Bring it!

Serriously, all ya' all, I can take you, as long as you're not over 48" tall.

26

Ty's New Pets

The boy seriously loves animals. He loves to color pictures of animals, collect stuffed animals, and he can just sit and watch animals for hours. Trips to the zoo can last a long time, he still runs everywhere but once he gets where he's going dragging him away from the exhibit that he's at can seem impossible. Ty has been begging us for a pet of "his own". Apparently the two labs and the bunny we have aren't enough to please him. In his own words: "I want one that I take care of." We all know how that usually turns out. Did I mention he's had hamsters before....... let me remind with this and this...ahh the early days of my blog....okay back to today, or yesterday actually. Well, he's been asking for a lizard, or a bird, or a snake, or a spider. I told him straight up that there was NO WAY that DAD would let him have a snake or a spider, I would actually be fine with that. Ben ruled out the bird, twice the mess of the hamsters and a 100 times the noise. He said that Ty could have a lizard and I asked him if he knew how much work lizards really were.

Finally, Ty and I decided on fish. He was so excited. We grabbed a 10 gallon tank starter kit. Then we went crazy. Rocks for the bottom of course. Toys for the fish to swim in and around including a bubbling Volcano, Ty wanted the 12" version, I talked him into the 6". Along with the Volcano came the air pump, which is really quiet until you put the air hose on there. Then there were the live plants for the fish to hide in and nibble on. And also food for Ty to sprinkle twice daily. Then came the fish. Two algae eaters, three yellow guppies, and two mollies later, one white the other black with white speckles, we were ready to roll.

We got home and I proceeded to set up the tank like the fish pro that I am. No really, I've had fish a few times before. The lady at Petsmart wanted to hire me when I started telling Ty that the fish he was pointing at would eat the fish he had already picked out. About an hour and a half later with lots of kid help, we had the fish swimming happily in their new tank. Ty fed them and went to bed. He later came downstairs to tell me that he took a picture of "Snowy" with my camera....picture coming later. And all of the fish have names, I'll have to write them down.

This morning when I went to wake him he popped right out of bed ready to feed his fish again.

We did set some ground rules:

No touching fish.
No putting hands in the tank.
No putting toys in the tank.
Leave the fish in the tank.
No feeding without mommy there to help until show her you have learned the right amount of food to dole out. (I didn't use the word "dole" with my six year old)
Leave the lid on the tank. (I had a jumping, suicidal goldfish who never actually died but we found on the floor after being out of the water for an undetermined amount of time, but long enough to stop flopping)

I know, I took all of the fun out of it.

It was nice just sitting with him on the floor of his room this morning watching the fish eat and snuggling with my boy for a few minutes. Did I mention that's where we put the tank? CRAZY, I know. We'll probably get more of that in this afternoon. And a few pictures to bring with me tomorrow. :)

Need this....

So last night I decided I was tired of being lonely, I think it's time to invest......

Maybe I need a few of them.

Come home Ben!

Just ONE......

Last night I bought JUST ONE ticket for this:


To take me here:

So I can go to this:

With Jenae! No kids, just us, and her mom! Can you say Lady's Night three nights running?!? Woo Hoo!

Have fun at home Honey!

Thankful Thursday

So here is a spin on my Thankful Thursday. A couple weeks ago on Sunday in Sacrament our Bishop took the opportunity to give us a few words of guidance. We have always been taught to keep journals. Well on Sunday Bishop asked us to keep Blessing Journals. Basically, instead of writing down everything that happens during your day, the good the bad and the ugly, why not write down at the end of the day at least one thing you are thankful for?


Think about it. When your great-great-grandchildren stumble across your journal tucked away in the attic and start reading. Do you really want the impression you leave to be along the lines of: "I'm so annoyed with Shelly, she took all my paper clips and never brought them back." or how about, "That stupid dog kept barking all night and as much as I yelled he just wouldn't shut-up!" or maybe even, "Our neighbors have got to be the most stubborn, annoying, picky people, who find the littlest things to complain about!" (none of these are complaints of mine)


Maybe the legacy you would rather leave might sound like this instead: "I'm so grateful that I have so many family members that live near us so that my children can be surrounded by love and support." or possibly, "My husband is a man of great courage, he is strong and willing to help, he loves his family and the church." oh, and how about, "I love the country that we live in, even though all of us may not agree with the leaders and their policies, we still have the opportunity to have freedom in all of our daily choices, from who to talk to, where to pick up groceries, sending our daughters to school, and what religion we choose to practice. We truly live in a blessed nation." I really love the thought of someone remembering me that way. That those words of mine live on forever to inspire others and hopefully remind others of the good in their lives.


