Kudos to Teresa :)

This post is to focus on our junior in high school, Teresa!  I'll say "BRAG ALERT," so you know that
it's all about her.

Teresa just celebrated her 16th birthday, and that's a pretty big deal.  We took a group of her friends to the Olive Garden for lunch.

Teresa has had a pretty good semester so far.   School is...school, of course, but her passion is volleyball!  If she could play volleyball every month of the year she would be a happy camper.

The official season, sadly, is over.  Sad for her, sad for her mom and dad.  It is so much fun to go to these games!  I really and truly look forward to them -- they are fun to watch.  Wayland is a pretty small town, but our coach has done a great job over the last 6 years, to create a good program for these girls.

"TK" and her dad

This was the first year the girls' volleyball team has qualified to go to the MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) Tournament at the end of the season!  So that was very exciting.  The girls played really well.  They only played one round, but they were seeded against the defending state champions.  They played really well.

Tonight was the Awards Night for fall sports, and we learned of some other honors the girls on the volleyball team achieved.

All-Star and Coach

At the MIAA tournament:
The team received the MIAA Good Sportsmanship Award.
They also received the MIAA Scholarship Award.  (They combine and average the GPAs of all of the team members.  Weighted GPA for the entire team was 3.84.)

Better still, it was an excellent night for Teresa, individually!

1) She received the Dual County League All-Star Award.

with this year's captains

2) She has now completed 2 seasons on the Varsity team, so she received a letter for her Letterman's Jacket.
3) Her coach also announced that Teresa will be captain for next year, her senior year. (Traditionally the volleyball varsity team has 2 captains. That will be the same next year.)

We are so proud of her.  Congratulations, Teresa!

Halloween in New England

Hello!

If you consider the location of our group of states, we are pretty far north in the United States.  Question of the Day: which states are included in New England?  (Go ahead, list all six from memory! And DON'T google it... I won't give you the answer until the end.)

DECENT WEATHER.  It is possible to get ANY type of weather here, on Halloween night.  Snow, sleet, wind, heavy rains, c-o-l-d temperatures. Last year it was Hurricane Sandy, and some towns officially postponed their trick-or-treating.  But this year...we lucked out!  Yep, it was relatively mild (temperatures in the 50's?) and only a little sprinkling of rain.

MINIONS. Kara and a few friends decided on being 'minions,' from the movie Despicable Me.  They found a Do-It-Yourself video on Youtube, to learn how to make these costumes.  They were really cute.  And Kara went down to the last detail, including gloves, goggles, and borrowing just the right boots.

I'm including pictures, of Kara and the whole group.

These girls wanted to be minions, and another part of the "group" wanted to be superheroes, and others were Patriot cheerleaders.

There were about 15 who went out together that night.  Yes, they are in the 8th grade.  I have decided that "Halloween" is not about the candy.  It's about having a reason to plan and create costumes, get together and socialize.  Any excuse for a party, right! :)

FANCY FINGERNAILS. Oh, and I can't forget Kara's nails.  Remember how I said you can learn how to do anything on Youtube?  Well, these "Minion Fingernails" were also taught in a video.  Very cute and funny!

(Yes, one might wonder: should someone, in fact, spend an hour doing their nails?  Well, I personally shouldn't. But I just can't bring myself to discourage her.  In a few short years Frank and I will be staring at each other on Halloween night saying, "Sure wish the kids were here, scrambling around for costume accessories and entertaining us!")

So we let our middle-schoolers and yes, even our high-schoolers dress up and trick-or-treat.  And if older kids come to our door, we also give them candy!

REFEREE. Teresa also went out with a friend--she was a referee (??!? yes, well, she actually IS a referee, so she already had the "costume.")  I didn't get a photo of them but she was wearing what you think a referee should be wearing.

RED SOX AT HOME.  I can't finish the post without a plug for the Red Sox winning the World Series! It was a big deal. The game ended at 11:30 p.m.  People stayed on the Fenway field until 3:00 a.m.  They had a parade Saturday.  It was a good boost for Boston.  Not that they haven't won the World Series something like 3 times in the last decade, but they did it at home this year.  With the Boston Marathon bombings last April, groups and individuals all over Boston have been doing lots of special things to show unity and support to the people who live here.

Here are the headlines after the win:

"Boston Strong" is a common slogan since the bombings last April.

So there you have it!  I better sign off.  Have a great week, and Happy November!

Love, Kari

P.S. QUIZ ANSWER: The 6 states of New England are: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island.  How'd you do?

