August Action

We've been busy starting to ease back into the school season. School hasn't actually started yet (that's this Monday) but Emily has started back to cross country and we had Open Houses to attend this week. I'm looking forward to getting back into a routine, but I can't say the same for the kids.

Emily has had two CC meets already. She wasn't too eaget to start the season, knowing what hard work lay ahead, but with some insistance from her parents she has trudged through and is again enjoying running. Her first meet was on Thursday at Goshen (a practice meet). The second was today at Wilmington. We can definetly see an improvement in Emily's times compared to last year. At Wilmington last year she had a time of 17:50, and this year she timed at 16:39!!

David was busy cheering "GO LITTLE IAMI!"

(not mispelled, it's what he said)

Emily running at Goshen

Emily's cheering section at Wilmington

Emily coming down the shoot (finish) at Wilmington

Jason had a first this past week. He played in his first soccer game since he broke his leg in December. He played a total of 11 min of the game after deciding that the level of play didn't look that rough. I'm very proud of him for going back out onto the field and facing his own giant of possible reinjury. Jason did say he was worn out afterwards and the next day his legs were talking to him.



Also last weekend we went away for a few days and spend time with the Apthorpe family. We met in Columbus and the next day went to Mohican State park where we camped for three days and two nights. We had a great time of relaxation and fun enjoying one another's company. We checked out the Amish country this past Monday and then on Tuesday headed back home after doing some hiking.

All the kids after the hike!

Hope all is well with you and I'm sure I'll have another post soon to report on the first day of school!!

Concrete

The Crew

Well, it's done! The new patio and walkway have been poured and are busy drying. Jason and friends spent Saturday morning working on the pour. There seemed to be only one flaw to the plan. The concrete truck was just shy of enough concrete for the whole project. My dad had to run to the hardware store and buy 10 bags of concrete and the last two feet of the front walkway had to be done by hand. I must say that the guys did an excellent job. Ella, David and Nataliya were able to get on in the action when they rode the bull float (a tool they use to smooth the top of the concrete). They needed extra weight on top of the bull float and so had each of the kids take a turn (there is a picture below of David riding the float). There is a wonderful feeling when you get such a big project done yourself and saved a lot of money at the same time! Jason spend part of Sunday cutting the concrete (so it doesn't crack) and then taking down the forms. We expect it to be in business for real use by this next weekend. Now, my next task is to find a nice patio set! I'm including photo and a video of the project, enjoy!

A special thank you goes out to my dad who was the photographer and videographer for the day!

David riding the bull float

Jason putting on the brush finish

The finished product!

Wide view of the patio

P.S. For those of you wondering, Emily and I had a wonderful weekend getaway. We had a time of discussing all types of topics that she as a teenager will be facing and how to deal with them. We spent our time talking, shopping, eating, watching "Get Smart" and tried out Kings Island but then decided it was too crowded!