Hello.

It’s been a while.

First, this post is written by Ronan. Because why not?

Also, a lot of stuff happened.

Okay, so here’s the deal:

We bought a houseboat. It’s really nice.

Byrne’s pretty. Like, really pretty.

I’m now homeschooling, and loving it.

That’s “Hoshi”, or Star in Japanese. The name of my homeschool is Hoshi Academy.

Speaking of which, I’m currently learning Japanese:

Like, learning Japanese hard.

(I started after a trip to Japan.)

I’m also coding and doing lots of generally computer-y things:

Oh yeah. We’re also selling the sky palace. And the cabin. Four properties is too many properties.

It’s a crazy world.

I don’t know much to say about Austin. That doesn’t mean there isn’t much to say about her, I just don’t know it. I don’t spend too much time peering into her social life ? (I’m an introvert through and through.) But we still have plenty of pictures:

What I do know about her is that she’s loving her friends, as always.

Which brings us to the uncanny present.

We’re currently all stuck at Byrne. I’ve been homeschooling for a while, so it’s not so bad for me. But with all of us, it can get a little tight.

Sorry, did I say all? Gentry’s currently in New York State, looking for possible homes.

Again, a crazy world.

The Coronavirus is sweeping the country. We’re locked at home. But what’s important now is to stay calm, to relax. Perhaps the slowed pace of life is a good thing. Why not enjoy the break from the hustle and bustle of cities and crowds?

Stay safe.

-Ronan

It’s been a while…

Time for reading,

knitting,

preparing for guests,

hiking,

playing,

and of course, swimming!

Some moments of boredom waiting on me to finish errands…

But generally, happy kids

As we start these summer days…

A report of happy kids this May afternoon.  Ronan, in his element, at Brightworks!

Deep into project work

and creating a physical model

Austin continues to enjoy every aspect of her life in Sausalito.  New neighbors on the docks, the community at the New Village School, ample opportunities to find people to love and creative pursuits to dip into.  The last of the sun from the Maggie…

The chance to snuggle in Ronan’s bed with animals and books

And friends!

friends, friends!

Happy Monday to you all!

Now is that spectacular time of year at Byrne when the hills make me oh so happy!

A heat wave took us to the beach…

and into the water

No matter the weather, the day, Ronan climbs on

And on!

A special Dada-Austin date in SF

Austin and Ronan were thrilled to prepare an elaborate egg hunt for the Packards.  Much time was spent developing the “hierarchy of eggs” and what contents would fill the regular eggs, the sparkly ones and the singular, golden egg.

This year it was fun to watch Austin and Ronan reverse roles from the ones who loved finding to the ones who wanted to give the experience of the egg hunt to Seth and Ale.  They are growing up a little too fast!

A beautiful Byrne brunch followed…

as well as a hike into Hidden Villa.

Love the green of springtime around here and the chance to share the days with good friends.

Hello from Sausalito…

San Francisco,

And Byrne…

Our kids are taking us many places!  Life continues to be full of friends,

family and projects:)

Much to be grateful for.

Last month Austin turned 8!  It’s hard to believe how quickly our little lady is growing up…
She continues to be full of life, spunk, and always up for an adventure.

Modeling an outfit that she picked out with Nana for her birthday:

On the morning of her birthday, we went out for a special breakfast and Austin opened her present from me.  Since she’s loving hearing stories about herself at the different ages, I printed up some pictures from each of her birthdays and included a short note about each year.  She loved opening each package and reading about what she was like at a given moment in time.

Ronan spent a long time searching for the perfect present, and eventually decided to give Austin a collection of many small presents.

Much to his delight, she loved the all and was thrilled to unwrap each of the tissue paper covered treasures.

In the afternoon, per her request, we went out to go ice skating.  A family dinner celebration followed!

This year, instead of a giant party, Austin asked to invite a friend over to spend the weekend with us.  I was secretly thrilled for a birthday that didn’t involve so much planning and logistics and the girls had a blast.

Here’s to Miss Austin on her 8th birthday!  Continuing to fill our lives with love, smiles, music and friendship.

I found this piece of paper in Ronan’s room and the other day and asked him about it.  Apparently he’s been compiling his own bucket list.  I’ll let it speak for itself:)

This year at Brightworks offers the Orange Band students the chance to make some major leaps in their education.  Each student learns how to present a proposal for a project they’d like to work on, and after approval, works to meet their own goals and deadlines over the course of the arc.  With the overarching theme of “cloth” this time around, Ronan set out to figure out how to make a fabric that would protect humans on Mars.

He researched the history of spacesuit material, learned about the properties of different fabrics and metals, built a sample, and did a number of tests to learn about the suitability of his Beta cloth for life on Mars.

It was a project full of learning— everything from how to overcome the frustration of a sewing machine to how to deal with deadlines, setbacks, and self-reflection. One of the biggest moments of learning, was in his preparation to present his findings to the Brightworks community.

Here he is, the morning of the presentation, learning from his teacher how to keep his nerves down for what is to come.  Leading up to this moment were countless hours of practice at home, designing and creating slides, asking for feedback, watching Ted talks on “how to present.”  Ronan took it all very seriously and worked very hard, late into the night, for many nights.

And when it came time for the presentation, he rocked it.  As a parent, you show up to something like this, hoping that a negative experience won’t give a child a lifelong phobia of public speaking.  Very smoothly, he walked through his slides and spoke, without notes.  He had the audience laughing as he impersonated JFK in a famous speech and in a very steady and engaged way, made his way through the presentation.

A few nights later, at Expo, the kids had a chance to share the highlights of their presentation with the broader community of parents and friends.  Here, his teacher from last year, Mackenzie, is asking thoughtful questions and giving feedback.

There was so much learning for Ronan that he was able to reflect on in this board below.  I was surprised to find out that he mentioned (he) “loves presenting.”

The whole process has felt like a big milestone for Ronan— seeing a project from an idea to its natural end and learning the tools to speak in public.  I was so impressed to see his work ethic and his genuine desire to improve himself along the way.  He kept asking for feedback and critical feedback at that, so that he could make his project even better.  I’m not sure I recognize the same kid that I dropped off at Brightworks a year and a half ago.  With gratitude for a place that lets these kids be themselves and rise to their potential.