I love fall.
It’s usually a busy time of year for us with kids’ sports, our anniversary,
Halloween, Jake’s birthday, family pictures, Thanksgiving, my birthday,
Christmas, and the list goes on. This year seemed a little easier because we
didn’t throw a big party for Jake’s birthday last week. He really wanted an
electric dirt bike, so we gave him the choice of the dirt bike or a party with
friends. It didn’t take him long to decide that a party only lasts one day, but
a dirt bike lasts a whole lot longer! Pretty smart for a 7 yr old. J His birthday was on a Friday this
year. That night we took Lexi to Grammy & Papa’s and took the boys out to
dinner and to see a movie. This was a
pretty special treat for them since we rarely take them to a sit down
restaurant unless we’re traveling. Jake picked Serrano’s because he wanted to
order the “big chip with beans and lettuce on it” (tostada). Much to Michael’s
chagrin, Jake told the server it was his birthday, so they even came out to
sing to him, let him wear a sombrero & gave him free ice cream! He was
thrilled. Then we saw Big Hero 6 per Jake’s request. Super cute movie and all
around super fun night with my boys!! Then
on Saturday we had Grandparents over for cake & ice cream to help
celebrate. Jake gave them a
demonstration on his dirt bike and after just a minute, Grammy & Grandma
both opted to go back inside – too nerve wracking to watch!
November 16,
2014
This weekend
had so many highlights, by Sunday night I just felt like the weekend couldn’t
get any better! It started with family pictures on Friday. Now truthfully,
those are typically slightly nightmarish. They cost a lot of money, so
beforehand I get so nervous about how it will all work out. I even had Michael
take the day off work to make sure we had plenty of time to get things ready.
Regardless of preparations, we woke up to cloudy weather, Lexi refused to take
a nap & we had to make a mad dash to pick up Jake from school, get him
ready & race to the photo location, and let’s just say I’m not the most
patient and understanding person. I’m working on that. J Luckily, the sun came out just in
time for pics, Lexi was happy, so we just had to coral Levi during the pics
& try to coax a genuine smile from Jake for an hour, and then we were done.
At that point our part was over, the butterflies were gone, and now we’re just
waiting to see what turned out! I have high hopes ;) We took the kids for ice
cream afterwards so they were thrilled. They all went to bed early that night,
so that left Michael and I with a rare quiet evening and a little “Naked and
Afraid” – this new survival show we’ve started watching.
Saturday
started with Jake’s football game. This is his first season playing flag
football and he seems to really enjoy it. He’s improved since the beginning of
the season and has done really well in the last couple of games. Last week he
scored 2 touchdowns, pulled a few flags and caught a pass to run for 1st
down. This week, unfortunately, was not his week. His team got creamed, 24-0.
He was pretty down on himself at the end of the game, on the verge of tears and
wanted to quit. We explained that every athlete is going to have a bad day
sometimes, you can’t quit on your team, but we can practice more and try to
have a better game next time. It’s always fun to watch the kids play
successfully, score points & win a game, but more than anything I want my
kids to know that I just enjoy watching them play and doing their best whether
they win or lose. I’ll cheer like a crazy lady for them when they make a good
play, and I’ll love them even when they don’t. We ended the night with more
football as we watched the ASU game with Grandma & Grandpa.
Sunday
morning was awesome – we slept in until 9am! Now that’s rare! We leisurely got
ready, dropped the kiddos off at Grammy & Papa’s, then Michael and I headed
to try something new. The Ridiculous Obstacle Challenge Race (ROC)! It was wet,
cold, and a lot of fun! A 5k with waterslides, a foam slide, big red balls,
gorilla bars, tarzan rope, walls to climb and the wrecking balls! One of my
goals this year was to try new things…this definitely counted! Not to mention
that this is November and the rest of the county is weathering out snow storms
while we’re running around outside soaking wet on a beautiful sunny day!
Arizona has some perks, and I’m determined to start enjoying them more J Ended the weekend with more football
– Cardinals. Football season truly is Michael’s favorite time of the year. I’ll
even catch him humming the tune to “It’s the hap, happiest season of all!” LOL
And as I watched the game while playing go fish with my boys, I really just
felt so grateful for my family and totally content.
