Tate - Itty Bitty Football 2013

I made the mistake of telling Tate I was signing him up for Itty Bitty Football about 3 weeks before it started.  I don't know what I was thinking because it was a nightmare of those 3 weeks with him asking about 100 times a day if it was time to go to his football!  

How we survived that 3 weeks, I'll never know.  But at long last, the day came when it was time to go.  We arrived and found out that his team was the SF 49ers!  He was so excited, he could hardly stop smiling.

I love Itty Bitty because they set up a bunch of stations around the gym at our community center and teach the kids all of the different skills in the sport.  One of the stations was kicking the football, here Tate is getting ready to kick.

They also do a bunch of warm-ups before they get started, here is is doing some pushups or something like unto it.

Here's another station where they were lining up and running down the field (or across the gym).  Love his little stance!

Another station where they were throwing it to the kids and having them throw it back.

I literally have a ton of videos that I took because the pictures just don't do the whole experience justice, so I'm attaching a few of some of the things he did.

Here he is running the football.  He was supposed to run across the gym and back, but as you can tell, he couldn't help running around the cones (multiple times)!

Here he is running through the hoops.  This one was hilarious to me!  He's got pretty good coordination for a 3 year old!

Here he is catching and throwing the football.

Here he is running around cones, he was the only one that got what they wanted him to do from the start.  Pretty smart boy!

And last, but not least, doing jumping jacks.  Why is it always so funny to watch little kids do jumping jacks???  Sorry this video is sideways, I accidentally filmed it that way and can't seem to get it turned!

And of course the last day, they pull out the parachute.  The kid absolutely love this and I can't blame them.

Tate thought it was the best thing ever!

After waiting so long, it seemed that Itty Bitty was over before we knew it.  But Tate had a blast and I had so much fun watching him.  He reminds me so much of Zach when he did Itty Bitty.  

I came right home the last day and signed him up for Itty Bitty Basketball for January - but you can bet that I didn't tell him!  Nor will I until the day of, I don't think I can handle days and days of asking if it's time for Itty Bitty!

Way to go Tate, you did great and we sure are proud of you!

A Lawncare Specialist in the Making

I don't know what it is about mowing the lawn that excites a 3 year old boy, but there must be something.  Tate has been obsessed with "mowving the lawn" as he puts it this year.  

He can hardly wait week to week when the boys mow the lawn and he is right out there with them with his lawnmower ...

... going back and forth, following them around.

And of course you can't forget about trimming!

It was too cute to watch him this year.  

Most of the time when he would go out back to play, he'd inform me that he was going in the "backyark to mowv the lawn."  I guess there were just days that we needed it done and he couldn't wait around for Dad to get home to do it!

Love this little guy and the funny things he gets into!

Tate - Flag Football Mascot

I couldn't leave out the most hilarious part of flag football season this year.  That would be the little one that tagged along with daddy as coach and brother as player.  He affectionately got deemed as the mascot by the team and he loved it!

Everywhere his Dad went, so did he.  

And you'll notice that he had to have a wristband and set of flags on as well.

We were accidentally given a smaller football in our equipment and since the boys didn't want to practice with that ball, it became Tate's official ball throughout the season.

There would be times when I couldn't help but laugh at some of the facial expressions as he was walking around.

I told him to pose like a "football player" and this is the stance and expression I got.  Too funny!

And he had to turn around so I could take a picture of the flags in the back too.

Yes, I have to admit that the mascot was definitely one of the highlights of the season!  The only problem came when he got mad because he was never actually put into any of the games.  Boy was he mad when we explained that he wasn't going to be.  I think there was weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth for a good 15 minutes.  Luckily for us, we had Itty Bitty Football coming up for him - more on that soon.

Zach - Flag Football 2013

Another season, another sport.  Fall for our family means flag football.  We all love being apart of the experience.  It's funny that when we started out the season, it was warm and we were all in shorts and short sleeves, but the time the season was done in early October, we were wearing coats, gloves, blankets, etc.  Welcome to fall in Utah.

Anyway, this year Zach was really having a great time.

He excelled so much that it was really fun to watch each game.

He did so well that half way through the season the team decided to have just 2 quarterbacks and Zach was one of them.

He did really great and ended up throwing quite a few touchdown passes.

One of the best parts was having Jeremiah as the coach.  I just love seeing the two of them out there together.  It was really a difficult coaching experience, but we were glad we did it.

Zach was quite the defender too.  He was always assigned the side of the field because he was great at keeping the other team from getting by him.

His defensive instincts were amazing.

Here's a quick video of him playing quarterback.  It wasn't the best result, but it was the best angle and it shows him playing one of his favorite positions.

