Boys got 2nd place!

We went up to Denver again on Saturday and the boys played in their first ever 3v3 soccer tournament. (Only 3 players on the field per team.) Aidan was able to join in and play with Tristan's team.

Here's Aidan in action! This was their first game of the day. We had to face the best team in the state, the Strikers. (They are in the blue and yellow.) We played great but lost 4-3.

Tristan in action!

Tristan resting under a friend's canopy between games. Our day started pretty cool (I had a jacket on) but it finished up warm.

Aidan and Tanner. She led his cheering group during their games. The girls actually carried Aidan off of the field after one of his games. Notice the brand new ball in this picture - we couldn't find it at the end of the day. Not sure if someone took it by mistake or on purpose. Whatever, it stinks though.

So the boys ended up facing the Strikers (#1 team in the state) in the final. We lost but the boys left it all on the field, they had nothing else to give. We can't wait to face them again during the season!

Welcome Elvis!

1 lb 11 ounces, 9 weeks old.

One of my dear friends just became a new mommy! Just look at that face!

He's a cutie and definitely keeping his mommy busy.

Congratulations!

My chipmunk!

Okay, I'm getting a kick out of this at Josh's expense, ha! He's really not that bad but when I got home from work yesterday I could tell that he's definitely swollen a bit.

He's doing pretty well so far. He probably over did it a bit yesterday but he'll never admit to that. He took the boys to the movies and then went to Walmart to get some things for himself. (Nope, I didn't send him on an errand.)

Still need prayers for quick healing and a smooth road ahead.

Extractions- Not for the faint of heart

Josh had his wisdom teeth extracted this morning. This stuff is no joke. We were a little nervous about it all and now I know why. It's a bit more involved than we had imagined.

He was put to sleep because two of them were sideways and would need to be cut out. (There were three total.) He's never had anesthesia or an iv before so this is completely new! Once I got to him, he was trying to wake up from the anesthesia and had oxygen on. The nurse then went on to tell me how funny he is, sarcastically funny she said. Supposedly he told her he didn't like her name, Lisa. She got a kick out of that! Actually he was telling her that he didn't like this - the iv and procedure but whatever. I'm glad that she took a liking to him. Not matter what the situation Josh is always himself!

Anyway, my husband is a spitter normally. You know, the type that spit out their car windows, practically anytime they are outside. He's not supposed to spit today but he has. He hasn't come out of the anesthesia enough yet to remember this though. We are currently at the point when every time he wakes up he asks the same questions that he did an hour ago. Within the next couple of hours he should come around more.

He's also hard to understand right now due to the gauze and the fact that his mouth is still numb. I can get most of it right now but I have to have him repeat himself. The boys can't understand him at all.

If you are the praying type, say a little prayer for him! I'm supposed to go to work tomorrow but that won't be happening until he can come around a bit more. I'll update again tomorrow!

It's gone...

Got my summer do this morning! Yep, I chopped it off! I'm happy though that I'm back to mostly one layer! Hopefully it will be easier to do. It's honestly a bit short but it'll be nice for the Texas weather next month.

Oldie but Goodie!

Look at Aidan's face!! Time really flies - they are so "grown" now it seems. I miss those days!

I would love to add another little person to this picture. I know, I don't talk about it on here much because I try to not focus on it. I purposefully focus on the blessings that I do have and not the things that I don't. But something deep down inside of me can't let that yearning and hopefulness go just yet.

I am extremely grateful and I cherish our two boys. I think one more would just be icing on the cake!

The Strangers

Saw The Strangers last night! It's hard to say exactly what I thought about it~okay, is all I can come up with. I didn't know anything about it except watching the trailer on tv so maybe that's why.

It's not a bad movie but it was disturbing. I didn't like the ending but that's because it wasn't what I wanted to happen. Liv was good and looked gorgeous as usual!

The website says it was 90 minutes long but we were out of there pretty quickly so I would beg to differ. Josh liked it though (they even got a jump out of him once) so if you like scary movies and aren't on the brink of a depression - check it out!

Karma

We have a 14 year old girl watching the boys off and on for the rest of our summer. It’s only been two days and I’ve noticed a few things that are new to us:

Food is disappearing quickly around the house! Teenagers eat a ton! Not to mention the boys are normally at another location during the work hours and now that they are at home, they help themselves to whatever they may like. (Especially since there aren’t parents around!) I remember when we were growing up my mother talking about how she would grocery shop on a weekly basis and could never get out of the store for under a $100. She could go shopping on the weekend and by Tuesday/Wednesday the cereal, oatmeal, snacks, etc. would be gone. Wow, over the next two months I’m going to feel my mother’s past pain.

