Downs and Ups

IGNOBLE RETURN: Today, after missing the past two weeks (one due to our Florida trip, the other due to the teacher's absence), the kids returned to music class. When I came for the parent participation part of class, I was mortified at what I witnessed.

Bee was spazzing out (speaking out of turn, rolling around on the floor, etc.) and CJ clearly wasn't paying attention (as evidenced by his inability to perform tasks he was instructed to do) AND at the end of class during a circle-chase duck-duck-goose-type game, he actually started crying when he didn't catch the person before they filled the circle void. Egad.

So, when we got home, I gave them an opportunity to reflect on their bad behavior by writing down two of the things they did wrong during class, followed by a sentence of what they could do better/differently next time. And then I had them hang the above their beds so they will serve as a reminder for the days to come.

Personally, I found what they were studying today very worthwhile and fascinating. Teacher Nancy was helping reinforce the concepts of pitch and timing. For instance, she'd show a sheet with a pattern like this _ _ _ _ _ and ask the kids to play the notes. The graphic represents the same note repeated 5 times. However, a kid's first instinct is to play progressively higher notes, because they confuse the movement of the music (progress/timing) from left to right with a change in pitch. She used other examples, including those that did change in pitch, of course.

MORE SUN SAVVY: Mid morning I noticed that Don't Fry Day was trending as a hot search topic on Yahoo! so I decided to check it out. I learned that the National Council on Skincare Protection had deemed the Friday before Memorial Day "Don't Fry Day" to encourage sun safety awareness. Figuring it would be a nice way to reinforce the SunWise activities we did earlier in the week, I spent some time tracking down Don't Fry Day resources.

We watched a 45-second PSA by the EPA on Don't Fry Day (it was well done) and I found a Sun Safe Savvy Skin Cancer Prevention song (it definitely won't be breaking into the Billboard top 100 anytime soon).

I was thrilled to find the Maryland Skin Cancer Prevention Program's series of cartoons featuring SunGuardMan, a superhero who battles the sinister UltraViolet. The kids LOVED them! There were also several SunGuardMan games and activities on their site which we enjoyed.

San Diego State University had an interesting feature on SunWise zoo animals. We learned that elephants use dirt and hay as a natural sunblock; koalas are nocturnal (thereby avoiding UV rays); hippos secrete a pinkish colored oil that helps keep their skin moist and acts as a sunscreen; pigs and rhinos use mud; meerkats have black rings around their eyes to absorb the sun’s rays; turtles' and tortoises' shells protect them from the sun; rabbits are nocturnal; the bumps over camels' eyes act as a visor and polar bears have special eyelids that act like sunglasses.

The site also had a game where the kids could use their just-gained knowledge to match SunWise techniques with the proper animal.

Frankly, we could spend days following the links, links, links I found (including an electronic postcard that can be emailed (courtesy of the CDC) to remind friends and family to protect themselves from the sun.

UP! AND AWAY: A news headline caught my attention this afternoon, and I figured the kids would be interested too. The story was about "cluster balloonist" Jonathan Trappe who crossed the English Channel in a chair taken aloft by helium balloons. (It reminded all of us about the animated movie "Up!" where a curmudgeon and his home go on an adventure via an enormous bouquet of helium balloons.)

I found a link to real life adventurer Trappe's personal Web site, where a lot more info about his adventures can be found. It looks fun and exciting and scary as hell, all at the same time.

The kids and I spent a little time poking around his site. I asked the kids what they'd think if they looked out their airplane window and saw some dude floating by in a lawn chair. We got a little silly with that one. :)

One of Trappe's previous adventures was a journey in the skies over North Carolina with 57 balloons holding him aloft during his flight. On his site he writes, "I flew for 14 hours non-stop, through the dark of the night, and welcomed the sunrise from the sky. Can you imagine, seeing the sunrise while floating a mile high in complete silence? It was indescribably beautiful." Sweet!

I showed the kids a map of Trappe's 109-mile NC flight and asked them why they thought it was so circuitous. "Why doesn't he just go in a straight line from one place to the next?" They came to realize that it's because the man isn't able to steer his vehicle - that he's just along for the ride and that wind currents - invisible rivers in the atmosphere - determine where he travels.

