Teenager!

Quinn celebrated his 13^th birthday, and with that he officially entered the teen years. That’s a pretty crazy thought, but it’s our reality now so I have no choice but to believe it’s true. His birthday celebrations started with his actual birthday, when he chose dinner out at Five Guys. Traditionally, we let the kids pick their birthday dinner that is made at home but this year, Keely had dance class that would have made a normal dinner at home difficult to fit around so we decided to go out for dinner. After Five Guys, we had marble cake with buttercream frosting at home (all made from scratch by James) and he opened his presents from Mom & Dad, Keely and a few others that were mailed from our family farther away. He got a new Kindle Paper white and saxophone stand from us and a cool t-shirt (this is what awesome looks like J) and a pack of Root Beer gum from Keely. The following weekend, we traveled to New Jersey and celebrated with the grandparents. Quinn chose lasagna for dinner, ice cream cake for dessert and he got some art supplies from Nana & Papa and a 3 month t-shirt subscription from Aunt Annie.

The last hurrah to ring in his teen years was probably the best part…on Columbus Day weekend, we traveled to Kings Dominion with Quinn and two of his best friends to ride the coasters and scream at the Halloween Haunt. We opened up the park at noon to overcast, chilly skies. Luckily, there was only a little rain throughout the day and the cool weather probably made the crowds lighter. Our bad luck with coasters getting stuck seems to be following us as we were one ride away from being stuck on the first coaster we waited in line for, and the kids were one ride away from being stuck at the top of the Drop Tower. Aside from that and one of the coasters being closed for the day, we had a pretty fun and successful time riding anywhere from 12-15 coasters and never had to wait more than 30ish minutes but mostly just walked on each coaster. 

We also let the three boys ride the Extreme Sky Flyer, which pulls you up about 150 feet and then drops you to freefall and swing in midair like a pendulum until you are lowered back to the ground. Quinn actually was the one to pull the cord, so to speak and release them to soar 60mph. We have a video of them flying, and it’s awesome but they all screamed pretty loud. Keely thought Quinn was going to throw up because he had his hands over his face, but he was just cold (thank goodness). It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience for them, and I know they all had fun with one more adventure!

At night time, the park becomes ‘haunted’ and that was pretty scary (for most of us). There are many mazes to walk through and there are areas of the park where scary people jump out at you, then sometimes follow you until you walk out of that ‘haunted’ area. I have not screamed so much in a very long time, if not ever. We only did two of the mazes, but Keely would have done more – she is so not scared, and my little daredevil. The boys were a bit scared, but I think they tried to play it off to be cooler. After all, what 12-13 year old will admit to being scared?!?! So not cool. I, on the other hand, could scream all I wanted, and scream I did. I’m not saying I wouldn’t do it again, but it was a little much for me.

We almost closed the park at 10 PM but left about 9:30 PM and were completely and utterly exhausted (some more than others). It was a long, tiring but fun day…Quinn and friends had a blast, which was our goal so that is all that matters!

So now we have entered the teen years. I never imagined we would be here so quickly, and I know that these next few years will most likely fly by. I am trying to enjoy every moment, tough as that is, with Quinn as he grows into a smart, funny, independent young man. He has his moments of independence, but I know he loves us and appreciates the support we give him as he tests these waters of adolescence. I don’t know what kind of road lies ahead, but I trust that we can be strong parents and raise a strong, happy, healthy teenager and give him the preparation he needs for the ‘real world’! 

New School Year

Here we go again...this time, we begin 7th and 5th grades! This year was no big thing, really because it was the same as last year for the most part. Same schools, just a different grade. Next year, we will have two middle schoolers so that will be a big step. But let's not get ahead of ourselves...

Keely is so excited to be the 'top of the school' as the oldest. The one big thing is getting to sit in the chairs at assemblies! I guess that is way more comfortable than sitting on the floor :) She is also happy with her teacher...although she did not get the male teacher for her main teacher, she is going to his class for advanced math each day. The teacher she did get was her top female choice, so in Keely's world this is a win-win. I haven't met Mrs. A, but Keely seems thrilled with her approach so far and that is what counts. She is also a bus patrol for the first time, an honor that she is happy to fulfill. She gets to wear her special patrol belt and help the little ones on the bus - even having to referee some arguments while traveling to school. So it's all good for Keely. She is doing well in school and has hooked back up with her friends from last year. She seems to be maintaining a good balance between the social and educational aspects of school, and that's a good direction to head as we begin our last year of elementary school. As for extracurricular activities this fall, she is playing soccer with the Cheetahs (one game and two practices a week) and taking a Hip Hop dance class once a week. It's fairly busy, but it's how she likes it!


Quinn settled into another year of middle school fairly quickly. He continues to manage his time well and not have to be reminded to do homework, study for tests/quizzes and practice his saxophone. I met all of his teachers at Back to School night and I think he's got a good group again. All of his teachers seem fair and nice, and I think he will do well with them. He is in all honors classes again, with an added challenge of High School Algebra 1 for math. He also has Art Foundations for the first half of the year, and Home Economics (not his first choice, but I think a good learning experience for him!) the second half. Band is his other elective and it will certainly keep him (us) busy this year. Lots of performances and competitions...and he has also chosen to participate in Jazz Band as well, so that adds another few performances and practices after school each Monday. He seems to have done well with the switch to tenor saxophone and it continues to be a passion for him! He's not doing any extracurricular activities on top of school and Jazz Band...but he plans to play basketball again this winter.

Another point to note...we switched to another church, St. Philip's, this summer and enrolled the kids in their CCD program. It's on Sunday mornings at 8:45 AM so that means we only get 1 day a week to sleep in...but it's good to get back in routine with CCD as Quinn prepares for his confirmation that will be in Spring 2016. So far, I like the new church much better but it wasn't hard to beat the old experience. I do miss Blessed Sacrament a lot, and we just haven't found that place we feel comfortable here in Virginia so I hope that St. Philip's can be closer to that feeling for us. 

