Making the Most of It

This past week we've been experiencing some very wintry weather. We've gotten a dusting of snow with a little ice underneath, and have been enduring temperatures in the teens and 20's. This is very uncharacteristic weather for November.

I can't remember a time when we've had snow falling when the trees still had lots of leaves to lose.

Fuller has reached the age where he isn't going to get excited or impressed unless we get some "serious" snow, but Grayson and Rowan were eager to get their hands on the white stuff.

Grayson made a tiny and somewhat pathetic snowman, (that may or may not have gotten thrown at Rowan later.)

Rowan did his best to look innocent while aiming ice balls at people.

They both tried their hand at sliding down the driveway,

but we're going to need a lot more snow and a sled to make that happen. Maybe Santa will bring both this year.

Life Lessons- Soccer Field Edition

After 7 consecutive Falls spent watching my kids play soccer, I must admit, I just don't get as excited as I used to. As the end of Summer nears, and coaches start calling with practice schedules I begin to mourn the loss of my Saturdays.

But then I see my boys' excitement about their teams. And I watch them run and play with their friends.

I see them weather 90 degree heat at the start of the season and 40 degree cold at the end. I watch them smile and laugh as they play in the pouring rain and get covered from head to toe with mud.

I watch them learn to work as a team, and learn to accept both encouragement and criticism from their coaches.

I watch them push themselves to play harder and run faster.

And I feel proud of them,

even though their teams both lost most of their games this season.

Because they welcomed each Saturday morning, ready to play their hearts out.

And because older brothers cheered on their younger brother.

We also enjoyed time with devoted grandparents, who make an effort to watch every grandchild play, every season.

Yes, I am a soccer mom. And we are a soccer family.

A word (or two) about Rowan

There's a reason people often refer to Rowan as a character. He often looks like a cartoon character, some of his expressions are priceless. And then there's the things that come out of his mouth. Here are a few recent "Rowanisms".

- He has been working on a long list for Christmas, but told me not to worry, because only half of the list is for me. The other half is for Santa.

- He said he's going to tell Santa to bring sugar cereal, strawberry toothpaste, root beer, and NO SOCKS! I guess he's going to try to get Santa to take care of all the areas he feels his life is lacking in.

- He has gotten into putting signs up on his door. They are quite a reflection of how he's feeling about the family. Some recent ones have been "No Grayson aloud", "No one but Rowan and Mommy", and "No one but Rowan and people who like my singing."

-Last week when I went to volunteer in his class his teacher pulled me aside and apologized for mispronouncing our last name all year. He hasn't been saying it wrong, but apparently Rowan told him he had been.

- Rowan thinks he can speak Spanish, and Chinese. He can't, but if you ask him to he'll ramble on incoherently at you for awhile.

- He has a really creative way of keeping score in his head. His team usually wins.

Taking the road less travelled

Recently we headed out to the woods to spend some special time together as a family, enjoying nature, the remnants of a beautiful Fall, and each others company.

I love getting the boys away from home and their toys and video games.

I love hearing Grayson and Rowan's excited exclamations as they discover big leaves, cool mushrooms, fallen trees and giant banana slugs.

I love that there are no arguments.

I love how we all relax, and the conversations begin to flow.

I love soaking in the quiet and the calm, surrounded by amazing beauty.

I love that my boys worry about me slipping on the wet leaves and offer to hold my hand.

I love that time seems to slow down enough that we can almost grab hold of the moment.

I love that we get to share this time, and build these memories.

8th Grade Cross Country

After 7 straight years of soccer, this year Fuller decided to switch sports and try cross country. I think he may have really found his sport. He loves running.

At this level they run a 3,000 meter race. Some of the races were fairly flat and smooth, while others had hills and more difficult terrain.

They started training in August, and throughout the season generally ran about 20+ miles a week.

At Fuller's first meet he finished in 14:08.

At State at the end of the season he finished in 12:05, setting a personal best.He rounded out the season ranked 278 out of 1400 middle school boy runners in the state.

At one meet that I was at, The Dragon Slayer, he got pushed from behind near the start and ending up falling face first in some mud and having several other runners fall and land on him, From where I was standing it looked like he got stepped on in the head, but thankfully he didn't and was able to get up and finish strong. Such determination!

He had a great season, especially hanging out with his buddy Talon.

Lan Su Chinese Garden

Yesterday Paul and I took advantage of the beautiful 70 degree weather, (and a groupon we had), and went to the Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland. I was impressed by it's beauty and detail. But, although it may have looked tranquil, the loud city noises from the surrounding area make it anything but (train horns, sirens, chain saw, etc.) It was however a wonderful date day for us, and blissful to be out doors enjoying the beauty. We happened to be there during the Chrysanthemum Festival, and so got the bonus treat of enjoying all of those beautiful flowers.

Halloween 2010

We had another fun and candy filled Halloween around here!

Rowan was a power hungry, somewhat evil king.

Grayson was a cuter than ever orangutan.

And Fuller was a very lucky 8th grader. We had originally told him he was too old for Halloween, but in the end gave him a one year reprieve. High school is the new cut off around here. He went just with friends this year and ended up with more candy than he's ever gotten before.

But really, everyone got WAY too much candy!