Fall 2024 recap

 It occurred to me that I am way past due for a fall post. As cliche as it sounds, the fall has flown by at an alarmingly fast pace. With the holidays around the corner and my calendar filling up, I determined that I needed to make time to post some fall photos before all the holiday craziness starts. So, I will start from the beginning of September...back to when we landed at PDX from London and began the new school year.....so here we go!

A new school year, a new season. We have three 5th graders in the house .....

And a 7th graders...almost teen....😳

The school year started out with Evelyn going to the middle school social. She and her friend got all glammed up and had a fun night. Evelyn was truly happy to be back at school and in the social scene. 

James, on the other hand, lamented the fact that the "dog days of summer" were coming to an end. Lazy mornings snuggling with Lucy would have to be cut short. 

The first weekend back at school we drove up to Seattle and spent time with Rob, Melissa, Cady and Geneva. John's parents came too. This is our second year seeing a Mariners game together.

The boys especially are into MLB this year. They continually impress me with their knowledge of players and stats. 

It was thrilling to sit in the stands and eat a real ballpark hotdog. 

The school year started out with a big, messy project. The boys had to make models of different biomes, which they were very enthusiastic about working on. Before I even knew what was going on, they had totally transformed the dining room table into their work station, pouring sticky resin for replicas of rivers and hot glue to adhere rocks and model trees and grass to baseboards. 

The table quickly became a hazard area, and I stayed back watching resin and glue cover my entire table. Their models came out beautifully; I comforted myself and my ruined table situation by resolving that "I took one for the team" in the name of helping my boys get an "A." However, my hopes and ambitions came crashing down when their projects, albeit aesthetically stunning, failed to meet the criteria required (which included various labels and research) 😛

Ugh!.... the realization that my table was destroyed for "not an A" made me rather discouraged. 

In other news, Lucy is still stealing food off every countertop, table and unmanned surface. Here is a picture of one chicken burrito after there were two a moment ago....

Other highjacked food so far this fall has included a cheeseburger, peanut butter and banana toast, cinnamon French toast and half a pumpkin pie. 

One of the great things about West Hills is the focus on community. One way they try to build community with the middle school is through a day retreat at Eagle Rock. This year I volunteered for the day. I drove our 12 passenger van to the camp and observed all the social commentaries and interactions throughout the day. Needless to say, it was very enlightening....and it made me grateful I wasn't in 7th grade anymore. 

Another special event that took place this fall was West Hill's 75th anniversary auction dinner. It's nice to have an occasion to dress up fancy and eat fancy food.  

To honor the 75 years, a big community event was held the next day. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. There were food trucks, games, photos from decades gone by.... It was so wonderful to fellowship and enjoy the West Hills community. My heart was full after that weekend. 

Soccer season didn't disappoint again this year. Not only was the weather beautiful, but John coached the undefeated boys team again, "The Carolina Reapers." 

John is such a great coach. He has such a great balance of instruction and encouragement for the boys. The sideline was once again so much fun with parents and friends from our school and neighborhood community. 

Evelyn also dominated on the soccer field once again. 

She played with the same coach and team as last year. 

October also brought a visit from my parents who stayed with us for ten days to watch some soccer games and take the kids to the pumpkin patch. 

I really appreciate that they supervise and take on all the carving and gutting of the pumpkins. 

Unbeknownst to me, I directed them to the most crowded pumpkin patch on the most crowded day.😮😑

 The pumpkin patch experience was not ideal. 

The "free admission" really drew in the crowds; however, the price of actually purchasing a pumpkin were less than ideal.

I was glad  that my parents wisely decided to take the pumpkin purchasing to Bargain Market. 

 Our pumpkins this year, however, didn't last more than a few days.. 

I'm still not sure why they molded and collapsed so quickly. 

My friend suggested that, "You get what you pay for." 

Maybe. 😌

Did I mention that our fall was magnificent?! 😃

Well, it was.

Evelyn and I went with our "Courageous Girls" group to see Anne of Green Gables at the Hillsboro theatre. It was a little bit of a drive, but I'm glad to get any intentional time I can with my kids these days. 

