For Kendle

Dear Kendle:

I realize you haven't had it so easy the last year or so. It is hard being the coach's daughter. It is hard having high expectations to live up to. It is hard when others are rooting for you to fail and when they get satisfaction out of watching you have a bad game or even a few bad minutes of a great game. It is hard when people are quick to cut you down from a hero to a nobody. It is hard when the other players depend on you and the final outcome of the game rests on your young shoulders and you have to live up to that moment. It is hard when you'd rather be scoring goals, but instead you are in the box having shot after shot taken at you - the job that few people want that takes courage and the gumption to keep making a comeback when you feel like you could just give up. It is hard when your parents don't know when to stop coaching, rehashing games, and giving tons of unsolicited advice. (They do it out of love though.)

But here is the great part. When something is so hard that few people can do it and do it well, it feels all the better to smash in a goal, make a great save, or win a ball off a great defender. Remember in that game this past season when you battled the best defender in the league for what seemed like forever? You didn't give up. I saw that determination come over you and knew something good was going to happen. That magic Kendle switch got turned on. I could see it in your face and your body language. Sure enough, at what seemed an impossible moment you drove around her with everything you had and scored one of the best goals I have ever seen. That potential that is there made it's appearance and it couldn't be denied. Your dad and I know that when you put your mind to something - great things happen. We are working on not being so hard on you, but we hold your standards high because we know what you are capable of when you give it 100%. You are unstoppable and amazing things happen.

I'm sorry that you have had to deal with negativity and people gunning for you at such a young age, but I know if you make the choice, it can make you even stronger (untouchable even) and you are one of the strongest girls I've ever met already. You are going to learn to take those types of comments and people and turn it all into fuel for your fire that is going to light up your world and the people around you. Don't let it make you bitter, but better.

As a soccer player you are amazing, but just as regular old Kendle Dodson from Pasco, WA you are even more amazing. Don't ever forget how great you are and that your future is as bright as you want it to be. We love you and think you are already a star.

Mom and Dad

Back to School

It is back to school time and I have to admit I am a bit happy that it is that time of year and back to routines, and kids who are usually tired and going to bed at a regular time at night. Kendle is in 5th grade this year, and it seriously seems like just yesterday that I was taking her to kindergarten. She is growing up in the blink of an eye.



She is excited to be a peer helper this year, and have the opportunity to participate in some other great activities offered to the 5th graders. She really didn't want me walking her to class on the first day or taking pictures of her, but I told her to deal with it since it was her last year at that school I was definitely taking picutres.

I tend to joke with Kendle that she is like the "Pide Piper" for younger kids. Everywhere she goes she has a small fan club of kids that latch on to her and follow her around. On the first day of school as we got out of our car to walk to the playground, another little girl ran up to Kendle, threw her arms around her and gave her a huge hug. It was a little girl that rode her bus last year and was so excited to see her! I had to laugh. Also, she is very good to help our little neighbor friend across the street and walks her to the bus stop in the mornings. I tease her that if she was this nice all the time to her own younger siblings, it would help me out a lot! She is a good egg though and I'm glad she is at least nice to other people's kids. Ha!

This is a busy time of year for us with fall softball, soccer, and everything else so it always seems as if September and October fly by so fast and it is November before we know it, but I do love this time of year with the chillier mornings and sunny afternoons and look forward to the weeks to come.

10

This girl turned the big 1-0 last week and it's been a highly anticipated birthday. No more telling people that she's 9 1/2, or allllllmooost 10. Telling people you are in fact 10, just sounds so much better.

 

(Kendle with her 3 layer Devils Food Cake with Mint Chocolate Chip Icing.)

One thing I've noticed about Kendle, is that she seems to make friends wherever she goes. I hope as she grows older that she can continue to use her personality and people skills to be kind to those that need a friend and have an influence for good.  She's got the fight in her, and as her dad and I often tell her, if she can channel that in constructive ways (whether it's sports, school, life goals, etc...) there isn't anything she can't do.

