June 28
Miller Times -May 2008
Here is the Todd & LeAnn portion of our Family newsletter for May 2008:
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May was a busy month filled with end of the school year activities, unfortunately school does not officially end until June 13th which means we are not done yet. We enjoyed a great school carnival as well as Multi Cultural Night and the kids participated in the Trek for Tech walk. Autumn finished her after school art class and has brought home some of her beautiful pieces. Autumn and LeAnn were able to attend “Junior Achievement”, which is an all day field trip for the 5th graders. They have a facility in Auburn with real store fronts like IKEA and Best Buy as well as their own town hall and newspaper. Each students is assigned a job for the day, they get paid twice a day and have two brakes in which they have to go out and spend their money (at the restaurant or the various shops). They each have a bank account and have to make deposits and write checks. Autumn was the CEO/CFO of the Warehouse. She had to hand out all of the products to the stores so that they could start their day. She also collected all the payments from the other businesses and made business deposits at the bank. It was very cool!! LeAnn also enjoyed a fieldtrip with Austin and Jaylin’s classes, to the local high school for a viewing of their drama department’s production of the “The Wiz”. Austin was accepted into the GATE program at school for the next three years. He is very excited! After going to a introductory meeting he has learned what his summer homework will be (at least one hour of reading per day, they are required to enter the Battle of the Books contest each year, he needs to learn to type, as well as knowing all of his multiplication tables up to 12). LeAnn was invited to a PTA Awards Night where she was awarded the Golden Acorn Award. It comes along with its very own certificate and golden acorn pin. It is given for outstanding dedication and service to children.
The girls started swimming lessons and have been improving like crazy (Jaylin is like a little fish). Austin and Todd have almost completed their soccer season and so far the team is undefeated.
Saturday the 24th we took a family day. We headed out towards Mt Rainer and had a lovely picnic along the way at Sunny Beach Point. After we entered the national park we headed up to find a waterfall. As we drove higher we noticed the temperature falling and a lot more snow along the road way. We stopped at a waterfall along the road and took some pictures but couldn’t figure out where this trail head was. After a quick potty brake we decided to head back down to see if we passed it. Low and behold right after a sharp turn there was a small pull off with maybe ten parking spaces and this tiny sign marking the trail head. Unfortunately the path was covered over with snow and we were not up to taking three kids up a snow covered trail. We headed back down the road where we found a nice spot to have a little hike of our own. We saw beautiful trees, flowers and some amazing moss and mushrooms. We finished off our drive with a visit to “Spirits of Iron” it is a museum of sorts along the side of the road.
The guy who owns it uses recycled iron to create larger than life sculptures. Todd will be posting some pictures on his blog soon.
Memorial Day Todd had to work so LeAnn and the kids went and took the Underground Tour of Seattle. It was a little long (90mins) for Jaylin but it was really cool to see where Seattle started out. They sure weren’t very smart building the city at sea level! Then we headed up to Grandma Thorne’s for piano lessons but we forgot the piano books so we had a nice visit instead. Last we went to Kelly’s for a BBQ we had great food and enjoyed good conversation and of course the kids and Todd had a dip in the hot tub.
The month ended with a bang! Autumn was taken to the hospital emergency room on the 30th. She had been at school most of the day, shortly after lunch she was sent to the nurse. She had a temperature of 102. LeAnn was called and by the time she got there Autumn was crying and was having trouble breathing. They went straight to the hospital. After getting her very first IV the nurse was able to give her morphine to calm her down. They gave her two different antibiotics and lots of fluid. Autumn had had a on-again off-again fever over the last couple of weeks and had developed a cough. Once they took the x-rays they could tell it was pneumonia. She was very wiped out but was able to go home and sleep, sleep, sleep over the weekend. She is on a very strong antibiotic and is feeling much better now.
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May was a busy month filled with end of the school year activities, unfortunately school does not officially end until June 13th which means we are not done yet. We enjoyed a great school carnival as well as Multi Cultural Night and the kids participated in the Trek for Tech walk. Autumn finished her after school art class and has brought home some of her beautiful pieces. Autumn and LeAnn were able to attend “Junior Achievement”, which is an all day field trip for the 5th graders. They have a facility in Auburn with real store fronts like IKEA and Best Buy as well as their own town hall and newspaper. Each students is assigned a job for the day, they get paid twice a day and have two brakes in which they have to go out and spend their money (at the restaurant or the various shops). They each have a bank account and have to make deposits and write checks. Autumn was the CEO/CFO of the Warehouse. She had to hand out all of the products to the stores so that they could start their day. She also collected all the payments from the other businesses and made business deposits at the bank. It was very cool!! LeAnn also enjoyed a fieldtrip with Austin and Jaylin’s classes, to the local high school for a viewing of their drama department’s production of the “The Wiz”. Austin was accepted into the GATE program at school for the next three years. He is very excited! After going to a introductory meeting he has learned what his summer homework will be (at least one hour of reading per day, they are required to enter the Battle of the Books contest each year, he needs to learn to type, as well as knowing all of his multiplication tables up to 12). LeAnn was invited to a PTA Awards Night where she was awarded the Golden Acorn Award. It comes along with its very own certificate and golden acorn pin. It is given for outstanding dedication and service to children.
