Tanner's Birthday Interview

How old are you? 8

What is your favorite color? Light green and royal/dark blue

What is your favorite animal? Grey wolf and wallaby (he saw on at the rodeo recently)

What is your favorite book? Mac Sports Reports

What is your favorite show? Video on YouTube- he watches sports highlights videos

What do you like to eat? Chicken tenders, Sprite, mozzarella sticks, sandwiches, chips

What is your favorite game? Football game with Joseph

What is your favorite thing to do? Play sports

Who is your best friend? "I have 3." Oliver (neighbor), Joseph (school), Jack (school)

What do you like to do with Dad? I like when Dad is my coach.

What do you like to with Mom? I like to read books and play games.

Where do you want to go on a vacation? Isle Royale to see the wolves, or Europe, or Australia

What do you want to be when you grow up? Sports reporters who writes all the stories on athletes

What is your favorite song? I'm Good, by Blue. I think. It's the radio version.

What is the best time of day? When I read books at night and school

What makes you happy? Playing sports and having fun

Lydia's Birthday Interview

How old are you? 4

What is your favorite color? Purple and pink

What is your favorite animal? Sea lion, otter, and a cheetah

What is your favorite book? Daniel Tiger and Biscuit

What is your favorite show? Bluey (I finally let the kids watch Bluey over winter break. It was a huge hit.)

What do you like to eat? Mac and cheese

What is your favorite game? Pie in the Face

What is your favorite thing to do? Jump on the trampoline

Who is your best friend? Sofia (friend from church)

What do you like to do with Dad? Read books with him

What do you like to with Mom? Have sleepovers (we have a sleepover in her room a few weeks ago since we didn't make it to camping that weekend)

Where do you want to go on a vacation? To Aunt Trescha's house

What do you want to be when you grow up? Doctor

What is your favorite song? I am a Child of God

What is the best time of day? The day we go on field trips at preschool

What makes you happy? Love

December Happenings

 December was busy, as I am sure it is for everyone. Lots going on!

Ashton had some robotics tournaments. I still don't understand how the scoring works but she seems to get it all. Her team is still competing into 2024 so we still have robotics. This is her team's robot that they built.

It has been a warm winter. The girls got out the pool and swimsuits one day.

Every year, the GT program in our district has a big "showcase" project for each grade. 4th grade's project is focused on the National Park Service. Ashton chose a park, researched it, created a presentation, and then presented to a bunch of people. She ended up getting a perfect grade, which was rare. And her presentation was used an example to new GT teachers in the district. She thought that was cool. She chose Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota. I wish it was closer so we could go soon. One year, we'll make it there.

Tanner had two more soccer tournaments too! He got 2nd place at one and 1st place at the other. He was pretty content. We are scaling back with his soccer club team. It is getting a little more intense than we'd like. We'll see what is next for this kid. For now, he's happy in his basketball league and then summer swim will start in May. We also found a low-key baseball league for him in spring.

School winter parties took place. PTA takes the lead on these so it was a little busier for me. Not too much though.

Lydia walks around the school like she owns the place. She fits right in with all of Ashton's friends. They love Lydia. She joined all three of the sibling parties.

Decorating sugar cookies. Not my favorite thing to do, but the kids beg for it.

We're cat sitting for a family for a few weeks. The cat is the most snuggliest cat I've ever seen. Comes right up to everyone, sits on your lap, purrs the whole time. Crazy cat. So we love going to the house each day and seeing the kitty.

Fun Run 2023

Every year, our elementary school PTA holds a fun run (with the exception of last year for some reason). The kids love it. The person leading it this year did an amazing job at it! We changed it up to have it in December and it was a jingle run. We host a 1K for each grade level and then a community-wide 5K. Ashton, Tanner, and Gemma raced in their grade level races and then Joseph, Ashton, and Tanner did the 5K as well. Ashton's bestie is homeschooled but her siblings attend the same school. So the only way to run together was to do the 5K together. And Tanner, of course, just loves any physical challenge.

Gemma ran her little body as fast as she could. Tanner got 2nd place for his grade and Ashton won 1st for her grade. Then in the 5K, Tanner was the second school-age boy to finish. He and his friend ran the race together, which was cool. And Ashton was the first school age girl to finish! All in all, a fun (and exhausting PTA) day. Can't wait for the next one!

