Brooke had a couple of friends over last weekend, and boy were they having a good time. I really enjoy seeing Brooke let loose a little and enjoy being a kid. She is always so mature and cautious so this was very fun to watch. Brooke and her friends Beth and Taylor decided to give each other crazy makeovers. They were giggling the entire time and couldn't wait to pose for the camera.
Soccer is back in full force - So sit back and get comfortable...well at least that's what I tell Mike and Jake.
Tyler is in his second year of playing AYSO. He is so much fun to watch and a little too competitive (we're working on that). He has 2 of his good friends on his team which will make for a very fun season. His first game last week was on his 6th birthday so before the game started he said he wanted to score 6 goals. I kinda of laughed and said go for it. So in the first half of his game he had gotten all 6 of the goals he wanted. He was all over the field trying to do everything. So the second half of the game I told him he had to work on his passing to get his team involved. He was so obedient...he would be a couple inches away from the goal and then turn around to find one of his players to pass it to.
Spencer is now in his 4th year of playing soccer. He is by far my most aggressive kid on the field. He is not afraid of anything or anyone. He plays sweeper which is basically the last defender back. Of course he can't handle not being in some of the action. This last game he got the ball and dribbled from end of the field through all of the other team to the other side of the field and scored. Now defenders rarely if ever score so he was beyond excited. Spencer has great timing on defense and usually frustrates the other team when he keeps taking the ball away from them.
As far as Brooke I think shes been playing soccer as long as shes been walking, but officially this is her 8th year playing and her 4th year playing club. Brooke also plays defense usually left back however her coach has also been having her play in the middle. She really enjoys playing halfback its just a ton more running. Basically you help with the offense and still are expected to go back and help with the defense. Running the field is not a problem for her she is in such good shape and hardly even breaks a sweat. Her club team was undefeated last year so they moved up a division and are now a silver team. This should be a fun and challenging year of soccer for her and her team. Brooke is amazing at reading the field and has great anticipation to completely frustrate the other team.
(We had a little talk about elbows)
Brooke has been looking forward to trying out for her Junior High's basketball team for months. I was cautiously optimistic that she might make the team. Brooke being just a sixth grader I knew the odds were not in her favor to make the team. The team mainly consists of seventh and eighth graders who are much taller and bigger then she is. As I came to pick her up from tryouts I went in the gym and saw that there were 40 girls trying out. So of course I was trying to think of ways to console her when she didn't see her name posted in the girls locker room. Now don't get me wrong I think Brooke is a great basketball player and very talented, but size and experience does play a big part in making a competitive team.
The day finally came - that's right Tyler had his birthday. He was beginning to think that it was never going to happen. He asked me daily since about June if it was August yet and then when August came the question changed to is it the 29th yet? Tyler is the sweetest little guy ever. A day doesn't go buy without many hugs and I love yous from him. He is always thoughtful, caring, and my most tender hearted kid.
Tyler almost always lets Jake win whenever they are playing sports or racing each other. Jake loves his big brother he always calls Tyler his buddy.
I love that both Spencer and Brooke asked me almost every day last week for me to take them to the store so they could buy Tyler a birthday present. They are so thoughtful I didn't even remind them they really enjoyed picking out that perfect gift for him. Spencer knows how much Tyler loves basketball, and found a nerf basketball set for him to play in the house. Tyler loved it and they have been playing it nonstop since Saturday. Brookie got him one of the coolest "huge" bouncy balls I have ever seen. All the kids have been wanting a turn to play with it. It's awesome to see the joy that giving brings to my kids rather then always receiving.
As you can see Tyler was just a "little" excited about one of his presents (crash of the titans wii game). I loved that I was able to capture the pure joy and excitement in his reaction. You can almost here his reaction from these pictures. Tyler was also very excited about his other presents as well. He has recently gotten into Pokemon so he got some cards as well as money from both his grandparents.
(why am I jealous of my 6 year olds muscles...he is so ripped LOL )
I'm always a little sad when Tyler's birthday rolls around, because then I know that summer is over and school is here. However he has the best birthday date for anything fun in the water, pool, or beach. It was a very fun day and I'm sure we will visit this water park again.
Can it really be over...my summer??? Well I guess it's back to reality and with that comes way too many schedules...soccer, basketball, scouts, and school.
Jakers started preschool today and boy was he excited. He is going 2 days a week, but wishes that he could go everyday. I'm still trying to figure out what to do on the off days that he doesn't have school. He is going to die without his older brothers. He has attached himself to both of them this summer. I am going to have be very creative and find some fun things to do to keep him occupied.
Tyler started the first grade. This should be a fun and exciting year for him. I expect the most growth from him with his age this year. It will be fun to watch him figure everything out. He is in a combo class which I'm not usually a fan of, however I really like his teacher so I'm sure it will be fine.
Now Spencer is starting the fourth grade. He is very excited that one of his and my favorite teachers that he had from kindergarten is now teaching fourth grade and he got in his class. This is going to be a great year. Spencer is also now in GATE so that should be fun and challenging for him.
All I can say is WOW my little Brookie is in Junior High. I love this picture that I took of her as we were leaving this morning. She is holding one of her books because she can't fit everything in her backpack...and she doesn't even have all of her books yet. I think Brooke had every emotion in the book today - excited, nervous, scared, cautious, happy, and so on. She did awesome...I picked her up after school and she is already a pro after just one day :)
Bring on the chaos and crazy schedules
Two weeks ago our church put on a very fun scripture camp for the kids. They had a great time and learned a lot. There was good food, fun crafts, friends, and great lessons. The theme was eternal families so on the last day the kids took a trip down to the LA Temple. They got to walk around, have lunch, and sing songs. I wasn't able to go so I took some of these pictures off a friends blog so they're a little blury.
I love this little guy of mine! Jake is so much fun right now he is at such a cute inquisitive stage and I'm loving it. Every sentence lately starts out with Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How. His little mind is in overdrive soaking everything up. There are times that he drives me crazy and I need a breather away from him, and at those moments he comes up to me and holds both my cheeks in his hands and says "I love you Mom all the way up to the sky" He melts my heart and then of course being the baby he can do know wrong. I'm beginning to think he not only has me but has all of us wrapped around his little finger.
Wendy, Tera, and I have been wanting to get this new gadget called the wand for our girls hair. They are really expensive, but I was lucky to find a really good deal :) So this was my first attempt on trying to figure it out. I think it turned out cute especially since this picture was taken the second day after she had slept on it. I hope once I do it a couple more times I will get better at it...that or Wendy needs to come down and give me some lessons. Brooke has a ton of hair so it would take me forever to do all of her hair so in this picture I only did the top two layers.
