Billings annual fund

(This is from October.) Dale and I were the Billings Middle School “annual fund chairs” this year, which means writing a fundraising letter. We staged this fun update of a photo from three years ago and had a good time composing this letter together. There’s also a video version.

Dear Billings family,

Many of us don’t remember middle school with delight. Maybe the classes were dull. Maybe the social morass of junior high was miserable. When it was time for our older son to head to middle school, we worried that he would lose his joy and self-confidence amid crowded halls and boring classes. And then we found Billings. Actually, Jordan found Billings. From his first visit day, Jordan felt everyone at Billings was interested in him. The teachers, the staff and the students all wanted to hear him out—what he liked, what he wanted to do, what he found challenging, what he found funny. At tours of other schools, he felt herded around. At Billings he felt like a full participant, and Billings was the school he asked to go to.

In his three years at Billings, Jordan did snow science in the Cascades. He backpacked for a week on the Olympic Coast, on the trip where everyone helped carry gear for another student with a broken collarbone. He overcame early limitations in writing, pushed by his teachers to do high-quality text analysis of terrific books from Maus to Twelfth Night. He studied (and schooled us in) major current social issues such as mass incarceration. When we groaned to see that his homework included analyzing the president’s 100-day plan, he politely retorted, “I think it is great that I am reading this! I love how my classes are not only about the history of a long time ago but also the history of now.” Jordan’s relationships with his Billings teachers were so strong and trusting that he invited some of them to his 14th birthday party. Can you imagine? We barely can, but we see it right before us! And now we get to see it again, as our younger son Aaron begins 6th grade.

We are excited about the new building soon to be under construction, and the amazing “base camp” it will provide for the Billings experience. But as we all know, there’s a lot more that makes Billings special. The Annual Fund supports Billings to hire and retain great teachers and staff, buy art supplies and books, purchase park permits, provide teachers with professional development – including specialized Wilderness First Aid training, because the teachers are out there with our kids! And it helps the school offer tuition assistance to many families.

Please join us and other Billings families, alumni, and 100% of the staff, faculty and board of trustees by donating to the annual fund. It’s easy: you can give online or return a pledge form to the front desk in person or by mail. You’ll help our kids find themselves, uncover their passions, and be amazing middle schoolers. And you’ll help build this great community that is Billings.

Thanks so much for helping make that happen.

Three years apart

(This is from October.) I’ve been sharing this picture everywhere I go lately. The main reason I share it is to show people the current state of Jordan. He’s so tall (five foot ten when this was taken), and he changed his look very suddenly when he cut his hair. People are astonished.

For comparison, here he is over the summer:

But the other thing about that first picture is the contrast between him and Aaron. That’s three years? And Aaron is actually tall for his age. There’s every reason to expect that when Aaron starts high school, we’ll have two of these very large children in the house.

Picture day

(This also should have been in September.) How about these two amazing kids on Picture Day? Amara has a nature-fashion thing going on right now, and Aaron is wearing a shirt that came home with us from Hawaii long ago. I love it with the orange shorts. Aaron said it would be a tough day for hide and seek because of his striking colors. “Maybe if I could hide in a hole,” he said. Another friend of his said, “Maybe if a rainbow came down to earth, you could blend in.” Love it.

Aaron at Billings

(This should have been September.) Aaron has started middle school at Billings! Here is a fun pair of first-day-of-school pictures… one from kindergarten, and one recent. Wow. 

The start of school was easy-peasy both for Aaron and for us. We all know the school well, Aaron has three good friends from SJCS at Billings, and lots of teachers and older students already know Aaron, especially from the sidelines of Ultimate Frisbee games. Even without this pre-existing good reputation, he’d be making friends fast: Billings spends the first few weeks of school actively connecting the kids to each other and to their teachers and building the school culture. They feel this initial investment pays off all year, and I am sure they’re right. I’m looking forward to seeing how the year unfolds.

Camp Kesher

(This also should have been August.) We love our tradition of ending the summer with Camp Kesher. Aaron was particularly photogenic this year.  

His two camp buddies were Erez and Ezra - can you imagine being their counselor? Good thing there wasn’t a Nerez or a Zera in the mix.

Jordan, meanwhile, had his first year as an actual paid camp counselor. (Not paid much, but still.) He was with the fourth graders, a group that includes a pair of extremely active and boisterous twins. Jordan decided that he was going to have a good time with them, and he really did. They spent a ton of time together and had a blast. Some of the other counselors have not had such a successful relationship with these kids, and the camp director asked Jordan to share his approach. “Don’t tell them not to do things,” was Jordan’s answer. “Don’t talk to them like they’re bad or in trouble; it just makes them mad. Instead, go along with them and have fun! They’re a good time.” Here he is with a few of his charges, and then with all the camp counselors.

Whale boat

(This should have been August.) Fred and Linda took us whale watching toward the end of our visit. I’ve been whale-watching before, and I have learned not to expect much: I try to think of it as a fun boat ride with beautiful views, and whatever else I get to see is a bonus. Well, this trip blew me away. We were surrounded by whales! Mostly fin whales, which are huge – only the blue whale is larger. There were also Minke whales, seals, and porpoises, along with various birds, and the aforementioned great views of the Maine coast. 

This lighthouse has no road access – you can take a boat or you can walk there, and at high tide, you can’t walk there either. They’re turning it into a B&B… talk about a quiet getaway.



At the end of the ride, they pulled up a couple lobster traps just to show us what that’s like, and anyone who wanted to got to hold the lobsters. Fun stuff!

Catching up

It's a major embarrassment, how far behind I've fallen on the family blogging.... it's been months. I did draft some posts here and there but I feel like I have to post things in chronological order... I am determined to catch up.

I still have beautiful pictures left to share from our Maine trip in August. Here are a few family photos to get me started. People look great on a boat.