Halloween in December!!

When Mathis came to me and told me he wanted to be a Hobo for Halloween, I start picturing what I know a Hobo should look like....big shoes, big tie, patches on his coat, a white frown painted around his mouth, big red nose.....ya know a "Hobo"! So I start saying this to Mathis and he says no to the painted face, no tie, no big floppy shoes. He says, "just a bunch of dirty clothes and a dirty face and a stick with a bandanna tied around the end." I said to him, "well that's sounds more like a Bum" and he replies, "Ya a bum! I want to be a bum!" He even made a sign to hang around his neck that read, "Will work for Candy" but I didn't get a photo of it. He actually made a pretty cute homeless guy.

Hayden had a harder time choosing what he wanted to be, ironically he started with wanting to be a police officer, but ended up being an escaped convict instead!!

I think my boys had more fun playing with their Cousins Kate and Avery, than they did trick or treating. They entertained the girls outside, running around chasing after them, then playing ring-around-the-rosie.

They just love these little girls to pieces!!

There's this hole in Grandma and Grandpa's fence just about the

perfect size for a little face to peek through into the neighbor's yard.

Back to School!!

Has it been 4 months already?!! At least you can say I'm a regular blogger...quarterly!

It has been a crazy summer and EVERYONE is excited for school to start! Mathis is in 5th grade this year, and Hayden is in 2nd. Mathis tried to act too cool for school, and not excited...but I know he really was. Now Hayden on the other hand, has not been hiding his excitement at all. In fact he's been on the verge of out of control with enthusiasm. We had back to school night on Monday to meet their teachers, and the whole way there he was singing his made up song about back to school night. It went something like this "It's back to school night...oh ya....I can't believe it's back to school...uh....huh.....oh ya.....I love back to school....I'm so excited for back to school!" Just imagine this with a very 80's rock band kind of beat and vocals. It was awesome, I wish I had in recorded. So another year begins and I'm sad at how big my boys are, at least they both will still give me a hug and a kiss and say "I love you" as they run down the street, I hope that doesn't end too soon.

Soccer Saturdays have begun!

So it looks like it's time for my "quarterly update"! Time has yet again snuck up on me... I keep begging for it to slow down, give me a chance to breath, but it seems to not be cooperating!

And now our "Super Soccer Saturdays" have arrived! I love spring Soccer... the weather is perfect for spending all day watching my boys do what they love best. You know you're kids have found their passion when they want to stay after their game is over and keep playing and they say, "just one more shot!" And then twenty "more shots" later, you finally have to drag them off the field. Then when you think they've had enough soccer for one day, and they might just want to come home and rest... they jump out of the car and run to the backyard to keep practicing with each other and shooting in the goal set up in our yard. And you probably think I'm just talking about Mathis and Hayden, but no, James is also the one telling me, "just one more shot!" He is just as bad as the kids, but I am so happy he has made such an influence on my boys and they definitely got their passion from their dad!

I love the determination on Hayden's face, he does everything in life at full speed, soccer being no exception.

I love this shot!

I wish you could hear what's going on in this photo... lots of yelling and cheering... and definitely lots of jumping up and down! Pre-game ritual at it's best!

Mathis is all about defense in soccer.

In this shot he just headed the ball out off a corner kick, saving it from going to the back of the net!

So now you will no where to find us every Saturday for the next couple months!

Where have I been?

I can't believe it's been 4 months since I last posted anything!!!

SLAAA-CKKKER! So I'm going to try to play catch-up (Again).

First I want to acknowledge that Mathis turned 10 back in December, WOW..."I have a 10 year old" sounds, well...old! So here is a year of Mathis.

Mathis keeps us busy with his soccer team. He plays for La Roca, and between practices, indoor and outdoor games, futsal and tournaments...we are all over the place. It is all worth it though, because he LOVES soccer and he is such good friends with his team-mates. One of his highlights from this past year was taking first place in the Rampage tournament. Mathis' team and the Rampage team are big rivals, so it was a good tournament to win.

For Halloween, Mathis wanted to make his hair into a Mohawk. He didn't care what he was, as long as he could have a Mohawk and color it Pink and Purple. So after a lot of hair glue and some colored hairspray, he had a 7 inch mohawk.

Mathis also LOVES his baby cousins, Kate and Avery. He's always asking when he can see the girls and play with them, I love that he thinks it's so much fun to play with the girls. Here he is with Avery, dressed as a Bumble Bee for Halloween.

If you were to ask Mathis what his favorite trip is every year...he would say Lake Powell. Swimming all day and sleeping with cousins on top of the houseboat every night?

What's not to love?

And of coarse we've done plenty of Rock Climbing this past year, Mathis is really getting quite good and his Dad can't wait until he's big enough to start belaying him!

Just like Hayden, Mathis also got to fly a plane all by himself. He thought it was awesome until they did Zero G's a few times, he got sick and didn't think it was so awesome after that.

Mathis also loves his dog, Shadow, they snuggle with each other at night and there have been several times I've found shadow sleeping right on top of Mathis' head, but Mathis is a deep sleeper and he loves it!

So happy Belated Birthday Mathis, you are my not so little buddy anymore and I am so proud of the big kid you've become. You are such a good friend and big brother to Hayden, I love you!!