Soccer Champions

Another soccer season has come to an end.  We had three playing this year with Craig refereeing most Saturdays.  It was a good season. Jared's and Zach's teams both had slow starts but really pulled together and did pretty well.  Zach mostly played defense for his team and really got in there making some great saves.  Jared usually played midfield for his team.  He had some great assists and a couple breakaways too.

Branden's team was really good.  And I have to record some thoughts about watching Branden play.  All of my kids have played soccer well and worked hard for their teams over the years.  I don't know if it's the years Branden had at the soccer fields watching older brothers and kicking the ball around waiting for his turn to play.  Or if he just has a gift.  But he is a great soccer player and is so fun to watch.  He just gets the game. He doesn't run all over the place just trying to get a chance to kick the ball.  He knows what's going on and the best place for him to be.  He helps guide his other teammates sometimes to where they should go for good strategy.  He's not a ball hog and he's not a show off.  He just loves to play the game.

He takes every goal kick, corner kick and free kick when he's in the game.  He had a couple of free kicks for his team that he would just kick perfectly over everyone's heads into the goal.  Most of his corner kicks would be planted right in the center of the goal for someone to score.  He played defense a lot because he was good at it and wouldn't let anyone past him.  But his coach said he was his best defender - and the second highest scorer on the team.  His coach would play him at defense but give him the space to take off and score if he had the chance.  He scored just about every game.  When he'd get the ball, he'd immediately head to the side and take it up the side then pass it in or score.  He can dribble the ball and as a defender comes running at him to steal it, he makes a slight shift in direction.  The defender goes flying past him, and he continues on with the ball.  Subtle things like that he is just improving every year and is such a great player.  I love watching him.

The day of the tournament, they had three games to play.  Depending on how they did and the number of points they received would determine if they went on to the championship game.  The first game was won 1-0.  The second was won 3-0.  The third game was tied 0-0.  They hadn't given up any goals and had the most points for their bracket, so they were on the championship game that evening.  It was a tense and exciting game.  And we took it.  3-0 was the final score, with Branden scoring one of those goals.  His team took the championship.  His team last year did also, so this was his second year in a row.  He had a lot of fun.  Going into it, he said he didn't care if he got first or second.  He just loves playing and although competitive, he doesn't get phased if they win or lose and doesn't feel pressure.  He just gets out there and does what needs to be done.  But he was pretty excited that they won.  I can't wait for next year.

Miscellaneous Update

A scout court of honor was held recently.  Craig earned seven more merit badges.  Jared earned merit badges and his Star Rank in scouts.  Great job, Boys!

School is going well.  We've been busy with a lot of things this year.  I've been working on some fun projects with Zach and Branden.  They are really getting better at their art.  Here are a couple of pieces they've done recently.

And then there's this little cutie.  Toddler to the max.  He is so much fun.  He speaks in sentences and says the cutest things.  It's amazing the things he hears and copies.  Here he is brushing his dog's teeth.

Church at 12:30 pm is taking its toll.  Fortunately we only have about 6 weeks til we switch to 9 am!

Every Thursday when I'm teaching my class, Devin gets to go play with his buddy, Eli.  They are so cute together.  When I go to pick him up after class, he usually tells me he can't go with me because he wants to stay.  So cute.

He loves dinosaurs.  He talks about them like they are outside to go see, like we see dogs or birds.  He knows all kinds of dinosaurs, thanks to Dinosaur Train and books he likes to read.  We got out these toy dinosaurs the older boys had and were put away in a box.  He was very excited.

He loves to dance.  Asks for donuts for dinner.  He likes to take walks and find bees.  He calls shotgun when he wants to go with everyone.  He says "Not yet! Later" when it's nap time or diaper change time.  He colors, climbs up on the counters to "help" with food, sleeps with his dog and blanket every night, and loves his brothers.  He loves to read books and has many memorized already.  

Eagle Scout

It happened.  All the work and time and frustration and hiccups and emotions and he made it.  Craig earned his Eagle Scout award.  And we couldn't be more proud of him for taking on a really big, difficult project and sticking with it.  We learned a lot through this process.  And hopefully that will serve us well through the next four boys!  

We took some photos of Craig in his full uniform.  He is a young Eagle Scout, but he looks so grown up to me.

Craig's Eagle Court of Honor was held with four other Eagle Scouts from our ward.  It was a great night to celebrate their achievements.  

He had some good friends come support him.

And he's had great leaders along the way to help him achieve this goal.

Great job, Craig!  We love you and are so proud of you!

Halloween 2016

Zach and Branden were the only ones that wanted to carve pumpkins this year.  And they didn't want to get them from a patch where they are usually small for the price we want to pay for pumpkins.  So we picked them out at the store.  They designed and did all the work by themselves.  Oh my kids are getting so grown up.

Each year I get a little more nervous if Halloween costumes will come together.  But so far they do!  It was another fun year.  Fortunately some costumes we can pass down from year to year.  And some are getting easier to throw together.  Devin was Robin, a costume I made when Jared was little.  That year Craig was Batman, then Branden wore it one year and Zach was Batman.  We didn't have a matching Batman this year, but he was still a cute little Robin.

