LIG 2012 in Pictures

Running around in the main hall before speakers started.

A rousing game of Red Light, Green Light!

The Lego table.

Making new friends, playing new games.

Orion LOVED selling the geodes we dug at Richardson Rock Ranch!

One of the best things anybody was selling!

Lounging at the pool.

Hanging out in our room. This picture cracks me up.  That is a box of bacon Zola has her hand in, and Akasha looks like she is just lusting after it haha.

We brought the Wii this year!

Playing in the toy room.

Stuffies having a conversation.

Probably my favorite 2012 moment.  The Hilton staff was SO great.  This guy actually put the hoop on and worked it for several seconds!

Got my cards read by the insightful Jen.

Making even more new friends!

Making forts and beds in one of the funshop rooms.

Little siren of the fountain.

Last day picnic!

Getting Ready for Life is Good

Another Life is Good starts tomorrow! I thought Orion would have a really fun time selling something this year, and we had been planning for awhile to get the geodes cut and polished that we dug at Richardson Rock Ranch.  This isn't a great photo, but I think they came out gorgeous!  The one right in the middle kindof looks like a tree and is probably my favorite.  We saved the other half of that one. 

And here are the wool braids I have been working on putting into my hair.

 

Prepping the Car for Life is Good

Sorry for the terrible photo.  I am so behind that I am not taking any time to edit these days.  :)  I have always loved the polka dot magnets on a friend's car, and some recent conversation online reminded me of them, and I found out where they came from online - Fridgedoor.com!  Wow, what a store!  I immediately knew I wanted the 60s looking flowers.  :)  I bet this will finally make my run of the mill white minivan be easier to find in the parking lot!

Life is Good 2011 - In Words

As usual, after a bit of processing, I feel like I am left with so many things that made an impact on me - some are big and some are small, but all are worth mentioning. So here is my list, in no particular order...

The lady who smiled... - There was a mom this year I noticed the first day because she came to the meet n greet for new folks. She looked really unhappy, with kindof a furrowed brow, and I couldn't help but wonder what she thought of all this! I saw her a few more times in the first couple days, and she always had a frown on her face. I also made an effort to chat with her, and saw others talking to her a few times. And then it happened - a few days in, she was smiling, and it totally transformed her face and energy. I don't know what shifted for her, but the image of it has stuck with me.

Fire Alarms - This was the first year we had some fire alarms pulled, and the variety of responses to it was really interesting. I mean, there is no doubt it is annoying, but how do you respond if at all? The hotel was amazing. After it happened twice, they just called the fire department and asked them not to come unless they get an actual phone call. The girl at the front desk was kinda like, bunch of kids, what do you expect? But... the hotel also gets charged alot for false alarms. So what does our community do? They take up a collection to cover the cost. Some people didn't agree with this, but I thought it was touching and a huge message to the kid(s) involved. It reminded me of something I read about certain tribal cultures (wish I could remember which ones) that surround people with love when they have committed some type of wrongdoing. It is like they know there is some unmet need there, and by showing them they are worthy, they will be healed and brought into alignment with the energy of others. So, just, yeah... really moved.

That darn gluten - I feel like food is that one area I am always shifting. Are my kids really drawn to what they are sensitive to, making it impossible for them to listen to their bodies? Are their symptoms bad enough, dangerous enough, etc to warrant me controlling their eating? I am sure there are other questions I could frame around this. I wanted to do the let go and trust thing, but it really just doesn't sit right with me, at least when the kids are this young. What age is the right age to start totally letting go of food restrictions? Ah, another question. But anyway, I had a really interesting talk with a mom who has an older son with gluten issues, and they are pretty bad issues, but still she let's him choose. I had heard these ideas in principle, but somehow having that one on one time and hearing a real life story brought it home much more. In their case, she often found her son hiding in the closet with wheat products, or it would get back to her that he was eating them when out. Now she is a partner with him, so she knows when he chooses gluten, and also knows to expect the symptoms and isn't left wondering what the heck is going on. He usually only chooses it when he is involved in a group situation and that is what everybody else is eating. What it comes down to is that she firmly believes her son will consume less gluten in his lifetime this way than he would if she was *trying* to control it. Will I end up thinking the same thing about my kids when they are older? And at what age? Will they mostly outgrow their symptoms? Is gluten really doing lifelong damage to their insides that I have been reading about lately. Questions, questions, questions, but I am so glad to have this community and their stories to learn from.

