Soccer Girls

It's fall again!  Not that it's feeling like it yet, :( but that means soccer time!  This year the girls are on the same team and it is awesome!  I love that they are close enough in age that they can share this together!  Plus it is sooo nice to be able to have only one practice and one game a week.  I don't feel like soccer is taking over my life the way I felt last year.  Not to mention I'm not nine months pregnant, or just had a baby, like it was last fall.  We have had so much fun going to the girls game and watching them play together.  It is particularly fun when they both play the same position and watching them work together.  But mostly Lizzy plays forward, partly because she is the best on them team.  And Nellie mostly plays goalie  and she is the best goalie.  Nellie is so funny because sometimes the ball just doesn't come her way during the quarter and if she doesn't think she is getting to do enough saving she will sand back there and fold her arms and pout.  It is really funny. The first game of the season Lizzy scored 3 straight goals, so that was fun to watch.  Also Kevy gets so into the games that every Saturday he loses his voice from screaming so much.  So funny.

 These two girls really do love being together!

 Nellie is going through the awkward smile phase right now,  it is a little painful because she has such a great smile when she isn't trying so hard.

 Lizzy is funny because she is such a natural in front of the camera, she takes such great pictures.

We sure are enjoying watching these two girls.  It sure is fun to have kids getting bigger and getting to watch their activities.

All About Nellie- 6 years

Oh our Nellie, she is something else that is for sure.  She has never been the easy child, but what would our lives really be like without her?  Probably pretty boring.  She keeps us on our toes and trying out all kinds of different tactics for discipline.
Nellie no longer has any serious obsessions like she used to, besides wanting to be like her big sister.  For instance I ask them what they want for a snack and Nellie asks, "What is Lizzy having? That's what I want."  It annoys Lizzy at times, but I just tell her it means Nellie wants to be like her.  She and Lizzy get along really well, but Lizzy does with most people.  Nellie and Jane, sometimes, Nellie and Russ, I don't know if anyone can be as adored as Russ is by Nellie.  She loves that kid so much, and no one can get him laughing the way that Nellie can.
Nellie really loves to cook and really wants to be a chef when she grows up, the great thing is it has gotten her to be a much better eater, because I would tell her if she wants to be a chef she has to try everything, and so she has started eating all her meals.  So nice!
Nellie does great at school, she is a great reader and great at math, the only problem is she doesn't like school very much and complains a lot about doing homework and having to go to school at all.  She keeps saying she wants to homeschool, but we all know that that would be the end of me.  Having Nellie around all day, no it is good she goes to school.  She actually seems to enjoy it she just complains when it's time to go.  Silly girl!  She is very friendly and has plenty of friends.  There is a little boy named Kevin who sits next to her and she is always going on and on about "my friend Kevin."  It is really cute.
Nellie  is still a huge junk food fan and is always trying to find a way to get more treats. If she thinks someone has gotten more treats than her than she is up in arms until it is equal in her eyes.
Nellie is a real animal lover and is always trying to convince us to get a dog.  She is really sweet with dogs and really loves them.  She also loves babies so much.  I have a friend that lives down that street that has 6 month old twins.  One day she had to watch the girls after school for a short time and Nellie thought it was the greatest thing ever to help her with her twins.  She asks me almost daily if she can go over and help with the twins.
Although Nellie really tries our patience at times, we love her so much!  We are so glad she is part of our family.  It really wouldn't be the same without her.

The River Cats

All summer we talked about taking the kids to the River Cats(the Triple A team).  We realized it was their last home stand so it was now or never.  We went on a Friday night, that was Family Night, with dollar hot dogs and desserts, thinking this will be a great deal.  The hot dogs were fine, a little small and squished, but the dollar desserts were pathetic and not even worth a dollar. Oh well.  It was an interesting night.  Nellie had gotten two dollars from the tooth fairy for losing her first tooth, and it was burning a major hole in her pocket.  She just had to buy something there with it.  So we went walking up and down that way looking for something to buy.  As you know at a baseball game good luck finding anything in that price range.  She was totally freaking out Nellie style.  Finally we found a man selling some small toys for 50 cents. She was happy for about ten minutes and then throwing her usual fit again because she wanted something else.  She was seriously rotten almost the whole time.  

 Before Nellie's freakout. 

 Lizzy really liked watching the big baseball players warming up.

 Lizzy just loves Russ.  They are so dang cute! 

 Daddy and his little kids.  Notice the towels, nice huh?  We had gotten a nice big blanket to sit on and when we got there we realized somehow we left it sitting at home. So we scrounged and had to use our towels from the van, nice!

 So cute!

 Mr. Russ was so good just cruising around on the grass.  But he got so tired.  We had to leave so we could get him home to sleep.

Janie was her usual fun, happy, easy-going self.  She had fun.

First Day of School

After a great summer the first day of school arrived.  We had moved in to our new place two days before and so we were still all in the middle of unpacking, but it was nice that we made it in time to start school on time.  I was a little worried about the girls starting a new school, but not too much, they are so social that I knew they would do just fine.  Our school starts at 7:50 which is almost a full hour earlier than our last school, so we have had to make some major adjustments.  Lizzy really struggles with getting up so early, and gets pretty grumpy, but Nellie does pretty well because she is a "morning bird"  She started calling it that rather than early bird.  I am seriously dying.  I don't want to get up that early and have to get my kids up that early.  It is making me think we may not want to stay here for when we buy a house just because of this.  

 Love the slim skinny jeans that just don't fit my little skinny girls.

 Lizzy was so so excited to start school.  I never worry about her because she makes friends so easily.  And of course she did.  When I picked her up the first day I asked her how it was and she said "It was amazing Mom!"  I love that.

 Lizzy lining up with her class.  Look at those chicken legs.  We even got the super skinny slim jeans and they still hang on her little legs.

 I'm so glad to see that Nellie does so well making friends too.  She and her little friend Kevin who sits next to her.  She is always telling me about him.  And a couple days after school started, she brought home a scrap of paper with a phone number on it.  I asked her what it was and she said "Its my BFF's number. Can we call her?"  I asked what her name was and Nellie said she couldn't remember.  I told her we can't call someone if we don't know their name.  Such a silly girl!  Later on we found out it is Michelle.

 We were so thrilled that Janie could get to attend Miss Patty's Place like Nellie got to.  We absolutely adore Miss Patty!  She is the most amazing teacher. Janie didn't start until two weeks after the girls did.  So the day she started she got ready right away including her shoes and book bag and was ready to go even though she goes in the afternoon.

 Look at that cute little monkey.

Janie is my most shy by far.  She never cries, but she gives me this look like "I can't believe you are making me do this." I started her in a little playgroup in the ward and the first day she went to it, she didn't cry but she was NOT happy about it.  But she ended up having a lot of fun.  I was glad that she wasn't this way with going to Miss Patty's.  She was still a little shy but she was excited too.