The Weekend

First things first. Lauren's soccer team played very well together this weekend and their efforts ended in a tie 2-2. John was so happy to finally get to watch one of her games and commented about how well they worked together. Jason's team played the best team in the division and had a loss, 4-1. The ref commented that the Sharks held in there better than any other team he had seen.

Salt Lake was rushed and fun. I got in Friday night in time to have a late dinner with my mom, my dad and Jill, and Chris and Steve. Saturday was the shower and we had to pick up all the last minute things and get ready, but we made time to go up Little Cottonwood Canyon to see the autumn leaves. I was so happy to see some beautiful colors. I love the patchwork quilt look of the mountains this time of year. I would post some beautiful pictures so you could see, but I forgot my camera. I have 2 pictures on my cell phone if you want to see. Just ask.

I have included some other pictures from the shower. The shower went very well. Christie and Eric got some nice things for the baby. I want the quilt Grandma Dykes made for the baby. It looks like camoflauge, but the camo is frogs. Too cute. Most people at the shower made a baby book page for Christie to add pictures to later and we found a cute baby blue and white baby book to put it all in.

Heading to SLC

I am heading to SLC today. I just have to get through the school day and I am leavin', on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again. Oh wait! I'll be back on Sunday morning. I am going up for Christie's shower and I can't wait. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone. Lauren is not happy about having to stay home. I wish she was going with me, but we vacationed to the nth degree this summer and now I can not afford 2 airline tickets. Truth be told, I can not afford one ticket. Besides, she has soccer tomorrow. I wish it was a little later in the year so I could see the autumn leaves. I definitely miss fall colors very much. We don't really have fall here. John always tries to convince me that the leaves falling off the trees from pollution are "autumn leaves" but I don't buy it. Well, I hope to see all you Utahns in the next day or two - if you are not going to the shower call me so we can meet up. I am staying at my mom's house.

I just read over this and it is a perfect example for my fifth graders of an unfocused writer. Chalk it up to excitement and I will try to stay more on topic in future posts.

Soccer Dads

The Golden Bullets had a week off. Lauren took full advantage of her time off and stayed in her pajamas until 1:00.

Jason and the Killer Sharks had a tough week. They lost 3-1 against a team that really knows the definition of defense. I was just happy that I got to watch the whole game.

On the other hand. . .
I was ashamed to be on the sidelines with the current "soccer Dads" that are affiliated with Jason's team. (John is not included in this group as he is one of the coaches and would never act like this.) They were yelling at the kids the whole entire game in these loud, booming voices. One Dad is actually a Marine, and uses his drill sergeant voice to full advantage when yelling at 9 and 10 year old boys. One Dad pulled another kid aside, not even his own kid, to "teach" him what off-sides is. I guess he felt that the coaches were not doing a good enough job, and said loudly to the boy, "I know you have never been taught what off-sides is. . ." I wanted to ask the man if his children remember everything he ever tells them the first time he tells them. Surely his kids never forget anything in the heat of the moment. Maybe if he volunteered to help out with practices, he would know that the coaches do spend a lot of time teaching about the rules. They need to remember that every coach for Little League or AYSO is a volunteer. They have full time jobs and families and still take the time to promote a sport and try to make sure that the kids are having fun at the same time. The kids will have good coaches, so-so coaches and fabulous coaches throughout their lives. Unless you are willing to step in and be the coach, I do not believe that you have the right to criticize. Besides it is week 3 of the season. How about sitting back, drink your Coke, and tell the kids what a great shot they took, or how well they dribbled the ball down the sidelines. Cheer them on and let the coaches do the coaching.

Soccer Update

This weekend the Golden Bullets lost another close one 3-1. Lauren played forward and actually enjoyed it. Unfortunately, they had a lot of girls out so they all had to play the whole game with no subs. On top of that, Lauren and another girl on the team had slept at a friend's house and not gotten very much sleep. Better luck next game.

Jason's team had a great day won 7-3. WOW! Jason played midfielder and defender and played really well. I only got to watch a little of his game before going over to Lauren's game, but what I saw was great!