**Here are some questions I asked her as she sat down with me for a brief birthday interview:**

Favorite Color?  Aqua Marine

Favorite Food? Spaghetti

Favorite Treat?  All treats, I love them all (Kendle does not discriminate)

Favorite Type of Music?  Nicki Minaj, Fun. , Flo Rida

Favorite Book?   Harry Potter Series

Favorite TV Show?  Good Luck Charlie

Favorite Subject in School? Art because she loves to draw

Favorite Place to Go? The mall

Favorite Movie?  Diary of a Wimpy Kid

What do you want to be when you grow up? An athlete/Doctor/President/Artist

What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time?   Play my dsi

Favorite sport?   Soccer (duh)

If you could meet one famous person, who would it be and why?   Wayne Rooney or Hope Solo, because in soccer I either want to be a forward like Wayne Rooney who plays for Manchester United or a keeper like Hope Solo who is an Olympic gold medalist.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?    Hawaii in the winter and Paris in the summer. I love the beach, and I've always wanted to visit the Eiffel Tower.

What is one thing you want to accomplish this year as a 10 year-old?   Scoring at least 10 goals in soccer.

And that is Kendle in a nut shell! We love her so.

Lessons from the Glow Run

Last Friday night Kendle and I ran our first race together - a 3 mile night glow run along the Columbia River here in Pasco. Our Relay for Life team sponsored the event and it was a total blast. Everyone was decked out in all sorts of neon and glow in the dark accessories and clothing. Not only was the race itself super fun, but the fact that so many people came out to show their support for such a good cause was awesome. I'm so glad that we had such a great experience participating in our first race.  I usually don't consider myself a very competitive person, but there was something about running and raising money for cancer and thinking about those that we have lost and those that are dealing with cancer right now that just made me want to run my heart out for all of them.

I had a personal PR for a 3 mile run at 24:06. Pretty sure if I could have started sprinting right away I could have made it under 24 minutes. It was hard bobbing and weaving through all of the people at the very beginning, but eventually it cleared out and I was able to get a good pace going. Kendle and I started out side by side and she was actually cutting a nice path through people for me. She kept up a good pace with me for the first half mile or so. She had a great time of 30:52. She ran her little heart out, I was pretty darn proud of her. She came up with her own system to get through the race: sprint, run, jog, and then walk when she got tired. She loved it and wants to do another race soon.

 I have to share this experience from the race that has stayed with me and I think it really taught me something that I needed to see, feel, and learn. Kendle and I were keeping pace together really well at the beginning, I was sprinting pretty hard to get a good start going and she was keeping up. About a half mile in I could tell she was starting to struggle and slow down. I was tempted to slow down with her and give her a break, but I was trying to be this fast race runner lady and wanted to do my best, so I made the decision to go on ahead and leave her behind. As I put distance between us, I took a glance over my shoulder and I could see her slowing and getting swallowed up by the darkness and the sea of runners. It made me kind of sad. She was trying so hard and really wanted to finish with a good time.  My next thought was just to concentrate on running as fast as I could so I could be to the finish line in plenty of time to watch her finish and take a picture. I found a fast person in front of me to keep pace with and did my best to keep up with them the remainder of the race.  After crossing the finish line myself, I stood and cheered with others on the sidelines as the other racers came through. In the darkness it was hard to make out who was who, and I kept searching and searching for her face to appear among those nearing the end. When I spotted her face among a few other runners approaching the finish, I felt like I had just learned a profound lesson that I as a mother needed to learn at this exact moment in my life. It literally felt like I had a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. [At this point in our mother/daughter relationship, we don't always get along and very rarely see eye to eye. We disagree more often than not and I've been frustrated with the yucky road I felt our relationship was heading down. It is something that I have been trying to figure out how to make better and worrying that her and I would never have the type of bond that I wanted us to have. I would lay awake at night imagining her going off to college and leaving the nest without her feeling like she has a strong link to me. That's a terrifying feeling for a mom.]  But I realized as I saw her cross that finish line, that sometimes as a mother you have to just go on ahead and hope that what you are teaching your kids and the love you unconditionally give is good enough for them to make it across the finish line in their own time and in their own way. At some point in their life you have to loosen the reigns and just have hope. You can't always run with them and hold their hand and pull them along and slow yourself down with frustration and worry in the process. I recognized the fact that I need to lighten up on my feelings to control most everything in my life and take a lighter approach to our relationship. Don't force things.  I'm going to try my best not to be so hard on her. I already knew she was amazing and is capable of great things, but I'm not going to push so hard and not try and make her get where she needs to go, because she is already well on her way and will get there on her own. I read a great quote the other day that said something along the lines of "Don't be so worried about raising a great kid, that you forget you already have one."  I had the distinct and overwhelming feeling when I gave her a big congratulatory hug that everything is going to be ok with us. Not in my time which is usually now, now, now, but in time. It was kind of ironic, but I felt like that finish line represented the possibility of having a fresh start.



