Flag Football Pictures

* Bradley's team is the white team this time....in this first picture he is the quarterback and is about to do either a picth or a hand off.

He is ready for the HIKE. (Right after his game, Melanee called and Bradley answered the phone by saying, "Hike" instead of "Hi"...it was really funny.

His team does a lot of hand offs.

I dont think this is a pass, I think it was their famous or infamous "Statue of Liberty" play that they do once a game. (It always works, too.)

Pictures!!!! Thanks MEL!!!

In the locker room....Melanee and Tamara.

Action shot.

Look at the top of this picture...the ball.

Melanee taking the corner kick.

Winning Day

I am going to blog about 3 of my 4 kids games today, but I didn't actually get to watch 2 of them (and one was a meet, not a game) and the one I got to watch I had to leave after the first quarter. So my blogging will all have to be about things I was told, not what I saw.

Bradley's team won their game 28-6. Bradley was the quarterback on the first touchdown (and the point after). Two of the touchdowns were interceptions. And the last one was a hand off......but ALL of the 4 touchdowns were scored by a player on the team named Brian. ALL FOUR.

Melanee's team won their game 8-0. This was a big game for them because they already have 4 losses, they tied their last game, this was a team that is in their conference, this was the team that they played in the National Championship game last year, and it's getting close to the end of the season, so it was almost a MUST WIN game. They did WIN, by A LOT. Melanee started the game as a forward and scored the first goal of the game (the game winner) then she moved back to the stopper position, where she played the rest of the half. To start the second half she played forward, and scored the first goal of the second half, then moved back to defense again. She also took a corner kick which her team scored on, but it wont count as an assist because it hit the ground before the shot. The best news I heard after the game was that she is happy (and not injured).

William's team had a cross country meet today. He came in 21st place out of 60 runners. He was the 8th place runner on his team....that's pretty good. He started to catch a cold yesterday, so he wasn't feeling great today. Running is hard when you are sick!!!! Running is hard anytime!!!!

Andrew just had soccer practice. He had fun.

Today was also Cub Scouts, which went horribly....the kids were so LOUD and HYPER and CRAZY.

I also had an EVENTFUL, but odd few hours between getting off of work and scouts. I seriously can't blog about it but believe me, I have a story to tell!!!!

William MAY have pictures on his cell phone from the meet....Melanee DID ask someone to take pictures...and Scott has some football pictures in the camera in his car, but he is not home, so check back later for PHOTOS!!!!!!!!!!!

2 games, a meet, cub scouts, and practice

How am I going to do it all today? Well, William's meet is out of town, so I'm not going to make that event. I gave him my camera to take with him and while he is running he could have one of the JV girls, a Varsity girl, a JV boy, or even a parent or coach take A PICTURE (or pictures) of him. HOW HARD IS THAT TO DO? But he refused.

Melanee hasn't been bringing the camera I bought her either. It's SO frustrating. She says, "Why don't you just come to the games, everyone elses parents do?" DOES SHE NOT UNDERSTAND that she goes to a RICH KIDS school, those parents have WAY more money than we do. DOES SHE NOT UNDERSTAND that we can't afford for me to fly across the country, rent a car, stay at a motel, and miss work to watch her play soccer? DOES SHE NOT UNDERSTAND that I would be happy with ANY kind of picture (or pictures) even if it is just her warming up, riding on the bus, or standing around in her uniform. An action shot would be nice, to get one all she would have to do is ask one of the many parents who attend the game (she says they all do), one of the many coaches, one of the many subs, to just hold her camera and take a few shots. She refuses. It makes me mad and sad.

So Bradley has a football game today, but it's at the same time as scouts and Andrew's practice. Wednesdays are CRAZY. Andrew has already missed practice because of Bradley's games and William's meets...so I don't want him to miss again. He's only 7, so I don't feel right just dropping him off. What to do??????????????????

Taco Bell

Bradley and Andrew like Taco Bell. If we ever have a chance to stop for fast food, they want Taco Bell. Whenever we have Isaiah with us, he never knows what to order. But he does when we go to Taco Bell (his dad used to work there)......I always tell the kids they can have 1 thing....Isaiah gets Cinnamon Twists. So today we were driving along and hadn't had dinner, but I was taking Isaiah home. Wendy's is close to his house, but Andrew wanted Taco Bell. The conversation in the back seat was funny. Andrew asks Isaiah why he doesn't ever order a taco. Then Andrew said, "It's Taco Bell, not Cinnamon Bell."

*** Wendy's complaint-- Wendy's has been advertising a sale on Chili. Their chili that is regularly priced at $1.29 is now .99 cents.....so I order one. I AM ALMOST POSITIVE THAT THESE "special" priced chilis are SMALLER than the $1.29 ones, THAT'S why they are cheaper.

##########also, While at Wendy's there was a homeless guy with a "this could be you sign"...I told the kids they could give him a granola bar when we drove past. William and his friends had eaten all the granola bars, so I gave Andrew a dollar. When we drove past him, he was too far to hand him the money, so I drove to the drive thru. While we were waiting, I told Andrew to go give the dollar to him. Andrew was too scared. I said, "A homeless guy wouldn't want a kid. He wont kidnap you. What are you afraid of?" Bradley said, "If he's really hungry he might want him." I said, "NO WAY". But Bradley pointed out, "He might EAT Andrew."

