Summer 2011 has for all intents and purposes ended.

So here we are in a brand new situation and I'm at a loss for words as I attempt to capture everything that has happened over the course of the last month.

But I'll try anyway.

We are definitely surprised at the fact that we don't miss owning our own house, or much of the physical 'stuff' (city, shops, restaurants, etc...). What we miss are the people. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised by that, but I had grown to believe that the town in which we lived was irreplaceable. Stupid I know. The people are certainly the ones who cannot be replaced.

That being said, being dorm parents on a boarding school campus that houses about 20+ other faculty (and their families) throws you into an automatic community filled with (for the most part) like-minded individuals. Let's face it, only two types of people are willing to live on the grounds of where they work surrounded by their co-workers AND their students; those who fully buy into the intentional community philosophy and are welcoming to all kinds of people and those who are REALLY cheap. To date, I think I've only met people in the first category.

I'll digress for a moment to discuss my (Derek) working conditions. First of all, they couldn't be much different from my previous teaching job. I have 4 classes introductory Biology with 13 students in each class plus an advisory class made up of 5 students. So I will be responsible (during the day anyway) with getting to know, mentor and teach 57 students. At my previous job in public school I saw that many students by 11:00 am. Now if you add in the 28 boarding students that I have some responsibility for each night then that number comes up a bit (but remains below the ~130 students I had last fall).

Second, the faculty, staff and administration like one another. In fact I've witnessed (on more than one occasion) hugs AND KISSES between folks as they greet one another after being gone for the summer. There doesn't seem to be any suspicion or mistrust between the parties as there's an overall sense that 'we're all in this together.' Which I guess is true. Unlike a public school, if any of us suck our enrollment goes down, if that happens we lose money (and eventually our jobs). I've always argued that free market capitalism and education shouldn't mix. But here I am witnessing it working quite well. Of course I'm at a pretty elite independent school whose model of education couldn't be translated directly to the public school arena. A final anecdote to illustrate the way that the admin, staff, teachers get along:

Yesterday afternoon was our first full day of meetings where all of the staff from all of the schools came to our campus for meetings in the mornings. Usually, these are full of introductions, policy updates, financial statements, etc... and this was true for the morning. But then at 2:30, we ALL (administration, teachers, maintenance workers, IT people, counselors, nurses, custodial staff, coaches, everybody) went outside, were split into 6 teams and competed in a bunch of 'camp games' like balloon toss, egg carry, three-legged race, sack race, etc... This was followed by a name that tune and karaoke competition which was followed by a really amazing picnic meal. For the entire time (2:30-6:00) I was constantly being approached by folks who introduced themselves and asked about me. It was stunning.

Enough about me.

Tina is still adjusting to what it means to be a stay-at-home mom in a new home in a new town right before Henry goes off to pre-K every day. This means that she's spending a lot of time trying to get Henry equipped with all that he needs while also getting the house put together AND keeping Hans and Henry stimulated and entertained. On most days I think she's enjoying it immensely but there are moments where the boys can get rather...frustrating.

Henry seems to have adjusted well and has found some friends in the children of other staff who live on campus (one of whom will be in the same pre-K class as Henry starting next Tuesday).

I'm not sure Hans knows (or cares) that we've moved. The life of a 1-year old is footloose and fancy free and Hans seems to have grabbed that as his motto.

To wrap stuff up I have some pics from a museum trip we took a few weeks ago. AWESOME!

Summer of Craziness - and our obsession over a workable routine

We thought last summer was challenging. The birth of our second child brought a lot of new challenges into our lives as we learned how to best use our time to meet their needs and ours. We seemed to be able to slide into a routine while Tina stayed home from work with the two boys. Then I took second quarter off and stayed home and we settled into a different routine. Some time in January we hired a nanny and Tina started her new job. We thought that we were moving into a more permanent routine. Turns out there were a couple of problems. One, Tina's 'perfect job' turned out to be less than perfect and two, we felt like we were running crazy to just keep up with stuff. In other words, what we had was not sustainable.