If I had my own Nike running poster, this is what it might say:

"That's me in that picture. I am 32.  Mom of four great kids. Wife to a hard working husband. Three years ago I never thought I'd be running. Never thought I'd love running. Never thought I'd call myself a runner. Now I'm looking forward to more races. And training for a half-marathon. Most days I have to be super mom. But when I'm running, I just concentrate on being super fast. Here I come."

Oh yeah, and that girl in the picture with me? She's a stud. An academic. Softball, soccer, and basketball player. And now I'll add runner to that list. Future doctor, writer, professional soccer player, President of the United States, mother, marathon runner -- whatever she wants to be.

Quick and easy Valentine

While shopping at Target a week or so ago I grabbed a pair of their cute Valentine's socks they had in their dollar section. Kendle LOVES all different kinds of socks and I new she'd like some for Valentine's Day to add to her collection along with a few other surprises and goodies we got for each of the kids. Then coincidentally, the other day on pinterest I saw a card that said:

"I love you like Dobby loves socks." I knew I had found the perfect little quote for a valentine message to give to her.

{Now if you are a Harry Potter enthusiast you will know what that means, if not - this craft is probably not for you.}

I printed that out on a bit of paper and attached it with some curling party ribbon to the socks. I'm sure you could fancy this up more, I was just in a rush for time trying to get things done today.

If you have a child (or I suppose there are lots of adults like me who also love Harry Potter), I think this is a super sweet idea and very inexpensive. Kendle absolutely adores anything to do with Harry Potter and I'm pretty sure this will make her smile!

Great Season

We are officially done with soccer until the spring. Well, minus the end of the season pizza party that is happening tomorrow night. This was Kendle's best soccer experience yet. She came out this year with a new determination and desire that we haven't seen before. She was the teams main goal keeper, but was also a powerful scorer and defender. Riley would usually  have her play keeper for the first half and then send her out to go score some goals in the second half. It will be interesting to see in the future where she wants to end up playing the most. She was only scored on twice during the season. It was a fun experience for the girls to go undefeated and I think Riley was able to teach each of the girls some valuable skills. He did an awesome job as their coach and I can honestly say that even their least skilled player drastically improved by their last game. 


I think I will always remember this year in particular, as the one where I really saw Kendle become an athlete and get a fire inside of her where she was determined to win. Some switch just got turned on and it didn't shut off. I noticed a new confidence about her that wasn't there before. She can analyze the game and talk strategy. She will even sit down with her dad and watch professional soccer and has posters of her favorite players. We have been lucky to be able to expose her to some great soccer and have awesome high school girls playing that she can look up to and even came and watched some of her games. She loves going to watch the high school games and gets totally enthralled - even knowing when to yell at the reff for not making good calls. (Ha, ha. Ok, maybe I shouldn't think that is funny but I do.) She was thrilled to be able to be a ball girl at Southridge's state playoff game last night, she didn't even care that she was freezing cold and had to sit out on the track by herself. Now that is love for the game.

And you can be pretty sure that while she was out there running as fast as she possibly could to go chase down stray soccer balls, she was telling herself that one day not far from now, that was going to be her out there playing.

This girl is tough. This girl is determined. This girl makes me want to be her biggest fan.

