Instead of feeling guilty for yet one more day for not staying on top of this blog once school and seminary (teaching for me) started, I'm going to recap the last three months hiatus and not turn back....good bye guilt! But before I move on to the Fall, I need to remember that my oldest child finished Middle School and is now a full-blown High-Schooler! Here he is at this graduation from Henley Middle School. This was his locker and when I would pick him up early for cello or other things, I could peak down the hallway from the entrance and see if he'd made it back in time to load up his stuff. It was always a race against the busses because if we got caught behind them, the whole afternoon schedule was thrown off. I also want to remember that Caleb was very pleasant with me when I would pick him up which was a contrast to a few mothers would would get shunned from their sons. I was always grateful for that!
Less than two weeks after school started, soccer came on in full force! This season we have Caleb and Liam both playing travel, and Gavin and Jonah are playing challenge (the league between recreation and travel). Gavin was also invited to play with an advanced group not yet eligible for travel because of their age. What all this translated into was 8 practices a week and 4 games on Saturdays. Thankfully, we had great carpools and friends who could help out when it was logistically impossible for either Jared or I to be at their games which happened more often than we planned due to some traveling of Jared or both of us. I don't remember the win-loss record of any of the teams except Liam's who didn't lose a single travel game!
Going for a header....not sure who got it!
Halloween came and we picked the perfect day to hunt for pumpkins at Chiles Peach Orchard in Crozet. Gavin took his hunting seriously and was the last to make a final decision!
He's so stinking cute! And he dressed like this nearly every day! Who would have thought those boots from West Yellowstone would have been this loved!
Gavin still hunting:
Jonah's pick:
Finally, he found the perfect green pumpkin!
The carving began a few nights later and per tradition, I roasted the seeds which made it into their lunch boxes for an entire week!
Caleb's fine work:
Liam's:
Gavin's:
Jonah's:
Costumes this year included: Jared as himself in high school, Gavin as Napoleon Dynamite, Jonah as Star Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy, Liam as a last minute basketball player and Caleb as a teenager (meaning he didn't dress up)! They loaded up first at the ward trunk-or-treat, then again a few days later in our neighborhood (sans Caleb who was at a party with church friends). Pounds of candy were collected and I'm pretty sure by now all but a few pieces are gone.
Fall came and that meant leaf blowing. After 4 rounds of the entire yard over the course of a month, we've finally got most of them cleaned up. Gavin was my best helper! Fall also meant the first concert for orchestra. This year Caleb was the principle cellist, Liam was playing 1st violin and seated middle of the large pack, and Gavin was 4th chair in the cello section. When they played that first piece, I really couldn't believe that these kids could pull something off on such a high level after less than 10 rehearsals! Their conductor, Don Brubaker, is amazing and the credit is really his as he brings all these kids together to produce something that sounds as if it's been months in the making!
Alex came to tune the Steinway and I loved that the boys noticed the minute they started practicing as he altered the sound a bit to make it slightly more muted. I hadn't told them he'd been there, so when they started their practice, they immediately yelled out that the piano sounded different and wondered what had happened. We are hoping to get my grandma's upright Steinway out in the Spring and for Alex to work his magic on that one as well. Don't ask me where we'll put it as we are busting at the seams already in this room.
A few days before Thanksgiving, mom and dad Hill came into town and we headed to Smith Mountain lake for the break. It was chilly, but we all went out on the kayaks and spent time in the hot tub to warm up. There was also a great deal of board games being played, air hockey, pool, football watching in the background, and just being together. We loved being out of our own house and even though we relied on Marie Calendar, Rhodes, and Honey-Baked Hams for the staples of our Thanksgiving meal, I really think I'd do it again. There was just so much more together time as I didn't feel the pressure to keep things clean and in order because there were very few messes made in the meal prep and of course the house itself was spotless when we arrived. I even crochet'd a new winter scarf in those three days! Win-win in my book!
There was also a little bit of "screen time"
And fishing time, which yielded nothing but a few nibbles the entire three days we were there. Grandpa even got the boys all set up with new poles and tackle before we left and to no avail!
