For the last couple of weeks it seems like life has sort of been on autopilot. You've been there before, where you are just in your groove and things are going smoothly, and it doesn't really seem like that much noteworthy stuff is happening? But then you wake up one morning and realize that in fact, lots of stuff has happened, and that you haven't recorded any of it, and you think "zut alors, I've better do a blog post!" Yeah, I'm sure it's happened to everybody.

Luckily, this oversight is not quite the calamity that it might seem at first glance. After all, we do have some pictures, and I happen to have an exceptional memory of the last two weeks worth of activity. So take a deep breath and try and relax while I give you a glimpse into what, for us, is pretty normal life.

Let's start with pictures of a bag full of random stuff (keys, climbing stuff, bits of food, etc.) and a sweet little girl. Lindsey is at an age where she is somehow EVERYWHERE AT ONCE and keeping up with her is becoming tricky. This makes it very difficult sometimes to have peace and quiet, like when you just want to take a Sunday afternoon nap. That's where the bag comes to the rescue. This is a trick that Rachel came up with and it worked perfectly. Older kids downstairs watching a movie, Lindsey in her room with the bag- and mom and dad enjoying a few moments of uninterrupted tranquility. It works like a charm.

Liberty Lake trail in the rain

Eating pie and ice cream at a favorite restaurant

Climbing some rocks

Watching the St. Patrick's Day parade (can you tell that we've gotten a lot of rain lately?)

Surprise treats at the grocery store

Hiking Tubbs Hill and discovering a new bouldering area that is under development

Next up are a lot of pictures of somewhat random things we have done- but not random at the same time because taken together they all tell the story of a family that doesn't sit still for very long. We are constantly out doing stuff. Spring is here (it'll be really rainy for the next month or so though) and getting out is getting easier and easier. I also shortened my work day to end at 5 rather than 6, and this combined with the recent daylight savings makes it even easier to live the highly active lifestyle that we love (and that our kids are forced into by virtue of their parents).

Also, note that the last picture in this series (the one with me and Ev) is so much more clear than the others. That is because I just upgraded to a new Galaxy S7 on the day of its release. Yep, I'm on the cutting edge of technology for at least the next three and a half weeks. This makes me feel powerful and important (and lucky that my upgrade date just happened to fall on the day of the S7 release). More notably, Rachel was finally convinced to ditch the ol' I-phone and get a Galaxy as well. I guess all these years I have been right after all, eh Rach?

Speaking of Rachel, this is a life-sized poster of her that sits in the Kroc Center (a local community center) right as you walk in for everyone to see. She's a celebrity! Actually, the Kroc Center has been very good for our family. Also, of all the organizations around here (businesses, churches, clubs, etc.), it is our feeling that the Kroc does more than its share of outreach into the community and Rachel has gone out of her way over the years to be a part of that outreach. The center is currently doing a "pay-it-forward" campaign and decided to highlight certain members as part of the marketing for this initiative. There is also a video of Rachel somewhere on their website, as well as a place to make donations to this great organization.

It's been a while since there was a work picture of me on this blog. Actually, I'm not working here. In fact, I'm paying money to be here. This is study club, and I am doing a pretty awesome surgery (Caldwell-Luc sinus lift with simultaneous implant placement) with Lynsay (assistant) and Sal (mentor) to make sure things go smoothly. They did, and before long I will be doing these procedures as a part of my regular practice. Can I just say that I love what I do? I do! I genuinely love going to work each day. I have an awesome team who keeps me entertained with their incredible singing and off-the-wall conversations. I have awesome patients who share a little bit of their lives with me each time they come in (sometimes more than a little bit). I have the privilege of taking part in a community of professionals who are working together to elevate our neighborhoods. And I get to do some really cool stuff every day that combines my intellectual love of science with technical skill in the hands. It is a profession which will always push me to be better, and which brings with it opportunities for real service in terms of income and skill-set which can be put to good use in a variety of settings.

Also, immediately after the study club was over I went and ran a 5k with a time of 19:30- not a bad showing considering the fact that I had just completed the most intricate procedure of my life. Not a bad day at all. Also, I should mention here that Rachel is riding her bike about 75 miles/week and is soon contesting my status as the most athletically fit person in our family (it's not hard when 5 out of 7 are under the age of nine). I really need to stop eating deep dish pizzas...but we all know that that's not really going to happen.

