Happy Birthday Austin!

September 23, 2011 - Austin is now 15. Wow! What a great kid he is. This past year has been a year of change for Austin...we moved, he's grown 5 inches, his voice is really deep, and now he's got his drivers permit! So look out if you're in the south end of the Salt Lake County area! He's got wheels.

Race Day!

Yesterday I went to cheer Austin on at his cross country meet. This is only his second one and he has only trained for about 3 weeks. He did so well! He definitely has more of his Dad's running ability than his mothers. It was a chilly, rainy afternoon...perfect for the runners, but not so much for the fans!

I don't know how many were running in his group, but when they took off it was a massive blob of runners heading out and up the first hill. What a site!
Things spread out after the first mile and it was easier to photograph Austin. He ran strong and hard the whole way.
And this race he said he even had some energy left to make the sprint to the finish. I am so proud of him and admire his determination and drive to take on this new sport.

Labor Day Soccer Tournament

Another holiday weekend and another soccer tournament! It's a good thing that we love soccer so much. Evan's team had a game Thursday, a game Friday, and two games on Monday. They made it all the way to the finals and after another tough championship game they placed 2nd! It was a hard fought battle and the team played so well together. Evan lives and breathes soccer these days and so for him it was a perfect weekend. As long as he loves it so do we!!

Team captains before the kickoff.
Checking in, checking shinguards and cleats.
2nd place tournament medalist!
The whole team after getting their awards. Congratulations boys!

Labor Day Picnic

On Labor Day part of the family went up Little Cottonwood canyon to have a picnic brunch. It was a beautiful drive and the canyon is so beautiful! The kids had a great time exploring and running around. We had a wonderful breakfast and enjoyed a walk down to the creek. It was a great little adventure!

Two of the cooks for the brunch. Pancakes, hashbrowns, bacon and OJ. Yum!
Big cheesy smiles from these boys.
Walking across the log together.
Up high on a rock waiting for the food to be ready.

The beautiful creek up Little Cottonwood Canyon.David checking out the stream.

$$$$$

Back to school is expensive! The kids all seemed to have grown over the summer. Too much good food I guess. So they all needed new pants, new shoes, new underwear that fit! Then there is the mile long list of supplies that are NOT (but you feel like they are) mandatory...paper, pencils, pens, notebooks, binders, dividers, kleenex, hand sanitizer, baby wipes, dry erase markers, highlighters, even reams of copy paper for the class. And then, just when you think you've finished drawing on your savings account, you go to registration. I don't know if things have changed, but there is no such thing as free public education anymore. Each of my children had fees, just to be able to go to school. There were activity fees, book rental fees, locker fees, gym locker fees, generic "registration" fees, and even a few voluntary fees like PTA and yearbook (which we skipped because we no longer had any money left!) Jeez, I'm going to stop feeding these kids to make up for sending them back to school! Oh, that reminds me, I have to put money in their school lunch accounts so they don't starve. :)