He also caught a bunch of passes for touchdowns and had quite a few interceptions.  Unfortunately, I didn't capture any of them on camera, but wanted to make mention of those as well.

We sure are proud of how well Zach is doing in sports.  He really loves playing and we love watching him.  Way to go Zach, we sure love you!

Mommy's Little Cleaning Helper

Can't help but love when someone wants to help out.  And cleaning the house is definitely something I'll take help with!  Tate has decided that he loves to vacuum.  He has a little vacuum toy that he loves to push around, but one day decided he needed to do the big vacuum too.  So I let him turn it on and off he went.

The first time we did this, I had already vacuumed the floor, but ever since, I make sure he has his turn before I do, that way I get most of the middle of the floor vacuumed twice!  Can't beat that!

He also decided he needed a turn with the mop.  

Boy my kitchen floor really sparkled right in this corner by the time he was done!

Love all the help I'm getting from my big boy.  He sure is a cutie and it's fun to see him wanting to help with things around the house!

First Day of School - 2013!

How the summer flies by!  Seems like it went by so fast this year!  Before we knew it, August 20th was here and it was time for the first day of school.  The kids had mixed feelings about it, all 3 of them.  

Zach was not excited about going, but there was a little part of him that wanted to get back to recess, Art, and PE - all of his favorite things about school.

Hailey was really excited, especially since her class was in one of the trailers or portable classrooms as school this year.  She wasn't quite so excited about getting up early and being gone all day long (she's a home body in some respects).

Tate wasn't at all excited about not having the kids around to play with all day, but he was excited (even though he didn't know it) about having the whole house and all the toys to himself all day.

Here are our three kids, the morning of school.  Aren't they all so cute?

I love this on where Tate was leaning against Zach, it was so cute! 

Here's our 2nd grader - I can't believe she's already in 2nd grade!  Wasn't she just in preschool yesterday???  She has Miss McClain this year and is in the trailer - which was such a fun surprise for her!

She got a new Hello Kitty backpack and wanted me to be sure and take a picture of it.

Here's our 5th grader - that's right I said 5th grade!  I can't believe in just 2 years, he'll be heading off to junior high.  Ahh, they just grow up so fast!  Zach has Mrs. Billings this year and is inside the main school.  

He didn't have a new backpack and when I asked if he wanted me to take a picture of his backpack too, he just rolled his eyes at me - yep, definitely in the "Mom, you're bothering me and asking me to do ridiculous things!" stage.

Tate was feeling left out, so he wanted me to take a picture of him on his bike.  At this point, he was under the impression that he was going to be riding his bike with the kids to school.

Here are all 3 of them lined up and ready to go.  We have loved being close enough to the school so that the kids can ride their bikes back and forth, it gives them a little something to make it special since they don't get to ride the bus (which they think is VERY unfair, they both love the bus!).

Off they go, to their first day of school for 2013.

They had a great first day and both came home excited to go back.  So glad they both have such great teachers that made them excited to return.  They are growing up so fast, I can hardly believe how the time has flown by!

Hailey's Fall Soccer Season

Now that our two oldest children are getting older, they are doing more and more activities.  I now understand what people mean when they say like they feel like chauffeurs all the time!

This fall soccer season was Hailey's turn to play.  I have very much loved having just one child in soccer at a time!  Hailey had such a fun team and coach this year.  She loved every bit about the season, even practicing in the August heat!

She has continually improved each year she has played and we have been very proud of her.  One of her favorite things to do was play goalie.  It's funny how all of the kids want to play that position!  The one game she played almost the entire half and I think by the end she was ready to get in there and run around a little bit.

She had the funniest poses when I tried to get her picture in front of the goal.

She continually made us chuckle as she would get ready for the ball to head her way.  (In case you didn't notice, I got a great picture of the back of Zach's head in this one!)

Here she is running up for a goal kick.  Luckily, she never missed - she told me she was always so worried that she would.

The little "beehive" right in front of the goal.

She was really good at keeping her eye on the game and watching for the ball.

She was actually a really good goalie and they only scored on her once - even though she played goalie 3 or 4 times in different games.

Here she is out playing in the field.  You can always tell which one she is because she has on the pink soccer socks!

Chasing the ball.

She was so cute, I can't believe she's almost 8 already - getting all grown up!

I never did have the camera out when she scored a goal, but she scored 3 or 4 goals for the entire season, quite a good number!

She had a great time playing soccer this fall and can't wait for next year when she will get to play again.  We sure are proud of her and how much she is improving each year.  Way to go Sis, we sure love you!