Dave

Our beloved Pastor Dave has left our church to move away and be closer to his parents. It's a hard time for our church and he leaves very big shoes to fill. We have been very busy lately so haven't gone that frequently, but were happy to be there on his last day.

And, um....look who has grown this summer...

30 years

I made a last minute decision to go to my 30th high school reunion. I didn't want to go, but saw the attendee list and realized there were a few people I wouldn't mind seeing. The evening turned out to be a complete surprise to me - it was so warm and fun. Ran into people I hadn't seen since graduation and still found things to talk about. No pretences, nothing but enjoying people with a common past.

San Diego

We have had a great mini vacation to San Diego as part of Mason's Surf Cup tournament. It's super tough competition so they got good experience at a high level of play. Plus the weather was terrific and we got some beach and pool time.

Kenzie loved to feed the koi her finger.

Beautiful La Jolla

And the sleepy seals

Singing in the car

Mason and I played ping pong in the lululemon store. He beat me. But barely.

Day trip to Encinitas with a few soccer friends.

The tournament had a huge wall with each kid's name on it.

Ermias liked a few of the girls...a lot

The team had a bonfire on the beach

Mason and Jaden

Mason found his name.

Getting physical

Every year soccer with the boys gets more and more physical. This year is no exception - but it seems noisier and faster. The ball is kicked harder and they push and shove a lot harder. Mason still holds his own.

House...August edition

We have new color on the outside of our house, and the kitchen is *almost* done. We didn't order enough tile and there are some odds and ends left to do, but we are getting close. I swear.

Oh Canada

I took Kenzie and her friend Caitlin to Vancouver for a few days while I worked. I turned them loose in the city with some money in their pockets and access to the luxurious hotel that we were "accidentally" booked in by my thoughtful admin. I was excited because the hotel had bikes that they could use. However, the girls figured out that there was also access to cute drivers with brand new BMWs that would take them all over the city. They walked a bunch, but when they got tired they just called Rory or Tim. Then we had box seats for the Lady Gaga concert. To say that they fell quickly into the life of luxury is an understatement. Time to go back to reality!

Soccer pool party

A video from one of the mom's...we weren't invited to this one.  Notice who is leading the belly-flopping exercise.

Basketball

Only one game left for Ermi's basketball. Unfortunately he had to miss one due to the burn on his leg, but was lucky that they had a bye the next week. So he should be good to go for the last one coming up. Here are a couple of videos that Cindy took of him on the court.

Surf Cup 2017

Mason's team was able to go to the Surf Cup in San Diego this year. He went as keeper but knew that they needed to bring another keeper too, so he should expect only half time. He did a really good job as goalie. He's learning the position but is fearless and has great instincts. But, at the end of each game the coach put him in as striker. He scored in each of the first two games - and it turns out that he has scored the only goals for his team across the entire tournament. For a while he had the only Gunners goals in the tournament. We thought that was a funny statistic since he came as a goalie. He also blocked a penalty kick. They didn't get a win, but they got some great experience of playing at a much higher level.

Burn

Ermias tipped some boiling water over onto the back of his leg and got second degree burns! He had to go to the ER (same day Cindy had already taken Bob for two broken ribs while I was in Canada). He had to go back in twice to have the blisters lanced, but he's doing much better. He's quite the trooper.

I'll smile if you make me

Kitchen update

It's coming along....we found this tile on a website and really liked it. We are happy that it turned out just like we hoped. Unhappy that we didn't buy enough and have to wait another six weeks.

Officially taller than Grammy

He's still pushing her down, and probably on his heels, but it looks pretty official.