We have had two weeks of Jr. Indian football now and Alison has yet to cheer a full game, The first week we had a long delay in the game due to a pretty bad thunderstorm that came rolling through. The kids had to wait for the lightning to pass. We all ran to our cars to wait it out, and after 30 minutes, the girls were told that they didn't need to hang around until the game started back up. The football team eventually played the game but they had to wait around for around two hours before they started back up.
Then last week, Alison was fighting a cold. Sarah was sick at school on Friday and over the weekend, so I think that Alison caught a touch of what Sarah had. Ali made it until halftime, but then we ended up leaving because she wasn't feeling well. When we got home she laid down for a nap and rested the remainder of the day while Kris and I ran errands.
Hopefully this week we'll be able to make it the entire game.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Back To School
Summer is officially over today. The girls went back to school this morning. Only two more years of this for Sarah. And just like the previous 11 years (at least for Sarah, it's only been 7 years for Alison) I took the girls' pictures in front of the house before they left.
Ali is going to be walking with one of her friends who lives one block over from us. She walked over to our house this morning, though I think they'll be switching on a regular basis.
So Ali started middle school and apparently she had a really good day. She found her way around to all her classes, and she has friends in every class. So that works out pretty good. And she really likes changing classes. But it's early. I hope she still feels the same way in October.
At the moment, Sarah isn't home yet, she's at still at cheer practice so I'll find out how her day went when she gets home. If I remember, I'll report on her day too.
In the mean time, this is Ali and her friend Emma:
And just like every other year, Sarah and Brittany:
Ali is going to be walking with one of her friends who lives one block over from us. She walked over to our house this morning, though I think they'll be switching on a regular basis.
So Ali started middle school and apparently she had a really good day. She found her way around to all her classes, and she has friends in every class. So that works out pretty good. And she really likes changing classes. But it's early. I hope she still feels the same way in October.
At the moment, Sarah isn't home yet, she's at still at cheer practice so I'll find out how her day went when she gets home. If I remember, I'll report on her day too.
In the mean time, this is Ali and her friend Emma:
And just like every other year, Sarah and Brittany:
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Not So Smart Smartphone
Last month when we got Alison her phone, I decided it was time for me to finally upgrade my phone. So I got myself a smartphone, a Motorola Atrix to be exact. It isn't bad, though it is taking a little time to get used to it. and typing things on the touch screen has been an experience. One of the main reasons I wanted one was so that I could finally stop hauling around my dayplanner with me to work, and I could keep all my work appointments in the phone.
The problem that I discovered was that it didn't sync with the calendar on my computer (I use Thundebird/Lightning rather than Outlook). I was able to find myself an app/program that would allow me to use my current calendar and contacts without having to upload everything to Google first, which is what I wanted. However, it was only a three week trial. Which was fine, I figured if I liked it I would just buy it.
Well it turns out that the program is $30. I am not about to pay $30 just to sync my calendar with my phone. Does that make me stingy? Well I uninstalled everything and tried to just go back to the old calendar program that came with the phone, but it turns out that it messed everything up. It made double entries on some things, changed the color coding, mixed up the dates of thins themselves, and just pretty much made things unusable. It took me half a day to go through and delete everything by hand, and now I will need to redo it all by hand, unless I can find something else that will sync my computer and phone calendar and address book. This smart phone isn't very smart right now.
The problem that I discovered was that it didn't sync with the calendar on my computer (I use Thundebird/Lightning rather than Outlook). I was able to find myself an app/program that would allow me to use my current calendar and contacts without having to upload everything to Google first, which is what I wanted. However, it was only a three week trial. Which was fine, I figured if I liked it I would just buy it.
Well it turns out that the program is $30. I am not about to pay $30 just to sync my calendar with my phone. Does that make me stingy? Well I uninstalled everything and tried to just go back to the old calendar program that came with the phone, but it turns out that it messed everything up. It made double entries on some things, changed the color coding, mixed up the dates of thins themselves, and just pretty much made things unusable. It took me half a day to go through and delete everything by hand, and now I will need to redo it all by hand, unless I can find something else that will sync my computer and phone calendar and address book. This smart phone isn't very smart right now.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Lacking A Green Thumb
After the drought we had last year, my lawn was in some serious need of repair and some TLC. I spead some topsoil and seeded it on the spring, kept ti watered, and about a couple of weeks I had new grass growing, which was good. Then about the middle of July we had a dry spell where temps got up into the 90's. I thought with how good the grass was doing it would just go dormant and as soon as we got a little rain and it cooled back down it would come back. I was wrong.
My backyard is now full of brown patches, and not just the dormant kind, it's full on dead. Just from a week or two of little water. so now I have spread a little more seed and I have started watering it again on a daily basis, but after a week and a half so far, nothing. I am hoping that I get something growing before the end of the year, but if not, I may just go with some sod in the spring to patch it.
