This week I signed the contract with my department, so we are committed to staying in Tennessee at least for three years, and probably much longer.
Because my promotion involves a substantial pay raise, once we get back from vacation we will probably start looking for a bigger house, hopefully closer to work. We simply have outgrown our current home. The two girls have really struggled to share their small room, and it would be nice to be able to put them in separate rooms. Because I need to spend a lot more time at work, it would also be helpful to cut my commute time to as little as possible. Hopefully we can afford to do both.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Glasses
During their yearly physicals, the kid's doctor recommended that the JP and JA needed to get a more thorough eye exam as it appeared they might need glasses.
This week that recommendation was finally followed up on and this is the result:
Both report that they can see much better, and Jonathan says he can now see the seams on the baseball when its thrown, so that seems very favorable.
This week that recommendation was finally followed up on and this is the result:
Both report that they can see much better, and Jonathan says he can now see the seams on the baseball when its thrown, so that seems very favorable.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Winning RBI
Every kids dream...
Bottom of the final inning, the game is tied, 2 outs, bases loaded, JP comes up to the plate...
...and he hit the first pitch thru the gap between third and short to drive in the winning run!
Although their season started in the middle of May, its only the second game their team has won. (They have tied several others as their league has a two hour limit.) JP has had a struggle to adjust to the full size baseball field (90 ft bases, ~250 ft fence), and trying to hit off 15 year old pitchers, but is starting to finally make the adjustment.
Bottom of the final inning, the game is tied, 2 outs, bases loaded, JP comes up to the plate...
...and he hit the first pitch thru the gap between third and short to drive in the winning run!
Although their season started in the middle of May, its only the second game their team has won. (They have tied several others as their league has a two hour limit.) JP has had a struggle to adjust to the full size baseball field (90 ft bases, ~250 ft fence), and trying to hit off 15 year old pitchers, but is starting to finally make the adjustment.
Kids Tri
JP did his first triathlon Saturday. Swim:100 yards, Bike: 2.7 miles, Run: 2 miles. Yes, I know you are saying to yourself that once again the advantage goes to the runner, and definitely away from the bike which is JP's strength, but oh well. There were a lot of logistical issues, as this was the first triathlon the group putting it on had done.
His final time was 34 min 20 seconds. The transition from bike to run proved more difficult than he anticipated and he felt like he never really got his running legs going.
Still he did a great job and we are looking forward to finding more tri for him to try.
Set up at the transition area
Swim Finish (swim was up and back in same lane, then cross over to next lane)
Bike (3 laps on closed course, this is the end of his first lap)
The run was 8 laps on the track, and the kids had to have there numbers marked each lap, which was utter chaos!
Run Finish
His final time was 34 min 20 seconds. The transition from bike to run proved more difficult than he anticipated and he felt like he never really got his running legs going.
Still he did a great job and we are looking forward to finding more tri for him to try.
Set up at the transition area
Swim Finish (swim was up and back in same lane, then cross over to next lane)
Bike (3 laps on closed course, this is the end of his first lap)
The run was 8 laps on the track, and the kids had to have there numbers marked each lap, which was utter chaos!
Run Finish
Sunday, June 1, 2008
A Falls Weekend
JP and I spent a weekend at several of TN's best waterfalls.
Friday night we camped at the Fall Creek Falls campground. Southern car camping resembles more of tailgate party than a chance for solitude, but since we went as a group of friends from the ward that was okay.
After a long evening of conversation near the campfire, we had a mostly uneventful night sleep.
After a leisurely breakfast, JP and I took a side trip along the cable trail to the bottom of Cane Creek Falls. This required a rather steep vertical descent (and of course ascent on the way back) aided to some extent by a cable (although at the crux of the descent the cable was not useful.)
After this most pleasant short hike we drove over to the Fall Creek Falls overlook and rapidly hiked down the the bottom of the Falls. After about a hour of enjoying the scenery we hiked backed up to the top and ate lunch.
Then we went rock climbing at the Copperhead Rock site nearby. This was the first time JP had climbed an actual rock face instead of a climbing wall. He did pretty well, but got stuck in one place and had to try it about three times, but finally got it.
We then went to Burgess Falls, where it proceed to pour rain. Still we hiked to the bottom of the Big Falls to finish out our Grand Tour of Falls.
Friday night we camped at the Fall Creek Falls campground. Southern car camping resembles more of tailgate party than a chance for solitude, but since we went as a group of friends from the ward that was okay.
After a long evening of conversation near the campfire, we had a mostly uneventful night sleep.