Six Flags

We finally checked an item off our summer bucket list. We had this on last summer’s list but it didn’t happen. It might have been better because Keely has now grown tall enough to ride every single ride with no exceptions, a fact that makes her so happy and makes it easier for us. We arrived on a Sunday right after opening to almost no lines on the coasters. We rode 8 of 9 of their major coasters in under 2 hours, some of them more than once because there were no lines. It was dizzying and a lot of fun, but it’s hard to keep up with the kids who seem not to be bothered by motion sickness at all. James didn’t fare so well, having to sit out for a few coasters but I continued to ride with the kids. 

We even let them ride one together by themselves, something that now makes me cringe because of what happened later that afternoon – that same coaster was stuck at the top of the ride at an angle for over 5 hours with 24 passengers. It was a high angle rescue that required many fire trucks and police and medical support. Luckily, no one was hurt but I can only imagine how I would have felt on the ground as my kids were stuck up on the coaster. Luckily, that wasn’t the case so our only affect was that they closed many of the coasters because of the trapped riders – understandably. We were mostly done by that point and so we headed home happy and having had a lot of fun. Our next amusement park is King’s Dominion; a little further away but a lot of fun from what I remember when I visited each year in college.

New Jersey

Summer wouldn’t seem complete with a trip to New Jersey. This one was in early August and was timed to coincide with Lois, Ryan and the girls traveling there for a week to see Grandma and Grandpa. We drove up on Saturday morning and I came home early Tuesday morning, but James and the kids stayed until Wednesday evening. There is not much to do in New Jersey, but thanks to the purchase of some slip and slides the kids had enough fun right at the house. They also took a trip to Allaire State Park where they rode the train, and we took the kids to Clark Mills and Milford Brook – our old stomping grounds from Manalapan Rec and the site where James and I met some 22 years earlier. It’s crazy that 22 years later, we were there with our two kids and Lois’ two kids playing on the same (loosely) playgrounds where we met and started to get to know each other. It was actually quite surreal. We also went to church at OLM almost 15 years to the day of our wedding, and it was again quite surreal to sit in the pew with our children and expanded family. I had no idea where life would take us, but we have been very blessed and I can’t wait to see where the next 15 years, 30 years and hopefully more (God willing) takes us.

Our anniversary itself was celebrated back in Virginia when James and the kids returned home. We went to dinner at Matchbox - very yummy - followed by ice cream at Boardwalk Ice Cream. Keely made us her own handmade gifts and it was very thoughtful. She wanted to have this hanging in our room when we awoke, but instead it was hung during the day. Notice the artist peeping out the closet door :)

Costa Rica Trip Days 4-5: Monteverde

The trip from Arenal to Monteverde can take up to 3 hours by car or van, or you can choose another option to break up the trip – a boat ride across Lake Arenal, followed by a van ride straight up a mountain. We chose the second choice but it still took us about 3 hours (maybe a little less) to get to Monteverde. The boats were quite hilarious, and we wondered if we’d even make it across the lake. We were one of the last to arrive to the boat and because of that, our party was split up between two boats – one larger and one smaller – because of both limited seating at that point and distribution of weight (between luggage and people). Anyways, James, Keely and I ended up on the larger of the two boats and Nana, Papa, Annie and Quinn were on the other smaller boat. I joked that they let the smaller boat go ahead so that we could pick them up if it sank. Joking, I think but these boats were pretty dinky! In any event, we made it across to the other side of the lake where there were 6-8 vans lined up ready to take parties to Monteverde based on various hotels. This part was again quite hilarious as they tried to fit all of the luggage into the back of these vans that were packed to the gills with people and two staff members. Let me tell you, these guys are talented to get that many bags into these vans…and also that most Americans (most of the tourists there were from Texas, it seemed) overpack. Our group’s luggage was tame compared to what others had with them. In any event, we were told that it would be 1.5 hours until we could stop for a siesta…err, bathroom break…so James decided to use the facilities of nature J Luckily, no one seemed to care! The road up from the lake is so curvy, and so narrow. I can’t stress that enough. I was quite shocked that the vans didn’t fall off the side of some these steep hills, or break down as they seemed to labor up each hill. It was crazy! At one point, we reached a larger road that had actual concrete shoulders for drainage – but even that would have been a minor road in the United States. 

When we reached Monteverde, we were dropped off at the Hotel Fonda Vela. It was true to its photos, think Swiss Family Robinson. And the weather was quite different! We went up about a mile in elevation…and instead of summer, it felt like Fall. What a change. For many reasons, Monteverde was my least favorite part of this trip and I think the weather was one. But you can’t go to Costa Rica without experiencing the cloud forest (at least on your first trip) so we had to do it, and I don’t regret it. It actually provided the most fun experience of the trip with zip lining. After our morning, we took a bit of time to settle in and explore the very lush grounds. There was a pool and hot tub – honestly the only thing you could do was the hot tub because it was so cold. And it was always misting in the cloud forest…you are literally up in the clouds! So cold, and damp. Not a great combination, but a very unique environment that is a can’t miss experience.

Later that afternoon, we set out for the Don Juan Coffee Tour which was a most enjoyable experience. We learned all about the process of growing, roasting and selling CR coffee and also had some of the most delicious bananas and chocolate I will ever eat. The bananas were fresh off the tree, and you will never eat another banana so sweet. Quinn loves bananas and must have had 4 at least. After the tour, we enjoyed the free coffee and picked up some gifts to bring back home. A word about CR coffee…it is all Arabica now, they do not allow any other coffee to be grown and exported because they chose quality over quantity. They are a small country and they have to be judicious about what they export so that it is successful. They also serve coffee to small children (starting at age 2) and Costa Ricans drink their coffee black or with warmed milk and sugar. The milk is warmed so that it doesn’t cool the coffee before you drink it. Quinn had some coffee each morning, and really enjoyed it (he’s not had it since we have been back in the States, though…when in Rome, I suppose).

