Seamus wears his hat everywhere and it gets to go on many adventures - find out what his hat is up to. If you are wondering why were are out and about so much during school time it is because our adventures are made possible because big sister Izabel attends a virtual academy.
Izabel has been working hard again this year on her entry for the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) Youth Art Contest. Last year she won Grand Champion and she is hoping for a repeat.
This year's theme is "What will I see when I come to the NWSS?" The show is in January (I am told the tradition in Denver is to take down the holiday decorations the day the show starts) but the competition deadline is this week. Her work is titled "Seeing the Spirit of the Stock Show", She drew the horse and filled it with signature items from the show: rodeo queen, burger and soda, corn (the horse's mane), FFA kids showing their cattle, bunnies, lasso, stage coach with Colorado's flag, hay bails, bbq pit, cowboy boots, sheep, pigs, bees, American flag, belt buckle, chickens, 4-H clover, blue ribbon, paintings, railroad tracks leading to Denver and the mountains in the background with the stocks in the foreground in front of the train. She was inspired by spirit animal prints (click here for an example). She painted with gouache and watercolors (for this project she is allowed to use up some of mom's paints), and used pen and ink for the details and aluminum foil for the belt buckles.
Once the horse was complete it needed to be mounted on a plain white mat board that has a 2 inch boarder no larger than 16x20. Here is where the problems started. We ended up going to 2 different Michael's lodging a complaint and being offered a mat board for ---- get this----$52! At which point I decided that they were going out of their way to get me to NOT buy there so I made a few calls. The problem is that they would not dry mount an original piece of art. I told they guy that he did that last year for us and it isn't like this is affecting the value of some rare piece of art (like I would take a rare piece of art to them). So I ask for mac-tack and a white board. He asked me what mat-tack was. I spelled out mac-tack and told him it is an artists adhesive. He told me about spray adhesive and sent me to the fixative aisle for some mat-tack. Even after spelling it he still hadn't listened and it is not a spray adhesive by the way. I called 4 other framing places then the art supply store. Problem with the art supply stores is that they are on the other side of town for us and I was not looking forward to taking the kids to one. Too much stuff that they would want and/or could cause major problems if they get their hands on. The lady who answered there couldn't be nicer. Their mat board was $8-$10 and they do not have mac-tack but they do have artist-tack and it costs $5 for a huge sheet. If we were in Cincinnati I would know exactly where to go in the UC bookstore or the artist warehouse down the street in Clifton. It was all like being back in undergrad art class while working at the framing shop.
In the end I mounted it on a scrap of mat board a local purveyor sold me for $3 using rubber cement. It was as easy as possible. We had to finagle the approval from a teacher ultimately because of a state legislature who is focusing in on virtual academies while Denver Public Schools are crumbling and the piece was dropped off safe and sound at the Stock Show complex this morning before the snow came.
Another great surpise too! Ms Amy came by with Asher for some hanging out time. Izabel and Asher played the kinect and Seamus thought he was part of the fun. The most amazing part? Take a look at the pics of the shoes and guess which one belongs to me and which pair to Asher the 7 year old.
Working hard.
Ready for mounting.
Testing the chairs after dropping off the painting. Apparently she thought this was funny.
At the doors to the Stock Show complex.
Hanging out, or reenacting Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Seriously
So Seamus gets a little time here - He started back to school after his 2-week fall break. He is very excited about this and missed being in school A LOT. He took in some of Izabel's Spanish lesson and gave out an absent minded boo-yah.
Izabel is learning about the explorers of the Renessance. She has learned all about how they developed new navigation tools and set out on their adventures. As part of this I found a book of activities that I hope will help her keep her de Gama separated from her de Leon. I am not so sure why keeping these fellers separate is important but it seems that it has been an integral part of primary education in America for some time. They are interesting but easy to confuse who did what and for which country. Izabel has enjoyed learning about Queen Izabella of Spain and Queen Isabella from Poland who became a Queen in Hungary and was the mother of the one and only Unitarian King. As part of this venture Izabel made hard tack for the long sea voyage. She declared it good. It actually just tastes like a bland cracker but I am sure the flavor came from the crawlies that lived in it on the voyage.
Part of today's assignment after reading about the different jobs on the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria was to write a job advertisement for the voyage of Vasco de Gama. We discussed the hardships on such an adventure and the fears the sailors would have had and why they would have gone on such a voyage (i.e. money, riches, etc). Izabel came up with an unique solution (I scanned it in at the bottom). The tabs are all cut just like those posted around town. And when asked why she included an internet contact when they did not have the internet back then she said she knew that but we have the internet today. I guess the assignment needed to be a little more specific.
Mixing the ingredients - as careful as a ship's cook.
Rolling the dough- as skilled as a French pastry chef.
Stab. stab, stab to keep away air pockets - as skilled as Lizzie Borden.
Izabel had the opportunity to take an archery class at a local museum called the Wildlife Experience. It was taught by one of the olympic archery coaches. It was a rather extensive class for about 2.5 hours and when Matt called to make the reservation they asked if he would participate. So Matt had a slot in the class and got to shoot too. It actually goes well with her fencing since it uses similar muscles but the stance is different so she had a hard time adjusting.
According to the instructor 80% of the population are right handed and right eye dominant. He tested eye dominance because if you are right handed and left eye dominant than you have to shoot with an eye closed thus loosing depth perception. The test has revealed that Izabel is among the 3% of the population that is right handed left eye dominant. I am left handed right eye dominant - I can only assume the rarest. Matt is right hand right eyed but just to stick out he has a rare blood type. Seamus is hat dominant. The result of all this is that Izabel shoots left handed. Word for the left handers! She will now know what it is like to use the left-handed equipments that is sad, broken, and/or missing.
