Crazy Times, Part 19

A few weeks ago, Ryleigh was watching an educational video on YouTube (they really do exist!), and learned about the Hoh Rainforest.  When I told her that the Hoh was only a few hours away, she got pretty excited about seeing it.  I started searching vacation options and couldn't believe it when I was able to get a cabin at Kalaloch, part of the Olympic National Park and just south of Hoh, just a few weeks out.  So, away we went!

Our cabin was a studio--2 beds, a kitchen, a table, a couch, and a wood burning stove.  There was no WiFi and no TV, but the kids didn't die.  Neither did their parents.  We took food to cook and a few cooking items to supplement what we knew to be in the kitchen kit. We arrived Friday evening, stayed up late to enjoy the fire, and had a leisurely morning.  

Mid-morning Saturday we headed to the beach at Kalaloch.  It was gray, but pleasant enough.  It was fun to see all of the trees that wash down the rivers and land on the beaches.  We were hoping to see some gray whales since May is migration season, but it was just too gray and the sea blended with the horizon too much, and there was just no way to distinguish if there were whales out there.  

After a little lunch back at the cabin, we then headed south to the Quinault Rainforest.  We drove a giant loop around the Quinault Lake--some of it is on private property with the roads managed by the State/County, some of it was on the Quinault Indian Reservation, and some of it is in Olympic National Park.  We saw the world's largest spruce tree, some lovely waterfalls, and wonderful landscapes.

Sunday morning we packed up and headed to the Hoh Rainforest.  The kids got their second stamp of the trip in their National Parks Passports.  We wandered through an elk sculpture inspired by the Roosevelt Elk.  And the kids and Jip went for a little walk.

On our way back home, we stopped in Port Angeles for lunch.  I randomly picked a diner, thinking it was always a safe bet to have kid food.  We figured we would pick up the food and eat in the car or find a park.  But, not only did the diner have stuff my kids would eat, they also had a fairly newly constructed patio area with a table for four available.  We enjoyed our first meal with a server since March 11, 2020.  It was magical.  We're still crossing our fingers for vaccines for under 12 before the end of the year so that we can all go inside a restaurant again.

Just a few more weeks of school.  RJ starts Safety Patrol training on Monday so that he can serve in that capacity next year.  The kids here actually direct traffic at the intersections, which is very different than the Safety Patrol we had in Virginia.  But, he is super excited about it--even if it means standing in the rain.  :)  Ryleigh is just ready for school to end and is very much hoping for a closer to normal school year next year.  

Speaking of school, the school was able to squeeze in school pictures and the gym managed to do pictures, too.  Both the individual and team pictures were taken in front of a green screen.  The team picture is a composite of individual pictures.  For being a composite, I think they did a pretty darn good job.

Jip continues to be busy with being the CO.  He is going to have some official travel for the first time in a very long time in June.  Then, I think the floodgates will open and he will have a ton of official travel.  Normal is within view--we just have to stay the course a little longer.  

Well, that is about it for now.  As always, more pics to come as we wrap up the school year.  Until next time, cheers!

Crazy Times, Part 18

I decided I'm not ready to give up the "Crazy Times" titles.  Jip is fully vaccinated.  I am a week away from being considered fully vaccinated.  But, now we eagerly await RJ and Ryleigh being able to get vaccinated.  I'm hopeful that RJ's birthday and the vaccine being approved for 12 and up will coincide this summer.  And, I'm hoping the scientists are wrong and they can have the under 12 approved sooner than 2022 so Ryleigh can get her doses.  

So, since these are still crazy times, we are still limited on returning to normal.  Spring Break was tough -- we couldn't go anywhere vacation-like because Jip needed to stay within an hour of the base due to other people taking their vacations.  But, he was able to take a couple days off and we were able to indulge Ryleigh's request to go to a trampoline park.  We bought our tickets the day before since the capacity is limited.  Then, the kids completely wore themselves out.  