The girls started swimming lessons and have been improving like crazy (Jaylin is like a little fish). Austin and Todd have almost completed their soccer season and so far the team is undefeated.
Saturday the 24th we took a family day. We headed out towards Mt Rainer and had a lovely picnic along the way at Sunny Beach Point. After we entered the national park we headed up to find a waterfall. As we drove higher we noticed the temperature falling and a lot more snow along the road way. We stopped at a waterfall along the road and took some pictures but couldn’t figure out where this trail head was. After a quick potty brake we decided to head back down to see if we passed it. Low and behold right after a sharp turn there was a small pull off with maybe ten parking spaces and this tiny sign marking the trail head. Unfortunately the path was covered over with snow and we were not up to taking three kids up a snow covered trail. We headed back down the road where we found a nice spot to have a little hike of our own. We saw beautiful trees, flowers and some amazing moss and mushrooms. We finished off our drive with a visit to “Spirits of Iron” it is a museum of sorts along the side of the road.
The guy who owns it uses recycled iron to create larger than life sculptures. Todd will be posting some pictures on his blog soon.
Memorial Day Todd had to work so LeAnn and the kids went and took the Underground Tour of Seattle. It was a little long (90mins) for Jaylin but it was really cool to see where Seattle started out. They sure weren’t very smart building the city at sea level! Then we headed up to Grandma Thorne’s for piano lessons but we forgot the piano books so we had a nice visit instead. Last we went to Kelly’s for a BBQ we had great food and enjoyed good conversation and of course the kids and Todd had a dip in the hot tub.
The month ended with a bang! Autumn was taken to the hospital emergency room on the 30th. She had been at school most of the day, shortly after lunch she was sent to the nurse. She had a temperature of 102. LeAnn was called and by the time she got there Autumn was crying and was having trouble breathing. They went straight to the hospital. After getting her very first IV the nurse was able to give her morphine to calm her down. They gave her two different antibiotics and lots of fluid. Autumn had had a on-again off-again fever over the last couple of weeks and had developed a cough. Once they took the x-rays they could tell it was pneumonia. She was very wiped out but was able to go home and sleep, sleep, sleep over the weekend. She is on a very strong antibiotic and is feeling much better now.
June 23
"My Day"
O.K. Its not my day, but my wife's day. I saw this in the paper yesterday and it cracked me up. I showed it to LeAnn and she agreed with its premise wholeheartedly! ;)
Go Fish
Austin and I went out fishing for the first time this past Saturday. He had asked for a fishing pole for Christmas, and has been very excited to start using it. The past few months were crazy busy with soccer games, so we had our first chance on 6/21. We left the house at about 8:30 and drove through Wendys for breakfast. Austin loved it because his sandwich had both sausage and bacon-- two of his favorite things. Then we drove down to a sporting goods place in Auburn where they sell licenses. They didnt open until 9:00, so I was planning on just sitting there for a bit and finishing our breakfast. Then I saw there was a Fred Meyer across the street so we drove over there. We went in and found their fishing section and picked up a few spinners, bobbers, hooks, swivels, weights, etc., along with some fishing 'snackage'-- jerky, cookies and water bottles. Then we went back to the sporting goods place to get our licenses. Austin was very excited to get his own license, and the clerk there gave him a handful of free stuff- plastic worms and bait. We then drove out toward Flaming Geyser State Park where I had seen some good spots on the river when I went biking out that way a while back. We headed east from Auburn and found our first spot along the Green River. We got out and started preparing the gear to hit the river. Austin was quite anxious to get going, and I recall the same anticipation when I was a boy waiting for dad to finishing hooking up my line. I set his up first and he started practicing casting in a nearby grassy field after I showed him the technique. We went over some safety rules about making sure no one was nearby while you were casting and then got out on the river. The spot we were at was a bit fast moving, but proved to be good practice. We tried there for about 20 minutes then moved upstream about 100 yards. There were a few more trees along the bank here and Austin got caught up in them a few times, but we didnt lose any gear there, miraculously. Since we didnt have any luck there, we went back to the car and drove further up into the state park. Where we parked the car they have model airplane flying spot, where we saw a bunch of men flying these gas-powered model airplanes which was quite awesome. We then got out to the river and there were about 4 other people who were out there casting lines. I was encouraged to see that we werent the only ones not catching anything. :) (Yes, misery loves company) But honestly, we were having a great time. It was so cool to be out there with my son and reminisce of all the great times I had fishing with my dad when I was Austin's age (8). Next time, we might even catch something. Even if we dont, it will be time well spent.
