Sunday, August 30, 2009

2007 Christmas Concert

Here's a old picture of Zachey-Boy I just found.




He's shown here with some of his old buddies: Chandler, Ali, and Haylee (sp?)
This shot of Chandler is superb. He's the young man on the left with the tambourine who looks like he's just arrived from Liverpool.

Big thanks to Marnie Goulding for the photos.
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First Day of School


Carina and Zach are all set for another great year.
And the sunflowers we planted are ready to fall over.


Andrea, Carina, and Zach are trying to walk to school more often.
It's only three blocks, and most mornings are gorgeous.



Carina's year so har has been interesting. She was initially in a 1st/2nd
Grade combo class, then it became 1st Grade only, and now we learn
that her teacher is expecting, and her replacement starts in December!
We are anticipating further developments . . .



Zach has settled right back in. His teacher this year 'doesn't yell.'
Which is a plus.


Not pictured:

Maddie started 6th Grade, and is making the adjustment to having several teachers. She has chosen to discontinue her flute-playing in favor of the French Horn. The instument is quite a bit larger, but she hauls it home each day with very little complaining. She's re-connecting with friends from last year, and has the added bonus of going to school this year with some girls from church who had been at another elementary school last year. Together at last . . .

Wesley is a big 8th-Grader, king of the heap. One of the perks: he has his locker in a primo location. He is being kept very busy, with lots of homework, even on weekends (or at least the two we've had so far.) He's managing without Marshall, who has promoted to 9th Grade.
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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Kung Fu Wisdom

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But Today is a gift. That's why it is called the Present"  -Master Oogway

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Water Polo Signoff

The last game of the water polo season was held in Palmdale Saturday.
The kids pulled off another comeback victory, and had a great time.



We've been surprised at how much Wes and Maddie both enjoyed
the sport, in spite of all the grueling workouts.
They are definitely game for playing again next summer.

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Verdugo Hills Summit Hike

Wes, Maddie, and Dad hiked almost 8 miles round trip to the top of the Verdugo Hills on Saturday.
The kids were real troopers, and Strudel gets the award for taking more steps than the rest of us combined.



The Lane kids hiked the lower part of this trail with us several months back.
That's DeBell golf course below.



Hiking out of Stough Canyon


Some Boy Scout Troop had hauled some Adirondack Chairs about 3 miles up to a vista overlooking the San Fernando Valley.
It was relaxing to sit on them and take in the view, but, boy, was it hard getting out of them.



Near the summit, the scrubby vegetation gave way to some impressive pines.
Crescenta Valley in the background.
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Thursday, August 13, 2009

The Keystone Days

Wes and I were looking at old photos. We love doing that. Isn't this a great one? Scott is the winner in this pic. Check out the eyes and brows!
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Monday, August 3, 2009

More Arizona Friends


Last week we had a great visit with the Dahl's. We used to live down the srteet from each other. They had their annual family reunion and then came up to see us. We were especially excited to see their new baby. He is such a cutie pie and so sweet and smiley. We had dinner and then went up to the Griffith Observatory(one of our favorite places) It was fun to be together again.

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HOT! HOT! HOT!


The weather has been so hot here with no relief of monsoons. The kids often cool off on the slip and slide. They had a great time with Kacie the other day. They performed many tricks for me as I snapped photos of them.
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Together Again



Carina was so happy last week because she got to see two friends from Sierra Vista. First, the Wolslagels came on an LA vacation. They stayed with us for one night and we had a fun day with them the next day. We also a super fun beach day with them at Seal Beach. We had to separate the girls at 11:30 pm because they would not stop talking. Carina said, "I'm sorry mom. I'm just too excited."

It was great seeing them again. Dawney and I even walked one morning, just like old times. So fun!
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