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Archives for May 2012

American Girl Playdate and Katherine’s Second to Last Basketball Game of 2012

Rosebud is growing up. Every morning we comment that she has grown over night. She has also perfected the “please play with me as I’m so cute technique”. One of the key projects for this week was a Pueblo Indian diorama. The first attempt used Wheaties and honey. Unfortunately, by morning the houses had collapsed. Though disappointed Katherine decided that using clay and wooden sticks would make it stronger.

Katherine played in her second to last basketball game of the season at OWS versus the Jewish Day School. Katherine is tall and plays good defensive; however, the OWS team isn’t quite yet competitive with the other girls teams in the league. Christine and I have been coaching her to stand between the opposing player and the basketball hoop and to keep her hands up. She’s learning and having a good time. It’s also great exercise as the girls have to run up and down the court.

We’re hoping that basketball becomes Katherine’s “team” sport, similar to how Allison has chosen soccer as hers.

Finally, Tori and Katherine had a playdate at the American Girl store. They sampled snacks and shopped for new American Girl gear.

Saturday Memorial Day 2012 Fun

Memorial Day weekend 2012 at the BushChang household. Friday night started out with a family reading session. Katherine likes to read in bed and Rosebud likes to play/cuddle/chew on the bed. The big news is the girls convinced Mom and Dad to buy them Apple iPod Touches. The assertion was that if we bought them the device they would want to buy music and apps. They would “earn” the new music and applications by doing things like going to Violin, Piano, and/or Math lessons. Dad had to “set up” the iPods so this made for a late Friday night. Saturday we spent doing chores and recovering from a long week. The girls spent their “free” time playing with their new iPods. Mom and Dad set some ground rules. If they don’t respond immediately or put the device away when asked then the iPod will go away for a whole day. So far, so good.

Katherine spent most of Saturday working on her Pueblo Indian diorama. The first attempt that used Wheaties and honey didn’t turn out so well. The second attempt used modeling clay and wooden sticks to make things structurally sound. Katherine planned out the diorama based on book research. The diorama included a field, reservoir, one and two-story houses, and Pueblo Indians doing various things.

Saturday evening, the girls decided to make homemade pasta. Though a fun exercise, it’s a lot of work and a big mess. However, the results were quite tasty.

Amy’s 40th Birthday Party

Amy turned 40 this year. The extended family got together to celebrate Amy’s 40th at Grandma Dottie’s house. Kevin, Tyler, Katherine, and Allison all performed charades. Rosebud joined the fun, too.

Amy suggested that we leave yellow sticky notes around the house with a note for my parents. The kids had fun finding interesting places to hide the notes. Steve placed his on the ceiling. You get the idea.

For brunch, the adults had curry chicken salad, a family favorite, and the kids had pizza. We concluded with a 40th birthday game, actually 40th times two. It was good to catch up with the Bushes and Olbrights and talk about growing older together.

Potluck Party with Rosebud

The potluck families came over Saturday night to meet Rosebud. The Tseng’s dog Chase and Rosebud had a great time running around the yard. Moxie, the Roshak’s dog, loved to herd the other dogs. Hoover, the Silverman’s dog, loved to just run around and look for food. The Laverings came later after their baseball games and brought Lucky back to see us. Parker and Jensen loved holding a new puppy.

Allison’s 7th Birthday Party

Allison turned 7 this year. On her birthday, Allison had a birthday celebration at OWS. Katherine joined the celebration which really made Allison happy. Each member of the class told a story about what they liked about Allison and received a popsicle to celebrate. Mrs. Sorenson, Allison’s teacher, put on a birthday hat for Allison to wear for the rest of the day. Allison decided that we would bring in most of her jewelry to wear with the crown. In Allison’s mind, a Queen needs her jewelry.

In the evening, we celebrated Allison’s birthday with a cake. Katherine tried to help Allison light the candles but Allison gave her typical response: “no, I do it!”. Overall, Allison had a great birthday with several celebrations (OWS, extended family birthday party, and just the nuclear family). For presents, she opened her American Girl bedroom set.

Katherine’s First Basketball Game

What can I say nine year old girls playing basketball is a new experience for me. Lots of screaming and parents saying ohhh. Katherine is having a great time but I need to spend some time with her on the basics. In the first half she got a rebound and shot attempt. With 3 minutes to go in in the half the score is 22 to 0, OWS losing.

In the last 1 minute in the half Katherine scored the first OWS basket. She posted up and was wide open. The crowd roars! Mom and dad are so proud. Grandma Dottie and Grandpa Bill exclaim to dad: that’s our granddaughter.

With 10 minutes to go the score is 36-8 Hebrew Academy ahead. Katherine has the responsibility of passing the inbound pass. I need to remind Katherine to keep her hands up and to follow the ball.

Overall, it was a good game though the OWS team lost. Katherine really enjoyed being part of a team and the ups and downs of competition.