First game in red!

Evan had his first soccer game as a Dallas Texan. It was basically the same team as the last few seasons, but we now play in red.
I think the team looked really good in red....and they played excellently. All the coaching and practicing is starting to pay off. The kids are learning to trust each other and pass the ball around. Each player had touches on the ball and several had scores. The final score was 5-4 with a win!

Evan is really a leader on the team. He's good at directing people and "talking" on the field so everyone knows what's going on. He's also a good teacher to some of the new players with helping them improve.

Evan plays most of the game as a forward. He is super fast and doesn't tire easily so he's a good striker. His partner on the field is Lily. Together they can split the defenders and pass the ball and score!! They are quite a pair.

We're off to a good start and we're looking forward to a great season...

Here He Is!

So from that tiny baby (actually he was my biggest at 7 lbs. 11 oz.) to this handsome teen...
So Austin had a good birthday. It stretched on from Sunday night (with Dave here) to Friday night (with cheesecake after dinner out with friends!) and was fun. He's now sporting a new PSP, a Ripstick, some Lego's and a new board game! He's also got a little spending money to go shopping with and some candy! All in all - a good birthday for a great kid!

My first born son!

Fourteen years ago I became a mother. I was 22 years old. I didn't know how awesome it would be. I didn't know how much I would love. I didn't know how much I would cry. I didn't know how hard it would be. I didn't know how rewarding it would be. It's the best thing I've ever done!

Austin is 14 today. He's an incredible kid. He's smart and humble. He's talented and driven. He's confident and teachable. He's stubborn and proud. He's a great teenager (which comes with those not so good moments!) He's my first born son and I love him. Thanks for teaching me how to be a mom. My little guinie pig is turning out great! Happy birthday awesome Austin!

Full time job!

My calendar starts off each month blank. Then it starts to fill up. Then is starts overflowing! My hat goes off to working mothers. I don't know how they do it. I am busy each day with different duties, activities, fun, and chores.

Most recently I had to change dentists (new insurance with the new job). So I had to make appointments for the 5 of us. Well, the dentist has to have a "new patient exam" before they will do anything else. They won't clean, the won't do fillings, nothing until you have the new patient exam. And they wont schedule more than 2 family memebers at a time in case we cancel. I understand the logic of that, but it makes it almost impossible to get my family to the dentist. I have to go 3 different appointments to get us all in. And with the new patient exam that doubles to 6 appointments. Not to mention that the dentist is 25 miles away! So the kids end up missing 1/2 days of school as well! Heaven help us if we have cavities...that's another story (they only do one quadrant of the mouth at a time! So while cleanings/exams are 6 months apart I feel like it takes us that long to get everyone in and fixed up and then it's time to do it again! This month - Austin get's 9 teeth pulled to get ready for braces and Evan has 4 baby root canals on his horrible teeth. Next month...McKinley, Ethan and Mom get "new patient exams" and cleanings. Only 11 visits total! AAAHH!

Don't get me wrong, I love it, but sometimes it's nice to see a blank day. Do you see one?

Evan and duct tape

Lately Evan has been going crazy with duct tape. Since we made duct tape wallets at Bear Lake and discovered that duct tape comes in all sorts of colors and designs Evan has been creating all sorts of treasures. He has made wallets for most of his friends and has made a scripture bag, a laptop, a pair of gloves, a gun water bottle, a drink holder, a belt for his Bakugon toys, and many more things! It's been hours of fun for him and a lot of fun for us to see what he comes up with next. Go go gadget Evan!

Study time

Both Evan and McKinley have been doing awesome with their homework. Evan is really taking responsibility with his organization of his homework and McKinley loves doing homework for now. She likes to be like her big brothers and excels at the learning. It's fun to see them doing so well and learning how to learn. It's nice that the two younger ones get home an hour before the older two get home. It gives them two on one time with mom and I'm able to help them with their homework. It should be a good year!

Gymnast in training!

Today was McKinley's second gymnastics class. She absolutely loves it. She has been waiting for Tuesday afternoon so she could get ready and go to gymnastics since the minute she left last week. She talks about it every day. And she is pretty good. She's taken tumbling/dance for 2 years but always enjoyed the gymnastics best. This class has been a first time for vault, uneven bars, and beam, but she's a natural at it. It's so fun to watch her and remember the years I spent in gymnastics and how much I loved it. I'm glad she enjoys it as much as I did...

We'll see how she progresses over time and if she sticks with it. I hope she does...