storm surge

At this moment, Hurricane Sandy is bearing down on the northern Atlantic coast. This is the one which has been touted as the "perfect storm." Ariel and Chris live right on the East River, so they were in the zone ordered to evacuate. Ariel told me they boarded a bus yesterday and they are staying at Chris's family in New Jersey. High tides and ocean surges are threatening low-lying areas around Manhattan. There's no transportation in the city; no airlines; no trains. So far I haven't heard of any power outages. Electioneering has taken a reprieve.

Cyndi has been making many apple crisps since Mom & Dad were here and has decorated the house for fall and Halloween. They boys are gearing up for Halloween. Rylee is a werewolf, and Jackson is a "phantom." We went to a party a couple of weekends ago, so the boys could preview their costumes. Cyndi went as a "hillbilly", and I went to the closet and tried to pick out whatever clothes seemed the most comical together and ended up looking like an eccentric Scottish duffer, so I took a golf club to the party to complete the look. The hostess's house was elaborately decorated for Halloween and there was great food. Lots of kids costumed. Not a bad party; not a great one. Pete & Dorie will have a pumpkin carving get-together Tuesday night and the kids will go trick or treating on Wednesday evening.

Rylee finished his baseball season. It was a good season for him, mostly due to the opportunity to play with the big kids and some really good coaching and regular practices. He didn't get to play many key positions often during the games, as the coach played the big boys a lot to complete an undefeated season but he did play second (or third or short) during the late innings of most games, moving in from left or center fields. Ry got many walks, having the shortest strike zone in the league, but in the last game he made contact with the ball at every at-bat. That was a great accomplishment, even though he got thrown out at first and didn't have a chance to run the bases, which he loves. He is very fast on the bases. He got a chance to play in some pretty serious games, with some real baseball, and see how the game is played at a higher level. The boys grew into a great cohesive team together. They included Ry wholeheartedly and he played with them as equals. He wasn't intimidated at all.

So here's something that struck me as humorous: Ry is younger than his teammates by three or four years. They are bigger and taller. A couple are serious pitchers; several can smash the ball with that resonant ping. But the coaches and the other parents in the bleachers really liked Ry. His fielding and throwing skills always surprised them. A couple of parents mentioned club ball, which is a huge commitment and a level of playing way above the little leagues around town. I've been curious but not especially motivated to start club ball. One parent, however, approached me during the last game to tell me about a ball club that was interested in Rylee joining them. Rylee was being recruited! He's in second grade.

This past weekend, Ry's last game and Jackson's soccer game were almost at the same time. I had to get Ry to warm ups, so I didn't get to watch Jackson's. He told me he got another goal, and no one scored when he was the goalie. I'm glad to see him love the game. He's very confident about his skills this year, loves practicing his footwork, and I think he must be playing at school, too. He seems to be especially good as a tackler on defense, and is really aggressive as a forward. He's the best goalie on the team this year. I don't know what to do in the future, however, as I think he will have to move into a more competitive league next year or, certainly, the one after. He does want to play baseball in the spring. I'm hoping he develops into a pitcher next spring, as I think that would be a good position for him and he had such a great success at it during his last game. But so far, he and Ry haven't been playing much catch as pitcher and catcher together, preferring to play soccer together right now.

It's great fun when they play together. They are often wrestling each other without it coming to tears. Ry often plays with Nico, our neighbor, often on scooters. Ry loves being outside. Jackson will sometimes join them, more so lately.

Jack's first love, however, is still the computer, and he's always telling me more about some software or something else that can let him do this, that or the other thing. I almost got a sense the other day that he may be on the verge of hacking as he was talking about networks and servers and codes. It's harder to follow what he is talking about. The great thing is that Jackson loves talking about it. Part of it is he wants to keep me apprised about what he is doing on the computer. He still asks me if it's okay to download anything new.

The school school year is getting better for him. I think it's a new crop of friends; some from his soccer team, too. He seems to be getting some higher level mathematics: some geometry this month. And now we practice spelling every Thursday night so he gets a perfect score the next day. He's getting recognition again for his computer knowledge. He's proud to be a bit "weird", it's the word he uses, in his interests. The Academy had an open house on Sunday, and we checked that out. I think he was excited. I know Cyndi is. It remains to be seen whether that is an option. It is not only very competitive; it is very expensive.

Ry continues to do well at school himself. I think his reading and math are way ahead of his level. He makes up math problems for himself, so he is constantly thinking about the concepts. He's big into square roots and multiplication powers, and he breaks down operations into parts so he can do them in his head. He reads ferociously. He gets Jack to check out books from the part of the library reserved for the older grades.

Ry and I watched a lot of the playoffs and world series games--bits and pieces mostly, here and there. He was for the Tigers, once they bumped off the Yankees (his first baseball cap) but he started getting into the Giants the more we watched them.