There is more than one way to handle a problem - and the best way might not come to you at 2am when you have just found out about it. There is alot more I could say about this, but in the interest of letting sleeping dogs lie, I am going to leave it at that.

Orion expanding - Orion made several leaps this year. In general, he seemed pretty capable of being more on his own, although we still hired helpers to hang with him. There were two really big things that happened though. The first was that he got up on stage for the talent show!!! This is a kid who has never even watched it, let alone performed, but when I mentioned how much he liked showing people his cartwheels, he thought it was a great idea. Whaaaat? Goes to show - keep offering because you never know! His swimming also went off the charts. I really think the couple private lessons he had made a huge difference. is confidence has been much higher in general, but then at LIG, all of sudden he took off into the deepend without even telling me he was going! He swam all the way to the far end and back - pretty much a doggy style, but still - whoa! Even though his skills have looked good to me, he had insisted he can't really SWIM. Guess he changed his mind!

Funky Chicken - Or something like that. What was that secret dance folks agreed on to recognize each other if they came they night before? Well, it wasn't really needed lol! There were so many people already there on Wed, and we pretty much took over the lobby! I was so glad I went early as I got a chance to really connect with a few people. The best part was that I posted in case anybody wanted to share my room since I went with just Akasha, and ended up sharing with a mom and daughter I have met a couple times but not gotten to know as well as I would have liked! It is so nice to feel like I know them well now! I think the daughter is about 12 (I don't have a very good memory for these things, and indeed, they don't seem to matter that much in the unschooling world), and one of my favorite memories of the conference is staying up late with her that first night, whispering across the beds after her mom and Akasha had both gone to sleep. I think we talked until about 4:30am!!! And I have to say, I would rather talk to this "kid" than many adults I know, and I could easily say that about most of the unschooled youth! It is one of the reasons I knew we had found our community years ago!

Connections - again... Well, every year it seems I go in determined to talk more to people I don't know, and then somehow at the end, I feel like I didn't do a "good job" of it. I got off to a good start this time - I went to the Meet and Greet and tried to fix in my head the faces of the new or second year folk, I went to the Family Speed Dating, (and actually did think that was really great and may have set the groundwork for getting to know some folk), and I literally tried to smile at, make eye contact with and say "hi" to EVERY person I passed - and I am not exaggerating. But at the end of several days, I still found myself looking at pictures and names and thinking who IS that person? How can I have never passed them once? Is my memory really that bad lol? And wow, I didn't make that many "real" connections, *again*.

So I spent some time thinking, why do I keep ending up with this feeling year after year? Well, part of it is because I only hire childcare when I am wanting to go to a talk or circle chat. The rest of the time I was pretty much watching my 2yo which means not much eye contact and running off at any minute. But I also realized that, for me, there are two factors that seem to make a difference. The first is having a certain "subject of depth", if you will, that you can connect over. I have a few memories over the year that were as short as an elevator ride, but they stick out because of something significant that was talked about, and again, this year, somebody checked in with me about something they remembered from my past, and it turned out we shared much in common. So, the message is, don't be afraid to ask the big questions! But the other factor is time, just pure time baby. Having a 5 minute conversation in the train room about where do you live and how old are your kids is not going to mean you made a connection. Having several 5 minute conversations, something might start to build up, but it is going to take awhile. So the message still is, ask some big questions, even if you don't know much about the person yet! Will I remember this next year? Maybe I should just try to remember to read THIS next year lol.

