November 08, 2010

GOAL!

We have never pushed our kids to play any sports.  We figured with 3 boys, there would come a time when all we did was shuffle to and from different sporting events.  So, when Nolan took a very big interest in playing soccer this year....we were all thrilled!  Thankfully, Nolan's soccer coach happened to be Emmett's baseball coach from last year, so we all knew eachother and Nolan felt very comfortable. 

It took a few games, and then Nolan made his first goal.  From then on it was as if something had clicked and he became a little goal hungry.  He kept a tally of all the goals he made and we ended the season with 21 goals!

Way to go Little Bear and the Blue Tidalwaves!


 

Channeling Varsity Blues...

  I don't know who was more excited, him....or us.  Here he is, in all his football glory.  What a great season the Cavemen White had this year.  We had such a blast and look forward to another great season next year!




We even found time to take the boys and join our neighbors for a Grants Pass High School Cavement football game.  Hard to believe these 2 monsters are going to play for Grants Pass High in just a few short years (locking them in the freezer now).  If you remember from one of my last football posts, this is our neighbor, adopted son, Emmett's partner in crime.

October 22, 2010

Change....It's Supposed To Be Good.

I love Summer.

I love flip flops and tank tops.  Sunburned skin and 100+ degrees.  Kiddie pools and chilled cocktails.  BBQ's and eating outside.  Campouts and roasting marshmallows in the fire pit.  Blooming flowers and overgrown gardens.  Spending the day at the river and messy cheeseburgers.  Sleeping in and staying up WAY to late.  I love that it stays light until 9:30 at night.  If I had a daughter, I would have probably named her Summer. (Actually, it would have been Sophia, but you see where I'm going with this.)

I have been putting this off for a while. Honestly, who wants to accept that summer is truly over? It's getting colder outside. I have to close my windows at night and I hate that, I feel claustrophobic. I've been pulling my jeans out and am reminded of the few extra pounds of baby weight that have fit so nicely into my flowly summer dresses.  I have been reluctant to decorate for Halloween, because it means the start of the holiday season...and frankly that freaks me out. (Seriously...stressed just typing it.) 

Everyone is talking about how they L.O.V.E. the Fall.  The colors are so beautiful (and in fact, they truly are).  The air is crisp.  The scents are heavy and oddly comforting.  Soups and Stews.  Your favorite mug of something warm and snuggle blankets.  Rained in movie days.  It all sounds great....but I'm just not feeling it. 

To me fall and winter are cold.  Dark and depressing.  Lots of time inside, when my family CRAVES being out.  My home feels so small in the winter time.  I hate layers of clothes, they feel too heavy like they are weighing me down.  I hate getting up when it's dark, eating dinner when its dark, feeling like its 10 o'clock when really it's only 6.  Muddy boots and wet clothes drug all through my hallway.  The yard and everything in it looks so sad, as if it's being punished for something.   I feel as though summer just up and left, without saying goodbye, like a jilted lover leaving in the middle of the night....and it took everything I loved with it!

I don't feel like I truly got to embrace summer the way I wanted to.  We didn't get to the river or the ocean like we had planned.  I didn't spend enough time with my family.  I surely did not see my friends nearly as much as I'm used to (you know who you are and that issue needs to be fixed ASAP!)
Yet here it is.  It's happening and there is nothing I can do about it. I know that I will come around to embrace Fall for all of it's beauty, but right now I'm just not ready.  I don't think of it as being depressed (no need to feel my pain), it's more like a 5-year-old stomping her foot down and shrieking..."NOT YET!" (Arms folded with pouty lip for full effect.)  It's supposed to rain this weekend and we have 2 more soccer games and football games...couldn't the nice weather hold out for just a little longer? Pretty Please?!? 

What's your favorite thing about Fall???

October 18, 2010

How We Watch A Movie...

