Blog? What Blog?

Sorry. I know it's been a while, but there's been a lot happening. However, I will now bring you all up to speed. First off, the Maker Faire was awesome, as expected. The one hitch was that a friend of Jerry's was supposed to fly up and go to the fair with us and two days before we were meant to leave he canceled, claiming he was "too stressed" about school. Of course, he wasn't too stressed to attend two concerts during the week before the fair and one that weekend (the dark side of Facebook--you know when people are lying to you). So that was really hard for Jerry because this boy has been his best friend since preschool and he's not being a very good friend lately. And it was a bummer for me, because if I had known he wasn't going to come with us, I would have invited Summer, but since we didn't know until two days prior, it was too late to buy a plane ticket at a reasonable price. Luckily Jerry didn't dwell on it while we were at the fair and we all ended up having a terrific time. There was so much to do and see!

 My nephew, Carson went with us on Sunday and had a great time playing with Legos and making marble runs.

At one point on Saturday, we were standing in a crowd waiting for Adam Savage from MythBusters to speak and Jerry struck up a conversation with the guy standing beside us. Jerry told him about how he watches MythBusters every night until 3 a.m. while he's playing WoW on the computer. I was all ready for a disapproving look from the guy, but instead he said, "Up until 3 A.m.!? Let me take a wild stab in the dark and guess that you homeschool like us." What a relief! 

So, the fair was great. We flew home Monday afternoon. I went to class, then Tuesday morning Warren helped me take the boxes of books for Malawi to the library. So I got those shipped, stopped in for a celebratory breakfast burrito at my favorite hole-in-the-wall Mexican place, packed the car for LIFE is Good and headed North.

We stayed at my mom's Tuesday night (I skipped class), then left early Wednesday for the last portion of the trip. We made a stop in Ashland and were just in time to visit my friend (another unschooler), Becky, during her few free moments of the day, then got back on the road and made it to Vancouver around 8.

The conference was marvelous. Jerry and his friend, Senna, hosted a Pokemon funshop that was a big hit.

I brought Pikachu cut outs for the kids to make into hats and it was great to see everyone wearing them. Here's Violet looking adorable in her Pikachu hat.

I can't really explain in words how fabulous the conference was, but Ronnie has done just that in a list of nouns from A to Z. I highly suggest you take a look and then make plans to be there next year.

So, LIFE is Good. Return home. Rush to class. Spend the rest of the week preparing for a group project and finals while Jerry played his new favorite XBox game, Borderlands. Jerry was really focused on the game until he beat it and was sorely disappointed in the ending. Still, he thinks he might buy one of his own (he'd been playing a rented copy). Jerry seems to be coming out of the gaming bubble a bit more these days and I really like that.

A couple nights ago Jerry and I had gone into the front yard to start drawing some sidewalk art (because you're never too old for sidewalk chalk), when Patsy started barking. I looked across the street to where she was staring and saw a police officer, with her weapon drawn, heading up my neighbor's driveway. I rushed Jerry into the house, called my neighbor to be sure his daughter was inside, then looked out the window to see another cop with a long range weapon aimed up the driveway of the next building over. Then there were two others, also with guns drawn, inside my next door neighbors trash can enclosure. I took this picture of some of the cops across the street, but it's through the window so it's not very good.

So anyway, we went to the room of the house where we thought we'd be least likely to be caught in the crossfire and just hung out for an hour or so. We cleaned. We played a card game. Warren was home so he joined in. It was a little nerve wracking and it really made me feel for the people who live in the inner city and experience this kind of thing more regularly. We've been in this house ten years and this was a first.

When the police finally left we learned that a couple in the apartment across the street were having an argument and the guy pulled out a gun. Nice, huh? Nice to know our neighbors are packing heat. Ugh. I hate to even think about it, really. Still, no shots were fired and we did really enjoy our time together. We kept the family vibe going that night. Jerry and I did our sidewalk art (partially inspired by the police encounter, as you might guess.).

