Marcus The Great

Marcus made his singing debut at his school recital today. Marcus wore a pilgrim hat and they sang Thanksgiving songs. Well, the other kids sang and Marcus just stood there most of the time looking cute and awkward. He is very anti singing in public just like his mom.

Soccer

Saturday was the last day for soccer this season. We had a couple make up games that morning. Then each of the boys made the all star team in their division because they are so awesome. Our day started at 9am for the first game and we finally made our way back home STARVING at 7pm.

Marcus did great in his game. The other team can't score when he is in the game. He is a defensive ninja, whenever the other team was about to score, he just appeared out of nowhere and stole the ball.

Jason had a rough season this year. His team, for a lack of a better word, well, they were horrible. Halfway through the season they were moved down a division so that they could be a bit more competitive. Even so, they never won a game. It was very hard for Jason to not give up and quit but he stuck through it and we are proud of him. He finally snagged a victory in his all star game and was elated.

I think he is glad this season is over.

Nathan had a good season. His team was very competitive and were a force to be reckoned with. The only hiccup in Nathan's season was a couple of weeks ago when he got ejected out of the game. He pushed a kid on the other team that had blatantly pushed Nathan several times throughout the game but the ref never saw the other kid push (of course). Nathan finally had enough and pushed him back. I'm not saying he was right because he wasn't, but, he wasn't in trouble with me either. He should have told someone what was going on instead of dealing with it himself, but I am glad he stood up for himself.

Here are the all stars in Nathan's division. Nathan is on the kneeling on the right side. Since his game was at night, I didn't really get any good pictures of his all star game except for this one.

This is Marcus and Coach Marvin. Marvin has been Marcus' coach for the past two seasons and he is the best. Marvin and Marcus are best of friends and they are both undefeated for the past two years! Here they are comparing muscles.

It is always bittersweet at the end of the season. I love to see the games and they have so much fun. We meet make new friends and meet more neighbors. But on the other hand, practices are no fun with three kids. We had practice times that overlapped and were at two different locations so that was always very stressful. I was a very frantic soccer mom at times. It is definitely worth it and I can't wait until next season!

I Got Tagged

I got tagged by Nicole dang it. I wonder how long this virtual tag game has been going on. Anyway, here it goes....

5 Joys
-My family of course
-Reading
-Photography, I didn't know I loved it until I got my last camera. Before that I thought I was just a horrible picture taker
-Eating unhealthy food
-Flip flops (I try to incorporate them into every outfit I wear)

5 Fears
-Butterflies, I know that sounds retarded but when I was little, one chased me when my family was camping and I have never been the same. I swear I remember it being the size of a dinner plate but my mom said it was average sized.
-Uncooked meat, I am freakish when it comes to this. I need all my chicken and steak near burnt and dry or I can't eat it.
-I am afraid to swim in lakes and the ocean because a fish might bump into me. Even a little fish brushing against me would make me scream.
-I have had the same dream at least once every couple of weeks for the last 11 years. It is really awful and I always fear that it is really a premonition.
-Lightning (see below)

5 Surprising Facts
-When I was 11, our house was struck by lightning while I was home with my sister and grandma. It actually caught on fire! It was the loudest thing I have ever heard in my life. I was the one that got everyone out of the house.
-When I was in 4th grade, I used to hate my PE teacher so much I forged a note excusing myself from PE for the rest of the year due to asthma. I thought it looked pretty legit but I got busted anyway.
-I had Nathan naturally (no epidural). This was not on purpose, I just did not make it to the hospital in time to get it. Oh I wished I would have got there earlier.
-Most everyone knows I met Mike at work but most people don't know that he was my boss. That's right I married my boss. Very scandalous.
-I've only gotten three trophies in my life. Two of them were for reading and the other one was for fishing. Yep, I was and am a big nerd.

5 Obsessions
-Diet Dr Pepper (I know this is very bad but I have one for breakfast everyday)
-Twilight, I just read all four books and loved it so much I am reading it again
-America's Next Top Model, it's an awful show but I can't help myself
-Coach anything, it goes against my frugal ways but I love it. I even have Coach glasses
-My kids and husband who make my world go round

That wasn't too painful. Hopefully I didn't put you to sleep, really I am not all that interesting. Since most of the people that read my blog don't have blogs you lucky duckies are safe. So Sarah, Tiffany, Amanda, and Melinda you're it!

The Walk

Today after work, Mike wanted to go for a walk. I voted for taking a nap, but James voted for going for a walk too. Dang it! Once again I am outvoted. Why do I hate going for walks so much! It can hardly be called exercise, but in my head it is equivalent to torture. The whole time I am putting on my shoes and getting the baby ready I am trying to come up with some reason why I can't go. I couldn't think of any so we went for a walk.

