Fall Photo Catch-Up

 Fall has been so great here lately.  Perfect weather and lots of chances to be outside and enjoy the cooler temps.  Peter has become such a fan of bike riding that we go out several times a week and ride together. We've also had fun together as he's started cub scouts.  We've gone camping, shot bb guns, done archery, and all sorts of other fun scouting stuff.  I love the scouting program.  It's fun to be involved with it again.

I also got to take Peter to a Detroit Symphony Orchestra concert.  I have season tickets every year and go about once a month, but I've never taken him because the concerts start at bedtime and the venue isn't really for small, somewhat restless kids.  However, they did a free community concert at a nearby church in Detroit and kids were welcome to come.  He was so excited to finally go to the symphony with mom and he had a great time.

The music was fantastic, but his attention span was a little spent at times.  Luckily we had some room to spread out and take a break without disturbing others.

Bella has come with me quite often to the symphony, though.  Our most recent trip was to see Troupe Vertigo perform with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.  That was an amazingly unique show!  The troupe did all sorts of wild acrobatic tricks at the front with the orchestra playing gorgeous pieces which complemented the acts.  I was so sad when it was over.  I could have watched all night.

Of course, marching band continues on.  The kids' shows are doing so well.  They have worked so hard.  It's really impressive.

There is one night when all the high schools in the city get together and perform on the same field.  That's perfect for those families like us with kids in multiple high schools.  The drumlines all did a separate number together.  Still feels weird not seeing Benjamin in the drumline but I love seeing Christian out there doing such an amazing job.

Christian's marching band also played at multiple elementary schools this month for their walk-a-thon fundraisers.  Every school does one and it was fun to include the band to add to the atmosphere of the event.  He had a great time being in the band after all those years of being the little kid and looking up to those big high schoolers and wishing he could be one of them.  Now here he is.  What a cool experience.

It's October and we still have the cat, Pandora, that was supposed to get taken back in September.  We're coming to accept the fact that she might be permanent in our home.  I don't mind very much.  She really is the sweetest thing ever.  However, she's now brought 8 chipmunks into our home and 6 of them were still alive.  That's been wild.  I'm used to cats bringing in dead mice or other things they catch but she doesn't kill them completely first.  She seems to just enjoy playing with them inside.  The first time she dropped it at Kelly's feet while he was in an online meeting.  The hilarious Tom & Jerry scene that ensued as the cat chased the chipmunk around Kelly's desk and feet while he tried to remain focused and composed was classic.  We spent the next hour trying to get the chipmunk out of Kelly's closet.  One chipmunk ended up in Peter's bedroom and so Pandora and I teamed up and cornered it behind his bookshelf where I got it into a live trap and took it back outside.  I have to keep the cat in after that for a few hours, though, or else she's goes outside and brings it right back in!  Yes, that happened once until I learned my lesson.  She's a very smart cat.  This is how we spend most of our mornings together while I work on my seminary lessons.

Other recent activities:

I took Bella to a concert with friends.  The girls had a great time while I took a much needed nap in the car!

Kyler visited us again and went riding with the boys.  It's so fun that he can come visit often.

Benjamin has become a trainer.  He says his new companion speaks better Spanish than he did when he started, so that's been helpful.  But he spends more time than he'd like staying at home going through the training material.  Pros and cons, I guess.  We're so happy he's doing well, though.

Cross Country running continues.  Christian is doing very well.  He came in 15th in the all city meet last week.  Very good for a freshman.

Peter and I enjoyed a trip to the apple orchard - a Michigan fall must-do.  We also had to take the traditional picture on the cow bench.  He grows so fast!

He's also doing really well at school.  He's coming out of his shell and making friends.  He's improving in his writing and math skills.  He's more comfortable talking to his teacher and other adults there.  It's been really good.  Most days he doesn't mind going at all (very different from last year).  He likes the library and music class and art class.  I'm very happy with how it's going, although I do miss him during the day.  He's my sweet little buddy and sometimes its hard to say good bye in the morning.

