The Beach and a Raft

 We've been going to the beach and river (s) a lot this last week so the kids can swim and hang out with their friends. The other day Jeremiah and his friends made a raft out of drift wood. It's at a place where the river meets the ocean so there's lots of driftwood. It floated and could hold 3-4 kids. It was very impressive and something he had wanted to do for a long time. (The green kayak in the picture was one our friends brought along and decided to put next to the raft for the time being). There were also lots of pelicans and seagulls (and a few turkey vultures). I've loved seeing so many different kinds of birds here. We also saw some small sandpiper birds by the river.

The County Fair

 It's the end of July already! We've been enjoying the summer: swimming at the river (mostly the kids- I often take a book to read or do some watercolor or chat with other moms if we go with other families...the water's too cold for me to swim!), spending time with friends and family, etc... Last week we entered some of our arts and crafts, baked goods, and flowers from the yard into the local county fair. It's the second year we've done this and we've enjoyed it so much! The people who organize the fair are so encouraging and say how great it is to see kids and young people doing arts and crafts and baking. Many kids nowadays spend so much time on video games and tv that they don't want to learn handicrafts. Anyway, the kids have loved entering items in the fair and getting prizes for them. This year the kids and I won first, second, and third place ribbons for our items, cash prizes, and gift cards. This picture is of some of the things we baked for it; the kids each baked a batch of cookies to enter. The picture below is of a rock collection my daughter put together. Earlier in the year she found some petrified wood and some other interesting rocks. 

Trip up to Washington state and back

 We had to do a last minute trip up to Washington state and back last weekend so we drove up the Oregon coast to get there. It was a trip I had wanted to do anyway because it's such a beautiful drive with lots of places to pull over for views. We also got to visit the Lewis and Clarke national park, where they re-created the winter fort they stayed in all those years ago in northwestern Oregon. We also got to visit a few lighthouses we hadn't seen before in Oregon. 

The start of summer

 The kids are all on summer break and it's been super busy so far! We've got family visiting from out of town, we're getting ready to move overseas (back to Asia, but to a new place) next month, and we're trying to spend some time with friends (and family). We're going camping tomorrow for a few days and then riding horses later in the week. The kids have had 3 horseback riding lessons so far and LOVE it! It's normally super expensive but the place they go to is affordable (and a huge blessing!). We are so thankful and incredibly blessed to live in a beautiful place with rivers, the ocean (beaches), redwoods, and so much close by. We went to the Oregon Caves last week; a place we wanted to go to before we move. It was really good and took an hour and a half to get through. Below are some pictures of a few things from the last week or two. Last summer I worked through some recipes from the UK and really enjoyed it. I'm not sure if I'll have time to work on something like that this summer since we're moving. However, my oldest son (12 years old) has been in the kitchen lately cooking up a soup and a few other things. He finds things he wants to cook, writes down a list of things to get at the store and then cooks. It's great to see him in the kitchen (and my other 2 kids too!).

Kids in Ancient China: Kangxi The Emperor (Part 4)

 This is the last part about Kangxi The Emperor and the last in our series of Kids in Ancient China (at least for now; I might research and write some more stories later). After this I might post one of the biographies I wrote, part by part. If you want to buy a PDF copy of all of the Stories of Kids in Ancient China, go to www.lulu.com or my patreon account. 

 Dictionary

“I’m going to have a new job soon,” said the grandfather to his son and grandson.

“Are you sure? Shouldn’t you be slowing down a little?” The dad asked.

“No, you should never slow down my boy! Keep going, keep going!” The grandfather sad.

“Ye ye (“Grandpa” in Chinese), what are you going to do? Is it going to be a fun job?” Asked the boy.

“Yes, I think it will be fun. I enjoy writing Chinese characters and this project has a lot to do with Chinese writing,” said the older man.

“What exactly are you going to be doing?” Asked the dad.

“It’s not me, it’s a whole group of us. The Emperor wants us to help him make a dictionary. It’s a book that will have all of the Chinese words and what they mean,” said the grandfather.

