Sniper in the Trees

Airsoft sensation swept our home this year.  It started to creep in a little last year, then well....it grew.

First big event was Lance's birthday party at our house, thankfully our neighbors are not easily moved by a bunch of teenagers running around in camo, shooting each other with guns.

Lance graciously made sure all his brothers had the gear they needed to play, with each other or friends that came over.

Having a bunch of teenage boys over can be useful too; as this time I had them move the playset for me, while the girls played inside.

Then over the summer things took another uptick when the games moved to a friends wooded property.

The final match-up was today for Daniel's party.  Combining both day and evening competitions.  I find all all the different game scenarios the boys come up with very interesting, there's a lot of strategy and cooperation required; capture the flag, Terrorist vs. Police, and many more.  Love seeing boys be boys!

Refreshing Change

We took a much needed vacation with friends this week and it was all we hoped for and more.

Friday started out rather dreary and wet, we weren't sure how the day was going to turn out but we packed in the Beast and headed out to Grandfather Mountain.  Along the way the kids sang their favorite Veggie Tale Sing-a-longs and we listened to the audio book dramatization of "Teddy Buttons", by which time we were in Boone, NC.  As we continued on, we were thrilled to see the road was not nearly as curvy as we thought it might be and arrived at Grandfather Mountain in time to buy me a sweatshirt (mine was left at the house and it was cold) and join our group for the field trip.

What was unique about this trip, is that it was all planned out for us.  We decided to just go with the flow and often didn't really know what to expect; Grandfather Mountain fell into that category.

Half the group started with a class on Rocks & Minerals, the other half started by taking a tour of the animal habitats.  The rain made us a bit wet and the animals a bit elusive, except for the elk, eagles and otters.  They loved the weather and put on quite an entertaining show.  The rain stopped for the switch and the second group got to see the bears, cougars, elks and eagles on the move but not the otters.  One thing I found particularly interesting was that they were releasing elk back into the forest to help eat the invasive species, and cougars to keep their numbers in check.  Both groups also found the Rock & Mineral class very interesting.  I was in with the younger kids but the older ones said it was more entertaining and informative than they expected.  It probably helped that both instructors clearly had a joy for the material they taught and for sharing it with children.  After the tours were over we were free to enjoy the rest of the mountain by ourselves.

First stop was the restroom where I realized hand dryers make great clothes dryers as a dried my sweatshirt and Amber's coat.  Then we were ready to conquer the Mile High Swinging bridge!

Some kids were hesitant to cross but all made it over eventually.  The wind and fog made it exceptionally more intimidating I think, though we were a little disappointed to find out the bridge was only 80ft. off the ground at a mile high in altitude, not a mile high off the ground.  

After exploring the visitors center for a bit we went back out, the visibility was very little, then all of a sudden this strong wind came and blew all the clouds away.  The sky was clear, like God had just wiped the sky clean, now we could see really far away.  The older kids decided to go back down the mountain via the trail.  We adults, plus one, drove down to meet them and got to watch some black tail deer walk around.  Everyone made it down the mountain safely and we headed to meet the rest of the group at the arranged place for dinner.  

Dinner was a bit of disaster from a food standpoint but I must compliment the kids that no one lost it, despite waiting 90 min for their food to be delivered cold.

Everyone in the group stayed at the same hotel, which made for a fun evening of cards "Moose in the Hoose" and swimming for the kids (Lance was our official/unofficial lifeguard).

The hotel had a free full breakfast in the morning that everyone wandered down to enjoy and then we headed out to tour the Linville Caverns.

Once again we broke into two groups, due to our size this time.  The caves had beautiful limestone deposits down a narrow trail over an underground river.  The highlight for me was seeing a bat come in and fly by everyone, their numbers have dwindled dramatically in recent years due to a fungus.  Hopefully one returning this early was a sign of their come back.  Boys liked being in the "total darkness" and the story, with evidence, of how AWOL soldiers had tried to hide there and were found because the smoke worked through the crevices right up to the surface.  For us all it was truly a wonderful site to see.

After this tour we split from the big group to go hike Linville Falls with the Collins, what a great choice that turned out to be.  I have never seen colors and sites so beautiful in all the years Chris and I hiked the Smokey Mountains.  

As we hiked closer and farther from the falls to outlooks at different angles, the sight was more magnificent.  

The hike itself was an agreeable work-out 1.6 miles over some moderate terrain.  It was heart warming to watch Amber and Chris hop and "par-cor" their way back down the trail.  

When we returned to (what was left of) the visitor center, we took another short hike back to the car.  There were lots of people there enjoying the fall colors and as it turned out we parked so far out, our car was a the end another trail.  On the trail we saw a small waterfall, smelt a weasel of some kind and skipped some rocks in the pool at the end.

