Saturday soccer

I just have to brag that Carter scored a goal in his soccer game on Saturday. I am just completely bummed because I missed it. I was helping to give a friend a baby shower, which was fun, but, I really wasn't expecting him to score. He just doesn't play aggressive enough to score, he's usually more worried about the other team scoring so he plays back a little bit. So ....

AWESOME JOB CARTER

FOR SCORING YOUR FIRST

GOAL EVER!!!!

I know, you can't see him, but he's the one to the right of the coach. This is when he actually kicked it in. But, he's a really good kicker, so I'll show one of him kicking :)

And, this why I love to watch him play ....

because no matter how the game turns out, he's just happy to have been there and played. He's always so sad when it's over.

Birthday party pics

After we went to dinner with Elli and Charlie Friday night we had a little family birthday party for Chris. We aren't real big cake eaters and he likes the sugar cookies from Albertsons, so that what we had ... sugar cookies and ice cream.

As you can see, Carter has to be involved in the opening of the presents ... anybodies presents. I think Chris had a good birthday. He got to eat at Goodwood and got a few presents with some cookies and ice cream.

Happy Birthday Chris

My husband hates his birthday, a lot more since he hit the big four-o last year. I've actually got him talked into going to dinner with a few friends tonight which is in itself a miracle since he doesn't like his birthday even mentioned most of the time.

So, in honor of the big guy's birthday I found some cute pictures from when he was a kid. Sorry hon, hope that you have a great day :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Go orange, go big blue ...

My crazy week and weekend were topped off with a great BSU win over the No. 17 ranked Oregon Ducks. We played really great for about 2 1/2 quarters and then almost managed to lose it in the end. But, the guys played tough and our freshman quarterback had a great game in the air. Yeah. (Also got to give props to Kaleb's Utah State Aggies for actually winning a game this year, way to take it to the Idaho Vandals!!).

The best part is that Jeremy Childs actually caught this pass. Very nice.

I've been pretty busy since I posted last. Between the kids having different activities after school and having a joint Relief Society and Young Women's activity Wednesday night I also went to a party at Elli's house Thursday night. Her cousin makes these really cute bows and headbands for girls. They are really adorable. Since my daughter is 11, I got a couple for some baby girls I know. I'll have to see if I can find her card with her blog site on it so you guys can check it out.

I actually got to go out with Chris for dinner on Friday night. We haven't done that in awhile, it was pretty fun. The kids hung out at my in-laws for awhile, so when we picked them up we stayed and watched the end of another football game.

Carter's soccer game got canceled Saturday. It was raining like crazy here. It started around midnight Friday night and was flooding streets by morning. It let up for a few hours in the afternoon and then started up again and rained most of the night. I went to a birthday dinner for my friend Marilyn that night at On The Border by Edwards theater. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoy the women I was with, we always seem to have some great conversation when we get together.

Sunday's are tough right now. We are almost at the end of our 3-6 church schedule. It's a tough one, I can't wait to go to the 8:30 to 11:30 schedule in January. Carter has been falling asleep in Sacrament meeting and then having a hard time in Primary. Yesterday I had to sit by him through singing time trying to wake him up slowly so he wouldn't be upset. I had to leave to teach Young Women's and he looked up at me with teas in his eyes and said, "Mommy, I love you, don't leave." What do you do with that?? I know he's playing me, but I felt so bad leaving him there. I love being in Young Women's. It's been a real growing experience. I was fasting yesterday for a few different reasons, so when we got home at about 6:30 I promptly started stuffing my face before our home teachers could show up. It's a good thing they were late :)

Hopefully this week will be a little less busy, although I totally doubt it. This time of year always seems so crazy.

More soccer stuff

Carter has been having a great time playing soccer. Two games down and four to go. I'm a little bummed because the coach only wants to practice one night a week. And that's just not enough to teach the boys enough for the games. On Saturday we played against a team with a boy who was super fast for that age and had great ball handling skills. He is either really gifted or has siblings or parents who have played. He was really good.

Tonight we had to take time out of practice for pictures because none of the other parents would show up early for our game last Saturday to get them done. I was a little ticked. Come on, make a commitment. I admit it. I am one of those parents that gets excited at sporting events. I don't even need to have a kid participating in the sporting event to get excited and yell a bit (I actually blame that one on my dad, JK). I know only about five kids on the Mountain View varsity football team and I'm still their screaming and cheering when they are playing.

Here's some more cute pictures of Carter from Saturday and tonight.

 

 

At a little OT info, Chris took Ryan home teaching for the first time tonight. That should be interesting. And I ended up canning about 20 quarts of peaches and froze about 3 gallon size bags of cut peaches for making smoothies and then blended up three pitchers of peaches to make jam with when I can stand the sight and smell of them again.

It's a first

This is what I've spent the last few days doing and will probably spend the whole weekend working on.