We walked around one of the neighborhood lakes. I looked for these...

And Mike looked for these. He drives me crazy with his house hunting. I think he figured that out so he mostly house hunts behind my back now, but I still see him looking for the web address on the signs out of the corner of his eye.

If you have ever been in the car while Mike was driving you probably know that he drives with his knees a lot. Yes, his knees. I have told him it is very unsafe but he insists he is really good. James likes to steer with his feet, I hope James isn't learning this bad habit from dad.

We all had fun chasing these coots around. We don't like these gross duck imposters. They tear up the grass and leave green poop everywhere including the sidewalk. Every winter they migrate to our lake.

Ever since James got his new tooth this week he feels like such a big boy. He has become quite the professional eater, that is sort of his niche since he is definitely no where near crawling and he is not a good sleeper. His new favorite food is orange slices which he ate while lounging in his stroller. No wonder he voted for walk! If I were going to be fed and sitting the whole time I would have picked it too.

Maybe tomorrow I will bribe James with oatmeal to vote for nap. I have a feeling that I am going to lose again so I guess I better just start thinking of my excuse now.

My Husband

Reasons why I love my hot husband....

1. He rides a very uncool scooter to work everyday to save us some cash
2. He has very sexy legs and green eyes
3. He fixes my brakes
4. He let's me put my freezing cold toes on him to warm them up
5. He always eats whatever I make and says it's good
6. He picks my outfits for me when I can't decide
7. He let me have a cat even though he hates them
8. He likes to barbecue.. and I love to eat barbecue

Wondering why there are only eight? There are lots more reasons but I don't want to make you all jealous

I love you Mike

Vanilla Wafers

Yesterday, Jason and Nathan had an eating contest. On the menu was Great Value Vanilla Wafers, mmmm. Marcus wasn't interested since he doesn't care for the wafers. Actually, the only dessert Marcus really likes is ice cream.

The rules were simple. No chewing, and the wafers can't be held in by your hands.

Yes, this is the type of thing we do with our free time. We are odd like that. It was actually very hilarious to watch them try to cram just one more into their already super stuffed hamster cheeks. Sibling rivalry is awesome.

Jason managed a very respectable 8. Keep in mind they weren't allowed to chew.

The very proud winner somehow managed 9. Jason filed a dispute though, his complaint was that Nathan's last one wasn't completely in his mouth. I did rule in Nathan's favor since that was not in the rules.

Maybe I can make our next eating contest broccoli florets. I wonder if their desire to beat each other would outweigh their dislike for any green food. Maybe if I had them blind folded that just might work. Ohh I am so evil Ha Ha Ha!

That Look

This my friends, is the death stare. I am sure if you have a pre teen or a teen you have seen this look before. This look means- if I could shoot laser beams out of my eyeballs you would be gone. He is 11 now so I guess this is going to be pretty common for a while and I'm sure my mom is laughing because she is getting her revenge now.

Mom I just want to say I'm sorry, I am sure I did this look a lot to you too.

Fire

This weekend we had our first backyard campfire of the season. It was complete with our kids wielding metal sticks and marshmallows. I don't think there is a child on this planet who doesn't love to roast those puffy sugar balls.

Can you believe they actually got tired of the marshmallows? At the end they just wanted to roast them. Well, I guess they did split an entire bag.

It went pretty well. Nathan only burned his lip two times this time. He is finally starting to learn how to actually roast the marshmallows instead of just turning them into charcoal briquets. Honestly, I think the briquets tasted good too though.

Hey Remember Me...

Lately I have seriously neglected my kids, my husband, and my blog. I'm sorry guys. But seriously it wasn't my fault, here is the culprit....

I have been reading at an insanely furious pace. I have read 2,438 pages in the span of ten days. Insane, for sure. Necessary, well, at the time I thought so. Hi, my name is Rebecca and I am an addict. I don't know if it possible to be addicted to a book but I was so it must be. I would get the shakes every time I wasn't reading. I would even sneak a few pages in between calls at work. The no books in the bathroom rule was off. Edward and Bella were my drug of choice and I wanted them bad. Amazingly, after I read the last page my addiction was cured and I am on the road to recovery. Hallelujah!

So kids I'm sorry if I made you sandwiches for dinner so I could read a few extra pages instead of cooking. And Mike, I am sorry if I pretended to not hear the baby cry a couple times so that you would get him. Thanks for putting up with me. I am sure there is a staggering mountain of laundry waiting for me. I cringe at the thought.

WARNING
Twilight- Read at your own risk