Attitude and Underwear

Last Saturday Kendle's soccer team gained another victory. She scored three goals, made some stellar saves at keeper, and played tough defense. Their team is still undefeated and she has a total of 10 goals for the season. She played like a beast and dominated the second half. So why was it a little hard to celebrate after the game? Well, I hate to say it, but her attitude and sportsmanship could use a little bit of work. Her competitive edge came out in full force, maybe a little too much? Sometimes she gets a little frustrated when she doesn't feel like everyone else is trying as hard as she is, which I totally understand, but we tried to emphasize the importance of building your team mates up and leading by example instead of having a major attitude and trying to be the "mini" coach on the field. Her dad and I tried to explain that even when you play your best game, you don't walk off the field a winner if you acted like a loser. I think it is also hard for her to treat her dad like a coach and not dad when she doesn't agree with what he wants her to do. All that aside, if she can work on the attitude and keep playing like she has, I think the sky is the limit to what she can do. She has become a whole different player this season. And I suppose (uh hmmm, throat clearing....) that Riley and I need to work on being better examples of not being so critical and that winning isn't everything.

I took these pictures during the half because I was so entertained by how hard Riley was trying to instill come strategy and instruction to these girls, although half of it was probably over their heads. He tries so hard to make these girls better. I just had to laugh and capture "coach Riley" in action on camera:

Lately Morgan has been obsessed with underwear. The other day while watching The Grinch who stole Christmas, he was sincerely puzzled as to why the Grinch wasn't wearing underwear (or clothes half the time for that matter). Is there really any good explanation you can give a 4 year old about that? I think I mumbled something about the fact that the Grinch was a creature of some sort and creatures don't need to wear it. Then this morning while getting dressed he asked me if Darth Vader wears underwear. Yep, I replied. Then he asks me, "Even when he was getting melted in the hot lava that burned half his body off?" Ummm....yep, I replied. "What about after he became the bad Darth Vader and he was wearing the big suit and mask and he talked funny?" Yep, pretty sure he was still wearing it. I read somewhere the other day that the average 4 year old asks around 400 questions a day. It's crazy, but true. And half of Morgan's questions are about underwear. Ha! He is so funny.

Here are a few pictures I snapped of the boys this morning since they were actually getting along and playing together:

Back to School: 4th Grade

up and at em super early

scrubbed up like a new penny

cute outfit

new back pack

painted nails

lip gloss

 a little taller

a few butterflies

an apple for her teacher

excitement to meet back up with friends

All set and ready to go for a fantastic  school year!

Party Pictures

We capped off  Kendle's birthday week with a little get together with some of her girl friends last night. We had all the girls wear their pajamas and had kind of a mock slumber party with out the sleeping over part.

Dinner consisted of pizza, watermelon, chips, and  ice cold strawberry crush. Then  they were welcome to the candy/treats buffet I had put together to snack on the rest of the night.

They painted their nails, made necklaces, and watched a movie along with lots of laughing and being silly. Lots and lots and lots of giggling and smiling.

It was a lot of work, (especially with all of my kids underfoot the whole day) but it was so much fun and worth the effort. My favorite discovery was finding the polka dotted crepe paper at the party store. It is so cute when you see it in person.

Ok, here's some pictures in bad lighting taken on my phone because my real camera needed new batteries:

Nine

Today my first born turned nine years old. Nine years have flown by in a flash and I could never have imagined as a new mother holding my sweet little baby girl, what a unique and wonderful person she would be growing into at this stage of her life. Challenging, stubborn, willful, outspoken, and utterly determined and dead set in her ways -- but absolutely wonderful just the same.

The last year has had many ups and downs for Kendle and I've watched her learn some important lessons that I hope will stay with her always:

That friends can be fickle, you don't always get what you think you deserve, just because you gave it your all doesn't mean you'll always win, and sometimes you have to make the best of the situation you are in because whining doesn't get you anywhere.

On the other side of the spectrum she's learned:
That mom and dad are and always will be her biggest supporters, family comes first, good friends sometimes pop up in unexpected places, and that most of the time even if you don't win but you still gave it everything you had it still makes you feel pretty darn good.

