First Week of School

I don't know why school has to start so early, or HOW this child is already in high school?! But here we are, mid-August and doing the public school thing yet again. We had a nice year off from someone else dictating our schedule, and it was marvelous, but Peanut was ready and excited to try out the "real" school thing again.

He missed the orientation day because we were in the Channel Islands, but had a friend who took him around to show him the ropes and help him find his classes (and tell him which bathrooms to avoid at all costs, haha.) And by his reports, the first day wasn't too bad. He met a couple of kids in his classes, and then at lunch, he sat down somewhere, hoping that someone would join him, and a couple of the older kids who we had been camping with invited him to sit with their group, so he didn't even have to eat alone the first day. I'm grateful that for all the grief we give teens, they are sometimes kinder and more observant than we can hope for.

And while Peanut was experiencing school for the first time, we went with Bug to the temple as he prepares for his mission. It's a big step making official commitments and it was really great to be there with him on such a beautiful and Grandma was able to join us, too.

We had time to grab lunch and ice cream at Fenton's before we had to get back after school.

 There are things I miss from the early days of our family, but I also love the relationships we've built with our kids. I love watching them grow and figure out how to be adults and what type of person they want to be. I love that they still like spending time with us and want to include us in their choices and experiences. I love that they'll still come pile on our bed at the end of the day (even if sometimes I am more than ready to go to sleep and kick them out as quickly as I can, haha.) We're in a very different place than we were 10-15 years ago with diapers and naps and belly laughs and problems that could be kissed and snuggled away. It's not always easy, but it's also kind of beautiful.

Some Hikes are Better Than Others

You can set out with the best intentions,

pick an beautiful trail,

with cool things to see and climb as you go,

but it just doesn't guarantee it will be a good hike.

This was the last smile we got out of this one. Right after taking this picture, he slid down the rock to get back down and got a friction burn on both arms. I'd forgotten to repack the first aid kit, so had nothing to put on it, didn't have food that he wanted for lunch, and we were about 3 miles from our car. He was hot and tired and there was no turning back from all of that.

So what started out as a fun adventure ended in us splitting up--Daddy-o ran back to the car while we hiked a mile farther to get to a road where he could pick us up. None of us were enjoying the day at that point and it was almost enough to make me wish we hadn't even tried. But we hadn't hiked hardly at all this summer and I keep going because some days ARE magical. Some hikes we're all pretty happy, and the views are incredible, and we have fun conversations. Sometimes an adventure goes down as a family memory that we'll hold on to forever.

I don't want to miss those incredible hikes because we're trying to avoid ever having a rough one, so we'll keep trying and pushing through the hard times because the next one just might be a legendary adventure.

Girls' Turn for JOs

Last weekend was the boys' Junior Olympics tournament, this week was the girls' turn. Bean was able to join the Diablo Alliance B team for the 18U girls and played 8 games in 3 days with these girls.

You know all the exciting underdog stories where the team goes on to win the championship after an impossible beginning?

Well, I'm sure for every one of those, there are dozens of stories of the team that just goes into the tournament and loses most of their games and has to just keep trying, even though there will not be a movie-worthy moment at the end when they come in 16th (or lower😁.)

And their parents will keep showing up to cheer them on because in the midst of all those insignificant moments, there's the beautiful goal they score in game #7 that makes it all worth it! My filming is terrible because when I realized she was actually going to take a shot, I got completely caught up in the moment and missed the goal all together, haha, but you can hear the excitement. They didn't win that game, but it sure felt good to see her loving what she's doing out there. And they did win the next one that day in a pretty close game, so that was exciting.

They did go on to win their next game which put them in the game to play for 9 and 10th places in the bronze division. Bean wasn't able to play this morning, but we heard they won, so they ended with a 4-5 record. It could have been worse. And the experience and play time was worth it. She felt like she learned a lot and got to see a different style of coaching and playing than she's experienced on the other teams she's played for, so even with a lot of frustrating games, it was a good thing.

