Mountain Festival 2014

   Hi Sidra,

Today is the end of the Sandy Mountain Festival for 2014.  The conclusion is the same for you as it was last year.  You won the Bike Derby for your age group and Talent Show for your age group.  This is the second year in a row that you scored that double.  

The bike derby seemed like it was meant to be.  We didn't practice for it, really, but used the same strategy as we did last year. You started in lane 2 and by the time you got to the corner were in the lead.  You stayed on the inside lane around the corner and no one could catch you.  "No one else in the picture" is how I titled the post last year when you won.  It was the same this year.  As I said, we didn't practice on the track at all, but you remembered the strategy and performed it to perfection, again.

Today was the talent show where you performed 'Let it Go' from the movie Frozen.  We've known for months that you would perform that song so we had plenty of time to prepare.  It was quite a process.  I had the song without vocals on my phone so you could practice.  Your mom ordered you a dress and a wig.  The wig was being shipped from China and we were unable to track it.  So we had some contingency plans in place in the event that it didn't come in time.  We bought a CD with all the instrumental versions of the songs because we thought that was the format we would need.  Ultimately the sound engineer had the music on his phone.  We bought shoes and some snowflakes for you to throw around.  Your mom brought the microphone and amplifier home from the Community Center so you could practice on that. 

We gave you the tools but on the stage you were a master craftswoman.  You step up without a shred of fear and immediately own the audience.  You are absolutely in your element when you perform.  You'll see in the video(link) that I became a little overwhelmed and lost you from the viewfinder.  I was so awed by the performance that I lost my concentration a couple of times.  

Your mom and I had a couple of similar observations.  First, while your rehearsals were good you turned it up a notch when you got on stage.  You're a gamer.  Second, there was a moment in the show where you underscored your cool.  You began standing at the mic, then threw off your cape and took the mic in your hand.  As you took the mic off the stand you glanced down and noticed that the cord was wrapped on the stand and would pull the stand down if you stepped away.  Without hesitation you passed the mic around the front of the stand so it wouldn't tangle.  Like a pro! Like you'd been doing it for years.  

I didn't include the video of the bike derby because it wasn't very good.  It was too shaky. 

You had a very good week.  You also passed a level in swimming.  

More next time,

Love, Aba

Quarterback

Hi Sidra,

You might think a better title for this post would be Millions of Cats.  But it’s Quarterback and I’ll tell you why.

Last night you were the star of a local production of a children’s play called Millions of Cats (link to video on You Tube, about 8 minutes).  You were the narrator, which means that you had 95% of the spoken part of the play.  More so, you gave direction and cues to the other actors as the play unfolded.  They responded to your verbal cues and hand signals.  You were in complete control of yourself and the cast. 

It reminded me of how I felt (on a few good days) playing Quarterback when I was growing up.  In those days as the Quarterback you got to call the plays, the other players made moves off your cues, you were in charge.  It was a great feeling. 

As your uncle Ben says I was ‘blown away’ by your confident performance.  You didn’t stumble over anything and were in complete command of the performance from start to finish.  You showed not one hint of nervousness.  You did this after a long morning of doing the kiddie run and 5k run at Noah’s Quest.  What a day for you.  I’m beyond proud.

Love, Aba

Winter's Play

Wristbanding with sleepover guests

Standing up to sing along with Frozen

Snowboarding at Timberline

New Desk for your Birthday

Birthday Gift-Sewing Kit

Your love note to Garrett?

High Green Belt winner with Master Kim

Hi Sidra,

Since the last post you've been pretty busy.  You turned 7, some teeth grew in, you had a boyfriend, ice skated, roller skated, snowboarded, learned a new bike technique, spelled a lot of words, learned more piano, passed a Tae Kwan Do belt test and more. 

First, the saucy news.  A boyfriend.  Well, sort of.  You were giving a lot of attention to one of the boys in your class, Garrett.  We found the drawing shown above that was part of that attention.  It turns out that the poor kid was a little overwhelmed by your advances and your teacher had to ask you to refrain.  Probably the way a lot of 7 year old romances come to an end.  Anyway, that was a few months ago and everyone involved was able to move on without incident.

On our Sunriver trip during winter break you got to do some snowboarding and ice skating.  You really enjoyed the skating and after the first session really didn't hang on the wall too much.  You can be seen in the video doing a bit of a twirl, sort of trying to be a figure skater. On the mountain you had fun, but were still only turning to one side then. On our recent trip to Timberline last Sunday you were getting pretty good at making a toe side turn.  Your mom did a good job of coaching you that day and it paid off.  However, I didn't get any decent video of you doing that.