Then a new governor (and legislature) took office. His genius plan was to balance the budget on the backs of public workers (making a special effort to gut rights and benefits for public school teachers). This heaped a whole lot more stress onto an already thread-bare situation (I like mixed metaphors). So in late March I (Derek) started browsing the web for a different job in a new and different state...and I found one. To my surprise this new school wanted me on staff. Not only that, it is a 5-day boarding school that had a spot for us to live on campus rent free. Add to this some other nice job perks and the fact that we are now less than 2.5 hours from family vs. the previous 10 hours and it seemed to good to pass up.

So about a week ago we sold our house AND moved. We are far from settled and I wouldn't say we are stress free, but we are excited to start something new. Most definitely we ache like amputees for the people we moved away from. Henry asked me tonight, "Is it dark where Levi is or does he still have day?" I could barely answer his question without tears (but I have them now). I'm not sure how much he understands but he does know that his friends are far enough away that we can't see them very often anymore.

We don't know what all adventures await us at our new location. Hopefully we'll be able to update this blog more regularly again as we move into a routine that works better for us.

And now. Pictures!

 Boys at home prior to the move.

 The chaos we lived in as we packed up. And I might add a HUGE thanks to our parents for the help in the move. My mom and dad (Howard and Cathy - pictured) helped us with packing and loading and Tina's mom and dad (Delmar and Janet) helped us with the unloading.

 The moving trailer before loading (short note on this - we surprised ourselves by only using 14 linear feet in this trailer to pack nearly all of our belongings!)

 Outside our new residence (we will be sharing this with about 25 high school girls - yikes!)

 Henry riding around campus.

 Henry looking pensive.

Priceless photo of Tina and the boys.

Happy Birthday Hans!

1 year

I really can't believe that Hans turned 1 year old today.  This past year has flown by as both boys have made our lives fun, fulfilling and crazy all at once.  Hans has his Dr. appointment tomorrow so we'll get all of the official numbers then but here are what we know about Hans at one year old:

1. Loves balls
2. Loves his brother and is sad whenever Henry leaves
3. Loves to make you laugh
4. Has two teeth and two more on the way
5. Can take steps on his own and loves the independence of moving on his own (walking or crawling)
6. Loves to be outside
7. Not the best sleeper or napper (not too unusual for this age)
8. Seems to wear his emotions on his sleeve (he is very happy go lucky until something doesn't go his way--then he makes that known to everyone)
9. Has reddish-colored hair.
10.  Loves to eat many kinds of food, especially anything that can be chopped into finger foods.
11.  Moves faster as he gets tired.
12.  Has a good start on using a leg hook to climb things (Yikes)

We look back and are amazed at how quickly he has changed from an infant to a little person with some understanding of the world around him.  Even though we have not done a great job this year blogging each week, we do still have all the pictures to document those changes.  We will try to do a better job in the next year updating our lives with posts including photos and videos.  We have quite a few changes coming our way in the next few months.  In the meantime, we are trying to celebrate birthdays (Henry's is coming up too) and all of us being able to spend more time together since school is out. 

 Week 51--loves balls

 Loves outside

 Loves his brother (feeling is mutual)

 Loves outside and brother.

 Ditto.

More balls.

Weekly Pics

Some interior pictures of our house for posterity. We are in the process of trying to sell it.

It's spring (sort of) so here are some pictures

Again we have failed to keep up to date on the blog. I'm sure down the road when Hans begins to compare how he was treated to the way we treated Henry this permanent record keeping will come back and bite us. Some highlights with the boys.

Henry is increasingly helpful (and sometimes argumentative). He continues to amaze us with his memory, thoughtful questions and sensitivity. He also is LOVING riding his bike and continues to get more adventurous. We did a little hiking on mother's day (pics below) and he had a great time riding off road.

Hans is increasingly mobile and energetic. The 'little bugger' is into everything, pulling up on things he shouldn't pull up on, climbing stairs he shouldn't climb and wanting things he can't have. He's also a cut up. It seems he already takes great pride in getting one of us to laugh. He really enjoys feeding himself (cheese is a big favorite). He has sprouted two teeth so far and is probably no more than 2 weeks away from walking (already stands for a bit without holding on to things).

The last three pictures are shots of our house. In case you didn't know, we are moving. Anybody wanna buy a house? It comes with a matching chicken coop (and we'll throw in 5 laying hens).