It was a nice "mother-daughter" show. 

Another fun adventure we had was Chantelle mushroom hunting. Deep in the enchanted woods in Vernonia are hidden hundreds of golden fungi. 

However, I couldn't tell you how to get there. Our friends, the Austins, know the place and the path...and the backroads get a little muddy. 

This year my kids were less excited about the dressing up part of Halloween and more focused on the candy collection. Evelyn went around our neighborhood with her friend (who she's known from preschool!) Sophie. They dressed up as Barbie dolls. I was very proud  that we put together her costume from a thrift store rather than buying it off Amazon.

 

The boys were so simple this year. 

Caleb wore a cape.

 Levi wore a lighted mask. 

And James threw on a soccer jersey decided on a few minutes before heading out the door.  They reached the bare minimum requirement when it came to what was needed to collect their candy.

Halloween night was cold and rainy. I don't remember a Halloween like this since they were toddlers. Luckily, they were old enough to not need us to follow after them; so, we spent most of the night in the house with our friends. They came back with so much candy. Many of the wrappers (the peanut mms in particular) disintegrated  in the pillow cases because of the rain. 

I don't even think they are that interested in actually eating the candy as they were in previous years; they mostly just wanted to out do each other with the amount. 

The election was a big deal this year. I was pleased to see that the signs around our neighborhood were sparse. I do not like the division elections create in communities, and putting signs in front of houses only stirs up unfriendly feelings. The kids were really interested in the elections and the political talk they overheard John and me discussing. 

The day after the election, Evelyn and I took the paddle boards out one more time on the river. The colors of the leaves were magical, and the river was serene and peaceful. 

Paddle boarding has really become a favorite pastime of mine. 

This year for Veterans Day (and our half day of school), I took my kids out of class and did a "mom camp" trip. I took them to Fort Vancouver in Washington and we learned all about the beginnings of the Hudson Bay Company. 

It was a nice day. We walked around and toured the fort, had a picnic lunch and learned so much!

The boys took detailed notes. 

Afterwards we went to the Pearson Air Museum next door and saw some great airplanes from times gone by. 

And no "mom camp" day is complete without an ice cream stop before heading home. 

I savor these intentional days with my kids more and more. I love creating opportunities for learning together through unique experiences. I feel so blessed to be able to do this. 

Two weekends in a row had me dedicating a few hours to Evelyn's desired beauty regiments. Nails, highlights, deep conditioning treatments and hair styling took up lots of time and her money; they also became teachable moments for Evelyn that high maintenance is expensive and time consuming.

 The highlights alone took over 3 hours. 

I'm not sure she will do it again. I know what people mean now when they say "girls are more expensive than boys..."

Evelyn may be blossoming into a beauty, but her heart is also wonderfully gorgeous (if I may brag on her a little) On the Monday of Veterans Day, she spent the morning baking cookies and writing individual personal notes of gratitude to the Tualatin police and fire department. 

We then delivered them, thanking them for their service to our community. 

Life may be busy with so many good activities, but the best moments are the ones in between. I love walking on our path by the river....

Or watching the kids bond with their classmates and friends at a basketball game.....

Or just reading quietly by the fire. 

And then of course there's Mr. Bearded Dragon, who I'm starting to really grow in affection for....I know, I can't believe it. Between the humans in this home, the critters and creatures, many hours of my day are dedicated to fixing food and creating an environment so that they can live their best lives. 

But ensuring their best life allows me to live my best life, which  is right now. 

It really is. I couldn't be happier with my full house and my full days. 💜

LONDON!

 What a beautiful, full, crazy whirlwind the past few weeks have been! The kids started school a few days ago.

 In a quiet moment, John lay down on the bed with his eyes closed. 

"Why am I so tired?" John asked me, truly perplexed and frustrated. 

I was amused that he asked such a question in earnest puzzlement. 

 We had an incredible-albeit exhausting-summer with the kids being home; John worked two full time jobs; in the past two weeks we ran Hood to Coast; flew to London the following day, all while making sure everything was ready to go to school after we returned home. 

