Callum's teacher, Miss Marshall, has a feature of the class called the "Special Person Backpack," where, every Friday, a different kid is chosen to bring home a backpack and fill it with some of their favorite things...then they present these things to the class the following Monday. Callum loaded the pack with his favorite stuffed animal, his favorite book (The Day the Crayons Quit) and some other stuff. This was the 'sheet' he had to fill out with some of his favorite things...I love how he is starting to sound out the words himself without any help. And he wants to be a police officer! Great. 

And Monday is DanceDay....the class is only a half hour long, but it is JAM packed with material and warmups and exercises and practice--today they continued to practice HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGY...and they practiced walking on their tippy toes while carrying BeanieBaby cats (Maira loves that!)...and they also did some work on the bare (is that how you spell it in ballet?). If you quiz Maira at home, she can get into first position, second position, and she can plie....here she is warming up with one of her assistants teachers....

and getting ready to get into first position....

And that brings us to last weekend when we were up in North Conway and did some Santa's Village stuff....a great weekend....and these two buddies enjoyed every moment together--they were a hit in their matching NFL pjs from Nannie.....

...and then of course Maira was in seventh heaven getting to be with Annabella (Callum was too!). One of the things that was cute about Maira watching Annabella was how Maira would 'follow' Annabella around while Annabella crawled....and Maira would pick up her toys after her as she left them in random places

In other random news, Callum and I have been writing some songs actually; I will play a sort of 'bass' cord progression, and he will tap out/invent some sort of melody on the high notes that corresponds to the bass track....some of our stuff is pretty good! Perhaps we will go on tour! I will try to have Sally record one of our songs--we wrote one yesterday which we called the 'Hug Song' (I asked him to visualize what sort of images came to mind as we played through the music....he said it reminded him of people hugging each other....so there!)

Been downhearted baby

well not me...but the blog....

Will try to get back on track and chronicle the lives of the Goldsmiths

Been a great fall thus far, and we have done a ton of stuff.....Santa's Village/North Conway trip...apple picking three times thus far at the Apple Farm...long runs in order to train for half marathons....great hymns performed at church with the choir...great visits with friends...and the list goes on and on

Callum continues to get better and better each day with school, although he really doesnt like 'math buffet;' he talks about it like he talks about water--as if we know what in the hell 'math buffet' is....it is hilarious. And Renshi Craig (his karate teacher) continues to talk in front of class about Callum as one of the class's 'champions' for the way in which Callum has such great focus and attention and always listens...in fact, not to brag, but Callum is one of only two kids in the class Renshi Craig has mentioned as this!

And little Maira...well what can we say about you my dear? You would be happy if every single day were Monday and you had dance; picking Maira up early from daycare on Mondays is probably the hilight of my weak, since I get to see the ebullience of her being when she realizes she has dance 'yessons' soon. It is fantastic. And Callum loves watching the dance lessons as well. Maira is working hard on the routine for 'How Much is that Doggy in the Window' and 'the butterfly song.'

I gotta figure out a better way to do this blog each day...even if I dont write a lot...I just gotta capture the memories of our family....

Been taking Callum to some Lawrence Football games.....it is great because we can walk down to the games--the school is a little over a half mile from our house...he loves the excitement and the energy!

Particularly when they score a touchdown.....

And Amanda continues to be an inspiration, training for her half marathon...this is with her two friends Alicia and Beth after their nine or ten miler last week.....and Amanda and Beth have been running at 5AM a couple of times per week...

The Apple Farm is alive and well, and the Goldsmiths love going! A couple of weeks ago the Paula Reds were at their peak, and today it was all about the Macouns....

Maira begins dance lessons!!

Maira started dance lessons last week....she takes dance every Monday at Ms Laurie's School of Dance. Can you tell she is excited to begin????

Callum and I watch behind the 'magic mirror' which is a double sided glass thing....for one of the 'warmups,' the girls (and a couple of boys too!) practice carrying stuffed kitty cats, across the floor, while the little girls walk on their tippy toes....this teaches them to stay on their toes!