Today I am thankful that I followed the council I received a few weeks ago. I look forward to that time every night that I have the opportunity to write something down that I am grateful to be blessed by. I haven't had the same entry twice. It really helps you notice all the good things surrounding you!

Oh yeah, I'm SO Thankful for Double Stuff Oreos, Nutter Butters, and a huge tanker of COLD milk!

I miss her!

It' only been 37 hours but I miss her!

I miss the parking brake that I just have to press a second time to release.

I miss the key sensing handles that I just have to touch to unlock.

I miss the auto headlights.

I miss the push button start.

I miss the back up camera.

I miss the power rear door.

I miss the heated leather seats.

I miss the button on the handle that I press to lock all the doors.

I miss not having to dig through my purse.

I miss my young, peppy V-6.

I know I'm spoiled, but I miss her and I still have a week to go. But she is at the place where they will mend and fix the havok I caused to the poor girl. Then after that she gets to go in and have her oil changed......There are good days ahead.

Oh, yeah, they're going to give her a bath too. She'll be all dolled up and ready for a night on the town! Don't worry baby, you'll be back home soon!

San Diego Sightings

On vacation I saw Tib and her kids! Who knew they were in not so sunny San Diego the same time I was?

Ben's least favorite picture of all time....the surfer in him looked at me in awe and said "Look at all those teeth!" as I watched chills run down his spine.


And from Ty- "Mommy, why is that camel eating marshmallows?"
Think like a dog....~Nobody's gonna take my MY boy's bike!!!~


Look at the glutes on that guy!
Is that a banana in his pocket....hmm...Apparently they have a sense of humor at Legoland.

I NEED the number to her hair and makeup guy!

Always wear sunscreen.....or bring one with you...

Me, right now....

Can you do a potty dance while sitting down?

David Blaine, watch out!

Just a little friendly competition for David Blaine and all other magicians who challenge the laws of gravity and physics!

The Rumble in the Jungle

So we don't really live in the Jungle but we do have 5 acres. And there has been an on-going battle. To groom or not to groom. That is Madison's question. She had been having problems keeping her hair brushed and the girl has been cursed with my brother's wimpy scalp. All of that combined with long, fine hair added up to a rat's nest we just couldn't keep up with.

So Madison went from this:

And this: (not so sure what was heartbreaking at this particular moment, but it always happens during a hair brushing session)

To this:


The cut was her choice. Something she wanted to do. The length, the style, the timing. It's not my fault Ben wasn't here to stop it. He's still not sure what to think, all he saw was a picture from phone to phone. She loves it!


She kept asking me questions about short hair( her in the shower enjoying the bliss of washing short hair for the first time).


"Mommy have you ever had your hair this short?"


Me: "Shorter"


Madison with wide eyes: "Really? How short?"


Me: "Spiky in the back short."


Madison: "Wow. Have you ever had it like this?"


Me: "Nope, never."

*Big 'ol grins all around*

Houston....We have a problem!

Why do I tackle huge jobs while my hubby isn't here to help? I still haven't figured this one out. I also haven't figured out how many times I called him this weekend to tell him that he owes me, big time.

So Madison is now using the bunk beds that I had growing up. For a while we had the beds separated, one in each kid's room. Madison begged and begged for bunk beds so we made it happen. Which left Ty on the floor with a mattress and very upset that he had no bed. Apparently, if your mattress is just laying on the floor then it hurts your back but if it's in a bed it would feel better, at least that's how it works according to my six year old.