This is a throwback picture of our family a little more than six years ago. I don't really have a reason for including this other than I was thinking about it and I think it's nice.

Have a good week!

Our week in pictures

It is feeling like Spring here and I love it. We have gone on some nice walks/hikes. I have started running outdoors again in the mornings. Projects are starting to get underway that have been waiting. It's a good time of year.

It has also been a pretty busy week for us, as far as social stuff goes. Here are some pictures of our most recent exploits:

Evelyn's Birthday

Evelyn had her birthday party. This is the best group shot I could get even though there are some people missing. We had the party at a little ceramics studio where the kids each got to pick out something to paint. It was a lot of fun.

Here's the cake Rachel made. It is an art palate.

Here are the ceramic things the kids painted, ready to be fired. We will pick them up in about a week and see how they turned out.

Maren's Birthday

Maren did an "under the sea" theme at our house.

The snacks that Rachel made- gummy crabs, grape "seaweed" sticks, beach scene graham crackers, and a Little Mermaid cake.

I hung the octopus up. That was my creative contribution.

The kids painting seashells.

A Night Out

I realize these pictures are nearly identical, but they are at different places. This first is a nice dinner we had at Clinkerdaggers (a pretty nice local restaurant), and the second is at the theater where we saw the CYT production of the Mary Poppins Musical. It was a great night.

Random Stuff

This was where Lindsey stayed for almost the entirety of Maren's birthday party. She is a good sport.

Evelyn heading off to school. She has a style of her own and I like it (it was hat day in her class).

Jackson randomly decided that he was going to do exactly 100 healthy things. He made a grid on a paper with the numbers 1-100 printed off in the little squares, and he checks one off each time he is healthy. Here I caught him running laps up and down the stairs- with his shirt off, of course...because he's a guy and he can do that.

In the meantime, I am on sort of track for my personal goal of eating ONLY 1 Little Caesars Deep Dish Pizza each week. Jackson is my motivation.

Well, that's about it. This next week looks like it might be a little more relaxed, but that's not likely to last long. Especially not if the weather holds. Did I mention that I am excited for Spring?

Have a good week!

Rachel's update (I made a blog!)

Maren: Dad, what are those?
Dad: I am making pigs in a blanket for dinner
Maren: Those are pigs? But where are their tails?
Dad: That is a good question.
Maren: (in a very blunt voice) Are they dead?
Dad: What do you think?
Maren: Well... I once saw the Tooth Fairy eat a live baby pig.  It was late at night and I was on the couch...

Miss Maren is constantly surprising me with the things that come out of her mouth!  I love just listening to her talk because everything is inventive and a little bit strange.  This inventiveness generally matches her creative outfits.  For the past two months she has been constantly in skirts for preschool and her favorite outfit is a purple plaid skirt paired with a navy/red striped shirt.  I figure there is not much in this world that she has control over, and it is good to let your personality shine. Last week she had a selection of shoes and she decided to wear one purple boot and one pink boot because she couldn't decide.  I actually got a lot of positive feedback from her teachers that day about letting her do thing on her own. She knows the general concept of matching clothes, but she likes her own style.  Good for her.

I can understand wearing a skirt in the cold because I rarely get cold and she seems to be the same way (besides, generally she walks through the garage into a warm car and from a warm car to preschool. No problem).  I am, however, adamant that she wears shoes.  I know. I know. I am a horrible mom, right?  It would seem that way in the morning when the time arrives to put on her shoes.  She generally ends up in the car barefoot holding her shoes until we get to our destination.  Which is why when she chose two different boots I was just ecstatic that she put shoes on of her own accord.

Lindsey

"It's a stick!"

This is officially Lindsey's first full sentence.  Today was our first Sunday family hike for the year, and we had a great time hiking around and exploring Q'emlin park.  Logan took the kids up to see some caves and I hung around with Lindsey.  We walked hand in hand as she pointed to every loose stick and proudly proclaimed "It's a stick!"  I see many more Sunday Family Hikes in our future.

February is the month of Birthdays and parties.  We have had family parties for Maren and Evelyn, a Valentine's Day party in Rexburg (more about that visit below), I volunteered in four separate class Valentine's parties, and next weekend we have a friend party for Ev on Friday night and a friend party for Maren on Saturday.  You heard that right! It is a back to back party weekend!


