I think you call this an allergic reaction...

Abby got a bee sting!

Number Seventy-Cinco

The division 1 football team went undefeated this year and took the District Championship tonight! O line stud, Sam, AKA Seventy-cinco, had a great season and did his family and team proud. Way to go Sam. You are fun to watch and also conduct yourself like an outstanding young man. You are amazing!

Happy Birthday Gray!

I have officially decided that Spongebob resides in our home. He is also known as Grayson... but don't let that fool you. He wakes up happy and bounces off the walls all day making all of us smile and laugh. Then he hits the pillow at night and is out, hard!

Happy birthday sweet boy. You bring so much joy into our lives! You're all that and a bag of chips!

It's Halloween Yo!

Grills, chains, bling and all...

Those aren't buck teeth, their his "grills". Also notice the necklace that Matt spent literally an hour on... stands for "G Money."

My brave girl

Abby is my hero. She hasn't played soccer before... okay, she did when she was 4, but not since then. She has really been wanting to play so we signed her up. I was afraid she would really struggle since all the girls on her team have been playing for the past 4 years. But Abby gets out there and practices hard and she is doing great! She is aggressive about going after the ball and learning her position. She isn't intimidated by the situation at all. I'm so proud that she has taken the challange on in this way. She is such a great girl.

Summer - It's a wrap!

We had the greatest time with our family in Utah! We miss them so much! But summer is now coming to a close and all I can think of is that commercial... you know the Staples commercial where the kids are walking through the store with sad faces, buying back to school supplies... the dad is pushing the cart, smiling, kicking up his heels. The music playing is Christmas music..."Its the most wonderful time of the year..." Yeah, that's me! I'm right there.

My Olympics addiction...

Its not just the abs . . . but seriously, have you ever seen abs like his?(and all on a diet of like 10,000 calories a day). . . but my whole family is glued to the tv and getting not nearly enough sleep to function because we are so into the olympics. And I have a serious crush (Matt knows all about it) on Michael. I never thought anyone that needed so much dental work could be so cute!

And the girls gymnastics and volleyball... we love it all. But how come the 12 year old chinese girls don't get the necks that the American girls get? And btw, (found this on another blog) strange but true, Fievel and Shawn Johnson are never seen in the same room at the same time... you decide.

Rise and Shout! the Cougars are out...

Of course when we are in UT we need to go by my alma mater (and eat at the Cougareat which is all messed up now that they have Taco Bell instead of the Navajo Taco) and drag my kids to the apartments that I lived in. It was a gorgeous summer day in UT and we had a great day with our cousins Spencer, Josh and Allie and Aunt Noelle, Uncle Erik, Aunt Chelsea and Ama. I'll challenge anyone to the lyrics to the Cougar fight song... I actually know all of it as well as my Cougarette moves.

The good, the bad and the ugly...

We have been on a beautiful adventure driving through Colorado and Utah. We have seen the most gorgeous scenery on earth and hiked to breath taking waterfalls. It's been really fun until Sam crashed and burned on his rip-stick. We spent an evening in the emergency room in Steamboat Springs CO getting stitches and a drain put into Sam's knee. Looks pretty, huh?

What up G?!

Grayson, otherwise known as the vacuum on 2nd base, finished his baseball season with a bang... 9th place in the World Series! He is my favorite stud that weighs less than 75 pounds. I only know exactly how much he weighs (72.8 lbs) because he can't ride the zipline at Snowbird in 2 weeks unless he weighs 75lbs. He gets on the scale no less than 3 times per day to see if the numbers are inching up. So, it is milkshakes with peanut butter and protein powder every night until we make it to the zipline!

Wet Behind the Ears...

Our beautiful girl was baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints this past Saturday. It was such a great day! She was so excited all day and couldn't wait for her chance to be baptized. She is such an example in the strength of her faith. She loves her Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ so much and knows that they answer her prayers. I love this girl and am grateful for her spirit and her life that brings a sweetness to mine.

There were some great talks given and Matt gave a sweet blessing and confirmation. It is amazing to think that this is my baby and she is already 8 and ready to take this step. She was able to have her Ama and Grandma Birdie there as well as her aunt Booey, Uncle Matt, Peyton and Bailey. We missed you, Noelle, Spencer and PopPop! You were never far from us is our thoughts.

Sweet Victory

Baseball season is hardcore in our home. Two boys each playing for teams that play about 55-65 games per season. The fun part is that both teams are winning a lot this year. There have been plenty of times when that wasn't so. But for now, we'll enjoy the victories and collect a few trophies and celebrate the fun. We try to make it a family affair and be all together as much as we can. This weekend Grayson was off, so we actually got to be all together. Sam's team, the Force, went undefeated and won the hardware. We have some great times at these games and have made some great friends. Even Abby enjoys the endless hours at baseball games because she has so many playmates. These pictures reflect a big part of our summer. Sweat, dirt, lots of laundry, swinging, throwing, sliding, snackbars, snocones, bubble gum and sunflower seeds. Pretty sure the boys are unaware of the growth and lessons being learned... teamwork, determination, leadership, sportsmanship, dealing with disappointment and discipline. And for now, we'll enjoy the excitement of hard work paying off and winning.

This is the last time you'll see her like this...

I only have 1 daughter... who is largely influenced by her two older brothers. She used to be very girly but lately its all about playing tag "to win" and competing with the boys. She took dance lessons this year and she is NOT interested in doing that again. She had her recital this week and this is what she looked like in her cute little costume and bow in her hair. When she took off the tutu and tights, she was back to her brothers boxers (she prefers them over undies) and baseball caps. Now we are compromising on tennis lessons. She does like the cute clothes that girls get to wear when playing tennis. It isn't baseball but she still gets to swing at a ball. A mother can dream...

Am I allowed to do this?

Does anyone over 40 blog? I mean I'm not completely unhip. I used to pride myself on being forward thinking and "in the know" on current things. I used to read other magazines besides Southern Living and People. Probably becoming a baseball mom has changed that status for me. Now I spend most of my time driving kids around, going to ball games, forcing my kids to do chores and homework, working with my real estate clients and trying to figure out what I'm going to fix for dinner. And the fact that I'm even saying all this makes me think only one thing... I am officially my mother! The good news is that that aint bad. So here I go. I'll try to keep up with posts and pictures. I'm not a daily-bloggin-kind of a girl. But lets hope the next post hits before Christmas.