After Linville Falls the Collins headed home and we headed to tour the Historic Carson House, just a few miles from our hotel.  Our timing was perfect, it was only us, and we ended up getting a two hour private tour from a descendant of one of the families that had lived in the house.  She had so many interesting stories about the history of this house built in 1799 and the people who have occupied it over the years, we were all spell-bound.  The treasures in the house were amazing and we were privileged that she let us touch so many of them.  The crowning moment of the day was getting a great family picture and being told how incredible our kids are by our tour guide.  I would love to go back and take some professional pictures of the house, its contents and record the stories she told to so and put them in a book to save them for posterity, maybe some day.

We asked our kind guide to recommend someplace to eat with gluten-free options, she suggested "Jalapenos" (which Siri called Ja-lop-en-os).  It was just what our stomachs ordered, huge plates full of home made goodness enjoyed by all.  Kids played in pool for a bit, Chris soaked me by accident (stinker) and to bed we went.

"Looking Amazing"

Our check-out wasn't until noon so we ate breakfast and got in one more hike, this time to "Tom's Creek Falls".  We were the first ones on the trail.   

The trail started out as gravel path to the base of the falls, then it became a rather rustic off-trail hike to the top, a change much enjoyed by my children, especially Lance.  Lance's excitement over all the different types of moss and other items he deemed as treasures was contagious.  

On the off road part of the hike we discovered a mystery, two man-made structures that appeared to have once held a large water wheel.  

The wheel location was a short distance from the falls so we began to hypothesis how the water used to flow and what kind of mill it might have been.  On our walk back, I chanced to ask an older couple walking their dogs, (I thought might be locals) if they knew the history of the mill and the gentleman told me it used to be a mica mill; mystery solved!  What fun!

We got back to the hotel in time to clean-up, put on comfy driving clothes and head out.  Next stop the Catawba Science Center, on the road home.  

Our Science Center passes from home allowed us to visit the Catawba center for free, Bonus!  For a small center it was packed full with interactive exhibits.  The kids (old and young) enjoyed all the physics based hands (and feet) on exhibits.  

The final stop was the stingray petting and feeding, it had been many years since we'd had a chance to play with stingrays (Jared was soaked up to his shoulders). We closed out the center and headed home.  Tired, yet refreshed by a marvelous time with friends, as a family and enjoying God's creation.

Buster Baseball

2018 was another tumultuous year in baseball for Lance.  He took the spring off from school baseball and focused on training at KZone.

Lance "squishing" his training buddy at Meredith College showcase event.

Over the summer, we tried out showcase travel ball with the Mustangs, the travel was hard on everyone, and we didn't see any advantage to Lance for participating.   Lance took the good he could out of it, he loved the boys he played with and had fun when he could.  One incident that stood out was when he was playing catcher and some of the parents were taking the game way too seriously and complaining.  The umpire asked him "Are they going to be like this all game?", Lance quickly responded "They're usually worse.", to which he received a belly laugh by the umpire, saving his team from having the umpire annoyed with them the rest of the game.

In the fall, we decided to form our own travel ball team "The Capital City Misfits".  The team had a heavy emphasis on training and development (no showcase), players were expected to work-out and do hitting practice at KZone 2-3 times a week, then we had team practice on Saturday and Scrimmage on Sunday.  We started a little late in the season forming the team, which added to the difficulty but life is about learning.
Today we finished the season with a great scrimmage against a much older/seasoned, yet gracious team, The Toros.  We were really thankful for the kids to have the opportunity to play them in such an informal developmental setting.

Most of the Misfits, will continue to work out over the winter at KZone.  Lance really enjoys the comradery and exposure to the pros at KZone.  Over the spring, Lance will play for a new 'school" team, New Life Storm, that Chris is helping coach.  Then we hope to set up the Misfits to play 2022 tournament travel ball over the summer. D.V.

Mighty Baseball

Titus took the Spring off from baseball to focus on Taekwondo and swimming.  Over the summer a buddy from TKD invited him to join his travel ball team, the Destroyers. 

It was a great group of kids and a nice introduction to travel ball, as they spent a month practicing and then only played in two tournaments.  In addition, to spending a great deal of time catching, he learned to pitch and was an awesome utility player all over the field.  This age is so much fun to watch, the games are active and fun; Chris added to the fun, enjoying light hearted banter with the umpires over Titus' attempt to frame pitches, to which the umpire laughed and gave Chris the thumbs up.

Over the fall we tried out Cary Rec Ball.  Titus was the star of the team, pulling off double plays and doing his own interpretation of Adrian Beltre, fingering a kid home with a big smile on his face when playing catcher.  Not sure what's next but we have the winter to talk it over.

July Odds and Ends

We started out the new school year with lots of creative activities.

First we went with friends to Yates Mill Pond to take a class on animal identification.  They did big and small activities ie. they made a mold and learned to identify tracks and they collected specimens from the pond they brought back the classroom to identify.  Educational and fun.

They also experimented in many ways at home; such as this egg experiment with daddy. 