Then we all ate dinner and watched the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie (thumbs down) because Warren is going start start working on the fourth (yes, there is going to be another one) on Thursday. So, hooray! Warren finally got a full-length job! Yippee! And that's not the only good news. He will be in London for two months! So we're going to London again. Wahoo! And we'll get to visit Schuyler and David and Simon and Linnea. And maybe I'll get to meet some blogging buddies (Lynn?). And we can visit the woman who saved Jerry's life after his bike accident four years ago. And now that we have places to stay for free in Paris, Geneva, and Bern (thanks to the house swapping) we may even be able to squeeze in an excursion to France and Switzerland!! I'm trying not to get too excited because the film business is so changeable, but it's hard to remain calm about it all.

In other good news, I survived the group project presentation in my Library 101 class. Now I just have a final tonight, another one next Monday, and then summer officially begins.

Bring it on!

LIFE is Good 2010

We've been to the Maker Faire and back. The books are shipped. And the looooooooong drive to Vancouver, WA is finally over which means.....we're at the LIFE is Good Conference! Yippee! So I just wanted to drop a quick note to say hello. I'm really looking forward to seeing Mandy when she arrives today. And I'm looking forward to manning the Instant Gratification Table and to meeting Laura and Bonni. And to so many other things. I just hope Jerry doesn't get sick again this year (last year he had the flu!). Anyway, I'm going to make myself some coffee now. I'll keep you posted on the conference. :)

Hotel Room Cooking Gone Awesome

And I thought my iron-grilled, hotel room quesadilla was clever...

This Fire

is really getting me down. My favorite hiking area is right at the center of the fire. It's silly but I feel like I've lost a good friend. I actually cried today when I found out.

In happier news, we've had visitors from New Zealand staying with us for the past four days and we really enjoyed their visit (even though it was too hot and smokey to do much outside). They are also homeschoolers and have also worked in the film business. It was really nice to see them again and have more time to hang out. Jerry and the two kids (Auggie and Lindsay) had a fabulous time. In fact, I feel like I hardly saw any of them!

I'm really starting to look forward to the Good Vibrations conference in San Diego next weekend. Anyone else going????

LIFE Is Good 2009 Review

This is my third attempt to write about the LIFE is Good Unschooling Conference. Let's hope it's charmed. In a few words: IT WAS GREAT!!!

In a few more...

The adventure began on Tuesday, May 19, when Jerry and I packed up the car (dog included) and started our first leg of the journey--the trip to my mom and dad's house in Sacramento. We were briefly delayed when I realized, in the Costco parking lot, that my debit card was not in my wallet. So we went back to the house where I searched and searched, and scarfed down a burrito from my new favorite taco stand (it was my fourth in a week--they're that good!). After about 15 minutes of solid investigation (OK investigation and chewing--I'm a multi-tasker) I thought to look in the change purse of my wallet and, naturally, there it was. So we went back to Costco where we purchased one of those gadgets that let us listen to an iPod (my Mother's Day gift) on the radio and we were off.

The drive flew by (thanks to The Golden Compass audio book--our second listen) and before I knew it we were at my mom's where my three-year old niece, Cora, jumped into my arms and gave me one of the best hugs of my life. Six-year-old Carson and Jerry were soon in the swimming pool and I passed the evening visiting with my sister and parents.

The following morning Jerry and I were on the road by 10 a.m. We started the journey off with a compilation CD Warren made for our Life is Good trip. The we moved on to more of The Golden Compass. We were thinking we'd stay at a motel a few hours south of Portland but when Jerry heard that Simon & Linnea were going to be at the hotel that very same night he was determined that we should make the drive all in one day. We made a stop in Ashland for lunch. Every person we met in that town went out of their way to be friendly--genuinely friendly, too. We met a guy with a gigantic wolf/dog named North (or Beast, depending on his mood), ate lunch on a lovely outdoor patio, and discovered a comic book store where they sell older manga for 50% off.

I realized when we were having lunch that my fellow unschooler and blogging friend, Becky, lives in Ashland so I sent her a quick message hoping she and her kids would be free, but we ended up leaving town before I heard back from her.

We left Ashland around 5:30 and pulled into the parking lot of the hotel around 10 p.m. Simon and his mom, Schuyler, happened to be in the hotel lobby when we dragged ourselves in from the car. And thankfully the hotel had a room available (even though our reservation was for the following night) so the weekend was off to en excellent start!

