Super-dee-duper Funny!

If any of you are waiting as anxiously for the release of 'Breaking Dawn' as Katy and I are...

While I was out blog-hopping today, I ran into The Normal Mormon Husband - a very funny blog in and of itself, but I thought this post was especially funny. Have fun reading... if you're a fan at all, you'll laugh out loud!

I MISS HER SO BAD!

We sent Katy to girls' camp this week...

She's such an angel girl to have around and is almost always my first hug when I get home and my last hug and kiss before bed - she gives the best hugs ever, the kind that make me feel like the most important person in world for those few seconds. She always asks me how my day was, and is really interested in my answer. She will sit and talk to me about anything and everything - we've had many the late night conversations, just her and me. And even though I'm right in the midst of yet another super successful Adidas Strikerfest - Oh, how I miss her terribly!
So does Tessa - she cries every night. Last night I overheard her tell Trevor that Katy is her best sister ever, even better than all of her 'sister in heavens, like my friends'. We'll all be so happy to have her home. The only worry I have is that when I sent Katy to camp, she looked like this:

And I'm so afraid she's going to come home looking like this:

But it won't really matter - I'll just be so happy to get a hug and hear all of her great camp stories...

Good Sports

If anyone knows me, you know I'm a little (okay, a LOT) on the competitive side. I like to win. I really, really like my teams to win. But watch this video... sportsmanship like this I would gladly take a loss for, because above winning, I like great sportsmanship. I love when I see Chris get called for a foul, and I get to watch as he helps up the boy on the other team, and gives him a pat on the back.... or vice versa if Chris gets fouled. I really do believe it's not just about winning - I think kids learn a lot through playing sports - about character and who they really are down deep - when, in a split-second, high-pressure play they choose to take a higher road - when playing a good game is hands down more fun than playing dirty to get the win. It's the best.
I saw this video while blurking at Kade and Kendall's Mom, which I found while enjoying Suzie's posts at Eagarbrood... thanks to both of you for sharing! *Ü*

An Award? For Me?

My friend Kami at The Biggie Blog gave me an award! And now that I'm over the inital shock and shaking and remembered that I did, indeed, have that 'thank you' list in my bra (I was so flustered I forgot!), I am now able to post.

Although she didn't specify the actual name of my award, I'm going to go with "Most Promising New Blogger" or maybe "New Blog on the Block", or maybe even "Beer: It's For the Lawn - No, Really". Since I'm one of those people that never wins anything... it doesn't matter what this award is for, I'm taking it! And because the love can't and won't stop with me, I now present this glamorous award to the following:

1. Beth at Sugar and Spice - Because I'm so lucky that she's my cousin and friend! She is one of those people that is actually as cute in person as she is on her blog. I can't think of her or anyone in her family without smiling. Oh, and if you're ever in need of a good hair day - she's the one to call - she's way hair talented!

2. Laurie at Jacobson Party of 7! - Another neighbor and friend (hence the 'new blog on the block', because I literally am). Because she got me hooked on Goodreads - and because I read a totally naughty language book that she recommended - and loved it! And also because she is that way laid-back, spur-of-the-moment mom that I wish I could be - she has the best posts about their family adventures and expeditions.

3. Amanda at SouleMama - I don't know her and probably never will, because I pretty much just blurk on her blog. But she has the most amazing photos and thoughts - another one of those moms that loves going on adventures with her kids. You should read this post - it's one of my favorites - I wish I could put my thoughts into words that well.

4. Chris on Facebook - His blog is private.... really private.... once I sent a request to be a 'friend' and he denied me (his own mother!) but what he doesn't know is that I'm smart... way smarter than he thinks and I have my ways of keeping tabs, so after the initial shock, I got over it, and have laughed about it ever since... because I so would have denied my mom too, but we couldn't deny people from atari (which was our high-tech) - we didn't need to deny anyone the pleasure of watching that ball bounce back-and-forth, back-and-forth...

