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. :)

It's Early!

Summer was so much fun...and this summer Austin played hard and slept in. a lot. So getting up for school was not a fun time for him. This was his first day of 10th grade picture. All the sleep and eating allowed him to grow a full 5 inches over the summer and his voice is a lot lower too. This year Austin started a new high school. It is a brand new building and about 1/2 the kids are new. He's really enjoyed it this week. It's a charter school and the class sizes are small. He's got a fun schedule full of challenging classes and fun electives. He's also running cross-country for the school. It's fun to see him getting involved and enjoying the high school years. Go Bears!

First Day 2011/2012 school year

Today, three of the kids started school again. Where did the summer go? Way too fast! McKinley was excited, Ethan and Evan were not. It's going to be another good year though. Just can't believe how fast it's going. McKinley -2nd grade, Evan - 5th grade, Ethan - 8th grade. And next week, Austin off to his sophomore year of highschool....no way! It's good though...the kids are growing into wonderful, productive children. I'm grateful we have the education system we do and the opportunities it provides for my children! Thank you teachers!

2nd place at Addidas Cup Tournament!!

Evan was invited to play with his old team at a 4 day tournament in West Jordan this past week. It was incredibly hot each day, but the boys played very well. It was great to see good ball movement and a lot of different boys scored in their games. The defense was solid and the boys enjoyed the competition. The final game was a 1-1 tie after overtime and it came down to penalty shots. Unfortunately we lost 3-2 in penalty kicks, taking 2nd place overall in the boys U11 silver bracket. It was a great tournament with some really good soccer! Congratulations Blue Knights!

Sun Valley Camping Trip

We had to sneak in one final camping trip before the kiddos head back to school next week. We also met up with my mom and Irv, and Vicky and Jim and the girls. We each pulled our trailers to Sun Valley Idaho. None of us had ever been there and we were pleasantly surprised. The Sawtooth National Forest is a beautiful part of the country. The drive there was picturesque and the temperatures were perfect, even in mid-August. Unfortunately we experienced a flat tire on the way up there. But David and I were able to change the tire on the trailer in 40 minutes flat and we were on our way again. We stayed at Easley Campground which was right next to a hotsprings pool. We enjoyed visiting the hotsprings twice, went on a 12 mile bike ride (minus McKinley), and the boys hiked up to the top of one of the ridges by camp. Grandma and Grandpa played hours of card with the kids and we ate like kings! It was a lovely vacation, although we could have stayed a few more days.

It was fun to see everyone and to spend some time in the great outdoors of Idaho.