fall festivities

oh how i love this time of year.
cooler weather means more cuddling, bonfires, yummy flavored coffees,
sweaters, easier running weather, and cute long pjs for the boys.

this year, it also means a camping trip for the scoutmaster.

last night he joined all of explorer's 3rd graders {just 2 classes}
and camped overnight in julian. many volunteers were needed and
when i learned that his bestie's dad was going and that scout wanted
to sleep in their tent, i decided to stay behind this trip and enjoy another
field trip after the new year. i still do one a year with each of the boys.

here he is yesterday morning packing everything in the car:

 
 



while little brother was off hiking and eating smores with his friends,
big brother wanted to watch a 'scary' movie.  he knows better to ask to
see a gory movies, but when we showed him the trailer to the six sense,
a movie we would allow, he was interested.

we explained it was a little creepy, but mostly it was interesting with a twist and
wouldn't give him nightmares. he loved it and had no idea the child psychologist was
dead {who did the first time they saw it!}.  c and i loved watching it again too.
it had been years.

as finn rushed off to brush his teeth after the movie, c and i sat there for a minute and
said how wonderful it was to watch a movie like this with finn. two years ago, we wouldn't
have been able to, but now, at 11 1/2, he's mature enough to handle it. 

a wise friend told me once that she think backs to the years her children were younger,
but she never lives in that place long because if she were to live there, she'll miss the now.
she told me every phase of our children's growth is beautiful and every phase goes too fast. 
if we aren't living in the moment, and seeing them now, we will miss something.

i took that to heart and as a mother, i try to relish every day of my boys' childhood.
the teenage years are still ahead and there may be days ahead when that is harder to do,
i'm not there yet. for now, i just savor them....their beauty, their energy and passion for
learning and all their goodness.

i'm looking forward to having my little home tonight and then trick or treating tomorrow.
we have spencer's family joining us for dinner and then trick or treating.
the kids can hardly wait.  first things first, soccer game and surf club in the morning.
{all before noon}. 

despite having purchased very cool alien costumes for the boys and myself a few months ago,
scout insisted on going as german soccer player, thomas muller. 
to appease him momma, he did agree to put it on and take a photo with us,
but i can forget about him wearing it.

he is obsessed with muller and ALL things german.
he has the german flag as his screensaver on this computer,
he has asked us to download software so he can learn german,
wants to visit germany {and see a soccer game while there}, and
i have no doubt he will want to live in the muller uniform
after halloween. c and i will likely let him for a while too. *smile*

here he is with his bestie who is just as obsessed with soccer
{but barcelona's messi is his player of choice}

muller and messi

dawn patrol

for the last few weeks, minus the weekend the boys were in minnesota
for a family wedding, i've been dropping finn off early at the beach to
meet up with his surf team while c plays tennis.

'dawn patrol' is surf lingo and refers to getting up extremely early, often before
sunrise {dawn} to catch some waves.  this is the ideal time to surf because the
wind isn't up yet and crowds are thin.

finn on dawn patrol this morning.

finn oliver, age 11

getting up at dawn isn't easy but look what he was rewarded with...
a beautiful sunrise!

as c and i were discussing handing finn's foamboard down to scout
tonight and getting him something new now that he's in middle school,
i couldn't stop thinking about how cool it is that he's part of a school
surf club!

though i grew up in florida, a peninsula surrounded by water,
i lived inland. *sniff* surf teams didn't exist in my middle or high school. 
there were surfers, but they had to surf on their own on the weekends.
what an amazing opportunity for our boys to be so close to the ocean and
to be on a surf club during their school years.

i must share that yesterday, finn was surfing with the director of his middle
school. basically that's the principal of his school {HTH uses a different word}.
mr. e is a 40-something father of two teenage sons, an avid surfer and he
lives right here in pacific beach.  when the surf  coach can't make it to practice
{like yesterday}, the director fills in.  how COOL is this! 

finn thinks so too. 

ping pong play

about a year ago, we purchased a giant slab of oak that we had custom
cut for our kitchen/banquet table. almost immediately after, it's a friend
gave the boys a net, paddles and balls, and it's been used FAR more
for play than a place to eat our meals.

sure we will use it when we have friends over for dinner, if i have a girl's
night, or if the family is playing a board game, but ping pong is what it's used for most.
it's almost become a daily thing and we play whenever the mood strikes us,
or whenever we grow tired of scout's pleas for us to play with him...
rather for him to beat us.

despite my having grown up with a ping pong table, my skills are lacking.
i am improving and i can rally pretty well, but c is the reigning champ in the
house and scout master is close behind. scout is determined to beat him.
finn and i like to play for 'fun' whereas the other two like to play to win.

about a month ago, my company held their 3rd annual ping pong tournament.
it was started a few years back by one of our young engineers, and has become an
event that both our employees and our clients look forward to every year.

since c and i were both at the event this year {c was playing and i was taking photos},
we brought finn and scout along. while finn enjoyed dang brother's wood-fired pizzas
baked in a cool vintage yellow firetruck, scout was more interested in the ping pong tournament.
he watched intently, and when a table wasn't being used, he got out there and played with his dad.

some of our engineers saw him play and the leader of the group invited him to play in
next year's tournament which made his entire night.  though he still can't reach the net,
he is convinced he'll grow a lot over the next year and be ready for this all adult tourney.
he said "i probably won't win, but i'll beat some of the adults. 
i have no doubt of this.

friends, if you visit our home, be prepared to play a game or two of ping pong. *wink*