Ty had been waiting, and waiting, and waiting, not so patiently for his new bed, for a few months now. Well, Ben and I decided it was time. So I took Ty out to look at beds and Ben said to let him pick out whatever bed he wanted. I called up my grandma and asked her if she was up for a road trip~She always is, especially where there is furniture shopping to be done, she's always looking for something. I piled the kids into car, all two of them, went to pick up Grandma, and we were on our way! We made the hour drive to The Old Cannery Furniture Store where Ty proceeded to go into hyper-drive! He zipped to and from one Bunk bed to the next. Climbing up one and then the next. He took advantage of the high ceilings and jumped on every top bunk possible. I'm sure I got crazy looks form all the other parents but Ty was having a blast. And I did tell him not to, a few times, and he listened for a little while each time. He had a favorite. But we piled back in the car and made a trip to Ikea, of course. And after briefly looking at all the bunk beds there we quickly realized they were no designed with my boy in mind. So once again, back to the car for a drive back to the Cannery. Once we had bought everything we had to get it in my Highlander. We've all seen the Ikea commercial with the cars stacked thirty feet high, now cram all of that in my car with one box on top and you've got what my car looked like. Wish I would have taken a picture of that one. Five boxes of bed, one mattress, one chair box plus our Ikea purchases.....little trinkets, bedding, and a carpet. I still can't believe I got it all in. The guy waiting at the loading door next to me, oddly enough, had bought the exact same bed and had to make two trips with his truck. I rock! (You should have seen under my bed after I had cleaned my room growing up)

Once I got home is when it got a little more tricky....... Houston.... HELP!!! I need help! We have a problem! By the way, did you know that 43 kgms actually weigh about 5 tons?

Once I got all the boxes upstairs it looked a little more like this in Ty's room. Not that I was out of the dark yet. I open up the box with the head and foot boards and there is a part! Fortunately, it was for the lower bed that is on casters once you assemble it so that you can roll it around the room as needed, or wanted. And after calling the store to make sure I could just take back the broken part instead of the whole box, I started assembling again. ~Side note: Even if they had WANTED all of the boxes to return one broken part I was ready to tell them them there was NO WAY I was bringing everything back downstairs and back into my car again! AND WE HAVE LIFT-OFF!!!!! Finally, mission complete! Ty is so loving his new bed. He loves the desk and started breaking in that part of it as so soon as it got into his room! He was very helpful in handing me hardware and tools. He couldn't stay out of the room. He even held things in place for me when I needed that third hand that I just can't seem to grow..... Here's a tip. If you're by yourself putting together a bunk bed, which I don't recommend, instead of putting everything together and then lifting the bed up there. Do what I did and built it in place. It's not as comfy but it's much lighter work! :)

We have already set a few ground rules...... No jumping on the top bunk, I don't want holes in my ceiling. Ty is very hard headed. And no swinging/hanging like a monkey, a snake, or a sloth or any other tree animal from the bed....

Ty even got to have his cousin Jaden over to help him break in the new bed! Oops, no braking! Bad choice of words!

Every stinkin' time.....

So, every morning I get out of bed and think of all the things I need to gather together before I leave the house. These are all things that I had thought of the night before and knew were coming down the pipe. The list running through my head this morning: kids clothes(already gathered and bagged last night), cell phone on charger, work keys and on bathroom counter, backpacks, lunch for me and friends in fridge, purse with everything in it, cd's the have all the pics needed for postings on the blog, and oh yeah, the kids. All of which are really important things....

So this morning, I thought I was golden, I got out of bed not too late for a bath, I hate showers, they leave me cold. I had the kids up and downstairs. I kept thinking to myself--don't forget the lunches, spaghetti with homemade meatballs, yummy!

Then at the last minute I asked the kids where their jackets were. Not on them, with them, or in their bags. So now that I have almost everything including the kids in the car I have to run inside and find jackets, of which they have plenty but they can never find any.... Let me remind you that all of this is happening from 5:00-5:20 in the morning and everyone knows I don't wake up until 8:30-9:00. So I run inside find jackets, put them in the bag and back my car with, no ice on it, out of the garage. I love parking in the garage! Once I'm three minutes down the road I remember that I forgot the lunches! There is always something....every stinkin' time!

So the kids are warm today and I have to wait a day for spaghetti, and let my friends know that I'm a space cadet.

Sorry Tiff, looks like it's Micky D's today.......................

What are the odds?

I have a soccer game tonight. My sports bra and all of the right color t-shirts are still in the washing machine from the load I started last night.

What are the odds that a laundry fairy moved them to the dryer while I was at work today?

