Back to School

Monday was the last official day of summer break.  We had water polo practices at 3:45-5:20 - then Evelyn split to go to the beach with friends for a last hurrah.  She had a great time with a great group of friends.  I also had a MHS coaches meeting, and I got the equipment from Mountainside Sports locker, then I spent a lot of time moving size 5 balls to Sunset and size 4 balls to Aloha.  But finally after a LONG day - I at least got to come home and spend the evening at home.  

This week and next, the 50M pool is closed during the day for work on the platforms, so I don't have any shifts, and also the Barracuda's afternoon practice is at Raleigh Hills outdoor pool - so I get to swim outside and I get to sleep in.  So I've done the afternoon swim every day this week and it's been wonderful!  One more week, then back to the usual. 

Tuesday was the first day of school for James and David, except I hadn't paid enough attention and thought David started Wednesday, so he was late his first day of school....  

This is David's first day picture - taken after school....

This was the first day picture he actually wanted....

Wednesday morning - Evelyn got up early and headed towards the Senior Sunrise.  She didn't stay long and ended up going back to the Wilde's house and hanging with Seth and Natalie until they went to school.  She is super happy with her Senior Jeans though - she did a lot of work on them and they look amazing! 

We are getting into the swing of things - trying to find our new rhythm for the year.  It's funny cuz James would rather ride the bus than get a ride with Evie....  LOL 

This Friday, James had his first meet for cross country.  He wasn't super excited with how he did - but I'm super pround of him and all the work he has put into this! 

Friday evening, was David's first start back to Water Polo - Paxton went with him and his friend Sawyer from school also came.  The beginner group is pretty big and they all came home super excited! 

I also had friends over to watch Pride and Prejudice.  We wanted to watch it before Meghan leaves on her mission in a couple weeks.  We will have to do it again so we can try to get the people who couldn't come last time, but it was a lot of fun - Evelyn and Natalie were first time watchers and we had a lot of fun introducing them to it!  

Friday was also Aaron's final step before getting licensed as a sky diver.  He can now go solo too.  He was super excited to come home wtih his stamp! 

Saturday, Dan and Aaron went out skydiving together and had fun trying all sorts of stuff out and having a great time together! 

Saturday, I went to Parkrose to play water polo - had a great time with a great group, then a bunch of us headed to Mike's house for a BBQ and fun and chat - most of us didn't make it down to the river this time, but it was still a lot of fun.  

In the evening, I went to Open Polo - but numbers were low because of the Redmond Jambouree - but we had enough for 3 on 3 - but my energy was pretty low!  

Church today was wonderful - it's was a 5th Sunday, and the 2nd hour was mostly in preparation for the upcoming change.  It was neat to learn about, even if it doesn't really affect my calling right now.  Then in the eveing, we played games and ate and had choir and a great time as a family and friends.  

Evie and Natalie spent some time trying to wax their legs.  So we got to hear them yelping from the upstairs bathroom.  LOL  

HS Water Polo - week 1!

Well, week one is in the books!  I told the girls that I was going to see how far into the season I could make it wearing a different water polo shirt to each practice.  I think it's going to take awhile before I run out..... 

We had a couple brand new players - they are doing amazing so far - they can both swim and do some egg beater and they are learning fast!  The girls are amazing and so far, I'm super excited about the team!  Chris is head coach for the Boys and he's got a solid roster and Blake has been helping him ease in a bit.  So far, so good!  

Sandi came over this week to look through some of the stuff from Pam's house and decide what she wanted to take.  She came Tuesday and we had fun chatting and looking at stuff together.  

On Wednesday, I took Eileen, and James and David and Evie to the Ape Caves up at Mt. Saint Helens.  We had a fun afternoon walking around and exploring the caves together.  Evelyn and I spent a bit of time enjoying the acoustics in the caves.  We also brought Paxton with us, so the boys had fun together and watched Duck Tales most of the way there and back.  

This week our practices are in the evening, but for the rest of the season, they will be after school - ish....  They start 5 minutes after school gets out, so there will generally be girls trickling in late, but it's also been kind of nice having my evenings with the family.  :)  Also, there will still be Thursday night water polo at Sunset because of the practice times! 

Evelyn has been spending a lot of the week working on her Senior Jeans - it's so cute, she wants to do all the Senior things.  :)   

Friday, I took David and Paxton and Evelyn to the pool.  They spent almost all their time there on the diving boards.  David went on the platforms and Evelyn did too - plus she had fun working on her dives!  