Learning the choreography for HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGY IN THE WINDOW...I have a feeling this song will rule our lives until approximately April...

I love this picture too....Maira has some nice dancer's legs, huh? She just loved everything about dance lessons, and she cannot wait til tomorrow for dance again....her favorite part is when the girls all circle up and hold hands...she loves holding hands with her 'friends.'

Efth, *Duog, XC.....

I really miss coaching this year...even almost a month into school, it still feels very strange to not have cross country be a regular part of my life....but, last Friday, Winslow hosted its one and only HOME meet....I went and helped out Chris, and Amanda and the kids met me there. It was kind of bittersweet to have many people there still refer to me as 'coach' and ask me questions, directions, and for help. One bright spot, however, was (since it was SO hot last Friday...about 90 degrees and VERY humid) going with Jason, our athletic director, back into the locker room to fill up the huge water jugs with icewater for the runners. We got to take the "BlackRaider GolfCart," and Callum was in 7th heaven being able to ride amidst the XC meet....

Tim came up with his duog Star, and we had a fantastic weekend reminiscing, laughing, and watching *duog and her antics...this picture came out kind of fuzzy, but, as Maira has been saying lately, 'whatevooooorrh......'

Some highlights were Maineley Brews on Friday night, having some apps and beers and thirteen different waitresses...then Saturday we all took Star for a little walk across the street on the trails because she enjoys pooping in the woods...and then we hit up the ClintonFair (more to come on that later)....Tim and I took Star on a nice hike along the Kennebec River Trail in Fairfield, in the rain, and swapped old stories...and then we hit up the Last Unicorn for a couple of beers...and we ran into Brad and Sasha, not to mention Amanda and I's friends Brian and Andrea Watson from church....

Other obvious stops on Tim's fall Maine trip tradition included Hillman's and, of course The Flatlanda for breakfast, where Maira treated us to her best 'pirateface' for the camera......

The best part, for the kids, was getting to 'have a dog' for (at least) a weekend. Star is a wonderful dog...very sweet and great with the kids....loves to lick and give kisses--especially to Callum and Maira, who just happen to be at that PERFECT height.....great times

ELEVENHUNDRED AND ONE POSTS

1101 posts. Pretty cool. 

Last weekend we went up for the night to Seawall...it was on a whim, and we just went for one night, and, as always, it was a blast. We have gotten to the point where we dont even have to DO anything when we are up there...we are just happy to be in the space...at the motel...on the rocks...playing games and ninja turtles in the room...visiting with Dave and Vicki and Speedbump and Frank in the office...it is all just great. 

While Sally and CS played ninja turtles in the room, Maira and I spent some time together on the rocks at the seawall.....

Here is the point of view from standing on the rocky jetty and looking BACK towards the motel (the gray building in the middle right....)

Both kids love to build cairns on the rocks....and, also, we learned a new game from Vicki...you find 'round' rocks and toss them onto the 'big' rocks and they BOUNCE around from rock to rock! Really cool. Callum made five bounces off one of his throws...

Amanda and CS walking back from the rocks....this is the view from our room....

The first time I ever visited Acadia National Park was when I was working for Upward Bound and I went with some colleagues....we went sea kayaking and left from a place called PRETTY MARSH, which is near Southwest Harbor. A couple of years later, Amanda and I, still dating, went to the same place to launch our own sea kayak trip from the cove outside Bartlett Island. When we went up last week, we went back for the first time since then. A gorgeous spot that is close to so many islands, particularly Bartlett, which has Dogfish Cove, a place where we once paddled and looked at literally hundreds of starfish attached to rocks underneath the shallow water by the shore. It is a working harbor, with several lobstermen 'setting up camp' in the cove, etc. A gorgeous day to go see it...foggy mist hovering inches above the water...just a peaceful and gorgeous place....

Bartlett Island in the distance...the 'grassy field' you see in the middle is an island owned by the Rockefeller family and, supposedly, they used to let buffalo graze there...or something....

New Routines....

