Oh Brother!

"When you deal with your brother, be pleasant, but get a witness."

Hesiod

Words to live by around here!

Off goes Kendal

And off goes Delaney

Two girls in the water, one boy screaming "Keep going!"; all with my favorite view in the background.  This is LIFE.

Memories to be made

Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains.

Diane Ackerman

We decided to scratch our traditional summer road trip for some extra time in Almanor this summer.  I'm considering Mark "lake drunk" he's so happy on the water and he's smart, because what could be better????

This picture makes me laugh, every time I look at it.  Love these kids!

We made Mason get on with them the following trip out.  Took some pictures of all 3 that I will put into another post.  Oh the dynamics of siblings!

Comfort

Delaney needed some encouragement and some firm "Yes, you are doing it" talk to work up the courage for softball All Stars this summer.  She didn't know anyone playing, she didn't know what to expect, and it seemed to her like a lot of pressure to perform.  3 weeks later, her team made it to the championship and was eliminated by the other Chico team, and she wants nothing more than to keep practicing and playing. Often times, Mark and I make parenting choices that we question all along the way.  We all do.  But we are finding again and again, that when we choose to encourage our kids to push themselves and work out of their comfort zone, it is absolutely worthwhile.  She gained softball skills that she won't lose and didn't have the opportunity for in the regular season.  Yet even more importantly, she learned the fun of being on a competitive team, working hard together and enjoying the company of girls with a common goal.  

Laying down a bunt for a single.

Safe.

We would know her run anywhere, feet off the ground, every single time.  Someday soon she's going to figure out she's quicker if her feet touch the ground some more, but not yet!

Lucky #2

This kid.

I was the youngest child and got a lot more freedom than my brother and sister. I used to wander, doing my own thing under the radar, but I didn't get in bad, bad trouble.

Paul Giamatti

Kendal.  Kendal.  Kendal.  This kid just slays us.  It is such fun to watch her grow up and change - she fights being the "baby" of the family by taking care of all of us and over organizing every moment that we give her.  She is a true gem hidden in a young girl's frame - she will be a very effective adult, we are sure of that!  A couple of months ago she insisted that she wanted to do gymnastics again.  In the past, gymnastics has entertained her for a few weeks or months, and then she was ready to move on.  Something switched in her brain, and she is loving it.  She is tumbling all over our house and insisting that she "needs" a beam and a bar.  She'll save her money, it's all she'll ever wants, we've heard every bargaining chip out there.  She's not getting the beam or bar anytime soon, but it's fun to watch her focus in on something she is enjoying for the moment!  I'm sure it will change in the next few months, but she's loving it now.

Love her eyeballs on this one

Repeating Success

Delaney played in a couple of soccer tournaments in June and it's always fun to flip through the images Mark gets of her playing.  Early this spring I noted that she had added a pull back move to her skill set - in fact we laughed as we watched her try it in the sand tournament in April with very little success, since sand isn't made for dribbling so much - but we knew we'd be seeing it a lot this year.  Sure enough Mark captured her using it twice in a row against different defenders with the same success.

Focus

Settle

Nope, #21, you're can't have it yet.

Turn

Pass

Repeat, 5 images later against #24.  Pull back

Turn

Pass

"There is no harm in repeating a good thing."

Plato