.  Oh, he got some action all right.

He got this shot:

And this one:
And this one:
That man is getting a little too good with that camera of mine!  No wonder he and Jeff were so excited to go!

But he also got a few shots of the game as well.

6.  Nathan had his first band concert of the year this week.  I had to walk all over trying to catch just a glimpse of him and his sax and that was the best I could do.  But they sounded really great, especially for being just several weeks into the school year.  There is such a huge difference between an elementary band concert and a middle school concert.  My parents also came, and we all enjoyed ourselves.  Great job, Nate!

There are a lot more things to blog about, but they require their own posts, I think.  (I took over 400 more pictures just yesterday!  Yikes!) I wish things would just slow down a bit so I could catch up, but that is NOT going to happen; not this time of year.

Letter of Recommendation

At back-to-school night last month, Alex' 8th grade language arts teacher, Ms. Waits, gave all the parents a homework assignment to write a letter of recommendation recommending our child for her class.  First of all, can I just say (well, scream really) that I really loathe when teachers give the parents homework.  Loathe!  I am the mom.  I have a Master's degree.  I did my time, and have done more homework in my life than any sane person should have.  I'm done.  Seriously.  It is hard enough to get my kids to do their homework, let alone having to do it myself! ARGH!

Anyway, The assignment was due today, and although I have had a whole month to do it, I procrastinated like crazy, and finally started it at 1:30am.  I know.  I know.  I am not being a very good example.  I never would have procrastinated an assignment like that in college, but college was a LONG time and 6 kids ago, so I have gotten a little sloppy with my study skills.

Anyway, I thought I would share my letter of recommend on the blog, (even if it was written in the middle of the night and my be totally incoherent.  I might have to remove this post after reading it in the light of day with a functioning brain).  But know this - I meant every word of it.

Dear Ms. Waits:

 

I am excited for the opportunity to tell you about my son Alex, and why you are going to love having him in your class.  Alex is a one-of-a-kind kid.  He is the oldest of six boys, and takes his responsibility as big brother seriously, (sometimes too seriously).  In fact, Alex takes all responsibility seriously, including homework and school work.  He is very organized and knows how to get down to business.  He always does his homework as soon as he gets home, and keeps track of everything he needs to do.  He is a walking calendar, and can always seem to remember dates and times, what needs to be done when, and he does a good job of reminding me when I need to be where. 

 

Alex also has a fantastic memory of events, and can recall with great clarity things we did years ago, even when he was very young, and often remembers the smallest details about things that we have done better than I do.

 

Alex has a big heart, and is always looking for ways to serve others.  There is an older widow down the street that he visits on a regular basis and spends hours with doing service for her, and just talking with her.  Last Thanksgiving he earned some money and used the entire sum to pay for Thanksgiving dinners for a dozen people at the local homeless shelter.   It was entirely his idea.  In fact, he has recently been asking for jobs to do around the house to make some more money to donate for this’ year’s Thanksgiving dinner at the shelter as well.

 

Alex has learned that he has to work harder than most kids to accomplish his goals, but he does work harder, and that makes all the difference.  This is evidenced by his perseverance and progress in Boy Scouts.  Alex will be receiving his Life Scout in the next month, and is well on his way to receiving his Eagle Scout in the next year or two.

 

Beyond that, Alex is very helpful, and loves to serve others.  He loves nothing better than to spend a Saturday doing a service project for someone.  As the mom, I know I can rely on him to do what he says he will do.  He always does his chores and responsibilities without being told, and all the extra things that are not his assigned chores that I ask him to do, he does willingly and happily.  I always know I can rely on Alex.

 

So, if you are looking for a caring, responsible, organized, hard working, and reliable student for your Language Arts class, you need look no further than Alex VanBuskirk.  I am proud to recommend him for your class.

 

Sincerely,

Rachelle VanBuskirk,

Mom

Witness for the Prosecution

The other day Luke and I were driving to pick the kids up from school, and we passed a house that was surrounded by 4 or 5 cop cars.  Luke asked me what they were doing.