A photo taken by Caleb before we head out on a morning glide in the kayaks.
A break from the epically long (like 6 hours) game of RISK.
Jared and Gavin heading out to explore:
These two took off and were gone for over an hour, when most other jaunts lasted 30 minutes at most. When they made it back we of course asked for details, only to find out that they pulled off the reservoir to built a fort for what they thought was about 15 minutes! Boys!!!
Jonah had been patiently waiting for his turn and when Gavin and Caleb made it back, he was ready to go! This was the first time Jonah had ever been on a kayak in his entire life and he was beyond excited!
RISK continued well into the night and Grandpa came off victor. Not bad for a first-timer!
Before we bid farewell to Smith Mountain Lake we needed a photo or two or three or however many it took for Jared to feel satisfied. Take your pick :)
We needed one more shot of all of us on the deck which was tricky because Jared had to run up the hill after he started the self timer for these last shots. He tried several times before beating the buzzer which made it all the more difficult to keep ourself in photo position as we were laughing so hard.
Almost made it:
Made it:
On the way home from the Smith Mountain Lake house we stopped off for the Christmas Tree.
Grandma took on the lighting of the tree which was fantastic because it's what I don't like doing. She actually took on the whole decorating of the tree and at then end of it all I felt it was perfect. I've never liked the way my tree looked as much as I did this year!!
She took a little time out to play heart and soul with Caleb!
Because I was cooking our real Thanksgiving dinner and had already turned the tree decorating over to mom, I gave Jonah free reign on the mantle and he too did a great job! He loves decorating and I love that he still gets so excited about bringing in the holiday (whatever the holiday is) cheer.
Caleb took it upon himself to get the lights up on the front of the house for the first time since we've lived in this house. I think we need grandparents to come out more often at this time of the year to motivate and help move things along!
Jonah used his "stay at home" Valentine's coupon to spend a day by himself with G&G. They went shopping for his Christmas present, which could have been anti-climactic, but for Jonah it just added to the excitement. They also went to Bodo's for the second of what would turn out to be three trips to the bagel shop and two of those trips were in one day! Grandpa loves him some Bodo's.
It was now time for the final performances and activities of the year. Gavin was stellar on drums for his 5th grade performance: RATS. I'm never looking for much in terms of the overall performance of the kids and honestly some of the ones they've done over the years have been pretty pathetic. But not RATS. It was fantastic. The story was presented clearly and the kids all were stellar in their performances! Before the break, Gavin was selected to be part of Honors Choir, which he's excited about. This kid loves to sing...mostly pop songs, but his interests are expanding and his voice is pitch perfect.
The last hooray for the elementary boys was the Kid's Market where they sold cinnamon rolls for the the 6th year. Once again they sold out and had a great time pleasing all the repeat customers!
Jonah loves his girl Ruby and was found sharing his "silkey" with her.
Caleb prepping for his first high school Jazz band performance. He doesn't like Jared taking photos when he's in a group of friends, so it's tricky to get the kid to smile, but he looks so grown up in a full tuxedo!
The performance was amazing. These kids show up in zero hour (meaning 8am) before school starts to rehearse. Caleb is the only freshman drummer and is easily the second best drummer next to one graduating senior. Can't wait to see what happens in the coming years!
At the end of last year Liam switched from percussion to trumpet and has fallen in love with yet another very loud instrument. He already practices violin with a mute most days and now he's bellowing out horn trills, although admittedly, he doesn't practice much on the trumpet. So when he came up for the first of his three solo's this concert, I laughed out loud in sheer surprise and awe! I couldn't believe how amazing he sounded!
I think that sums up everything up until Christmas Break. It's been a great Fall. I have loved teaching early morning seminary with Caleb in the class and haven't even minded getting up early most mornings. Jared and I have found a great rhythm in our mourning routine and we couldn't pull all of this off without each other. There are days and weeks that are more stressful than others and times where I wonder where we went wrong in our parenting (surly teenage behavior has ratcheted up these last three months and we're feeling our way around this new territory), but overall life had been great in 2014. Christmas will get it's own post, so for now, I'm caught up enough to satisfy that nagging guilt!