The Fall TV Schedule

John called from the car yesterday afternoon (using his blue tooth, hands free earpiece of course) to tell me that the long awaited Entertainment Weekly had finally arrived. Yes, you guessed it the "Fall TV Lineup" edition. All I can say is, "Thank God for Tivo!" I was checking my season passes, making sure that no Survivor or Biggest Loser would go untaped. I reviewed the new shows to see what I just had to try out when it hit me. There was no Moonlight. last season it was on Friday nights on CBS. I need my vampire show. What will become of him? His love interest? I fear, if it does not come back, it will be another victim of the whole writer strike. How dare they!

On the brighter side, my many shows that are coming back are starting to show up on my Tivo "to do" list. The "Now Playing" list actually has a couple shows on it. I just love fall.

Another Soccer Season

Coming from a community that did not really value soccer, it is a relatively new sport to me. I grew up with my brothers playing Little League Baseball, running track and getting a little football in. I, myself, was into gymnastics and swimming, with a little church softball in on the side. I must say that I don't get the sport but, my kids love soccer. They look forward to the start of soccer season every year, where they have their practices twice a week and games on Saturday. John is the assistant coach for Jason's team, the Killer Sharks. Jason likes to play mid-field and forward. Lauren is on the Golden Bullets this year and wears a bright yellow jersey and socks. Her team looks like a bunch of giant hornets on the field. She likes to play mid-field, and pouts if she has to play any other position. I am starting to think that Lauren's main motivation to play soccer is the social side of the game. She has several friends on the team this year, and I fear they will be in trouble with the coach quite a bit. Whatever the motivation, I can't help but say that it is great exercise for the kids.

The first games were this weekend. Lauren's team suffered a disappointing loss 5-1. Jason's team had 2 scrimmages, and he thinks they tied one and maybe won the other one. Clearly he is not the most competitive one in the family. Unfortunately, most of the kids games are at about the same time. Since John is the assistant coach for Jason's team, he has to be at Jason's games. That means I get to go to Lauren's games, but it is not evenly divided. I love to watch her games, but not at the exclusion of Jason's games. Oh well.

I hope you enjoy your soccer games this fall. Cheer your favorite soccer players on for us also.

A Year of "Lasts"

Today the kids go back to school and I find I am a little nostalgic for this year of "lasts." This is Lauren's last year in Middle School. This is Jason's last year in Elementary, and this is the last year I will have one of my kids at the school I work at. It has been such a great experience to have them at Hickory with me. I got to see all their events, chat with their teachers almost daily, and know who all their friends are. I wonder what next year will be like with all four of us at different schools. I will put that thought off for another day. For now I will cherish this last year with Jason at Hickory. It looks like I may even get to be his math teacher. I will feel safer about Lauren being at a school I have strong ties to before she heads off into the big parent-free zone known at High School

Read any good books lately?

I just noticed on my update from Barnes and Noble that Anita Shreve has a new book coming out in October. She is one of my very favorite authors so I am very excited about this. I have actually been known to buy her books without waiting for paperback. The new book is called Testimony. I hope that she has woven her favorite house into this one. I love the way she does that. Anyway. . .if you have not read one of her books, start with Beach Glass, or The Pilot's Wife.

I read several good books this summer - 14 to be exact. Some were repeats like the Twilight series so that I was ready for the disappointing 4th book when it was released. I also read Stephenie Meyer's adult book, The Host. I read 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult and highly recommend that one. I loved the mystery, They did it for Love. I even got a hold of an advance copy of a book that is coming out in January called The Little Giant of Auberdeen County (or something like that) and really enjoyed it. Right now I am reading a book called Moloka'i. It is about a girl that is sent to the island because of leoprosy when she is 7 years old. It is especially meaningful right now because of our recent trip to Maui. We could easily see the island from our house.

Birthday Dinner

Lauren got to make the dinner plans for her birthday. She chose Bubba Gumps. Here is a picture from them making her stand up on the chair and dance while they sang. She was a really good sport about it

Where did the time go?

Today Lauren is 13 years old. We officially have a teenager in the house. Where did the time go? She was just born the other day. We blinked and she was walking all over, we blinked again and she was talking, another blink and she was off to school, we stopped blinking at this point and she still grew up. Well we are very proud of her. She is a pretty great kid.