While this happened Seamus and his hat took in the sights around the museum including the short walk around the outside to see sculptures of Colorado wildlife. Seamus really enjoyed the sculptures but was disappointed he did not get to see the hippopotamus display inside the museum.
Matt is over on the left in the orange/brown shirt.
Warrior Princess.
According to the instructor the number 1 injury is someone looking at the shot while another person pulls out the arrow hitting the first feller in the eye. Here, Izabel and Matt demonstrate the proper form to remove an arrow.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Izabel enjoying some league play.
These pictures are mostly from a hike we did just as the leaves were turning. We have been so busy with everything going on that I did not have a chance to post them earlier. It is a hike we did with fellow COVA kids in Castlewood Canyon State Park. We had volunteer interpreters on habitats and the ecosystem. We found a salamander and lots of other school kids - it was a busy day for them. Our interpreter pointed out the place where their local mountain lion hangs out in a tree some days perched over the park watching. They gave the kids each an animal card around their necks and when we came upon their habitat they were called out and explained. Izabel was the skunk, Seamus a porcupine. We had just watched the Nature program on skunks. It was very interesting and better that we could not smell it. And for my bird watching friends we saw the usual including a blue bird and a meadow lark.
The park had a damn built there in the 30's when it failed, 8 hours later downtown Denver was flooded.
Semaus got some help from all the parents. That is one of our fellow COVA kids with her mom.
Seamus and our interpreter.
The hike lasted 2 miles. Yes, both the kids did the entire thing and are easy to pick out in the pics since they both have camel backs.
Izabel the skunk
Exploring the cave.
Izabel chats with her friend she met last year on this hike.
The kids on the farther rock, waiting to cross Cherry Creek are other COVA kids. Our groups went in opposite directions and met here.
Snack break.
Seamus gave up his pack but was still enjoying the fall colors.
Seamus got a new hat! A Denver Zoo hat and since then has had at least 2 dozen people comment on it and several ask if had been to the zoo that day.
1 of my new friends
Seamus' new friend - one even landed on his hat!
This one on my arm is Ebony the cancer survivor
Seamus says Hi to Izabel's friend the king cobra. "So we meet again." She tells him every time we go there. She used to try to convince me she could talk to him (doing an imitation of Harry Potter) and refused to talk to the other snakes so that "she would not aggravate them."
Seamus hangs out with Totem after they both had a bath (separately).
At the park in Parker after Seamus' initial evaluation consultation.
SNOW! And that is as far as I went outside that day; not because of the snow but because of the week we had.
Izabel checking out the Holmes' in West Virginia.
I figure everyone wants an update on what is going on with the kids.
About 2 weeks ago Seamus had a seizure. It was a myoclonic meaning a twitching of the muscles. So this meant we had to take him to the doctor who ordered an e.e.g. So on we went to the Parker hospital for the e.e.g. Seamus did great. He was a little scared a couple of times but they needed him to take a nap which he did. If it had been Izabel she would have not only rewired the equipment she would have rearranged the furniture. Miss Natasha was the tech who preformed the test. Picture everyone's Russian grandmother - if everyone had a Russian grandmother. "Miss Natasha loves you very much. No one wants to be in hospital but this no hurt. Miss Natasha will give you some jew-ell-reee like prince of Egypt. OHHHH you look just like prince of Egypt. This very relaxing just like the acku-punc-turrrrre." Of course, Seamus would have rather had jewelry of Barbi and when she started wrapping the gauze around his head to hold the electrodes in place I am sure he thought of the mummy monster from Scooby-Doo.
Two days later Izabel and Matt flew to Cincinnati to attend Matt's Grandfather's memorial then funeral in West Virginia. They all drove to West Virginia and back before flying back to Denver on Sunday. Izabel had a notebook of schoolwork and was able to not miss a day of attendance and get some fencing practice in with Matt's family and air bazooka and card practice in with Grandma Ann.
After dropping Izabel and Matt off at the airport and seeing the traffic on the highway it was clear we would not make the drop off for Seamus' school, so he asked to go to the zoo. He happens to ask to go to the zoo a lot but this time we went. There weren't that many people there and we were going at Seamus pace so we saw almost everything. We rode the train then the carousel. We fed the lorikeets. They actually were hungry and flew to us to feed them. One sat on my arm for a long time and we made friends. The bird's name is Ebony and he only has one leg after surviving bone cancer. They only live about 28 years and this one has survived 4 years after his amputation.
Seamus got to spend time with cousin Conor and Uncle Muncle while I braved a blizzard at the Eisenhower Tunnel. Seamus had a blast hanging with 'the guys'.
Then it was time to have the initial consultation on Seamus' autism evaluation. I am still not so sure about this place and would rather go to Children's Hospital but their wait is just way too long. The evaluator wants to do 3 different evaluations on Seamus but 1 of them is never covered by insurance, one of them is always covered (or so they say), and the third is not always covered. Of course, Seamus was able to hold himself together and show all his talents in the office and then showed all of his symptoms at the park afterward. She said that she sees where he has strengths and seems "normal" and sees where he has deficits they are distinct deficits.
Another reason I am not sure about this private evaluator: She asked if we can talk in front of him. He is 3 what he does understand he is allowed to hear and we are doing this about him I am not going to hide it from him. She did not laugh at my response to "Is he potty trained?" Which was something to the effect that I don't think it is ever going to happen. She just stared at me. The practice is for children but the office was all swanky decorated. Seamus spent the time playing with a bowl of decorator balls (you know the kind made out of grape vines or covered in twine) then he licked the satin throw pillow (okay he showed a symptom or two). All of the toys there were sacked away in organized boxes, a little creepy.
The next step is the fight with the insurance. I will keep you posted.
