Last Full Week of Summer

Hola!

I still can't quite believe tomorrow is September.  While we haven't gone anywhere spectacular these last 2 weeks, they seem to have flown by.

Our computer has been giving us fits, and it's the one with all my photos and Photoshop on it!  All the photos are backed up twice, now, so we won't lose those.  But the computer itself needs completely re-starting, from the VERY beginning, and programs installed all over again.

(That explanation was so I can tell you THAT's the reason I'm not posting tons of photos.  Maybe I can find an Internet stock photo or five...)

Anyway, highlights of the last couple of weeks:

KARA starts SOCCER again.  Yes, the chaotic-calendar of shuttling kids to sports and other activities has begun.  She's playing on a bigger field this year, and has 11 girls on the field.

TERESA starts VOLLEYBALL again.  She's been at it for a week, while they were forming teams.  Last year they had 2 teams: JV and Varsity.  This year they have enough girls for 3 teams.  She was the only Sophomore to be moved up to Varsity.  We thought that was pretty cool!  Way to go, Teresa!

DAVID finishes his INTERNSHIP.  For the month of August, David has been shadowing an Architectural Engineer, to see exactly what they do every day.  He also spent one morning in Boston, getting shown around a different architecture firm, to see some of their projects.

(When I offered to ride downtown with him, he insisted that he would be fine.  We found it on Mapquest.  He took the GPS.  Overprotective Mom says "I have my cell!  If you get lost, pull into a gas station and call, and I'll look up where you are online!"  So now, he has also driven himself to downtown Boston, where he then successfully found a place to park, took care of business, returned and lived to tell about it.)

FRANK TRAVELS.  It is the end of Hewlett-Packard's fiscal year.  Frank has shuffled yet again in his responsibilities, so now he supports new groups.  It's like he has just started a brand new job, but still within the company.  So with all of those combinations, he has traveled 3 places in the past 3 weeks, and next week will make 4 weeks in a row of traveling.  California, New Jersey, Houston, and next week California again.

He actually likes traveling, and I don't mind him going, either.  I'd like to go WITH him, mind you, but you know, our kids still live with us!  So anyway, it has been a lot of fast-paced learning for him, transitioning to new responsibilities.  Again.

He came home with a bad cold and cough this time.  Bummer, and hopefully it will go away soon.

Now -- you can choose "Alas, Sniffle..." or "Hip-hip Hooray!" for the following: SCHOOL will start this coming Tuesday for our district.  This sentence elicits mixed emotions, I think, all the way around.

ME?  I've been holding down the fort and reminding people to WRITE DOWN their events: times, places, etc.  Then we can all get where we need to go.  If it's not on the calendar, it won't happen.  That's my mantra.

I'll be tutoring ELL (interchangeable acronym with ESL: they are English Language Learners) students again this year, 2 days a week at the same elementary schools where I have been tutoring for the past 3 years.  I probably start next week.

Hope your week has been energizing (??!? or insert your own adjective??!)

Happy Friday!  Kari

Girls' Camp!!!!!

Hola!

We just finished a week of YW (Young Women) Camp in New Hampshire!  (Whew!  There are volumes to be written, from that simple sentence starting my paragraph.  I'll just give you highlights.)

This was Kara's 1st year, and Teresa's 4th year.  Since both of them went this year, I decided to go too, as a volunteer leader.  The girls are grouped by age level, and I figured it would be an even better experience for them if I was not specifically "in charge" of their groups.  (Independence, and getting to know other leaders and friends, you know.)

So I was in charge of a group of girls in their 2nd year.  What a nice bunch of girls.  I think all of them had a good time.  How did I like it?  ...well I did not expect to be on vacation, and I wasn't!  Ha.  It's a beautiful area and it was NOT stifling hot.  That was my biggest concern, actually.  Would it be in the 90's and disgustingly humid the whole week?  And second-worst: would it rain the whole week?

The answer to both questions is a resounding NO!  We had a nice mix of weather.  Lots of sun and some rain, and the worst rainstorms were while we were sleeping.  Even better.  One day was pretty sticky, where you could feel that soupy air going into your lungs as you breathe...but that was only one day.