"Someone did something very naughty and are getting in big trouble," I explained.

"I didn't do it, Mom!" declared Luke firmly, in the tone of a youngest child who is very used to being blamed for everything.

"I know that Luke.  You are a good boy." I assured him.

Then a few seconds later he definitively declared:

"Caleb did it!  I saw him do it yesterday!"

You think I should have let those cops know that there was a reliable witness to the crime in question?

Saying Au Revoir! (Final France Post)

After our full day of shopping in Paris, and with only a few hours left of our vacation, Dennis suggested we finish our stay in the City of Light right where we began it - the Eiffel Tower!  Perfect suggestion!

When we got there near dusk, it was a Saturday night, and a madhouse.  People EVERYWHERE, and armed military with big guns there to enforce the peace, not that there were any problems, just lots of people.  It wasn't like this at all on Tuesday night when we came the first time. On Tuesday it felt like the tower was ours.  Now it felt more like the tourist trap I had expected.  I was so glad we weren't going up this time, because the lines were really long!  

But even with the crowds, the Eiffel Tower still held it's magic for us, because regardless of the number of people, the attraction is UP, above the din.  When you look up, the crowds disappear, and it is just you and the tower again!

See the beautiful detail in the architecture? Really lovely with the turning leaves.

My own thoughts about France are many and varied.  I LOVED it, and I felt very at home there, much more that I thought I would.  Every single person we met in France was very friendly, and the reputation they have for being rude is completely off!  They are lovely, warm people!  I was afraid that not speaking French would be a huge hindrance, but I found French pretty easy to decipher when written (but forget about it when spoken - Oh my!)  The French people were all very accommodating with speaking English when they knew it and patiently worked with us when they didn't.  But I loved how they sounded when they spoke, and i loved trying to pronounce the words in the fluid, melodic way that they did.  I felt like I could learn French easily if I tried.  I felt like I could live there and be very happy there.  Gertrude Stein said, "America is my country, but Paris is my hometown."  I know just what she means!

Since I've been home, so many people have asked me what my favorite part of the trip was.  That is such a hard question.  I'll think of one thing that was wonderful and think that must be it, then think of another thing, and think that must be it.  But in the end, I had no favorite part.  What I do have, though are favorite themes running through my head.  Here are just a few of my favorites:  Monet and art, gardens, architecture, Marie Antoinette, the royals and the revolution, churches and graveyards, beautiful markets and shops, and of course, the Eiffel Tower.  There is more, so much more, and the pictures will pop into my head, to be sure, for years to come - and I will smile each time they do.  Ahh...France!

The sun lowered on the horizon, and began to set on our vacation as well.

At the end of the day there was nothing left to do but sit on a park bench to watch the sunset - 

broken by the strong lines of the silhouette of the tower jutting into the purple and orange sky.

Then came dusk.  There were people everywhere lying on their blankets, just like the 4th of July, just waiting - waiting for the tower to light up and enjoying the lovely cool evening.

We found the perfect bench just under the tower with a clear view right to the top.  I set up tripod before we enjoyed our picnic dinner - a rotisserie chicken we had picked up on Rue Cler, goat cheese the cheese seller had selected for us at the fromagerie on the same street, and, of course, the heavenly half loaf of fresh crusty round bread from the famed Poilane bread shop we had visited earlier that day.  It was the perfect meal, if I have ever had one (rivaled only by the lunch of bread, Parmesan, prosciutto, tomatoes, plums, and olive oil that we enjoyed in the hills of Tuscany overlooking the Duomo of Florance a few years back!)

 And yes, while I am certain there were better meals to be had in some of the finest restaurants in Paris that night, I am also fairly certain that none of them could have had better ambiance or a better view!!!  

Romance was in the air!

In the end, the sun went down, the lights went up and then...

..BAM...

It was all SPARKLES in the City of Light!!!