Fall Soccer

Sam, Declan, and Grace were our soccer players for this season, since Liam was so busy with football. It has been a great season so far.

This guy just loves the game. The smile never leaves his face.

He also loves the snacks.

This particular game was against one of his best friends and our neighbor, Kolter. He's the little guy in red above, and they thought it was hilarious to play each other.

Grace is a little hard to take pictures of, since I have to be sneaky so as not to embarrass her!

This might be her last season. She really wants to devote all her extracurricular time to swimming.

I am the assistant coach for Declan's team and we have had a great time. He has not played his best because his good friend Weston is on the team, too, and they pretty much just giggle and act silly the whole time, but at least he's having fun!

Aidan and Declan. Declan says Aidan is "the best soccer player in the whole world."

First Day of School

If I could sum up how I feel every year about the first day of school, in one word, it would be bittersweet.

See, in my dream world, I would spend 24 hours a day with my kids, in a state of domestic bliss. We would do crafts and go on educational field trips and choose a unit of study every week and laugh and everybody would get along and we would all be happy.

But in my real world, I am not that organized or patient and my kids fight. Sometimes a lot. In the real world, they need a break from each other, and let's face it, from me. And I need a break from them. So every summer I have to let go of those dream world expectations and send them to school and know that it's for the best.

And even though it was not my idealistic version of summer, it was still a great one. One of the best ever. I will miss those lazy, carefree days, but I am also so excited about the return to structure and routines. I think I got more accomplished that first day of school than I did all summer!

Declan, age 4.

First year of preschool at Super Stars Preschool with Mrs. Heidi.

Sam, age 6.

First grade at Sage Elementary with Mrs. Seilbach.

Sam's JC Penney Back to School pose with the backpack that only lasted one day of school. He came home with a broken strap, as only Sam could manage to do!

Grace, age 11.

Sixth grade (!) at Pilot Butte Elementary with fresh-out-of-college Mr. Weber, who looks like he's not long out of sixth grade himself!

Liam, age 9.

Fourth grade at Sage Elementary with Mr. Dietz.

And how Liam's really feeling about school starting:

He's the only one that wasn't super pumped about school starting, but once he got there and met his teacher (and once I decided that he and Sam could ride their bikes to school everyday) he was a little more excited.

One month in school now, and everyone's happy. It's good to be back.

Labor Day, part 2

On Monday, we got up early and met our good friends, the Wolfgrams, for some paddling on Causey Reservoir in Ogden Canyon.

Dave and Shauna.

A very full canoe!

Elijah and Liam. Grace, Liam, and Sam were all naturals in the kayaks.

We went up to one of the little rivers feeding the reservoir to watch the red salmon run. We hiked up the canyon and had a picnic lunch, then spent some time walking up the river to watch the fish. It was awesome to see.

Caleb, Jonas, and Liam.

The boys found a poor dead fish wedged between some rocks, and our little naturalist/scientist Sam was fascinated by it. They also had a big net to try to catch and release.

On the way back, we stopped at some rocks to do a little cliff-jumping.

Dave and Garreth.

Liam.

Garreth and Liam. I'd be lying if I said this didn't freak me out a little.

Declan found a much smaller rock to give it a go himself.

Our tired puppy. Nacho was awesome. He stayed perfectly still in the canoe the entire time, and was ecstatic to play in the river and try to catch fish. He was so fun to have with us, we didn't even mind the smell of wet dog in the van the entire way back to Wyoming!

What a perfect way to say goodbye to summer, in a beautiful place, doing something we love with people we love. Thanks, Wolfgrams! We love you guys so much!