Ruthie!

It isn't often we have little ones over.

RuthAnn came over to visit me while her Mom and Dad went out for their anniversary.

She is adorable! Looks at those beautiful eyes!

I hope Ruthie comes to visit more often!

School is Cool!

The summer zoomed right past us!

Conner stared Jr High this year. He was SO excited! I was SO anxious. I mean really - the kid is growing up too quickly!

Zander was the most excited for school this year. He is feeling SO BIG that he gets to be at school ALL DAY LONG. He couldn't sleep the night before. He woke up several times asking if it was time to eat breakfast.

Stocks is in 5th grade and Gar is in 3rd. They are all excited about their teachers.

They sure look handsome!!

Stocky is 10!

Happy 10th Birthday Stockton!

Stockton is a rare find. I haven't met a kid quit like him. He has his own style to everything. He is the most caring, giving person. I wish so much I had more of his carefree attitude. He lets things slide off his back and never holds a grudge. He is a real blessing in my life and teaches me new things everyday.

Here are a few words to describe Stocks....

Giving ~ Carefree ~ Sincere ~ Thoughtful

Cerebral ~ Easy Going ~ Creative ~ Happy

Smart ~ Forgiving ~ Patient ~ Strong

Friendly ~ Popular

Friday Flashback - Stocks

Can you even guess who this cute little guys is?

Stockton

~2001~

7 Months Old

Little Stocky isn't so little anymore. He celebrated 10 years this past week!

He is a complete joy and brightens many lives.

I will get his birthday collage posted soon!

The Green

I haven't been fishing in ages.

It was a real treat to have Uncle Ruse and Aunt Elaine join us for a fun-filled trip down the Green River.

Check out Uncle Russes fish...

...and then it jumped right out of his hands. I think this is the best fish picture I have ever taken!!

We had a fabulous time!!

Little Teaser!

Garrett is an extreme teaser.

The other problem...

Zander is about the best person in the world to tease.

Can you imagine what those two are like when they are together?

Just look at Garrett's face?

He is going in for the tease and there is no coming back.

BOYS!

Mr. Determined

There are moments in life when my children teach me something. I believe those moments are the blessings of having children.

Have you ever wanted something so badly? Something that meant patience, endurance, sacrifice, and a lot of hard work?

Conner has.

Conner wants to be running back SO BAD! He LOVES football. He is really great at football too. There are a lot of hard parts about football, but for Conner the hardest part is making weight in order to carry the ball.

There is a rule in place that a child has to be a certain weight to carry the ball. The reason for his is so that those big kids carrying the ball don't hurt anyone on the field. They measure this by a child's weight.

Conner barely made weight last football season and had a great time playing running back. He found great joy in the sport and really wanted to continue playing this year. However, this year Conner got a lot taller. Putting on height means putting on weight. At the beginning on July he was weighing 137 pounds. 137 pounds for him is a good thing. He is a lean, muscular, tall boy who is just growing and growing - there isn't much he can do about it. But the issue was he needed to get down to 135 and maintain that weight for 6 weeks. You would think would be easy, but with his growing, six weeks of maintaining was going to be difficult. The other obstacle is the fact that Conner is a very healthy eater all ready and extremely active. Conner took on the challenge this past year to cut sugars out of his diet. He started that challenge a year ago last August and he stuck with it ALL YEAR!!!! Conner felt like he was going to have to be creative to maintain his weight since he was all ready doing a lot of things that were healthy.

Some of the things Conner did over the past six weeks were eating well. He consumed low fat foods. He stayed away from fatty things. Even on vacation, when we stopped for treats at the gas station, he chose water as his treat over chips or jerky. When it was birthday time this last birthday, and he had achieved the year without sugar, he still turned down a brownie I brought for him and his football team. He exercised like crazy. He got up early mornings with Niel and ran sprints. He even rode his bike home from his long football agility workouts. Anything to burn a few extra calories. What teenager does this kind of stuff at his age???

