USA Adidas Cup

Since my little camera took a swim in the creek, I took pictures with my phone. I do wish I had taken my Nikon, but I have a hard time lugging it around along with all the other crap I have to take to games (chairs, sunblock, water, snacks, umbrellas....).

We finally made it over the hump this tournament and played in the championships. We killed another USA team in the semi-finals and advanced to the end. Our first few games were close. We tied our first game 1-1 and ended up playing that same team for first place. They won in the end by one stinking point. It was tied 3-3 and I thought it was going to go to extra time, but the one good player they had on their team scored in the last 30 seconds. I actually think the time was up 3-4 minutes earlier but the ref hadn't called the game. I think he was just going to let the game go until someone scored again so that we didn't have to play all day. It was 100 degrees and the kids had already played that morning so I don't blame him.

In one of the games, Josh did one of his awesome slide tackles (the legal kind) and ripped his knee up. He was pretty annoyed that the ref made him leave the field to get it cleaned up. He didn't understand why blood is such a big deal. So after some explaining and waiting for the the medic team to clean him up, he went back in but just in time for the whistle to blow and the game to be over. His coach kept asking if he was done and ready to go back in and Josh was freaking out about it taking too long to get cleaned up, but rules is rules. He called his dad after the game and told him he missed the whole second half. It was more like 6-7 minutes, but it felt like forever.

So here they are after getting their awards. It was great for the boys to finally get a medal. I think they were all a little mixed up inside - happy to be there, but bummed about second place. Not much you can do though when the other team has a 17 year old scoring all the goals for them.

It was a great way to end a summer packed with tournaments. This was our fifth tourney since June and the difference in our team is pretty remarkable. Our season starts next week and they are all excited to get started.

Yesterday Josh stayed home from school with a stomach bug. He was beside himself when he found out that I emailed his coach and told him he wouldn't be at soccer last night. Isn't that mean? He seriously was lost last night when he started to feel better and couldn't go to practice. The kid can't breath without a ball at his feet.
  

Camping

Since the boys and I were originally planning to be in England the week of August 8th, my parents had scheduled a week of camping with the girls. For those that haven't heard, Jer got a new job last month and has spent the month of August in Colorado.  So, as good as a new job is, unfortunately, we had to postpone our England trip to next Spring. Erin and Emma still got to go with Grandma and Grandpa on their little vacation though.  Josh and I went up Thursday night and crashed their party.

 The girls were excited to show us everything that they had been doing. Playing in the creek is something I grew up doing. I was a little worried initially because of the water levels this year, but the creek was way down. It didn't take Emma long to put a hole in her shorts going down the "slide." And then, shortly after that, her bum cheeks were showing! So funny. She didn't believe me when I told her that would happen. I really wanted to take a picture of them hanging on the clothes line, but she threw a fit about it.

The picture below is how the big kids play in the creek. I kept asking Josh if he was ever going to get off his throne - he didn't think it was funny when I helped him out of it. I didn't think it was funny when my camera took a dive in the creek. :(

 The tent looks small in this picture - it's not small. Weird.

Erin didn't realize how much she had missed me until I got up the canyon to see her. She couldn't leave my side. I didn't mind. I was lonely without her, too. The crazy thing is that the kids immediately went back to fighting and driving me crazy. How is it that the girls went all week not whining or fighting, but as soon as Josh and I got there, everything changed.

There were only a few moments when they were actually all getting along and smiling... usually when my camera was out. It was so fun to spend time in the mountains. It is one of my favorite things to do. Next time I would just prefer to not be a single parent. Thank heavens for grandmas and grandpas.

England update: For those that have helped Josh work toward his England trip, we appreciate it so much!!!! He has earned more than half of his part and is excited to go to ManU this Spring. I will keep you all up to date as he continues to prepare for his AMAZING trip!