From the minds of our children

Ok. I think I have each of our kids' reactions down pretty well when I ask them to do something.  Here is a slightly exaggerated example of what might go through each child's head on any given day when I ask the kids to get in the car.

Evelyn: Today has been SO completely difficult! Sure I went to a birthday party and I went to the park and played for two hours but I fell down and bumped my knee! My life is SO difficult and now is the perfect time to pout and burst into big hot crocodile tears!

Adalie: (disclaimer: Adalie is our peacemaker and the one that I can completely count on to do exactly as she is told without so much as a peep so this is her reaction when, on the completely off occasion, that I put her in a timeout. She had a timeout this week and it is, honestly, the first time in at least a year). Life is so good!  I think I am going to skip to time out and exclaim "I love sitting in this char!" with a super cute smile on my face. I know I am the favorite!

Jackson: Ok. Set your feet solidly shoulder width apart. Clench your jaw. Stare at Mom defiantly without twitching a muscle. Don't even blink.

Maren: Mom just asked me to go to the car. I am so MAD because she would not let me bring markers downstairs because she told me I have not proven myself to be responsible with them down there.   She is the meanest mom ever! I'll show her!  I am going to write all over Evelyn's closet wall.

Lindsey: Oh!  I am being picked up again and put in this chair.  Hmmm. Maybe I will squirm a... Oh look! A shiny mirror on the back of the headrest. I am so cute!

Thankfully all of these reactions don't happen every time, but these are funny caricatures for each of the kids.

Evelyn

Sweet Evelyn is now eight going on thirteen!  I swear she has that eye roll down to a science... And I thought those crazy emotions were not supposed to make an appearance for at least another few years.  The other day she informed me "If you can not find me be sure to look in my "miserable spot."  Okay. She gets a lot of flack for this (and, to our credit, a fair amount of listening ear from Logan and I), but I have to poke a little bit of fun at the situation. It helps me cope. Especially when the crocodile tears start coming.

On a better note, Evelyn is doing great in school and is now in accelerated programs for much of the time (in a wide variety of subjects).  I enjoy receiving letters from her on a weekly basis and responding to them through her cloud drive at school (what a great idea for a weekly assignment!).

Evelyn will be getting a dental appliance in her mouth to help her FINALLY stop sucking her thumb. She has mixed emotions about it, but overall I think she is excited for the boost of help because she has wanted to stop for a while.  We will see how this goes, but I am glad it is her decision and she looks forward to breaking the habit.

 Adalie

Addy is a very smart social butterfly.  She is in her own reading group at school because she is so far ahead of the other students.  In fact, this month she has started reading chapter books!  She devours any book she can find and has fun doing it.  Logan and I ask her questions after she is done and we have noticed that some chapter books she can easily answer questions while others she seems to have no clue what she just read.  We are now selecting books according to reading level so that her comprehension skills are emphasized.  Her current favorites are Evelyn's chapter books about fairies written by Daisy Meadows (PLEASE let that be a pen name!).

Adalie is still very recognizable by her cuddly nature.  Today I called her over to the couch just to give her a big hug.  She hugged me tight and ended up curled in my lap without even letting me go.  She snuggled there like a cozy little kitten.  I love Adalie snuggles and have no doubt what her love language is right now.

Adalie is our little peace maker.  She is kind, sweet, and does not seem to have a mean bone in her body.  One weird side to this is that sometimes she seems to have no opinion at all.  I wonder if this is because she is so eager to please others.  Whatever the reason, we definitely encourage having an opinion around here (for better or worse!).

Jackson

This boy is a very sweet-hearted instigator!  I think part of it is that he is a boy with a lot of energy in a house full of girls!  Poor kid...  I can't say that he is completely innocent though!  He has the sweet, caring brother role down, and he also has the irritating, pestering brother role down.

Jackson is my very best helper, and I am told he is an excellent helper in his Kindergarten class as well.  He loves to find extra jobs to do around the house, and he is always ready to earn money doing extra chores.  A few weeks after Christmas he approached me and asked if he could earn some extra money. When I asked him if he had anything in mind to buy he told me he wanted to bring it to the red kettle for the Salvation Army and donate it to kids who didn't have as much as he does.  He melts my heart!