The girls got to do all the camp-y stuff like canoeing and kayaking, archery, crafts, and the rifle range.  There is even a cafeteria and an exceptional cook staff for them, so they got yummy food the whole week.  It's also a church camp, so they read and memorized scriptures, listened to inspirational speakers, and hopefully strengthened friendships and their testimonies of Jesus Christ.

Here are some photos.

ARCHERY.  Kara in action...

RIFLE RANGE.  Teresa aims for the mark...

KARA's SKIT.  Where she's doing her hair, and putting on sunscreen with someone ELSE's hands actually putting it on her face...

TERESA the ROCK STAR.  Where she's in the skit as a backup singer.  She's playing air guitar, and yes, he's actually wearing leather pants.  Want some?  Try army surplus.

KAYAKS.  Kara at 6 a.m.!  She got into the Polar Club by getting up to swim early.

LEADERS.  These are my awesome cabin roommates.  I'm sitting in the middle, smiling so big because I'm walking that fine line of sanity and ...not sanity.  There was a lot of energetic yelling at camp.  It was a loud week.

Now...we are home!  I slept in my own bed last night.  For a long time.

I also ate dinner withOUT 100 girls shouting out chants or cheers.  Nor did anyone pound out complicated rhythms on the table in unison, with their cups.  (Did you ever see "STOMP?"  That's what they did.  During dinner.)

Better be off.  Have a great week!  :)

Kari

"The Cape"

Hello!

Summer is zipping by and I can't seem to slow it down.  We have had some beautiful days in New England, and very little rain.  Pros and cons to that, of course, but I can't complain about sunshine, that's for sure.

We also got to spend last week "at the Cape," as people from Massachusetts say.  "I'm going to the Cape," or "spending time at the Cape."  Not "Cape Cod."  If you said that, people might look at you funny.

Our friends bought a house "at the Cape" last spring, planning to spend most of their summers there.  But I knew they would NOT be there, maybe 2 or 3 weeks of the summer, so I asked if during one of those weeks, they'd consider renting it to us.  They did!

We tried to mix it up some, and do something different every day.  Evenings, of course, were mostly spent watching the Olympics--gymnastics is always a highlight, and the USA team did not disappoint--:)  Swimming was also pretty intense, and beach volleyball.

One day we went out on a boat with our other friends who live "at the Cape" during summer months.  Catching crabs and other critters in the tide pools rarely gets boring.

Another day we rented bikes and rode the "Cape Cod Rail Trail."  We took a slightly wrong turn and ended up riding about 23 miles, getting back!  But it was a beautiful day.  We stopped at a pond for a swim to cool off.

Another day was go-karts and bumper boats.  And mini-golf.  You could squirt with your bumper boats, and we saw people quite literally coming out of there drenched...like they had jumped into the pool, fully clothed.  So we called a Family Truce, not wanting to be THAT wet!  We bumped each other, but did not drench each other.  (OK well, Teresa and Frank did exchange some squirts.  But they were far from "drenched.")

Another day was Whale Watching!  I think we all liked this one.  We had a lucky day, where during the 2 hours we were out, we actually saw 8-10 humpback whales, feeding, and about 12 minke whales.

The humpbacks have some really interesting behavior patterns while feeding, where they swim in a spiral to corral the fish into the center of the spiral.

They create a "bubble-net," then scoop up the fish in their mouths.  BUNCHES of seagulls fly around them, in hopes of getting a fish that the whale misses!  Then the whales swim with their heads out of the water, getting the excess water out of their mouths. (see header photo, above.)  That was really cool.

Anyway we tried to mix up the activities to keep everybody interested.  There was a glass museum in there too, where we watched the lady make a pumpkin and a swan.  Here's a photo of a diorama, depicting the kiln in a factory where 4 glassblowers are using the same big kiln at the same time.

AND.  Did you know that in 1620 the Pilgrims landed on Cape Cod first, and stayed for 5 weeks before deciding to keep going on to  Plymouth?  It was news to me.

