A pox on our house!

Quinn has been diagnosed with what his very experienced pediatrician called "the smallest case of chicken pox" he has ever seen. What you see in the photos is what he's got ... no blisters or lesions anywhere else on his body. That's a credit to the vaccine that anyone reading this website post never received. The doctor said Quinn will be ready for school Wednesday. Quinn hasn't had any other symptoms other than a low level scratch in his throat and sniffle.

Fall is here (also -- The Terrible Twos are Two-riffic!)

The heat of summer seems to be behind us and the local orchards are harvesting their annual apple crop. The same June thunderstorm that knocked power out at our place for one day was supposed to have seriously hurt this year's crop. It's hard to tell by the look of the "pick your own" place we stopped at today. It's only about 4 miles from our house so it's an easy trip.

Jack enjoyed picking apples. Quinn enjoyed being pulled in the wagon. Mom and Dad enjoyed fresh apple cider donuts.

Now, we're going to deviate from the normal "good feel" nature of this family friendly website to report some developments in Jack's vocabulary. Having a big brother can be useful for language building skills. By far, Jack's most common and articulate phrases are "No fair!" followed by "Mean!" with "What the heck?" a close third. Quinn, too, has picked up a good word or two from school.

Quinn is doing just fine in first grade. I met his teacher last week and saw his class room. Dad's turn as "Coach Bryan" on the soccer team has been rewarding. At last week's practice, while leading the boys in a lap, the team repeated the song below for all other teams to hear:

I don't know what I've been told

Running laps gets really old

Sound off, 1, 2

Sound off 3, 4

All of the parents like Coach Bryan's use of the whistle to get the boys into line and improvement has been noticed during the games. I smell a Coach of the Year award in my future (not that anyone is keeping score during the games --- this year is all about introducing structure).

Neither rain nor snow shall stop us from our appointed rounds

Quinn's first official fall soccer practice took place on a sloppy field in the rain. Naturally, he and the few others that actually showed up loved it. We're teaching them to stay in formation by assigning them to parts of the "plane". The forward is the propeller, the midfielders are wings and the defensemen is the tail. Let's just say they're getting there!

Dad is a pretty good coach who evokes positive responses from his troops. High fives and individual praise go a long way. Plus, no parents have had a meltdown yet. It is hard to snap pics of Quinn but I'll do my best. His team is sponsored by a foundation established in memory of a very young man from our town killed in Iraq about 2-3 years ago.

Summer winding down

Our incredibly humid weather rushed out of here with Hurricane Hanna's remnants last night. Today was very nice permitting another scooter lesson for Jack. Quinn is a great teacher.

I was unable to take photos of Quinn's first soccer game yesterday. Coaching 7 kids made that impossible.

First Day of First Grade

Did you hear that cheer yesterday? Did you know what it was about? Now you do!!!

School started yesterday. A neighborhood friend of Quinn's has now registered in his school so he has yet another friend to pal around with during the day. The group shot shows Quinn with our immediate neighbors. FYI -- we are also surrounded by babies. We intend to make a small tradition of taking photos on the first day.

Quinn was very happy with his new class and said he hopes the teacher assigns harder work. The review of lessons learned last year that took place yesterday was boring, he said.

Upcoming events --- Dad, the Soccer Coach?