A Year In Mill Valley

Stocking up on dinner supplies. Starbucks here but I’m surprisingly uninterested.

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Biking with Chris Krueger for a week in the Trinity Alps area.

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Douglas City to Weaverville to Del Loma.

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Posted via email from backtalk’s posterous

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Last year we went to the Cape and had the “Best. Summer. Ever.”. We met Rachel’s sister and her two children there, hung out at the beach in front of my aunt’s house, sailing, swimming, and watching the boys enjoying doing the same things I did growing up — rowing, sailing, fishing, learning to be comfortable in the water.

This year we did it again, and it was just as magical. We were blessed with bright blue skies, warm water, and light breezes. We were extremely lucky as the weather had been terrible all summer, right up until a week or so before we arrived.

The highlight of this summer was the fishing. We’d get up early, I’d take the boys to Duncan Donuts on the way to Cayo’s house, and while I checked email they’d run down to the dock, put on their life jackets, and row themselves out to where they’d stand for hours trying to catch a fish. The first couple of days were just like last year — no fish. So we stopped at the tackle store in Centerville and bought sea worms. Well that did the trick, because by the end of the vacation both Nathaniel and George had caught seven good-sized fish, including a flounder that we had on the bbq one night.

We borrowed a couple of Optimus Prams from friends whose children have outgrown them, and everyone got a chance to sail…Rachel and Katie included. Sebastian didn’t want to sail last year, but this year with the two Opti’s he decided he wanted to try following behind Nathaniel (like he does most things in life). It was very cute to watch…it looked like two ducklings in the water…every move Nathaniel made Sebastian made too, back and forth, tacking and jibing. It was great to watch the boys getting more comfortable on the water, and it won’t be long until they’re off sailing by themselves and not wanting me to follow behind them in the Whaler. Hopefully next year we’ll be there for three weeks, and Nathaniel can take some lessons at the yacht club.

I got a chance to race a bit this time around, though the wind was so light the first Saturday that it was more of a floating race than a sailing race. The second Saturday we came in third in the first race, and were in third place in the second race when the jib halyard broke. Oh well, there’s always next year.

(larger version)

9/2/2009

Dear Mom and Dad,

Welcome to room 2. I am enjoying 5th grade so far. My favorite thing we have learned so far is film can rockets. Can we do rockets in the back yard?

The one thing i want to work on this year is multiplication facts. Next year i will need to know them by heart, so can you help me by making me do at least 20 multiplication facts a night?

Our room is great because it has everything you need from pencils to calculators.

Love your son,
Nathaniel