Another Week Roars By

Well, I thought I'd post sooner but I guess this has been a busy week. Last weekend we did get out for breakfast and then a wonderful dinner to celebrate our Anniversary on Saturday (17 years!) and on Sunday I decided I just wanted a quiet, peaceful time with the family.

We did enough eating out on Saturday and during the week for Alex' birthday that I guess I just didn't feel like anything big. I decided on some time at the swimming pool (my lovely wife picked up sandwiches) and then some movie time with the family in the evening.

We had a great time at the pool. DS#3 really enjoyed playing with the squirt guns and simply splashing in the pool. He only wants to be on the steps of the "big" pool though, no walking around in the kiddie pool. I guess he just wants to be where the rest of the family is. I really love this second picture of him in the old alligator cover-up that DS#2 used when he was, well, this little.

Monday was another swim meet. Yes, DD got some more blue ribbons this time, but these were heat ribbons and she had to work pretty hard to get them. I am pretty sure didn't get a blue ribbon for overall, but she did swim well and really enjoyed herself. It was our last meet, the conference meet is on Saturday and we will be on vacation (YEAH!).


Yesterday was our last day at Gymboree play for DS#3. He has loved it there, but really doesn't participate in the activities anymore and it is going to be difficult to go during the summer. This fall I plan to sign him up for some different programs, including some gymnastics, so Wednesday was the last day of Gymboree.

Okay, that was the quick "guilt post" due to the lack of posting this week. You'll see even fewer posts next week (as in none) because we will all be on vacation in Washington DC. I am very excited about the trip and I think the kids are too. We'll do our best to get some pictures up soon after we return.

Birthday Fun

Wow, a few days go by and I have so much to post about that this is either going to be a really long post, or very sketchy on details. Okay, let's face it, this is going to be BOTH!

Well, DS#2 turned 10 yesterday. On Wednesday night we had a sleep-over party for him.


Basically, we started out at the neighborhood pool when his friends arrived. One of his friends joined us a little later at the pool. One thing DS#2 had to withstand was the fact that his brothers and sister would be there too. DD LOVED playing with the boys, even if they were trying to ignore her. DS#2 has fantastic friends that all tolerated her sometimes-silliness well.

Fortunately, my lovely wife showed up to help cart people home as with the late arrival my van would have been over-filled. This wouldn't really be a problem on the short drive home from the neighborhood pool but the trip out for ice cream after everyone changed wouldn't have been possible without the extra car. DS#2 is not a fan of cake, he'll choose a milkshake over cake every single time. In fact, there are lots of things he'll choose over cake. In any case, we went ahead and went to Brindles, our favorite ice cream shop. DS#3 fell asleep in the car on the way there, and, in fact, ended up sleeping all the way through the night.

After we got back home it was video game and movie time, for, well, quite a long time. I eventually ordered pizza which we all ate while watching a Pixar short films DVD. Then, you guessed it, the boys played more video games. We decided to get two more Wii controllers because it would be nice to have for the family to play together and we knew that having enough for all the boys would be a huge hit.

The next morning I got up early, cooked bacon, and made banana-chocolate chip pancakes (M normally makes these but I decided to "step up" because I know how much DS#2 likes them). The boys actually all got up before I was planning to wake them (yes, they went to bed very late and we all know they stayed up later talking).

Then, after another round of video games, I took the boys home and ran DD and DS#2 to their Summer camp this week.

Summer camp for DD was "Adventures on the Magic School Bus" where they did some nice little science projects and learned some interesting things about rocks, fossils, plants, etc. DS#2 was in "Medieval Battles" which is basically a very large scale war game with lots of participants. It has both historical troops and fantasy elements so it was perfect for him. Interestingly, I might be helping the creators of the game publish the rules in the future.

I love this type of game and this particular game has been played for over 20 years so I would really like to help Professor Allen Hamilton and his boys get the rules out. We'll see what happens with that in the distant future.


Basically, this has been a very busy week. Add a broken dryer, ruined cell phone, and a few other chaotic elements to the birthday, summer camp, swim team, etc. mix and I am thrilled that it is Friday. Today provides an example for the week, we left this morning at about 8:15 to get DD and DS#2 to camp, then we ran off to the AT&T store to see what could be done with DS#1's cell phone (long story, won't go there now), then on to DS#3's haircut, followed by some side trips (the haircut went REALLY well and took less time than I budgeted) including a stop at Brackenridge park, to pick up the kids... well, let's just say that brought us up to 12:00 noon and the rest of the day was busy enough that DS#3 was napless.

