Summer 2006

Last Day of School, June

Eighth grade ended June 16th. It was a Wednesday, and I walked home and celebrated over lunch with Mom, Jan and Sofia. I'll miss not seeing my friends every day, but I'm glad to be done with homework, teachers, projects, and responsibility. Summer is here!!!!

Fourth of July

On the Fourth of July, Mom, Jan, Sofia and I went to Main Street in Bothell to watch the Bothell parade. We saw the kiddie parade first, and then, while Jan went to a nearby tavern to watch a World Cup game, Mom, Sofia and I watched most of the main parade.

It was Sofia's first parade experience, and it was fun to be with her [right]. She liked watching the kids and dogs walk and pedal by in the kiddie parade, plus the participants threw candy that Mom and I helped collect for her. I got to eat all the hard candies that might be choking hazards. Sofia's favorite parts of the big parade were the clowns and fire engines; I liked the vintage Corvettes best, myself.

After the parade, I went to Dad's for backyard games, a picnic dinner, and fireworks with family friends. We had been lighting off small stuff since we got up that morning, but we saved the big, exciting fireworks for the evening. We had mortars, rockets, and even my dad's favorite, strobes (also known as Retina-Be-Gone's). My friends Claire and Alanna came over to watch our annual cul-de-sac firestorm, which didn't end until around midnight.

I think July 4th is possibly my favorite holiday of the year.

Camping on the Oregon Coast, July

This summer I did lots of camping with my Dad, including trips to Lake Wenatchee, Deception Pass, and our friends' river property.

I went camping once with Mom, Jan, and Sofia, July 23rd through 28th, when we drove in the Chateau op Wielen to the Oregon coast. The first day we drove to Fort Stevens State Park, which has a lake, a beachfront, an old fort, and lots of biking and hiking trails.

Our first full day we spent at at Coffenbury Lake. The water was pretty cold, so we didn't swim too long, but after a picnic lunch we played in the nearby hot sand dunes. Sofia enjoyed burying me in the sand [right].

The next day we drove the RV to nearby Seaside. After Sofia rode a seahorse on the town carousel, we walked to the beach and splashed in the ocean [left]. Then we went to the Seaside Aquarium, which was fun. It keeps a group of harbor seals for people to feed (you buy small baskets of fish), and each seal has developed its own special behavior for getting visitors' attention and demanding food. Most of the time this includes soaking the spectators.

On our way out we stopped and bought ice cream to eat on the sidewalk. Although Sofia liked everything else, that was probably the highlight of her day.

Each night, we ate dinner in the RV and then took walks and explored the park. We saw some animals, including a deer, some raccoons that we first thought were cats, and even a skunk too close for comfort. (Ask Jan about the baby mice.) Sofia went to bed at 8:00, and then Mom, Jan, and I, accompanied by hordes of mosquitoes, had to be outside so she could fall asleep. We forgot to bring any light that we could read or play cards by, so we made s'mores on the fire and watched movies quietly on a 10" TV. We had to turn it way down so we didn't disturb the neighbors. Finally about 10:00 or so we'd sneak into the RV on tiptoe and crawl into bed. It was a little restricting, but even though Sofia presented some challenges, she was still easier to travel with than last year.

Our third full day we spent at the beach. Even though it was part of the park, we drove the RV there because it was too far to walk with all the gear we needed. In the overcast morning, Jan and I flew kites. It was really windy, and the wind eventually destroyed one of the kites and downed the other. When the sun finally broke through at about 1:00, we played in the water (which was very cold) and the tall dunes [right—that's a much higher jump than it looks].

The next day we headed out. We stopped at the Shooting Star Lavender Farm in Clatskanie, Oregon, for lunch. We toured the lavender farm; for me it was mostly a bunch of flowers, but Mom got some good photos. Then we continued on and spent the night at Seaquest State Park in Washington. It was a heavily wooded park, with a nice play area for Sofia. Mom, Sofia, and I hiked through the woods to the nearby Mount St. Helens visitor center. Actually, Mom and I hiked, while Sofia rode in the stroller. We could see Mount St. Helens really well, and the center was pretty cool.

