Soccer

Soccer season is well under way and it is so fun being a soccer mom. Landon has done really well in soccer and the transition has been better even than our last basketball season. He is really getting the hang of the game and asks to play all the positions. He loves getting his uniform on but hates the socks and shin guards. They itch, he says.
How cute is their team banner?
Soccer dad and soccer bro. Cohen loves going to soccer practice and games. Landon has a friend on the team and he has a brother that is around Co's age. They both get to play outside every week twice a week. Good boy fun. They both have to have their water bottles and Co needs his own chair. He even carries it himself. Funny kid!

He loves playing defender. I think that is his favorite. He is actually pretty good at it. Offense is a bit intimidating still and goalie is definately not his forte, but he can really kick it hard and far if he knows that is his job.I love that the kids line up and do the slapping hands thing. They totally don't get it, but it is cute. They run under a bridge the parents make with their hands after. Too cute. Life is great being the mom!

First Day of School......Finally!!!

So after missing our first official week of school because of vacation, Landon finally started Pre-K today. All in all, it was a good start. Clothes on without a fight, hair combed with minimal fight, teeth brushed, shoes on before leaving home, pictures taken and best of all no tears. We were a little late due to freeway closures and little brother tantrums, so the pass off to the teacher ended up being more of a shove than a gentle, loving hand off, but still, no tears. He was happy when he came home, but he did tell Steve, "we have lots of really hard work to do". Of course, his favorite thing, recess. He gets to bring his own snack each day and so he is really excited about his Spiderman lunch pail. His teachers seem really sweet and he knows about 5 kids from his class last year. For him, familiarity is the key. He likes to see the same faces and have the same routine each day. The program is 5 days a week, so we'll see how tired I am of driving by week end, but all in all it made for a great day.

Cohen took a l0ng time to adjust to time without Landon last year. He was usually rotten while he was gone making it not good one on one time. Luckily today was fun once his tantrum was over. Need I say, this crying fit was over a silly toy that Landon didn't want him to have while he was at school. I don't blame Landon since we misplaced a few Spiderman toys last year while he was at school. I did get a lot done....car wash, JoAnn's, bank, grocery store. Maybe tomorrow I will get a shower in there somewhere, too.

Hopefully I can post our vacation pictures tomorrow.

Discovery Kingdom

So we were off on an adventure today. Too many days trying to manage at home, so we tried something new. What a blast we had. This Sea World/Disneyland/Zoo adventure park is a Six flags park. It is only an hour or so from our house and we had never gone. There was so much to do that we felt overwhelmed at first. We made it to maybe 1/2 the attractions, but what we saw we loved. We definately wouldn't mind a season pass.

I think their favorite were all the Sea World type shows. The dolphins, killer whale, sea lions, seals, walrus', and sharks. Landon loved "the flipping and tipping dolphins", and Cohen thought the walrus' were "HUGE, mommy, they're HUGE".
Cohen was scared out of his mind to ride anything. Even the carausel. Oh, boy!! Landon only wanted to go if I rode with him. Now our options are limited. Can't leave Cohen to watch. Can't let Landon not do anything he wants, so the only option, force the crying 2 year old onto the rides and pray we survive.
It did get better. After a few non scary things, Cohen actually enjoyed a few (the train was a favorite). Thanks for being my very best friends. Thanks for keeping me complany when daddy is away. Thanks for all the joy you bring into my life. Thanks for always being so excited to do new things and being patient with me while we figure it all out.

Q & A

Q: How do you know when some emergency cleaning is in order?

A: When your 4 year old looks at you first thing in the morning and says "Mom, this house is a dump!"

Q: "Mom, why is there Halloween stuff up at the store?"

A: Good question son. I think because it is ONLY like 2 months away.

Q: "Mom, how many is 2 months? Will that be when daddy gets home?"

A: Probably.

Q: How many nights will it take me to realize at 10:15 that a nap for Landon probably wasn't wise (no matter how much I needed it!)?

A: Ask me at 2:00 tomorrow when I am going totally crazy again!

Q: "Mom, does that bear have a Mommy and Daddy (in our bedtime story)?"

A: Yes.

Q: "Well, where are they?"

A: How in the heck should I know! Maybe they will come on page 2. Can we just read the book already??

Q: How do you know when your husband had been out of town too long?

A: When you are up at 10pm cracking yourself up outloud, writing on your own blog!

Q: Why in the heck do kids ask SOOOOOOO many questions?

A: If I only knew!!!!!!

Basketball

We are about to conclude our second go at basketball this week. It has been so much fun for Landon this time. We have a couple of church friends that are playing with him and so he doesn't actually cry each time we have to go. Our last attempt at this, we signed him up in some rand0m league, that was a far drive for us and as some may know, Landon doesn't like new things. It was a tough thing to do each week, so I am so pleased that he is having fun this season. It is so cute to watch him since he is not aggresive in the least bit, so unless someone hands him the ball, he doesn't get much ball time. He pretty much wanders around the court, waving at Steve and I. When he does actually take a shot, make it or not, he looks at us for approval, like "did you get a load of that shot?" How fun it is to see him make progress socially and to improve in something he really loves to do. He has really come out of his shell socially. I still remember him in January playing in the other league, walking up and down the court chewing his nails. The ref looked at him and told him to run to the other end of the court and he burst into tears and never went back on the court that game. Now he runs out there, listens to his coach, occasionally trys for a rebound, and just is having a blast. Too cute! (sidenote: people think he is the oldest on the team, since he is by far the tallest, at least they don't think there is something mentally wrong with my super shy 4 year old who is playing with 5 and 6 yr olds! Hahaha!)

Just a Little Rant

So I have been trying to figure out his new computer that my husband had to buy, and long story short, I can't.  I can't get the pictures from my memory card onto the home computer (someone at work talked him into changing to a Mac....brilliant!!).  I have been using my laptop, but it seems silly to get it out just to post a blog.  And now I can't even get the internet to work on it, so that I could post some pictures.  So I guess I need to just rant.  

Steve has been gone so much lately that I count the days until Friday, so that we can be a family for a few days.  I think I have been a pretty good sport, but on days like today, when not much is going on, I tend to get a bit down that I know I won't see him most of the week. 

The kids are definitely bored and are driving me up the wall.  I feel like a perpetual screamer these days.  I know that school will start soon enough and I will be sad I didn't enjoy the time that I didn't have to be somewhere, at a certain time, everyday.  Really, I just wish I was smart enough to figure out my computer.  Maybe then I wouldn't care that my husband has been gone for the last 2 months (excluding weekends) and there is no end in sight.   That said, I feel much better.  Sometimes you just need to get it off your chest!!

Camping

We spent the weekend camping with friends. It was a ton of fun. The boys played in the dirt for three straight days. Heaven for them. We did foil dinners, smores, played at the beach, rode bikes and sat around the fire and chatted. I can't say I remember the last time I camped, but I must say it was good family fun. We definately took notes from watching our expert camper friends, but we didn't do too bad. Cohen is anxious to go again. Every time he wakes up, he tells me "I go camping again." It is so fun to know they loved it. The best part of the whole trip was snuggeling in the sleeping bags, putting the boys to bed and talking to them. We had no where to go, there was no hurry and we had some great chats. Hopefully we can do it again. Next time I am not signing up to pack alone and pick my hubby up 20 minutes from the campsite. He thought this was great. I thought it would have been great to have had him home to help. Oh well, we got there and had fun, despite the stress.
One of the kids found this star fish. Landon was so excited!