St Ignatius played in the finals at Christian Brothers HS this afternoon and won! Sophia serving:

Lenin (scorekeeper), Joie, Sophia, and Coach Dickerson (Joie’s dad):

September was just too busy to celebrate three birthdays: Justin, Jennifer, and me. Today we all got together for brunch at Justin’s.

at St Ignatius.

After the welcome reception, the classes came in one by one and students went to find their grandparents. I happened to be sitting with Zane’s grandparents, one of Carson’s good friends.

Then we all went to mass. Avery wasn’t with us because the 5th grade was in charge of the service. Leo, Jackson, Sophia, me, Carson. Hudson and his grandma Margaret (Jackson’s grandmother also) sat with us.

After mass, we visited every classroom and the upper science lab

I picked up Sophia Avery and Carson after school. One of Carson’s favorite games is Memory..

.. because he always beats me. His right hand is thumbs down over my very short stack.

Later, we all went to Sophia’s volleyball game at SI.

Thursday at St Ignatius:

Saturday at Our Lady of Grace in W Sacramento. Avery was one of the line judges.

Multi-tasking on the sidelines: patting Grandma’s knee while singing in an unrecognizable language and playing a game on the iPad with his left hand.

The tournament continued on Sunday and SI won.

Sophia’s St Ignatius volleyball team had a tournament on Sunday at Christian Brothers. I was there for the first game and the girls looked so good, they sort of crushed the other team in two quick sets.

They won the tournament. Sophia with Lily and Emma:

Sunday was also my birthday. We are all so busy that our September birthday family dinner will happen soon but not today. Lucy came by in the afternoon for a glass (or 2?) of champagne. Justin came by with flowers. Special thanks to all who sent a card, including – LOL – my doctor:

This morning, Phyl flew home. She packed a lot of visits with family and friends while she was here, but in between, we still had plenty of time to visit with each other. In person, the best way.

Saturday, Carson played at St Ignatius. Sophia and her friend DeDe helped form the tunnel:

Avery played in W Sacramento:

Sunday, Avery played volleyball at McClellan ALL day.

Carson and Thais practiced on a side court during a break:

#18 for Thais and Lenin. Phyllis (who arrived from Montana yesterday) and I watched Sophia, Avery, and Carson while Thais and Lenin went out to dinner. Carson taught Phyl how to play Guess Who.

Followed by a game of Parcheesi. Carson won. Figuring out his next move:

Another week in the over-elbow cast, sigh. Another book finished, another jigsaw puzzle nearly complete.

Carson and Avery came over. We visited Swainson’s Hawk Park and went “Grandma shopping” – their term for going to Target for something special when Sophia is away at camp.

And a surprise. Ray loaned me his recumbent trike. I am back on a bike!