June 20
Reminiscence - Japanese Toilets
[1991] When I first arrived in Japan, I recall the first experience I had with a Japanese Toilet. I had heard about these at the MTC, but wasnt particularly looking forward to actually using the real deal. We were at some small train station en route to Sendai. There was no more holding it. When I first got to the bathroom I was shocked to see that a woman had walked right in! I checked to make sure I was in the right place, but I guess that they had gender-neutral bathrooms at that location. I ended up finding my own stall, and there it was, the infamous Washiki Toilet.
Yikes! I wasnt sure which way to start, or which way to face. (You are supposed to squat with your back facing the door behind you) Squatting down, I took care of business. Makes it a bit rough if you ever want to relax and read a nice book in the bathroom. This is an excellent way to make sure toilet trips are nice and short-- You have to finish up before your knees lock into place! It was quite the strange experience. You also had to be careful not to have anything in your back pants pockets that might slip into the abyss. One companion of mine lost his Japanese dictionary into the 'bowels of the bowl'. Modern toilets were much more common though, and all of the missionary apartments had them.
On the other end of the spectrum, there were a few places where they had fancier toilets than I had ever had the privilege of resting my nether regions on. They had very sophisticated toilets in some high-end places where us missionaries would go out of our way to travel to, given the right conditions. These 'Super toilets' had heated seats, massage options, blow dryers, water jet options, among other features. In the city of Akita, Garret Barnes showed me where one of these beauties was when we went out on splits. It seemed like it was about a ten mile bike ride. Akita was very cold and snowy during the winter of 1991, so I was excited about the prospect of the heated toilet seat! We finally arrived at our destination, which was actually a gas station. I gave the Super Toilet a test drive. I was in heaven! It was well worth the trip. I recall going back there a few other times when were were 'biking' around for contacts. Its a shame you dont see these around in the States.
Yikes! I wasnt sure which way to start, or which way to face. (You are supposed to squat with your back facing the door behind you) Squatting down, I took care of business. Makes it a bit rough if you ever want to relax and read a nice book in the bathroom. This is an excellent way to make sure toilet trips are nice and short-- You have to finish up before your knees lock into place! It was quite the strange experience. You also had to be careful not to have anything in your back pants pockets that might slip into the abyss. One companion of mine lost his Japanese dictionary into the 'bowels of the bowl'. Modern toilets were much more common though, and all of the missionary apartments had them.
On the other end of the spectrum, there were a few places where they had fancier toilets than I had ever had the privilege of resting my nether regions on. They had very sophisticated toilets in some high-end places where us missionaries would go out of our way to travel to, given the right conditions. These 'Super toilets' had heated seats, massage options, blow dryers, water jet options, among other features. In the city of Akita, Garret Barnes showed me where one of these beauties was when we went out on splits. It seemed like it was about a ten mile bike ride. Akita was very cold and snowy during the winter of 1991, so I was excited about the prospect of the heated toilet seat! We finally arrived at our destination, which was actually a gas station. I gave the Super Toilet a test drive. I was in heaven! It was well worth the trip. I recall going back there a few other times when were were 'biking' around for contacts. Its a shame you dont see these around in the States.
June 18
Cub Day Camp - Stilts
So sore. You wouldnt think that working for 4 hours making stilts with the cub scouts would be so excruciatingly painful. It was.
I had volunteered (been volunteered? ;)) to help out with the Cub Scout day camp this summer. The activity I was given to help with was that of building stilts and teaching the boys to walk with them. All of the materials were delivered to me a couple of weeks ago. This past weekend I took a few hours and drilled all of the holes into the 'footers'. This took a tremendous amount of time to drill large holes on one side about two inches deep to house the washers and bolts. Then I drilled through the other side the remaining two inches with a 1/4 inch bit to create the hole that the bolt would slide through to connect to the stilt. Much easier said then done. Maybe if I had a fancy drill press I would have been much better off at getting consistently straight holes drilled. Alas, I didnt. They turned out alright for the most part, but many had to be redrilled to allow for the bolt to slide through while allowing for enough room for the washer to be put on. There were about 50 of these 'footer' pieces that I had to drill through two ways.
On Monday I went around and gathered some hardware from members of the ward. Brothers Hall, Fisher and Noble lent me socket wrenches and battery powered drills. At Fishers house, he spur-of-the-moment decided to help me by making a 'jig' to help measure where the stilts would need to be drilled for the top hole that would attach the stilt to the footer with the bolt. His jig allowed me to slide the slilt into the groove between two pieces of wood which then had a hole on the third piece of wood which showed right where to make the drill marks. This was a huge time saver when we put the stilts together.
