End of an Era

Yesterday was a bittersweet day. It was Camille's last home soccer game. Ever. It was a great game because they beat Logan 2-0, and because Camille was able to play and feel good. She hurt her quad during Tuesday's game and was questionable up until right before the game. It would have killed her to sit this game out! I was so relieved to see her warming up. But it was sad because it was the last time she'll play for Ogden High at beautiful Mt. Ogden Park. She has loved every minute (almost) of her 4 years of high school soccer and it has flown by so fast.

The seniors all got flowers after the game.

All the seniors. They have been together since freshman year.


Camille's good friends Hannah and Emily. Annie (#6) should be in this photo, too.

Babies Everywhere

Last Saturday evening, while John, Scott, and Kevin were at the BYU game (they don't want to talk about it) and Camille was at a school activity, Matt and I decided to go to the Hogle Zoo to check out all the new baby animals we had heard about.

This tiger cub -one of triplets- kept trying to play with his napping mother and she kept playfully swatting him away. Very funny!

The baby elephant was tinier than we expected. So cute!

What does it mean if a giraffe is eating the "don't feed us" sign?

We were hoping the baby giraffe would stand up, but nope.

Not a baby, but Matt thought the red panda was pretty cute.

A Beautiful Day for Soccer

The last few weeks our life has been a blur of soccer games and school work. With all 4 kids playing, I figure we have 7 games and 10 practices a week, not including Kevin's reffing. It's a little crazy making sure everyone gets where they're supposed to be, but when the actual games start and we get to watch them, its a lot a fun. This time I'll post some pictures from Scott's game in Orem yesterday. It was a gorgeous day in a gorgeous setting on a nice field. What could be more fun? I posted the pics of Mt. Timpanogos for Mom and Dad. It looked beautiful and made me feel nostalgic for home just a little bit. (Even though I'm only an hour away).

BMOC

What happened to my shy little Kevin? He's now in Junior High and it seems like he suddenly wants to be involved in everything. He decided to join the cross country team because it sounded fun. He's not really a runner, and none of his best friends were doing it, but he just decided he wanted to, so he has been running after school in the hot sun every day. Fun, huh?

Then, when there were a couple of openings for 7th grade class officers, he decided to run, and he ended up winning. He thinks Jr. High is the best, and he doesn't even complain about the strict dress code. We'll see how he feels about that in a couple of years! He's growing up and turning into a great young man, but he's doing it a little too quickly!

Don't Listen to Your Mother!

So we still tease Camille from time to time about her goalkeeper skills back on one of her very first soccer teams. During one game she let a ball roll right by her while she stood perfectly still. When we asked her about it she said she couldn't move because there was a bee on her shirt. Logical, right? Well, of course I reassured her that if a bee was ever on her again she could just wave the bee away and that it wouldn't hurt her. Well, can you see where this is going? Fast forward to yesterday's soccer game, seconds before the referee blows the whistle to start the second half. Camille is in position, concentrating hard, when she feels something on her arm. Of course, she tries to wave it away, and, you guessed it, gets stung, hard, right on the upper arm. Good thing you don't use your arms (officially) in soccer because she had to play the second half with a very sore bicep!

Oh, by the way, the game ended in a tie, 1-1, after a double overtime. They don't have a shoot out unless it's a play-off game.

Homecoming

Saturday was a busy day for Camille. Besides Matthew's baptism it was the Homecoming dance. That meant a daytime activity (riding go-carts), coming home just in time for the baptism, playing the piano for the baptism, and hurrying home to get ready for the dance. It must have worn her out because she took a 5 hour nap after church on Sunday!

Camille and Luke before the dance

Matthew's Baptism Day

Saturday, September 5 was Matt's baptism day. We are so proud of him. He was very excited and listened very carefully, and he looked so handsome and grown up.

Matt with Grandpa and Mommer

Grandma and Grandpa were sad to miss Matt's baptism day, but they left him a present before they left on their mission. He was excited to open it and find his very own Baptism Blanket.

Fun with Spunky

Take a look at this picture then see if you can answer the following question:

Why has Spunky been shaved?

a. We're trying to hide his bald spot.
b. All the cool dogs are doing it.
c. We're trying to pass him off as a Chihuahua.
d. He got too close to a skunk with unfortunate results.

Anyone who has met Spunky will have no trouble believing that the answer is d. He's not the smartest tool in the shed. The really sad part is that we let him in the house before we realized what had happened. That was a mistake! Finally, a couple of shampoos and a trip to the groomer and a day and a night with open windows later we're all fresh smelling again -at least as much as we ever were!

Pictures from My Garden (if you can call it that)

I can't believe it! I thought I'd planted this hibiscus too late to bloom this year. Most of my perennials were planted on the 4th of July, and they have survived, but not much else. But look! A beautiful bloom on my spindly little hibiscus plant! I hope it doesn't tip over.

My roses were the first thing I planted and they've done better than everything else.

Matt's canteloupe and watermelon were planted to late, I'm afraid. There might be hope for this canteloupe if the hot weather holds for a little while.


But this is our biggest watermelon. It's only 4 inches long, so I'm afraid we'll be getting our watermelon at Costco for the rest of the summer.



What grows best around here are weeds. But at this time of year some of those weeds reward us with beautiful flowers! It makes me wonder why I fight Mother Nature so much.