Robot

June 17, 2021 by Adam in Yvonne

We got a robot for Ben's summer learning experience.  It theoretically comes with one-on-one remote classes, but so far he's figured out how to drive it around the house with a tablet to terrorize the cats.  This morning we woke up to find this note on the dining room table.

The IKEA Effect

May 11, 2021 by Adam in Yvonne

I've been hanging out with Ben quite a bit with Duncan and Joanna up in Portland.  We went through The Expanse and have started on The Orville.  Apparently I'll be rewatching all the major scifi shows of the last ten years.

He has the smallest of the bedrooms and has always had challenges with storage.  Joanna got him a wardrobe from IKEA, which of course required assembly.  With a little impatience on his part, the living room was turned into an assembly floor.  I provided the muscle, tool organization, and occasional pointers, but otherwise he put it together himself.  I had to explain The IKEA effect, which I suspect drove him onward.  He finally finished it, in an odd corner of the room that doesn't quite fit, but it's majestic anyway.

Fourteen

April 14, 2021 by Adam in Yvonne

Ben turned fourteen today.  We were trying to figure out what he could do today that he couldn't do yesterday, and apparently it's the minimum age to work in Oregon.  I'll see if the coal mine is hiring.

He's had a lot of changes lately, from surgery a couple weeks ago to the start of hybrid school.  Plus it's just been the two of us and our cat Leia for most of the week.  He's been doing remarkably well, healing nicely, catching up with homework, and really enjoying his two days of in-person education.  He's been watching a lot of science videos and chatting with friends online.  We'll wind down our evenings with The Expanse or some of the news/comedy YouTube shows.

Today will probably be pretty low-key.  I was going to pick up some goodies at Sweet Life and we'll eat sushi in front of the television for dinner.  The weekend will have most of excitement, from family birthdays to an escape room with his cousin Francis and a longtime friend from school.