“Do you mean that you actually saw the Emperor? How is he like? How’s the Palace like? Is it as big inside as it is outside?” Asked the young boy excitedly.

“No, I didn’t see the Emperor. My good friend asked if I could help him and a group of people put this book together. It’s going to be a lot of work. You know, none of us really liked this emperor from the beginning, but I think this book, this dictionary of his, is a great idea. Nothing has ever been done like it before and it’ll be a great way for people years from now to remember how this time was,” said the old man.

“Can I help you? Can I? Can I?” Asked the young boy.

“Well, maybe. I’m not sure. I’m going to meet with a few other other old, wise men and teachers to come up with a plan. I think we might write down a list of words and then each of us take part of the list to write the  meaning of those words. Maybe you can help me think of a good way to say what each word means.”

“That sounds boring, Ye Ye,” said the young boy.

“Boring? Language is not boring young man! We can draw each word on the ground with a stick and have a good think about what it means,” said the old boy.

“It still sounds boring. I like the stick idea though. I can go with you and help you find a big stick, one that’s great for writing on the ground,” said the young boy.

“Ok, ok. Tomorrow we can go out and look for a good writing stick,” said the old man.

The next day the old man and the young boy went for a walk just outside the city but close to their home. They lived inside the city, but on the edge of it. The old man often went for walks outside the city to have a good think. 

Over the next few weeks and months the boy did help his Ye Ye. The old man would often talk with the young boy and read him the definition of words to see if they made sense. Some of the words were too complicated for the young boy, so for those words the old man would ask the other teachers and old men he was working with what they thought of them. The young boy loved spending time with his Ye Ye and helping him make the dictionary made the young boy feel important.

Yurt Stay at the Beach

 A few weeks ago we heard that there were yurts you could stay in at a beach close by (5 minute drive from our home). We knew they had campsites but had never gone camping there. I booked a stay for me and the kids and we went earlier this week and loved it! It was the first time for the kids to stay in a yurt and they had so much fun! We went down to the beach first and then went back to the yurt to cook hamburgers over the barbecue and then played a game inside. They had such a fun time. When we went back I booked another stay for us in June; they book up fast (this was the last slot available in June I think). 

Kids in Ancient China: Kangxi The Emperor (Part 3)

Here's the next part in the series. We have one more part and then we'll finish it.  

Calendar

“Why do you need a calendar, your majesty?” Asked one of the advisors to the emperor.

“Because I do. The system we had for keeping track of time doesn’t work for me. I need something better. Can you help me?” The Kangxi Emperor asked one of the Jesuit Missionaries who came from Europe.

“Of course. I would love to help you. As I explained to you before, our calendar in Europe has 12 months a year,” started the European man. His Chinese was good, not fluent, but good enough. However, when he tried to explain all of the details of the calendar they used back in Europe to the Emperor, he found the language to be very hard. “Your majesty, can I go home, talk to some of the other European men who are here, and can bring them with me later? I’m sorry, your majesty, but I’m afraid that my Chinese isn’t good enough.”

“Yes, yes, go ahead. Come back tomorrow for breakfast. I want to get started on this right away,” said the emperor.

The next day a group of European men walked to the Forbidden City to meet with the emperor over breakfast. They all had notes with them for Chinese words that they didn’t know but might need to use in their talk with the emperor. For many of them, this wasn’t their first meal with the emperor, but for some of them it was their first breakfast with the emperor. There was so much food:  steamed buns, porridge, lots of fruit, some vegetables, and tea. Although it was a nice breakfast, some of the European men missed their French and Italian breads with butter in the mornings. (Of course they didn’t tell the Emperor that!).

“You have all come here this morning to help me make a new calendar. Tell me about the calendar you use in Europe,” the Emperor started.

“It has 12 months a year. We have four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.”

“Yes, that is a good idea,” said the Emperor. They talked a little more and the emperor said, “I need some time to think about all of this.” 

The emperor wanted a calendar that would work for him and the people of the country. The new calendar was well liked by everyone in the country.