Basketball Debut

Today, we had Peyton's piano lesson, and Brandon was worried about getting to his basketball game. The coach said he would only take the starting 5. The rest of the team (10 more) had to get rides on their own. We had arranged for Brandon to get a ride with a friend from baseball. Dave was his coach, so now we were calling in a favor. But luckily, Dave arrived at the end of school and found Brandon at the front. They all went together with their own parents. Peyton and I got there half way through the second quarter. Brandon gets to come in at the end of the quarters, a couple of minutes at a time. Dave was surprised he got to come in much at all! He is not one of the starters, but he does get some playing time. It is nerve wracking, but the team was doing well. Peyton saw two other little sisters, both of whom are older than Peyton, but they did ask her to play with them.

Brandon went into the game with 1:33 left, up by 12 points. Dave said, "Oh, it's too soon." In the end, the team won by at least 12 points.

I was able to capture this:

I didn't get the release, but he did get it in there!

He also had another shot, which I thought I was filming, but it was just camera mode.

After the game, Dave took Brandon and his friend home, while Peyton and I checked out softball. It was hot out there and we didn't stay long.

Here are the pictures:

Peyton got to try out her new bat today! Here's a ball Dave took a picture of on the roll after she hit it.

Piano Monster

Today, while we were practicing piano, Peyton challenged me. She asked, “Can you play this better than me?” OOoh, she’s competitive. I rose to the challenge. Before I even sat down, she told me, “Well, you can practice a few times, and then see how you do.” Meanwhile, she was working on her theory, so while I stumbled through the piece she’s been working on for a few weeks and can play with ease, she was chuckling as I made a mess with it. Well, I can still tell when SHE is not doing it right. Don’t do what I do…do what I say! Hopefully she doesn’t make me play softball and/or basketball against her. Dave still thinks he can take her in both sports, however I don’t know how long it will be before he is overtaken.

Cross country?


Hardly cross country material. My mom said he slowed her down!

Sleepover weekend

Brandon had basketball practice on Friday, after school, then my mom came to get him for the weekend.

Peyton had practice on Saturday morning, and they were working her out at short stop. She loves playing short stop, so it was good for her. They were getting very technical with her, and fine-tuning things with her.

We came home, packed, practiced piano, showered up, then Dave went to work, while I headed out for the long haul. Over 2 hours of driving, a full one hour plus nap from her, and we had arrived at the Charles Schulz museum. It was over 90 degrees, and she had to go potty. We pulled into the gift shop area, but the potty was at the ice center. We found our party finally in the main museum area. We put our gear in the lobby, and then we waited for the rest of the girls to arrive. The girls were given an orientation, with rules, and then we had dinner – pizza and salad. It was so pleasant outside! Then, we went back in and got some activities underway. The highlight of the evening was a trip to the ice center. The girls got to skate for a little over an hour. Once we got back, the girls got to set out their belongings in the museum! They changed and got back in their groups to listen to bedtime stories. Bedtime was 1030 pm, so late! It was a rough night, though I snagged a couch. There were some snorers, some sleep talkers, but overall, I was able to sleep some.

We woke up and had breakfast while watching Peanuts cartoons. The girls got ready, and then they did one more activity. She was in a group of 3 girls, one junior leader, and her other brownie friend. They all got along and watched out for each other. We got to re-enter the museum if we wanted to, but we had to wait an hour. We watched more ice skating, and hung out in the lobby, walked around, then went to the gift shop before heading back to the first floor. Peyton wrote a letter on the type-writer to her brother. It was super sweet. She worked on it for quite some time. We headed back to SF, and she slept much of the way, until we arrived at the start of the golden gate bridge. We met my mom and Brandon back at my grandma's house. They'd run the 5K GIants race. He looked tired! We hung out for a little more than an hour, after Dave joined us. Then, he returned to work, while we drove home. Both kids were out until I got off the freeway! Dave came home about an hour later, and we all ate dinner together.

Here is the letter, along with the other pictures from the trip.

bathroom stall decor see the caption on the wall? Didn't see that when I took it. Taken from the outside circular windowsleeping arrangementsgetting ready with her group t shirt! the stamp she made kids watching the peanuts movie Mona Lucy sketches a real typewriter! took several takes of this. And had to convince her "no one is looking at you"

Bragging?

Peyton (telling me about typing club after school today) I'm not bragging but I'm thinking to myself (in class) I'm pretty good at it because I'm the first in my class". Uh ok. Keep it up, kid. And I'm glad she's just telling herself.

Know Your Role

Peyton knows her role on her two teams. With one, she gets antsy when she doesn’t play. She was resting on me one day, and she was ready to go in when she saw other girls not making plays that she would routinely make. On the other team, coach asked where the kids wanted to try out. The girls called out their positions, and they would peel off and spot up on those areas. Peyton was the last kid standing in front of coach. He talked to her then sent her to second. I asked her what was going on with that, at the end of practice. She said she didn’t know where to go. I told her she normally would park herself at short stop. She said, “I know, but I will play wherever they tell me to play.” I asked her, “Really?” She said, “Yea, I don’t care where I play (on this team).” The difference is that the other team, she is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, but the other team, she is youngest or second youngest.

Convo with Peyton and Dave

Dave has been known to be rather vague, and doesn’t really get to the point with his answers. He doesn’t like to commit to anything.

I had Peyton with me from piano, and we were heading home. She needed to be at softball practice, but Brandon needed a ride back from basketball. I had her call Dave while I was driving. She got him on the phone and asked:
P: Hi daddy. where are you?
D: I’m on my way home soon.
P: are you coming home to pick me up for softball?
D: I have to drop off a form for Brandon at basketball practice. It’s his permission slip.
P: So, is that a yes or a no?

