Self Directed Learner!

Today Mason got an award at school!  The award was for being a self directed learner which all the teachers said is very helpful!  We are very proud of his hard work!  

Jiu Jitsu Stripe Day!

Today Olivier got his 4th stripe on his jiu jitsu white belt! We are very proud of all that he has learned and his continued efforts!  And his cousin Eli got a stripe on his grey belt!  Well done!

Time for treats!

We hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!  We enjoyed ours!

Happy Halloween from Spawn, Witch, and Harry Potter!

And Clark Kent and Hermine!  

Pumpkins beware!

Today the kids got their pumpkins ready for Halloween.  Last week was very warm (90's!!) but today was much cooler (high 60's) so we are hopeful that they will hold up until Thursday!

The kids are getting more creative with their designs!  (Anna, Olivier and Mason)

We have battery operated lights for them that change colors which makes them look really cool!  

Here is a better view!  

Catalina!

Anna just returned from an amazing school trip!  The 6th grade science camp was a three day visit to Catalina!  They left 3 a.m. on Wednesday, made it to Long Beach and got on the ferry at 9 a.m.  They got to snorkel, hike, learn about the environment, and just have fun!  After three days they made their way home and were all very tired!  Thankfully the weekend is here and they will have a chance to catch up on some sleep.  

Unfortunatly Anna's waterproof disposable camera got dropped so a lot of the photos didn't turn out but you get an idea from some of the photos that partially worked.  

Here is a view of the mountain.

And where their cabins were.

The beach!

 I bet you recognize this kid!

And a couple from the school!  One with a squid on her face! 

And one from one of the teachers cameras!  

She had a wonderful time! 

School Pictures!

Can you believe these kiddos have grown again this year?!!  School photos always make me stop and realize how much they have grown and how fast it has gone!

  

Horse show weekend!

This weekend Anna competed in a horse show, this time stepping up into cross rails!  There were two events each day and they weren't super early in the morning but did end up taking most of the day.  We would arrive around 9 a.m. and the temperature would be 44 degrees and by the time we left it was 89 degrees on Saturday and 83 degrees on Sunday.  

Here is event number one!  

And here is the video of Round 1:

And then it was off for Round 2!  

And here is a video of Round 2:

They had this cute backdrop but it just wasn't quite big enough.  Or maybe it was just that we aren't as talented in our animal photo taking skills as others!  

We waited around for a looooonnnng time (more than 2 hours!) and found out that Anna got 5th place in both events!  Yippee!!  The first group had 18 entries and the second group had 15!  Wow!

 And today was Day 2!  I didn't take many photos of her first ride.  Not sure why!   

 And here is a video of the first run:

She got 4th place for her first run!  Yippee!  And that was out of 18!  (Although we don't find out the scores until well after she competes.)  And then she had her second run.  She did amazing! 

 And this was just before she added a bit of flare.

 You have to watch the video to find out what that flare is!

Thankfully she is okay and had fun and got back on with a smile on her face!