CRAZY Soccer Season

Well, the dreaded soccer season starts again. Not that I don't LOVE soccer, especially watching my own kids play, but it completely wipes out eight Saturdays in the fall and eight in the spring. This year Nate's Saturday schedule changed at work so that he worked mornings instead of afternoons. This put added pressure on me. Most Saturdays we have a game that starts at 9:00am and our last game ends at 1:30pm. I usually would just pack up lunches and we would have a day of it. I had a big talk with my kids about how if they want me to watch their games that they would have to help watch Moses and Ella on the playground so that I could watch every one's games. They did a pretty good job of keeping an eye on them so that I could enjoy all of the games.
Watch out for this one! He is fierce. This picture cracks me up! What a tough guy! Isaiah had a pretty good season. It started off a little rocky because he claimed that he was tired all of the time because he had a 9:00 game every Saturday. I though this was pretty interesting considering that he wakes up on his own every day at 6:00am. I finally bribed him with an almanac and he did fabulous the rest of the season! (By the way, I don't usually bribe my kids with things like this, but I had ordered this almanac on a book order and was frustrated with him and it just sort-of happened. Oh well, it worked!)

Here's the whole team. He had quite a few friends from previous seasons on his team.
This one looks sweeter in the picture than she is on the field. She is a little firecracker out there. We love how aggressive she is. She never stops moving while she's out there. She improved so much this year and we are very proud of her!
Grace also had several friends on her team from previous years. It's fun to see them all grown up together.
Our Miles! He always tries his best at everything he does, and soccer is no exception. He is a very aggressive player as well and loves to get after the ball. He always runs around with a smile on his face too. One game he just started crying for no reason and my friend Gina went over to him and he said that his eye hurt. (This is one of the weeks that Moses and Miles had games at the same time and I wasn't there for him. I felt so bad!) Anyway, apparently he got a bee sting right under his left eye. It was pretty swollen for a couple of days, but he was so tough!
Here's the whole gang. Nate had an opportunity to help out at the practices and really enjoyed spending that time with Miles!
OK, I had my ups and downs watching Moses play soccer. At first it was just plain painful to watch him play, and then, after I got used to it, the games became quite entertaining. I have discovered through this experience that maybe football should be his sport of choice. Maybe a football player away from the ball, like on the line or something. He has no clue where the ball is the entire game. If he happens to come in incidental contact with the ball, he starts walking, tip-toeing really, with is arms up in the air as his little baby steps nudge the ball very slowly in the direction that he happens to be walking. Most of the time he focuses on all of the other kids. A tackle here, a shove there. A hug here, a poke there. He can't keep his hands off people! I was seriously frustrated throughout the beginning of the season, and then it just became humorous by the end. We'll have to see how the spring goes. He loves to go play soccer every week, but I think it's just for the treat at the end!
Here is his little team. The funniest moment of the season in my opinion was a moment in between quarters. His coach was talking with all of the boys and Moses was staring intently at his coaches face. Normally this would not look abnormal to some one else because when someone is talking to you, you look at them. Not Moses. I knew something was up. I watched him lift up his hand and point his finger and slowly bring it up to his coaches face to rub is mustache. It was hilarious. His coach was so annoyed, and he just pushed his hand away. He must have not known that Moses has a fascination with mustaches. I had to laugh at this one!

Another Missoula Children's Theater

This year all three of our kids tried out for the Missoula Children's Theater production again. This time only Grace made the musical. Our boys were sad, but enjoyed cheering their sister on in the play. The Missoula Children's Theater is a traveling company that comes to the school every year. They have tryouts on Monday and then performances on Friday and Saturday of the same week. It is amazing what they can accomplish in a short amount of time. The kids do such a great job of memorizing all of their lines and all of the songs too!
Grace was a Pea Shoot Grower (I think. I had a hard time memorizing her part for some reason.) She had four lines all to herself and she did a fabulous job. I think she is a performing natural. It's actually kind of scary how comfortable she looks up there.
Here is the whole cast. They did such a great job. We really enjoyed watching Grace at her finest and give her a great big kudos!

Some Favorite Ella Moments

There is so much going on with the older kids and all of their activities that Ella tends to be forgotten. We enjoy having her in our family so much. She brings a lot of laughs and fun. She makes the funniest faces and definitely has her favorite things that she loves. Some of them include all animals, especially her "Oo-oo-aa-aa" and "Roar" (her stuffed tiger and monkey), Wonder Pets (which she calls "Yay"), Candy (which she asks for at every meal), and to listen to her Kindermusik CD.
Here is what Ella looks like during prayer time. I know I shouldn't be taking pictures during prayers, but this is my FAVORITE thing that Ella does. Everytime we say that it is time to say a prayer she automatically looks like this. She actually stays like this for a while too! What a sweetie. I really want Nate to paint a picture of her like this!
Here is a classic Ella after eating her sweets! Notice how every last bit of her ice cream cake has been consumed and she has some extra hanging out on her hands and face. She loves the stuff!

The Blessed Day Finally Arrived!

From previous posts you might remember that Moses was REALLY looking forward to going to preschool. Well, the day finally came. He was SOOOO excited to get to school on his very first day. His teacher is Mrs. Pett who runs preschool out of her home. He has seven other kids in his class and is excited to get to play with all of them.
Here is Moses on his very first day. He was such a big boy. He had no problems with me leaving or anything. He has grown up so much in the last little bit!
Here is a picture taken by Mrs. Pett on his 2nd day of school. He has such a great time and is really thriving. Mrs. Pett came up to me soon after school started and said, "Can Moses read?" I said that he couldn't and she told me how impressed she was that he thought that "May" said "Mac." She was excited that he knew the first sounds of the word. I told her that he does know his sounds, but he must have recognized that May is closely related to his cousin's name which is Mac. But she is very impressed with his knowledge! Way to go buddy!

We'll Miss Lucas

This weekend we attended the funeral of my cousin's little baby Lucas. He was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in June. It was a very aggressive cancer that attacked his little body. Three months were spent trying to save his sweet life, but it wasn't to be. I had an opportunity to spend a little bit of time with my cousin Shannon and Lucas while he was in a coma a few days before he passed. I felt the spirit so strong in their town home the minute I walked in the door. I could hardly hold back the tears as I waited while Shannon and Aaron talked with the hospice people. It is so hard to think of someone losing their little baby. I wanted to go visit so that I could be a support to them, I didn't want them to have to comfort me! I did lose it when I first went up the stairs, but as soon as we started talking I pulled myself together for the rest of the visit. Lucas looked so peaceful and it is wonderful that he doesn't have to be in pain anymore. I cried for the rest of the day the minute I walked out of the door. I'm sure that my tears weren't nearly as much as they have shed, but I had a good headache afterward. Shannon and Aaron are so amazing. They have the best outlook and the strongest faith. I know that they thought they would never be able to handle something like this, but the Lord has given them strength and it is evident in their stature as they are going through all of this. It is so wonderful that they have the gospel and know that they can be with Lucas again in the next life. That gives so much comfort to them at this time, although I know they'll miss him until then. They both spoke at the funeral and did such a good job. I kept thinking to myself that there is no way I could ever do that! There is a link to their blog under friends and family to the right. You should check out their whole story. Get some kleenex and be prepare to check some crocodiles. Our thoughts and prayers are still with them as they now try to get their lives back to normal. We love you Shannon, Aaron, Kaden, Jonas, and sweet Lucas!