The next morning we set out for our experience on the hanging bridges and zip lines. First, we did the hanging bridges with a guide. The guide was very helpful…even if we didn’t see wildlife or exotic birds (I never did see the infamous quetzal) he was informative about the plants, trees and cloud forest environs. There were eight bridges in all, some more than 300 feet high. In between, there was walking on trails that connect the bridges. A good bit of walking, and in some very damp conditions. On the last bridge, Nana had a spill and sprained her ankle. We were worried but she persisted and managed to push through to do the zip lines. Papa was a maybe for the zip lines, but I think male ego chipped in when he saw that Nana was going to do it, he couldn’t chicken out! That may or may not have been the smartest decision, but he made it through the whole zip line course. The kids loved the zip lines! I was a little nervous about the heights, but really it was pretty exhilarating. To be on top of the tree cover, flying through the air at relatively high speeds is a pretty good adrenaline rush. We also did the Tarzan swing, which was probably the most outside of my comfort zone. Imagine stepping off a platform in free fall…not knowing when the rope will catch you. All of us did the swing besides Papa who gratefully watched from ground level. Again, the kids loved it! If you ask them what their favorite part of the whole trip was, they will most certainly say the zip lines! Our guides were also great here, and they really made everyone feel safe. They took special care of Nana with her busted ankle, and they always made sure the kids and Papa had a guide with them on the longer zip lines. After that exhilarating experience, we had our driver drop us in the town and we ate lunch at the Tree House Café which literally had a tree growing through its two levels.

That night, we set out on a night tour of the forest with a guide. It was actually a bust…we only saw a couple of creatures roaming the night including a coati (raccoon like animal), agouti (large rat type animal), tarantula, and the leaf carrying ants. No sloths and no monkeys. It was quite windy and when that happens, animals head out of the trees and down for cover making it hard to find them. Another point of interest here is that the internet lines went down for a good portion of this day, making it impossible to pay with credit cards for anything. We had to borrow cash from Quinn to pay for the night tour! It’s something that you can never imagine happening in the United States, and something we take for granted but in a small country you need to be prepared for all kinds of things.

The next morning, we were set to leave for our last destination and final four nights on the Pacific Ocean in Tamarindo. Insert ominous sound here…dum, dum, dum. The exit from Monteverde to Tamarindo might also have contributed to my dislike of Monteverde although most likely it had nothing to do it. On the van ride (about 3-4 hours) I suffered from what I call Monteverde’s revenge. I don’t know if I drank some bad water, ate something bad, had car sickness (the roads were once again quite curvy and we were traveling at high speeds), had reverse elevation sickness (we were now descending from a mile high to sea level) or was overheated (the weather now was changing from the 60s to the 90s with beach humidity) – or a combination of the above – but it was a bad, bad combination. I started to feel bad right before we made what was supposed to be our one and only stop – I thought I was just hungry so I ate plantain chips and drank a Coke to try to calm my stomach. It did not help, and we had to stop for me to use bathrooms every 20 minutes or so. Our driver was wonderful, always finding a bathroom just in the nick of time. I would feel slightly better after each stop, but get progressively worse. In the last 20 minutes or so to the hotel, I threw up in the van. Not good! When we arrived at the hotel, I could barely walk because I was so weak and I was still needing to use the bathroom every few minutes. The hotel staff was so nice…bringing me homemade tea and a fruit tray (for when I could stomach the idea of food). I don’t remember exactly what was in that tea, but it did wonders for my tummy. They said they see this type of thing a lot so they knew exactly what to do for me. And they were right…I was able to keep the tea down, and even venture to the pool later that afternoon. When I walked through the lobby, I was like a celebrity because they were so glad to see me up and walking! I was worried it was a 24 hour thing, but whatever it was – it ended as quickly as it started and for that, I am so grateful. It only managed to ruin part of my travel day, and I even managed to eat a light dinner that night. Next up, our last 3 days in Tamarindo on the Pacific Coast. 

Costa Rica Trip Days 1-3: Arenal & La Fortuna

We awoke before the crack of dawn, and departed Newark early in the morning for the five hour flight to San Jose. The flight was smooth – I slept a good portion of it – and we landed on time and were greeted by our driver immediately after leaving the airport. Our driver was very nice, although a little limited on English. Because of our limited Spanish and their limited English, our interactions with drivers and others in the country were somewhat limited. That said, all of the people we encountered were very nice – of course, they are in tourism so I guess that’s their job. In any event, despite being very hungry at this point our driver said it was easier to eat on our way to La Fortuna, which is about a 2 hour drive. This meant an hour or so before we stopped to eat, but when we arrived we were refreshed with some typico almuerzo – typical Costa Rican lunch. Beans and rice are the typical staple, and normally a protein is added (chicken, fish or beef) and accompanied by plantains and salad. We also had some patacones – plantains sliced very thin and served like tortilla chips with pico de gallo or guacamole and some excellent ceviche. This interaction was funny though with our waiter – I think we confused him by ordering some appetizers first – and then ordering main dishes. In Costa Rica, they are used to ordering everything at once.  We also got our first taste of the traditional CR beer – Imperial. The kids had their first of many, many sodas…typically Coke for Quinn and orange for Keely. After our lunch, we browsed the adjacent souvenir shop and then headed down the road. While I’m on the subject of roads, they are not much like what we are used to in the United States. The roads are windy, curvy and can be narrow. In many parts of our trip, they were rock and not paved. There was no curb and gutter or shoulder, and in the mountainous parts of the country you literally felt like you could fall off the side of the mountain. Actually, they were similar to Ireland. CR is a country the size of West Virginia yet it takes between 2-3 hours to travel from place to place, even though the mileage is typically under 100. It takes some getting used to, and quite frankly I was in awe that they do the amount of tourism with large buses and plenty of vans traveling the roads day and day out.

We arrived at our hotel for the next three nights, Arenal Manoa and settled in. Settling in mostly means checking out the pool. We ate dinner at the resort that night and explored the grounds a little. It gets dark in CR between 5:30 and 6 PM so it was quite strange for us considering at home in the summertime we’re used to that between 8 and 9 PM. What it did for us though was mostly keep us on Eastern Time. It’s only a two hour time difference – but we were getting up early because it’s light out at 5 AM and going to bed early because we were tired from the day’s activities. It made for a very smooth transition back to home.

