Mason's First Game

After one "amazing" practice, Mason had his first soccer game. He loved the warm-up. Mostly because he was kicking around his own ball and no one was fighting him for it, I think. But, he was all smiles until the end. Seems that an hour of game is stretching it a bit for 4-year-olds.


The coaches got quite a workout, that's for sure. It's very informal for these kids and they basically just ran up and down the field. I think Mason scored one goal, but there is another kid on his team who is kind of a ball hog, and actually a decent player for a 4-year-old He got it in several times. But, the weren't keeping score of course, and we had to explain to Mason that the whole team got the points. Not just the kid who kicked in the goal.

He loved it, though. He especially loved when it was his turn to throw it in or kick off. His coaches were really great about giving everyone a turn.


He was even pretty good about letting the other kids have a turn playing. They only played 4 on 4 and I think there were 7 kids on the team. It worked out well, I thought. Although, Jon was a little disappointed that Mason didn't quite get the concept of kick the ball toward the goal. And Mason wasn't quite as aggressive this week as he was last. But, he's only 4 and this is just the beginning. He definitely looks forward to Mondays!

Thank You, Pinterest...

Thanks to Pinterest (an idea-sharing site), I keep seeing all these cute projects that I want to try. This is one I just could not resist! You can find the instructions {here}. They were very well written and super easy to follow....
There were lots of cute fabrics at JoAnn's. I had a very hard time deciding which to use. I'm crushing on red, blue, white, and green together these days so this one just jumped out at me...
With the sack sitting there on the floor, calling my name, I just had to dive right in; and the project really only took a couple of hours. (I used a piece of tissue paper for my circle pattern and it was the perfect size.) I had to hold off on finishing it up because the bag of filler I bought was too small.
But, after adding more filler it was perfect. As you can see, Mason is content. Now, I want to make more!!
All in all, I spent less than (or right around) $20. But, now I know to buy the bigger bag (which probably would've been cheaper to do at the beginning) and I don't have to buy another spool of thread if I buy similar fabric. So, with the home fabrics on sale and coupons for the filler, I think I can make more for around $15 a piece; which isn't really that bad.
I'm dying to make 2 more!! But, here's my debate (as seen on my facebook....) Should I make the other two:
a. with the same fabric but maybe different colors of piping;
b. with coordinating fabric but a different pattern; or
c. with completely different fabric to make them all different?

I'm sort of leaning away from C because my kids are notorious for arguing about which on is "who's" and "this is mine" and so on and so forth. If they're all pretty much the same, I'm hoping to cut down on the arguing. So, what do you think? I love to hear any suggestions! :).

Second Grade

This is what I get when I tell her to look excited to be going to school....
Star Wars lunch box....check
Sandwich in the shape of the Millennial Falcon....check
New backpack (mom's requirement of it being 'generic')...check.

And off she goes. Happy as a clam to be going to school and right back into her schedule. We made it on time, even with the mayhem that was going on at the drop-off point. Seriously. It took me 20 minutes to drop her off and the school is 3 miles, round-trip, from my house. I didn't even get out of the car to hug her good-bye. I would've but... Oh well. I'm certain she's having a ball. I can't wait to hear what she has to tell me. Actually, if it's like last year, she won't have anything really to tell me and then when Jon comes, she'll talk his ear off. Guess I'll wait to hear what she has to tell Jon... :)
Just another week and half and we'll be enjoying another First with Mason!!

Soccer, Round II

And, Tuesday brought Brooklyn's first practice. It was right after Back-to-school night, so although it was hectic, we weren't running late like we were for Mason's. My only complaint was that it seemed to take Brooklyn FOR.EVER to get on her shin guards and socks. She had absolutely no hesitation and seemed to love every minute.

Of course, the first practice had to be on one of the most humid days we've had in weeks, but she didn't seem to care. She has 3 more practices and then games!
I can't wait to see if she's aggressive enough to get the ball. During practice, she mostly just ran with the group and only got the ball if it was far enough in front of the group that she had a chance...
Even though Jon doesn't love carting kids around to stuff, he loves soccer. You could feel his nostalgia in the air as he watched several different levels practicing around us. Good thing. He has a lot of soccer in his near future. Especially since I work at night!!

Day one

Well, we ventured into the world of soccer last night. Mason was way excited all day. He wore the shorts I told him were for soccer from the time he got up to the time he went to bed. (They were just regular shorts, but if I hadn't told him that, he would have worn them every day....). We ran errands, did chores and rushed through dinner, only to be almost late to his first practice. The closer we got to a crowd of people he didn't know, the less he wanted to play. He stuck by my side like glue until they got the balls out and started kicking them around. Ultimately, he had a blast and was actually a pretty good player. He was aggressive, but not to the point of being mean. I'm really hoping that lasts.... And, I'm hoping that I don't forget the camera next time!! He has games from here on out. Four on four on a mini-field. He should enjoy it, he was a happy little camper when we left the field last night. Now, tonight it's Brooklyn's turn.

