Soccer Star

Owen has a new friend named Cole. Cole's family moved in down the street a few weeks ago, and it has been fun to have little guy Owen's age over to play! Cole's dad is coaching soccer at the rec center and invited Owen to join the team at the last minute. I was hesitant, given the outcome of Bennett's 4-year-old soccer experiences. But Owen was so excited, we decided to give it a try.

I am happy to report that he loved it. LOVED it. He was (of course) the cutest kid out there. Every time he passed by he smiled and did this little wave to me or gave me a thumbs up! He was pretty tentative, but he ran after that ball the entire hour, and kicked it many times! He had a couple of almost-goals, and was just a happy sweaty kid afterwards. If you have never seen a 4-year-old soccer game, I highly recommend it. It is hilarious! The dad next to me was really getting after his daughter for not being aggressive enough, but his wife and I just laughed and laughed. Every time the pack of kids ran past the drinking fountain while chasing the ball, they would all stop and line up for a drink until the coaches could convince them to come back out and play!

Also heartwarming was hearing Bennett tell Owen, "Whoa, Owen. You did an awesome job playing soccer! I'm serious! All I did when I played soccer when I was your age was cry and cry." Owen was all aglow.

Salsa

This is a picture of Jason mocking me and my fear of things that warn of potential explosions as a result of product misuse. Pressure cookers scare me. Also, lighting grills, inflating helium balloons and inner tubes. But, despite my fears, the salsa looks great. Good job, Jason! Anyone who knows us understands that Jason does all the canning 'round here. I just eat the finished product. Wait! I did stir the salsa as it cooked for a minute or two, as well as labeling the lids, so... wow, I'm feeling really like a team player.

Celebrate good times... Come on!

Happy birthday to Jason!

First, I just have to say that I made him wear that protective eyewear when he blew out his candles for safety reasons. Bright light! Also, if it is possible, you should definitely have a pastry chef as your next-door neighbor. Instead of birthday cake this year, we enjoyed almond torte and citrus biscuits with strawberries and cream thanks to Natalie! Thanks, Natalie! You are the master.

And thank you to everyone else who came and brought the party, along with a world-class selection of rootbeer. Mmmmmmmm. And to the maker of the delicious pizza... oh yeah, that was me! And it was rather tasty if I do say so myself.

And thanks to Jason for being the best. He is so much fun to shop for! How many 37-year-olds do you know that get skateboards for their birthdays? I am so happy to be getting older with this guy. Every day is a par-tay.

Good times for one and all this fall. (I like to rhyme! All the time!)

A lovely outing with the kiddies! We saw: 2 fuzzy caterpillars, one huge, black beetle, a snake, beautiful fall leaves, and no fossils.

Congratulations to my very amazing parents and brother! Well done, marathoners!

I'm not sure how I missed this event in the past; perhaps I just didn't realize how cool it was. But we won't miss it again. What a great time!

Old School Style

Bennett and I found this while checking out some breakdancing on YouTube. You've got to check it out if you have any interest in breakdancing or Mr. Rogers. :) Enjoy!

Saddle Sore

Is riding a bike 206 miles in one day your idea of a good time? If so, this is the event for you! If not, you can ride along with me in the support car and eat Swedish fish all day! I am so proud of Jason for finishing this grueling ride for the second time. I am utterly amazed at the strength these riders have. I was saddle sore just sitting in my car for the drive to Jackson! Congrats, babe!

I wish you could tell how fast the riders were going in the photo above.  Jason clocked his fastest speed ever during the race:  54 mph.  I can't even think about that too hard or I will throw up.

Feel the burn!

It was a long, beautiful day!  Finn was an amazing traveler!  He had a bit of a diaper rash by the end of our trip, but as Lynn Kirby pointed out, his Dad understood his pain.

Jason and Russ rolled in together looking strong!  Thanks, Sport Legs!  And not a moment too soon... the race was closed just 5 minutes later!

The next morning he enjoyed the breakfast of champions at Bubba's in Jackson.

Check out our Bishop, Darren Perkes, and his first counselor, J. Lamb.  Lotoja brothers!

We had a great time the day after the race in Jackson Hole with the Gibsons, Kirbys and Perkes. Look at all these hard-core biker friends I have right in my neighborhood! Incredible.
*See if you can spot the former cheerleader of the group.

Preschool Part 2

The Owenator is attending his second year at the Child Development Lab on USU campus. He absolutely loves it. We feel so fortunate that he was able to attend again this year; it has been so good for him. The school is focuses on learning through play, and is an outstanding program. His friend, Olivia, goes too, but they are not in the same class. :( Owen was happy to see his old friend, Euicham, though! They were in the same class last fall, and became friends because they were both very shy and introverted. And Euicham didn't speak much English, so it was fun to watch them together. Owen still kind of does his own thing at school, but seems more confident, and always smiling. Love, love, love him.

