VICTORY

Sean's first touchdown.....I missed the winning one because I was too busy running along the sideline yelling at him to run!

What a way to start off our football season today. Sean's team is called the Woods Cross Gremlins which consist of 8 and 9 year olds and 10 year olds if you weigh 61lbs or less. Which is why Sean get to play on that team. He was 61 pounds exactly.

Our game started off at 9:00 sharp and ended at 11:30. Yes, you are reading that correctly. Our one hour game went into 4 overtimes. Those boys played their hearts out and it paid off in the long run. Sean scored one touchdown prior to overtime but the exciting part is he scored the winning touchdown in the 4th overtime!!!! I swear I was my mom made all over again yelling. I am now starting to understand the pride and support my parents use to give us and all the sacrifices they made so we could participate in sports. I guess some things you really don't appreciate until you walk in their shoes and Pat and I were beaming from ear to ear today.

We are so excited for him and so proud of the whole team. Sean played the entire game except for 3 plays. I have never seen him this exhausted. He gave it everything he had and wow---what an ending and an beginning to our season.
I am not sure I can handle many more games like that. I love the excitment but it makes me a nervous wreck.

Go Gremlins! #14 Rocks!

PS on a different note....Colby is doing much better and actually went to school for a little bit on Friday.

What a "sick" week for us

Born to be wild....these shirts could not be more perfect for the two of them these days!

Well we've had a tough week for our family....in particular Colby. Colby has missed his whole first week of school due to some kind of intestinal virus. He started running a fever Monday morning as were getting him ready for school and we ended up in the Doctor's office that day. He managed to throw up twice on Monday and each time he was in a different car seat which meant me having to take them both apart, wash everything and then figure out how to get them all back together...harder than flying a blackhawk. Since Monday he has run a fever up to 104.4 pretty much all week. We've had him on Motrin and Tylenol every three hours all week to include all night. His fever was still up around 104 yesterday so I took him back to the doctor and really nothing had changed. His ears and new tubes look great, STREP test came back negative, and nothing else the Dr. could pin point except some sort of virus that has to run its course. What a sick little boy he has been. The good part is we think his fever might have broken today. I am actually working at the Reserve Center today so he has been with Pat and so far things are around normal. He ran a fever all night but today things are looking brighter for him. I just hope and pray that Austin does not get it now. We have sent him to school everyday just so Colby can rest and to try and keep Austin away from it. Austin has done great without Colby each day. All the other little kids have been asking where Colby is and they miss him.
Yes, I know Colby is not going to appreciate this picture being on the blog but it was just to cute.

On a positive note.....Tuesday was Lyndsey's 17th Birthday. She is Pat's oldest daughter and not around very much at all. In fact we only see her about a total of 2-3hrs a year. Yes, you read that right and she lives with her Mom about 1.2 miles away. Last week Pat talked with her and invited her to dinner on Tuesday for her birthday. She said she would like to come over but as most of you know we wondered if she would show. Much to our surprise she did and we had a great time. I cooked a spaghetti dinner and we had cake and presents. Since Colby was home with me I didn't have a lot of time to do a cake but wanted to make sure Lyndsey had one so he helped me decorate it. Natalie and Sean were there to help celebrate as well but not at the support or encouragement of their mother. She tried since last week to find a way or reason to spoil the whole night and not have the kids with us. Luckily, Lyndsey stuck to what she wanted to do and spent from 3-9pm with us. It was really nice to have her over and I hope she'll come more often and get to know her brothers whom she's only seen about 3-4 since they were born.

Natalie and Sean are adjusting very well to school. For those that are wondering, Natalie went with the hot pink tennis shoes for the first day. Sean has his first season football game this Saturday at 9:00 in West Jordan, actually over close to where we used to live. He's very excited and we are very excited for him.

Natalie is getting geared up for cheer leading. They do not play JR. football in Utah so she will start cheering at the volleyball games. She's excited about that and also her publications/yearbook class she is taking this year. We have back to school night this week for Sean and also for Colby and Austin. The day I am looking forward to is parent report card night at the Montessori school. Wonder what kind of report they'll get. The teachers love them and the boys love their teachers but Austin is NEVER quiet. In fact he told me this morning "I be quiet....no" His new nickname is Rainman. I have never heard a kid talk so much and about nothing most of the time. He is also my singer. He loves to yell/sing his ABCs and Old McDonald. The bad part is Old McDonald only has a cow on his farm! YIKES!