P.s. I'll add the one picture I took with my phone, as soon as it gets to my email....

August.

Once back home again, we had some pretty great rainstorms. And, being the exceptional mom that I am, I kicked my kids outside and told them to go play in it. They got soaked and had an absolute blast!!

And, what would August be without the State Fair?? The infamous butter cow....
One solitary ride....
And, something unhealthy deep fried....
We saw lots of tractors, too and cars, and animals and people. It was fun and we were all pooped by the end...

Julianne was sobbing for her light saber, but it was so late, we wanted her to just go to bed. Brooklyn must've handed it to her, because when I went to tuck them in, I found the pic above... At least I knew she'd be safe that night...

My kids go through these spurts where they crave constant entertainment and I can't get them to just play to save our sanity. Somehow, in the last week, they've been rediscovering their toys and how to play with each other. Julianne always loves a good "children" birthday party and she was having a ball with them...

Finally, this morning, we took one last trip to the zoo. Last time we missed the train, the Australian exhibit wasn't open and the new dinosaur exhibit. So, we went, saw all those things and had a ball!


It was a great way to spend our morning and I'm glad we went. Too bad that Jon couldn't go with us, though. Maybe next time...

July fun

Wow. Here we are at the start of school. I have been reading blogs and missing mine, so here I go again! Just a quick catch-up and then, hopefully, a keep-up. In July, we took the opportunity to go to Utah for 2 weeks and we had a blast. We drove and drove and drove to get there and then relaxed and played. We were going to try to see both of my sisters' (they were visiting from Tennessee and Colorado, respectively) but we couldn't get there before my Tennessee-sister was leaving. I was a little bummed about that, but what do you do? We'd cut it close enough that she left Utah on the day we left Iowa. We drove all the way through that day, so technically, we just missed her. As usual, we stopped in Laramie for gas. We always stop on the West side of the city at the same gas station (Who knows why, we're creatures of habit, I guess....). I was in the bathroom waiting for Mason when....

Lo, and behold, my niece and my sister walked around the corner and into the bathroom!!!

It was sheer craziness!! We couldn't have planned it better if we'd tried. She only stopped to use the restroom and they had never stopped at that station before! Plus, we'd parked on opposite sides of the store (as we were getting gas), so if I hadn't been in the bathroom, we wouldn't have seen them at all. It was so great! We only chatted for a minute, they had a 27 hr drive home, but it was great to see them. And crazy that we did see them!

After all that excitement, we drove and drove and drove some more....

We made it safe and sound and basically hung out for two weeks. It was awesome, though. Jon went back to Iowa to work for a week and then joined us again for another week. We played with cousins, went swimming, hung out with our parents and siblings, and all in all just had a good time. Any time there was no one around to play with, my kids were begging to call someone. We loved it.
During our stay in Logan, we took the opportunity to go up to Bear Lake for a little visit. The water was a little colder than I was hoping it would be and the ground rocky, but we had a blast and the kids loved it.

Mason was fascinated with the sticks and the rocks and Julianne was just everywhere...
Jon tried to show the kids how to skip rocks, but it was kind of a windy day, so it only worked on occasion. We gave it a good try, though...
WE had a blast and enjoyed our time in the sun and being together all 5 of us. It seems we can never get that to happen anymore...

And, last but not least, Julianne got her very first haircut from her Aunt Jennie.
...and screamed bloody murder the entire time. Good thing Jennie is so awesome. At least Julianne was only screaming, she wasn't shaking her head back and forth or fighting Jennie. The haircut was a success and her hair looks SO much better!!

No amount of Angry Birds would calm the tears...
Even at the end, when it was all over, she had to pout a little more. She's such a boob and drama queen sometimes...
Or a book offer from Grandma... Oh well. It was awesome of Jennie to do it for us anyway...

After that we drove and drove and drove back home again. We were glad to be in our own beds, but sad to be home, too. Since then, we've played around our house and gotten ready for school. Brooklyn and Mason both got new backpacks and utensils for their classes and some new clothes. We're ready!!
This next week, Brooklyn and Mason start soccer for the first time. Julianne is always asking if they need their "leg thingy's for soccer" and is as excited as they are, I think. It will be fun, and {{{hopefully}}} help Brooklyn sleep at night. She is a night owl and I am very worried about getting her to school on time! We shall see how that goes.