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.

Lagoon With the Fam

Back at the end of the summer, we went to Lagoon with the Morton's. The above picture is our theme for the day. It represents the countless times I talked Melanie into going on a ride with multiple little people so I never had to spin, turn, rotate, free fall, or go fast on anything at Lagoon. Yeah for me. Don't let her facial expression fool you. She loved it.

It's fair to say I'm not much of an amusement park person. I've NEVER really liked rides. I can tolerate some things, but as a kid I HATED everything about amusement parks. At least now, I've learned to enjoy sipping Diet Coke and eating popcorn and ice cream all day while waving at the kiddos on the kiddie rides. Trust me, I'll do anything to avoid RIDES. Yuck.

You know, I come by this hatred honestly. I was "strongly encouraged" to ride a tilt-a-whirl at Knotts Berry Farm as a kid. Yeah. Bad idea. I threw up and then passed out and some helpful bystander got the ice out of her sticky Coke to rub on my forehead. Is this a cure for fainting/vomiting I'm not aware of?!! Ugh. Fast forward 20 years. Dave talked me into WAY too many ridiculous rides at Six Flags in Wisconsin. I only remember the first half of the Batman ride. Then I remember Dave and the ride attendant nervously trying to bring me back to consciousness. Nice hon. Seriously, rides are NOT my thing. Problem is, Dave LOVES amusement parks, so we compromise. I'm a good sport (kind of) until said vomiting/fainting presents itself at which point Dave lets me off the hook. Fortunately for him, he had Austin, Jackson, Colby, and Landon to entertain him so I didn't have to. Kiddieland here I come. The kids (and Dave) had a great time and that is ONE thing I do like about it. Yeah Lagoon. Enjoy the pics.




One of these days, one or both of us will remember to remove our sunglasses BEFORE a picture is taken.







Grandma did her share of barf-mobile rides with the kids. She happens to love things that spin. I'm not sure how we're even related.

ROAD TRIP!!!!

Since we hadn't had a crazy busy enough summer, Paula and I decided to take a ROAD TRIP to Mesa in a WEEKEND back in August. Mesa is 11 HOURS AWAY, and we already know we are insane .... ASK ME IF I CARE?!! Paula and I were in a Young Women's presidency together years ago ... that's actually how we met. One of our young women from back then got married, and we thought a wedding reception in Mesa was a great excuse for a ROAD TRIP!!! WaHOoo!

Kyle (Paula's son) and Levi (his trusty sidekick) came along as chaperones ... or maybe we were the chaperones. I really couldn't tell ya. Knowing Bret and Dave, they probably bribed these fine young men to come along and keep an eye on us. NICE TRY!!

Let's just say ... we had a GREAT time listening to music, eating TONS of junk, drinking Diet Pepsi by the gallon, reading magazines, lounging around at the pool, shopping, laughing, eating out, watching movies, playing Rock Band, laughing at Kyle and Levi and their endless conversations about absolutely NOTHING (seriously felt like a Seinfeld episode), singing at the top of our lungs (sometimes complete with hand actions), and of course staying up talking til 3:00 a.m. WHAT?!! We stayed with Paula's aunt Kris and her husband, Larry, and got to hang out with them and their beautiful daughters. They were so much fun! Thanks again for letting us stay!

We had a TON of rain on our way down. We were actually stopped at one point because of flash flooding outside of Flagstaff. There was two feet of water rushing across the road, and they wouldn't let anyone through til it cleared. What the?!! I thought it was supposed to be HOT and DRY in Arizona. I've actually NEVER driven in that low of visibility in my life. Rain coming down so hard we couldn't see the car in front of us. It was CRAZY.