We also got to sneak away for a few hours at the beach on Saturday between their games. They were playing down in the Santa Cruz area both Friday and Saturday and I was really hoping for a break in the schedule because I've been down that way too many times this summer without actually setting foot on the sand.

This kid and I took a walk while the other two took naps (Bug had to work so he missed out this time.)

Beautiful, beautiful day. I love where we live.

Not too much to see on the beach, but Peanut was happy with a mussel shell and seaweed pieces. And we did see a harbor seal (and watched it terrify a guy on a boogie board who didn't notice it until it was only a few feet away--that was pretty funny.)

And after being left at home for the past two days, I think Peanut was happy to spend some time with his parents and out adventuring. He's had a lot of TV time, mixed in with some fun with Bug when he wasn't working--they rode bikes downtown to go see the Minion movie Friday which he loved. It's nice having kids old enough to leave home, but I still think no one is very happy having too much alone time (well, I've never reached the too much alone time level, so maybe I don't count, haha.) We're due up for a lazy family day. 

Junior Olympics

When the coach from the kids' rec league polo team reached out to see if anyone would be interested in going to the JOs, of course both our kids were interested. Another local team was short players and had already paid to enter, so they were scrambling to find enough people to play and had asked our league if any of our players wanted to jump in. We said sure, made the switches, paid the extra fees, and then realized that at least for Bug, we probably should have skipped it. 

He was at camp and missed the first two days of the tournament, so he only ended up getting to play in 3 games, which was already enough of a reason to think twice about it. And then, when we showed up at the early morning game on Monday, I started talking to the parents of the other 3 boys from our league and found out that at this 16U age group, they really didn't have a team and had pieced together one from our boys (who were all 15) and some of their 13 and 14 year olds from the B team in that age group. The 14U A team apparently was really good, so they left them to play in their own age group and created a team that had no chance in the 16U age bracket. 

They lost every game which was pretty frustrating for everyone involved. But Bug did have a few good moments of play, and he got to participate in his first shoot out. Unfortunately, they were still tied after that and he ended up being the final shooter in the sudden death shoot out, and the ball slipped, so he had a bad shot. We keep reminding him that there were lots of mistakes that led up to that moment, so even though it's easy to feel like you are the one who lost it, the game could have been won by their goalie stopping the shot just before his, or the other player not missing a couple shots before his, etc. . . Learning to lose gracefully is a big part of playing sports (and unfortunately something these kids have way too much practice in.)

So, lesson learned. . . We'll stick to playing for our own team in the future.

Newt Time

People can complain all they want about social media and all its pitfalls, but there is some good that comes from being able to connect with people you wouldn't ever meet. I'm grateful for the south bay homeschool mom I've "met" on IG who gave me the heads up about the newt pond at Sanborn Park. It's an hour from our house--perfect for a field trip.

At first, it's easy to miss them and the signs that they are there. It takes slowing down and really looking.

And then you find the egg sacks (that gray and white blog near the redwood leaves.)

And if you keep looking. . .

you start noticing these guys! There were at least a dozen! We watched them swim, and crawl along the bottom, and hide themselves in the debris.

A second pond nearby led to more newt sightings. It's so cool to be able to see these somewhat elusive creatures in mass. I think I've only ever seen one other one while hiking, so this was a treat.

After we'd had enough of the newt watching, we went for a short hike in the redwoods.

At one point, Peanut was lingering in a grove of trees. I had already wandered back to the path and was ready to get going, but he called for me to come and look. 

"Mama, come here! You're going to want to see this!"

Even more beautiful than the view I was treated to when I lay back on the log with my little guy is the fact that this kiddo knows me.

Sometimes parenting can feel like a whole lot of giving without getting much back, but these moments go a long way to fill my bucket. I'm grateful that I get to know so much about this boy, and that he gets to know me, too, as we share our days.

Highs and Lows

Today's highs and lows:

High: A 6 mile hike with both gorgeous forest and wide open hilltop views

Low: Two of the three kids potentially touching poison oak (we're still waiting to see what happens)

High: Seeing a beautiful Cooper's hawk and being able to follow him through the canyon for about 10 minutes

Low: Seeing at least a couple dozen people who seem to think that the 6 foot rule is a joke. It was amazing how few people even tried to give as much space as possible on the trail.

