225. Taxi Driver

I feel like a taxi driver!

Not only do I drive a lot for work (I provide OT services in the client's home),

But today, since Allan is out of town, I had to drive all over town to pick up and drop off the kids;

1. Drove Nicholas to school this morning.

2. Picked him up from home after school was done (he had a minimum day),

and took him to Central Park for a Cross Country practice.

3. Picked up Christina from school.

4. Picked up Anthony from school.

5. Picked up Nicholas at Central Park from his Cross Country practice.

6. Drop off Nicholas at soccer practice.

7. Pick up Nicholas from soccer practice.

I spent at least a quarter of a tank of gas just today!

The worst part is that it will be like this for the rest of the week, 

until Allan comes back from his trip on Friday.

224. Junior High

I knew that starting Junior High would be  a difficult transition for Anthony; He is very smart... He is also unorganized, lazy and forgetful and I am afraid he might not get the grades that he really deserves. So I have to be on top of things and constantly make sure that he has done all his homework and stays focused. Hopefully, as the year progresses, he will get better at keeping track of what needs to be done and I'll be able to relax a little.

He was a little disappointed that he couldn't join the Jazz Band though. And he is looking forward to getting started on a new instrument in Band. Right now, the whole class is learning how to read music and play piano which is pretty easy for Anthony. He is hoping to learn how to play the Saxophone. But who knows, he might end up playing something entirely different!
In the meantime, he is enjoying the last little bit of Summer we have left. His surfing is getting better. He now definitely knows how to catch a good wave. He just needs to learn how to ride the wave at an angle (which would make his ride longer). He is going to La Jolla, with his surfing instructor this Saturday, and they will practice angle take-offs which should help him get even better rides. And even if he doesn't get it right away, I'm sure he will have lots of fun!

223. Varsity Cross Country

Nicholas is having a great time in high school and is learning to balance school work with sports and leisure time; As a Sophomore, he is taking 5 classes, 2 of which are Advanced Placement classes (basically College courses). The rest are Honor classes. He is training hard with his Cross Country team and his hard work is paying off. His Coaches have told him that he will be running Varsity in a few of the Invitational Meets (quite an accomplishment).
He is happy with his new soccer team and doesn't regret his decision to change. And his High School soccer coach told him that he will be on the Junior Varsity team when the season starts.
He is still enjoying going to the beach with us, even though his brother and sister are sometimes annoying. And he is looking forward to going Jet Skiing again this week end with Greg. They are going to Lake Mead for the long weekend and Nicholas is really excited!
It's amazing to watch how far he has come in the last few years and how much he has grown. He is definitely on the right path to becoming a responsible young men... One who makes both Allan and myself very proud!

222. Surfing Girl

Christina decided that she wanted to try out surfing.

So today, at the beach, she borrowed Anthony's surfboard and gave it a try.

It didn't take long before she could stand for a few seconds on the board.

She didn't ride long, but it was enough for her to get a taste of surfing...

We might have to get a second board, next Summer!

221. AYSO U10 Girls EXTRA team

Christina had her first soccer game of the season today. She is playing with the Canyon Country AYSO U10 Girls EXTRA team. She played a great first half, scoring the first goal in a 4-1 win. She also had an assist, and fought hard despite the heat (it was at least 104º F). She rested the third quarter and went back in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, she got hit by the ball in the face and sat out for the rest of the game. Overall, it was a great beginning to (hopefully) another fun season of soccer.

220. Lizards

 Rocky and Catie are obsessed with lizards;

Catie will stare at lizards for hours.

Rocky will chase them 

and has been known to eat them when he successfully catches them!

Yak!

219. Surfing

Yesterday turned out to be a beautiful day at the beach!

We got there at about 1:00 PM and the sun was out,

the water was great and the waves were perfect for surfing!

Anthony caught a lot of great waves and got some great rides

in the 3 1/2 hours he was in the water!

218.Responsibilities

Our neighbors have a little Corgi named Pixie. She is very cute and Christina loves to spend time with her. So when they asked if Christina could take care of Pixie for a week while they went away on vacation, she gladly said "yes".

Her responsibilities included: taking Pixie out in the morning, feeding her, walking/playing with her and putting her in her crate for the night. 

At first, I went with her to make sure that she could do it by herself. But after a few days, I let her go next door by herself. I would go later in the morning (don't tell Christina) to check and make sure that Pixie had fresh water and was doing OK. But every time, it was all good. I also went on a few walks with them. But I quickly noticed that Pixie was very responsive to Christina; In fact, most of the time, she would ignore me! So after a few days, I felt pretty confident that Christina was doing a good job!