Pat and I are doing great. We are just trying to keep up with all the kids and their activities so if my blogging seems to slow down just know we are thinking about you but going in about 100 different directions.

Just as I was getting ready to post this Colby started running a fever again so he is back on Motrin and in fact he even asked for it. Guess we are not back to 100% yet.

Where has the summer gone?

I can't believe our summer is coming to a close. Natalie and Sean are trying to savor their last days before heading off to 9th and 5th grade on Monday. Natalie's big decision is what to wear and it's all based off which pair of shoes. Sean on the other hand is just ready.

Colby and Austin start their first official day of pre-school on Monday as well. They have technically been in the summer program all summer and now it's time for school. I am actually very glad we started them in July because it has let them adjust in a more relaxed and fun atmosphere. We got the parents' newsletter this week and in the letter it reminded parents about the uniform. I was shocked to find out they have to wear uniforms at the age of 2. Because actual school uniforms are too hard to find in their size they just have to wear clothes that are navy blue, white and tan and all solid colors with no designs, logos etc. First of all I would not dare to send two year olds in white to school....there is not enough bleach in Utah for that. I already send them in the darkest colors because everything is so dirty at the end of the day when they've had snacks, lunch and recess twice in the sand box. I actually did 3 of my volunteer hours at the school this week and I was constantly walking around with Kleenex and paper towels. They have a really great class though and both boys love their teacher.

Colby is doing great after his ear surgery. The actual procedure only lasted maybe 15-20 minutes then he was in recovery. That was a whole different story. I swear he was possessed. He tried to hit, pinch, kick anyone who tried to touch him, talk to him or even look at him. Normally they like for the kids to drink something before they let you go but for us they just said we could go. Once we got home he slept for 3 hrs and woke up asking for chicken nuggets and french fries. He was back to his sweet little self at that point. We'll go back for a check up in 4 weeks and do another hearing test at that time as well. Hopefully with better results than the last one he failed.

Let's see what's new with the boys. They are both singing their ABCs, Jesus Loves Me, Twinkle Twinkle, Wheels on the bus, Baby Bumble Bee and they can say their blessing and nightly prayers. They can count in English and Spanish to 10 and are learning the continents. They are pretty good with colors though both say purple a lot for some reason. They are both getting very curious about the "big boy potty" so I think we are headed down the path of potty training very soon, which means I need to get out my toddler parenting book or if anyone has any advice...I'll take it. I did let them both sit on the potty before getting into the bath tub and Colby actually peed. He was so proud of himself. The big reward is getting to flush....the small things that mean so much to a kid.

For now we are just going to enjoy our last couple of fun days with the kids and send them on Monday to start a new year of memories. They just grow up too fast.

Sean had his first pre-season game on Saturday and he was awesome. He scored a touchdown and it was one he had to work for...meaning he had to out run the other guys which he did with ease. Pat is one of the coaches and he was gleaming from ear to ear. I was yelling in the end zone, for those of you that knew my Mom when we were in sports, well like Mother like Daugther. We start the season this Saturday and he'll play every Saturday at 9:00.

Me and the Boys!

Well I survived my first day without Alexa and the boys and I actually had a really fun day. The boys got a visit from Heather and Nathan yesterday , and were very happy to see both of them, especially since they brought McDonalds! Sean had his Punt, Pass and Kick in the morning and did really well. He is really standing out this year in practice and has made the "A" team for the second year in a row out of about 100 kids...I'm very proud of him. We are getting really excited about football season, at all levels, and even the boys are getting into the swing of things. Today I went into Sean's room and Austin was in there putting on Sean's football helmet and trying to figure out how to put on his shoulder pads so I decided to help him out a little bit and capture the moment!

Just a few snapshots

Things are definitely picking up around our house this month. The boys are really doing well at school. When we picked them up yesterday they each had a piece of fabric with snaps and each were learning how to snap and unsnap. They also have pieces of fabric with buttons, strings to tie etc. They were so proud of themselves.



