DC and New York

Reggie was invited to go on the 8th grade Washington DC trip and Ryan remembers that trip more than anything from when he was a kid, so we signed him up and since I've never been, I went too!  We packed a whole lot into 5 nights and 4 days.  The first night was spent on the plane and we had a layover in Arizona, so the flight was only 4 1/2 hours.  You can't travel without problems and the first was taking off from Arizona...the plane was in full throttle getting ready to take off and then we slowed and stopped.  A warning light came on, so we got a new plane and were off 2 hours later at 1:30 in the morning😆.  I brought melatonin and Reggie was out for about 4 hours.  The tour company had to rearrange our day because of the delay and when we landed, we got on the bus and immediately started the tour!  First stop was Ford theater and although it was interesting, the "show" was dark and the seats were comfortable and I was head bobbing in no time.  From there, we went to the Holocaust museum and then to the memorials.   It was starting to get dark and it was freezing and windy, so we were all happy to get back on the bus and head to the hotel.  We arrived at 9:30 and I think everyone was wiped out!

We got to the hotel and I heard the boys talking in the next room and as I listened closer, it was Reggie's voice, so although us parents were not chaperones, we were there and able to help the kids stay on task.  I had several kids that I was the go to for since their parents couldn't go, but all of those kids did really great (except one had some motion sickness on the airplane).
My roommate was awesome, maybe a little too much because we stayed up late chatting it up every night and basically were working on 6 hours of sleep each night.  I hope the boys got more....we didn't hear them, but playing video games can also be very quiet.
We were up bright and early the next day and headed to Arlington national cemetery, the Bible Museum and George Washington's house in Mt. Vernon.  Later that night we went to Virginia and did a "ghost" tour which I could have done without, but at least there was a little bit of history.

Notice how this guy walks...his head stays completely level.  They have hour shifts and it is quite an honor to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The Bible Museum had artifacts that were very, very old!  We chose to detour from the group....they went to the Smithsonian museums, but this had just as much history and meant a lot more to us!  Reggie said this was his favorite thing in DC.

 Amazingly old bible!  They had a few pieces of the dead sea scrolls on display, but they were not in very good shape.  We learned that the bible still needs to be translated to several hundred more languages, but they are making progress.  It was really cool to see some beautiful, old bibles from all over the world.  We only had an hour to explore, so unfortunately, we couldn't do the audio tour with over 15 hours of information!

 I thought this was  a clever way that they read scrolls.

George's teeth were not made of wood!

The next day we went to the White House and capital.  Then we got on the bus and headed to New York.  We made it just in time for our appointment at the Empire State Building.

Reggie spent much time on his device 😠😠😠😠.  I hope he absorbed some of the history.

 75 of us went on the trip!  That's a lot when the entire 8th grade only has 84 students (but there were quite a few parents).  I had a lot of fun getting to know many of them :).

 The next day we did the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Central Park, rode the subway to Times Square and went to the Broadway show, Wicked!
It was soooo cold!

Video of Times Square...it was insanely busy-I think more than Tokyo!

 Wicked was amazing!  I'm not into the theater or musicals and after the first 5 minutes I was really worried, but about 15 minutes in, the story took over and it was great.

The theater had the Dyson tap and I may have been the only person who knew what it was or how to use it!

We got back very late that night, so we got to sleep in the next day until 7!  We went to Chelsea Market and I was super excited because we hardly had time to pee, let alone shop for souvenirs.  To my disappointment, it was kind of like pike place market but a whole lot bigger, no souvenirs :(.  Reggie had been asking the entire trip to go to the Nintendo store and we had been just a mile away the day before, but couldn't go.  There was a group of boys and moms and we decided to ditch the market and hire the bus driver to take us there!  The boys were over the moon excited, but it was Sunday and we didn't realize it didn't open until 11.  We had a few extra minutes and there was a big area with flags that looked really cool, so we walked over to kill time and it was Rockefeller Center!!!  What a bonus...people were ice skating and everything!  It was only about 2 miles away from where we were but it took about 1/2 hour to get there and we barely made it back, but I'm pretty sure that was the highlight of the boys' trip!

After that, we went to wall street, the twin towers memorial and Brooklyn bridge.
The twin towers was quite a sight to see.  Reliving what happened was so sad.

