16th Year Anniversary

The Anniversary pictures were delayed due to illness (Doug). Instead of October 11 we pushed the big celebration back a month to November 10.

Sixteen Years!

Family Photo - Doug was still slightly sick

Julia preparing to be sixteen

Last Supper before LAX

Doug had a Sunday business trip to Palm Springs, CA. Therefore RJ picked a nice easy dinner for the final night. This maximized the amount of cleanup effort required to ensure the time Doug spent travelling was with a maximum temperature.

A nice quiet dinner in the living room (Swiss Raclette)

 

Soccer Champs

Due to uncertainty with the skills of new players, the Golazos moved down a division in the rec league. Turns out that the new kids were really good additions ... so the team went undefeated.

Team picture after last game, including Giro ... the team mascot

Team celebration and awards

Halloween 2024

Halloween 2024 was about maximizing candy. And the kids had a lot of fun too. 

Trunk or Treat

A St. Agnes tradition. The most valuable prize was a potato. Upon arriving home Sara had to run to the store to get potatoes because one of the kids didn't get one.

Milo, RJ ... and it looks like James helped run the Kovak-Johnson trunk

Julia and Brooke were still young enough to get candy

Carving Pumpkins

With one night to go before Halloween we carved pumpkins.

Kids cleaning out the pumpkins

Kids did most of the carving. Doug helped Julia with "October"

Trick or Treating

Kids picked costumes to maximize mobility for the 4 hour sprint-marathon.

Charlie, Julia, RJ, and Bradley during a short break at the Grays

One of the hundreds of houses visited

Kids with their pile of candy ... WOW!

7th Grade Field Trip

Sara chaperoned the 7th grade field trip to Planet Word and the National Portrait Gallery.

RJs class on the steps of the National Portrait Gallery

 

Somebody convinced RJ to sing on 'stage'

Julia upgrades bike

Julia's 20" bike looked like it was ideal for a 6 year-old. So, we dusted off a bike from the shed, pumped up the tires, and headed out for a test ride. Julia stood on the scale holding both bicycles. Even though the new one was a 24" with a much bigger frame, it was 3 pounds lighter (27 lbs).

We needed some re-hydration 8 miles into the ride! Julia's is on the 'new to her' bike.

This cop was going to pull me over for speeding ... if he could catch me!

Route we followed, pace was 'relaxed'

Map key:

1. Metro stop. Recharged two metro cards for RJ's field trip with Sara as chaperone.
2. 7-Eleven. Critical stop.
3. Doug tries to outrun the Fairfax County cop.

Takeaways:

• Julia is a much better biker on a properly sized and lighter bike.
• Biking 11.2 miles with a flu was not a good idea for Doug. 

Selects - first tourney

RJ's "Selects" team played in an 8-team tournament over the weekend. The first 2 games were blowouts: 12-2 and 8-0. The third game ended in a 2-2 tie which means they qualified for one of the semi-final games. The semi-final game was tied after OT so it came down to a shootout ... and they won ... and RJ got a shootout goal.

Team Picture prior to Game 1 (7am in Ashburn, VA)       

During 4 hockey games Julia met some siblings, drew some pics, and played card games

Video of RJ scoring a goal during semi-final shootout.

Final game, 2-0.

Lined up for the final game

After the final game victory

RJ at 5:00pm in Leesburg on Monday ... it's going to be a long, short week

One incident ... in the first game a rather obvious boarding call would have led to a lot of fights if RJ's coach didn't convince the ref to give the King's jerk player a game misconduct. Even RJ was ready to jump into the fray.

The Plague

Oct 19, 2024 - Nov 12, 2024. The month that will live in infamy.

A fever that refused to be cured by antibiotics and refused to be diagnosed by any blood or urine test made the month a tired one for Doug.

A visit to the ER led to a short (and not productive) stay in the hospital

Max Daily Temperature

Sara made the infectious disease Dr. test for Eptein-Barr virus.

This doesn't look good!

ESPN Scam

We gave up on politics and the local news, so we watch ESPN (Extra Stupid Promotional Network) most mornings. We usually (a) complain about the selection of the top 10, (b) complain vociferously about the number of advertisements, (c) complain that ESPN is a scam. 

Well ... today ESPN proved "c" to be true ...

ESPN is a scam

High School Open Houses

RJ is super interested <sarcasm> in touring potential high schools. To show his enthusiasm for academics he set his only criteria that any school he will consider must have a winning hockey program. 

Doug is making a good impression

Bad Night Sleep

I had the brilliant idea to drive to Lancaster, PA the night before to a meeting so I didn't have to wake up at 4am and drive.