Sean started football practice this week and could not wait to get his pads on for full contact...that was yesterday. He did so well! Pat and I were very impressed with a couple of his hits. In fact after several run thrus the other kids didn't want to go up against Sean. This is nothing like he has played the last two years so we are glad to see him learning that if he hits first or harder it won't hurt him as bad. There are 97 kids in his league and so there will be 5 teams and we are hoping he makes the A Team again this year. I have never seen him so excited to play and of course that gets Pat even more excited. Pat will be one of the coaches because they have to have 5 per team so 25 total and as of the first day of practice they had 5.


I had to take Austin to the doctor today as the school called around 2:30 saying he had been crying, was running a fever and complained about his ear. He just finished one round of medicine about 3 weeks ago but we are back on it again. Colby is still scheduled to get tubes in his ears on the 18th and we may be headed that way with Austin. I asked today how many trips I have to make in a month to get my own parking space...they laughed.








I am still leaving on Saturday morning at 6:00 with my Army Reserve unit for Fort Carson, Colorado. I sure wish I was looking forward to it but I am NOT. I am having a hard time thinking about being away from the boys and Pat for 2 weeks. I thought one night was bad but this may do me in. I will be back on the 15th and believe me I have it marked on my calendar. So in your spare time you might say a little prayer for all of us over the next two weeks.



I have all the faith in Pat but he can't be their Mom and I hate I won't be there though I will say it might be nice to sleep through the night. Austin and I still have a date every night between 1:30-2:00. In fact I woke up last night and thought oh maybe he'll keep sleeping but at 1:56 he started crying. I think some of it last night was he didn't feel well.



As you can see the boys love bath time. It's good thing because they have to have one every day now. I've never seen two little boys so dirty after school. They always leave a layer of sand in the bottom of the tub for me to clean up too. After bath time is relax time and they are very specific about their places and pillows. In fact Colby kicked Natalie off the couch because she had "his" pillow and his place on the couch. The boys tickle me everyday with something new and I just want to put them on pause for the next two weeks. If only we could.

Tragedy for Buddy

For those of you that have had the privilege of meeting Buddy (purple is Colby's) we had a terrible tragedy on Thursday night. As Pat walked into the kitchen he held up Buddy's head and asked where the rest of Buddy was. I went in search of the rest of Buddy only to find Colby cuddling up with him. The good part is Colby didn't realize his head was gone. The next morning I was on a mission to find an alterations place to perform minor surgery. Thank goodness I found a lady that would take care of it in time for me to get it to the Montessori School prior to nap time.

The boys are doing well at Montessori school. Austin still cries in the morning but it doesn't seem to last long after I leave so they say. He is always very HAPPY to see us in the afternoon. Colby is quite the social butterfly. He hardly knows we leave and it always playing when we pick them up. Today when we picked them up they had a map of the world laying on the floor and the teacher was singing a song about the continents and Austin was told to point to North America and he did. Then of course Colby had to show us he knew where North America was too. I am so proud of them.

They are both singing their ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and most of Jesus Love me. We say our prayers every night and here are a few pictures I tried to snap. Colby is still my GREAT sleeper but Austin still tends to wake every night between 1:00 and 1:30. It's like clockwork.

We took the boys to the Children's Museum and the they had a great time exploring and playing in the water. They LOVE the water no matter where it is. They weren't too fond of the play horse but loved the old play cars and truck. The best toy by far was the helE-copter as Austin was say. "I love it". Who knows maybe he'll follow in his Mommy and Daddy's footsteps one day.





Our family had a very nice 4th of July though it was much different than the past years. We missed being at my Dad's in Arkansas with all the rest of the family. We had some friends over and just did some grilling, playing, visiting and fireworks. On July 3rd we watched the North Salt Lake fireworks with some friends and it was quite a show....almost as good as the one David did for us last year at Horseshoe. The boys stayed home with Natalie as it was past bedtime and they aren't very good when they are overtired and out in public.


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I am still going with my Army Reserve unit on Aug 2-15th for our annual training. We have changed locations from Utah to Fort Carson,Colorado. It will be a very interesting two weeks with not only a brand new unit but also being away from the boys. I know Pat will do great but he'll have his hands full and he won't have Natalie and Sean to help entertain the boys either. I'm sure we'll all be fine but none of us are looking forward to it.

Colby is due to have surgery to have tube put in his ear on the 18th of August. We won't know what time until the day before because they schedule surgery time according to age of the kids. Hopefully with him only being 2 he'll be one of the first on the schedule. He is really talking a lot more these days and I think it will be even better once he has the tubes.