Soccer Camp Week

 Yesterday was the beginning of soccer camp, and it was quite confusing.  Soccer is from 9 a.m. to 12:00, and Ryan took them for the first day, and I picked them up.  They overslept and got off to a late start, and it was hot, and there was a lot of negativity and a few tears.  Some little boy had apparently injured both of them, and they were mad with him.  The little boy was pointed out, and he was small, maybe 2nd or 3rd grade.  I did hear the coach yell to him as I drove up - "Good tackle!"  

The only picture I took.  It's quite a motley crew from the looks of this picture.  Katherine and Graysen are on the left side near the coaches.  Katherine in the dark green shirt is definitely not happy.  Graysen has in the pink shirt and is feeling okay and laid back.  One of the younger coaches has a team that he wants her to try out for.  He thinks she's pretty good and would thrive with that group.

The weren't in the mood to go to the library and picnic.  They only wanted to go home and recover from this heat - up to 79 degrees, I think.  If they only knew how hot it gets in other parts of the country.  We didn't have long after lunch before they had to leave for basketball camp - a 3-day deal at the high school, which is not as far as we had to drive to soccer, but they really wanted to go to the local library and get some more books.  Graysen wants to get them all, and Katherine hesitates to get more than 1 or 2, like she has to pay for them!   Ryan took them to basketball, and I was off duty then.  It sounds like they did better there than this morning.  

Today I've taken and picked up soccer girls, and Ryan and Emily will get them to and from basketball.  They sure don't want to go.  It's cool and cloudy, and we're pretty  content.  They're sitting on the floor talking in low voices with some little set of animals.  I think I can take that better than the singing and dancing they like to do.   

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I either got interrupted or went to sleep, probably the latter.  I can't get enough sleep, although I stay up most of the night and want to sleep during the day.  

Today - Wednesday - I had almost full duty for soccer and basketball.  They had a much better day than yesterday.  They put on sunscreen, but their faces were so red and hot.  The only problem they had was than I didn't take lunch for them to eat in the car.  

After lunch, they had a couple of hours, but Carly wasn't home, and they were disappointed with that.  

They ended up being loud and wrestling and just waiting for time to go to basketball.  I had never been to the "new" high school.  It's a few years old or maybe was just finished last year, and it's so big and nice.  They got out like big girls and said they would figure it out so I didn't have to go and climb those stairs.  I sat in the parking lot a few minutes and didn't see them, so I came home.  

Two more days of soccer, but basketball is done.  They really seem to like it.  We have such interesting conversations in the car.  Today we got on the subject of what to do if you get lost. They have little phones that are limited to getting and calling a few people, so that is good if they're stranded somewhere.  Oh, we passed by the middle school where Graysen will go year after next, and this is a new concept for them.  They asked if you had to give the bus driver your address every day, like the driver took everyone to his house.  Then Katherine asked how the "commercial buses" worked.  How does she pick up these phrases.  They sound so funny coming from here.

We went over different ways to get help if you're lost in an unfamiliar place - just stay there!  I usually always have them in my sight, but the day is coming soon when they're going to want to walk around with their friends.  Ugh.  The most dangerous thing around here are the bikes and scooters then preteens and teens ride - on the sidewalk.  Someone my age got knocked down in front of the school, and the kid never even stopped.  It really scares me that they come up behind you silently and might say "On the right" or "on the left" but I usually don't hear them say anything. 

Life is dull right now, but I like it that way.  I'll look for the last pictures I have and see what they are.

This was one of those lazy days at the park across the street.  I sometimes sit on my porch and keep an eye on them, but that day I took a bottle of water and just sat in the sunshine an watched them.  They have so much fun here and don't need a thing.  Carly's Mom Linda brought over little sister Ida who is 2 years old, I think.  She's just running everywhere and curious and has that cute little beginning-to-talk voice where she repeats everything she hears.  Graysen especially is crazy about here.  She wants to be able to babysit in a few years.

Graysen needed to take some time to take some pictures of the birds to send to her dad.  They look like they were watching the girls examine the big worm on the sidewalk.

And the Cascade View Wax Museum that the fourth grade did.  They did such a good job creating their costumes and making their backgrounds.  They all were supposed to stand still like statues until someone pushed their buttons.  

I was impressed.  I knew Graysen was doing Helen Keller but didn't hear her talk.  The only video I got was near the end when she had repeated the same thing for 2 hours over and over and was clowning a little.  They were tucked into the different classes and in the halls, and with all the parents and kids, it got really stuffy.

The dress was perfect, and she was one of the few who didn't have to read their speech. I work on the video tomorrow.

 Likewise friends Harper and Isla did a great job.  I didn't get pictures of all the outstanding citizens

George Washington even fanned Noreen and me with the Declaration of Independence.  

The neighborhood twins as Einstein and maybe another Einstein.  I can't tell.  They walk down my sidewalk every morning just at 8:55 bouncing their basketballs, and they gave me a preview that morning.

