Hard work paying off!

Just a lot of wow for this weekend!  I will start with Anna and Olivier and they had their first field show competition in Simi Valley!  And despite all the wind and issues with the props they got 1st in their division!  We weren't there but got some photos from the group!  It is like a game of "I spy" - can you find them?

So proud of all their hard work!  They have put in a lot of hours of practice!

And Mason's travel volleyball had their first tournament of this season in Seal Beach.  They played six games against some really tough opponents!  The push and didn't give up when it got hard and although they wish they had won more, they did win and they proved they deserved their rank of finishing in the top 32 out of 140 teams!  It is a great start to the season!

So excited by seeing them do what they love and pushing for more!

Edit - adding a few more photos and videos that other parents got at the volleyball tournament.

Excellent Ride!

Anna had an excellent lesson today!  With all the school/band activities it has been hard to get a lesson in so she was thrilled that they were able to do one on a Sunday!   

Check out this ride!

And after her ride I was taking photos of her taking care of Pixie for one of her ag classes.  

And I just managed to get this silly one!  

Homecoming!

This week was homecoming and it wrapped up tonight with the homecoming dance!  Anna got ready at a friends house and the boys were home getting ready.  We took some photos outside and I think I found my new favorite photo spot in the yard.  

Olivier went with Sirena!  Very sweet!  

And I was bummed that I wouldn't get a photo of all three kids together but as I pulled into the parking lot, there was Anna arriving with her friends!  So I got my photo!

So full of love for all of these kids!  The way they care for each other makes my heart happy!

Band Banner!

On Friday, Anna sent us this photo of her banner in the football stadium!  Oh my!  How sweet it is to see her smiling face!  Such an exciting year!  

Regular Saturday!

This week Mason started practice with his travel volleyball team and is excited for the season!  Anna and Olivier had what they call "band week" with practice on Tuesday, playing at back to school on Wednesday and playing at Farmers Market on Thursday.  They got a bit of a break with no football game on Friday night and no practice on Saturday!  Which meant they both got to do their regular Saturday activities!  It is nice to have a bit more space in the schedule to do the things they love!  

Enjoying an easy Sunday before another busy week arrives!  

First Football Game and Parade of the Season!

Last night we attended the first home football game of the season and thankfully this year everyone is healthy!  

After playing the anthem and Tiger Rag they headed to their section of the stands.  Anna went by us!  Excited to see our Senior!

A bit into the second quarter I went over to get photos of them in the group.  Anna was in the perfect spot!  

Olivier was a little trickier to see but thankfully he isn't interested in hiding!  

And then there was a touch down!

Needless to say it is much harder to see Olivier when they are playing than Anna!  That mellophone really does make for a good hiding spot!

Once it got close to half time the band headed down to the field to get ready to play a couple of songs.  

It was fun to see our niece Audrey on the cheer team during their halftime show!  

And today it was an early morning (before the sunrise) wake up call to get back to school, load up and head to a local parade.  The parade was celebrating their 60th anniversary (diamond jubilee) and that inspired their band director to select this Neil Diamond song for them to play!  

Olivier is fairly easy to spot!

Now the tricky one - can you spot Anna?

We had a great time and love cheering on our kids doing what they love!  So proud!  

First full week of school brought the heat!

The second half of the week had a crazy heat wave and made it more exhausting as we work to get back into the routine.  Activity schedules are still getting sorted out but we are getting better at getting them rolling.  Thankfully the large fire near us is now very controlled and almost out.  We have been very fortunate the smoke hasn't impacted our area.

This is a nice photo from this morning.  Thankful for the fog this morning and hopefully a cooler day!