 

Fall Sports

 Christian has worked so hard all summer getting ready for cross country season.  The team ran 6 days a week all summer whenever they were in town.  Now the season has started and they're doing great.  It's so fun to have a fellow distance runner in the family.  We compare mileage and route preferences, shop for shoes together, and share stories.  I am sooo happy to not be running competitively anymore and to just cheer him on, though.  I don't miss the stress of those races.  I love having no one to compete against but myself.  Especially now that the weather has finally cooled down and the humidity has decreased, my morning runs are sometimes the highlight of the whole day.

Peter has gotten so good and confident on his bike.  I had to take a picture of him.  All smiles.

Peter's favorite treat is popsicles.  I try to buy the healthiest, all natural kind I can find because without fail, every night after dinner, he asks for one.  Truth be told, we all love popsicles after dinner.  Here he wanted me to take pictures of him with his popsicle because he said, "It was the perfect popsicle shape like people always draw it, with the one bite at the top."

School Has Started & Stay off the Road, Here He Comes!

 It was a great Summer and now fall is here.  Maybe not officially, but with the cooler temps and the start of school, it feels like it.

Bella in 12th, Christian in 9th, and Peter in 1st!  They are all doing very well so far.  Even Peter, over whom I had the most worries, has been doing well.  He's handling the long, full days well and comes home pretty chipper.  He has the same teacher that Bella and Benjamin had so it's been great to already know the teacher, her style, and for her to be familiar with our family.  In fact, she held Peter several times when he was just a couple months old as I visited her classroom just before Covid shut the place down.

Also this month, Christian got his learner's permit and started driving our car.  He's a great driver and although I can't ever be comfortable with a 15 year old driving me around, I have to give him credit.  He's careful and attentive and does a good job.  The day he got his permit, he drove me and Peter to Detroit to visit the Outdoor Adventure Center and to play on the shore of the Detroit River - something we've done almost every year during the last week of summer vacation.  Such a fun milestone that he was driving us there this time.

On the way home, he fulfilled one of his dreams - drive himself to get food.  He chose Chipotle and proudly ate some of it in the driver's seat.

As the summer came to a close, we also celebrated Peter's actual birthday (after the fake birthday up North) and Christian's birthday.  Neither wanted a party, but we made sure we had a day full of their favorite foods and activities.

Peter chose to go to Kids' Empire - an indoor play place he loves.  He also wanted to go bowling and roller skating and to the library.  Sounded great to me.  We didn't end up getting to do them all on one day, but we got close.

Christian wanted pancakes instead of a cake, and he got a garmin runner's gps watch for cross country, some nice clothes he'd picked out earlier, and money.  Everything he wanted.

The day after Christian's birthday we did our annual river clean up service project.  This year they changed the format and no longer shuttled you up river or provided lunch afterwards.  We almost didn't do it, but I just love the family time it provides us and I love kayaking together rather than motorcycling.  So, I insisted on doing it anyway.  We brought out own kayaks this time rather than using their canoes since we'd have to take them upriver ourselves. That was a very good idea. It was a lot of fun and much easier to maneuver to get trash in the lighter kayaks. Plus, perfect, cool weather and everyone in a good mood.  It was wonderful.  We also managed to collect a ton of trash out of the river.

Our favorite yearly event - Touch-A-Truck came again this August and so we had to go take another picture in the Jeep Rubicon for traditions sake.  This year the weather was much colder and I couldn't' get Peter to strike the same pose.  He just wanted to shiver.  Yes, I'd offered a sweatshirt but he refused to wear it.

After he's been cooped up and mostly sitting all day at school, we've been taking some fun bike rides and adventure walks in the woods in the afternoons.  It's been so fun now that he can ride confidently and stop and start independently.  He loves the woods as much as I do too.  It's so fun to have a buddy who's happy place is the same as mine.  We both could wander the paths all day.

He also loves the little irrigation tunnel area in our neighborhood.  Every day he speculates where that tunnel might lead but the spiders inside convince him he doesn't want to venture in and find out.