Wren: Middle School

Wren has started middle school and loves it!  Here he is at open house by his locker.   We are very proud of him.  He tested into the Explorer's Program (Walla Walla's version of the gifted program).  And this has been great for him.  Part of this program puts him in 7th grade math which he is excelling in and puts him on track for AP Calculus his senior year. (The school had a big meeting about this and showed us a flow chart through senior year...WHOA!   The other big part is that he gets a double block period with Mr. Calzaretta, a truly inspired teacher.  He thinks outside the box and puts big questions out there for the students to contemplate.  This double block covers both language arts and social studies.  They have started by reading The Giver.  Their integrated "Utopia" project is to create a research based podcast on an intentional community.    Mr. Calzaretta wrote a grant to have ipads for every student in his class.  He is teaching them how to do research online, develop a script, record a script and then edit for final product.  Amazing!  When the finished product is available, I will share it will all of you.  Later in the year they will learn how to produce their own movies. 

He is also still playing piano where he has just recently passed into the wonderful zone of loving his lessons and really enjoying his practice.  He wanted to join the 6th grade band so we are seeing how trumpet fits into his life as well.  So far he is really liking it.  The video below shows Wren playing a piece of music he heard this summer when George was here playing the accordion.  Wren remembered the music and then was able to recreate it with emotion. 

Wren is playing soccer again this fall and really enjoying his time.  Here are some great photos of his most recent game where he played goalie for the first half and blocked many goals.  Second half he played forward and made 2 goals. 

Breaking Ground: Sewer

 So we bought a piece of property here in Walla Walla sometime in March.  We have been moving slowly toward the goal of building a home.  After much work, we have finally come to the first big step.  Putting in a sewer main.  We gathered our neighbors together to see if they wanted to do a joint project and put in a sewer main.  We were able to come to an agreement and all put our share of the cost in an escrow account and today the contractor we hired broke ground. 

He closed the street.

Here he is setting the first two pipes. Using a laser level adjusted for 1/2% grade and then siting the grade manually as well they were working on getting it right when Dakota and I visited.  We were happy to see their diligent attention to detail because water flows downhill so if the pipe is not angled down hill, it won't do it's job. 

 Here is the dirt they pulled out of the trench.  If the city deems it okay for backfill, we will be happy because it could save us a bunch of money.  So we have our fingers crossed. 

 Dakota is really into taking his own pictures with my phone.  Here is a great one of him reflected in the tail gate of one of the big trucks.  You can also see one of the backhoes in the reflection.

 This is a picture of the inside of the pipe.  Artist: Dakota

 Here is our contractor, Gary, a Walla Walla local who knows what he is doing.  We appreciate his attention to detail and ability to work with a good attitude.