There are so many things I love about Kendle, but I think my most favorite thing is that when she smiles and laughs, she sparkles like the 4th of July. She has an energy about her that is so happy most of the time. It is hard because these days I feel like we have many disagreements and are constantly butting heads, but when we can share a laugh about something and I see her light up like she does, it reassures me that it will all be ok and we can find a way to work out the kinks.

I love watching her interact with her little brothers when they are all playing and getting along and am so proud of the high bar she has set for them to follow. I love that she is goal driven and has high hopes and dreams for her future. I know that along with a positive attitude will carry her far in life.

I hope she knows how much her father and I love her, and it's not for scoring the winning goal in a soccer game, or getting 100 percent's on tests, or for getting awards or doing all her chores. Those things are fun and make us proud, but we'd be proud no matter what.


Kendle is a never ending wisher and dreamer. I hope all of her wishes come true this year.

Shooting Hoops

Kendle loves to play basketball. She has been getting good use out of our new basketball hoop and I think her smile says it all.  I enjoy the steady thunk, thunk of the ball bouncing and shots hitting the backboard and swishing through the net. It just goes to show, you never know what your kids will love to do until you give them the chance to try it. I'm glad we had her play basketball this year and she was able to discover new skills that have turned into an activity she enjoys. Give your kids a chance to try something new and they just may surprise you!

For Kendle

This is for my darling Kendle girl who's cheeks and nose are sprinkled with the most adorable freckles ever and I love every single one.

picture

{Kendle with her bobble head trophy at her end of the season basketball pizza party. The trophy had a surprising likeness to her.}

*Funny tidbit -- Kendle's team name was "The Shooters". The girls thought it would be cool after they scored a basket to act like they were blowing off their guns (a.k.a. their fingertips) and kind of do a bang-bang motion with their hands. But, seeing as how we are in Pasco, we figured that probably wasn't the best idea. :)

Thanks to daylight savings time this weekend, I am officially off kilter. Everyone's sleeping schedules are completely off. I guess it would help a little if we actually had some daylight to go with daylight savings time. It has been so dark and overcast and quietly peaceful (because the kids have all been sleeping in) the last few mornings, that it has been torture to drag myself out of bed. Those are the best type of mornings for sleeping in, and my body fights me from throwing the covers off, putting my feet on the floor and getting up to start the day. My energy seems to have just been zapped right along with that extra hour we lost.

On the bright side however, while perusing through vacation rentals last night, I found the perfect spot for us to stay this summer. We've been wanting to go back to Long Beach because we loved the laid back vibe, huge beaches, easy beach access and the fact that you can drive on the beach as well which is perfect for going down for a night time bonfire. We had a great time the summer before last when we stayed there for a week and made lots of good memories. I don't know if we will be as lucky this time around, but when we were there before we had the most gorgeous weather I've ever experienced at the coast. Warm, sunny days that were perfect for hanging out on the beach. (I think it helped it was the hottest week of the summer). It will be so nice to not have to worry about Riley coaching soccer this summer and be able to kick back for a week without having to rush back. I am super excited to start planning for that and some of our other summer vacation plans as well.

After church on Sunday we drove to Irrigon to hang out with my parents for a while. While we were there my dad took Morgan out for a little drive to the farm. He sent him home with a bag of little potatoes ready to be planted. The last few weeks, Morgan has been working on the side of our house (where it is just dirt) and has single handedly cleaned it all up, raked up the leaves, picked up all the toys and buckets, got rid of any big rocks, and made it into his own little farm. He is amazing and such a hard worker for a three year old. It would blow your mind to see him. He goes out there all the time during the day and pretends to check on things. We have been talking about letting him plant some things over there and take care of them. So with the little potatoes my dad sent home, he and Riley planted them yesterday and today we got lots of rain. We will see if they can grow. Morgan has already checked on them about twenty times since last night.

Well, I am kind of cold and debating on turning the fireplace on. (In March!) I think it is going to be a soup night for dinner tonight. I need something warm!  

