about scout

the few homework assignments scout receives
get done on-line, and sent directly to his teacher via google docs.

last year, he was given an assignment to write about himself.
like his momma, he loves to write {and type}, so this was easy for him.
he sent this to his teacher, and i saved a copy so i always have a record
of what my youngest son thought of himself at age 6.  it's truly priceless.


Hello! My name is Scout. I am six years old. I have a brother named Finn. He is ten years old. He is very nice, although, I do get into a lot of fights with him.

Me and my family [me, Finn, my mom and dad] go to Mexico once a year. Sometimes I wish I could go there more than only once because it is so beautiful there, although, there is one problem. I get a LOT of homework. Usually, I don’t have much homework, and it is pretty easy. But when I am on vacation it is much harder. Sometimes I wish I had no homework at all.

Me and my brother really like LEGO’s. I don’t like them as much as Finn because he is crazy about them. As for me not nearly as much.

Can I tell you something about Finn that is pretty annoying? Yes? Great. The thing is, well, I used to tell him when he was playing video games that I wanted to play, and well, after his turn he asks,”would you like to play now?”  Then I would say: “you can keep playing if you want to.” then he would say: “okay.” and keeps on playing. Well I don’t say that any more and I keep reminding him that. He just keeps forgetting which is really annoying. That's it.

Can I tell you some of the thing’s I love to do? yes? Thank you!

1.Reading 2.Drawing 3.Sleeping 4.School [except homework!] 5.How tiny I am. 6.Building LEGO’s with my brother 7.Playing video games 8.Making music 9. Writing 10.playing with my brother 11.Sleeping in with my mom 12.Movies 13. New Years Eve 14. Christmas 15.Halloween 16.Easter 17.My birthday 18.Museums 19.Candy and 20.soccer.

I have played soccer for a very long time, and I would say I’m pretty good at it. My brother has not played as long as me because he does not like the game too much and my mom and dad don't want him playing a game he does not really like.

I love when things take a long time to do. For instance, coloring in a picture. I love taking my time on things like that to make them look more beautiful. I also like to use as many different colors as I can.

Every Halloween my mom buys new costumes to wear. Every year our [me, Finn and my moms] costumes match. Last year I was Maverick from Top Gun.

It was really fun! I got a lot of candy and I got to go in a haunted house! I saw pretty cool costumes.

oh how I love this piece written by scout.  he did a great job capturing so much of who he is - from vacations he likes to take, his likes {20 total}, dislikes {brother angst}, and even some of our family traditions. i grinned reading #5...how tiny he is.  at 15, he may not feel the same way, but for now he embraces it.  there are benefits to being small. he can still sit in his parents laps without cutting off blood flow, and he can fit in all kinds of fantastic hiding places.

~ our trip to attend uncle chad's 'change of command' ceremony was amazing!  when i get a chance to download photos, i'll be back to post and share more. it couldn't be a busier time! there's just over 2 weeks of school, june 12th is last day!

travel time

the boys and i (all of them) will be taking another road trip!

we are back on the road tomorrow heading to california's central valley,
specifically to lemoore air station to attend a special ceremony for uncle chad.

uncle chad is the gerber brother that flies f-18 super hornets.
{the boys pointed one out to me last Saturday when we were here}
he is being promoted to a new command and getting his OWN squadron.
how many pilots are in a squadron? I couldn't say,
but i know it's a pretty big deal and uncle chad has worked hard to get there.

we are all SUPER excited and looking forward to spending
time with chad's family, papa g, sheila and most of the gerber brothers
and their wives who are coming out to for the big event.

one of my favorite things when the boys get together is listen to their stories.
big families always have big stories and the gerbers are plentiful and fun.

finn and scout will enjoy the stories but they are most looking forward to
seeing their cousins, uncle's jet and if they are lucky, a flight simulator.
they are BEYOND excited!

on another note, i've got some new material to read for our long roadtrip.
i can hardly wait to sink my teeth in them.  i'll be bringing this book along
which i picked up last weekend.  i've always been interested in learning more
about harper lee, the woman who wrote to kill a mockingbird.

fans of hers everywhere, including me, are anxiously awaiting her new book
which comes out in july.  first things first...i am scout.

other fun news:
my company's san diego office held their first annual charity golf tournament
on monday here. we'd been planning it for months and the day finally arrived.
it was a huge success! i not only got to get out of the office all day and soak
up the sunshine, but we raised $22,000 for the leukemia and lymphoma society.
we hope to make this an annual event!

last night i met with a wonderful group of ladies as we started a new book group.
after lots of thought and discussion, i decided to say goodbye to the group i call
the 'serious' book club and joined a new group made up of ladies who live in the
beach area and are all moms with kids who attend explorer and/or the high tech
high middle and high schools. no more driving all over san diego, and more
opportunities to connect with families and to pick the brain of moms with older
kids. {i learn so much this way}

and speaking of books. do you remember finn's class and their 1,000 book challenge?
each student {including his teacher} was supposed to read 40 books each {picture books
are not allowed} in order to reach this goal that has taken them the entire school year.
finn has read 46 books and is trying to squeeze in a 2 or 3 more over the next few weeks
to help the class reach their goal. they are just 22 under and with a push from all the
students, they will get there. 

happy memorial day weekend folks. enjoy your 3 day {or more} weekend!

the birds + the bees

as i was looking through the school work and projects the boys
had brought home and strewn about the kitchen countertop,
i saw a permission slip.  it was in finn's pile and it was tilted 'sex ed'.

whew....that came fast!

i knew this was coming, it just seemed far away.

even though i've prepared finn a bit by buying him a book about
the changes that will come with puberty, and his father has had
some simple conversations about growing up and reproduction,
it wasn't quite REAL to me until now. 

it's yet another milestone reminding me how quickly time passes.

finn is a tween and though he's small and puberty seems years away,
it will happen. this class is an important step in helping educate him
and to remind him that all his friends are right there with him. 
i remember sitting through a similar class when i was in 6th grade years ago.
{and they still separate the boys and the girls}

so many changes ahead and this birds and bees class and the upcoming 5th
grade dance are two things this tween isn't really comfortable discussing...
and least not with mum. {he turned bright red when i mentioned them}

oh how i love this little boy and watching him grow.
sometimes i just wish there was a 'pause' button.

mother's day: 2015

the boys surprised me with thoughtful gifts on mother's day,
gerber daisies, homemade cards, dinner at isabel's cantina
and these. they were both very excited to present them to me.
{and i was very excited to receive}

the boys were so proud of their gifts. they know how much i appreciate
anything they do with their hands and any gift from their hearts.
a good cook? i chuckled reading what scout said.  he is probably the only one
who would say that. i'm the first to admit, i'm no cook.
{i'd much rather clean and have someone cook for me}

~ this year, mother's day was a little different than year's past.
for months, we had a BIG camping weekend trip planned with two families.
my allergies kicked up the day before and i was suffering pretty bad {really bad}.

since the boys had their hearts set on going and we had a new tent and everything
was already packed and waiting to be loaded into the car, i encouraged c to go ahead
with them and i stayed home and rested.  they left a few days before mother's day
and was back m's day afternoon.

they made it home mid afternoon on mother's day to tell me all about their adventures,
present me with their special cards, and since i was feeling better, i was able to enjoy a
dinner out at my favorite neighborhood restaurant.

being a mother is a gift.  happy mother's day to every mother out there.  xo

happy mother's day

my heart is full of gratitude today.

i get to be called 'mom' by two beautiful boys whose
hearts are as big as oceans and smiles as bright as any star.
they bring so much beauty to my life.

i am also grateful to the wonderful mothers in my life who share
their wisdom, listen, support, guide, and love me as i navigate the
waters of motherhood.

wishing my mom and all mother's everywhere a very happy day!

silver bullets: end of season

scout's spring 2015 rec season with pysl has come to an end!

this is the first time since he's started playing soccer,
that he was ready for it to be over. 

the reason? his team was...how do i say it...'challenged' is probably
a better term than 'terrible'.  *grin*.  this poor team, didn't win a single
game....not a one.  scout's been on some challenged teams over the
years, but this one was challenged in nearly every way they could be.

his current division is made up of 6 and 7 year olds,
but there was an unusual amount of young players.
many had never even played soccer, and others simply didn't
want to be there.

we had a defender who regularly put his jersey over his head and
turned in circles. his parents and the coach would yell for him to
stop but he had other plans. our goalie, who was the only one who would
be at goal, would daydream...sometimes even sitting down and playing with
the grass and dirt.

it's no exaggeration when i say this team would have been more
difficult to coach than the little 4 and 5 year olds i coached years back.

for scout and the few who love the game and are competitors,
it was difficult to play on this team. after an unusually frustrating game where
the team lost 7-0, tears flowed for scout.  we reminded him that his competitive
league, is just starting up and that every one of those boys love the game and want
to be there. 

despite no wins, scoutie had a personal best season yet.
in this last game, he scored a goal which was a great way to go out.
he was beaming but was a little shy about celebrating it. 
us parents on the sidelines made up for it..
{i think we needed that goal as much as the team did}



from left: akaidan, oliver, kern, zach, casey, wyatt, mattias,
atticus, miles, callum and scout {missing: finn}

~ the best part of this season for scout was meeting a new friend
whom he shares so much in common, including the EXACT b-day. 
he announced this means they were 'meant' to be buddies.
fortunately, he lives just blocks away, which means lots of play dates. 
any guess on this buddy?  he's the little guy scoutie has his arm around.