Park City Extreme Cup

 USA White 2011

(from left to right) Tyler, Hudson, Dakota, Parker, Ethan, Jabin, Connor, Jake, Riley, Josh, Jeff, (front) Jared, Kaden, Leo,(laying) Ryan, Canyon

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 We had such a fun time at the Park City Extreme Cup. Josh's team has gotten crazy good ... until they get to the semi-finals. Ugh. We killed it in the first three games (scores were 9-2, 7-1, 4-2) and went to the semi-finals in first place. But, unfortunately, we didn't win that game so we didn't advance to the championships.We are playing in the Adidas Cup this coming weekend and I think the boys, the parents and the coach are counting on taking a gold. This will be our 5th tournament since school got out and these boys need to take home a trophy.

 Josh put his new shoes to the test. They performed well. Or he did. Or both. He played every minute of all the games so I'm getting the impression that his coach is liking the way he plays. This is the first time in years he has had this much field play (rather than being in the box as keeper all the time) and he is really loving every minute of the game.

 Erin and Emma survived another tournament mostly because Cari came and entertained them. We had way too much fun. The kids got to see what Cari and I act like late at night with a lot of caffeine and sugar in our systems.We're not exactly mature.

 The girls bat their eyes at Cari and she buys them what they want. This time it was hats. They are cute in hats.

 For some reason, it's fun to go out to eat in Park City. We went to one of my all time Park City favorites: Baja Cantina. Remember going there in high school after concerts at Wolf Mountain? Ha! I do. I love that place.

 It was fun to take the kids there. We love Mexican.

 Another favorite (a new favorite) is Park City Pizza Co. It was so yummy and right across the street from our condo. They were super fun with the soccer players - they had a big sign in the restaurant welcoming the "soccer studs" and they treated Josh like a star.

 We were at the outlet mall doing a little back to school shopping and I got a phone call from Jer (still in Denver). He was having a bad day - missing his kids and being frustrated with missing the tournament. So he asked me to send him a pic of the kids. I'm not sure this is what he was hoping for, but this sums up the humor for the weekend. It was crazy, but oh so fun.

Towards the end of the weekend, Josh was plum out of energy. He had played in four soccer games, gone shopping at the outlet mall, done lots of sight seeing, and played in the pool. He is a good sport though and let me take lot's of pictures of him. :)

Stinky Boy

Josh got home from Bear Lake today and man are we glad to have him home! He probably could have left the stink there, but at least he is home. Six days is a long time for my buddy to be gone! He is so not a mama's boy - he is so independent and doesn't need me, but I need him. :) He is my helper, my buddy and my peacemaker. I'm so proud of him for not only going away for six days, but for completing five merit badges! Isn't that crazy? I can't believe how much they do in one weeks time. He just got home and is already talking about what classes he wants to take next year. He finished his rifle shooting (and did really well, in fact), environmental science, canoeing, swimming and archery merit badges.

He has earned his Second Class and is well on his way with his First Class. I'm so grateful for his Scout of a dad, his awesome leaders and grandpa's that have helped him. He is working to have his Eagle when he is fourteen and this mama is not earning it for him. I am not the best Scout Mom - I'm learning the rules of the game right along with him.

This is a picture of him last Sunday night before they left. He has everything packed neatly on his back. And, he is clean and smiling. I should've taken a picture of him this morning when they got home. He wasn't as "compact" and didn't smell as nice. But, he was smiling!

Before he got to camp, he wanted to do a practice run with the tent. He said he was sure he could set it up, but taking it down was another story. Jer and I sat out at the picnic table and watched. With very little coaching, he did it. He is a good kid. Silly how just watching your boy set up a little two man tent makes you realize how quickly he is becoming a man. The first time he passed the sacrament, I cried. And now he is back from a week long camp. What am I going to do when he does get his Eagle? I guess as long as his voice doesn't change and his leg hairs don't get any longer, I can deny his manhood.

