Doug has been coaching Reeve's basketball team. So every Saturday morning we head off to the elementary gym, where things are full of second graders. Our team is Transpo -- named after a local sponsor.
Of course we're not supposed to keep score, but last week we had a veritable beat-down with a 32-0 trouncing of the opponents (as the score was gleefully repeated by our team after each basket, much to our opponents , since both teams had kids missing due to Halloween parties and sugar highs. Our opponents were missing more of their better players, though.
But in our penultimate game, we arrived to discover that our star player had broken his arm, and will be out for the entire season (one more week).
Hence we were again put in a typical defensive battle where "swarm" ball takes over the court. It's hard to teach the basics of basketball -- ALWAYS BEAT A ZONE PRESS BY PASSING.
Actually it's just hard to remind kids to not swarm the ball, especially when it is ridiculously effective. Not that we keep score, but this time it wasn't hard to lose track after Reeve scored the only basket of the game in a 2-0 nail biter.
One of the great benefits of the grandparents place is generally having the swimming pool to ourselves. It is lots of fun to play in the swimming pool now that Reeve can throw and catch a ball -- so lots of fun tossing a water football and diving into the water to try and catch the ball. 
Of course the girls also have lots of fun at the pool too. 
Of course we're not supposed to keep score, but last week we had a veritable beat-down with a 32-0 trouncing of the opponents (as the score was gleefully repeated by our team after each basket, much to our opponents , since both teams had kids missing due to Halloween parties and sugar highs. Our opponents were missing more of their better players, though. 
During the rare times when the rain is not a thunder and lightning downpour, we will sometimes go out in our little garden or in our driveway and play in the rain. Since it is warm all the time, it's great to cool off. 
Rania was on hand to send the older kids off to school for their Halloween celebration. Gabi continued her insistence on dressing up as a gymnast girl. Reeve continued to be a soccer player. This is the scene from where we wait for the bus -- a morning routine for our family before daddy headed off to school. 
We were lucky enough to get a call from mommy, and we had the whole range of human emotion as the kids talked on the phone -- fighting over the phone, tears for missing mommy, and absolute joy to hear about "mommy's hotel." 