Yeah, just get right down to it. I stayed out of it, but I did chuckle a bit to myself.

Outstanding

Peyton says that when she attempts to answer questions in class, they get to move their clothes pin up. They all start in the middle, which is “ready to learn” on their behavior chart. And their behavior is evaluated throughout the day, nothing new for them.

She waits her turn, but she said the list is alphabetical by last name. She says she knows, because Martin is first (his last name starts with an A). I suggested maybe she was going based on first names, like Brandon did last year. She said, “No, because why would Martin be first?” She told me, “Justin (last name X) went before me.” She was disgruntled yesterday as a result. Tuesday she told me there were 6 kids on “OUTSTANDING” which is the highest level. She said she was one of them, because she answered some questions, but then they ran out of questions on Wednesday, so she didn’t get to move her pin up. I had to ask her, “So you are excited to answer questions aloud in class?” She said, “Yes.” I repeated, “YOU?” But she was still stuck on the fact that the alphabetical order was not correct.

Today, I walked with her to the car, and she told me, “I was wrong.” I asked her if she answered the wrong question. She said, “No, I got it right.” I asked her what she was talking about. She said, “Ms. M called on me first. Justin was the last one to answer, and I didn’t get to yesterday, and then she picked me first today.” I’m glad she can admit when she’s wrong. So, she had a stamp on her hand today. I asked if she was on “outstanding” again. She nodded. And then said, “I was the ONLY one on outstanding!” I asked her if she was liking the class more now. She’s growing to like it, and at least she doesn’t hate it.

Practice Wednesday

This week, Brandon has been going to tryouts for basketball. It's been nice so that he has somewhere to go after school. We've been picking up from the gym. the first day, Dave picked up Peyton and brought her to tryouts, while I went straight home. The second day, Tuesday, I went straight from work and was chatting with a dad who then nodded behind me, only for me to realize it was Dave. Dave asked me, "Where's Peyton?" I'd left her at cdc so I didn't have to worry about her hanging around me while I watched. There were a lot of boys trying out – 38 in all. After yesterday, he walked out of the gym. I wasn't sure if he'd made it as he was one of the last getting his stuff together. Then, I heard one of the boys say, "How did you make it, Brandon?" it wasn't nice. The kid was being mean, but he was one of Brandon's "friends". After yesterday's tryouts, he let 17 kids go, so there were 21 left. He told the kids that only 12 were going to make it. He was so excited about tryouts today, he couldn't sleep last night. He wanted to go with Dave who went to his basketball adult session. Today, he went to school with Peyton to volunteer. He texted me before class started that he forgot his planner or "dropped it on the way from Peyton's school". I texted him about being more responsible. Later I learned that he did not turn in a homework assignment as a result! Right after school was done, I texted him good luck at try outs and to try hard.

After work, I picked Peyton up and we went to watch. Dave was already there. We stayed for a little bit before we had to leave for softball practice. She was in full dodger blue regalia today. Dave was texting me updates, and later told me he didn't think he'd make it since he wasn't wearing a jersey. Later, he texted me, "He's in!" The coach released the kids that did not make it, and he kept 15. We heard he was a "softie" so I guess 3 extra people slipped by.

Peyton had a great practice, except she's afraid to use her backhand while fielding. She's okay using it to dive on grass, but not in the dirt. The coach was getting upset with his daughter at short stop, so he pulled her out of the position and subbed Peyton in to show her how it was done. She showed a lot of hustle today, and even though she didn't do everything 100%, she gave it 100%. He even stopped practice at some point, and told everyone to watch Peyton get her bootie down to the ground to get in position to field the ball. All the other 11 kids were watching as coach rolled her a ball and she fielded it cleanly. Luckily, she doesn't get nervous when doing so. Practice went over 2 hours, and after, she wasn't done running around! They were running around on the field, doing cartwheels. I had to pull Peyton away since we still had reading, piano, and dinner to complete. Finally, we got off the field and went to dinner with the other peyton. We got home, and Dave asked what took us so long. Peyton showered up, did her reading, and piano. She went to bed at almost 10 pm! So much for our 8 pm bedtimes. Now we're at high school bedtimes!

Brandon was one hour late to baseball practice, after having stayed for the team meeting. He will now start basketball practice until 5 pm Monday through Thursday. Both kids will have batting practice on Friday. We'll have a busy fall for sure, and Drama will start for Peyton on Monday!

When I saw Brandon he told me he made the team by saying, "Thank you for encouraging texts! I made the team!"

Solar Eclipse

Today was a big event. The kids were given solar eclipse glasses at school, and they were given instructions to not look at the sun by the teachers and their parents. Those were my parting words for them, “Do not look at the sun without the glasses”. I was busy at work, and I was making calls and did not go outside. Peyton asked me today if I went outside to look. I told her I hadn’t. She told me, “But the next time it happens, you are not going to be alive.” Uh. She was not joking. She had learned that the total solar eclipse happens every 99 years. MIchelle saved the day by telling me the next one would be 2024. I hope to be around for that.

She is not totally morbid, and really does care about me. I came down the stairs this weekend, and somehow missed the last step, so I stepped off the second to last thinking I was on solid ground. All three of them watched me do it, and I was giggling as I was unhurt. Dave laughed and told me that that was why Peyton was so clumsy. Brandon just looked at me and asked, “How did that happen?” Peyton saw the boys chuckling at me, and she felt bad for me. She came up to me, checked me out, and gave me a big hug and snuggled against me. It is similar to what I do to her when she slips and falls 🙂