Our neighbor Mark came over and offered us his tickets to the Seahawks-Raiders game. None of us had ever been to the stadium. Neither the boys nor Sary-Jo had ever been to an NFL game. What fantastic seats! Plus, the Seahawks beat the Raiders. We all had a great time and, of course, took a few pictures.
First Day of School – 2011
Our home was a flurry of excitement on September 1, 2011! Happy boys woke early with huge smiles. The noise level was high and full of positive energy as they pondered in great anticipation what their classrooms would be like. At Karshner, each classroom adopts a university. The students are all college bound! David has the same teacher Daniel did in 3rd grade, so Daniel, of course, was telling David all about 3rd grade, including the classroom cheer! Go Cowboys!! David can’t wait to wear his cowboy hat when his class does the University of Wyoming cheer! Daniel’s classroom is the University of Washington (UW Huskies). Daniel was sporting his Huskies wrist band and is excited to learn the cheer and wear his new UW t-shirt. In the midst of the excitement, mom struggled to keep them focused on chores, breakfast, etc. while trying to get ready herself, all the while lamenting the end of a simply wonderfully balanced summer filled with great moments and memories. By the way, we did get out the door in time…. and the boys looked so handsome and happy sporting their new backpacks! (see pictures)
Mom School 2011
This summer Daniel and David spent four mornings per week working on reading, writing, and math skills. With David the goal was to retain what he learned in 2nd grade and begin 3rd grade strong. With Daniel, however, the goal continues to be to catch him up so he can be at grade level. Having started school later, he missed some of the foundational elements. We worked diligently on:
- comprehension of read material
- writing and the writing process
- spelling
- adding and subtracting with carrying and borrowing
- memorizing multiplication tables
- began learning states and capitols
One huge celebration came when Daniel wrote his first fully correct sentence! We had been working on this for weeks. A pre-written fragment is chosen out of a baggie. Mom writes it on a white board. The boys complete the sentence. Daniel’s sense of humor came through as he used the fragment “usually true” and weaved his favorite word – chicken – into the sentence. He used a capital and a period and spelled everything correctly! (See pictures)
The boys were a bit surprised when we told them that their sisters had “Mom School” every summer too. Like last year, Mom school will continue throughout the year for Daniel and David, though given the time constraints and regular school homework, it will be much less intense.
Great work, boys! Mom is really proud of you!
60th Anniversary / 80th Birthday
Recently, we went to Suncadia resort to celebrate Pat & Earl’s 60th Anniversary and Earl’s 80th birthday. We rented a big house for the weekend. All four siblings, plus Mom & Dad stayed there. The weekend included bicycling, swimming, and plenty of conversation. On Saturday, we had a great party with about 100 to 125 people in attendance. Food was good and the company was great! Thank you to all who came to make this weekend so special. Click the picture to see more.
Lake Tapps
A couple weeks ago, the boys were invited to a birthday party on Lake Tapps, complete with plenty of water activity. This was their first opportunity to go “tubing” and they had a blast! Click the picture above to see some more, and watch the video below.
Legends Baseball Clinic
On Friday, August 19, the boys attended a baseball clinic sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni association. We learned of this event because Randy’s dad is one of the alumni asked to participate. The clinic included various stations, such as fielding, base-running, hitting & throwing. The boys had a great time meeting and learning from former MLB players, even though the only one they’d heard of is their grandpa. Their cousin Mason was also there, and it was great to see all the boys having fun. Click the photo above to see more pictures; watch the 5 minute video montage below.
Radio Control Cars
While we were at Disneyland, Sarah & Kyle took Daniel & David to Ridermakerz for an early birthday present. They were able to build their own cars. Daniel chose to build Mater, from Cars. It is an awesome model. David built a green Dodge Viper and tricked it out (within reasonable limits imposed by Kyle).
As busy as these boys are, they find plenty of time to play with their cars. As you can see in the video, they are quite capable of multi-tasking (notice David’s skates).
Zoo with Karla & Boys
Sary-Jo and the boys met up with good friends Karla and boys. Randy and Joe were both working. The kids love being with each other, and they all enjoy the Point Defiance Zoo. Enjoy the pictures.
Summer 2011
It is quite a shock to be talking about school starting up, but here we are – it starts in less than two weeks. I realize we say this every summer, but it has gone way faster than usual. School did not end until the last week in June. A couple days later we left for Arizona and from there we went to Disneyland. It was great having all six kids together.
We returned and kept to a fairly structured schedule. Mornings were typically reserved for “Mom School,” with swim lessons, open swim, water polo, swim team, birthday parties, counseling, soccer and track consuming afternoon and/or evenings from Monday through Thursday. The boys’ free time was spent mostly outdoors and frequently with their remote control cars (thanks again, Sarah & Kyle). Fridays were reserved for outings such as the zoo, Wild Waves or Seattle.
We also had some great adult-type socializing, including catching up with friends from way-back and getting to know some relatively new friends. There are several friends that we didn’t see much at all – let’s reconnect this fall (you know who you are; coffee is on).
Mid-July included a visit from Holly, a former Karshner co-worker now teaching in Thailand. Vacation Bible School was the same week (on top of – not instead of – the other activities). And Randy was horribly ill that week. We are grateful for Holly’s willingness to step in and help.
While Sary-Jo and the boys were doing all that, Randy has had a busy summer at work. His team has accomplished quite a lot and there have been some surprises that keep work interesting. His job is a true blessing.
The first Sunday in August, we went to Al & Pam’s beautiful home & property for the 5th annual Edgewood Community Church reunion. We attended Edgewood our first 16 years as believers, so it’s great to get together and share stories about how God is working in each of our lives today. Steve & Cindy, who moved to Montana years ago, were able to join us this year. This was the first time our Edgewood friends got to meet the boys because we were out of town last year (Janel’s wedding). We had awesome weather and a wonderful time.
Last week Daniel played as a guest in a soccer tournament. This weekend, David’s team has a tournament. Labor Day weekend, Daniel’s team is playing in a tournament. This soccer mom desperately needs a mini-van! It wasn’t as essential when she was a dance mom.
Next weekend we’re celebrating Randy’s parents’ 60th wedding anniversary, and his dad’s 80th birthday. The four siblings are hosting an Averill family reunion and it promises to be a lot of fun! After that, we have just a few days to get in the routine for school.
I guess we’ll have to find another time to clean the garage, switch the boys into the larger bedroom, paint the deck, finish the landscaping, etc.
Water Polo & Swim Team
Daniel & David got to participate in the Puyallup H.S. water polo camp – four weeks on Mondays and Wednesdays to learn a new sport. The camp was structured with basics of the game, drills, practice and scrimmage. The last day was a full scrimmage with Daniel’s team edging out David’s for the win. They both had a lot of fun, but we think David is a bit more serious about scoring than Daniel. David can be quite aggressive for a little guy. They are already asking to do it again next summer. Click the photo to see a few more; watch the video.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays for the same four weeks, they had swim team camp. Here they learned – first – that swimming can kick your tail even if you’re in good shape. They received very good teaching and became much better swimmers in all aspects. A swim meet was held on the last day of this camp, including individual and relay events in all strokes. The electronic timing system was used, and they got the feel of swimming competitively. Although the first week was rough, they’d like to do this one again next summer also. Click the photo to see a few more and, of course, watch the video.
