Fresno Dolphins Swim Team

This year, we have been really blessed to have a community of people to help us watch Grace after school.  Since the first week of the school year, Grace has been taking the bus home with Isaac, Audrey, and CJ, and between the Macks, Bergens, and Wiens families, we can always be assured that she's in a great place.  Last month, Audrey and Violet decided to join the Fresno Dolphins swim team.  Since Grace had been hanging out with these girls after school, she too decided she wanted to try it out.  Every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, Jamie drives the 3 girls to practice.  It has been such a wonderful learning experience for Grace.  We've seen her become a much more confident swimmer and her strokes continue to improve.  She has entered 2 swim meets this season- one in Selma and one in Oakhurst.  Her first swim meet was in Selma and boy, did we learn a lot about swim meets in just that one day!
1)  Make sure to have your goggles (Grace didn't realize she had forgotten her goggles as her heat was getting into the blocks).  
2)  Don't let Jeremy bring legos to the pool (he almost dropped some in the water while we were being warned by an official to stay away from the edge of the pool)
3)  Get into the right lane (with the stress of Grace not having her goggles, she got into someone else's blocks and the official had to announce her name- Grace Isaac, LANE 8!)
4)  Have friends/husband come with you (thank goodness for Jamie and Jason!) to help you watch your kids
5)  When it's triple digits outside and you are at a swim meet with 400 swimmers, it's a good idea to bring plenty of sunblock, a shade structure, things to do while you're waiting, plenty of snacks/food/water!

In the end, Grace ended up only swimming in one event- 100 m freestyle.  She came in 6th in her heat, and 16th overall.  Her next event was one of the last events of the day and since it was so miserably hot, we decided to just skip it.  She was so happy to get out of swimming the backstroke, her least favorite!

Last weekend, Grace attended her 2nd swim meet.  It was held in Oakhurst, and since Jason's mom lives not too far from this mountain town, we asked to spend the night so it wouldn't be too far to drive early in the morning.  Since it was held here, Grace had a great cheering section!

She swam in three events- the 50 m freestyle, the 100 m breast stroke (her favorite), and the 50 m backstroke.

During her warm up, Auntie Jen was able to work with Grace for a while and gave her some great swimming tips

 

Grace getting settled at the start

 In the end, Coach Suzanne told Grace that her best event was the backstroke! We were really impressed with how well she did in that particular race.  We are very proud of her for stepping out of her comfort zone and trying something new.

 

Grace has gained so much confidence in swimming that it has been such a worthwhile experience.  She didn't place or win any awards at her meets, but it was evident she was trying her best and has improved a lot.    Thank you so much, Jamie, for all your help with Grace so she could participate on the swim team this year!

2nd Annual Siblings Weekend Getaway

Two weekends ago, Jason and I went with his sister and bro-in-law, Jennifer and Dan, for a getaway trip to San Francisco. We had been hoping to catch a Giants game, but with the playoffs right around the corner and the fact that they were playing against the Dodgers, tickets ended up costing way too much. We had already arranged for Jason's mom to watch our kids for the weekend (we're so blessed that she's always so willing to take our kids), so we decided to go away for the weekend anyway. We each had one item on our "wish list of things to do" so that's what we ended up doing. Here's a quick overview:
*For previous visits, we've stayed right in the heart of San Francisco, but this time, our timeshare wasn't available, so we ended up staying in Pleasanton and took the BART in to town
*On Jason's wish list was seeing a show of some type. He had looked into some groups playing at different venues, but it didn't end up working out. We did get to see a comedy show with Anthony Boden (from Last Comic Standing) on Friday night though. It was a ton of fun!

*On Jennifer's wish list was a visit to the Ferry Building. On Saturday mornings, there's a wonderful Farmer's Market. I absolutely love this place!!!

 

*We headed to Chinatown but instead of finding a Chinese restaurant, we had lunch at a Vietnamese place. It was Dan's first time!   Here's Jason enjoying his Cafe Sua Da (Vietnamese Iced Coffee)

*The number one thing I wanted to do this weekend was ride a "Go Car." I know- it's so touristy, but still, I have always wanted to do that and now I can cross it off my San Fran list. It was so fun, definitely one of the highlights of our trip. I laughed almost the entire time- it was just so funny to be zooming around the wharf area and to the Golden Gate Bridge in the Go Car. We stopped along Crissy Field and turned around at Fort Point at the base of the bridge.  Along the way, there were moments we wondered if we'd make it up the hills in that dinky little car!

