Thanksgiving 2009

We did not camp - thank you Sarah Jones.  We did spend time with family.  Sophie got behind my camera and shot all the pics, so here is our Thanksgiving in pictures - from Sophie's perspective (of course I have not included all cause as you can imagine she took like 150)

Preparing the turkey for frying.

Lowering the turkey in.

Watching the oil and talking football (and how Michael is going to design a pulley system for this process so as to make it safer).

Adult Table.

Kid's table (can you tell Sophie was at the kids table, hence the need for the photo)

Uncle Patrick reviewing the letters Allie and some of her classmates wrote to him on Veteran's Day.  He is a trooper.

After dinner Cowboy game - Dad, Michael, Patrick and Erika.

Then off to see the Pearsons.

Eric and his mom.

Eric's older brother Chad, and his wife Vickie.

Eric's sister Karen, lover of all animals, had her dog there - he is 1/2 Boston Terrier 1/2 Bulldog.  It was funny to watch he and Oliver interact.  Here they are licking each other.

We went and saw Melissa and Chris' house - it was beautiful.

And finally random pic of Kelsey getting licked by Oliver. 

It was a quick trip - up on Thursday early morning, back in Houston by 10 am Saturday.  But it was fun.  Now on to Christmas.

Happy Birthday Laurie

Only one more year until you join me in the 40's.  Enjoy it while you can.

I came across some pictures of us the other day.  Although I am the oldest of 10, for many years (10) it was just Laurie and I.  Now she refers to them as the Golden Years.  I will let that stand on its own.

But, for your enjoyment.  Remember it was the 70's, and my mom sewed many of our clothes - most of which matched.  We were the best of friends.

During our teen years, we had our moments.  She called me thunder thighs on a regular basis.  It was ugly.

This is at my wedding - I know was your first clue the white dress?  Laurie picked her dress pattern - I picked the color - peach and sage green (how 80's is that?)  We lovingly refer to this as her Vanna White dress - and she does not really like it.

Just look at us now!

(really big glasses hide lack of makeup)

(at Melissa's Wedding)

(being silly at Melissa's Wedding)

In later life we have renewed our childhood friendship.  Although she lives in CA, we have managed (compliments of T-Mobile) to keep up with each other.  I am grateful she is my sister, and my friend.

So, enjoy this last 30 something birthday!  It's all downhill from here.

When In Doubt, Make It Up

The girls were drawing pictures to send to Ryan - he hangs them on his wall.   I came across this from Allie.

In case you can't read Allie's writing it says:

Awake thy darkness, for they shall not be dark again.

She has done a lot of  making things up through the years - now she has moved on to scriptures.

Again, she is named after my father for a reason.

Sophie's New Friend

Sophie and Oliver November 2009

Imagine my surprise when I came home from my trip early Saturday morning, and found this in my house.

Sophie and Eric conspired against me and got a dog - she named him Oliver.  I will spare everyone the details of the ranting and raving that went on (lets just say it was not a fun weekend around here).  But there you go.  We have a dog.  He is a Boston Terrier, and he is Sophie's responsibility.

Ryan had alwasy wanted a dog when he was home.  I emailed him and told him about the dog.  His only comment - keep the dog and lose the name.

But, the name stays.  Oliver.  Now, just because clearly potty training FIVE kids was not enough, we begin with a dog...

Congrats Donny - And Why Do I Care?

Donny Osmond won Dancing With The Stars last night.  This season I have watched almost every week.  It has become a tradition with the girls.  In the past I have watched a few, and had my fill.  I have never voted.  That all changed this year - I even found myself voting on FIVE phones one night (the night he did really horrible - it must have worked cause he moved on).

Why you might ask?  Well, to begin with I am of the age when Donny Osmond was the bomb - he was the first famous mormon I knew of.  That was very intriguing to me.  My sister Laurie and I watched the Donny and Marie show EACH and EVERY Friday night.  If it did not come on we were devastated!  We had Donny and Marie albums (for you youngsters that was the thing you got music on before ipodsMP3 players, and CD's.  We even had the Osmond brothers records.  We were TRUE fans.