The good point is that DS#3 did super well at his haircut today. I was amazed. This might have something to do with the new chair they had in place of the airplane he sat in before. He loves cars, and loves his "car shu" as well as his car sheets (yes, Cars, he loves everything do do with them, don't know if he could sit through the movie though.

I thought I would close with this funny picture of some old guy and his youngest baby. Father's Day is coming up and despite how busy I always seem to be, I have to say I wouldn't trade my life for anything.

I know I should get more posts up so family and friends know what is going on but sometimes, well, a guy just has to have fun.

The Tough Girl

I should have posted this yesterday but I didn't get to it. Yesterday DD needed to get a small filling in one of her back molars. It is a baby tooth but it won't fall out until she is 11 or 12 so the cavity needed to be taken care of. They saw it a few weeks ago at our regular dental appointments so we scheduled to have it taken care of yesterday afternoon.

Well, I was a bit worried that she'd be upset at the needle to numb it, or the drilling, etc. I expected to be in the room with her while it was done. Ah, silly me, I forgot how tough and independent DD is. I asked her if she wanted me to come with her or wait in the lobby, she told me to wait in the lobby. The dentist and his employees were all astounded at how calm and patient she was with the whole thing. She didn't really enjoy the numb feeling, but sat still and didn't complain a bit throughout the entire thing. The dentist told her that he wished some of his adult patients were as well-behaved as she was. That got a big smile.

Sometimes it is strange to think of the little things that makes us proud of our children. I am proud of her independence and toughness, even though I know how much she can whine and complain sometimes.

I'll talk more about DD and DS#2's summer camps this week sometime tomorrow. I hope to snap a few pictures today or Thursday. DS#2 is in the "Medieval Battles" summer camp, basically, he is playing a large scale war game using painted miniatures. The designers run the "class"--it is a game that has been played for 20 years now but more on that another time.

Plenty of Pictures (long post)

Well, today I will have plenty of pictures, virtually all of which come from about 45 minutes to an hour out of our day. Today my lovely wife is on-call, usually on a weekend call we try to visit for lunch or dinner but she has been VERY busy today and, well, there were some behavior issues earlier in the day. DS#3 took a 2+ hour nap today, this solved some of those issues.

Remember the post below where I said I would be trying to keep the kids inside this afternoon due to all of our outdoors time earlier in the week and the tremendous heat? Well, during lunch a certain person (DS#2) started talking about playing outside with water balloons. DD joined in because she LOVED using water balloons in place of soccer balls to practice "heading" at soccer camp this week. DS#1, well, he was ALL for it. I had them wait until later in the afternoon because I knew that this would keep DS#3 up and he needed a nap. He did wake up shortly (okay, immediately) after they went outside to start filling water balloons. After a "snack" ie. an early supper, he came out to watch the excitement.

It takes a while to fill water balloons, particularly when they are old, and they needed help tying them off. Really, DS#1 got stuck filling AND tying off a lot of balloons but I tried to help with a few so they could collect enough to last more than a minute or two. I took some video (that won't be up for a while) and a LOT of pictures with my lovely wife's new(est) lens. The shade in the backyard is very nice for keeping down the heat when it hits 100+ degrees here, but it makes good pictures VERY difficult. I shot well over 50 pictures and already deleted over 30. There are more that my lovely wife will get rid of, but I want her to get an idea of the chaos, er, "fun."

Sigh, the distractions here are insane at the moment. In any case, I wanted to post the pictures with some "captions" or maybe even explanations, but I sort-of forgot what I was originally going to title some of these. Whoops! (yes, CB, I put the pictures toward the END of my horribly long post ;) ). --Oh, if you are seeing this as a Facebook note, well, the spacing is going to be WAY off, sorry.
The Warriors Prepare












The Ringleader













The Princess

















The Armsmaster (okay, this is the one where I had a funny title, but, um, it got killed by a nerf gun battle--No, I do not have pictures of the kids, particularly DS#3, with the nerf guns, I was TRYING to post to the blog darn it!












The Charmer













Okay, aside here, I HAD to get a picture of DS#3 wearing his hat so I took lots of pictures trying to get a nice shot. I think this is one of the best, but there were literally close to 20 pictures that included him in some way.