Thankful Thursday

It's been a while since I've had a Thankful Thursday. I've been slacking, it's time to get back on track! Here's a clue as far as what I'm thankful for today. Any guesses?

Okay, for those of you not in the LDS world here's another clue:

Yup, you got it. Today I'm thankful for the scriptures. Particularly the Book of Mormon. In the past two months I've grown to appreciate the scriptures more than ever. All the studying that I did through seminary, all the teachings over my 26.5 years of growing up in the church and I've never known the scriptures like I do now. They have never been as much of a comfort in my life as they are now. They have never provided the insight like they do now. They have never been as meaningful as they are now. I have never turned to them as I do now. I had never read them daily as I do now. I have never loved them like I do now. I've always been a reader. I love to read in the bathtub. Usually the murder mystery, suspense, romance or a combination of all. I've found that the paperback I have sitting by my tub has been staying there. Part of me misses it. The bigger part of me keeps on picking up my Book of Mormon and reading that, in the bathtub, which in turn carries over to my bed snuggled up in my blanket. Where are the kids while I"m doing this you ask, running amok of course. No really, I usually try to get them to bed for my quiet time, I'm not always successful but I try....sometimes.

I've been reading sections of the Book of Mormon that I've read a hundred times and now they have meaning, in my everyday life, right now, today! It's amazing! I had heard about it happening but I had never experienced it. I have found myself pondering, re-reading, and crying too. I have been moved, touched, and comforted. I have realized that I was holding on to things that I should have been letting go, and it made it easier to do that. I have been calling my husband and reading him snippets that are so profound to me that I had surely skipped over so many times in the past.

At church we are taught that if we just read the scriptures, study the scriptures daily that we will be blessed. I can tell you that is so true! It has changed me, in a good way of course. I didn't take my scriptures with me to San Diego, and I missed them. I can tell you I never would have imagined the day that would happen but it did. I can tell you have developed a true love and desire for the scriptures, I turn to them every day and look forward to that time!

I had a Home Teacher prepare the following lesson once and share it with my family, I was about 16 but I have never forgotten it. (feel free to snag it and claim it for your own in your teaching endeavors)

He brought over some pieces of metal siding and some nails, enough for the four members of my family. He had us try to scratch in to the siding with the nails the most read scripture of the BoM. 1ts Nephi Ch1 Verse 1: "And I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents......" He had us substitute our own names for Nephi's. I tried really hard, barely made a dent in the piece of metal I had. Then he pointed out, if I went and buried that in my backyard, how long would it last before it started rusting away? How long would it be legible, probably not even a year...He then pointed out that the scriptures have been around for centuries, preserved for each and every one of us individually. If it had been that hard just scratching in that tiny bit, how hard must it have been for all of those prophets to put down verse after verse, and in most cases chapter after chapter? And then to keep them protected and in good shape? All of the effort put into the plates that held our church' s history, the teachings of Christ, the lessons to be learned. While the scriptures didn't always mean to me what they do know, I never forgot that lesson. It had a profound impact on me.

Okay enough preachy for one day, I'll let you all of the hook. And for those of you still with me after all that I have one more thing to be thankful for today:

Soccer. Get ready ladies, I'm ready to Run!

Breakfast

I love breakfast. Especially when it looks like this:

And you know it was good when it looks like this ten minutes later.

That or you work with a bunch of guys.

Thank you Tiffany!

Where to start?

How about with the airport.  SeaTac for the locals, or The Seattle-Tacoma Airport for you foreigners was crazy for a few days before our departure date.  There had been massive amounts of snow and many flights had been cancelled.  On the news they were showing stories of families that had been camping out days trying to get somewhere for the holidays.  While I was waiting in line at the customer service counter to make sure they added the miles to my newly created mileage plan the guy behind me asked, "So what's your story?"  I told him I was trying to get San Diego to see my husband for a visit.  He said that he was too and he had been waiting there for over a day.  I couldn't bare to tell him that I had been there a whole two hours. Fortunately the snow stopped just for me and we were able to fly out with no problems.  After take off, I got a whole new perspective of my cloudy home town.  The view from above the clouds.  I love how Mt. Rainier is just an island in the sea of clouds.

We went from this:

To this:

I know, I know, it's heart breaking isn't it.  I was in Heaven!  After having been huffing kids around in 25 degree weather I was more than happy to relax in 60 degrees with sunsets like that! 