Then, when I was 14, Donny Osmond and his wife Debbie moved into my ward (congregation).  For real.  They came to church every Sunday (OK most Sundays).  He was doing a play in NYC (Little Johnny Jones which bombed on Broadway, but was good to me since it brought him to NJ).  My dad was the Bishop of our ward, and when asked by Brother Osmond if he knew of a good babysitter he of course offered up my services.

Remember, he was my pre-teen idol.  Now I was able to babysit his kids.  A limo would come and pick me up - a stretch.  I watched his two oldest - Don (they called him Donald back then) and Jeremy.  It was indeed a 14 year old dream come true.  He even told the people in the church nursery that the only people who could get his kids out of the nursery were him, his wife and me.  Aahh.  Of course, the show opened and closed the same day.  They packed up and left town overnight.  If you read his biography that was a dark time in his life - but a dream come true for a 14 year old mormon girl from Oradell New Jersey. 

So, yes I wanted him to win.  Yes I watched each week.  And yes I voted.  And yes I am happy he won.

Now you know my big claim to fame.

Can I Brag?

I know I am not supposed to brag, but what can I say?  I just ran 14 miles.  It is a new record for me.  I can't move, but I think I have broken through a barrier.  I went out with Jennifer and Jody and we were feeling good, so we added 2 to our 12 miler.  Now, 2 is not a ton more - unless it is 2 on top of 12.

There you go.  I am done bragging.  Now, if only the running could miraculously shrink my bottom (I guess I need to stop eating crap for that to happen!)

Note, picture not of me... (as if anyone thought it was)

Sometimes I Don't Love Technology

Remember this:

Well, I have been fighting with technology and lost.  Ryan has a couple of memory cards for his camera - he will take pics on one and then send it to me, and then he still has one to take pictures with - right?  My little brother Steven has done this for a year and a half from Brazil and no issues.

Ryan sent his card with pictures from his first baptism, and other pics from the first month of his mission.  The card became corrupted - not sure how - and everything is lost.  I have spent countless hours trying many different options. Nothing.  I did find a place that thought they might be able to find something - but the cost was $550.  Now, I love the boy, but not that much.

So we lost his first month of his mission pics.  Dangit. And of course his companion was just transferred, so we can't even just try and copy what he had - but I have tasked Ryan with doing that.  From now on we are going with the go to Walmart and put on a CD option.  Lets see if that works better.

In other Pearson news, Allie finished her soccer season.  They did not win a single game, but I can see her skills improving.  That is something.  If she would spend less time telling the rest of the team where they should be playing, and what they should be doing, and focus on what she should do I think she might be more successful.  Oh well.  That is my Allie.  I think the cupcake after the game was as good as playing. 

Allie and Coach Brent who has the patience of Job

Caroline has glasses again.  I say again because in first grade she had them for a slight problem - really she was getting a ton of headaches and we were going for anything that might help. It helped for a while, and we knew she would probably grow out of needing them.  Then she failed her school vision screening twice.  So, off we went to the optometrist, and voilà.  Caroline's new glasses.

She needed a pair for home and a pair for school.  This gave her the opportunity to get two different looks.  That is very important when you are into fashion, as she likes to point out to me.

So, we only have Sophie's soccer left until Christmas.  I can't believe it is almost Thanksgiving - where does the time go?  We are heading to Dallas for Thanksgiving with the fam.  What about our traditional White Trash camping?  Well, since both our friends bailed on us, and the girls were horrified at the thought of camping with just us, we are heading up to the Big D.  Should be fun.

She's Only 12

(old picture of Sophie slide tackling - I just love to see it)

It was, as weekends go, not too crazy.  It was Caroline's last game and she did not feel well, so she missed it.  We have the end of the season party on Tuesday and we are done.  Allie had a game, and she did well (I guess - Eric was in charge of those two and I took Sophie.)

I took Sophie to her game.  Due to a mix up with Regional Band (taking 3 hours longer than we were told) she missed her soccer game.  Then, a game that was rained out was rescheduled for Sunday.  Sophie does not want to play soccer on Sunday - especially if it is during church.  We all know this is her choice, because Eric and I are kind of sinners and would let her play no problem.  But, our righteous child, we call her our Nephi, did not want to play.  It was a big game.  They lost, but she was strong in her conviction.

