Trick or Treat

Sam is a Dementor from Harry Potter, in case you were wondering.

Boo at the Zoo

Frankly, "Boo at the Zoo" was fairly disappointing. Most of the "candy stations" were out of candy and deserted when we got there, so the kids dragged their Trick or Treat bags through the zoo and got one piece of candy. We had the kids eat dinner at the Food Court (we had chili simmering ont the stove for the grown-ups when we got back), and most of their food was old and/or cold. On the upside, the weather was pretty nice and I finally got to see the new polar bear exhibit (the rest of the family saw it in the spring during school field trips). And we spent the evening with good friends. But I think it will be the last time we go to "Boo at the Zoo."

Ben's on T.V.!

Report Cards

MOM!...Phineas and Ferb are Carving Pumpkins

Last night we carved pumpkins. The kids chose Phineas and Ferb as this year's theme - although since Sam wanted his pumpkin to be Perry (or Agent P), Maria decided she wanted her to be Candice, so we didn't actually have any Phineas and Ferb pumpkins. Ben did the drawing and the carving of Sam's, and Maria carved her own using Ben's drawing as a guide. I cleaned the guts out of Sam's pumpkin for him and dealt with all of the clean-up. Sam is pretty grossed out by all things pumpkin - can't even stand the smell - so we pretty much did all of the work on his, but he was thrilled with the results.

Last night was just the first step in an all Halloween weekend. Tonight the Wilson kids are spending the night -we're going to a costume party at Color Me Mine to paint pottery too. Tomorrow night we are headed to Boo at the Zoo with the Smiths, and then Sunday night is Trick or Treat. And the kids have their school parties today. I think they will be tired of wearing their costumes by the time Halloween is actually here!

Another Miami Homecoming

Yesterday was unique for us because we didn't march with the Alumni Band (due to Sam's last soccer game at 8:45), but made it to Oxford in time for lunch and most of the football game. The game was bad (we were getting killed by OU), so shortly after halftime we went to the tailgate area where we all hung out - the kids could play, the adults could talk, and the weather was perfect for being outside. Maria and Sam loved taking care of Elliott Owsley (he's three and so cute!), and got to play with other Miami friends as well. At 5:00, we headed to the Alumni Band reception and had dinner, and watched old videos of our days in the marching band. We were in the car on the way home by 8:00, and got home at 10:00. It was a long day, but a great time.

Family Update

I know I haven't blogged in almost two weeks. I honestly don't know where the time goes. Here's a quick update on what's going on here since I haven't had time to complete any longer posts.

Sam finishes up his soccer season tomorrow. I think his team is 2-2-3 going into tomorrow's game. He has scored several goals this season, and usually plays pretty well. But the season being over means we can sleep in on Saturdays - at least for a month until basketball season starts! Sam is also enjoying Cub Scouts this year - good friend Gage joining has helped a lot. Ben and Bryan (Gage's dad) take turns taking both boys to the meetings, so that helps out the grown-ups' sanity, and it's more fun for the boys to ride together in the car to and from the meetings. Sam is excelling at school, but still rebels during homework sometimes. He can have real trouble focusing here in the evenings, and subtraction facts have tried both my and his patience this week. But he aced his test today with a 98%! And in his spare time, its all about Pokemon. The Nintendo games, the cards, the videos on YouTube, and my favorite, reading the Pokemon handbook to me every night before he goes to bed. This Pokemon stuff is like a whole other world, and he knows a lot about it. Me, not so much.

Maria is busy, busy, busy. She has jazz dance on Monday evenings, XM (Extreme Motion - like a show choir) on Tuesday nights, and Gymnastics on Wednesday nights. Since school started she was elected to Student Council, and has usually a meeting a week. Then she joined middle school choir - 7:15 A.M. on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Then this week she started a Gifted and Talented program after school on Wednesdays - right now the focus is reading/writing using the Hunger Game series by Suzanne Collins. After Christmas it's math oriented with a stock market game. Next year we might have to consider all of this after school stuff coming up before we sign her up for so much dance before the school year starts. This year we didn't realize the additional opportunities now that she's in middle school. But she's handling it pretty well, and is doing awesome in school as well. Also, the 6th grade teachers have repeatedly told us how much they like Maria, for a variety of reasons, which is always nice to hear. With all of this activity, she is one very tired girl at bedtime each night.

Ben is suffering through the end of a very trying marching band season this year. Contests are over, but tonight he had to travel three hours (one way!) to a football game, after taking the band to the Circleville Pumpkin show all day yesterday. And now we're in 8th place in our division, meaning that barring any unforeseen circumstances, our football team will go to the play-offs on November 6. But losing that night will be a sure-thing, at least. Ben is also running between 25-30 miles a week, which helps keep him sane, I think, and he has several races coming up in November. And he is enjoying his new car.

