Trains and Malls

Well, it looks like I completely missed posting about this past weekend. I suppose I'll just have to depend on my dear wife's blog for that.

Monday was a rainy, dreary, awful day but yesterday (Tuesday) was as beautiful as Monday was ugly so I took DS#3 to Brackenridge Park to ride on the train. He loves riding on the train and when I had him at the Zoo recently he melted down when the train wasn't there for us to ride on. I knew I couldn't stand 20 minutes of melt-down until the train arrived so I took him home with plans to bring him back just to ride the train.

Much of the time he just stared at everything as we rode past. He clearly loved it though, so I guess we'll just have to keep going back once in a while. I took a few photos and some video but there wasn't really anything that really stood out.

Today is another somewhat dreary day. It isn't raining though, so I decided to take DS#3 out to one of the parks he loves playing at, when we got there it was a still a wet, muddy mess so I decided to head out to the La Cantera Mall where they have an outdoor play area for kids (and a food court at which to feed them). We ate first and wandered over to the play area where he played for quite a while. When he and I first arrived at the play area a woman came up to me and told me that I was doing a wonderful job with DS#3 and that I am a "truly beautiful human being." It was a bit odd, but I thanked her and she moved on.

I took more pictures and video, and have already deleted a number of them, but I thought I would post this picture from today because it helps show how much fun he was having. There were several other boys there that were about his age (2-3) and he actually played with them a little bit.

Friday I will be taking him to a "SideKicks" gymnastics class. We'll see how it goes, if he likes it we will continue with it. I was hoping for something on a Wednesday or a Monday, but I guess Friday morning will have to do.

Weekend Follow-up

Well, I am nowhere near as good about posting things right away as my dear wife is. I try not to overlap which pictures I choose for the blog with hers because I know that most of the family and friends that see this blog, also read hers. We had another soccer-heavy weekend this past weekend, but Saturday was made easier by the fact that the games didn't overlap. We had DS#2 at 8:30 AM, DD at 10:00 AM (at the same set of fields) and then DS#1 at 2:00 PM. We didn't get any really good shots of DS#1 so I guess he is left out for today's post.

DS#2's team faced two of the better teams in our bracket this weekend giving them back-to-back losses (unfortunately). The good thing is that they are definitely improving. The game on Sunday was against a team that beat us 6-1 two weeks ago and on Sunday we were 0-0 at the half, but lost the game 3-0 in the end. Unfortunately, one of those goals was an "own goal" shortly after the other team scored at the beginning of the second half. The boys got so disappointed that they hung their heads a bit and ended up allowing a third goal. With the exception of about 8 minutes in that game, we were able to shut down a team with several excellent players.

This second picture of DS#2 is from the Sunday game. We like it because it shows how much he got "mugged" at some points in the game. The boy in yellow was actually warned by the ref for dangerous play (and a foul) at one point. DS#2 should end up with a rescheduled game this coming Sunday, but otherwise he and DD have a "free" weekend this weekend and will head to Houston for my niece E's birthday party. DS#1 has two games so he will be home with me.

DD's team is very young and still getting the hang of playing on a bigger field, playing positions, etc. They played against a boys team and got beaten pretty handily, though they did show some real promise at times. A few of the parents on her team seem frustrated by the fact that there is just the one U8 girls team and the fact that they have to play either older girls, or play against the boys. I guess they just want to win games. Winning is certainly nice, and they do need a win now and then, but if you win every game you aren't really being challenged or improving.

Anyway, DD played at goalkeeper again for about a quarter of the game. She is a bit hesitant there, but honestly, all of the kids this age really are. I just find it humorous to see her in goal, she is one of the smaller players on the team and the goal behind her makes her look even smaller.

DS#1's team got another win on Saturday afternoon. I teased him, and a few of his teammates, after the game. Their regular coach was out of town for a game and we had a different trainer covering. If their coach had been there, he would have been upset at the 2-1 win because really, they should have won 5 or 6 to 0 but simply didn't finish the ball well. He has two games this coming weekend so we'll have to see how the team does.

