SOCCER!

 Backyardigans has a really cute episode about 'Soccer Monsters' - pass, shoot, score! Anywho, I love, love, LOVE, playing soccer - still do. I have a hard time standing on the sideline - really would love to play with them. :) This is our first year with 3! kids in the league and all in different age groups - gets a little tricky with practices and games. Luckily we have friends on each team and some with siblings on 2 teams.

Abbey: Orange Stars

Lucas: Green Lions

Lea: Blue Tornadoes

 a little coaching from Dad on goalie skills - this is Luke's first go round with a goalie. Last year his age group played 'no goalie'.

 As much as he enjoyed goalie (except when the other team scored on him), he loves to run the length of the field and try to score a goal. His team has most of the team from last year with Estabon's dad and grandpa coaching again. I love that they want to coach and wanted to keep the team together. Fun for everyone involved.

Abbey's first year - to say she's excited is a huge understatement - this girl is tha-rilled! to finally be playing. She listens intently to Coach Hoyt and has endless amounts of energy on the field.

 probably a good thing she couldn't see behind her to see that massive group of kids following her - haha

  check out the celebration after her team scores a goal (she actually scored this one, but honestly she celebrates like this after every goal).

 then she runs back to mid-field to give Coach a high five!

 shoe fell off as she tried to kick the ball

 Lea is giving her water while Jeff fixes her shoe - quite the treatment

 this is another picture - I seriously love how she runs back every time - her new friend Ethan is right behind her.

 a high-five for Dad

 her bff Drew :)

Lea - I only have 3 pictures of her - 1 she's actually playing soccer. I get too into her games to take pictures and they play on a bigger field.

 Kadyn and Lea (Kadyn's younger sister plays on Lucas' team - these are the friends we get to hang out with all the time - we love the Ellison family)

 So here's Lea and her good friend Brisa - they move in synch with each other.

Now here are the younger sisters on opposite teams. Every picture I have from this game - these 2 are in the center going after the ball. LOVE it!

Sara and Abbey

We've been cheering along side the Porters since Lea and Brisa were 4 years old.

We enjoy soccer - it wouldn't be the same without our friends to play and cheer together.

I forgot to add Mo: he runs crazy on the sidelines hoping he'll be called up for the big leagues and play with the 4-5 year olds. :)

 SOCCER!!!!

Fall Break

Aside from school schedules we stayed the course of the stay-at-home schedule. We played at the church with volleyball and basketball friends Mon/Tues. Wed/Thurs - can't remember, but Friday was so much fun! We went the Haynies to play all day. I had only planned on staying until early afternoon, but when I got around to looking to go, it was already 3 pm! Oh well. We played with new friends and long-time friends.

The big kids played Risk

Sadie and Scott are Ammon and Abbey's best buds from volleyball and basketball group.

The littler ones enjoyed the pool - it was a little chilly at first, but the sun warmed us right up and encouraged us to get in.

These 2 made me so nervous - this rock is at the deep end and they came so close to the edge so many times...ugh.

For dessert Suzette let Lea help make no-bakes. Suzette came out later to ask what I wanted since I can't eat the no-bakes (peanut butter and oats are not my friends) but I had already eaten one - they're just so dang good! She asked if I wanted ice cream, I had already eaten and Abbey piped up she wanted some. After trying to explain why I would get ice cream and noone else, she gave in and 'smuggled Abbey a spoon full of vanilla. She made my Abbey (she has an Abbie) feel pretty special. :)

Kaitlyn waiting patiently for an unsuspecting target......

Sarah, Mary and a Wagner girl - a new family we met that day. An older sibling of hers hiked the Grand Cayon with Jeff and Steven. Jeff and I find that we know a lot of the same families just not the same members of that family and don't realize we already know said family.

Amy and Lea (synchronized? jumping)

just like that - fall break is all gone. Thanks Haynies!

Yard work = hard work?