I threw together a little video of our mini-outing, and included something extra at the end.  Last week, our Ring doorbell camera woke us up with a notification that we had a person at our back door (we have the camera set to look for people so it doesn't catch cars and birds and such).  It was after 11, so Jip and I both immediately grabbed our phones to see what the issue was, thinking it was the base police or a neighbor needing help...  Nope.  Check out what our camera thought was a person!  https://youtu.be/M8KVvImk18g

When we move, we take things apart for the movers, including the beds.  When we took RJ's bed apart, we knew it would never make it to Washington in good enough condition to be a functioning bed again.  The idea of a crib that converts into a bed is clever, but RJ's crib conversion kit turned out to not be the most durable.  So, Jip decided it was time to build RJ a bed.  We bought him a platform bottom to hold his mattress and box spring until Jip could get the rest done.  Jip then built a headboard, footboard, and side rails to attach to the platform bottom.  With a little barn red stain and a couple coats of poly, we present to you RJ's new bed.  We are all thrilled with how it turned out.

Only seven weeks of school left.  Then it is on to summer!  The kids are both enrolled in virtual Gifted and Talented courses through William and Mary--just like they did two summers ago.  RJ is doing two weeks, and Ryleigh is doing one week.  Ryleigh will have gymnastics 16 hours per week.  RJ will continue coding and doing his ARK Survival class through Outschool.  And, I'm crossing my fingers that swimming lessons will happen.  As always, pics to come.

Until next time, cheers!

Compulsory State Championships

Ryleigh had her Level 3 State Championships on Sunday.  She achieved her highest score ever on vault and had the highest all-around score of all girls Levels 2-5 at her gym with a 37.575.  Statewide, Ryleigh came in 3rd for her age division for Level 3.

We are so proud of how hard Ryleigh has worked and how she has persevered through moving across the country and changing gyms, training at home during COVID, wearing a mask for portions of practices, etc.  Now it is on to Level 4, with Level 4 practices officially starting May 3 and being 16 hours per week.  She's going to be a busy girl, but she is so excited to move to the next level.  She has already learned all of the new Level 4 routines, but there could be some changes to the routines coming from USA Gymnastics this summer.  Hopefully any changes will be easy for her to make.

Now, please enjoy Ryleigh's last Level 3 meet.  

https://youtu.be/d_KTXn_rv9o

Skookum Showdown 2021

We returned to the Little Creek Casino for another gymnastics meet on March 7. It was a fun meet with a  neon theme.  They did the team introductions in the dark and teams know to bring light up gear and ask parents to wear neon and glow bracelets/accessories.  And, because things have improved COVID-wise, the girls got to have an awards ceremony.  Hooray!

Ryleigh was disappointed with the results of the meet, but she should not have been.  All 4 events were over 9.0 and she looked great!  And, she still placed 3rd all-around.  It was a very competitive meet and there were some good girls there.  Apparently, one of the teams wins a lot every year--just like Ocean Tumblers in Virginia.  It's a little different for Ryleigh to be on a team that doesn't have the winning reputation and dominance like OT did.  But, she is still great at holding her head up high and cheering on her teammates.  The two other girls who made it a competitive meet in her age group were very good and just had a little bit better day than she did.  If we get to have State, I have no doubt we'll be seeing those two girls right up there with Ryleigh again.

The COVID rules for spectators had relaxed a little, so there could be two people per gymnast, but since that left out RJ, we decided I should take Ryleigh and Jip would hang with RJ. I again stayed after Ryleigh was done and worked two sessions as a timer on beam and Jip and RJ drove the hour to come get her.  I was so glad they did, so they could watch the awards ceremony while I volunteered.  That was the first time I worked as a timer for beam, and it was a lot tougher than vault or floor, the other events I had assisted with in the past.  I learned a lot and I would be glad to do it again should they need me.

We're hopeful we'll get to have the State meet at the end of April in one of the Seattle suburbs.  And, hopefully, her who family will be able to watch by then.  If they don't get to have the State meet, then Ryleigh will just start working on Level 4 stuff and look forward to meets next fall.

Now, enjoy a little RyJo doing her gymnastics thing.  https://youtu.be/KhJdPJjQAUw

Crazy Times, Part 17

I wasn't sure whether to number this post 17 or 18 since the holidays had their own "Crazy Times" post, but I decided to keep the numbers sequential so they'd make sense to me in a year when I'm looking for something.  By the way, can you believe I am still having to use the "Crazy Times" title?  There is a light at the end of the tunnel.  But, holy cow--the tunnel has been so long and it still seems like we have a lot tunnel to still travel through.

