6/29/2007

Go Blazers!!!


I can't resist commenting on how excited I am on the news that my beloved Trailblazers really shook things up last night. Not only did they acquire Greg Oden and Channing Frye, they found a way to dump Zach Randolph. Not only will they be good and win games, they will be good and win over the community again. Kiss the "Jailblazers" goodbye. They will be fun to watch again...needless to say, I'm very excited.

Summer's slidin' by...

It has been a wild week. So munch that I intended to post much sooner than Friday (by the way, saying the word, "Sooner" always makes me smile; GO BRONCOS!)
It is Ryan's last week of school...finally. Although a year-round schedule has its advantages academically, when everyone else isn't year-round, it can be a bit of a pain. But you remember the last week when you were in elementary school; all of the fun stuff like field day and parties and such. Ryan is a good student and loves learning, but even he is ready to be done. Ryan is growing up. He has passed a couple of kid milestones this week. Wednesday he called Grandpa K on the phone at 7:30am to tell him that the training wheels of his bike are off and he is free as a bird, riding on two wheels. He also swam all of the way across the pool by himself, this week. He's reading -- like really reading -- and he is enjoying his expanded sense of independence.
Will attended a basketball camp this week and loved it. Once again I witnessed the double wind up and each after we would come home, he would incessantly ask to either play with a basketball and practice dribbling or to play the Playstation so that he could live out his hoop dreams through Brandon Roy and Dwayne Wade. He has smiled so much these past couple of weeks and it is evident that he has a true love of sports.
Abby has been...well, Abby. We are never bored around here. Notice that her list of mischief has grown this week. She loves to ride her bike out front, as well. I think that it is a control issue...she finally can go and do what she wants. She's so darn cute! We have to be out front anytime she's on the bike for she will quickly steal away, right on down the street. Given the chance, she might flee to E-ma's house in Nampa; don't underestimate the heart of this child because her will is iron clad.
Lisa finished teaching summer school this week. Whew, it's good to be done with that. So now that it's July, we can start our summer. The long range plan is for it to not always be like this. We are front-loading the work now so we will be able to play and enjoy our summers together, as a family, as the kids continue to get older.

6/25/2007

Clarkston










Ryan and Will now want to call the annual trip to Clarkston, "Clarkston" rather than "Big Water". Times are changing! No Kev just doesn't feel right. No Uncle Tony really changes the beach dynamic; I witnessed not one water fight. Sam and the Sullivans in absence makes for a different feel as well. The real kicker was no RVs down at the "Hobo camp," as dubbed by Grandpa Kinnaman. Mom and dad and Michelle had to trailer down at "Goose-poop Flats." Weird - nothing stays the same; I'm 32 now and taking Advil in order to just sit here and write this blog entry. I only skied ONCE!

However, what a blessing. I wouldn't have missed it for anything. I was able to hangout with both of my sets of grandparents (which I never take for granted), in fact I just sat in the shade and talked all day Friday. Ryan, Will, and Abby had tons of fun in the water and slept great each night. Ryan busied himself catching exotic bugs (earwigs, spiders, and beetles) and sharing them with his Grandma K, which she loved! Ry and Will and Abby, all three, rode in the inner tubes behind the boat, I was proud. Abby Lou had everyone smitten and spent much time lounging on the trampoline with the other girls. Grandpa K had given the boys little Seadoos for Christmas which were a big hit. The kids are getting easier to handle while we're there and like me, I believe that each year they appreciate it more and more.

Definitely a family institution worth preserving!

6/19/2007

Summer Activities

Will just finished his second day of wrestling camp and LOVES IT! I asked him to rate it 1-10 and he said "100". His is so excited during the sessions that he bounces while the coach is teaching. He does his "double arm windmill" the entire time (Will usually swings his right arm backwards when he is excited and playing anything really active; two windmills, well...I've actually never seen that before)

Abby started "dance" today. It's actually an "active movement" class where she did bear crawls, somersaults, skipping, etc. She loved it! She had the teacher all to herself and kind of wore her out (the teacher, that is). Ms. Kim commented on how she couldn't believe that Abby was only two years old; must mean Abby is either WAY more active than she's used to -- or just very advanced (good thing I married Lisa to clean up the gene pool, in that regard). Both kids were beat following our time down at the gym and Abby desperately wanted to sleep on the way home - which we hope translates into actually sleeping AT HOME.

6/17/2007

Fishing With E-pa






Ok, here I am, inspired by Sam. (Sounds like a quality Dr. Seuss line) This is the first attempt at blogging for the sake of posterity and good family communication.

We have been fishing a couple of times this Spring. Ryan and Will have caught their first fish; trout from the Boise River in downtown Boise. Lisa's sister, Tiffany, husband Brendan, and Dylan "Big D" visited this past week. Nothing like some quality cousin time. Will turned 5, June 6th and got to spend the night in a hotel with Mom, Aunt Nini, & Big D.

It's the middle of June already! Ryan continues kindergarten on year-round track through the 29th. Lisa finished in May but is now teaching Summer courses through the end of June. I finished school June 7th and plan to begin coursework for an administration credential starting in July. Will begins wrestling camp next week (we are hoping to have at least one kid follow in the steps of legend Hulk Hogan) and basketball camp the following week. Abby... now there is an adventure...all wrapped up into the cutest package ever! She is doing a short dance camp next week called creative movement. Actually, our sole motivation in all the kid activities is hopes of burning energy during the day that might result in nights of solid, extended sleeping! Crazy times in this house; we're never bored!