Go Elf Yourself!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

We decided to hop on the Elfin' bandwagon and elf our family, except we HAD to be different, and chose the 'Country' version of the Elfed phenom. lol. Mark and I got a kick out of it, and we hope you love Ryleigh's "Look". She's a crack-up, and when you give her 'the look' she gives it back.

It Was Nice to Get Away!

This last weekend was spent with friends and family away from Lemoore. It was so great to get away. A change of scenery is definitely what we all needed! We left on Friday for Palm Springs. It wasn't just an ordinary get away, because the main purpose was softball. Softball is virtually the center of Mark's universe. He eats, lives and breathes softball. We got in late that afternoon and he had a game that night at 6. They lost their first game, but had a game the next morning so we headed back to the hotel. The hotel was pretty nice and the beds were cozy. The kids had a blast just being there. They were excited to be at a hotel and thought it was cool. I guess its the small things that make kids happy. lol. Austyn was excited to see that there was a microwave in our room and insisted that we buy popcorn for it. We did, of course. We were up very early the next morning for a continental breakfast and another game scheduled for 8am. We holed up in the 'clubhouse' to stay warm, but we were still able to watch the entire game. They lost, again, and that was the end of the tournament for them. They played the second game at Big League Dreams which is just a ballpark that is made to look like different stadiums. They played at Fenway for that game. It must be that Red Sox curse that kept them from winning. J/K We spent the rest of that day with Keith and Kalena. We had lunch that was pretty exciting. The food wasn't that great and the service was horrendous, but Taylor kept us all on the edge of our seats. He pulled his top left tooth out while we were waiting for our food! I'll admit that I was a little (okay a lot) squeamish at the idea of yanking a tooth out. I couldn't look, but he did it! He looks so goofy with one tooth missing! We haven't really had this whole experience of losing a tooth before a new one can grow in. His bottom adult teeth were in before the baby ones were even out. He looks like a cartoon character. lol. The tooth fairy even visited us at the hotel, so he was really excited about that. We spent that day just driving around, sort of sight seeing. The kids were knocked out in just a few minutes of driving, so we just opted to drive around while they slept rather than wake them up and get them to the hotel room for a nap. We had a great day, and just ended it with a few drinks with our friends. The next morning we were up and on our way to Adam and Jenn's for Kenzie's Birthday party. It was a lot of fun and I think all of the kids had a blast. Kenzie got lots of stuff, of course! It was great to be able to see everyone and to be there for Kenzie's party. This was the first time we have been able to make it to one of her parties. All of the other years, the date landed on Taylor's last soccer game and end of season party. This year the season ended the week before the party, so that worked out great! We took lots of pictures, and as usual they are posted in slide show format. If you click on view all pictures, it takes you to a bigger slide show, and then if you click on original view it makes it even bigger! So, enjoy all of the pictures, and we can't wait to see everyone again next weekend!

This Time, I'm Sticking to My Guns . . . Except, This Time, I Mean It!

Every year we all make New Year's Resolutions and we say we are going to stick with it no matter what. In the end, we get busy with life and that mental post-it note gets lost in the chaos. Well, this year is different! Seriously, I mean it! My resolutions are 1.) I will get into shape and stay in shape. 2.) I will stay on top of sending out birthday cards to family members. There, those are my resolutions. Every year I say that I will stay on top of the whole card thing, and I never even get the January cards out. So, I am going to stick to my guns and get it right this year. And as far as getting into shape. I'm not overweight, and I don't need to 'lose weight' per say, I just need to get healthy in general. I don't eat breakfast, I sleep too much and I lose my motivation to work out very quickly. My BMI is at something like 23.29, which is good because it means that I am in a healthy weight range. But, it is on the latter half of that happy median. My blood pressure is good as well as my heart rate, so working out won't prove to be dangerous, just physically and mentally challenging. I don't want to do it just for myself. I want to to it to help encourage as well as set a good example for my kids. Roscoe could also stand to lose a few pounds, so maybe I'll get him in on it too. I started part of a new workout regime yesterday, and its pretty mild. I'm not too sore from it, and that means I can run today. I'm a runner. I love to run. Running is sort of my detox. It relieves stress and makes all my worries seem like specks of dirt in comparison to everything else. My personal challenge will be sticking with it. I usually do good for about a week or so and then I lose it. I don't know what happens, but it just falls apart. I don't want washboard abs or some really cut arms like Serena and Venus Williams. Call me crazy, but I just want to look like I care about my body and my health. Not to mention I do want to become a healthier person. So, here's to the New Year, a few weeks in advance, but hell, why not kick-start this resolution now to better keep things moving once the New Year actually sets in! I first thought that I would update the blog with pictures and my process of this whole 'getting into shape' thing, but then I remembered that I don't like being seen in a swimsuit! haha. So, then I thought, just posting measurements on here so people could get an idea of how I'm doing. But then, I realized that I don't really want people knowing how big my waist or thighs are! haha. And then I thought, okay well maybe I could post my weight. That thought crossed the line. lol. Weight is a sensitive subject for lots of people, and it is for me when it comes to the numbers part of it all. Plus weighing isn't exactly the best way to measure a person's progress considering muscle weighs more than fat. So, in the end I have decided that a good old fashioned blog will do just fine! So, please, keep me motivated! =o)

I Wouldn't Do It Again!

