Observations on the soccer field

I spent a good while on the green soccer fields this afternoon. Kyle's team had their last game today and it was a close one. It was burnin' hot, I have the sun burn to prove it. The boys all played like troopers despite the heat.

All of the parents huddled under what little shade was available until the refs walked out onto the field to begin the game. We all towed our goods, in a long slow line to the sidelines where we all expertly set up our little spots in rapid time.

It is funny, everywhere we have lived, it is the same. We all have the new and improved lawn chairs that fold neatly into little bags. We carry water bottles, cameras, one lady was even smart enough to bring an umbrella. The parking lot is full of mini vans, we are all so alike in that way. Same cars, same chairs, same beverages. Funny.

The game began and all of the side line soccer parentsstarted calling out their brilliant ideas to the boys. One mom kept asking questions to the air around us Why are we all in a group boys? Why aren't we spreading out boys? Where did you think the ball when you kicked it like that? What were you thinking? I just assume Kyle can't really hear me out there, so why holler out suggestions? He needs to listen to the coach, not me. Different in that way I guess.

One dad kept harassing the ref on our side of the field. I have no idea how well he did judging the game. Kyle was not happy with him. I guess when you are shoved and pushed down in the goal box and don't even have the ball, one may want a foul called on the player who did it. Another boy had an elbow smack him the face, no foul called, so maybe the dad was right, but c'mon, grow up a little and keep it to yourself pal. The boys can take it, they don't need some whiny parent on the side making the refs mad!! We are all different in that way. Maybe I am clueless and don't see a reason to complain, I just don't think it helps much.

Kyle did an excellent job. He scored a goal, even though he is a defender. It always makes me laugh when I see him running towards the goal dribbling the ball. I realize he has had enough and is taking things into his own hands. Even the parents from the other team were calling to him, telling him he was doing a great job. The other coach complimented his foot work as well. A mother can never get too many compliments about her child, we are all the same in that way.

Well, despite their best efforts, they lost 4-2. Kyle and Eric scored the goals, as usual. I am supremely proud of my son, as usual. The parents all loaded up and moved out in a long line, just a little slower pace than when we arrived. The boys were all sweaty, tired and ready to go home, as ususal. We all got into mini vans ( and Suburbans for those of us with more than 2-3 kids ) and drove out of the park in long lines. Same as usual, but always worth the effort.

The Magic Cape That Never Flew

Brandon's Two Cents:

The picture of Brandon and his cape has a funny story behind it ( I would share it in this post, but it is a long story ). I thought I would share a few of his latest quotes that always seem to make me laugh.

Earlier today, as we pulled into our drive way, Brandon said -- Our house looks beautiful Mom. It is so beautiful on the outside. Good thing no one can see the inside, it's a disaster in there!!

Thanks for pointing that out to me, I feel so much better after packing 6 kids ( 5 of mine + my niece ) and my husband for the weekend trip. Just needed that extra boost from my sweet boy.

The best player on the field!!

On the way home from soccer practice Brandon asked when dinner would be done. I told him we would eat as soon as we got home. He replied-- Good, 'cuz I am starving!! I am hungier than Elvis. He hasn't eaten for 30 years, so you know I am one hungry kid. By the way, is he still sitting on that toilet or did they finally move him? ( Sorry if that is disrepectful to all you Elvis fans, but that is what he said and I just couldn't leave it out, it was toooo funny. I didn't know Brandon knew who Elvis was, let alone how he died!! ).

Brandon came into my room early one morning, before I had a chance to put " my teeth " in. he leaned in and looked at my face and then told me with great pitty-- Mom, you really should learn to brush your teeth more often, they are all falling out. Then he gave me a loving kiss and was off to play. Again, just what I needed to hear from my favorite boy.

This is James' favorite story. One day Brandon asked me if Heavenly Father was dead. I told him no, Heavenly Father is alive and watches over you. He asked me if I was sure and then insisted Heavenly Father was dead. He thought for a few minutes then he asked me, Mom where do dead people go? I told him they go to heaven... then the ultimate question, the kicker... And WHERE does Heavenly Father live? In Heaven, so He must be DEAD, up there with all of the other dead people. I have to admit, he got me on that one.

