Fall soccer

Soccer started the same week as school started.  The kids have played 2 games so far.  I only got a few pictures so far, but I guess they characterize the kids pretty well.  Weston is definitely out there to have fun.  You can see him doing some dance moves... he doesn't know what's going on most of the time, but he does kick the ball if it comes to him.  One of his good friends is on the team, so I think they goof off quite a bit.  I'm sorry for Weston's coach, but at least Weston is having fun.  

Jared has earned a spot as center defender.  Unfortunately, Jared would rather play forward or midfield, but he is a good defender.  He basically is in charge of keeping the defensive line pushed forward, and he's good at running the ball down or anyone who has the ball.  

Savannah is much more aggressive this year.  She's right in the middle of the pack (and U8 is still very much pack ball).  U8 has goalies this year, so that's new.  They also are trying to have positions, defense and offense, so usually there are 2 defenders just standing back waiting to kick the ball.  Savannah scored her very first goal last week!  She was right in front of the goal, and when it came across and past the keeper, she was there to kick it in.  

I'm not coaching any of them this year.  I probably should have, but I wanted both Weston and Savannah to experience a coach other than their own parent.  Both of them have only played on teams that either Alex or I have coached.  Savannah was pretty clingy and moody last year when I coached her team. I think she took advantage of that during practice, often just going to sit and not play.  She is doing really well with her coach this year, gaining some independence.  But I am missing coaching her a little bit.  Maybe next year I'll coach her team again. I am loving watching the kids play soccer!   It's busy though with 3 of them playing - 5 practices and 3 games each week.  The games sometimes overlap and they are at different locations.  Nathan is also a referee again, so last weekend, he had 2 games.  It was also photo day for Weston and Jared, so starting at 7:15am, we had 3 games, 2 photo shoots, and 2 games for Nathan.  I had to get a little help from friends (with Alex being gone) and with 3 of the things at the same time.  I did quite a bit of driving to get the kids where they needed to be.  We survived.     

Seminary

Nathan started his 2nd year of seminary, a scripture study class at 6:30am.  We are fortunate to have 2 other families to carpool with, so we only have to drive 1-2 times a week.  Normally, the freshman and sophomores meet together, and Nathan has 2 teachers that trade off teaching.  This picture was a special day with the whole group, featuring guest speaker, Hank Smith.  

Another birthday

We celebrated Alex's birthday before he left.  He requested lasagna for dinner.  He also got bacon & eggs, chocolate cake, and M&M cookies.  He got a leaf blower from his parents, which was fun to use on the kids.  It works well on the leaves too!

It's a tough job...

...but somebody has to do it.  As mentioned previously, Alex was gone for 2 weeks in July for work.  He traveled to South Korea and then flew to Ireland from there.  The extra drama for his trip was losing his bag for a few days when his flights got delayed traveling between countries.  Other than that, he enjoyed seeing new places.  

In September, he spent 2 weeks in England and Scotland.  He enjoyed seeing Durham again and some of the people from work, a family of one of Owen's school friends, and the people in our church congregation there.  The scaffolding was off of the Cathedral, so that was cool to see all of it.  I think Alex enjoyed the cool weather while we were sweating it out back in CA.     

Yardwork and answered prayers

The kids are all in school the full day this year, so I'm finding that I have some time to fill during the day.  (I'm looking for a part time job, but don't have anything yet.)  Meanwhile, I have been catching up on projects and doing some yardwork.  For a while, I have wanted to take out a portion of this chain link fence that is in our yard.  I think it was meant to create a separate garden area, or maybe the previous owner intended to have trees and vines growing along it (which it does).  It's not great for kids wanting space to play though.  What we would like to do is open up the area and extend the pavement so they have more room to play basketball.  But, we weren't sure how to get the fence out and hadn't put more than a passing thought into the project. 

   

I was looking out the window one day and decided to see if I could actually get it out.  I had no idea HOW, but I figured it was a matter of unlinking some of it and digging up the posts.  I didn't take a before picture, so this one from about 4 or 5 years ago was the only one I could find. You can see that the fence extended nearly to the other fence, so I wanted to get about 2 of the posts and that length out.  I found one connecting joint on the top bar where I could separate the bar.  The next joining piece couldn't be taken out, because we still wanted that part of the fence.  So the 2nd bar would need to be cut near the 3rd post.  

My first task was clearing out the leaves, sticks, and things that had accumulated along the fence.  My next obstacle was cutting the roots that had grown through and around the fence.  I couldn't get all the limbs out of the fence, but I was able to cut the pieces that were connecting the fence to the ground.  Next, I had to unlink the fence from the top and bottom bar and from the posts.  I didn't think I would be able to unscrew the old screws, but somehow I was able to do that.  When I rolled back the fence and got the bars separated from the post, that left the just the post (which was in a cement block).  I started digging out the first one, and eventually was able to loosen it and pull it out.  It didn't work so well with the next post.  I couldn't seem to find the bottom of it, and it wasn't loose at all.  I felt some give with the first one, but the 2nd post was just solid and wouldn't budge.  