The big day finally arrived for weigh-ins. All his hard work and dedication paid off. As he got on the scale, his entire football team was standing there cheering him on! It wasn't just obvious to us at home, but anyone who has been around him lately knows of his goals - EVERYONE wanted to see him succeed! As Conner was cleared to play running back there was a loud cheer from his teammates and the parents of his teammates. Everyone started chanting... "Conner. Conner." It was a very satisfying moment.

A very inspiring one for me. I was so proud of him! He definitely deserves his spot as the starting running back on the 7th grade Lonepeak A team.

As reward for his hard work we all went to Pizza Pie Buffett. Conner loaded up on the carbs and enjoyed the simple pleasures of life.

As he drank his first glass of soda pop in over a year he said,

"I just had one cup of soda. I think that will just about do it for me this year! I better get going on next year right now."

I have a Teenager!

13 Happy Birthday Wishes for Conner!

It is a blessing to have had Conner in my life for 13 years. Wow! He is no longer a boy.... he is growing up to be a fine, young, man! I have been looking through pictures of him and it is amazing the fun memories he has brought into my life. Another memory he gave me todays was a big hug. I asked him what the hug was for and he said,

"I just love you Mom!"

He still loves me..... even as a teenager.

Here are some words that describe Conner

Competitive ~ Leader ~ Responsible ~ Perfectionist ~ Self-Disciplined

Determined ~ Loyal ~ Driven ~ Goal Oriented ~ Kind

Athletic ~ Playful ~ Crazy ~ Brilliant

Flashback - Birthday Boy

Conner

~1999~

It's hard for me to believe this little guy has gotten so big!

He is still as handsome as ever even as a teenager!

...And In with Football!

Football Season 2010 has officially begun.

All FOUR boys are playing this year. Talk about having the time of our lives AND being super busy!!

This picture puts a lot of things in perspective. Look how little Zander is? Zander is doing great! Sometimes I forget he is only six years old. Sitting still and listening, while doing crazy things his body has never done before can be difficult. I need to remind myself he is still small and innocent.... and that he is trying as hard as he can.

He is loving every minute of it. His team practices at 7:00 am! Every morning Zander wakes up with a smile and ready to get out of the field.

Running is something football players do a lot of. Zander doesn't like the running part all the much but he still hasn't complained about it.

Garrett looks like a little Steve Young don't you think?

Drills are another thing football players do a lot of.

Gar has a really good throwing arm. I am anxious to see if he gets to throw the ball a lot this year.

Looks at Stockton's form! Nice work Stocks!

Ready.... Set....

...Go!

Stocks has been helping kids out with technique when asked. He really has the whole blocking things down to an art. He looks awesome!

My favorite saying of Stockton so far...

"I am a lineman. Linemen don't run!!!"

The coach agreed with him and then made him run another lap.

Conner is kicking butt this year. Do you see that kid WAY out in front of the group? Yeah... that is Conner. They are racing. He is SUPER fast this year.

We have a new face to add to the football post this year. Check out sexy Coach Niel (ok, only I get to call him that). Niel is helping coach Garrett's 3rd grade team this year. Looking good!

... and so it begins. Nothing but Football....football... and more football!

The boys are loving every second of it.

Out with Lacrosse...

We had quit the adventure with Lacrosse this year.

Conner's team did really well all year. They were coached by a kid from High School, which turned out to be a pretty good experience for all the boys.

Conner dominated in size. Nearly every game he was the tallest and biggest.

The team lost in the playoffs. They sure did play hard all season though. We enjoyed watching and learning. The sport is still pretty new and seems like each ref has his own set of rules.

Flashback - August 2000

10 years ago...

Two little boys were just meeting each other for the first time.

And ten years later....

They are still great friends.

This month Conner will celebrate his 13th birthday and Stockton will party hard bringing in 10 years.

What a delight they both are!

One of my favorite shows is coming to a close for the season.

So You Think You Can Dance is fun to watch. There are so many talented individuals. My favorite dance of the season was Adechike and Comfort doing Hip-Hop.

I love this one!