Just a few weeks ago, Austen completed his first semester of high school. He was aiming for straight As but came up just short in honors physics with an 87%. So all As and one B is what his first high school transcript will show with two honors classes (Geometry and Physics). He had a study hall first semester because the goal was to get a very high GPA and help him with the transition of work at the high school level.
Every former student that I've asked said college was easy after attending Hinsdale Central High School. It's ranked #10 in Illinois (behind several Chicago schools where you need to test in) and #252 in the nation according to U.S. News and World Report. It's difficult and competitive for sure. Austen has said the kids talk repeatedly about how many honors classes they are taking like it's a rite of passage. That's a lot of pressure on a kid!
Second semester, he'll continue with two honors classes and a study hall. But next year, Austen has decided to drop the study hall both semesters and pick up pre-engineering honors. I think a lot of these kids challenge themselves to be better and do more. Most of them are choosing these classes for themselves - it's not the parents! I'm a little hesitant about him not having a study hall but he works hard and both Tom and I are proud of the work he's put in and the good grades are always a bonus - especially if you want to be a college athlete (he does) so we'll see as we get a bit closer to that time.
I'd be in trouble if I didn't mention Peyton as well. To see her actually want nothing less than an A in middle school has been surprising to us. She always seemed to be a little lazier student than Austen. She probably has more natural abilities but he worked harder. So to see her turn this around and get straight As her first two quarters in middle school with advanced math and a lot of the same teachers as Austen had was eye opening. This girl has potential too in the academic arena. Hell, she has better grades than Austen did in 6th grade if we are comparing apples to apples. I'm sure as hell they don't change the math tests much and she has blown him out of the water in advanced math (which he started in 4th grade and she just started in 6th grade).
To say we are really proud of both of them is an understatement. Both of them know how much we value education and good grades and it seems they don't want to accept anything less than the best for themselves either. That makes us happy - as long as they try and work hard.
In about a month, Sadie will turn 6. It seems like so much longer some days that she's been a part of our family. I'm sure that has to do with all the work she requires. She's one year post stem cell and I'm very happy with what that did for her knees. She hasn't been on any medication (aside from a urinary tract infection) for over a year. That's pretty much unheard of with her Wobbler's disease. She still has a lot of difficulty getting up on our hard wood floors and walking on them. It's like an ice skating rink and she doesn't trust them (understandably so).
We have been helping her strengthen her back legs by doing more/longer walks as well as (when it was warmer) setting up a physical therapy obstacle course in our backyard. She definitely got a little stronger but when you're not able to get up on your own every day without assistance there's not much muscle you're building. Stairs are still a challenge for her. She can do them but she's very slow and not very sure of herself. With our "spotting her" she can still get up and down them at night and to go outside a few times a day.
I'm in a constant state of how we can help her live out her remaining years with the best quality of life. My recent idea was to purchase these toe grips for dogs that go on their nails and provide traction on hardwood floors. Senior dog owners with rear end weakness and slippage have sworn by them so hoping this helps make her a little more independent around the house and therefore helps increase her muscle mass. I have some ideas after that too but one thing at a time.
This past weekend, we got to watch Hailey be our third kid to experience our local basketball league. She has begged me for the past two years to sign her up for basketball but our local league actually didn't start until 2nd grade due to COVID.
So here we are. First practice was Friday. Practice starts at 5pm so I tell her at 4:30pm that she needs to start getting ready because her car pool will be here soon to pick her up. She has a complete melt down that I shouldn't have signed her up to play. Really?! I can't believe what I'm hearing after the 2 years of begging. What she doesn't like is the fact that she is now home and playing in her room with a long weekend in sight and now she has to delay her weekend iPad time too and get ready to go to basketball for an hour. After a brief delay, she gets herself together and is ready when her friends come to pick her up.
She had a great time she tells me when she comes home. (I think she may enjoy car pooling with her friends more than any sport though.) She goes back the next day for her first game with little complaining. She's on the Bulldogs with other 2nd graders (some are her classmates) and her dad is the coach. She does pretty well for having only one game and one practice. She's getting used to staying with the opposing player with the same color wristband (this is how they teach them who to guard). She does some good passing, and her dribbling isn't bad either. Lots of room for improvement but she had fun and that's all that matters.
Softball signs ups for spring came out this past weekend too. I asked her if she wanted to sign up with her friends. She said yes. We videotaped her so when she yells at me for signing her up, she can't say, I didn't say to sign me up!
Fifteen! It seems like so many years ago but then again it seems like just yesterday that we welcomed our first born into the world. The days were sometimes long as they say but the years now seem short especially once they get a bit older.
Aside from when he was 4 (his most challenging year), Austen has been a pretty easy kid to raise. Doesn't really get into trouble. Works hard at school and sports and helps out a lot when we need him. Of course as the first born he also gets a lot more privileges than the other two but we also expect a lot more from him than the other two as well.
So for his 15th birthday he was pretty easy. He said he wanted to go to Top Golf for his bday dinner (which we had to do the night before since he and his sister had practices scheduled on his bday). We've gone to Top Golf every year for his bday the last three years (and his party there when he was 9) but this was probably the coldest night of the year at 8 or 9 degrees. He thoroughly enjoyed himself and his bbque wings.