All of that is water. In some places it looked like a river on the side of the road, rapids and all. It was really crazy.
What do you do when you get bored on a super long car ride? Well, if you're Kyle, you start taking random pictures of people.
This is a pretty good theme photo for this trip ... note the 44 ounce Diet Pepsi.
Good use of the rear view mirror Kyle. Very creative. Also, someone should really clean that mirror.
Nice moody shot of Levi. Cheer up man ... we only have 10 more hours to drive!!!
And the second wind kicks in ...
Wow.
Looking good. Not bad for driving 12 hours after three hours of sleep. Ooops. Did we really stay up til 3:00 a.m., get up at 6:00 a.m. and drive 12 hours only to arrive home 20 minutes before both Paula and I had to be at a Young Women's training? Paula actually had to teach at the training ... I just sat in the back and laughed at her exhaustion/caffeine induced energetic talk. It was awesome.
Okay, so this is kind of a funny story. We stopped for gas, I put the pump in, turned it on, and we went inside to get a drink and some more sugar and off we went. So about two hours later, Paula's driving and she's like "WE HAVE NO GAS!!!" What?!! We just filled up?!! Apparently not. We didn't get ANY gas at the gas station. Good grief. I'm not sure who is supposed to be the smart one between the two of us, but we both blew it this time. The good news is, we came up on a gas station pretty quickly. It was old style with no pay at the pump, so we thought we better take a picture since these are practically extinct. I'm so glad we didn't have to flag down a trucker to give us a lift to the nearest town (seems like the start of a bad horror movie I know). It's possible we were just a little too tired or maybe three days of nothing but caffeine, sugar, french fries, and cheesecake was clouding our judgment.
Awww ... isn't that just DARLING?!! We may be old, but we so know how to PARTY better than these two. We wore them right out. They were sleeping during our "country music" phase on the drive home. They said we were torturing them and pretended to ignore us. They were actually great traveling companions. Very polite and courteous and pretty funny. Way to restore my faith in teenage boys. Where should we go next?!!

More of Our Crazy Summer

My baby turned 5 back in July. I guess at some point I should stop calling him my baby, but you know what .... how about I don't worry about that for now. This little guy is growing up way too fast. It's hard to believe he starts kindergarten TOMORROW!!! What?!! The boy who will STILL snuggle on my lap and fall asleep in my arms is headed off to school in less than 24 hours. He's not much of a baby anymore, but he's still my baby, and that's just the way it is.
Thanks to Pixar and their most fantastic idea ever ... we had yet ANOTHER Toy Story birthday in this house. We tried to count up how many Toy Story birthdays we've had between all our kids ... how many Toy Story action figures, vehicles, costumes, books, pajamas, random toys, cakes, sheet sets, hats, banks, stuffed animals, and clothes we've had in this house. NOT POSSIBLE. We are a Toy Story kind of family. The kids love it. We love it. Happy Toy Story Birthday T.J. .... again.
T.J. is just way too cute. He knows it. We know it. He is just so handsome, and I love it. His smile melts my heart. His big blue eyes are just enough to make my day. He's happy and fun and silly and we all love our T.J.
Maybe he's not so grown up after all. Love you T.J.

Austin turned 12 on August 11th. 12 years old ... WHAT IN THE WORLD?!! Talk about time flying by. 12 is a big one ... especially for a boy. He was so excited to turn 12 and get the priesthood and be in Young Mens. He was literally counting down the days. Like any other 12-year-old on earth, he's obsessed with shooting things, video games, Legos, and peanut butter. And of course there's cartoons, music, and football. I'm not sure how I feel about him being my size, but I guess I'll have to get used to it ... I better hurry before he's actually bigger than me.
I realize that I am quite the homemaker with my fantastic cake-baking skills. You'll note that T.J.'s cake was a quick buy from Walmart bakery (fabulously decorated I might add), and Austin's is well ... you know what, they LOVED it, so who cares? I'd much rather spend the day playing at Seven Peaks with Dave and kids and some of our friends which is EXACTLY what we did. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), I forgot our camera for that part, so there are no swimming suit pictures. Be grateful people.
We had a really special day with Austin getting ordained on August 15th. Our family joined us, and we're so glad they were here. I'm so proud of Austin for being worthy to receive the priesthood and for taking his responsibility so seriously. He's passed the sacrament a couple of times now, and he does a great job. Very serious. No messing around. He's enjoying scouts and Young Mens as well. He doubled the size of the Deacons quorum in our ward, so his leaders are really glad to have him in there as well.
Seems like a good occasion for a family picture.

We're so grateful for two sets of amazing grandparents and one set of amazing great-grandparents in our kids' lives. They're always here, and they make such an effort to make our kids feel special. It means a lot to Dave and I that our kids know they are surrounded by people who love them.
Great-Grandma and Grandpa Tischner came all the way from St. George for Austin's special day. I'm so glad they were here ... we all are. Austin was very excited to be taller than Grandma Tischner. This is apparently a huge milestone, or in Austin's words, "I've been waiting for this my whole life." Haha.
Austin has some great examples to follow and big shoes to fill.
Thanks to all our family for being there. We had Austin ordained at our home instead of in Bishop Hunt's office just because of all the amazing support we had. There's no way we would have fit. What a blessing to have so many people around us who care. We're all so proud of you Austin. I'm grateful to have two worthy priesthood holders in our home. Austin sets a great example for the other kids and is trying hard to honor the priesthood. I'm so glad that as a 12-year-old boy, being worthy of the priesthood matters to him. We love you Austin!