Saturday night DS#1 organized a bit of a get-together with some of his friends which included friends from the high school, his soccer team, the middle school he went to last year, and the Catholic school he went to several years before that. He learned a major lesson about making reservations at LazerQuest--the kids had to wait until 9:00 to be able to play so I went with them to a pizza place just across the lot and got them some pizza before leaving them to play Laser Tag. While at the restaurant they sat at a table and I sat at the bar letting them talk amongst themselves. I told the several of the servers that I just didn't feel right leaving a dozen teenagers in their restaurant without someone being around, but I also didn't want to interfere with their fun. They all behaved well so it was probably not a real concern.

One of DS#1's friends stayed over Saturday night as he lives a good distance away and it was easier for his parents (and for us too). That meant that DD and DS#3 got to see A again too. We left the two big boys with DD and DS#3 when we went to DS#2's Sunday game and it sounds like they all had a wonderful time.

Well, time to get back to the weekly grind. If I am really lucky in a few minutes I'll be able to convince DS#3 to take a nap.

A Trip to the Zoo

Well, today was finally a nice, sunny, but not-to-hot day to take DS#3 to the zoo. We had a blast. He was constantly saying, "Look Papa!" and pointing at something. He was even thrilled to see the rocks, the waterfalls, and some of the plants. This picture of him pointing through the glass isn't the best due to the lighting, but I like the expression of awe and wonder.

We didn't even see the entire zoo, but we did get to see a jaguar and look at the black leopards. We also looked at some of the crocodiles, alligators, birds, and fish. He got particularly excited when we saw various fish tanks that were part of the Africa Live display(s) as well as fish tanks in other areas.

I took a number of pictures trying to get a nice shot. One of two decent pictures of the jaguar is above. That picture, and this picture of the black leopard, was shot through the glass using the "portrait lens" which has a better optics and tighter focus than the other lenses. This allowed me to try to focus on the cat in hopes of not getting any glare (or dirt) from the glass.

We have to close with a picture of DS#3 playing in a play area specifically designed for toddlers. We spent a lot of time in that area, and he spent a lot of time playing in the sand. He even met a new "friend" to play beside for a while.

Unfortunately, when we left the zoo to get a ride on the Zoo train before heading home we learned that the train had just left. DS#3 had a "melt down" and we basically had to leave because his Papa wasn't patient enough to endure 20 minutes of that before the next train ride. We'll just have to go back next week. Fall is a beautiful time in San Antonio, we often have wonderful sunny weather and mild temperatures making it a perfect season to head to the park, etc. I look forward to more trips with DS#3 this fall.

Middle School

Last night my dear wife and I went to the middle school with DS#2 for the Student-Parent orientation. Wow, they really want us to pick classes early. He doesn't finish 5th grade for almost 8 months and they expect him to pick electives for next year.

The truth is, 6th graders don't really get that many elective choices, and he isn't interested in Band, Choir, or Orchestra so that pretty much cuts his choices in half. With the core classes and the required PE/Health semesters he has 2 class slots left each semester for electives. His choices are likely to end up being PE (he needs an extra semester sometime during his 3 years of middle school), Debate, Art, and Theater Arts.

Right now he sounds set on going to the middle school we feed into, but there is a magnet middle school focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) that we thing is completely in line with his interests. DS#2 is both shy, and social. He likes "playing" with friends, but he is shy and it takes him a while to make new friends sometimes. His friends will all be going to the "local" middle school so that is the way he is leaning right now. We'll have to see what happens after he gets an opportunity to spend a day at STEM middle school.

The other news yesterday is that DD lost another tooth. When I looked at her teeth in the morning I told her that a particular tooth was very loose and if it didn't fall out during the day I would pull it after school. There was no need, it fell out at school. She has another that will come out in the next day or two (probably tonight when I get a chance to grab it ;)).

Weekend Recovery

Well, we had a nice, 3-day weekend that ended up not being as exciting as we'd have liked due to rainy dreariness.
I haven't posted anything about DS#1's birthday, I guess I fell down on the job and depended on my lovely wife to cover that landmark event in her blog.

We did get some soccer games in this weekend, frankly, I don't think there is any room for any more cancellations. DD had her Friday games canceled and moved to Sunday, and then the games on Sunday were canceled too. Saturday DS#1, DD and DS#2 overlapped with game times. While all of them had "home" games, DS#1's "home" field is at a different location so I had DD and DS#2 with me. I didn't get any really good pictures with the small camera, it is simply so slow that I just can't get a good shot. This is one picture of DD in the goal (at her level the coach plans to rotate 4 girls through goal every game. I ended up just taking a few videos with the small camera so that my lovely wife could "watch" part of DD's game.

