Searching for sun

Cindy took the kids this morning to the airport. They are going to Hawaii! I will meet up with them after work...quick weekend getaway.

They're at the airport waiting to see if they made the standby list!

Boys and girls

Mason and Kenzie each got to have a friend spend the night.

Mason invited Wil, and at the soccer game Miles was invited too. They are great boys. They decided to play Wii, wrestle, and play Nerf guns. They played so hard that the car was all smelly and foggy when we took them for ice cream.

Kenzie and Gabi went to a Halloween party. We didn't have a costume for Kenzie because we were planning to be on an airplane for Halloween, so we made her into Flower Power with stuff we found around the house.

Now for the fun...getting them all to sleep!

Is that...

A little Chirpie bottom I see poking out from Kenzie's camp bag?

Camp Colman

The fifth grade classes take three days a year and go to Camp Colman, over on the peninsula. All the girls in Kenzie's class shared a cabin. The chaperone said they were great! Again, I love this group of girls that has found each other this year. They are well grounded and have a good internal compass. I am so glad, especially because she heads into junior high next year!

Leaving for camp....

Sneak pictures from parents at the camp...


Returning home!
The one disadvantage to camp: they come home with new camp songs.

sushi

Mason had a sleepover at a friend's house last night, so the four of us ventured to sushi! We all found something we liked!

Another fall day

I never thought I would be a "soccer mom." I didn't identify with the stereotype. Yet, here I find myself, actually excited to go to the kids games, all bundled up in the rain, walking on the mushy grass, sitting in the wind, and cheering from the sidelines. The games are fun, the other parents are great, and the kids love it. Even though we complain about spending every Saturday and Sunday in the elements watching kids kick a ball, it's amazing to watch the kids grow in their skills...but more than that, they are making friends and having a great time.

Kenzie has gone from being a reluctant player to actually enjoying it and being tough! She is starting to understand the game, be aggressive and play hard. A few years ago we thought she would never be a part of a "team sport" -- but now she looks forward to soccer every week.

Mason is still a maniac on the field. He consistently scores more than half the goals on any average game. He just loves it. He lights up. It's fun to watch him.

For the record, I never got a minivan.

Mason is #6 in the red. Not all of them go in, but his kick is getting harder.



I think he had four goals this game.

Soccer and pumpkins

We had three soccer games this weekend, all of which were in the rain! Borja scored a very beautiful goal, which made sitting in the rain for a couple of hours almost worth it. And, since we were soaking wet we decided to meet our new friends at the pumpkin patch.

New cutie

Our friend Tricia had a cradle blessing tonight for her new daughter Violett. Cindy, Kenzie, Devan and I went to the East Indian drum ceremony. Boys and drums...we thought better and left the boys at home.

At 8:30 Mason called Cindy's cell. He said, "Mom, we just realized we forgot to eat dinner."

I said, "well, eat."

He replied, "ok. Bye."

1st "School Art" of the year by Kenzie

Bruiser

Salmon Freedom

This weekend was Issaquah's annual Salmon Days festival. Kenzie and Mason are friends with siblings who have a house in downtown Issaquah. Their mom invited Kenzie and Mason to spend the day with them, playing throughout the town without parents.

We gave Kenzie the family phone and dropped them off at 10 o'clock. We then took Borja to his game in Seattle. The kids were left to wander anywhere that cars could not go until we returned at 3 o'clock. It was quite a big step. But it turned out to be a fabulous day for all of us.

Because the weather was so perfect still, there were thousands of people everywhere. But, we quickly found the girls wandering on the sidewalk, and much later happened upon the boys in a tree without shoes. Didn't matter, everyone had a great time. They played on the zip line, did the hamster ball, jousted, ate Carmel apples, and picked up all of the advertising swag that could be found. Oh, and we even had time for a semi-adult hamster ball run. There is video yet somehow we are still arguing about who won.

Golf

Yesterday was the 11th annual William H Bolam golf tournament. Cindy says they had an absolutely beautiful day in remembrance of her uncle Bill. They didn't win but they had a great time.

Another weekend....more soccer

Hood Canal

We snuck out of town Friday night and headed for Hood Canal with some friends. We caught a late ferry and made it there after everything was dark, but at least we made it before Saturday started!

Saturday we found the beach, which involved a set of connected wrought iron ladders and platforms that eventually led to a series of rope that allowed a final slide to the beach! Didn't matter how we got there, the entire stretch of waterfront was basically uninhabited. Saturday we went for a long walk until Lauren found a rock suitable enough to fish from. She guided each kid to roll their pants above their knees and wade out to the rock. After an extended period of coaching and monitoring the scene they finally cast the first line. At some point I'm sure I mentioned the fact that the tide was rising, but she seemed to have things under control, so all of us except for Mason and Lauren headed back.

Some hours later the two fisherpeople returned with a fish story about one being too small to keep (interesting fish tale), but the reality of only snagging several pieces of kelp finally came out. And we learned Lauren was wet up to her armpits and finally had to carry Mason over her head back to shore. Again, didn't matter, they had a blast. As it turns out, it was good that they spent so much time fishing on Saturday because Mason woke up sick on Sunday and spent his hours between the couch and the toilet.

The weather was beautiful. Hard to believe it's now October and this beautiful sun is about to leave us, or so they say. Anyway, we made the most out of the two days, arriving back home well after all three kids were asleep in the car.

The path back up

Washington beach...lots of kelp and barnacles

Lauren and Mason are setting up the perfect fishing spot. This was after they had been at it a while and Kenzie headed back (note color of pants...tide is coming in).

Almost ready for the first cast

Watching

One of Kenzie's favorite creatures, the squirting sea anemone barely inched out the worms, crabs, and clams

Judging from the slanted water line, I suspect she carried the bulk of his weight with her right hand

Bentley had a happy weekend with us, but couldn't quite navigate the stairs (Lauren even tried to carry him, but he opted out)

Oh, did I mention the yard had a trampoline??

Which, of course, is a perfect backdrop for posing.