Luckily, LeAnn accompanied me to the activity and was a tremendous help throughout. I never would have been able to help each boy assemble his stilts in the time allotted without her help. We had three groups of wolf scouts that came to our station in 45 minute increments. Something that looks so simple turned out quite complicated. The first group was crazy. We were having a hard time lining up many of the pieces and being able to get the washers and nuts on the countersunk bolts was quite tricky. Thankfully, they had three leaders there to help their group of 7 boys assemble. For the most part, I would get everything connected and have the boys help drill a couple of holes and then use the socket wrenches to tighten the bolts down. Thanks to everyone working together, and having a couple of boy scout helpers come help us, we were able to get the first group completed. Barely. The second group was almost worse. They had two lady leaders who werent helping much with the assembly, so it was basically LeAnn, me and one other boy scout helping these seven. A couple of them had to stay about 5 minutes late to complete theirs. Then we had Austins group. They only had five boys, so it wasnt as time intensive. We also were getting the hang of it and must have had better manufactured parts since their stilts came together faster and we finished with 15 minutes left over. It was fun to see them trying to walk on the stilts. One boy didnt even want to keep his since he had such a hard time with them. It was great to see LeAnn working with Austin to fix his and get them together so well.
The worst part of all of this was that we had to be down on our knees in the grass. I dont do kneeling. Ever since the multiple knee surgeries I have a heck of a time kneeling down in the first place. Trying to maneuver around on the ground kneeling, hunching, bending over, standing up to get different tools, etc. just shot my whole body. I am feeling the pain today. Its a good thing our activity only went for one day since most of the others go for three. Otherwise I would be a total mess. Besides that, it was fun to see all these young boys in their element. We went down to the firebowl at 9:00 and watched them do a few skits. Brings back a lot of memories. Austin had such a great time there he almost didnt stop talking the whole ride home.
I had volunteered (been volunteered? ;)) to help out with the Cub Scout day camp this summer. The activity I was given to help with was that of building stilts and teaching the boys to walk with them. All of the materials were delivered to me a couple of weeks ago. This past weekend I took a few hours and drilled all of the holes into the 'footers'. This took a tremendous amount of time to drill large holes on one side about two inches deep to house the washers and bolts. Then I drilled through the other side the remaining two inches with a 1/4 inch bit to create the hole that the bolt would slide through to connect to the stilt. Much easier said then done. Maybe if I had a fancy drill press I would have been much better off at getting consistently straight holes drilled. Alas, I didnt. They turned out alright for the most part, but many had to be redrilled to allow for the bolt to slide through while allowing for enough room for the washer to be put on. There were about 50 of these 'footer' pieces that I had to drill through two ways.
On Monday I went around and gathered some hardware from members of the ward. Brothers Hall, Fisher and Noble lent me socket wrenches and battery powered drills. At Fishers house, he spur-of-the-moment decided to help me by making a 'jig' to help measure where the stilts would need to be drilled for the top hole that would attach the stilt to the footer with the bolt. His jig allowed me to slide the slilt into the groove between two pieces of wood which then had a hole on the third piece of wood which showed right where to make the drill marks. This was a huge time saver when we put the stilts together.
Luckily, LeAnn accompanied me to the activity and was a tremendous help throughout. I never would have been able to help each boy assemble his stilts in the time allotted without her help. We had three groups of wolf scouts that came to our station in 45 minute increments. Something that looks so simple turned out quite complicated. The first group was crazy. We were having a hard time lining up many of the pieces and being able to get the washers and nuts on the countersunk bolts was quite tricky. Thankfully, they had three leaders there to help their group of 7 boys assemble. For the most part, I would get everything connected and have the boys help drill a couple of holes and then use the socket wrenches to tighten the bolts down. Thanks to everyone working together, and having a couple of boy scout helpers come help us, we were able to get the first group completed. Barely. The second group was almost worse. They had two lady leaders who werent helping much with the assembly, so it was basically LeAnn, me and one other boy scout helping these seven. A couple of them had to stay about 5 minutes late to complete theirs. Then we had Austins group. They only had five boys, so it wasnt as time intensive. We also were getting the hang of it and must have had better manufactured parts since their stilts came together faster and we finished with 15 minutes left over. It was fun to see them trying to walk on the stilts. One boy didnt even want to keep his since he had such a hard time with them. It was great to see LeAnn working with Austin to fix his and get them together so well.
The worst part of all of this was that we had to be down on our knees in the grass. I dont do kneeling. Ever since the multiple knee surgeries I have a heck of a time kneeling down in the first place. Trying to maneuver around on the ground kneeling, hunching, bending over, standing up to get different tools, etc. just shot my whole body. I am feeling the pain today. Its a good thing our activity only went for one day since most of the others go for three. Otherwise I would be a total mess. Besides that, it was fun to see all these young boys in their element. We went down to the firebowl at 9:00 and watched them do a few skits. Brings back a lot of memories. Austin had such a great time there he almost didnt stop talking the whole ride home.
