Ainsley update

We learned a lot in this first year of trampoline and Ainsley improved quite a bit, moving up a level during the year.  The two routines below were new at state and regionals.  She finished 1st on double mini, 2nd on trampoline and 3rd on tumbling at state.  At regionals, she finished 3rd on tumbling and double mini and 11th on trampoline.  Not too bad for moving up a level and it being her first year.  She has really enjoyed her teammates and challenging herself.  She decided to do a new skill at state and she learned it the week before!  And she has been getting a bit braver which has been fun to watch...her coach is pretty good at knowing when to give her a nudge.

I wish I could say that volleyball was a great year, but it was challenging and political in so many ways.  She played more at the Reno tournament and crushed it with her serves and setting and got some great feedback from another coach and her teammates which was much needed for her self confidence and enjoyment of the weekend.  It was a very humbling experience and she had to force herself to stand up for herself, so lots of life lessons (for us too!).  She was hoping her school season would be better and overall it was because she played the entire time, but the coach was not so appropriate for middle school girls...a little too honest and there were a lot of hurt feelings.  It was so busy with all the tournaments and trampoline competitions and we were so happy to be done!  Here's a couple videos:

School team

Why not?  A fellow gymnast on her team...

Ainsley had a great school year academically, she is right where she should be.  However, there was quite a bit of friend drama and I just don't understand why girls have to be that way.  So mean!  She would say this was the worst year of her life, but I'm hoping she'll look back someday and realize all the things she's learned.  She'll be a better person because of it!
Last school dance

Hanging with her buddy

Summer has not been kind to Ainsley.  Aunt Flow arrived in full force while we were in New York and it did a number on her body.  She got mastitis (which I didn't even know was possible and I still don't quite understand!) and just got over a stomach bug.  Hopefully, she'll be good for the rest of the summer and not have a repeat of last summer where she was sick for weeks with a sore throat. 

Reggie update

Spring was interesting for Reggie.  He had some abdominal pain that landed him in the ER.  He was vomiting and shaking, so thankfully, they took him back right away and gave him some morphine.  He was almost immediately better, but they couldn't find anything wrong with him.  Of course, it was just days before our Maui trip, so he was very concerned it would happen again, as were we.  I took him to my acupuncturist and his pulses were very stressed.  He seemed so confused...Reggie is the most chill kid, but there was some stuff going on inside of him that he wasn't aware of.  It was finals week, so I'm sure that was part of it but I don't think he liked not knowing what was happening to his body.  Thankfully, no more episodes!  However, the next trimester brought the class, Health.  He learned way more than he ever wanted to know and was getting anxiety pretty bad.  We had lots of things we threw at him, my rife machine, CBD, distraction, bible verses and he seemed to snap out of it pretty quickly, but is still very concerned when something isn't quite right in his body.  It was his first real trial and I'm glad we could help him through it and remind him where to go for help (God!).  It was perfect timing because our sermons were all on fear and they had a teen movie called angst that gave some helpful information.  Scary how common this is these days.

 He didn't want to do needles, but I kinda forced him and he said it wasn't a big deal.

Swim team was fun....maybe not so much for him or maybe he just doesn't want us to know he really enjoys it????  Let's go with the latter!  It was fun to see him in that setting and the gamers found each other and had all kinds of fun at the swim meets.  He was one of the fastest freshmen, so he was on all the relays and his teammates were happy to have him.  It was fun to see his buddies cheering for him and even more fun to watch him win.  He won almost every race he was in and had some times close to varsity.  I mentioned that they might move him up and he told me he didn't want them to do that because he liked winning!!!  Who knew :).

He had a very successful year of high school.  Finished with only 1 B all year and that was in Spanish.  We pretty much let go, but had to get after him a few times when his gaming got a little out of control.  He invited some friends over after school got out and now he wants it to be his Friday club...hmmm.  I have to say, it was a pretty cool set-up.

This stage of Reggie's life is so interesting....he is getting out of the kid stuff and more into adult stuff, but is still stuck somewhere in between and it makes it a little tricky to keep him busy.  He is starting to get more humor and be a little more funny himself which is enjoyable.  I've seen him do a few things this summer and it makes me happy inside to know he is such a kind, loving person who loves Jesus.  He listens to podcasts and helps us with our tech questions, so not all of the technology addiction is bad.  Unfortunately, left up to his own, he would do it all day and night. 
Reggie loved Jackson!

He sure can eat and he loves to do that!  This is a breaded and fried potato...a great combination and something we don't have on the West Coast.

Reggie took drivers-ed over the 3 day weekend and took the test at the DMV the day after school got out.  He got his permit and has been driving a lot this summer with Ryan and Grandpa.  It has been a little nerve wracking for his passengers, but he is getting it and there's been lots of improvement.  I'm still not quite ready to drive with him.  Its such a weird thing!  Today he drove in town, so watch out!

Khalif update

This year has had its ups and downs for sure.  I checked in with his teacher awhile after starting the CBD and it stopped working after the first few weeks.  I've asked every teacher he has had if they think he should be tested for ADHD and the answer was always no until this Spring.  His teacher said he talked more than any child in her 20 years of teaching.  Disruptive for other students and not good for his learning either.  She loves him and was absolutely a great resource, reminding me that getting a diagnosis doesn't mean you have to medicate, but she did say that we'd know within the first couple days if he has it because the difference will be so great.  So, I got the paperwork and we filled it out.  Ryan suddenly became very aware of his behavior after filling out the forms.  We met with his pediatrician and she agreed that he was a candidate for medication.  At this point, we decided to give it a try.  There were a few days I noticed a significant change in his behavior but other days nothing.  His teacher was very excited about the initial change in his behavior but I checked in with her after school got out and she said it stopped working.  So, we are going to have to go back to the pediatrician and see what other options are out there.  I'm also trying to get EEG bio-feedback approved through his insurance, but it may end up being a dead end.  He continues his regular therapy and there's a theme in his play regarding safety, so he is still working through that.  Absolutely amazing that safety is still an issue.  Who knew overcoming the first 20 months of his life will likely take a lifetime?!
Khalif has been visiting his Aunt's family at least once a month.  He enjoys hanging out with them and usually sees his grandma too.  They've done some pretty fun stuff....San Francisco...the water park.  He gets spoiled when he goes there and that's good for him!

He had a great school year with friends.  Khalif continues to be a helper to those classmates in need and a good friend.  He had his Destination Imagination group every Thursday and really enjoyed the creativity and working on solving problems.  It also forced him to get out of his comfort zone which was a good thing!  Speaking of that, he was chosen to be the lead in the 3rd grade play but after a few practices his teacher could tell something was up, so she asked him if he wanted to do it and he said no.  She was hoping he would let his personality come out, but I guess not.  

Ryan also decided it was time to try wrestling, so we stopped Jujitsu and he started that in May.  Although he says he doesn't like it, he has a smile on his face at practice and learns new moves from Ryan and wrestles with him almost daily.  He was the same way with Jujitsu but accidentally admitted to me one day that he was excited to go sometimes.  It is very challenging to try to figure out what the truth is at times, so we push forward until something becomes clear.  Sadly, the boys swim team is not going to pick back up, so that is finished for now.

Front and center...

Definitely the most exciting thing that happened this year was that he was baptized in early June (at least for me!).  My friend from bible study passed away and as we were talking about her, he told me he wanted to get baptized.  They did it a little different than normal and I was worried he wasn't going to go through with it, but he was ready!  Even more exciting, his grandma decided to get baptized too!!!

The whole gang enjoying menchies!