by joe i think we've got it

taylor has asked us in many years past if he could play basketball. after the career that rob had you'd think we would jump on that band wagon, but we didn't, especially after he started playing football and lacrosse. those two sports take up so much time that i wanted the couple months in between to be uncommitted. this year there were a couple of kids that he plays football and lacrosse with that were playing basketball together too. their team just happened to need a coach. hmmmm. one of the moms talked rob into coaching and within five days of football ending we were back at practice.

it's been a little crazy trying to get the team together because it was so last minute but we finally figured things out and managed to get in three practices before our first game last saturday. i try to watch a little at practice but end up talking to the other parents most of the time so i've never really seen what kind of player taylor is. i wasn't expecting much when rob finally put him to the game.

boy was i wrong.

he is his father's son.

he got out there and went crazy. he was stealing balls, his defense was spectacular and he hit a fade away jumper that was nothing but net. it was unbelievable. whose kid is that?!

 and to top it all off i couldn't get my camera to take a decent non blurry picture.

note to self: figure out how to work your camera this week.

taylor has loved football from the moment he started playing but he just isn't aggressive enough. he doesn't have the tough mentality for it. if he sees a kid that's bigger than him it's all over.

he loves lacrosse too. he has the speed you need for that game but sometimes you have to get in there and not only throw some punches but take some as well and he's just not quite there in lacrosse either.

but basketball. basketball fits him. he has the speed and he has the ability. he doesn't have to worry about someone three times his size trying to take him down. he doesn't have to worry about getting whacked with a metal stick. it's just him, a ball and a basket. and i can't wait to see where it takes him.

i love to laugh

remember that song from mary poppins?

i was singing it the other day. i don't remember how i even got it stuck in my head but i started thinking about how much i love to laugh. it's one of my favorite things. there isn't anything much better than laughing. especially uncontrollable laughter.

i saw a print that said something about "there's nothing better than laughing when you aren't supposed to" and i thought how true that was. it immediately brought me to a situation that took place at church a couple years ago. skye and i were at the saturday service sitting in the second row with no one in front of us. she yawned and a button on her sweater popped off. and i don't just mean the thread came loose.

it. went. flying.

talk about dying.

we tried to control it, we really did. but there was no possible way. pastor jeff probably thought we were being so rude but we couldn't help it. it was pure, uncontrollable, shaking, tears streaming down my cheeks laughter. i spent the next twenty minutes getting myself under control and, just when i thought i was ok, i would think about it and lose it all over again.

those are some of the best times.

done and done

the boys had a great season this year. they finished the season 5-1-1, including scoring on a team that hasn't been scored on for two years. we were so blessed to get on the team we have been apart of for three years now. i believe whole heartedly that we have the best coaching staff in optimist football. we also have the best parents. i can't wait to watch these boys as they go through middle school and high school. they rock!

coach buss wanted our boys to be noticed this year. hellooooo green socks! the boys loved them and definitely got them a few looks. waiting to see what next year will bring.

a new thing this year was getting to play a scrimmage during half time of the mountain view game. it happened to be on the 'tough enough to wear pink' night so they were decked out. emily had decided that one year of cheer was enough but after this night i'm not so sure. she loved being out on that field cheering.

this is all the coaches and their kids. pretty great group of people.

from day one they have done this cheer. i love hearing them do it. so simple yet so them, so until next season...

raiders! give yourselves a hand!

(clap clap clap!)

RAIDERS!!! 

thoughts

a friend and i went out the other day for lunch and a shopping trip to a new decor store. they have lots and lots of christmas stuff so we went to take a peak. my friend started talking about christmas trees and asking if i put ribbon in my tree. she had no intentions of sounding stuffy but the more she talked about ribbon and birds and color schemes the more i started thinking that i need to put a tree upstairs for all of our current mismatched and hodgepodge ornaments and get a tree for the living room that is themed.

a grown up tree.

a fancy tree.

and then i started thinking about our current ornaments. and how much i love them. you see, those ornaments are not merely random things to hang on a tree. they represent milestones and memories of our little family. they consist of ornaments that rob and i made when we were growing up, ornaments from our travels together and different stages and phases that the kids have been through.

they are snap shots of our lives. pictures that, each year, allow us to take a walk down memory lane.

 and they mean the world to me.

so this year when we put up our tree we will once again walk down memory lane and i will, once again, be thankful for those ornaments and the memories that they hold and i will go to bed on christmas eve giddy with happiness that this hodgepodge tree sits in our living room.  

ear ache

a conversation on the way home from football practice.

emily-what does it feel like to have an ear infection?
jen-your ear hurts really bad.
e-oh, ok.
j-why? does your ear hurt?
e-no....my arm does.

goodbye summer

we didn't get to get up to the lake much this summer but we weren't about to let summer go without giving it a proper send off.

this was the first time emily and taylor had been on a tube. as you can see by their faces they had a blast!

my girl. 

i have to tell you the story of the white shorts. we were on the boat and pregnant skye had to go to the bathroom. really bad. we were stopped so marc told her to just get in the water and go. she stands up and pulls off her shorts and marc goes "skye! where are your bottoms?!" she looks down and quickly pulls her shorts back up. turns out she left her bottoms on the dryer at home and only had on her cotton undies and shorts. we'll be laughing about that one for years to come.

i.love.this.picture.

give me an E!

well there she is. my girl, the cheerleader.

does she love it? no

but she has fun and it keeps her busy during the games. 

they look like a bunch of misfits don't they?

so precise in their technique :O)

 notice the socks?

they are construction worker yellow.

much brighter in person.

so loud.

it was the coaches idea.

he has a thing with socks.

he wanted the team to be noticed.

 they definitely get that job done.

 i just love this girl.

my little funnies

taylor was upset with emily yesterday because she has been telling a girl down the street that taylor likes her. he denies it vehemently. so he was going on yesterday about emily telling abby that he likes her and emily was reading her book at the counter not paying much attention to him. taylor says "emily, i'm going to school tomorrow and telling luke that you love him". without looking up from her book emily says "he already knows".

another year begins

austin starting 10th grade. i don't know what is up with this child. i cannot seem to get him to take a normal picture. he only did this when i threatened him with death. fetching isn't it.

baby girl is starting 3rd grade this year. how the time flies. she picked out this shirt and has been dying to wear it.

and this guy is starting 6th grade. middle school. he was so nervous even though he is staying at the same school he's gone to since kindergarten. he's a funny kid.



and just like that they are gone.

ha! just kidding. i had to race to the school to catch them before they went in. it's tradition :O)

taylor, emily and hailey

taylor and matt

 and we can't forget joel.

emily's special day 8-21-11

emily decided she wanted to be baptized too. there was one more river baptism this year and that was where she wanted to do it. it was so great to have friends and family share such a momentous occasion with us!

emily and hailey

i was happy that austin came to watch her. even if it was from across the river.

the water was a little cold.



we were happy to have keith baptize her.

kiki got baptized today too!

art

for the sake of my sanity we had to do an art project today to keep the kids busy. i saw a fun idea on whatever and i figured it looked easy enough for us to give it a try. all you need is a canvas, crayons, a glue gun and a blow dryer. glue the crayons to the canvas, turn the blow dryer on high and watch then crayons melt. you can do as little or as much as you want. this is how tay and em's turned out.

emily wanted hers in a rainbow. we bought two boxes of 64 so she would have enough colors. i glued and she placed her crayons.

taylor went with the random approach.