The Next Generation

Picture of Sophie at the BYU vs TCU game. She went with the Hansens. Let the indoctrination begin!

Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Go Cougars

I love college football. It is SO much better than pro. The spirit of the game, the frenzy of the fans. And I think it should go without saying that BYU football is the best. It is, after all, the Lord's University, no matter what my brothers think!

I had the chance to go to the game while I was in Provo. It was so much fun. You might think a score of 30 something to zero would not be that fun of a game, but that was totally fun. To be in the stands cheering, enjoying the beautiful weather, watching the Cougars win.

I went to school in the late 80's and early 90's when the Cougs were really good. We had Steve Young, who I missed by one year, Ty Detmer, a series of bowl wins and one Heisman Trophy. I must admit the last few years it has been hard to be a fan. They have consistently lost and have not even been bowl bound in the last few years. However, anytime you get the chance to see them play live, in LaVell Edwards Stadium it is worth it. I think they are on a roll now, and I have great faith in their ability to be a better team. Regardless of their overall standing, they made for a great afternoon in Provo for a group of sisters looking for fun.

Go Girl - A Sisters Weekend

I had the opportunity to spend the weekend with my sisters. It is kind of an interesting thing because I have four sisters, and the five of us have an age range from 18-38. I have a friend who started this a few years ago with her sisters, and it has become an annual thing and she loves it. So, I thought it would be fun for us.

Since there are three sisters attending BYU right now, my sister in California Laurie and I flew to Utah to be with them. I love BYU, so this was not a hardship for me. We got to go to the Brick Oven, or Heaps, or Heaps of Pizza depending upon your age and time in Provo. We did the bookstore, the BYU vs Utah State football game, and the outlets in Park City. We were going to go up to SLC and attend Music and the Spoken Word, but someone would not get out of bed!!! So, we just attended some random Provo ward. It was not a student ward, which would have been the most fun, but there was some great people watching going on.

Add all that with silliness, sleep deprivation, and general fun and merriment and that is our weekend. We also met both Megan and Michelle's roommates, (Melissa's left us alone at their condo). We even got to meet a cute boy who is Megan's friend. All in all a great weekend.

Laurie brought all of us Go Girl energy drinks. They were actually very tasty and that served as our theme for the weekend.

It was fun to renew and continue real friendships with my sisters. Since both Megan and Michelle were born after I went to BYU, I have enjoyed creating relationships with them. Living close has helped, but as we all get old, get married, work professionally, go to school, have kids etc the age gap is not so obvious. Of course this could just be me pretending that I can hang with the youngsters. I can accept that. I kept pretending that Laurie and I could be mistaken for students - OK it is a stretch but you can't blame a girl for trying!!

Megan's roommate was nice enough to take pics of all of us. I can't wait to get those. For now, you get to see the goofy ones.

You Go Girl!!!

Happy Birthday Kelsey!

September 24, 2006. Kelsey turns 12 and goes to Young Women for the first time! Hard to believe my little baby is growing up.

Yesterday I was sitting in church, some random Provo Ward, and the couple in front of us had a little baby girl who looked like Kelsey did as a baby. It brought back memories. She was such an easy baby - she was so happy all the time. I could have her sit down next to me on the floor, and I could make phone calls. She would sit and keep herself entertained for hours.

Now, she is this beautiful YW. Here is a snapshot of Kelsey at 12.

Some of her favorites:

Food: PeiWei Sweet and Sour Chicken
Book: Where the Red Fern Grows
TV Show: Suite Life of Zach and Cody
Sport: Running
Color: Pink
Store: Abercrombie

Happy Birthday Kelsey!

The Preteen Girl

We have a teenager - he is a boy. We don' t know nothing. Now we have a pre-teen girl. It is baptism by fire.

Each morning she gets up and gets ready. She is the only one leaving at that time, so the bathroom is all hers - and let me tell you she takes the WHOLE thing. Each day, when she leaves, I walk into her mess. It's not bad enough that she has to have makeup, lotions, potions and hair accoutrements, but she does not feel the need to clean any of it up. EVER.

This is the same girl who, when told to make her bed, has to unload a pile of crap to do it. She sleeps in bed with books, pens, food, whatever is there. It is amazing what she can do. Now if she would only clean something up every now and then.

The minute she walks in the door, if not before, the phone rings. And rings. And rings. Then she needs to get on the computer to be on AIM while on the phone! Usually after the sixth or seventh call I say that is enough. I mean, how much can one girl talk?

