Happy Birthday, Nene!

During Spring Break, the boys went to visit their Aunt Nene in New Jersey. Before going, Cassius put out a LOT of effort writing letters to her.

Weekend expedition

Saturdays just got a little easier. Cash has now refused for the last time to play soccer, so I told him I won't be taking him to any more of his games. He was not upset. Maceo thoroughly enjoys his games, though, in part because many of his best friends like Dean and Parker are on the team. So, we had Maceo's game at 9 on Saturday morning and then we went to Gaithersburg for their annual Train Day. I don't know if I've ever been to old town Gaithersburg before, but it sure is quaint. The train museum was small and not worth it, but the boys had a good time.

Ready!

Set!

Monkeys!

 We played with toy trains, pretended to drive an actual train, and worked in the ticket booth in the old freight house. In the freight house, there were two old typewriters the boys were way into, and there was a rotary phone. I felt such a charge of familiarity when I dialed my number on it!

Ahhhh, days of youth!

Ooooo, ancient modern technology!

Take dictation, Cassius!

An actual train going past!

 Across the square, there was a little café where we had lunch. The waitress was super nice: she had Cassius's pancake cooked in the shape of Mickey Mouse. And then, when we left, we walked over to our car, got in, pulled out of the parking lot, and pulled up at the red light. A man came over and I rolled down the window. "Did you leave your camera in the restaurant?" he asked. I had! Oh, I was so happy! I exclaimed to the boys, "People are so good!"

My burger connoisseur.

There used to be a giant pancake on that plate.

Speed Racers!

We tried to go to the go kart track last weekend, but Maceo lost his nerve when he saw how many people were there and refused to take part. This weekend, though, he was even more excited to try it. He is tall enough to drive his own car, and they have double cars for Cassius and me, so we figured we could all go together. Maceo insisted that once we start going, we stick together at the back of the pack. He got all the way out to his car when his nerve failed him again, and he retreated behind the fence. So, Cassius and I did our laps! At first, Cassius didn't want to go very fast, but as he got used to it, we were able to speed up. (Notice that he is being very careful with his steering wheel which does nothing for the direction of the car.)

After Cash and I were done, we still had one more ticket left, so I got Maceo to come out and ride with me. He was ready to go a little faster right away, and he says that the next time we go, he'll drive himself.

Monday, Monday

Easter Monday, the boys and I got up, packed lunches and backpacks, and headed off to school. Upon our arrival and seeing the closed gates to the campus, I suddenly remembered that I had requested this day off because the boys' school was still closed for Spring Break! Yoinks! 

Taking the opportunity by the horns, as it were, we headed out to the east to Annemarie Sculpture Garden where there was a festival of Magic Fairey Homes in the forest of the campus.

Found one! (Maceo was a little chilly, so I lent him my blazer.)

Both boys brought their cameras to document the magical homes, and they ran around searching for each new installation.

This photo is very meta.

And happily, the packed lunches came in quite handy when lunch time rolled around!

Let's have a picnic in the woods, I said.
Let's sit on benches near the river, I suggested.
No.

There were also various structures that fascinated the boys. Here's a small house that the two suggested I could replicate in our backyard.

Ahhh, relaxing in the giant small house my father will some day make me...

I actually most enjoyed the sculpture, and my super sophisticated sons pointed out several,
asking if they were Giacomettis!

Eventually, we found a magic glen with lots of cool activities--a tipi, small houses to play in, musical instruments hanging from trees, boulders, and more.

Our ride home was marred by some stress, however. Although my car told me I had 70 miles until my gas tank was empty, the car stalled on the highway. While I was pretty sure that I had only run out of gas, the fact that I had 70 miles to empty made me unsure. So I called for a tow, and we got the car "fixed"--i.e. the tank got filled. The boys were pretty great about it, and here you can see their "dejected" affects. 

When we got home, Cassius and Maceo helped to cook the third recipe of this month's Raddish Kids meals--chicken satay skewers. Maceo? He really liked it. Cassius? He said it was all right, and he ate one bite. Sigh.

Easter

(Editor's note: I thought I'd uploaded video, but it's only photos of the video! I'll have to add the videos this weekend!)

Easter began early in the morning with a Loewen family tradition--I hid Easter eggs around the house, inside and out, with clues in them that eventually led to their baskets! I asked the boys to come read me the clues so I could record them for the blog, and now you get to hear my doggerel!

Success!

Hunting baskets is a lot of hard work.

Birthday wit da Boyz

Maceo, a few months ago, decided in the height of his Pokemon love that he wanted to have a Pokemon party at a local game store. But as party time approached, Pokelove waned and Maceo suggested a party elsewhere. Ha! We'd already rented the space, so too bad, my man!

Luckily, they have plenty of games at the game store (go figure), and the important thing was all the boys who came.

