Happy Birthday..to me..

The 4th of October just came and gone so fast.  The kids were off track from school and we had lots of things to get done before we left for our trip the next day.  So, after a full day that included a fun lunch with Matt and the kids...we finally were able to fit in a quick cupcake to celebrate.  I love a yummy cupcake from the Sweet Tooth Fairy! 

Here is to another year of adventures!

Sad Day..for Carter

Chowder the 2nd bird that Matt and the kids got without me being on the decision committee died on Saturday morning.  This bird was an all white parakeet that Carter really bonded to because it was calm and liked to be held.  The last few weeks the poor bird did not look good and started to turn brown and slept all the time.  The poor thing couldn't even hold its head up on Saturday morning while Carter was holding it.  Carter was very sad and could not hold back the tears of sadness.  We all were teary eyed because Carter NEVER gets emotional like that.  We put Chowder in a shoe box with lots of paper towels to keep him warm while we had to leave for Carter's football game.  We all felt so bad for Carter, he was so quiet and somber the entire ride to Ogden and just wasn't himself during his game.   
 

After Carter's game he wanted to go by the pet store and look at the birds and I said sure..not knowing that we would be walking out with another bird...(What am I thinking).  I just have a soft spot for my kids when they are feeling down.  Both birds that we have now are ones we got when I have felt bad for Carter.  We got Parry at the beginning of the year because Carter was trying out hearing aids and now Oreo because of the loss of Chowder.

We still have Parry, but he is not social at all.  We made the mistake of getting him a mirror and he wants nothing to do with humans.  He just sits in front of the mirror and chirps at himself when he is bored. We try to get him out, but he flys back to his cage to get away for anyone.

So, now Carter is much happier with his new bird.  He still gets sad when he thinks of Chowder, but he is now buried in our backyard.  Oreo is another perfect bird for Carter.  He is very social and can be held anytime.  He even ate out of Matt's had on the 2nd day we had him, which is pretty amazing.  Oreo has a separate cage and stays in Carter's room,which makes Carter feel very responsible for his own pet now.
    
 

Proud moment for Carter

I know, not more about football..but this is what is consuming most of our time for the past month.  We had a few rain storms that caused Monday's practice to be cancelled and we were excited to finally have a night off from football.
 I just had to post about how hard Carter has been working to play more offense positions.  He is not a big fan of being on defense and tackling.  He likes to get away from all the tackles as much as possible.  He has been asking his coach every practice and game if he can play offense and the coach kept brushing him off.  So, last week the coach had some running drills to see who is the fastest player on the team to run some offensive plays...and guess who won every drill....Carter!  I am not kidding he is amazingly fast!   


So, this past Saturday's game Carter finally got what he had been working hard for at practice and got to play more offensive plays.  He was so excited to grab a fumbled ball and run it a few yards.
 

He also is on the the kick off and kick off returns teams.  He still was put in as a middle line backer on the defensive teams, but he didn't mind.  He will go where ever the coach tells him to go.

The boys huddling. 

The proud moment for Carter was when he was recognized after the game with a candy necklace from the coaches.  They said that Carter works hard at every practice and game and that he will play any position that is asked of him.  They also appreciated that he hussles on and off the field, to and from huddles and doesn't stop until the whistle blows to end a play.  Way to Go Carter!  We love to see him get recognized for something that he did all on his own. 

Family Night at the Bee's Game

Matt had bought tickets for this Baseball game a few months ago because it was Family Night and it was their last game of the season with fireworks after the game.  But, the weather here decided to change from being melting hot in the 90's to pouring rain for two days straight.  One of those days happen to be the evening of the Bee's Game.  We decided to take a chance and see the game.  It wasn't raining when we got there, but then they delayed the start of game an hour due to a thunderstorm rolling in.  So, they covered the field and we waited for the storm to pass.  Then, another rain storm came brewing over again.  While the rain was coming down we wandered through the vendors in the covered area of the stadium to stay dry.  We won a bat key chain, pens and pom poms.  Wahoo! The rain was starting to clear and they were preparing the field to play...after a 2 hour delay from the original start time.  It was now 9pm and we were excited to finally watch baseball. 

This was our entrainment for a while..getting the field ready. 

I think they have done this a few times because it was done in an orderly fashion.  The tarp on the in field was rolled away and the crowd cheered. Yay!! 

The rain started sprinkling down again, we were getting wet as we sat in our seats.  It was now 10:00 and only the 3rd inning and we were cold.  We were now ready to think about going home...but then all of sudden a foul ball was hit and guess what...the ball bounced off a chair above us and landed right in front of us.  Yeah!...Matt grabbed the ball and we consider it our reward for sticking it out through the rain.  Now, Matt and Carter have both gotten games balls this year.   

We did end up leaving shortly after getting our game foul ball.  The game ended shortly after midnight, but I wonder how many people were still around.  This will definitely be a game that we will remember.  We had some good laughs and enjoyed our time together.   

Football Season is Here...

Carter decided to play tackle football this year.  I didn't realize that kids start playing football at age 7 around here.  So, I thought he would be a little behind skill wise being 9, but he once again has proved us wrong.  He is a tough and a relentless player.  He loves everything about the sport except when he touches the grass.  So, he avoids all tackles as much as possible.  He just amazes me every time he gets on the field.  He hustles to every play, coming off and on the field and huddles.  He is also one of the first two boys to finish every running drill at practice.

We have been spending most of our evenings at the football field with practice every day and games on Saturdays.  So, we pretty much are breathing football right now.  I think Ashlynn is the only one that has a small complaint about it.  The rest of us are enjoying the experience.     

The moms take turns making the banners for the boys to run through, providing fruit for half-time and a treat for after their game. 

The boys love it!

All the parents also had team shirts made up to cheer on our Mitey Mite Layton Colts. We have quite the navy blue and silver cheering squad.

GO COLTS!!!   #42 Carter

Visitors from Boise & a Finger Injury

My Dad and Corey came to visit.  We played miniature golf, watched Carter's football game, played lots of games at home, ate at Ashlynn's choice of restaurant (the place where you can get your own food) and enjoyed each others company.  We were glad they could come visit!

 

Oh and by the way...Matt also broke a few bones in his right ring finger from playing football with Carter.  He landed himself in the ER, a few x-ray's, and more doctor visits to find out that he has to wait 10 days before they decide to do surgery on the finger.  He has to wait to see if the splint is going to work.  If it is working than he will keep the fun looking splint on his finger for 6 weeks or they will put pins in his finger and put on another splint.  So, poor Matt has very limited movement with his right hand.

Road Trip..

Road trip to Grandma's house we go..on the pavement we go for 4 hours..

with these two funny kids...

If you look past all the smashed bugs on our window you can see an awesome picture of the sun.

So glad that we can fit time in to see this funny lady..my Grandma and the kids great Grandma Elsberry.  We brought pizza and had lunch with her.  The kids like to play with her remote to her chair. 

We also couldn't pass up swimming at Matt's parents house and got to have visit time with them as well.  We were very gracious for letting us stay with them.

Carter also got to go to a Boise Hawks Baseball game with Grandpa Rod and Uncle Corey.  We love to head back home and enjoy everyone's company again.  So Fun!