On the up side, she is very good at helping with her sisters. She is very capable, and many afternoons opts to help with the babies instead of doing something else more fun. She tries to be helpful, and really does help.

I guess this is all normal. She turns twelve on Sunday. Hard to believe, but it is coming whether I want it or not.

US Soccer Team Watch Out!

Monday night we got off easy and only had one soccer practice/scrimmage. The Geckos, formarly the Wildcats, did great, but lost. We have some real talent, but still don't always have girls who want to play their positions. This causes them to run too much, wear themselves out, and fall apart. Oh well, they are only nine (and I am starting to sound like one of those moms - help me now).

While there I was speaking with Sophie's friend Rachel's mom, she has a name and it is Becky. She told me that she had a conversation with Rachel who was sad because they are moving and how could she and Sophie still be on the US Soccer Team together if they did not live in the same place! Becky told her they could still each work hard and make it to the US Soccer team from their respective states.

So, after the game I snapped this picture of the two of them. In many ways, Rachel was Sophie's first friend here in Texas. Right after we moved here, we were invited to a 4th of July party at a ward member's home. Of course, all the kids tended to be drawn to the "toy room", so that is where many of the moms found themselves as well. Sophie was three, so a new bounty of toys was great fun for her.

While upstairs in the toy room, Sophie and Rachel found each other and started playing. I do remember that they played well together especially since they were only three. Well, of course, a few weeks later they split the ward and we were in different wards.

Sophie and Rachel still seemed to find each other. They were in the same class for preschool, and continued their friendship. They attend the same school, and although they have not been in the same class, they have continued being friends. They have performed in the talent show together, played soccer together, and think that the weekend must mean they need to be together. They are BFF.

I am not sure what will happen when they move - there will be a big hole in Sophie's life. She will make other friends and go on, but will miss Rachel. They will both just have to hold on a few years - I am sure the US Soccer Team will be bending over backwards to take them!

Sprained Ankle

So I am a clutz. This will not come as a surprise to anyone who knows me. This time, however, I have really kind of hurt myself.

While I was in the Austin are last week, I decided I needed to go and run. I had a great run last Monday, and I knew that if I was going to be able to deliver the 6 miles that was required of me on Saturday, I needed to do it. The weather was great - cool and no humidity.

Many times when I am out of town I will just run on the treadmill. If I am unfamiliar with the area, I get a little nervous about running outside. Well, the treadmill did not work and has been mentioned, it was great running weather. I go outside, take two steps, twist my ankle and go down.

Now, I would love to pretend that I went down gracefully, or rolled out of it like Sydney Bristow on Alias, but alas no. I ended up flat on the ground, scrapped knees and hands and a throbbing foot. I even tried to be cool, don't know what I was thinking here, and "run it off." No way, I am too whimpy.

So it swells, and I do not take the recommedation of my sister, the trainer, to wrap it in an ace bandage to help with swelling. Each day, however, the pain is less and even though swollen, I just keep going and getting stuff done.

Now it is Monday, and it aches. I am thinking maybe I should have wrapped it, and tried to stay off (like that is an option with five kids). All I know is I need to come up with an exercise alternative because I was on a roll. Maybe swimming. I will finally listen to Michelle and take a few weeks off. She said maybe after a week I could hit the eliptical machine. Running will be a few weeks away.

Just as I was getting in a little grove - when after three miles I did not want to die - I am grounded. And it is Monday...

"I see you are drinking 1% is that because you think you are fat?"

Title has nothing to do with post, the kids watched Napolean Dynamite on the way home from the football game last night, and I listened. I must say, even now, that movie makes me laugh. It is so weird, yet somehow funny.

Yesterday was the first day of soccer games. We drew all afternoon games. Not so great in Houston in September. The picture of Allie is in the fourth quarter, and no she did not pour water on her head - that is just how hard she was working.

We signed Allie up for soccer at Klein instead of the YMCA for the fall. Jared Hansen was kind enough to volunteer to coach since Eric is coaching for Sophie's team. So we show up to the first game and Klein does this weird thing. They split each team up into two teams and each team plays with just four players - no goalie. My question is, who thought of that? What is this teaching them? Why do we not want to teach them the rules, teach them about the team, techniques and skills? It seems lame to me, but she likes to play so I will keep my feelings to myself.