FHE activity - Bike Ride on the Green River Trail
We finally got a warm Monday in June where we could head out for a planned family bike ride. We were planning on going last Monday, but would have had to bundle up in parkas! The weather was perfect on 6/16, so I loaded up the bikes in the van. I had to take out one of the seats to get the five of them in there. Even then, Austin had to wiggle his way past a jumble of handlebars to get into the back seat. It has been a while since I have been out on the bike. We did go a few months ago with Ande Kastanis out to a mountain biking trail up in Seatac, but havent been since. We drove down into the Kent valley to a spot next to the Riverbend Golf course and parked the van. After unloading and saddling up, the kids took off and left LeAnn and I in the dust. It is amazing that their little legs can cycle so fast, while us with our multiple speed bikes have to push hard to keep up. :) We had to have a few chats with Jaylin about staying on the right side of the trail to leave room for those that are passing or coming from the other direction.
The weather was beautiful, and there was a nice breeze. We were about two miles in when I turned around and saw that LeAnn and Jaylin werent behind us. We backtracked and found that Jaylin's pedal had come off and LeAnn was trying to screw it back in. After getting that resolved, LeAnn was about to get onto her bike when she looked down and saw that her front tire had gone flat. Unfortunately, the only pump I had attached to my bike was one that only works for the different type of valve that my tires use-- not the standard bike tire valve. We were about a mile away from the park that we were riding to, so LeAnn decided to walk the rest of the way while I went ahead and finished riding up to the park with the kids. We played on the big toy for a bit until LeAnn joined us about 15 minutes later. As it was approaching 8:00, Autumn, Austin and I started biking back to the car so we could drive back and pick up LeAnn and Jaylin. By this time, my unconditioned heiney was getting saddle sore, so I was basically standing up most of the ride back. Austin led the way and was up ahead of us a bit while Autumn and I visited. She is a sweet girl and I love spending time with her.
We got back to the car, loaded up the three bikes and made the round-about way back to the park on the trail. It was a fun family night and everyone quite enjoyed it.
The weather was beautiful, and there was a nice breeze. We were about two miles in when I turned around and saw that LeAnn and Jaylin werent behind us. We backtracked and found that Jaylin's pedal had come off and LeAnn was trying to screw it back in. After getting that resolved, LeAnn was about to get onto her bike when she looked down and saw that her front tire had gone flat. Unfortunately, the only pump I had attached to my bike was one that only works for the different type of valve that my tires use-- not the standard bike tire valve. We were about a mile away from the park that we were riding to, so LeAnn decided to walk the rest of the way while I went ahead and finished riding up to the park with the kids. We played on the big toy for a bit until LeAnn joined us about 15 minutes later. As it was approaching 8:00, Autumn, Austin and I started biking back to the car so we could drive back and pick up LeAnn and Jaylin. By this time, my unconditioned heiney was getting saddle sore, so I was basically standing up most of the ride back. Austin led the way and was up ahead of us a bit while Autumn and I visited. She is a sweet girl and I love spending time with her.
We got back to the car, loaded up the three bikes and made the round-about way back to the park on the trail. It was a fun family night and everyone quite enjoyed it.
June 15
Thunder and Lightning
Here is a fun clip of Austin at our last Thorne Family Reunion at Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes, Colorado. This was the summer of 2007, when Austin was seven years old.
We had a Ward sponsored Home Video Night last week. There were a bunch of fun videos submitted that we watched. We also put in the one of LeAnn skydiving. That one was a hoot to watch and the whole ward was quite impressed by her daring spirit. We then had an "unbiased" panel choose the top 4 videos of the night. Austin ended up taking 4th place for the following. Enjoy!
We had a Ward sponsored Home Video Night last week. There were a bunch of fun videos submitted that we watched. We also put in the one of LeAnn skydiving. That one was a hoot to watch and the whole ward was quite impressed by her daring spirit. We then had an "unbiased" panel choose the top 4 videos of the night. Austin ended up taking 4th place for the following. Enjoy!