Since this was my second year at the conference, the experience was completely different from last year. It was different for Jerry, too. Last year we spent much of the time in our room. And as much as I enjoyed the workshops and being among people who shared many of my lifestyle choices and philosophies, I felt really isolated. Thankfully, Jerry made a few friends who we kept in touch with throughout the year, so we started this year's conference with a few friends in our pockets, so to speak. It made a huge difference.

Jerry had friends in and out of the room all weekend. I knew at least five people right from the start and I made an effort to introduce myself to many more. I went on most of the early morning walks and spent time sitting by the pool (even if Jerry wasn't swimming) just because both of those activities provided opportunities to meet people. Jerry ended up with a nasty flu bug (he wasn't the only one) and he wasn't really happy with the funshops, so he felt that last year's conference was better. But for me, seeing him with all those friends and feeling comfortable talking to my own friends (old and new) made this year way better for me.

Another thing I loved about this year was that just about every workshop I attended was led by an experienced unschooler who was very open about the doubts they've had, the worries they have (Yes, they still worry sometimes! Phew!) and the way the handle them. That was huge for me. It's such a relief to know that even the people I look to for guidance experience the same feelings of worry and frustration that I sometimes feel. What did I learn? Worries and doubts are part of parenting--all kinds of parenting. Unschoolers are not immune to them. So just because I fret and fear and, from time to time, let my mouth reveal thoughts that are better kept to myself, I'm still an unschooler. And even when I'm no longer "new" (and, really, after nearly two years--626 days to be exact--I'm not sure if the word still applies) I won't be a fraud just because I still freak out every now and then. Now that, my friends, is a huge relief.

Another wonderful, and entirely unexpected event occurred over the weekend. Diana entrusted me with some of Hannah's ashes. We're going to take her with us to France and place her someplace lovely. Diana said we'll know the place when we come to it. She said Hannah will lead us. I can't really explain the feeling of caring for the physical representation of the memory of a child's life. I feel as if I really am taking Hannah along and I feel especially honored to be entrusted with the task.

And I'm afraid I'll have to end here and write more later. I've been coming back to this post all day in between playing with my niece and nephew, going to the grocery store, reading Gods of Manhattan with Jerry, pruning my mom's rose bushes, taking the boys to a really cool trampoline place, and other things. I guess I'll have to write a LIFE is Good, Part II.

Life is Good Here We Come!

We going to the Life is Good conference! Yippee!! I thought we'd have to miss it but I just registered. The only drawback in this scenario is that we're going to have to drive. And it's a looooong drive from L.A. to Portland. The plan is to drive to Sacramento on Tuesday and stay at my mom's. Then drive as far as we can on Wednesday and stay at a cheap motel or, better yet, stay with a fellow Life is Gooder. It would be pretty amazing if that happened to work out but, stranger things have happened.

In order to placate Warren (he'll have to stay home because of work) Jerry and I have promised to get as much done around the house as possible. So we have a very busy weekend ahead of us. And once we leave we'll be gone for over two weeks because once the conference is over we're staying in Sacramento to wait for my sister's baby to be born. That's right, Baby O'Brien #3 is due to enter the world at the end of May and we're hoping he/she will cooperate by showing up sometime soon after May 27th and before June 3, because Jerry and I have tickets (front row seats!) for Video Games Live in L.A. on June 4th. So, we're keeping our fingers crossed that this baby comes at our convenience.

Now I'd better stop blogging and get busy!

2008 Life Is Good Video

I just discovered this video from the 2008 Life is Good conference up in Washington. Are these happy families or what!?

Life is Good 2008 from mesmith on Vimeo.

Home Again

We drove home from Sacramento yesterday and now I'm faced with putting into words everything that's happened in the last two weeks--namely the Life is Good Unschooling Conference! I did start writing a post after Day One of the conference, but never managed to finish it. Here's what I started with:

Our First Unschooling Conference, Or Thank Goodness For Pokemon

It's the end of day one at Life is Good in Vancouver, Washington. Here's how things are going so far. But first let me just say that I know this is only day one and without a doubt things will change before the conference is over on Sunday.

