Abby the Soccer Machine

Abby loves to run all over the soccer field.  She wants to be a part of all the action, otherwise known as creating a "bunch ball" experience.  She also likes to throw in every ball and set up every goal kick, and basically run the show.  That's how Abby works.  She really likes to be in charge.
It is fun to watch her play.  Last weekend my parents were here (I should have taken a picture) and they got to see Sammie and Abby both play soccer.  I didn't know if Abby was going to be able to play because she had an infected toe that was on the mend.  After school on Friday it looked OK and she wasn't complaining about it hurting so we let her play.  It's fun to watch her.  She has so much endless energy.

12 Year Olds are Crazy, Silly, and a Little Dorky

Those are the words I would use to sum up Olivia's birthday party with her friends.  They had a great time going on a scavenger hunt to Target and playing minute to win it games.  I was glad they had a great time and I was just as glad when it was over.  My head was starting to hurt a little.  That ice cream cake though...that was delicious.

A Very Happy Birthday!

Olivia turned 12 this month.  12.  Can she really be 12?  I don't feel like I could have a 12 year old and yet, here she is.  She is beautiful, kind, smart, and knows so much more about life than I ever did at that age.  I still love finding little stories she has started.  Sometimes I sit down at the computer and find that a story is typed on the screen.  She really has a knack for writing.
12 is full of so many beginnings.  It's when a young girl enters her years in Young Women's.  I am so excited for Olivia and the opportunities she will have to grow in the gospel.  I think when your child gets to be about 12, you can see them to really start to make important choices for themselves.  It is exciting and a little scary and I think sometimes I will just be crossing my fingers and hoping for the best in some situations.  I'm so glad I get to be this sweet girl's mom.

A few visitors came last weekend

Tyler called last week and said that he had the opportunity to work near Bakersfield on Friday and wanted to know if he could bring the family and stay for the weekend.  Of course!  I love having visitors.  I had some free passes to our local natural history museum so we went there on Saturday morning before Sammie's game.  It's a pretty quirky place with mostly a bunch of stuffed wild animals and animal heads all over.  We laughed at some of the displays but the quirkiness of it is really awesome.  We especially enjoyed the children's play area downstairs.  The kids could have spent a long time there, but we were a little bit pressed for time so we could get back for Sammie's game.  It was great to see Tyler and his family.  His kids are so so cute.

And it has begun

Soccer season is here.  It is most definitely here.  Joey is coaching Sammie's team and they won their first game on Saturday.  Sammie did such a great job in the hot, hot, hot, afternoon game.  The girls were miserably hot, but they played so well.
I am team parenting Sammie and Abby's teams.  They like it when I do this because they get to see the banner being made.  Don't worry, it's no big deal.  It's just use an online program with pre-made everything.  All I have to do is make a few tweaks to make the banner template work for our team and then order it and have it shipped to me. Easy-peasy.
I didn't get any pictures of Abby's game and I'll have to take some this weekend.  She seems to like it but feels a little confused about where she needs to be on the field.  It's just a big game of bunch ball.  It always is the first part of the season and then they figure it out.

Big Girl

Everything that my oldest child does makes me feel old.  I love this girl, Olivia.  On the first day of school she went on and on about all of the things in Junior High.  Just her observations and mimicking her teachers and talking about her friends.  She has really had a great attitude so far about her school experience.  I love kids this age. I secretly snapped these photos when we were eating frozen yogurt.  My heart just felt so warm as I watched her expressions while she talked about her day.
Olivia also just got a regular baby-sitting job every Monday afternoon for about and hour and a half.  She hasn't babysat like this all on her own yet and I felt weird just dropping her off.  She just walked in the door and I drove away.  I didn't walk her in the house, hear any of the instructions she would need to follow, or didn't give her any reminders.  It was just all her own thing.  She survived and so did the children and she made a few dollars too.

Roaring Camp Railroad

The final post of the Family Vacation.  I was a little behind on this one and just realized that I hadn't put up any pictures of this fun outing.  We took a train ride through the redwoods.  It was a pretty warm day and we may have ridden in the car too close to the noisy engine, but we had a fun time.  I love making all of these memories together as a whole fmaily.  It brings us closer together when we don't get to be near one another.  The cousins get to bond and build relationships.  My girls just absolutely love their cousins and hope that we can continue to build those friendships and relationships.

Monterey Aquarium

Our family hasn't been back to the Monterey Aquarium since I was just barely pregnant with Abby.  I remember we went on a weekend and we just loved it there.  One morning we all got up early to arrive at our designated time slot of 9:30.  It is a bit tricky getting a big number of people all in one house ready to get out the door, but we managed.  The Aquarium was just as, if not more exciting than the last time we visited.  Sammie and Abby loved the Sea Otters the best.  Abby was thrilled to find that one of them shared her name.  We watched the feeding and they were both smashed up against the window with a crowd of people behind them but they got a perfect view.  I was a little worried at that time because my dad had taken them up to see the otters, but I thought they followed my mom and when I asked her where they were she didn't know and no one else seemed to know either.  I didn't panic.  Just a few minutes later, I spotted my dad.  He told me the girls were in the small crowd but right up against the window.  I tip-toed up and looked around and spotted them.  I felt like that is how I was constantly on this trip.  My kids were just wandering off with any adult in our group.  I partly was happy about their independence, but slightly worried all the time.  Not too, too, worried, but just slightly.