Sophie's team lost their game. It was hot, and the kids were dragging, but I must brag. I think Sophie played the best on the field. She has really worked on her soccer skills and I think she is getting quite good. She has some good ball handling skills, she looks to pass and help out the team, and she had stamina for at least the first half. Part of our problem is we only have 10 girls - only two subs. We will have to work on getting more girls.

We finished up the night by taking everyone to the Tomball vs Cypress Creek football game at the great and spacious building, also known as the Berry Center. I will say, that complex is beautiful. They have a jumbo-tron with instant replay. THIS IS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PEOPLE!!!! It was great to sit and watch the game, see the cheerleaders, the band, the drill team and the whole football experience. I think even the little ones had fun - at least for a while.

As predicted Tomball got their head handed to them 28-7. Their only score was in the 4th with less than two minutes to go. I am sure all the second team defense was in for Creek, but at least we were able to do something. I love football of all types, but really enjoy HS and College. It was a great evening.

There was one disturbing feature. There are two guys on the flag/rifle team who march with the band. Jazz dancing, flag twirling boys. They were good - maybe better than many on the field, but were just a little disturbing to me. I am all for equality, my father-in-law even called me a femi-nazi once, but the image of those boys twirling those flags is a little bothersome. Maybe I am more old school than I think.

It's Time to Make the Donuts

Now this is going to really show my age. Dunkin Donuts had an ad campaign while I was in high school about the baker for the donuts. They would show him stumbling out of bed in the morning saying, "It's time to make the donuts." I don't know why I think about that, but I do each morning as I haul my tired self out of bed. What I really think is, "It's time to make the lunches." Now I just need the guy from the ad, Fred, to come and make the lunches for me!

I am off to the Fort Bend County Library for a "Kick the Tires" demo. I am not sure what will happen, but it should be an interesting morning to say the least.

Happy Tuesday!

Now It Really Begins

So far, it has just been a warm-up. I have been able to run around with the kids one at a time and find a way to get them to their stuff - because most of the stuff had not really began. That all changes today.

Soccer practice really begins for Sophie and Allie. They have practice at 5:30 PM, and I have to drive the football carpool at 5:00 PM. It sounds like it should all work, except that the high school is 35 minutes away from home, and soccer is about 15 minutes. It is a good thing we have good neighbors to help us.

With Sophie practicing three times a week, Allie once, and Ryan everyday it will get hectic. Of course, that does not take into account the church activities and Kelsey and Caroline. Luckily for me, Kelsey is running this fall. She and I are going to do a 5K this fall, and she is looking at doing drama club, yearbook club, or some such thing for school.

Caroline is just along for the ride. She wants to be everyone's cheerleader - literally. She went to Ryan's game last week in her BYU Cheerleader outfit, and spent the time during the game down low and cheering.

Add to all this I am going to Austin overnight, and Eric has a late night meeting and the full effect comes into play. Game On.

Buc-ee's

There is a chain of gas stations/rest stops in Texas named Buc-ee's. One of their claims to fame is the cleanest restrooms on the highway. The thing is - they make good on those claims. There is one in between here and San Antonio, and another in between here and Austin. We managed to hit both this last weekend.

I don't know what it is, but Bucee's makes me smile. Maybe it is a bright spot along the road. The restrooms are, indeed, very clean. There are tons of treats, to choose from, and you don't have to worry about creepy people helping you. It just makes a long trip fun. And since we all know a long car trip is not my idea of fun, any bright spot helps.

Speaking of bright spots, I actually had 2 mintues of "zone" on my run yesterday. For those who are not runners (or joggers) the zone is a place where you feel great in a run. You are not hurting, or wishing the pain would stop. You are not thinking, " how much longer?" You are simply at one with being outside running, and you enjoy it. It is the bright spot, much like Bucee's.

Now, zone is hard to come by. I don't think in the last month I have had any. For the most part it has been torture and pain. This time the zone lasted two minutes - but that gave me hope. It is possible to have zone again and MAYBE, just maybe, I can have a run with more zone than pain. That might be asking too much, but it is all I have to hold on to. So here's is to a small dose of fun - where it be zone or a gas station with a beaver as a mascot!

The Only Way to Travel

Eric has this fantasy. It is the dream of the car trip. Let me tell you that I spend more time with all the kids than he does and the thought of being cooped up with bored children for an extended period of time makes me think "Pass the Zoloft." He, on the other hand, always thinks that a car trip would be so great. The longer the better. In times past, after a few hours the kids would get crazy, and he would get cranky, and I would be singing the "I told you so" song in my head.

