Thursday, September 10, 2009

Junior Golf

We are very fortunate to have the opportunity each summer to sign Tristan and Karina up for the junior golf program at Meridian Valley CC. Only children or grandchildren of members can participate, and the cost is very minimal. (There are a few teenagers on high school golf teams that they award "scholarships" to, allowing them to practice there without being a member.) Each Monday morning in the summer they tee off at 9 a.m. Tristan plays 6 holes. His best score this year was 36, and he had a birdie on one hole. Karina plays 3 holes. Her best score was also 36. :) Tristan was pretty busy with baseball and soccer this summer, but Karina was able to play in a couple of tournaments in which she won these huge trophies! In one of the tournaments she golfed with grandpa. The other was the junior club championship, and Karina had the lowest net score of the 3 hole girls (net = with handicap).
Here are a few action shots I took one morning, when I tagged along to watch. (Normally Tristan and Mitchell, my nephew, walk with Grandpa; and Karina walks with Grandma. They have to have a member keep score for them.)




Karina is lining the ball up with hole for her putt . . .

This is a girl named Sydney who Karina golfed with most weeks.
Here is Mitchell, supervised by Grandpa Houser . . .
And here is Karina at the junior club championship, with proof of her two-day totals . . . gross scores on the top and net on the bottom.
We are thrilled they get to learn this sport at such a young age, and in such an affordable way! It will be a skill they can use their whole lives if they choose.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Summer's Over?

First, my apologies to those (very few) of you who keep coming to check this blog to find nothing new! Our summer was great - lots of sun (really! didn't feel like Seattle at all!), plenty of unstructured time, and a trip to visit my family in California. But it was also busy with 4 baseball tournaments, 3 soccer tournaments, practices, piano lessons, and just general responsibilities that don't go away just because the sun is shining!

That said, I am thrilled that September is here. I just don't DO well with all that free time! I love the schedules that come with the school year. (I even mopped my floor this week?!) It is definitely feeling like fall outside, too!
Here are my kids in their first-day finery, on Wednesday, September 2. Tristan is in 6th grade, which is middle school! Wow! Three days into school and he's had homework in math, language arts, and social studies. He's already used his flash drive and graph paper! (The school supplies get more expensive as they get older, huh?) Karina is in 3rd grade. In addition to cursive, they learn keyboarding (typing) in 3rd grade. (She already knows how to use PowerPoint better than I do.) And they get to learn about salmon in 3rd grade. Big field trip to the hatchery coming up. :) Washington is so weird and cool at the same time.

I will continue to substitute as an instructional assistant this year. I really enjoy working closely with kids who need a little extra help in school. It's also fun to have a job where you get all the same days off as your kids! Next summer, we're planning on fewer ball games and more fun - maybe a camping trip, hopefully a trip to see family, and definitely lots of free time.