Growing Up

Today I had one of those mornings where I really stopped to take a minute to look at Kendle and how all of a sudden she just looks so much older to me. She is getting taller and more independent and has braces and all of these things which are just giving me a big punch in the gut that she is not such a little girl anymore. I swear I just blinked and she went from her adorable baby self to this girl with an attitude and big personality that is almost done with the third grade. Instead of quiet mornings and afternoons spent together reading books and playing, our days are now filled with sports, piano, school and church activities, driving to and fro from one thing to the next and birthday parties and sleepovers. She surfs the internet, paints her nails, turns up the stereo in her room, is a reading machine, is trying to be more helpful, occasionally plays the part of the class clown, and has a little bit more interest in clothes. She also talks back and has a very messy room, but we're working on that. :) She has muscly calves and a strong athletic body that help her play and enjoy sports and I really appreciate watching her play hard and give it everything she's got. I love her sweet little face, her deep brown eyes that always seem to twinkle with mischief, and her sprinkling of freckles across her nose. This girl is a fighter and she knows what she wants and how she's going to get there. I'm in awe of how she is the best of both her father and I. She is my only girl in a rowdy household of boys -- we have to be allies me and her.



















I just need her to stay a little girl for a little while longer.

Swollen

Kendle started getting a puffy eye Sunday night, and I thought - eh, it's probably just from her rubbing at it and gave her some Benadryl and sent her to bed. Next day, same thing. So this morning we took her in to the doc and sure enough she has pink eye. I guess it's been making it's rounds through the school and community. She's not allowed back at school today and so once again I'm cleaning and disinfecting and trying to wipe every light switch, door handle and surface down in hopes that no one else gets it. I'm making her wash her hands every time she even comes close to touching her eye. And the bummer is she has her first basketball practice tonight which she was super excited about, but we'll just be watching from the sidelines tonight I suppose. One thing I've learned from this experience - Kendle and puffy eyes  make for one very cranky girl. I think my third grader needs a nap.

This and That Friday

Yesterday afternoon, I finally went in to Greenies and picked out my pair of TOMS shoes I won from the giveaway on Jenn's blog. These are the ones I came home with although it was a tough choice:

Aren't they so cute? They are surprisingly comfortable and the ash/grey color is one of my favorite's right now. TOMS shoes also has an amazing company goal to help provide shoes for needy children. For every pair of shoes purchased they give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. You can read  more about that here. I was so excited after bringing them home, I decided to wear them to the cookie exchange I was heading out to where I devastatingly stepped in a big puddle from the torrential downpour we had going on last night. Amazingly enough, they dried in about two seconds and without a stain or spot to be found. Yay! That's a good shoe. If you haven't been to Greenies, you should go check them out. It is a beautiful shop filled with lots and lots of cool things and more than a few bikes I would love to buy for Kendle and I.

And after the week I've had, I really needed something like a cute new pair of shoes to give me a little pick me up. Earlier in the week Riley's truck broke down on his way home from work. Luckily he made it to a safe area not far from our house because the main problem was with his front driver's side wheel/axle/bearings and it could have caused him to be in an accident. So the good part is he was safe, bad part is that it cost a lot to fix. Our Durango has been having problems too and I think I am just about fed up with automotive trouble at the moment. Don't they always say bad things happen in three's? Hopefully our third car doesn't all of a sudden start acting up because I think that will push me over the edge.

Kendle was excited they were having a "read in" day at school today. The students got to wear pajamas or comfy clothes and bring blankets, pillows, and books to read. They were also collecting can food to donate as part of the day. There could not be a more perfectly fun day if it was tailor made for Kendle. She was so excited for the opportunity to finish up a couple of books she has been reading. I think her backpack weighed about forty pounds when she left for the bus this morning. Blanket - check. Books - check. Canned food - check. Homework folder - check. Lunch and water bottle - check. Umbrella - check. She would totally be prepared for an emergency!

I am starting to feel the crunch of the holiday check list piling up on me. I want to try and wrap as many presents as I can today. I still have a box full of crafts to finish. I need to clean my house, but really I just want to hire someone else to come do it for me. I need to put the ornaments and ribbon back on the Christmas tree that the twins keep wildly and gleefully pulling off. I need to start planning some Christmas food and shop for stocking stuffers. Aren't stockings the most fun part of Christmas? I think so, and I love to find neat things to stuff in there for my family. Hopefully this weekend I can cross lots of to-do's off my list.

