The End of Logan's XC Season

After another fall, Logan wrapped up his second, cross country season today by attending his running club's end-of-season banquet.  Logan had a great time training twice a week and competing on the weekends with South Hill Running Club this season.  Just like last year, several of his close friends from school participated in this club and Logan looked forward to going to every practice.

This past Saturday, November 15th, Logan ran in his last meet which was the Associations Meet at Magnuson Park in Seattle.  Since I had been diagnosed with Achilles Tendonitis the week before, I was unable to go to the meet since it would involve too much walking for me.  As sad as this made me, I was grateful that Ron, Ella, and Emmett were able to go and cheer him on.  Logan did a great job running his 4K race in rainy, wet, and muddy conditions.  He ran it in 15:59 and came in 56th place out of 112 runners.  I am so proud of what a dedicated, long-distance runner Logan has become.  He truly loves this sport and all of his fellow runner friends and I can't wait to see the progress that he makes in the years to come!

:Logan warming up at the starting line before the race began.

Logan running past Ron and the kids.

Pushing hard!

Approaching the finish line.

An exhausted Logan collapsing on the ground after his race was over.

Waving 'hi' to Ron and the kids after getting back up.

Logan's time on the result board.

Our tired, muddy, and wet boy posing for a picture after the race was over.

A team picture of South Hill Running Club taken earlier in the season.

The four kids and I went to Ferrucci Junior HS this evening for a potluck dinner with Logan's club.  After eating dinner, each age group was recognized by a coach in front of everyone.  Here is Logan walking up to get his certificate from one of his coaches.

Logan holding his certificate while listening to the coach.

Logan and the other 13 to 14 year old boys posing for a group photo.

Logan's 2nd Wrestling Match of the Seaon

Due to trying to rest my foot after being diagnosed with Achilles Tendonitis last week, I decided that it was best if I stayed home and missed Logan's first wrestling match on November 11th.  Ron was able to attend and Logan did a great job, winning two of his matches and tying the third.  Today, I was able to limp to the Kalles gym from the parking lot to cheer on Logan with Ron at my side.  Since Logan made Varsity this year, I was more worried than normal about how he would do and if he would get injured.  Luckily, he was able to pin his opponent in the first round and didn't have to wrestle a second or third round.  He did a great job and really seems to have a talent for this sport, as much as it stresses me out.  Logan has a few more matches before his season ends before right before Winter Break  I will just keep my fingers crossed that he makes it through the entire season without any injuries!

Logan and his opponent putting on their bands before the match began.

Starting to wrestle after the referee began the match.

The boys working hard to take each other down.

Logan tackling his opponent.

Logan getting on top.

Shaking hands after the match was over.

The referee raising Logan's winning hand in the air.

Emmett's Last Soccer Game

Emmett finished up his fall soccer season today with his eighth and final game.  Just like in previous years, he had an amazing soccer season.  Emmett is such a natural at this sport.  He was the by far the strongest player on his team and made multiple goals in every single game.  In fact, he sometimes made the only goals in a game.  He is such a fast runner, strong kicker, and aggressive player.  It is just a delight to watch him on the field.  If we had the time, energy, and money, I would put him in a year-round, soccer club; however, in our busy station of life, he will just be sticking with fall soccer for the time being.  I can't wait to see him play again next year.  Good job, Emmett!

Emmett running down the field.

Going after the ball.

Emmett made four goals in his last game and here is the picture I managed to get of him scoring one of them.

Chasing after the ball, against an opponent.

Trying to block a kick.

Giving me a smile as he walks down the field.

Emmett and his team, the Storm Dragons.

From left to right:

Back row: Coaches Cody and Brooke

Front row: Jack, Seager, Cooper, Javion, Miles, Emmett, and Jack

My cute boy proudly showing off his trophy after the final game was over.

Celebrating Ron's 57th Birthday!

As always, it was a quick turn around after Halloween to get ready for Ron's big day yesterday. We celebrated last night after getting an extra hour of sleep (thanks to Daylight Saving time) and going to church in the morning.  I made a big Filipino feast and we enjoyed eating dinner as a family along with a huckleberry cobbler pie for dessert, using berries that we picked in the hills above Priest Lake last summer.  Ron opened a few gifts in the living room afterwards before we called it a night.  It was a simple, yet sufficient, way to celebrate the main man in all of our lives.  Happy Birthday, Ron!

The kids standing around Ron before we sang "Happy Birthday" and he blew out the one candle on his little bowl of Parm Whisps.

Posing with Papa after all of the gift opening was complete.