We were all toast about the middle of the day.  I stopped taking pictures and just wanted to sit down.  We were happy to get on the bus and head to the airport!  After about an hour we got to the Newark airport and someone read the sign out loud and the teacher perked up...Newark?  She asked if that was a joke because we were supposed to be at JFK!!!  It happened to her last year and the kids missed there flight and got routed all over the US, so she was freaking out.  What are the odds it would happen again? Thankfully, we had a very aggressive bus driver, but it was stressful and rushed and we didn't really get much dinner except what we could find at a snack shack at the airport.  The other bus went to the right airport, so they had been there for a good while (they got the shaft the entire trip because we made it to every stop almost 1/2 hour before them, so this was redemption!).  The plane was a lot quieter on the way home.  Reggie, along with most of his classmates, slept close to the entire flight and we arrived in Oakland at 12:30 am and were in bed around 1:30!  It was fast, furious and exhausting, but tons of fun and a great learning experience!
The next day a one year old foster baby arrived at our house, so there was no rest for the weary!  He was with us for 9 days while his foster family was on vacation and there were lots of laughs in our home.  Ainsley was such a great help...I couldn't have done it without her.  It wasn't the best timing, but I'm thankful that he was such a happy, easy going little guy.  I am glad to finally rest and get back to normal, well, for a couple weeks anyway, until we do another vacation respite for a 15 month old little girl.  Our first girl....should be lots of fun!

Windsor/Safari West

I set up a little trip for Ryan and the kids while Reggie and I went to DC for spring break, but we left much later than expected so we all packed up and went!  Reggie and I had 2 suitcases because we had to be at the airport the day we returned. 
It is a pain checking into the Worldmark there because they don't let you go without getting the spiel, but other than that, it might be one of our favorite properties.  They have a volleyball net in the grassy area (which was a huge bonus this year), basketball courts, ping pong and all the usual other stuff.  Plus, the small town of Windsor is really cute, although we didn't really have time to explore it (I did with a girls trip a couple years earlier).
The kids always love staying somewhere new.  It does have challenges for us when Khalif gets excited or anxious, we get some ADD type behaviors and it is frustrating, but can also be very scary.  This trip, he disappeared from the pool area which isn't exactly the place you want to go missing.  I wasn't too concerned because he is a great swimmer, but where was he?  Just as I was starting to get a little worried, I saw him running from the parking lot, way on the other side of the resort.  He decided he was going to get our ball out of the locked car and didn't think it was necessary to tell us....hmmm.  Not sure how to improve this as it is a constant struggle when we travel, maybe it will improve with age?  I'm just not sure it is within his ability to control it.  Anyway, the good news is he's always survived our trips and he has a ton of fun.  Reggie, on the other hand, is starting to get bored and not want to swim, but he did enjoy volleyball and basketball (we taught the kids how to play bump) and the work-out room....maybe he didn't enjoy this as much, but he's not going to sit on his phone!

 I think her days of doing this are numbered!  She's a big too big, but they had lots of laughs trying

The next day we went to Safari West.  Khalif and Ainsley sat up top in the Jeep and a giraffe was staring them in the face....I think they probably could have touched it!  I couldn't get Reggie to go up, but we enjoyed the view from the back of the Jeep.  It was nothing like our safari in Kenya, but I enjoyed the educational piece and learning about the wild fires.  The kids thought it was o.k....its such a bummer when you spend a lot of money and think the kids are going to be amazed and they would rather have stayed at the condo 👎.  I am glad we did not stay there because we talked to a couple people in our group and they said they hardly slept at all because the animals were so loud!  It is REALLY pricey to stay, so that would have been a royal bummer.

We learned about how giraffe's eat and if you watch its neck, you can see the food going down and then back up

We could see charred areas all around us and the devastation from the fires on the drive was amazing.  Random fireplaces and pools where houses used to be.  The vegetation had grown back so it was even more strange.  They think Safari West survived because all the vegetation was eaten by the animals, so the fire had nothing to ignite.  It got very close on one side, but thankfully all the animals were fine.  We also drove through the main neighborhood that was destroyed and there was a bit of rebuilding going on, but not too much.  It was the strangest thing to see....the fire came out of nowhere and so many neighboring houses were just fine.  Usually, you can see the path of the fire, but I think because it was so windy, it just jumped all over the place.  Thankful to have our home for sure!!!!

Fun for all in March

Life was a little treacherous for mom and dad in February.  Dad was in the hospital with intestinal bleeding (from low blood pressure that he caused by taking an extra pill) and it took them a bit to figure out what was going on.  Thankfully, that doesn't usually happen to people a 2nd time, but it was a bit scary for all.  Then a couple weeks later, mom was tracking a deer in the snow and slipped on a tarp and broke her rib.  I was a little concerned that they weren't going to make it to our house yet again, but they rallied (I sent my mom the Great Mender chinese supplement and she was better in less than 2 weeks!).  They had lots of plans here while Ryan and I went to Maui, so it is a good thing it all worked out.  Aunt Sue and Uncle Rich flew down to stay with them for a week and they had a lot of fun and found a new hobby!  Unfortunately, they weren't playing by the rules, but got a little lesson when we got back from Maui.  Then Patricia and John stayed for a couple of nights on their way to Arizona and it sounded like they all had a wonderful time.  I'm glad the kids are older and can take care of themselves!!!  I'm not so sure about these crazy cats!

