Magnus Chase

Alpha and Beta have been following the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan almost since the books first came out.

To kick off the latest series, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Mr. Riordan hosted a Q&A / talk in downtown Boston that Meghan and the girls attended.  They got signed copies of the book, and some swag, to boot.

Alpha holding book and swag
Alpha is very excited to a) see Mr. Riordan, b) get a copy of his latest book, and c) get some swag

When I went to pick them up, there was no question I was in the right spot: as I watched, a sudden stream of very happy people holding ‘Magnus Chase’ foam shields appeared on the side walk.  The event was sold out and the auditorium was standing-room-only.

Pics From The Car Show

We had a little sight-seeing tour of a car show happening a hop-skip-and-a-jump from our house.

volkswagen dune buggy
My one-time dream car: a late-’60s VW dune buggy
Model A
A Ford Model A with real leather trunk and a rumble seat
Bo's green machine
My regular mechanic has several show cars, including this one: a very rare ’93 Saab 900 configured for rally racing
yellow mustang convertible
An early-model Mustang convertible. My mother had a 1964-1/2 yellow Mustang convertible (the very first production year!) so I snapped a pic to show her. Alpha child, her veritable twin, is posing in front.

Not shown: about a hundred more cars, and a bunch of motorcycles.

Town Lines

The girls passed a milestone of sorts: the rode their bikes past a town line today, en route to Livingston Park (aka Saunders Recreational Area) in Tewksbury.

Beta wanted to go for a bike ride, and Alpha didn’t want to do any chores, and they both knew that I’m a pushover for going on long bike rides.  Beta chose the destination, because Livingston Park is pretty cool and we never let her go there.

Alpha led the way, as the park is on the way to Strongwater Farm (where she takes riding lessons).  I think she wanted to prove she can ride her bike that far, as she wants to volunteer to work with the horses when she’s old enough.

While there, they climbed around a little:

climbing on the jungle gym
The girls doing things that mothers shouldn’t see

On the way home we shall euphemistically say that we “held a few lessons on keeping bikes away from the car lanes,” or maybe “keeping to our side of the white line (and why that’s a good idea),” and leave it at that.

High School Musical (In Middle School)

Alpha the Thespian
Alpha playing the part of one of the “thespians” in High School Musical

Shortly before the new year, Alpha surprised us by trying out for a part in drama club – High School Musical.  She made it into the supporting cast.

For months she has stuck to a busy schedule of rehearsals in between school, karate, and regular activities, mostly without complaint. (though not entirely ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )  She tried really hard, though.

Tonight was opening night, and the whole show was fantastic – Alpha was great, but the rest of the show was great too.  No disasters, not even a missed line, and the leads had really strong voices.  It felt more like a high school production than middle school.  Most importantly, the kids really looked like they were having fun (especially the kid who played ‘Ryan’).

Next year the high school is going to see some great singing talent come in.  And Alpha?  She’s talking about trying out for the next show.

Alpha Earns Her Gold Belt in Karate

Alpha has officially taken her karate to the logical next step, and put herself on track for a black belt.  This puts her into ‘Doshi Kai’, which basically means she’s not trying karate out anymore – she’s a serious student.

Here’s a segment from the promotion ceremony:

Missing from the video is me giving her the gold belt, and a short kata demonstration.  Her kata are now crisp and confident.

Grade Five School Concert

Alpha played a significant part in her school concert, singing the opening of a song with a small group of students.  She sang well – she may have a future in chorus.

Alpha and five other students sing the opening to a song during their school concert
Alpha and five other students prepare to sing the song opening during their school concert

The rest of the concert was well done, too.  The usual mix of kids that sing with the group and kids that stand there and look around.  Alpha was in the former group.  (I was almost always in the latter group.)

Birthday Party, Part Deux (this time, with lasers)

Alpha’s choice of birthday party was laser tag at MVP.  (Last year we celebrated her birthday with mini-golf at the same place.)  So with a small group of her friends and a couple of adults, we tromped in and had a great time!

I rocked the scores.  Admittedly, there were more kids than adults (myself, Sam, and another adult not attached to our party) and a bunch of kids (again, not all attached to our party) but I really did wipe the other team out twice – two for two. Sam was a not-too-close second.)

I think we need to assemble some more adults and have another laser tag party there some time.  It’s like paintball without the bruises.

Afterwards: pizza and cake and video games, of course. Gifts were exchanged, some of which Alpha was really excited to see.

Alpha is currently off for a sleepover at Rho’s house.  (Like other greek letter-named people in this blog, that is not her real name – though I could imagine someone naming their child Rho so I feel like I should note that occasionally).  After all the trouble Alpha had in adjusting to the move, I never thought that we would be exchanging kids with another family so regularly as we have with Alpha and Rho.

Just an aside: I was chatting with Rho’s mother during the party, and it turns out that Alpha and Rho were rating boys at the last sleepover.  <sigh>

deCordova Museum

The kids are on April break, I took the week off to be with them, and Meghan is at work.  It’s a great time to do something out of the ordinary, especially since it’s a bright sunny day.

I know – something educational!  Something cultural!  Art!

I brought my little heathens to the deCordova Museum‘s sculpture park.  (The main museum is closed while they prepare for the summer exhibits.)  It’s a huge outdoor exhibit, so they can run around and get some fresh air while taking in some mind-broadening experiences.

When I take the girls to art museums I coax them to pose like the artistic subjects (when possible – modern art gets a little hard).  It makes them focus on the art at hand as well as learn to use their bodies, but best of all they think it’s fun.

Kids posing with sculpture
Alpha and Beta posing with some modern art

This was our first time there, but I think we’re going to get a membership now.  I had to drag the kids away and bribe them with lunch at a restaurant.