LEGOMANIA: The kind folks at the LEGO corporationperiodically send Magnolia Prep (and thousands of other schools, no doubt) a "LEGO Smarts" kit complete with lesson plan. We received a new envelope in the mail today and had lots of fun with it this afternoon.

One of the challenges was to use only the red and yellow bricks in the kit to build a duck. I had the kids take turns doing so, with the builder in the living room and the other kid in seclusion in their bedroom (I didn't want them 'borrowing' ideas from one another.)

It was fun seeing what each of them came up with. I couldn't help but build one too. The kids approved. "You have LEGO Smarts!" declared CJ.

The next task was to try to build as tall a tower as possible with the LEGOs provided. I put a 2-minute time limit on the exercise, as I knew it could drag on indefinitely had I not imposed a time limit.
Bee went first. She had a little trouble pushing the bricks together - mostly because she was frazzled by the time clock ticking away. Her construct wound up being about 7 cm high.

CJ was up next and his wound up being about the same height. He would have gone taller had he not incorporated a Fatal Design Flaw - putting a single pink LEGO in the middle of his structure. After he did that, every time he pushed something down on top, the tower broke in half.

As it turns out, it was good that he built that flaw in because it opened up a dialogue about principles of sound design. I asked the kids what a pyramid looks like. They both immediately responded, "A triangle!" I drew one for them and then drew an upside down one and asked, "Why do you suppose they didn't build it like this?"

They immediately both started talking about stability and strength and earthquakes and such. Excellent.

Then together we build what they deemed to be a stable structure with the LEGOs we had to work with. When we finished, I started shaking the table really hard. :) It surprised the kids, and our little tower teetered, but it didn't tip over! Excellent. :)

When Christian got home, he and the kids worked on building the tallest tower they could out of the blocks. This is what they came up with ...

MAGIC MUSHROOMS: Today MPA undertook an exciting science experiment - growing our own mushrooms! (Insert cheering and applause sounds here.)

For Mother's Day Christian bought me a portabella mushroom kit from Gardener's Supply and today we finally got around to planting it. The kids and I read the instructions oh-so-carefully (I hereby volunteer to re-write them for the company, BTW), and followed them to the letter. It isn't much to look at right now, but I can't wait to start harvesting mushrooms!!! (It's supposed to take about 3-4 weeks before our first crop.)

Of Ogres and Clowns

MAIN STREET USA: This morning we needed more mineral oil for conditioning our new butcher block counter top. I knew the hardware store in Magnolia would have it, because they have one or two of most everything, including things that have little if nothing to do with hardware (think cookie cutters, odd toys, As Seen on TV products, etc.). It makes for interesting aisle wandering. When CJ and I are killing time in the store, we'll play a game where I make him guess what a certain item might be used for. One of the things I spied today was a wooden ruler. But this was no ordinary ruler! This was also an oven tool to shove and pull cookie sheets and other pans. What will they think of next? ;)

For CJ, the highlight of the store is in the back, next to the resident lovebirds' cages. They have an old fashioned, serve-yourself popcorn machine. I loaded him up a paper cone and after we paid for our mineral oil and fancy frosting tips, he sat on the bench outside and snacked happily.

FISTFUL OF DOLLARS: After Bee finished ballet, we came home and walked Kirby before setting off for points North. First stop: Toys R Us. Bee had some cold hard Tooth Fairy cash and she was jonesing to spend it. Though you wouldn't know it by looking at the wad she's holding below, the Tooth Fairy went to great, loving lengths to craftily origami each of the bills into hearts and a butterfly. I don't have a photo for you because Annabelle was in such a hurry to see what denominations the bills were, that she ripped right into 'em.
It's worth noting that a tooth doesn't usually warrant such a ridiculously high premium ($20), but a precedent had been set in the household as CJ scored $20 for his first tooth. (Christian and I surmised that the Tooth Fairy must not have had any quarters or any smaller bills on that particular night.) I told Annabelle that the first tooth is special and subsequent teeth won't warrant such a prize.