But having said all that... I can also say that every year I have made at least one connection that "stuck" and deepened several more, including this year, so maybe that should be "good enough". :) I *am* to hard on myself I know.

Speakers and Chats - lots of great stuff, but I think our favorite would have to be Patty Digh. She had so many heartwarming stories, and her finger thing about perspective is going to stick with us for a long time. I have a feeling Ron and I will be giving each other a certain look and twirling our fingers at each other for years to come. Sorry if you have no idea what I am talking about. It is really hard to explain in words. Check out the audio if you missed her and maybe it will come across. Or have me show you next time I see you in person, whoever you are. Feel free to come visit any time lol!

And my favorite mental image goes to... A certain young boy, whom I think his parents prefer remain nameless, having a blast learning how to open various alcoholic beverages at a room party. I am sure all who saw it agree!

And last but not least - The party/wake in Mary's room the last night. When I heard her mother had died, my heart went out to her, and I thought, what bad timing. (As if death ever has good timing). I didn't know if she would want space or...? Then the word went out. Please come, she wants as many people in her room as possible. So I left the kids with a couple friends and went down for a hug and a few songs - yes, there were people playing live music and singing right there in her room. The whole thing was very touching, and again, what a community! I was left thinking how wrong I was, and what good timing this was, if there can be such a thing, to be surrounded by so many loving friends!

So another year has come and gone. I often write about Ron and what he got out of it as he doesn't usually blog himself. And there was "stuff" for him for sure, but he got stuck working alot, and also had some regrets about things he *didn't* do. So that was interesting.... Maybe I will encourage him to write up his thoughts. But in the meantime, I actually found he wanted to go to Good Vibrations! So that was a great surprise. We are officially a two conferences a year family. Wonder if/when we will step up to 3 or even 4?! Only time will tell. :)

Life is Good 2011 - In Pictures

Wow, our fifth year at Life is Good - so unbelievable! And it was bigger than ever before, with even a new room added. I have lots of thoughts, but always like to get my picture thread up first, so here it is...

I can't freehand letters for beans, so I came up with this idea for a door sign and made it ahead of time. Orion had a blast helping me look for letters and deciding which ones to use.
Akasha was just in love with this little doggie. Somebody had given him a Snapple lid, and it looks like he is saying, "I just dare you to try to take it away." And indeed, he wasn't about to let anybody have it!
Once again I was fortunate to have some great kids help me out with watching the kids!
Akasha learned Red Light, Green Light the first night. Oh the power! And what great and patient friends to play with her over and over!
Running races with her buddy Zola.
Adorable!
Butt bouncin' down the stairs lol.
All sorts of fun in the balloon room!
Love it when the older kids play along. The littles are always so thrilled and entertained!
Both my kids fell in love with Hungry Hippos!
The Lego table! (And photographers capturing each other. :) ) While Orion isn't in this photo, he spent alot of time here!
I think this was the best year for homemade wares ever. I bought more than a few things!
Still happy to play with a train set.

But oh, the fort room was the biggest hit with Orion I think!


Last morning... this says it all.
The kids were pretty worn out, but we decided to hit the picnic for a bit. Didn't last too long but had fun hanging while we did. Love this picture of Amma pushing Tessi lol!
Wiggling up the slide...
Moments like these are what unschooling is all about. :)
And I had to include this pic of a friend's baby just because it is so darn cute lol.
Phew, another year, new friends, old friends, thoughts of adding another conference... love this life we lead!

Life is Good... in Words

Well, I started making a list awhile ago, but it seems to take me ages to actually write anything more than a few sentences. So I am just going to approach it as a series of snapshots....

