Tired elf

Hazel is 6!

Hazel and her friend Josie are 1 day apart in age -- perfect for a joint birthday party!

We were lucky to have beautiful fall weather and a terrific setting, plus just about everything you could want for a kids' party:

Swings...

Monkey bars...

A bounce house...

Noise makers...

Chocolate frosting...

Even a pinata, thanks to our crafty friend Gabriela who made this star in honor of Hazel's love of Star Wars.

Perhaps we could have used a few more big kids to whack open the pinata, although no one complained when Josie's dad burst it open and dumped out the candy.

Hazel and Josie are old enough that they no longer get to be the cutest kids at their own party. Fern was the unrivaled queen of cute, especially as she proudly told everyone at the party about how she peed on the potty.

Happy Birthday, six year olds!

Hazel said that to have an even better party next year, we should do everything exactly the same but have more balloons, more juice, plant some flowers, and open the "mud kitchen." (Her name for the cob house that's currently being built in Josie's neighborhood.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

100 from Sally Honeycutt on Vimeo.

UN Day

Last Friday, the girls' school hosted its annual UN Day celebration. We are so grateful that our family gets to be part of this rich and vibrant community.

Both girls represented Japan in the school parade.This was Hazel's first year participating in UN Day as an ICS student.

Hazel was one of a group of students who presented the International Baccalaureate learner characteristics that the school tries to instill in its students -- things like being knowledgeable and inquirers.

 

The K-2 Spanish classes singing their song in Spanish.

By the time the older grade Spanish classes performed, Juniper had gotten hot and removed her kimono.

Hazel was also hot, but kept her kimono on.

After the parade and performances, there's a potluck lunch. One of our kids described the potluck as a "giant feast, with lots of great food. Like cupcakes."

International Community School, bringing kids together through the shared love of cupcakes.

Soccer

This fall Hazel played for the ICS kindergarten soccer team. Here she is, proudly in uniform and ready to go before her first game.

And here she is during her last game. Over the course of the season, she lost her soccer socks, and the weather turned colder. She and her teammates also got a lot better at passing, dribbling, and playing as a team. 

Warm up before the first game. Aim...

...and kick! Unfortunately, they warmed up on the wrong side of the field. As a result, the ICS team spent much of the first game trying to kick the ball into their own goal. Thankfully, they don't keep score in kindergarten soccer.

Once the game started, Hazel was enthusiastic and did her best to keep up with the ball.

She even managed to kick it a few times!

At the end of all the games, the teams line up for high fives and a chorus of "good game, good game." I appreciated the emphasis on teamwork and sportsmanship from the ICS team and almost all of the other teams we played.

Click the Read more link if you want more action shots from the first game!

Post Halloween Exhaustion

Sheriff Hazel fell asleep in the bathroom while waiting for Aaron to brush her teeth.

Happy Halloween!

 
Sheriff Hazel...

  
...and Luna Lovegood wish you a happy Halloween.
 
  
Spectrespecs, check. Butterbeer cork necklace, check. Radish earrings, check. This girl is ready to go and well protected from Dark Magic and other nefarious nonsense.

  
Tell us, Luna, about the Ministry's latest conspiracy!

  
Apprehended!

  
Bandits stand no chance when Sheriff Hazel is around.
 
  
Only just a little bit proud of a good day's work.

  
Westworld meets Hogwarts? That fan fiction probably already exists.


Our family was accompanied by two varieties of Death -- the Grim Reaper and Death of the Endless.


  
Ready to go! Let no mere mortal, Death Eater, or outlaw bandits get in the way of their candy.

  
Howdy pardner. Sally was happy to wear this hat when Hazel got too hot. (Not your typical Halloween weather when kids are dripping sweat in their costumes and complaining about the heat.)
 
  
Back at the ranch, the kids checked out their loot.

  
Next best thing to Honeydukes.

QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM

I did a SILLY title!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Portland forests

In addition to ice cream and doughnuts, we also enjoyed some of Portland's fantastic city parks. Forest Park claims to be the largest urban forest in the US.

It has banana slugs! We learned that Kelly has a slug phobia; she did not share in our delight at this particular discovery.

Also, large trees.

And fun ruins.
 

The opportunity to scramble along fallen trees gave the girls a nice boost of energy when they were starting to flag.

They did a different sort of climbing at Mt. Tabor park.

At one point, there was a gaggle of 5 kids in this tree, all climbing as high as they could.

Narnia?

Goopy gross stuff

Juniper's response to being asked to put on sunscreen.

Juniper's response to being allowed to play in the river mud near Kelly's condo. Gross is in the eye--or hands--of the beholder.

The girls discovered the mud when we had some other agenda that did not involve maximum filth, and we promised them we'd come back. We returned to the river shore the next day, with the kids decked out with bathing suits and permission to get as muddy as they wanted to. Let the record state that promises were kept!

Hazel was proud of her "boots."

While the girls played in the mud, the three adults picked wild blackberries--enough to make a generous birthday cobbler for Aaron.