Library Costume Parade

I did not want to buy Ryanna a costume and some of my backups weren't fully schemed out today so I put together a quick little witch costume. The very last picture she is wearing the actual witch hat but it was SOOO windy I didn't bother bringing it to the library parade. It worked out fine though because her friend Benson was Harry Potter so we just tagged her as Hermoine, his little sidekick!

Emily the butterfly, Ryanna the witch Hermoine, and Benson as Harry Potter

They were SO stinking cute. Benson was my favorite. He always had his wand ready. hehe.

Quinten enjoyed observing all the crazy kids but wasn't sure what all the commotion was about.

Kenna was a darling fairy as you can see.

We had an impromptu story time after the parade which the older girls enjoyed. While not interested in the story, Quinten enjoyed pulling on Kate's tutu while she worked to get away.

A great time in Montana

The purpose of our trip to MT was to attend the wedding of my best friend from high school Tannis Hargrove (now Schandelson). The wedding ceremony and celebration was beautiful and went by too fast. I'm so grateful I could be there but the time all passed much too fast to really savor the time with old friends. The ceremony combined traditional Christian vows with Jewish traditions and it was unique and special. Thanks Tannis for inviting us to share in your day!
Ryanna and Quinten spent most of their time playing with Aunt Kayla and Uncle Nathan. Uncle Jared and his girlfriend Ally were also there to play with most the time but never when I had my camera out - bummer!
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!!! Nathan is a Sophmore who plays on the small yet surprisingly solid Three Forks football team. It was amazing to watch him play on the line against guys 50+ pounds heavier than his 155lb 6' frame. He only came out of the game 1 time for just about 30 seconds. It was hard to watch some of those tackles - ouch. Several times I let him know I donated my athletic genes to him because I am such a loving sister. If you enlarge this picture he is the player in red directly above the referee with the bus wheel behind him. They won the game 26 to 12 and have their first playoff game this Saturday. GOOD LUCK BUDDY!

My girlfriend from high school Jessica was also at the game and we had a few minutes to catch up on the last 8 years. She was also at the wedding. Being home is such a throwback and it reminds me of all the good people I grew up with. My most memorable story of Jess and I would be the time we overheard a peer talking about how someone had bought them beer and where it was hiding. We snuck out of the ballgame and confiscated the goods and gave them to a responsible adult. Yeah, we were cool like that. HA!

Above: The family toughing it out at the ballgame. It was rainy and pretty chilly. Quinten had a great time though and loved every minute with my cousin Mal. Gotta love Grandpa with his heavy duty red bandana. When you are in Montana you gotta have Carharts!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: look at my cute kids!

Nothing like Grandma's house

Thankfully, Delta makes flying with children pretty doable. I was able to take my double stroller and check it at the gate for free. I was also able to check both car seats for free which I wasn't expecting. The kids were great. Ryanna was so excited to fly on an airplane and she didn't hesitate to share it. Anyone who looked her way was told she was "flying on an airplane to see Grandma in Montana!"
Once on the airplane the excitement only escalated. She sat right on her seat staring out the window in anticipation. Of course the people around us asked her where she was going and if she was excited. There was only one brief moment as the plane was taking off that her eyes got wide and she looked at me for some reassurance. I just smiled and she gave a nervous giggle and was back to being excited. The flight was only just over an hour so it went quickly without any issues. SOOO much better than driving 10 hours with two kids alone.

As soon as we drove into the driveway Ryanna shouted "SLIDE, TEETERTOTTER" - she was ready to play play play. Quinten enjoyed his chance to try out the walker my parents bought 30 years ago for my oldest brother.

The kids have had fun so far but Ryanna did ask this morning when Dad was coming. They do miss you Bri and so do I. Thanks for letting us come and being the best. We love and miss you!

I understand if you don't read this... just random thoughts!