Jack is doing very well in his Kindergarten class.  He has a group of friends who he loves to do art with.  He is very meticulous with his art (and any other project) and will work on it for as long as you will let him.  He is constantly drawing a variety of cool inventions and if you give him a second he will talk your ear off about each intricate detail. I love to listen to his imaginative ideas.

In church today Jackson was with a group of kids doing an object lesson. They were instructed to stand in a circle in front of the congregation and hold on to a bucket. Jackson noticed that the crowded group left out one crestfallen child who did not fit in the circle. Jack silently left the group, picked up a separate bucket, walked over to the little boy, and created a second circle with just the two of them for the remainder of the story. This melted my heart, and I think it affected everyone who saw it.  What a thoughtful boy!

Rexburg Trip

I absolutely love everything about living in Post Falls. The only thing that needs to happen is for families to move closer to us.  That is why weekends like last weekend are so special.  We packed up the car and headed to Rexburg to see grandparents and Griffin with his cute girls (we definitely noticed Ashland and Callen's absence).

Another great thing about these trips to Rexburg are that they begin and end with a road trip with the Love of my life (plus a few really good travelers). It is a win/win situation!

This trip did not disappoint. Here is a list of activities we did together.

• We had a great Valentine's day party complete with decorations, a wide variety of competitive balloon games, a heart Valentine/double birthday cake, birthday presents, and a lot of giggles and smiles.
• A visit to Grandma's Kindergarten complete with games in the gym, valentine decorating, cosmic yoga, and playing in the treehouse.
• Sledding- Including a CRAZY sledding accident involving our sweet Maren (details below).
• Spades with the adult
• The arcade

Thanks for the great time!  Now I need to get my own family closer so that a three day weekend is enough time for a great trip down there... hint, hint, hint...

"I made a sushi!"

On Saturday we went to a sushi night with the gals at Logan's office.  I loved the sushi!  This is saying something since Logan can be quoted saying, "Rachel does not eat anything that breathes underwater." This quote is not necessarily true because I really like shrimp and now I am a fan of sushi.  Maybe my tastes are finally growing up!

It must also be noted that I failed miserably in my attempts to create sushi.

Maren's preschool Valentine party



Notice the creepy baby in the background.

  

We have an EIGHT year old in the house!  I love this girl and I am so glad she is ours!

Valentine's party at Grandma and Grandpa Hazard's house

The first run of the day.  Picture a sweet little girl bouncing up the sledding hill excitedly trying to catch up to her dad.  Now enter the other cute child excited to go down her first run.  When these two desires collided this was the result.  Maren hit square on by an inner tube which caused her little body to be flipped completely over into a back bend while trapping her face flat in the snow as the tube continued down the hill.  This was one of the worst things I have witnessed as a parent.  I hope to never repeat any kind of experience like it! Thankfully, there were no permanent injuries and she took it like a champ (although she did spend the rest of the sledding trip in the car recovering).

Me: Jackson- Where are you? It's time to go. Put your shoes on.

       I enter Jackson's room to find him laying face-down on the floor.

Jackson: I can't get up...I'm too busy obsessing over the weight of life's problems.

Too much "Inside Out?" I think so.

A random picture of Jack. He filled this bucket up with water and then sat in it as his "swimming pool." All was fun and games until he couldn't get out again. I finally had to turn him upside-down and shake him out. He didn't like that much.

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On Saturday we went to the annual Spokane boat show. For the record, I really like these sales shows- Cars, RVs, motorcycles, boats, outdoor stuff...whatever. It's not like we're actually going to buy anything (except for maybe some food), but it is fun to window shop and it gets us outside of the house.

Rachel and Lindsey in a nice cabin cruiser. One day we'll have one like this (but not really...it costs more than our house).

This is us on the island we're not going to visit with the boat we aren't going to have.

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On Sunday we had a Hazard Family Super Bowl party. Honestly, it was pretty cool. Our kids chose teams and made signs to support them. We got to pig out on junk food. We saw some pretty funny commercials. We even watched a little bit of football. The kids watched almost the whole game before getting bored and going downstairs.

