Family, Fun and Famous People

We had a house full over Memorial Day weekend. I love having family come and stay. I am so preoccupied talking to adults for a change that I barely even notice the kids. The boys have a blast with their cousins. They  fall asleep wherever, wearing whatever, at who knows what time. We relax the shower and toothbrush rules, eat lots of junk and everyone is happy.

Now that the kiddos are older,we are more daring about taking them out in public. But it's a good idea to check the business hours before embarking on a drive to a theme restaurant. Just because you want to eat lunch at noon, doesn't mean the restaurant agrees with your idea of lunchtime.  We did a make up trip the next day and it was a big hit especially because we had good seats and they did a lot of diving.

We also went bowling.

There was a big celebration at Timp Harley that the dads took the boys to. It had a little of everything: hummer limos,monster trucks, motorcycles....

There were carnival games, free drinks, prizes, a climbing wall and bungee jumping thing. They thought of everything!

 If all of that wasn't enough, they brought in some Jazz players. Which was the big reason our boys wanted to go. The kids all got autographs from our favorite player Deron Williams.

And Jeff Hornacek.

Some other stuff in May

Ben competed in his first ever rain gutter regatta. His boat looked good and he had fun.

And the weather was nice, which was a big deal considering that the morning before (MAY 24) looked like this.

Zack graduated from kindergarten. We love Miss Gurney. Zack had a great school year and is excited to go full time next year. 

Zack plays soccer too

No one works harder or plays soccer better than Zack. He told me so after every game. This season, his team was the Sharks. They had a lot of fun.

Zack's soccer skills improved. His throw-ins are impressive. He didn't cry if the coach took him out and didn't freak out if they lost. 

Even though they are just kindergartners sometimes the games get a little intense and I find myself getting a little carried away. This kid playing against Zack really got on my nerves. He was a pusher and I just can't stand pushers. By about the third time Zack went down, we (mostly Matt) were encouraging Zack to get a little more physical. Now we were walking a fine line here but I admit that I was glad when the kid started getting a taste of his own medicine. And by the way, Matt & I have some age concerns about that red-head. No way he's only six. No way.

Hope of America

Each year, 5th graders from around the state gather at the Marriott Center to celebrate America. They form a super cool American flag and sing patriotic songs. It was pretty impressive, especially when the lights went out and they performed a choreographed flashlight number. There was a disco ball involved, it was really something.  

In between the kids' songs they featured some Latin dancing. I found it a little odd that a celebrate America program didn't feature a wider variety of dancing styles. I mean how hard is it to throw in some clogging, a Virginia Reel, or a hula? They did include the dancin' grannies (not the real name) which the boys just loved. In spite of Ben's pleading, I didn't get a picture of the 93 year old lady doing the splits. Maybe it was the sparkling costumes or the catchy music, whatever it was, I try not to think too much about why they liked them so much.

Are you wondering where Noah was? He was wearing a red t-shirt. See:

Howl Like A Cub Scout

Ben earned his Wolf badge. The Cub Master lets the scouts give their "best (animal rank) sound" into the microphone once they get the award. For some reason, the scouts think it is hilarious to do something wimpy and lame like a meow. Well, Matt and I do not appreciate this type of humor so we had Ben practice a few good wolf howls before the pack meeting. But when his time to shine came, he was torn: should he please his parents or give into peer pressure? Let's just say he was a hit with the under 10 crowd--we were not impressed.

Preparing for a career with the USPS

Noah's so called spring soccer season starts in March. It's not consistently warm in March. In fact, most of the time, the weather is rotten--windy, rainy and/or snowy.  The games are flat out cold and miserable to watch and they are rarely canceled due to bad weather.

It was lucky that the snow was mostly on the sidelines at this game. It was really cold and the ball was extra heavy from absorbing all the water. The worst part was when the kids were getting hit with the ball. I can only imagine how painful it was to have get slammed with a soaking wet ball when your body is cold. At least the crowd offered a sympathetic groan every time a kid took one for the team.

Sometimes, if we're lucky, we can park right next to the field so we can watch from the warmth of the car.

Thank heavens the game they played in the pouring rain had convenient parking. It was inconvenient that I had to keep rolling down the window to wipe the rain off so that I could see.

After Noah was cold and soaking wet. You wouldn't know it from his expression, but they won the game.

I think there were only a couple of games that the weather was warm enough to actually enjoy the game. I can't figure out the logic in starting the season so early but at least Noah doesn't complain. That's how I know he likes soccer, because neither rain nor sleet or snow will stop him from playing.

Signs of the Times

School is out in just over a week. I am sort of looking forward to having the boys home all day. My biggest problem with summer is that 3 boys = lots of fighting. This is a bad sign: 

 (Did you catch my double meaning there?) That was from my least likely to resort to violence child. I think it was in response to this note Zack put on his door: 

Yes those are bombs accompanying the skull and crossbones. I am in for a long summer.