With three boys playing–and one father coaching–football, the sport is definitely a part of our everyday life this fall. We don’t just have four games every week, but practices every day in between.

And if that wasn’t enough, Jim and Derek went to the Air Force-Michigan game a couple weeks ago with coaches and friends.

It ended up being a fun game to watch in what ended up being a packed house.

Here are some random scenes from recent games. Jeremy is part of a new team called FCA Force.   They practice and play home games at Wheaton Academy, which has not only been convenient, but also exciting for him to play on the same field as his big brother.   Here, Jeremy is the one blocking to make a path for his teammate to run.

Dave and Judi came to cheer him on one week.

Peter is playing for the Wheaton Rams for the second year. He’s on a good team with great coaches. There was no #31 jersey to pick this year, so he snatched the number closest to it: #30. Here, he was team captain for a night game.

Jim is embracing his role as JV coach. He often comes home grinning ear to ear, exclaiming how much he loves coaching. Here, he’s praying with the team after a tough loss.

Later that same night, Derek’s fans gathered to cheer him on.

Since we are on the topic of school, I thought I’d post some more pictures of what goes on here during the day.

In history, we learned about the historic voyage of Christóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus). Of course, we couldn’t merely read about this event, so we reenacted it with blue punch, pistachio ice cream and apple ships.

Part of the clean-up required drinking the punch. Let’s just say it looked better than it tasted…and that’s saying a lot.

After a few sips, we let Molly give it a try.

With the weather being so nice, Ruth and I have done her schoolwork outside just about every day.

It’s a nice break from the routine, and it keeps the inside quiet while her brothers work. Working outside has not been without distraction, however. This has been the year of the box elder beetle. I’ve sometimes wondered if they are attempting to take over the world. Ruthie loves them, so as they fly and creep around us, she watches and laughs. And they aren’t shy creatures!

Finally, we celebrated Derek’s birthday this week! He is now (gasp) 17 years old. Unfortunately, he was up well before the sun so he could finish homework that was due that day. He said it was not a happy birthday so far. But the birthday pancake tradition carried on nonetheless; we were not going to let homework put a damper on it. So we lit a candle in the D pancake and let Derek eat his birthday pancakes while he worked.

While the younger two are learning about birds and insects, Peter is tackling physical science for his final year of middle school.

I recorded his most recent experiment, with Jeremy as his assistant. Peter collected oxygen in the balloon after combining hydrogen peroxide and yeast.

I sent the video to Jake, who reminded us that the overabundance of oxygen in the Apollo 1 space capsule was a major contributing factor in the fiery death of three astronauts 50 years ago.

Jeremy and Ruth are learning about birds and insects this year in science. We are attempting to complete the insect portion of the curriculum before the weather turns cold and kills off all our specimens.

We’ve been pleasantly surprised at what six-legged creatures have flown into our lives this week so that we may observe and learn. For example, a few days ago, Jeremy caught two leaf-looking insects in our backyard.

They were quite interesting to observe, and it’s easy to understand how you would not notice them right away, given their camouflaged nature.

One of the experiments in the book required a dead insect so students can observe the body segments. (So as not to upset any sensitive children, it charged students to find an already-dead insect…don’t kill one). Well, I suggested we catch one of the beetles that have been plaguing every screen and window around the outside of our house lately, then put it in a jar with some cotton soaked with nail polish remover (like we did in the old days to make our bug collections in junior high). Then, voilà, we have a dead bug!

This idea did not float well with Ruth, who has a special place in her heart for these creatures, as has been reported earlier on this blog. She has scientifically named them “friendly beetles”. Despite Jeremy and me trying to convince her that there are gobs of these friendly beetles–what’s one less in the world–she would not cave.

All turned out well when I was jogging with a friend on the prairie path the other day. We were talking when something caught my eye on the ground. It was big and green and motionless. A dead insect! I scooped it up and put it in my pocket to bring home and show the kids.

We weren’t sure how it died, but after looking closely we observed that it was missing its head. At least we could observe the other two segments. Plus, Jeremy wasted no time pulling off a wing to observe it under the microscope. Never a dull moment.

