Soccer, Soccer, Soccer

So we have been playing A LOT of soccer around here.  And it is so much fun.  The thing about fall soccer in the midwest...one weekend it is blazing hot and you are getting sunburned...the next weekend you have to pull out the winter coats and huddle under blankets...but by the next game, it's shorts and t-shirts again!  We have had it all this month!
Ashton got to play in her first tournmanent with her competitive soccer team.  We are so proud of her for how hard she has been practicing and the improvement she has shown.

She is also really enjoying still playing with her other team that she has played on since 2nd grade!

Jordan has come into her own this year realizing that soccer can actually be quite fun and rewarding when you run!  She has also figured out that at this level if you just hang out around the goal (no offsides), the ball will eventually come to you for the score.

Finally, Regan is playing at the big soccer fields and this is one determined little lady.  She is something else when it comes to trying.  She just will not quit, and she is always so proud that the family is there to watch just her!!!

Half the fun is hanging out with friends on the sidelines!  I like that part, too!!!!

The soccer fields are beautiful at this time of the year.

Fall soccer...nothing better!!!!

Good-Bye September!

September is one of my favorite months and this year proved no different.  There is always so much going on and the weather is just wonderful.  We have settled into a school routine and while we are busy, it feels so much more manageable now that I am not teaching piano.  Here are some of the things we enjoyed last month:
We took a very quick Labor Day trip down to the farm.  Knowing that our weekends would be crammed pack with soccer, we decided that we had to squeeze in just one more trip.  It hasn't rained all summer, but alas, this weekend was when the drought was broken!!!  And that means only one thing in Missouri....MUD!  Of course, the kids loved it and spent most of their time either in the mud or playing in the hay house they constructed in the barn.

Next up, it was crazy sock day at school.  Always fun to bring out the socks!

Jordan spends most of her free time playing school.  She reminds me so much of myself at that age.  She definitely has the "teaching bug".  Recently, she got out my old calendar and added it to her bedroom wall.

We have been enjoying some serious Utah State football around here.  My talented friend made this awesome helmet cake for the USU vr. Utah game.

Then the following weekend, Tod and I headed to Wisconsin to watch the Aggies battle the Badgers.  The outcome of the game was disappointing but we had a great day together and really enjoyed being in Wisconsin.  We first visited the state capital which was beautiful.  The stadium and band were incredible.  The environment (true fraternity row! think "beer funnel"! was eye-opening for me!!)  Thanks to awesome babysitters at home, the kids also had a great day.

And that's our month of September!  What a great time of the year.

Cole's First Day

Finally, it was Cole's turn to go to preschool!  Since the girls started school almost one month before him, he had been waiting a long time.  He had mixed feelings about going and in some ways, I think he would have just been fine staying home with me....but we both needed this new challenge and opportunity.  He goes to the same preschool that Ashton and Regan attended.  It is crazy to think how time flies...it seems like just yesterday we were taking Ashton there at age 3.
On the first day, he was so excited to get there...then when it was time for me to go, he wasn't so sure.  But every day since then, he has just bounded into the room with hardly a good-bye.  I am so happy to see him enjoying it and learning.  And for the first time in 10 years, I have a few hours each week to myself.  I hardly know what to do.  So far, I've done nothing exciting- just enjoyed taking a shower without interruption or going to the grocery store by myself!

First Days of School

We have survived the first couple of weeks of school!  It has been an adjustment for all of us...leaving behind  carefree summer days...but looking forward to all the fun and excitement that the new year always brings.  Here are the girls all ready for "Unpack Your Backpack" which is held a couple of days before school starts:

It's hard to believe I am sending all three of my girls off to elementary school this year!  We have fabulous teachers this year, and it was great to meet all of them.  They all reflect a love of teaching and learning which is so important!

Everyone was ready when the big day finally came!  Mom is always a little sad to see them go...Cole didn't know what to think!
Jordan Marie- 3rd Grade

Regan Cynthia- Kindergarten

Ashton Kim- 5th Grade

I love to take these pictures to capture their carefully selected backpacks, lunch boxes and new outfits.  It is so fun to look back and remember.
It is always so bittersweet to send a kindergartner off to school, but Regan was so ready and excited.

Here is to another great school year!!!!!

36

I celebrated a birthday last week and it was really fabulous...not because of anything big but because of a whole bunch of little things.  The day before my b-day, Tod surprised me with an afternoon date.  He had gotten the babysitter and everything and told me to wear active clothes.  We enjoyed lunch at our favorite Mexican spot and then drove to the bike store where he bought me a beautiful bike.  I have been wanting one for so long!  Then we did our first mountain bike ride and also rhode down by the river.  It was so much fun and just to spend time together was the best part.  We always have a good time.

The next day I got several dear phone calls from family and friends, also emails and face book messages.  My amazing visiting teacher stopped by with a yummy treat.

That afternoon, we headed to Nauvoo for the pageant.  I was so excited when I heard that the pageant was going to be held through the first week of August.  I couldn't think of anything better for my birthday than a trip to one of my favorite places in the whole world.  It is just an incredible place and for me it is because I consider my time there (when I spent a semester there during college) as life-changing.  It was during that time that I made some significant decisions and really decided what direction I was heading.  As I watched my own family enjoying the beauty of Nauvoo, I couldn't help but feel so thankful for the experiences I had there that have impacted my life.

The activities before the pageant are always so much fun.  Regan wanted to wear her pioneer dress for the festivities!  We went with some of our good friends and the older girls were happy to wander around on their  own.

 Cole absolutely loved the puppet show.  He never sits this still!

It was a beautiful evening and the perfect ending to a wonderful birthday celebration.  Here's to loving "36"...looking forward to a great year.

(We had left our house open so some friends could watch the Olympics- when we got home there was a delicious birthday cake sitting on the counter that they had baked!  It was a great surpise and so yummy, especially the frosting!)