The leaves of the cottonwood started turning a bright yellow this weekend. The chrysanthemums are blooming, and so are the roses. The grass is turning brown in spots and, with other plants, has stopped growing. The leaves of the  little aspen have been turning brown around the edges for weeks, and someone said this is a sign of a cold winter. Generally, it was a slow growth summer, with very little rain. We took a beating with our water bill. Saturday morning was so cold that we had to close the evaporative cooler ducts and turn on the furnace. We only get about two weeks in the spring and again in the fall when we aren't running one or the other. These days, however, are sunny with crisp morning temperatures and sunny skies.

in the middle of Fall

Here's some pics from Mom & Dad's visit to accompany a prior post, along with pics from Jackson's birthday in August and a recent visit one morning to the balloon park. No balloons went up that day, but the kids had the day off from school, so we went, even though it was raining just before we got there.

Rylee had a night game Friday and another evening game today. His last game will be coming up in about two weeks and the team plans to hold a celebration next to the skateboard park, where Ry can skateboard and scooter with his older teammates. Maybe surprise everyone even more.

Jackson played soccer on Saturday afternoon, a beautiful Fall day. We sat out in the sun for a change, since there was a cool breeze. Jackson played forward, midfield, and goalie. His team won 3-2. Jackson scored a goal, his first, a nice one from about five yards out, angled about 45 degrees on the right of the goal. I yelled, yeah! He jumped up and down and his teammates congratulated him.

I had a great talk with him the other day.

Hmm. Let's see if this works:

Mom & Dad and a guest blog

Mom and Dad drove out in the Sebring, doing about 250 miles each day, stopping in Tehachapi, Laughlin and Winslow for the nights. They arrived Friday afternoon at 5, which is how they regularly time that. It sounded as though they enjoyed their trip and talked about doing something similar again. The daily mileage was comfortable, but they did say that the last day was the hardest, as the time on the road caught up with them.

Rylee and I were in the back yard when they arrived. I gave them a few minutes before suggesting that Dad might want to join Jackson and me, and Rylee, too, for Jack's soccer practice. We'd be a little late, and we could skip it altogether, but it might be fun and Jackson was in a good groove and the team was rapidly getting better. So we went to the nearby church park, where the practice was being held. Jackson joined his team. Rylee played with a friend, and Dad and I walked across the park to take in the view and then found a place to sit and talk. Meanwhile, Cyndi showed Mom the B&B upstairs, with its rejuvenated balcony.

I made Mom & Cyndi some Margaritas before we left and made some more for all when we got back. Cyndi had dinner prepared: chicken enchiladas, tacitos for the boys, beans, avocado, salsa and chips. We sat around and talked. Mom brought some sugar cookies from home and we ate those, too.

I mentioned that Ry's early game the next morning meant getting to the fields at 6:30 am, before the sun was up. The response was a doubtful one, as the fatigue of the trip (and maybe the Margaritas, too) was catching up, so Ry and I got up, ate some breakfast and went by ourselves. Cyndi was up but stayed behind to be with Mom & Dad. It was a great game. Ry's team won again, and it was fun to join the parents in the stands on an early, brisk morning.

Ry and I got home to find everyone in the kitchen, drinking coffee. We made scrambled eggs with cheese and ham, toasted some bagels, poured some orange juice, and cut up a ripe, sweet pineapple. Then it was time to think about lunch...just kidding. Mom & Dad had brought seven dozen apples from home, and we spent some time researching an apple peeling and coring hand machine. More on that....

Jackson had a soccer game scheduled for 3 and we loaded the camp chairs and took off only to arrive and find out that the day's games had been cancelled because someone had driven on the field and done doughnuts on the grass.  Here's about where the guest blogger picks up the story, bits of which I stole from an email:

"Cyndi's sister Ellie joined us last night for dinner. Paul grilled steaks that he got from Costco and they were delicious.  He uses a secret basting sauce that is...a secret...but I will tell you it contains left-over mixed cocktail makings that had to be finished off before it lost its "freshness".  Paul and Cyndi will enjoy the apples we brought from our back yard.  We packed more than 7 dozen in the car trunk.  We had talked that afternoon about our apple peeler and looked it up on-line and Paul made some calls.  On our trip to Costco we stopped at a very new upscale shopping area and were able to find the peeler (last one), set it up when we got back home and Cyndi made Apple Crisp and Apple Sauce. Mother was involved in overseeing the recipe and the result was perfect.

"Today we all went to Church!  The church is unique. A semi-circular design with a good choral group and an interesting pastor.

"After Mass Paul drove out into the country to a Hyatt Tamaya Resort Inn where we all had a nice lunch in a beautiful dinning room. Then we went home for a short lay down and maybe a nap.  Now we are just 'hanging out'.  60 Minutes comes on soon."