We enjoyed Maui as usual.  The weather was perfect and there were lots of whales and turtles and for the first time I saw a dolphin!!!  We relaxed and rested and read on the beach.  We were spoiled to have gone twice in one year (although it was a little different with the kiddos).
My favorite view

 We were finally in the right place at the right time to see a sunset

Mom and dad came a few days before we left for Maui to go to a women's church event.  It was really great, although I can't remember much about it now!  Anyway, we didn't have a whole lot of time to do much, but we did volunteer at our church packing bags for the homeless. 

February-Casita visitor and spring cleaning

It has come up in a few conversations with our outreach person at our church that we have a studio that we are willing to house those in need for short periods of time.  We got a note in January about an intern who really needed housing which sounded like a great fit.  She had a super personality and was very into missions and after talking with her, I decided to move forward.  She stayed there for the month of February and it was a learning experience for us.  We realized that we use that space a lot, Ryan for work and the boys for play and Ainsley's church group meets in there.  Every Wednesday we got to see what was happening in there because she had her high school group somewhere else and Ainlsey had her group meeting in there and I have to say the millennial generation is an interesting one.  My biggest concern was that we couldn't get the funky smell out after she left and thankfully, I don't smell it anymore.  It was eye opening to see the lack of cleanliness and awareness of basic principles (like emptying the Dyson and how to do laundry) and how to show appreciation when you are a guest somewhere.  It was a great time to educate our children on what not to do and I'm not sure we'll be doing that again any time soon, which is unfortunate since it is empty so much. 
We had a bit more time in February since gymnastics was 1/2 time and then ended completely, so we did some spring cleaning!  The amount of clothes, toys and stuff filled Ryan's car, but it felt so good to purge.  Ainsley really notices when things are organized and has commented many times that she feels much better when things are in their place.  We don't require the kids to make their beds, but most of the time, she will!  We rearranged her room and Reggie's room to function a little better and although Reggie's room was a little more challenging and we had to move things around more than once, it is so much better! 

Fostering

To be done or not to be done???  We have been trying to sort this out.  I would love to help in some capacity, but the county hasn't gotten their plan together.  About a year and a half ago, they asked for temporary foster parents to be there on a short term basis while they figured out where best to place them.  We said, "YES!" and then nothing happened.  We kept checking in but the county had to put resources in another area and this went to the backburner.  Then, in September, they announced that if you didn't take a placement by the end of the year, your license would expire.  Life was busy, we had travels planned and they kept calling for newborns and sibling sets, which were not appealing.  There were a couple that I called back for and said we would take, but it was only temporary due to our travels and they decided to place somewhere else.  I do get that they don't want to move children all over the place, but it was getting down to the wire for us.  There were several other families in Livermore in the same boat and they didn't take placements for very good reasons, so it was frustrating to all of us.  Well, all the calls had stopped for a couple of weeks, so we left it in God's hands.  I put in a prayer request to my bible study and that afternoon, I got a call for a newborn.  I knew we had to jump or be done, so we went for it, knowing we were heading to Washington in a couple weeks and this would be short-term.  One of the families here had been stockpiling stuff for a few months with plans to take a newborn, but she ended up with a 2 year old, so she gave me everything, bottles, formula, diapers!  Another woman who fosters babies had two of a lot of stuff, so she also hooked us up with the car seat/stroller, clothes and a moving bassinet.  The next day, I made the trek to Highland Hospital in Oakland to pick up a 3 day old baby!  I  had to go through the ER to get to the nursery and that was quite an experience....kind of like a scene from a t.v. show. 
The nights were long and he was pretty fussy, but he slept a lot during the day and I was able to be productive.  But, I was so tired!  Finally, the weekend came and Ryan started helping at night and what a difference that made :o). 
I was doing the leg work to find the next place for the baby to go and there were a lot of options, but the best seemed to be a single mom in Livermore who happens to attend our church and wanted to adopt again and also was in need of a placement by the end of the year, so I called her to see if she would be interested and she came over to meet him.  She was on board to take him during our vacation and long-term.  The social worker came the following week and was not very appreciative that I had solved her problem.  Also told me I should have never taken the placement if I didn't want to adopt.  Her judgement went on and on and she was very, very rude, but God had a plan I do believe this was it!  The new foster mom needed that extra time that we had him to get things in order.  The social worker made the process very stressful for us, but in the end, the plan worked and he seems to be on the fast track to be adopted (we both adopted around the same time the first time, but her process was finished in 5 months and ours was over 5 1/2 years, so we were at the most opposite ends of the spectrum and we got a good laugh about that, but it is looking like it might happen this way again for her which is unheard of!!!  But, good for her!). 
The new foster mom had a trip planned in January and asked if we would take him for the long weekend (she has a 3 1/2 year old and traveling with a newborn just wasn't in the cards).  We have had him a few times since and it has been great to be able to support her and give her a breather (I have no idea how she does it night after night!).  And, it is awesome for us to be able to see him grow and the kids LOVE him.  He is smiling now and much more alert and even Reggie is a fan.  I usually have to ask him to take the baby for a few minutes, but he is willing and learning how it all works.  Not sure what is next but we are trusting God and hoping it becomes clear when the time is right. 
Here's a picture, although it isn't very good because we can't show his face due to privacy.  Funny story though, I thought he was a white baby until I changed him at the hospital and noticed his balls were black.  I was confused and asked the nurse if they knew his nationality and she said he was african american.  I guess they start out light and get darker (he is very dark now).