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Maren is officially four years old now. She is lucky because she gets a lot of different parties- a family party that took place this week, a pre-school party, a friends party, and maybe even a little celebration when we go visit Grandma and Grandpa this weekend. She deserves it. Maren has an extremely likable personality and is just fun to be around...usually. She tells great jokes and stories that all end with the main characters dying (she'll make a great tragedian one day). She gets up earlier than the other kids to spend time with me. She is outgoing and funny and at an age where she can still pull off "cute" pretty darn well. That's My Maren. Happy Birthday!

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Here's a few more random pictures:

Evelyn's Reader's Theater

Our kids are so excited for summer they put on their swimming suits and created a water slide. Yes, that is snow next to them.

A child? Nope. That would be Rachel. I don't think she likes the edges.

The Theatre

Those who know me well know that I love live theater- especially the big Broadway variety with show-stopping musical performances and insightful, literary plotlines. I will attend pretty much any chance I get, and consider myself lucky to have lived in places where there are ample opportunities for such entertainment. There is also something magical about the stage with actors in costume, and watching a drama unfold right there in front of you in real-time; a scripted drama, sure, but meaningful nonetheless for the simple fact that no two performances are ever exactly alike. For all these reasons and more, it is rare for me not to be thoroughly entertained by a show.

Every once in a while though, a production will fail to strike that chord with me, and I walk away feeling a little bit cheated. Sometimes this is predictable, such as when we take chances on little-known shows played by actors with emerging talent (other times however, these are the best kind). What I didn’t expect though, was that I would feel this way after watching the show that swept the Tony awards, won a Grammy, was hailed by the New York Times as “the best musical of the century,” and has earned an ongoing spot on Broadway for the last five years running.

So what was it about The Book of Mormon Musical that got to me so much? The answer, really, is that I just didn’t like it. The humor was too raw and abrasive for my tastes. Oh, there were plenty of times that I laughed out loud, and the song and dance numbers were some of the best I have ever seen. Additionally, I think that people who see the show as a skewer to the Mormon religion or to any other specific group of people are probably missing the point entirely (or have not seen it). Also, like any act worthy of Broadway, there were moments of poignancy and deeper themes to consider- gems hidden (or not so hidden) throughout the storyline that cause a person to think about things in a new way. In this case, I think the writers make an important commentary on the nature of religious faith, believe it or not, in a really good and charitable way. They also tell a touching coming-of-age story including themes of emotional and spiritual maturity that, for many people, will hit very close to home. It did for me. There really was a lot to like here. But in the end, for me, it just wasn’t enough. The whole thing felt tainted in a negative way by the gratuitous use of sexual and scatological references that, even for the makers of South Park, were way over the top. Like I told Rachel, it seemed like a good idea somehow ended up in the hands of a bunch of sixth graders with an expanded vocabulary. It was rather disappointing.

Anyway, I am still glad that I saw it, and even though the night wasn’t “magical,” it is always fun to dress up and go out with Rachel on a date and eat good food and have good conversations, and then come home to sleeping children. That is magic enough to make any night extremely worthwhile.

New Bike

If you know Rachel well (or even if you’re just a casual acquaintance), then you may know that she loves riding her bike. Last year she started participating in races, and this weekend she finally went all-in and bought herself a brand new road bike. It’s a nice one too, apparently. It has an all-carbon frame and fancy components…yeah, I’m not really a bike guy, so I can’t really say much more. You’ll have to ask her for details. All I know is that it weighs about as much as my running shoes do, and costs about as much as a nice electric guitar. It’s a fun bike to ride.

Getting her new bike was also the entire focus of our day on Saturday. See, we have a lot of bike shops around here, but Rachel is too cool for that. Instead of just going down the street like I probably would have done, we had to load all the kids in the car and drive 6 hours to a little-known shop in some out-of-the-way place in Washington (round trip, including one flat tire, one unintentional detour, and one stop at Little Caesars for pizza). To her credit, she got it for like $600 cheaper than she could at the local places, and we actually had a lot of fun in the car, so I guess the trip was well worth it. I am glad our kids are good travelers.

Now I just have to get myself in good enough shape to keep up with her on my mountain bike. Not likely!

These pictures were taken on a walk I went on with the kids while Rachel was in the bike shop. If you look closely, you will notice that Maren only has one shoe on. This was her fashion statement and she insisted on it. Whatever.