*On Dan's wish list was seeing some art.  We had planned to visit a museum, but some unexpected things happened back home that needed for us to return to Fresno earlier on Sunday than originally planned.  Lucikly, after strolling through the Ghiradelli Chocolate Festival, we got a chance to wander through some art galleries near Ghiradelli Square. 
*We love eating in North Beach!  Instead of heading to our usual seafood place, we ventured out and tried a pizza place named Cafe Baonecci.  It was great- they serve authentic Italian pizza!  I have to admit though that when we walked by Sotto Mare, I kind of wished that we had gone there instead...

*We weren't ready to head back to Pleasanton just yet, so we decided to go hang out at O'Reilly's Pub for a few hours.  As we walked back to the BART station, we stopped off at CityLights Bookstore and perused the book aisles.  By the time we were on BART, we were super tired and glad to be able to sit!

Not everyone gets along with their family... It's fun to hang out with Jen and Dan, and I'm glad that the four of us are not only family but friends, as well.  Next year, we'll do a better job planning so that we can make sure that Jason and Dan get to see their Giants!   

Preschool or Kinder?

This post is mainly for me to remember this difficult decision that we had to make regarding Jeremy and his future...  A few days ago, we got a phone call from his preschool teacher suggesting that we move Jeremy to kindergarten.  He's doing so well!  Of course we were thrilled to hear this, however, it completely threw us off because we simply weren't expecting to have to process through this decision again.  We agonized over this last spring, trying to figure out what Jeremy should do this year.  Jason and I talked at length and then I called several people for input and advice.  We know Jeremy is doing well now and will probably always be academically successful.  Our concerns are his maturity and social skills- we started Grace in kindergarten when she was 4 and have seen firsthand the effects of her being one of the youngest in her class.  There are so many reasons both for and against him heading to kindergarten.  Ultimately, it's his future we really need to consider.  Well... We decided to leave Jeremy in preschool.   When I talked with the preschool director, there was one thing she said that really boosted my confidence in our decision.  She said that if there's any doubt at all of how Jeremy would do if we were to move him to kindergarten, that alone was enough of a reason to not do it.  So, Jeremy will continue in preschool.  When we asked him what he liked the most about school, he said he loved learning and he loved his teacher.  That alone is enough of a reason to let him "just be." 

Dad's Birthday Party

September 7 is Jason's dad's birthday.  Even though he is no longer with us, every year, we celebrate his life by getting together for his birthday party.  The kids attach special notes and pictures they've drawn and written, and we release them.  Then, we go to Yoshino's for teppanyaki and to Coldstone for dessert afterwards.  (If you haven't heard the reason why our family celebrates in this way, please feel free to visit my previous years' posts). 

   Grandma sharing a scrapbook about Grandpa's life with the kids.  Jeremy is the only one who never got to meet and know Grandpa.

 Releasing balloons to Dad/Grandpa in heaven

We love you so much and miss you terribly, Dad... Happy Birthday to you...

Jeremy's First Camping Experience

We are gone for so much of the summer every year that when we're actually in town, we don't feel like going anywhere.  Every year, our friends head to the mountains to camp, and we've declined their invitations, wanting to stick closer to home.  Well, it dawned on us this year that our almost 5-year-old son has never been camping!  The last time we went was when I was 8 months pregnant with him.  I can't hardly believe it has been that long, and I definitely can't believe that he doesn't have any camping memories!  Well to remedy this, our friends, the Macks, invited us to join them and some other friends over Labor Day weekend.  We said yes this time, mostly because school has started and summer has been over for us for several weeks.  Unfortunately, things didn't pan out and so we had to figure out a Plan B.  We had made the mistake of telling our kids weeks ago that we would be going camping.  In fact, we even set up a play tent in Grace's room several weekends ago to let the kids "practice" sleeping in a tent. 

 So, what was Plan B?  We had a "Backyard Camp Out" and invited the Macks to join us.  They even drove their RV over to our house to pretend that they were really going camping.  Here are some pictures of our time together!