The cat was not a fan and our house was in disarray!

Christmas break

The airport props are so lovely :)

We got off the plane and went straight to Aunt Pam's to hang out with all her family that we hadn't seen in years!!!  It was so much fun!  And then we crashed Dad's extended family party and that was tons of fun too because its been years since we've seen them as well.  Time goes so quickly and unfortunately, we are all so busy and the effort to keep in touch is sometimes lost, but not this year!

 We flew in on the 23rd, so Christmas came quick

 Candy canes for breakfast....gotta love Christmas!

We tried to sled on Christmas day, but there wasn't quite enough snow and the sleds were getting shredded, but at least we had a nice walk and got some fresh air!

Didn't get to see the Lacey and the gang, so we squeezed in some time for Ainsley and Cadia to hang out.

 So tired!

 We laughed a lot playing this game!!!

Ryan isn't a game fan, but I think he had fun

And this game

Sewing with grandma

 Funko store

We played lots and lots of games this year.  We laughed a lot and grandpa had a great idea in modifying apples to apples, so we started playing that way and it was very entertaining!  Everyone writes their answer and it made it so you could tailor your answer to the person...might be a future game someday.

 I'm not sure who farted here!

End of an era

Ainsley was on a role in the fall with gymnastics and made level 8!  She competed in her intrasquad meet in December and did really well.  Unfortunately, her body failed shortly after (back and wrists) and she's been trying to recover since.  She has been going 1/2 time since January and was feeling great, so she started doing many of the skills she hasn't been doing and her wrists flared up after the first practice and acupuncture hasn't helped this time.  So, the time has come to move on and her last day will be next Saturday.  She is really, really sad.  It is hard for her to not be able to do what she really loves and be with her best friends.  I'm sure we will have a transition :(.  

Ainsley is, however, excited to play volleyball for her school in March and we are trying the Omni Fight Club kid class and trampoline this weekend.  There's lots of options out there and we're hoping she can find something she loves as much as gymnastics.

Sorry you can't hear the music....

She corrected a mistake on bars and actually changed her routine after this meet and it is now much more consistent, but she won't get to compete it...too bad you can't pick and choose your events!

I can't seem to get her beam to upload (which is a real bummer because it was a beautiful routine).  The file is too big, so I will see if I can compress it somehow.

The life lessons this sport has taught her has been priceless....from how  to deal with difficult coaches, to overcoming fear, to working through the pressures of competing to dealing with disappointment when things didn't go well to trusting God's plan when we moved gym's and dealing with the frustrations of a failing body and not being able to do what you love.  She has come away a more mature, better individual with a faith in God that I hope will stick with her always.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Volleyball

After our trip to Las Vegas last year, it was clear that Reggie was a pretty good volleyball player and I told him we were going to give it a try.  He was very reluctant to try something new, as usual!  He has told us over and over that he doesn't like team sports, but he hasn't tried one since baseball when he was 8, so it was time to give it a go.  He came home the first day and was really angry that he had to do it, but the 2nd day he said it was pretty fun.  He is definitely not the most comfortable kid out there (which is unfortunate because if he were playing against his family, he would kill it!), but he's made a ton of progress since the beginning....he was moving out of the way of the ball and letting his teammates get it at practice.  I have to admit that I bribed him...$1 for every hit.  He is trying to earn a computer and we've been really impressed with all the things he has done and now we know how capable he is (he even folded the laundry!).  Back on topic, he likely won't ever play again on a volleyball team and I'm so glad he had this experience.  He was definitely out of his comfort zone, but that's life and better to get some coping skills now and it couldn't have been a nicer, more supportive bunch of boys on his team.  Very impressed at the teamwork and kindness of these 8th grade boys!!!