Noreen's Anthony as FDR.

Noreen and I walked to the school and visited the wax museum at our leisure - and got really hot!  I know the kids in costume were sweltering.

A few random pictures I found.

Gymnastics Recital one Saturday morning.  It wasn't a competition, just a demonstration of skills.  Both girls got 1st place in their group.  

School is Over for another year

 We have all of July, all of August and most of September to do whatever we want.  I pretty much do that anyway, but the girls are so excited.

I called Friday and told them they could come over when they wanted to and we'd find out what we were doing.  It's a good thing we don't have much scheduled, because they take forever to get here.  First they're in no hurry to get up and then play around the house and clean their rooms - somewhat - before they come here.  It was almost lunch time when they finally got here - on their bikes.

They can't come by themselves yet because of that one street we're not comfortable for them to cross.  There's a crosswalk, but where on my street you can see and hear what's coming for two blocks either way, on Douglas the cars come around a corner and not always following the speed limit.  It's just too scary right now.  Ryan either walks with them, giving Woodrow some walking time, or drives beside them until she get across.  

The bikes stayed parked all afternoon because they had so many other things they wanted to do, but toward the end of the day, they were riding them pretty fast down the sidewalk and around the apartments and down the alley - where cars might back out of garages suddenly.  I really try to hold back from constantly telling them to slow down and don't do this and don't do that.  I see kids riding all over town about their age, even downtown (such as it is), but I'm going to be a Debbie Downer for another summer anyway.  

So the first thing they do  is run upstairs and see if their friend Carly can come down and play.  These are 3 of the best playmates.  They are 8, 9, and 10.  I think Carly's personality is such that she's a peacemaker between the two sisters and keeps things on an even keel.  

The first pictures were on Friday after they got out early.  It was pajama day (one of the many pajama days), and Graysen dressed for comfort.  I don't think Katherine participated.  I don't go all the way to the school any more but get close enough to see them cross the street at the crosswalk.  I think next year they will be walking alone.  Then after that Graysen will be in middle school and ride the bus, Carly's family will probably have a house somewhere, and poor Katherine will have to make her way home alone.  She will be so sad.  They have so much to cover on that short walk home - who had a birthday and how much candy or how many favors they got, what third grade did and what funny things Mr. Harper did that day.  

Kate and Carly had made a bird feeder from a plastic soft drink bottle a month or so ago but never finished it, so they got it out, and we found some seeds to fill it up.  They also found a pine cone perfect for stuffing peanut butter and seeds into.  Lucky little birds.  So busy.  Yesterday they asked for popsicle sticks and glue and yarn and proceeded to make a little deck for the birds.  I love their creativity, and they love making the world better.

This little sidewalk between two apartments is such a good place for them to play, if a little confining.  It's right under Carly's windows and outside my dining room window, so we can listen out for them and still allow them freedom - to destroy the landscaping.  

After that and lots of whispering and scheming and running and screaming, it was time for a snack.  Carly's dad Wes usually brings us something back when he goes to Trader Joe's.  This time it was these neat lemon cookies.  I tasted them, but they didn't last long!

They were getting hot and complaining after a while.  You won't hear me complaining.  I asked them if they wanted me to open the garage door and let them go into the cool and messy garage.  I got to get this tent out of the house too.

They took a fan and the Duo screen out there and fixed up a homey little place.  They can play their music as loud as they want without my telling Google to turn it down.  

When I checked on them later, they had closed the door and were telling spooky stories.  

I took very few pictures yesterday because they pretty much did the same things - picked up more trash, played tag, rode bikes and just ran - up and down the sidewalk.  Just running.  No purpose except sheer enthusiasm - and no math.  Graysen and Katherine were right prickly, and there was a lot of folded arms and fussing that I could hear.  I told them they needed to not worry so much about saving the planet and learn to be kind to each other.  They did another restaurant, which was good for about 30 minutes.

I think that's my crocheted dish rag in my Mimi Christmas mug Katherine gave me.

Their tea is water with various things added to it to make it taste good.  I guess.  I had them ordering in Spanish and asked for agua, but that was boring, so they put cinnamon in it.  Lots of cinnamon.

 I tried.  I really did, but I had to put most of it in the plant.  I'm afraid to know what cinnamon does to plants.  The Oreo was fine though.

I told them again that they had to start doing better on  leaving things out for me to clean up.  They ran around and did a quick pickup, but when I had sent them home and came back in, this is what I saw.

I've seen no one today, and it was a good day.  I read  (listened) to my book a lot - Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan.  It started off slow, and I almost abandoned it, but it got a lot better, and I'll probably finish it tonight.  I did my Duolingo lesson, and it's like I never saw any Spanish words before.  I told Emily that I missed one exercise 5 times -  just writing The Beer in Spanish.  I misspelled beer 3 times - and forgot the la twice.  Whew.  They were glad to get me off that one.  I also had as one answer:  Roberto eats the spoon.  It was a slow day.