Branden wanted to be Captain America.  His was a new costume we had to work on.  I asked my nephew that makes a lot of costumes for guidance on a helmet.  He linked me up to a website with instructions, and Jesse did the work for it.  It turned out awesome.  I made the costume, and Jared let Branden use the shield he made a couple years ago.  He loved it.

Zach was Indiana Jones.  This costume was put together for Craig a few years ago.  Zach looked great in it.

Jared was one of the Three Amigos with two of his friends from church.  We found the hats to buy.  They wore their white shirts and black pants from church.  The jackets and ties were made by one of the other moms.  She did a great job!  They looked so great together and would get asked a lot to do the little dance.  Devin learned it to and would walk around saying, "Three Amigos, huh!"

Craig was the last to figure out a costume. I remembered he had the white jacket from his Shakespeare play last spring and thought we could get more use out of it.  I thought of the Sean Connery James Bond character.  He had everything he needed for it except the bow tie and red carnation.  It came together quickly and he looked great.

The Saturday before Halloween our ward had its annual Trunk or Treat.  The older boys helped run games and the younger boys had fun playing the games.

Here's Jared with his Three Amigos.

It really is fun to see it all come together and the kids enjoying their costumes.  They had a fun night trick or treating and came home with a lot of candy.

Time Out for Women

Last month I had a quick trip to be with three of my favorite ladies - my mom and my two sisters.  We planned a little weekend getaway for the four of us to get together for Time Out for Women in Las Vegas.  I knew it was going to go quickly with only two days together.  But it was going to be a great time.

I drove up early Friday morning.  I am not used to so many hours on my own!  I worked on some memorizing of the Declaration of Independence for my class.  Mostly I listened to some of these conversations - https://www.mormonchannel.org/listen/series/conversations-audio.  Quiet, inspiring time.  I really needed that.

I arrived in Las Vegas in time to meet up with my two sisters for lunch.  Mom came a little later.  Early evening we headed out to dinner.  We went to Red Robin and kicked off our weekend together.

After dinner we went to the evening session of Time Out for Women.  There were a number of speakers and music uplifting us through their experiences and testimonies.  We went out afterwards to The Melting Pot for some dessert.  And laughed and laughed and laughed.  Oh, it was so therapeutic to not have any responsibilities and just be supported and have some fun with these women!

We spent most of Saturday at the Time Out for Women.  More good speakers and music.  And connecting with several people I've known from other places as well.  Fun to bump into people.  I took a lot of notes and thought about a lot of things.  My mind felt clear and had time to process.  It can be hard to do that in the everyday craziness, trying to keep up with everything.  It was nice to remind myself of the love I have for my family and desire to do right by them and to know that my Heavenly Father loves me and is there to help me.  Seems so simple yet too easy to lose that focus sometimes.

We finished our time together eating dinner at PF Chang's.  Then I had the drive home, hoping I could stay awake!  I listened to more music and conversations on the way home and thought about life.  It was such a great weekend.  So grateful for these women in my life!

General Conference

We started a tradition when Craig turned 12 to have Jesse take the boys to the priesthood session of the first General Conference after they are ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood.  Somehow the timing was perfect when Craig turned 12, but life keeps getting busier as the kids all get older.  But we still wanted to make this happen for Jared.  October 2016 was the first conference for Jared after turning 12 in mid-April.  Jesse, Craig and Jared took off Friday morning and drove to Grandma and Grandpa's house in southern Utah to hang out and stay Friday night.  Saturday they drove up to Provo and visited with some cousins before heading to Salt Lake for the session that evening.

I am so grateful they have this opportunity to go.  I am grateful for a husband who honors his priesthood and is a great example to our sons.  I'm grateful for the time he gets to spend with our sons going to conference and listening to a Prophet of the Lord speak and other wonderful leaders.  Jared had a really good experience.

And they had a chance meeting with an old friend from our Elk Grove days.  Devin recently returned from his mission and was at conference.  He babysat our boys a lot for us when we lived there.

They stayed Saturday night at a friend's house Jesse and I knew in San Francisco.  Jesse had fun reconnecting, and we appreciate the hospitality!  They drove back Sunday.

For us at home, we caught General Conference when we could Saturday between soccer games and enjoyed being home Sunday to listen.  The boys were so good building Legos, drawing, listening, and taking walks in between sessions.  Zach asked me to help him do a little cross stitch.  He made the design himself and worked on it while listening.

Field Trip: Legoland

Zach and Branden had a field trip to Legoland.  Devin and I went along as well.  I don't love Legoland, but we haven't been in a few years.  And when it's free, it's a good opportunity for us to go.

The Ninjago World was new to us.  It was a fun little area with a pretty fun new ride.  Most of the rides I couldn't take Devin on, so Zach and Branden would stick together and have fun while Devin and I walked around.  

It was fun to see Zach and Branden be the big brothers to Devin.  They would help him play and watch out for him with other kids around.

We had a pretty good day.