Jonah and Tovah's 5 Places to Visit

I asked each of the kids what 5 places they'd like to visit and why. I think I'm seeing a theme, do you?

Jonah

1. Disneyland
2. Australia Zoo to see koalas
3. Disneyworld
4. San Diego Zoo to see koalas
5. Euro Disney

Tovah

1. San Diego Zoo
2. Euro Disney
3. Texas to see museums
4. Canada
5. Disneyworld

Tovah couldn't explain where in Canada she wanted to go and why and she just wanted to go to Texas to see the museums.

Baseball Cards

Jonah and Tovah have asked me to make baseball cards of them. I did them for Tovah's soccer team this fall and they're really easy in StoryBook Creator so I figured it was no big deal. I wanted them to be a little more realistic so I asked Jonah to bring me his baseball card collection so I could see what a "real" card looked like. I was horrified! They used the most unflattering pictures of the players they could find. One poor pitcher was caught just before his arm came forward to release the ball- his face is screwed up, his eyes are bulgy and crossed, his tongues hanging out, he looks like he was just removed from a car with the Jaws of Life. I didn't know the human body could be twisted like that and still survive. His mother must be horrified. The other action shots are better- players jumping into the air to catch a ball or sliding into base, they probably have horrible looks on their faces too but the camera doesn't zoom in so closely as it does on the pitchers.

I guess what I learned is that the picture isn't as important as the card is. Having a card makes you "official" regardless of what it looks like. So I spent my time making word art for "Adna" and a pirate icon png file. I should go and download the pictures from Tovah's first game.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

We had our very first baseball tournament this weekend in Mossyrock, a benefit tournament for Remington Stanley, a local boy with Septic Hip who is undergoing treatment at Seattle Children's. Jonah had a great time, his team had 2 wins and 2 losses. Jonah doesn't hit a lot of balls and usually gets walked to First but once he's on base he steals like crazy. He got a couple runs for his team and twice he was stranded on Third when the inning was over after his team scored 5 runs. Tonight is their first regular game if the rain holds off (we've had monsoon-like rains the past 2 weeks)

In lieu of a hymn this week I looked for a link to Nat King Cole's The First Baseball Game. I couldn't find a copy of the song but I did find this poem.

My sermon today, said Reverend Jones,

is baseball and whence it came.
Now, if you take the Good Book and you take a good look,
you will find the first Baseball Game.
 
read the rest here

Cub Scouts

I'm in Cub Scouts. We learn to do good things like how to keep ourselves fit, how to make candles, we learn about our country, about the people who run it, and how they run our government.

Jonah's Dollar

Last Wednesday Jonah's AllStar teacher sent him home with a dollar that he needed to pray about before he spent it. We've been talking about the devastation in Haiti and all the help they need. I heard about Doctors Without Borders Inflatable Hospitals on another blog and found a video to show the kids of the hospital being used in Pakistan following their earthquake. Jonah decided that was what he wanted to spend his dollar on (plus a match from mom to make running the credit card worthwhile).

When I heard about these inflatables I pictured a big bounce house with doctors doing surgery inside but these are so much more....



You can donate to Doctors without Borders here. The money is going into the Emergency Fund but can be used not just in Haiti but wherever its needed.

The Pain and Pleasures of Ice Skating

Ice skating is fun but it has some pain in it. Like the picture of my knee, I fell and hurt it badly. It bruised immediately. I started out slipping and sliding, not knowing how to ice skate.

After awhile I started getting better. My brothers were very good. My sister needed a little help. We all fell a few times, Isaac's arm still hurts. Arin fell and slid across the ice on his face- it was awesome! Soon we were all cold and wanting to go home but mom said if stayed until noon we would go to Red Robin for lunch (she said if we quit early then we would have to go to Ivar's for fish and chips- YUCK!)

Soon it was time to go but we wanted to go around one more time. We want to go ice skating again, maybe next year...

Jonah and his Koalas

My name is Jonah, I am 10 years old.

I have 7 koalas: Koaly (in brown shirt), Fluffy (has a big nose), Tiny, Aussie, Hyme (the big one), Eentsy (on Hyme's head), and Lowyou (hiding behind Hyme). Koaly is three years old,I got him when we went to Silverwood and he started my collection. I don't remember when I got all the others. Someday I would like to go to San Diego or even to Australia to see live Koalas. My grandma brought me home a mug from the San Diego Zoo last month. My Great-Grandma Hendrickson gave me Hyme, Lowyou, and Tiny. Koaly's shirt I got from my mom and dad