Soccer days

Lea started soccer and well it's been less than uneventful. Last year I mentioned she could play soccer after t-ball was over and it brought on much tears and "I don't want to play soccer". Well, she was a little more excited the closer signups came for soccer and the idea of having more pink sports equipment - poor Lucas with all those girlie hand-me-downs.... :) She was especially happy to know her friend Brisa was going to play and wanted to play on the same team. So off we went to our first practice with Coach Jeff (this one is Brisa's dad and Bishop of our last ward) and Alexis as the assistant coach. Well, that was fun and she had a great time being a "truck", "revving her engines" and follow the FUNdamentals that Jeff had prepared for them. Practice #2 was great as well. Team name: Greased Lightning and Coach Jeff calls the kids Lightning Bolts.

Running laps - Ethan (in the blue) played t-ball with Lea.

Then came Saturday - game day...... Not so happy Lea showed up and refused to get ready or even get out of the car at the game. After much tears, bribing, threatening by me and Jeff (the occasional threat from Lucas repeating us), she finally got out of the car and we made it to the field. We'd already missed the first 10 mintues (which is one period). They play 3 - 10 minute periods of 4 on 4.

She refused to play, go near the team, or put on her shinguards and new uniform. Ironically her shirt says JOY. :)
And don't think I'm so horrible for taking pictures. Don't you look back on difficult days and wish you'd taken pictures to remember and share the memories? I do. I wish I had taken Lea's picture when we were "enjoying" head lice - although that memory is burned in our brains for a very long time - lesson learned. :) We finally got her in the uniform and turned her over to Coach Jeff - we were out of patience and Coach Jeff has so much more.... thank you!!! :)

She's at least on the field - although not too interested in moving....

We're moving and may even crack a smile. We'll see.
NOPE. Not so much. She was running and randomly looked our way and this was the face we got as she ran off the field. Lea informed me she hit heads with another player. After a brief pep-talk from daddy Jeff, she went back and had a great time. Luckily our friends were there to cheer her and that was way better than her parents cheering her on. :) She loves Miss Becky (former preschool teacher) and Miss Erin (Ethan's mom). She glared at Coach Geoff (Ethan's dad) for trying to make her smile.

Ethan just scored a goal and Lea is all smiles too.

Worn out from running all over the field. YEAH! She was so happy after the game - had treats and was loving soccer!!!!

Lea-isms

Last night Lea woke up around 11 and Jeff (being so tightly whipped), let her stay up and snuggle next to him on the couch. They were discussing random things and up came the topic of bacon. Jeff teases Lea that she loves bacon, smells like bacon, etc (Jeff loves bacon so it's not a bad thing to smell like bacon). Anyway, Lea said "I like bacon." Jeff - "oh really?"
"Yeah, before I didn't like bacon. I was fakin' bacon." :) "I didn't like bacon when I was 3." (A lot of things happened when she was 3.....)

Winter poem

Found this beautiful winter poem and thought it might be a comfort to you.

' WINTER '

by Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre

Crap....It's Cold

The End

Happy New Year! - pictures added

Happy New Year! We had a short party New Year's eve, put the kids to bed early (we celebrated on NY time) and watched movies until 2 am. I wasn't sure we could make it, but we did! Wahoo! :) Why is it when I want to stay up, I can't. And when I'd like to go to bed early, I find myself procrastinating by browsing blogs and facebook....... oh well. Here's to 2009! :)

Christmas Letter - 2008

We're going "green" this year with our Christmas letter. :) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Risenmay Update: catching up after 7 ½ years…….better late than never……This year has been really busy for us. Jeff has worked more hours than ever before (often going days without seeing the kids awake) since working for Deloitte – going on 5 years. Despite his unusual work load, we’ve managed to have a lot of fun this year.