Another activity you took part in at Sunriver was the climbing wall at the sports club.  It was not your first time but you did very well as can be seen in the video. 

It was also your 7th birthday while we were in Sunriver.  You are opening a sewing kit gift in one of the photos here.  You have a stuffed doll kit that could be finished if we get a sewing machine.  We meant to but haven't done so yet.

Your friend Esa got you interested in a weekly rollerskating class.  It's at Gresham Skate World.  You get to have a lesson for about 45 minutes then skate for about an hour before the general skate session starts.  It's nice because you get to skate for a couple hours and parents can skate free then too.  So I've been correcting papers while you're having your lesson and then I can skate with you after that and the rink is not crowded.

You have recently begun to sleep without a pullup.  Some readers may think that isn't a big deal but I was a bed wetter until about age 14 so I am so psyched that you conquered that at half the age it took me.  It's most certainly because of me that you had to deal with it this long.

That was a major hurdle to get over in order for you to enjoy sleepovers.  You are still entertaining one of your overnight guests from last night as I write this.  It has been the big thing for you this spring break.  We didn't have a trip of any kind during the week so the sleepover is the highlight.  Lily and Melia were the guests and you watched Frozen, sang the soundtrack, and had waffles for breakfast- your favorite.  You were the only one who stood up to sing along with the movie, though. 

Recently you had a belt test in Tae Kwan Do.  I was able to make it time to see it, which is unusual because of how far I have to come from work.  But this day I was in Portland for a conference and was able to get there sooner.  I was very impressed with how sharp your form was and you were one of the only testers to break a board on the first try.

At your new desk is where you practice your math and spelling.  You've been having spelling tests for the whole school year and I think that you may have missed only two words so far on all your spelling tests.  We are pretty proud of that.  Each week since Winter break you've had a math facts test.  Each week has been a focus on adding a certain digit and then eventually adding 10.  This week you have a mix up of addition. So you can't simply apply a specific strategy to complete each exercise.  It is really bogging you down.  You were able to complete the focused sheets in a few minutes.  On the mixed review it is taking you over a half hour to finish.

Expressing yourself in song is one of your favorite things.  You love to sing and are anxiously waiting until your piano teacher will give you voice lessons.  She thinks you need to be a little older before she can train  you.  You've performed at couple of your mom's open mic nights. I wanted to include the video of you singing Katy Perry's "Roar" on the blog but I've had trouble so I will try to make it available another way.  I also have a video of you on the I pad singing "Let it Go" from Frozen.   You're planning to sing that in costume at the talent show at this summer's mountain festival.  I've suggested a couple of other songs and you like singing them, too.  Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" is one you like and a newer one is "Demons" by Imagine Dragons.

I have been left behind in piano playing.  You have gone way ahead of me.  You can now play chords and are working on more sophisticated version of "Driedel" for your next recital.  It sounds really good and I will have to do a lot of practice to tag along with you.  Even though you're ahead of me I enjoy asking you about how to read the harder music and how you play it.

Finally, you've done some practice on a cool bike move.  In cyclocross you have to dismount your bike and carry it over barriers or up 'run ups.'  Done properly, the cyclist swings one leg over to the same side as the other and slips the free leg in between the pedal and saddle.  Then you step off the other pedal and onto the ground with the free leg.  It should be done without  completely slowing down.  That's what  you are doing in the bike video. 

Until next time,

Love, Aba

The Performer

Posing afterward

Hi Sidra,

I'm writing this a week after your latest performance but calling you the performer is a title that refers to more than your recent piano recital.  And watching these two videos doesn't begin to tell the whole story of the recital.  

The recital was last Sunday.  You were to play two songs, a duet with your teacher and a solo.  Your mom and sister were not in attendance as they were at Sunday school. It was you and me on this mission.  There were about 15 other students also performing and three of them were your school chums.  It was held in a church sanctuary and there were probably around 60 people in attendance.

The story really begins the night before.  We had had a long day.  You and Shira had been to a birthday party at the Tae Kwan Do dojo.  That's pretty physical with board breaking and other feats of strength.  We went from there to Costco, then a bike shop and finally went out to dinner at Red Robin.  When we finally got home I suggested you practice the two songs you would be playing the next day.  

You couldn't play them.  Well, you played Channuka fairly well but just couldn't get through one part of Dreidel.  I don't know if it was just fatigue, but you just got frustrated and eventually broke into tears.  I decided not to press you any more and we would try again in the morning after a good night's sleep.  

The next morning  you did better but really only got through Dreidel once without a stop.  We weren't sure what was going on because you had played it well dozens of times.  I'm not sure where you were emotionally at that time but I was already getting nervous for you.  