Well, the twins are waking up and doing the "I'm hungry and mad and you better come get me right now cry" so I better hop to it!

9 Nights of Halloween, (a spooky story)

I forgot Kendle wanted me to post this on my blog this week. She wrote this little story in school and it's pretty fun to read.

9 Nights of Halloween

By: Kendle Dodson, age 8

On the first night of Halloween my vampire gave to me,

a coffin in a haunted house.

On the second night of Halloween my vampire gave to me,

two dancing monsters.

On the third night of Halloween my vampire gave to me,

three dark brown werewolves.

On the fourth night of Halloween my vampire gave to me,

four slimy green toads.

On the fifth night of Halloween my vampire gave to me,

five stinging scorpions.

On the sixth night of Halloween my vampire gave to me,

six gleaming candles.

On the seventh night of Halloween my vampire gave to me,

seven orange jack-o-lanterns.

On the eighth night of Halloween my vampire gave to me,

eight spooky ghosts.

On the ninth night of Halloween my vampire gave to me,

nine babbling bats.

Happy Halloween!

Chef Kendle

Last night Kendle was in charge of planning and preparing a healthy dinner so she could complete one of her requirements in her Faith in God book. The Faith in God program helps boys and girls ages 8-11 live gospel principles, develop testimonies, build friendships, and develop righteous qualities that help them to achieve their great potential as children of God. There are so many wonderful activities listed in the booklet that give the children an opportunity to learn and serve. I'm excited to work with Kendle on this throughout the next few years.

She was in charge of choosing what to cook, making a grocery list, and then doing the cooking and setting the table, and so on. She chose to make spaghetti which is one of her most favorite things to eat, and I told her I would teach her how to make home made french bread to go with it. We were also going to make a salad to go with it (but mom forgot to get a salad mix from the store), so after thinking it over with Kendle we decided to just add some olives and grapes to the menu instead. This was her meal after all, it should be things she likes to eat. We were also going to make fruit pizza for dessert, but we are going to make it for tonight's dessert instead. We were a little cooked out.

She came racing in the door after school, so excited to get started. I had to help with a few things for safety reasons (like draining the pasta), but other than that she did just about everything with some instructions from me. I think she liked baking the bread the best. I tried to be patient the whole way through (which at times was a bit tough) and I think it turned out to be a good experience for her and for me as well. It made me realize I need to get her in the kitchen more to help me and learn from me so I can start giving her more responsibilities. And, I think she realized how much work it can be to prepare a meal and clean up. She was very good about my cleaning as you go rule and even helped unload the dishwasher while she was waiting for the bread to rise. So it was win-win all around.

Here are some pictures:

Morgan was excited too. He loves spaghetti and french bread. He told Kendle that the food was dee-wish-iss!

This and That

Miss Kendle is adjusting to having her expander put in yesterday. She is frustrated that it is harder to eat and she was really grumpy this morning as she tried to eat cereal for breakfast, she finally gave up on it and ate some banana instead. It will be interesting to see how her lunch goes. Relearning how to eat is going to be a top priority. I would have thought having the expander on the roof of her mouth would have been more uncomfortable but so far she has only complained about the brackets on her two front teeth. They only put two on and are waiting for her other teeth to come in and she has one tooth that she needs to wiggle and help fall out. I was helping her take some pain medicine for it last night and accidentally banged the spoon on her teeth. Ouch! She was not happy about that. But, she is excited to being on her way to beautiful teeth!

{Got to love the "I just got done beating up on my little brother hair"}

Have I mentioned what a little snacker Mister Morgan is lately? Every time I turn around he is eating something or asking for a snack. He is like a little bird that grazes all day long. He is so skinny though, I figure it's not hurting him. He is stretching out and getting taller and has the skinniest little legs. I'm always trying to get him to drink more milk and I don't mind when he wants a spoonful of peanut butter. He has so much energy and is always playing and running and doing something. He hardly sits still for long. Last night I found him sitting on the kitchen counter snacking on an apple. 