This weekend was just the normal.  Dan and Aaron have been enjoying the weather and doing as much skydiving as they can - Aaron is getting close to having enough jumps to be licensed.  

California and a Tournament

Monday morning, Eileen and I got up, had some breakfast and then headed out.  We stopped for lunch on the way and made it into Hayward to meet my parents at Pam's house.  We spent the afternoon working there, then got sushi/tereyaki chicken for dinner before heading back to the hotel for bed.  Tuesday I got up and headed over early while Eileen slept.  Then around lunch time, my mom went and got lunch and picked her up and brought her back.  Part of our goal this week was just to try to look at as much stuff as possible to let my parents know what I might be interested in keeping, then taking home the stuff I could.  

Tuesday evening, I found a play to go play
water polo - I drove down to Los Gatos HS and ended up shooting and messing around in the pool since there were only 5 people there.  At least Oregon isn't the only place that sometimes struggles to get numbers.... :)  It was enough for me, I got in the pool and got to spend some time in the cage and the people were really nice. 

Wednesday went pretty similar to Tuesday.  I spent a lot of time this week in the garage.  I don't know that I really got much done except having a better idea of what is in there....  We had a good long talk with the real estate agent and he brought info from the lawyer.  I also spent a lot of time getting the van packed up and ready to go.  

Thursday morning, I had breakfast with my parents, then we headed out.  I wanted to get back in time for Water Polo and bed.  

Friday was the first day of the LO open water tournament.  I played in my first game and got to watch the guys first game.  The ladies I played with were a ton of fun!  We won our first game!  I had another game on Saturday and then 2 on Sunday.  I also got to play with the guys on Sunday since there's was an exhibition game. 

James has been getting ready for High School - and has started practicing with cross country team.  As a result - he's constantly hungry.....  

After our last game, a bunch of us ladies went to a Thai place for dinner and we had a great time.  All in all, it was a wonderful weekend!  

Aaron finished up his CDL training and now all he has left is to take the test and then get his license.  He's super excited and has worked really hard!   

Camping Trip

This week was our annual camping trip with our friends.  Me, David, Evelyn and Natalie went up on Tuesday - we stopped at Tillamook for ice cream and samples, then headed for our campsite.  It was crazy windy when we got there and we had a hard time getting the tents set up.  

We got set up and had a bit of time for exploring.  The beach was an easy walk away and other than the wind, the weather was great! 

More of our friends arrived on Wednesday and we had a fun time helping them get set up and chatting and playing with friends.  We went on an adventure - walking out on the jetty - the fog horn was really loud out there!  But we had fun and the view was awesome! 

We also went into Rockaway which was a 7 minute drive from the campsite.   We wandered around and got some souvenirs and some ice cream and candy.  :)  

We also spent a lot of time on the beach.  We brought a volleyball and played some beach volleyball without a net, but had fun.  There was lots of time in the water and lots of time playing in the sand.  Also our campsites were sandy - so we came home on Saturday covered in Sand.  

I got home early enough on Saturday to go play water polo and do laundry and pack, then go to Open Polo.  Sunday, we went to church, then after church, I finished packing and got the van loaded up and ready, then after an early dinner, Eileen and I headed down to CA to meet my parents at Aunt Pam's house.  We made it about half way, then stopped for the night in a hotel.  

Aniversary And Trek

Evelyn went on Trek this week.  James didn't want to go and Aaron couldn't, so it was just Evie.  We were scrambling for a pioneer dress for her and barely managed to get one from Amazon that she was willing to wear here on time. 

David has been having fun and spending a lot of time with Paxton.  And we try to keep them busy and happy and not totally on the computers and video games.  

Dan and I knew the weekend would be busy, so we went out for our anniversary on Friday.  We went to dinner - then we tried to go to a place in Hillsboro, but it was closed, so we went home and watched a movie together.  

Sunday, Evelyn had her senior pictures taken.  We went out to a fun little Sunflower garden and had fun.  

This fun girl cracks me up - especially when she's trying to pet fuzzy bumble bees.  

But also about made me cry when I realized she had brought along the baby blanket I made her to use as a prop.  

These are just some fun ones of me with my phone, I can't wait to see the final pictures!  Emma really did a great job!