Temperature Control – I came in the house yesterday and it felt really cool. Cooler than normal so I asked Tristan to check and tell me what the thermostat said. 67!! I asked him what happened, someone must have changed it? He told me that they went to the park and once they got back, the sitter was hot and she must have turned it down. Wow! How about a ceiling fan or something? This is where the Karma factor kicks in. When we were at home during the summer (granted we are talking Texas here) we did adjust the thermostat. It seemed like our parents kept the home a bit warm so we took the liberty to change it. When they would walk in, I’m sure it was the same feeling that I had yesterday. They would immediately go to the thermostat to check it and get upset that it had been put in the 50’s or 60’s. Of course, no one would admit that they did it – it was always “the ghost”. All I can really say is, “Mom, I get it now.” (I’m not admitting any guilt of course. It couldn’t have always been me, ha!)

Conditions of the home – If you know me well, you know I’m a neat freak. Things may not be necessarily clean but everything is put where it belongs and it’s neat. Every morning when I leave, things are the way I like them. I’m coming home now to God knows what. This is going to be cured soon though because once we take the sitter home, I have the boys helping me put everything up and straightening all of the rooms again. This is done before we do anything else!

Ah, the revelations you get once you become a parent! Love ya Mom!

Father's Day

We had a good one and believe it or not I actually was able to find him a gift! He had mentioned that he would like to have some flip flops and granted I couldn't find him the exact ones that he wanted but I got him some Nike's and he's going to try those. (He's not really a flip flop kind of guy so that why I used the word "try".)

Josh wanted to go on a hike so here are some pictures of our outing.

Aidan - Yep, he had to try to cross the stream without stepping in the water. Too bad he got in trouble with the park ranger for his attempt, ha!

Tristan - he didn't attempt it! He's not into that kind of stuff.

Josh and I. My hand is really just behind his leg - honest. I had no idea sneaky Aidan got into the shot!

Dad and boys!

After taking the previous picture - this is what Josh's back looked like. A present from Aidan!

Do you see that speck of red between the trees and the rock? Josh and the boys left the trail to climb up to the top. They made it. Funny thing is that he had been calling my name for about 5 minutes to come and take a picture. I did hear something faintly but wasn't sure if it was someone saying, "Hey!" I also had one of my many fears jump into my head - what if one of the boys fell or slid away and he wants me to call 911? I know it sounds weird, I have a lot of fears and just this feeling sometimes that something really bad might happen to one of us. (Newsworthy bad if you know what I mean.)

But not to dampen the spirit of this post! We had a great Father's Day. Josh said that we managed to make him feel special. I think he should feel special all of the time (geez, he's got me and the boys) but if he doesn't, I'm glad we were able to do that for him on Sunday.

I can't believe I'm doing this...

I'm actually watching golf! I used to hate it when my Dad watched it. How boring could you get? I'll have to admit that I was wrong. It's quite therapeutic honestly.

Well, I started watching it yesterday because I had heard how Tiger had come back to regain the lead. He's had knee surgery recently and was struggling, wincing with pain and almost falling to the ground at one point. So, we watched yesterday as he fought for the lead again. It came down to his last shot and he tied the leader which makes them go into a playoff. I was so bummed after watching for four hours that the playoff would be today during the time I'm at work.

This is why I love my job so much! I'm sitting at my desk and watching the entire playoff on my computer. The views on my computer are as good as my tv at home! Awesome! I really don't care who wins, just want to see it. Tiger's great but Rocco seems cool too. He's 45 and got into this tournament as a qualifier (lots of hard work to get where he's at).

New iris has bloomed.

White with pale yellow! Very pretty, my other yellow ones are more of a mustard color.

And of course, my favorite still! The dark purple. I'm lucky enough to have a few more of these still blooming. Absolutely Gorgeous!

Saw two this morning!

There is just something that lifts my spirits when I see a hot air balloon in the sky. They are pretty common sightings here Memorial Day through Labor Day! You can normally see them Friday – Sunday, early in the mornings.

What’s really cool is when they get close enough to the ground that you can actually hear the flame and you can see the people in the basket. No envy though, I have no desire to go up in one; I’m perfectly fine admiring them in the sky.

Aidan's thoughts...

Did you know that everyone dies on their birthday? I sure didn’t but somehow that’s what Aidan thought. This is how this all came about:

Aidan: Who’s going to take care of Opal when you die Mom?

Me: Opal probably won’t be around when I die because dogs don’t live that long. But if I was to die soon I’m sure you guys would take care of her.

Aidan: Not me, I’m moving to Florida when I get older and I won’t be here.

Me: So are you saying that I’m going to die when you are 20 or something? That’s too soon!

Josh: 75 is a good number for me. That’s what I’d be happy with.

Aidan: But Mom’s going to die before you Dad!

Me: What??? Why am I going to be the first one to die?

Aidan: Because you’re birthday is before Dad’s!

Priceless! Don’t know where he got this idea but I’m really glad the conversation came up and we could clarify things!