Well, I have to run for a kid free girls night out!  I'll have to pick back up in San Diego later!

Best thing about vacations:

All of the great stuff to post on your blog!  Be ready for the good stuff!  We did so many things.  We went to Sea World, Legoland, and the San Diego Zoo.  Then there was the drive up to Universal Studios and dinner at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.  We played on the beach, at the pool, and in Ben's condo. His temporary condo.  Ben and I surfed, the kids ran, ran,ran and we ate, ate,ate.  Oh wait, that was me.  I should have enough ammo to keep you all busy reading for a while!  So visit often and stay as long as you like!

Congrat's Mindi!

Mindi has an anniversary coming up this month and if you "clickity" here you can get in on her super fantastic celebration give away!

Update

Just to let you guys know: The mailbox. Still standing, undented, and perfectly straight. Like it had never jumped out to attack me at all. Apparently I'm not the only one to put a hit out on the darn thing. Jenae, my friend/babysitter, told me yesterday, that her husband had tried with their boat and was also unsuccessful. Other members on the list of unsuccessful: rowdy teenagers and snow plows. So I guess bigger and meaner have tried so I shouldn't feel bad at my attempt, oh yeah, except for my poor baby needs to go have some body work done, the estimate--just under $2,500 OUCH! Thank goodness for insurance and deductibles.

My Horribly Cascading Morning.

I should have stayed in bed. I really should have stayed in bed.

I woke up bathed, got dressed and realized that my khakis had been laundered with my deep blue jeans, they weren't khaki any more, they we streaky. That wasn't a huge problem, I'd had them for a long time, but I had always loved them....oh well.

Now on to my favorite pair of black heels. One I changed my pants, I needed different shoes to wear. I grabbed my fav pair of heels. Only after putting them on did I remember that I need to send them to the shoe doctor. The right one makes this little clicking noise where the heel is attached to the shoe every time I step or even shift weight to my right foot. I'm so upset!

Then when I got to the babysitters I realized that I had forgotten backpacks.

It was on my way from the babysitters my morning got really lovely! Pulling out of her driveway I was a little too close to her mailbox. And my car happened to give it a kiss on the way out! Aaahhhhhh!!!!

When I got in the car first thing this morning I noticed that I was also in desperate need of gas. The computer in my car said I had 11 miles left and I'm about 8 from the gas station in a direct route but I also had the kids to drop off before I got there. After I had scratched my car like a tiger on steroids would a scratching post would I looked in my wallet. No cash. It was at home in the pants I had worn yesterday. I looked at my cards, one debit card that I had been having problems running through machines, but thank goodness there was my back up debit card that I'm not supposed to use except for rare exceptions. That one had expired, 12/08-- staring right back at me. The replacement card, at home on the counter, where I wouldn't be able to reach it and get back to the station with out a serious risk of running out of gas. One last look in my purse and I find my checkbook, who uses checks at stores anymore when your debit card comes right out? Me. I was desperate. And fortunately they did take checks :) Although, the ink did run out for the check processing thingy and she had to keep my check instead of giving it to me as a receipt. big deal. Then she lets out the whopper. She informed that I would have to back track a little and then go to work the long round about way that tacks on an extra 15 minutes to my already late morning, since they had closed the road to due flooding and a landslide from all the snow and then rain we have gotten here.


UUGGGHHHH!!!!!! Seriously! What more can we add to my day! Here it is....While my car was filling up I went to go inspect the mailbox damage. Up to this point I had no idea how bad the scratch may or may not have been. I walked around to the passenger side and was horrified! So I ended up running from the passenger side handle clear back to the tail light leaving a lovely 1/16-1/8 inch gash down the side of my car. And it wasn't just clear coat. I ran my finger over a section of it and came up with white flakes that used to be clear coat and red flecks where my pretty paint used to be on the car 8( I even saw primer in some spots. I'm not sure if there's a crease yet of if it's just the groove where the paint is lacking. It looks horrible! I'm running up to my Daddy's (yes I said Daddy, loudly and proudly) auto body shop of choice today after work for an estimate. Fortunately, I have full coverage on the car, since we are after all still making payments, and at most it will only be 500 buck-a-roonies out of my pocket. The reason I say "only" is because I'm sure the estimate will be higher.