I definitely stretched myself more this year to meet more new people and even talked to some of the speakers. One thing that was interesting to me is that I noticed alot of nuances even among those that would be considered "radical" unschoolers. I heard some things that shocked me I and that I would never do and other things that were more in line with the little ways I am not totally radical. I think people new to unschooling often have this sense that all radical unschoolers are of a similar mind, but there are subtle differences.

We also even managed to have dinner with other families a couple of the nights! This was Ron's idea, which was a surprise as he is usually pretty introverted and likes to hibernate at the end of the day. I think he pushed himself even more than I did, and then he was really DONE on Sunday lol, but I think he was glad for it just the same.

I was really touched by Rose Saroshian's story about working in a martial arts studio and hoping to own one someday. It really highlighted for me how things can happen differently for unschoolers and the results of following your passions. And it was personally touching as Ron has a passion for martial arts and has also dreamed of owning a studio. Also, I think this talk might have been a bit of an "aha" for Ron. It was entitled No Fear Unschooling, and Pam started out by having people write down their fears on notecards to be passed in. She read them and addressed them all. After the talk, Ron said to me, "I realize that where I am now, I don't have a single one of those fears." Good to know. :)

One of my favorite times of the whole conference was the day Akasha took a nap in the room and I sat right in front of our door on the floor and chatted with friends. The other kids were playing nearby, and it was just a relaxing, enjoyable time!

Another not so relaxing (but still awesome) hall moment was when Orion and a bunch of boys were engaged in a giant boffing war! He was so in his element and the boys all did so well together, nobody really crossing that line of getting overly serious with the fighting. Best money I have spent in a long time on two boffers!

There was another great Teen Panel this year, and I especially liked it that one of the girls was brave enough to speak up about a kind of "peer pressure" to be unconventional in dress and appearance and such. I have often wondered if the more "normal" looking unschoolers ever feel like they "don't fit in", and at least one I asked agreed that she sensed that when she was younger. Interesting.... Another teen spoke up about how she was glad her mom "pushed" her a little bit in certain areas. She specifically mentioned a regular beach trip the family did. She usually didn't want to go, and would take a book to read in the car, but then always finally made her way outside and was glad she did. She wrapped it up by saying a little pushing is sometimes OK in certain situations, but you have to use your intuition and know your kid. Um, these are TEENS. Better advice than you would get from many adults!

In general, Orion and Akasha both had a great time. Orion did SO much better than last year and really had no major issues to speak of, although he was pretty maxxed out by Sunday and needed to spend large chunks of time by himself to recharge. He also played with some kids we knew from home since we were lucky enough to get a room right across the hall from them! Last year he was pretty much not interested in playing WITH anybody, so this was a big change! Akasha took off with the mother's helpers I hired and hardly checked in at all! Her greatest joy was going up and down the stairs, and up, and down, and up, and down. She gave the girls a workout!

Oh, I just remembered a BIG thing that came up for me in the chat about values. There was some talk about not spending money on cheap plastic junk and what kids might learn from a certain TV show and other such that I expected, but one subject came up I had never even considered! Apparently... are you ready....? There are some children who truly don't like to go outside. And I mean really don't like it. Not just choosing video games or something else instead but might enjoy a camping trip if the whole family was going. No, anything but that!!! That is the closest thing I have to religion, and I honestly have always felt that communion with nature is a necessary part of spirituality. And books like Last Child in the Woods.... Can it be true? Then one adult woman spoke up and said, "I don't enjoy the outdoors, never have, even as a child, and I am fine". Whoa, really? I just can.not wrap my head around that! But there it was.... Couldn't make much of it at that point but to pray that wouldn't come down the road for us. Both my kids seem to like being outside now, so hopefully that won't change as I think it would be VERY hard on me.