Can you even think of a water balloon war that didn't end up with someone using the hose?

Personally, I can't think of one. Of course, in San Antonio we are in a drought and on "Stage I Water Restrictions" which means (unless it is your one day of the week) you need to "hand water" your lawn. Now, I don't know of anyone that would allow children to have a water balloon fight in the backyard (only on the grass kids!) in such a drought. Do you?

Hot, Hot, Hot

Okay, I admit it, we DO live in San Antonio and it does get hot here, but the past few days have been hot for us for this time of year. Usually at this time in June we have high temps around 90, or the low 90's. The past few days we have hit 100+ with ease. Add in a bit of humidity and, well, the days have been a bit brutal.
Last week the three older kids had soccer camp in the mornings. I prefer to do a morning camp because it is cooler (ha!) and to try to do camps in early June for the same reason. DS#1 and DS#2 both enjoyed the camp, it was small and the coaches are very good. DS#1 enjoys training with one of the coaches that happens to be leaving to take a position coaching a D1 NCAA college team. DD surprised us by wanting to do soccer camp, and then by stating that she wants to play soccer in fall. We have agreed to sign her up for the "micros" at the same club the boys play with because she has also said she wants to drop dance and gymnastics (must have been too "girly" for her).

Personally, I am going to be looking for a swim club that helps train younger children without working them so much that they end up quitting. DD LOVES swimming and moves through the water so naturally that I'd love to encourage her to do more. The problem is, the swim clubs that I know of in the area are very focused, often expecting the kids to work out 5 days a week. In addition, the practices I have watched simply aren't "fun" like the practices I had when I was a kid. I guess if you want to create a new Michael Phelps you have to start working the kids like machines early.

This is a picture from this morning's swim meet showing DD WAY ahead of the pack. Other parents have been telling us how DD is "so serious" at practice and talk about how well she swims. We get a kick out of it. DS#1 is only swimming to have some time to hang out with a few of the other kids his age in the neighborhood. DS#2 doesn't have any interest at all. The boys, of course, are built perfectly for swimming. They need coaching, and the desire to swim, but could both be amazing swimmers. DD moves so naturally through the water, and has such a love for it, that I really hope we can encourage her to continue.

This where I comment yet again on the parents I ran into while coaching, parents that had their kids on swim team because THEY swam when they were kids. I told my lovely wife years ago that I did not want to be a parent that forced their child to participate in a sport just because *I* did it when I was a kid. As long as they participate in something, and have fun, I am happy. Would I love for one of the kids to swim? Absolutely, but I am not going to force it.

Tomorrow my lovely wife is on-call so I will have to decide what to do with the kids. We have been outside a lot over the past week so I am thinking about an "indoor day" again. I kept the kids inside Friday afternoon after soccer because we spent so much time outside on Thursday (--I just realized I didn't post anything about Thursday, well, you'll have to check my wife's post here.). The swim meet this morning had us all outside for a long time again so maybe it will be time for some indoor games tomorrow.

Well, this was another long post. DD and DS#2 have another summer camp lined up this coming week. DS#2 is going to "Medieval Battles" camp where he can participate in large scale war games using somewhere around 3,000 painted miniatures and DD is going to be in a "Magic School Bus" camp where she will be learning about volcanoes and outer space. DS#2 is probably going to miss a day of the camp on Thursday morning because he will be having a sleep-over birthday party on Wednesday night. We'll have to see how that works out. I guess DS#1 plans to relax this week but I have a feeling his siblings will wake him up.

More on the Closet

Well, I the plumbers did fix the leak Monday evening so we had water again when I got back from, hmmm, can't really remember what I got back from. Wait, now I remember, it was the Team Manager's meeting for those foolish people that volunteered to be a manager for one of the soccer teams.

When I got back it turned out that I did, indeed, hit the copper pipe dead center and made a picture-perfect hole. Fortunately, I hit the cold water line going INTO the water heater. The line for the hot water was only a little ways away. That would have been, um, inconvenient.

I called the man that repaired DS#1's ceiling and the kids' bathroom after this leak because he did such great work before. I decided that as long as he was coming for that, I would ask him to go ahead and hang the strips that go along the top of the ceiling to hang the closet shelving from. He is getting that done right now and is basically almost finished. This means I can put up the rest of the closet a little later today. I will let the paint dry for a bit on the first wall, but I can get those shelves up this afternoon and move things back into the closet tonight.

