State Cup Soccer Finals U14

 This past week has been the Utah State Soccer Cup tournament that hosts all the best teams in Utah for the playoffs.  Our team had to play into the quarter finals because of the rough season that we've had the past season.  We were able to secure a spot at the quarter finals against the #2 team in our league.  We played an incredible game against them and won in Pk's (overtime + kicks).  Then we advanced to the semi finals against the #3 team and were able to beat them 2-1.  Today was the final game against the #1 team in the state and we did very well.  We held them to 0-1 until the last few minutes of the game when we pressed to get the tying goal and got countered on.  The boys ended up losing the game, but quickly focused on the incredible run they had in this tournament which showed them all what they are capable of.  The best part of it is that they all played together so well and believed in each other.  Each member of the team was important!

Before the game some of the players gathered together for a moment of prayer/silence to gather themselves before the start of the game.  It's a neat moment for all of them.

One of our former teammates, Noah, who moved to California this year, was in town for the game and it was so fun to see him.  You can see already that the boys are happy with their play and while second place is hard to swallow, it was an amazing run!

Last camping trip of the season

Over the long Fall break weekend we decided to take a mini vacation up to Crystal Hot Springs in northern Utah.  We packed up the camper and headed out late Thursday night and set up the camper in the dark.  That was not fun, but the rest of the trip was great!  Friday morning we fixed a nice breakfast and then headed out to The Golden Spike monument which was about 45 minutes away from Crystal Hot Springs.  It's not a place that I would take the day and drive to, but since we were so close it was a trip we had to make.  It was actually a fun little place and we learned a lot about the Union Pacific and Costal Railroad companies and the great effort of connecting the railroad system.  Interesting place!

The rest of that day and night we spent playing games and swimming in the hot pools!  The water felt so good and the slides were fun too!  The weather was surprisingly warm for October and I even sat and read my book for a while at the pool!

And of course we had smores and ate yummy camping meals too!  All in all it was a great trip and a good time to get away one more time before we winterized the trailer and put the cover on and stored it for the winter!

Scouting Court of Honor

Evan is the third boy in our family and all our boys have excelled in scouting.  Austin earned his eagle and Ethan is a few steps away from Eagle, now Evan is progressing right along through the ranks as well.  Evan enjoys scouting and is a good leader.  Right now he's acting as the Patrol Leader and takes it very seriously!  He's great at letting all the boys know exactly what is going on and getting ready for all the campouts.  At the Court of Honor this week he earned 6 merit badges from all his hard work and advanced in the ranks to Star scout.  He's already well on his way to Life, he just needs to be active for 6 months as a Star!  We couldn't be prouder!

At the Court of Honor they also took time to honor the previous Scout leaders including Dave.  Dave has served in Scouts for many years and still serves as the Advancement Chairperson.  But this night he was recognized for his years of service with the 11 year old Scouts.  He's been instrumental in helping many boys begin their path in Boy Scouts and progress through the program.  It was a wonderful evening!

He's legal!

This charming, smart, funny, happy kid is now an adult!  What a journey we have had together.   I have learned things that only Austin could teach me and I hope that he can say that he has had a great childhood.  I can't wait to see what the future holds for this young man!

She said YES!!

Shortly after asking his date to Homecoming, Ethan received his answer.  There was a knock on the door and when I opened it there was no one there (surprise, surprise).  There was a flashlight and a sign hanging in the tree out front which read, "If you want to know my answer follow this string"

So I found Ethan and he proceeded to follow the string.  The string was wrapped around mailboxes and trees and bushes all the way up the street.  He followed it across the road, past people's homes, and finally into a field where there was a tree hanging with a bunch of treats and a sign that read YES.  It was super cute.

Cleaning that all up was no so cute.  It took Ethan a good 30 minutes to unwind that string from the couple blocks that it was strung across.  A few neighbor dogs were very upset and Ethan had to explain his presence to a few neighbors who just chuckled when he explained his plight.  All in all a very memorable event!

First Day of School 2014

Another summer has come and gone, but boy did we have fun!  We are now ready for school and schedules and timeframes!  Not really, but we have to!

Ethan is happy to be able to drive himself to and from school now.  He bought Austin out of his share of the car and now owns half of the car.  He's able to come and go as he pleases as long as he lets me know where he's at.  It's been a nice degree of freedom for him and he's very responsible to get himself to and from school and work.  It's a nice thing!

Evan leaves for school at 7am and so I wasn't up to snap a picture of him.  Hopefully this is our last year of 7am as he will be headed to SAHS next year and McKinley will go to the middle school next year as well.  That will be nice!

McKinley is top dog at the elementary school for her final year!  A big 5th grader this year.  She's a lot of fun and such a smart little thing!  She's going to have a great year too!

Good luck this year guys!  I'm always so proud of your hard work and kind hearts at school.  It's the combination that makes you super special!  Keep it up!

Homecoming....asking a date

In Utah, there is a tradition that asking for a date for dance has to be creative and fun.  Guys (or girls for girls choice) must come up with a creative way of asking their date to the dance.  Ethan decided he wanted to ask a girl to Homecoming and so he came up with his idea.  He covered the girls driveway with red Solo cups and made a cute poster that read, "I'd hate to go Solo, will you go to Homecoming with me?"  Now he wait for his date to come up with a fun and creative reply...