Those were the highlights. Somewhere in that time we caught up with what the family is up to...all the children...Ariel and the grandchildren. There was a little talk of the elections and the stock market. Dad got a chance to talk with his sister Dorothy just as I was starting the charcoal and opening up some wine. Cyndi talked about her business and Lisa's salads (Cyndi made one of her signature salads to go with the steak dinner Saturday night). We showed Dad the treehouse David helped us build. The boys showed them the Wii game console, and Dad took a couple swings of the "bat." We talked about Maui and how we want to visit David and Sandra in Alaska. Ry showed Dad his Lego buildings and ships. Pete and Dorie and Brendon were at church, and we talked a bit and Mom came away with quite a different story to tell about Brendon I'm sure. Mom learned how to get into and out of the truck, as we did end up doing a few short drives. Before everyone was up on Sunday, while the balloons were launching, Ry and I picked up some things at the store and we made sausage and French toast for breakfast, with leftover pineapple and, of course, more apple sauce and apple crisp. The boys love the apple sauce, Cyndi loves her new peeler, and I'm sure will make another batch of the crisp for her parents from the many apples we still have.

Oh, I'm sure there was more, but that's a pretty good idea of their visit. Monday was a holiday for many, but the boys still had school and said their goodbyes and hugged Mom & Dad. Mom & Dad left at 9 am, as they planned, and today they are somewhere in northern Arizona.

Fall 2012

How did the time go by so fast since I last posted something here? Here's a quick update and a promise to keep posting.

Well, first, Mom & Dad should be on their way from California today to visit us. They won't be here long, just the weekend, and even though it'll be the first day of the balloon fiesta this Saturday, we probably won't see many balloons, except as we may be out and about. They expect to arrive Friday afternoon, and they are mostly planning to spend time with the boys, perhaps seeing some of their games and going to the skateboard park early Sunday morning, from where we may have a view of a mass ascension of balloons.

The boys have been in school, of course. Ry has a male teacher and appears to be doing very well. He reads a lot and is ahead of the game when it comes to mathematics. I think Jack got off to a rocky start; maybe it was a new teacher, maybe it was some re-alignment of friendships in the fifth grade. Jackson acknowledges that he is a bit different from many of his classmates, with different interests. He continues to spend lots of time on his computer; some of it is related to his interest in making movies and leaning how to program games, but a lot is also time spent watching shows. The boys don't watch much television as the computer, tablets, iPods, their Wii, and even the smart phone provide lots of entertainment. I think Jackson is turning around now. He visited with his teacher from last year, who has since retired and who is encouraging him to apply to the Academy for midschool next year.

Ry has been playing Fall Ball on a Minor League team (the Rangers) with boys who are 9, 10 and 11. Ry is by far the youngest, at 7, but it's been a great experience for him. The team is 10-0 right now. The practices (Wednesdays) are the best I've ever seen, as the coaches are very good, and Ry is learning lots of fundamentals about playing the game. I love watching Ry during warm-ups before the games, as the coaches put the boys through drills. Ry is very impressive in his fielding and throwing skills, and many of the team parents just get the biggest kick out of seeing him play. He's inexperienced at batting, and he hasn't adjusted yet to player pitching, as opposed to machine pitching. The coaches recognize his skills (and speed) and play him before others, but at this level the older boys, many of whom have been on all star teams already, get the key positions more often so Ry has to sit on the bench one or two innings. He's so excited, he doesn't complain about that, and I imagine he understands he's paying some dues now and will become a star player later. When Spring Ball comes around, I wouldn't hesitate to playing him at the Minor League level, but he's going to have to stay at the level for at least two years. He's just too young to move up.

Jackson has been playing soccer this fall in lieu of baseball. He's on the Germany team. (The teams are named after World Futball teams.) He has practices on Fridays and games on Saturdays, and next week he may start some optional Wednesday practices. The season is very short, and the first game was lackluster. But this last Saturday, it was like Jack was on fire. First, he played defense and was very aggressive tackling. Then he played forward and really took charge of bringing the ball down the field and opening up passing lanes. But the biggest surprise was playing goalie the second half. He was incredible! Smothering the ball, deflecting the ball, catching line drives to the goal, punting and kicking. The coaches were delighted, as he saved many, many goals. It was a day worth celebrating.

That weekend started with Jack's practice on Friday at 5. Ry had a night game under the lights at 7:45 and then an early morning game on Saturday morning before sunrise. Then Jack's game in the afternoon, and then even a Monday evening game for Ry. When Mom & Dad are here this weekend, Ry has another Saturday morning game starting before sunrise, even before the balloons begin to launch, and Jackson has another Saturday afternoon game. We have talked about going to the Skateboard Park on Sunday morning so Ry and Jack can skate, scooter or bicycle, and we can view the balloons from there.

I've talked here and there with Ariel as things are settling in with the new apartment, her new job, Chris's school. She joined a morning swimming workout. There was some talk of another trip, maybe Argentina and Patagonia. They went to a wedding in Pennsylvania last weekend, and it sounds like they still go often to the Gunks to climb.

The weather has been very wonderful, even in the 80s. We did not get much rainfall this year and so whenever it does rain, it is very welcomed. Sometimes a cold front blows in so that the temperatures drop for a few hours but so far nothing very cold...just cool nights. Cyndi and I have been fixing and cleaning some in anticipation of the Mom & Dad's visit, but I'm afraid there's still much on the to-do list to do.