My Sleepy Little Angel

One other Heavnly moment I had with Bradon while driving down the road on a partly cloudy day. He stated matter of factly as the clouds parted and the sun peeked through-- I know why the clouds came apart, Heavenly Father just wanted to check in on me today. Too cute.

LOVE MY BOY!!

Baylie's Outlook on Life:

Katelyn-- Don't count your chickens before they hatch, one might not hatch, and you won't have as many as you thought you would.

Baylie-- Unless they all have a double yolk, then you would have twice as many as you thought you would.

Baylie-- I remember Alex's birthday last year it was fun.

Me-- I'll bet it was better than the year you broke your arm on his birthday.

Baylie-- Well, at least we share an anniversary together.

Baylie-- Smiling and loving the wind blowing in her hair while she stuck her head out the window

" It's a beautiful day, I love riding in this car " ( all while I was complaining in my head about not having A/C in my beat up old Suburban )

My kids crack me up...

Here is a photo of how Baylie really feels about " Fast Sunday "
Is there anything slower than fast Sunday?



Here is a photo of Brandon, loving the iPod his brother let him borrow:


You don't get cooler than that, especially with the yellow and blue headphones.

I LOVE MY KIDS!!

Be Grateful!!

Aint no time for the summer time blues...

Today was the last day of school. It has been a busy, stressful, fun filled, funny day for all of us. The kids were all up, bright and early, with that anxious energy flowing through their veins. Summer is going to be so fun, and SO much better than school, just ask Kyle who is already counting down the days, 80, before he has to go back to the " deathtrap ".

We scrambled to finish the thank you gifts for all of the teachers... it was an endless list and I had to cut it off somewhere, so Mrs. Boggs, if you ever stumble across this post, I' m sorry you didn't get a gift. My kids were crushed, but I was out of time and patience this morning. Better luck next year!!

Brandon announced he was in the talent show today. Are you sure??? I asked him. He insisted he was... 9:45, don't forget to come Mom, promise. After a phone call to the school, I was on my way to the talent show. The Man had been chosen to play the piano at the school talent show. You can't see him too well in this picture, but there he is, with his kindergarten hat on, playing his little heart out for 600+ students.

To be honest, I was hoping Brandon was first so I could sneak out of there as quickly as possible, but no, he was in the last quarter of the program... so I spent an hour watching other people's kids "perform"... such fun. Admit it, we all only come to watch our kids, not any one elses, 'cuz no one has kids cuter than ours.

Alex and Jeremy were the first ones home and I got my daily grunt from them, then they headed down to the basement to watch TV. Kyle came home an hour later and shouted with joy... school is out!!!!

I thought the three youngest would come bounding through the door next, full of stories and excitement. Mikenzie came in first, crying and red-eyed. Her friend announced during the last big, all - girl hug, that she was moving. So, of course the entire girly circle had a melt down, poor Miss Hainley... nice last 5 mintues of the year for her.

Then Brandon came in, crying as well. He didn't want to leave kindergarten, he didn't want Mikenzie to leave elementary, he loves his teacher... on and on.

Baylie soon followed, crying as well. I was wondering what in the world was going on at the school today??? She was the sympathy cryer today... crying because Mrs. Owen cried, and because Mikenzie and Brandon were crying. Too funny. The kids are always full of surprises.

So here they are, all puffy eyes and tears, Brandon has no shame, he will cry for the camera. Poor little guy.

After they all calmed down, we headed over to a neighbors for their annual last day of school party. That is where the fun came in:


So, all is well that ends well. Sounds like today is probably a typical day of the next 80, oops, sorry Kyle, 79 days to come.

Be Grateful!!

Teenager Already???

Wow--where did this tornado of a person come from? And where did my sweet little princess go? I was expecting this at 16, not almost 11. The mood swings, the grumpiness, the obnoxiousness, the what was that???

How do you hug a porcupine, who once in awhile, turns back into a sweet loving girl?



I thought my boys were moody, but Mikenzie takes the cake, and we have soooo far to go with her. 7 years... at least, will it ever get better?





Wish me luck, it's been a long morning.

Poor Baylie, doesn't even know what hit her. She and Mikenzie used to be loving roomies, not they are mortal enemies, and Baylie didn't even know war had been declared.

