Picking grapes

Last weekend we went camping, near a friend who owns a small vineyard. The last varietal of grapes had yet to be harvested so he invited the kids to harvest a bunch.

We pressed the grapes ourselves into grape juice - wow, nothing at all like the grape juice in the store. Very sweet, and much more like apple cider than juice.

Halloween Party

Today for the girl's Girl Scout Meeting they went in costume and had a party. The girl is in the back row in pig tails. She went as a nerd, both the candy kind and the type like her Dad ;). She has asked me to make her a nerd costume since last Halloween. Now, crafty things is not my forte. Those projects I leave up to hubby. So, for her actual Halloween costume she will be a box of nerds candy. Hubby and I are still in the process of making it. For this party, she dressed up as a nerd with pig tails and glasses. I also bought a Halloween bag of small nerd candies. I emptied them out, with a lot of help from the kids. I then glued them onto a t-shirt I bought. The girl added leggings and saddle shoes and a double nerd costume was created. I was happy to hear all of the girls and the parents that dropped them off go "Ah, I get it your a nerd and a nerds candy". Who knew parenthood would involve actual work!

Are You Ready For Some Football...

This Sunday the boy was the quarterback for the first half of his football game. His team is the Chiefs. He really enjoyed playing QB.

Here he is throwing a pass that was pretty impressive. The coach on the opposite team congratulated him after the throw. I really like how positive all of the coaches are in this league. The boy's coaches made sure every kid played in the game and had opportunities to run for touch downs. Except for the boy, as he was QB.

The second half of the game the boy played defense. His team won 7 to nothing. It was a good game, as the teams were fairly evenly matched. Since it was in the 90's that day and the kids all had an ice cream bar after the game, it didn't officially feel like fall.

Nostalgia

Hubby took the girl out camping on Saturday, so it was me and the boy. We spent some quality time at a local arcade where the games are only a nickel (or several nickels) to play. They have an air hockey table, so of course I challenged the boy to a game...or three. He won the first, I won the second and he squeaked by me and won by one point in last game. I loved playing air hockey as a kid. I am glad it is still around and hasn't gone the way of jukeboxes. Hubby and I had explain to the kids what a jukebox is. The boy also happens to be wearing a shirt he knows nothing about. Obviously, I bought it for him. He asked me what KoolAid is one day. I told him about KoolAid and Hawaiian Punch. I even went so far to demonstrate the Hawaiin Punch commercial. The kids just looked at me funny. Maybe one day I will go crazy and tell them about Atari!

Friday Night at the Races

Last night the girl went to her first race team event. She was nervous about the race during the week and before her first event. We are so proud of her, even though she was nervous she overcame her fear and got up on the block for her first race. She was allowed to pick two events to race in. She chose the 50yd freestyle heat and the 75yd breast stroke heat. Once she made it through the first race, she smiled, relaxed and enjoyed herself. Her brother was at the edge of the pool cheering the loudest for her during her races. I really like the swim team she is on. The philosophy of the program is to do your personal best.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. The kids didn't have a full day, so we decided to do something after school.

I caught a picture of the boy on the fly. He and his friends don't sit still very long.

The girl and some of her friends. They are much easier to photograph.

My kids and a close friend ended their first day of school in the pool at my Aunt's house. Thank you Auntie!

And So It Begins

The boy received this letter in the mail today. It is from his second grade teacher, letting him know that he is in her class and what they will be working on for the year.

The boy has the same second grade teacher his sister had. We knew she was going to be his teacher, as she told us at the end of the school year that she requested him. He is looking forward to her class. I can't believe the kids are in second and fourth grade...how did that happen?

The girl also got the teacher she wanted.

They start school on Monday. It seems like summer flew by. They were only out for 9 weeks.