Then, we got a new car with a built in DVD player. Let me tell you, this is the only way to travel. All five kids, glued to the TV and quiet. We can show movie after movie after movie. This allows for hours and hours of quiet kid free travel. For those of you who think that allowing my kids to watch hour after hour of movies is wrong, judge away. I can handle the judgement - sitting in my quiet car.

Labor Day Fiesta

Eric has a sickness. Really, it is true. He has an issue at summer holidays. I don't know if this is a backlash from his childhood, or just a new issue. During the summer holidays, Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day, he has to go somewhere. He is NOT satisfied with hanging at home, swimming and relaxation. NO! We must go and do and it is not good enough if we are not exhausted by the end of it.

I, on the other hand, am perfectly fine with the relaxation holiday. (not sure what that says about me, but it is true) It would be fine with me to hang at home. 18 years of squabbling later, we usually go somewhere for at least a few of the summer holidays.

This Labor Day was no exception. He had this whole weekend planned with a trip to Austin for a few days, going to Fiesta Texas and maybe even Schlitterbahn. Luckily cheapness and time constraints won out and we just did the Austin and Fiesta Texas part of the weekend.

We drove to Austin and stayed with our friends the Twiggs who have moved to Austin. They are one of the few who would open their home to a family of seven. We had a nice evening with them, complete with amazing BBQ dinner, and then left for Fiesta in the morning, Labor Day.

Now. I must admit. I am a Disney snob. Lets be real, NOTHING will compare to a Disney property for amusement park fun. The Six Flags group tries, but does fall short in the creation of magic. But, I will admit, I am not an adrenaline junkie. I don't like the roller coasters, I won't do the roller coasters and I will stand strong! Therefore, Disney is fine with me. Eric and Ryan love the coasters. I don't think Ryan has ever found a coaster he would not do. It does scare me to see him do some of this stuff, I know it is irrational, but I can't help it.

So, off to Fiesta Texas we trudge. It is chuck full of wild coasters to please the junkies, and has plenty of kiddie rides for the little ones. It was a great day. Park attendance was low - note to self Labor Day is a great day for Fiesta Texas. There were clouds so we did not think we would pass out in the heat. Everyone got to do what they wanted. Six hours later, seven tired people piled into the car for the trip home.

We arrive home dog tired, and had a time getting going yesterday. I guess by Eric's standards that makes it a success.

Persistence

This needs to be my battlecry to keep on running. We did 5 miles today, and although it was much cooler, less humid, the last 3/4 mile was killer on my legs. It is clear that my legs cannot handle the increased mileage. I think I need to hit the weight room, and do some work. I am not sure I will really do it, but it sounds good doesn't it? I guess the other alternative is to increase the miles. Who wants to do that?

I love this picture of Kelsey, also reminding me of persistence. She did a kids triathlon a few years ago, and we had done a really crappy job of preparing her - that is Eric had done a crappy job since that was his job. She got into the water, and the look or determination is great. Now comes the persistence. She swam her heart out, and was one of the last ones out of the water. She did not give up and kept going. She ended up doing well.

So that is the battlecry - Persistence and Determination.

TGIF

It must be Friday - all three girls wore their cougar tee shirts today. Too bad we were late and I was only able to snap a pic of Sophie at the bus.

Thank Goodness It's Friday!!! I am so tired. This schedule is killing me. I have had something each night this week, and I am very tired. I have not even watched my shows for the week. You know it is bad then. It will be nice to stay home for one night. I have had one of those weeks where I have been spinning my wheels all week, not feeling like I am accomplishing much.

We have finished up the tour of the back to school nights. I had to miss Ryan's because the rocket scientists at the administration of TISD scheduled the high school night the same time as the first football games. When I asked them why they did that, I was told it is always this way. In fact, it is not. That is just indicitive of what I am working with here.

Ryan had his fist game, and they won. He was frustrated that he did not play more. Hopefully that will change as the season progresses. It was fun to be back out watching football. Too bad it is HOT HOT HOT. It will be nice when it cools off a little more and watching the game is enjoyable.

I am going to try and get on top of things today. It is amazing when the mom is gone for a few days, how everything falls apart. I guess it is job security.

Time Moves On

Don't ask me why, but I decided to go back and find some old pics on my old hard drive (I think it was the thought of finding old pics of Ryan). I was able to see all these pictures of the twins as real babies. It made me a little sad, but it also made me wonder how we made it through. I have pics of them sitting on tables, or under tables like this one.