So Annabelle was flush with cash and ready to part with it right away. I should note, however, that within 2 minutes of counting her booty she said, "CJ, I could buy you something too!" Seriously, how sweet is THAT? So off to Toys R Us we went. After walking the whole store, she finally settled on some pink plastic Tinkerbell play set, and she gifted CJ a sensei from Club Penguin.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: From Toys R Us it was just across the street to new territory for us - the Northgate branch of Seattle Public Libraries. But before going in, we had to check out the adjacent small-but-nice Northgate Community Center playground. After about 10 minutes we headed into the library. I didn't like the way the children's section was laid out at all - it didn't make sense/have flow. It made it really hard to find what you were looking. Bad, bad feng shui. And they had a puny selection of DVDs - not a single one that CJ was interested in, which is a first. Their one claim to fame was an extensive collection of children's books with accompanying narrative CDs. They had dozens and dozens - way more than any other Seattle Public Library branch I've seen. I selected about six titles for the kids.

But CJ left the library bummed and empty-handed. From the backseat he groused about their lack of DVDs and complained, "I need action!!!" :)

OGRE OOGLING: When we got home, I popped in one of the CDs from the library and plopped a book on the desk in front of the kids. Their eyes grew wide when they saw it was "Shrek!" Now I had their attention. :)

The timing was great because just a couple of nights ago, their big brother Kennedy took them to see "Shrek: The Final Chapter" in 3-D on the rockin' 6-story IMAX screen at the Pacific Science Center.

So, they read along with the book and loved every minute of it. After it was over, we talked about what we'd heard and read, comparing it to the original "Shrek" movie.

"It's different than the movie," CJ noted right away.

I asked them to list ways it was different. "The princess looked different," noted Annabelle.

"The princess was not Fiona," added CJ. "In the movie, she looks like a human, and then turns into an ogre."

I asked the kids which they thought came first, the book or the movie. CJ immediately said, "The book."

"The book looks like it was made first because it's not 3D," said Annabelle. "Most 3D things come after."

"They didn't get the idea of 3D until after the book," agreed CJ.

I asked the kids how we could find out when the book was written. CJ thumbed through its pages until he found that it was copyright 1990. Good ol' Wikipedia let us know that "Shrek" the movie was released in 2001 - confirmation that the book came first.

Via Wikipedia, we also learned that "Shrek" is from a German and Yiddish word meaning "fear" or "terror." That prompted CJ to remark, "It's like 'shriek.' " An astute observation, I thought.

We compared and contrasted some more. CJ noted that there was a donkey in both the book and the movie. Annabelle observed that other characters had been added to the movie (Puss N Boots, the Fairy Godmother, Gingy the gingerbread man, for instance).

So as it turned out, despite the fact no DVDs were gleaned, the trip to the Northgate library wasn't a total loss. ;)

LOVE AND HATE: When driving back from the Northgate area today, I spied a black Prius sporting a bumpersticker with a scary clown face on it. The sticker read, "Can't sleep, clowns will eat me."

"See! See!!" I hissed at the kids. "I'm not the only one!!!" Of course then I had to dart through and around traffic to catch up to the Prius so they could see the sticker, too.

The incident reminded me of the artwork Annabelle made for me a few days ago. It reads, "Mom I love you and you love me and hate clowns and we're family." How sweet and true is that? :)

Atlantis Returns

SAFE AT HOME: While most of the West Coast was sleeping (myself included, I'll admit), space shuttle Atlantis returned to Earth, touching down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Aboard were the six astronauts who were ending a 12-day journey of more than 4.8 million miles on this maiden voyage.

"They probably had their breakfast on their way down," said Annabelle (presumably because of the morning landing). She thinks they had waffles, "Because they're light," and she knows from our studies that payload weight is really important in space travel. :)

I cued up the video of it landing and played it for the kids. "Twenty-five years, 32 flights and more than 120 million miles traveled. The legacy of Atlantis now in the history books," Mission Control's commentator announced at touchdown.

While this marks the end of Atlantis' scheduled missions, I did learn today that the shuttle will be loaded with rocket boosters and will be on standby. Per NASA, "Later today, Atlantis will be towed from the runway to its processing facility. It will go through the normal flow of prelaunch preparations in order to serve as the "launch-on-need" vehicle for Endeavour's STS-134 mission, the last scheduled flight of the Space Shuttle Program. That flight currently is targeted for November."

I can't help but think about returning to KSC in November. ...