The next morning, we decided to venture off on our own to the national park and hike to the La Fortuna Waterfall. While there were tours to do this hike combined with other activities, we didn’t think it was worth the extrea cost and we were right. We were able to do this excursion for just the price of a taxi each way, and the cost to enter the national park. The hike is mostly on a set of stairs down to a gorgeous waterfall where you can swim and relax. That means you have to walk back up the stairs afterwards, but I would say it was worth the trip. We didn’t swim in the main waterfall pool because it is very deep, cold and the currents from the water falling can be strong – so they do not advise children in that section but we did swim in one of the downstream areas where the current was less strong and the water less deep. It was refreshing to say the least.

That afternoon, we took a trip to tour an adjacent farm. On the walk, we saw a family of baby armadillos right off the bat. We also learned about the no-touch-me plants (they curl up in a ball when you touch them to protect themselves) and the leaf cutter ants (they carry leaves to build a home for themselves – we will learn much more about them later in our trip while in Monteverde). They are red ants which means they bite – a la Tucson – so we avoided them but watched them with curiosity. We also saw one of many perros (dogs), milked a Costa Rican cow (well, me and Keely did) and saw the cleanest pigs ever. No joke, they were really clean and I have never seen a pig’s eyes that clearly. They actually look a lot like human eyes. Why do they keep them so clean? Because they are selling them.

That night, we took a trip down the road to Eco Termales Hot Springs. I should mention at this point that this little town sprung into existence because it sits at the foot of an active volcano. Arenal was active over 500 years ago, but recently because active again in 1968. Once that happened, tourism started in earnest and the town used the volcano to become a hot spot (pun intended) for eco-tourism and activities a plenty. What also springs up because of an active volcano is hot springs. The ones we visited consisted of 5 pools, one super hot pool (which was the source of the spring) and one cold pool. We spent 15-20 minutes in the hot pools and then a few minutes in the cold pool to keep our bodies from overhearing. For me, hot water is wonderful and I personally really enjoyed the pools. We spent almost four hours at the pools, including a wonderful Costa Rican dinner served family style with the most delicious rice pudding for dessert...I may have finished any unfinished portion at our table and stuffed myself with that pudding but it was worth every bite!

Our last full day in Arenal was spent doing a morning tour of two local rivers by kayak and then relaxing poolside in the afternoon while watching the Costa Rican soccer match. The kayaking tour was very fun and ended up being our best chance at seeing animals in their natural habitat. I went with Quinn, James went with Keely and Papa was with one of our two guides. The guides were both very informative. My favorite memory of this trip is Pablo shouting ‘family, come over here’ and then having to paddle upstream as fast as possible, sometimes cursing Pablo a bit because I thought, this better be worth the effort! We saw howler monkeys, a sloth (our only one!), a crocodile, bats, rattlesnake, Jesus Christ lizard (so named because it can walk on water) and lots of birds including the laughing falcon, kingfishers, tiger heron and the flycatcher bird. We also stopped about 3/4 of the way down river to visit a local farm and visit with the family that owns and cares for it (Peter's family) where we were served fresh Costa Rican coffee and sweet treats.  

That day, the Arenal volcano was finally visible. Fitting since it was our last full day, and thus last chance to see it in its full glory – but also fitting because (in our guide’s opinion) it came out for the Costa Rican soccer match. A word about being in Costa Rica during (a) the World Cup and (b) one that their team made it to the Round of 16. It was really quite awesome to be in a country that embraces and loves their futbol. Even after their team lost (a quite heartbreaking loss in penalty kicks where they were duped by a ringer of a Dutch goalie who was brought in specifically to defend those final five shots) the whole country was still very into the rest of the Cup. Everywhere else we went, they were watching the remaining games and enjoying the high quality of soccer. They were so proud of their team for making it as far as they did, the only team in the CONCACAF (North American countries) to make it that far. Quite an accomplishment for a country so small…and one that was missing their best player to injury.

That night, our last dinner in Arenal we took a taxi downtown and first visited the local church to donate a vestment that was gifted to our family when my grandmother passed away. I am glad my parents took the trouble to pack it, because I believe it was a gift much appreciated and I know it would please both of my grandparents to know that it was given to a country that needs for so much. After that we tried a restaurant that our first driver recommended and it was really good. Also very affordable – though not as affordable as we first thought upon conversion from Colons. A word about money. They will almost always take American dollars, in fact I think they prefer it and they probably end up getting more from you because they claim not to have change. One US dollar is equal to about 500 Colons. So it was quite interesting to see a bill of 100,000 C (about $200 USD). We figured it out most times and often the bill was presented in both Colons and USD. Tipping was also interesting – it is not as big as it is in the US. So we tried to be respectful of that and tip about 10%. It’s hard though when you know it’s a poor country and the tourism is so much of their economy, so you want to be generous.

The next morning, we awoke and had breakfast in the hotel – our last at Arenal Manoa. I should say at this point that this was a great hotel, I would highly recommend it. The pool and hot tub, and hot springs pool were very nice and the staff was always friendly and helpful. Breakfast was included and it was good every day. Each day, we were served the traditional Costa Rican breakfast – eggs, gallo pinto (rice and beans mixed together with some spices), queso blanco, and fresh fruits including papaya, mango and plantains.  There was also a serving station where they would make pancakes, waffles, and fresh tortillas. One of the classics from a breakfast – question to our server, how do you say pancake in Spanish? Answer – pancake :)

After breakfast, we packed up and departed for our next destination where we would spend two nights – Monteverde. I will cover the boat trip and van ride in that next summary, because it deserves its own story. 

End of the School Year

Quinn finished up his first year of middle school with a flourish. He earned all A honor roll for the 4^th straight quarter, with all As for his final grades. He also earned a Special Achievement Award for his performance in Band playing saxophone. He is looking forward to making the switch to tenor saxophone and got to try it out at school towards the end of the year. Lastly, he earned an award for excellence in Math. He was one of only a handful of students to get this award in sixth grade and it is a nice accomplishment. He was accepted into Algebra 1 Honors for 7th grade so he will be taking high school level math and earn high school credit upon completion. 