My backyard is now full of brown patches, and not just the dormant kind, it's full on dead. Just from a week or two of little water. so now I have spread a little more seed and I have started watering it again on a daily basis, but after a week and a half so far, nothing. I am hoping that I get something growing before the end of the year, but if not, I may just go with some sod in the spring to patch it.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Driving Practice
I spent about a half an hour today in a parking lot with Sarah letting her get the feel of driving my car. My thought being that when she gets her learner's permit, it'll be February and it is better for her to get the hang of driving when it is warm and dry than when there is snow and ice on the roads. I thin she has it easy too, because I had to learn on a manual transmission. After today, I shudder to think about what it would be like if she had to work a clutch.
I had her practice just driving in circles, up and down the rows. It was very jerky at first. They taught her in drivers ed to keep both hands on the wheel at all times, so she was trying to keep both hands on the wheel as she turned, which is pretty much impossible. So we had to go over how to go hand over hand and then back as the wheel turns.
By the end our lesson, she was getting better at it. The next thing that we have to work on is keeping it in her own lane when she makes turns. But I think that after a few more times in a deserted parking lot and she has the feel of the gas pedal and how to brake properly she'll have no problem turning into her own lane. I am going to try and give her some practice every couple of days so that by the time she gets her temps she'll know what she is doing.
I had her practice just driving in circles, up and down the rows. It was very jerky at first. They taught her in drivers ed to keep both hands on the wheel at all times, so she was trying to keep both hands on the wheel as she turned, which is pretty much impossible. So we had to go over how to go hand over hand and then back as the wheel turns.
By the end our lesson, she was getting better at it. The next thing that we have to work on is keeping it in her own lane when she makes turns. But I think that after a few more times in a deserted parking lot and she has the feel of the gas pedal and how to brake properly she'll have no problem turning into her own lane. I am going to try and give her some practice every couple of days so that by the time she gets her temps she'll know what she is doing.
Maxwell Street Days
This past weekend was the last one that everyone was free before the start of the school year. Sarah originally thought that she had to dogsit for a friend, so we didn't make any plans, but then we come to find out that Sarah misunderstood and she only needed to watch their dog next Saturday. So that left us with all day and nothing to do. So we decided to head on down to Lake Geneva and check out Maxwell Street Days.
We had never been to Lake Geneva before so Kris and I thought it would be good to drive down and see what it was like there on a weekend. We couldn't have asked for better weather, which meant that all the Illinois humps were up there for the day. It was quite crowded and there wasn't a lot of parking in the downtown area. We had to drive around for a bit, but I finally found a parking spot, though I still needed to pay a meter. I was really hoping to find a free parking lot, but that would have meant walking at least a half a mile back to the shops and the lake.
It was pretty much what we expected, except of course for all the rude, Illinois people. We walked around looking at all the little shops, and the girls each bought a bracelet, but that was about it. And when we got back to the car this was parked next to us.
This was the first Delorean I have ever seen up close. I don't know how anyone could drive one of them, because you are practically lying down inside of it. All in all it was a relaxing day, though not quite how I would have wanted to spend our last free weekend of summer.
We had never been to Lake Geneva before so Kris and I thought it would be good to drive down and see what it was like there on a weekend. We couldn't have asked for better weather, which meant that all the Illinois humps were up there for the day. It was quite crowded and there wasn't a lot of parking in the downtown area. We had to drive around for a bit, but I finally found a parking spot, though I still needed to pay a meter. I was really hoping to find a free parking lot, but that would have meant walking at least a half a mile back to the shops and the lake.
It was pretty much what we expected, except of course for all the rude, Illinois people. We walked around looking at all the little shops, and the girls each bought a bracelet, but that was about it. And when we got back to the car this was parked next to us.
This was the first Delorean I have ever seen up close. I don't know how anyone could drive one of them, because you are practically lying down inside of it. All in all it was a relaxing day, though not quite how I would have wanted to spend our last free weekend of summer.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
End Of Summer Vacation
Well it is almost the end of summer vacation. I know because we just spent an hour at the junior high yesterday standing in line, turning in forms, getting school photos taken, and trying out locker combinations. So since vacation is almost over I figure it is about time to get caught up and start updating my blog again. As Kris pointed out to me last week, I missed all the stuff I usually report on over the summer, the most important being the girls' birthdays. But also in the mix was girl scout camp, the 4th of July parade, the start of cheer practice, and a few other things.
The summer was a hectic one, and with all the things going on with having the bathroom redone, we spent every single day for a month cleaning the house. The dust and dirt generated was unbelievable. But that is finally done so I am trying to get caught up on some other things around the house, most notably finishing up the details with the bathroom, like finishing some paint touch ups. I also have to fix some holes in the walls of the hall where I had to rip out the baseboards and replace them. I also have some yardwork to take care of that has been neglected. And I have a ton of TV to get caught up on. Hopefully things will start to settle down once school starts up again.
The summer was a hectic one, and with all the things going on with having the bathroom redone, we spent every single day for a month cleaning the house. The dust and dirt generated was unbelievable. But that is finally done so I am trying to get caught up on some other things around the house, most notably finishing up the details with the bathroom, like finishing some paint touch ups. I also have to fix some holes in the walls of the hall where I had to rip out the baseboards and replace them. I also have some yardwork to take care of that has been neglected. And I have a ton of TV to get caught up on. Hopefully things will start to settle down once school starts up again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)