In other news, my lovely wife is on-call tonight and will have tomorrow off. After the soccer camp ends tomorrow we hope to go out to Fiesta Texas and will be trying to bring some of the boys' friends along if we can.

That's the news for now. I am looking at another busy day, but I suppose that is better than getting bored.

The Evil Closet of Doooom!

Okay, hit the return key early. Well, DS#1 has named the Master Bedroom Closet the "Evil Closet of Doooom!" Remember when I discussed the final collapse of the closet and taking everything out of it here?

Well, today while the three older kids were at soccer practice I went to the Container Store and picked up the Elfa closet hardware with plans to install it this afternoon. Really, it isn't that difficult to install, particularly when you have a wonderful, helpful 13-year-old assisting you. Now, this doesn't take into account the very small chance of hitting a pipe in the wall. I have drilled and nailed countless holes over the years and never, ever hit a pipe. Really, the chances are so small that I can't think of anyone else I know personally that has hit a pipe.

Really, what are the odds of hitting a 1 inch diameter water pipe with a 1/8 inch drill bit while making evenly spaced holes along 37 feet of linear space?

Well, DS#1 seems to think that in the "Evil Closet of Doooom!" the odds are pretty darned good. The water came out under such high pressure that the wall itself didn't really get that wet (with the exception of the area immediately around the hole). I had DS#1 hop up and cover the hole while I ran down to the garage and shut off the water. I had the water turned off in less than 2 minutes, probably close to a minute. This didn't keep DS#1 from getting soaked nor did it keep water from running down between the wall to pour through the ceiling downstairs.

Now I get to wait for the plumber to come and fix the hole that I made. Then, later this week I'll have the Elfa installers finish the installation. Apparently they hit pipes once in a while too. If they hit a pipe, well, they'll take care of getting it fixed and cleaning it up.

I mean, I am SURE that I wouldn't hit another pipe, but DS#1 isn't real keen on helping with the "Evil Closet of Doooom!" any more. He also seems to think he has been exposed to enough water that he doesn't need to go to swim practice tonight. We'll see when the installers can make it, if it isn't soon enough, I will go ahead and finish the installation myself, but really, this closet has simply become an expensive, time-consuming nightmare.

Nice Weekend

Well, my lovely wife took DD, DS#2 and DS#3 to Houston to help celebrate several June birthdays with her family. I stayed in town with DS#1 because he had a swim meet, AND because he has several friends he wanted to spend time with before they left town.

Friday night he had a group of friends over to "hang out" and watch a movie. I had some soda and snacks for them and I ordered some pizza (kids this age eat a LOT!). They all had a good time. The party was billed as a bit of a "going away" party for DS#1's friend M who is moving to Pennsylvania. In fact, DS#1 gets period text messages from his buddy as their family makes the drive. [Yes, the picture needs some cropping, but I jumped the gun, M hasn't gotten to her photo editing yet.]

I do my best to stay out of the way and let the kids (yes, they are still kids, just, well, big kids) enjoy their time together. At the same time, I like to be around and get to know his friends a bit better. It seems like I balance it all well.

I have been teasing DS#1 a bit about Saturday evening. One of his friends invited him and several others to go to a movie. Well, the questions I always ask are, "Who is going? Where are you going? What time? Who is driving?" Well, I got a big kick out of the fact that I ended up driving some of the kids to the movie (Up). I guess there was a good sized group from school that all met at the theater (more than an entire row's worth) and they had a very good time.

I have to admit that this morning I woke up early. I tried to go back to sleep but the birds outside the window (it couldn't have been the awful silence of my almost empty home) kept me awake. I finally decided I simply needed to get up. I did a bit of reading, ran out to get donuts for DS#1 and myself, and then TRIED to get a haircut. Alas, they didn't open until 10:00 so I had to wait to get my haircut.

My dear wife and the rest of the children got back before noon. They left Houston early and made very good time on the drive back. Tonight we'll be going out to eat to celebrate the last day of school. Yes, I know, but we haven't had the chance to go out as a family yet.

School's Out For The Summer!

