A Strange Sort of Season

A couple of Saturdays ago, Jeff and I drove out to the next town to watch Daniel play basketball.

The boy plays year-round sports.

If you were in a room with him for very long, you would understand.

As we drove, I was snapping photos.

What are you taking pictures of? said Jeff.

Well. This.

It was well into December and the trees were supposed to look like this.

So we have this kind of a thing going on.

Bare, wintry trees.

Northwest evergreens.

And blazing fall colours.

Very weird.

I'm sure everyone who knows me is weary of my marveling about the strange weather conditions that have caused the trees to be confused. 

So I oohed and aahed and snapped away until we arrived at the school.

I tried and tried to get a good shot of the boys in action, but the gym was too well-lit for the flash to activate and everything came out blurry. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

So here is Daniel from the back....

...and here he is from the front.

And that is as good as it gets.

It was quite fun watching him in action; he was very intent on the game and appears to enjoy himself immensely. It was even more fun to see how involved Bethany gets in the game. 

I have a confession to make.

I was a lousy sports mom. I avoided watching my kids' games at all costs. I didn't enjoy the stress or the heat or the cold or anything about the experience. I was more of a "band concert" mom and a "dance recital" mom. 

So it's a bit strange to see Bethany being so enthusiastic about her children's games. 

But I like it.

I'm glad she didn't inherit my particular dysfunction.

We went back to their house afterwards and Jeff sat on the couch, working on a paper for school.

Natalie...did whatever Natalie does on a laptop.

It occurred to me that three of my four kids now have pianos in their living rooms.

That makes me happy.

Kenzie is eleven.

It's official. 

How did that happen?

Look at that pointy little chin! 

I believe that is what we call a heart-shaped face.

Somehow, I ended up making dinner and the cake.

Something to do with Bethany being almost nine months pregnant.

Homemade pizza, which was devoured by one and all.

Breadsticks for Daniel, who doesn't like pizza.

Gluten-free crust and no cheese for Josh.

I said to Bethany, We should have pizza for Thanksgiving.

She concurred.

The cake didn't look pretty, but it was delish.

Vanilla buttermilk cake with whipped-cream-and-chocolate-shavings for the filling and chocolate cream cheese frosting.

And do you like how the candles depict "11"?

One of my pet peeves is a cake covered with candles. 

Did you know?

Candle ashes in the frosting do not taste yummy.

Josh truly relished his vegan cookies and ice cream.

Really.

He did.