Portia got 5th place at the Champs Meet!

At the end-of-season "Champs" meet with all the teams competing, Portia came in fifth overall in the girls 7-8 breaststroke with a personal best time almost a second faster than any previous swim. The was the only girl from her team (Westover Wild Orcas) in the final heat. She (and her junior-coach brother, who can be seen at the end of the video cheering her to the finish) are super proud.

Here's a link to a video of her swim!

Wiley got to swim with the “big boys”

Sometimes the older boys' relays needed an extra swimmer, so Wiley got to swim "up" a few times. Wiley might not have helped them win any races, but they were still super supportive and great role models for him.

Even the big guys like earning ribbons!

A summer swim season has come and gone…

This year, Graydon served as a "junior coach" so here he is coaching his little sister on the blocks.

Late spring brings babies! Fawns, that is.

Photo is of our front yard and taken from the front door.

Ta da! 🎉

The deck is now safe to use. Just in time for 100-degree (F) days when nobody wants to be outside anyway…

Note to self:

Check the weather forecast before painting!! This is what happened the first time I tried to paint our new deck railing… it cried, and so did I.

Almost there…

Graydon made a cameo or two

Want to acknowledge that G did make an effort to help. It was miserably hot work. We worked in the shady hours whenever we could.

Ro-roh… no wonder the deck felt “soft”

The deck boards were a little rotten, but they were holding up the *completely* rotted support structure. So… sigh, another deck project had to follow.

Hi! We’re back

Oops, didn't realize we had skipped an entire month in the blog. Here's a photo from late May of Portia entertaining her brothers with a funny book, all hanging out together in Mami and Daddy's bed.

Proud Math Nerd #2

Portia also got a medal for her second-place finish in her school's Math Olympiad Tournament. She also had a 99th percentile score of her most recent standardized math test, garnering her an invitation to apply to the National Math Stars program.

Proud Math Nerd #1

Wiley got the medal for his first-in-his school finish at a local Math Olympiad Tournament a few weeks ago.

Celebrities?

No, just a couple of engi-nerds who "clean up nice."

It must be swim season again

It’s not what you think…!

These didn't come from Colorado! Graydon brought baby lettuce plants home from Nana and Gramps' house where we stopped on our way home.l to pick up Kiwi.

Skiing Selfie

We like snow, too!

Of course (!!) Mami spent a few hours this morning shoveling our cars. There is a very friendly young man, Logan, who drives by in a small tractor with a snow blower attachment to keep the roads somewhat passable. We rearranged the cars so they fit side-by-side so he can clear the rest of the driveway, too!

A window to the winter wonderland

Winter Spirit

Unlike the four older boys on the trip (ages 11-14), who are glued to electronics whenever we allow it, Portia has been outside in the snow for hours every day - even after a long day of skiing! With the mountain closed today, she spent a few hours sledding on the steep roads in the little subdivision where we are staying. She's dug forts, created trails, made snow angels, jumped off cliffs into snow banks, and of course sledded.