I figured if I kept digging deep enough, I would be able to somehow loosen it.  However, that wasn't working.  After spending so much time with no results, I was about to give up.  It was then that I said a prayer, asking for help in getting this post out.  At that point, most of the cement block was exposed, so I figured if I hit the bar really hard, it might fall over.  I tried a hammer unsuccessfully.  After I said the prayer, I had a little inspiration - I thought about the first post with the cement block still attached.  I thought that might be enough force to pop it over.  I hauled it over, heaved it up, and gave 3 hard blows with the cement post, and it snapped over.  I was SO happy!  And I knew my prayer had been answered.  

When I placed the posts next to each other, I could see why I was having a hard time.  The 2nd cement block was twice as tall as the first one.  No wonder I couldn't get to the bottom of it.  

  

I made a pretty big hole and a pretty big mess, but I accomplished that one task I set out to do.  It will probably be a while before the rest of what I envision for the yard gets done... does anyone know how to level a yard and do your own pavement??  I've got a lot of time, but not a lot of money... 

I don't know why I was so determined to get that fence out, but maybe I just had to know I could do something hard.  Or if I started the project, maybe we can actually make the rest of our goal happen.  

Anyway, I did quite a bit more work around the yard.  I took out an ugly bush next to the house, cleaned up an area along the fence, and did a lot of weeding and raking.  I think I put in about 25 hours of yard work one week.  It looks better than it did before, but still not pretty.  We basically don't have grass anymore.  It has died and been replaced with weeds and foxtails.  There are holes and mounds everywhere from gophers (and some from the kids digging holes).  I'm not sure what all is involved to make our yard green and great again... 😏 

Back to School

We're at 3 different schools this year.  Nathan walks to High School, Jared rides the bus to Junior High, and Owen, Weston, and Savannah walk to Elementary School.

Yosemite National Park

We took a short vacation to Yosemite the week before school started.  It was the first time we've been there.  After living in CA for 9 years, it was about time that we saw Yosemite.  We didn't originally plan on a vacation the week before school, but that happened to be when we had free accommodations (using a timeshare that my parents have).  We were able to stay at a Wyndham Resort in Angels Camp for 4 nights.  It was really nice, but we didn't realize that it was still about 2 hours from Yosemite.  We spent 3 days in the park and 1 day swimming, playing tennis, and hanging out at the resort.  

We spent Monday packing, running errands, boarding the dog at a Petsmart along the way, and getting to our resort. 

On our first day in the park (Tuesday), it took a while to get there, find parking, and walk to the shuttles.  We stopped in the gift shop in Yosemite Valley and then had lunch.  Savannah said she wasn't feeling well, but we attempted to do a hike after lunch.  We got to see Lower Yosemite Falls as a family.  About halfway through, Savannah puked (she said she felt better after that).  But after playing in the water for a bit and starting to walk back, she said she still wasn't feeling well.  Alex said he would stay and walk slowly with her and take her to do something inside.  It was really hot that day.  

I took the boys on the Mist Trail hike to Vernal Falls.  We knew that was supposed to be a hike where we got wet, so we thought that would be a good hike for a warm day.  I didn't realize how strenuous it would be.  It was an uphill climb, with several stair steps near the falls.  Even if Savannah was feeling well, she wouldn't have been able to do that hike.  I wished I had let Alex do the hike, because I was struggling to get to the top.  And while usually a wet hike (most people wear rain jackets to avoid getting drenched), there was only a small amount of mist near the falls.  So we were sweating it out, but the falls were pretty rewarding.  

Those two hikes were all we had time for on the first day.  We caught some nice pictures of other parts of the park on our way out.  

The squirrels throughout the park were really friendly.  We didn't feed them (not supposed to), but you could tell they were used to being fed.  They weren't afraid to come up to your hand. 

 Near the top... almost there, with lots of steps... and then on the very top of the falls looking down. 

Much easier coming DOWN from the falls...

We spent the second day at the resort (Wednesday).  We're not sure why Savannah wasn't feeling well the day before, but we didn't want to try another day of hiking that very next day.  We played a little tennis, spent a lot of time in the pool, grilled hamburgers, ate ice cream, and watched movies.  We found, bought, and watched Avengers End Game, so it was pretty much the best day ever for the kids.  Savannah made a lot of progress on learning to swim - she swam from side to side of the pool a few times.   

From our balcony on Thursday morning, we watched 4 cats and several deer.  The deer were used to being fed as well.  People were feeding them from the lower rooms.

 On Thursday, we went back to Yosemite. We saw Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias.  It was cool to see the big trees, but probably not worth the time it took to do the hike.  If I had it to do over, we probably wouldn't have stopped there. 

 We headed on from the grove of trees over to the east part of the park, Tuolumne Meadows.  It was a nice day to dip our feet in the water of Tenaya Lake.  We planned on just getting our feet wet, but Owen did manage to fall down and get all wet.  He didn't seem to mind (I think he planned on falling down).  We wish we had had more time to relax at the beautiful lake. 

