First day of school! Axel- 7th, Phoenix- 3rd, Rubix- Kindergarten!

With the end of "summer" and the beginning of the school year came the blooming of our sunflowers. It is very cool to see them grow all summer and then one day open in their full glory. This was the first sunflower to open. 

The other sunflowers quickly followed over the last week. I took every opportunity to catch them along with our ever growing children. I say this because I spent hours trying to find Phoenix black Asics sneakers for school that were size 3 because she is currently wearing a size 2 in Asics. After 2 weeks of waiting for delayed shipping they were too small and I had to return those and order her size 4! The same thing happened with Axel. He was wearing size 4 all last year. I just purchased him size 5.5 and then I realized he needed another pair of sneakers for gym class. I had to order size 6 because the 5.5 appears to be getting small already after 1 month! Rubix is also growing like a beast and is in size 13 shoes when after moving up to size 12 earlier this summer. It is really cool to see the kids growing so quickly because I have never experienced this much growth in my 12 years of parenting until this past year. 

We try to go to the library as much as we can. We had a chance to swap out books about 10 days ago and I just love seeing Rubix more interested in the book than getting out of the hot car and into the cool house. 

Love the picture of the little sunflower that just opened!

After heat and smoke we had a break in the weather and I was able to take the kids to the park for the first time in what feels like forever. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Phoenix and Rubix enjoyed the swings while Axel and I caught up in some small chat. 

We then all played a really fun game of hot lava where you had 3 seconds to get off the ground and onto anything else. 

We then tried to fly the kite. We did not have as much luck because the open field was taken up by a soccer game. 

Regardless, it was fun to run and fly it a little!

Keith and I have been busy fixing little things around our house and prepping all of the arrangements on the Montezuma house. Here is Keith holding 2 of our lovely home grown pumpkins under our new LED light fixture. We are getting exciting we close in just over a week. The bank wanted to have us close early on the 3rd of September, but we thought it was silly when our final walk through is on Saturday and the previous owner doesn't plan on moving out until the 7th. We will be very happy to get the kids on the 8th and start this next adventure of ours!

Last weekend we had Kristin come over. The kids played laser tag, badminton and more, but the Axel and Kristin had the most fun working on the Scratch game that they are coding. I should say, Axel is coding the game and Kristin is working on the art work. 

On Monday, August 23rd, Axel had his first day of school, which was an all day orientation. 

He was beyond excited. 

We were really excited for him too. It is a little different since we are not allowed on the campuses so we had to take pictures at home and then drop him off with a quick goodbye.

Rubix had his orientation on Monday as well. It was from 3 to 6pm. Again, since parents are not allowed on campus once school starts they had us take a picture in the classroom during orientation. 

Rubix, has Ms. Sandoval, just like Phoenix had. We had him sneak outside for a quick picture without his mask on. If you can't tell, it was a little warm!

Phoenix had her orientation on Tuesday. Keith took her, while I was at work, Axel was at school, and Rubix was dropped off at our friends house to hang out in their backyard, since no siblings were allowed on campus. On Wed, Phoenix and Rubix finally had their first day of school too. 

They were beyond excited as well! Unfortunately, it was a hectic morning trying to get Axel to his bus on time and beat the long drop off line so Keith and I had to divide and conquer to get this task done. 

On Thursday we made sure to get all 3 kiddos together before school since we were not able to do that the day before. Phoenix was shocked that all of her friends had the Harker skirt on, so she made sure to wear her skirts on Thursday and Friday. it will be interesting to see what she decides to wear each day. You may notice, she did not have her school shoes on the first day of school because of the size debacle. I was very grateful that the second pair of larger size 4 sneakers came in just 5 days and they arrived for day 2. Phoenix was very mature and told her teacher the situation and got the okay for not having black shoes. 

Rubix was beyond tired Wed, Thurs and Friday after school. He could hardly eat dinner on Wed. We had to shower him and put him to bed at 7pm. He managed to stay up until 7:30pm on Thursday. He also has been having trouble communicating with us much about his day because he is tired and overwhelmed. 

I was very grateful to have my last mentoring session with my resident on Friday. She gave me some yummy honey that her husband and mother in law make and sell as a gift. It was a great 2nd year with the residency program, but I am looking forward to a month off before I start mentoring again. Here Phoenix is enjoying the honey with her favorite hot water and honey drink. 