On the last day, we were home after just a quick 2-hour drive, and then Mom, Jan, and I cleaned the RV while Sofia napped. (Lucky dog.)

Week-Long Camps, August

I went to three camps this summer. The first was a tennis camp, the second was a camp for jazz band, and the third was a teen camp.

I went to Burton Music Camp on Vashon Island in early August. We had to take the Fauntleroy ferry from West Seattle to get there, and Dad drove me over on Sunday, and Mom picked me up the following Saturday. In between, I was really busy.

Every morning, we'd wake up at 7:00 for showers and then trudge down to breakfast. Our morning schedule consisted of big band rehearsal, combo rehearsal, jazz choir (yes, I was forced to sing), and then lunch. After lunch, we had cabin time and then went to our workshops. One for me was basic jazz improvisation. The other was beginning guitar, which was really fun. (In fact, after I got back from camp, Dad and I bought a guitar that I can continue learning on.) After our second workshop was FREE TIME! That was the most fun part of the day. My friends (Kevin and Jonathon) and I found lots of ways to entertain ourselves. Then we had dinner, more free time, and then evening rehearsal. We ended each day with the evening program, which consisted of some fun, all-camp event, and then campfire. The last thing we did each night was to race back to our cabins to put our shoes in line; only the first five in line got to shower in the cabin, while the rest of the 11 campers had to use the communal showers. Kevin and I were the first two in line every night!

The last day, we put on a jazz concert for all the parents [above]. Mom, Jan and Sofia arrived just in time, and Sofia immediately started dancing to the music, although she spent most of her time at the beach with Jan. There were five bands, and my band played On Green Dolphin Street, Groovin' High, and Early Autumn. Overall, I spent lots of time with other musicians, learned and lot, and had a blast. I want to go back next year.

As for my other camps, in July I attended the Washington Tennis Camp. Although it was not sponsored by the University of Washington, the lessons were at the indoor Nordstrom Tennis Courts on the UW campus, and they were supervised by UW tennis coaches. I practiced and played for 5 solid hours each day. I'm pretty sure I improved all my strokes, plus I had a good time. We'll see how I do on the tennis team this fall.

Finally, I spent a week at the Boys & Girls Club Teen Camp in late August. I had to miss one day for school registration. The other days we went to the Wooden Boat Museum and Madison Beach in Seattle, Peter Kirk Pool, roller skating, and Wild Waves. I try to spend at least one day a summer at Wild Waves, and as always, it was awesome.

Being Sofia's Big Brother

This summer I spent a lot of time with the family and Sofia playing in the sun, picnicking in parks, splashing in the water, and vacationing. Having a 2 1/2-year-old sister is both good and sometimes not so good.

Sometimes it's hard because she's not always in a good mood. She gets frustrated easily when she can't do or have what she wants, and the twerp has the memory of an elephant and giant-sized tenacity, so she's hard to distract. Her tantrums are not fun! Also, sometimes I have to look after her when I don't really want to, although Mom's pretty good about not taking my babysitting skills for granted, or get roped into activities that I otherwise probably wouldn't be doing.

But Sofia can be a lot of fun when she's happy. She has lots of energy and curiosity, a good sense of humor, and I like showing her new things and making her laugh. She can be very affectionate and sweet, and it's sort of fun to be somebody's idol. (She's also a chick magnet, 'cause all the girls say, "Awww, is that your sister?") So I'm glad she's my sister, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

No Wonder I'm Always Hungry!

This summer I made my Mom cry and my Dad sigh.

My voice cracked all summer long. Even I can tell that it's lower.

On July 16th, I finally measured taller than my Mom. That's what made her cry. Now when I go back to school, I'll be 5'6".

In August, we had to buy all new pants for school because I'd outgrown every pair I owned, and when Mom took me to buy new shoes, I fit into size 11 sneakers. That's what made Dad sigh—because now my feet are bigger than his [left]!

Finally, I'm growing!

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