Golden Birthday Number 9!

For Selah's birthday this year, she wanted a slumber party. (Actually, she wanted a roller skating party in the dome for all her friends and family, complete with disco balls, strobe lighting, in-line skates with pom-poms, "... and Michael Jackson songs ALL DAY LONG that we can dance to. Then, I want all my friends to spend the night and we'll stay up all night and eat a ridiculous mountain of candy." We compromised and settled on a slumber party.)

Five of the giggliest-greatest-girls arrived around four on Saturday afternoon. Each girl got a party bag filled with bubble gum, a headband, a colorful scrubby pom-pom puff for the shower, glitter nail polish, old maid playing cards, honking noisemakers, and ribbon wands. They overtook Selah's closet and played dress-up, got into clay-craft and mask painting, rocked the over-sized teeter totter with two gigglers on each side, punctured a hole in our dome wall play-fighting with bamboo swords, squealed, blew huge bubbles, and ate up a storm.

Selah requested a "tiered" birthday chocolate + pudding cake with real whipped cream and blueberries. She also requested NO singing of the Happy Birthday song as she generally feels too overwhelmed and embarrassed when she is sung to. She said she wanted a lot of candles and all of her wishes to come true but PLEASE! NO SONG!

After pizza, garden burgers, chips, huge wads of bubble gum, big chocolate cake faces, and a four forgotten tooth brushes, they piled into a huddle around a couple of fun-to-watch movies, and fell asleep peacefully until the sun came up at 6 a.m. Lots of tiny and feet and giggles and screeching came up with the sunlight. Pancakes and more costumes play finished out their stay, and then Papa took all the girls home.

I would venture to say this was Selah's most fun birthday ever! She's exhausted now, and waiting for more birthday cake. We can't believe it's been nine years since she graced our lives with her ever-expanding heart and kindness, silliness and greatness. We are forever thankful for her, and our love for her only deepens with each year she sprouts up a few more happy inches.

Happy Birthday Selah Rain! We love you!!

Halloween 2009: Gelfling!

One of Selah's favorite movies is The Dark Crystal, starring two elves called Gelflings that save the world from destruction. She decided she wanted to be her own version of a gelfling for Halloween this year. We trick-or-treated and visited an enchanted fairy forest at a nearby charter school.

Best Friends

I love it when Diego comes over.

Fieldtrip to Volcanoes Nat'l Park

Selah's third-grade class at Volcano Charter School takes fieldtrips every Monday to Volcanoes National Park. The park is near the school, and the fieldtrips are facilitated by Selah's teacher (Miss Warner) and Mr. Judd (a retired Park Ranger).

September 2009

Here are a couple of recent snapshots of Selah... posted as requested. ;0)

"He was NOT the tooth fairy."

Selah recently went to the dentist for the first time.

She had questions about every single device and tool, machine, sound, plastic covering and especially any pastes or gels or colored tubes. Untrusting of the tools and situation overall, Selah kept her eyes trained firmly on the assistant with the sharp, loud, scary-looking tools. I think it may have been the assistant's first day on the job. Selah made her very flustered and nervous, and she dropped several sterilized items as Selah barraged her with questions. I kept assuring Selah that the best, most helpful thing she could do was to plant her little booty down in the chair, and just let them prepare for the exam.

You never want your first-ever trip to the dentist to be a traumatic one, but alas, such is life sometimes. Selah managed to swat the dentist's hand a couple of times as he attempted to administer her first novacaine injection. (This swatting resulted in her entire left cheek and upper lip to remain numb for at least three hours, which created quite a panic.) The dentist was great with Selah, and very kind and tolerant - but I can't say the same for his patient! It was highly traumatic, but thankfully, it was over quickly...

Nothing like a traumatic dental experience to motivate a life-time flosser! She was in tears on the way home, saying, "he was definitely, definitely NOT the tooth fairy. He shouldn't have been trusted."

Third Grader!

Today was Selah's very first day at Volcano School - an arts and science charter school that is well-established, financially sound, has an excellent reputation and just TEN! Minutes! from home! We have had Selah on the waiting list for the last three years; today was a special, exciting day (for all of us).

She was appropriately exhausted like you are on your first day of anything, but seemed in great spirits and without a single complaint. I thought this to be a good sign since it's such a different environment than her last school program.

Tonite, as we were reading her bed-time Jedi story, she quite impressively and smoothly read an entire comic book aloud to me with rarely a stumble (and of course, great enthusiasm).

I said, "Jeez, Kid! You're getting so smooth, you're going to be able to read anything you want!"

To which she laughed and replied, "Let's not get crazy here!"

"I really wanted a new look...."

"...y'know, something cuter."

My Mainland Trip / July 2009

Here are some pictures from our July mainland trip...

Selah had so much fun and there is so much to say about the amount of amazing experiences we had over that two week period. It was so wonderful to spend quality time with our family. And, I'm sure as time begins to allow for them, the stories will unfold and appear on the blog. For now, we'll start with the photos. enjoy ;0)

Graduated With Honor

"I graduated 2nd grade! It was very fun. And, I got to be the first one to get an award!"

Selah received recognition for most improved student of of 2008/2009 as well as the award for most well-behaved.

Proud! We are very proud!!

My Sister Teia and Me

"These are some pictures my mom took while my sister Anteia was visiting from Seattle in February of this year. Our grandma Yayu brought us these beautiful dresses from her trip to Nicaraugua. I love my dress, and I love my sister, and I love my grandma Yayu, too, of course.

What I most like to do with my sister is play! We play Star Wars, we play card games like 'Go Fish', and lots of other fun stuff.

What I like best about my sister Anteia is how much I love her, and how much she loves me."

Papa Smarter Than Mama

"Mama, I think Papa is smarter than you."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"When I ask him questions he knows the answer. When I ask you questions, you have to go and look it up."

"Huh. Hmph."

Lucky Me!

Today I was so lucky because three big horses wandered onto our property and ate some of our plants...

I fed the white-faced one; he was a boy. It made me feel like heaven and stars. I love horses.

Six Chix

On Febuary something, we got six little chix. We got them just in time for my sister Anteia to come and help name them. We went to the feed store, picked out six, and brought them home. I love our chix.

First, I named my two chix Eela and Eli. Then, I changed Eli's names to Precious. They are the black and white chix.

Anteia's chix are the spotted yellow-black ones. She named hers Veelo and Beebo.

My grandma Yayu wanted to name a chick Peaches, so we picked out one that looked kinda Peachy.

My mama named one Graciella, and we call her "Grazie" which means Thank You in a language. We're going to thank her for the eggs.

They just keep on growing, and growing! Soon they will give us brown and blue eggs. I love my chix. I feed them two times a day, and this week, we'll move them out to their new chicken coop that my papa built.