Coyotes in the backyard
We just finished watching "The last Mimzy" with the kids. As soon as we got up, we heard the coyotes howling in the woods behind the house. I went over to the kitchen and looked over the fence up onto the hillside about 50 yards away. There was a coyote silhouetted against the backdrop. He was just staring at me. I quickly asked LeAnn to go get the camera. The kids came running over and were pretty thrilled to see it just standing there on top of the hill. By the time the camera got out, it had worked its way back down the hillside. I grabbed the video camera and ran upstairs to where I thought I could get a shot of it heading down the hill. Then I heard LeAnn yelling that she had seen another one right past the fence. This was not more than 20 feet from our house. By the time I got upstairs I couldnt see that one anymore either. :(
Who needs to go to Yellowstone when Yellowstone comes to you? :)
June 13
Trampoline
Our kids long-awaited day has finally come. We have been talking about getting a trampoline for them for a few months. We decided to bite the bullet and do it yesterday. I took the girls to their swimming lessons, then afterward, drove down to the Sports Authority at the Supermall. We had come to look at the tramps last week and found which one we thought would work in our backyard. Luckily, they were on sale, so that gave us even more incentive. (Initially, I had been looking on Craigslist for a cheaper used one, but decided to go the 'new' route with this purchase.) The tramp was 40 dollars off, and the enclosure was 20 dollars off. (I am not necessarily a big fan of the 'enclosures', but LeAnn said this was mandatory as the place we put it in our backyard is right next to a steep hillside.). So we were getting 60 dollars off right there. Then, after we loaded the boxes up and went through checkout, the nice lady there gave me an early Fathers Day coupon, which was good for 25$ off purchases over $100! So that was pretty sweet. I also had the $50 gift certificate from my soccer team, so it turned out to be much less expensive than we originally anticipated. After getting it home I went right to work setting it up. It assembled in about an hour. Word started spreading around our neighborhood, and soon there were another seven or eight kids in our backyard. I finally got all of the springs attached and LeAnn and I put on the pad. The kids were chomping at the bit to get on there. LeAnn told them that she and I were going on first. They were all deflated by that. :) We got on and gave it a test run. It was pretty fun. LeAnn was giggling like a school girl and I popped her up in the air a few times. After about 5 minutes we reluctantly got off and let the kids go crazy. They were quite excited. It was fun to see them bouncing around and having a blast. I still need to put up the enclosure, but they should survive for another day or so. It works out well that today is their final day of school before they get out for the summer. Now we can add one more thing for them to do when they ask us: "Im bored. What can I do?" :)
Autumns 5th grade graduation
On 6/12 Autumn 'Graduated' from Star Lake Elementary. I left work early to be at the ceremony. There was quite a crowd of parents and siblings there. The 5th graders were all dressed up-- the boys in suits and the girls in dresses. Autumn looked beautiful of course. It was good that LeAnn saved me a seat, or I would have been standing up with a bunch of the other parents. The principal went through her spiel and commended them on being such great students. Then she went on to mention that they had an 'amazingly high' graduation rate. I wasnt sure what 'amazingly' represented-- 70, 80 percent? LeAnn mentioned that she heard of a few kids who will have to stick around for summer school. They had a slideshow of some of the events with the 5th graders throughout the year, and then handed out certificates of completion. Autumn did very well at Star Lake and is well prepared to move on to middle school. Afterward we gave her a graduation gift of 'Nintendogs' for her new Nintendo DS. She was quite thrilled. Congraduations Autumn!
June 11
Ghost Riders - Last Game
We had our last game for the U8 Boys AYSA league last Saturday. I am pleased to announce that we made it through the season undefeated! This game was one of the closer ones we had all year, so the outcome was not sure until the last five minutes of the game. At one point, we were down 4-2, and I wasnt sure we would make the comeback. The other teams goalie was playing great and stopped about 5 shots that lesser goalies would have let through. Even Austin got a bit frustrated after numerous near goals. Im sure we outshot them 3-1, but their goalie was playing great. One of the highlights was seeing Treyvon (Playing in his first year) make his first and second goals of the season. It is so fun to see a boy who doesnt score often, or at all, make his first goal. Things started to change in the second half when they switched goalies. Austin was really battling with the star of the other team. They both had a great eye for the ball and dribbled well. We ended up catching up with them and tying it at 5 all. Then, with about 5 minutes left in the game, Austin dribbled through the other team and the goalie came out to challenge him. He smoothly cut to the left and around the goalie and took it in for the winning score - 6-5.! It was a very exciting comeback.
After the game, our team went to Round Table Pizza for our Trophy Party. When I ordered the trophies a couple of weeks ago I was tempted to have them inscribe "undefeated" on it. I figured that might be too presumptuous with two games left. ;) So, I had them put "1st Place" on there instead. We had beaten all of the teams handily by that time, and I had faith that we would finish strong. Im glad Austin helped keep me an honest man by scoring those last two goals. ;) After we ate our pizza, I began handing out the trophies. I went through the list of boys and commended each of them about some of the great things they did throughout the season.
Jace: He was always at practice and had a fun-loving attitude and was always smiling. When he focused, he did quite well.
Troy: Turned into a great goalie. He was very aggressive in attacking the ball in the penalty box
Ty: Was very intense. When he went after the ball, stay out of his way.
Richard: One of the most skilled at both ends. Stayed after the ball both ways. Great on offense and defense.
Treyvon: Our stopper. The biggest of the 8 year olds, he was a force to be reckoned with. Had a great clearing out kick
Dylan: Our other goalie. Did great with his drop kicks. Also played well on offense when he wasnt in the goal.
Austin: Amazing player. Is very intense and never stops going after the ball. Scored a ton of goals for us.
It was a fun season. I had a number of disciplinary problems with Ty, and his mom told me he would be taking a year off to think about his priorities and respecting his coach. That was the major challenge this season. Otherwise, the boys did great and were quite receptive while I was coaching and improved as a team overall and as individual players.
The parents presented me with a 50$ gift certificate to Sports Authority as a thank you for coaching and I had many comments on how they appreciated my coaching style and that their sons enjoyed having me as a coach. It was quite fulfilling.
After we got home I wrote down the final score on our schedule where I had been keeping track of the scores of each game. It turned out that we scored 67 goals through 10 games this season. 6.7 a game. Not too shabby. Of those, Austin scored 34. 3.4 a game. He was quite incredible.