Okay, now we can do the "School's Out for the Summer" Post. Yesterday was the last official day of school, but let's face it, school work was really over last week. Tuesday night we had an awards ceremony for DS#1, who received a bunch of nice certificates and awards that you can learn more about here. We are very proud of how quickly DS#1 adjusted to a new school, particularly being there for just the 8th grade. Tonight some of his school friends are coming over and I'll be ordering some pizza for them and just letting them "hang out" or watch a movie or something. Unfortunately, one of the first friends he made at the new school is moving and another friend is going to be gone for the summer.
Here is DD at her school party with her teacher. Her teacher is retiring this year after 32 years of teaching. My lovely wife said, "I wish she could have waited until after (DS#3)." This pretty much tells you how good a teacher she was. DD LOVED school this year and we are very, very happy with how she did.

DS#2, of all the kids, reacts the most poorly to change so we were very worried about the big change this year. We had nothing to worry about. His class had 2 teachers for 20 students and he received tons of individual attention and special work. His teacher recognized how advanced he was in mathematics during the first few days of school and called me up seeking permission to give him special math and reading assignments that were "more in line with his level."

I wasn't able to get a picture of the GT (Gifted-Talented) teacher (Mrs. Amey) yesterday. DS#2 had GT all day on Wednesdays and DD had her for about an hour and a half on both Mondays and Fridays. Mrs. Amey is one of the most phenomenal teachers I have ever seen, at any level. The kids truly love being with her.

Today was basically parties and playtime for the kids. Obviously, I went to the elementary school for their parties (the middle school didn't have official "parties" but we all know the kids just goofed off. I took DD and DS#2 with me at the end of the parties, they had to stop by to see the bus driver because he gives out snacks to the kids at the end of the school year (and birthday gifts, and candy every Friday--Mr. Hayes is the most impressive bus driver you have ever met). Then I took them off to get some ice cream before going home and getting ready to go to guitar lessons for DS#2 and piano for DD. My lovely wife took DS#1 out for a shake after he got home.

I picked up Schlotzkey's sandwiches on the way home so we could eat before I ran Anthony off to soccer practice to meet some of the new players and DD went off to swim practice, etc. Basically, it was a very busy day.

Last night I let the kids stay up late (all of them). DS#3 and DD ended up getting tired enough to go to bed on their own. DS#2 stayed up with me until about 11:00 (which is late for him). DS#2 did sleep for an extra hour, but DD and DS#3 were up EARLIER than normal. No, the morning hasn't gone well. DS#3 already through a fantastic tantrum where he smashed his face into the edge of the table and got a bloody lip. I guess he wanted to look good for the in-laws ;).

Anyway, I thought I would close with a picture of DS#3 playing on one of the electronic pianos at the music school yesterday afternoon. He loves music so we'll have to get him involved as soon as we can.

Play Hard, Sleep Hard

Well, I should be doing the "School's Out for the Summer!" post right now, but I am a bit behind. What a surprise! I have been wanting to put up a few pictures I took of DS#3 when we played, very, very hard on Monday. Basically, he and I got a few errands done in the morning and then we grabbed an early lunch, ate at the park and played until he was pretty much wiped out.

I didn't move him from the van here, I was sure that would wake him up. It isn't THAT hot in the garage yet so I opened up the van doors, pulled out a lawn chair and sat around reading, playing games on the iPhone, and writing in my notebook a bit until he woke up.

What makes this series a bit funny for me, is the fact that on Tuesday, he fell asleep in the van again and stayed asleep for two hours. Wow!

He really enjoys playing outside, and I do enjoy being outside with him, but it is definitely starting to get VERY hot here.

Well, enjoy these pictures for now. It was the last day of school today, I now have a 5th grader, 2nd grader, and, most frightening of all, a high schooler... I'll have to post about this tomorrow.

Ribbons and Music

Not the greatest title, but it will have to do. I made a 3 minute video here that only family will be interested in, but let's face it, this blog is mostly for family and close friends anyway. As I described below, DD had a banner day this past Saturday. In her very first swim meet she received two blue ribbons (for her heats, we aren't sure yet if she won overall, but it is definitely possible).

After the swim meet it was time for a quick bath before running off to her piano recital. I was merciful here and only included the first race and her first piece at the recital. She received a number of awards and pins for some contests she played at this year as well as both an award for practicing (her mother earned that one!) AND the "Rookie of the Year" Award. She seemed excited about piano again, we'll see if that lasts long enough to get her to practice tonight.

Normally I try to keep these videos to a little over a minute or a minute and a half or so. This one is about 3 minutes, but hey, she is cute isn't she?