 Those were our main stops for the day.  We drove back the northern route by Mono Lake and had some expensive pizza for dinner. 

On Friday morning, we packed up and headed out of the resort.  We spent the day south of Yosemite Valley, exploring Glacier Point in the park.  We had a beautiful view of Half Dome from there, and we could just see Yosemite Falls from there as well. 

We then headed out through the southern end of Yosemite, seeing Mariposa Grove on the way out.  I really love the giant trees.  The kids are standing next to the "Grizzly Giant" in the picture on the right. 

I wish we had more time in the park - we barely scratched the surface, but enjoyed what we saw.  It was pretty warm the week we were there, but I think it was less crowded since it was the week before school started.  Many of the people there were foreigners - we heard several people speaking different languages. 

We still had a bit of a drive to get home on Friday, picking up Kai on the way.  These pictures were actually before we boarded her, on the way to Yosemite - she was so excited to be on the trip with us.  Little did she know we were dropping her off along the way. She did well with the other dogs at her "pet hotel". 

Camping with friends

We did one quick camping trip with friends before school started.  Camped just one night.  The kids (and Alex) enjoyed the swimming hole.  We saw a rattlesnake on our hike back from swimming.  We roasted hot dogs and s'mores and had a great time hanging out.

Summer activities

We had a good summer - shows at the library (Savannah), ice cream outing, biking and playing at the school, bowling, beach, museum, scout trips, swimming lessons, and daily routines.  

We did the Kids Bowl Free program - Alex bowled with us a few times too.  His goal was to beat me.  He finally did that at the end of the summer (beat me by a few points, although he got a free strike when the system was having problems...).  My highest bowl of the summer was 179.  I did that early on and then couldn't ever beat that score again.  Savannah doesn't need the ramp to roll the ball down anymore, so it was a little more enjoyable.  

This beach day was a birthday party for one of Jared's friends - a fun excuse to go to the beach!

Alex and Grandma Fay would be proud to know the kids aren't afraid of snakes.  They were very fascinated with this one at the museum.  I like snakes when someone is holding them and showing them off.  However, I don't like coming across one in the wild.

Alex, Nathan, Jared, and Owen went on a scout backpacking trip.  Owen wasn't technically old enough to go, but Alex asked if he could come.  He was very excited to go backpacking for the first time.  

This next scout trip was to Emerald Bay - Alex and Jared went on this one in August.  They left at about 4:30am (the picture in the dark).  He had one other early morning, choosing to go on a sunrise hike, reaching the summit at 4:30am (I think they had to get up at 2:00am).  

Weston and Savannah did swim lessons this year.  Owen probably needed to, but he didn't want to go.  Savannah made a little progress, but I'm not sure Weston did.  They were both recommended to repeat the same level.  They had fun though.  Watching Weston try to do backstroke was like watching a crab on its back in the water.  His knees were bent and he couldn't figure out how to get his arms to move correctly.    Weston overcame his fear of jumping off the diving board.

I made scones and faux clotted cream for an international night at church - pretty yummy and I finally got to use my tray from England.  

The apple tree picture was actually taken by Nathan when we had an earthquake this summer.  He thought it would be funny to joke about all the apples that fell off the tree during the earthquake.  I don't think any actually fell off then, but we had a massive number of apples that fell on the ground each day.  I spent quite a bit of time picking up rotten apples and peaches from our trees.  Alex made some apple pie when he was here, but he was gone quite a bit of the summer.  I didn't continue with his new pie making hobby.    

The kids went running with me 3 times a week during the summer.  They weren't too excited about it, but they got out there.  Jared ran too, but he did his own run.  Owen, Weston, Savannah, and sometimes the dog ran 1-2 miles on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings.  They started out with just a half mile, but by the end of the summer, they were doing 2 miles.  Savannah is a good little runner.  Weston complained the most.  Owen loved when Kai ran with us.  The 3 youngest are still running before school at 6:30 on Tuesday and Friday mornings.  

The last picture is the cleanest you'll ever see the Lego room.  Before our friends came to stay with the kids during trek, I decided to clean it up.  It took a good 2 days to get it cleaned up.  Wish I had the before picture... We now have Lego boxes covering all of the empty wall space, which means we can't get any more Legos.  Right?

I thought our summer routine went well.  I introduced a new chart.  Weston despises "the LIST" (think of him saying that in an evil voice).  But the chart gave some structure to our days and kept them from being on their devices all day.  They got a lot of outside time in and a little bit of reading and writing. Here's what they had to do M-F:  Prayer, Make Bed, 15 minutes Exercise (MWF run), Eat breakfast/dishes, Shower, 15 minutes Scriptures, 15 minutes Reading, 10 minutes Writing, Clothes put away, Room Clean, Outside time (to earn screen time), Eat lunch/dishes.  They could earn a maximum of 3 hours screen time to be used between 12:30 and 5:30pm.