Fall Soccer

Sadie played soccer again this fall. Her team was much better than previous seasons. They were coached by one of our neighbors and he did a great job. I think they won about half their games, but they scored a lot more and only got blown out one time. In past seasons, like last fall when I coached, we got blown out almost every game.

Sadie had a ton of fun. She is still strongest at defense and goalie but she improved her ball handling a lot and almost scored one time. She just seems to have a mind for defense. She runs to a spot instead of running right at players. She gets good angles. But on offense she tends to back off. I only got pictures at the final game. Here she is playing defense.

 Here is her team after the last game. It was mostly made up of girls from our neighborhood. I don't know the names of the 2 girls all the way on the left, but then it is Karissa Shelton, Sadie, Sierra West, Bentley Christensen, Lexi Hawley and Jasmine Ellis. 

The season is very short, which I appreciate. Millie was not fun to have at the games because she wanted to go to the playground, but when you are 2, and you are Camille Nielson, you cannot be trusted to do that alone. Whenever Daniel could come he took her to it and when he couldn't I forced her to sit next to me and eat snacks as a distraction.

We are looking forward to spring soccer. We are hoping Rob will coach again since he did such a fantastic job. 

Salazars Visit

We were very lucky to get a short visit from Hillary and Ben in September. Ben was recruiting for Ford at BYU. Hillary tagged along. I didn't get pictures of the delicious food and long talks we had, but I did get lots of pictures with the girls. Ben and I also went on a run Friday morning. It was fun to bring someone on one of the runs I do with my friends. Also, Ben made me feel so good about myself. He can be my running partner any time. 

Friday morning Sadie and Elise had their school walk-a-thon. I signed up to mark lap cards as the kids ran around. Hillary actually ran/walked with Elise-- while holding Millie--a lot of the time. It was a gorgeous morning but Hill got a little more than she bargained for. 

 The kindergarten only ran 1/2 hour versus the older grades' 45 minutes so when Elise was done we went over to see Sadie. 

After Elise got out of school we went down to Provo for a lunch with Matt and cousin Diane. Camille insisted on wearing Elise's backpack. 

 Matt was great to read to my girls at lunch. 

 Of course we hit up Rockwell Ice Cream. Duh.

That afternoon we spent a while outside playing. Hillary sat and patiently listened to Elise's pretend world for a long time. 

 While Ben catered to Millie's preferences and directions about swing/climbing/slides, etc. I took a video of Ben and Sadie playing an intense game of soccer. Ben gave her lots of pointers. 

On Saturday morning the Salazars joined us at Sadie's last soccer game of the season. Ben ended up pretty much just chasing and playing with Elise and Camille. He took this shot of Millie kicking the ball around.

We said a sad goodbye at lunchtime when they went to spent time with Ben's family. 

We love Hillary and Ben!

First half of September

I have fallen off the blogging wagon but I am back with my blurry pictures. Here are some things we did the first couple weeks of September.

Millie and Davis Faucette when we had them over for dinner. I have only gotten to see Davis 4 or 5 times in his life. I saw his older brothers all the time and that makes me sad. Davis is such a mix of Hunter and Emett.

We worked really hard for a couple weeks trying to get Sadie riding with no training wheels. She got decent but still not enough to be trusted on her own without an adult running next to her. Hoping she doesn't lose all that muscle memory before next spring. We are hoping to get Sadie and Elise both riding with no training wheels in the spring. 

Early one morning a hot air balloon went directly over our next-door neighbors house and landed in the field across the street. It was so loud! And we could feel the heat coming off the fire. 

A donut run after one of Sadie's soccer games. Daniel missed most of Sadie's soccer games this year with various things related to work. Boo.

Camille has mastered most of our swing set. She scares me. She fell off the top of the climbing wall one day. 

I am pretty sure Daniel was celebrating BYU football's close win

Dessert for mom and dad after kids were in bed. 

Sadie's first trip to the orthodontist. Our dentist recommended she see someone after watching her huge adult teeth try to move their way in to tiny openings from her baby teeth. I learned that most kids now have braces two times- once between 8-10 years old and again at 11-13. The orthodontist said she needed 2 baby teeth pulled ASAP and 4 more within 6 months. She just doesn't have enough room in her small mouth for her adult teeth. We are hoping she won't need any adult teeth pulled in the future, but it is a real possibility.

I have been doing some shopping for Meredith's baby girl. I am so excited for a Maxfield girl! 

Cabin Sleepover

Over Labor Day weekend the older 2 girls and I went up my cousins' cabin in Big Cottonwood Canyon. A note about the cabin: my great-grandparents owned it when my mom was a little girl. She spent time there when she came out to visit and even spent the better part of one summer there (if I am remembering right?). The cabin was sold a while ago (maybe in the '70's?) and then about 5 years ago my aunt and uncle bought it when it was on the market again. They are incredibly generous and allow family members to use it. It has 3 bed rooms and 1 1/2 baths, along with a fully equipped kitchen and laundry room. It is by no means fancy but the beds are comfortable and the cabin feels cozy.