Balloon in your favorite color.....Check

Oregon Beavers hat to drive your brother crazy,
because he is an Oregon Ducks fan...Check

Sunglasses that you've been asking for all summer and
Mommy finally dug around your mess of a room to find the ones she bought
you that you swore you lost....Check

Favorite Toy Story water bottle, because dude is thirsty...Check

20 blissfully uninterrupted minutes of Nolan
not tearing something apart.....PRICELESS!

October 14, 2010

Getting It Just Right...

Last week was hubby's 32nd Birthday!  (Unfortunately for him, it felt more like 42.) 

I usually throw a huge party with friends, family, and a few surprises...but this year we decided to kept it quiet (it was a Tuesday night after all). 
Hubby just wanted to order his favorite
pizza from Abby's....
.....a very simple Cherry Cheesecake as dessert.  (No cooking and no cleaning, almost a Happy Birthday to me, right??) 

Having 4 boys in my life, I rarely (never) get a picture where they are all looking right at the camera...at the same time (forget it)...while smiling (someone is always mad)... and not blinking (who can help it with the flash)....impossible! 
Trying to not get frustrated by it anymore, I have decided to cut and crop the heck out of my pictures.  These come from a series of about 7 pictures I tried to take while singing Happy Birthday To Daddy.













I truly enjoy Emmett's sheer frustration at me snapping picture after picture, fully knowing that none of them were going to turn out.  He is priceless!  


This is the keeper!  I'll give Jackson some leniency...after all, he is only 1, and this process did last a lot longer than anyone would have liked (considering cheesecake was right in front of us).
Happy Birthday, Hubby/Daddy!  We L.O.V.E. You!

October 06, 2010

September Happenings...

First Day of Kindergarten for Nolan
and Second Grade for Emmett

Sweet Ride Home Together...

 The Annual Jog-A-Thon

 Where Emmett ran 9 Laps and raised $175....
 And Nolan got to run with his Fifth Grade Reading Buddy
 and Ran 6 Laps, raising $125.

One GIANT Cheezer for Good Luck...

And a TON of Football and Soccer!
(to be blogged about at a later date.)

How We Spent Our Summer....

Bubble Baths in the kitchen sink...

 Bowling during Grandma Pickle's visit...

 Halloween in July...

 Learning to be brave in the dark...

 Backyard Campouts pretty much EVERY weekend...

 Smores' in the firepit...(again, pretty much every weekend)...

Creating new milestones....Climbing...

 Enjoying time with our siblings, (a rare moment)...
 And LOTS of backyard football...


Just to name a few....

September 23, 2010

For The Love Of The Game

 We are living, breathing, eating football around here.  This is Emmett and my "other son" Cody, (our neighbor) teaching Nolan a thing or 2 about football. 

Emmett and Cody are playing actual tackle football for the Cavemen White Pop Warner here in town, and are very competitive when it comes to playing the game (I promise to post pictures of them in full gear soon).  However, the best thing about watching them play this day was the fact that they decided Nolan was going to win this particular game.

They knew I was taking pictures of them and they carefully planned out their fake tackles.  It was like watching a movie, how precise they were in their reinactments.  Nolan had a blast, won the game, and these pictures couldn't have turned out better.

September 02, 2010

The Adventures of Grandma Pickles

Nolan calls Jackson "Mr. Jenkins." We don't know where he got it from and in true Nolanism fashion, we don't question it. We simply go about our daily lives trying to never forget Mr. Jenkins.

While my mom was here, she asked for a special name.....

and Grandma Pickles was born.

From Green Thumb to Kitchen Pantry!

I would L.O.V. E. to take credit for this amazing garden,
but it belongs to my in-laws. Ours is producing enough to keep us entertained,
but when Sy's parents mentioned that they were "overtaken" by veggies,
we simply replied with a "Be right over!"



Not to toot my own horn, but I have become VERY creative
with the types of dishes you can make with
tomatoes and spaghetti squash.

Helloooo SALSA!
Big shout out to BFF Nicole, for teaching me the
tricks of the trade!

Got Milk?

When Mommy's away....babies get the ultimate
COOKIES and MILK!