Makes you wonder if the red-eye can really be fixed -- or if it is something that will just come out every now and then, without warning!!

Be Grateful!!

Three Generation Triathlon Triumph

I finished, I did it. Yesterday was the Leavenworth triathlon and I did it. I had a few tears as I crossed the finish line, with my mom by my side. It was quite a challenge. Only six weeks of training ( interrupted by the fact that I have six children and work part time ). I guess I did the best I could, but I suI surere wish I could have done better.

We started the day bright and early, leaving the house at 6:00 a.m., all loaded up, and ready to go. We were only on the road for a mile when I realized I forgot my ID. If the spirit ever whispered to me, I'll tell ya, this was the time. The triathlon was on the army base and there is no way I would have been able to get past the gates without my ID, I am so grateful that came to me while we were still close to home.

We had a beautiful ride to the base and a long wait at the gates. We finally got through, grabbed our gear and headed to the transition area to set up. We then went into the gym to pick up our packets, which were very disappointing, no goodies at all. What can you expect from the army ?

We were marked and lined up by our estimated swim time-- needless to say, I was towards the back of the line. It was fun to see how many friends were there, about 15-20 from our stake, including the 1st counselor in the stake presidency ( he looks a little different in his tri-shorts-- that's all I'm saying-- I guess we all did ).

We finally got to the pool area, once we crossed the mat, the clock started ticking. I was pleased with how easy the swim was, I shaved off about 45 seconds from my last training swim. We swam serpentine style, which may have broken the monotony of the swim for me. I don't know, just wish everything else had been as easy.

I ran bare footed to the transition area -- kind of painful on the rocky asphalt. I dried off, waited for my mom and we took off. This is where it all went downhill-- uphill actually, literally, ALL uphill!! We rode up hill after stinkin' hill, and finally had to walk. We were probably at mile 2 when we started to wonder if the hills would ever end... they didn't. I have never seen a course that was uphill both ways. We finally got to the 6.4 mile mark/turn around area and were faced with more hills. The most difficult hill took us FORVER just to walk up. We were winded just walking the darn thing. It was one long, steep, difficult hill-- both physically and mentally. The guy in the truck picking up all of the signs telling us we were the last two didn't help much. either. I was getting pretty depressed, my biggest fear of being last had come true.

We trudged on, biked most of the way back, until we were maybe 1/4 mile away from the transition area when my chain came off. Ahhhh-- such rotten timing. We decided it would take just as long to fix it as to walk in, so we walked our bikes in and took off for the run.

Our legs were burned out from all of the hills, so we ran the first block and called it good. We walked quickly, while choking down a power bar and some water. It was a nice course around the barricks, etc. We passed several friends on their way back to the finish line, and knew we would be dead last. So, we just kept telling each other how awesome we were.

The last half mile, we walked in with the kids try-atlon racers. We saw Mikenzie and cheered her on-- that was fun. She crossed the finish line before we did-- which she mentioned more than once. We ran the last little bit, so we would look good in the pictures. I did almost cry at the end-- it was very emotional to finish such a physically difficult challenge.




Jeremy did great finishing in 1:49, he was one minute shy of taking third in his age group-- which is killing him. " If only.... " yeah, I know how it feels buddy.

Mikenzie had a wonderful time in the kids try-athlon and received a finishers medal ( it wasn't a timed race ). I almost asked for one to see if it would make me feel better-- nah, better not.

We stayed long enough after the race for my mom to get a first place medal for her age group, yeah she was the only one in her age group-- but hey she has a medal. We drove straight to the hotel my parents were staying in and hit the hot tub, what a way to end the day.





We also went to Maggie Moos last night as a final reward. It is an expensive tradition my mom keeps up when she comes to visit. So, calorie wise, I think I may have broken even yesterday.

I will admit, it is really hard being dead last. My time was even worse than my mom's even though we finished together. The clock was ticking while I waited for her, so it counted against my race time for three minutes. I am a bit depressed today-- but will move on, train on, and be proud. I already have the next race picked out, I have some goals and look forward to the challenge. I am grateful for a body that can work so hard and do so well.

Be grateful!!