Run with excitement!

We helped with the chess tournament at school again.  Zachary has not played much chess this year at school.  He played for a bit online after chess summer camp, but that fizzled.  Since I was helping, I figured, he needed to play and support the team.  To his delight, he got 3rd place, which was the biggest trophy he has ever received for anything.  He was so excited that he ran up to the stage & skipped off.  The pictures of the chess coach were funny because you can see his expression from Zachary's excitement!  I wish I had gotten it on video.

CLCS team trophy

Zachary and Coach Hernandez

Strawberry picking

Lauren is in town this week, and I thought it would be fun to make strawberry ice cream, since it is Zachary's favorite.  So we headed to the Outlet mall, and to pick strawberries at Froberg's Farm.  I got pickling cucumbers to make my own pickles.  They are soooo good!  And the tomatoes looked fantastic too. 

Rows and rows of strawberries

So pretty, you could eat them as you picked 'em.

 Making the ice cream tonight!  Yum!

Another option

Did you ever know a child that loves music more?  The other day, I found string instrument instruction books in his backpack.  Apparently, he was allowed to borrow them from the band hall.  Then more books came, then internet searches began.  He's always seemed to have interest in the double bass, and really most of the strings. 

We had to make a stop at Music & Arts to get his next piano books.  I'm busy looking through books, thinking he is looking at some other books on an alternate wall.  But when I turn around to find him in another part of the store, he says, "take my picture."  Not worried about getting into trouble, or that he is touching a $2300 instrument, or that he might not know what to do.  He does.  He's in his element, and happy.

He makes me smile.

An element of his own.