Avery scored a goal today!
Tag Archives: Arlete’s family
Avery’s soccer game and birthday party
Avery scored a goal today!
Afterward, we went back to the house for a small family birthday party.
Sophia’s soccer practice
Meanwhile, Avery and a few friends played a version of tag. The “it” person stays on the ground and throws a ball at others who can go anywhere on the play structure.
Deciding who would be “it” first took quite a while. Eeeny meeny miney moe with feet – the longest version of the poem I’ve ever heard … and only one start-over to get the desired result.
Halloween costume #1
Delivered! Avery wanted to be a specific dinosaur – a carnotaurus.
But a blue one. He picked out the fabric himself, making sure it was the right shade of blue. Growling fiercely:
Chasing his tail:
Dino down. A word about all those spikes: they are about 3 inches long, stuffed with fiberfill, and hand-sown on.
Avery’s 5th birthday party
Cousin Lauren took Carson down the slide.
Sophia at soccer practice
Sometimes, it’s a race between Avery and Sophia to see who can FIRST ask “Grandma, can I have your gray iPad?” The other person is given the red iPad, which apparently ranks in second position for desirability. On a 30-minute ride home, the iPads must be exchanged after 15 minutes; they both can tell time quite well and periodically keep me informed about how many minutes are left. Another caveat from Sophia: since Avery gets to use the gray iPad for an entire hour while she’s at practice, she should get the first 15 minutes in the car … which is what happened today.
Upside-down praying Sophia:
Walnut Gathering
Thais, Sophia, and Avery came out to help gather walnuts.
Both kids got to drive Uncle Justin’s big truck up and down the driveway!
Avery was a very good de-husker.
A visit to see the pigs was a must, especially since they won’t be around much longer.
We gathered 36 pounds! Thanks for help!
Soccer for Sophia and Avery
After work on Thursday, I took Sophia and Avery to their soccer practices. Avery is a really fast runner. He’s quite competitive. He keeps an eye on who’s behind him and is willing to put out an arm to stop someone from overtaking him. 
Sophia’s practice:
On Friday, Avery had his first game. We got the the soccer field early, so there was time to try out the swings.
Making my heart flutter as I say to myself, “Hang on tight.”
Saturday at Carol & Jerry’s
A morning walk to the river.
Phyl would NOT take one more step onto the rickety dock. That’s the Kern River, by the way.
A tour of the shop.
Carol’s painting studio:
Upstairs a movie-watching area: 
Lunch at a Basque restaurant:
My third “first” of the weekend: I drove Jerry’s Prowler! Yee-haw!
Next, an art show featuring 33 cast pickups painted and embellished by local artists to celebrate Bakersfield.
The main purpose for this weekend was to celebrate Carol’s birthday. Four birthdays from the 11th-22nd!
To Bakersfield
This was a first for me – a ride in Jerry’s plane from McClellan to Bakersfield with Dave and Phyl.
This is the way to fly! No long security lines, no waiting, drive your vehicle up to the plane to load luggage, and take off within 15 minutes. Love it! Jerry and his 6-passenger Duke.
We flew at 17,500 feet and arrived in ONE hour thanks to a terrific tailwind.
Evening activities:
Feeding cats,
Bonnie the mule,
and quite a few raccoons.
Another first for me:
That was my first and, most likely, my last 1/4 of a cigar.
arletelouise 