OK, and here's your "Clever Sign for the Day."  At the go-cart track, there was a big giraffe with a sign on his neck.  (I guess he'd been climbed on in the past, a little worse for the wear.)  So here is everybody (Kara, on Frank's shoulders, is holding the sign), and here is a close-up of his sign.  It made us chuckle.

Bedtime for me.  Have a great weekend!  Kari

July is half what?

I stand here and shake my head, as July 15th comes to a close.  The 15th means that July is half OVER!  How did this happen?

TIGHT SCHEDULE.  We seem to have scheduled our summer a little tighter than I had thought.  The day after we returned from our week in Virginia, Kim came, and we "vacationed" here at home for the next week, doing fun Boston things.

YOUTH CONFERENCE.  2 days after Kim, Duane, and Dallas left :( , we took David and Teresa to youth conference and then that evening, hosted different youth here (8 teenage boys) for the conference nights and breakfast the next morning.  (They were such nice kids!  Polite.  I heard so many "thank you" 's throughout our time together.  Really neat people.)  What a great conference, by the way.  I am amazed at the number of adult hours it takes to pull off a two-stake youth conference.  There were 220 kids there, between the ages of 14 and 18.  We helped with various meals, and hosted for night accommodations and breakfast.  It was a mix of activities, including fun things, and also alternating with inspirational speakers and scripture study, and lesson prep where the youth could teach gospel principles to people wondering about our church's beliefs.   As a parent, I am SO grateful for those willing to put something like this together.  It was a fun,  uplifting time for David and Teresa.

SCOUT TRIP.  So that conference ended yesterday.  Tomorrow Frank and David will set off on a "High Adventure" week!  They'll camp in the Adirondack mountains of New York, with 10 total in the group.  8 teenagers, 2 adult leaders.  Who knew there was so much equipment to pull together for a group campout!  They'll gather at 8 tomorrow morning, and drive to New York.  This week they will hike a mountain peak, canoe multiple rivers and lakes, explore caves, and rock climb.

COMPUTERS.  A recent inconvenience (annoying) in our home office: the computer where I work on all the photos is refusing to connect to the Internet.  So I can't transfer photos to the blog like I usually do, in just a few easy steps!  Ugh.  So, I'm just writing this time, from the laptop.  Maybe Frank can clean up the other computer a little, or we can figure out another way to get it going again...when he gets back from this campout!  (Or maybe he'll have time in September.  Like I said, we scheduled our summer a little tighter than I had thought.)

SUMMERTIME.  Oh, I got a great reminder from the "Hands Free Mama" blog I'm following, to be "hands-free" this summer.  Do something "summery" every day.  Take a walk.  Swing.  Read.  Plant something.  Put a blanket down and eat lunch outside.  Our summer is ticking away.  Find ways to consciously enjoy it!

Have a great week!  Love, Kari

4th of July in Boston

Hola!

The last 2 weeks have been full of activity, but I'll save our Virginia excursion until I have some focus time...we returned from Virginia, and our Arizona relatives (my sister Kim, Duane, and Dallas) flew in the next day, to visit!  So I haven't spent a lot of time viewing photos.  Next week, I'm sure!

Yesterday was the 4th of July...Happy Independence Day everyone!

This was the first time we have been in town, not traveling, on the 4th of July here in Massachusetts.  Each 4th of July, Boston puts on a big, huge, beautiful, amazing show for the 4th.  People do things downtown all day, of course, but in the evening there is a concert in the Park by the Charles River, by the Boston Pops Orchestra.  They have 32 sound towers up and down the river, so even if you're not sitting where you can see the orchestra, you can hear them quite well. (here is an Internet photo from the site I linked, above)

So the orchestra plays (along with some singers and other bands intermittently) for about 2 hours, and it's televised, too, before the fireworks display.

They say that 500,000 people come to listen and watch the fireworks.  Another 7 million people view it on television.

We took the "T" (the train) downtown, and found a spot along the street by the river, to watch.

COOL MOON SHOT.  Frank noticed the moon as we walked.  Isn't this great, the moon between the city buildings of Boston's skyline:

Hot temps and humidity, and ultimately lightning and thunderstorms threatened to delay the show.  But it happened just about on time anyway!  The minute the fireworks started, the raindrops came down.  It rained for about 5 minutes really hard, then stopped.

