Visitor Week

As if Fall wasn't filled with fun stuff already, two weeks ago we kicked it up a notch. Sure we still had the regular hubbub of school, soccer, and PSU football, but we added some visits from the grandparents and a favorite Aunt to boot!

Tuesday through Thursday, my parents joined our regular week schedule. We were so happy that they came to visit and see the kids and even catch them playing soccer. Luckily the weather was wonderful and we enjoyed soccer on a typical cool but sunny fall day. CJ had her first scrimmage that night. Oh boy, was that a mess. They had no subs (some stomach flu was going around) and the other kids were imported from the English Premier League. Not only did the
other team have great foot skills and fast legs, we are pretty sure they were all 16 years old. ;-)

Many tears were shed: CJ under severe frustration, since she thought a "scrimmage" just meant another fun game/drill they would play; and from my parents and self, because we had two girls weeping and one other kid who was playing his best tackle football game on the soccer field. He was hilarious. I guess you would have to call it a grand comedy of errors.

Here PopPop is helping CJ write her letters. She did worksheets from letter C down to letter I. This was impressive, since I have to beg her to do just one line on one page of the book. Guess she was showing off a bit, eh?

Here Alex had completed his school homework and wanted to show off to Grandma with his math skills. He finished all but 3 pages of this entire book. What can I say? My children are brilliant! :-)

Then on Friday, my sister joined us with her best friend, Kim. They stayed until Monday and we had such a great time. Again, we headed out for some soccer for both CJ and Alex (CJ's game went much better with only one round of tears), went hiking at Whipple Dam and running through the corn maze at Harner Farm. We also mixed in a trip to the Creamery (YUMMY!) and Penn State's fairly new Arboretum.

Kim and Aunt Ann, BFFs!


Action shot -- sorry it is a bit blurry.


This was in the corn maze at the Treasure Chest. When you find it, you get to pick one prize from the chest. Spider rings was the prize of choice.

It was wonderful for my family to make the trip here and just hang out with us. I think it is so important for family to stay close and experience each other in your normal routine. Holidays are special, but you act a little different and usually there is far more chaos (I have a large family). From my parents helping the kids with homework to Alexander helping Aunt Ann down a slippery slope on our hike, it warms my heart to have those moments together.

CJ's first day of school... and my distraction.

I will admit this post is a bit late. We are already into Fall and I am just now posting her pictures from the first day. Assuredly, the day was met with much fanfare and excitement, but I was very distracted.

Here is CJ in all her first day of school glory.




She was up early, dressed quickly (which is a feat in and of itself) and ready for Mrs. Wiley's class. I really believe that her first memory of school has always been dropping Alexander off at Mrs. Wiley's class when she was 2 years old. She would run into the class and immediately start playing with the toys. After settling Alexander in, she would pitch a fit when I told her that we would have to leave. So now.... FINALLY.... she gets to stay and have school in that classroom with that same teacher. She feels like such a big girl and loves it.

Now to address my distraction.

Six months ago I had a friend call me to talk me into doing a triathlon with her. HA! I laughed out loud at the mere mention of this. Not me. No way. I am a hearty woman of german-stock and we don't do those crazy athletic things. I am not sure that anyone in my family has ever played on an organized sporting team. In high school the closest I came to organized sport participation was recording statistics for the baseball team. But honestly, I mostly did that to hang out with the cute guys on the team. Then after college, I played softball and soccer on some coed teams with Zack, but that was mostly because we would drink beer during and after the games.

She assured me that she was serious and that we would have months to train and get ready. Come on, she said. It will be fun, she assured me. Okay, what else do I have going on? So I registered for the race. Locked and loaded, I had six months to figure out how to swim half a mile, bike 7 miles and then run 3.5 miles.

The race was this past weekend and I can't believe that it has already come and gone. This was a huge personal accomplishment and I will admit that I am just tickled pink that I did it. Zack (and the kids) was so supportive and motivating during my training --- literally pushing me out of the house on the weekends to go bike or run.

