playground

the iron fighter

Juma got a boat kit for his birthday (Thanks, Beth-el!), so we put it together and painted it for an afternoon activity. Juma decided on the colors and the name: The Iron Fighter.

early birthday present

Our current camera is great, but so large that I have to carry around an extra purse-size bag just for the camera. It makes taking pictures at events and outings rather difficult. So we shopped around for a subcompact, and decided on this one:



Justin bought it on ebay--thanks for all the birthday money!--from a guy in Tokyo. The user's manual is in Japanese. I've never seen this brand in the US, but it was recommended in digital photography magazines, and has all the features we wanted (tiny size, anti-shake, wide zoom, decent optical zoom, etc).

I'm waiting for the battery to charge up so I can try it out. Happy early birthday to me.

the trouble with being human

Juma: Mom, I don't want to be a person. I don't like being a person.

Sarah: What? What do you mean, honey?

Juma: getting visibly upset I just don't like being a person.

Sarah: Why? What's wrong with being a person?

Juma: I don't know.

Sarah: wondering if he has started to grasp his mortality Well, what are some of the things that makes being a person bad?

Juma: almost in tears I don't know.

Sarah: What are some of the things that are good about being a person?

Juma: I don't know.

Sarah: What would you want to be instead of a person?

Juma: I don't know.

a few minutes later

Juma: I just want to be a police dog.

Sarah: A police dog? Really? How come?

Juma: I don't know.

Sarah: You know, police dogs only live to be about 15. People live to be 70, 80, 90...

Juma: Hmph. I just want to be police dog.

Sarah: confused Okay.

after a couple minutes

Juma: worried Even police can go to jail, right?

Sarah: Yes, they can. If they do something bad. Is that what you are worried about being a person? People can go to jail and animals don't?

Juma: Yes.

Sarah: Oh, honey, you don't need to worry about going to jail. First of all, they don't put kids in jail. Second, I don't think you'll even do any of the things against the law that are bad enough for you to go to jail.

Juma: Like what?

Sarah: Stealing stuff, breaking into somebody's house and taking their stuff, stealing a car, shooting someone, beating someone up really bad...Stuff like that. Doing drugs that are against the law. Do you plan on doing any of that?

Juma: feeling better No. What about crashing a car?

Sarah: No, that's not something to put you in jail.

Juma: Okay.

The conversation went on, according to his questioning, to discuss illegal drugs, including some of their names--crack, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy--and what they look like. Juma was determined to avoid crack, for example, but was worried he might accidentally buy some in the store pharmacy. I assured him that wouldn't even happen. "So, if I see it, it will just say it, right? It'll say, 'Crack' on the thing, right?" His innocence made my smile. I explained that, no, these kinds of drugs are not labeled, but that he didn't need to worry about it now. I promised that when he's older, I'd show him some pictures and explain more (information I have through school).

After that, he seemed to feel okay about being human again.

temptation

Juma: Ooo, a fruit roll-up.

Sarah: Do you want some?

Juma: seriously No, I just want to eat healthier.


(He was soon overcome by 5-year-old taste buds and finished off the second half of my fruit roll-up.)

first day of kindergarten

putting on his best smile, hiding his nervousness



showing off his new school clothes, shoes, and backpack ("I'm wearing everything new!")

swimming lessons

Juma just finished swimming lessons here, with two of his cousins. He adjusted well to the teacher and the pool--it's warm enough for him--but he was still nervous about putting his head underwater and swimming any distance without an adult buoying him up. Finally on the last day, after three weeks of going four times a week, the light clicked on for him. He had a ball going under water, holding his breath, grabbing things from the bottom of the shallow end, and swimming across longer and longer distances.



And as you can see from the picture, he was also nervous about opening his eyes underwater. Even when he has goggles on. But he adjusted.

santa cruz

The Beckham clan piled up the cars and headed to Santa Cruz on Wednesday, to enjoy the last week of summer vacation (all the kids and most of the moms start school next week). After a fun stop at Casa de Fruta--and Casa de Chocolate and Casa de Choo Choo and Casa de Carousel--we played on the beach for a couple hours.

We built a sand castle, since none of the kids, especially not Juma, were interested in the actual ocean. Our sand castle was big, with mighty walls and a deep moat, and was inhabited by a large alien made of kelp. But the rising tide eventually breached the walls, and we were forced to abandon it.

After the beach, we headed to the boardwalk for some kiddie rides and not-so kiddie rides.

On this ride, the Beckham boys drove a truck. Tristan, on the left, discovered the car horn--a terribly annoying, screechy horn--right at the beginning of the ride, and considered it his honor-bound duty to keep the thing honking the entire ride. His serious little face told us he would not let go of that horn if his life depended on it. Or perhaps he thought his life depended on it. Juma decided he hated the noise, too.



The boys also enjoyed a boat ride. Three little toots on a Little Toot.



Juma was brave enough to go on a spinning, swinging, flying ride with his cousin Rylee, Aunt Alisha, and Grandma Vicki. Justin and I sat that one out.



We all had fun, but it was exhausting.

kindergarten

August 9. Merced-- In a surprise move last week, Sarah and Justin, parents of Juma, age 5, enrolled him in a local elementary school for kindergarten. His parents thought the half-day kindergarten experience would further Juma's social and emotional development. They worried, however, that their son would be bored learning the ABCs, since he already can read. "He already reads beyond a kindergarten level," remarked Sarah, his mother. "Plus, he knows how to pronounce ornithomimus."

The move comes as a surprise, since the family will be moving to Zanzibar, Tanzania in September, to stay for 9 or 10 months. Juma will be home-schooled in Zanzibar.

Juma's parents were hopeful that having Juma in school would free up some of their time to work on other projects. Justin, a 4th year graduate student, is studying for his oral examinations, and is also preparing for a year-long field study of Zanzibari history.

Sarah, on leave from grad school for one year, looks forward to preparing for the family's next big Tanzania trip. She will prepare home school materials for Juma, Arabic-learning materials for herself, and gather articles for her Zanzibar-based research project on HIV.

Juma said of the school-enrollment move, "I've never even seen inside that school."

juma funnies

Sarah: Juma, what's something fun you've done, so we can put it on the blog?

Juma: Um, had a vanilla milkshake. laughs I went to moe-mee-wyoe-wah. I want to be silly.

Sarah: Didn't you say something really cute, or something like that?

Juma. No! I don't say anything cute. I don't say anything cute, okay! And I'm not going to spend a lifetime in a shelf. "In a dime store shelf, watching every other toy be sold!" laughs That's in Toy Story 2. messes up my hair Now what do we look like. pushes hair into Sarah's face Now more hair, more hair! Even more hair! Now can you see?

Sarah: Nope. does poor Cousin It impersonation

Juma: grabs Sarah's nose Say mmm.

Sarah: Mmm

Juma: laughs Say moon.

Sarah: Moon.

Juma: Do it to me.

Sarah: grabs Juma's nose Say moon.

Juma: snorts, laughs Moon.

Sarah: I'm still typing everything, see?

Juma: I can't even see your ears.

Sarah: Oh.

Juma: Did you type that?

Sarah: What?

Juma: I can't even see your ears. Where are they? sifting through Sarah's hair Oh, there they are.