Lea is 5 and growing up so fast. I think Kindergarten has aged her more. She has a great teacher – Mrs. Gardner, whom she loves dearly. Lea can read just about anything and loves to learn. She’s always reading, writing or coloring something. She loves everything Princess and Tinkerbell and enjoys playing dress-up. She has an incredible memory, very sweet and sensitive, and is always thinking of others. She’s a wonderful big sister and is so happy to share her room with her baby sister Abbey (more on her later). She enjoyed t-ball with Jeff - Go Blue Dinos! She’s daddy’s little girl. We’re trying to get her to play soccer starting January – we’ll see how that goes.

Lucas (2) is well……all boy (aka Little Jeff). He amazes us with his endless amounts of energy, fearlessness and his powerful throwing arm. He’s as feisty as his hair is red. He always has his hat and his shoes on – it’s the first thing he looks for when he wakes up. He’s daddy’s little buddy and can win Jeff over by asking to watch “daddy football”. Although rough and tumble – he is very sweet, loves to snuggle and help clean up. He gets lots of mom time while Lea is in school. His favorite thing to do is go to the stores in the morning and get free samples. He wants to go, go, go, but don’t you dare miss a nap because it’s all over after that. As long as he’s fed, well rested, has a remote control and his cars – he’s great!

Abbey was born on May 26th this year. She is sweet, loveable and happy as can be – except for when I leave the room….. She’s very close to crawling, but is content with steamrolling her way around a room to find toys. She loves it when Lea and Lucas play peek-a-boo – she finds them incredibly funny. I love to hear her laugh. Another possible red-head in the family – still waiting for her hair to grow in more.

Jeff (el Jefe) turned the big 3-0 this year. Aside from work, he stays busy with church as Stake Clerk. He hiked 22 miles across the Grand Canyon from rim to rim in late September and completed his first Triathlon in October. His latest hobby is playing Xbox Live with his brothers in Utah and Idaho. (Fine with me, I get dizzy trying to follow along and it’s hard to play together with only one controller). He also helped coach Lea’s t-ball team.

Me (domestic goddess – 29, yes I really am 29 this year) I keep busy running the house as Jeff is gone a lot. So I’ve (don’t fall over) done a lot of yard work and yes I do clean. For fun though, I get a chance to play volleyball and basketball during the week with other women in our stake. Our kids enjoy it and it’s a great opportunity for me to exercise and socialize. Other fun hobbies include: scrapbooking, couponing, canning, painting the inside of our house – I would suggest one room at a time. A good stopping point would not be the middle of the kitchen……

More family adventures: My parents and niece (Shayla) came when Abbey was born; in-laws came; many trips to the water parks; road trip to Washington, Idaho and Utah; And to top it off: one case of headlice and strep throat for Lea - courtesy of Kindergarten and Primary.

Christmas 2008

We were all sick (with colds) the week and days leading up to Christmas. We were lucky enough to enjoy the holiday with minimal stress and enjoy being together in our sicknesses and quality time. :)

We had a slow start which I so don't mind - not a morning person. The kids didn't even run into the living room to see if there were any presents. They came into us and we turned on a Christmas movie from the Disney channel while I made blueberry muffins. We ate breakfast, read the Christmas story with puppets (missed it the night before - stayed up too late) and then headed for the tree and presents. The kids had a great time and while they were excited to see what their own presents were - they were more excited to watch each other open gifts. Merry Christmas!

Lea getting ready to climb the ladder to put the star up with Jeff.

New pjs from Grandma & Grandpa Sorensen: Tink, Dark Knight and Abby Cadabby. Lea and Lucas insisted they be called Batman and Tink.

Abbey's favorite place - under the tree to reach the branches.

Abbey's first dolly. Lea wanted to give Abbey one of her dolls as a present. :) Very sweet - so we wrapped it up and gave it to Abbers. Lea was very excited to see her open the box.

Jeff purchased what he thought was Rock Camp (it's actually Camp Rock - Jeff is not up on his Disney Channel movies....) nail polish kit only to find out it's actually HSM3. He bought it specifically for Lea so he could paint her nails. What a sweet daddy.

The scooters - wahoo! Lea has been asking for one for a couple months now. :) It's been under her bed since Black Friday.