Almost Halloween

Hello and Happy October!

October is one of my two favorite months here in New England.  It is also one of the "fullest," in terms of activity.

Our front yard trees held out for as long as possible.  Up until a couple of days ago, they were still green, even!  But then they decided to join the crowds of other trees in the neighborhood.  Our view from the kitchen window now is lots of yellows and oranges: on the trees themselves, and on our front lawn.

We are all decorated for Halloween this week.  Kara, by the way, is our "Decorating Queen."  Even now that she's in the 8th grade, the holidays are still a great excuse for her to decorate, dress up, or have a party.  If she wasn't here, we'd probably never decorate for a holiday. Ever.

Here are a few photos of our yard and house, that I took this afternoon.

Creepy big spider on the house next to the window--!

I'm also going to include a few favorite photos from other years.

The header photo (look up at the top of the blog!) is our mailbox today.

Tonight is trunk-or-treat with the little kids from church.  Of course Kara wants to dress up and hand out candy.  (Well, actually I think she wants to get her own candy.)

Teresa's volleyball team won enough games in the season to go to the tournament this Saturday!  Wayland has never gone to this tournament before.  Go Warriors! :)

Frank took the scouts on a campout last night.  It was supposed to be about 27 degrees last night.  Brrr!  It was not windy, so that was a good thing.  Just chilly.  Frank is awesome for planning these campouts.  The other parents are most likely just happy THEY don't have to do it! :)

We get to SKYPE David again tomorrow.  That is a highlight of my week!  He says he got a haircut.  I have cut his hair his whole life.  Now he has to actually make an appointment, and (gasp) PAY for it!

Better boogie.  Have a great week!

Leaves are Coming and Other Such Nonsense

Well my goal was to NOT wait as long to post on the blog...September and October are pretty packed for us, so the days run together just a little bit.

CRISP DAYS.  We have had some gorgeous fall weather!  Sunny, and highs in the low or mid 70's.  Then it will rain, of course, but then the sun is back!  We are enjoying these days before...

LEAF SEASON.  Yes, it's coming, like it or not.  Soon we will have leaves on our lawn.  LOTS of leaves.  Not joking.  LOTS.

SOCCER.  Between the 2 teams she is on, Kara had 4 games last week.

VOLLEYBALL.  Teresa had 3 games last week.  Just to educate you on volleyball terminology: there are 5 "sets" in a "game." The first 4 "sets" are to 25 points.  If they play a fifth "set," it's only to 15 points.  The varsity team plays until a team wins 3 out of 5 sets, and that team wins the game.

Here is Teresa playing last week:

BACK-TO-SCHOOL NIGHTS.  High school's was last week, so we got to listen to all of Teresa's teachers explain what to expect in their class this term.  This week we will go to the Middle School, for Kara's 8th grade teachers to tell us about THEIR classes :)

(Side note: usually in my life, I am more than ready to move on to the next stage, even before the one I'm in is over.  Impatience is my bane, opposite of boon...new vocab word for me tonight...example: I was very ready to be finished with the elementary school!  It was fine and all, but I had had 2 years of keeping up with 3 different schools, their emails, calendars, fund-raisers...ugh.  So, I was ready for Kara to move beyond elementary school.

BUT, the Middle School here is quite stellar.  The teachers, the field trips, the clubs, the philosophy, the music program...I really love it all.  I will be sad, at the end of this year, to be finished with the Middle School.)

SKYPING with DAVID.  Another highlight for my week!  We skype David on the weekends.  He has been practicing with the Ultimate Frisbee team, and this weekend they had a tournament in Logan, UT.  That's north of Provo a couple of hours. It's almost to the Idaho border, but still in Utah.
  The whole team stayed with one of the players' aunts.  She fed them a lot of lazagna, and allowed 20 college boys to crash on the floor of her basement.  It sounded like a fun weekend.  Well, for the team, at least...I don't know about for that aunt?!?! It was SO nice that she took care of them!

That's the scoop for this Sunday!  Hope your weekend was wonderful.

Kari

Fall Schedule and KaBOOM!

Hola!

"are you finished with the pictures, already?"

At the end of each August, I feel my blood pressure rise just a little.  Something inside gets nervous, and I'm not sure why...

At that point, summer may be winding down some, but it has been such a NICE season.  WE plan the activities, and fewer outside forces TELL us what the calendar events will be.

