Seahawks End Their Season

The crazy fall is starting to wrap up...thank goodness! Oy. Some how I have managed to get everyone where they have needed to go and everything seems to have worked out okay. Eli finished flag football this past week.  The kid was absolutely ecstatic to add another trophy to his shelf. He lives for the meaningless trophy. Don't get me wrong, I am glad he is happy and that he got one, but they only won two games this season. They didn't really earn anything. Some day he will understand.

But I can't take away from that happy face, right?

I think he was able to pull a couple of flags this year and he ran the ball for a total of about maybe +1 yards, but I might be generous in that estimation. However, he was definitely the cutest one out there. It has sparked a love of sport in him. Every day he goes into the yard and practices punting with Harry and Raef. I can see his coordination greatly improving. He is still a pretty slow runner but maybe if I got him some really good shoes, that would improve too.

Way to go, Eli!

Sports and Stuff

Two weeks ago the sports season officially opened up for our family. But before I went to any games, I headed down to Pleasant Grove to see Echo and Amie F. and go for a hike with them. Echo lives in Pleasant Grove, but Amie was visiting from Georgia to go to Education Week at BYU. We were all in the same ward together for many years in Henderson. It was amazing to be able to catch up with them. It was like we had never been separated. And I guess we had a lot to talk about, because we ended up walking 8 miles!!

I just hope one day I can grow up and be like these two. They are inspirational.

I then raced back to Draper to catch the end of Harry's first soccer game. It was pretty much adorable. He smiled the whole time while he was running around. I wouldn't expect anything less from this guy. He is posing with his buddy Sawyer after the game. And the best part of the game was the treats. Harry was looking forward to the treats. I don't think he was disappointed.

When the game ended, we had just enough time to get to Woods Cross to watch Raef play an official scrimmage. The boys looked great and I think they are ready for the season. Their first game was this last Saturday and they did not disappoint. They won 33-0 versus Copper Hills. Raef had a stand-out game. He made some key tackles, swatted down the ball on a pass play, and held his position on offense. The coach from the other team even called him out at the end of the game to commend him on a job well done.

And as always, Rinar wore his silly hat that Raef just loves. The Copper Hills game was in West Jordan and Rinar had to run 21 miles for his training that day. I suggested he run to the game, since it started at 9:00. He did, and ended up running 24 miles because he took a wrong turn. That sucks for him, but he didn't seem to mind too much. If it was me, I would have been really pissed off. Good thing it wasn't me!

And like I have mentioned before, my little kids are in full swing with school. Just thought I would include a few pictures.

Julia had her first soccer game last Monday. They are called the Cotton Candies. Hmmm, wonder where they came up with that name? She is on an all girls team and loves it and loves her pink uniform. We really scored in that department. Julia did great and I think she might have some skill when it comes to sports. She did well. But it was hilarious to watch how many of the girls would come to the sidelines upset and fling themselves to the ground in a fit of hysterics. Oh yeah, girls really are different from boys.

And then there is this little darling who is on the cusp of walking. Look at that little tush. She is just the cutest thing ever.

Football

Football season is in full swing and the older my kid gets, the more we get submerged in the football scene. Raef just loves to play football. It really brings him joy. I love it that he can play but I do have a slight bit of anxiety thinking about him getting hurt. Well, I am just worried about his hands and arms mostly. It would absolutely derail viola. That would suck. But I am just going to trust in my Heavenly Father and let this kid be who he is, even if there is a risk.

Since the end of July, he has been practicing hard five days a week, two hours a day. Unlike last year where he played a skill position (tight end), this year he is on the line grinding it out. He actually made it on to a much better team, Chad E.'s team.  This is the third best team in the league. There is A, B, and then Raef's team. I am proud of him for the improvements that he has made.  

Fortunately, Chad is a very calm coach who doesn't yell and certainly does not swear. His teammates all seem to be top-notch. He has really become buddies with his fellow linemen. And now that he is going to school this year, he will instantly have 20 friends. This is such a blessing because friends are important to him.

Last week, the coach brought in a special guest speaker to talk to the boys about tackling. This is Bryan Kehl, who plays for the Washington Redskins. He is injured this year, but is still an active player. He was super nice and had some good things to say to the boys.

I am really looking forward to seeing these kids play some games. They have been working hard. It should be a great season.

Catching Up

One of the perks of moving to Utah is that people actually pass through and sometimes stop for a visit. It is awesome. We always had lots of visitors when we lived in Henderson but it got pretty lonely out in the middle of nowhere Reno.  Reno really is not on the way to anything.