I used to write in this blog as if it were a journal of sorts. I wasn't sure anyone cared about what I wrote. And I think its to the point where I don't care if you don't care, I just want to write things down. I don't have a journal or another blog to do this. If this blog is around forever than my children and friends who are interested can read it later in life.

I am quite the reflective person. People don't take long to identify that I tend to "live in the past." I wouldn't say that's 100% true but I do tend to appreciate things when they are gone or have changed.

Things are changing like crazy. This week football is coming to an end. For two years I have been an assistant with the Uintah High School football team and for two years I have looked forward to the extra time I will enjoy with my family once its all done. Last year our team went 5-4, 1-3 in region and were excluded from the playoffs. Last years team played hard and all but two games were competitive for the entire 48 minutes. two games could have been won that were lost and 3 games could have been lost that were won. Our destiny was up to us as coaches and players. This year we are 3-5 and the game this week is between two teams already out of the playoffs. We could/should win but will we? Do we care? Last year was heartbreaking when we couldn't move the ball past the 40 yard-line to score and win and go to the playoffs. This year we have not had one real competitive game since the first one when we still lost by two touchdowns. Our three wins have been against horrible teams and a brand new school that waited until we were up 32 -0 before they played us tough... Our losses have all been to the effect of 38-7, 42-7, 38-17, 36-16, 16-2.

This football season has been a big disappointment to me personally and in regards to the team. Sure, we moved up to 4A and have to play bigger/tougher teams... but if we have the school population... WHY CAN'T WE GET THE KIDS TO PLAY? Our JV team this year averages 17 players a game... hardly enough. Our varsity only dresses 30 kids. When our team came down with the flu we had to cancel a game because even with just 1/3 of the team sick we didn't have enough to practice or play with. We made the news on KSL and other SLC news outlets because we had the Swine Flu (never confirmed, but probable). It was almost embarassing because we were the first ones to cancel a game. The next week, while at another teams homecoming, we were greeted on the field with doctors masks on many of the fans. Funny, but frustrating.

This week, as we wind down the season with a meaningless game Thursday, I am making the decision that other things are more important in my life than coaching football. I figure that I have 40 years that I can coach, I don't need to start now when my family is so young. I don't need to take away from my radio job or my school job right now. I have to focus on my masters program as well. Football, with all the time required to participate, just can't be a part of my life. It may be for 2, 3, 5, 10 years but I must give up something in my life to help me keep my priorities straight.

On a similar note: I have also reached the point in my life where I must remove frustrations from my life. Turning 30 must have messed me up more than I gave it credit for because right now I have no desire to participate in anything athletic. Basketball, flag football, softball are staples in my life but in this small town I have discovered that I am too competitive and seem to embarrass myself more than actually have fun. I put too much pressure on myself to do what I was able to do 5 years ago and when I fail I get frustrated and lose my cool. I come home sore and regretting that I even participated. My goals are to live a healthy life and lose weight, lift weights and shoot a ball here and there. But my body can't handle what my competitive spirit expects. When people ask me why I don't want to play anymore I reply "because I am sick of losing friends."

While trying to find out how I can be happy in this small town that I live I have tried to come up with some things to change. A bunch of things are described above, but in addition to those things I have come up with some other solutions. For instance, part of the stress of living here in Vernal is that I am a 2.5 hour drive from home. My solution, drive home less. Make the trips worth it. The days of just picking up and going home for a few hours are over. The stress associated with driving 2.5 hours one way to just hang out and eat Costa Vida is huge. 4 of us packed in a little car with a thousand things that we want to do but only finding out that the we can't wait to get on the road to get the additional 2.5 hour drive home over with. The nights we stay over are usually not planned very well and the kids sleep pattern gets messed up pretty easily and once we get home we didn't feel like we even had a weekend.