Keely got all 3s and 4s on her final report card and ended the year on a very positive note. She really liked her teacher this year and is hoping to get a male teacher for her last year of middle school. Boy, have we come a long way since she was devastated to see a Mr. on her teacher assignment letter. It just seems she does better with male teachers, so she has been lucky to have one for the last two years. There is also a male teacher in 5^th grade so she is keeping her fingers crossed. Regardless, she will most likely be going to his class for math as he is the advanced math teacher and her teacher has recommended she be moved into that class next year based on her stellar math work this year. Math doesn’t seem to come as naturally for her, so this is a nice accomplishment. Keely finished the year with viola, and although she liked it she decided not to continue in 5^th grade. She is torn between joining band or chorus. I think chorus would be perfect for her, but it is her decision so we will see what she chooses come the beginning of the school year.

The end of school also meant the end of sports. Soccer for me and Keely ended, and Quinn finished his second season of basketball. We were glad for the break. Keely’s team came in first place in their division and continues to improve. Their team also played in an all-star tournament and although they lost all three games, they played well and it seemed to be good experience for them. Keely was scouted by a travel team coach with some nice compliments on her play, but we will stick with her recreation team for the time being. Quinn liked playing basketball but he seemed happy for the break and I think he will wait until ABGC starts up again to play (winter). 

Friday Update...three is the new five :)

I always have good intentions with keeping the momentum going on these updates, but I just didn’t have five things last week nor did I have time to write too much. Another week though and a few more things to discuss, so here’s the latest update. Since we are on the verge of the first long weekend of summer, I will make my next update a preview of our top 5 (or maybe more) summer plans. In the meantime, enjoy the top five from these last two weeks…

-Mother’s Day 4 Miler – We had visitors for mother’s day weekend this year – Nana, Papa, and Aunt Annie. That meant three generations together for Mother’s Day. What better way to celebrate than with a 4 mile run? Keely has been asking to do another 5K for some time, so this seemed perfect. It was in Reston and we got tech tee shirts, a pin and all moms got a flower at the finish line. I would definitely run this race again, although the course was tough with all its hills. Most importantly, the four of us got to be together which is as it should be. We then met up with the boys at Silver Diner (where else?!?!) for breakfast. It was a fun morning!

-Quinn’s Band Concert – Quinn had his spring band concert. He, along with the rest of the Intermediate Band, played four songs including the theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark (a fun choice!) and it sounded very nice. We couldn’t see Quinn from our seats as he was in the 4^th row with the other alto saxophones but we couldn’t hear him which means he played well and was in tune with the rest of the band. He also got some very exciting news about next year…

-Symphonic Band – As a member of the intermediate band in 6^th grade, there are 3 choices for Quinn next year: Concert Band 2, Concert Band 1 and Symphonic Band. He performed last week for the two band teachers, and we found out this week that he has qualified for Symphonic Band! That is the highest level he can attain and he will have reached it in only his second year of middle school. There is only one slight snag. One other student received higher marks on the performance for alto saxophone and there is only one spot for that instrument. BUT…Quinn qualified for Symphonic Band as well – a quote from his teacher…”his tone is great, his rhythmic accuracy is spot on, and his knowledge and understanding of articulations is superb”. So in order to have Quinn participate next year, they offered him a spot on the tenor saxophone. Quinn doesn’t have to learn an entirely new instrument and the added sound will complement the band. And the school will pay for his instrument for the year since he is being asked to fill the spot. SO…Quinn is excited to try something new and has accepted their offer to play tenor saxophone in the Symphonic Band next year! We are very proud of him and his aptitude for saxophone and can’t wait to continue to watch him grow as a musician :)

Five Things Friday 5/9/14

I’m behind on my updates…not surprising, but things are busy and there were a few noteworthy items this week so I’m using that a springboard to get back on track.

-Quinn earned All-A Honor Roll for the 3^rd straight quarter. We are proud of him and the hard work he puts into school – we almost never have to nag him about homework, he just does it on his own. He takes pride in his work and has really caught on to the time management skills needed in middle school. I am very spoiled opening up progress reports (teachers send them every two weeks so there are no surprises) and seeing average grades near or sometimes even over 100%. I attended his Honor Roll ceremony on Monday, and he’s among less than 40 who earned all-As. On top of that, he is in all honors classes. Middle school is treating him quite well!

-Keely also had a great third quarter report card, earning all 3s and 4s. She also took her field trip to Jamestown last week. The weather was iffy but it turned out to be fine with no rain and warm, humid weather (typical for SE Virginia). She was so excited the night before – almost worse than Christmas Eve – and sprung out of bed that morning. I think her favorite part was the bus trip – coach buses and they watched 3 movies – but she enjoyed the ship and fort tours. She does enjoy history and often asks us to visit such places (Gunston Hall as an example). Someday I will get to Jamestown, now that my whole family has been there.

-Keely had her annual orchestra concert this week. She has been playing the viola since September. She did well in their 4 songs. She seems to like viola, and says she may stick with it for 5^th grade. It would be nice to see her progress over two years, instead of switching to band (she says she would pick the flute). We’ll see what she decides come September, but it’s been nice for her to continue her musical talents with a strings instrument this year.

-I ran my 5^th half marathon on Sunday morning, the Frederick Running Festival. I signed up back in January with a nice discount code (under $60!) and figured I’d be in good shape by May. Ha, the best laid plans…well, you know how those go. Soccer got in the way of my return to running…and the move to a new office further from home makes less time for working out during the week. So the longest runs I could get in were 6-7 miles. Yeah, not too good of a base for a half. I should have written a post called ‘How NOT to train for a half marathon’. In any event, I considered deferring but decided to do it just to cover the mileage – and hey, it was a nice t-shirt so I wanted that :) I ran with two friends, one of whom is 3 months pregnant and we did a 7/1 interval (7 minutes running, 1 minute walk). It was perfect for me, I honestly don’t think I could have done it much faster without really tearing up my body. The course was fairly flat with good scenery and excellent crowd support for a small town. Afterwards, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for a much deserved breakfast. I would definitely do this race again – I am even considering signing up now to get the best rate for next year. I think with proper training, I could PR.

