In the past friends and I would take the kids to a beach together before school starts.  This year our schools started different days, thus we did not plan one out.  At the last minute, I decided that the boys and I could have our own outing.  I picked a beach with the least windy route and we took off after an early lunch.  Unfortunately we encountered major traffic going to our destination and a minor one on our way home.  That day we spent a lot more time in the car than at the beach.  Somehow the boys were understanding and were not too impatient with the traffic; Logan even told me that we were still spending quality time together in the car.  When we were finally at the beach, it was was pleasant there with the warm temperature.  We played with the water and sand.  Logan made a comment that it was relaxing and easier without Buddy so we did not need to worry how Buddy behaves at the beach.  All in all, it had been a long time I took the boys out on my own; we had a a partially successful beach day.

     We finally got a new fence up in August which was something we hoped to have done like 2 years ago.  This project took them 5 days with 2 guys and they did a beautiful job.  It was slightly inconvenient during those days when we had to make sure Buddy on a leash even for a potty break, and it felt weird not having the house being enclosed.  Thus it felt even better when the job was completed.  The fence is 1 foot taller on all sides and it looks great.  We do have one final step, ie. stain the wood later, to complete this big project.

Old fence:

New fence:

    It was great to finally be out camping again after skipping last year.   We had a small group this time, only 3 families, but it was also nice to be small and cozy with everyone.  This year we were able to reserve the Coyota Lake camp site and had the primal spots Theresa picked for us.  It was awesome to have our drinks and eating right next to the beautiful scenic lake.  Buddy was calmer this year; he hung out with the adults or the kids nicely, and sometimes he just slept under the picnic table while we talked.  There were a couple of not as pleasant events though.  We woke up the first night at 3am with scary footsteps and chomping noises.  We made a mistake leaving our cooler out despite knowing about wild pigs in the areas.  All my marinade steaks and cut out vegetables were gone.  Stuart had considered getting outside the tent to check on the situation.  Logan was woken up by the commotion too, and he did not want Stuart to go outside as he reminded us that our valuables were inside the tent.  Eventually the wild pigs left our site and we could finally return to sleep. 

     There was a large open field near our campsite.  Mckayla, Marcus, Logan and Connor had a great time running around playing hide and seek all day long.  It was a very warm day, thus it must have been hot and tiring running around.  Logan woke up feeling dizzy the next morning.  He started feeling worse after breakfast.  Everything came back out later and he spent most morning just sitting in the car being miserable.  We managed to take a group picture and waited til Logan a bit better before we headed home. It must have been a horrible 45 minutes drive; Logan went straight to the backyard as soon as we arrived home.  He was sick the rest of the day being nauseated and dizzy.  He was able to drink only very small amount of water.  I ended up talking with the advice nurse and an ED doc over the phone too.  It was not until late afternoon after he took a long nap that he felt a bit better.  He did not eat much the rest of the day; some dizziness lingered for another day or two as well.  We now learn that it is very important to make sure the kids hydrate themselves to prevent heat exhaustion next time.

    This was definitely another memorable and somewhat fun camping trip and we had learned some lessons too.   Here are the photos from this trip.

     Connor turned 11 and he was most excited about getting a real phone and a phone line.  He was also happy to be the boss of the day, spending time in what he wanted to do and eating what he wanted to eat.  Now he is another year wiser!

    The swim season ended a week ago; it wrapped up with an award night.  The boys did not join any meets this year, but they went to the event to support other teammates.  It turned out that all the teammates were called up to the stage and received a medal for participation too.  This was unexpected and definitely not what Logan hoped for.  But both boys were happy to receive a certificate and a nice medal.  I am so glad the boys were able to join the team this season, had learned to be a stronger swimmer and experienced some of these events in our neighborhood.

   A week ago I took Connor in for an annual check up.  His growth is on track; now the estimate is that Connor will be 6’2” when he grows up.  Everything checked out fine except one thing.  The quick eye check showed that one of his eyes did not see as clearly.  Even though we wondered if the check was done too quickly and Connor did not have a chance to be ready, it would be fine to have a formal eye exam later to confirm.  The one thing Connor was very unhappy about was the vaccines that he needed; he was almost in tear while waiting for the nurse to come in to give him the shots.  It has been over a year since Connor had a well check, and I am glad that it was done.

7/14/21 vitals: 87 lb (69 percentile), 5’ (94 percentile)