So it was a real treat to have Leslie, Greg, and their four adorable tots visit us for a few hours. They had gone to Vegas and were heading back to Canada. Luckily for us, Draper is right on the way.  The kids played and we were able to catch up after all these years. I was fortunate to meet Leslie when she was a newlywed to Greg and started coming to the Sunset Ward. I spoke at her baptism and we served in the Primary presidency together. I think she is about the nicest, sweetest, most genuine woman I have ever had the privilege of knowing.  I am very blessed to call them my friends. She had Caleigh two weeks before Eli was born. And all of her other kids are just about the same age as my little ones.

There they are back together again. What a cute couple!

We were also able to celebrate the end of the football season for the Corner Canyon gray team. Coach Jeff and all the boys were a positive influence on Raef. It was a great season for him and he has really grown. He loves football more than ever.

Corner Canyon Silver Team

It is official. Football has really begun.  Raef had his first game on Saturday, a scrimmage versus Herriman, at Herriman.  Raef is number 89.  He is playing both offense and defense. On offense, he is the tight end and on defense he plays an outside linebacker.

I am pretty proud of my boy.  He has improved drastically over last year, and even over the past month of practice. He was 2-2 on receiving, and even made a sack on the quarterback.

Oh, and the boys won!  They did great and made some amazing plays.  Defense could use some work, but I guess I will cut them some slack since they are only 11, right?

This is the coach, Jeff S.  He has a brother and a cousin who both play for BYU, but I guess I won't hold that against him.

I just couldn't resist. Can you? 

Staycation, All in the Name of Football

Several months ago Rinar and I scheduled our family vacation time. Rinar has to do that now because of his extensive travel schedule. Unbeknownst to us, we scheduled vacation number 2 the same week as football tryouts.  Yes, for some reason here in Utah 11 year-old boys have to try out for the football team to see where they get put.  You know, because when you are 11, these things are vitally important, on the same level as the North Korean missile crisis and preventing world hunger.  It is that important around here, apparently.

Hence, vacation became staycation.  Bummer. But we tried to make the best of it.

On Monday, July 29th we headed down to Provo to go to Seven Peaks with  my sister Catye and her husband Mike. Catye worked at Seven Peaks last year and she had a whole bunch of free tickets.  Staycation was looking pretty darn affordable.  The kids had a blast, but we had to hurry back to get Raef to football tryouts on time, so we didn't get to stay as long as we would have liked.

On Tuesday, we headed up to Hogle Zoo. But it was blazing hot. The kids only lasted a few hours and then it was time to get some pizza.

And if you are going to get pizza, the obvious place to go is The Pie. Where else?  The kids thoroughly enjoyed the fare.  Then we had to call an audible for afternoon activities, because our original plan did not give us enough time to hurry back for...yep, football tryouts. This meant a quick trip to the Church Museum to see the kid's Book of Mormon exhibit.

Wednesday was my favorite.  We dedicated the whole day to This is the Place Heritage Park. It happens to be across the street from the zoo.  It is a pioneer village with oodles of things to do, a hands-on, living museum.  Harry and Zach enjoyed a "shave" at the barber shop while the other ones waited by playing checkers.

They got to ride the ponies, and totally loved it.  There was also a petting zoo, and lots of historic buildings.

This little pioneer house was a big hit. They washed clothes on a real scrub board, beat the rug with a wire whisky thing, plowed the soil with a real hand plow, played toss-a-ring, and even gave it a go at stilt walking.

When it got too hot, they spent a bit of time playing in the splash pad. I had no idea there was one there, so we were woefully unprepared.  But after ringing out the shirts and staying outside for a  little bit, they were dry in a short amount of time. 

We also rode a train, panned for gold, made an arrowhead necklace, and ate ice cream at the old hotel.  And then we packed the kids up and hurried home. Surprising, I know, but had to get to football tryouts on time.

We were tuckered out by Thursday and hung around the house. Rinar did take them swimming for a little while and then it was off to football again.

On Friday, Rinar took Raef, Zach, and Eli to Lagoon, or as Eli calls it...Magoon.  We made sure that they got there right when it opened.  They stayed as long as they could before they rushed back for football tryouts.  After football, Rinar took Raef and Zach back until closing time.

As for football, I might have been a little annoyed.  Okay, maybe a lot.  We gave up a week of vacation so that he could tryout for teams that were pretty much already decided before anyone showed up for the first day of tryouts. Most of those boys had played in the system before. Everything was predetermined.  There is an A team. Yep, that never happened. There was a B team. Nope, didn't make that one. And then there were the color teams, like gray, blue, white, etc.  The color teams are for all the rest of the boys, whether they tried out or not.

Raef is on the gray team.

I am just so glad we had to lose a vacation and rush back from every activity early so that he could be on the gray team, a team he would have probably been put on even if we had gone to Yellowstone for the week.

