driver's license!

It's been an exciting week for Liesl: ears pierced, invite to varsity soccer, 16th birthday, and to cap it off, she passed the driving test and got her driver's license. Watch out world!

 

 

Halloween hijinks

We celebrated Halloween in various ways: Steve ordered chocolates from LA Burdick and we ate dinner at Canard in Beaverton; Jasper and I dressed up for a work event; both kids went to parties. 

 

 

  

We are Calvin and Hobbes! 

 

Liesl, Ella, and AJ at the Friday night football game before going to a party. 

 

Corset tightening before heading into the event. 

 

"pirates" 

 

 

Seb and friends dressed up as characters from the movie Stepbrothers. 

 

  

 

 

 

Zags bball begins

Basketball season has started at Gonzaga, and Seb and his friends have joined the cheering section. He sent me a video; it's incredibly loud as all the students jump up and down and wave their arms and chant. It looks so fun.

varsity soccer!

It was so exciting to see Liesl's name published on the official roster for the Lincoln varsity soccer team. She got to take the field in the second half of their friendly match vs Central Catholic. She played 10-15 minutes; she played center back, very high-stakes position; the team won 1-0. 

 

 

 

 

 

happy 16th birthday!

Our Liesl turned 16 on Tuesday. Happiest of birthdays!!!

It turned out to be an unusual day, for a couple of reasons. One, she had a huge exam in IB Chemistry on Weds morning, very stressful, so she needed to spend a bunch of time on Monday and Tuesday reviewing. So that was distracting in an unhappy way. But two, on Sunday she got called up to play with the varsity soccer team during their playoff run!! So exciting!!

So that meant we had to reshuffle plans a bit, because she had Monday practice and a Tuesday game this week, instead of being entirely free. And we had to reschedule her birthday party because she has practice instead. Still, we made time for presents and stromboli and chocolate cake on Monday night.

 

 

October fun

 We enjoyed a few last sunny days, and then the rain finally arrived on Sunday. It was a good weekend.

 

 

Jasper was so exhausted by our Forest Park hike that he curled up on Seb's bed for hours that afternoon. 

Thorns game! 1-0 win, clinching a spot in the playoffs!

 

 

Liesl and Ethan came to the Thorns game with us and then went to an escape room on Sunday with another couple. In between, games (Taco Cat and chess and Racko and Battleship) and movies.

Not pictured: Steve and I went to a performance by NW Dance Project on Saturday night. The crowd was a little sparse, which was sad to see; the young dancers seemed great -- graceful and athletic and technically strong; but the choreography was a disappointment. The first piece, by a Japanese-Canadian choreographer, was slow and not very interesting. A lot of standing still and upper body movement. The second piece, by the company's long-time director, was a weirdly violent piece about disappointment in marriage which ended with a farcical half-naked weirdly happy segment. And then the last piece, by Ihsan Rustem, was good, but very short (15 mins). We felt like we didn't get to see the dancers do anything. Oh well -- such is live performance. 

ears pierced!

Liesl got her ears pierced today, after years of thinking about it. We went to Adorn, a tattoo and piercing place, and it was a great experience. Really friendly and experienced people.

 

She's wanted to get it done for years, but her competitive soccer schedule is pretty much year-round, and there weren't gaps between games long enough to fit it in (she needed 6-8 weeks with no games, because you can't wear earrings during games). But she played the last game of high school on Weds, and the first games for club are mid-December (a tournament), with another break after that until mid-January. Yay!!

 

 

 

 

fall colors

It's been an unseasonably warm and dry autumn here in Portland -- the fall leaves are gorgeous and the sunny days are beautiful, but honestly, it should be raining. I love my moss and ferns and rainforest, and don't want them drying out. But since I can't affect the weather, Jasper and I have been really enjoying our walks in Forest Park.