As punishment for missing the two games, although we did tell the coach she would miss the Sunday game, she was benched almost the entire game.  She played 4 minutes.  The trainer (think coach) told her if he put her in she would still have to sit out another half in a future game.  She was willing to sit it out - then he put her in.  If he sits her out another whole half, I will be livid.  Now mind you she has not missed a practice - she has been 3 times a week every week.

This has been a teaching moment for the both of us.  She is at an age where the trainers do NOT want to hear from the parents - they put the responsibility on the girls.  I get that.  I applaud that.  I made her call the coach and tell her she would miss Sunday.  I told her she needed to talk to said trainer and work things out with him. She is terrified of him.  She told me she had a dream he told her to choose between church and soccer. 

BUT, as the momma bear I want to walk over there and tell him to stop being such a jerk to my daughter who, at only 12, is standing up for her beliefs.  She is taking on things that many adults struggle with. 

On the sidelines, the parents were livid with him for benching her.  They wanted her in - not because she is a star, but she is consistent and smart and adds to the overall strategy of the game (can you tell I am a proud parent?)  When she made it on the field all the parent cheered her on.  It was great.

I guess the good thing is, the other parents being so mad calmed me down.  I just sat there thinking, this is a good teaching moment.  I just need to keep reminding myself of that!

My dad has a friend who says club soccer is of the devil.  I am starting to agree...

Maybe I Don't

Want Sophie to play soccer for BYU...





Hopefully our games this weekend will not be that exciting. 

Grim Grinning Ghosts Come Out To Socialize

Halloween 2009.  We had a house full of ghosts and ghouls - or maybe a vampire and a dead bride - followed by a nerd and I guess a hunter (although, when you are 15 and you don't really have on a costume, I don't think you should get candy - but that is just me).

Some fun pics of the kids.  The older two were too cool for us, so they went off with their friends.  I did not get a pic of Kelsey - she left without letting me take her picture!).  I do love my grim grinning ghosts.

Allie as a dead bride.

Caroline the vampire.  The nails lasted just until after the photo.  Then they were off.

Sophie the nerd.  I thought you were supposed to dress up for Halloween?

Vampire attack.  Remember, Caroline always gets into character.  When she was a bunny I had to take pictures of her in the bushes...

The three ready to go.

Kelsey wanted in on the action.  You know, all nerds love their calculators!

Everyone had fun and now we have enough candy to get fat and rot our teeth!

I Heart HULU

Am I the last person in America to hear of hulu?  For someone who LOVES TV the way I do, it is a travesty.  My sister Megan told me about it.  They have all TV shows - right after they air.  Last night we had a classic Texas storm.  Killed the satellite, which in turn killed the DVR.  And it was Thursday - the Office and Gray's Anatomy.  In the old days I would have called around frantically looking for someone who had recorded my beloved shows (OK so I am a loser).  No more.  Fire up hulu and there you go.

Thanks Meg!

Happy Birthday Michelle

The many faces of Michelle:

Whether she is living the dream, working a BYU Cougar game at Texas Stadium, or looking like a princess on her wedding day, Michelle goes for it.  And that, among other things, makes her a great sister.

Now why could she not have had the cougs win last week for her birthday?  A question for another post.

I hope you have a great day Shamel!

Monday Morning

Why is it that Monday's always seem so... blah?  It does not help that we are being poured on from above.  It would really like to crawl into bed and watch 8 hours of TV, but that won't happen.

We had the typical Pearson weekend - 2 soccer games, 1 volleyball game, region band,  homecoming and the BYU football game - and that was just Saturday!  We did not make it to Sophie's soccer game because she was not done at her region band thing until 3:00.  Which would not have been so bad except we were told she would be done by 12:30.  Yes, Eric and I had to sit there until 3.  UUGH.  And we knew she would not make it to the next level since she was shaking so bad she messed up on her xylophone (percussion plays 3 instruments).  But, it was for a grade, so stayed we did.  Her team won without her - maybe she should miss more games.

Kelsey went to her first homecoming with a group of friends.  She had a blast.  Here is a picture of the five of them. 

I think she looks really pretty. Hard to believe my number one baby girl is getting older!

I guess I better get back to work and go and sell something.  Happy Monday!

UUGH I am 42!