DD and DS#2 had losses on Saturday. DS#2's game was actually better than the score looks and we play that team again so I think we'll do a lot better next game. My dear wife took DS#1 to his game. His field was in terrible shape, everything got very muddy, including the bright yellow ball. DS#1's team brought in a solid 6-0 win which helps their standings, and surely helps the boys' confidence. Having players healthy again is a huge help.

This coming Saturday the games are all spread out so we should be able to see all of the games. This means we should have nicer pictures for all of the games.

Columbus Day was a day off for the kids, and for my lovely wife due to it being federal holiday. Alas, it was a dreary, ugly day so the kids had friends over, and then went to their friends for a while. I grilled some steaks because, frankly, it was time for me to get grilling again. The summer was so hot that I really didn't grill very much. Usually I grill in summer to keep the house cooler, but it was SO hot that I didn't want to be anywhere near a hot grill and half the time nobody really wanted a hot meal anyway.

Well, DS#3 is playing away happily. This is a good thing as it is raining again. It is a light rain, but everything is wet now so I really don't want to take him out and get him all muddy right now. He'll just have to do that later ;). He and I will go out in a bit, maybe get some lunch, shopping, or just something outside the house.

What Time is It?

Maybe this should be more like "What Day is It?" but I'll get to the title of this post in a few more lines. My dear wife was on-call Sunday and is on-call again tonight (Wednesday). I guess Sunday went well, it sounds like tonight is pay-back. Anyway, when she has call nights she gets other days off that tend to throw of her (and my) sense of what day of the week it is sometimes. I shot a few pictures of DS#3 "hanging" with his mama on the sofa while both of them were in their PJs. In the interest of preserving my marriage, I picked a picture that just shows DS#3 and his "silly smile." I think posting a picture of my wife ready for bed in her "witchy" PJ's might just get me in trouble ;).

Now, on to the title for this post. Tonight I have been "helping" DS#1 with one of his projects for school and it has been tons of fun. He clearly loves the challenge of figuring out how to do things with the computer, and I really enjoy seeing how excited he is about it. He needed to add a music tract to a video he and his partner (for this class) created and I helped him find some music for it. THEN we had to figure out how to rip and MP3 and clip the right fragment out of the song. You have to remember, "I am a Mac" and pretty much plug a CD into the computer, load the songs into iTunes, sync the iPod and I am "good to go." Well, he needed to do more work than that.

I will have to get a copy of his video when he is finally done with it and upload it, because I think it is a fun, and funny, video clip.

Rainy Sundays

Well, with recovering "sick people" it was probably good that we had another rain-out for DS#1 on Sunday. I think he'd have been able to play, but he has lost a little over 10 lbs with the flu last week and really didn't have 10 lbs to spare (unlike me). He was scheduled to have a "home" game against a team from about 3 hours away so I knew they'd have to make the decision early. We had constant downpours from about 4 AM until 6-7:00 AM so I was pretty sure the game would be canceled, and it was. This does not mean good things for other weekends this fall, but we can live with it.

My dear wife was on-call so I was at home on a rainy, horrible day with the kids, including a sick DS#3 (who was okay until the ibuprofen ran out). The kids kept entertained with a combination of video games, reading, piano/guitar practice, and a few other things such as board games. I got a kick out of the kids playing Monopoly Jr. together. DD was particularly thrilled that her brothers played with her and DS#3 loved just being there (the videos helped too!).


Later that afternoon DS#1, DS#2 and I made more progress in our present game of Talisman (4th edition--yes, that is the game in the picture). DS#2 loves board games and I really enjoy playing with the boys. DD and DS#3 enjoyed watching too!

DS#3 absolutely refused to nap Sunday, despite great efforts on my part. I think was closer to "out" than he was. Later that day he was climbing all over DD and DS#1. I included this picture (before deleting it) just to show how hard it is to get a picture when they are goofing off full blast. Both of them were looking toward the camera and then looked away when I was trying to take pictures. Of course, DS#3 promptly climbed down and ran off to his next activity. Later, he fell asleep sitting up on the sofa "watching" DS#2 play a video game ;).