I let you watch a movie on the Kindle on the way to there because I didn't want you to stew about the performance.  We got there early and took our seat in a pew about in the middle.  I knew that the procedure would be that I would be able to sit in the front row while you played so there was no reason to try to get a closer seat.  Soon your school chums arrived and the three of them shared our pew while their parents sat nearby.  

The program revealed that all the duets would be played first and the solos would follow.  You were 13th on the list so you had some time to watch others go first.  In fact, your three school chums opened the program with a  trio, all three of them playing on the same piano.   As your turn became closer you seemed to get more tense.  You pressed closer to me and leaned on me. 

When we walked up to take our place in the 'on deck' pew you seemed to pull against me as I held your hand.  My last whisper was about deep breaths and going slow.  You played well.  I hadn't heard you play that song with your teacher before and it sounded fine to me.  So as we went back to our seats I whispered that you'd done great.  

Back in our pew, you gave yourself some distance, going to the end so your school chums were between us.  After a couple more songs had been played you worked your way back over to me.  You said, "I made two mistakes."  I said I hadn't heard them and not  to worry.  

Soon all the duets had been played and the solos began.  Your friends played theirs pretty well.  Lily did a good job on a song that I thought was pretty difficult.  I should note that all of the other songs were Christmas songs.  You were the only one playing anything else. 

Your tension certainly went up as your turn approached.  You were really leaning on me and frantically watching the list of players ahead of you dwindle.  You expressed anxiety.  When you said "My heart is burning I'm so scared," I thought you might say you didn't want to do it, but you never did.  I kept encouraging you to take deep breaths and go slow when you played and told you I believed you could do it.  

Well now that you've seen the video you know that you nailed it with no mistakes.  There might have been some slight hesitations in the rhythm but you hit all the notes in the right order.  

Afterwards I told you how proud I was that you went through with it.  It took a lot of gumption to put yourself in front of a crowd knowing that your practice had not gone well leading up to it.  It was like Big Papi stepping in batters box with one hit in his last 12 tries and hitting a game tying grand slam.  Ok, maybe not quite like that.  

I do believe that this was an experience that will serve you well later in life.  This time there was no one but yourself counting on you.  In the future there will be times that others will be depending on you to come through in unfavorable circumstances.  It's a really important quality and you've shown yourself that you can do it.  It will really boost your self confidence.  

I feel like I should compare this to your Bike derby win last summer.  I think that showed that you are coachable.  This showed you have a grittiness I wasn't sure you had.  The grittiness is hard to teach so I am glad to learn that you can show it.  

This wasn't your only performance this fall.  You had a leading role in your school's Thanksgiving program.  You were the "Governor" of the pilgrims.  You also recited a funny poem with your friend Esa.  In that performance you didn't seem nervous at all.  

You also won a talent contest at the Mountain Festival last summer.  You sang the "Fifty Nifty United States" song.  I think that singing is your first love.  Some of the students in the recital sang and  you said you'd like to do that some day.  You love getting to stay up late to watch 'The Voice.'

Before signing off on this post I should report on our conference with your teacher. 
She said that at the beginning of the year you were pretty squirrelly and off task quite a bit.  Now, she calls you the 'workhorse.'  That was music to our ears.  She said she likes your sense of humor.  She said that you get her jokes and are able to explain them to your classmates.  She confirmed what we knew- that you are an out of this world reader.  And she said generally you are a step ahead of all your classmates.  

You did have a pretty good year in soccer, too.  You had five goals in one game.  It was nice to see you as the oldest in the age group.  Next year you will be the at the young end of the span again.  You got to play on the same team as your sister!  I took you to a Portland Thorns game.  They are the local women's pro team.  You loved it.  The chants and all had you enthralled.  They ended up winning the league championship but didn't have any more home games so we will wait until next season.  

Next stop- 7 years old.  Only 8 more days to go.  

Love, Aba

 

Haute Couture

Hi Sidra,

Yesterday you began your sewing and fashion design career.  Your sister served as your model.  You and I collaborated on a design for a summer top.  You got your very own little sewing kit and did most of the sewing.  

You and Shira came to me with some of the dress up clothes and wanted to make something out of it.  You had some scarves and a plan to make a skirt or dress.  It was a good idea but I helped you realize that the fabric wouldn't stretch and if we'd sewed it the way you planned neither you or your sister would be able to get it on or off.  So I gave you some ideas about how it could be put together.  