-Sports continue in earnest for our house. Keely has had 4 soccer games – her team is doing well this season, 2-1-1 so far. She plays mostly midfield as she is the speediest on the team. Quinn has played 4 or 5 of his basketball games with three remaining in this spring league. He continues to enjoy it, but I think he will be ready for a break come June. I have played 4 soccer games – and my body seems to finally be adjusting to the rigors of a soccer game. I have also learned that I can’t play without warming up my quads and other leg muscles.  It’s still a lot of fun, and I enjoy playing – and my team is undefeated so far :)

Five Things Florida Edition

We spent the majority of the kids’ spring break in Florida. Flight prices were high and I never could snag a good deal so we decided to rent a car and drive. I swung back and forth like a pendulum on this decision, even contemplating doing Priceline for tickets when I couldn’t stomach the thought of 26+ hours in the car. Ultimately, though we stuck with the plan and the four of us and Callie headed down to warmer weather for a few days. In our thank you card to L&R and the girls, we made a top ten list – Top Ten Best Things about our Trip to Florida but of course I didn’t snap a photo so I will highlight five things about our trip.

-Easter Sunday Relaxation – this was actually the last day of our time in Florida L I started out Easter with a nice 6.2 mile run. I saw dolphins and enjoyed the warm air.  We went to brunch when C woke up from her morning nap. After that, we took some family photos and just relaxed. We had the traditional Easter egg hunt, and then capped off the fun with a water balloon fight.

In case you are curious, it takes over an hour to fill and tie 500 water balloons…and 5 minutes for the actual fight. Even though the people tying had some sore fingers, it was well worth it and we had a blast. And possibly the best part about the day…bunny cake for dinner! We were all mostly still stuffed from the big brunch, so we had cake before we hit the road about 6 PM.

-Zoo Time – we took a trip to the zoo and had a very nice time. The kids played in the water area first, but some rain showers dampened that fun after about ½ hour. So we headed over to see some animals once the rain ended. Because it was a cooler day, the animals were active and mostly all visible. The monkeys were hilarious and James may now be a certified bobcat whisperer. Lois and the girls (including Keely) left to put C down for her afternoon nap, and James and I stayed longer with Quinn so we could do the kayaking around the zoo. For $6 a person, this was well worth it. We saw lemurs and some other animals from different views and had fun slowly kayaking around the manmade river. We had a fun time!

-Beach and Pool Time – what would a trip to Florida be without some time at the beach and in the pool. The weather wasn’t great this visit, but it was still warm enough for some swimming, playing in the waves and building sand castles. We really love being just 2 blocks from the ocean and free beach access. We took two trips to the beach – one in very windy, cool conditions and one in sunny, perfect conditions (low 80s). The kids love it, and even little C got to splash in the waves!

-Playing Games – I would be remiss not to mention our nightly games. We played Anomia (of course!) one night and Indian Poker another. The game of Indian Poker lasted until nearly midnight, and Quinn was the big winner! The rest of us were just tired and may or may not have gone all-in just to be done J There were definitely a lot of laughs as usual.

-Fountain of Youth – on our way down, we stopped for the night outside Savannah, GA and then broke up the trip to Melbourne the next day with a stop to the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine. They were pet friendly, so that was the main selling point and only James had been there before. It was a nice time, albeit windy and cooler than typical for north Florida in April. We learned about the settlers in the 1500s, saw a gun shooting and canon firing, and drank the infamous water! It was a nice diversion on the long trip.

Those are the main high points of our trip. It was a nice diversion from the busy-ness of everyday life, and we had a fun time with the family. And now I know we can survive driving through the night – although some of those hours were painfully slow and I was pretty darn tired the next day!

Top News Flashes: April Fools Edition

-Each quarter in Social Studies, Quinn has to do a project. They are given three choices in which to deliver the project – one of which always seems to include a diorama. He is very hands on and prefers creative projects so he tends to pick the diorama. His first two have been very creative and scored him high marks. For the 3^rd quarter, he chose something slightly different. He made a model of a steam engine to signify that development in United States history (the unit is mostly geared towards Westward Expansion). He used mostly Styrofoam, with some spray paint and created a very unique and creative project. Thank goodness I took pictures of the final result, because his teacher is keeping it on display in his class and he got a 100 on this effort!

-April Fool’s Day came and went without too much fanfare. Overheard at our house – Keely to James: ‘Dad, I wore flip flops to school today.’ to which he responded that she knows she is not allowed to wear sandals until the end of the year, and not flip flops at all and to which he was given a prompt ‘April Fools!’. James to Quinn when he asked what was for dinner: ‘We’re going out to eat!’ and when Quinn surprisingly asked, ‘Really?!?!’ he got a sharp ‘April Fools’! All harmless, but a little bit of fun on what was be an otherwise normal weekday.

-This weekend we visited Gunston Hall, George Mason’s home. It is located just down the road a bit, at an exit off I-95 where Quinn happens to have a basketball game each Sunday. Keely was just recently discussing learning about and seeing photos of the home in class (it’s Virginia Studies for 4^th grade) and when she saw it at the exit on a sign, she was insistent that we make a trip there. I love that she loves history and actually wants to visit places such as these (I wasn’t really like that as a child) and I love that we live so close to so many historical places. Now we have visited Mount Vernon (Geo. Washington), Monticello (Tho. Jefferson) and we hope to add Montpelier (James Madison) and Oak Hill (James Monroe) to the list this summer. Keely really wanted to compare Gunston Hall to the other two we have seen. I know she loves the fanciness of the houses, and imagining what life would have been like in those days. Something that she said fascinated me and showed me that she’s really thinking about what she is learning – why would Geo. Mason have had slaves if he believed in free rights for all people? Honestly, I could answer her other than that he was a bit ahead of his time in that belief. Anyways, the house was quite lovely and a bit more practical than the other two historic homes. I would choose Gunston…for the size and practicality of the house, and the peaceful grounds on the banks of the Potomac. I also thought it was humorous to think that in those days, Geo. Washington was his closest neighbor – because of the ease of arriving by boat. It was a lovely spring afternoon, spent exploring a lovely piece of Virginia (and really US) history.