However, if you look at the boys shoe size and "taste" in soccer cleats, he is all man. He only got one season out of his last boots so we told him before Fall we would take him to get new one's. I got an email from Team Gear saying the boots ("boots" are what hot shot soccer players call cleats) were all on sale until the end of last week. So my boy get's online and starts drooling. He came to me at one point and asked if I thought his dad would let him get Nike instead of Adidas this time. I obviously know very little about what he is talking about so I ask why he wants Nike. Why does it really matter? Where I come from, you go to the PayLess Shoe Source down the road and try on all the shoes until you find some that are cute and mostly fit. I have quickly learned that for Josh, getting this particular boot is like me getting my first pair of Gerbeau jeans in 1990. So, we get to the soccer store and Josh starts trying on. He was a good sport and humored me by trying on the cleats I thought looked like good one's, but in the end he got what he wanted. :) All I will say is that if he doesn't run faster, jump higher and kick harder in these boots, he never will. They are the hot diggity bomb. I think he had a hard time leaving them home while he was at scout camp. He told me he was going to sleep with them. For those that care about this kind of crap (ie the Johnson boys) they are the Nike Mercurial Vapor VII FG Cleats. If you google them, you will see that all the hot shots (Christiano Ronaldo) wear them. And Ronaldo does run fast, jump high and kick hard. They must be magic.

Oh it's a good thing I love this boy. Josh. Josh is the boy I love. (and Jer) But it's okay that I put a picture of Ronaldo, right? Josh loves Ronaldo, so in order to support him, I love Ronaldo, too. He he.

So Jer is packing for his big "vacation" to Denver. I'm so not looking forward to him being gone, but I am glad my Josh is back. 

Welcome home, Stinky boy.

Cache Valley Cup

Three down and two more tournaments to go. Soccer has kept us busy this summer. We got home yesterday from the Cache Valley Cup in Logan. It's one of my favorite tournaments (tide with St. George and Park City). It's a well organized tourney that brings in a lot of talented teams from all over Utah. Josh's team played hard and went on to the semi-finals, but dagnabit they didn't advance to the Championships. One of these times, we are going to win the tournament. I can feel it.. maybe in Park City we will take first. These boys have worked their butts off and deserve to win.

For every goal scored against them, their coach makes them do 25 push ups. So even if they don't win, they still do push ups if they were scored on. Fortunately, coach was nice and let them off the hook for one of the goals due to the 90 degree weather and multiple games played in one day.

This is the view we had of the Logan Temple from the soccer fields on Saturday morning. If the winters weren't so dang cold, I would move to Logan in a heartbeat. I love Cache Valley.

 We had lot's of time between games (like all day Friday). So, we took advantage and did some of my favorite things to do in Logan. We went to Willow Park and the boys snoozed on a blanket under a shady tree while I took the girls through the Zoo. It was an awesome way to spend the afternoon. I love that park.

 And, of course we had to go get some Aggie Ice Cream. Josh wasn't going to let us forget to stop and get him some Aggie Blue Mint. He deserved a treat after all that soccer. Too bad he wouldn't let me take a picture of him.

 And, Gossner cheese is another must when we are in Logan. The kids always love the samples and the flavored milk. I love the cheese. So yummy. It was packed on Saturday. Must've been a lot of hungry soccer players in town.

 Another fun place to visit is Cox Honeyland. They are close to the soccer fields so the girls anxiously wait for us to stop and get a honey straw. After talking to one of the owners the other day, I found out you can take your own containers and fill them up in the warehouse. She suggested bringing in empty mayo jars to save some money, but I'm thinking why not a 5 gallon bucket? So yummy.

 Even though freezer jam is easy to make, there's something about getting some from Weeks. There are so many Utah's Own company's in Logan. We are big fans of local ma and pa shops and Logan is chuck full of them. Jer and I are always in awe with all that Cache County has to offer. If I had been a pioneer, I would have settled there.

 We also spent lot's of time in Brigham City. This is another favorite of mine. I really should just move North. But, then that would really be a long drive to soccer practice. The picture above is of Maddox's. This is one of our favorite places to eat. We are food snobs and this place is at the top of our list of Utah favorites. They serve hot rolls with raspberry honey butter and water from the well. The meat is all farm raised (no hormones) and is amazing!