On his actual birthday, he opened some presents from us and his extended family and got some really cool gifts that he wanted like customized cleats and workout gear. He loved the Stockpile account where he could invest some money given to him in stocks that he was interested in and have a little autonomy over that with our oversight. (He's really interested in investing/business so he was most thrilled with this gift.) He also got a new soccer ball, golf gloves, some clothes and an electric toothbrush (for when his braces come off in a month or two).
He requested a special dinner (hot ham and cheese on brioche buns) and a cookie skillet for his bday at home. And, he was thrilled that he had soccer practice that night and proclaimed it the best day ever. What kid likes to go to practice on his bday?! Austen!
He had a tough practice composed of a lot of fitness tests but was pretty happy with his performance at the top of the team. He came home, ate, showered and watched a Pearl Harbor movie before retiring late to bed (today is a day off of school for him as he prepares for finals).
Two years ago, before the world shut down, we bought a trip to Lake Louise/Banff, Canada, in a live auction for charity. Little did we know at the time that we wouldn't be able to take this trip until almost two years later. In fact, Canada was closed to everyone up until August of this year. So we booked and rebooked and waited.
Up until November, we still weren't sure we would be able to go (we had pushed the trip all the way until the end of 2021 to give us the best possible chance). Peyton and Hailey had not received the go ahead for the COVID vaccine for their age groups and we could not travel outside the country (for school) without them being fully vaccinated. Then it happened. In mid-November, the FDA and the CDC authorized the vaccine for 5-11 year olds and so Peyton and Hailey became fully vaccinated on December 14 (two weeks after their last shot on Nov. 30). The trip was a go.
Our joy was short-lived though. The number of COVID cases continued to rise due the Omicron variant and it was growing increasingly tough to get tests. We planned PCR tests for the day after Xmas but weren't sure we'd receive our results in time. The night before we left on the 28th, we were still not sure the trip would happen. We received two test results at 5pm, two more at 10pm and our final test at 11pm. The trip was a go. At midnight, we received an email that our flight was changed (yet again since our direct flights had already changed into long connections in early December - Thanks United!). We spent two hours on the phone that night before our trip trying to get a better connection. Finally, we did but we had to fly two hours east to go four hours back in the other direction. Still, we made it.
The weather was freezing. We knew it would be cold while we were there so had decided in advance not to ski. Instead we planned a 2-hour hike to Johnston Falls where we saw two (the upper and lower) frozen waterfalls. After, we tried a local sweet treat called a Beaver Trail and explored a bit of Banff. We wanted to go to the hot springs but the locals talked it down saying it was just a hot pool and it was really crowded anyway so we headed back to our hotel's hot tub. A much better pick.
Peyton planned the next day since it was her birthday including an amazing dog sledding experience where we got to drive the sleds. Tom and Peyton went in one sled while Austen, Hailey and I were in the other. We had guides for every three sleds and the dogs did really well but after a pit stop on a frozen lake our dogs took off with just Hailey in the sled all by herself after the guide unhooked the sled and didn't realize the back hook wasn't attached and I wasn't on the brake. Luckily he was a professional musher from Norway and sprinted after the sled with Austen and me trailing behind and finally was able to stop it. Hailey rather enjoyed herself and just thought we were going really fast. She didn't even know we weren't behind her. Austen caught the whole thing on his Go Pro which made for some great video.
After dog sledding, we went shopping and had a fun dinner in Banff at Three Bears Brewing Company. When dinner ended, we ventured over to the Cascade Gardens to a story walk complete with some awesome lights, a light snowfall and a tale about hope amidst adversity by some animals (very apropos given the COVID times).
The next day was New Year's Eve and we started the morning by taking our proctored COVID tests to get back into the U.S. the next day. After we all tested negative, we took a sleigh ride around Lake Louise - it was gorgeous but so cold! To warm up, we wandered around the hotel for a scavenger hunt and shopped some more (lots of sweatshirts were bought). That afternoon, we ventured out to snowshoe with a guide (so fun) before warming up again in the hotel's hot tub.
The kids did great on all the activities especially Hailey although she grew cold the quickest especially snowshoeing although she managed to last in 0 degree Fahrenheit weather for almost two hours. That night we had a special fondue New Year's dinner in the hotel restaurant and prepared for our return back home the next morning (another trip change the day before had us getting up at 3:30am for an 8am flight).
Driving the 2 1/2 hours back to Calgary for our 8am flight at 4am was brutal. But we didn't have a choice. COVID coupled by snowstorms in Chicago had left us with less planes/crews. We got to the airport only to find out that we would be headed to Toronto but wouldn't be getting home until Sunday. We needed to spend the night in Toronto as there were no flights heading home to Chicago until Sunday. We made the best of it though and rented a car at the airport to drive to Niagara Falls. The weather was rain/sleet but the kids still got to see the falls to end their trip.
The next morning, our flight was delayed about an hour and a half but we made it back to Chicago minus three out of four bags (they arrived this morning - two days later).
It was definitely a trip we'll remember (especially because Austen and Peyton got to experience first class once each way - they loved it and so did Tom!). Banff and Lake Louise are absolutely gorgeous. I have not met a place in Canada that I have not liked and been blown away by its sheer beauty.
Traveling was difficult. The COVID tests weren't terrible (although Austen did have to submit to another random COVID test at the Montreal airport on the way to Canada) but the flight changes and cancellations were the most difficult to deal with. It took a lot out of me that's for sure. But we made some great memories with our kids and ushered in 2022 with hope and excitement and ready to take on all of the new adventures in store of our family.
Smore Beaver Tail (Peyton got this on her white snow pants)