Youth Hunt

Today was the Youth Hunt at the refuge in Alturas. Scott tries to take the kids each year. This year William is too old to participate, so Scott took Bradley (Andrew is not interested in hunting).

Bradley shot 3 ducks. Two of them are cinnomon teal one is a mallard. Sam, the dog, did a great job of retrieving all the birds for the boys who were hunting with Bradley- Wyatt, Justin, and another friend. I like this picture of Bradley, but realized after I took it that he didn't have a shirt on, she sent him in to get one on...then took another picture

So here that one is. Still like the first one better, but the duck heads are too close up......haha.

FIRST WIN

Week 3 of Chico youth soccer season.

Bradley's team hadn't won a game. The first loss was bad, the score was 8-3. Sounds like a pretty bad blow out, but at one point we were down 3-0, but came back to 3-3, but then gave up 5 goals, so I guess it turned into a blow out. Last week, they lost also, but it was closer 3-1. It was 1-1 most of the game and I even think that we scored first, so I know my team is not BAD.

This week was the battle for last place in a way because the red team hadn't won a game yet either.

So, today, it was OVER 100 degrees, plus we have the late game, so by 2:00 in the afternoon, the kids are tired and the heat is HOT. The whole game was a battle! A close battle. A well fought battle. A game that wasn't run by bad refs or unsportsmanlike conduct. It was FUN.

Bradley went duck hunting this morning in Alturas. He was TIRED. I mean EXHAUSTED. He ran slow and walked a lot.........BUT.....in the end....with about 3 minutes left to go in the game........BRADLEY SCORED A GOAL. It wasn't one of those slow rollers or flukey shots, it was a MONSTER!!! It was one of those that HIT THE BACK OF THE NET....no goalie in this league (or Melanee's league) could have stopped it.

AND......WE WON!!!!!!!!!

The parents even made them a tunnel to run through at the end!

Indoor Champions Picture

Remember about 3 months ago, Melanee played on a Premier League Indoor team....remember I was going to post a picture because only one dad there had a camera and it was a cell phone camera...I finally got the picture....it's AWESOME, but I wish it were better, hahaha......Anyway, here it is...these girls (women) played SO WELL and it was SO exciting to watch them. Each and every one of them played hard and were champions!!!!

William made an appearance

William finally had a Saturday to sleep in, but his sleep was interrupted when Andrew, who had come with me early to the field to set up the flags and signs, figured out that he didn't have any underwear. He was wearing a swim suit and when I sent him into the bathroom to put on his uniform, he came out and said, "I can't, I don't have any underwear!" (Have you SEEN the white shorts these guys wear??? They are SO see through and baggy, you would NEVER want to wear them without underwear.) It was too close to the game time to drive home or to Wal Mart, so I called William and had him come to the rescue. .... Although, as you can tell from the game pictures, that William got their too late (had to take a shower, of course, first) so Andrew just wore his swim suit under the see through white shorts.

Still Undefeated

Andrew's team tied 1-1 today.

Melanee & Friends

Most everyone I know who reads my blog (yes, all 5 of you) are already friends with Melanee on Facebook and have already seen these pictures, but I wanted to post them on my blog because I LOVE THEM and want them to be included if I ever make my blog into a book (plus, my dad said he didn't know how to find them on Facebook, so these are for him, too). This first one is Melanee and Lauren. (Lauren played high school soccer with Alison Freire, small world, huh????)

Here is Melanee again, this time with Tamara, Lauren, Rachel, and back in the background, posing, but not smiling near as big as the girls in the foreground is my good friend Jessica, (Jessica of Snuggie fame).

Here are Kendra, Lauren, Mel, and Abi before a game.

SVU has a game tomorrow. Wish I could be there to see them play! Hope they win a lot more games, cuz I really want to go to Nationals again to watch. That was SO MUCH fun last year.

Flag Football Week 3

Bradley's team won today 8-0. He was quarterback when they scored the touchdown and the extra point. He also got two "tackles" (actually pulled flags off of guys carrying the ball). It was an exciting game.

FHE

I know it was snowing in Denver today and cold in Virginia, but here is sunny California, it is still sunny. Autumn doesn't officially begin until tomorrow, so the weather here is still over 100 degrees.....to hot for any human to enjoy, so what to do in the evening, GO SWIMMING. Right? Fun times, except for the mosquitos.

William Quote

Levi asked William about his plans for college. William answers, "I don't want to go to college. I like high school."

Andrew Quote

We went to the Christiansen's house for Family Home Evening (they have a pool, you know). We had 2 cars there because William came over after his lawn mowing job. So on the way home, I went in the Jeep with William and Andrew....Scott and Bradley took the truck. Driving along the Esplanade with the roof off reallllllly blows your hair every which way. Andrew yells out, "Mom, you should have went with DAD, look at your HAIR!"

