1st Day of Middle School

Scott is in 8th and Tyler 7th.  I think it will be a great year for them.

Tyler has two great friends who live about a 5 minute bike ride away.  This week they went from our house, to the next house to the third house to swim.  They are great, happy kids.

Scott has a lot of friends but doesn't have a group like Tyler but is happy.  He is confident in who he is.  I asked him if he still hung out with one of his friends I haven't seen in a while and he said something to the extent of no because he is trying to be popular. I am so grateful that Scott understands the pressure kids his age feel to be popular and isn't bothered by that or falls into it. We have tried so hard to tell him to be kind to everyone.  I think he strives to do that.  Strives to hang out with all different groups.  Such a powerful tool.

Scott and Tyler are both in Jazz band.  Amazing perk to get kids to practice over the summer.  They have really wanted a nintendo switch so I told them that if they learned all 8 jazz songs in the summer they could get one.  They did it.  It was a lot of work but amazing to see their progress.  We went and picked up a used switch, games and accessories from someone about 10 minutes away.  Mr. Fallon, their band teacher, is a new teacher who loves music and is great for middle school. He connects with the kids and gives them a passion for music.

Tyler is such a talented singer and I wish that choir was as popular as it is in Utah.  It has been such a blessing in Danny's life.  Scott got put into creative dramatics which is half choir and half acting as the pianist.   So far he doesn't love it because he doesn't have anyone he knows in it, but I hope with time it will be a positive class for him.

Tyler's best friend does drama camp in the summer and they did an amazing play.  I have been telling Tyler to do drama for a long time but he has been unwilling.  This year he is willing to do the club with his friend.  Again, he doesn't totally want to do it because a lot of his friends aren't in it but I am trying to teach them that it doesn't matter what others do, but it could be a great thing to magnify talents they have.

Tyler is in ASB which I think will be a great experience for him.  He gets along so well with other kids and has an inner confidence that I love.  He has some incredible leadership skills.  Scott can't do it this year because he has to take 8th grade health so only gets a semester class which is going to be playing the piano for creative dramatics.

Tyler is doing the wheel of woodshop, art, creative dramatics and I have been trying to get my boys, especially Tyler to do creative dramatics but I get the notion they don't do it because they don't think it is cool for boys to do or have any friends doing it.  At least he will be exposed to it.  And Tyler is hopefully going to do an after school club of drama with his good friend.  Tyler isn't stoked but I told him to just try it and I think he is open to it. Hoping he does it.  I think if his friend does it, he will be more open to it.

I asked Scott how school was and he says, "It was good.  I mean it is school.  My brain was fried by period 3."  Love the pre-teen attitude.  Translate that to non teenager/8th grade language and that was a great day.  LOL! 

Tyler is a little less influenced and had a good day. He told me about his teachers and they all seemed great reviews.  His only complaint was Scott isn't letting him play any of the piano songs he wants in Jazz so I talked to Scott about how maybe they should each be able to choose 1 song they want to play and as first piano he can choose 1st. He went onto tell me how last year he didn't get to choose anything so I told him that a good leader figures out compromise and listens to others needs.  Hoping he thinks about the council.  With pre-teens it is a lot of conversations left with think about it, pray about it while I pray like crazy because anything I suggest is in one ear and out the other just because it is from me.  (update....mr. fallon on day 2 asked Tyler if he wanted to play a song that Scott had claimed.  So the prayers might not have worked on Scott softening his heart, but it did work for the boys to see that when we pray things get resolved).  Maybe in the future Scott will learn to do it on his own without divine intervention..LOL!

Scott wants to do volleyball and cross country so hoping his year is injury free.  Last year he couldn't do cross country because of a broken arm and then right after that he had an injured foot for the rest of the year.  It was weird for him not to do any sports from October til summer.  He said he wants to do them both so hoping it works out.

So overall success of middle school.

Here is a pic of the first day.

July 2019 and my instant pot

Photo time one Sunday morning.  I did Hanna's hair.  Notice the vertical pony tail.  

Missy is in the early stages of potty training.  Heidi thinks my yogurt gave her diarrhea.

Mister is curiously destructive.  He's not malicious, but things get broken just the same.  He can be so charming when he wants.  Like, he'll ask, "Daddy, how was work?"

I wrote about my instant pot on the other blog.  I've made three batches of yogurt and it's not as successful as I'd hoped. Kira liked my yogurt, though.  Last night I made beans and used my presto pressure cooker and crock pot and got better results.  So, I may have to sell the instant pot. 

