rachel's continued ramblings

we decided to take a QUICK trip to EG over thanksgiving weekend. we weren’t so much going FOR thanksgiving, as we were taking advantage of the long weekend. thanksgiving was just an added bonus. the real reason we were going was to get to meet amy’s new baby finnigan (who BARELY complied, making his arrival just the day before). BUT, we got an extra BONUS baby, too! dave got a text early thanksgiving morning, as we were just driving into california, that anthony and chalane’s baby, abigail, had decided to show up a month early. we appreciated her courtesy! ;) micah and layla were tired after our all-night drive, and passed out together mid-afternoon, waiting for dinner. we brought mario kart with us… so there was much of this: the day after thanksgiving, gramma and papa treated us to a ride on ‘the polar express’ (which, I bet you didn’t know, runs out of sacramento)! it was loads of fun. everyone was supposed to wear pajamas, but the only one of our group who complied was micah.

supposedly, we’re in for a lot of snow and wild weather this winter… well, it’s starting early. following up the snow we had to sit in at the soccer tournament, we got a GOOD snow (followed by a nice freeze) the week before thanksgiving. it was great snow for sledding. not so great for snowman making… but around here, we try not to be picky. **I’ve been trying to resize the vertical photos, but every time I try to, the program shuts down and takes my post into internet oblivion with it. I’ve tried 3 times so far, and I’m not willing to risk it again. perhaps I’ll edit it later when my computer is in a better mood.**

shane’s (and dave’s) soccer team participated in and WON the district finals of the washington state youth soccer recreation cup tournament in november. it was a COLD, wet, rainy, SNOWY day to watch soccer. BUT, in true dynamite spirit, the stands (read: parents) were LOUD, crazy and intimidating! after the win (2-0) there was a presentation of the second (that was us last year) and first place medals. then they posed for the group shot, which was eventually published in the local newspaper. this win advanced the boys on to the state semi-finals in vancouver,wa a couple of weeks later. go dynamite!

today, dave and I went to the school for layla’s parent-teacher conference. it went well. layla is doing well, her teacher likes having her, all that good stuff. but, aside from layla doing well in school, having lots of friends, having a teacher who appreciates her creativity and quirkiness, and the secretaries in the front office who, not only knew who my kid was without me telling them, but proceeded to tell me how much they like her and how cute her new haircut is, I was reminded of something really great today. it doesn’t really specifically have anything to do with the school so much, but it’s just another part of what ties it all together. community. living here, in our little section of a big little town on the outskirts of the seattle suburbs, I feel community for the first time in my life. I realize that probably sounds kind of strange, at this point in my life. it’s not like I’ve lived, up until now, in the middle of nowhere, or even in some huge, anonymous, bustling

layla finished these two books after I posted the first installment. I figured there would be more, but she seems to have moved on… so, here are the final two books in the series… this first one is my favorite! book #7: for joey, “cars” (apparently all the books for boys are entitled “cars” – no generalizations here!) book #8: for connor, “cars” (again)

we all know that layla likes to draw and write, etc. her latest thing is writing books for her friends at school. I decided I’d better photograph them so, one day, when she’s a famous artist, I can sell these for millions of dollars and finally get rich off of my kids we can look back on how cute her first books were. and then I figured that other people might find them as hysterical as I do… so here you go. book #1: for megan, “kindergarten” book #2: for ella, “dogs” book #3: for lily, “necklaces” book #4, for peter, “cars” book #5, for lois, “princess” (not s.s. prince! LOL.) book #6: for ben, “cars” second installment coming soon, I’m sure! what do you do with your day off of school?