FALLOUT: Before 9 a.m. this morning Annabelle implored me to look at her loose tooth. It was practically falling out of her mouth. She was PETRIFIED at the thought of me yanking it out. I told her I would be doing no such thing, that I was simply going to pick it up off her lip, so she didn't swallow it. She was OK with that. :)

The Tooth Fairy will be coming to our house tonight.
Naturally, Annabelle has taken some time today to get used to the hole in her grin. Early on, she dragged a stool into the bathroom to take a good long gawk in the mirror above the sink. "My smile looks different," she concluded. At lunch she asked, "Can I eat a hot dog with my tooth missing?" Yes, you can. No worries."Do you think I'll be able to eat dinner with my tooth out?" she fretted.

For a couple of hours, Bee was talking kinda funny, too - a bit tight jawed. By this evening her voice was back to normal. And yes, she did manage to eat dinner. ; )

CATAPULTING: Last Saturday the kids participated in a Lowe's Build and Grow workshop. The project was building catapults. (An aside - CJ's hammering technique improved dramatically as compared to the last time we did a Lowe's project. He started out miserably again this go-round, but when I suggested that instead of tapping the nail with a hammer, he pretend he was a caveman and club it. Worked like a charm!)

Today, we finally got around to experimenting with their catapults. They came with ping pong like balls. Before we started launching, I asked the kids how far they thought the ball would fly. We did a couple of initial flights and I asked the kids to mark their touchdown spots with coins each time. We talked about things that affected the flight of the ball and the distance it went, like how many fingers they used to hold the launcher and how far back they pulled the launcher.

After several rounds with the ball, I thought it would be interesting to compare and contrast how far a different object would travel. Enter - and exit - the marshmallows. ...

CALENDAR GIRL: I spent about 45 minutes this morning going over the Seattle Public Library's recently-announced schedule of events for the Summer Reading Program. Last summer I took the kids to a few events (mostly magic shows) and they really dug it. On tap for this summer are puppet shows, paper airplanes, raptors, Chinese, Mexican and African music and lots more. And all of the programs are free! (Yeah, I know, we pay for them via our tax dollars, but still, it's a great deal.)

WE'RE NUMBER ONE (AND TWO): A CNBC report this morning says the Evergreen State lives up to its name. Washington is the number one state when it comes to recycling.

(In case you were wondering - I was and researched it - CNBC's story is based on the findings of an outfit called Greenopia, which bills itself as "Experts on Green Living". In their About Us, it says "We set out to create a directory of eco-friendly retailers, services, and organizations and conducted extensive research on those we listed in the guide. This guide is not a paid directory; companies cannot pay to be included and all listees are included because they met our strict standards of eco-friendliness. They have already been screened for their sustainability in the product or service arena and are now being compared with 'the best of the best'.")

In other news, Editors of Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine list Seattle as the second best city to live in for the upcoming decade. Why? "They Rain City? We'd say Brain City. Home to a well-educated workforce, a world-class research university, über innovators Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing, and a host of risk-taking, garage-tinkering entrepreneurs, Seattle crackles with creative energy," said the story. "Seattle is revising its tax, zoning and permit policies to make them more business-friendly. Meanwhile, this sophisticated Pacific Rim city has other qualities to recommend it, including great food, a glorious setting, an outdoorsy culture, and, yes, enough rain to keep the locals' complexions looking dewy." Aw shucks. ;)

(In case you're wondering, Austin, TX, got the top spot - being dubbed the "best crucible for small business, offering a dozen community programs that form a neural network of business brainpower to help entrepreneurs.")

Sunsense

SUNWISE: A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon the Environmental Protection Agency's SunWise Web site. The site is chock full o' information about the importance of being sun smart when it comes to your skin.

I ordered a small stack of printed materials from the EPA, including posters, a storybook, various brochures, info sheets and even a SunWise video. The package arrived yesterday, so today we decided to up our IQ when it comes to UV rays. (Truth be told, when I ordered it, I had hoped it would arrive before Florida, but that didn't happen. But it turned out OK, because while in Florida I insisted the kids wear hats, sunglasses, protective swimsuits and huge amounts of sunscreen. And none of us got the least bit burned, so they know that what we did worked. Today, they got to learn more about WHY we did it.)