Halloween 2025

After a few sunny, cool days, a storm came in this afternoon.  As a result, it started to rain a few hours before we headed out to go trick-or-treating.  Although Lia was off trick-or-treating with her good friend, Hope, Ron and I headed out with the Logan, Ella, Emmett, and our neighbor, Poppy, at 6 pm in a heavy rainstorm. We proceeded to go door to door in the worst weather that I can ever recall on Halloween since becoming a mom.  Ella and Poppy were pretty unhappy because they could barely see in their inflatable, Minion costumes, making it difficult to walk, and Logan also could not see through his plague doctor mask and took it off within minutes of leaving the house.  Since Logan also did not bring an umbrella with him, his costume got soaked and he was miserable for the first half of the night.  After visiting the houses up and down our road, we stopped by our house for a quick change into some costumes that were dry and easier to walk in and the group perked up quite a bit.  We managed to stay out until 7:30 pm when we returned home so that the kids could go through their candy, answer the door, and watch our beloved Ichabod Crane movie.  We were happy to finish off the night on a warm and toasty note!

Emmett in his darling Bluey costume.

Ella as the Minion, Bob.

Logan as a plague doctor.

The kids all lined up on the porch.

Ella and Poppy as the Minions, Bob and Stewart.

The entire gang ready to go!

Stopping in front of Donna's cornhusk, pumpkin tree that she makes every year.

The group trick-or-treating at a neighbor's door.

Lia and Hope decided to dress up as the Disney fairies, Silver Mist and Tinkerbell.  Here are the girls all ready to go before heading out to Trick-or-Treat in Hope's neighborhood.

The girls ran into two boys from their XC team while trick-or-treating in Hope's neighborhood and ended up spending the evening walking around with them.  Although Lia said that they had a great time, I simply do not know how they survived in the freezing cold and rain in those little costumes!

Elementary School Trunk-or-Treat

Our elementary school held its first ever trunk-or-treat tonight next to the field behind the school. Only the staff was invited to decorate their cars and, boy, did they go all out!  Most teachers and other employees had a theme with coordinating costumes that went with their decorated trunks.  I took Ella and Emmett down at 5:30 and we were blown away by how many families had turned out for this first time event.  The kids had a fun time visiting all the car trunks before running around with their friends on the playground and the field.  We left less than an hour later due to how cold and dark it had already gotten.  It turned out to be a short, yet fun, Halloween Eve activity!

The kids met up with two friends right as we were starting to go down the line of cars.  Here are Javion and Ellie with Emmett and Ella.

Emmett getting some candy.

The kids visiting a Crayola Crayon themed car.

Ellie and Ella.

Carving & Painting Pumpkins

We gathered around the table last night to carve and paint our pumpkins.  This activity has become so much more enjoyable as our children have gotten more independent and Ron and I can just assist when needed.  It's also hard to believe that this is Lia's last year participating in this family activity with us as she will be off to college next fall.  Sniff.  Emmett painted a very detailed Harry Potter, Ella painted a pumpkin at the spa (complete with a face mask and cucumber slices over the eyes), and Lia painted a darling doughnut with sprinkles on top.  Logan carved a drunken pumpkin drinking wine out of a bottle (it was actually a balsamic vinegar bottle) and Ella also carved a little pumpkin with the numbers 6-7 (thanks to that silly meme that went viral months ago).  They all looked so cute lined up in a row afterwards.  We are now ready to celebrate Halloween!

Emmett working hard on carefully painting Harry's red and yellow scarf.

Ella carving her numbers.

Logan finishing up his drunken pumpkin.

Lia drying her painted pumpkin with the blow dryer.

All of my cuties lined up behind their pumpkins!

Annual Trunk-or-Treat

Since we were in the midst of a big storm on Saturday night, our ward's trunk-or-treat got moved inside the church building about an hour before it was supposed to start.  So Ron and I headed out with the kids around 6 p.m. while Lia opted to stay home to work on homework since none of her close friends were going.  We spent a fun hour wandering around our church's gym and hallways visiting people who had set up their decorations and candy throughout the building.  The kids had a great time collecting candy and running around with friends, minus the fact that Logan and Emmett got overheated in their costumes and Ella learned that she can barely see inside an inflatable costume.  I told everyone that their costumes will help them to stay nice and cozy when we go trick-or-treating outside on Halloween night!

All three kids lined up in the foyer for their group photo.  We realized that both Logan and Ella don't even have to smile for pictures while wearing these costumes.

Logan inspecting Jonathan's candy.

Ella opening up her bag for some candy.

Ella and Emmett stopping for a picture.

Logan and his friend, DJ.