One thing we were really looking forward to parents’ weekend was spending some time with the families of Jake’s closest USAFA friends. The guys had it all planned out: we would go to church together on Sunday then head to a restaurant where they had made reservations.

Here are three of the four guys:

What a blessing it was to get to know them and their parents! We left with hearts full of thanks to God for bringing such like-minded friends into Jake’s life.

Last year we had stayed in hotel rooms and found that we lacked a meeting place–somewhere to eat all together and just hang out. So this year, Jim found a house with ample meeting space, and we were thankful for it.

My parents left Sunday afternoon, and we were happy they were able to share the weekend with us. Monday, we went on a hike in CO Springs. It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed breathing in the clean air.

Molly led the way the entire time, and she loved it.

And I think the siblings loved being together as well. What a special weekend it was!

All cadets are required to attend every home football game; therefore, a non-negotiable part of parents’ weekend for the family is going to the game. Thankfully, it’s something we all look forward to!

Before leaving for the stadium, I took Molly for a long walk. Due to certain spastic lab behavior, her first trip to Colorado was likely her last; thus I took a picture of her with mountains in the background so we may remember the moment.

Tailgating is a game day tradition at USAFA. Each squad sets up their tent, a grill, and serves up food. We approached the sea of cadets and families.

Before the game began, they had cadets jump from planes,

as well as four F-16s fly over. The sound was deafening!

Jake and Derek were happy to reunite.

Ruth sported her cheerleading outfit.

It was a beautiful day, a great game, and most of all so good to be all together as a family!

Compared to parents’ weekend last year, the weather was much milder, albeit cloudy and windy. We were significantly more comfortable in the stands. While we waited for the parade to begin, Jeremy and Ruth met a 21 year-old falcon.

It was too windy for the jump team to perform; however, the gliders flew and landed on the parade field. This was of special interest to us, as this is what Jake learned to do last summer.

Then the cadet wing marched onto the field. Jake bore his guidon well!

Once his responsibilities were through, he gladly handed the guidon over to any sibling who wanted it.

It was so good to reunite with him!

After the parade, Jake showed us his room for this semester. He remains in the Raptors squadron, and I found this mural in the dorm hallway pretty funny.

We ate a picnic lunch with his squad, then toured the Aeronautics building, along with a couple of his friends and their families. Jake declared this as his major last year, and since then, we have learned what a tight bond these Aero engineering cadets form during their school years.

One classroom was particularly impressive: the ceiling was covered with model airplanes, several of which the boys have built over the years. It was one of many, many moments of the day we wished Derek was there with us.

Ruth flew an F-16 simulator.

Later, we toured the airfield. We hung out in the hangar for a long time.

This was surely a highlight for the kids, as they were able to hop in the gliders. I could see the wheels turning in their heads as they imagined themselves as cadets one day.

Jake demonstrated that he can indeed fit his 6’7″ frame into one of those gliders!

Ruth opted to try on the jump harness. She had fun ascending and descending.

We saw where Jake signed his name on the pool of water he was thrown into after earning his soaring wings.

Then he sat in the next plane he will learn to fly as he goes on to earn a pilot’s license. His co-pilot was right by his side.

It was a full day, and we were exhausted by the end. We got home and played a game of cards while receiving regular updates on Derek’s football game back home.

We headed west last week to visit Jake for Parents’ Weekend. Like last year, we rented a minivan. It was a great deal…except for the black interior. Normally, black interior would be a very good thing, as it hides dirt well. But unfortunately, black interior does not hide white needly dog hair well at all. By the time we returned home, it looked like the van had a shaggy white carpet laid over the floor.

We left before the sun rose on Thursday morning. The kids like to see how long it takes the sun to rise and overtake us on the drive.

Molly had plenty of room to stretch her legs since Derek was not with us on the drive out. He joined us Saturday morning, after he was through with school and game responsibilities.

Molly was a champ in the car; she slept, ate meals and waited to go potty until we stopped for gas.

Upon arriving in CO Springs, one of our first stops was to the grocery store to pick up breakfast and coffee for the next day. Jeremy, Jim, and Peter found their own personalized coffee brands!

After a long day in the car, and looking forward to a busy day ahead, we were eager to get to the house and get some sleep.