-I have new hope for my running legs returning after two runs this weekend – one a slow, painful 4 miler and one a speedier almost pain free 4.6 miles. I am feeling stronger and I think I just need to pick my days – when I feel good, I can run but when I don’t, I probably just need to know not to push it (even if the weather is nice or if the stars align for a run). It also helped that my soccer game was canceled on Saturday due to unsafe field conditions. I think it would have prevented the good run I had yesterday…but it was also bad because now when I play again (2 weeks since the first game) I’m not sure my muscles will remember and I could end up just as sore as last time. Hopefully next time out my mind will realize that my body is not 20 and it won’t be as bad afterwards. I’m still looking forward to another game, just being a little more realistic about how far I can push this aging body.

And that’s only 4 things, but I’m going to post anyways since a new week is upon us. A little over a week until we head to Florida for some hopefully sun and fun with the family J

Last Week's Quick Hits

Friday was a hot mess at work, so I didn't even think to post the top five for the week. Thank goodness I stuck to my original plan and updated it throughout the week. So without further adieu, a belated update on the last week or so in my world...

-We attended a celebration for the end of the Keely’s basketball season. Playing basketball was something I didn’t push her into, she decided on her own that she wanted to (as she has done with most things in her life – case in point, when at age 2 she decided she was going to do ballet and I’d thought it best be time to find her a ballet class). She really enjoyed the season, though I can’t say it seems like it compares to soccer for her. But what I am grateful for is that she tried it out, learned some new skills, and says she wants to continue. She got paired with a really great coach, at random, and I couldn’t have been happier with the way it worked out. Well, except if there weren't umpteen schedule changes and a couple of games on a floor that was like a slip-n-slide making basketball pretty interesting.

-Quinn also played and finished his basketball season with ABGC. He was also paired with a great coach, who has seen in him promise and has helped to encourage Quinn’s strengths (defense) and work on his weaknesses (shooting and offense). He’s not really a team sport child, so I love that he showed the desire to play and now has joined a second league to play for another 8 weeks or so. He had the first game with the other league on Sunday (same coach, and most of the same players from his ABGC team). They won by 1 point in OT, and were so thrilled – especially because they only had 5 players!

-My first soccer game was canceled – because of, you guessed it, snow! As we quickly approach April, I am looking out at snow covered grounds yet again. Can anyone spell F-L-O-R-I-D-A? Because that’s where you may find us living after this long winter!

 -Keely finished up a 7 week session of indoor soccer last weekend. Their team has improved quite a bit, and they won most of their games and were competitive in all but one game when they lost. Most surprising is that Keely found a like (I won’t go so far as love) for playing goalie. I coached the 2^nd game and had to put her in goal because there just aren’t enough girls on her team willing to play that position, and she was a fireball. She rocked it, I didn’t even know who that girl was – and after that, she played in goal each game and even started in goal playing most of the first half in the last game. James hit the nail on the head crediting playing basketball for her improved use of hands because now she knows she can catch a ball that big and isn’t afraid. She even says she wants to play goal when they start outdoor in a couple of weeks. I’m sure her skills are better used on the field, but it’s nice that she’s willing to try different things!

-I played my first soccer game on Saturday. Keely came and watched, my faithful cheerleader because it was raining the entire time. Once you were wet, it was fine. And thankfully it was a warm rain. I was nervous, but needn’t have been. I fell back into it, and was definitely one of the better players on the field. I played every position except goal, scored one goal, and our team won 6-1. It was a great game, and then reality set in. I am S.O.R.E. all capitals well deserved! Two days later, it’s not much better and I’m just hoping and praying that it gets better each time I play. I can’t be in this.much.pain after each game! But boy, was it fun. And for now, that makes the pain so worth it. I loved that Keely got to see me play, and I loved hearing her cheer ‘Go, Mom’ J

Trying Something New - Top 5

• We started this week with yet another snowstorm. This winter is like the gift that keeps on giving J We got another 10” or so, and school was canceled for the 11^th day this year. I even got to work from home. Because it was St. Patrick’s Day, Quinn made a shamrock in snow using green food coloring.
• Keely’s heading to Jamestown on May 1. She is super excited and has honestly been looking forward to this trip since Quinn went two years ago! There was some uncertainty about whether MC would go, but apparently they do the same as BT for 4^th graders.
• Quinn took the first step in qualifying to take Algebra 1 (a HS math class) next year in 7^th grade by achieving a 95^th percentile on the Iowa Math Tests. He also has to get above a 500 on his SOLs later this year, and then will need a recommendation from his math teachers. We are proud of him! This does seem to come naturally though so I guess he got some of this math brain from James and I J
• I went out for two runs – one on Saturday of 20 minutes and one on Thursday of 25 minutes. I’m focusing on adding time, not distance and running at a comfortable leisurely pace as I continue to test the waters. These runs are not pain free, and honestly I sometimes wonder if I’ve literally ‘had a good run’ with distance running and may just need to focus on other areas to stay physically fit.
• We continued to talk and talk and talk about our plans for Spring Break. We are most likely renting a car and driving to Florida but the exact dates and any stops along the way are undecided.

I go back and forth on the blog and how to shape it into something I can maintain. I need it not to feel like a chore, yet I continue to feel guilty because of not updating it. I feel like I only capture the ‘big events’ and not enough of everyday life. But then I wonder what the purpose of capturing everyday life is – will I feel better reading about birthdays and holidays, or reading about the minutia of everyday life when I get older and wistful for times past? I guess I need to decide, because ultimately I write this mostly for myself. I do think Keely will read it at some point because she very much likes to hear stories of the past, about herself and our family. So for now, I’ll try this Top 5 format. Maybe I can update it more on a daily basis and publish each week. We’ll see how it goes, but it can’t be worse than posting nothing and feeling guilty about it J

2013 Wrap Up

The holidays were a whirlwind. It was pretty typical, from a tradition perspective. At the same time, it was untraditional in some respects. This was the first year since Keely was an infant (2 months old) that we traveled out of our home for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. For those keeping track, that’s 10 years! It was also the first time in my life that we went to church on Christmas Day instead of Christmas Eve. For those keeping track on that one, that’s 37 years (!) since I had another birthday right before Christmas.