We had a wonderful dinner (the Wiens family joined us for that).  That's Jason's arm- I know, silly, but it was the only one I managed to remember to take of our meal.

 

The kids swam and played in the water (we said it was like playing in a lake or river).

 

 

 

We roasted marshmallows and had s'mores!

 

Randy and Jason set up two tents- one for the boys, one for the girls.  They brought tons of stuff into their tents- board games, Star War figures, cards, coloring stuff... They were still awake at 10:30pm.  The adults stayed up talking but when it was time for bed, Randy and Jamie ended up sleeping in our family room (on our floor!) with their little one, and Jason and I slept in our own bed.   I still can't believe they slept on our floor- we really need to invest in at least a blow up mattress!!! (Again, so sorry, Macks!)  The girls woke up at 4:45am, and the boys were up before 6am.  We had our windows open and they were so loud- wide awake, laughing and talking.  Later, we found out they were passing notes back and forth between the tents.

After we got up, our families were able to have a nice breakfast together before the Macks packed up and headed home.

It wasn't exactly what we pictured for camping this weekend, but we had so much fun!  We are so thankful to the Macks for going through all the work of getting everything ready just to stay in our backyard- they helped to create a wonderful memory for our family- what a great first camping memory for Jeremy!

Alyssa Samansky Track Challenge

This happened several weeks ago and I am only now remembering to blog about it.  Our friend, Shawna, shared with us about some friends of hers that hosted a memorial track meet every year.  Their daughter lost her life seven years ago, and every year, they hold a track challenge to celebrate her life.  It turns out that Alyssa's dad, Aaron, used to run track with Jason during his Fresno State years.  They were in the 4x100 relay together.  It was the weirdest coincidence that Jason went to Sierra Running to register for the track challenge and was able to spend some time talking and catching up with Aaron.  Unlike his track days when he ran shorter distances, Jason decided just to run the mile for this track event, and we signed up both kids to run in the 50m kid's race.  It was a fun night!

 

Unlike with all of Jason's sprinting races, it was much easier to get a picture of him running this time around!

 

A New School Year

So, we spent 6 out of 8 weeks of summer break out-of-town.  It was so nice to get back into town...  Unfortunately, there were some pertinent issues we had to deal with that took place in our absence (I'll save that for another post), but I gave myself permission to relax for one week and not do anything related to school.  Obviously, that's not true- I still worked every day, but I didn't go into work.  My last week before school started, I went to school almost every day to set up my classroom.  There's something about starting a new school year- I am always filled with hope!  This year, we are all facing a new beginning of some sort.

Jason
After teaching 6th grade at a middle school for the last 2 years, changes at Jason's school gave him no choice but to move to 8th grade.  Jason has been a part of the International Baccalaureate program for quite a number of years, but the program got moved to its own campus this year.  It was decided that the new campus would do a block schedule, and since Jason only has a history single subject credential, it wasn't possible for him to move with the program.  This year, he'll be teaching U.S. History to 8th graders.

Jane
While at the Penner reunion, I found out that my principal resigned out-of-the-blue.  A lot of things happened rather quickly, and our new principal started only a few weeks ago.  Despite the stress of beginning a new school year with new (unfamiliar) leadership, it has been great- there is a positive vibe and a wonderful energy that I haven't felt at our school for a number of years.  I'm really excited about what is to come!  I enjoy my new students and based on the few weeks that I've had them, I can already predict that this year will be so much more enjoyable than last year.  I'll revisit that in Jan., ha ha ha! 

Grace
Grace has been at Kratt School since kindergarten and we've been ok with it.  Her 2nd grade year was amazing and she grew in so many ways.  Last year, she tested and qualified for Gifted and Talented Education (GATE).  In Fresno, there is a magnet school specifically for GATE students.  When we received the news that she was invited to attend, we were very unsure about what to do.  It has been a difficult decision to make.  It pretty much came down to her, and we were absolutely shocked when she said she wanted to try it out.  There was a moment last spring when she broke down and said she no longer wanted to go to Manchester.  She cried about how much she'd miss her teacher. We reminded her that even if she stayed at Kratt, she wouldn't be in his class again.  Since then, there hasn't been any talk about staying at Kratt.  She has had an incredible disposition about starting a new school.  Leading up to the first day of school though, Grace shared that she was very nervous about making new friends.  We would certainly appreciate prayers for Grace as she transitions to being at a new school! Here's our 3rd grader:

 

 Grace with her teacher, Mrs. Workman

(I was thrilled to get to take Grace to class on her first day.  Our new principal says he believes that family comes first, so he approved for my grade level partners to take my class until I could get to school. It was such a relief for me to help her get settled.)