High: Moments of pure joy and laughter as a family. Bean and Bug are getting along pretty well these days and seem to be enjoying each other's company like they used to. Peanut spent most of the return hike telling jokes he'd made up. 

My favorite: What does a leaf do when he gets excited?

Answer: Leaves don't get excited.

Low: Tears and short tempers brought on by fear and stress. We're all feeling a little cooped up, a little lonely, and a little worried about lots of different things.

High: Peanut's laughs during our family movie night--The Sandlot

Low: Peanut's screams when things didn't go the way he wanted.

High: Take out from our favorite Thai restaurant, which we feel like we were able to safely transfer to our plates without contamination.

Low: The fact that we have to worry about contamination in our food, and the fact that even though we didn't cook dinner, there are still dirty dishes in the that didn't get washed up.

High: A long zoom call with a friend.

Low: I realized this morning that I didn't feel like my social life has been that affected by this whole shelter at home situation because I don't have many social things I go to for me. I get to hang out with the other moms at our park day each week, but that's about it. Apparently I just haven't prioritized friend time since moving to CA and I no longer have a book club, running partner, knitting group, or any of the other things I used to do. Something to work on once we're allowed to gather again.

This whole sheltering thing is weird. We're isolated, and yet, when I go out and do see people, it makes me nervous and uncomfortable. We're lonely, but never actually get to be alone because everyone is home all the time (well, the kids are--Daddy-o still goes to work every day, so that hasn't changed.) We're getting lots of family time, which is awesome and mostly been enjoyable. But we don't seem to have all the extra time that people keep posting about on social media, so it's not like we're doing anything amazing. Honestly, other than sports, nothing was actually cancelled, so we still have lessons and homework and piano practice. And I've tried to make up for the lack of sports with long hikes and daily walks, so we're still gone for a couple hours most days.

 We're only 2 weeks into this, with over a month before school and other life will possibly resume. Bean informed me that according to someone who's lived through this in China, weeks 3 and 4 are when depression sets in, so we'll have to be on the lookout for that.

I'll just end with a few pictures from our hike. Nature therapy is real. I'm going to keep doing it until they order us inside, and then I'll hang out in my backyard.

Fall Hikes

The boys and I set out for a day at Mt. Diablo in search of wildlife for Bug's merit badge. I'd been wanting to get back up there for a long time, and thought the change of scenery might help us find some new animals or birds than the ones we'd already identified more locally.

I probably could have saved a lot of time and hassle on that front--we only found 3 or 4 new ones to add to the list, and spent over 2 hours in the car, with a chunk on windy roads that left Peanut carsick and miserable for the first hour we were there. Not the best.

But he did perk up and had fun climbing around the rocks in Rock City, a new part of the state park that we hadn't explored before.

It's not all smooth sailing, for sure, but when they are getting along, these two boys are so cute together. I love that even with the big age gap, they are at ages where they can have a lot of fun together right now.

The wind caves in the rock are so cool.

We were running out of time, but the boys really wanted to climb Sentinel Rock,

 so they hurried over and made it to the top by the time I got to the base.

This kid challenged himself several times on this hike, pushing physically a little more than he thought he could. It was awesome to watch.

And we got a chance to use our field guides--on scat and birds.

We didn't find a ton of new things, but it's always fun searching. 

Rock City was a huge hit and we will be back for more exploring with the rest of the family.

A few days later, Bean and I got out for a sunset hike at Del Valle. We didn't have long before the sun was going to be gone, so we didn't hike very far, but it was absolutely beautiful!

I've been really loving the focus on doing something one-on-one with each member of my family every month. Once a month doesn't sound like a lot, but it's made us plan a little better and be more intentional with some of our choices, like fitting in this hike on a busy Saturday when it would have been easy to just skip it and stay home. 

So glad I didn't miss the sunset, or the time with Bean.