But whatever!

It's Playoff Time

Raef and Zach and their team, the Galena Grizzlies, made the playoffs. They had their first playoff game on Saturday at Sparks High School.  And guess what? They WON!  The final score was 32-12.  It was a great game and the team has really improved this year.

 

But the real trick when you go to a football game is to keep the little ones entertained for about 3 hours.  This is accomplished with lots of food and candy, a train caboose, and cool bleachers you can jump on, climb on and under, and, oh... silly neon glasses.

Julia, Harry, and Eli did great! 

Since the boys won, they get to play again this coming weekend. It will be against the #1 team, who has annihilated all of their competition this year, including us.  I am not holding my breath, but I hope they can at least make an improvement from the last two times we have played this season.  We shall see.

The Last Few Days

I have had a lot of fun these past couple of days.  On Thursday night I met some girlfriends from church and we went out for a birthday celebration.  Me and 5 other ladies all have birthdays this month.    It was great being able to hang out and relax...and eat, of course.

 

Super cool ladies, Lanae, Anna, Yvonne, and Julie.

 

On Friday, my little ones wanted to play the violin.  Lessons will be coming in the near future.  Oh boy, I get to pay for lessons for FIVE children. 

 



 

 

After the violin was put away, we headed over to the park.  I am so sad, because our very best homeschool friends, the Lindsey's, are moving back to Texas at the end of this month.  Boo hoo.  But we still had fun doing bottle rockets.

 

 

 

 

When Julia's bottle landed, Eli had the audacity to pick it up for her.  She fell apart and cried, cried, cried.  Her life was OVER!  Eli gave her the bottle and offered a few words of comfort.

 

 

Eli and Harry especially loved this bottle rocket activity.  They kept filling their bottles up with water and shouting with glee when the thing went flying into the sky.  It was some good times.

 

I decided to go ahead and run my 18-miler last night, since Rinar had to run his and the boys had a football game in Fernley today.  Somehow we had to get it all in.  And boy, have I ever told you that running that far totally sucks?  Phooey.  I was in pain.  The pain really started to wash over me like an acid bath, after I was finished.  But at least I didn't have to run today, right?

 

And I am never running a marathon again!  Have I said that before?

 

Then today (Saturday) was my birthday.  Oh boy! The kids were mostly so good today.  When they woke up this morning they were fairly pleasant.  That was a nice change of pace.

 

We then headed over to Fernley, which is about 1 hour west of Reno, for the boys football game.  It was a rough one.  The Fernley team was really good. It was a close game in the first half, but not so much in the second. We lost 19-0.  Raef really had a rough time. He came out in the 3rd quarter because he was sick.  I am pretty sure it was dehydration.  He threw up several times on the way home and is still not feeling that great. Poor kid.  For next week's game, they will be drinking lots of water, starting Friday!

 

When we got home, Rinar took me out for some birthday fun.  But not before I got a few presents.  The best was this card signed by all my kids.  The long message is from Zach.  He loves me so much even if I think I am mean.  Harry did the lovely squiggles to the left and Julia did the delicate circles on the bottom left.  Eli signed his name as well and even drew a heart.  Raef drew lots of hearts.  Aaahhhh! So sweet.  I also got another guitar and a new electric toothbrush.

 

 

But the best part was the serenade from Julia.  She sang happy birthday to me a million times. It was so adorable.

 

Rinar took me to Johnny's Ristorante.  It was truly fantastic. I highly recommend it.  Then we went to the Reno Ace's game.  We were in the box seats right behind the dugout.  Rinar had a major hook-up.  And then in the second inning, my name appeared on the scoreboard, wishing me happy birthday.  That was super cute. Oh, my kooky husband.

 

 

 
It was a fun day and now I can just march right on to 40. It will be here before I know it, I guess. I have four years to wrap my head around that.

 

 

SYFL Experience

Football season is gearing up here and we are excited.  Raef and Zach decided to play football this year.  So, not only do I have the college football season to relish, but my own boys will be out on the pitch.  They are playing on the Galena freshman team.  We are very fortunate to have an excellent coaching staff and enthusiastic and supportive parents. I have been impressed with the inner workings of our team.

The boys started official practice two weeks ago, and on Saturday they went to Fallon for the Sierra Youth Football League Experience. This thing is huge.  Apparently 10,000 people descend on this small town. All the players come and get officially weighed in and then they play a few scrimmages.

Our boys did great. They won one game and tied the second.  We are a smaller team, but well-coached, so I think we will do well this year. We shall see, I guess.

Coach DJ is giving the boys a pep talk before their first scrimmage. The boys are ready to play.

Go Galena Grizzlies!