Bill and Vanessa, our neighbors, came back today. So this morning, I went with Christina and took a few photos of Pixie. It was very cute to watch Pixie following Christina around in the backyard. I was also entertained by the two of them playing fetch!

As you can see on the photos, Pixie is a little overweight and Vanessa asked Christina if should would be willing to take Pixie for a walk a few days per week. And I was very happy to hear that Christina has agreed to do it. It will be beneficial for both of them, I am sure; Pixie gets to exercise while Christina learns about responsibilities!

217. Happy Birthday Rocky!

Today was Rocky's 7th Birthday!

So, as a treat, we took him to the dog park.

He was so excited... But also very well behaved! 

He didn't jump up on anyone!

He just had a great time chasing a few dogs around and politely said "hi" to everyone.

I guess being one year older makes him also a little wiser!

216. Why?

"Why do you take pictures of us every year?"

"I don't get it!"

That's what Nicholas asked this morning 

when I told him I needed some photos for his first day of school.

"It's not even my first day of school! It's my second day!"

Despite his protest, he still let me photograph him...

215. First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for all three kids. While I was quite confident that Nicholas and Christina would have a great day, I was a little worried about Anthony; This is the first time that he has to go to school on his own. In the past, he was always with Nicholas or with Christina. And even though Christina is younger, she is more resourceful than he is and pays attention. So, when he left this morning, I was a little anxious. Especially about him taking the bus! Turns out, he got a ride to school with one of his friend from the neighborhood. But on his way home, he missed his stop and ended up having to call me (had to borrow a cell phone) to pick him up. Other than that, he had a great day. He was especially excited about Band and the possibility of joining the school's Jazz Band.

Here are a few photos I took this morning before they left for school.

Unfortunately, Nicholas left too early for me to photograph him. But tomorrow is a "Late Start Friday" and I should be able to get a few shots of him before he leaves.

214. Dead Bird

Found a dead bird on the back patio.

Sadly, this is a regular occurrence at our house;

Since we have a house with a view, the builder put up a

tempered glass fence.

It's great for the unobstructed view, but unfortunately

the birds fly into it all the time!

213. Animal Lover

Christina is an animal lover! She loves every creature she sees! When she was just 3 years old, she started to ask if we could have a puppy. And when we adopted Rocky and Catie, it wasn't enough; they were not puppies! Of course, she still loves them both but she would much rather have a little dog that she can pick up and hold in her arms. We told her that when she lives in her own house and can take care of a dog herself, she can get whatever kind of dog she wants.
While we stayed in Big Bear, their was a barn in the back of the cabin. There were two Llamas and two bunnies. The owner told her she could pick up and pet the bunnies! So for the first two days, all she could think about was picking up and holding the bunnies.
She went with Allan a couple of times on the first day, to see them, but he wouldn't let her pick them up. And the first time I went with her, one of the llama was blocking our way to the bunnies enclosure. So I wouldn't let her go. She was in tears!
Finally, on our second day in Big Bear, I took her again to see the bunnies and I let her pick one up. She was sooo happy! And on the third day, our friend Greg showed her how to feed the llamas! After that, she was finally satisfied that she had really lived up to the experience...

212. Back to School Supplies

Went shopping with the kids today to get them some Back to School Supplies. I can't believe school starts this week! Christina is excited and I think the boys are ready. Nicholas is entering 10th Grade, Sophomore year. He will start school at 7:00AM and should be done with all his classes by lunch time. He has a free period after lunch to do homework and then Cross Country Practice.

Anthony is entering Middle School and I am a little worried about him... He is so forgetful, I have a feeling the first semester will be an adjustment period. Let's hope that he gets in the habit of writing down his homework and assignments!

Christina is going into 5th Grade and is hoping to be in the 5th/6th split class! I don't really care, since I know that she will do fine in any class she is in!

It's amazing how fast they are growing... Just today, I was cleaning up and found some old stories that the kids wrote when they were younger.

Anthony's "Runaway Turkey" story is one of my favorite; And he wrote it when he was in Kindergarten!

Nicholas' "Roller Coaster Ride" was such a great poem and he won the first prize at the District level when he was just in 4th Grade!

And just yesterday, Christina read "The Prince and the Plum" to grandpa and grandma; She won the Young Authors contest when she was in second Grade and had it published into a book!

All three of them have a very active imagination and are extremely creative. Hopefully, it will come in handy in the profession that they chose!

211. Grand Parents

Well, the weekend is over;

Grandpa & Grandma are flying back home to Canada tomorrow.