FALL BEGINS.  Now, I remember!  We are very decidedly back into the swing of fall.  School, soccer, volleyball, piano lessons, youth nights, seminary, church calendar.  Whew! :)

smallest soccer team member

SPORTS.  Teresa and Kara seem to like their teachers, and they definitely like the sports teams.  Teresa is on the varsity volleyball team at the high school, and they won their first 3 matches!  (Each time, they play until one team wins 3 of 5 games. That's a "match.")

Kara is on two soccer teams: the town team and the school team.  That means lots of games.

KaBOOM!  Here's a cool thing, we got to participate in.  There is an organization called KaBOOM! who builds playgrounds all over the nation.  They choose big cities, and research to find neighborhoods where there may not be any playgrounds, to help children stay healthy and happy by being able to PLAY.

green pieces of slide

So Waltham is just 2 towns over from us, and this time KaBOOM! joined with Brandeis University and Bentley University.  The New England Patriots, and United Health Care were also big sponsors.  Frank and I joined with other community or college student volunteers, to build this playground.  We had a Prep Day on Saturday. 

our missionaries helped too: center w/shovel

The big semi truck came with all of the supplies, which we inventoried and put into small groups, so on Build Day each group could puzzle-piece their section together.

On Build Day, it was this amazingly organized process.  Almost none of the volunteers had done this before.  But they put us into groups, and each group followed step-by-step instructions for their part of the playground.  Then all the pieces slowly came together.

our part: steps w/yellow railings

From a dirt field with holes, to a complete playground with planters, benches, a stage and a very cool play structure, in just 6 HOURS.  It was a really fun thing to be a part of.

here is the whole section of steps we "made"

VIDEO.  I came home today and got a link to this Playground Build video:


THE BEST PART: watch the video, and hit 'pause' at 1:02 minutes or 1:03 minutes.  I am in the lower left corner, back to the camera, sitting on the ground.  Trying to figure out the yellow railings for our part, the steps! Ha.

I have been too distracted lately to finish this post, but I really am going to send it.  Have a great week!

Kari

Labor Day and Back to School

Hola!

Well it's hard to know what day it is.  Labor Day weekend is behind us, and then school started Tuesday.  Wednesdays are always "short" days (students are dismissed 1 hour early on Wednesdays in this district), and tomorrow NO school, for Rosh Hashanah!  Here are a few of last week's highlights:

TRY to STRETCH IT.  We tried so hard, to make summer last just a l-i-t-t-l-e--b-i-t--l-o-n-g-e-r!!!  But alas, Labor Day came...and went.  We had dinner at a friend's house, and learned how to play Ticket to Ride.  And, I made deviled eggs!

WICKED.  The musical came to Boston, and Frank and I had our belated anniversary date.  What a clever and fun show!

KARA's HATS.  At girl's camp, there is always a service component.  They have a chance to write letters to missionaries, or contribute in some way to a local charity organization.  This year the girls learned to "loom-knit," and make newborn baby hats.  Kara liked making these so much, she continued when she got back from camp!  These are the ones she has made so far.

6 FLAGS.  We can't finish a summer without a trip to Six Flags!  Well, actually, we have before.  But this time, we "had" to go, since Kara had a trip coming, that we already paid for 4 months ago.  Her music group was going to perform and go to 6 Flags last May, and the weather was very rainy so they gave them vouchers to use by Labor Day.

So I took Kara and Amanda, one of her friends from school, to the amusement park and water park.  You may think that "perfect weather" means sunshine and warm temperatures.  But in the case of an amusement park, the definition of "perfect weather" changes dramatically.  What you really want, at Six Flags, is short lines.  What keeps the crowds away?  Clouds and rain, of course!  So when we woke up and it was overcast... chance of thunderstorms... we went anyway.  This time, we took a chance and won :)  Short lines and cool temperatures...it was just about perfect.  The girls met their goal of riding each of the 12 roller coasters, multiple times in many cases.  It was a good day.

GAS HEAT.  Last thing, I'll highlight our "final" home project.  We switched over from oil heat to gas.  Once again, it turned into more of an ordeal than we thought.  But the end result is a more efficient heater, will be a good one.  Maybe I can put in photos of before and after.

Well, just the "before" now...We're still working on making it a better room!  But BEFORE, it was this monstrous oil tank and an elephant of a furnace.  From 1950, when the house was built.  Really, it's the original...

"They don't make them like that anymore," is a common statement from people who come to do work on the house.

Time to take Teresa to volleyball!  Have a great weekend :)

Kari