3/3/08 Let's let the kids run the world..

Reese is participating in one big event soon called Ameritowne, (sponsored by a kids bank) to teach kids about money, economics, investing, banking etc.. The kids basically run a town for a day as well the 13 businesses there including a bank, investment company, radio & tv station, parcel service, warehouse, hospital, market, snack shop, college, travel co, auto & appliance repair, Newspaper & Towne Hall. Each child has their own checking account, pays bills, invests in a mutual fund, donates to charity, sells products or services, potentially gets tickets from the police and has to appear before a judge, perhaps gets injuries and has to go to the hospital (and pay the bill), gets a paycheck and deposits it in the bank, gets to shop, & participates in creating a logo and slogan for the business they work for.

We spent 2 full days preparing the kids for the day long event, they all interviewed for jobs, each business had a business manager, accountant, and customer service people. We wrote out checks and deposit slips, studied investments and risk, researched charities, designed postage stamps (for a contest) and learned about profit and loss, pricing and supply & demand.

Reese got a job at the Travel Service selling products (chocolate airplanes, hawaiian leis, bookmarks and compasses) and rides on the flight simulator. He was a bit nervous on the day of the event.. because he did not know what it would be like.. how do you ever know what something will be like before you do it??? that spurred a discussion on openmindedness... ok.. he will be open ..

The day of the event was awesome, Reese said it was the best day of his life.. he had a blast. He did get cited by a policewoman (I told her he could not help it, genetics and all), he did go to college and took a 5 minute computer course and got his degree (only slight parental pressure there), he did shop and spend all his money (they were supposed to), and he was awarded Best Employee of the Travel Shop by his business manager for always smiling and being so helpful and good natured.

3/1/08 We're residents now..

I think it's official.. once you've been here for 3 months, you are a resident.. whatever that means.. officially I've been on Earth for 41 yrs now and I still feel like an alien. We are into a bit of a groove I guess.. we've made some friends and that is nice. I am officially not cold anymore, it took about 6 weeks here and suddenly I was ok with only one layer on, what a blessing. I often get up early in the morning and am out the door, I love watching the sunrise as it lights up the mountain and the sky. It seems to snow once or twice a week and it is the most beautiful sight everything covered with a blanket of white, especially the trees, every branch is lined with snow, everything sparkles, shines, looks alive and vibrant, I dig it..

So I am getting a bit of clarity as to why we may be in Colorado.. to slow down for sure.. more time hanging out just the boys and I, exploring the hills and canyons, reading, talking, the boys playing together. I am so amazed at what fun they have together, they are such best friends, so relaxed together, Reese is such a great teacher for Luc, he loves helping him learn things. As usual we love being very unstructured, each day is a new adventure, we never know just what will happen, we are relaxed and delighted in flowing along and seeing what unfolds. So we've been baking, exploring our neighborhood, meeting friends at the park, playing games, practicing our spanish, going to the Denver Art Museum and Denver Aquarium, swimming, basketball, racquetball, tickle tag, on and on..