A lot has happened since my last post about the kiddos.  I really haven't posted much about their day-to-day activities since we checked out of the good ol' Navy Lodge.  So, let's begin...

We are all feeling pretty settled into the house.  We are still fussing here and there to get things just so.

The kids were thrilled to get to have some real snow mid-February.  They wore themselves out playing on their own and with a couple of other kids.  Jip finally got to try out his electric shovel (aka little snowblower).  We built fires.  We ate s'mores.  And, then the snow melted almost as quickly as it came.

The day after President's Day, the kids got to go back to school in-person two days per week (Mondays and Tuesdays).  

The days are shorter (8:15 - 1:15) so they can get the limited buses everywhere they need to be.  While they are in school, they focus on math and reading/writing.  They get recess.  They eat lunch in their classrooms.  But, that is it.  Wednesdays are days at home for all kids, then Thursday and Friday are the days the B group goes to the school building and school is mostly asynchronous for my A group kids.  RJ does have some math and reading via Zoom in the mornings by broadcast from a partner teacher's classroom and they both have class meetings at 2 in the afternoon to check in and make sure everything is going okay.  Ryleigh's teacher often uses that check-in time for fun activities that revolve around art or dancing.  

The teachers assign social studies/science stuff to do at home after school or the days they are not at school.  The kids also have independent reading and math to do in a program called iReady - they should be doing 15-20 minutes each day in both areas.  The kiddos do music and PE independently via recorded lessons and completing FlipGrids (short videos talking about what you learned or did).  Though music and PE are optional in the school's eyes, they are not optional in our house.  But the kids have plenty of time to do them, so it isn't like they are staying up late to do them.  :)  RJ and Ryleigh are both bored with their school work, but glad to be back in school.

The school is still trying to do as much as they can in the way of extra activities in the evenings for kids.  So, we participate when we can.  RJ did an online Math Blast one night, and then both kids were able to do a STEM fair.  They logged into Zoom presentations, had activities (we picked up the supplies ahead of time), and more.  RJ and Ryleigh always seem to be a little reluctant to do those kinds of things, but once they are doing it, they have a good time, as you can tell from their smiles.

Things in Washington are slowly opening back up, and the base is following suit.  We were able to take the kids down to the base recreation center and meet three other Decatur Avenue families (although we were the only ones with kids) for some bowling.  We all had a great time.  And, the employees were so thrilled to have people there - it gave them a sense of normalcy, too.

And, finally, we took the plunge and invested in a pool table (and ping pong top).  We had been looking forward to having a pool table at the house if Jip got selected for the CO at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, as a table is provided with the house.  But, here, no furnishings, and certainly no pool table, come with the house.  So, we decided that we should still have one, and the living room is just so big that it needed one.  I found a little shop north of Seattle that sells mostly used tables.  So, we headed there one Saturday to take a look and ended up buying a table that looked brand new, but was well over 5 years old.  The shop delivered it and set it up properly, put on new felt in our color choice, and supplied the balls, cues, and everything else we would need.  Jip has racked up the balls every night to play on his own to unwind or to play with the kids.   Ryleigh loves playing by herself and just trying to get balls in the pockets.  I think we made a wise choice.  And, once this stupid pandemic is over, I'm sure the neighbors will all be over to put it to good use, too.

The Mosman Clan keeps plugging along.  RJ is still coding nearly every weekend and is probably 2 months or so away from moving to the next belt at Code Ninja.  He has also been really getting into his Ark Survival game that he plays with other kids online through Outschool.  RJ has worked hard at being a reliable teammate and a leader in the game.  Though we don't understand what he really does in the game, we know he is having success, and we know he is enjoying it.  Ryleigh is at the gym 12 hours per week, and we hear that she will be moving to Level 4 and will be going 16 hours per week starting this summer. She is still loving it and has really bonded with a couple other girls.  She still plays Roblox with her VA teammates on the weekends and loves keeping in touch -- and her little competitive side likes keeping tabs on how they are doing at their meets.  :)

Until next time, cheers!