We missed the ferry. And love waiting.

Finding time

We had a packed day Saturday, including evening plans with some friends, but we ran home, grabbed the kids and ended up at the beach by midnight. It was nice to wake up today, have a casual breakfast, go for a walk on the beach, and just enjoy the time. June and Bob came over for the first time, and brought birthday-girl Kris.

It's weird having a second place we call home. It feels like a second life in some ways. We are getting to know the neighbors, the grocery stores, the community. Then we go home to our "regular" life. It's new and in many ways we fell into this. The decision came up quickly and we were just looking for a house, not a new community. Yet we are loving it. Now we just need a couple more days in the week to figure out how to not slice ourselves too thin.

Mason took the first polar bear plunge.

He buried Kenzie's feet and they giggled on the sand.

The Bolams by the Beach.

The mountains were gorgeous, and the kids and I went for a nice walk.

Think this is the first time all three kids were on a swingset. Ahh....


We were worried about our overly-protective dog, but he was very relaxed and didn't bite a single person! He made lots of new four-legged friends, including his new girlfriend Piper.

Only bummer was that we forgot our kayak paddles and dry clothes so we wouldn't let the boys go out. Didn't stop them from trying.

Which was particularly difficult when this happened (a neighbor):

Speaking of neighbors, here's a new one that flew by:

Ideas

Today Mason told me that when he grows up he wants to be an inventor. I asked him what he wants to invent, and he described the Plunger Gun. It is a gun similar to a Nerf that you stand on the ground and when you see an airplane pass overhead you cock the gun and shoot the plunger at the airplane. When you hit the airplane immediately a bubble forms around you and your entire house and you go invisible. You can then navigate with the force of the airplane pulling you to whatever destination you want to go, as long as it is the same as the airplane. There are also additional features, such as smart selection, which is where the device knows what things you would need for your vacation and takes only those from your house. He spoke for a long time about this Plunger Gun, and I believe he has spent even more time thinking about it. I think perhaps we should start filing copyright protection as he is almost ready to go to market. 

"Friendly"

Mason had a soccer game today. Although the season hasn't started, this was an arranged match. I have never been so miserable in my life. The rain was coming from all directions that umbrella was didn't help. We were at the top of the plateau and the wind was whipping and beating us the entire time. Mason played the entire game, the only one without an undershirt on. He also earned every foul in the game. They lost, just to add insult to injury. I kept trying to remind myself we pay for this privilege.

Masons art

Kenzie

Twenty Five Years

This weekend Cindy and I celebrated our twenty-fifth anniversary. Timing on our new house was perfect as we were able to bring a group of our closest friends over for a first celebration.

It was the first time we got to relax and enjoy it, and we are all excited about the memories ahead for us. There are a lot of wildlife, like the river otter family of seven that was teaching the babies to swim. Or the myriad birds that fly, dive or float. It's quiet and peaceful, but the neighbors we have met are warm and friendly.

Notice the river otter in the water with Kenzie and Josh...

 

We were able to have our first bonfire. 

And then it was time to leave.

New window seat

Even though we haven't had a chance to enjoy the beach house yet, it has had visitors who brought custom furnishings. Mom made us this new window seat and I am very excited to see at this weekend in person.

When we got over there to the new house we realized they had also left us another special present. 

Clowns

Snotty smile

Soccer/football, Basketball/football

In the last couple of weeks I have had three different people ask me if Mason plays football. I always say no, he plays soccer and basketball. But after watching him play basketball yesterday and soccer today, I realized that he infuses a little bit of football into everything he does. In the picture above, he's the third kid from the right and is now the biggest both in height and width. On the basketball court, he has a few that are his size. But he uses those shoulders as a weapon.

Here are just a couple of clips that Cindy got in today's game. You could replace the pitch with a court, and cleats with tennies, and you'd see the same behavior. Mason spends a disproportionate amount of time either on the ground or causing an opponent to be on the ground.  He's not malicious and isn't out to hurt anyone, he just doesn't mind a bruise or two. Matter of fact, he's icing his leg right now after a guy implanted a knee in Mason's thigh. Twice this weekend I watched him go down in for what looked like the count. Both times he just needed about 30 seconds to regain control, and then he was back to playing. I have always said that Mason doesn't make it easy to be his mother.

Even though they rarely call fouls in basketball, Mason frequently gets more than two per game. I was happy when yesterday he only got two. I told Grampy "it was a good game for Mason, he only got two fouls." He corrected me "that they called."

No turkey

Kenzie received a near-perfect score on her math quiz, and this earned her a pet fish, as per an agreement she had with Cindy. Mason, who also wants a fish, felt this wasn't fair and asked what he needed to do to earn the same reward. We were just heading out to his soccer game so I said "score three goals today."

Immediately Cindy was not happy with that agreement. She feared he would be singularly focused on scoring, not on passing and other essentials the game.

At half time, Mason had scored two, including this one:

I began to worry. I am done with owning pet fish, let alone two of them. We don't have good luck with fish. And I didn't really think he would score three goals.

Just after the second half began, Mason was pulled onto the sidelines. He never sat on the bench, however, standing next to Coach Michael. I had Cindy take this picture of him and his coach - it was evident that he was lobbying to be put back in. 

I, however, didn't really believe it was just because of our deal. After sitting out for five minutes or so, he was put back in. Almost immediately he shot a rolling goal and--right before it went in--one of his teammates gave it an extra boot. It was destined to go in without the additional kick, but the scorebook says Akash scored it. Sorry dude, doesn't count. Still no fish.

Soon he did this:

However...he was called offside! Too bad, doesn't count. No fish.

He ended the game with two goals and two almost-goals. Scorebook says "two goals." Deal was three. He was lobbying as we walked off the field. I walked past his coach and asked him what Mason was saying to him on the sidelines. Michael said "something about he had to play for his fishy." 

I offered a concession: milk shake today and the offer still stands for the next game when he scores three. He considered that a win and we excitedly headed to the Ram for a milkshake and dinner.

We sat down and he ordered a milkshake. Milkshake machine is broken today. He had to settle for an after-dinner sundae. Poor dude he had to settle for a sundae and a promise of a someday fish. 

Lesson of the day: bribes work with this kid.

Visitor ready

Cindy and I banged out many hours of manual labor in a way we haven't for many years. But, we survived and 2-1/2 days later our new house is ready for us! There is an endless list of projects, but we checked a bunch off of the list and are ready to balance work with enjoyment now.