The result ... 

The scene outside the Hampton Inn at 4am

Hallway outside my room

The other bonus was that to control the damage, they turned off the water. So I showed up unshowered and unshaven for my business meetings the next day.

Church Picnic

The St. Luke Church picnic was squeezed between a cross country meet, a hockey game, 2 soccer games, the 7-8th grade parents party, and a sort-of sleepover.

Julia winds up with the 'red' ball (one with the most Velcro). With persistence, she managed a bulls-eye which earned her a piece of candy

RJ is always up for game of laser-tag. He's the bright yellow guy (cross country shirt)

pic

Not pictured ... Doug working the grill for 3 hours in the sun on a super-humid 80+ degree day.

Sourdough bread

Two examples that the kids run the house (1) Sara agreed to foster a dog, (2) Doug agreed to make sourdough bread. 

The sourdough story began in March when we borrowed tools from Craig to replace the rider mower engine. The kids liked it so much that Doug was convinced to get some sourdough starter from Craig and sacrifice 2 days to breadmaking.

We started making bread on Saturday and at 9:00pm on Monday ... 

we got 2 awesome loaves of bread 

Less than 24 hours later (8:30pm on Tuesday), the bread was gone. Looks like another weekend of break making is coming up.

Batches 2 & 3

Batches 2 & 3 were quickly added the next week. Batch 2 was gone in 24 hours. 

Kids supervise preparation of batch 2

Dog Soccer

Julia enjoys going to RJ's soccer games because she gets to babysit Coach Joel's dog Jiro. RJ scored two goals, the girls couldn't have cared less.

Julia and Nora D. keep an eye on Jiro

 

Girls Night at Wolftrap

Sara and Julia headed to Wolftrap for an evening with the Washington Ballet. Doug picked up RJ from soccer practice and got to bed early.

perfect weather for an outdoor show!

Pump Track

The Chambersburg Bike Park provided some entertainment after sunflower viewing. One kid explained how to 'pump' you bike so you can go around the track without pedaling.

We talked Julia into trying it out

RJ could jump the entire double-hump by the end

add video of jump

Sunflower Farm

We explored a sunflower farm near Chambersburg, PA. Kids were skeptical at first, but it turned out to be a short and fun stop on our way to the BMX pump track.

Sunflowers were pointing to the sun, so squinting was required for the picture

Sara, RJ, Julia in the middle of the field

There were lots of bees, but they were much more interested in gathering nectar than pestering people.

Photo credit: RJ Johnson

First Day of School - 4th and 7th

After an awesome summer, the kids were ready to go back to school ... NOT!

RJ enters 7th grade, Julia enters 4th grade.

Mandatory first day of school picture

 

 

Julia learned this pose from Vivian's friend at the Clear Spring Carnival

Homemade Lasagna

The modern world has made it too convenient to get lasagna. You go to the store, pay $15 and heat it up for 2 hours ... done.

Therefore Sara helped the kids make their own. This involved (1) purchasing $15 worth of ingredients, (2) dirtying the entire kitchen, and (3) 4-5 hours of labor - including clean up. 

The result was lasagna that the kids didn't like (too much ricotta cheese). Fortunately Doug loved it! And Sara made dairy/gluten-free 'lasagna' that she could eat.

About 2 hours into a 4-5 hour process

Speaking of pasta ... here is home pasta camp from an earlier week.

Making pasta the hard way ... a good prep for sourdough bread

Beach Vacay

The Kovacs and the Johnsons spent a few days at the beach. This year was Sea Isle City, NJ. Summary of fun:

• 10 minutes after arrival we were on the beach
• Day 2 featured super awesome surf
• Day 3 featured red flag surf
• Boardwalk at OC, NJ was fun - pizza, rides
• RJ and Milo ate lunch at Bubba Dogs every day
• Doug got to visit his college roommate Shawn who has a place in Avalon (10 minutes south).
• Beachy Towel News covered the events
• Digging and sand sculpting was popular for all

Boys got good at boogie boarding on day 2 ... notice the body surfer (Doug) in background

Julia heads out to catch some waves

Adam and Summer on joy ride

RJ racing the Indy 500

Rides on the Boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ

After riding waves for hours, the crew needed some downtime

Lots of time digging in the sand ... Milo's shark sculpture

Doug stole the competitor's art designer (Milo) for help with the Beachy Towel News logo

The gang in front of the completed puzzle

Lots of digging kept the kids busy while not in the ocean

3 out of 3 days, the boys had Bubba Dogs for lunch