Rachel with her new bike

Invent Idaho

A few weeks ago on this blog I threw a minor tantrum about Evelyn’s school project, Invent Idaho. I talked about how the expectations on these 2^nd graders were way higher than what they could actually do on their own, and how much time the project took on the part of the parents. I haven’t changed my mind either- I still think this project is better suited to older kids. What I have to say though, is that Evelyn is totally rocking it. Her project won for her school and went to Regionals last week. It won there too, and is now headed to the state tournament in Moscow. I am very proud of her. Even though Rachel and I supported her and helped her with a lot of stuff along the way, she is the one who had all the ideas and who did all of the work.

For those who are curious, her invention is a “Rattle Stopper.” It is basically a bungee cord with c-clamps on the end instead of hooks, and she uses it to hold down a part of our BBQ grill that rattles in the wind and keeps her up at night. It is incredibly simple, but I guess sometimes the simplest ideas are the best.

Here is Evelyn’s advertisement for her product:

Evelyn Hazard #8

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

The Rattle Stopper

The name of my invention is the Rattle Stopper.

I think the Rattle Stopper is great for many reasons,so you should buy it.

One reason is it does not cost much! It only costs $5.99!

Another reason is the clips come in colors!

Colors like orange, green,purple, and black.

Finally,the Rattle Stopper makes a shape.

The shape it makes is a rainbow

Now you know why the rattle

Stopper is the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a completely random picture of Lindsey. There is no story associated with it, but I figured it had been a while since she made an appearance on our blog. Isn't she cute? 

The End. Have a nice week!

Our home has been invaded by snakes. They are invisible and nearly indestructible. At least they aren't poisonous though- they just make it so you have a really bad cough. Apparently their sole purpose in life is to terrorize young children in the middle of the night.

That's what Jackson had to say to us last night at 3 o'clock in the morning. He was terrified and inconsolable. He isn't the only one who had a long night.

A few nights ago it was tiny spider monsters who could hide anywhere and only came out after kids were sleeping.

Before that it was something else (I can't remember).

I wish the ghostbusters were the real deal, because for the sake of all of our sanity this needs to stop.
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Quick update on Evelyn's "Invent Idaho" project (read last week's post for details): She presented it and is now going to regionals. I am proud of her hard work- she did a lot even if Rachel or I had to supervise almost every step of the way to meet her teacher's expectations.

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Addy update: Last week she asked to get her ears pierced. She was very brave. Evelyn went with her to offer moral support and to remind her every thirty seconds in a shrill voice how much it was going to hurt. Addy didn't bat an eye though, and is very proud of her new flower earrings. Evelyn on the other hand, was traumatized by the experience of watching, but is expected to make a full recovery in about 6 months (it could take 6 years for all I care).

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To end, I thought I'd include the answers to an activity we did with the kids a few weeks ago as we plan out our new year .

Evelyn
My best memory of the year: Reading, losing teeth
My best idea of the year: Invent Idaho
I always say: Hi!
I am proud of: My reading skills
My friends are: Saige, Dad, Mom, Family
I like to spend my time: Reading, TV, Computer
My favorite animal: Octopus
My favorite book: Any good chapter book
My favorite color: Red
My favorite food: Stromboli
My favorite song: Hushabye Mountain
This next year I want to learn: To make clay bowls or statues
This next year I want to see: The ocean
This next year I want to get better at: Reading

Adalie
My best memory of the year: Secret lost tooth (lost tooth without realizing it)
My best idea of the year: To be an inventor
I always say: I want to invent powers
I am proud of: When I make the right choices
My friends are: Skyler, Lekiah, Avery
I like to spend my time: Cuddling
My favorite animal: (Blank)
My favorite book: Frozen
My favorite color: Pink
My favorite food: "Cheesiks" (Cheesz-it crackers)
My favorite song: Let it go
This next year I want to learn: To invent
This next year I want to see: Ocean
This next year I want to get better at: Inventing

Jackson
My best memory of the year: (Blank)
My best idea of the year: (Blank)
I always say: Can I help?
I am proud of: Making goals
My friends are: Micah, Skyler, Lizzy
I like to spend my time: Doing chores
My favorite animal: Lion
My favorite book: Construction
My favorite color: Blue
My favorite food: Ravioli
My favorite song: Do as I'm doing
This next year I want to learn: To build
This next year I want to see: The ocean
This next year I want to get better at: Basketball