Next week will be full, and we'll be glad to have some days at home after it's over.  Soccer Camp is every day from 9 a.am. to 12 a.m.  It's in North Bend, which is only about 10 minutes away, but I might go prepared tomorrow and watch them a little bit, then get a few things from grocery store, check out the plants at Ace Hardware, and then sit in the shade and read or walk around the track if it's not too hot.  Since basketball camp is from 3 p.m. til 6 p.m.,

we'll go to the cool library and relax in there for awhile and get some new books.  Then we'll go to a shady park around the corner and  eat lunch and play and read.   I'll probably go back home after I deliver them to basketball at 3, and Ryan or Emily might pick them up at 6.  We'll all be tired at the end of this week.  

Fourth grade did a cute and interesting wax museum last week, and I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

Saturdays

 Well, it didn't quite work out to write anything the whole of June, so I'll have to see what I remember.  I'm not sure I have anything interesting to write about.  When friends get together, we have to replay our current aches and discomforts but not in a complaining way.  We are all glad to be here and as active as we are, so we enjoy poking fun at ourselves.

The weather is usually discussed every day - and not in a good way lately.  We've had a summer delay until yesterday.  After a few warm and beautiful days, we had rain almost every day with cold temps to go along with it, and I for one have enjoyed getting to stay inside.  The cats and I even had a fire several mornings.  

Now what has happened?  Looking back at my last post, I realize I just ran out of steam and stopped writing last time.  Noreen had a birthday June 1st, and we did nothing to celebrate until a couple of weeks later when we walked down to the closest restaurant and ate lunch at Infusion Bar and Grill.  It's on our street, so we just have to walk a couple of blocks!

 It was one of the warm days, and we decided not to sit outside, but when we went inside, it was a little toasty, even for us, so we changed our minds and sat outside in the shade.  It was perfect.  Just a little breeze, not much traffic - car or foot - and we shared our space with just one other family with a little boy and their dog - both very cute and well-behaved.  We ended up getting the same thing - a Reuben.  I can't remember ever choosing that particular sandwich before, but Mike would get one whenever he could, and something just drew me to it.  Noreen had the idea at the same time, and we each got one.  It was huge, so we had half for lunch and half to take home.  So good.  It was really a treat.  I hope we'll do it more often.  There are so many interesting restaurants we need to try - here on the Ridge, downtown Snoqualmie, and North Bend.  

The family eats out a good bit since their schedule is so busy, and it's hard to cook vegan meals after work.  They've found a good many places where they can get the things they want.  At least once a week, I hear them talking about No Boat Brewing Company, not far from here.  They have different food trucks that park there and some nice outdoor tables, so several families meet there and catch up on their week.  Graysen particularly is pretty picky about what she likes, and she has strong opinions.  I heard they were dining at a place called Saints and Scholars one night this week.  It seems like a pretty grownup place, and I asked Graysen what she found to eat.  She said, "A grilled cheese and root beer."  

Food trucks seem to be pretty popular lately.  They change quite often, so I guess there's something for everyone if you can keep up.  

All the Win-Bins went to South Dakota for a wedding - Ryan's niece Becca.  There are six cousins, all about the same age, so I foresee a few more of them.  I was sent only two pictures, but I'm sure they enjoyed it, even if it was a quick trip.   Maybe they'll share more of the wedding when they get settled back in.

Headed to the wedding.  They had to travel a little bit from SD to Iowa where the wedding was.

And I was sent this picture just to remind me that Graysen is all of a sudden looking pretty big!  Where's that baby?

 I kept Gus again and kept up with watering plants.  It rained the whole time, so plant care was extremely easy.  

Woodrow got sent to be boarded in a kennel.  I'm not sure how he liked it, but he was so glad to finally get home.  He ran in, barely said hello to me, and ran over Gus to get upstairs, looking for the girls.  No one was there, so he came down and stepped on his little button that says "Outside."  I let him out, but it was raining pretty hard, and he didn't linger too long.  Then he went to the front door and pushed his front door button to go outside.  Poor baby.  He had a hard time accepting that no one but me was home.

It wasn't long before Gus crawled in his bed with him and started a rolling and biting fight that they both enjoyed thoroughly.  He finally came and laid his big wet head on my knees and decided I was okay if I was the only one home.

This kitten is the sweetest one I've ever been around.  He loves to cuddle right under my neck and purrs so loud!  He doesn't seem to mind staying by himself either.  I tried bringing him over here last time, and the three cats did not like each other, so I had to take him back home.  I think he would have been friendly to Bowie and Layla, but their yowls and hisses scared him, so he joined right in.  

They are both sweet boys and love their children - and vice versa.  

He does have a grumpy face though.

The trip to the beach was lots of fun for them too.  It has a name - something like Hobuck - and it looked beautiful from the pictures.

I seem to have a lot to include - more pictures from the beach, school and gymnastics events - but I'm out of time this morning.  At least I got in one more June post.