Family Dinner

Yesterday at lunch was the first time in weeks that the five of us have all been home at the same time for a meal, so it was quite a celebration, for me at least. I was at church for two services versus the rest of the family only attending first service, and I texted them in that we were having "steal" and baked potatoes for lunch. I have to maintain my reputation for bad texting!

So we barbecued and ate out on the deck in the warm sunshine. Sometimes with this crowd, it's hard for Will to get a word in, since he actually thinks before he speaks. Toward the end of the meal, he asked, "So do you suppose I don't talk much because you guys talk so much, or do you talk so much because I don't talk very much?"

Craig's response was immediate. "Oh, Dad, how could you do this to me? I'll be trying to figure this out for the next week! You and your riddles!"

Oh yeah, we are very deep thinkers around here.

A Day at the Coast

A wonderful relaxing weekend - just what I needed. Will, Nick and I headed for the coast yesterday. Got out there just in time for lunch. Mo's was very crowded and Will decided we should experience something different. Nick and I were both a little concerned when he parked at the South Beach Fish Market. Its' bright multi-colored paint job and the crab cooking outside didn't exactly shout "fit for a princess". It didn't quite have the ambience of Mo's, but the food was excellent. I would eat there again, but it's definitely a place to leave the tiara in the vehicle.

Then we tried out Will's nice new binoculars and did a little bird watching at the bay. We watched this egret catch and eat several fish. There were enough binoculars to go around to all of us.
Then it was to the beach for some kite flying. I hoping to get in a nice beach walk too but the wind was to strong for me to enjoy much of that. Looking away from the ocean here the sky is blue.
But the other side was socked in with fog and clouds. The kite flying was entertaining. Quite action packed. The "Detonator" is a cool kite with dual controls.
I found myself a nice sheltered spot in the dunes and this was my view. It was amazing how warm it was there - the heat of the sun burned right through that fog. A Mennonite youth group poured onto the beach shortly after we got there. The boys played football and the girls waded in the water, soaking their long wet denim skirts. Brrr. Perhaps they felt a strong sense of the Lord's protection as they wondered through the danger zone where our kite was madly doing figure eights in the sky. They were obviously oblivious that they were in imminent peril of impalement should the high-speed kite suddenly come streaking to the ground. Which it did with regularity, fortunately never coming in contact with loitering youth. It eventually broke something loose, so we took it to the kite shop for repair. The nice man there fixed it and was very impressed with the fine job Will did of rewinding the kite string. I told him Will was also extremely talented at backing up enormous fifth wheels. Will threatened to send me to the car.

It was very windy here today so the men went to the school to fly it again. Apparently the "Detonator" is just not quite sturdy enough for McAnulty men and Oregon winds. It broke again. Maybe we'll have to go back and by the $300+ quad line "Revolution" that does all kinds of cool things. Then again, maybe not.

School Days

The first two days of school are successfully over. Our brand new on-line gradebook and attendance program has caused some stress, since the class lists didn't match the old system we were switching from. I couldn't even get into the attendance program until this afternoon, and when you're used to being the Queen of Attendance, well....it's just a good thing that I realize that a malfunctioning computer program is nothing compared to really hard things that happen.

When I made my first entry in the new system this afternoon to prearrange two absences for tomorrow, it told me both students were going to be dropped from all their classes tomorrow but it would still allow me to enter attendance information for them. How gracious of it. So I will eagerly check in the morning to see if they are still enrolled. I have a lot to learn. And I used to know it all!

A cute little sixth grade boy came in yesterday and asked if he could get a schedule change. I asked, "What would you like to change, Honey?" (After working with Helen all those years, it is so automatic to call kids Honey. It gets embarrassing when you realize you've just called an adult man or woman Honey though.) The little guy said, "I'd like to change from Physical Education to PE." "Well, Honey," I say, "PE and Physical Education are the same thing." "I don't think so," says he. "How could I have PE in a classroom in B hall?" I look at his schedule and see that he is assigned to a teacher who only has one PE class; therefore the computer assigned PE to the classroom where all her other classes are. He was very relieved to find he got to go to the gym and have a normal PE class.

Then there's all the kids - and not just sixth graders - who left their schedule containing their locker combination, in their locker, so they need their locker combo again. Or they lost their schedule and don't know where to go.

I took a schedule from a boy who needed a locker assigned and saw that the schedule was for Greg Higgins. I know Greg Higgins, and this boy was not him. "What is your name?" I ask. "Greg Higgs," is his reply. I encourage him to always make sure that he carefully checks the name on paperwork he receives since he has an almost twin!

And there are those who come in from the lunchline and say "I brought money to you yesterday but when I put my number in the computer it says I have no money in my account." It turns out they have two accounts, one under their legal name and one under the "preferred" name they have taken since their mother remarried. There are so many kids like that.

Then after the last bell rings, even though I made sure we made an announcement for kids who didn't know what bus they take to come to the office so we could tell them, the office is flooded with students who don't know their bus number. We look them up as quick as we can and send them out. Soon some of them return to call home because they missed their bus.

Smile. Be Patient. Call them Honey.