Eventually we went to the store to get the sewing kit and some elastic.  I suggested the spaghetti straps that you ended up sewing on.  So, we have a top and plans for bigger projects in the future.  My skills as a seamstress are pretty rudimentary but a big thanks to my mom that I have any at all.  She was willing to teach me a few things and I was not afraid to try.  I have enough knowledge to get you started and then we can learn together.  

I said this was the beginning of your fashion design career.  I said that because you have said that you would like that career.  We discussed the possibility of getting a sewing machine and that you might be able to make your own dresses.  You were thrilled at the prospect.

Hopefully you'll get the chance.

Love, Aba  

Nobody Else in the Photo

Hi Sidra,

I'll have to explain.  Your mom got me a book written by a former pro bicycle racer (not Lance Armstrong) a few years ago.  It had a chapter with this title.  It's about winning a bike race.  But it's more than that.  Bike races can be won by narrowly.  Bike races can be dominated. 

European pro bike racers have a saying that applies to a dominating performance, so that at the finish there’s “nobody else in the photo.”  You dominated the bike derby yesterday.  I was ‘blown away’ (Uncle Ben’s term again) by your performance.  As it unfolded and you did everything just as we told you it should be done I was just overwhelmed. 

Your mom and I have taken a little teasing about the fact that we coached you and took you to practice on the track where the race was held.  We can take some credit for preparing you.  However, you performed it.  It’s like in the movie we watched recently- Ice Princess.  The leading character was a terrific physics student but a novice ice skater.  She used physics and her computer to teach some friends how to do their jumps and spins better.  After experiencing the improvement a skater gave credit to the physics student and her computer.  The physics student said, “The computer didn’t make that jump, you did.”  So we gave you some advice, but you rode the bike and applied the techniques. 

After the bike derby your friend Logan came over for a visit.  The two of you and your sister went for a dip in our backyard pool.  Later, you and Logan were standing on the lounge chair and trying to sing “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry.  It’s a catchy tune and I like it too so I downloaded it and played it so you could sing along.  I was enjoying your innocence, how you were connected to the music for it’s own sake and not the underlying message in the lyrics.  I’m pretty sure neither of you understand what “Let’s go, all the way tonight” means. 

Yesterday we went to the carnival (midway) that is in town for the mountain festival.  You went on your first roller coaster ride and a few others that you’d been on before.  One attraction that you didn’t complete was the Monkey Fun House.  On the bottom floor it is a maze of glass and mirrors.  It’s not that sinister because you are always able to see out through the glass and receive advice from the handlers.  You tried a couple of times to go through but got scared and backed out.  While you were going up and down the nearby big slide your sister was able to make it through the maze by herself.  Later, Shira took your hand hoping to lead you through.  She was on track but you resisted her direction and turned to flee again.  On the way out you took a wrong turn and went face first into a pane of glass. 

You were pretty shook up about it and I think you’re feeling like you’re flawed because everyone else including your little sister was able to get through it.  You vowed never to go back in it.  I said I would go through with you next year and show you how to get through. 

Well, to wrap up.... I was astounded about how easily you won the bike derby.

Love, Aba

Hi Sidra,

You graduated from Kindergarten recently. It is a big milestone. There was a cute ceremony marking the occasion. I thought there would be more solo performing by each student but there were 23 other classmates so that would have been time consuming.  There were several songs and everyone had a solo part or two. Each of you also made a short statement about what your favorite subjects were.

My favorite part of the evening was the ballroom dancing. It turns out you learned how to party in kindergarten! You had two dance partners, Jack and Kellen. In the video posted here you are dancing with Jack. He was a hard working if not polished performer. He was strong but didn't harness it well, spinning you wildly a couple of times. In any case, you two can be seen sort of battling each other for the rhythm. It was nice to see that you have grown beyond the wild punkish dance offs you used to do with Mike and Sarah.

The ceremony was exciting but it was nicer to see the notebook of your work  Your penmanship has really improved.  The notebook contains a lot of journals that show off both your writing and artistic skill.  I've included a couple here that represent some of your favorite themes.  One is about you and your mom going snowboarding and the other is about bike riding with your sister.  

For a while you were not very interested in piano but recently you have become much more excited about playing. I really enjoyed having you teach me how to play Yankee Doodle and performing our duet which appears in the video.  The Facebook audience didn't care much for it but it's one of the coolest things you and I have done together. 

Your bicycling skills have really improved also.  You now can jump off curbs, pedal backwards while coasting and use your handbrakes very well.  You can pedal off the saddle just like a champion mountain biker as you ride through the grass and uphill. One thing you haven't mastered yet is shifting your gears and hopefully we will improve on that before the bike derby.

Water Color from school

Journal from 3/20/13

Journal from 3/31/13

Happy Graduate