(banner complements of Sarah - Thank you!  The kids can't wait until I can hang it up for them)

A couple of weeks ago, Eric was in Portland.  I got a call from him.  He tells me he is at Costco, and they have a great camera, and since he is always really bad about my birthday he thinks he should get it.  I have avoided the whole DSLR for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is that I don't really know how to use a fancy camera (even though Sarah has been telling me to get one for many many years).  But, we needed one and I thought I should embrace his generosity.  So, this is what he got me.

And yes, it has way more power than I will ever use, but even on automatic I can take great pictures.  This weekend we had our usual cross country, soccer, and volleyball fun and since it was my birthday my parents came to town to be a part of it (OK really, they always come down once each season (spring/fall) to watch the kids do their thing.  This was the best weekend for that, and it just happened to be my birthday)  Megan and Blake were in town interviewing for dental schools, so they came along for some Pearson Family fun.  Here are the fruits of our labors (and some cool pics with my fab new camera)

Kelsey ran in her first varsity meet!!!  Way to go Kels.  She did great.

Allie playing soccer (and being carried off the field by the coach).  She did twist her ankle, so she had a little reason to be sad, but come on.  I went over and in all my compassion told her there is no crying in soccer.

We missed Caroline's game since it took 20 minutes to get out of the parking lot after soccer.  She rotated out of the last game right as we got there.  She does look cute, don't you think?

And of course, Sophie played soccer.  She also ran CC on Friday, but Eric covered that meet (she placed 2nd in district - Go Sophie).  I am pretty sure this picture here is a foul, but since the ref did not call it, we are going to call it good (and since the other team was downright nasty, this was nothing).  In the spirit of truth I have to tell you Blake took all the Sophie soccer pics.  I did take the others.

Allie gave me this card for my birthday.  She makes me laugh, and it is good to know I am one heck of a mother.

It was a great day, and a great weekend.  Thank you for all the birthday wishes.  Now, I just really need to learn how to use my camera!  Good thing the kids give me lots of reasons to take pictures!

It Takes A Village

Things will slow down, right?  I keep thinking it will be any time now, but it has not happened yet.  Allowing the twins to each be individuals, and pick two different activities, is turning out to be a really hard on me.  And we all know it is about me!

Eric flew to Portland this weekend to run the Portland Marathon with Scott Gray.  This left me alone - no biggie.  Except it meant I had to be in four places at the same time Saturday morning to cover the kids activities.  Thank you to all who helped me - cause even though I am good, being in four places at once was not going to happen!  It was a successful weekend.  Kelsey took time off her last race.  Caroline's team lost, but she was able to get two or three serves over the net, Allie's team lost but she played almost the whole time and did not complain, and Sophie's team won.

Friday night we only had Sophie's cross country meet since Kelsey's was on Saturday morning.  Kelsey wanted to come to her meet, and two of Kelsey's CC friends came as well.  They made a poster for Sophie (and Alex her friend).

Since they all run CC they were great at cheering them on.  Both Sophie, and Alex did well.  In Sophie's region, there is a 7th grade girl who is from another school.  Her two mile time is about 11:30.  That is crazy fast.  She beats everyone by 1 1/2 minutes.  On Friday she was sick (and I got an evil stare from another parent on the team who overheard me saying that was great so maybe someone else could win - I did not wish her ill, just felt like it was a chance for someone else.  Is that wrong?).

Sophie has come in 4th and 3rd in her last two meets.  Behind really fast girl, and last week behind another girl who plays soccer for Challenge Soccer who is on the A team (Sophie is on the B team).  Anyway, this week it came down to the very end.  I wish I had taped it - or even got a picture of it but as we know I have not camera right now (which I think my wonderful husband might change for my birthday).  She came in 2nd by maybe 1/2 a step.  The girl was really good at boxing her out.  If Sophie had sped up 20 seconds faster, she might have beat her.  REGARDLESS, she did great and won 2nd.

Photos courtesey of Kelsey Pearson.  Alex, also had a great meet and placed.  She would not let her cheering section take a picture, but Kelsey sure tried.

One last photo of Sophie with her sign. 

So, thanks to all the great people in our village we were able to get everyone where they need to go, Eric was able to go and have fun, and now we get to stay home and watch TV church!  Yeah for us.  And the best part?  Next week is sister's weekend and Eric gets to do it all alone!