Thursday, July 19, 2007

Learning

I'm always amazed at how much fun can be packed into summertime in the Northwest. We've picked berries, wriggled our toes in the sand at low tide, gone camping, and been for a dip in the lake and in the river. We've seen outdoor theatre in the park, listened to summer concerts downtown, been to the library and read many books. We've taken the kids hiking, bike riding, horseback riding, swimming . . we've been to triathlons, street festivals, tea parties, played with friends . . .
. . . and there's still so much more of the season to be lived. We had a picnic dinner tonight for my birthday and went for a beautiful walk along the bluffs above Puget Sound. (My birthday is actually this weekend, but we're headed out of town for a triathlon, so I get an extended celebration :)
A couple of really cool things have happened recently. Our 6-yr-old, the youngest of three girls, has always been our 'baby'. But she's growing up. Her timing couldn't be better, either, with a new sibling coming along. She's learning all kinds of things that are giving her huge confidence. This spring she took off in reading and is now really into chapter books. While we were camping a couple of weeks ago, she learned to get over her fear of water. She isn't lap swimming yet, but she is having a lot more fun at the beach. Last summer we tried to get her bike riding, but she didn't show a lot of interest. So we tried again this week. It took some diligence on our part, but she was sooo excited to finally 'get it' and be able to ride with her sisters. The very same day she learned a very different skill. She's always been talented when it comes to art - really takes us by surprise. This new piece left us in true amazement:
Yep. The back of our PT Cruiser, nicely done is white on navy rock scratch. The clean slate before it was etched upon used to look more like this:

She thought it would rub off like when you write in the dust with your finger. No such luck. For comic relief, we've come up with many things she could have etched on instead of a smiley face. I guess we got lucky. We have a nice message to display to all those people who drive on the road behind us. Her birthday is next month. Instead of some colored pencils and paper, or some new paints and white canvas, we were thinking . . . maybe we'll just head over to the junkyard and buy her a door with a sharp rock collection to go with it.

(Ironically, the car has a dead battery. It happens. It's a car. Grown-ups understand this. ) When the child was confronted and asked why she would do such a thing to the car, she responded, "But the battery is dead, I didn't think you wanted it anymore." A true child of the new millenium - if the batteries don't work, it has no worth. Perhaps we'll do some learning on rechargeable batteries.

16 comments:

E said...

Happy B-Day!

*batteries not included

Sarah Elaine said...

That's quite the piece of art. Ouch. Now will you take her the store that sells touch up car paint and create a new project?

IHateToast said...

i don't want to hear about your birthday and batteries. my pervie little mind is running amok in muck.

i did that kind of think to my parents' car. it was a convertible in their eyes. i saw it differently. too poor to have a trampoline, my little white a$$ we are. i fell through. i was glad that my parents saw the funny side. just be sure never to forget these stories. they're fun.

we painted a room in our house (a small one) with blackboard paint. that might be an idea. how cool! a CAR in blackboard paint. it'd wash off every rain. oh do it! i'll pay you $2 if you do. that'll get you.

psbowe said...

She's picking up the art of vandalism too...

Happy Birthday!

Toasty said...

try nail polish .... i'm thinking yellow to ensure there is no rust ... scratches are memories, cherish them

Legs and Wings said...

It's been one of those summers for us here in Nova Scotia...our 7 year old, Sam, finally 'got' the whole 2 wheel thing this year and now he's a serious biking boy.

The scratch makes me laugh. 5 years ago, we purchased a new minivan only to have my oldest son (seven at the time) take a stick and add pinstripes! Great, just great.

Joe said...

Nice smiley face. Too bad about the paint job, though. Aren't kids the best?

Kurt said...

Happy B Day! My car recently just had a dead battery.

It is always fun what our children are up to!

Right now I am watching my grand daughter try to eat the floor and tuperware.

Sarah said...

Sorry about the car! But its hard to be mad at a little munchkin that draws a smiley face, huh? Sounds like you're having a great summer. The PNW's best kept secret...until now. ; ) : )

Happy Birthday!

WrunnerGal said...

owwwwwwwwwwwwwch

Danielle said...

Ooo....that's not so much fun. Yeah, definitely time to start explaining about rechargable batteries...

Rich said...

Oh goodness! Well, you seemed to have taken it in stride. It's tough to get hard on the little ones when they make an innocent mistake. We try to overlook those too.

JustRun said...

I really, really thought I already commented on this. I most definitely have read it. Oops, sorry.
You are so calm about the car... if I ever have kids, I'd hope to maintain that sort of perspective.

Happy [Belated} Birthday!

Triseverance said...

I think it is beautiful, and unique. Happy birthday!

Unknown said...

Happy Birthday to you!

Smiley face scratchitti... Perhaps she can come to NY and do the subways too!

Robin said...

Loved your reminiscences about summer, I was just thinking the same thing the other day. Summer in the NW is pure magic. Sounds like you all are having a great one!

And I'm LOL about your little artist. Maybe you could paint a frame around it?? Have you ever heard the song "Leave It Like It Is" by David Wilcox... this reminded me of it: http://www.lyricsdepot.com/david-wilcox/leave-it-like-it-is.html