(As an aside, at the retreat yesterday, I got to meditate on this a bit. Ironically, it was during a walk in a forest, and I started to think about it again. I started to wonder, what could that sense of being connected to something larger than yourself look like besides nature? And then it came to me.... art, music, dance... many things that could be done all indoors.... It really is possible to find a spiritual connection to the universe in different ways, and that is OK. Acceptance, acceptance, acceptance. Although I still hope my kids are nature lovers. )

This post would be incomplete without mentioning the amazing Kimya Dawson. I had so much fun listening to her music and consequently going and hunting for my favorites on Youtube when I got home. And one of my favorite moments in the whole conference was when her daughter came on stage to ask her a question in the middle of a song. She simply stopped, listened to her, responded, and then picked up right where she left off. I think the audience had a bit of delayed reaction to what happened and then broke into huge applause. She was in the right place for people who get making your kid top priority. :D I ended up not sticking around for Amy Steinberg, but I am sure she was just as good!

The Harmony Holders program went pretty well. Not much got "reported" back to us, and in general I think it was a mellower year than the previous. There were a couple times that support was needed, and the system seemed to work for the most part. Not sure it will be a scheduled thing next year, but I do think it was an overall good idea.

But saving the best for last... wine parties in the room! LOL, OK maybe not the BEST, but one of the most lasting things I took home was from a winey conversation on the last night. (not to be confused with whiney.) I had the joy of having a bit of wine with others on a few occasions, and was glad to have the chance to really talk to some people I hadn't before. Which reminds me, the buddy program rocked for me! My buddy was such an awesome match for me, and I got to know her a bit better one night and liked her even more! I hope I can go visit her in Olympia some time! But the biggest "aha" I had was talking to Jess about how he feels like he found faith through unschooling. I have always had a natural faith in several concepts, but Ron and I have talked on more than one occasion about how he feels he doesn't have faith in anything. So this really touched me, especially considering Ron's reaction to the No Fear talk.... If you have no fears about something, isn't that the same as having faith? Especially when you are talking about doing the best for your children. You are basically saying you have faith that you are doing the best thing for their future. Wow, big potential here. I asked Jess to blog about it when he got home and was really happy that he did here.

OK, that about wraps it up. This stuff probably seems disjointed and is in no particular order, but at least I finally finished writing it up!

Life is Good 2010 - In Pictures

I am still thinking about all the things I want to put into words, but for now, I at least wanted to get some photos up!

We actually made it to the conference in time for the opening remarks, and then the first talk started and Akasha promptly started up with some shenanigans lol.


The speaker was Laura Flynn Endres, and the most hilarious part about the whole thing was later she told me she had NO idea Akasha was running back and forth behind her! She was so focused on her talk, she didn't even notice!

Later in the halls with one of my Mother's Helpers, another mom got this shot of her, and I stole it from her Facebook.
One of the attendees dressed up as Captain Jack and did a Treasure Hunt with the kids. His attention to detail in his costume was amazing!

Orion in the hotel room with PS, root beer and crunchy peas. He is all set.
Boffing madness in the hall! I think this is my favorite photo from the whole conference. It looks like Xander is about to boff her in the head, but it was just total coincidence.
Many of the kids made little mailboxes to leave by their doors, and Akasha was so intrigued with them.
Here she is checking out the hair clips Alli made.
Yep, it goes right there!
And in big news, I was one of several people to shave my head in order to send it off to a group called Matter of Trust. They make mats out of it to help pick up oil spills.
Feeling the wool.
Annie snipped all the braids before she went in for the serious shaving.
Last one!
Buzzzzzz.....

Half bald!
Just about done!
Before and after!
Sunday at the drum circle. The girl in the pink bandana was one of my main Akasha followers. :)
Runner up for favorite photo. :) This kid was sound asleep during the drumming!
Akasha bouncing around at the Kimya Dawson concert.
Kimya!
Lots of kids right down in front.

And some video....

More boffing madness:

I had never seen Orion doing the dramatic dying thing before! It somehow seemed like a milestone of growing up lol.

A bit of the drum circle:

The amazing Kimya Dawson singing Alphabutt!

Kimya and several LIG teens singing Loose Lips: