Owen, Sara &
Andrew Hoelter

“…So, they had to go from the edge of my carpet all the way around outside past the dinnertable across the yard, onto the cherry tree (the big knot on the trunk), down, back across the yard, up the steps. It’s okay to have a giant carry you–I am the giant! Then they have to go through the window, though the kitchen and back into my room. But then, they had to cross the entire length of the carpet in a flying machine, and then you had to go out the door then they had to stay out there for a while and see if they could meet up with old friends.”

“Remember Mom? This robot was lost out there. Then they had to fly back onto my bed. The race ends there.”

Mom: “who won the race?”

“Obviously, (guess!) the good guys.”

Mom: “Why? Are they faster?”

(voice lowered for emphasis) Because they’re good, actually the best.

Mom: “What did the bad guys do to be so bad?”

“They’re evil!”

“They now each have a gun (the good guys). The bad guys, after landing on my bed, took off to find a weapon of their own. They found a little missle launcher, but haven’t found a missle yet. They found a stoplight and thought it might be useful. Then, they found what they wanted, but they still didn’t have something to put it on. They found a steering wheel, which of course would come in handy, and a large fan. Then they found what they were looking for, but it didn’t work. Then they found another thing and this time it worked. So they installed it. This one is a plain old laser.”

“The largest of the good guys missle and lasers is the lawn mower laser, it’s green like grass, which is why it’s called the lawn mower laser, because the grass gets cut into the lawn mower. The next little ship is driven by the robot (good) it has a water laser (because water is poison and poison is water in Legoland). The last missle is a dynamite launcher. The moment it’s launched, the fuse is lit by friction in the air. And that’s all the lasers. And the missle.”

Did you follow all of that? I’m tasting some influence from “The Empire Strikes Back” and Looney Tunes, with undertones of 7 year old fascination with weaponry and domination! Ah, Legos…

As we began packing to return from our trip in Maui, it became clear that one important item was not accounted for: Owen’s dear stuff dog named Newspaper. It appears he liked it so much on the island that he decided to stay (isn’t that what most of us want to do anyway?).

Well, godspeed to you, Newsie. We will always remember our trips with you to Montreal, Wisconsin, and Washington DC. We hope you enjoy your endless supply of sun, sandy beaches and Mai Tais.

Artists rendering of Newspaper's current appearance

A good day for our Big Boy…

Finish Line!

He ran in Awesome 3000, a K-12 cross country-style fun run. A big deal for Salem with 3,200 kids registered this year! It was a SEA of orange T-shirts and skinny legs. I find it really amazing that all of those kids found their way back to the correct parents. Kinder and 1st graders run a 1500m course, and the older kids run 3K. Owen finished in 8:20, and seemed to have a good time. His buddy is finishing just in front of him.

Clearly, very cool boys

Then, we had a soccer game. (No pics–just imagine little boys in shinguards kind of actually playing soccer!)

Then,  it was time for Owen’s first piano recital. He’s been taking lessons for about 3 months.

Grandma Judy sent a new shirt and I ironed his pants. He, being the “youngest” student, played his pieces first. He didn’t make any mistakes and didn’t lose his composure when he had a small issue with a very large piano.

After the recital, Owen and his buddy (with some help from Sara) played a duet that they have been learning.

"Whistling"

I’m working on a snippet of video that Peter took of Owen’s favorite song “Big Ben”! Sort of reminds me of the 5th grade band playing Good King Wenceslaus at the Holiday Concert… Hopefully will post it soon.

We do have 2 OTHER children, remember. They are cute too, and we do take pictures of them. More on that later !

We have been working with Owen on learning how to ride his bike (without training wheels) for about 18 months now, and it has been a long and not-very-fun process for all involved. In fact, “This is the worst thing you’ve ever made me do” and “You’re ruining my life” are only a sampling of Owen’s opinions on the subject, despite his parents attempts at coaching and psychology.

But Monday night…

Owen: “Mom-can I eat my WHOLE package of Lifesavers if I really GRASP how to ride my bike tonight”?

Mom (with a note of sarcasm): ” Owen, I’ll take you to the store and buy ALL of the Lifesavers if you really grasp how to ride this bike tonight”

Boy gets on bike and (with a small push) rides bike all the way down the street. I guess we hadn’t explored all of the bribery options. By the time we got home, he’s riding in circles and gives the above quote shortly before crashing into a rather large rosemary shrub.

I didn’t have the camera that night, but can post a picture of our kids and their Uncle Micah, who is in Bogota, Colombia tonight! Have a good trip Micah!