Halloween 2012

This year Halloween was a lot of fun. We kind of went overkill on the candy, but the twins really got into it and were practicing saying trick-or-treat for weeks. Halloween was actually so warm this year that all of the kids came home sweating in their costumes and complaining of being hot. That is a first! Here are my not very good pictures of my little trick-or-treaters before they headed out the door:




It never fails that either Cooper or Kale are not looking.





I had fun doing Kendle's hair for her Medusa costume




Riley and Kendle did their usual major trek around all the surrounding neighborhood's after the little guys came home. They always get quite the haul. I'm glad Riley likes to go do that stuff with the kids, because I am much happier in my cozy house handing out the candy.

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

Christmas Time is Here

I desperately need to write another catch up post about the rest of October, Halloween  and Thanksgiving but I felt like writing something Christmasy today. December is upon us and I couldn't be happier. I look forward to our fun family activities and also focusing more on our Savior and the spirit of Christmas. In the hustle and bustle of soccer, basketball, school functions and concerts, church parties, shopping and present wrapping, doctor appointments  and all of the other things that tend to take up our schedules this time of year I am making an effort more than ever to go with the flow and enjoy it all without letting the stressful feelings creep in.

One of the things that help our family keep the focus on our family and Christmas spirit is to make an advent calendar, but this year we opted just for a Christmas bucket list of many fun things to do throughout the month. I loved our advent calendar we did last year, but I felt the need to be more flexible this year and simplify.

 

Here is our Dodson Family Christmas

Bucket List:

 

Decorate ginger bread houses and ice cream cone trees

 

Drive around and look at Christmas lights

 

Watch Christmas movies

 

Make and decorate Christmas Cookies

 

Take treats to friends and neighbors

 

Go watch the Senske light show

 

Visit and feed the reindeer

 

Sibling Christmas shopping

 

Make snowflakes

 

Read the Christmas story from Luke

 

Clean out toys and clothes to donate

 

Sleep under the Christmas tree

 

FHE about the symbols of Christmas and a treasure hunt

 

Go sledding

 

Learn a new Christmas song

 

Read our favorite Christmas books

 

Take a family photo

 

Drink hot chocolate and watch the Polar Express



 

Do a service project/leave a secret gift for someone

 

 

 

It is going to be a great month!



Catching Up

We are now into the second month of school, chilly October mornings, jackets and coat weather, and our second month of soccer. I love the month of October and the wonderful things it brings such as cold nights to sip on hot cocoa, fall colors emerging in nature, caramel apples and pumpkin flavored everything, and the anticipation of Halloween and the holidays just around the corner. Here's a little catch up of what's been going on:

Riley -- All the soccer craziness as the soccer city director is starting to die down a bit now that we are into the season. Coaching Kendle and Morgan's team and is finding coaching little boys is much more difficult than he thought! Ha. Busy as always with work/traveling and working hard to come in as the top salesman at the end of the year and earn us an awesome travel voucher for a vacation. Go Riley go! He went to a Seattle Sounders game this past weekend with some friends and said it was crazy but a lot of fun.

Kendle -- Probably the busiest out of all of us. Enjoying school as a 5th grader. This year she is a Peer Helper and also involved in Kids on Stage and the Mad Mallet music group. She LOVES Mad Mallets and thinks it's a blast. She has practice for that three days a week after school. She's also still plugging away with piano lessons at my insistence. Soccer is going great and her team is first in their league. She has scored 4 goals so far and made some great assists. Their last game on Saturday she battled with the other teams top player for a good two or three minutes back and forth with the ball, and finally beat her to smash a great goal in. It was awesome, just proud she kept at it and didn't give up. She hasn't played keeper that much as they need her out in the field more, but the one game she played keeper for half the game she made some great saves. She seems to still be ok with having her dad as her coach and tries not to roll her eyes at him too much (because she knows he'll make her run). Ha! She started AAU a few weeks ago and has awesome coaches we are very excited about. Although she is the youngest on the team and they are playing up at the 6th grade level, she is enjoying it and says she is learning a lot. She got asked to sing a solo in the primary program and hopefully it goes off as good as she's been practicing.

Morgan -- Morgan is growing and getting so tall and skinny. He has no baby fat left whatsoever and is getting a serious six pack. We call him our little muscle man. I try and feed him as much as I can but that boy never stops moving, running, or jumping all day. We decided to wait another year to send him to kindergarten and he is doing school with me during the mornings instead. He enjoys it and is a good listener most of the time and let's me help and correct him when needed. He loves to learn about new things and how things work. He is probably the only five year old I know that can tell you about pumps and pipes and all the water workings and things about a farm. He's also become a collector bordering on the edge of being a hoarder. He is always asking me for jars to keep and store more things in that he has found outside, his treasures. His favorite movie right now is the Sandlot and we recently bought him a new pair of high top Converse which he thinks are the best shoes ever. He is loving soccer and we are working on teaching him not to tackle and knock people over so much. (Save that for football in a few years)

Cooper -- Is quite the character. He reminds us of Charlie Brown sometimes and also does this little thing we call the "Cooper Shuffle" where he kind of just slumps his shoulders and sulks away when he doesn't get his way. He loves to draw and color and takes it very seriously with a studious expression on his face. He can be a stinker sometimes, but he is ALWAYS the first one to tell me thank you after I serve them up meals, get treats, etc......Obsessed with Thomas the Train and trains in general and talks about them all the time. Loves to sneak into my purse and eat all my gum. For some reason, he is always the one that is writing with pen all over himself or something else weird like that. Can usually always make me laugh with his mischievous smile.

Kale -- Slightly more dramatic than his twin brother and likes to put lots of extra attitude into his words to get his point across. Also completely obsessed with Thomas the Train and all other trains. Knows all of Thomas and his friends names. Tries to be a sneaker and get into my baking cupboard and eat all the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Is usually one of the last to fall asleep at night and keeps his other brothers awake. Pretty independent most of the time and wants to do things himself. Loves to sing silly songs with me and his brothers or sing along to the radio in the car. Gives good little hugs and squeezes.

Both boys have been potty trained since this summer and it is awesome! So thankful for that. They are getting so big and already wearing most of Morgan's clothes from about six months ago. Can't believe they will be 3 next month.

I've been not so patiently trying to get over these nasty colds that seem to just keep coming. I was attempting to keep my running routine up and train for another half-marathon the end of the month but I've been hit with another bad cold that has me all stuffed up and barely able to talk. My energy level is just wiped out between that and doing all the other day to day tasks. But I'll keep my fingers crossed that I can get better this week. I've been diving into baking season now that the weather has cooled off and keep finding so many new recipes that sound good to try out. I try and keep every one's schedules straight, sports uniforms and practice clothes washed, after school/pre-practice snacks and water bottles ready to go, and all the random soccer gear, cleats, and what not rounded up. I love that now it is dark earlier, all the kids are going to bed earlier and I have time to catch up on my shows I DVR. I don't feel like my life is all that exciting, but I can't complain. I'm thankful for all the many big and small blessings in our life and for this family of mine.