5. Andrea at mcconahay.net - She's one of my oldest and best friends from high school (go tigers!) and I think that she was one of the very first bloggers - I've been able to check in on their family for probably about nine or ten years now. I always thought it was super cool, so I don't know why it took me so long to jump into this blogboat. She's also way fun to be around... and if you like usborne books - she's your go-to gal... she runs great specials all the time!

The really great thing about this particular tag is that you don't have to play along - just accept your award and live high on the hog for a day or two! But if you so choose to play, here's the rules:

1. Please put the logo on your blog.

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. You must nominate 5 fellow bloggers for this award (yep, I changed that one - I only had 5, so I couldn't ask you for more than me, but if want, you can nominate 7).

4. Add links to the recipients.

5. Leave a comment so the recipients know they have received an award.

Last but not least.... Congratulations, everyone! I think you're all awesome!

Second Sucks

That's all Chris had to say about it when we were all done.

But you should have seen how hard these boys played. I knew how completely exhausted they were... I desperately needed a nap and I hadn't played 6 games in 4 days.

The semifinal on Thursday morning was very well played - we could tell that Colorado Storm really wanted the win, but we were still able to take it with a final score of 4-2.

The final match was on Thursday afternoon against the Pride Predators out of Colorado. We took the first goal, ending the first half at 1-0 - but they came back late in the 2nd half and tied it 1-1. In the last minutes of play, the Predators were able to score again off of a corner kick, ending in a heartbreaking 2-1. Our boys played with so much heart and hustle it was AMAZING - I'm so proud of each and every one of them!






This is a B-52 Bomber and those two super cute little things underneath are Mike and Trevor.

Meanwhile, the girls had so much fun playing at Uncle Rich and Aunt Randie's house with Sarah... and the gerbils... and Jake. They were able to go swimming in their neighborhood pool and enjoy hanging out, which was way better than being tortured into watching another soccer game. We all had a great time relaxing with them when all was said and done... and spent who-knows-how-long sitting around the table doing a puzzle and laughing our heads off... a really great end to our trip!

But the drive home? Ugh. I don't even have any funny conversations to tell you (although I'm sure there were some, I just wasn't laughing.) Oh wait, here's one:

Mike: I'm sorry, Officer, we're just on our way home from Colorado and these kids are arguing in my ear, so I know I was going way too fast.

Officer Friendly: Yes, sir, I clocked you at 86. How fast do you think you were going?

Mike: Well, right before I saw you, I was closer to 90. (Yes, he really said that!)

Officer Friendly: (after taking our license, registration and insurance) Well, sir, I appreciate your honesty, so I'm just going to give you a warning this time (woo-hoo!), but remember that arriving home safe is more important than arriving home fast.

We really liked Officer Friendly.

Thanks for the pics, Rich - super cute!
And all I have left to say is, ahhhhhhhhhh, my bed, my very own, wonderful bed.

Vacation - Days 3 and 4



Whew! It's been so fun... and busy... and exhausting! Here are a couple of swim pics of Trevor and Tessa... Katy didn't want to go swimming again after they had been about 4 times that day. I felt bad for housekeeping, since they grabbed a new towel every single time, and this morning there was a mountain just outside our door because I was so sick of tripping over them, or stepping on them wet.





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Meanwhile, back on the field....


Tuesday morning, Game 2:


The boys played one of Colorado's best teams, Rush Pikes Peak Nike 93, and really brought their game. We were able to put three in goal and hold them from scoring, earning the shut-out, 3-0.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Tuesday afternoon, Game 3:

Our team played a team from New York, the Ossining Falcons. We're thinking that they were more than likely altitude sick, and possibly were playing up a division - but they had a tough stretch of games while they were here. We were able to hold them and earn another shut-out, winning the game 10-0, keeping us in first place so far. They all played with heart and good sportsmanship, as did our boys. Their goalie was awesome, making some great saves... he definately got some good playing time:







