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.