Midseason Form

Time for an update now that Summer is over and Fall looks to be here any minute. First thing is first, lets recap our last vacation...

Family shot at the beach!

Jane's family tradition is heading to the Outer Banks in North Carolina for a week every summer, if not most summers. This was the first time we had been able to go since our first summer married. Needless to say lots has changed since then, the most glaring change would be the third person in attendance for our family! Jane went out almost a week in advance to spend time at home in Virginia while I stayed back to work for a few more days. It was Dorothy's very first plane ride and she did a great job. Only a minor episode when she got hungry mid-flight but a quick bottle was the remedy and all was well. She had fun playing with her Grandma and Grandpa out in Virginia and then heading off to the beach. I was able to meet up with everyone on Sunday, though my getting there was slightly traumatic for me as my GPS wouldn't work and navigating to the beach took a few wrong turns but I made it. We had a ton of fun at the beach. The weather was good for the most part, though we had a couple of days of rain here and there but it was no big deal. Between swimming, fishing, flying kites, the windy sand dunes, hanging out on the beach and delicious food all day long it was a blast. Dorothy took a little warming up to the sand and the ocean but after a few times she got to liking it. She picked up a little cold while we were there so that was no fun but she was a trooper and even did great on the return flight home, thanks to Uncle Steve volunteering to sit next to her and help keep her happy.

Getting used to the water with Daddy. 

A trip to the sand dunes that was a little too windy for Dorothy's taste.

 Giving rear view spectators a goofy look.

Dorothy thinks her feet are hilarious. 

Dorothy and Grandma hanging out.

 Snoozing with Grandpa.

Four generations for the Deckers. 

After vacation time was over it was back to work for the both of us. Jane doesn't love having to go back to work and be away from Dorothy of course, but if she does the gig she's got is about as good as it gets. She just teaches half days now so she goes in early and is home by noon each day. I can stay home with Dorothy in the mornings most days and when we need help Aunt Kate and Grandma Cox can help out. Thanks to the two of you! For me, we are four weeks into the season now and everything is going well. Not quite the season start we'd hoped for but it has been a good learning experience for me with different responsibilities this year and what seems like a lot more to do. Trips with the team up to SLC and Boise were good as far as traveling goes...not so good as far as results. We'll get back on track though!

 Uncomfortable feeling on this field...

 Blue?

Dorothy is concerned as the Cougars currently sit at 2-2...

Meanwhile, among all our activities Dorothy continues to grow up too fast. She just passed 7 months on Sunday and is such a happy little girl. She laughs and giggles and is constantly talking and smiling at people. I don't think she's scared of anyone, at least not yet, and she loves to give away smiles to anyone who gives one to her. She is learning how to eat in her high chair with Mommy and Daddy's help. Dorothy loves to play with the spoon on her own, not so much to eat with it, just to fly it around and poke stuff with it and try to eat the spoon itself. Her favorite baby food so far is carrots and she loooves to try and get any sort of bread. The D Train hasn't quite figured out the whole crawling thing yet but that doesn't mean she isn't mobile by any means. She believes rolling is the best mode of transportation and can get all around the house via rolling and wiggling to her destination of choice. The time for baby-proofing is beginning as we've found her going after cords and anything low to the ground she can get her hands on. But she's our happy little lady and we love her so much.

 

Our little lady getting ready for church.

MMMM.

 That's becoming the classic Dorothy look.

 This tongue-out smile is also common for some reason.

 Trying to fly, crawl or something...

Other things of note:
-We sold our scooter. It was a sad day but an entertaining one as two parties showed up to buy it at the same time and a bidding war ensued. I asked for 475 and got 575. Not bad.

Farewell scooter.

-We purchased a firearm! Weird huh? Never had or was around guns much in our family growing up. Jane's sister and her family have some and we've felt the pressure to get in on it after a few shooting trips with them. It has been fun to go shoot and spend the day out and about with the fam.
-In my third year of intramural softball with my office, we had arguably the best team we've ever had and were poised for a deep run in the tournament. I hadn't gotten out all year until the last game when I got out three times, including a strikeout. Ouch. You know how this ends, we fell apart and were knocked out after three tournament games, about three or four short of a title. Bummer.

Team Kyle Chilton. Although Kyle Chilton is not featured in his own team's team photo.

All is going well and we can't complain. We are excited for the fall weather with cooler temperatures, pretty colors and all sorts of fun things coming up for us.