 It's October....time to plant 'winter grass' and actually enjoy being outside without having to be in the water - maybe. We sucked it up and rented a roto-tiller? something to loosen up the ground in order to help the new seed to grow. That in itself was an adventure. Driving home with the a/c not working and 15 bags of manure was another - ew. We get it home, Jeff tries to use it - ground is too hard and the machine only grinds up the weeds on top. So we turn on the sprinklers to soak in - the kids put on the swim suits and out they go. Each one finding something else to do - their personalities shining right through.

 the concentration. Turns out when it rains alot, then the ground gets dried out by the HOT AZ sun, you get a sink hole. This one is righ under the swings - great. Lucas thought it was a great idea and wanted to dig a hole to China......good luck. After a while he settled for trying to fill it up with water - again, good luck. The water was absorbing through the dirt and running out the drainage of the back wall. So a mud pit he sat in and had a great time.

 that's a guilty face if I've ever seen one.......

 Abbey was busy creating lunch - hungry?? Socks anyone?

 Lea was ridiculously dirty - haha!

 Finally the ground was soft enough - several hours later. It took him all day to finish just with the machine. We cleaned it off in the driveway by the light of a headlamp and he took it back to Home Depot. He got one layer of seed and 2 bags of manure down - I ended up finishing the rest the following week.

there's my boy after being hosed down.

So what do you do after a long hard day in the yard and 15 straight days on 'GREEN' at school (way to go Lucas!)?! We drive to the new CircleK on Baseline and get slushies. Some nice stranger will offer to take our picture - I'm sure she thought it was strange, but we're so excited about those slushies. ;)

 So for the big kids in our house yard work is hard work - for the rest it's a grand ole time! Btw, Mo was sleeping during all that outdoor fun.

A little help from my friend

 Yeah go ahead - sing your little Beatles heart out. Wait what, you don't know this song do you?

We got a house guest for a couple weeks. Steven came to hike the Grand Canyon with Jeff and then because he suddenly had lots of free time and no job holding him down he was able to stay with us longer. This may seem weird as some people don't really care too much for their in-laws, but I really enjoyed having him around. Plus Steven and I were friends before Jeff and I had ever met. He got quite the experience and understands our life a little bit more. Maybe we'd all be a little less harsh on ourselves and each other if we spent 2 weeks at each others homes helping out and taking it all in - the good, the bad, and the ugly. We had plenty of all of that. He refers to himself as Vacamaca Steven and told the kids a long time ago to call him that. They call him that all the time. Every prayer Abbey said while Steven was here, she included Vacamaca and called him so. Too cute.

Steven was the best babysitter/nanny/assistant/help I didn't have to pay except for with cereal and milk! It was nice to be able to just leave - if the kids weren't ready or I didn't need them to come with me, I could just go. Lea didn't want to go to school one day (threw a huge ugly fit) - fine, I'm leaving you stay.

Ammon was napping when it's time to pick said children up from school - I could just go and not have to wake him up from his nap. I did totally forget preschool one day for Abbey, but she was having a great time with her uncle and Ammon. We made a DI run that was stockpiling in the garage for months - he restocked my DP supply - 3 cases! (I enjoyed every single one!)

He helped clean up the table after dinner and complimented every meal we had - which I actually made food that whole time because there was another adult around who would enjoy a semi-homemade meal. :) He entertained the kids so I could make dinner or clean up and when my kids were freaking out and having melt-downs, he would step in and try to manage when I failed there. 

At church, he helped out in Primary which was especially great as we were beginning Primary Program practice. Much needed help setting up, taking down and just all around need a set of extra hands and a happy attitude to be in Primary. 

He did say often that I don't yell at my kids - I didn't have to - they respond so much better to him and Jeff too when he's around. To which Steven became quickly aware that we don't see Jeff a whole lot - at all any night of the week and I have no idea when he comes home until I hear him lock his car in the driveway and open the front door.

^^ do you love the 'smolder' look??^^ just call him Flynn Ryder.

He spent most of the time working on his computer trying to get an online business started and we just continued on in our routine around him. Playgroup came and we had a great time with Abbey's little friends who came over. 

 Abbey, Jaron, Clara

 Lily

 

 The sad day came though when he had to go home - the kids were sad and I have to admit I was going to miss having him around - he's quite the entertainment when he wants to be.

  I was looking through the pictures and counting kids - 1,3,4 - where's #2??

 Right here enjoying the Nexus ignoring everyone else. :)

 More fun over here - saving themselves from the clutches of their teasing uncle. Lucas help!

 Can't - too busy stretching my feet.

 

 Bye Vacamaca Steven!