We finished our 3rd Hood to Coast race. 

Our summer started off big with going to Chicago; it ended with an adventure in London. 

London was a trip that was imagined and planned within a few weeks. 

John wanted to give our family an adventure, a trip different from the amusement park type trips that we usually take. We mulled over it for weeks and weeks on where to go. 

I had suggested National Parks; John didn't seem satisfied with those ideas. He had something else in mind. Finally, I just handed it over to him and declared: "I will go wherever you decide you want to go." He planned London. 

London turned out to be the perfect place to go.  It was the perfect mix of adventure, history and fun. When I close my eyes now and think back to this trip, several moments come to mind that I will remember forever. They are the ones when we are just together as a family, enjoying a new place. 

One of these moments was picnicking in St. James park. Our kids were fascinated by pigeons -of all things-and excitedly rallied around them like obnoxious Americans. John was annoyed; I relished the moment and the absurdity of it. 

 

I can feel that moment, sitting against that tree, my tired, jet lagged mind resting as I had to do nothing except watch my kids enjoy life. 

Another such moment was a beautiful Sunday afternoon after a wonderful church service we attended. It was again another gorgeous summer day and we dined al fresco on a quaint, bustling street. It was a beautiful, carefree moment, sitting in central London with my family. 

Traveling with six people in London is not an easy task. Europe is not made for big families it seems. In fact, we hardly saw any other kids the entire time we were there. We were a spectacle of sorts walking down the streets and into restaurants. People marveled at us, unsure of what to do with us. 

 John was an absolute expert at navigating the streets and subways of this magnificent city. He got us all around, never making a wrong turn or losing anyone! It was such a different experience commuting on public transportation with people from all over the world. 

London is a remarkable city, largely because its roots go back to medieval times. It has a beautiful balance of modern cosmopolitan living and deep rooted historical story. I could walk those streets all day. I hoped my kids would see the charm and recognize the privilege of being in the presence of things so old.

I savored every moment of our family time together in this wonderful city. 

The kids did great with the audio tours of churches and tours of the castles. A few times (ok, more than a few times) we got frustrated with James because he was fixated on finding dropped English coins on the streets. A few times John had to tell him to get up from under church pews as he hastily reached for dropped change.

 I think they did appreciate the fact  they were in the presence of things so old and ancient; being in Europe always makes American history seem contemporary. 1800s vs. 1000.....It really gave them-gave us all- perspective.

Warwick Castle, 1066

 

Windsor Castle 1070

The British Museum had a whole bunch of ancient artifacts

Preserved man, 3500 B.C

Part of the Greek Acropolis, 5th century B.C

The Gates of Nineveh, Biblical times 

James and the Rosetta Stone

  

We saw the city from above on the Eye of London.

Evelyn really loved it all.

Kings Crossing, Platform 9 3/4.
The kids have started to get into the Harry Potter books, so they really appreciated all the fun Harry Potter related tourist sites. 

We saw a show on the West End, The Lion King. 

Afterwards, we got Indian food at 11:00 at night. We were the only ones with kids in tow. 

But they did great. 

Another concern I had was the food. Evelyn is a really good eater, but the boys usually order cheeseburgers, fries and pizza. London is filled with diverse cuisines; it is truly a thriving food scene. Although they did order their fair share of burgers and fries, they also had middle eastern food, and even enjoyed some great Indian curry. 

They all liked Indian curry!

James day dreams on the train as the English countryside passes us by....

Stonehenge was definitely a highlight

 

Midway through the week I found myself at Central Wash....

this is a usual part of our vacations for me...

The kids had to pose in front of all the good ol' fashioned phone booths around town.....

Buckingham Palace

Westminster Abbey

James was thrilled to see Big Ben in real life!

The Tower of London told many gruesome tales...

Ice cream in any city is a treat,...but made with clotted cream in Bath made it taste extra delicious. 

I could wander around the cutest little streets all day long.

And even in London, Caleb perfects his magic tricks. 

Our final night we played shuffle board and watched premier soccer at a local pub

You could say the kids were tried when we returned home. 
Time for school.