Once I was finally underway again I called my boss to let him know I would be late. Which means I would have to work through lunch. Which means day 2 of no lunch!

The final topper, the crowning moment........ Tiffany is at home sick today :( Get better soon, I NEED you! My day just doesn't work right if you're not downstairs, especially the rough ones!

Out of the mouths of babes....

Tyler loves Christmas carols, he sings them year round. Jingle Bells is his favorite. Feliz Navidad is way up there too. But his version of the Twelve Days of Christmas had me rolling! It went something like this:

......Two calling birds and a Pirate in a Pear Tree......

Maybe he was inspired by this guy......

Or maybe this one.......I actually this one is a little scarrier than the first one!

(Don't you love Google?)

A pirate in a pear tree? I couldn't help but start rolling. later it morphed again into "a pie ridge in a pear tree" A pie ridge? Maybe he has a longing for baked goods... Along with that, apparently they were learning all sorts of holiday songs in school and Ty didn't exactly keep them all straight. Did you know that the songs are actually The Eight Days of Christmas and The Twelve Days of Hanukkah? I do have to admit I was really happy for the mix up when Tyler talked Ben into singing The Eight Days of Christmas over and over and over and over again in the car on our way to dinner one night. I didn't know that a 15 minute drive could last so long, but I was happy the song was a least a little shorter, and there's always that pirate sitting up in that tree to laugh at....

What do you want to be when you grow up......

When I asked my kids this one they came up with a couple of great answers.....


Madison: I want to be a librarian.

Me: Why?

Madison: Because I love books.

A girl after my own heart. Wait, she already has it, has now for a little over eight years....



Tyler: I want to be an artist, but I'm not waiting, I'm starting now.


Be forewarned, I'm might be having to put some of my son's art work up for auction soon, that way one of you may be able to boast that you own Tyler original from his early years......That and every one knows the artist starting out needs help financially, why not start his cushion now?

What happened to Sportsmanship?!?! Here's my rant!

Bare with me......

I love sports. I love to watch sports. I love to coach sports. But anyone who knows me that I love to play sports the most. I am a very competitive person, VERY competitive. but I don't mind losing, does that make sense? Here's how I see it.... It's a game, there will be a winner, there will be a loser, in the case of soccer occasionally there will be a tie. Here's the thing, just because you don't win doesn't mean you didn't play a great game. You can't, and won't, win every game you play but you should try to have fun when you are playing, THAT is what it is all about!

It is so not about the score but about how I did. I'm a team player, don't get me wrong, I know that I can't do all of it by myself and I know that I am far from the best in any of the sports I enjoy playing but I like to see self improvement. I can walk off a field having lost a soccer game but I'm already looking at the positive ways that I contributed. Maybe I did really great at looking for the passing routes that day. Or maybe it was that I had some great take aways. Maybe I didn't score but hey, I had some great shots. I also have days where it's hard to not think about the negative aspects of my play. Maybe I just got burned over and over by the same girl who was just way faster and more skilled than I am. maybe I just took a big 'ol swing at the ball and didn't even connect, repeatedly (I do that alot sometimes). maybe I didn't stay on my toes enough and got faked out one to many times. There are days that I have rough games, that is to be expected.