Soccer is finally over! Well, for Austyn it is. Taylor has a tournament this week and tonight is their first game. It was a great season, and I had a great team. It was a really big learning experience for me. I've never played soccer on a team before. I mean, sure I played in school in PE class, but it was never anything 'serious.' Needless to say, I didn't recall much. I know the basics, and enough to just get me by. I guess that was great considering that's about all I needed to know to coach 3-4 year old kids. I had 10 kids on the team and they were all so different. I got to know them each and knew how to get them all to play. I was even able to get one little girl, Alyssa, to play when she has always refused to play in the past. She was very shy and rarely spoke, but she got out there and played! She only cried once and that was when someone plowed into her. Austyn really didn't have much interest in playing. It really surprised me. I think he thought it was more about just kicking the ball around and scoring goals. He didn't realize soccer required so much running. Kaitlyn was goofy. She never whined or really complained. She was really slow and she would always say, "Coach, I'm soooooo slooooow!" and then she would giggle and keep running. Ariana was quiet and shy at first, but she opened up really fast. By the end of the season she was a clown and she was the only girl that would and could keep up with the boys. She was a fast little one and she'd steal the ball from the boys and score. Addisyn was a little dramatic. She was always tired and cold and she always needed a break or a drink. She was really sweet too. She was always telling me how pretty I was and how much she liked me. =o) She's a great confidence booster. lol. Ian was the biggest and oldest kid on the team and he made sure everyone knew it! He was fast and a great soccer player. Diego was next in line as far as size went. He was also really fast and a great player, but he wasn't the nicest boy on the block. I had to have a talk with his parents a few times about pushing. It finally stuck in his head by the end of the season and he wasn't pushing anymore. Ruben was a small, shy boy and he didn't talk much. In fact, I don't think he really understood much English. His parents were always speaking in Spanish to him. He was mean. If he didn't get the ball, he'd punch, push, pinch, or do whatever he had to do to let you know he wasn't happy. He was often throwing temper tantrums and left most of the games. Ontarion was a itty bitty thing. He pretended he was shy, but it was all a ploy. He always had to pretend he was a car when he played soccer. And he was always crashing (falling on the ground). He was a character. Lara was the smallest one on the team. She was shy quiet and very sensitive. She got knocked around a few times by the older kids, but she always ended up back on the field giggling and laughing. She rarely even got the ball because she half walked half ran around the field in circles. That was my team. One of the parents asked if I would coach next year and I think I shocked them with my answer. lol. I said, "Nope. I don't think I'll ever do it again!" And its not that it wasn't fun or that the kids were bad. It was a lot of fun, the kids were great and it was very rewarding, but I didn't realize how consuming it was. You have to be CPR and First Aid certified, you have to go through coach's training and have background checks done as well as getting finger printed. You basically have to do everything someone would need to do if they were getting a job working with children on the base. Its also hard to get parents to help! I mentioned at EVERY practice or game that the more volunteers the merrier, but only one Dad ever helped. I'm grateful to have had one willing parent rather than none. But most people don't realize that behind the scenes hours that these volunteer coaches have to put in, and most people don't value the fact that we are all just volunteers. It was a lot of fun, but I think I am most at home on the sidelines with the rest of the parents. I'd rather be that obsessive photo taking parent, or the team mom than the coach! I didn't get to be team mom for Austyn, but I still put together an end of season party for his team. I was team mom for Taylor's team, and I put together a party for them too. I enjoy the team mom, just not the coach's position! I'm glad that I was able to have this experience and I have learned to appreciate the coaches much more than I have in the past.

So Many Things to be Thankful For!

Thanksgiving was a little different this year. We had an extra person at the dining room table. Well, to be exact, we had 2 extra people, but only one of them was special! My mom came to visit. We haven't seen her in FIVE years! I was so excited to see her and for her to meet Austyn and Ryleigh. I thought Ryleigh would be a little apprehensive about meeting her and being around a new person, but I was wrong. Really wrong. Before we even left the airport she was insisting on holding hands with my mom while she walked. That was a sign of great things to come. She spoiled the kids rotten, just like any other Granny would do. Ryleigh was practically attached to her the entire time. I think its because she got anything and pretty much everything she wanted. lol. Taylor goofed around a bit with her, but he did keep to himself a lot. I guess he's just at that age where he is more nonchalant and a little less into what everyone else is into. And then there was Austyn. He kept telling my mom that she was going down to Chinese town. I told him to say, " You are going down! Down to China town!" One time, and he got the phrase stuck in his head, and of course he insisted on saying 'Shinese town" instead of China town. He's hilarious. Anyway, so back to our Thanksgiving. We had a really good dinner. We had turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, 2 kinds of gravy, 2 kinds of green beans, cranberry sauce, broccoli casserole, 2 kinds of stuffing, pea salad, rolls and a cherry, pumpkin and pecan pie! It was quite the feast. The kids sat at the kid table and sipped their sparkling apple-cranberry cider. We finished the night with a game of Battle of the Sexes. It was 3 against 2, and WE (the women) still managed to pull it off! =D lol. We had a great Thanksgiving and we had so much to be thankful for. We had my mom visiting, friends over, Mark home and the kids. My mom stayed home with the kids the next day while Mark and I got some Christmas shopping done. It was great to be able to go out and not have to sneak things into carts, lol. We really appreciated that. Saturday morning I attempted to get the kids to make a gingerbread house with me. I was really grumpy and exhausted. I had taken allergy meds the night before and just didn't get enough sleep. So, the grouch ended up putting it all together alone. It sucked, but oh well. We watched lots of movies, and we also picked up a Christmas tree. She even worked in a shopping trip with Mark. Who knows what they bought, but she says I'll love it! I'll take her word for it, while I wait in an anxious anticipation. My mom's visit was short, but we fully enjoyed having her here. The kids and I, and Mark too, are all missing her, a lot! Hopefully it wasn't too crazy for her and she'll come back to visit again soon! =o)