Rock Star Style

You should hear these boys rock.  By the way, I should mention that this is NOT Guitar Hero.  It's a real guitar, plugged in, and rockin' LOUD!!!

Odds and Ends

TA-DA! Summer is over!
This was taken after an excellent day of playing in the water (and mud) at Merlin Olsen Park with a bunch of friends. Much fun was had and many a mudpie made that day. And then, just days later...

Rain, rain, rain!
It was beautiful, and I was finally able to bake again. My kids had been asking me, "Mom, when are you going to make cookies again? And rolls? And bread? And cake?" Basically, everything that requires being cooked in the oven. Or stovetop, really. Our kitchen pretty much shuts down all summer due to extreme temperatures in our red brick oven.


Here was a last-chance camping getaway up the canyon the weekend before school started:

What a cutie. Finn loved camping! He slept like a champ.

Owen Lee, peeking out of "the big boy tent." That's right, we have to split up at night when we camp, into two little dome tents. Someday we will actually have to get a tent we can all fit in together! For this camping trip Jason slept with Bennett and Owen in one tent, and I slept with Finn, Jake and Lucy (yep) in the other!

It took some MacGyver skills to get this stove to work, but it was well worth the trouble for these fine pancackes. Good work, Jason and Bennett!

This picture almost makes me want to keep Lucy! :)

Did you know?

OWEN and BENNETT  HAVE THEIR VERY OWN BLOGS!  Check them out!

Infamous Incident

Everyone looks so happy in the above photo taken at Lagoon-a-Beach... You would never know that Jason had just...

RIPPED A MASSIVE HOLE IN HIS SWIM TRUNKS! Yikes!

That's right. Disaster struck last Friday evening at the very crowded Lagoon-a-Beach when Jason went down a slide with Jake and landed on his rear-end very hard. "That really hurt," he thought, but had no idea that he had literally shredded his trousers in the landing. He proceeded to wander through the water park, bending over to push the boys on the swings, paying little attention to the strange looks he was getting from the woman on a bench behind him. It wasn't until he himself tried to sit on one of the swings that Bennett saw the damage to his trunks and shouted, "Dad! You have a hole in your shorts!" Sure enough, when he reached behind to check, he felt... skin. So Jason, mortified and visibly shaken, had to clutch the torn fabric in his hands as he wound his way through the crowds over to the shady area at the back of the park where I was hanging out with Finn. I thought he had perhaps had some sort of accident by the way he was holding his backside and walking really slowly, and from the shocked look on his face. I COULD NOT get control of my laughter as he was telling me the story. I am laughing out loud as I type it right now. And no, I did not ask permission to share his new most embarrassing moment. But he can laugh too, so he's a better sport than I am. If it had happened to ME, I would be in hiding. Or therapy. Along with all those who had witnessed the event!!

Ch ch ch ch changes...

Don't you love the first morning you wake up at the end of summer and realize you don't want to get out of bed because it's just a little bit chilly out? Mmmmmm. Love it. The weather has cooled down to perfection, and not a moment too soon. Dad and I were moving some items into my brother's Lee's new apartment last Saturday near USU campus. Dad mentioned that he loves finally feeling that cooler breeze that means fall is just around the corner, and suddenly I felt it too! Autumn is fast approaching. Break out the sweaters!

This time of year also brings a mom's mixed emotions of sending child off to school. Having Bennett in first grade means he is gone from 8-2:30 every day. It's so exciting, but also so hard for me. He loves his teacher and is having fun with new and old friends. It's just me worrying.

My favorite thing right now is to lay by him at night when he is sleepy and more willing to talk about his day. I love hearing about all the intricacies of life in the first grade; some of it is hilarious, and some of it is heartbreaking. Like the little girl, Jocelyn, in his class who speaks no English, has no friends and sits alone at recess! We talked about some ways that he could make her feel welcome even if they speak different languages. He wondered out loud what it would be like to be in a classroom where you don't understand what anyone is saying, and you don't have a friend. Bennett noticed me crying as we talked about her, and I surely didn't need to explain why. He is anxious to try smiling and saying hello to her at school tomorrow. I am interested to hear more about Jocelyn and see how her year goes. I hope she'll make some little friends SOON! Bennett will keep me posted, and I'm excited to meet her when I start volunteering in their class next week. So see... there's a lot more than academics being learned in first grade. I am glad for Bennett's sensitivity, and also his extreme brilliance. :)

ALSO happening at Bennett's school is... drumroll please... a new art program! That's right! The excellent new principal has set aside a short period of time each week for art. All children will get art every week this year! This is huge! The best part for me is that I have been able to take part in planning the new program. It has been so fun, and I am happy to have a background in art education so I can be useful. Bennett had his first art class today, and really liked it. He was surprised when he found out that I had planned his art project. Cool!