Dash Martin - Summer 2010

Graduation Day (#1 of 20: Kindergarten), June 17, 2010

There are Milestones and there are Accomplishments. This is definitely a Milestone and less an "accomplishment."   Like birthdays, the first milestone is something of an accomplishment, if only by the failure to completely muck things up. The fact that Dash made it to Birthday 1 seemed like a miracle.  Birthday 2, by comparison, seemed like far less of a long shot.  So, Graduation #1, to Kindergarten, marks a recognition of a transcendence from infantness and toddlerhood.  He is inexperienced, ignorant and naive, yet he is aware and has certain skills and functionalities.  Further milestones are extensions, specializations and resume lines.

(note to ELCA parents: I will post a video of their graduation song here. check back later). At right is Suha, Dash and Annia.  Below at the left is Paloma, to the right is Sejal.

To the right: Partners in Crime: Stevie, Nicky, Dash (Nicky remains, but Steve is off to camp all summer.  The diaspora is well under way).
Ms. Renee, his teacher.
	Dash's "Happy Place."  Cake or Ice Cream.

June's Pre-School Graduation video (6/17/2010)

 You can download a large 283Mb mpg here.

San Diego County Fair, June 27, 2010

Aunt Jojo was in town for the weekend. Talk about a low-maintenance high-yield guest!  A joy to be around nephew and aunt. We went to the San Diego County Fair.  This year we focused on the bigger rides, didn't even get to the infield which is the kid-oriented area.
Here, Dash and Aunt Jojo are on one of those fast cars on a tilted circle to loud music thingies.  A cover pops over the buggies, when it opened Dash was laughing his butt off.

	Here are Dash and his friend, Kai, on the top of a Big Slide.

I had to include these shots because: 1) they're cute pictures and 2) he was really enjoying the moment.  Guess what he's doing.   (Click each for links).

Good times...

Dash's first camping Trip - Aug 1, 2010

We'd been talking about it forever, but finally got around to it: camping with offspring.  Our friend Sara probably deserves the credit for prodding us, but she lives with Maxime and Zora up in San Francisco.  Our trip was a local one, to the mountains to the east of here with Bob, Marissa, Alex and new-arrival, Isa (2-months fresh).  And Stan and Sierra their dogs.

In doing our de-brief to see what Dash liked, so that we can do it again, Dash kept listing "Alex" as the best thing about the trip, so that was nice of him (they used to go to DayCare together (back in the day)).

The weather was warm.  Not freezing at night is my highest priority.  So then and there the trip was a success for me (there were clouds at night, which knocked out the telescoping (after setting up, aligning, and collimating, of course.  C'est la vie.  Such is the hobby).  The campground was very dirty and dusty and there were a lot of ants (bazillions of large slow ones and tens of bazillions of small fast ones (I got to wondering whether it would be better to be a slow big ant or a fast little ant.  My guess is that the fast ones had an advantage)).

I think the highlight for the boys was roasting marshmallows on the fire.  Notice I did not say eating marshmallows.  Of the 50-count pack of marshmallows, they each ate their first one and then proceeded to simply burn the remaining 48.  Luckily that was all that got burned.

Additional highlights for the boys included dirt, rocks, and embankments (and various combinations of dirt, rocks, and the dogs).  

Dash's lowlight had to be after four hours of rolling around on the embankments, he got some ants in his clothes.  OMG!  Frankly, that best describes it: OMG.  One bit him on the neck which caused a loud commotion (in the dark and in the RV (the Brand's rented a 28-foot box of civilization, which came in handy time and again.).  After the first ruckus had settled down for about 5 minutes and Dash was standing, of course, at the top of the dirt embankment, he starts screaming and grabbing his crotch (he's never been exposed to Michael Jackson videos, so I knew that wasn't it).  I had him in the RV in 20 seconds and all his clothes off in 25.  Lesson learned: don't roll in ant hills.  I think he got bit in the tent that night, too, poor guy.

Dash was glad to see Alex.  Shortly after Alex arrived, I led Dash and Alex on a trek to see a cow (they're rare here (well, more precisely, they're very concentrated here.  The last thing you want to do near the high-cow concentration areas is breathe, much less camp).  So I'm ahead of Dash and Alex and they're expressing their joy in seeing each other in the way that four year old boys do: amaze each other with colorful potty talk.  I, of course, tried to dissuade them, but they knew I wasn't going to cut short a cow quest.  They must have thought I was out of earshot as Dash was working Alex ("...I poop out my ears.  I fart out my eyes...").  The appropriate thing would have been to have been firm, but suppressing the belly had my full attention.  Besides, I didn't want to make him cry (because of the smell).

Last night, after the marshmallow arsonry, the boys were doing some sort of play/concert (it was hard to tell what exactly), Dash had the adults lose it when he was introducing "the next song.  Twilight 3.  1822.  This is not a rebel song..."  You probably had to be there for that one...  I hope I remember it when I read this again.

Not sure where the boys get their inspiration for these poses: