Hey Coach!

Bella is there in the striped socks. I couldn't find Jacks old ones and realized knee socks are way more fun. And there I am on the side, yes I have gone crazy and am coaching her soccer team. I have no prior experience, have never played soccer, and have never coached before. But we are halfway through the season and so far so good.

But also we have....

...this guy. Second season for him. He looks like a pro up there with the headphones calling plays. The kids and I try and get his attention during the game and he never hears us. He is soo focused on the field. So far they are 1-1. This week will be crucial in turning the tide. If they win it will help their confidence a lot and we will have a happy coach. If they lose, much moping will ensue. Did I mention my team is 3-0. Oh wait, so far I have a better record. Hmmm, maybe I should start a friendly competition, especially seeing as I am already ahead. Of course, my players are 5 and 6 and still listen, while he has to deal with teenagers, so I have an edge. But, all is fair in love and sports and bragging rights.

First Day!

Jack started school two weeks ago. I have been slow in posting because...

We tore up the floor. And are still tearing up the floor. More on this later. On to....

He was really irritated I made him stop to take his picture. He just wanted to get back to his class and then on to recess. He seems to like his teacher, and knew a ton of people in his class from previous years. He is pretty excited school is back in session, even though summer was short.

This one started Kindergarten on the 25th. She absolutely would not hold still, or give me a hug goodbye. She just dashed into the playground like a pro and went to play. She is having a ball so far. On Wednesday she woke up and said "Third day of Kindergarten, third day of fun!" I love that she loves it.

Now, back to the floor. We are putting in laminate in the kitchen and living room aka sewing room. The carpet was not so bad to tear up, but the linoleum has been a bit overwhelming. The people who laid it down used a staple gun every two inches or so all over the whole floor. I had no idea the kitchen floor was earthquake proof.

The things I missed

My camera decided to slowly die throughout the month of July. First I thought it was the battery, but alas no, the whole case had opened and I would need to replace it with another one. Anyone who knows me knows I must research as nasuem. So I thought I needed an update of the pictures untaken of the past month or so.

Last week, Nate set up the tent and he and the kids camped out. I nabbed the tent from my parents house about a year ago. They have extras and so I relinquished the big one. It's lovely and purple and has four rooms. We were relieved that we put it up in the back yard for the first try. It wasn't that it was really difficult, we just are slow. Next time we put it up we will hopefully be in the woods somewhere and be faster.

The camera died after one picture of Jack's last baseball game. He loved playing this year and wants to practice pitching everyday until next year so he can be the pitcher.

I only got two pictures of the trip we took up to Oregon for my Grandfather's memorial service. Granted, I didn't have a lot of time to be taking pictures with the quickness of the trip and all the stuff we did while there, but a lot of family was there and together and I will have to see if my mom got any good shots I can snatch.

Again, the kids and I went to Oregon for a week at the end of July. I wanted to snap pictures of my mom's dogs being terrified of Isabella and Sophie. They didn't mind Jack, but little girls are very scary you know.

And then there is all the day to day stuff, Sophie has started standing a bit, Jack playing Star Wars in the front yard. All the pillow and blanket forts in the living room, and a baby quilt I made for my new niece.

But the good news is I finally bought a new camera, just a point and shoot for now, and Nate has been busy snapping pics of Bella and I on the soccer field and Jack's first day of third grade. I have just about finished reading the book that came along with the camera (I know, I am the only person that reads that book) and will be back into the photo posting again, rather than borrowing other peoples pictures.

New Niece!

Welcome to the world Violet! The kids are excited to have a new cousin, number 14 overall for them. Violet was born last Saturday, and even though she and her mom had a rough go of it, she looked great. I am excited she and Soph will be in the same grade in school.

And speaking of school, Jack and Bella met their teachers yesterday. Both are sooo excited to begin the school year. I, on the other hand, feel like summer went by so fast I have whiplash. We still have a big list of stuff to get done around here before colder weather sets in. But in the mean time, I am going to just play with the kids and hang around with them. Jack and I have some Clone War plans we need to get to, and Bella and I may need to get a few accessories for Cinderella Bear while she waits for school to start (Why is it taking sooo long mom, let's just go today! I know my teacher is there!).

Until then, looking forward to seeing little Violet this weekend! Look at those cheeks!

