Just When I Thought I'd Have Some Free Time ...

After the way busy summer we had, I was looking forward to a little bit of free time with all four kiddos in school. I've been waiting 12 years for this day, and I was just sure I'd have free time coming out my ears. It turns out .... I have LESS free time than ever! My child-free hours in the morning have quickly been filled with things like helping at the school, working out, shopping BY MYSELF, work, my calling, etc. Hmmm ....
Couldn't quite get that perfect first-day-of-school picture this year. The boys were too busy mourning their loss of free time to smile for a millisecond so I could get a decent picture. WHATEVER. At least London was excited, and T.J. was DEFINITELY excited and ready for "the big school." With four kids in school, we're spending a lot of time reading, working on spelling words, volunteering at the school, doing homework, working on projects, etc. You get the idea. Good-bye fantasies about having free time. I will miss you.
The school year is going well. Everybody likes their teacher ... and I like everybody's teacher. Love that. We're blessed to live right across the street from an amazing school. The convenience of my "parking spot" is something I'll never get tired of. We have great teachers and involved community and parents out here. It really is a great place to raise kids, and we're glad we're here.

You'd think I'd have realized when I signed up two kids for football and two for soccer that it would mean EIGHT practices and FOUR games every week. I knew I'd be busy, but GOOD GRIEF .... and that is an understatement. We had practices every night of the week but Monday and games Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Seriously?!! And football practices aren't exactly an hour long. They're anywhere from 2 to 3 and a half hours depending on where we're at during the season. Wow.
Austin is #77 above. He started out the season on offense and was switched to defense for the last three games. He did great at offense, but he LOVES defense. His first game on defense, he sacked the quarterback twice and had seven tackles. I could not believe the boost in his confidence after that game. It's fun to see him succeed after working SO hard all season. These boys really deserve some credit. They spend hours and hours practicing and working so hard. They really did a great job, and I'm so proud of both of them.

It's been harder for me to watch them play football than any other sport. It's hard to watch your kid get hit over and over again. It's hard to have them come home with bruises or be discouraged after a hard game or practice. It's hard to have so much of my time taken up by running back and forth to practice and games, but at the same time, I love it and it's worth it, and we'll definitely do it again. It's been so good for both of them. I'm so grateful to their coaches and everything they've taught them. There's just something about a football coach's impact on a boy. They spend so much time together, and when done correctly, the impact can be so positive. I can encourage and praise my boys all day long, but when a coach says, "Good job out there today, I'm really proud of you," their confidence goes to a whole new level. I love that they have other role models and authority figures and good examples in their life in these coaches. I love that they're out there working hard for hours and hours a week and understanding the importance of working hard and getting along with other people. Not to mention the important lesson in perseverance. There's nothing I want them to learn more than to never, ever, ever give up.

That's Austin above (#77) when he was still on offense. It's a bit of a of a relief to have him be one of the biggest kids out there. Seems almost unfair to have a kid my size playing 6th grade football. Oh well. I worry less about him getting hurt somehow.
Thankfully for us, it was nice and warm through this football season. We've spent a lot of time in these chairs this fall ... Thankfully, we got London and Cameron on the same team, Chase and T.J. on the same team, and Landon and Jackson on the same team. We literally could NOT have done it without that. Even with all those kids doubled up, between the two of us we had 11 practices and 5 games every week, and Dave and Jason are tied up a LOT during the evenings, so we did a lot of it between the two of us. Just thinking about it makes me TIRED.
Cameron would sometimes run his own little boot camp when the other kids got tired of watching the game.
This is one of my favorite pictures and favorite things about this whole football season. Jackson and Landon on the SAME TEAM!!! Seriously LOVE that. Made our lives less complicated, and what an awesome opportunity to play on the same team with your cousin and best friend. They've had a great time being together this year.
Go Jackson! Sometimes he got to play on kickoff return in addition to offense. Wherever he played, he worked hard, and I'm so proud of him.
Jackson played well on the offensive line. He's #88 above. I guess you can tell by the name that is sprawled from shoulder to shoulder on his back. At least they didn't have to shrink down the letters to fit it on his back. Haha. He worked hard blocking and kept those big guys from getting through to his quarterback. His team has had a GREAT year offensively, and they couldn't have done it without their offensive line. Nice job Jacks!
Jackson's team is still playing in the play-offs, and they've had a GREAT season!

I sometimes worry about Jackson getting hurt being on the line just because he's sort of normal sized, and there are some REALLY big kids out there ... especially on the defensive line. But he is a FIGHTER! He did a great job as a blocker, and so far, no injuries. Way to go Jacks!
Austin's pretty proud of his bruises.
In his last game of the season, Austin caused a fumble and then RECOVERED it! Yeah Aust! He was so excited, and we were too. Dave snapped the perfect picture just as he was coming up from the pile-up.
It's hard to see in this one, but Austin's got his arms wrapped around #57 in the front there who had the ball and he's about to tackle him. What a great action shot.
London and T.J. played soccer this year, and London scored her FIRST GOAL EVER!!! She was SO excited. I actually missed it since I was with my Young Women at a volleyball game, but she had a HUGE cheering section that got really excited for her. Thanks everyone!
Great action shot of London running after the ball. Way to hustle kiddo!

T.J. played soccer this year for his first time. We were kind of worried when he refused to play in his first game and instead sat on the sideline and cried, but he warmed up to the idea. I'm proud of him for overcoming his fears. Way to go handsome!
This might have been the closest he got to the ball all season, but here's the proof, he DID touch the ball. Yeah!!!

We've had a fun and busy sports season, and I'm kind of glad for a little break ... before basketball starts. AHHHHHH!!!!! You know, I've been crazy busy for months, and of course, I've complained about it, and several people have asked me why we do this season after season and year after year, and the reasons are simple. I like them to be busy. I like them to have something to do. I like them to work hard. I like them to learn how to work well with others, problem solve on their own, work through challenges, be a good sport, fight through pain, be a team player, and overcome fears. If there's one thing I've noticed with kids and teenagers ... not just in Eagle Mountain, but everywhere, it's that they get into trouble because they are BORED. When there's nothing to do, you find trouble, or if finds you. Keeping my kids involved in worthwhile activities is important to me. I want them to have the confidence that I didn't have at that age. I love them having positive role models and authority figures in their life in addition to me and Dave. I love seeing them work hard and play hard. So, it's worth it to me for them to busy and for me to be busy, because they're learning all these things and having all these experiences that are making them better stronger kids.