What I don't expect is what I encountered last night. My sis-in-laws, from here and forever more referred to as sisters 'cause that's what they are to me, Kim and Sarah asked me to come help on their "C" level soccer team. Now let me explain. Where we play there are three levels of play "A", "B", &"C". I usually play on a "B" level team. I can still play on a "C" level since I never had the opportunity to play Varsity in high school, or any level in college. A "C" team is a recreational team. For people who are interested in playing but maybe don't have the knowledge or haven't developed all the skills to prosper in a higher level of completion. It is a learning platform and should be a fun growing environment!!!!!!!!! Last night the team we played was RIDICULOUS! They were very aggressive, which is fine, completion is a good thing. They took it a too many steps too far! Now when I play on my "B" level team, there is usually a gal or two that are rather physically aggressive. I usually have fun with it, I may get a little upset, but I don't mind a little fury fueling my fire....... There were a couple factors that contributed to last night's game, we didn't have an official ref until the last 6 minutes of the game, that was biggest contributor! They kid (yes, I'm old enough to call someone a kid) who was working the desk came down to ref our game 15 minutes after the game was supposed to start. From the very start he didn't call very much as far as body checking goes and the other team instantly picked up on that and went for blood. Now my sisters's team is mostly made up of women who have never played soccer before, they have one gal who has experience and then I was there. For the most part there are mothers of children who play soccer who want to have a little fun of their own. Back to the other team. Their entire team was elbowing, hip checking, and tripping. they won the game 10-0 and NEVER let up, not once. I may have gotten a little vocal, little snippets here and there when I felt it was necessary, and I am typically not a talker, I let my actions speak. I also stopped saying "Sorry" about ten minutes in when maybe I hit someone a little hard. I may have not tried to not hit someone particularly hard, more than once. But when one of the other women grabbed my arm and tried to trip me, that was too much! I swiped her foot out from under her put her on her butt and then ended up tripping over her feet. When the whistle blew, they gave her the penalty and me the ball, Sweet Justice! I even enjoyed it, probably a little too much. Let me clarify, I can't play trying to hurt someone, but if they don't care how hard they're hitting some woman who has never played before when they're up 5-0, 6-0, 7-0, 8-0, 9-0, and 10-0, I'm NOT going to hold back. And yes, I took some satisfaction in the fact that more than a couple of their team was limping at the end of the game, but our team had a broken finger and a very visible, angry cleat mark above the knee, and none of that was on me...... Now tell me, should that really happen in a rec league? And to add even more furry to my already burning flames, after the game, FIVE of their players had the nerve to not come out and shake hands afterwards!!!!!! I have NEVER seen anything that pathetic!! If anything the women I had been playing with had the right to snub the other team, but not a single one of them did. I was so proud of them and told them so. I know that for the most part they weren't as frustrated as I was, and I have to give them credit for not lowering their standards to match the other team. They played a good clean game and enjoyed themselves, even though they lost. They went out to play soccer and have a good time with friends and they accomplished their mission! That is what it is all about.

Now for the other team, I would LOVE to take them on with my "B" team and show them what it's like when they try to mess with someone that can defend themselves. (not that you guys can't, Kim and Sarah, but the rest of your team is too sweet) I did enjoy Kim and Sarah out there taking shots and dishing them out, I was totally impressed. But Parri, Misty, Wendy, Paije, Nikki, we would have so much fun! Who knows, maybe sometime they'll bump this other team up to the "B" level so I can play some more!

I'm Home! Almost....

So I just got done spending a not so sunny, mild Christmas in San Diego. I went down to visit my hubby and was there for almost two weeks. I took the kids down and I do have to say, I LOVE VIRGIN AMERICA!!!!! Yup, that's who we flew with this trip and I can't see us flying anything else for a while.... It was definitely life saving, at least for my kids, they did survive the trip after all. This is what I saw when I got on the plane, this is what had my kids happy and occupied the flights down and back (there were a total of four, we had a connecting flight in SanFran down and back.), this is what saved what little sanity I had left.....

There were games to play, music to listen to, and TV to watch. The kids didn't even touch 3/4 of the things I packed for them... I have to admit that even I took advantage of the Red system as they call it. Why not when you have a bunch of different artists to choose from to listen to as I read my book while my children somewhat calmly played/watched games or shows of their choice.

This is where my husband is staying while he's working down in SD. It called Coronado Shores, it's actually a bunch of condos but the government contracts through a rental agency to rent empty units that are either on the market or the owners just are hanging at their other homestead for a while(because everyone there has more than one home). He has stayed there once before and we went down to visit him that time as well......

Our view on Christmas morning, it wasn't the sunniest trip to California I've ever had but it is the winter season.....The fog usually burned off by ten or so.

Yeah, can you blame me for not wanting to get in on that action! It was really nice having the beach right there to go play on. Ben got me a wet suit and rented a second board so that we could go out and surf. At one point, there was a seal swimming between us, it was so amazing to watch. It's times like that you just have to sit back and enjoy!

Like I said I'm almost home, I'm snowed out of my house right now so I've spent the past two nights at my Grandmas houses, yes that's plural, one night at each Grandma's place, the kids have loved it, so have my grandparents. I do promise to get some pictures of the trip up once I get back to my computer.......