I am the support system for all of these busy people. I am having a very enjoyable year at work - just really like my kids this year, and such a change after last year. Sometimes I wish I could freeze time - teaching is so much fun with good kids, and so awful with annoying kids. But after work, I am a typical Mom, taking kids here and there, cooking dinner, doing laundry, etc. The good thing is that each of the kids' activity is the same week to week, so we have a system that works pretty well - Ben does a lot of the running around, too. We still manage to all sit down together for dinner every night other than Tuesday. I also manage to exercise Sunday through Thursday (I give myself Friday and Saturday off). I run Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, my goal being 14 miles each week. On Tuesdays I go to a Zumba class, which is a lot of fun and uses some different muscles than running. I can do most of the steps by now, but not sure I look great doing them! And I still read every day, mainly to escape my crazy life!

Everyone who has grown kids tell us that we'll miss all this craziness when they grow up and move out, so we're trying to enjoy every minute. We're just thankful to have great kids who like being involved in different stuff, and who are pretty fun to be around, as well.

Maria the Triathlete

Yesterday Maria competed in the YMCA's kids triathlon. This was her second year of competition. Last year she took home 2nd place for girls in her age division, so she was looking to medal this year as well.

Unfortunately, she came in 4th place, and only 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places receive medals.

They start with a two mile bike race. Maria came in 2nd overall, and the first girl. And she won by a pretty good margin. So she felt really good going into the run.

Last year, Maria won the 1-mile run. She paced herself, while most of the other kids ran fast in the beginning and ended up having to walk during quite a bit of the race. This year, she has even more experience running as she completed her first 5K last month. So she set off at a good pace, and finished her first lap in 5 minutes (the race took two laps). But she was still in the middle of the pack - some of these kids looked like the were experienced athletes. And it was pretty hot out - 85 degrees in the hot afternoon sun. She went faster and did her 2nd half mile in 4 minutes - total 1-mile time was 9'07" - but still finished at least a minute behind the leaders.

So that left it up to the swim. Kids her age had to swim 400 meters - four laps end to end of the pool. And several of the girls her age have swam competitively before- you can tell by the somersault turn they do when they reach the end of the pool. Maria did well, but apparently not well enough to beat the top three girls in her age group. She was disappointed, but got over it quickly.

She still accomplished a lot - ran her best mile ever, and won for girls in the bike race. And to even attempt a triathlon is certainly admirable - we're very proud of her.

And I should mention that Sam scored the first goal in his soccer game yesterday - his team tied 3-3 yesterday.

Yeah...I Got A New Car

So my Honda Element was a great car.  It was durable, it was functional, it had character.  It did have shortcomings, however.  It was kind of sluggish.  The interior wasn't really functional with the cupholders hidden under the armrest and the lack of any storage bins whatsoever were annoying.  There was also the fact that the sunroof was in the back seat....which was great for the kids, but not so much for me.  It was an AWD vehicle too, but I really only used it a few times in its almost 8-year history.  It hauled a lot of stuff too, I must admit.  But now that the kids are a little older and my tastes a little more refined, I went on a quest for a car that truly fit me.

Now my history has been a little mixed.  My first car was a 1972 Ford Pinto that perhaps once went over 65mph with a tailwind.  Then came the original "Robo-Cop" and "MU Seekie" car, the 1987 Ford Taurus.  The transmission was a piece of crap and it barely survived my college years.  My 1993 Civic coupe was a fun little car, but it was, all in all, a $12,000 car.  Functional, but not really fun.  The Element came along in 2003 and suited me well (and some friends/students have told me "I can't imagine you driving something else!") but the time came to move on.

I started looking last year at Hondas again, but nothing really was a good fit.  The Accord was too expensive and also too big IMHO.  The Fit was way to small, and the Insight was cute, but I just couldn't see myself driving a hybrid.  The new CRZ looks amazing, but it was only a two-seater.  So after 17 years as a Honda driver, I started looking at other options.

My kids just LOVE looking for VW Bugs and playing "slugbug" and that's kind of what started me looking at the brand.  I knew a Bug was too cutesy for me so I dug a little further and found the GTI.  It's a hatchback. It's small, but not too small.  It's refined, but not too deluxe.  It's got four doors so the whole family can come along.  After doing some research I found that virtually NO ONE had a bad thing to say about this car.  From the crash safety people to Car And Driver to GQ...everyone liked this car.  I just can't understand why I didn't see more of them on the road.  Perhaps it's because two out of every three cars I see around Columbus are Hondas?  I see lots of Jettas and Golfs, but a very few GTI's...perhaps that's because it only suits certain people.  It was a fit for me the moment I sat in the car.

Anyways, after Maria's triathalon on Saturday, I went to MAG for a test drive and from the moment I sat in the front seat, I knew it was the car for me.  Carbon Steel Metallic paint.  Red trim.  Red and black plaid seats (an homage to the original), 200hp, and an electronics package that satisfies a tech-geek like me.

I've been driving it whenever I can, and even got the family groceries today...the trunk was *just* big enough.  Regardless, this is going to be my car for quite a long time, so I'm glad I did the work to make sure it is a perfect fit.  Wanna go for a ride sometime?