Mister fell asleep in the car, which is common, but I was so amused at his goggles placement.

 Thursday was the end-of-the-season swim party at a home in Discovery Bay.  I was a bit jealous of this pad right on the water. 

How can you live here and not have a good time?  We ran the spartan, launched water balloons off the deck, had good food, and enjoyed a nice evening. 

Okay, bye. 

Lake Powell 2019

We made an extended vacation out of the Lake Powell trip by first driving to Las Vegas and spending the night in a hotel.  We went to church the next day and then did a tour of Hoover Dam.  It had been a long time since I'd been and I'm pretty sure the kids have never seen it, so I thought it would be good for them.  Plus, the Transformers movie immortalized the dam by housing Megatron beneath the concrete.

We then went to a park to run the RC boats but it was so stinking hot.  The kids cooled off at a water park and then it was back to the hotel for pizza and bed.

We left Monday morning after continental breakfast.  The drive was pretty beastly, much longer than anticipated.  The kids had devoured our week's worth of food rations and we had to stop for more.  Fortunately, Heidi was impressed by the Capitol Reef national park.

The rest of the trip can be described through this video and my shutterfly link.



https://link.shutterfly.com/MJkQx1QJ8X

River Otters

I can't believe the season is 2/3 or more done.  It has been a GREAT year.  When I took the job I really had no idea what to expect but felt this was where I was meant to be.  It was a really small team and worried Scott wouldn't have anyone to train with. 

Our first outing was the River Otter Parade and the families and kids were amazing.  It made me really excited for the atmosphere and great kids and families we got to spend the summer with.  The schedule couldn't have been any better.  2 hours in the evening or morning. I was able to spend the bulk of my day being a mom.  Last year it was too many hours away from my family.  I felt like I was coaching and being a mom on the side or too tired to go on adventures with my kids.  Now I feel like a mom with coaching on the side.  We are all having a great time and the schedule is perfect.  Renee picks up the 3 kids that don't swim and brings them to kids club at the gym which is good for them to play and hang out with friends while I am at work and I pick them up after to swim and play at the pool a little.  Our gym is about 3 minutes from where I work.  It is amazing!! I am so grateful for her! 

Swim started and the kids were all so eager.  We would teach them totally new ways to do things and they were all so eager and willing to try.  They asked to do more.  The coaches were the same way.  We had two coaches bail two weeks before the season and one at the start of the season and ended up with two different amazing coaches.  I really feel like it was all meant to be.  The thing that surprised me the most was the potential of these kids.  They were athletic kids that just became crazy when they raced so we needed to learn how to race smart.  Not take a million strokes and breathes a lap.  They just needed to learn technique and then how to race smart and the team transformed.  The first meet kids were dropping 5-10 seconds.  It was crazy!  I really have never seen anything like it.  The coolest thing is that they started to believe in themselves.  Their little team had never won a meet before and they started to realize that they were good swimmers.  I have never coached such a green team and it is really rewarding.  Especially being in our hometown.  It is a phenomenon over the hill how East County has sooo many kids and so close to Contra Costa but not a swim world.  It is my dream to see that change.  I know someday it will be and hope that I can be just a little building block of that alongside other amazing coaches, kids, athletes, families and swim facilities in the area. 

The momentum and the fire is a very cool thing to witness.  I am so proud of this little team and so excited to where they will go! 

We had a fun day at Lake Anza in Tilden Park with friends.  Regional Parks are free on Friday so we hit this one up.  It was so fun.  Best part is being with great friends.  Lots of laughs about homeschool, how boring life as a lifeguard would be, swim testing and so much more!  Love our tribe.  We are blessed. 

The Discovery Bay River Otters vs. the Brentwood Dolphins

This meet was slick because it was at Heritage High, which is right across the street from us.  Parker and Hanna were home with a sitter and I went to the meet with my big lens.  I don't think the kids did that great but at least they swam, and for Blake, that's saying something.  Lots of times he gets too anxious and won't even get on the blocks.  

Not a bad dive

Blake doing the 25 breast

 Kira doing 100 IM.  She was pretty tired at the end of it.

 Blake doing 25 free.

Okay, that's all for now.  Bye.

Livin' the dream

Last night the Olsons came over for din din and a smore's fire.  It was fun.  Britton and I were sitting on the couch while the kids were playing outside and I said, "Living the dream!"  Like, sitting down and doing nothing is living the dream.  

I wanted to memorialize the event with my big camera.  

Hanna and the critter face

Kira's posed smile is a little more natural than it was in the past

Mr. Hollywood in his element