I've never seen a little kid that drinks as much as he does either. He is always running to the fridge to fill up his cup for a drink. I don't think we will ever have to worry about Morgan staying hydrated!

In other exciting news, I have cut my time on running the mile by 45 seconds in the last month since I started running more consistently. I am aiming to cut off another 15 seconds in the next few weeks. I am feeling good but my knees are hurting me a little. My legs tend to get kind of sore because I have one leg that is a bit longer than the other (just one of my many oddities) so I think one leg tends to get more pressure put on it and it puts me off kilter a bit. Since we moved our treadmill into our bedroom and I can't watch TV anymore while I run I have to rely on a good playlist of workout music on my ipod. It totally keeps me going and keeps me pumped up and helps me run harder and longer than I think I can. Here's a small sampling:

Airplanes - B.o.B (Featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore)

Undo It - Carrie Underwood

When You Were Young - The Killers

Spotlight (Twilight Mix) - Mutemath

Heart of a Champion - Nelly

Everlong - Foo Fighters

Let the Drummer Kick - Citizen Cope

Something Good Can Work - Two Door Cinema Club

How Do You Get High? - The Weepies

I make sure to mix it up and change up the playlist every now and then so I don't get bored. Oh yeah, and it's always interesting to see what Morgan has been doing during my run. For example when he's supposed to be watching a movie and he's really been climbing up on the counter and eating all the sprinkles in the baking cupboard. Never a dull moment I tell ya.

Live - Breathe - Sleep - Soccer

I feel that it is very ironic that my previously least favorite sport is now an all consuming part of our family life. I'm sure the soccer gods are having a good laugh at me. To be fair, where I grew up soccer was pretty much non-existent and to be honest it was kind of the sport we made fun of. They didn't have it as a sport option in the schools and there were few if any local youth leagues. Anyways fast forward all these years later after I met my husband and I feel a bit tricked that it has become such a huge part of my life. In all fairness, he was a football coach - not a soccer coach when we first started dating, but I did know he was definitely passionate about sports - playing, watching, and coaching.

I first started to rethink my previous opinions about soccer when Riley and I were dating and I would go watch him play "Mexican league" soccer. I was blown away at how tough and fast those guys were. I couldn't believe they could run so hard and fast for that amount of time. I got tired just watching them. Most of the games were pretty exciting, Riley was (and is) a very physical defensive player and a master at slide tackles so he was a fun person to watch and cheer on. I being a soccer newbie, had no idea really how the game was played except for the obvious tactic of kicking the ball through the opponents goal. It seemed so backwards to me, I mean really, what kind of strategy is it to pass the ball backwards to in essence move it forward. Riley would throw soccer terms and lingo around in attempts to educate me on the game and my eyes would just instantly start glassing over with the overload of information.

Fast forward more years and now I'm literally entrenched in soccer fever. With Riley coaching three or four teams and Kendle now playing I have a bit more incentive to be knowledgeable about it and have even (dare I say it) started to really enjoy watching soccer. It is still not my most favorite sport, but it continues to grow on me. Our kids all have soccer gear and jerseys and our garage looks like a sporting goods store.

Kendle had her first game this last Saturday and did a great job. She got to play goalie twice and had some great saves and a great kick that made it all the way to the other teams goal which would have been awesome if one her players would have been there to kick it in. She was really excited they get to play four on four this year because she has been dying to get to play goalie. When she was playing out in the field she was able to score two goals. She is listening to my coaching from the sidelines a lot better this year. Ha! At least no more dirty looks when I yell "run faster" and "hustle" every five seconds. I love it when she is excited after her games about how she played and tired because she knows she worked hard. I think they have a pretty good team this year and the girls had a lot of fun together.

Riley's team played West Valley on Saturday and beat them 2-0. This was an exciting game for them because WV is a very good team, I believe they were the league champs last year. It was great for them to get that win and have it behind them. Southridge went up a spot in the state rankings from 7th to 6th, so hopefully they can hang onto their winning streak and keep playing hard.

Riley mentioned to me the other night that by Thanksgiving we are going to need a vacation. It probably won't happen, but I think he's right.