Oh no I didn't!!

I hate it when I do stuff like this...

I was running a bit late this morning but had about 10 minutes to have a little cup of coffee before I left for work. Somehow I managed to drop the coffee creamer on the floor and of course it didn't just drop but the lid broke and it sprayed creamer all over the floor, cabinets, and stove. What a mess!

Needless to say I didn't get to have the cup of coffee and I bet the kitchen floor will still be sticky when I get home. UUUGGGHHHH!

God in my life.

Just a few things that I can give no one else credit for but God.

First, my best friend calls me up a few weeks ago to tell me that she would like to go to church with me again. She's taken a break from it all for a while and I've accepted it and supported her for it. I was shocked to get the call and was ecstatic to hear those words from her. We went this past weekend and it was really nice! See, I'm not a pushy person. I do what feels right for me and I'm there for people when they are ready, but would never be a "bible beater".

Second, I was sending out an email with times and directions for Tristan's soccer tournament this past weekend in case someone might like to join us. The only thing is - I sent it to someone that I'd cut communication with two years ago. It was a complete fluke, I had no idea that I even did it until she responded back. I could tell from her email that she was so happy to have heard from me and although she couldn't get together then she wanted to schedule another time and place. I haven't responded yet but I will. The only thing that I can say is that God is working on that area of my life and it must be His will for us to get together again.

Lastly, I don't know many details but my friend's house is on fire right now. It's on a scroll on the bottom of the tv and my next door neighbor called to tell me about it. Her husband is on his way there now. I was just at his house Friday night and can't believe this is happening to him. He was already scraping the bottom of the barrel because of work issues and financial issues, now he has to deal with this? Please pray for him, his name is Ted and he has a little girl - Carly.

And we have a .....

Winner!!!

Tristan's team won their division in the tournament this weekend! Three long days but it was all worth it! He also got the tournament ball for offensive player. I'm always a proud mom but I had tears in my eyes at that moment. The feelings were indescribable.

Here's some pictures from the games:

Tristan on the field.

Our number 15!

Half time huddle.

High fives after the game!

1st place team, the Pride Wolves.

My iris'

Yep, I'm a proud momma! The flowers that have bloomed so far are yellow, peach, and my favorite - dark purple. I have lots of buds left to open and can't wait to see if they will be different.

Baby in the tree

Can you see it?

This is one of my absolute favorite pictures. Not sure if someone altered it or not but I like to think this is natural.

How awesome is that?

Am I silly for wanting this?

I saw the girls on The View talking about this and loved the idea of it! Here’s the description for it, I’m highlighting the things that are awesome in my opinion:

C3 toilet seats with bidet functionality use the naturally soothing quality of water as a refreshing, hygienic alternative to toilet tissue, offer cleanliness, comfort and convenience for all users.
Features two separate water nozzles for the anterior and posterior that spray the user with warm aerated water
Constructed of anti-microbial plastic
A user sensor ensures someone is sitting on the seat before the functions are activated
Heated seat with three different temperature settings
Warm air with three temperature and fan speed settings
Deodorizer helps to minimize unpleasant odors
Continuous hot water is provided with an in-line water heater
Quiet-Close Quick-Release toilet seat
Remote control provides user-friendly function controls in the palm of your hand
User presets, store to memory the control settings for two users
Lighted bowl eliminates the need to turn on a light at night
Energy save mode reduces energy consumption when the seat is not in use

List price: $1352.00 and up - This is the worst part!!

But you’ve got to admit, this would be so much better than the water bottle and hair dryer!

Tournament weekend

Well, we spent another weekend in Denver for a soccer tournament. This one a bit better than the previous. Tristan's team won all three games and was in first place going into the semi-final. Unfortunately they were creamed in the semis! Honestly, I think this was a result of the boys spending the entire day at the park and not getting away to rest. They hardly ran and looked exhausted at their 1 p.m. game.

Aidan's team struggled from the very beginning. They played in a league a year older than they are and lost all three games. One game they lost 11 - 1. That is something we are quickly trying to forget. Their team didn't get as much practice time in as Tristan's did and they never worked well on the field as a team should. Because this is a team made up of 12 boys from six different teams we saw a bunch of "all stars" that would never pass the ball to another person. Except my Aidan of course! He stayed in his position at all times and was never selfish, he passed the ball constantly. We were so proud!

Tristan looking sharp in his Academy uniform!

Off we go!

Tristan Brown, #10, Pride Academy Team

Aidan in his Academy uniform. Notice the yellow star above the P. Every time you are selected for the Academy team you will get a yellow star. 4 is the maximum.

Aidan Brown, #1, Pride Academy Team

Aidan midfield. Ready, Set, Go!!!

Aidan disappointed. His team couldn't pull out a win.

Lastly, their absolute favorite thing about being at a hotel!