I had a basket that was full of toys for them. They always pulled all the toys out and sat in it, just like in the picture. I wish I had taken the time to take more pictures then. I look at these few that I did manage to get and it makes me laugh. It does help me to remember little things they did. That time was such a blur of diapers, bottles and trying to survive. But now, I wish I had been better at taking picture of everyday things. I guess this should be my resolve to do better!

It's Monday Again

Monday is always hard! Why is that? Last night with the Emmy fever, we were not really ready for this morning, and that made everything worse.

Yesterday Ryan blessed the sacrament for the first time. I think he was a little nervous, of course he would not admit that. I was nervous for him. I can only imagine that it is hard in front of everyone. He did it flawlessly. I was really proud of the young man he has become. He is a regular teenage boy who make us nuts sometimes, but he really is a great kid who has his head screwed on right. Knock on wood that does not change. I wanted to post a pic of him as a little boy, because sometimes that is how I still see him. Of course, I do not have any digital photos of him at that age. This is one of his favorite pics.

Attempted to run this morning. Hot, humid and sore. Not good. We are supposed to get a "cold front" on Thursday which will mean lower humidity. I just need to hang on til then.

6:30 am, 81 degrees, 90% humidity

These were the conditions under which I attempted to go and run this morning. What was I thinking? I kept waiting for Sarah to call and tell me she couldn't make it so I could try and go back to sleep. She didn't call, and I went. It wasn't pretty, but it is done. Next week we are up to five miles already. Don't the Champions people know it is hot out there?

This picture has nothing to do with running, or heat. But it gives me hope that it might cool off at some point. This is when living in Houston is hard. You are sick of the heat and humidity and you have one more month of really bad, then it gets better. This picture was taken last "winter" when the subdivision brought in some snow for the kids to play in. It was an unseasonably hot day and all the parents are in shorts, and the kids are in hats and gloves because come on it is snow. My kids keep asking to go and see snow for real. One of these days we will have to give in and take them.

Here is to hoping the next month goes quickly, and the cool comes at last!

5:00 AM

The alarm went off at 5:00 am and I thought, as I have the last few mornings that being the parent stinks sometimes.

As a teen, like most, I took for granted what sacrifices my parents made. I got a job and of course it was no big deal for mom or dad to come and pick me up each night from the mall at 10:00 pm. It is no big deal to get them to drive me to my friends houses at all hours of the day and night. It was no big deal to take me to dances across the state. I just did not see this as a problem. And might I mention that the whole time I was a teenager, there was always a baby in the house. From the time I was 13 until I was 18 my mother had four children. So, add in the fact they were up at night with babies which just makes me tired thinking about it.

Well now I am the parent and let me tell you it is a pain. Of course I want my son to attend seminary - heck it is a sacrifice for him to get up each morning at 5:00 am, go to seminary, go to church, practice football and then come home for homework. But, why do I have to pay the price? Once again, I do not remember that in my mother's contract.

Of course, when football is done I will want him to try and get a job, but again sacrifice on my part. And he is just the first. Imagine our horror when we have FOUR TEENAGE GIRLS under one roof!! (that is a big what were we thinking)

So, I guess the point to all this rambling is a thank you to my mom and dad for the sacrifices. I hope at some point, my children will have teenagers and they will have the same feelings - gratitude for the past and exhaustion for the future.

The Down Side of School

So I love having the kids in school. They are not fighting with each other, because they do not see each other all day, we are on a schedule and everything is great - right? Great except for one thing. The fact that my children, like most children, think that magic fairies live here and their sole reason for existence is to pick up the kids dirty socks and backpacks. Why is it that they feel the need to walk in the door, immediately take off their socks and shoes and dump them with their backpacks in the middle of the family room?

We were living a sock free summer, and I must say this is the down side to school. All of a sudden they have to wear sneakers every day for gym. Where there are sneakers, there are white socks. Since I have five kids, and the random husband socks, that means 12 socks laying around each day! Why can they not pick up their own stinky socks? I don't remember reading in my mother's contract the clause about picking up dirty socks. Is that what my friend and former boss used to refer to as "other duties as assigned"?

I guess like all things in life, you have to take the good with the bad. I will take the schedule, and the peaceful house for a chunk of the day, and spend my evenings asking each child, at least 5 times, to please pick up their socks and hang up their backpacks. It could be worse - I could have six kids!!