Level 8?

Ainsley was a bit behind after the summer because she had a lot of fear.  Ryan gave her a pep talk and let her know awhile ago that she only had a month and a half to learn her new skills.  She came home in tears that night, freaking out that she was running out of time.  I told her, forget 8, let's do level 7 again and have fun, no stress and let it go.  She was much better and somehow after that, she decided she was going to get her skills and it has been amazing to see her overcome her fear and see what she can do when she really wants to.  She is supposed to find out on Friday if she moves up, but you can see from the videos below, that she has her skills.  I am happy for her, but she has lots of aches and pains that we are constantly working to overcome.  Part of me was wanting her to do 7 again (the vault is a little scary to watch) or try something else like trampoline or volleyball, but she lights up when she is at the gym and loves her friends so much. 

I bought a rife machine, so I have been treating her much like the acupuncturist and it has been amazing!  Her Achilles have been bothering her at times, her wrists, her back, ugh, but the frequency treatment is really effective for her.  We have been using CBD ointment (medical marijuana) and that is pretty amazing stuff.  I also bought a cupping set and have been using that on the whole family.  Surprisingly, Reggie's back is always the worst.  He feels just fine though!  The chiropractor seems to have fixed his headaches because it has been several weeks without having one, so thank the Lord for that!

Floor-layout full

Bars

Vault

I don't have a recent video of this, but she is up on high beam, making these almost every time.

Sleep :(

It seems that when I turned 41, my body started falling apart.  Started with my groin, that was irritated for 6 months on the right side and then finally went away, only to show up on the left side a week later.  My left shoulder has also been freezing up and causing pain, but, my upper back has been the most life interrupting.  It started in early June and was intermittent at first, but now I can't sleep through the night.  It has been months since I have had a good night of sleep :(.  Starts at about 3:30 a.m. and every time I move, it feels like my upper back is going to break.  So, I have been getting up and sleeping in the recliner couch for about a month and it has helped a lot.  I've been doing chiropractic, massage, acupuncture and physical therapy and now instead of sharp shooting zingers, it is a deep ache, so I guess that is some improvement.  The foam roller has been the biggest difference maker and I'm now realizing that stretching after exercising includes your upper body!  I'm hearing the same things from everyone, that I'm very tight and need to stretch and stretch some more.  I need to do yoga, but it isn't something I enjoy, but I will have to start doing it on a regular basis or I might be in pain forever.  Here's a few picture of my therapy (torture)...clearly there are issues!

 This hurt sooooo bad

 I didn't even think I was bruised after this treatment, but no such luck

Firsts for Khalif

Khalif had his first swim meet this weekend and it was perfect weather!  Mid 80's!  Unfortunately, he learned a very important lesson....check your goggles before you dive.  I guess he forgot to suction them to his face and they slipped right off his eyes and it made for a very rough swim.  He was a bit rattled, started with the wrong stroke, but pulled it together and finished.  He was very upset, but we were very proud that despite the curve ball thrown at him, he finished! 

Video of his race: 

The night before the swim meet was multicultural night and there were all kinds of booths and new foods to try and we agreed that the shortbread was best, but the Chupati (sp?) from Kenya was a close second.  There was a booth from Norway, but no treats, just cool sweaters.  Khalif's grade did a song in Spanish...doesn't he look excited and comfortable having the spotlight on him??!!

Ainsley was at practice and Reggie was with his friends, so Khalif got all the attention!  

Multicultural night was part of UN week and since we are an IB school, they have a lot of awareness around that week.  The kids played games from other countries and cultures, had guest speakers from other parts of the world and did Kids Against Hunger again and put together thousands of meals to be sent to Puerto Rico!  2nd grade is the first opportunity to actually pack the food and I just happened to be volunteering when Khalif's class went through!

 Isn't his toothless smile just the cutest!!!

KOA

Well, KOA was different this year without mom and dad.  We couldn't pull together a group costume either, so we all dressed up in whatever and Ryan didn't even wear a costume!  But....we made it and the weather was absolutely beautiful (probably the best its ever been) and we had such a nice relaxing time.  It was 2 o'clock on Saturday before I even looked at my phone.  We met some new people and I had a great time catching up with old friends.  The kids were MIA nearly the whole time and had their own fun.  Reggie brought his buddy David since we had extra room in our cabin and that was good since we said no electronics.  He was very bummed about that and wondered what they were going to do.  I suggested they bring nerf guns and that was a big hit, plus they went swimming and rented banana bikes.  They spent a lot of time with Noah too.  Ainsley was glued to Camille and Khalif to Sophia and everyone was happy!
This was brilliant....he rented a uhaul and had all his smoker/cooking supplies right there and there was even enough room for a couple chairs.  I am not a fan of ribs, but his were delicious!

 Thank goodness we brought a football!

 The old lady

 These people transformed their cabin into the movie "It" and it was amazing.  I didn't even realize there was a cabin back there.

 Lots of adult goodies!