This year is all about new routines--each morning now I get a little bit of time, alone, with each of the kids. I bring Maira to Grenda's each morning, and I enjoy our ten minutes of time in the car, talking about how much the road construction sucks, and life in general. Amanda gets Callum onto the bus and then goes to work. After school, I need to get home so I can get Callum off the bus; the bus usually drops him off here at about 315 and, while I wait, I usually sit underneath our (getting more full each year) oak tree and read. Then, when he gets off the bus, he spends the first five minutes telling me how much he hates the bus, and then we go out back on the deck and discuss the day and he shows me all his 'stuff' for the day. Also, the kid eats voraciously, since he doesnt seem to eat any of his lunch at school. Weird. Below, Callum enjoys a muffin, sits with his SweetFrog, and tells me about his day.....

Amanda is kicking some serious butt training for her half marathon! Her race is coming up in about a month or so, and I am so proud of her for the way she has been sticking to her training schedule. This past Saturday she ran eight miles with some of her girlfriends--Lisa, Beth, and Alicia. Eight miles!! That is nutty and awesome. Amanda is awesome. I love it when she does her shorter (3 miles) runs...Callum often goes with her and rides his bike along Amanda as she runs....it is great....

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Over the LaborDay weekend, we went out to Beth's parent's camp on Messolonskee Lake during one afternoon. A very nice, low key, mellow afternoon. The kids swam and explored and made 'fairy houses' on the point of land (the camp is in 'Campbell Cove'). Beth, her brother, and their mom played Scrabble. A good time at a beautiful spot...

And, of course, Amanda and Peg had to do some jigsaw puzzling together....they are kindred spiritssssssss......

SCHOOL!

These two really missed each other during the first week of school--Mara back to daycare for one last stretch, and Callum off to Fairfield Primary Skewl!  I mentioned some of Callum's first week during the last blog...and suffice to say he still seems pretty 'mixed' about the whole school thing. Actually, I would say it is about 80/20. He LOVES the school part and tells me all about art class and tonight he had us all sit in a circle so he could play the rhythm/name game his music teacher taught him...and he LOVEs the part where he is in the classroom learning and stuff like that (call me crazy, but after only a week he is sounding out words/reading on his own like mad!). Being like his dad (very shy...SERIOUSLY, I AM SHY...and high anxiety, etc) he still does not like recess very much. We worked tonight on ways he could make better things happen during recess...I think when he gets comfortable with the other kids he will be fine. 

Oh, and here is a mailbox we got for our wedding 11 years ago from my Aunt Mary...and we just put it up: 

For the last howevermanyyears in this house, we have used the 'slot' that is in the front door (the red one there)...isnt that cute and old fashioned? But then we thought to put up this mailbox, so that the following things could happen: a) we wouldnt have to shovel the railingless-steps b) we wouldnt have to snowblow the walkway c) we could load the walkway up with our pallet/container gardens d) we wouldnt have a crazy draft (wind and cold, I mean...not like one of Jay or Tim's pretend sports ones) through the opening in the door. So there ya go. Callum and Maira did most of the construction. Cute.

Before school started for CS, school had an open house where we met the teacher and she had him do a sort of scavenger hunt to find different parts of the school. Here is his classroom....his table is in the foreground...there are 18 kids in his class....

Callum checking out some of the classroom books (he has read most of them #bragging and that made him feel more comfortable). Maira, as you can see, has to be in the middle of everything...haha

woops. it loaded twice...

Callum's teacher is named Miss Marshall, and this is her first year teaching kindergarten....she graduated from college a couple of years ago, and last year she was a full year long term sub at the elementary school. She did her internship in THIS very class when she was a student teacher. She seems very nice and we look forward to talking with her throughout the year! Here, the kids stand in front of one of the name board things where they put their work....

Things have certainly changed from when Jayzin and I were in the same kindergarten class at Center School #homeofthemustangs a few years ago....Callum got homework on the first day of school, even! And he has a folder that goes home each and every Friday with more WEEKEND home-verk in it. Good times to come!!