She Flew

In May, our ward had an auction to raise money for the youth. One of the items up for bid was an introductory flight lesson. I bid, I won, I flew! Holly and all the Woodlings graciously escorted me to the Provo airport in the early hours of the day. I felt giddy with excitement, concerned about the size of my derriere when I saw the size of the seat in the plane, and thrilled when we gently lifted off the ground. The pilot-Rich-was a hoot. He let me fly more than I had hoped for and answered all my questions easily. We flew over Utah Lake and over our neighborhood in Lehi. I had forgotten to mention to Nate to come outside, but a few neighbors actually did see the little plane circling above. I loved it, I keep trying to figure out a way I could do this every day!

A recap of the Day

The day meaning my birthday of course. Being as it falls on Pioneer Day-big day if you live in Utah-Nate had/took the day off. He is his own boss, so it's a grey area. We began the day around 7 am with kids too excited to eat breakfast. I insisted on cereal before presents. They hung their heads and reluctantly complied. After hastily consumed bowls of cereal, Bella insisted I open her gift first. Nate informed me the night before Bella was beyond excited about what she chose. Beyond excited. I had psyched myself up to give her a much hoped for reaction from me with excitement equal to hers regardless of what it was. She got me:

I knew exactly where her excitement came from. The Aqua Globe infomercial is on during Saturday Morning Cartoons. She recited it to me then and there as I opened my gift. She did the same thing to Nate in the store. Her passion for them convinced him to buy them in the first place. Lucky for her I have some potted plants this year. They do look cool and I would never have thought of them myself. She is sorely disappointed the water on them does not last "up to two whole weeks" like it says on the commercial. I keep pointing out the "up two" part, but she just looks at me like I am out of my mind. I suspect the water in them will last about five days.

Next up was J-man. He picks out ambitious things. I could tell he was pretty sure his gift would be a hit as well. And there was a plan to go along with it, a plan that would make all his dreams come true-well not all of them, but at least one. He got me:

100 cookie cutters! You can see his plan, we will make cookies and use them all in one shot! 100 cookies! What could be better. He has been lobbying ever since I opened them to break them out and cut away. I told him we will take them to grandma's house next time we go. Bwahahahaha.

Sophie got me-picked out by Nate in absentia-some bath salts. I believe this is an indication that someday soon I may be getting a bigger bathtub with a bigger bathroom built around it. Well-a girl can dream.

Nate got me a bag that I wanted. It is giraffe print with green trim! Yay!

After all the present opening, we got all shiny and clean and headed out to the Gateway. It is basically an outdoor shopping mall in downtown SLC. I bought clothes for me, I even tried them on before purchasing, as I didn't have three other people accompanying me into the dressing room. We are at McGrath's Fish House. This has been my year of branching out foodwise, I dispise that I am soo picky, it really bugs me. So I have been trying new stuff. I had a turkey and crab melt with sun dried tomatoes and artichokes. This is why I picked crab. It was decent, a little too creamy.

We came home and prepared for and attended a BBQ down the street. Good times were had, fireworks let off, good books discussed, and good food shared. I had a great day and slept well that night. The next morning I awoke and had some of this for breakfast. Life is good, 31 years survived.

Stupid Things

So, apparently places to buy new counter tops are not open on Saturdays, which makes no sense whatsoever. Isn't that when people shop for home improvement stuff?!? A few weeks ago, I got a quote from TL custom counter tops. I had some questions, so I called to ask them and have not been called back. Frustrating, I wanted to buy them there So on Saturday, Nate and I decided that we would just go somewhere else and see what we could find. Well, everywhere we went, closed! Fine, they must not want my money!

Also, this weekend our washing machine freaked out. It started making that unbalanced you've shoved too many clothes into me noise and dance. So, I redistributed clothing and the grooving and shaking continued. It seems as though some water has been trapped between the inner and outer tub. The thing is, the washer is almost a year old. We bought it the 28th of July of last year. Hopefully whatever it is falls under warranty, but I am certainly not counting on it.

Also, my camera is dying. It got dropped at Father and Sons and hasn't been the same since. I can get about five pictures out of it before it dies. I checked the batteries, that doesn't seem to be the problem. Since my birthday is coming up, I can probably just make a camera my present this year. But I don't know what I want and anyone who knows me knows I research incessantly, so if anyone has a camera they love, let me know. Nonetheless I am annoyed it's dying.

Also, baby quaking aspens (the biggest tree/weed there is) keep trying to spout all over the yard. The roots keep appearing far away from the main trees and I must battle them all the time, and I still lose.

And then, I keep having this strange muscle spasm in my eyelid that is driving me insane!

On the flip side, the house is pretty clean today. Bella vacuumed and thought it was the greatest thing ever. The kids loved dinner last night and didn't complain at all, sweet and sour chicken. And we have a lot of fun stuff planned this week.

I feel better now I got that all out.