Right off the bat we had a brilliant stroke of luck. It turns out Diana was meeting a 15-year-old unschooled girl from Maryland in Vancouver the day before the conference. They had met a few years back at Live and Learn and Olivia, said girl, was flying out to stay with Diana for the Life is Good conference. Luckily for us Diana was delayed and was looking for someone to host Olivia in their room for Wednesday night. We offered our extra bed (Warren won't arrive until Saturday morning) and Olivia took it. So we spent our first night in the company of a smart, gregarious, friendly, interesting and interested nearly sixteen-year-old girl with dreadlocks and a fabulously strong sense of self. It was great. I think we might have felt kind of lonely without her. So thanks Diana for hooking us up!

Today the conference officially started. I was hoping we'd find some friends for Jerry yesterday b

That's it. The "b" was for "but we didn't." I was going to go on to say it was hard making friends for the both of us. It was touch and go in the beginning for Jerry. He was really overwhelmed by all the kids. I worried that he would stay in the hotel room the entire time but Jerry braved the crowds and made some terrific friends. One of his favorite new friends was a 9-year-old girl just down the hall from us named Violet. They had a great time together playing their Ds's (Jerry's using his old one now) and talking about Pokemon. There were lots of Pokemon fans at the conference, by the way, and I think that's part of what helped Jerry to connect with people. He also made friends with a girl named Michelle who, in addition to loving Pokemon, was into Manga and Anime (two more of Jerry's favorite things). Then there was Simon (from England). On Sunday afternoon Jerry went with Simon's family to a shop that sold Pokemon and Digimon cards. He loved it so much we went back on Monday. (It took us two hours to find and then it was closed when we got there so we had to go back two hours later! At least we knew the way the second time around. Can I just say Portland, Oregon is not the easiest city to navigate?)

So anyway, Jerry made friends and had fun. He even stayed out later than me a couple nights which I was happy about because it meant he was having fun and feeling free, but which also gave me a taste of what the teenage years must be like for parents--and I wasn't liking it. I knew he was in the hotel--somewhere. And I knew he'd come back to the room--eventually. But I didn't know exactly where he was or when he'd be back. I hadn't given him any instructions about where to stay or when to come "home." I was completely in the dark and relying 100% on Jerry's own good sense to keep him safe. When he finally came back to the room (and it wasn't even that late) I still had a hard time sleeping. It was just so weird to totally let go of my control like that and trust that Jerry would make the right decisions and come back to me all in one piece. I'm bound to get plenty of practice with trusting him as the years go by. And I suppose starting out by trusting him to learn what he needs to know will make trusting him to keep himself safe a little easier. Maybe? I hope so anyway!

So that was Jerry's experience at the conference--overwhelming but good. My experience was similar. I found that the people who already knew each other tended to stick together. It would have been nice if there'd been some kind of gathering for the people who were new to the unschooling tribe to get together and introduce themselves because that was the one disappointment--it wasn't as easy as I'd hoped it would be to connect with people. It's just so weird to go up to people you don't know and start talking to them--for me anyway. But that's what I ended up doing in the end so I managed to make some friends, too. Oh and I met some fellow bloggers, which was really cool. 

The presentations were good but there wasn't one that especially stood out for me. I really enjoyed hearing what Alliison McKee and Mary Lewis had to say. Both of them did a lot to assuage my fears. Warren went to the Secret Society of Unschooling Dads discussion and I think he got a lot out of that. He finally agreed that unschooling makes a lot of sense, but I know he still worries. It's great to feel like we're finally on the same page, though. 

I didn't take any pictures at the conference but lots of other people did. Mary, the conference diva, has lots of pics on her blog at Zenmomma's Garden. I'll post more links to photos as I find them. All in all I'm really glad we went. I still hope to go to Live and Learn but I'm not sure if Jerry is going to want to go. I know I can go on my own but I can't decide if I want to. I think I'd really miss the experience of being there with my family. Part of what made Life is Good so good was the fact that we were there together. Really, the main reason I want to go to Live and Learn (aside from hoping I'll be inspired by the speakers) is that I want to meet my blogging friends in person. But it's going to be sooooo expensive in the end I'm not sure if I can justify it. We'll see.

Since I haven't managed to describe the best parts about the conference at all, you should go here for a terrific description of what was best about being surrounded by like-minded adults and children. It's written by one of my new friends, Robin.