Wednesday morning I went with my friend Kindra and her son Kaiden to pick peaches in Caldwell. I came home with a little over three 5-gallon buckets full of peaches. So, I am trying to can for my first time. My aunt Rosalie let me use her water bath canner and her dehydrater. So, I canned five whole quarts of peaches yesterday and made some fruit leather. I learned a few things and it was an interesting experience. I'll have to let you know if they actually taste good. And yes mom, I know I should have put more peaches in the jars, but at least the lids popped down, right??

9/11

I wasn't going to make a post today. The events that happened 7 years ago are still fresh in my mind. As are the events that happened as a result of that day. I remember my friend Terri calling me that morning and telling me to turn on the t.v. I remember watching the second plane hit as I was getting ready to walk my kids to school. My neighbors coming outside of their homes as we walked by to express their sadness and disbelief at what was happening. Walking home and watching the towers fall, knowing that many, many people had been killed.

Two and a half years later I remember stopping at a gas station to fill up when my phone rang and it was my husband telling me that the alert had been given and they would be leaving in 3 months for training so they could be sent to Iraq. Operation Iraqi Freedom III, that is what it was called. My kids were 18 months, almost 7 and 9. They were 3, 8 and 10 when he returned. Parties were given, tears were shed and then they were gone.

He left for Iraq on Carter's 2nd birthday and arrived there on mine. The thing about deployments is that you don't get to know when these things happen until after. I got a call saying we wouldn't hear from him for a few days and a call saying he was in Kuwait. The same went with the convoy into Iraq and with any missions he went on. An IM saying he loved us and would be in contact in a few days. I finally figured out what that meant. It also meant that I spent days worrying when I didn't hear from him. I remember the phone call when the sirens went off warning of an attack and he hung up with an "I've got to go" and me praying that he would call back and be okay and then not sleeping until he did.

We spent 18 months apart. Ten months straight at one point between leave. It was an experience that I would love to forget, but also an experience of a lifetime. Four years later it almost fells like it never happened, but on days like today, I remember everything clearly. The day he left, the day he came home on leave, the day he came home, and the days that he missed events here at home.

So, today I remember those that died on 9/11, those that died while deployed with my husband (as well as all those others who have died), and I remember that I love my country and all those who serve to protect it.

I'm just going to post a few pictures that I look at from time to time when I am thinking about this day.

Look at how small they all were when he left.

 

An how big they were when he came home.

This is were he lived. The inside and outside. He shared it with his buddy Eric.

Where he worked. They put a big concrete mortar in front of the tent because the group before his had a mortar roll through the door when they got attacked one day. Good thing that it was a dud. They worked in a tent under a cement arch.

This actually shows the arch it's under.

And the inside.

Eric, Fred and Chris in Iraq. Back home the wives all kept eachother company. There were four of us that kept eachother going during this time. Christy, Diane, Tracey and I. We all still get together now and again. Not to relive the past, just to re-establish the contact.

And this is the photo I look at when I need to remind myself that it wasn't a vacation that he was on. When I need to remember that even though I was raising three kids alone during that 18 months, he was fulfilling a duty that he had made to his country before he knew me and before he had a family of his own. Love you tons hon, and here's hoping that we miss out on the next one.

Haircuts

Yesterday after piano lessons I took Carter and Kennedy to get their hair cut. It hasn't been done since we were at my parents in July, so it was way past time to get them done. Ryan refused to get his cut yet. I'll have to hold him down to get it done in the next few weeks. Anyway, Ryan got hold of the camera in my purse and started taking pictures. Most of them didn't turn out, but they are getting put on here anyway.

This picture makes her look like she is really young. It reminds me of her face when she was probably 4 or 5.

This one he took of himself. I'm sure that he won't like that I put it on here, but you can see, he definitely needs a haircut.

Now, isn't this just really cute. The stylist did a fake mohawk, I'm sure that's not the name for it, but around our house, that's what we call it. I just love this kid to death.

I'm off to a doctors appointment. Here's hoping I'm down another 8-10 pounds or so. I'm being optimistic since I've been walking a little more than I had been.

Leadership

Just a quick comment on that topic. How can we expect the young men and young women of today to become great leaders if we do not show them by example through our own leadership. Today has been extremely frustrating in that regard.

Fall soccer

Carter started soccer last week and had his first game today. He's made huge improvements since he started this spring. He understands now what the game is about and really enjoys it. He's not into scoring goals, he likes to kick the ball down the field and stop the other team from scoring. Every team needs defenders, right??

 

Lets see, other news: Chris has been on a business trip to North Carolina. He got out of there before the hurricane hit and then managed to miss his connection from Denver to Boise. That really stinks because he has drill this weekend and will now have to make up a half-day and take time off of work for that. Yuck.