Here was a great run by Chris:





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wednesday, Game 4:


Today we got to play Minnesota's State Champions, Sting. We knew it would be tough going in, and we lost a goal shortly into the first half. But we were able to come back, putting in five of our own and holding them from more, winning the game 5-1. Their keeper was awesome too... if you look at this bottom pic, you can see him on the ground from diving for the ball, but you can see the ball hitting the net - it was awesome! You can also see that Chris and the ref were 'friendly' at one point, when Chris was getting warned for a slide tackle. Tomorrow we play semi-finals in the morning, and if we pull a win there, we will go to the final championship game in the afternoon. I can't believe how well these boys are playing, given that they are so extremely exhausted. Chris took 3 ice baths today, alternating from ice cold to warm, to try to get his muscles to heal up quickly. He says it really helped... right after his game it was painful just to walk, but he can feel a huge difference already. Now, if we can just get a decent night's rest...

Vacation - Day Two




Today was the first game of The Pike's Peaks Tournament for Chris's team. They played well and it was fun to watch them. Our boys had lots more shots on goal than the other team did, but we just weren't getting the ball in the goal. Chris had a couple of opportunities, but one went up and over and the other went out wide to the left. At half time we were down 0-1, and with ten minutes left of the game, we were losing 0-2. But with only those ten minutes or so left of the game, we scored one. That pumped our boys (and parents) up and they got our 2nd with only about 5 minutes to spare. They worked super hard to pull off the win, but their last couple attempts just couldn't quite make it in, so the game ended in a tie, 2-2. It was a great comeback from being down by two... way exciting to watch! These are the fields that they get to play on... the tournament is at the Air Force Academy, which is really impressive. This photo is from the top of a hill that you drive down to get there... it doesn't do it justice, because you can't see everything... this is an amazing venue! Click on the photo to get a better perspective - those lower fields aren't even being played on... those little tiny dots you see on the fields at the top right are people, then you can see another hill, and there are some fields up there that we're playing on too.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This set of photos is him going for goal. I didn't get a pic of where the ball went, because I was so excited and screaming, I forgot my camera for a second... I thought he was going to put the ball in!



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This was one of the several times that our goalie, Jared Chichia, saved the day. It looks like he got ran over, but if you click on the photo and look at his face, you'll see that it didn't even faze him... he's awesome!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A couple more shots of Chris playing hard, and by the end he and the other boys were exhausted. Tomorrow we have two games, which will be fun, but very tiring for the boys - especially with the heat and altitude.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The girls weren't much into the game, so they sat and played on the sidelines... finding ladybugs and rolling down the hill. We went swimming when we got back to the hotel... I'll try to post some swimming pics later... see you soon!

Vacation - Day One

Today was not much more than a very long day of driving. Luckily, we had the kids in the car with us to keep us entertained (yeah, right). Chris rode in a different vehicle with some of his team mates, but we met up at the Olive Garden in Denver to have a good dinner. I'm sure you all know how enjoyable it isn't to drive in a car with arguing children, but here are some snippets of our free entertainment:

