2011 Soccer Season

We had a fun soccer season this year, with a bit of chaos, but that's expected when you have 3 kids playing, and they never play at different times or conveniently close fields. Sienna played U10 this year, which was a little bit of a scary place to start, having never really played soccer. The other girls knew what they were doing and Sienna didn't. Now that soccer is over, she has vowed to never play again. Maybe it was the intense coach and the other girls always yelling at her, with a combination of too much running, but she didn't enjoy it much at all. The only saving grace was the snack time at the end of the game and the fun team party they had at Strikes Bowling Alley at the end of the season. Weirdly, there was only one girl on the team smaller than Sienna. I've never experienced having a child who is the smallest, it was different for us. Conner also enjoyed snack time... We had a great season, weather-wise, most of the days were perfect and sunny. But at the end of the season, we had a couple of very cold, wet days. The one below, was the coldest and wettest, but we brought hot chocolate along and barely survived... It was fun watching Braden this year, also in U10, finally make an effort. The below picture is my favorite, the classic-try-to-kick-the-ball-while-it's-still-flying-through-the-air-move. Every boy seems to try it at least once and it always makes me laugh. Oops, another shot if Sienna in the wrong place. She's getting ready for the ball that is finally coming her direction... Running so fast... R.J. played U12 this year for the last time. R.J. is a pretty good soccer player, and a majorly fast runner. It is really exciting to watch him play. The struggle with his team this year is that only one boy could really play goalie, and nobody else even wanted to try. So, the coach put R.J. in as goalie quite a bit, which is agony for me. He isn't a bad goalie, but it's not his strength, he really shines when he gets to run. Here we have a little harmless pushing... Until next year...

R.J. The Babysitter

It's been fun for us, now that R.J. is old enough to babysit. And things actually go pretty well as long as we add a lot of bribery to the occasion. :o) One thing he struggles with though, is getting Conner to bed. So sometimes when we get home, this is what we find... So cute.

Survivorman

Braden loves TV shows where survival is the goal. His favorites are "Monsters Inside Me," "I Shouldn't Be Alive," and a new discovery, "Survivorman." This guy goes out into wildernesses of all kinds, like jungles, or the Arctic, and just simply survives. Braden LOVES it. So, we were at a soccer game of R.J.'s and this is what Braden spent the 1.5 hrs building... It was actually pretty impressive. If I ever have to go on Survivor or something like that, I hope Braden is on my team.

Junction Turkey Trot

Our school's annual turkey trot is really fun. Someone always dresses up as a turkey, and the fastest runner for each grade wins a frozen turkey for Thanksgiving. Last year R.J. won a turkey for me. This year, Braden & Sienna gave it their best shot. They both ran 9 laps, but sadly that wasn't enough. But don't worry, we still had Thanksgiving. Braden started out strong, look at him go, right in the front of the pack... After a few laps, he started to lag. This is a lot of running for those of us who don't love running! All done, and still alive! Now it's Sienna's turn... Sienna also tried really hard. And she stopped for a drink after every single lap, lol... Phew!

Family Pictures

Several months ago, I set up an appt. for family pictures with a friend & talented photographer. When we made the appt. it was still sunny at 6pm. When the day came to get our pictures taken, it was dark at 6pm. So we rescheduled. The rescheduled date came and the sun was out, but the wind was blowing a million miles an hour. So we rescheduled. Our appt. is now set for tomorrow, and sunny skies are in the forecast. But this is what I found... Am I doomed? I don't know. Wish us luck that we can do a cute enough comb-over and still have decent family pictures this year!

The Most Beautiful Centerpiece in the World...

Too bad it didn't last.

Halloween 2011

The Horse... The Sniper... The Angel... and The Leaf Blower.... Braden changed his costume for trick-or-treating, he is a Gangster now...

Halloween Concert

R.J.'s 1st band concert was last week. It's hard to get a good picture at a band concert! I learned some things about R.J. at this concert that I didn't already know. I knew he was in the regular band and that he had also joined the jazz band. I didn't know that he was in the ADVANCED jazz band. And I didn't know he tried out for a solo and got it. R.J. loves band. I don't know if he'll burn out, most days he has it 3 times in one day, but for now he loves it.

Operation Caramel Apple

Operation Caramel Apple was a huge success. Without absorbing the ramifications, I signed up to bring caramel apples to a theatrical performance of R.J.'s G.A.T.E. class. At the time, I did not know it was a fundraiser and the teacher wanted to SELL the apples. And she wanted me to make a lot. So now I was stuck, having never actually made caramel apples before, and now they need to be pretty. Step in friend Tammy. Tammy saved my life. She came over and helped me make 29 caramel apples (I started with 30, but Conner grabbed one, pre-dip, and took a huge bite). And guess what, it wasn't that hard, it was fun! Of course, later I made 3 all by myself and it wasn't as fun or not hard. I've decided the success of caramel apples depends on two sets of hands. Thank you Tammy for saving the day! And P.S., every last one of my apples was sold. :o) And here is R.J. in his performance, reciting a couple of stanzas from Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven."

The Bernhard Museum

The much-anticipated 3rd grade trip to the Bernhard Museum has finally arrived for Sienna. You have to dress like a pioneer and learn all the things they had to do, back when this was a working farm. Sienna learned how to do laundry, make soap, make her own doll, build a fruit crate, make biscuits, and something else I can't remember now. But it was really fun! I was able to go with her and be in charge of wood-working. And I pulled it off. :o)