Jared spent a week in July at a "Drama and Music Camp" with his friend Nathan.  The final day they put on a show called XXXXX a comical musical twist on biblical truths.

At the end of the month he played his first round of what I call "Archery Golf", known to the rest of the world as "Field Archery".  The targets were literally all over and we even had some science fun along the way.

Titus finished out the month with a week long Writing Camp at Peace.  I wasn't sure what he would think about it but it turned out he had a great time and wrote some very interesting pieces.  He finished out the week with a behind the scenes tour of the library and lunch at old diner in downtown Cary.

Music in the Air

A friend recently told me a story that happened a while back when she was taking Jared somewhere in the car.  They had on the local christian radio station, when Jared pipes up "We don't listen to this type of music, we only listen to the classical station."  I must admit that aside from select Christmas music I don't really listen to anything else.  Chris has made them acquainted with a few other artists but in the home or car classical is really all.

Therefore, it should be no surprise that we got season tickets to the symphony this year.  We got them with some friends, so it was a huge savings, which always improves the experience for me.

The first show in January, was rescheduled for the "Celtic Celebration" in March, specifically March 17th Lance's birthday.  As it worked out our friends were in the St. Patrick's Day parade downtown so they just hung out and met us at the symphony when it was done.  The music and dancing were superb.  This was the impetus for Amber starting Irish Dance classes a few months later when a six week trial became available.

The last show of the season was Igor Stravinsky's "Firebird" one of our favorite symphony's with the bonus of the incorporation of an amazing theatrical human size puppet dance with a narrator explaining the story.

Finally,  the most anticipated music event of the year, the children's piano recital. 

Amber started things out playing:  Yankee Doodle & Eternally Music by Nancy Faber.  She started out with her hand in the wrong position but still played it well, then her teacher kindly moved her hands and she played it in the traditional key well again.  Impressive recovery for one so young.

Titus then performed:  Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree By Brown and Tobias (Titus loves Jazz), followed by Beethoven's Ode to Joy

Jared played Sonatina in G by Beethoven beautifully, then moved over on the bench and Lance joined him in a duet of John Williams Cantina Band, a very peppy and quick moving tune.

Lance finished up the night with, according to the program "Theme by John Williams".  Miss Kathy wanted everyone to be surprised in the first few notes of.....Jaws!  You could hear the intake of breath around the room as everyone recognized the tune.  Chris joked about renting a shark costume and wandering through the crowd. To watch the whole thing (15 min) click this link.

The final act of the night was a young man singing "Sweet Caroline", a catchy tune we all sang on the way home.  What a wonderful night!  It is such a joy to see each of our children grow in their musical talents each year.

Fish Brain

Lance refused to swim on swim team (as usual) but he did find a way to utilize his swim talent;  he became a swim instructor.  At the end of May he was given the opportunity to work at Goldfish Swim School and he took it.  He works 6-8 hours during the school year. 
With his new independent income, he has pursued well.....all things fish.  Fishing Poles, fishing gear and tanks for fish.

On Independence Day he "saved" his first 8 fish form the store and brought them home to a long awaited fish tank he bought with his new found independence. 

Fish TV is great!

Dragons in the Water

Back in January, Titus started swimming at new indoor swim school called Goldfish.  It was located conveniently next to Amber's Ballet School so he was able to do swim lessons while she did ballet (very efficient use of our time).  

He quickly moved from just lessons to lessons and swim team.  At their quarterly time trials he did exceptionally well. Not to be left out Amber started lessons as well to prepare her for summer swim.

They both started summer swim team at our community pool in May.  The summer swim season goes from late may to late July.  It is a compact time with 6 Tuesday night tournaments (or more if you include rain reschedules).  Titus' time at Goldfish gave him a strong base to begin the season.  He was frequently the youngest competitor in his heats yet he managed quite a few wins.  Amber very much enjoyed swimming on the team and socializing with her young friends.  Jared was a big help this year shouldering some of the volunteer responsibilities running the concession stand.

Spreading Good Cheer!

The children had the privilege of spreading good cheer, by entertaining the residents of two different retirement homes this past week.

On Saturday, they played piano for residents at a assisted care facility in North Raleigh arranged by their piano teacher.  The ladies at the home were enamored with Ambers dancing and dress; as much as her playing.  Her brothers played beautifully and even played an encore, to fill the gap till other students arrived.

On Wednesday, we met a large group of homeschoolers to play, sing and do crafts with the residents of another facility.  There were about 30 kids performing: voice, piano, violin, and harp. 

After the official performances, the children passed out cookies and drink, then invited the residents to do a craft.  Jared and Titus were great ambassadors in this area.  The two ladies they worked with voiced their appreciation by wishing they could come back every week. 

To keep the festive spirit going, the "Rat Pack" continued to play and sing.

These two concerts were a wonderful way to share the spirit of the season for us all.

Click this link to listen to recordings of all the kids playing their Christmas piano tunes:
Music Folder