After the game, our team went to Round Table Pizza for our Trophy Party. When I ordered the trophies a couple of weeks ago I was tempted to have them inscribe "undefeated" on it. I figured that might be too presumptuous with two games left. ;) So, I had them put "1st Place" on there instead. We had beaten all of the teams handily by that time, and I had faith that we would finish strong. Im glad Austin helped keep me an honest man by scoring those last two goals. ;) After we ate our pizza, I began handing out the trophies. I went through the list of boys and commended each of them about some of the great things they did throughout the season.
Jace: He was always at practice and had a fun-loving attitude and was always smiling. When he focused, he did quite well.
Troy: Turned into a great goalie. He was very aggressive in attacking the ball in the penalty box
Ty: Was very intense. When he went after the ball, stay out of his way.
Richard: One of the most skilled at both ends. Stayed after the ball both ways. Great on offense and defense.
Treyvon: Our stopper. The biggest of the 8 year olds, he was a force to be reckoned with. Had a great clearing out kick
Dylan: Our other goalie. Did great with his drop kicks. Also played well on offense when he wasnt in the goal.
Austin: Amazing player. Is very intense and never stops going after the ball. Scored a ton of goals for us.
It was a fun season. I had a number of disciplinary problems with Ty, and his mom told me he would be taking a year off to think about his priorities and respecting his coach. That was the major challenge this season. Otherwise, the boys did great and were quite receptive while I was coaching and improved as a team overall and as individual players.
The parents presented me with a 50$ gift certificate to Sports Authority as a thank you for coaching and I had many comments on how they appreciated my coaching style and that their sons enjoyed having me as a coach. It was quite fulfilling.
After we got home I wrote down the final score on our schedule where I had been keeping track of the scores of each game. It turned out that we scored 67 goals through 10 games this season. 6.7 a game. Not too shabby. Of those, Austin scored 34. 3.4 a game. He was quite incredible.
Local News | Seattle weather: Colder than Siberia! | Seattle Times Newspaper
Good Grief! It is freakin freezin in Seattle. Just as the headline above notes, 'It is colder than Siberia".
We had to pull out extra blankets for our bed this past week. There were parents wearing parkas at our soccer game last Saturday. Im ready to break out the thermal underwear that I used in Northern Japan. (That was one place I experienced some of those nasty Siberian winds that would cut through you like ice) This is most definitely the coldest I have ever been in June!
Local News | Seattle weather: Colder than Siberia! | Seattle Times Newspaper
We had to pull out extra blankets for our bed this past week. There were parents wearing parkas at our soccer game last Saturday. Im ready to break out the thermal underwear that I used in Northern Japan. (That was one place I experienced some of those nasty Siberian winds that would cut through you like ice) This is most definitely the coldest I have ever been in June!
Local News | Seattle weather: Colder than Siberia! | Seattle Times Newspaper
June 05
Scar List
My younger brother, Brian, made mention that he was the 'scar champion' of our family. I wanted to see how my list holds up against his.
- 1978- ripped open my knee on a nasty spike sprinkler head
- 1981- Did a face plant on my banana bike while riding home from Big Rock. Knocked both of my permanent front teeth out and turned my face to hamburger
- 1983- left leg chewed on by an evil German Shepard (Good thing I had my clarinet case to beat him down with)
- 1984- Cracked head open on a trampoline after doing a 1 1/2 backflip
- 1984- Cracked head open doing sit ups. Brad was holding my feet down, but I kept moving backwards and slammed into the fireplace
- 1985- Cracked head open on a trampoline while playing 'crack the egg' with the siblings. Brooke got popped up high in the air and came down laughing with her front teeth right in the top of my head
- 1986- Cracked chin open while racing Brooke upstairs to get into the bathroom. (I beat her of course! :)) I had bare feet, and when I turned around to slam the door and lock it, my feet hit the wet floor and I hit the tile chin first.
- 1987- Sliced my abdomen open with the nasty sharp wire that ties rebar together that we were using when constructing a swimming pool with dad.
- 1988- Tooth came through my top lip during one of the soccer games at Olympus. I remember smashing into someone pretty good and then a lot of blood coming from my lip.
- 1989- Forehead popped open during a soccer practice when I went up for a head ball against another big guy. The ball squirted out and we did a major head-butt. (You shoulda seen the other guy!)
- 1996- Forehead. Again. This time, a head-butt during a church ball game. Smaller scar under the eyebrow.
- 2003- ACL reconstruction surgery. That one left a few scars-- where they pulled out the patellar tendon section, where they went into replace the blown-out ACL, and where the doctor 'slipped' with the scalpel.
- 2005- Microfracture surgery- This was in the same bad knee. Had to cut in and remove the articular cartilage before drilling into the bone.
- (Im sure I will come up with more, but that is a start!)