I am not sure when the next time I will post. We were able to clean out the garage today, work in the garden, and wash the cars with another better air quality day. We are hoping for more good air days, but our nervous for those Californians affected by the fires. We are praying for a miracle and for the fires to be contained. 

Other news to share before I go, is that a 3rd grader tested positive for Covid yesterday. They are going to test all of the third graders on Wed. We are hoping and praying that the cases will be minimal and that the kids will be able to stay in school and not get too sick if they do contract Covid. It is going to be an interesting start to the school year. We are looking forward to Phoenix and Rubix getting vaccinated and for some of the worry to disappear. 

Until next time.... God Bless!

 

Tahoe trip; short but fun!

On July 31st we had the Gunnions over for dinner to celebrate the end of the swim season. The kids had fun playing while the adults enjoyed watching the Olympics. 

We set the TV up so it faced outside and everyone was happy being "safe" yet still enjoying the Olympics. It was really fun because we were able to cheer on the Australians as well as the Americans.

I honestly cannot remember why I took this picture, but I must have taken it sometime the last weekend in July. 

On Monday, August 2nd we headed up to Tahoe City. We enjoyed a 9 mile bike ride with our family and the Wordens along the Truckee bike trail. It was really nice having them drive down from Truckee to see us. 

The next morning we met Tyler and the twins (no Cynthia because she likes to sleep in) at Squaw Valley. I had found this amazing hike called Shirley Canyon and I wanted to tackle it day one. 

The 5 kids made it up the 2000 foot climb to the top of the mountain where we were able to take the Tram ride down. 

It was really fun to see the top of Squaw Valley and the Olympic rings and ski resort. 

I was incredibly proud of our kids and Jade and Zoe for being able to tough out the 2.5 hour hike straight up!

Here is Rubix looking down at what we climbed, while we waited for the Tram. 

I managed to make it down the 10 minute Tram ride without getting sick, by covering my vision and starring at one point on the floor. It was a very smooth ride. I was bummed I couldn't look out without getting very nauseous. We successfully made it back to the parking lot and then headed back to Tahoe City.

Monday night we rode our bikes down to Skylandia Beach State Park and enjoyed the cold lake water. 

Phoenix was happy as ever playing in the sand. 

Both Axel and Rubix went for a swim with Daddy. 

That evening the kids were itching to swim in the pool, but decided that the water was too cold and that they rather swim in the lake. 

We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs as we had a big active day and the kids all ate one of each!

On Wed. the plan was to make it to Sand Harbor Beach for a beach day. We arrived just a bit too late and the parking lot was already full at 9am!!! 

Plan B, was King's Beach, so we drove down to King's Beach and enjoyed the day there. Axel and I rented a kayak and went down to Granite point. We made a great team and covered the 3 miles in just less than an hour. When we got back, Phoenix and Rubix tried it out. If you ask Rubix, he will tell you that the best part of his day was riding on the kayak! 

The kids played for hours in the sand/water. It is really impressive how hours goes by without them needing to eat, drink or get our of the sun. It was a big effort to get them to eat some lunch and take a break. 

The sand was incredibly hot so after lunch Daddy kindly carried Phoenix back to the water because she had left her shoes down by the water. 

On Thursday we planned to go to Tyler's house in Truckee. They just purchased a house and invited us over for the day. We decided to go back to the Train Tunnels before heading to his house. 

We were able to complete all of the tunnels in 2 hours, compared to only getting through 2.5 tunnels in the winter snow. We felt accomplished and were able to get a picture in front of Lake Donner outside the last train tunnel. 

We headed over to Tyler's afterwards and enjoyed an entire afternoon and evening with their family. The kids had an amazing time playing with them and eating lunch and dinner with them!

The night ended with a disco party, puppet show and performances by the twins. 

Unfortunately, we had to head home early on Friday (4 days early!) because tons of smoke from the fires came rolling into all of Tahoe and Northern CA. The air quality quickly went from beautiful clear air to in the 400s. We were surprised that smoke followed us all the way home to the Bay area. The AQI was 62 when we got home 4 + hours later, which is better than the 400's but showed how bad the fires and smoke were. The kids were absolutely exhausted from our fun filled long few days in Tahoe. We all agreed it wasn't worth suffering through dangerous smoke levels and we have made the best of our return home early. 