Jeremy
So not only were we agonizing about moving Grace to a new school this year, we were also agonizing about what Jeremy should do this year.  With his October birthday, we had three options for this year: 1) start kindergarten, 2) start transitional kindergarten, 3) go to private preschool. 

We started Grace in kindergarten when she was 4, and we've had our regrets.  Grace was so academically ready that we just couldn't see holding her out for another year for her to start kindergarten.  Looking back, she has struggled socially.  This past year was the first year in which she seemed to actually "fit in" with her peers.  She had always seemed immature compared to her classmates, and that was due to her being the youngest one in her class.  With Jeremy being a boy, most people would say that for maturity's sake, it'd be better to start him next year. 

Our second option was transitional kindergarten (TK).  It's a new program that is geared towards kids whose birthdays fall between August and November.  Those are all of the "would-be" young kinders. These kids would still enter kindergarten next year, but will have some school experience.  The issue for us here was that Kratt only offers half day school, which would mean Jeremy would have to take the bus to a daycare for the afternoon.  Most likely, he'd end up at the same daycare he was at this past year, and we had major issues with them regarding his health and administering of his inhaler during allergy season. 

The third option was for private preschool, the same one Grace went to years ago.  We were really drawn to this option for several reasons.  Shining Star is a Christian preschool, and we love that every day, he'd get to learn about God and our Christian values.  The preschool is nurturing and isn't completely focused on academics alone.  There is an emphasis on learning through play, a notion that is phasing out in public schools.  Basically, we embrace that he gets one more year to just be a kid!

Obviously, there were many other factors to consider, but after going back and forth (and back and forth), we decided to enroll Jeremy at Shining Star for this upcoming year.  Here's our preschooler:

Jeremy with his teacher, Mrs. Debbie.

I was so nervous for Jeremy and his first day of school! Jason dropped him off and says that Jeremy walked right in with no hesitation.  He has loved school!  After a week, his teacher told us that she wishes that all her students could be more like Jeremy.  Apparently, he's very well-mannered, respectful, and does everything he's supposed to at school.  Thank goodness! 

Our entire family is off to a great start to the new school year.  It's going to get pretty busy here really quickly and I am sure that it'll pass before we know it! 

Penner Reunion 2012

After already being on the road for a month, part of me was really anxious to get home.  Part of me was also excited that we'd get to spend some quality time with Jason's family.  Every two years, his family has a reunion.  There were several of Jason's cousins who couldn't make it this year, but it was great to see everyone who did come. 

We spent the week at a remote camp south of Mount Shasta.  Here's a glimpse of the wonderful week we spent with the Penners:

Swimming at water holes

Playing badminton (Uncle Ken tried to teach Jeremy how to play- so cute)

 Fishing

 

 Catching newts in the camp's pond (the older cousins taught Grace how to use this branch to capture the newts)

 

 Roasting marshmallows and enjoying s'mores

Eating, eating, eating!

A reunion tradition- Cousins Night (we drove to Dunsmuir Brewery and hung out)

The kids spent a lot of time building a fort

One day, we drove into Redding to go to the waterpark together

 

Spending lots of time with family!

I don't know where the next reunion will be, but we are already looking forward to it!

Happy 13 Years!

We were at the Penner Family Reunion during our anniversary, so we ended up celebrating when we got home. Jason's mom kindly watched our kids so we could have an evening to ourselves.  We headed to Oka, our favorite Japanese restaurant.  Here's what I put on Facebook:  Wow, 13 years!!!! I am so grateful for such an amazing, patient, and loving husband- my very best friend and the best partner I could have to share this life's journey with... Happy Anniversary, Babe- I love you so much!

 

 

My all-time favorite Japanese roll- the Pink Godzilla... YUM!