June 04
The day before the day before Memorial Day
On May 24th, we had a bye week from soccer games as it was the holiday weekend. I had been anticipating going over to the Olympic Peninsula and take the family camping there. I had looked into campsite reservations and planned on going to the Olympic Game Farm. It is a cool place that LeAnn and I first discovered on our Honeymoon back in 1994. It has driving tour where you see Grizzlies, Bison, Deer, etc. Very cool. (And very funny when the bison came lumbering up to our car for food where LeAnn had the window open and they started drooling and dripping snot all over the window. :)) As the weekend drew nearer, we saw that the weather was not going to cooperate. I have many not-so-fond memories of camping in the rain, so we nixed the camping plans. The kids were disappointed, so we came up with a back up plan of going waterfall hunting. I have a cool book that shows the locations and power ratings of waterfalls in the pacific northwest. I looked through it a bit on Friday and then picked a few out down by Mt. Rainier. LeAnn packed a great lunch and we took off at about 10:00 a.m. It is a beautiful drive and about 80 miles from our house to where the waterfall was located. We found a nice place called Sunny Beach Point just outside of the park and set up our picnic there
.
Then we started our journey up the mountain. There were about 20 cars waiting to get into the national park. It took about 5 minutes to get in from there. I had maps.live.com instructions on how to get to the waterfall that we were planning on hiking up to, which was called Comet Falls. As we drew nearer to that spot, I started looking for some signage. Nothing was found. We passed the point where I thought it should be and there we found a cool waterfall that went right under the highway. We got out and took in the amazing scenery. It was quite beautiful. We then drove further up the mountain and still didnt see anything posted about 'our' waterfall. A few miles further up, we saw another incredible waterfall. This was another 'touristy' one, with the parking spaces and lots of people.
We decided to turn back, while looking much closer at our park map. We ended up finding the trail head- finally! The reason we missed it before was because there were only a few parking spots, along with a sign about the size of a piece of paper. :( Then we saw our next obstacle-- the trail was totally snowed over. BOOOOOOOOOOO! Looks like we will have to wait a few months for that to be cleared up. I was a bit bummed, but we saw a number of other great falls, so it wasnt too bad. On the way back down the mountain, we stopped in an old-growth forest area where we had Austin lead us on a hike through the woods (This would pass off one of his cub scout requirements). The forest was amazing, with some of the hugest trees I have ever seen. The ground was all mossy and almost springy from all of the composting trees, etc. that were on the ground. It was like a garden of Eden. We found a beautiful little brook, and spent about a half-hour hiking around.
After that, we got back in the van and a little further down I spotted a deer. The kids were very disappointed, as we like to play a game in the car where I will give them a dollar if they find a deer. Since I found it, I saved myself a dollar! :) Then 30 seconds later, Jaylin spotted another one. She was so proud since I would have to pay her for that one. The deer seemed very tame, and didnt spook away at all. LeAnn took a number of great pictures.
On the way out, just outside the park, there is a place called "Spirits of Iron", where some guy has created some incredible sculptures out of iron. Very cool place. Very nice day trip!
.
Then we started our journey up the mountain. There were about 20 cars waiting to get into the national park. It took about 5 minutes to get in from there. I had maps.live.com instructions on how to get to the waterfall that we were planning on hiking up to, which was called Comet Falls. As we drew nearer to that spot, I started looking for some signage. Nothing was found. We passed the point where I thought it should be and there we found a cool waterfall that went right under the highway. We got out and took in the amazing scenery. It was quite beautiful. We then drove further up the mountain and still didnt see anything posted about 'our' waterfall. A few miles further up, we saw another incredible waterfall. This was another 'touristy' one, with the parking spaces and lots of people.
We decided to turn back, while looking much closer at our park map. We ended up finding the trail head- finally! The reason we missed it before was because there were only a few parking spots, along with a sign about the size of a piece of paper. :( Then we saw our next obstacle-- the trail was totally snowed over. BOOOOOOOOOOO! Looks like we will have to wait a few months for that to be cleared up. I was a bit bummed, but we saw a number of other great falls, so it wasnt too bad. On the way back down the mountain, we stopped in an old-growth forest area where we had Austin lead us on a hike through the woods (This would pass off one of his cub scout requirements). The forest was amazing, with some of the hugest trees I have ever seen. The ground was all mossy and almost springy from all of the composting trees, etc. that were on the ground. It was like a garden of Eden. We found a beautiful little brook, and spent about a half-hour hiking around.
After that, we got back in the van and a little further down I spotted a deer. The kids were very disappointed, as we like to play a game in the car where I will give them a dollar if they find a deer. Since I found it, I saved myself a dollar! :) Then 30 seconds later, Jaylin spotted another one. She was so proud since I would have to pay her for that one. The deer seemed very tame, and didnt spook away at all. LeAnn took a number of great pictures.
On the way out, just outside the park, there is a place called "Spirits of Iron", where some guy has created some incredible sculptures out of iron. Very cool place. Very nice day trip!