Once the conference was over Jerry and I drove about three hours north to visit my aunt and uncle. They just finished building a house on some lakefront property they've had for years. They used to camp on it but now they've sold their house and are living full-time on this little slice of paradise. It was lovely. I helped out in the garden. My uncle very graciously gave Jerry free reign to create his own account on their computer and helped us try to discover what went wrong with our mousebot (aside from problem with the melted on/off switch, which is pretty obvious). We paddled around the lake. I saw an eagle and lots of other birds. We watched So You Think You Can Dance. We read the first book of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. And now we can't wait to go back!

So now that we're home here's what's on tap: building that computer, fixing our mousebot (it only goes backwards), keeping my worms alive in the vermicompost bin, cleaning out the garage, going to the Griffith Park Observatory to look at their GIANT periodic Table of Elements because I'm reading all about atoms right now, resting, reading some more---------

Oh my god how could I have forgotten to mention the highlight of my visit to Portland!? We went to Powell's book store!! (Can you hear the angels singing in the background?) It was huge and wonderful and I want to bring my sleeping bag next time we're there so I can hide out in a corner at closing time and spend the entire night roaming the 77,000 square feet of stacks and stacks and stacks of books. I LOVED it. I get all giddy just thinking about it....

Okay, I guess that about does it for now. We're home for a month before we head back to Northern California for my parents annual July 4th party, then in mid-July Jerry starts his three weeks of summer camp at an absolutely idyllic ranch in the Shasta-Trinity Alps, and by the time he comes home summer will be nearly over. I'm about to experience my second summer in four months (one in the southern hemisphere and one in the northern) and I still feel like the season is too short! How is that possible!?

Life Is Goooooood

The conference is over but I don't really have time to write a full overview--we're heading north from Portland to visit my aunt and uncle in Belfair, Washington--so I just thought I'd pop in and say we had a great time. I feel like the conference has helped me over the hump, in a way. You know, the hump of wanting to unschool but being afraid your child will suffer later because you decided some freaky, radical way of life was the way to go. Yep, I'm over that now and I definitely feel like freaky, radical will lead us to the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Actually, I take that back. It will make the entire journey feel like we've just found the pot at the end of the rainbow.

I'm not saying I won't have my freak out moments anymore. I'm sure they're waiting in the wings. But I'm feeling much more confident about our choice. And yes, I can finally say OUR choice. Warren has agreed that the unschooling philosophy makes sense and seems particularly right for Jerry (mainly because he inherited my genes for never wanting to do something he's been told to do--no matter how much he wanted to do it before the telling took place). 

So all is good. I'll give details soon!

Life Is Good

We're leaving tomorrow for the Life is Good Unschooling conference!! I'm so excited. Jerry isn't too keen on going but knows it's important for Warren to attend--he understands it's in his best interest for Warren to embrace the unschooling lifestyle. I think Jerry will love it, actually. It's just that it takes him a while to feel comfortable in group settings--he's much better one on one. But we'll arrive the night before the conference begins so I'm hoping he'll make some friends early on. That way by the time the conference has started he'll feel comfortable going off to the funshops with his new friends. 

We've made the trip into a bit of a vacation. Jerry and I will drive up to my mom and dad's in Sacramento on Tuesday, then fly to Portland for the conference on Wednesday (it was waaaay cheaper to fly out of Sacramento). Warren will meet us in Vancouver, WA on Saturday morning. We'll spend the weekend at the hotel with other unschoolers (yippee!) then Monday we'll spend the day in Portland (Yippee again! I've never been there.) before we put Warren on a plane back to Los Angeles. Tuesday morning Jerry and I will rent a car and drive out to my aunt and uncles new house on a lake in Belfair, Washington. We'll stay with them for three nights before heading back to my mom and dad's, where we'll spend the weekend, before coming home. Phew. Makes me tired just to think of all that driving and flying.

Oh, and even more exciting is the fact that we should be starting construction on our new deck the week that Jerry and I get back home! Hooray! Oh, and another thing--the excitement never stops--I got my worm bin in the mail on Saturday so I can start vermicomposting as soon as we return! Woohoo! Unschoolers! Lakes! Decks! Worm casting! Could life get any better?