After a leisurely breakfast, JP and I took a side trip along the cable trail to the bottom of Cane Creek Falls. This required a rather steep vertical descent (and of course ascent on the way back) aided to some extent by a cable (although at the crux of the descent the cable was not useful.)
After this most pleasant short hike we drove over to the Fall Creek Falls overlook and rapidly hiked down the the bottom of the Falls. After about a hour of enjoying the scenery we hiked backed up to the top and ate lunch.
Then we went rock climbing at the Copperhead Rock site nearby. This was the first time JP had climbed an actual rock face instead of a climbing wall. He did pretty well, but got stuck in one place and had to try it about three times, but finally got it.
We then went to Burgess Falls, where it proceed to pour rain. Still we hiked to the bottom of the Big Falls to finish out our Grand Tour of Falls.
Monday, May 26, 2008
A Walk in the Woods
When I was a child, our family traditionally hiked up to Timpanogas Cave for Memorial Day. So we decided to go on a hike to celebrate this Memorial Day. We chose the Volunteer Day Loop, which is a shorter version of a very nice backpacking trip.
Here are some shots:
Bridge over the river dry
This shot is right as JA realized there was a copperhead curled up in the bush on the left next to her. She kind of freaked out and went running up the trail. I went over to the bush to confirm that there was a snake and to get a picture. It was sitting with its head about three feet above the ground in the bush and curled thru several branches. As I was trying to get the camera ready the snake moved rather quickly and was gone. It kind of spooked me because one second it was there and then it was gone. I looked for it for about ten seconds and then realized it really wasn't in the bush anymore so it must have dropped to the ground, so I backed off about six feet and tried to spot it. I gave up after a few minutes. I tried to see if you zoom in if you can see it. The resolution isn't good enough to be sure, but I think you can see part of it curled around the trunk.
Note the prickly pear cactus on the rock. This is one of the few places in TN you can find cactus.
Sitting by the dock on the bay
Lucky Clover Mushroom
Along came a spider...
Here are some shots:
Bridge over the river dry
This shot is right as JA realized there was a copperhead curled up in the bush on the left next to her. She kind of freaked out and went running up the trail. I went over to the bush to confirm that there was a snake and to get a picture. It was sitting with its head about three feet above the ground in the bush and curled thru several branches. As I was trying to get the camera ready the snake moved rather quickly and was gone. It kind of spooked me because one second it was there and then it was gone. I looked for it for about ten seconds and then realized it really wasn't in the bush anymore so it must have dropped to the ground, so I backed off about six feet and tried to spot it. I gave up after a few minutes. I tried to see if you zoom in if you can see it. The resolution isn't good enough to be sure, but I think you can see part of it curled around the trunk.
Note the prickly pear cactus on the rock. This is one of the few places in TN you can find cactus.
Sitting by the dock on the bay
Lucky Clover Mushroom
Along came a spider...
Sunday, May 25, 2008
End of school year honors
At the end of the school year, there are always some ceremonies to hand out awards and honors.
This year JA received a very special award, The Sportmanship Award for her elementary school. For this award she received a book "Wooden: A lifetime of observations and reflections on and off the court." As I understand it, some the criteria that led to her being one of the five children chosen for the award were her progress in her PE fitness measures from the beginning of the year and her domination of the biweekly dance, dance revolution competitions. (It probably helps that this is one of her favorite video games at home.)
She also received awards for being on the honor roll all year and for excellence in math. She was also promoted to Middle School, along with the rest of her class.
JP received a very nice plaque at the end of the year band ceremony for being the most outstanding 7th grader. Because of riding in Le Tour de Town, he missed the ceremony where he was to receive from the Duke TIP foundation for his scores on the ACT test. He also made the Honor Roll with straight A's.
This year JA received a very special award, The Sportmanship Award for her elementary school. For this award she received a book "Wooden: A lifetime of observations and reflections on and off the court." As I understand it, some the criteria that led to her being one of the five children chosen for the award were her progress in her PE fitness measures from the beginning of the year and her domination of the biweekly dance, dance revolution competitions. (It probably helps that this is one of her favorite video games at home.)
She also received awards for being on the honor roll all year and for excellence in math. She was also promoted to Middle School, along with the rest of her class.
JP received a very nice plaque at the end of the year band ceremony for being the most outstanding 7th grader. Because of riding in Le Tour de Town, he missed the ceremony where he was to receive from the Duke TIP foundation for his scores on the ACT test. He also made the Honor Roll with straight A's.