Merry Christmas to all!

I've just finished "playing Santa," that is, putting the last of the presents under the Christmas tree. My boys will get to open a present or two before church tomorrow, and the remainder afterward. We'll worship together with our local congregation, then spend the rest of the day just relaxing together as a family. So far, only one glitch: we got Nicholas a bicycle, but it only came with one handle grip. Fortunately, there's a bike shop down the road sure to be able to sell us a pair of handle grips, but we'll wait until Monday to run that errand. A little more cleaning up and then we're done for tonight.

Merry Christmas to you and yours, whoever you and they might be.

Fun at the Harvest Festival

We didn't take Nathan and Nicholas out trick-or-treating in the neighborhood this year, but we did go as a family to our church's Harvest Festival (an indoor, controlled-environment, kid-friendly Hallowe'en alternative). Nathan dressed as Prince Phillip from Disney's Sleeping Beauty, and Nicholas went as Tigger. Both found friends who were dressed in similar themes.

Pythons 2, King Cobras 2

Nathan's soccer game today ended in a draw. After a long period of scorelessness, the Pythons got on top 2-0 and stayed there until the fourth quarter. In the fourth, though, the Cobras got two scores of their own to tie the game.

Pythons 5, T-Rexes 3

Last Saturday (October 22), Nathan's team played another 8:00 AM game. The ground was damp from both rain and dew, but I guess that's what cleats are for. The Pythons garnered another win, 5-3 over the "Terrifying" T-Rexes. Nathan spent most of this game playing defense, and denied the offense several chances to shoot at the goal by clearing balls that were coming his way.

Pythons 2, Termi-Gators 4

Nathan's soccer team got handed their first loss today by the Termi-Gators. The Termi-Gators got out to an early lead and the Pythons never caught up. Our guys looked kind of sluggish in the first quarter, so I won't say that it was because of the lousy officiating that the Pythons lost. The Pythons just didn't make as many goals as the other team; that's why we lost. But the officiating was pretty lame, with lots of bad calls. The operating assumption seemed to be, "When in doubt, call 'Orange.'" (The Termi-Gators wore orange.)

Happy birthday to Rene!

Rene celebrates her 37th birthday today, October 11th. Happy birthday to Rene! I suppose I ought to be a little ashamed that she only got a storebought cake instead of a homemade one like she usually makes for the kids, but, well, it's hard for me to bake a cake when I'm at work. (Okay, it's hard for me to bake a cake even when I'm at home. Grilling I can handle; baking isn't my forté.)

Pythons 7, Rattlesnakes 1

Nathan's soccer game last Saturday was a real blowout, with the Pythons (Nathan's team) scoring seven goals and the Rattlesnakes only finding one. Nathan played more attentively and aggressively (in a good sense) this week. He did not score a goal himself, though he did have one assist (passing the ball to Michael, who scored off the pass) and he took two good shots at the goal (one went off to the left, and the Rattlers' goalie did a great job of falling on the other one).

Fire update: evacuation order lifted

The evacuation order for Oak Park, Agoura, and some of the contiguous areas has been lifted by the combined Ventura-LA fire response team fighting the Topanga fire. However, the air up there is still full of ash and smoke, so Rene, the boys, and I plan to stay with the Rodriguez family through the weekend, just for the sake of our lungs (especially the boys'). There have been no reports of damage to residences or business in Oak Park.

Fire update, 7:30 AM Friday

The fire has scorched another 4,000 or so acres overnight, but the firefighters are now calling it 20% contained. According to the news reports like this one from CNN, no more buildings have been destroyed beyond the initial five (only one was a residence). Today slightly cooler temperatures, higher humidity, and winds blowing in from the Pacific are expected to help.