Mouth of Luke

Conversation we had a few days ago: 

Daddy will you play store with us? - Lea and Abbey were arguing over who got to be the money person.
 

I'm in the middle of making breakfast. You be the bank and Abbey can be the store cashier. Without a bank you wouldn't have any money for the store. - Jeff
 

And Lucas can be the government and buy out the banks - me
 

I can't, I'm being lazy. - Lucas    (HAHAHAHA!)

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.