Outings

A couple of more September events (how did we fit them in?) We went to camp Lo Mia for our ward camp out. It was so fun, as always. The kids were outside the whole time, just loving it. It is just a great place for families to play together. I'm so thankful our ward still does it.
Dave wanted to be in Flagstaff the morning the campout ended to see a meet, so we hurried and helped clean up, and then were off. About 10 minutes into the trip I realized I hadn't given anyone Dramamine yet. I quickly passed it out, but this experiment tell us that it does not work immediatly. The road was windy...which is was what reminded me of it in the first place. Matthew was sick and miserable the whole way. Luckily, we carry ZipLock in the car....


Another fun thing...Michael's team did a long run with several other teams participating called the Dam Run. It was 14 miles, lots of stops along the way for water, and vans close by in case someone has had enough. He made it the whole way...tough guy that he is. They end up by the Dam by the Salt River. Amazingly we have never taken the kids to the river! A great Saturday activity! We met the team, and then played in the river.

September Happenings

 At the end of September, Michael's team went to CA for a xc meet. As soon as we saw it on the schedule we planned to go. We wanted to go to San Diego this past summer, but it never happened. A couple of weeks before we figured out that Dave's team had a meet at UOFA the day before..actually the evening before. We didn't end up leaving for San Diego until about 1am on the morning we needed to be there. It was our first drive all night with kids..much quieter than a day trip, but not sure we'd do it again. We got to the hotel, checked in quickly and off to his meet. He ran the freshman race and got17th. It was at Balboa Park and incredibly hilly. I ran there a few times in college...didn't remember the hills being that big! He is a great racer. He moves the entire time through the field..so fun to watch.

 Then, off to the beach. This kids loved it. Meg was a boogie boarding expert. Rachel let her feet get wet, which is an improvement over the last time we were there 2 years ago.
So nice to be in the cool weather. Thanks to Grandma and Granner for always taking care of the pets.

Lots of drip sand castles

And then on Sept. 24, our little dear turned 6! Can't believe what a big, independent girl she is.  We still call her baby and she is always complaining that she is the youngest. She loves, loves kindergarten and has lots of friends.
Some things about Rachel at 6.
*tank tops and biking shorts are her favorite outfit, no matter the occasion or the weather.
*loves to draw and write and now reads everything
*great imagination for playing "school" or "store"
*loves all animals
*likes to make sure everyone is happy
*loves lotion, food coloring, nail polish, paints, all manner of colorful messes.
*gets right in all the wrestling matches with all the kids

Cross Country

For years and years our Saturdays have been consumed with soccer games...now we find ourselves at cross country meets. It's so fun and I love to watch them. Both Michael and Meghan are so new to running. We have been so careful to not get them into it too early or to ever put any pressure on them to run, but maybe because of Dave's team or probably running camp, they seem drawn to it. Meghan's team only runs about 3 days a week and 1-2 miles at a time. It's so low key...perfect for middle school. Michael's high school team runs quite a bit more, has a great coach that makes it fun for them. They are off to California this weekend for a meet and Disneyland...so fun!

Arrow of Light




Matthew

I thought I better post this picture while I'm here...this guy is onto Boy Scouts! Seems like we just bought this Cub Scout shirt ...we remember it clearly because he had a sick stomach and was laying on the floor at the Scout Shop while we contemplated the right size..doesn't seem like three years ago.Our new Cubmasters have such a great Arrow of Light ceremony, complete with facepaint stripes.

 We are proud of you Matthew!

Here is everyone else on their first day of school..even Rachel. This is the first time in 14 years that I haven't had a little friend home with me. I have to say a few hours of quiet everyday has been quite lovely! Everyone is happy with their classes and friends. So we have one high schooler, two middle schoolers, and three elementary kiddos.  All the activities come with the start of school make my head spin...another post for those.

Lizzie

Matthew and Meg



High School!

 We have a high school freshman in our home! When we dropped him off today, one of the first people we saw on the curb was a kid with a bright red mohawk. It was like a scene out of one of those crazy high school movies. He has been running with the cross country team most of the summer and went to band camp the last two weeks=busy guy who wasn't quite ready for summer to end. Keep going Michael! We are proud of you

Summer is flying right by...Rachel has lost another tooth since this picture was taken. Running camp is going on right now. We all spent about 4 days up there last week. It was fun to be in Pinetop in the cooler weather where the kids can play outside all day, but it is always exhausting to be at camp--to bed late and up early. Dave took the four oldest up a couple days early while he set up so I only had Lizzie and Rachel home for about three days. It was so weird! I didn't know what to cook for the three of us! The house stayed clean and there was barely any laundry to do.

We've driven up and down to Pinetop three times now--one more trip than planned because I didn't take enough medicine for Meg. Lizzie loves listening to the radio while we drive. So when a song comes on that she loves ( like every other one), she wants to tell me, in every detail why she loves it so much. Her carseat is two rows back from me in the van, so I have to turn the radio way down to hear and talk with her. By the time she's done with her explanation and we turn up the volume, the song is just about over.  Funny girl. This drives Rachel crazy--she just wants to listen.

One other thing to put down in things to remember this summer. Michael ran 12 miles on Friday--he did the big Sunrise Run the campers do at the ski resort on the last morning of camp.  I knew he was going to run a little bit of it, but I never thought he'd do the whole thing...starts at 8000ft and ends at almost 11000. This was the furthest he has ever run by 5 miles. He's tough, no doubt about it.

Catching Up

Surely I can blog once a week, right? I love to read friend's blogs and always get motivated to start ours up again, and then I fizzle. This was a big accomplishment for Michael. This pic was after his 50mile ride to get his Cycling Merit Badge. I am discovering that the road to Eagle Scout is long-whew, no wonder the make a big deal of it. All of is great stuff, though, and I am so glad he is learning it all, but it is a lot to stay on top off. He's right in the thick of it now.