Right after our big camping outing, the very next day Stuart left to Indianapolis for a four day trip.  The three of us managed to survive while Stuart was gone, but the week felt long.  The boys were happy that I dropped them off to school by car rather than walking them, then I went to work.  It was a very busy work week and my daily goal was to leave on time.  I was picking the boys up usually 5:30-5:40pm, and they were complaining that I arrived too late yet sometimes they did not seem to want to go.  Each night we just had something simple or I had picked up some food for dinner.  Logan already had some homework, mainly reading, so we tried to have Logan read while I was preparing dinner and trying to keep Connor occupied.  For a couple of nights, we watched some Olympics highlights, other nights they played on the laptops for a bit and we played King of Tokyo (board game) before bedtime.  We were so excited when Stuart finally came home late on Thursday.

    It was our annual camping last weekend.  We decided to go for two nights this year, and that meant we had to rush thru a working Friday to get ready.  Stuart packed up our car, picked up the kids early and showered them.  After work, I picked up some burritos before heading home for a quick shower, then we were all ready for the drive.  The boys had a nice nap even after we arrived at the campsite and while Stuart and I unloaded the car.  Stuart quickly started putting up our tent, and the rest of us hung out with the Tsaos.  For the evening, Logan, Connor joined Brandon and Peyton playing a washer toss game, throwing a football around, and spinning some Beyblades.  Logan and Connor also brought their Pokemon cards and battled with them whenever they had free time.  We had a good dinner with burritos, hotdogs and burgers made by Dave.  We tried grilling peaches for desserts too.  The kids played with glowsticks when it was getting dark.  With a full day of work, we started getting tired after 9pm and we all got ready for bedtime.  We hung out in the tent for a bit before going to sleep.  We slept relatively well until the crows and birds woke us up after 6am the next morning.

    Saturday morning was a continuation of lay back time with the Tsaos.  The washer toss game the Tsaos brought was the best toy there; all eight of us shared some fun with it.  Peyton was good with the football, and Connor enjoyed it very much too.  The weather was cool but comfortable, and we were fortunate not having much bugs.  It was relaxing to hang out at our campsite that we ended up not going anywhere until the Kaos arrived in late morning.  Mckayla and Marcus joined the kids to play as soon as they arrived.  After a good lunch of sausages, the moms took the kids for a small hike up to the Hilltop for a talk by a park ranger.  He talked to the audience about some survival tips; it was quite interesting, and I learned some fun facts.  The kids were paying attention to him at the beginning, but later, Logan, Connor and Marcus dripped off to play at a big tree trunk behind us.  Next the park ranger was ready to take the crowd for a hike.  Since by then Mckayla was also playing with the three boys, Michelle and I decided that we would take our four kids back to our site while Robyn and Peyton continued with the workshop.  The four kids became obsessed with collecting sticks; they wanted to bring some back to our campsite, and trekked them all the way back.  With the sticks, they built some forts and secret hideouts.  While the kids were busy, Stuart and I took a short hike on our own.

      By 4:30pm, Kathy and the family finally arrived, and all the little kids went to welcome Ian as soon as he got out of their car.  The rest of the evening, while Ian was kept busy playing with all the kids, the adults enjoyed our laidback evening with good food and drinks.  After the meal, we topped it off with S’more.  By night time, all the kids were tired from the full day activities and went to bed quite quickly.  Then the adults gathered around the campfire for our late night chat.  Suddenly we heard some crying; it was Connor who must have woken up from a bad dream.  He just kept crying with his eyes shut; I calmed him down and he fell right back to sleep.  But that was our bedtime call, so Stuart and I got ready and joined the boys for a quite restful sleep. 

    The next morning Logan and Connor actually slept in a bit later.  Everyone had a nice breakfast and it was time to take down everything and pack up.  We managed to take a group photo despite missing Theresa and Martin this year.  It was another fun year and camping for two nights was definitely a good idea.  For the rest of the day, we were exhausted from this big outing.

Here are our camping photos.

    I had another free day with the boys last Tuesday before they returned to school.  Connor and I accompanied Logan to his orthodontic re-visit in the morning, so I could learn more about the situation and plan for his upcoming orthodontic work.  Next the boys helped me getting some grocery before we headed over to the theater.  The boys voted to watch The Secret Life of Pets.  When we arrived at the theater, I asked Logan to take Connor to use the restroom while I got us some popcorn; this worked out quite well.  The boys enjoyed the movie; I thought it was cute but not my favorite, and I actually took a little nap.  The important part of the day was when the class lists were being posted at school at 5pm, and we were excited to find out their teachers and their classmates.  All four of us walked over to school, and we also played some basketball afterward.  Logan is not going to be in the same class with his buddy Maxim, but from what I heard from other parents, both boys will have a great teacher this year.  After some exercise, we headed home to end the night to get ready for the first day of school.

