Data Dump

Well, maybe "Data Dump" isn't quite the right term, but I fully acknowledge ahead of time that this is going to be a bunch of unrelated pictures and events since I have been neglecting the blog.  So, ready or not. here comes the dump...

First, we need to show off school pictures.

And, now we need to show off the opposite of school pictures--our professional family photos.  We found a nice little photographer thanks to a friend of mine and were able to do pics at a Christmas tree farm in November.  

Ryleigh finally got brackets on her top teeth and boy are they moving fast!

RJ finished his Brown Belt at Code Ninja.  That is part two of the coding language Unity.  He only has two belts to go before he finishes the coding curriculum there.  Maybe he can then get a job there.  :)

The hybrid battery on our Highlander decided to start going south.  After Jip's exhaustive research, he elected to buy a refurbished battery and do the replacement ourselves.  It was a smart move--it saved $10,000.  Seriously.  The dealership wanted $13000 for a new battery and installation.  Jip did the replacement in around 4 hours.  And a bonus--we got to clean out under the rear seats really well since that's how you access the hybrid battery.

And, finally, no picture to go with it, but we'll just document what we're already shared with a lot of people... We're moving back to Hampton Roads summer 2023.  Jip has been selected to be the CO at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, VA.  His change of command in Bremerton will probably be end of May and the change of command in Portsmouth will be in June.  We'll be living in the base commander's house on the shipyard, but it may be the end of the summer before we can move in because there are so many moving pieces with people moving out, too.  One of the best parts, aside from Jip being trusted with another command, is that the kids will get to go back to their old activities.  We're still working on what to do about school since we don't think Portsmouth Public Schools are the right fit for our kids.  The next few months promise to be crazy.

Until next time, cheers!

2023 Rock N Roll Classic

The first meet of January was a tough one for Ryleigh.  Level 5s were the first session of the day, and it felt like the people running the meet hadn't run one for awhile.  The girls ended up sitting around for long periods of time after their warm-ups, which allowed time for Ryleigh to get into her own head.  It was not her day on beam with two falls off the beam.  But, just like last year when she had a fall--she got it out of the way.  I know she'll come back even stronger at the next meet!

Despite the tough time on beam, Ryleigh still got to be on the podium four times, including for a very solid 4th place finish on bars.  She continues to improve, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ryleigh's score on bars is above a 9 in the next meet or the meet after that.  (January is busy!)

By the way--there was a professional photographer at the meet, taking pictures of floor exercise.  I was so grateful to have some high quality action shots!

https://youtu.be/l4oXkz9b7gE

Holiday Express 2022

And so the 2022-23 gymnastics season really begins.  Ryleigh had her first competitive meet as a Level 5 in December.  She quickly learned that the judges' expectations are as high as rumored for Level 5, so the scores weren't what she is used to.  But, she still did terrific! She got 2nd place on the bars while demonstrating she really CAN do a beautiful flyaway (flipping dismount from the high bar).  And, her overall score qualified her for State.  So, now she can focus on perfecting her skills and continuing to improve.

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/to2mYW-S01g

Time is Zooming By

I realized October is almost over and I haven't done a blog post for a month and a half.  So, here are a few snippets of what we've been up to.

The kids and Jip took in a regular-season Mariners game on October 1.  We decided I should not attempt it due to my knee and hip.  Jip said it was good I didn't try--the seats were up a lot of stairs and getting to and from the ballpark probably would have done me in.  But, they had a great time!  The Mariners had clinched the Wild Card slot the day before, but the win on the day they went was a nice bonus.

We've had the craziest fall weather in that it hasn't really been autumn around here.  It has been unseasonably warm and dry.  RJ and Jip took advantage of that dryness a couple weeks ago and took their bikes down for a ride across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

Ryleigh has continued to work on perfecting her Level 5 gymnastics.  She's had a few private lessons and the team had an in-house showcase/meet.  Their were judges for the showcase, but the scores were really just a way for the girls to see where they are.  Ryleigh did great on floor and vault!  I've married up her routine with her floor music so you can hear it (though not the highest quality) once this year.  I'm sure I'll do my usual with the rest of her videos and make it one song over all of the routines.  I made vault part of another video, which also shows Ryleigh working on her baby giant (throwing yourself over the bar without your hips touching as you go around) and her flyaway (dismount with a back flip).  I am not including bars from the showcase because I can't seem to run my own phone and took two pics instead of a video.  :/  And, I'm not including beam because Ryleigh fell off the beam a couple times and she did not want to share it.  She said the beam was slippery because it normally has a cover over it, so it doesn't have the normal wear and all of the chalk that normally covers the beam.  Anyway, here she is...

Level 5 Floor Routine with Music

October Gym Stuff

And here are a couple photos from the showcase (it was Halloween themed, so they all wore Halloween or fall-ish leotards) and a photo of her teammates giving her a birthday hug.

Advanced Level 3, Level 4, and Level 5

Level 5

And finally, Jip continues to do cool stuff.  Last time, it was practicing putting out fires.  This time, it was hanging out with his dive locker.  Jip has a few divers that work for him who can do underwater inspections and repairs on ships.  So, they invited him to experience a dive for himself.  Here he is underwater near the submarine base.

I continue to plug along as kid-taxi-driver-extraordinaire and NMCRS-volunteer-okay-most-of-the time.  I am 4 hours away from finishing the required hours for my Accredited Financial Counselor fellowship.  I cannot wait for it to be over so the pressure to finish it is finally off.

No guarantees that I'll get another blog post in under a month, but maybe I'll surprise you (and myself).  I will promise to try to do better and taking more pictures so the content for the next blog post, whenever that is, is a little more robust.

Until next time, cheers!

Happy 11th Birthday, Ryleigh!

 Ryleigh had a mini sleepover with a couple of girls from gymnastics to celebrate turning 11 the weekend before her birthday.  Indigo and Olivia (Indy and Olive to Ryleigh) came home with her from the gym and immediately dove into pizza.  Ryleigh opened her gifts and then the girls noshed on mini bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes.  The next morning, the girls had cinnamon rolls, did some canvas art, and carb loaded with pasta for the meet the following day.

On her actual birthday, we "celebrated" by getting flu shots.  But, then we ate in a restaurant of Ryleigh's choosing, and she chose a new-ish to Kitsap County pizza place.  It was delicious!  Ryleigh was a very happy girl.  Then we came home to open gifts from the family.  Mom and Dad gave Ryleigh a new bike a few weeks ago--it was on sale and we really needed her to try it out to make sure it felt right to her.  Everyone else spoiled her rotten on her birthday.  Thank you for that!

Happy 11th Birthday to My Best Girl!