The past week was filled with lots of activity.

Monday we had gorgeous weather and our the honeysuckles started to bloom!

I’m not going to lie, they smell horrible, but they look really pretty. I was worried that the weather would turn cold or it would get too windy, so I went out and photographed them early in the week.

Tuesday our caped Superhero was adorned in his Batman outfit, including his cape. I posted a photo to Instagram and commented that he was wearing one of his many capes. That generated comments of surprise that any one year old would have multiple capes. It seems totally normal around here!

Wednesday & Thursday Hectic Grandson continued to learn how to control the soccer ball with his feet. Actually, he learned to control every ball we own, from golf balls up through full size soccer balls. He’s getting really good at throwing, with either hand. At this point we’re curbing that activity indoors. It’s kind of sad to have to do that, but we’ve got too many windows to let it continue. On the football front, he’s actually quite proficient. I worked on several projects at both ends of our hallway most of the day, and he was content to dribble the ball from one end of the hall to the other. It may sound like we live in a mansion, but the hallway is over 50 feet long. He only hit the wall once in two hours of dribbling, and that was because he fell on the ball. It was his only fall, and only time the ball every really got out of his control. I fear we’re in for trouble when he actually gets outside on turf or clipped grass!

After a hard day of footballing, he took in a snack of chocolate cheerios, apple juice, and some berry-veggie concoction that he absolutely loves. His tray wasn’t too much of a mess afterwards, a testament to his level hunger.

Saturday we traveled to Pittsburg, KS to see Hectic 19 compete in his first college track meet. It was really exciting! He’s currently running unattached to preserve his college athletics eligibility. so he was wearing his old high school track gear.

He ran the 110 High Hurdles and had a bit of a transition to make, since the high school hurdles are 39″ (99cm) whereas the college hurdles are 42″ (107cm). That’s a tall 3″ (7.62cm) to adjust to, but he did it well. There were some first race jitters, but he placed a solid 11th out of 34 competitors.

Later in the day, he competed in the 400 Hurdles. He’ll disagree with me, but I believe this is going to be his marquee event. He’s still lobbying for the 110HH. He handily won his heat and placed 5th overall (amongst 32 competitors). He was the second fastest runner from his school, causing the coach some fits of remorse that Hectic 19 was running unattached. To make matters even more interesting, he was only 0.02 seconds from placing 4th. The top four runners were in the first heat. Who knows what would’ve happened if our running stud had gone head-to-head against that bunch. Only time will tell, but I believe the season is going to be very productive for our young runner.

He capped off the day of competition as the #2 runner on a 4×400 relay team. By that time it was pretty dark, hence the poor focus on the photo. The weather had turned a bit chillier too, so my shivering might have contributed to the lack of focus!

On Sunday we traveled to Lawrence, KS to meet Hectic 18, her future college roommate, and attend the University of Kansas Honors Program Spring Reception. Being admitted to the KU Honors program was a huge honor for her, and we enjoyed the day learning more about the University of Kansas, what the Honors program will offer to her, and who makes up the faculty and staff of the program. Unfortunately, after driving back from Pittsburg the night before, arriving home at 2:30am and then turning around and leaving at 7:00am for a 3 hours drive to Lawrence, I forgot both phone and camera, so we didn’t manage to take any photos.

The weekend consisted of 810 miles (1,304km) behind the wheel traveling to two corners of Kansas. We had three fast food meals while on the road. We sat in a very hot and then very cold track stadium for nearly 10 hours one day and then in several auditoriums listening to speakers for 8 hours the next. And of course that doesn’t include the 12.5 hours that we spent sitting in our van driving the byways of Kansas.

It was a lot of driving, sitting, and shivering…but worth every mile for my kids!

It was a great week! How was yours?