At one point, Tessa desperately needed to go to the bathroom. We were just trying to make it to the next exit that had services, when we hear from the back:
Trevor: It's okay, Tessa, it's just a few more watery minutes.
Tessa: Moooommmm! Ohhhhh! I need to go NOW!
And a few seconds later:
Tessa: I wish I could just roll down the window, sit on the door and pee!
Mike accelerated a little bit faster.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another time, after Trevor and Tessa had been arguing (again) and Tessa was losing the argument:
Katy: Trevor, people are people, no matter how small.... that's my motto.
Trevor: Yeah, well my motto is 'kick hard'.... no wait, I changed my mind. My motto is... 'got balls?'
Remember, we are on our way to a soccer tournament!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When we were stopped at a gas station, Mike had just purchased us a fountain drink and paid for a full tank of fuel. Feeling the sticker shock, he got into the car, handed the drink to me and said, "Sheesh, that was sixty-five dollars!"
Immediately, Katy responded, "FOR A DRINK?!?"
Mike is quick on the take though... he told her, "Yes, Katy, this drink was sixty-five dollars.... but they let us fill the gas tank for free."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We were driving up a canyon on the freeway when we heard a very loud 'BANG!', which scared us all to death. I turned to check on the kids, and all of us were yelling, "what was that?!" at the same time.... looking around to see if we had blown a tire, or judging more from the sound, been shot at. The only vehicle around us was a semi not too far behind, so our only reasoning was that he may have blown a tire.... it had just seemed so LOUD for it to have been anything other than something with our own car. Then all of us started to smell something... like, well, cheddar and sour cream.... when we realized that the bag of chips in the back window had exploded from the heat and altitude.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh... I almost forgot this one. We're driving along quietly (for a change) and then this:
Katy: Ohhhh... I want to adopt a highway! (I quickly turned to look at her face to see if she was serious... and she was.)
Mike: (laughing) I don't think that means what you think it means, Katy. It's not like you get to wrap it in a blanket and take it home.
Trevor: Yeah, Katy, it's not like, (in a baby-talk voice), "goochy, goochy, goo... you cute little highway.... you cute, cute little highway!"
After we explained to her that it meant that once you 'adopted' said highway, you were then responsible for keeping it clean, which means W-O-R-K.... she quickly decided that she doesn't want to adopt a highway after all.

Like I said, pretty much just a very long day of driving.... but tomorrow we get to watch Chris play soccer, so it's all looking up from here.

Family Campout

Our annual family camping trip was this past week. Although we didn't get to spend the night because of our work schedules, we went up for an evening and had loads of fun with everyone. There's just nothing like sitting around the campfire and roasting 'smarshmallows' for smores... and Grandma's glowsticks were a huge hit!

We're entering unchartered waters...

No one could have summed up this week better than Trevor did for me last night:

"Mom, when I get older, I’m not going to be a stinker teenager."

Oh, how I desperately wanted to walk (no, run!) inside and get some sort of recording device! But I know that I can’t hold him to it... besides, if I remind him in say, 5 years, he’ll deny saying it anyway, no matter what proof I have. At the very least, today I’m grateful that he sees teenagers (at least the ones that currently reside in our home) as the stress-causing, sleep-depriving, attitude-giving, I-couldn’t-live-without-them stinkers that they are. I won’t go into details because, well, I love them... forever and always, no matter what... that’s one of our family mottos. And because for all of their naughtiness, their goodness by far outweighs all of it. Besides, for anyone that has seen ‘Dan in Real Life’... I keep reminding myself about this conversation (I’m ad-libbing, not quoting, since I’m going from memory, which is scary):

Dan’s dad: How are thing’s going?
Dan: Well, my kids hate me.
Dan’s dad: Well, that means you’re doing something right!

Is it sad that I’m using that as a comfort to me right now? Oh, and I read up on the stripling warriors... and how their mothers were so freaking wonderful and taught them all things good (oh, how I’m lacking!)... and I keep telling myself that at some point, even those boys must have not wanted to learn all those lessons, and that even they had consequences to their actions, right? I'm so deperately in need of validation right now... anyone?

Five things my kids are sick of hearing this summer:
1. "Remember who you are."
2. "You woke up at what time? That's ridiculous!"
3. "Are your chores done yet?"
4. "I need to sleep - even if you don't!"
5. "I taught you better than that!"

Block Party Blast

We had the best time at our neighborhood Independence Day celebration! There was tons of food, friends and sunshine; the kids got to ride their decorated bikes around the neighborhood for a bike parade (which they thought was super fun!); there were some great music talents from our ward; and it all ended with a firework show put on by our very own pyromaniacs - the young men. It was exactly what a block party should be!



Have a wonderful Independence Day, everyone!