  We decided to go last minute and it was perfect. We grabbed dinner on our way up there Friday afternoon and ate cereal in the morning so we didn't have to cook anything. 

We arrived with enough daylight for the girls to play for a few hours. There is a creek right behind the cabin that held their attention and allowed their imaginations to go wild. They would run inside to show me new things they found.

That night we ate treats, played games, and watched a movie. We also read from the incredible Peter Pan pop-up book illustrated by Robert Sabuda. Look up his pop up books. You won't be sorry. I would love to get my kids some of his books for Christmas.

The next morning the girls were up at 7 AM on the dot. We ate some breakfast and then went on a walk/hike around the neighborhood. We hiked up the steep embankment on the back side of the creek, only to find a road at the top. So then we made our way back down, with walking sticks of course.

I hadn't anticipated that the girls would love it so much. They wanted to stay as long as we could. I didn't bring lunch food, but they ate every scrap of snacks I brought and we stayed until that afternoon.

They went back and forth between playing outside and coloring inside. I mostly just relaxed and read.

I would love to go back again soon, although Camille may be tricky to bring. She would have to be watched any time she went outside.

End of August

Sadie's friend Bentley got to stay with us for a couple days while her parents were out of town. This marked the first time we have had a non-relative sleep over. The girls were pretty good and ended up asleep by 10 PM. Millie just loves Bentley and follows her around

With the older girls gone during the day Camille plays by herself more and more.

On August 23rd we celebrated Holland's birthday by sending her balloons. My girls love this tradition. I also think it is a good way to introduce the idea of death and life after death at a young age. 

 The girls had apples and nutella for an after-school snack and Elise wanted to get every bit of that chocolate. She told me she was the "chocolate cup of liberty". That girl is amazing. I don't every remember talking to her about the Statue of Liberty so I am impressed she could even make that joke. 

Millie went through a few weeks of sleeping in. She missed seeing the girls before they went to school, but she got to have breakfast all by herself and make demands like "cancakes" and "tikabell tup".

Kindergarten

 Elise started Kindergarten on August 29th. It was a very exciting day. She was comfortable and confident in the outfit she picked. It was hard for her to wait a whole week after Sadie to start school. When the day finally came she was ready. At her assessment before school started Elise got to meet her teacher and show her what she knew. Elise impressed me at how well she did everything. She was perfect. When her teacher pulled out a list of basic sight words she said, "Elise, do you want to read some of these for me?" And Elise answered, "No thanks" with a sweet smile. That was the end of our meeting. I love that girl. Her teacher told me she will find out her reading ability soon enough so she wasn't worried about it. 

 Sadie wanted a picture with the big Kindergartner.

The whole family went with Elise for her first day, but she couldn't have cared less. She wasn't very excited about posing with the Deerfield eagle, but she gave in to me. Then she ran around on the playground while we talked to other parents until the bell rang. I walked inside with her where she found her desk. She sits next to one of our neighbors, Bryant. I am very excited to see how the school year goes! 

A few facts about Elise as she started Kindergarten:

-she knows all her letters, upper and lower case, and their sounds

-she doesn't really care about math

-she can read basic words

-she loves to "read" books, which means looking at the pictures and making up elaborate stories

-LOVES to play pretend, especially about dragons
-we carpool with some boys in our neighborhood- Bode, Cooper and Roman. Most of the girls in our neighborhood are in afternoon Kindergarten

-she is very good at coloring in the lines, which for some reason surprises me
-takes gymnastics and theater class weekly and is considering trying soccer in the spring

-she loves to make people laugh, but hates when she feels like people are laughing at her

-uses big words as much as she can

-puts together fascinating outfits

-still hates getting her hair done for school, but she tolerates it better

-anytime someone does something she doesn't like she says they are rude

-has a great memory

-the most enthusiastic learner

Second Grade

Sadie's first day of school was August 22nd. She was soooo excited. She has a first year teacher. She is fresh out of college. That made me nervous, but Sadie is a great student for a first year teacher since she tries incredibly hard to please her teachers. I am confident this will be a great year!

Some facts about Sadie heading into 2nd grade:
-mysteries are her favorite genre (A to Z mysteries are her favorite, but I am hoping she will start to enjoy Boxcar children)
-one of her best friends, Bentley, is in her class. We carpool to school
-she is planning on playing soccer in the fall and spring, taking theater and gymnastics weekly throughout the year, and maybe playing basketball
-loves to set up our office as a classroom
-wants to be a teacher when she grows up
-loves to have play dates
-very good at cleaning up when she wants to
-frequently turns Pandora on the tv so she can dance
-prefers playing house, school, orphans, etc  over playing with toys