And we're off!

The school year has gotten off to a good though super-frenzy-paced start.  I feel like a switch got flipped and BOOM – life and busyness and all that there is to do is just swirling around us.  The next few weeks, unfortunately, aren’t going to get any tamer.  A couple of upcoming weekends will be spent going to Port Ludlow to pack up and out of the beach house (which has a sale pending).  Very bittersweet.

The kids are in full school stuffs craziness.  They have swim lessons Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30 until the 2^nd week of October.  I start teaching my music classes (4 classes back-to-back) next Monday.  We’ve been mentoring an engaged couple from church on Wednesdays.  The weekends have been packed with fun activities (but still packed).  The 1^st of October, the boys will start a Parkour class (to, ya know, start learning how to become ninja warriors).  Kayli does gymnastics on Wednesday mornings; we go to the gym Tuesday mornings; she has preschool Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.  I’m toying with the idea – once this session is over and the boys are done – of having her do swim lessons Tuesday/Thursday mornings between gym and preschool. The fact is: it takes A LOT of energy to use up all her energy.  Last week, she had swimming Tues/Thurs., gymnastics Wednesday morning and I took her out for a 1.5 mile run Wednesday night evening…with all that she FINALLY started going to bed better.  I just got a new pair of Nike running shoes…for her.

Speaking of running, I feel pretty good that I’m starting to get more of a running routine again.  Without running, I feel weird.  So, basically in addition to everything else we’ve been dealing with, I’ve felt no-running-weird for most of the last nine months.  Unfortunately, getting up to run is just as hard as ever…we’re sleeping like crap.  Zachary is in a bad sleep phase.  He wakes up EVERY SINGLE night – sometimes more than once – and is scared.  He usually can’t totally explain why, he’s just scared.  Some nights he doesn’t even remember getting up.  He typically ends up flying under the covers of our bed and we groggily roll over, not waking up enough to get up, get him up and back to bed.  The fact that we haven’t consistently slept through the night in a couple of months, definitely doesn’t help…well, anything.  BUT I have managed to still get up early most mornings and have gotten out for runs a couple of times a week.  I run with my friend/neighbor Tiffany.  Last week, we heard a coyote howling.  On Monday, we were very startled when the (rather large cousin-of-canines) came crashing through a yard and ran across the street a couple houses ahead of us to the golf course.  A little bit later, he crossed in front of us again heading back to the woods.  Dang, those things are way bigger than I expected!

School is going well(ish) for the boys.  It’s always a transition to get back into the school routine.  Matthew (now 5^th grade), for the 2^nd year, has a guy teacher, which is pretty exciting.  It’s a funny generalization (but true, I’ve found), that the male teachers are usually the favorites – the ones all the kids and parents want.  And, I have to say, I think, for a boy, its extra cool that Matthew’s gotten dude teachers two years in a row.  Zachary has an adorable young woman for his 3^rd grade teacher – one that everyone has raved about – so it appears they’re both in very good hands!

Matthew turned 11 the 3^rd day of school. ELEVEN.  And he’s SO freakishly tall – 5 foot 1.5 inches.  ELEVEN and he’s only 2 ½ inches shorter than me!  We celebrated his birthday with a super-packed fun weekend.  We went to the little Newcastle Days celebration at the park – inflatable bouncy houses and obstacle courses, climbing wall, live music, free junk, food vendors, pony rides and petting zoo.  Then the next day, we REALLY went all out and went to the Washington State Fair down in Puyallup.  It was super hot that day and a little bit like Disneyland in that everyone gets all sugar-wired and wound up – yet tired – so you’re doing this very fun (and stupid-expensive!) outing and people tend to get real cranky real quick.  All in all, good family fun times!

Zachary on Butterscotch

Kayliana on Candy

Up, up

and away

A boy and his...bunny

Kayli :)

Our adrenaline junkies ready for the "Extreme Scream."  (Sadly, adrenaline junky #3 -- Kayli -- wasn't big enough) 

It was awesome

Well, that’s telling – I just started to type “August” for today’s date.  The summer felt like it was over before it really began.  I knew it would go fast, but WHAT?!  At least, I feel confident in that we succeeded in smooshing as much ‘summer’ into the last full week of summer vacation as we possibly could.  We spent a weekend with our Engaged Encounter friends (more like family) at a big house up on Lake Cavanagh.  We boated.  We drank.  The kids swam.  We roasted marshmallows.  We drank.  We had a sing-along.  We drank.  The kids swam.  We boated.  We drank…it was great, I think. J It was awesome…and hard to admit it was over.

Then, a couple of days later, we drove down to Seaside, Oregon where we stayed with our neighbors/friends Erik and Melissa and their two kids.  We had a wonderful time.  The weather turned out surprisingly good and we filled each minute of every day.  We did the beach and the pool as much as possible.  We rode bikes on the boardwalk and flew kites.  We went to the little aquarium and fed the seals.  We did bumper cars, rode the carousel and played lots of games.  It was awesome…and hard to admit it was over.

On Sunday, after church, we drove to Suncadia for a day at the beautiful vacation home of friends from baseball/the boys’ school.  I’m so mad at myself for not taking pictures, but if I had you would’ve thought I was just posting photos from a travel or home magazine.  Stacey’s and Angela’s vacation house is hands down the most breathtaking home I’ve ever stepped foot in.  Angela designed nearly every aspect of it herself.  I can’t even begin to describe the place.  Just imagine the most beautiful home set in the most breathtaking mountain location you can picture…and you’re almost there.  The entire back wall off the kitchen opens up (via accordion door/wall) to the patio and boasts a panoramic view of forest and mountains.  You feel like – well, you are – sitting on a bluff overlooking God’s glorious creation.  Again, I’m a moron for not having taken pictures, but you wouldn’t have believed them anyway. 

We spent the day with five families from school/baseball – just hanging out.  The kids (and a couple of the dads) swam at the resort pool.  We all talked…and drank…made s’mores.  The kids watched a movie.  It was awesome…and hard to admit it was over.

And, here, we are.  SEPTEMBER.  I take the boys this morning to meet their teachers and see their classrooms.  Tomorrow is the first day of school.  Tomorrow, Kayliana has her first day of gymnastics.  Thursday, Kayli meets her preschool teacher and sees her first ever classroom.  On Friday, Matthew turns ELEVEN.  Next week, swim lessons start back up for all three kids.  A week after, that we start at-home faith formation lessons.  A couple of weeks after that my music classes start back up.  A couple of weeks after that the boys starts a Parkour class (so they can learn to become American Ninja Warriors). A couple of weeks after that it’ll be Christmas and then summer and then the kids will graduate…and their childhoods will be over in a blink of an eye…

It was awesome…and hard to admit it was over.

Flying our kites -- in the lower left hand corner, you can see Mike (blue t-shirt) and Kayli

The kids -- heading to the aquarium

Incredible neighbors and friends -- Erik & Melissa!