 Since we have been home we started getting ready for the school year and we purchased a second home! It is crazy that everything came together, but we are excited about the opportunities that will come with the purchase of a second home. 

Next up is return to work and the start of school. We are hoping and praying for a smooth transition back to the classroom. Until then, happy end of summer!

Family and Friends, Kids growing up!

Mr. Axel finished his algebra honors class soaring like the Harker eagle that he is. We captured a picture of him as we said goodbye to the upper school campus on his last day of class. Axel lost his 1st molar tooth and one that had a cavity on this day as well. 

This past weekend we were able to finally make it to Sacramento. We were able to visit GG who is recovering well from her broken him and okay from her broken arm. 

I am so glad to have been able to visit and catch up a little bit with her. I wish I was able to visit more often or stay longer. It was a real treat!

After visiting GG we headed over to Auntie Shannon's house. They recently had their yard re-landscaped and it looks beautiful. The kids and husbands enjoyed the pool. 

Aya was not quite herself and fell asleep in Auntie's lap. 

Axel made a train zucchini bread that we all gobbled up. We also had the pleasure of seeing and visiting with Gma Susan, Gpa Brian and Uncle David!!!!

We had a lovely afternoon. It was 7pm before we knew it and time to go. 

The kids were tuckered out from the long day and the heat. 

This week was the last week of swim team. It was a great year for them. They all won 1st place for every event in their age group against their teammates. They worked really hard for the past 4 months and have improved more than we anticipated. They are all considering stepping it up to the next level. We will possibly sign up Axel first in the fall and see how it goes for him, before taking the plunge with the younger two. 

The week also brought a visit from our old neighbors the Reddy's. Rishaan still towers over Axel, but.....not as much. It was cool to see the old besties together once again. 

Here are the 5 with Nishka and Rishaan on the ends. 

Our couple funny pictures requested by Nishka. What wonderful years it was having them as neighbors and having our kids grow up together. 

This week has also been full of Olympic viewing and Rubix now talks about when he will be in the Olympics and what he will do there. 

Go USA!!!!

Here are our little swimmers in action.

Axel out of the blue, has picked up shuffling and playing cards. He also showed the little ones how to build card houses. Apparently, playing cards was the choice activity during summer school at break time. It brings back memories as Shannon and I grew up playing cards often. 

Today we had our first sunflower open. It is not as big as previous years, but it is still beautiful. 

Phoenix is still amazed at the sunflower we received from our neighbor. We counted it has 10 heads. I have named it our medulla sunflower as I have never seen a sunflower with 10 heads before!!!

Today I also took Axel and Phoenix for a wellness check and sports release form signing. We knew the kids grew a lot during the pandemic, but we didn't know how much until today. Phoenix's last appointment was Jan 2020. In a year and a half she grew over 8 inches and gained 19 lbs. She weighs 58 lbs and is 4 feel 6 inches. Axel's last appointment was March 2019 as everything closed right before his birthday in 2020. In the 2 years since his last physical, he gained a whopping 20 lbs and grew 7.5 inches. Axel is just 1/2 inch shy of 5 feet and weight 75.7 lbs. We feel the kids have consumed more calories being at home and Axel took much less allergy medication being at home. These variables are what we attributed to both of their huge growth spurts, but logic tells me it was strictly timing with their genetics. I am so excited for Axel, as this puts him now over 50th %tile. This is a huge improvement from 12th %ile. His weight is still that low compared to other 12 year olds, but it is amazing how much he has grown. Although, technically Phoenix grew more in a shorter time, she did not jump as much as Axel did. She went from 63 to 88 %ile for height and her weight continues to be about 15%ile. 

It is hard to believe the summer is winding down. I will be working my last Saturday and then will get to enjoy the family for 2 solid weeks. I am so excited! We head for Tahoe and are praying the air quality will be good enough for us to stay and enjoy ourselves the 10 days that we are their. 

When we come home we are looking forward to doing some much needed house cleaning (okay, only I am looking forward to getting rid of papers, clothes, toys that we no longer need) and getting ready for school. 

Check back in a couple of weeks to view our Tahoe fun!