Down & Ready

Morgan was not the smallest in the group of 3rd and 4th graders playing volleyball this year. There were many 3rd graders about her size.

She worked really hard on her form and hitting techniques. 

Serving the ball over the net is still a challenge but she actually made it over several times. She'll be a pro by the time she gets to high school.

One of the girls has a mighty, power serve. I was impressed when Morgan stepped in front of the serve and made an attempt to hit one of these power serves. She didn't quite hit it square on so it went sailing but it was a great try. No fear!

 

She was really good at "down and ready" and moving to the ball. (Not sure what the girl in the front is doing... Maybe a practice swing.) I even let her play with her glasses on which, I think, helped.

Pass! Set! Spike!

Spiderman

There are times when I think Zane is convinced he is actually Spiderman. I caught him several times trying to sneak to school with his Spiderman costume under his clothes. Finally I agreed that he could take it in his backpack IF he promised to leave it there all day. (Some kids have a security blanket. My son has a Spiderman costume.)

I picked him up from school and then drove to Morgan's school to wait for her. I heard him moving around in the backseat and turned to see him stripped down to his undies digging the costume out of his backpack. He squealed when he saw I caught him.

I decided it wasn't worth the fight. We dropped Morgan off at volleyball and zipped over to the post office. The people there got a kick out of my little Spiderman. Then we headed back to watch the end of Morgan's volleyball. 

Zane, in full costume, helped return balls as the girls finished their hitting drills. Some moms thought he was anxious for Halloween. One mom thought I was nuts for letting him in public like that when it wasn't Halloween.

Somedays... Spiderman wins the battle.

Our Little Family Grows...and Grows... and Grows

A friend at church said she had some wild kittens living in the bushes beside her garage that needed a home. She was concerned her dogs were going to eat them. I've been looking for a cat to help shrink the mouse population but didn't want a litter box trained pet. I needed a rugged, outdoor cat. This sounded perfect to me.

She trapped one and I brought it home. It hissed and howled at me and hid in the wood pile. I would set out food but could never actually see it eating. Occasionally we would see it dart between outbuildings. 

Scott knew the kids wanted a pet and this wild kitty was not going to be it. He picked out two friendly kittens that had been living at the feedlot and brought them home. 

A few days later, my friend caught another wild kitten. We added this one to our collection as well. It seemed to be missing it's mama and snuggled up with the two bigger kittens. The first wild kitten then started spending more time by the house as well.

We now have Princess, Ninja, Shaggy, and Scaredy Cat. Princess comes to the door with her feet muddy and a feather hanging from her mouth. Ninja is too busy bathing to get his feet dirty. Shaggy pokes himself in the eye with his own tail and constantly wants to eat. And Scaredy Cat, well, he still hides a lot but will sit at my feet when I sit on the steps petting the others.

If they do their job then they can stay.