G1 - Summer's over...Get to work kid!

Jumping Into Grade 1

This post is a bit lagging...sorry about that!  A lot going on over here in Hawken-land SE Asia version.  But let's get to it!  Graeme started 1st Grade!  Such a jump up from the glory days of KG and EC.  Playtime is over kid, time to put in work!  Learning to read, write, math, science...all of it at once.

Graeme is a very well adjusted kid, even so, we did anticipate some jitters and anxiety starting Grade 1, just not to the extent that he had.  It took a solid month before he was settled into the new routine and comfortable with all that was new around him.  Make no mistake, once at school he was fine and thriving in the environment.  Getting him out of the house and onto the bus in one piece was a different story.  

Being a part of this family, Graeme thrives on routine and he was basically coming off of the same routine for 3 years, with EC and KG being fairly similar.  Thanks to having some of his best buddies in his class and the tireless hard work from his new teacher, Mr. Lee (who worked wonders with Graeme - and us - the first few weeks, was amazing to see him in action!) Graeme settled in and now is reading at a level that would already make him ready for 2nd Grade, enjoying his friends in his class, and diving head first into his Super Unit projects.

Something interesting of note, Graeme has had 3 teachers so far at SSIS.  All 3 have been the Team Lead for their grade.  Does this mean that they are better teachers then the others?  No.  It does mean that they were elected to lead the team of teachers in that grade in developing, following and implementing the education, and all that is involved with it, for these kids.  They put in a ton of extra hours to make all of this happen and for this we are grateful.

We are still in awe, and nothing short of impressed, of the education that Graeme is receiving at SSIS and the progress he has made.  The hard work he is putting into it and the results he is realizing.  As parents, having Mr. Lee as his guide through this part of his life makes us feel confident in his successes and preparedness for the future of his education.

Best Bud's

Rainy fun!

Zoom in on this one, I dare you!

Setting goals and setting out to achieve them

1st day - We are in the same class!

Love these class photo's!

Attached at the hip....literally.

SUMMER '17

Before all this "starting Grade 1" stuff, Graeme had the pleasure of introducing his new baby brother, Seth, to all of his family and friends back in the states!  First stop was NJ.  Straight from the airport to Mimi and Pop's house.  Everyone was super happy to see each other.  Aunt Donna, Uncle Keith and Noah and Sammy made trips up right away to hang out.  We hung low this time.  No real agenda.  Lots of downtime with the Grandparents and lots of lots of time on the mountain behind their house!  Bonus - 2 kids living next door also of similar age and all about the age where they can run around on the mountain without us hovering over them!  Score!  Graeme really does love the outdoors and tries to take full advantage over the summer in the USA.  We get outside here as much as possible, but it is a large city and weather can hinder your motivation at times.

Saturday is for the boys!

Mimi and Pops and their Grandkids

Trouble brewing...

Whoa...

Some cool stuff happened over the summer too.  Graeme caught his first fish!  I grew up in a lake community and fishing was just like, something you were born knowing how to do.  While visiting some friends on Erskine Lake we busted out the pole, slapped some bread on a hook and slayed the sunnies!  Interesting fact : this exact spot, I mean the EXACT spot is where Noah caught his first fish at Graeme's age.  Unbelievable!

Not to be forgotten, the annual Hawken Family Fun day took place this year.  Once again, hosted graciously by Brett and Lisa in their beautiful home.  We not only had our family to celebrate but it was my Gram-cracker's (Graeme and Seth's Great Grandmother, my Grandmother and my Father's Mother) 90th Birthday Celebration!  As of that day, she had 12 Great Grandkids (she now has 13 and #14 is right around the corner!) from 7 Grandchildren.  Just amazing.  So happy that Graeme has been able to spend time and develop a relationship with 'Crackers over the years.  Not many kids get to know their Great's and Graeme has had the fortune to be close to four....with this many kids running around a good time was guaranteed.  One thing of note, there was not one upset kid that day.  Not one disappointed little one, no quarrels, nothing.  There never is when these kids get together.  It truly is a phenomenon.  All great kids!

Look at this crew!

Seth and Crackers meet...

This pic may as well be a Unicorn....

Teen life...

All the Greats!

My Three Sons...

Cousin love

OG Grandkids

Since we really weren't running all over the place we got to spend even more time with the Hawken Clan then usual.  A family this large, with so many kids, there is always a birthday party.  At some point, I think I lost track who we were even celebrating anymore!  Pool parties, dance parties, BBQ's..so much fun!

When the party ends....

Not to say we didn't do anything but go to birthday parties...Graeme hung hard with Noah and Sammy - each taking a day to go to the Aquarium and the beach...

Another stop on our tour is to visit with Erin's Aunt Mim and Uncle Bobs...always a culinary delight, we added a trip to a farm and picked strawberries!  Emily, Jake and Ashley made the trip in to hang with us too!  Of course, the men dominated the "Water Balloon Launch Over the House" contest....I would like to take this time to personally thank the person who invented the "fill up 100 water balloons in 30 seconds" thingy....genius.

Westward we flew, onward to California!  Straight to Jenner for the July 4th Extravaganza with so many friends and family!  Cousin Emily and Ashley came out from NJ, Uncle Matty arrived in his van, Michele, Rich, and Isla were there as well as Brian, Chris and Archie just to name a few.  Of course Pop Pops, Nan, Poppy, Aunt B, Uncle J, Greyson (he was awake this year!), Auntie Sharon, Uncle Ernie and Miss Sienna Puppies were all there too!

Fun times on the deck, river and a special visit to Cousin Avrie and Piper's house (with the best backyard ever!)

We had a special surprise this time around from Auntie Sharon and Uncle Ernie.  A private tour of Safari West in Santa Rosa.  It is really tough to put into words how cool this was.  It is a private reserve of animals from Africa promoting conservation.  We boarded a jeep all for ourselves and had a guided tour of some of the most exotic animals on earth and got to learn all about them and their environment.  A really special day and a really fantastic treat for us.  My pictures or words could not do this place or the experience justice.  Truly a see-to-believe kind of place....The highlight of the trip (for me anyway) was when the guide asked us first stop if we had any questions.  Graeme asked, "Why do Giraffe have long necks?"  Our guide went into an explanation about how it is so long because they bash heads against each other when fighting for dominance of a female, etc.  Graeme listened then responded, "No, it's not.  It's because they have stinky feet!"  Ha!  Take that well degree'd scientist!  Thank you so much for the amazing experience, Auntie Sharon and Uncle Ernie!

Heading back to Lodi for the remainder of our trip and some more quality time with Nan, Poppy, Grandpa Dave, Wicki, Greyson, Aunt B, Uncle J and Sienna, we had one more special event lined up.  Nan and Poppy took us Indoor Skydiving!  Wholly cow, this was crazy!  We had to get suited up, take a class and everything.  Graeme was very determined and serious.  Paying attention in the class and answering questions.  He almost backed out at the last minute, but he perservered!  Who knew Graeme had such extreme grandparents?  I think it all started that one time we took them to sleep in a tree in Borneo....

Ground control to Major Tom..

Pshew.....this isn't a blog post, it is a quarterly review!  Ha!  So much stuff.....teaches me to stay on top of it more often......

I didn't get into what we have been up to this Fall...trips to the coast with friends, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Pool Time.....well, I guess there will be more next time and I promise it will be sooner than later! 

If you have read this far, I will tip you off that there is some major news coming out of our camp shortly, so stay tuned for the next update!

Such a fun summer, great start to the school year and looking forward to more to come!

Hoa Binh,
The Hawken's in HCMC