Maren
My best memory of the year: "I don't have memories"
My best idea of the year: Playing
I always say: Thank you
I am proud of: I'm a good player
My friends are: Dad
I like to spend my time: Playing
My favorite animal: Horses because they are beautiful and pigs because they taste good
My favorite book: (Blank)
My favorite color: Red
My favorite food: Ice cream
My favorite song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
This next year I want to learn: To plant flowers and smell them
This next year I want to see: A dragon
This next year I want to get better at: Running so I can run with Daddy

A Catch-up Post That Belongs in 2015

So...the title is a not-so-subtle reminder to myself for when I compile the printed version of The Hazard Chronicles. Also, there is a lot to write about here. I'll probably touch on some things and then revisit them later. Other things will be stand-alone pieces. Basically, I have a bunch of stuff I want to write about and I need to get it out before it is lost.

“I Liked Not Knowing”

This year, Christmas lost a little bit of its magic for Evelyn. It started with Widget, our elf on the shelf. Now, I realize that lots of people use these elves for lots of things, but in our home Widget is little more than a fun game of hide-and-seek that the kids get to play every morning. Still, it’s a fun tradition. Well, one day Evelyn asked to speak with Rachel privately in her room, and pretty much said “I’m not buying it any more” when it came to Widget. This was okay, and we simply brought Evelyn in on the secret by making her the official “Widget Hider.” She did a fantastic job.

But then, on Christmas Eve, Evelyn started asking other questions. “I know that St. Nicholas is a legend, and that legends are partly true and partly not. So, how does Santa actually work? I’m asking because I don’t believe in flying reindeer or elves in the North Pole any more, but somehow we still get presents each year in our stockings, so Santa must be real in some way” Another one (I can’t remember if she asked this or if was in a book she read) was the question “Why does Santa give good toys to rich kids even when they’re bad, and cheap toys to poor kids, even when they’re good?”

As a parent, I have mixed feelings about these questions. First of all, I am proud beyond belief at the level of critical thinking involved in their formulation. These aren’t your standard “how does a fat man get down the chimney” questions, and cop-outs like “magic” don’t do justice to the amount of thought she had put into it. I wasn’t about to do that to her. At the same time, it was sad to see a fun and comforting childhood belief being lost. After talking with Rachel, I took Evelyn aside and we did some research together about the actual history of St. Nicholas. Then we looked at different Santa traditions around the world. As we did this, I sadly watched as she started putting things together. Finally, she drew her own conclusion: Since St. Nick died a long time ago, and since all Santas seem to be different depending on time and place, the simplest explanation is that Santa Claus is actually a fictional character played by none other than the kids' parents. She came up with it on her own… and I reluctantly confirmed her theory.

But what then? That was the hardest part, because she looked at me very seriously and then made two statements that caused me to stagger a little bit. The first was said with suppressed tears- “I liked not knowing.” And the second, almost with anger- “Now, all that’s left of Santa is a story that parents use to get their kids to be good.” Woah. As far as I know, Rachel and I have always downplayed the “you better watch out” aspect of Santa (it seems like a cheap trick to us), but I guess cultural influences were not enough to override our careful parenting.

To the first statement, “I liked not knowing,” I had no response other than to give her a big hug and tell her that I also missed not-knowing things sometimes. Childhood traditions can be fun and comforting and in a way, magical. It’s hard sometimes to see things for how they actually are, and I think this is the reason that many kids keep believing in Santa despite the nagging problems that keep getting pushed to the back of their minds. This is especially easy sometimes when they are surrounded by adults and media which keep coming up with answers that “work” for them…at least for a while. But yeah, I can see how letting go of all that can be hard. I’ve been there. But I'm also glad in a way, because this is a very benign way for her to experience this sort of disappointment for the first time that will probably occur repeatedly throughout her life regarding different things.

The second statement was the one that made me even sadder though, because to me, I see the story of Santa as a wonderful representation of some very worthwhile ideas. I guess Evelyn’s cynicism is somewhat natural, and is probably even fueled in part by the veil of secrecy and forced literalness that parents put over the whole narrative. But underneath all that is a fabulous story about altruism, generosity, empathy, and the power of the imagination. The story is also a tradition that binds children and families together around the world. For me, the complex meanings of the Santa story go far beyond elves and reindeer, and it was hard to watch Evelyn’s knee-jerk response of simply dismissing all of this out of hand. And so we talked. We talked about how a lot of stories have great value even if they aren’t necessarily true. We talked about how maybe the best way of addressing the ideas represented in the story are through literary devices like myths or symbols (no, I didn’t use the term “literary device.”). We talked for a long time, and in the end Evelyn came out saying she would think about it some more. I was content to leave it at that.

But the story isn’t over yet. Because a few days later, as the kids were sitting at the table and talking, someone mentioned Santa Claus. I could tell Evelyn was thinking hard about whether or not she should join the conversation. And then she looked at Addy, and with a total sincerity that I don’t think she could fake, she said- “I believe in Santa.”

And then she looked at me, and smiled. And I smiled back, because I took her at her word. I think she does, in the same way that I do, maintain some belief in the idea of Santa. And I hope that this more mature kind of belief develops into its own kind of magic for her, as it has for me. I think it will. Some people call this kind of belief “faith,” and I would probably agree with that. Either way, it is something that I think is an important part of every Christmas season, and something that will enrich her life for years to come.

Invent Idaho

Ok- this is a short one, and something I will probably revisit. I need to mention it though because right now we are in the thick of it. "Invent Idaho" is a project that is ostensibly for the children in Evelyn's second grade class. The reality of it though, is that the scope and depth that the teacher is attacking this project is far, FAR beyond what a second grader can do on their own. In short, their performance on the project is almost totally dependent on the amount of time, effort, and money that parents are willing to put into in. It's homework for Mom and Dad. Nothing more.

Could it be that Evelyn is just slower than the other kids in her class? I don't think so- her report card says she is "exemplary" and "demonstrates an advanced understanding of concepts, skills and processes, exceeding all expectations" in every area except for handwriting. Also, the most recent email we received from her teacher was a link for a place that does 3D printing and custom machinery of parts for us to use when making the required working prototypes of the kid's inventions...I'm pretty sure the kids didn't get that email. Are these sorts of expectations really reasonable for an average 7-year-old? I don't think so.

The thing is that Evelyn will do well on this, mostly because her parents care enough and have the resources to help her (no 3D printing though...there has to be limits somewhere). I have to acknowledge that not all kids have these advantages though, and it doesn't seem fair to me that so much time and such a large portion of a student's evaluation (and quieter self-evaluations)- especially in 2nd grade- stem from things that are mostly beyond their control. I mean yeah- it's a good way to set kids up for success. But it's also a good way to set them up for failure. Is it worth it at this age? I'm not so sure. Save that for the future.

Media

In the same way that "we are what we eat," I think there is some truth to the idea that "We are the media we consume," including books, news, music, podcasts, movies, classes, etc. I think it would be interesting to see what other people are looking at. I also contemplated putting a 2015 list up of what I had read, watched, or listened to. In the end, I decided this would probably come off as either self-serving or irrelevant, so I decided not to. If you are interested though, then let me know. I also want to put out a call for recommendations. I really like things that challenge the way I think about things, or that force me to develop insight that I might not have had before. To that end, I'll say that in general I tend to be moderately liberal in politics and religion, I really like science, and I think that human nature (individuals or groups) is one of the most fascinating subjects on the planet. I also like sitting down with a good, entertaining novel or movie, but have a hard time getting into most hard-core sci-fi, fantasy, or super hero stuff. Right now, my individual interests are in the humanities and in ancient civilizations.

So there you go...recommend something and I will probably read it, listen to it, or watch it. Thanks.

A Statement by Jack

This was funny. It will be funnier if you have seen the movie "Inside Out."

Jack: "Evelyn does not have friendship island. She only has meanie pants island."

Sometimes there is truth to that, by the way. Let's just say that the volume and frustration level in our home is very dependent right now on Evelyn's mood. Most of the time this is a positive thing. Sometimes it's not.

Gingerbread Houses

The winners: Team B! Great job guys! I think we need to have ornaments like this for all the winners to put on their trees during Christmas. They can give them up next year to the new winners.

Team B- The Winners

Team A- we made a good effort

School Pictures- 2015!