I took the kids to watch Mountain View play football against Post Falls last night. It was a fun game. We won 28-6 so that was fun. They should be pretty good this year. We've been to quite a few of their basketball games because my friends son Braden plays, but hadn't ever been to a football game. I think we will be going more often. I realized just how much fun high school football games are to go to. And in other football news, my nephew Dyllan plays for my alma mater Teton High in eastern Idaho on the JV team and they have won both of their football games this year against North Fremont and Jackson, Wyo. Go Redskins!! Great job Dyllan.

Am I prepared...

I've had a hard time deciding whether or not to actually post about this because I've mainly used my blog to just update family and friends on what's going on with our family. I usually don't post anything serious and mainly stick to light-hearted family stuff with a few friends thrown in.

I have a friend, who is also in my ward, who found a lump in her neck about a month ago. Her family has been in the ward for about 5 years I think. We became friends through another sister in our ward, Tresa. Tresa and I have been friends since they moved into the ward about 11 years ago. It's an interesting friendship between us. We are all different ages and at different stages in our lives. I am the youngest, with kids that are still fairly young, Ryan and Kennedy and middle school and Carter just starting kindergarten. Tresa is in the middle, with kids ranging from a senior in high school to a third grader. Megan and Kennedy are the same age and are really good friends. My other friend is the oldest of us. She has 12 kids, the oldest are married and have families and the youngest is a junior in high school. We get along pretty well all of the time and can sit and talk for hours.

My friend went to the doctor to get the lump checked out and was told that she had cancer and that they needed to do more tests to figure out what they were going to do. I found out this week after our Labor Day camping excursion that she has Stage IV cancer. It is inoperable and terminal. With chemotherapy they are giving her 6-12 months. She's been very strong about this whole thing. Stronger than I would ever be. I've been able to watch three of her boys over the last five years grow up and they are all great boys. I've met a number of her other kids and they are all wonderful. I took brownies over to them one Sunday night and everyone that was home was gathered around the piano singing and hanging out. It reminded me so much of my family. Not the singing part, just the being able to be together part. I think that's why I am drawn to her so much. Her family reminds me a lot of my own.

So I've been thinking a lot about my own mortality lately. Wondering if I am doing everything I can to be where I want to be if something like this happened to me. Does that make sense? That's about a philosophical as I get. I don't think that she reads my blog, but, I just wanted to let her know that I love her and think that she is a brave woman.

Labor Day in McCall

My family loves to go camping. Anytime, anywhere. But, if there is a bed nearby that I can sleep in, that's where I will be.

We have a group of friends that we go to McCall with every Labor Day weekend. It's grown quite a bit since we started this tradition a few years ago. In fact, I think we had over 70 people up there this weekend. Everybody camps at Ponderosa State Park except for our family. My in-laws bought a condo near the park when I was pregnant with Carter, so it's been about 5 years. I just can't justify the tent thing when there is a comfortable bed a couple miles away. So, we go into the park to join the other families for meals and to ride bikes and play in the lake. Then, when it gets cold at night we pack up the kids and head back to the warmth. I sit in a nice hot tub and swim with my kids in the pool, and then we head back the next day for more camping fun. Can you blame me?? Really, I don't think so. We had the Shane's stay with us this year. Elli's not much for the camping thing if there is a bed nearby either. It was fun for the boys to get to hang out together and Kennedy was really good with all of them.

Let's see if I can manage to name all the families. Feel free to let me know if I left you out:

Browns, Hodges, Nuttalls, Freemans, Larsons, Stauffers, Lines, Shreeves, Mechams, Wilkes and Walkers, Shanes, and of course, us, the Franz family. Quite a big group and the DeMonds joined us for dinner one night. Like I said, lots of fun.

It did get pretty cold the last couple of nights, with a couple of rain showers. The kids all seemed to have a great time, they ranged from baby Shelby (about 5 months) to teenagers just out of high school. They had a great time hanging around the fire playing games and just chatting.

Here's some pictures that Chris took up there and a few that I took on the way home.

One of the things I love about being at Ponderosa is that Carter can pretty much run around and be all boy without too many problems. I think we only caught him "watering" the trees a few times.

Michael Stauffer and his son Myles are into geocaching. He took Chris and Charlie along with all the little boys to do some searching. They found a few caches and were able to trade for some treasures. I think we might have found a new hobby.

Kennedy, Megan (from behind), Brooklyn and Kaiden in the Brown's trailer. It was warm.

The pictures above and below were taken at a lookout towards the back of the park. Ponderosa sits on a peninsula of Payette Lake. You can hike to the water and there are some fun beaches to hang out at.

These two pictures I took from my car while we were waiting for the flaggers at Banks to let us through the intersection. It can sometimes take awhile.

A view of the cars lined up ahead of us to get through Banks. I think we were stopped for about 15 minutes.

And a view of the cars lined up behind us from my sideview mirror. Both pictures are a little deceiving because you can see around the corners. There were ALOT more cars than you can see.