NotWashingtonBound

No trip to Washington today. No poker game, and my latest assignment has not properly jelled yet. I'll be going to Washington next week instead, probably Thursday.

Yesterday Andrew ran another 3K at Overlook park in Portland. He cut 10 seconds off last week's time. Mali came with me and loved the teeter-totters, which we haven't seen since our stop at Rockaway Beach with Pablo and Co. (where Mali fell in love with plum honey.)

Just discovered some new stuff from Curtis Stigers, Boise BeBop SaxMan. New link to the right, if your speakers are up to it.

There's guys on my roof doing roof-guy things. Soon our roof will be ready for Winter.

I am sick. I'm going to bed. I will dream of hammers and shingles.

Monday

We had a busy weekend. Mali's soccer game was great! They won 2 - 0. Mali played goalie the second half. Andrew skipped his CC meet since it was in Salem and we headed up North to Mike and Anna's Alex's baby shower. It was great to see everyone.

We were all tired, mostly Susy and me, so we went to bed very early after a quick dinner and a 4-person game of cribbage. Mali and I were ahead the ENTIRE game only to lose on the last hand. Very sad. Mali wouldn't play tonight, so we had a three-handed game. Andrew won. Mali went through the Cranium Cadoo cards and watched her mother's hand.

Thursday night Cross Country

Andrew will have a meet every Thursday evening at Overlook Park in Portland. The final of these meets is October 20th and is a championship meet.
It is a very nice 1K course mostly on a bark path, with a big hill in the middle. Andrew's age group runs the course 3 times. He did very well last night, coming in 4th in his age group (Time 12:19). He seems to like cross country running. Of course he hasn't had to run in the rain yet. He did enjoy the mud last weekend, so there's hope. It helps that his friend Brian Morgan is running too.
He also has a meet every Saturday. This Saturday's is in Salem at Willamette University. The Regional meet will be in Spokane (Plantes Ferry Park) on November 19th. Nationals are December 10th in Smithfield, Rhode Island.

Tuesday night soccer

Mali's team raced nightfall in their soccer game tonight. They beat nightfall but lost to another Aloha team 3-2 in a very hard fought contest. Mali played awesome at defender, even holding the line all by herself as we sent everyone up to try and tie it up as time ran out. She was a little nervous by that, but she managed it very well.

Results

Mali had an excellent soccer game. They won 2-0, and she almost had a goal, kicking a hard shot against the goal post. The rain held off, and actually it is very nice out now. We may go to the pool this afternoon.

Andrew got 4th (we think) in his Cross Country meet. Marcus was there, and beat everyone, including the 8th graders, by a lot. We just learned that Andrew will also have meets on Thursday nights.

Weekend

I've been back at work this week after a nice long Summer break, so I find myself noticing the weekend. Andrew has his first Cross Country (XC) meet this morning. Susy is taking him because I'm going with Mali for soccer pictures, followed by her second game. It rained a lot yesterday, so the weather could be questionable.

A night out

Susy and I joined Pablo, Rocio, Paul, and Nancy in taking Alana out last night for her birthday (today). We went to Marrakesh, a Morrocan restaurant in NW Portland. We ate communal dishes with our hands and sat on low couches - I sat on a very low, very soft pillow that was basically impossible to get out of, even before I stuffed myself silly. The food was Delicious! especially the B'stellela Royal appetizer: a large fillo pastry stuffed with chicken, almonds, raisins, and other goodies, smothered in powdered sugar. Did I mention we ate with our hands? Very messy, but we had big towels and our waiter came around a couple times to pour water over our hands into a large metal tray he carried with him. A belly dancer came by during our appetitizers, and she got Alana up dancing with her after we revealed she was a birthday girl.
Here's a healthier recipe for Bastilla.

Afterwards we walked around, heading down towards St. Honore, which had closed early, so ending up at Vivace, where we shared crepes with coffee. Then we rolled back to the car and came home - relatively early as Olivia had a softball game to play at 7:30 this morning.

We contemplated bringing the kids with us, but it was a little pricey - especially for those who would have been (oh so very) unappreciative, so they all stayed home. Andrew picked out a Subway sandwich and Mali picked out a pizza and ice-cream cones to take to Zoë and Hannah's. Olivia babysat and played Pictionary and Scattergories with the three of them after she finished her homework and they finished watching Hillary Duff's latest: Raise Your Voice. Andrew stayed home alone, happily playing on the computer, watching TV, and snacking on popcorn and grapes.

Soccer Starts, in the rain.

It only rained prior to gametime, and it was kind of cold at 8:30. Mali's team battled to a 1-1 tie vs. HubbaBubba this morning. Mali played goalie the first half and held them scoreless, but they managed to tie it up in the second half. Our girls were looking pretty tired - maybe it was the grapes they got at halftime.

The first week of school has passed without incident. Everyone likes their new teacher(s), though Mali's friend situation is still a little shakey. Andrew's friends are getting along FABULOUSLY. Andrew and Isabelle have managed to finally get Tiana and Kyle together. This is big news. Further updates as warranted.

Summer's End

School has started. I am back at work. Life returns to normal, such as it is.
Here's the kids just before leaving for school. Mali had her outfit planned for weeks, a funky skirt with boots, then changed into jeans at the last second. Note Andrew's toes. As always, click photo for larger version.