Here is part of the show...

Here we are, wet, packing up...

More fireworks!

The photos, of course, can't do it justice.  We really liked the show.  Happy Independence Day America!  :)  Kari

Tribute to Two Exceptional Women

Hello--

Frank has two aunts who have had declining health.  One of them has struggled for years (his mother's sister Celene), and one of them for months (his father's sister Mary Lou).  In a little bit of a strange coincidence, they passed away on the same day last week.

Both of these women have been such a positive influence in his life.

Mary Lou (former college professor) loved to camp and study birds.  She came to our house in Colorado years ago, with her customized van, all set up for her to camp across the country and look for birds.  Frank and I explored the inside of the van and thought, "now, THIS is camping!"  Mary Lou belonged to the "700 Club" of birdwatchers, meaning that she had seen and identified and logged 700 different species of birds in her travels.  Here is a picture of Mary Lou (with her brothers, including David, Frank's dad) maybe 12 or so years ago.

Bill, David, Sam, Mary Lou

holding Frank at 2 mos old

Celene, also known as "Aunt Mommy" to Frank and his sisters, was always a big part of their lives growing up.  She was there for all the big events, and small ones too.

Here she is with baby Frank in the 60's:

Aunt Mommy sent birthday cards to everybody WAY into their adult lives.  She liked to receive photos of our kids each year, and see how they were growing.

Here is Aunt Mommy and Frank, at the house in Fairfax Station around his high school graduation time:

And here she is with her sister Diane (Frank's mom) and brother Bob, maybe 10 years ago.

I just found another one.  This one is a picture of her at our wedding reception with Pam and Mandy (2yrs), and the twins Carter and Weston, her grandkids. (Mandy just graduated college.  Carter and Weston are both married now, I'm pretty sure.)

A fun little trip down memory lane.  I'm sorry that I don't have more photos of Mary Lou.

We leave Saturday to get together with Frank's parents, and Dana and her family in Virginia for a week.  Celene's funeral is Sunday, so we'll go there first.

It's sunny and in the high 90's today!  The kids just took their last final at the high school, and it was Kara's last day (yearbook-signing) at the middle school.  Kind of exciting to have end-of-school-year events going on.

Have a good weekend.  Kari

Happy Father's Day!

Hola!

Another glorious weekend--the sun shines, the flowers bloom.  We got to wish the Father in our house a Happy Father's Day today!

Kara provides the signage for all festive events.  This time David made one too, on the whiteboard.

The requested favorite meal...southern style!  Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, fruit salad and biscuits.  And of course we can't forget chocolate pie for dessert.

Kara made Frank a funny little placque: a painted rock with eyeballs for each of us, glued to a painted plaque.  The gold label at the bottom says: "The Whitesell Family Rocks" -- ha-ha!  I'll take a picture of that one.  It's very cool.

We have cool dads to thank and be grateful for.  My hubby would not be who he is without his dad, so that makes me eternally thankful to him!  Here they are back in the 1970's.

Frank & his dad David

And, of course, I'm thinking of my own Dad this day!  If I could call him, I would tell him all about the end-of-year school activities the kids are doing.  Music concerts, piano recitals, graduation parties of the outgoing seniors.

David and Teresa study for their finals at the high school, which will be this week, Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday.  Then they are out for the summer.  Pretty weird.

very handsome at 20

We had a high school awards assembly this week, too, and both David & Teresa received awards.  They both received the Principal's award for perfect attendance and good citizenship.  David also got an award for Physics, Spanish, and a Service award for his hours of participation in S.A.D.D.  That is the school & community group that focuses on teen substance abuse and awareness.

(I love this picture of my parents! 22 years ago.)

So here are two photos of my dad, who I cannot call on the telephone but I think about him all the time anyway.

And here's a (cranberry juice) toast to my husband Frank, who is a really cool dad to our really cool kids.  May I follow your example and say "yes" more often than I say "no."  And may I join in the playing instead of usually trying to stifle it because it's too loud or the wrong time.  Thanks for reminding me to smile and relish life a little more.

Frank loves to play :)

Happy Father's Day.  You're the best.

Kari