I started by posting one of the posters we'd received. The kids were engaged by its bacon imagery (they love their bacon!), and we read the bullet points together. Next, we read a storybook called "Mission: SunWise." Via colorful illustrations, relatable characters and engaging dialogue, the book presented lots of important information about being safe in the sun, including the "Slip, Slop, Slap, Wrap" approach (slip on skin-covering clothing, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat and wrap your eyes in sunglasses). They also learned that they should be aware of the UV index (which ranges from 0 to 11+) and, when possible, to play in the shade.

After the book, we hopped on the SunWise Web site to check out the educational activities and games. One of the things the kids learned while playing is that bees can actually see ultraviolet rays. Fascinating! This, predictably, prompted CJ the aspiring Entrepreneur/Inventor to declare that when he grows up he's going to make "the bee eyes, so you can see the sunlight's UV rays!" He demonstrated by holding his hands up to show me goggles.
While CJ was still computing, Annabelle moved to the table. "I'm doing a little homework for myself," she explained. "I'm drawing what this girl needs to have to be sunwise. Don't forget shoes and long pants," she reminded herself while drawing. "She needs sunglasses, a wide brimmed hat, a long sleeved dress or shirt, pants and shoes and shade to be sunwise."

MORE MEMORIES: As another piece in the Florida scrapbook puzzle, I had the kids write about what we did immediately after the launch - which was boarding a bus for a long slow haul back to the rendezvous spot where we'd left our rental car. The good news was that once back at the lot, I spied a nearby bowling alley where we used the restroom, grabbed a snack and took advantage of their arcade (the kids were thrilled, of course!). No surprise, the recollections they shared today were about the arcade games they played.

DANKE: First thing this morning the kids crafted thank you notes to Nonnie and Bops for gifts received during their visit. Bee's took awhile as it included lots of 'bling.' ;)

SPANISH LESSONS IN GEORGIA: Via some Internet detour, I would up on the site of Georgia Public Broadcasting today. There, I found the expected Public Broadcasting System (PBS) kids' content, but I also spied some special stuff not seen on the national or Pacific NW public broadcasting sites, including the show "Salsa," which is "a comprehensive Spanish program for young children featuring puppets, state-of-the-art graphics, animation and a good dose of humor."

I tried to find the show on the GPBS site, and on YouTube and elsewhere, but no dice, darn it. So, we had to settle for playing some Salsa-related games online, including a fun one where the player has to make a pizza per instructions in Spanish.

FREEBIES: "Never pay retail" = words to live by. But what's even better than that? Free Stuff!!! I dedicate a fair amount of time to finding cheap and free stuff. To be honest, I can't even remember how I wound up there, but at one point this afternoon, I found myself on the Web site of Kids Bowl Free. It's a nationwide program whereby kids can get two free games of bowling every day, all summer long. So, clearly we will be crossing everything off our calendars and doing nothing but bowling all day, every day. ;)

But seriously, the kids have been begging to bowl (they've never tried it, other than via the Wii or an arcade game). So we'll definitely sign 'em up and give it a go at least a couple of times. (The catch on this promo, by the way, is an adult must purchase a Family Pass, which costs $24.95 and includes 2 games per person per day. The Family Pass covers up to 4 adult family members, and a person can have 1, 2, 3, or 4 adults on the family pass. For us that's cool cause we can include Rick and Ken.)

I also learned today of an upcoming noontime concert by Caspar Babypants (a major side project by Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America). It's Thursday, June 3, at Seattle's City Hall. We'll be there, for sure. (On his Web site, you can listen to some of his music by clicking the play button in the bottom lefthand corner.)

And the day after, there's free ice skating at Key Arena - which is all of 6 minutes from our house. Cool! You know we'll be there, too.

THEY'RE COMING HOME: Wednesday morning at the Kennedy Space Center, 5:48 Pacific Time, the Space Shuttle Atlantis will touch down for the final time.

I'm sure coming home will be bittersweet for the astronauts. After seeing firsthand their tiny crew quarters, I have no doubt they'll be glad to be out in the great wide open of Planet Earth. However, I'm also certain they'll be wondering when, if ever, will they will have the extraordinary opportunity to be aboard another manned spacecraft.

Just today, NASA posted a kick ass 10-minute video of highlights of STS-132's ascent. Annabelle kept saying, "Ohmygodohmygodohmygod" as she watched it. ;) It even shows the solid rocket boosters plunging into the sea. Amazing stuff. Do yourself a favor - watch it fullscreen and make sure your speakers are turned up ...



