Water Polo

Savannah plays water polo with Natalie and several other kids that are twice her size. I've given her the pep talk that when she practices above her level she's only bettering herself as a player (even if  she's getting trampled the whole practice). A few weekends ago she had the opportunity to play against a club team her own age and she had a blast! She's really learning the game and had so much fun playing it.

Las Vegas trip once with the kids once all alone! Ice skating with friends (we were actually cold)! Talent night with the Achievement day girls and oh yes, don't forget the goat herding and corralling! Savannah was thrilled with her goats this particular day.

Recovering Quickly

Trevor is recovering very quickly! In fact tonight he was walking around the house without his brace on...not sure that was what the Doctor ordered this early on. The toughest part of recovery with a 16 year old is helping him realize that it takes time for the body to heal and helping him find the patience to let that happen!

Surprisingly Positive

Trevor has been dealing with ongoing pain in his right knee for the last couple of years.  We rarely go to the Doctor and I'm the mother that suggest a big glass of water or some extra sleep will make it all better.
To my defense... it almost always works! Going from one sport to another does not allow much recovery time for the body and the fact that Trevor grew over 3 inches in the last year made me think growing pains was a big contributing factor to the discomfort.  Trevor was well aware going into his Junior year at LQHS he would have his work cut out for him in competing for the top spot as quarterback on the varsity team. His summer was spent doing strength training along with Kinetics to increase his speed with not much time to rest in between and towards the end of July it became apparent that it was much more than growing pains in his right knee.  Running completely stopped and physical therapy started in hopes to begin the healing process of a torn patellar tendon.  After 6 weeks of patience and limited practice and playing time on the football field, it was decided that surgery would be necessary in order for Trevor to heal completely. He will undergo surgery to repair and reinforce his patella tendon on Monday September 17th.  With a positive attitude, we all head into this next week hopeful that surgery is successful and Trevor will have a quick recovery and be ready for Baseball season this Spring.

And He's Off!

Devin is off and running at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo!  Feels a little empty around here and I really don't like the sight of his empty room... even more than I hated seeing dirty clothes and wet towels all over the floor. It was a whirlwind of a day driving to San Luis Obispo, getting Devin moved into his apartment,  making a timely trip to Costco, a quick trip to Target and then jumping right back in the car to drive home.  I woke up the next morning in a bit of a daze and feeling numb about everything.  I do know this however...Devin has spent the last 18 years growing some pretty strong wings and now it's time for him to fly.  We are left at home doing a little adjusting within our home but Devin is right where he should be.  That silly boy felt this Kayak was a necessity in the packing process for school. To make a long story short, This kayak made the trip from Indio to San Luis Obispo and right back to Indio.  Turns out College dorm rooms aren't quite big enough to fit one of these bad boys (I held back on the "I told you so")

If you feed them, he will come...

We have our fair share of animals around here.  In fact, we've become a regular "Petting Zoo"!  The newest addition to our farm wanders off and on our property at his leisure. One night at dinner I decided to name him Mr. Jack (any good pet deserve a cleaver name). This enormous jack rabbit has ears that stand straight up and are at least 12" tall. When he stands up he looks just like a baby kangaroo. Mr. Jack arrives at our lawn every evening at dusk just after the sprinklers have finished running their cycle.  He hops from sprinkler to sprinkler in a relaxed fashion and sips from each of the water puddles while resting in between. This cleaver fellow has managed to stay clear of the coyotes...we hope he hops around for many more seasons to come!    

Summer Fun With Couzins

The few trips the kids have been able to take with cousins have saved them from utter board-um this summer!  The girls went to Dockweiler Beach with Sarah, her kiddos and the Davis Family and came home three shades darker than when they left. Great stories were shared about their long and exciting bike rides.

Devin's home away from home would be his Aunt Trina's house and the Beach would take a close second.  How convenient that he gets to do both when he goes to visit!

"Coach", Cody Finley, Trevor Hampton, Andrew Clark

These boys have grown up playing baseball, football,basketball and getting into all kinds of mischief together. They all attend different High Schools but manage to keep in touch and find time for a quick game of tag in the local Walmart (instigated by Gerald of course).    

Summer just wouldn't be summer without some fun at Aunt Trina's house