    I took some time off on Wednesday morning to take the boys to school.  The boys did not seem nervous or excited; they were just ready as in any other day.  We walked to Logan’s classroom first.  Logan took over his bag of school supply, said goodbye to us, and went to line up with his class.  Then Connor and I headed to his class.  All the parents marched with the first graders to their classroom.  I handed over the bag of school supply to Connor and hugged him goodbye.  But then I saw all the parents entering the classroom, so I joined the group.  The teacher welcomed the kids and the parents, and gave us a short introduction.  Connor sat nicely on his seat and listened to the teacher.  At that moment I suddenly got emotional that my little boy is in first grade; I had to stop myself before tear came out.  Then it was time to say goodbye to the little ones before I headed over to the coffee gathering with Home and School Club at the courtyard.  I chatted with some parents before walking home to head to work.

    At the end of the day, the boys said they had a good day.  They both said their teachers are nice but also strict.  They had fun at CDC; the main part was that they could play with Maxim there.  We are happy that the boys had a good first day, and hope it will be a great year.

     After the boys’ doctor appointments on Monday, I drove us to the restaurant at Half Moon Bay to meet up with Michelle, Robyn and the four kids.  We had a yummy fish & chips and chowder lunch, then we headed over to the nearby Venice Beach to play.  All six kids quickly walked down to the shoreline, kicked off the sandals, and started playing with sand and water.  The kids were equipped with sand toys, and they all tried to dig deep holes.  There were at least three holes being work on at the same time.  Logan worked hard digging with a small shovel, and asked me to check out his hole periodically.  Connor was busy going back and forth getting water with a bucket, and he shared the water at the different holes.  After quite a long time, the kids moved out closer to the water.  They ran around at the shore, and played with sand.  Later one of the kids discovered some water creatures, and they tried to find more.  While we were on the beach, we could also see whales and seals swimming out in the open which was awesome. 

     The kids were playing for 2+ hours, and none had once complained of being cold, hungry or tired.  Michelle later brought out some snacks and there were a few takers.  Later Connor came over to talk with me privately; he asked if he could have a playdate with Marcus.  Marcus also requested a playdate with Connor too.  When I asked why a playdate as they were already playing together, but they claimed that playdate meant playing in the house and they wanted to do that too.  By three o’clock, we decided to wrap up this beach outing before the kids got too cold.  It took us awhile to clean up and finally ready to return to the car.  We said goodbye to our friends and we were on our way home.  The boys eventually fell asleep as they were tired from this fun outing.

    Working full time again makes it difficult for me to take the boys to their routine appointments, so I ended up booking both of their annual checkup on the same day yesterday while I was off with the boys.  The boys were a bit silly after changing into gowns to wait for the doctor, and they both followed instructions well for the exams.  Everything checked out fine.  They both are growing well and getting taller.  Connor is also thinning out a bit with a better BMI this time.  The boys were happy that there were no vaccines today and the visit went by relatively quickly.

Logan’s Stats:

Wt Readings from Last 3 Encounters:

08/15/16  27.488 kg (60 lb 9.6 oz) (62.92 %*)

07/06/15  23.814 kg (52 lb 8 oz) (57.26 %*)

06/18/14  21.682 kg (47 lb 12.8 oz) (63.26 %*)

Ht Readings from Last 3 Encounters:

08/15/16  1.378 m (4′ 6.25") (93.61 %*)

07/06/15  1.289 m (4′ 2.75") (89.60 %*)

06/18/14  1.207 m (3′ 11.5") (85.52 %*)

16%ile based on CDC 2-20 Years BMI-for-age data using vitals from 8/15/2016.

Connor’s Stats:

Wt Readings from Last 3 Encounters:

08/15/16  24.177 kg (53 lb 4.8 oz) (83.97 %*)

04/03/16  24.041 kg (53 lb) (89.28 %*)

03/28/16  23.905 kg (52 lb 11.2 oz) (88.86 %*)

Ht Readings from Last 3 Encounters:

08/15/16  1.226 m (4′ 0.25") (91.16 %*)

03/28/16  1.197 m (3′ 11.13") (90.55 %*)

07/27/15  1.149 m (3′ 9.25") (90.36 %*)

69%ile based on CDC 2-20 Years BMI-for-age data using vitals from 8/15/2016.

    We played tennis on Sunday morning, and this was probably one of the longest times all four of us have played together.  Both Logan and Connor did great.  Stuart did some bigger hits to Logan, and surprisingly Logan returned them quite well.  Connor was so determined to make contact with the balls that he ran all over the court.  He is getting better swinging his racquet and making contact.  Connor enjoys tennis a lot lately and hardly sits down for breaks even when Logan does.

    In the afternoon, we went swimming.  Both boys are doing much better in the water now.  Logan just needed to be more confident.  Once I talked him into trying to swim across the short side of the pool, and he did it!!!  After that, he swam two more times on his own along the side.  He was proud and definitely we were too.

    With all the exercise, both Stuart and I were almost hobbling by the end of the day, but Connor told us that he was “not even one bit tired”.