The kids enjoyed spending some time with them

and I am sure that Grandpa and Grandma enjoyed spending time with their grand children as well!

210. Life in Slow Motion

Allan's parents arrived late last night; 

They will be spending a few days with us.

So that means that for the next few days, 

life is in slow motion!

205. 206. 207. 208. & 209. Big Bear Lake

We went to Big Bear Lake for 4 days. It was a wonderful vacation and we had a great time!

While in Big Bear, I didn't check my email, checked my Facebook only once and obviously, didn't post any photos on my Blog... I was truly on vacation!

So this post is a re-cap of our four days;

We arrived Saturday, around lunch time. We didn't know this, but on that day, their was a Bike race!

Our cabin was located just past the "Village". But there was a lot of traffic and we actually had to take a detour to find it. We finally had lunch at about 2:00 PM; We were all starving!

We ate at a Mexican restaurant called: El Jacalito.

 We also checked out the beaches around the lake and found a dog beach! Naturally, we took the dogs there later in the afternoon...

On Sunday, we went Jet Skiing with Greg (yes, he came with us to Big Bear). While the weather was beautiful, the lake was pretty crowded which made for "choppy" conditions. We still had a great time!

That evening, we had "S'Mores"! Due to the Fire Danger being on "High" this time of year, we couldn't make a fire in a pit. So we had to be creative and used the BBQ at the cabin...

Monday was probably the most memorable day... We went hiking in the morning and boating in the late afternoon. We took the "Sky Chair" at Snow Summit to get to the top of the mountain and hiked down. Beautiful views all around and plenty of exercise!

We chartered a boat for three hours: 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM.
The kids went tubing and Christina and Anthony tried "wakeboarding". Nicholas pulled a muscle a few weeks ago and didn't want to take the chance to re-injure himself so he stayed off the wakeboard. And Allan did a little water skiing also.
It was fun to watch as the kids saw their old dad water skiing! They were so impressed!

 Finally, on Tuesday morning, Nicholas, Greg, Rocky and myself went for a hike in the beautiful woods surrounding the lake.

When we got back, all of us went for a canoe ride on the lake. It was a fun activity that we could all do and that we all wanted to try.
We left after lunch and have been talking about going back ever since we got back!

204. Self Portrait 6

On Wednesday, when we went to Pyramid Lake for some Jet Skiing fun, I tried to take a few self portraits. It was a little tricky; I had to put the camera on a rock as I didn't have a tripod and I had to use the self timer. Choosing a point of focus and then running to take position at that point is difficult enough, but choosing the right aperture to make sure that there is enough depth of field is also very tricky. I had to try more than once. Finally, it looked like I had found the right focus point and the right aperture. So I set up the camera and just as I was getting into position, I slipped and almost fell! Hence, the first photo. Eventually, I was able to get into position at the right time, getting the second shot...

203. Out of Commission

Anthony twisted his ankle today;

It happened BEFORE he even started to practice soccer!

He went with Allan to Christina's soccer practice and they were going to have their own mini practice.

Apparently, Anthony did what he does best:

He did something without thinking of the consequences

and ended up twisting his ankle!

It is already swollen and bruised and he is definitively limping...

I was going to take the kids to Six Flags tomorrow... I guess that's out of the question, now!

202. Pyramid Lake

Spent the day at Pyramid Lake with Greg; It was a wonderful day, filled with a lot of fun!

We have been going to Pyramid Lake with Greg for numerous years; At first it was just the boys. Allan, Nicholas and Anthony would go with Greg while the girls would stay at home. But one day, 4 years ago, Nicholas was sick and Christina went along. That's when everything changed...

Now the whole family goes with Greg and enjoys his Jet Skis! We all ride the Jet skis to a little beach, and then we take turn going for rides and having fun. Well, Greg, Allan and the kids take turn; I am just happy to stay on the beach, keep an eye on our lunch and stuff and take lots of pictures! 

This year, Greg gave Nicholas permission to drive one of the Jet Ski, as long as there is an adult with him. So Allan gladly went along for the ride. The funny thing is that Nicholas threw Allan off twice!!!

The first time, it was just him and Allan and he threw him off. Then, at the end of the day, all three boys were riding one jet ski while Greg was giving a ride to Christina. They were having fun and Nicholas was definitely getting comfortable driving the jet ski. So he was more daring, taking more sharp turns and jumping waves, going in a figure eight, etc. And before long, both Allan and Anthony were thrown off! Everyone had a good laugh! 

201. New Hats

  

Made a couple of new hats for Christina;

Another little "skullie" and a "visor cap". 

They both turned out great and Christina is happy with the results.

Next project, a classic "beret".