 
 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

little lantz: arriving in december

i've been meaning to post forever that charlotte,
one of my dearest girlfriends is expecting a baby boy in december!!
when she shared the happy news, i literally couldn't stop smiling for hours.
{it was early and was glad she gave the ok to share with mr. gerber}

charlotte and I met years ago when we worked at the same architectural firm.
we go way back....pre-kids and before she was even married.  with the exception
of c, she was the first person i told when i got pregnant with finn.

i had always hoped she and her hubby would become parents someday,
and now the day is almost here.  they will be awesome!
the boys are i are so looking forward to loving on their little guy.

here she is with her cute belly and cool airstream in the background.



paddle for clean water: 2015

one of my favorite events of the year took place a few sundays ago
surfrider's paddle for clean water event.  as always, it was a wonderful!

unfortunately, scoutie didn't join us this year because he had a soccer game.
we gave him the choice of what he wanted to participate in, and he chose soccer.
{no surprise}. we dropped him off at his bestie's home early that morning
so he could catch a ride and the big boys and i headed to ocean beach.

it was a perfect day....maybe the best weather i've seen in the 15 years i've
been doing the paddle.

the clouds burned away so the sun was shining and the waves were glassy
{which means there smooth and there was little wind}.
the boys grabbed their boards and did some surfing while i walked around the
event tents and chatted with friends who do the paddle every year too.

oh  and i almost forgot the most important thing,
the water was so warm this year {~75 degrees}!  no one needed a wetsuit.
this is a treat for us southern california folks.

~ because finn is so light and his board is very buoyant,
he passed c and i both up during the paddle. he was a sweetie and
waited for mom and dad at the very end of the pier. 
from here, we all paddled into shore together,
with c catching a wave in and finn and i riding on our bellies.

looking forward to next year's paddle already.
{i love this tradition we've created as a family}
i just hope my little gerber can join us next year.
oh how we missed him!

jay and lauren

my dear and old {but not that old} high school friend
jay tied the knot with a really sweet girl lauren this summer.
i met her last year and well, i haven't seen jay happier.
wishing these newlyweds love, health, happiness!

inspirational sunday

after seeing the martian a few weekends with the family and two
of his best buddies, finn declared it was his new favorite movie,
and that it was even better than interstellar, his previous favorite movie.

personally i disagree.

i enjoyed the martian movie and the book even more,
but as a woman and mother, i appreciated the love element throughout interstellar...
that a parent's love for their child can transcend space and time.

the martian is strictly about a person's fight for survival and is a testament
to being resourceful...that if you have these two things, you will survive anything.
i didn't connect with watney on an personal level when I saw this movie.
viewers don't learn much about him at all in the book or the movie.
that's ok for some but interstellar is my pick. 

regardless, both movies are worth watching.
 
finn must have been feeling inspired after the martian movie,
and possibly feeling a little frustrated because he couldn't go on his
computer last sunday {we all 'unplugged' for the day}.
i found him sitting at the kitchen counter designing a rocket.

he must have sat there almost 3 hours....doing more thinking than drawing.
he seemed to be enjoying the process.  i couldn't resist snapping two photos on my phone.
finn was quick to tell me he wasn't done designing and that he was going to label every
part of the rocket.

inspiration can be found in so many things: people, religion, hobbies,
nature, books, etc. as far back as i can remember, finn's biggest inspirations right now
come from designing and problem solving...whether's it's robots, submarines, planes,
and now rockets and space related vehicles.

i've said it since he was 5 years old, it's not a stretch at all to picture our firstborn working
as an engineer someday, just like his uncle todd. {after working with engineers for 12 years,
no complaints by me...engineers hold a special place in my heart}. architects too.

i told c if finn could be a grown up tomorrow, i think he would be thrilled and would
hope to find himself working at JPL or NASA. he's be as happy as a lark.

while he dreams of being big, i dream of having a 'pause' button so i can just sit
and watch him a little bit longer....to enjoy the 11 year old boy who inspires me every day.

scout's soccer season: riptide 2015

our weekends are spent at various soccer fields in and around san diego county.
with scout playing competitive soccer, it's part of the 'life'.  i'll admit, it was much
more time than i was anticipating but scout has learned more than he ever learned
playing 3 years of rec soccer. 

the only reason i agreed to his trying out for competitive was HE wanted.
we never mentioned it or pushed it. he saw signs posted in our community and
his buddy played competitive {and is the bset soccer player he knows that isn't
a professional} so we let him.

he's learned about 10 fancy soccer moves, all named after professionals players.
his favorites being the cruyff and the maradona.  he wishes he
could do the scissor kick and practices often, but he isn't close to perfecting that
one anytime soon. *grin*.

we have a grandpa of one of the players who comes to almost every game and
takes photos. he loves doing it and us parents get to sit and actually watch the
entire games without being behind a lens. it's wonderful. 

here's our little riptide player, scout benjamin (#7) in action:

 
 



 
 
 
 
 

 

 

~ fortunately, getting scout to his soccer practices hasn't been to hard.
his team practices at a grassy field right across the street from the HTH campus

where both he and finn go to school. while scout practices, finn does his homework,
and c runs conference calls.

over the past few weeks, c's gotten a break as I've asked him to just drop scout off
and I'd pick him up.  i go directly from work and run a few miles while scout practices.
to get my booty moving, I signed up for the surfer's point half marathon in november.

it's been over 2 years since i've ran 13 miles so i'm a bit nervous.  my hope is this 
40 something body holds up to it.