A new favorite game, Incan Treasure!

Here's the terrifying point of view of a game.

The boys playing Cahoots, which they liked.

Refueling for some final games

Mystery of the Labyrinth, which has a cool feature of a
hidden maze and metal marbles with magnets.

Cookie Cake!

Maceo is the Wind Beneath My Wings (Or Something)

I mentioned that last weekend, Maceo went to a birthday party where he did some sky-diving. Here's the video!

Birthday for the 8 year old!

Maceo turned 8 on April 11th, so we had a family dinner party. We got his favorite food (Chinese dumplings) and Cassius had a hot dog. Blergh. After dinner, we sang the traditional song (We'd already received the traditional phone call from the McMurrers and been treated to their singing), and then the traditional cake. Maceo likes this marzipan flavored cake that is delicious. Cassius, though.

It take a lot of air to blow out this many candles.

Cassius doesn't like the cake, so he got a brownie.

Luckily, he likes brownies.

Post-cake lethargy.

Maceo had made a modest list of presents he would like, so we got him a skateboard and various protective pads. Immediately, we were outside practicing on the sidewalk. And immediately, Cassius informed us he'd like a skateboard, too.

Rad, dude!

Rad Kids

In an effort to encourage Cassius to branch out and eat more things than just quesadilla, hot dogs, and turkey sandwiches, I subscribed to a kids' cooking kit that comes twice a month. The first package came, and hoo boy, was Cassius excited. I told them that there was an extra apron for Maceo, and it was a present from Cassius for Maceo. Cassius insisted we start cooking, so we made our ingredients list, and once I'd gone shopping we started making the first dish: pad thai!

Cassius adding the noodles to the hot water!

The kit comes with a tool. This time it was a whisk.

Cassius is chopping green onions. Maceo is chopping carrots.

Maceo cracks the eggs. Cassius is still chopping onions.

Juicing the limes!

Once the dish came together, Cassius had a crisis. He didn't want to eat it and he broke down into tears. Finally, he tried one noodle. And he liked it.

Baby steps.

Boys Growing Up

So, some new things happened this weekend. First, the boys were out of school for their Student-Led Conferences (the new form of Parent-teacher Conferences), so I took off Friday to take care of them. We spent about 45 minutes with both boys at the school, going over their work with them and then talking with their teachers. The highlights?

• Cassius's Chinese teacher says he's the best Chinese speaker in the class.
• Maceo can use Chinese dictionaries (for insight, I couldn't even understand how it was organized)!
• Cassius and Maceo are reading above expected levels.
• Both of them like to write and read!

We were happy overall with what we heard, and Maceo reflected on ways he can make better choices. So, that was good to hear from him. They both like school a lot, and that's the best thing for me to hear!

Waiting our turn with the teachers; reading Dog Man

There was a Book Fair at the same time as the conferences at school, so each boy was allowed to buy a book. They each chose a book from a graphic novel series called Dog Man. (Here I am adhering to Chekhov's dictum that if you show a gun on the wall in Act I, it has to fire in Act III.)

Here they are reading Dog Man aloud and recording it on Maceo's camera.
Worst. Audio. Book. Ever.

Normally on Fridays, Mom and Maurice pick up the boys at noon at school and take them to Takoma Park. But because I had them all day, we did a playdate at a friend's house, and then came home to host the Takoma Park contingent for dinner! Maurice read over 100 pages of Dog Man aloud for the boys (there's that gun going off!) both before dinner and at bedtime.

On Saturday, some other new stuff happened. Because it was the weekend, we put the new cleaning template into effect and cleaned our rooms. Once again, the boys were happy and good at it, so I feel pretty darn good about this system. It's now up to me to make it a weekly thing and keep it going.

Maceo with the still popular mop.

Cassius being careful and attentive with the big boy vacuum.

After morning clean up, Maceo went to one of his best friend's birthday party. They were supposed to go go-karting, but not all the boys were old enough. Instead, they went skydiving in a wind tunnel! Then, after the party, Maceo stuck around for his first sleepover at someone's house all by himself! Since I didn't hear anything over night, I'm going to assume it all went well.

Cassius had his friend Carter over for some play time. We went on an adventure looking for bones and antlers across the street at the Divinity School.

Entering the wilderness.

After tramping around for a while, I sat down while they whacked a fallen tree with sticks for about 30 minutes. And then climbed. And whacked some more.

I do believe Cassius has set a personal best with this height.

Another new thing? Cassius actually took part in his soccer team's game for the first time! He also scored two goals and got a big hug from his teammate Xavier. 

Waiting for the field to clear. GO TEAM PURPLE

Highly structured practice drills are de rigueur, of course.

I don't think Cassius ever crossed midfield in the game...

Whew! It's a brand new day over here at the house!