9-0 win

Melanee's team won today 9-0. They scored 8 of those in the first half. One of Melanee's corner kicks was headed in by her friend and roommate Tamara. Melanee scored a goal by dribbling through the defense and shooting it past the goalie. I think she may send me some pictures later. If she does, I will put them up here.

*bee sting update

I may be slightly, a tiny bit allergic to bee stings because my ankle (where I was stung) itches worse that ANY mosquito or spider or any kind of bug bit I have EVER had in my entire life. It is swollen and feverish and driving me completely nuts. Not fun!

(here is a picture for Ann)

quote

William walks in the door

from the dance

and says,

"You know how my life is a delicate balance between misery and woe?"

(He then told us that the soft top on his Jeep ripped back.)

(BUT, who EVEN talks like that?!?!)

Denim Dance

Once a year there is a youth dance out at the church farm.

For this one occasion, the kids aren't required to wear ties or dresses, they can wear casual clothes.

I was making dinner when William wanted to leave. I had my hand in batter and flour, trying to batter fry some of that fish we caught in the ocean, so I couldn't touch my camera.

I asked Scott to get a picture, but William didn't want him to take one.............BUT, sorry William, he got one!

a comment by ME

I was just looking at that team picture.....please answer this for me truthfullllllllllllllly----I should NOT have worn the white capris today (or any soccer day when I wear my coach's shirt) should I??????????????????????????????????????????

***correction

Kolby's dog (our mascot) is not named Jeebers, his name really is Jeebis....too bad he wasn't there for our team picture on picture day.

Here is my team, as you can hopefully tell they are WONDERFUL kids. (Except for the 2 who didn't shake hands after the game)...but I really like all these guys. Aren't they CUTE?

action and injury

Here are 2 photos Scott took during the actual game time.......Bradley playing reallllllly hard.

And Bradley curled up in a ball after getting belted in the stomach with the ball. (It's a hard ball.) Our team lost today, but it VERY easily could have been a win, although I think we only took 2 shots all game and we only scored 2 goals. The final score was 3-2. Most of the game was 1-1, but right near the end a BIG guy on the other team (same guy who scored the first goal) pushed his way through our defense, each push or shove would have been called in the MLS or any European league, he physically MOVED our kids out of his way, purposely, then shot and scored. Should have been called back instantly, but it wasn't so i YELLLLLLLLLLLED at the ref, "Hey, WATCH THE PUSHING"...so, on the next play down the field, they had the ball, took it into the box, one of our guys got called for PUSHING in the box, the kid was given a PK and the score was then 3-1. I told my captains to go in and tell the ref I want to talk to him, but he never came over. It's probably good he didn't, I WAS MAD. The game was just about over at this point, I thought we were going to get by with a 1-1 tie and all of a sudden it was 3-1....I couldn't believe it. We played well, but didn't control the game, did have very much possession and like I said earlier, took hardly any shots, but the other team wasn't a better team than us, all they had was one BIG guy. He played defense the first half and pushed us around and we couldn't get past him, then he played offense the second half and pushed his way down the field and scored a few times. Their other guys were equal in size as us, but they pushed, played rough, and hurt our guys. This is the second week in a row that we have been manhandled (boy handled), but I am still very leery to teach them to be rough on purpose, not a good idea, I'd rather win by skill.

I do have a lesson to teach a few of these kids, though, 2 of them refused to shake hands at the end of the game. I really don't like that kind of un-sportsmanship. (and NO COMMENTS about my yelling at the ref, he DESERVED it.)

So, after their PK, the score was 3-1. So frustrating, but I have a player that would NOT give up, and he was angry, too, second week in a row of being knocked around.....Bradley got the ball at about the half way line, dribbled in great control all the way down the right side of the field, got some resistance near the base line, but shook those defenders and hit a LONG shot from near the corner of the field, it was hit well, and it sailed through the air and with really no possible angle to be a shot on goal, it went into the net in the left upper corner. There was no way the goalie could have got to it. It was SWEET. The game ended with a score of 3-2.

Bradley's Soccer Game

Me coaching....haha.
Scott had the camera today. He captures much different emotions than I do. I usually just point the lens at the action on the field and click when the ball gets near my kids. Scott gets these kind of shots. They really tell a story, I bet I don't even have to write anything here for you to know what is going on.

(but I will) Bradley got hit in the stomach REALLY hard. He was winded, but wanted to stay in the game. I took him out. He is crying more because he didn't want to come out than he is because he was hurt.
Lying on the ground is a bad idea when Jeebers is around. Jeebers is our team dog, he even has a matching shirt. Kolby was getting upset when he wasn't there when I was picking team captains for the day. He is our mascot, even though we are the Piranhas.

*You should see our chomp chomp chomp cheers.

x-country

I sent my good camera with William this morning because I couldn't go to his meet. I gave him very CLEAR instructions to GIVE THE CAMERA TO SOMEONE to take pictures while he was running. These are the pictures I got.

William came in 64th place out of about 120 runners. He ran in the varsity race. He said a lot of it was down hill on cement and he ran out of control. It hurt his knees and shin.

His varsity boys team came in 3rd place out of about 30 teams.

Picture Day

The Wolverines Fall 2009

Andrew #10