REJECTED: Today, while looking for something else, I came across "The Complete Book of Maps & Geography," a workbook I'd purchased at a Goodwill months ago. It's for grades 3-6, so it's more of a challenge than the way-too-easy K-2 workbooks we have around here.

Today, I gave them each a sheet about floor plans - something they should know a little about having lived amidst remodeling projects their entire lives.

CJ's sheet was "A Picture from Above" of a bedroom. A couple dozen questions asked him to locate features in the floor plan. For instance, "Between the closet and the TV is a _____." Annabelle's assignment was to cut out several pieces of furniture and arrange them in a living room. She did quickly cut them out and color them, and they were placed in the room, but I outright rejected her floorplan.

Yes, I realize that Annabelle is only 5 years old, but let me tell you, the girl has seen enough HGTV to know that you NEVER put a chair with its back to the fireplace, nor do you put chairs facing the back of the television. Oh, and it's called an END table for a reason. Back to the drawing board, Annabelle. (Her second version was much improved, BTW.)

SWEET LULLABY: MPA will sing you away with this sweet song that tells the story of why the sun and the moon, though the best of friends, don't get to enjoy each other's company very often.

After the song ended, I could sense that CJ was affected by it and I said, "That was a kind of sad, wasn't it?"

"But it couldn't make me cry," countered a misty eyed CJ, trying to steel himself. :)

Winging It

SPREAD YOUR WINGS AND FLY AWAY: Today was the day for our butterflies to fly and be free. We've been watching them closely for nearly a month now. When they came to us, they were caterpillars in a cup. They transformed into cocoons and hung out in that state during our trip to Florida.

Just a day after our return, the first of five Painted Lady butterflies emerged from its cocoon and we've been watching them for a few days since. Yesterday, Christian was double checking their feeding instructions and in the fine print we read that their life cycle is a measly two weeks. We decided we needed to let them enjoy the balance of their lives outside of their screened habitat, so we released them this afternoon in a sunny meadow in a 391 acre state park. May they live long and prosper. Here's some dramatic footage of their flight to freedom. :)

LIGHT DUTY: First thing this morning we enjoyed some quality time with Nonnie and Bops. After they left to catch their train, we did a little table work - specifically, some writing about those glorious two minutes watching space shuttle Atlantis roar into orbit.

However, before too long, I was feeling an itch to get off campus. I'll be the first to admit, I'm still feeling like I'm in vacation mode. Naturally, I turned to the Internet to plot our escape. I'm always waxing poetic about how fantastic Seattle parks are, and that's true, but I decided that today would be a great time to head to our nearest state park - Saint Edward.

SAINT ELSEWHERE: St. Edward State Park is a former Catholic seminary, located on 316 acres along the northeast shore of Lake Washington. From the 1920s until 1977, the land was owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle. It became a state park in 1978 (under Gov. Dixie Lee Ray's tenure!)

As soon as you pull up, you see this fantastic, sprawling brick building. I imagined all sorts of fantastic things going on within its walls. Imagine my disappointment when I got home, did some research and found out that it's a just a shell. Inside is a museum, of sorts. It's like someone flipped a switch and everyone just walked away. (I'd encourage you to spend a couple of minutes watching a video tour of the former seminary courtesy of the Seattle Times.) It's sad, bewildering and infuriating all at the same time ... (In the 'be still my heart' file, apparently McMenamins proposed a conference center, etc. on the property, but the proposal was withdrawn in 2007, gawddammit.)

But back to our field trip. The kids started out on bikes. They rode around the parking lots, basically, before we ditched the bikes and took a dirt foot trail (labeled moderately difficult) and took the "Seminary Trail" down to the beach. The ingress to the lake was pretty steep downhill, so you know what the return trip was. ;) That said, our kids are used to Seattle dwelling, and here in Magnolia, especially, it's all about ups and downs, so they didn't complain a bit. (This kind of conditioning was the same thing that paid big dividends in Florida, where they trudged along like soldiers!) As if the trails and forest and lake weren't enough, Saint Edward also boasts a phenomenal kids' playground.

Tomorrow we're getting back to a full day of school work. Sure we are ...