The boy's Aikido class didn't happen last week - they didn't have enough uniforms (Gi in Japanese)....

So, we'll try again when we get back from Oregon.

I went to see the play H is in last Thursday (A Buttload of Walbeck), and thought it was great! H is in three of the plays (there are a bunch of short pieces, one after the other), and I thought they were all very well done. Good acting and writing, especially for B'ham! Much better than I expected - I had pretty low expectations...

Went fishing on Saturday up in Canada and caught four humpies on my fly rod. Had a great day. It was hot enough to wade out into the Chilliwack in shorts. That was the first time I've actually caught fish on the fly rod. Gave three of the salmon away to friends and neighbors.

Today N complemented S on a drawing she made!

H is busy painting our room. Apple fest is coming up, as well as a tour of KCLT houses, starting with ours, so I know she'd like to get all the painting done before that.

School work hanging over my head, though I'm still keeping up. Listening to Los Super Seven's "Canto".

M&N start Aikido class tomorrow. I'm going to observe, though I don't think I'll be able to participate since I can't get there early enough. As it is I'll be riding there right after work.

We're starting in on Ethics & Professionalism this week, after doing two weeks of copyright law. It feels weird to change gears after being immersed in Title 17 so intensely.

H has almost finished a painting that she's going to give to Heather. That darn left corner is still bugging her though....

S fell asleep tonight while laying beside me after we finished singing songs. She must have been pretty tired - it took her about two minutes to conk out.

Twilight's tail got caught in the dishwasher door this evening when I closed it. The poor cat yowled louder than I've ever heard him do yet. I got his tail out pretty quickly, but he kept it close to his legs for quite awhile, and it had a definite kink in it too. But I think it's all straightened out now....

M&N&S&H had a fun day of doing and making lots of projects. The kids enjoy projects, making anything it seems like, to no end.

H had another great night at her play. She only has two more performances to go, and then we'll see. I hope she gets to be in another play relatively soon. Even though it sometimes causes extra stress and work for me it makes her so happy that it's worth it (and the stress factors aren't as great as they used to be....)

Got 8 web pages up tonight, all "under construction", but it feels good to have them ready to go. School work continues to be challenging, both intellectually and organizationally. Besides getting the web pages done there's a major project that has to be coordinated on-line with four other people, and all the readings, lectures, journals, excercises and discussions have to be kept up with.

N stayed the night last night at the Dillon's. He had fun, but M missed him terribly. S was going to sleep in the same room with M, but then M wanted to sleep with H, so S moved back to her bed, M slept with H, and I ended up sleeping in M's bed. Whew!

The Bellingham Traverse is this weekend. I'm volunteering again. Not sure what I'll be doing. Maybe next year I'll be able to compete.

And so, to bed.

Today everyone got invited to go to the waterslide park, for free! This is a big deal because we just went to the waterslide park two weeks ago, and it was very expensive (but fun). So we realized we can probably only go once a summer, and would have to wait until next year for our next waterslide family adventure.

But one of our neighbors, who's kids come over and play with N, M, and S a lot and who works at WWU, invited our family to go as part of a larger birthday party happening there. Someone was celebrating their 60th birthday party and rented out the entire waterslide park for his party, and invited all his friends and told them they could bring guests too. And I guess there was music and food and lots of watersliding...

But I couldn't go. I had to finish a paper for school. One that I somehow lost from the computer last night, and had to basically start over again. And someone needed to stay to do the grocery shopping too.

I got the paper done, and H and the kids had a lot of fun, so it worked out well for everyone.

Today N said he really liked S, that she's "a good sister, she's fun to play with and she's smart", pause, "I think she's smarter than us". This was a remarkable statement from the older brother who has "hated" her for so long....though not constantly I must admit - they've always gotten along, it's just not consistent. In fact their relationship, with M too, can be pretty rocky at times. But these bright moments really make a difference for us. H called me at work just to let me know. They continued to play well together all day.

They're all very excited about tomorrow because they've decided it's their un-birthday. They're giving each other presents, toys that they already have, but it's the idea that counts, right? Now how the cake is going to work I don't know...

H is at the premier of the play she's in tonight. She's the first character on the stage. She was nervous and full of excited energy when she left. Hope she had fun. Wish I had some flowers for her....

School work deadlines coming up. I've got to do some writing tonight, at least 300-400 words. Easy!!

Working on HTML. It's getting easier the more I do it. Listening to Uncle Tupelo.

Yeah.

Our lawyer should be drafting the "demand letter" next week. Hopefully this whole house thing will be settled this year.