 Another favorite of mine are all the fruit stands in Brigham City and Willard. I will pay big bucks for a case of peaches, but this time of year is awesome for berries and cherries. I've made myself sick in the last two days. Who can resist this stuff?

So there was a lot of soccer this last week, but we obviously had time for a few mini vacation things. Cari came up and played on Saturday with us. We laughed about our days as roommates at USU and Cari realized it's been tenish years since she's been to Logan. How sad for her. It's changed so much since we were living there. In fact, the hotel we stayed at (the Marriott) was brand new and amazing. The Logan River flows through the hotel complex. Gorgeous. And, they have chupa chups at the check in desk. Bonus! :)

Jer starts his new job tomorrow and Josh and I have Scout/Girls Camp next week. Then we will be on to the next soccer tournament. Jer will be in Denver for training so it will be interesting trying to tackle a tourney without him. But, fortunately, Cari will be there again to help out. 

Eventually I will be able to blog about our other summer adventures, but that will have to do for now.

Today we Celebrate

 One of my favorite things to do on the Fourth of July is go to the Magna Parade. Not so much for the floats or the royalty - more for the people watching of the people watching the parade. I asked Jamie to take a picture of me and my kids when the parade was over and the above gem is what I got. Not Jamie's fault. My oldest child has a phobia of the camera. He stood there with his eyes closed and claimed he couldn't help it. He's mostly retarded, but he gets that from me.

 I almost didn't get to Old Navy in time to get Erin her "July shirt" this year. They were about out. She calls this particular holiday "July." Not Independence Day or the Fourth of July. Just July. And it is her favorite holiday.

Brynlee, Emma, Kailee, Cambree, Erin and Josh

 Since Josh hides from the camera (or has a phobia or whatever), I made sure it was in his face a lot.All his "frecks" are showing in this picture. Pretty cute.

 Em was good to help Bryn get some candy at the parade. And Bryn was quite the performer. Every time she heard music and/or saw dancers, she was right out in the street dancing with them. So funny.

 The weather was strange for this time of year (shocking, I know). It sprinkled on us just enough to make the day pleasant. Jer stayed home to make some ribs for us and had a bit of a struggle as he stood out in the rain trying to smoke some baby backs. They were delicious - as always. This was the first time he has done ribs in a couple of years so he didn't make a lot so there was no sharing. Sorry. If you've had his ribs before, you are probably really bitter right now for not getting an invitation. I will try and talk him into making them again this summer. And I will invite you (all two of you that read this).

 More pics of Josh. Ha. I win. Though in this picture he is winning at annoying the snot out of his dad. They are good at harassing each other - a lot. Look at the smirk on his face. Turd.

 Tell me she's not the cutest thing you've seen all day. Okay so both girls are adorable. I am biased, but whatever. I'm allowed to be. 

So there is our "July" all summed up. Hope yours was crazy fun, too!!!

Little Stink

My blog posts have been less than consistent and have lacked any kind of personality lately. My laptop died. Boo. It needs a new screen and I'm not sure it's worth replacing it or just getting a whole new laptop. As for our desktop, a little girl named Emma (not the sassy pants in the pictures) is addicted to online fashion games. She has been warned not to go to certain websites, but does anyway and low and behold, my computer has a virus and is shut down until Jer can clean up the mess.

So, I was just going through the pictures on the netbook and found these of Erin. She cracks me up. The top one is the front of her, believe it or not. She put all of her hair in front of her face and put her hat on. Such a character. She's been such a stinker lately. A moody little thing. She is either performing for a crowd and making everyone laugh, or bawling her eyes out over something completely lame. She is usually crying because she is hungry and doesn't know what she wants. I think she is going through a growth spurt but I am just about done with the crying fits. I keep thinking she needs to nap, but even when she has a full belly and slept for 12 hours the night before, she finds a reason to cry. I don't remember my other two going through this stage.

Anyway, just a lame update.  Let me know if you have any suggestions for the crying six year old.