My family was in shock to think that anyone from the Diephaus-clan would actually do something as crazy as a triathlon race. I heard from my sister that my dad made the comment that clearly I had not received any genes from his side. Perhaps the story about mom and the milk man were true. Then on the night before the race, Zack got a call from mom asking for him to confirm that I was not about to do the swim IN THE OCEAN for pete's sake. Needless to say, he did not lie to her and I had to call and assure her that there were life guards on boats watching everyone for safety.

As for the race, it went better than expected. The swim in the ocean was really hard. Harder then I had even anticipated. Lots of swells and lots of saltwater in your mouth. Definitely a far cry from training at the pool at the YMCA. The bike was fine and the run was better than I thought. Having people to cheer you on really does help make the time go by faster. Crossing the finish line was something that I had envisioned, but certainly didn't really know how I was going to feel. As I crossed the line to the cheers of the spectators, I was so excited/relieved/emotional I was on the verge of tears. That was the one moment I wished that Zack and the kids would have been there. I was so full of joy and emotion and had no one to share it with. But that was kind of the point. I did this for me. It was a huge personal accomplishment. Something that I had to do for myself. And I did. Go me. :-)

Here I am ready to head to the swim. Transition area all set!


This is a self-portrait after coming out of the water and getting ready to head out on the bike.

As an added plus, the times were announced and low and behold, I won 3rd prize in my class. HA! Since I was hoping to not be in the last third of the race, this was amazing. In the overall standings I came in #429 out of 1100 racers. Wow. Who knew??

Now I am back home, into the daily school grind and feeling a little bit at a loss. Haven't worked out since Saturday and have eaten ice cream every chance I can. Perhaps I need to sign up for another race just to keep me focused. Or I could just stop buying ice cream. Hmmmm. Tough decision.

Last days at the Pool

This was the first week of school and probably the last week of going to the pool in the afternoon. Happily, we really got our money's worth this summer at the pool. The weather was hot (even for Happy Valley) and the kids were so confident in their swimming skills they wanted to go daily.

From diving for toys at the bottom, jumping of the side or the diving boards, swimming with mom or dad, being thrown by mom or dad, or just trying to chase their friends in the water, we all had a blast.

Good memories and a great summer.


She's only 4, but can you see that in 10 years we are in serious trouble?


This year, he was the boy who LOVED the diving boards.




Cannon Ball!!! Pretty good form, eh?


Diving was a late-summer skill. Aunt Ruthie: EAT YOUR HEART OUT!


Although, mostly this was the norm. :-)

Another garden update

Just another day picking through the garden. Guess who is having spaghetti tonight?

First day of First Grade!

"It's the MOST wonderful time of the year!!!"

Tuesday was Alexander's first day and, again this year, I am not sure who is more excited: him or me. On Monday, the big boy packed his backpack with school supplies and discussed with me what he wanted to pack for lunch. We went to the pool for the entire afternoon with friends and then that evening we joined other friends at DQ for a celebratory "Last night of summer ice cream". Great way to finish up a very busy and very fun summer.

When I went to kiss Alexander goodnight, we had the following conversation:
Me: "You are going to have SOOOO much fun tomorrow at school. I am so excited for you!"
Alex: "Yeah"
Me: "But don't have too much fun.... I mean, learn some too. Learn a lot and then have fun. Okay?"
Alex: "I don't know, Mommy. {pause} I just don't know what the teachers have in mind. I'll have to see."

That boy cracks me up on a daily basis. I just love those conversations!
Here he is packed up, proud and ready for the bus stop.



Now with his cowgirl sister and striking his now-common, "AWESOME!" pose.




Arriving home that afternoon, he gave a spotty, yet completely positive, description of the first day. My last interrogation question was "So, is your teacher FUN?" I got a huge smile and a "Yes! Mommy!"