Another thing I hope to change is my appreciation for this city in which I live. I absolutely loved Vernal when I first got here. That is the time when I had a good balance between radio and school. Right now school (which includes football) rules my life, radio is the annoying little side job that I have to do. I cannot wait until I can devote my afternoons to putting together a good show instead of just getting by. I need to not be in such a hurry to get things done, I need to remember why I move to Vernal in the first place... and that is to do RADIO. My school job is just a bonus with benefits and experience for when I want to only teach someday.

When we moved across town and actually purchased a place the town changed for me. I can't quite pinpoint it, but what I must do is make home HOME. I need to make the most of it and ignore the crap that goes on with neighbors. Things have slowed down a lot and things are better around the complex.

I gotta stop looking forward too much to 3 years down the road and make the most of now using the experiences that I have had in the past. Did that make sense? I think I just need to find the correct balance and quit getting sick.

More Halloween fun

Today was our Halloween party for our library group. I dressed the kids up and they had a great time. I put Quinten on the floor and he just army crawled all over, feeling like one of the big kids. We played ring around the pumpkin, made monster finger puppets, and read some fun Halloween books. I love this picture of them. I'm lucky I got it because I could hardly get them to look up from their shirts. The ghosts on the shirts have flashing lights. I can't believe they still work because I bought these shirts LAST year on Halloween clearance. I'm amazed I got the sizes right - go me!

I also love this picture of Brian and Quinten. Bri has his coaching shirt on and Quinten's onesie is covered in sport's equipment. Visions of days to come. :)

My kids are the cutest! Every parent shares this sentiment. My case just happens to be true. ;)

I'm making an effort to be in more pics to document my parenting status for the kids when they'reolder. Okay gotta get this out there: YOU WERE RIGHT BRIAN!! The lighting for this picture is awful and I should have moved somewhere else. I just needed that chair for Ryanna to stand on and was too frazzled to move it to a better spot. :)

So these are taken before church which turned out to be an eventful experience. Bri was super sick so I had to venture alone. We got there right on time but the chapel was full and they didn't open the back. I found a friend from YW to share a row with. She has 3 energetic boys and Ryanna really wasn't up for the distraction. The 2 year old boy liked to leave the row and wander down the aisle and then back to his Mom. Well Ryanna thought she needed a turn. She got out of my death grip on her arm and sauntered up the aisle, reached the stairs up to the stand, turned and gave me a look while I am waving her to come back, and starts up the stairs. At this point I had to head up there and then since I was on the stand I figured I better bear my testimony. I never would have tried that with both kids in tow but as Ryanna said, "time for testimony Mom." Thanks Ryanna for getting me up there. :)

Choco chip cookies after nap: yum.

Here are just some update pics. Q has been moved to the big boy carseat because as you can see he was crammed in the infant seat.

Ryanna's "cheese" face

Another picture Mom?

I must be grown up. I wear shoes and everything!

The joy of Heigh Ho Baby! (a game daddy does with them)

We can have fun when daddy's out! Halloween Dress Up!

What do you do on a night when dad has a football game and it's too chilly to go enjoy the football fun?? Halloween Dress Up! I was able to pick up some costumes last year on clearance after Halloween. Quinten fits snuggly right now so it's a gamble whether one of these will fit 3 weeks from now. If that's the case he'll wear the pumpkin costume that Ryanna wore her first Halloween and sports in the pics below.
MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Umm.....Mom what's going on here??

Several friends, you know who you are, wonder why I'm never in the pics. Well, obviously that is because I am the one behind the camera and it just doesn't occur to me to get in the pics. To satisfy andyone curious about my existence I clicked a pick during our dress up fun. I just LOVE these cute faces.

Little Bunny Foo Foo hopping through the forest...

Bestest of Buds.

Hey Sis, what is Mom doing to us?!?!?

Some day her prince will come and during dress up was the perfect time to burst into a ballad. :) Too bad her mom, who doesn't really know the words, taught her this song. Oh man is she sweet and cute!

Our Little Lady

Working it in Mommy's clogs.