We had the Florida Donovan Torviks visiting us this year, so we had four additional people at our house from the 21^st to the 2^nd…minus the time we were all in New Jersey (5-6 nights). We enjoyed having them stay with us, and the kids all got lots of cousin time. We even got all of the Donovan cousins together in New Jersey for a couple of days. This holiday season might also go down as one of the most unphotographed…I just don’t feel like we took a lot of photos.

The kids were very blessed, err…spoiled, this Christmas. They both received iPod Nanos from Mom & Dad along with some iTunes gift cards. They got lots of other gifts from Santa, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. One of my favorite things about this Christmas though is their generosity with each other and their cousins. They took money that they make from odd jobs (Quinn from leaf raking and lawn mowing, Keely from cat sitting) and used the money to buy gifts for each other and each of their cousins. They weren’t gifts of high monetary value (love Five Below…each gift was $5) but they were well thought out gifts for each person. They also wrapped and labeled each gift themselves. This wasn’t something they were prompted to do, it was something they chose to do on their own. Once in a while, you get a glimpse of the person they are becoming and this was one of those times. They got to truly experience the joy of gift giving, instead of just receiving and I think it was wonderful.

So what else? We spent five nights in New Jersey, and as seems to be typical had many Christmas celebrations. We spent Christmas Eve and morning with the Donovans. Another non-tradition was having pizza on Christmas Eve for dinner. That’s not the norm, but it was an easy and non-stressful way to feed the 10 of us. I’m all for non-stress, as this year especially I felt Christmas and the weeks leading up to it to be a series of tasks I had to manage and complete. It felt like a chore, and it wasn’t all that enjoyable. In any event, as it typically does it all came together and I had no reason to stress. So back to Christmas Day, after opening presents and having a nice home cooked breakfast (Ryan and I were on that one) we showered and dressed for church. After church, we headed to my parents for the rest of the day and night. We celebrated with dinner, drinks, dessert, etc. with all of my aunts, uncles and cousins and it was quite enjoyable. It was a smaller, manageable group and this year it was catered which made it much less stressful for my mom (that’s where I get my tendency to stress!). The next morning, we did Christmas morning all over again on a smaller scale with Nana, Papa and Aunt Annie. Unfortunately, Quinn got sick that morning – though it was after he opened his presents. It seems he had a small 24 hour bug so we quarantined him at my parents’ (thanks to Nana for taking care of him) and went ice skating with Keely. The next day, we went bowling and Quinn was feeling up to coming along. Keely also had a sleepover at Annie’s and they had a blast. Friday night we had a lovely dinner with Uncle Joe and J.R. and that completed seeing my mom’s side of the family. Saturday it was back to the Donovans’ to see the North Carolina bunch and have all of the cousins together. 

Sunday was a special day – Cecilia’s baptism. I was honored to be her Godmother and it was a nice ceremony followed by lunch at Grandma & Grandpa’s. Then we headed back home to Virginia…we were happy to have a few days at home before school and work started back up.New Year’s was pretty quiet…but we had fun ringing in 2014 with some games and appetizers for dinner. Oh, and in the course of all of these events, Lois and I managed to run 30+ miles together  :)

It was a lovely holiday season…surrounded by those we love, and that is what is most important. We are very blessed indeed!

School and Health Updates

The first quarter of school ended in early November, followed by the usual requisite two days off of school. Report cards and conferences followed.

For Quinn, there were no conferences but there were also no surprises. I have to say, after the first quarter at Poe I am pretty pleased. We receive progress reports from most of Quinn’s teachers every two weeks. If things were going south, we would know pretty quickly. However, we had nothing to worry about. When you open up the math reports and see that your child has over a 100% average, you just know he’s going to be fine. He received all A’s and one A-, good enough to place him on the all-A Honor Roll. There was a ceremony at school to acknowledge the all-A and A/B Honor Rolls…but he forgot to tell us what time, or he never knew what time it would be. Turns out it was held during first period and we would love to attend in the future. Quinn seems to have adjusted well to middle school and he’s doing great.

We did have conferences for Keely. She is doing really well. Her teacher really enjoys having her in class. She seems to be behaving nicely, not getting too caught up with her friends and concentrating on getting her work done. I do think she strives to be a good student, but sometimes distractions get in the way of that. Thankfully, 4^th grade seems to be going well. Her report card was good too, mostly 3s and 4s. From her teacher’s remarks in the conference, I would have expected more 4s but I guess he wanted to give her room to improve. I’m not sure all the teachers are on board with the new grading system – it’s supposed to be rating children according to what they know at the end of the quarter and then rating them independently each quarter on what they are learning. In any event, her grades were still good and it’s not worth making a fuss over. A 4^th grade report card is not going to make any difference in her college applications.

The kids also had their well checks, which coincided with birthdays. They are both doing well, in fact we had not been at the doctor at all (save one visit for Keely’s acid reflux) since their well check last year. That’s a good sign that they are healthy and well. Our two main issues (and they are relatively minor in the grand scheme of things) are Keely’s acid reflux and Quinn’s nose bleeds. We monitor Keely’s acid and she takes Zantac each night to keep it under control. It seems every fall Quinn’s nose bleeds are at their worst and we talk to the doctor about them, then they die down. Sure enough, that’s what happened again. The doctor recommended Quinn get a set of blood work done now to see if he has any clotting issues, in addition to the regular blood panels (including cholesterol). It’s no rush, but we will get that done in the next month or so. He’s not anxious because he hates needles and blood (makes the bloody noses very fun…not!). As for weight and height, they are both around the 50% for their ages. Quinn is due for a very big growth spurt, and I even think he’s grown since the visit. I judge that pretty unscientifically though based on how he compares to my own height. Let’s just say he’s very close to looking me eye to eye, and I’ve never been anxious to reach that day. I have to accept it though, because it’s happening and very soon, he will be taller than me. Keely is not as petite as she was last year but still very normal for her age. She didn’t like being called petite anyways so that’s a good development. I have the numbers but I think the kiddos are past the age where I report their heights and weights so I will keep them for their memory books. Suffice it to say, they are doing well and very health and we are very grateful!