 

Thanksgiving in Alabama

Tanner's soccer team was invited to play at a national tournament in Alabama at the end of Thanksgiving break. The team decided to go so we made the drive over. My parents and step-sister decided to join us for warmer weather. We spent the week in Alabama/Florida with them. The tournament was fun too! Tanner scored a bunch against really talented teams. The team as a whole didn't do too well but we were pleased with Tanner's playing.

We spent a day at the Naval Air Museum on the navy base in Pensacola. We went several years ago with just Ashton, I think. But the kids loved it. After that, we drove all the way around Penscola/and the island to Fort Pickins. It's a battle fort used in the Civil War. The kids had a blast climbing and exploring the fort.

Near the rental house was the Gulf State Park. Right along the gulf coast but also with lots of woods/forests. We went geocaching and hiking there a couple times. Lydia found the sand. Not too long after she got up, some deer crossed.

Another day, we went to Mobile and visited the USS Alabama, a battleship, as well as the USS Drum, a submarine. You could tour both of them. The battleship was massive and the littles only lasted for part of it. Tanner had a great time learning all about the history of the battleship as well as learning about Fort Pickins. He could have stayed all day.

In the town we stayed in, there was a tea restaurant that held Teddy Bear Tea parties. My step-sister and her family wanted to do one so we all went. Gemma and Lydia had a blast eating small treats and drinking lemonade with their stuffed animals.

My kids adore my parent's dog, Molly. Her birthday is sometime in December so Lydia requested to celebrate it in Alabama. Molly went along with it. The girls were so happy.

We headed to the beach along the gulf. My kids thought the water was too cold whereas the northern family loved it! We played in the sand a bunch and collected bags and bags of seashells.

All in all, it was a great trip. The kids did awesome on the drive to and from. It was about 9 hours away. Good practice for our road trip next summer.

Shoulder Saga

Back in March, we found out we earned a permit to hike Mt. Whitney. I started training specifically for it and in doing so, added upper body strength exercises. Within a few days, I noticed my left shoulder was hurting. I stopped doing the exercises and rested my shoulder. About a month later, I lifted Gemma up and tweaked my shoulder again. I went to see my doctor, who recommended PT. I did that and headed out to California.

The day before our Mt. Whitney attempt, we hiked the Pacific Crest Trail. On the way back, my shoelaces snagged on something and I fell hard. To protect my left shoulder, I braced myself with my right arm. It was a bad fall. Lots of pain in my right arm/shoulder but it subsided. I wasn't worried too much. It didn't stop me from hiking Whitney the next day.

When I got back, I resumed PT for my left shoulder but mentioned that my right was now bothering me more. We kept doing PT for both shoulders with no improvement on the right side. (The left has improved enough so that's nice.) This all led to a MRI in September. Results showed my right shoulder was partially dislocated and the ligaments around it were too relaxed/loose that they wouldn't hold my shoulder in anyways. The only fix for this is surgery.

Early November, I had the surgery. Thankfully, it is an easy surgery- 1 hour and you're home within an hour or two after surgery. Recovery will be 4-6 months but I already have significantly less pain than I had before surgery. Before, I couldn't even carry a bag of groceries with my right arm without pain. Lifting my arm above my head was a no-go. Throwing balls with the kids was not possible.

I have 6 weeks in a immobilizer sling with minimal movement aside from PT. Then 12 weeks of no weight bearing. And then strength exercises until 4-6 months out. It makes day to day life a little slower and tricky but we are managing.

Door County Race

Back in the spring, my sister asked if I would run a relay race with her and some friends. It was the Door 50, a 50 mile relay race in October in Door County, Wisconsin. Any chance to see fall colors in Wisconsin will be a quick yes from me. We had a team of 5 runners so we each did 10 miles. Unfortunately, I messed up my shoulder and didn't train super well for the race. Plus I tweaked my ankle on the run. So my time wasn't great. But the other runners were quick so that helped. I spent Friday-Sunday morning in Door County with the race, then went to church and headed to Wausau to see my parents and family for a night. It was a quick weekend away but to be back in true "fall" was great. I remembered why I love October and orange so much. But then I reminded myself that Wausau would have snow a week later so I am happy to be back in Texas.